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[Anian]

Thank you, Anian! I'm going to try this this afternoon with the plan you've provided. Ironically, if I'd approached this more like building an actual boat instead of a 3D model, that's what it should have looked like anyway (using the shape of boards).

Yes, more than often it's very useful to copy the way things are built IRL. (I'm not being sarcastic or anything, understanding to see the way objects are comprised of simpler structures, which is even more true for 2d drawing, and remembering to go from simpler to more details is crucial)

[Jaffles]

Hey guys! So I've been messing around in Inkscape lately, and unfortunately images made with Inkscape come with automatic anti-aliasing, so when I import into GiMP I get something like this



And when I try to import that into AGS I get something really nasty looking due to the semi-transparent pixels on the outline. Is there any way I can get something like this to import well into AGS? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

[Anian]

I don't know about Inkscape/Gimp, but might there be some way of taking/exporting paths from Inkscape then opening them in Gimp?

[Jaffles]

There is in fact, that's exactly how I've got this image drawn: Paths in inkscape ported into gimp and colored. When you stroke the paths in GiMP you do get the choice to turn on/off the antialiasing, but 1 pixel thick with no anti-aliasing has lots of staircases and other undesirable things.




This^ Is what I have with antialiasing on, and I like the way this looks, but is there any way to get this to import well into AGS? Or is it impossible without removing the antialiasing on the outside? (Which severely messes up the image unfortunately)

[Snarky]

Yeah, sure there is. Save the sprites in PNG with transparent background. Your game needs to be 32 bit, and when you import the sprites, say you want to use the alpha channel from the image.

[Jaffles]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxgXfVZ4qIA

^allow this to inform my reaction.

Thanks guys!

EDIT: Actually, I've got another question. I'm thinking about making a game with one of AGS's larger resolutions. The editor warns me this will balloon the file size and system requirements for the game. Is this a major concern, or should the majority of PC's still be fine?

[Jaffles]

I hate to double post, but I'm worried nobody noticed my addendum:

Actually, I've got another question. I'm thinking about making a game with one of AGS's larger resolutions. The editor warns me this will balloon the file size and system requirements for the game. Is this a major concern, or should the majority of PC's still be fine?

[Adeel]

Actually, I've got another question. I'm thinking about making a game with one of AGS's larger resolutions. The editor warns me this will balloon the file size and system requirements for the game. Is this a major concern, or should the majority of PC's still be fine?

No, that'll not be a much problem especially now-a-days. But yes, the file size will be HUGE !!! But that depends upon the number, length and format of music tracks you used. You'll also need to turn anti-aliasing off. Also, you'll need a good file-compressor to reduce the size.

However, as the editor states: It'll not run smoothly on slower machines. Especially those having lower RAMS and/or Caches.

While now-a-days many people have fast machines, you can't expect EVERYONE to own a fast machine and that's where the real problem comes, i.e, limited audience. Plus, your own machine should be fast enough to handle the large backgrounds, large music files etc.

One game that comes to my mind which uses the larger resolution is: Barely Floating (mind you, its the first "HD" AGS Game). You can download and play it to see how much it affects/consumes memory of your pc.

[Jaffles]

Cool, thanks for the info. We'll probably stick to low res, since limiting our audience is the last thing we want to do.

[Adeel]

Cool, thanks for the info. We'll probably stick to low res, since limiting our audience is the last thing we want to do.

You are welcome. According to my careful assumption, you may try 1024 x 768 resolution. Hence your game may have larger resolution. The audience is not limited in that case. However, 800 x 600 is more common among the developers as a higher res.

Actually I also have a slower machine and that's why I were first turned off by the amount of memory Barely Floating consumed (because of its larger resolution). Moreover, there wasn't the usual winsetup.exe. Instead, it was the designer's self designed window which despite being cool, limits the power to tweak the settings as per your wish .

After tweaking with acsetup.cfg, I found that anti-aliasing was the major factor behind the enormous memory consumption and when it was turned off, the game run much smoothly.

Therefore, I suggest you not to use this option if you already have quality backgrounds. Best of luck for your future game .

[Jaffles]

Thanks! Luckily I've been doing lots of work with vector graphics, so flip flopping between resolutions hasn't been disastrous.

Yeah, my decrepit PC can't even run Barely Floating (Direct 3D isn't supported by my graphics card, lol), but it's run other high resolution AGS Games like Skumring and Witchy Woo just fine, so a higher resolution may not actually be off the table.

[Adeel]

[...] but it's run other high resolution AGS Games like Skumring and Witchy Woo just fine, so a higher resolution may not actually be off the table.

Just out of curiosity, what is the resolution the above two mentioned games use? Surely, they are not using 1280x720? Secondly, a game with higher resolutions + Direct 3D either forces the computer to slow down or even doesn't run. Barely Floating is a very nice game however it requires a fast machine.

[Jaffles]

[...] but it's run other high resolution AGS Games like Skumring and Witchy Woo just fine, so a higher resolution may not actually be off the table.

Just out of curiosity, what is the resolution the above two mentioned games use? Surely, they are not using 1280x720? Secondly, a game with higher resolutions + Direct 3D either forces the computer to slow down or even doesn't run. Barely Floating is a very nice game however it requires a fast machine.

Skumring is 800x600 and Witch Woo is 1024x768 I believe

[Gilbert]

Another problem is whether you want people to play your games on different platforms. If it's targeted for most desktop systems then it's okay to use 1024x768 max as there are still a number of people using that resolution nowadays. For example, this is the max... err... native resolution of this crappy LCD I'm using at work, whereas I am using a CRT at home which best displays 1024x768(it can do 1280x1024 max. but the quality isn't that good).

If you want your games also playable on mobile devices, then actually even many mid to semi-high range devices use something like 800x480. In that case, even 800x600 is overkill, and thus 640x480 seems optimal.

[Adeel]

[...] If it's targeted for most desktop systems then it's okay to use 1024x768 max as there are still a number of people using that resolution nowadays. [...]
[...] If you want your games also playable on mobile devices, then actually even many mid to semi-high range devices use something like 800x480. In that case, even 800x600 is overkill, and thus 640x480 seems optimal.

   I agree with Iceboty V7000a. However, if mobile audience is your prime target then I'd suggest to go for 320 x 200 resolution. I also use 1024 x 768 resolution for my desktop computer.

[...] For example, this is the max... err... native resolution of this crappy LCD I'm using at work, whereas I am using a CRT at home which best displays 1024x768(it can do 1280x1024 max. but the quality isn't that good). [...]

In my opinion, CRT is better than LCD (even though LCD display is somewhat "soft" to eyes). I am using a Dell CRT (Manufactured in September 1999) and it displays 1024 x 768 resolution best.

[Adeel]

Spoiler

Sorry for the double post but I have a question and thought to keep it clean.

[close]

    There is this project, BudLee wants to contribute to anyone who picks it up. It is a Larry Fan Game. As I have an interest in Larry Games so I thought to take over this project. He has drawn 4 backgrounds and have taken some objects from RPGMaker. That's okay, I guess. But he has taken (or ripped, to be precise) characters from a mobile Larry game which I believe was a commercial release.

    So, I am wondering whether it will be okay to release this game as a fan game for free or can I release it as commercial too?

    Another question is that I think I can get sued for making my fan game commercial; am I right? If yes then will I still be sued even if I release the game for free?

Thanks in advance.

[arj0n]

But he has taken (or ripped, to be precise) characters from a mobile Larry game which I believe was a commercial release.

So, I am wondering (...) can I release it as commercial too?

A commercial game with ripped graphics from a commercial game? 

[Adeel]

That's what I thought that it shouldn't be commercial. So, will it be okay if the game is released as a fan game for free?

I am asking this because I don't want to start working on the game without proper knowledge first.

[Khris]

I'll give you my opinion, since I'm not a lawyer: afaik, Sierra has always been very lenient with these kinds of things. AGD / Tierra / Infamous Adventures were making all these remakes of Sierra IP, and they never ran into serious trouble, afaik.

Going commercial is a different thing, but a free fangame using Larry should be fine. I wouldn't use sprites that are clearly ripped from a commercial game without asking though.

[Adeel]

Okay. In that case, where can I ask them?

EDIT: I think I should recruit an artist and/or animator so that the sprites would be redrawn and animated. In either case, which path should I follow?

1) Ask Permission from Sierra to use their Mobile Game Sprites
2) Allow the fine artists and animators to re-draw the whole sprites from scratch.