The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => Cancelled and old projects => LBT Projects => LBT Multiplayer RPG Project Discussion => Topic started by: action9000 on March 04, 2009, 08:39:08 PM
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Hi!
You can think of this topic as sort of a really detailed "instruction manual" or guide/summary to explain every aspect of the game's features, current design decisions and outline of its content. This topic is designed to summarize the content in all of the other topics in this forum. You will be able to come here to read the answers to questions like "What is this game, exactly?" or "how will <this> work in the game?"
Basically, it's just an easy way to show everyone what the game's design is so far, what the game will be all about, how it will play and what it is trying to be, as an LBT game experience.
I will try to keep this as detailed as possible. I apologize if it isn't always updated to the absolute latest details but there is a lot to keep track of on my end. :p
First things first: Most of the features you will read about in this first section are NOT yet completed! The game is still early in development. These are just the goals and plans of the game so far.
***This first post is an introduction to the game and what it actually is.***
What is this game?
We are making a single player/multiplayer (over LAN/internet) Land Before Time Adventure/RPG, featuring full 3D graphics. I am the lead designer and programmer for the game. For anyone who has played an MMORPG before, this will be quite similar and you should feel at home with the basic game design/controls fairly quickly (except we won't have a 24/7 server running. Players will create and join games instead). If you're not sure what an MMORPG is, don't worry. If you're worried this is yet another MMORPG, don't stop reading yet because this game is considerably different. Everything is explained in the next few sections: :)
When is the complete game coming out?
Short answer: I don't know but not for a long time (years, probably).
This is a project that everyone is doing completely for free. I am also the only programmer and I plan on being the only programmer. Development should be quite smooth from now on because we worked out all the really technical problems. Now it's just getting all the game content in place. :)
A realistic estimate: Maybe a playable Great Valley-sized game with a fair amount of content by the end of 2009, with the full world being in continuous development for the next few years, possibly quite a few years :p provided interest in the project remains.
Again, this is just a guess. I apologize if these dates cannot be met. I take no responsibility for any broken hearts as a result, blah blah blah...:p :lol
What does the player actually do in the game?
The player will be able to create a dino kid and go on adventures around the LBT world! Either on their own or with others, players will be able to explore the world, gaining respect and admiration of dinosaurs all around the world, conquering danger in whatever tactical way they can..or just wander around and have fun! There will be plenty of ways to interact with the world and your fellow players, including:
- Talking to computer-controlled, non-player characters (NPCs, for short) and getting adventures, learning new abilities, and gathering clues to help you solve your current task at hand.
- Gain experience points from exploring and completing adventures to improve your characters' stats and abilities. Abilities will range from helping you explore, to helping you access new areas, to helping you survive in emergencies.
- Interacting with other players in the world by being able to chat, group up as teams to work together, and even start random games of hide and seek, tag, etc. anywhere in the world, just for the fun of it.
First and foremost, this game is supposed to help players live their dream of spending quality time in the LBT world. :) If it seems like something a player should be able to do in an LBT world, you can probably do it (or something as close to it as I was able to program :p) in this game eventually.
How is this game like other MMO RPGs?
The game takes place in a huuuge 3D world! For now, we're focusing on recreating the Great Valley as it is seen in the LBT films, as accurately as we possibly can. This will be our game world until its design is complete. Once we have a functional game in the Great Valley, we will open up the game to expand in to the rest of the LBT world as we know it...as well as some parts that have never been explored before! Imagine finally be able to explore the trail from Littlefoot's birthplace to the Great Valley, or even to the homeland of the farwalkers! That is what we have in mind eventually for this game, to give you an idea of how large this game will hopefully grow.
You are able to create a unique dinosaur character, of one of 6 leafeating types, each with their unique abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Players will control a dinosaur kid, of approximately the Gang's age (Littlefoot and company), of one of these types:
Longneck
Threehorn
Swimmer
Flyer
Spiketail
Fast-Runner (like Ruby from the TV series)
Once you have chosen a type, you may also choose a species. The species only affects the look of your character, it has no effect on your stats or abilities.
Your character grows stronger by exploring and taking part in the world, and by completing adventures.
Your character will gain experience (points, basically). After so many points, your player will gain a "level". Each time you gain a level, your stats, such as Strength, Toughness, etc. increase. Some stats increase automatically and some are left to the player's choice.
It is unknown at this time what the level cap will be.
There are many adventures and things to do in the game that require or are designed for a group of players. Some tasks are able to be completed by yourself. Others, including accessing some locations in the world, will require assistance from other players. It is our intention to design the game to NOT penalize players for grouping together when on an adventure that can be done alone. For the best experience in the game, playing in a group all the time is recommended.
How is this game Different from other MMO RPGs?
The major difference is that there will be much less focus on combat. Yes, there will be times when defeating your opponent by force is the only option however much of the game will focus on teamwork and problem solving, rather than brute force. Outwitting a sharptooth by being able to interact with the environment to drop a rock on him while distracting him with another team member, for example, is closer to the approach this game will take, rather than head-to-head combat.
You will be subjected to the tortures of a barren wasteland, moreso than most other RPGs. Hunger, thirst and harsh conditions will wear out your character. Your character will have to eat to stay alive and in their best condition. We completely understand how much of a pain eating has been in games before so we're doing everything we can to make it as natural and painless as possible. The concept behind eating revolves around your "Stamina" meter:
When you eat enough, your stamina meter rises to 100%. It will stay there until you use an ability that will use it up, OR a timer runs out, which starts the steady dropping of your stamina meter. Don't let this alarm you too much. It will be long timer, probably in the realm of 30 minutes or so, though the number hasn't been decided yet. After this time expires, your stamina will begin to steadily drop very slowly, say, 1% every 20 seconds or so. Again, the number hasn't been decided but it will be a long time.
What is Stamina?
Stamina is your "fuel", basically. Some abilities won't directly *consume/use up* stamina when they're used; Some will; however, ALL abilities will require your stamina to be at least a certain amount before it can be used. Also, the effectiveness of the ability will depend on how much stamina you have.
When your stamina reaches 0%, your HP/Life will begin to slowly drop. When your HP (health points) reaches 0, you die.
Quests/adventures will typically be much more interesting than "go kill 10 boars." or "bring me 10 logs from the lumber mill", typical of many MMORPGs.
While some adventures in the game will have some relatively simple tasks involved, the majority of adventures will actually feel like 'adventures'. As a result, you will typically not be doing a lot of adventures at one time. Many MMORPGs have the player working on 10 or 20 quests at once. I don't suspect you'd have more than a few at a time in our game because they'll be considerably more in-depth than a typical MMO quest.
There is NO central server and NO monthly fee. When you install and run the game, you are taken to a main menu where you can either host or join a game. It's as simple as that. The game will be saved at regular intervals as well as when either the host or another player joins or leaves.
Oh..and it's Land Before Time. :p
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Cool! Where can I download the latest version?
Simply check out this topic, About the Latest Version of the Game (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=3516) and go to the last page until you find a link in a post, to download the latest version! If you don't see a link on the last page, go back a page and keep looking. I simply post updates in a new post so you just want to find the most recent post from me that has a link in it. :p
That topic talks about the overall progress being made, as well as the latest changes.
Okay, so we have this 3D LBT RPG...how does all the the stuff work?
Playing by yourself and playing online
First of all, there is no "Single Player" mode in this game.
To play by yourself, simply click "Host Game" on the main menu. This takes you to a screen where you can choose a character. Choose your character and click "Start" in the bottom-right corner and you will immediately be taken in the game!
To play multiplayer:
First of all, you need to get somebody to host a game. They will start a game, just like they would if they were playing on their own. Every other person will choose "Join Game" on the main menu. From there, you still see two boxes:
IP
Name
You will need to know the host player computer's IP address. I should point out that internet play hasn't been tested yet and I don't know how well it works. My code so far is only designed for playing over a Local Area Network (LAN) like a home network. If you're having trouble playing over the internet, download Hamachi (https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp?lang=en) on all of the computers that are trying to play. Hamachi is a free program that will let computers across the internet connect just like they were on a home network. You can then use the IP addresses that Hamachi gives you to play online together.
Type in the host's IP address and the name of your character. From there, you will be able to go to the character select screen and start playing together!
If anyone really cares, I can code in a way to make it possible/have an option to force Single-player by disabling all the code that opens up or uses the net connections.
How will players be able to chat in-game?
For now, pressing the / key will switch you to chat mode. Every character you type will appear in the chat window in the bottom-left. Press ENTER and every player in the game will see your name and your message in that chat window.
Eventually, we will have the option to only talk to certain players or groups of players, but for now, this is the extent of the chat system.
What strengths and weaknesses will each dino type have?
Each playable dino will have the following stats that affect how their character functions:
Basic stats:
Level:
A new character starts at level 1. Each time you do something significant in the game, you gain experience points. After enough points, you gain a level. Your level is a rough measure of your character's overall development, as you gain points in all of your other stats every time you gain a level.
I will point out the basics of what each stat does here. Details can be found
Here (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=4514)
Strength: For moving objects and improving attack power.
Resilience: For resistance to harsh conditions.
Agility: For climbing, stealth and efficiency.
Toughness: For improving defense, HP and stamina.
Size: Overall functionality of your dino: Small, medium or large.
Health Points (HP): When they run out, you're dead :p
Stamina: Explain in the above post.
Other Stats:
These are some other values that will vary depending on your dino. They are less obvious to the player but do have an effect on the game so I'm mentioning them here. Most of these values are determined by your abilities, calculations from your basic stats, your size and your dino type. There will be others as well.
Maximum slope: The maximum steepness a slope can be for your character to climb it.
Breath: How much energy your character gets from the air in their lungs while underwater. Basically, it affects how long you can spend underwater and how fast underwater abilities consume this breath.
Damage: This will be a very complex number to calculate in this game and we have not yet determined how we will do so. It will depend on how realistic we will want to make combat.
Thresholds: The values that your Stamina must be at for your abilities to function. Your dino type and toughness stat will determine these values. The lower your Toughness stat, the harsher these thresholds will be. You will have probably 5 or so threshold values. The actual % values will depend on your stats but these are some examples.
100% of your stamina: Abilities are functioning at full potential.
If you have less than 100% of your stamina, you will fall into the threshold of:
70% of your stamina: Abilities are functioning at, say, 85% of their potential.
If you have 70% of your stamina or less, you will fall into the threshold of:
50% of your stamina: Abilities are functioning at, say, 60% of their potential.
If you have 50% of your stamina or less, you will fall into the threshold of:
25% of your stamina: Abilities are functioning at, say, 35% of their potential.
If you have 25% of your stamina or less, you will fall into the threshold of:
0% of your stamina: Abilities are functioning at, say, 10% of their potential.
If you have absolutely Zero stamina, your abilities typically won't be available at all, with possibly the exception of a few, which will function poorly.
These numbers and concepts are *not* absolute but you can see the idea we're going for.
Each dinosaur type will also have a number of abilities unique to them, such as a Threehorn Charge, or flying for flyers ( :p )for example.
How will inventory work?
To explain it simply:
Items are divided into "weight classes", from very light to very heavy.
Small dinos can carry small objects in their hands, as well as in their mouth.
Large dinos can carry small objects in their mouth and *some* small and large objects on their back.
A team of one large dino and at least one small dino can work together to carry a relatively large amount of relatively heavy stuff on the large one's back, with the small one riding the large one, balancing the load.
My post about halfway down this topic (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=3891) explains it in detail.
Will there be a reputation rating with NPC dinosaurs?
Yep!
Each group of dinosaurs will be considered as part of a "herd". Your character has a reputation value for each herd in the game. As you complete adventures, these reputations will change accordingly. Reputation will let you earn safe places to rest and stay with friendly herds, as well as open up new adventures for you to take on!
Our discussions about reputation can be found Here (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=4170)
Cool so...what can you do so far in the game?
As of now, you are able to:- Host or join a game. Multiplayer is functional, but still very basic.
- Choose a dino type, which all have unique stats. 3D models and animations are still being developed so we have a cube as a placeholder for now.
- Explore the tiny portion of the Great Valley map that we have completed.
- Swim, both on the surface and underwater.
- Talk to one of 6 NPCs.
- Complete a simple task, determined by the dino type that you are.
- Press the C key to open your character stats
- Press M to view the map, showing your location, direction and NPC locations.
- Press ESC to view the in-game menu, which changes in style depending on whether you're above or below water.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them and I'll be happy to answer!
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Sounds like a good plan so far.
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Awesome! As always, I appreciate your spectacular organization and dedication. Keep up the great work :smile
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Nice info.
I'll consider giving this game a try, once it's all done. (assuming I'll have time for it, of course)
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Good plan. I do hope it will become true. :)
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Jimmy Page approves of this MMORPG
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I admire your typing fingers.
Good summary though :)
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Thanks, everyone!
..okay, it's time for Tim to sleep. :p Catch ya all later.
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Hmm, it synthesizes everything very well. It actually solved a few doubts I had. Really good!
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Thanks, Explorer! :D
I just updated the second post, which explains some more details of the game.
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I'll just nod and smile and pretend to understand. :yes
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How about asking about what you don't understand instead? ;)
Maybe we can answer your question and if we don't... well then ew got a real problem :lol
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I don't understand much of what is there. Not being a programmer, but that is ok. At least the key folks understand and that is the key.
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I don't understand much of what is there. Not being a programmer, but that is ok. At least the key folks understand and that is the key.
It's actually not really about programming :) He just tells us what we can do in the game like play online and stuff like that. :yes
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It may be English to you, but to me it's less understandable then hieroglyphics or any other form of writing I don't understand.
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It may be English to you, but to me it's less understandable then hieroglyphics or any other form of writing I don't understand.
oh, well okay.
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I'll just smile, nod and pretend I understand it and just say, great job.
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I've absolutely no clue about programming and whenever Tim tells me about details in this field he could just as well talk Chinese to me :p
But there really is not a line about programming in the above text. Just a description of some of the basic ideas of what the game is to be like / about.
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The stamina thing is a good way to solve the "what happens when you die?" problem. Answer: You don't.
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Or you do and have to start over again with a new character.
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Or maybe you could lose consciousness and wake up in a place of safety, rescued by an ally?
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Maybe the 7th movie rainbow faces can save you at the last second and beam you home in a beam of light they went away in as seen at the end of the 7th movie.
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except there still should be some sort of penalty for dying. Otherwise people would just use death for quick transportation.
don't do the stat loss system, I've always hated that, its annoying and frustrating.
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Ducky's mother slaps you and publicly humiliates you. That could be enough. For Flyers it may be Petrie's mother who does that. Longnecks get grandma longneck who does that.
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Perhaps you could lose some reputation with the herds that you are currently on an adventure for. I wonder where the player would come back to life so it's not abused as a travelling system, like you said...
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I dont think there's any way to get around instant transport for death, but what you could do is put them somewhere totally inconvenient that they would have to get out of
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No Star Trek beaming in the game. Also it might be kind of odd of Ducky's mother (perhaps gentlest of all parents to rebuke a kid for dying). I think a while ago Tim and I agreed in a chat that a high loss of experience points (which are needed to improve your abilities etc.) would be a proper punishment. We did not go too much into detail about it then though.
Reputation loss could be another option, but I guess in that case we would have to implement ways to restore it or else we might block characters forever from certain tasks just because they died once... though I see why the reputation might suffer from the fact that a character is a zombie (Ducky's mother: "Uhm sorry, but we found somebody else to be the nanny for our hatchlings.") :p
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The multiplayer actually works? Wow, I wan't to try it out, anybody with me?
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I'm with ya! If I remember correctly, though, I think Action disabled the feature in the current release of the game. Is that right?
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I'm with ya! If I remember correctly, though, I think Action disabled the feature in the current release of the game. Is that right?
Actually it's fully functional in the latest release! :D
Well..it's very basic but it does work. :p
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Oh, yay! Definitely going to have to try that out :D
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Ok, lets do it, have to kinda figure it out though. I'm using that hamachi thing Action suggested. The network I created is
*REMOVED FOR SECURITY REASONS*
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Okay, how do I join exactly?
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I'll jump on that network too but raga, I *MUST* tell you something:
Anyone connected to that hamachi account has the same access to your computer that any computer on your home network would have. Meaning, anyone who reads that username and password who wants to cause trouble..could do it extremely easily!
Remove that username and password from the public forum and send it via PM to everyone. Otherwise anyone could join and take over your network.
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Edit: thanks for that, I PM anyone who is interested, just tell me
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wait whats this multiplayer talk thats been going on about?
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Okay, well, DarkWolf, raga and I just tested multiplayer and...for as well as it works on a home network/LAN, it still is NOT playable over the internet with more than 2 players, it looks like. :( Even 2 players will get a bit buggy.
I'll have to rework how we handle the network stuff and we can try again in the near future. :)
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Oh man, what an annoying barrier
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Okay, I made some changes to the networking code. :)
The following changes will appear in version 0.19:
Instead of everyone sending and receiving data about your location thousands of times per second, it now only sends data 12 times per second (once every 5 game frames). I have been watching the network activity on my home network and it's so low, it's showing no network usage at all.
There is a downside to this though:
Because we're not updating locations as often, movement for other players will appear jerkier.
The fix to this will be to write some "prediction" code. I could in theory estimate where the other players will be and just draw them in the new location, keeping the game looking smoother for the most part. This will take a long time to get working properly though and it's low priority since it's entirely for looks only.
Here's my plan:
That value of "5" (sending data every 5 frames) is very easily-changable.
In a version in the near future, I will let the host choose, in the options menu, the number of frames between network updates. This will players to reduce the value to zero or 1 for LAN games and to higher values for more stable performance over long distances. This will actually be simple to impliment, I could have it in for the next version. :)
Eventually we could even maybe use latency times to estimate an appropriate value so all this will be hands-off and reliable, no matter what, but I'll get back to you on that. :p
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thats some pretty smart modifications action, keep it up.
i wish I knew something about this stuff so I could help
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can u plzzz add chomper into the game plzzzz hate to sound like a n00b but having chomper in the game would be sweet as!!! :lol:
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I guess there is a chance of an NPC in Chompers shape appearing in the game, but we do not so far plan for a playable sharptooth character. The reason is that we want to maintain the LBT atmosphere in the game and Chomper's being in the Great Valley is quite an extraordinary thing. If any playable sharptooth character was included we would, due to the boundless preference of carnivores over herbivores in the minds of the people, end up with a Valley primarily populated by sharpteeth. Also this game is meant to avoid violence to a much larger degree than most RPGs existing so far (in which violence is often the main factor of the entire game). A sharptooth character however would by logic reasoning require to have an ability focus on matters violent which we don't plan to emphasize in the game. Therefore as an NPC Chomper might appear, but we do not plan to make playing a sharptooth an option.
PS: Many of us are not too fond of the internet slang that avoids the spelling out of words (mentioned recently in this thread (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=5084.20)) it would be greatly appreciated if you could avoid that slang and spell out the words instead :yes
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If an npc Chomper is in the valley maybe he can teach spiketails an upgraded sniff ability, like he does Spike in one of the tv episodes. Or something like that.
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If an npc Chomper is in the valley maybe he can teach spiketails an upgraded sniff ability, like he does Spike in one of the tv episodes. Or something like that.
That's a nice idea for a reward :)