Update #62: Production 01 - State of the Project

[Semper]

I would suggest you have a place for combat logs (if its useful for the game, like attack/ dice rolls, spellcasting). Maybe a tab or button. Since this game does have day/night interactions (like vampires shows up at night in BG2), It might be a good idea to have a clock somewhere.

 

the picture you see in the update ain't the whole ui but just the dialogue window. the things you suggested wouldn't really fit there.

[Jajo]

 

 

Excellent update! I really hope I'm going to have at least comparably as much fun with the stronghold as Tim is having.

 

Couple of comments:

1) What is a "rogue-like" fog of war? What is "rogue-like" anyway, for that matter and why is suddenly everybody using this term? have I been inadvertently living under a rock?

I am not a roguelike player but I have recently been informed that FoW clearing in roguelikes takes into account facing as well as the casting of light, rather than a simple radius around party members blocked by walls.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4ngG8Eqvz80

 

 

Hopefully, it will work very much like COH2's fog of war, and if it does, I'll be very happy indeed.

 

 

I agree! That really would be something to strive for. Gives a nice additional tactical angle to something like obscuring mist...

[rjshae]

i like the new chat ui, but just as a request for the developers, can you allow the game to be modded so we can swap out portraits with animated Gifs for portraits? I want my portrait character to blink and I know how to animate it, but I don't know how to mod it in.

 

Or apngasm, when it comes out.

[sunfog]

Creatures

The Concept Artists, Animators, and Character Artists have been burning through our creatures. We are taking a different approach in Project Eternity than we have on other projects. Instead of taking a creature from concept to a final, polished product, we have been taking creatures to a blockout stage before moving to the next.

 

This allows us to get creatures into the game much more quickly. It also lets us be more flexible with how we spend our polish time. Overall, we think it will lead to a better experience.

 

Even with this short amount of time, we have been able to get about eight different creatures into the game. 

 

Since it would be pretty mean of me to talk about the creatures without showing one, here is a small taste of one of my "favorites" - the wicht.

 

 

I think Josh's description says it best: "Wichts are the bodies of children that were born without souls, grew to adolescence, and were then possessed by a malevolent lost soul or soul fragment that has been artificially inserted through animancy. This process arrests their physical development and transforms their outward appearance, leaving no doubt as to what they are."

 

 

 

Hi every one! I don't quite understand this wicht....ugh.... thing.

 

Have anyone thought how this thing actually runs with these enormous toes and claws-like nails on its legs? 

I mean, it doesn't look like velociraptor, it doesn't have these special muscles to move them upward while running...

If you have doubts I suggest to try running in flippers to understand this idea. :-D

[Sacred_Path]

The stronghold stuff sounds especially delicious. Needs moar Tim updates!

[Ineth]

From a pure legibility perspective I would be in favor of a sans serif font

 

Has it ever been proven that sans serif is more legible than serif?

I thought all major studies that tried to find out, came back inconclusive.

[jamoecw]

the dialog seems to be presented as separate dialog responses, adjusting this to be one fluid piece of dialog would help.

 

ex:

osmaer - description

              "dialog.  second sentence. So, how can i help you?"

 

the 'so' helps make the question feel like he said something earlier that was relevant to the question.  slapping the sentences together makes it feel like a single response to something instead of several.  the italics help separate descriptive text from dialog, which helps break up the text visually, making it easier to read (i tend to write in big blocks of text, but i do know of this kind of stuff).

[mstark]

I should add that I really like the choice of font! What is the name of it?

 

 

From a pure legibility perspective I would be in favor of a sans serif font

 

Has it ever been proven that sans serif is more legible than serif?

I thought all major studies that tried to find out, came back inconclusive.

 

There are lots of differing results in research on the subject, but generally they all agree on the following points:

-Sans serif fonts that have been especially designed for digital mediums (think Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma) will always read better on low (~100) DPI monitors at smaller font sizes. Print is usually 300DPI+, while 95% of computer screens today hover around a very low 100DPI. This is mainly because sans serif fonts are much easier to anti-alias (read "fake"), giving them a smoother on screen appearance, where the rich details of a serif would get lost. At large enough font sizes they both read at equal speed.

 

-On new "retina"/high-DPI screens, where the DPI breaches 200, legibility of sans serif & serif fonts is considered equal even at small sizes. The same results have been observed tests with printed material.

 

-You read best what you're used to reading. If you read a lot of books (almost always set in serif), your brain will be more used to following the flow from letter to letter created by the serifs. If you read a lot of academic texts, often set in sans serif, your brain will be more used to following the shape of words without serifs.

Edited August 21, 2013 by mstark

[Sabotin]

Is that screenshot how the player actually goes through the conversation or is that what the player sees when he scrolls up the dialogue? In the IE Games that dialogue would be shown one line at a time with the continue button to go to the next one, before getting to the question/replies part. If you scrolled the chat up however it would show like that.

 

Here's an example form IWD:

 

1:- Getting through the dialogue

 

 

 

 

 

2:- What you see when you scroll up and back down.

 

 

 

 

I'm just assuming that it will work the same way and that's why you have the name of the person talking written for each line?

 

 

 

 

I like the art: I think the textures give the window a less plain look. The color scheme doesn't require my eyes to shift into gear either. I would actually prefer a bulkier window like this, partly cause of nostalgia and party to give dialogue some weight, by keeping it in the center and exposed.

 

Another question popped into my head though. That portrait is of the party member that is talking or of the person you are talking to? I guess it's the former, but do you plan on giving important NPCs some portraits also, like in ToB?

[jethro]

Another question popped into my head though. That portrait is of the party member that is talking or of the person you are talking to? I guess it's the former, but do you plan on giving important NPCs some portraits also, like in ToB?

I think it's the latter, because it is always the PC speaking for the group (you don't control what the companions say). So the portrait would usually be the one you are talking to. Or a companion in case one of your companions intervenes into the conversation, i.e. makes a digruntled comment on your performance as leader ;-).

Edited August 21, 2013 by jethro

[Karranthain]

Nice update. Love the dialogue UI! 

 

Though I can't say that I like the "Defiance Bay" name. 

[Michael_Galt]

 

For what it's worth, red-on-black is a very bad idea. I realize the text may not be just-plain-red, and the background isn't exactly black, but... well, let's just say it's awfully close to a bad idea.

 

Of course, I can't, for the life of me, remember what color the background is for the dialogue options in BG. I played it not a week ago...

Google is your friend if you can't remember.

 

BG2 did have red on black and IMO it looked very good.

 

 

Also also Red.

 

 

No big deal though I guess. It's not that it looks bad or anything.

 

 

Must say, I very much prefer all of those text UIs to the one presented.  The one in the update just has too much going on.  I really just want the text, not a huge slab of wood every time, that has some sort of preset pattern to it.  I mean, I don't feel it is very important, but I think that minimal is better.  Or, maybe you could use leather?  Leather would be more the way to go.  People aren't going to carry around books/journals with wood or stone bindings (maybe wood, but not likely)- they will have leather bound books and journals.  And given people used to write on leather, it actually makes sense.  Or leather and paper.  Really am not digging the wood thing.

 

Examples below...

 

Edited August 21, 2013 by Michael_Galt

[Sensuki]

Is that screenshot how the player actually goes through the conversation or is that what the player sees when he scrolls up the dialogue? In the IE Games that dialogue would be shown one line at a time with the continue button to go to the next one, before getting to the question/replies part. If you scrolled the chat up however it would show like that.

 

(snip)

 

I hope they have the old style with the continue button & end dialogue button too.

 

 

 

Must say, I very much prefer all of those text UIs to the one presented.  The one in the update just has too much going on.  I really just want the text, not a huge slab of wood every time, that has some sort of preset pattern to it.  I mean, I don't feel it is very important, but I think that minimal is better.

 

While I don't agree with everything you said, I do think that the BG2 dialogue window is the best because there is a high contrast between the black patterned background and the text.

 

If they have set their minds on the wooden box that they have now then so be it I guess, but a darker color would be better to highlight the text more.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Sensuki

[Stun]

Giddy I am. This is one of the coolest updates ever.

 

Nice to see them jumping right into developing the first City and the Stronghold. Can't wait to hear similar info on the mega dungeon!

Edited August 21, 2013 by Stun

[Gyges]

Love how gruesome the Wicht's lore is, it's good you dont pull any punches. On that note, i hope this game will explore more "mature" themes so to speak, avoiding the typical disney cliches of good and evil. I say this because i rarely see children being effectively used in monster design. I think it was Silent Hill 2 that had to remove a childlike monster from its roster because it was offensive or something of the like.

But i digress, I loved the pioneer feeling the description of Defiance Bay gives off. The text ui frame is a bit too big though, commanding more attention than it should. Also, there being a worldmap and transitions, will there be more a series of hub zones or an actual open world?

Edited August 21, 2013 by Gyges

[Malekith]

 

 

 

Love it!!!!!!! As for the suggestion that narrative bits being different than the responses, i disagree. They are just fine. I wouldn't mind italics, but absolutely no color difference.

The only thing i can find that i would change is "-" before every response. I would sujest something like this:

                                                  

Edited August 21, 2013 by Malekith

[rjshae]

I don't think it's possible to design an interface that will please everybody, but I'm very happy with the current look and I hope they don't change this style too much. The aged wood panel frame with the reinforcing rivets lends the conversation weight without being too distracting. The wide margins along the left and right make the text feel less crowded, like the margins in a book.

Edited August 21, 2013 by rjshae

[Stellar Duck]

This is looking really great. 

 

I love the conversation UI! 

[Pipyui]

The monsters sound fun and the chat UI looks great.  My only nitpick with the later is that we see the "Osmaer -" preceding narative that self-describes the innkeeper.  I'm just being picky though.  For that matter, it would also be great if I could make dialog choices with the numpad.

 

If there are going to be wicht creatures around, does that mean I can meet children without souls too?  Just kinda curious as to how that would be portrayed in the setting, and what kind of stigmas might be attached to them.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Pipyui

[C2B]

I'm not really sure why people don't seem to like the name *Defiance Bay*.

 

Too english?

Edited August 21, 2013 by C2B

[tox1c5lug]

I used to fall into the minimalist camp when it came to the UI, but looking at how pretty the conversation UI looks, I might just change my mind.

 

The wichts sound absolutely depressing; I like it

Hope you guys will stick to non-traditional creatures rather than the boring orcs and goblins of every other fantasy RPG.

Edited August 21, 2013 by tox1c5lug

[Ieo]

 

How exactly are the children able to reach adolescence without having souls? How does exactly not having a soul affect an individual? Wouldn't that make someone unable to live or at least fit into a society (is it easy/hard/impossible to tell if someone is soulless)? Or is having a soul optional and if you happen to be lucky and not get possessed by anything, you can happily live your life without one?

Something Awful is a step ahead here.

 

Most children who reach adolescence without souls do so because they are cared for by extremely patient parents who a) hope that someday it can be fixed or b) just can't bear to let one of their children die. Not all parents choose to do so.

Perhaps you can sell them for good coin too *shrug*.

 

 

 

This reminds me of hydranencephaly cases.

 

I believe there's a recent one where a girl born without a brain is, what, 6-7 years old now? But it's hopeless for anything remotely close to a "human" existence. Quite sad. But as parents, if your choice is between endure the hopeless or kill your own child, well...

[LadyCrimson]

Re: text colors

 

One thing to consider is if one is color blind, the text should still be at least readable. Not being color blind myself, I don't know what dark green on dark brown background would look like, if it would have enough contrast or not.

 

At any rate, this isn't to say one shouldn't have colors in text ... just that the contrast between text and background would hopefully be enough that it's still readable even if one can't see the intended color. Just a thought.

[mstark]

I'm not really sure why people don't seem to like the name *Defiance Bay*.

 

Too english?

I don't mind it too much, but it makes me wonder what kind of people the first settlers were...

 

Defiant Settler 1: We be defyin' this wood place real good!

Defiant Settler 2: Yep, two defiant bastards, you n' I!

Defiant Settler 1: So, what d'ya think we should call that bay we campin' in, eh?

...

[C2B]

 

I'm not really sure why people don't seem to like the name *Defiance Bay*.

 

Too english?

I don't mind it too much, but it makes me wonder what kind of people the first settlers were...

 

Defiant Settler 1: We be defyin' this wood place real good!

Defiant Settler 2: Yep, two defiant bastards, you n' I!

Defiant Settler 1: So, what d'ya think we should call that bay we campin' in, eh?

...

 

Nope

 

Because that's where the revolution happened. It was originally named New Dunryd.

That's why it's Defiance Bay.

 

And those conversations actually happened. In the real world. There's literary a town called defiance. A lot of cities/towns weren't actually named with the intention to sound as creative as possible.

Edited August 21, 2013 by C2B