-- Ark 22 -- Adventure/rpg; Complete., Updated 08.11.07 Options

[Srehpog]

One thing though; I've always said you're a good spriter, and this game proves it. Though, once again, I must ask you to make custom player sprites, I've seen edited ALttP sprites too much...how about making Ark22 DX soon? xP

I was thinking of you - custom explosion sprites are now in effect. Obviously they're not quite as nice as the old ones, but they're original and that's what matters, right? Other improvements which I've added since declaring I wouldn't add any more (I really need to stop doing that) are:

- 'External file' loading/saving option which allow working with a directory other than the game's working_directory. This is obviously useful for running the game off a disk where you can't write to the folder.

- Delayed control- and game-related hints which appear on-screen in the initial Ship section.

- 'Interactive item' boxes appear over things like switches, the disk, and the tray of drinks in the first Ship section.

- Have asked the maestro to make full Ark22 OST tracks including intros and outros (rather than 1-minute loops).

Make a sequel, this game rocks. Cept use Minish Cap edited graphics as everyone hates lttp sprites. Well, I do.

I would never use more edited sprites than I had to. The only sprite set which isn't original in the whole game is the Player sprites and the NPCs. There's no reason to 'use' a whole other style of copyrighted sprites - the aim is to reduce them completely. As for a sequel.....well, there is a way the story would allow for it, but... I don't know. Maybe.

I'll update the file again soon, though I don't think there are many bugs left at all. Prove me wrong, perhaps? We'll see.

Meanwhile: Art!



This post has been edited by Srehpog: Feb 17 2006, 02:31 PM

[ChaoMaster]

Great art, I would almost use a 3D modeling tool if I had that kind of artistic skill. A 3D version of this game using d3d, even if the game was the same game but just d3d like the fps example. Even without using my suggestion, you have great artistic skill.

[Srehpog]

File Updated: 13.1.2006

Ark22.zip
Ark22_exe.zip

News:

New sprites for player and NPCs. LTTP Link edits are no more. Tommy_boy283, your wishes are fulfilled. Along with the new explosion sprites, as far as I know there's nothing left in Ark which is an edit or borrowed sprite - at least, not an obvious one. Thus:

I'm aware that the game icon is still the old Player sprite, by the way. I'll change that next time. Apparently there is also still a crash if you pause in New Samosa before a certain time - this will, of course, be fixed by next upload. If you spot anything else, no matter how small, please let me know. Everything's important.

Enjoy.

[Cloud Architect]

YAY! UPATES!

[Scooternew]

Wow, back from the dead.

I saw this project grow at ZFGC and become the monster of a game it is today. Beautiful work, Srehpog.

My only suggestion is for future games - first of all, START with all custom sprites. Second of all, do a more thorough bug test. People shouldn't be finding so many bugs in the creation topic.

[ageofdarknesscre...]

Although im on a dialup pc at the moment, im going for it. Your game has how many hours? Thats sexy. Srehpog, your my hero by the looks of it. You could win GMA 2 years in a row if you upgraded more

[zagster]

looks very good but i am not downloading a 20mb game

The game itself is 12.3 Megabytes. So your downloading more stuff. If u like just download the game only.

[Wassupening]

ive been making games for a while, and i barely ever post here. i mainly use the gmc to occasionally find help on problems i have.

this game is worth a post, however. its a real work of art, and i must say that this is an exceptional game. i won't go on about how much i enjoyed this, because im sure about 500 other people have already commented. i hope to see more games made by you in the future.

my only slight complaint is that there isnt an objective list or journal of any sort. this would be hard to implement, and not completely necessary, but would still be a nice addition. great job on your game.

edit: upon downloading the new version, looks like there is in fact a journal. that about tops off the game, way to go.

This post has been edited by Wassupening: Jan 18 2006, 01:41 AM

[ageofdarknesscre...]

Yea, Pause > Directive .

I played for about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get passed that guard. Well, i saved it in the snow area, and will be sure to play again.

[The Chozoen one]

I have a big problem. I just got to chapter five, but the inventory screen says it's on chapter four, and there's no directive.

I've been stuck here quite some time.

BTW, nice new sprites!

[Srehpog]

My only suggestion is for future games - first of all, START with all custom sprites. Second of all, do a more thorough bug test. People shouldn't be finding so many bugs in the creation topic.

Yeah, I won't be using any borrowed sprites any more - there's no reason to if I'm not making a Zelda-type game, and even then, I'm better now than when I started Ark, so more custom player sprites should be easy enough.

As for bugs, I suppose I should have playtested it first, you're right, but the vast majority of the bugs which have been found here I would never have found myself - there's no other way to properly bugtest a game than to let mountains of people play it.

Although im on a dialup pc at the moment, im going for it. Your game has how many hours? Thats sexy. Srehpog, your my hero by the looks of it. You could win GMA 2 years in a row if you upgraded more

Thank you. But I doubt Ark22 will still be around in a year's time, and the other game is.....well, a bit different. Once is enough.

my only slight complaint is that there isnt an objective list or journal of any sort. this would be hard to implement, and not completely necessary, but would still be a nice addition. great job on your game.

I'm glad you like it, but also, there's a Player's Log as well as the Directive thing. If you go to a save station and choose READ on the first option-message, you'll get information the character has collected about various things. It's a bit like a plot synopsis, particularly for the Piraeus chapters, as that whole thing gets a bit confusing.

I have a big problem. I just got to chapter five, but the inventory screen says it's on chapter four, and there's no directive.

I've been stuck here quite some time.

BTW, nice new sprites!

Are you sure you're on Chapter 5? That's only the case once you've watched the radio room turning-on cutscene, and the code definitely updates it to 5 as soon as it leaves there. If you're in Chapter 4 as I suspect, you need to go to New Samosa. However, before you do that, please paste me the first line of your save file. If there truly is no Directive wherever you are, that will identify it instantly.

Thanks.

[ChaoMaster]

Will you make a sequel now you have new character graphics?

[The Chozoen one]

Okay, here's the first line of code before the cutscene.

4.10000000000000E+0000

Umm, so use it however you need.

[Smarty]

The more I play this game, the more I am amazed. I've simply got no words for this. It's obviously an enormous project and an amazing mix of arcade and puzzle, with outstanding map and level design that keeps surprising you around each corner. A mammoth's job, plenty full of imagination and wit.

I hope to give a more detailed review later, but I'm just posting here to point out that this game unfortunately still isn't entirely bug-free.

I've had several occasions where the game jumps out on me with an error. I'll try to collect the error logs. They seem related to the aforementioned bug of the pause key which also occurred to me in the first Samosian village, but it also appeared later on.

Furthermore, in chapter 2, the 120 second boat race two rooms before the end there is a small maze of electro-shots to head through. If you are zapped and die on the spot, the following error occurs in the log:

CODE

ERROR in
action number 1
of  Step Event
for object gettinghit_reset:

Error in code at line 8:
 
if shake=1 && alarm[0]<=45{

at position 5: Unknown variable shake

The death scene (which I encountered all too much) also doesn't look quite right to me. The hero topples over OK but the last image of the sequence is that of the hero still standing upright with his eyes open as if nothing happened.

I hope to give more feedback later.

Other than the bugs, nothing but praise. If you ever plan a professional a career in the gaming industry, this game is the ultimate portfolio.

Smarty

[Crusader]

yeah, Iw as just about to post a similiar messege as smarty. But he obviously beat me to it.

Anyways, I dont think the 'F' key works...is it supposed to let you drink coffee or heal you or something? Cause when I press it nothing happens.

[Srehpog]

Will you make a sequel now you have new character graphics?

I don't think so. At least, if I do, it won't be with GameMaker (since I have to learn the difficult stuff eventually anyway, not because I dislike GM - it's wonderful) and I would wait until I was at a level capable of pulling off a full adventure game again, which obviously would mean a significant delay. Also, with less and less time, big games like Ark alone are difficult - the best thing is easy-to-develop arcade-style games, so if I did resurrect Ark's storyline it would probably be for something other than a game, e.g. a graphic novel or something. In short, if there is ever an Ark 23, it won't be for a while. Thanks for the interest though.

Okay, here's the first line of code before the cutscene.

4.10000000000000E+0000

Umm, so use it however you need.

You're right, there is no Directive at that time. I've added one (and a 'default:' case to the switch statements so any other unsupported values will at least have an answer), but I'm puzzled as to how you got that variable before the cutscene. I thought it only became 4.1 when you enter the NSV radio room for the first time, but clearly you've saved a game with it so this is not so. What did you do between finishing Dungeon 3 and saving that game?

The more I play this game, the more I am amazed. I've simply got no words for this. It's obviously an enormous project and an amazing mix of arcade and puzzle, with outstanding map and level design that keeps surprising you around each corner. A mammoth's job, plenty full of imagination and wit.

It makes a great deal of difference knowing at least someone has appreciated the subtler side of it too. Thank you.

I've had several occasions where the game jumps out on me with an error. I'll try to collect the error logs. They seem related to the aforementioned bug of the pause key which also occurred to me in the first Samosian village, but it also appeared later on.

Furthermore, in chapter 2, the 120 second boat race two rooms before the end there is a small maze of electro-shots to head through. If you are zapped and die on the spot, the following error occurs in the log: [log]

The death scene (which I encountered all too much) also doesn't look quite right to me. The hero topples over OK but the last image of the sequence is that of the hero still standing upright with his eyes open as if nothing happened.

The pause bug, if it's not completely fixed by now, only ever appears at certain specific points. If you can tell me when and where the errors occurred, I can fix them instantly. I *think* the Village is fixed by now, anyway...

That code is now only ever executed in the flask boss chase room (the only place the screen shake effect ever happens anyway), so it should be very unlikely. However, if you do notice it in that room, then please tell me - that would be very important. See the 'suggestions' bit down there though...

Death scene bug is because the new death animation has 2 frames fewer than the previous one, so the final image_single isn't recognised. That's fixed.

Other than the bugs, nothing but praise. If you ever plan a professional a career in the gaming industry, this game is the ultimate portfolio.

That's high praise indeed, thank you - but do you think games developed with such a helpful interface (all the inbuilt functions and variables, handling of graphics and other resources automatically, etc.) is really 'worthwhile' in a professional context? I know there's still design issues and such which no amount of technology can do for you, but do you know if GM games are the sort of acheivement professionals recognise?

Anyways, I dont think the 'F' key works...is it supposed to let you drink coffee or heal you or something? Cause when I press it nothing happens.

That's F for Flask. If you have the flask, and have something inside it, then pressing F will make you drink it (or if you die while there's Coffee inside it, it will assume you drank it at the last moment - I'm not that cruel). I assume you don't yet have a full flask? If not, please say so, since that would be a very significant bug.

Suggestions:

Some of this feedback made me think:

- The 'view shake' thing when you take a hit in the chase section - should I include this for ALL damage moments, even on foot?

- 'Often' Death screen - is the game too hard?

Thank you everyone; your help, as ever, is vastly appreciated.

[Smarty]

The pause bug, if it's not completely fixed by now, only ever appears at certain specific points. If you can tell me when and where the errors occurred, I can fix them instantly. I *think* the Village is fixed by now, anyway...

I downloaded the last EXE just after your last update and it still occurred for me. At the start of the game, as you get out of bed you got in after the prologue crash and walk outside - once outside, pressing P makes it crash.

That code is now only ever executed in the flask boss chase room (the only place the screen shake effect ever happens anyway), so it should be very unlikely. However, if you do notice it in that room, then please tell me - that would be very important.

If that update is in the last download I'm afraid it's still there. I just downloaded it 3 days ago.

Death scene bug is because the new death animation has 2 frames fewer than the previous one, so the final image_single isn't recognised. That's fixed.

In the update to come you mean? Because it doesn't work for me yet.

That's high praise indeed, thank you - but do you think games developed with such a helpful interface (all the inbuilt functions and variables, handling of graphics and other resources automatically, etc.) is really 'worthwhile' in a professional context? I know there's still design issues and such which no amount of technology can do for you, but do you know if GM games are the sort of acheivement professionals recognise?

In the end, Game Maker is just another tool that facilitates the development process. I'm sure the the gaming industry uses plently of engines and tools as well and simply recognises the game design quality behind it. Why spend a few years extra on mastering a low-level programming language to do exactly the same job?

And if doesn't work out, and should you decide to continue on your own, it doesn't hurt to consider developing such games on a shareware level in the future.

That's F for Flask. If you have the flask, and have something inside it, then pressing F will make you drink it (or if you die while there's Coffee inside it, it will assume you drank it at the last moment - I'm not that cruel). I assume you don't yet have a full flask? If not, please say so, since that would be a very significant bug.

The flask doesn't seem to work when you're inside a vehicle. At least, a full flask didn't work for me when I needed it during the battle at the end of Chapter Two.

- The 'view shake' thing when you take a hit in the chase section - should I include this for ALL damage moments, even on foot?

Certainly not, the effect would lose it's impact.

- 'Often' Death screen - is the game too hard?

I don't think the frequent deaths made the game too hard - the saving spots helped out in passing difficult corners so far (but I'm only in chapter 3). If anything, the dificulty needs some balancing, but your playtesters (us) help you out in that aspect. I've been playing it on and off over the past few days (being ill at home this has made a great passtime) and so far I've always been able to make progress.

I have a few other suggestions. They may have been mentioned earlier on, but I'm afraid I haven't read through the entire topic because I didn't want to suffer spoilers for parts of the game I wanted to figure out myself.

1. The dialogue boxes in the game are the only interface elements that require to use the mouse, which I find a bit confusing. You're using the show_message_ext(str,but1,but2,but3) command a lot for this. But it allows you to specify which letter can be used to indicate the keypress - for example, &Yes and &No will accept Y and N for clicking those buttons. It would make navigation a lot easier, if you would just add & in front of the valid key character.

2. At the end of chapter 3, Daska tells me to look around the city for something useful and afterwards asks me whether I wish to go. I can only find one useful thing in the city, which I can't obtain yet, but get nothing. He lets me go nonetheless. I'm unsure whether I enter the cave well-prepared - shouldn't you 'make Daska check' whether all the important items are being carried before allowing you to the cave?

3. There are several people around the planet who I suspect want an item which I have not been able to find. But maybe they're just there for illustrative purposes and should lead to no sub-quest at all. I'm not sure whether those are just red herrings or that I'm missing some objects here and there.

4. My current pocket limit is 500 (I'm sure I can go higher as a particular gun powerup costs 650). The hero keeps picking up coins but the counter stays at the max amount. It would be less confusing if those coins would instead just kept lying about (and disappear after a while as they do, of course).

I hope this helps, more later on.

Good luck,

Smarty

[S-Chuck]

'Often' Death screen - is the game too hard?

That's impossible to say. After getting a feel for the game, I almost never died despite having played through the entire game several times. In many ways I thought it was too easy, so you can't very well ask if the game was easy or hard and get a single decent answer that would satisfy.

[Srehpog]

In the update to come you mean? Because it doesn't work for me yet.

Yes, all three of those bugs are fixed but not yet uploaded.

The flask doesn't seem to work when you're inside a vehicle. At least, a full flask didn't work for me when I needed it during the battle at the end of Chapter Two.

Ah, very true. I'd forgotten to copy the events from the Player object. Flask drinking and anti-death in the boat is now fixed (though not updated). Of course, whether or not you'd actually be able to open and drink from a flask while driving a boat is questionable...

- The 'view shake' thing when you take a hit in the chase section - should I include this for ALL damage moments, even on foot?

Certainly not, the effect would lose it's impact.

Thank goodness; I realised after posting that that almost none of the standard rooms use views.

I don't think the frequent deaths made the game too hard - the saving spots helped out in passing difficult corners so far (but I'm only in chapter 3). If anything, the dificulty needs some balancing, but your playtesters (us) help you out in that aspect. I've been playing it on and off over the past few days (being ill at home this has made a great passtime) and so far I've always been able to make progress.

That's extremely good to hear. As it should be.

1. The dialogue boxes in the game are the only interface elements that require to use the mouse, which I find a bit confusing. You're using the show_message_ext(str,but1,but2,but3) command a lot for this. But it allows you to specify which letter can be used to indicate the keypress - for example, &Yes and &No will accept Y and N for clicking those buttons. It would make navigation a lot easier, if you would just add & in front of the valid key character.

Ah, so they can! Amazing, I didn't have a clue. I'll begin working that in at once. Would there be a way to make the three options react to Z-X-C instead, or is it only the initial letter of the button word which counts?

2. At the end of chapter 3, Daska tells me to look around the city for something useful and afterwards asks me whether I wish to go. I can only find one useful thing in the city, which I can't obtain yet, but get nothing. He lets me go nonetheless. I'm unsure whether I enter the cave well-prepared - shouldn't you 'make Daska check' whether all the important items are being carried before allowing you to the cave?

Fair point. I'll change it.

3. There are several people around the planet who I suspect want an item which I have not been able to find. But maybe they're just there for illustrative purposes and should lead to no sub-quest at all. I'm not sure whether those are just red herrings or that I'm missing some objects here and there.

If they explicitly ask for or express need for an item, then they're probably part of the trading sequence which I imagine you've started already. If not, start in New Samosa - your current item is then displayed in the Pause menu.

4. My current pocket limit is 500 (I'm sure I can go higher as a particular gun powerup costs 650). The hero keeps picking up coins but the counter stays at the max amount. It would be less confusing if those coins would instead just kept lying about (and disappear after a while as they do, of course).

Hmm. It is the normal way of adventure games (at least, the Zelda series) that all items are obtained on acquisition whether or not you need them. The more pressing reason is that Ark has a tendency to grind if there's too much happening, especially on older machines, so anything which allows objects to disappear (especially if they wouldn't help either way) is worth keeping, I think. If nothing else, out of tradition.

That's impossible to say. After getting a feel for the game, I almost never died despite having played through the entire game several times. In many ways I thought it was too easy, so you can't very well ask if the game was easy or hard and get a single decent answer that would satisfy.

Well, as long as it does become doable with practice, that's all that matters.

Thanks.

[Smarty]

Ah, very true. I'd forgotten to copy the events from the Player object. Flask drinking and anti-death in the boat is now fixed (though not updated).

Have you thought about object inheritance? I'm sure the player and the boat objects have different events and capabilities, but they share a lot of things. You could make an object that has all the standard features (even though you don't use it) and make the character and boat inherit from that object, with their specific features added to them. You'll save a lot of copying between them and if you need to make changes to the default features, they're inherited automatically on the others.

Inheritance really is a space- and time saver.

Of course, whether or not you'd actually be able to open and drink from a flask while driving a boat is questionable...

Very true, but you can ask the very same thing about e.g. crashlanding on a snowy planet, fighting myriads of wacky monsters and falling off cliffs and landing face-first in the snow without damage.

Ah, so they can! Amazing, I didn't have a clue. I'll begin working that in at once. Would there be a way to make the three options react to Z-X-C instead, or is it only the initial letter of the button word which counts?

No, what counts is the character that has the & character in front of it. For example, you could use the buttons like this:

show_message_ext('Test','Yes (&Z)','No (&X)','What? (&C)');

Unfortunately you can only make it respond to one character, so Y and N would in this example not be possible. You also need to make all message boxes a show_message_ext because for the defaults you cannot specify the shortcut keys.

If they explicitly ask for or express need for an item, then they're probably part of the trading sequence which I imagine you've started already. If not, start in New Samosa - your current item is then displayed in the Pause menu.

Thanks, I missed that. There seems however no way for me to check what my current item actually is. I'm sure the image was supposed to be descriptive enough, but I can't remember when it was given to me and why.

Could you make that an extra key stop in the inventory, giving it a description just as the other items have?

Hmm. It is the normal way of adventure games (at least, the Zelda series) that all items are obtained on acquisition whether or not you need them. The more pressing reason is that Ark has a tendency to grind if there's too much happening, especially on older machines, so anything which allows objects to disappear (especially if they wouldn't help either way) is worth keeping, I think. If nothing else, out of tradition.

Fair enough.

I realise suggestions like those above bring the finishing point further away as opposed to closer, but I suspect you really have the finishing-touch attitude towards game creation, so you hopefully don't mind.

Smarty