Hey Gord, The UI is part of the same big ol' mess that is the rest of the program. It's all in GameMaker. I tried to release it on Mac -- just a straight up port of the mobile version in a window on your screen, except you can use the keyboard. But Apple rejected it for being a straight up port of a mobile version. It was worth a shot. I might take the time to retool the interface so it isn't so obviously a mobile port. Or maybe not. The quest log/name update has been approved. I am giving some beta testers a few days to see if they run across any bugs before I release it. Bob
Druid Balzac refuse to forge the sword ? I have the 4 ingots (Execratium, Abhorrinium, Odium and Antipath). As King Pynchon asked, I'm now in front of druid Balzac, in Belhaven. But he's dumb ! No answer when I speak to him. Please, help me !
Ok, I've found the solution : re-speak to King Pynchon, then go back to the druid. Perhaps my problem was due to a bad save.
Finally got around to finishing the game - a bunch of fun! You mentioned you built this with GameMaker - can you share the reasons you chose that tool? Could you share roughly how long it took to pull this together?
Well I have written apps and games using Cocoa Touch, but then I talked to some people doing a game jam and they were using GameMaker, so I thought I would download the free version and play around with it. And it was a lot of fun! Sooo easy compared to "real" programming, plus anything you make with it automatically works on all platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, etc ... though you do have to pay hefty fees to buy the ability to publish on each platform beyond Windows). Once I realized how easy it was, the first thing I wanted to try was a little Ultima game. And it slowly sucked me in until I was spending all my free time on it. I started it about a year ago, but it wasn't my day job. I just worked on it weekends and an hour or two at the end of each weekday. There was a month or two stretch near the end of the summer when I put it down and wasn't going to finish it because it was too much of an Ultima copy/ripoff, I didn't know how to deal with that. But I had already almost finished it. So I went ahead and got it to a point where it could be called "finished", then sent it to Richard Garriott to see if he would be ok with me releasing it. I know someone that works with him, that is how I got him to look at it. And he was totally cool with it -- though I don't think he played much beyond the first few minutes. So anyway, it took about eight months part-time. I'm glad you liked it! I would like to do a sequel since I have all the engine and the logistics worked out. Lately though I have been too busy with my main job and updating other apps. But I am hoping to maybe start on a new one soon.
Thanks -- that little text box was just waiting for some kind of function. Somebody in this thread first suggested it!
Keepin the thread popping. A sequal would be more then great. Glad you are thinking about it, hope you are excited. I am! Music, sounds, and effects for magic come to mind. A few more colors and some added animations come second. Of course an interesting quest tied to original story that ties everything together yet offers new things. BTW, how hard is game maker if you have never coded? I do a lot of AutoCAD and Revit work ( drafting software for 2d and 3d.). I have always dreamed of making an Ultima but fear I was not smart enough. Could I have your code. Ha! That's the way to learn! Copy!!! Thanks.
Well, GameMaker is actually a pretty good way to learn coding in my opinion. They designed it so that you do not need to know any programming at all to make basic games. You just drag and drop tools and actions, import artwork, etc. The tutorials guide you how to do that. Eventually, though, to make a more complex game you have to get into scripting, which is basically programming. But it is programming with the rough edges smoothed off. I don't think you could make a game like Lowlander without knowing programming pretty well, but like I say it is not a bad place to start. I believe the download is free and you could try out some of the tutorials to see if it is for you. I might give the project away someday, put it in the public domain, but probably not until I've done more with it. It's a huge messy interconnected ball of stuff. But if you decide to try something yourself though I could probably help out with tips or pieces of code. There is a pretty active forum of users too.
I love this game so much! It's awesome. I only played the tiniest bit of Ulitma over my friend's shoulder back in the 80's, but this game hits the nostalgia great. I was surprised how gigantic the map turned out to be! So many locations to explore. I've been all over the world and I still can't find one town... Swansboro I think it's called. Anyhow.... I know I have the updated version because I have the location names on the map, but I can't seem to find the quest log. Where's the quest log?! Also, sometimes the game instacrashes on startup. Once when it crashed the sound in the the game turned off and I could only get the sound going again by shutting down and restarting the ipad. I'm on ipad Air.
Glorkbot, Thanks! The quest log should appear by tapping the little box of scrolling text, the same way you tap the small map to get the big map. I had not heard about the crashing on startup, thanks for letting me know.
I'm getting some funny bug reports from a mega player. First he reported a hang when you max out your food at 9999 and try to buy more. Today he wrote this: As far as I know, most people's stats are nowhere near 99 when they finish the game. He is playing it like someone who puts 300,000 miles on their car.
So, how difficult is it going to be to make upgrades? Not multiple characters mind you but new story, full screen magic effects, more animations, added color palate, and maybe 16x16 sprites? Adding more spells, some more weapons, secrets,etc? I suspect it would take roughly a year to get the game you really want before much more is just too much and just "work" instead of fun. Most of this is just making it slick, but as we all know the last 20 percent of anything you do is likely the hardest.....
Ha yeah I don't know. Until I get into it, it's hard to know what it will be like and how long it would take. Right now it's taking me forever just to get my old iOS apps iOS8-compliant, so a new game is seeming like a faraway dream... Many of those things you mention probably wouldn't be at the top of my list, though. For example, Lowlander's low-resolution and minimal colors were limits consciously placed on the game. It evokes nostalgia for an older time, but to me it actually makes a better game -- the characters are more like little board game pieces that you have to imagine, rather than little photos. I'm not sure there's a good reason to throw that away. If anything I was thinking of going further in the opposite direction By full screen magic effects, are you just talking about how Ultima inverted the screen when you cast a spell?
I wouldnt change the graphics, LOVE the old skool ultima look. Thats one thing which instantly drew me to the game when i first saw it ages ago. The early Ultima games were great, you used your imagination a lot with those simple graphics but the gameplay was key. I think the selling point of Lowlander is for 'older gamers', changing it with 'slick' updated graphics i think would put off your main audience. Please keep with the retro graphics. If anything do a sequel please ! More of the same , same style graphics, but a different world/dungeons etc
Good feedback. I lose! Yes, I was talking about inverting the screen for magic. Just something to show the whole area doing something. Maybe even add a shimmer. I do agree keeping it old school though. Thanks.
I don't mean to reject your suggestions -- I'm glad someone is excited for a sequel. Just what that should be, though -- it's not as clear to me yet as it seems to be to you. I could do a straight-up sequel, embellished or not, but it's problematic. With Lowlander I just wanted old-school Ultima on my phone. But if I continue, I don't really want to be in the business of just remaking someone else's great ideas. I'd like to find a way to keep what's fun about it but do something more original -- somehow move it away from being such a clone.
I disagree on this. I may have pie in the sky ideas of what should happen but.... I may be wrong in many things but I liked the results that made the game. What you did is really good. Perhaps even great. What you do from here is your concern not mine. I am just a fan! Having fun and enjoying what you have created is all I need. This is good stuff and I will continue to push.. And spend money.
You are creating your own game on a platform that never existed. That you got great ideas, graphics and what not from the past is little concern from a fan. It worked, is original, and plain easy to have fun. Your interface to access the world you created is the key.
