HeartlessKarma 2011-12-05 23:27:45

damn dude, that hard drive/car crash is a freakin' double wammy.
if you could, send C-rap my regards.
and your background info sounds really awesome. Im Stoked!
plus your half way done with the fight?
Geezus!
my hopes, Mr. Riggs, look at what you're doing to my hopes!

Ashtaroth88 2011-12-06 18:29:39

Just felt like giving an encouraging word.

First to Ce-Rap who is obviously upset about his predicaments... life can be really upsetting sometimes. I was really looking forward for the next installment of the series, but I guess I'll have to wait a little longer. It was kinda of a relief when Ce-Rap told that no projects were lost. It's a little odd how I feel like cheering for you.
Anyway, about the top limit, don't you ever consider having your own website for the releases of the files, as you said, you're always struggling against space, even at the price of quality, which is something your series doesn't deserve. By all means.

40-50% is impressive. What is your method? Do you just love what you doing, or are you really well disciplined to work towards your own deadlines?

I frowned when I saw the duration you're aiming to the battle. I agree with you, the rumble is the beefiest by far. But I've seen fight coreography that last for that or much more longer and are not that enticing. It goes without saying variation is a key to keep a battle interesting. I hope you don't go for the japanese style of one opponent edging the other over and over again... I so hate that in their animations...

The arena idea seems brilliant, and if the video was kind of an inspiration towards its goal it sparks my curiosity even further! A battle where the characters have to manage the opponent, the environment and their own stamina and power indeed as the potential of a sprite epic animation.

I wish you both good luck.
Keep up the good work. (I'm sure keeping mine, so I can have yours as a reward, or a Christmas present, even if it is a late one :P)

Ashtaroth

HeartlessKarma 2011-12-08 15:24:08

i think "edging" might be:
someone is about to get beat, but then powers up and randomly gets stronger.
i don't know just my two cents.
I'M GETTIN' ON IT!

Ashtaroth88 2011-12-09 08:46:58

I did meant that whole last hit thing....In DBZ they do that a lot, they're shooting their fireballs, or energy balls and the other just keeps dodging and trying to hit them back. It's senseless.
(But I still think DBZ is a great series by the way). Altough "edging" could very well be interpreted like lvl 2 thing as well, as HeartlessKarma correctly referred. I don't like that very much, I don't mind on DBZ, because the series was the first to do such a thing. I do mind on newer series...it's obnoxious. I do like a good power-up. But what I really like is a "sync power-up". It's like that thing with the levels, but more like this:

-Lvl 1 villain stomps lvl 1 hero-
-surprised lvl 1 hero goes lvl 2 beating face of lvl 1 villain-
-villain fights back going lvl 2.-
-After a while they get back to the pokéballs (I hate pokémon!!!!).-
More like that.

I also like "Rage power-up". You had your take on the VGE1 with the wolf, even going red...oh!!! He.Was.Pissed!

R1665 I'm racing you! You're half done with the battle, I'm half done with the story I'm writing right now. Let's see who finishes first. Ha Ha. (That's how I set my own deadlines, which aren't carved in stone as well).

Keep up the good work!
HeartlessKarma cheers to you too!

Ashtaroth

LordKnightcon 2011-12-09 18:49:55

Just some minor cautionary advice, because you really seem like you are stressing over this.

You are trying to set a really high standard for yourself by creating these sprite battles that tell a story, in addition to look cool.
Don't ever feel like you have to pad the length of a fight to make it better. The length is irrelevant, what matters is the internalization of the characters in the fight.
Take VG Exiles 2 for example: Over the course of the fight you had to demonstrate a couple of things; first, that Remy was not only as asshole, but a heartless killer, second, that Remy was so powerful that it was too dangerous to leave him alive, and third, that Sakura was open-minded and observant, and a lot stronger than people gave her credit for. It did all these things pretty well, I think.
I actually like the scene the best where Remy charges Ryu's severed head. You had this brief pause where the action climaxed, the BGM slowed, and the energy around Remy started in low and quickly exploded. Everything fell neatly together and built up to that one moment. It made the anticipation of what was going to happen with that head all the better.
Now consider Episode 3. What was going on between Bison and Stryker? Nothing, really. Stryker secretly wanted to die, true, but we the audience don't learn this until after the fight is over. The ultimate point was that Stryker beats Bison and saves both worlds. The fight could have lasted two minutes in one location and still had the same impact on the story. Trying to drag it out just because you can is overindulgent.
Remember, action is good. But pointless action is boring, especially when you are trying to tell an effective and original story.

Same thing goes for interactive arenas. Having interactive arenas is cool, but having dozens of things constantly flying around on the screen is not because it disconnects the viewer from whats going on. The more things that are going on, the harder it is to focus on what really matters, which is the characters.
Everything in moderation, my good man. ;)

Mini-Dude 2011-12-10 18:28:06

I would've rather seen Talbain get mad and turn into his red form instead of seeing him like that right from the start. Or at least seeing him do it before the fight even started, as like a battle mode. I kind of the like the changing power levels thing, but not when it goes on forever and there's like 4 god damn forms to it.

Also, bout time you made your backgrounds more interactive. I knew it would come sooner or later, but I'm glad to hear that they will finally play a major role in the fight. When they are more interactive like this it also leads to better transitions in my opinion.

I want to see cracks in the floor and walls every time it's impacted by the fighters

R1665 2011-12-16 00:18:39

I've reestablished contact with Rap and he wanted me to extend his thanks for all the well-wishes here. He's not quite up and running yet, but he'll be back to 100% soon enough.

Let this be yet another lesson to everybody: SAVE YOUR STUFF! MAKE BACKUPS! MAKE SURE THOSE BACKUPS WORK!

I went through that HD crash several months ago and I know full well the importance of keeping your stuff properly backed up. Both Rap and I were (mostly) prepared for such events, so damage was relatively light. You don't want to be the poor bastard who doesn't have backups when the blue screen of death hits... Learn from us.

R1665

Ryukang 2011-12-20 20:08:45

taking a guess from this dante's inferno video the two fighters are probably going to be inside the body/stomach of a large creature