The GiantitpAnime Fans' Visual Novel (now planning settings and routes)

[13_CBS]

I got it. I'm afraid that I'll have to give you a proper reply a little later, though...sorry.

[Prime32]

Okay, after going through much pain I managed to stuff a v0.3.2 demo into an exe file (seriously, the deployment was almost as much work as writing the thing). Unfortunately py2exe is incompatible with pygame's streaming music functionality for some reason, so I had to treat all BGMs as sound effects and preload them at the start of the scene (causing a delay of about a second or two before it starts). Oh, and SFX formats are limited to wave (.wav) and Ogg Vorbis (.ogg), the former of which is impractically large for music.

On the plus side, the bug which slowed down the text display is no more.


...however, I have no way to host it. I was uploading as I typed, but MediaFire won't accept something 8MB in size.

[13_CBS]

Hrm...I have a gmail account that might be able to accept emails bigger than 8 mb. Could that work?

[Prime32]

Never mind, I got it to work. And hid the loading delay with multithreading (ie. it does the loading at the same time as the other stuff).
Download this and unzip the contents into a folder, then run DreamEngine.exe.

Let me know if it doesn't work for you.

[Fri]

okay. That's.... something

[13_CBS]

First of all:

HA! Well played, sir, well played.

Second of all:

Is the program supposed to end with the image of Siela looking embarassed and one line of text? If so, it looks like everything is working pretty much perfectly. Great work!


Edit: Are there any major issues to fix with the program? If not, would it be possible to construct a prototype of a menu?

FYI, our menu will probably need the following:

Start new game
Load game
Options (adjust text speed, other options)
Extra content
Exit

[Tengu_temp]

Is there a way to make the text go faster? It's way too slow at the moment for me.

[Prime32]

Is there a way to make the text go faster? It's way too slow at the moment for me.

Hold Space. Does it seem faster at the beginning than later on? How old is your computer?

[Kasanip]

That's really interesting and well done!

I'll get back to drawing soon then!

What resolution should I post character pictures in then? It looks like the screen size is set for 640x480...

[Prime32]

Could someone do a mockup of a menu in Photoshop or something?

What resolution should I post character pictures in then? It looks like the screen size is set for 640x480...

I was just going with the size of the Siela pic, so whatever resolution you're using right now. Unless you guys want to bring it up to 800x600 - I had to scale down that other sprite a little to fit, so this is pretty low.

The way it's currently set up, sprites are 640x480 (I could code it to adjust for smaller sizes and save disc space, but meh) and the top-left pixel is used as the transparent colour (sorry, no partial transparency if you want to keep them fading in and out).

You can run the game with the -fullscreen command line argument, but the result looks stretched on my monitor.


EDIT:
On an unrelated note, is there anything we can do about the hordes of nameless characters currently required to pilot each PLANT? It seems odd that none of the main characters are Secondary Pilots.

[Kasanip]

Could someone do a mockup of a menu in Photoshop or something?

I was just going with the size of the Siela pic, so whatever resolution you're using right now. Unless you guys want to bring it up to 800x600 - I had to scale down that other sprite a little to fit, so this is pretty low.

The way it's currently set up, sprites are 640x480 (I could code it to adjust for smaller sizes and save disc space, but meh) and the top-left pixel is used as the transparent colour (sorry, no partial transparency if you want to keep them fading in and out).

You can run the game with the -fullscreen command line argument, but the result looks stretched on my monitor.


EDIT:
On an unrelated note, is there anything we can do about the hordes of nameless characters currently required to pilot each PLANT? It seems odd that none of the main characters are Secondary Pilots.

If it codes the top left pixel as the transparent color, should we be posting the images as png types with no background layer, or with a green screen?

It's still quite early to worry about of course...but I'm curious.

[13_CBS]

Could someone do a mockup of a menu in Photoshop or something?

No, but I can do a mockup menu in Paint.




We might need the consultation of someone skilled at design to properly do this, but I figure using this one will work just fine.

As for the "something cool" image...perhaps a picture of Furi and the 3 girls standing together? The story that I have in mind is heavily focused on the characters (though that can be changed if you guys wish it), so it might make more sense to have the first image that the reader will see to be the characters.

I was just going with the size of the Siela pic, so whatever resolution you're using right now. Unless you guys want to bring it up to 800x600 - I had to scale down that other sprite a little to fit, so this is pretty low.

What would be necessary to have the pictures be seen in good quality in both fullscreen mode and windowed mode?

EDIT:
On an unrelated note, is there anything we can do about the hordes of nameless characters currently required to pilot each PLANT? It seems odd that none of the main characters are Secondary Pilots.

Is it that odd? I'm having trouble relegating any of the main characters to Secondary Pilot status since they're all so thoroughly ingrained in my head as being Primaries.

[Prime32]

As for the "something cool" image...perhaps a picture of Furi and the 3 girls standing together? The story that I have in mind is heavily focused on the characters (though that can be changed if you guys wish it), so it might make more sense to have the first image that the reader will see to be the characters.

"Standing together" might be a bit simple - I'd imagine characters looking in different directions with a variety of expressions, the edes of picture blurring into each other. Something like a Star Wars poster, but more chaotic.

What would be necessary to have the pictures be seen in good quality in both fullscreen mode and windowed mode?

Eh, it's just a difference in screen proportions. I'll experiment with some different settings.

Is it that odd? I'm having trouble relegating any of the main characters to Secondary Pilot status since they're all so thoroughly ingrained in my head as being Primaries.

It seems more like a waste, really, that the Primary Pilots have an intimate link to people who have no effect on the plot rather than to love interests, etc. (eg. one of the girls could have a freakout while linked to Furi and he catches a brief glimpse of one of her memories)

[Kasanip]

As for the "something cool" image...perhaps a picture of Furi and the 3 girls standing together? The story that I have in mind is heavily focused on the characters (though that can be changed if you guys wish it), so it might make more sense to have the first image that the reader will see to be the characters.

Something like this?

Spoiler

Show

"Standing together" might be a bit simple - I'd imagine characters looking in different directions with a variety of expressions, the edes of picture blurring into each other. Something like a Star Wars poster, but more chaotic.

Oops. Maybe I should have read your post first

[13_CBS]

Oops...I should have specified first .

Prime pretty much read my mind: I think it'd be neater if, as he said, the Great Big Picture was an image of each of the 4 main characters standing around, looking elsewhere with various expressions on their face.


But fear not, Kasanip! I'm certain we can use the picture you just drew for something cool.

[Prime32]

But fear not, Kasanip! I'm certain we can use the picture you just drew for something cool.

Ending maybe? Promotional stuff?

Furi looks like a Negima character in that pic. I'm not sure which one though.


EDIT: Moving from one scene to another will probably be the next thing I implement, followed by the ability to make choices. After that, menus can be treated as "special" scenes. I've been trying to make this engine as customisable as possible, so that other people can use it for their games. I could use a layout for the title card of each scene though.

As a side-note, do we have a name for our "group"? Or are we just going to go by <Name of VN> Production Team?

And now that we're on names, can I get a reminder on what a "kasanip" is?

[Kasanip]

Ending maybe? Promotional stuff?

And now that we're on names, can I get a reminder on what a "kasanip" is?

Maybe for an ending or promotional ^^; I guess it's also a time to ask about the suit designs and character appearances...

As for my name, It comes from Ainu religion: a protective spirit that accompanies people, a kind of guardian fairy, or 'angel' if one wanted to think of it that way. Every person has one.

[Prime32]

Maybe for an ending or promotional ^^; I guess it's also a time to ask about the suit designs and character appearances...

As for my name, It comes from Ainu religion: a protective spirit that accompanies people, a kind of guardian fairy, or 'angel' if one wanted to think of it that way. Every person has one.

In that case, what about the name Mai Morubo? Unless that means something obscene.

Where I got it

Spoiler

Show

ma ai moru bo
mamoru aibo

Just my first thought. I get the feeling that "JAPANESE DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!"

[13_CBS]

Ending maybe? Promotional stuff?

Probably. Or, maybe we could color that, put it in a frame, and have it be a picture memento that Furi keeps in his room?

Furi looks like a Negima character in that pic. I'm not sure which one though.

Now that you mention it...Negi + Kotaro?

EDIT: Moving from one scene to another will probably be the next thing I implement, followed by the ability to make choices. After that, menus can be treated as "special" scenes. I've been trying to make this engine as customisable as possible, so that other people can use it for their games. I could use a layout for the title card of each scene though.

Great!

One more nagging little thing...would it be possible for the engine to unlock content in the Extras menu as the reader goes through the story? For example, in order to unlock Part 1 of "How Giant Robots Came To Be", the reader must get to a certain point along the story (maybe when one of the characters briefly mentions something about the robots in Furi's presence or something). It's how F/SN did it, if you recall--as you read through the story, bits and pieces of the Servants' stats and weapons were unlocked for later viewing.

This will be a handy way to let curious readers read about any technobabble stuff a la Mass Effect's in-game encyclopedia, while keeping the story itself free from too much exposition.

As a side-note, do we have a name for our "group"? Or are we just going to go by <Name of VN> Production Team?

I...have no clue. It'll be cool if our group name was a reference to the place where we all met, Giant in the Playground, the way Katawa Shoujo's production team's name is a reference to 4chan.

I guess it's also a time to ask about the suit designs and character appearances...

Hmm...I've been working entirely on the robots lately, but now that I think about it the characters are a more pressing issue. I made enough of a backstory to start fleshing out the characters anyway...

Folks, if you haven't submitted a blurb on the general appearance and personality of your character, please do so immediately. If you do not, we're going to assign them appearances ourselves and take liberties with them as necessary.

@ Kasanip: I'm going to start coming up with backstories and flesh out the characters, but first I'll go through the characters that don't have any information on how they look like and make some stuff up. Since you have a lot more training in visual aesthetics than I do, how about this: I'll come up with some general guidelines (he's tall, or has black hair, or has a sharp face, etc), and you just take it from there and do as you see fit. How about it?



Edit: List of characters without any information on appearances:

Toksus Uwoh
Rudy Bamdan (the character's forum member is...unavailable so we'll have to take liberties)
Mei Lia Drascin
Kyube Tempo (he's Siela's brother, so there should be a similarity between the two)
Lurika Plei ("likes to wear fancy dresses"--since she's a priestess, maybe dresses that look like priest robes?)
Dominic L. Rapture
Han Bodega

[Prime32]

Lurika Plei ("likes to wear fancy dresses"--since she's a priestess, maybe dresses that look like priest robes?)

She's an evil priestess, so they have to be black and show a lot of skin.

[Kasanip]

In that case, what about the name Mai Morubo? Unless that means something obscene.

Where I got it

ma ai moru bo
mamoru aibo

Well, I can understand the intentions Thank you!

愛依 漏防
Mai Morubou
I have a name at last!

Hmm...I've been working entirely on the robots lately, but now that I think about it the characters are a more pressing issue. I made enough of a backstory to start fleshing out the characters anyway...

Folks, if you haven't submitted a blurb on the general appearance and personality of your character, please do so immediately. If you do not, we're going to assign them appearances ourselves and take liberties with them as necessary.

@ Kasanip: I'm going to start coming up with backstories and flesh out the characters, but first I'll go through the characters that don't have any information on how they look like and make some stuff up. Since you have a lot more training in visual aesthetics than I do, how about this: I'll come up with some general guidelines (he's tall, or has black hair, or has a sharp face, etc), and you just take it from there and do as you see fit. How about it?

That can work. Picture references are the easiest for me to use, but character descriptions would work too. The more vague it is though, the more frustrating it will be to redraw.

[Lord of Rapture]

Personally, I was thinking Dominic could look like a cross between Zolf J. Kimblee and the G-Man. It's not exactly hard to pull off, considering their personalities.

[Prime32]

Maybe you could draw attention to the need for character descriptions in the Anime thread?

Maybe for an ending or promotional ^^; I guess it's also a time to ask about the suit designs and character appearances...

Well, the good guys are suspended in goo, while the bad guys have "interface mantles" which either descend on their shoulders or are part of their suits. Eh. I posted a concept for Neridia's admiral uniform on the forum.

I would also like to repeat the "character design contest" idea - I'd like to see what some of the people in Arts & Crafts could come up with. For some reason I want to see Kara Kuro draw Roag. If you win you get a cameo.

[13_CBS]

愛依 漏防
Mai Morubou
I have a name at last!

This will be your character's name, right? In that case, it looks like we'll need a new page for her (him? Mai's a girl's name, right?) pretty soon.

Any requests as to what your character will be doing? Personality traits? Quirks?

That can work. Picture references are the easiest for me to use, but character descriptions would work too. The more vague it is though, the more frustrating it will be to redraw.

I can try to draw something for picture references, but I really have no visual artistic training. At all. None. Zip. 0. So I'll try give you a picture reference, but the results may cause you claw out your own eyes in despair and horror. I'll give as detailed descriptions as I can as a supplement.

Personally, I was thinking Dominic could look like a cross between Zolf J. Kimblee and the G-Man. It's not exactly hard to pull off, considering their personalities.

Sure. Would you mind if he looks like he's a bit older, though? Maybe around his 40's or 50's? At the moment, I'm thinking about having him be the guy who discovered the various properties of Plasm, so he'll need to at least pretend that he had enough time to have a few degrees in neurology under his belt.

Maybe you could draw attention to the need for character descriptions in the Anime thread?

Good idea. I'll make a post about it in a sec.

I would also like to repeat the "character design contest" idea - I'd like to see what some of the people in Arts & Crafts could come up with. For some reason I want to see Kara Kuro draw Roag.

That...would be pretty interesting! We might need to hold off on that idea until after we come up with physical descriptions for all the characters. Would you like to do the honors of making the thread in the Arts & Crafts section?

[Prime32]

Rudy Bamdan (the character's forum member is...unavailable so we'll have to take liberties)

Do you still have ways of getting in contact? There should be nothing to stop her posting on the wiki's forums.

[13_CBS]

Do you still have ways of getting in contact? There should be nothing to stop her posting on the wiki's forums.

I don't think so. I'll try looking her up and see if she has an email address, though.

[Prime32]

That...would be pretty interesting! We might need to hold off on that idea until after we come up with physical descriptions for all the characters. Would you like to do the honors of making the thread in the Arts & Crafts section?

I was thinking of individual threads. *shrugs*

If there's any characters who have a description but not art, we could start now. Can Serpentine provide her endorsement?

[kamikasei]

I don't think so. I'll try looking her up and see if she has an email address, though.

I'll direct her towards the wiki.

[Nerd-o-rama]

愛依 漏防
Mai Morubou
I have a name at last!

Just curious as a man who quit Japanese studies because he couldn't learn the kanji, does that spelling of the name have any special meaning? Obviously you can't just go straight from Prime's intended meaning to a name like that...

[13_CBS]

愛 = love/affection

依 = reliance/depend on

漏 = escape/leak

防 = protect/defend


Or, so my dictionary says.