I sprung for the 9.7 iPad Pro this year because apps are starting to not work on my 5 year old iPad 2 and I wanted to get an iPad with a traditional headphone jack... in case they drop it next year! And yeah, NL BrightRidge HD looks great on it!
Thank you David One of the thing i am noticing is i like this kind of cycle that's developing - people ask for things in the game and i dont do all of them but they give me a lot of great feedback that helps me make the game better, even when its bad feedback it feels bad, but sometimes its very helpful constructive criticism. Then that helps me improve the gae, and then people really respond to that, to being listened to. So part of these updates are inspired by the players, which is a really nice feeling for me, especially as a game developer. I have an iPad Air 2 and it wont do the highest settings, but you can get about halfway there with it. I only have an iphone 6, but i tried brightridge on my friends iphone 6splus and it ran fast on the highest resolution, so i think any of the newest devices will handle the game at the highest quality Im also adding a Double Texture option in the next update. This does what it says and doubles the texture resolution, so textures are more crisp. On iPad Air, at high res and with double textures its a big leap from regular res, so id really love to see it running on an iPad pro or somethings Nullzone's right about iPAd - i heard its coming in march, and that maybe it will be a redesign that removes or shrinks the bezels. You can google the rumours - those sites are usually first to know around what date something will be released.
between ipad2 and pro is a HUGE upgrade i loved my trusty ipad 2 but when i got the air 2 i was amazed at how much more game it can handle. The pro must be a relative beast, especially with the extra ram.
BrightRidge Cinematic Engine Here's a rough test of the new Cinematic Engine coming in version 6. I can get a lot of fine tuned controls and manage a complex set of objects and events, and it blends seamlessly between gameplay and cinematic. All cinematics are in game and skippable You'll see some examples of it in the next update, and i am also transferring the original quest to the new AdventureGen and Cinematic engine combo. Its a lot faster and flexible and lightweight. There's over 60 upgrades n version 6, and i have outlined 2 more updates with the goal of version 8 being the 'final' version of BrightRidge. A lot of the updates in this version are behind the scenes - improving artificial intelligence and encapsulating everything into its own node. So in the cinematic below there is very little if have to set up. A lot of the work is procedural in nature - the Bots have their own AI so they do a lot of the work, no need for me to keyframe or specify actions because they automatically react in certain ways.
Christmas present for us? If you built the two Engines yourself, you should absolutely put them on the Unity store, and charge a reasonable amount of bucks for them. The scene in the video reminded me of Devouring Stars: it does its storytelling with really weird and trippy text pieces too. And that huge floating lamp is a bit similar to its guardians (I think they were called). Link: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=277265 Oops, just saw I recommended it already a few months ago. I'm getting forgetful
Thanks stubbieoz - gorgeous sounds good to me. Most of the time all i see is the flaws (plus this is a test scene) so hearing someone actually say it looks nice is very encouraging. Your ipad pro should run it amazing. On iphone 6s and up (actually anything with 2gb of ram) runs it really well. The scene is a lot simpler than it looks - just a few particles, the new Sentinel Bots are just modified spheres in Blender etc... i think my specialty is making a mess - just throwing basic versions of everything and sometimes it comes together as a scene
I was looking at it and it reminds me of Unicron I might give it some thought about the unity store, but i code out of necessity so i think my strength is more in the overall game design. I am VERY happy with the cinematic engine though. It and the new quest engine are a lot more flexible, and are built with that more object oriented and less linear approach you suggested a while back
stunning. don't know what to say, you keep this updates coming at no cost at all. how you pay your bills then proto . just wondering, some people just dont care at all about making "great games", all they care about is just money, but you here my friend, is different. i can almost feel your love when you developing this game, i can feel your thoughts inside this game, all your passion was clearly written when im playing NLBR. dude, i really hope this game can be big one day and all your hardworks will be paid off. just like kaalus(survivalcraft), that man is also a beast when developing his game ps. this update 6? completely blown me.
Thank you I havent heard of survivacraft but im checking it out now. It looks like a survival mod for minecraft? great idea. I dont play minecraft but im mega impressed at some of the incredible things people are making with it. I wasnt able to pay my bills after focusing on the game for the first half of this year, but it was worth it to push through. Reality is time is limited when you make games in spare time, but i really enjoy it, and ive been working very hard finding design clients, and now i am just starting to climb out of debt so i am grateful for that. The next update has a lot of nice stuff, the look and feel from the screenshot is a new preset called sad sun. Presets are included for filters and i plan to introduce them for quality and other things as well Its also continuing a huge update to the code - ive been simplifying the component pieces of the games code so that it is becoming easier and easier to add new content. For example the new cinematic object can be duplicated and dropped into any scene and it seamlessly takes over, which gives me a lot of authoring power. everything is being redesigned to be completely modular, and the more i do that, the simpler its getting to add new stuff Edit: i checked out kaalus survuvalcraft more and i can totally see their dedication - so many blog posts it makes you excited for the game because it makes it feel like it is growing. I think games, software is kind of like a living thing and that if you nurture it it can grow,and give back Thanks again for the link, im always interested in cool new things like that (nullzone has introduced me to a bunch of new things too)
I played this last week on my iPhone 6S Plus and just wanted to thank the developer for making something more beautiful, than anything else I've ever seen on an iOS device. * bravo * The quests were nice, but I felt most of them were to get you to explore various areas of the map. I loved the customization options -- I was able to maximize just about all sliders and it still ran great. * again bravo * I'd love to see a game like this with either a much more expanded quest/storyline, or something with sandbox options. Honestly, I'd love for this to be an MMORPG but that's asking a ton. One of my biggest complaints about many adventure/rpg games (like Aralon and Ravensword) is that it feels like they made the world huge just for the sake of making it big. And they often look pretty bland since they don't spend a lot of time on those areas. And what winds up happening is that you visit an area once or simply walk through it to get somewhere else and you never see it again. And I also don't like when things are spread so far apart. One of my favorite "games" was the demo for Epic Citadel (the tech demo for Infinity Blade, you can still download Epic Citadel or just look at the screenshots in the App Store). What I love about it is that the city is packed with interesting stuff and it's all close together -- that's how I imagine a real life old city would look. So my advice would be, if you plan on adding a bunch of features or areas and using them as part of a storyline, make good use of those areas -- make a lot of quests happen in each area before sending us along to another area. Thanks again for the great experience that is BrightRidge.
Thank YOU rothgarr Those are some wonderful compliments, and exactly the kind of encouragement and critical feedback that keeps me going Although making a game is what i'm doing, the heart of what im trying to do is create a believable world, like a place i can imagine actually exists somewhere, so i'm really glad to hear you describe BrightRidge as a filled in place. I loved (and was amazed by) epic Citadel. That thing ran on like an ipad 2 and i kept wanting to goto to the areas that were off limits. And i loved the reflection inside that church building. I agree it was nicely detailed and felt realistic. It was definitely one inspiration for what im doing. Right now im working on update 6. Ive rebuilt the quest engine to work like lego blocks with the goal in a future update of having a fully procedurally generated adventure option. In the meantime it's let me add in new adventures faster and the first one, Love and Tin, is almost ready, with a second, The Wedding is Off, coming shortly after. Plus a bunch of new customizations because i love them, you love them, it seems everyone loves them There's also a cool new cinematic engine that allows me to add in cinematics easily like lego blocks, drag and drop them to new scenes ect. There a short video with a cinematic from Love and Tin here: https://www.facebook.com/protopopgames/videos/vb.164168310265/10154628682885266/?type=2&theater usually i just write the story and see where it takes me - if i did it the other way around i think the adventure would have used a more equal exploration of the land, or if i had made the quest bigger. But now that im able to add new adventure updates i think they will kind of reveal themselves for each area. Like there is a whole underwater temple that's just begging to be part of an adventure. Same for the Tree Beasts - they need an adventure that focusses on them. All of this is being done in preparation for the final update which i have planned as Update 8. Then I'll be using the same world engine for a new game and new landscape and story, Nimian Legends : Vandgels. It's a lot of work so thanks again for the encouragement and taking the time to write and leave feedback. it's much appreciated
Is your next game going to be story driven? If so, count me VERY excited, since your world building is truly great!
Thanks Dankrio - that's the idea. BrightRidge is getting 2 new stories (and explore mode is becoming a "fourth" story) and , if all goes well, a fifth procedural story generator thats a more advanced version of the one i use in NimianLegends.com/Empires - it creates personalities and desires for citizens based on alignments and generates relationships, goals and stories. this update 6 is taking extra long because i am taking great care to rebuild the story manager as lego blocks so i can build stories very simply. Im really happy with the results because i can drag quests around and cinematics and almost anything from one adventure to another. Nimian Legends : Vangdels will also have a Main story (i finished writing it last week and i think its a good one, i am learning a lot as i make more), and explore mode, and the generator (time permitting). It takes place in the frozen peaks of Tiviscus, a deeply religious nation that sees the towers as proof of divine beings. it will also use the finished BrightRidge engine (planned for Update 8) so i am looking to focus on making more stories in theses worlds. And the stories all tie in together about the truths behind the mysterious towers, and how various factions of Nimia explout them to their advantage (co opting the technology, presenting them as signs of a greater power, etc...)
Thanks I feel the same way about people who take the time to write. this is how good ideas arise when feedback plays off of each other and is all mixed together
that suck but we can't deny thats the reality in developing games . maybe you should try kickstarter for your next project, for sure i will back you since day one. anyway, im glad to hear that you starting to find the way for all that matters . can't wait for the next update. ps. oh have you considered about the specific quest for the giant tree dude?
I'd second a kickstarter. He's great at what he does! His worldbuilding skills are unmatched on iOS scene.
Not only on iOS Patreon might be a better idea than Kickstarter. For one, it saves you a lot of trouble with all the reward tiers, Kickstarter updates and whatnot. And it's not a onetime thing, but can run for monthly support, similar to a subscription. In other news, my kid still absolutely loves it. The Gnome is the new favorite, even beats the Dragon. I always have to size him up to giant, so he can jump over mountains and whatnot. And the place in the screenshot is the Gnome's home, according to him. He wants a kitchen in there it's supposed to be under the stairs on the right. Positively stoked about NL:Vangdels. If you feel like sharing the story already, I'd love to take a peek and give feedback. And some inspiration material: http://blogofholding.com/?p=6932 Stumbled on it a while ago. Great stuff, should you ever need some ideas for rivers.
