Savage Empire Remake Thread

[Scythifuge]

Greetings all!

I'm going to try to stick with this thread for updates on the progress of the "Savage Empire Total Conversion" for Ultima VII/Exult.

During the past few days, I have been tinkering with Gimp and shape files. I'm not ready to show anything yet, but I will soon. I will list the objects currently completed/almost (needs tweaked) completed:

1.)Stone Oven - as seen in the Kurak village. It is based off of the original, but modified. The colors are different, and there is more detail. I am considering making separate frames to animate the fire when the player/npc uses it. I am very pleased with how this shape turned out.

2.)Bow - based off of the original, but applied to the Ultima VII bow frames. Again, I am quite pleased, but one frame needs tweaked.

3.)Bamboo Endtable - uses U7 wooden endtable as a base. IMO, it looks better than the original, but maybe to bright a green...

4.)Bedroll - both inventory and in use positions are done. They are based off of the ones used by the pc/npc's while resting in the original.

5.)Jaguar Skin Rug - based off of the S.I. leopard rug, modifed to look like the original. I am thinking of making a bedroll with that and the folded skin, just for different options for the player. There will be frames for each cardinal direction. Many items will get this treatment.

6.)Jaguar cloak - just a recolored leopard cloak. I create or recolor extra items here and there, which weren't in the original, but might be added for more depth.

7.) 2 Large and 2 Small Mats - I tried to give them a basket-weave look. One large and small mat retain colors similar to the original, while the other two are much more dark and green in color.

8.)One Large and One Small Stalk of Bamboo - These are basically finished, maybe a tad bit more tweaking to go. They both have leaves. I'm considering making more frames with the leaves in different positions, for a more varied look. I'm also tempted to animate leaves slowly falling from the stalks. I haven't worked on animating anything with them falling after attacked yet, but I have some ideas...

9.)Crate - wooden crates that are very similar to the ones in Rafkin's lab are complete, with a recolored ship's hold gump. I used the ship's hold gump, since it is wooden and square.

10.)Basket - recolored U7 basket to look like the original. I used the basket gump from Ultima VIII, moved the handles on it to match the actual item, and used the bag gump as a base. Actually, I had to move the handles, because the checkmark overlapped the handle, but now its better. I also recolored the U8 gump to match the basket.

11.)Metal Buckets - three frames- empty, water, and tar. Complete.

12.)Inventory Bamboo Poles - for making rifles and stuff. When harvested, the pole will be green, and must be kiln-dried in the oven, turning it yellow and making it usable for projects(well, thats the idea anyway!).

13.)3 Main Shields - The 3 main shields are done, but the frames for leaning or hanging them need work. I want to have shields and spears hanging on the walls of certain dwellings.

14.)Spear - 90% complete, needs tweaked. I tried to make the spearhead look either like obsidian or flint.

15.) Player Gumps -

a.)Paperdoll Gump - Beta version is complete. I call it a beta, because I might change the style a bit, but I haven't decided. All of the icons are replaced with S.E. interface-icons. They animate like the originals, and they all function properly. The stone head from the top of the screen in the original is used in certain parts of the GUI. He replaces the Disk Icon, and blinks with red eyes when you click him.

b.)Stat Tab- Complete.

c.)Tactics Tab - Complete. Halo is replaced with the Stone Head. Unprotected=eyes closed, Protected=eyes open and blue in color.

d.)Check mark - recolored to green.

...and the last item to mention for now is............


16.)Bamboo Walls - Nearly complete. I have something I am finally pleased with, but I have to finish the corner-pillar piece. After that, I'll do the thatched roof tiles, tweak the door, and create a curtain and shutter for the windows, wall hangings, etc. I'm going to create another wall set that is similar, but with vertical bamboo instead of horizontal bamboo. This is due to my idea of giving each tribe unique dwellings.

I have alpha versions (one frame each) of Rafkin, the default S.E. Avatar. I have decided that each tribe will have unique clothing (what little they will be wearing). For example, the Kuraks clothing will be all made of jaguar skin. I'm still working with the swing bridge. I may go with one that looks more like the original (using U7 boards), but either way, I'll be using the rope railings, since they are working so well. I also have a log graphic from Ultima VIII that I'm going to modify for this T.C.

I think thats it for now. I have a few things started but not finished yet. I have a .gif of all of the original tiles, and I black out each item that I complete, sort of like a checklist. When all of the objects are done, I'll start experimenting with chunk tiles and mountain tiles. I have decided that I will use some items from the SNES version as a base, but everything will be tweaked.

More info to come soon!

Scythifuge

[Malignant Manor]

Chunk sizes are 128x128. You can import them as shapes with less functionality. You would set them as 8x, 8y, 0z size. If the tile had water, the party would still walk on it. You could make smaller water tiles and place them on top as a fix. Any objects that are not flat will become so. So it is best to leave out rocks and trees (they can be placed with separate shapes. Just clone the terrain around it to cover up the gaps left by taking them out.

Mountain tiles would be best to import as separate shapes for each size. If I knew what the mountains looked like I could explain better. If they are basically topographical symbols like "^^^^" then I would say forget it and just use the U7 graphics instead.


12.)Inventory Bamboo Poles - for making rifles and stuff. When harvested, the pole will be green, and must be kiln-dried in the oven, turning it yellow and making it usable for projects(well, thats the idea anyway!).

Sounds possible to do although complicated.

[SB-X]

Will you be posting screenshots here soon? (perhaps you will wait until those new shapes are put in place on the map)

[Scythifuge]

Quote:
"Mountain tiles would be best to import as separate shapes for each size. If I knew what the mountains looked like I could explain better. If they are basically topographical symbols like "^^^^" then I would say forget it and just use the U7 graphics instead."

I have an idea for tackling the mountains, but I have to practice using E.S. and Gimp some more.

Quote:
"Will you be posting screenshots here soon? (perhaps you will wait until those new shapes are put in place on the map)"

I'm waiting to finish some items, especially the tweaking of the bamboo walls. The new screenshots will be similar to the originals, meaning that I will be setting up a scene to display the new stuff, but there won't be any functioning game yet (no dialogue or quests, etc.). I'm hoping to be able to completely recreate Intanya's hut and the lab with the new shots.

In the meantime, I will keep working on things. Since my last post, I have created a macuahuitl (Aztec obsidian sword) that looks nice. However, it is rather large and will have to be shortened, as it is supposed to be a one handed weapon. I might leave the large one in there for the Nahuatla guards. It would do massive, critical damage. The Spanish recorded how an Aztec warrior decapitated a horse during battle, with a macuahuitl that was 3-4 ft long. I based this one from the two-handed sword frames, and now the macuahuitl is almost as long as the avatar is tall!

I also created a bamboo corner post for the bamboo walls, now I just have to tweak them all. They won't snap together right, so I suspect I messed up a value somewhere in there...

[Malignant Manor]

Here is some code that should work although I can't test it. It has no frills. There isn't a wait period for the bamboo to cook. It assumes that you are going to double click on the green bamboo and then target the kiln. The the bamboo will change colors. It assumes that the two types of bamboo are different shapes.

After that, it assumes that there are two other parts that make up the rifle and they share the same item shape. If you set the shape difference too high to where the item shape doesn't exist it will cause a game crash when you create the item. That is a good sign to recheck your math.

Whenever you release your mod, I can reconfigure and double check this. Code looks nice in ConTEXT, but will probably look like crap in the forum.


Green_bamboo_pole shape#(1024)() //assumes 1024 is the shape number of the bamboo
{
var DOUBLECLICK= 1;
var Kiln= 799; //assumes 799 is the shape number of the Kiln
var yellow_bamboo_pole= 1; //assumes that yellow bamboo is one shape higher than the green bamboo, the number can be negative to indicate that it is a lower shape number
var AVATAR= -356;
var click= UI_click_on_item();
var get_shape_click= UI_get_item_shape(click);

if (event == DOUBLECLICK)
if (get_shape_click == Kiln)
UI_set_item_shape(click, (UI_get_item_shape(click)+ yellow_bamboo_pole)); //changes from green to yellow bamboo
AVATAR.say("The bamboo is finished");
}
Rifle_tool shape#(1025)() //assumes 1025 is the shape number of the rifle tool
{
var DOUBLECLICK= 1;
var PARTY= -357;
var AVATAR= -356;
var click= UI_click_on_item();
var get_shape_click= UI_get_item_shape(click);
var Rifle_part_Shape= 675;
var Any_Quality= -359;
var Yellow_bamboo= 1025; //assumes that yellow bamboo is shape 1025
var Part_one_frame= 0;
var Part_two_frame= 1;
Var Rifle_shape= 1; //assumes that the rifle is one shape higher than the yellow bamboo

if (event == DOUBLECLICK)
if (UI_count_objects(PARTY, Rifle_part_Shape, Any_Quality, Part_one_frame) >= 1){ //checks to ses if party has Rifle part 1
if (UI_count_objects(PARTY, Rifle_part_Shape, Any_Quality, Part_two_frame) >= 1) //checks to ses if party has Rifle part 2
if (get_shape_click == Yellow_bamboo)
UI_set_item_shape(click, (UI_get_item_shape(click)+ Rifle_shape)); //changes yellow bamboo to a rifle
UI_remove_party_items(1, Rifle_part_Shape, Any_Quality, Part_one_frame); //removes 1 part one rifle part from party inventory
UI_remove_party_items(1, Rifle_part_Shape, Any_Quality, Part_two_frame); //removes 1 part two rifle part from party inventory
}
else AVATAR.say("We need more components to make the rifle");
}

[Scythifuge]

Thanks, Malignant Manor! I don't know very much about code yet, but I'm sure that this will come in handy. There will be other variables to consider. Rafkin must be in the party, the Avatar must give him the dried bamboo, and the party must be at the lab. Thats generally how it worked in the original.

The fresh bamboo and the dried bamboo are two different shapes. The bamboo rifle will look different, having been modified by Rafkin, and also to function as an animating weapon that the player can use. The rifle will then require gunpowder. I want to add a subquest in which the player finds a source of lead ore, and gets rudimentary musket balls cast for him/her by a Nahuatla metal worker/jewelry maker npc.

[Malignant Manor]

That scripting is beyond me. (I just started.) The best I could do is add a check for if the party is in doors (I know how to do that) and if I had the NPC #, I could probably set it up to make sure that he is in the party although I have never done it. That would probably be good enough if there are building tiles in the lab.

I forgot to say that this assumes that you are double clicking an object and then targeting the yellow bamboo. It can be any object and would allow you to use a different tool on the bamboo to make a blowgun or something else.

[Scythifuge]

Just an update:

I am going to be out of town for the weekend, and will not be on the net. I'm going to have my pc, so I'll be working on S.E. in my spare time. I am trying to get things ready so that I can post pics of the new stuff by the end of next week.

There are some obstacles that I must overcome to meet the screenshot-goal. My bamboo walls all are the thickness of doors, which looks realistic and nice. However, my variations of the corner post do not line up with all of the pieces, even pieces that align properly with everything else. I have an idea that may overcome this situation, and it involves drawing posts in slightly different positions. My posts are not as thick as the originals, because then they would look out of place and silly. The way I see it, most of the posts and walls are of the same thickness, and thus align properly. Because all of my walls are as thick as doors, I will need a post for each position that doesn't align. It is kind of annoying, but not hard to do. I may also tweak the colors of the walls, since they seem a bit too bright.

When I create a new weapon or armor piece, the avatar will not equip them. He holds them like a regular object, or they go into the backpack. However, if I replace an original U7 weapon or armor piece, then they work perfectly. Again, not much of a problem, as there are enough U7 weapons and armor that I can replace them with everything from S.E., but it is agitating. After this mod, I'm thinking about an original, non-Ultima game, and that would need more weapons and armor.

A couple of new objects go underneath objects that are at the lowest point, and I have no clue why this is. If I click the object on top, it will select the object that went underneath. There are other things that need tweaked, but these are the major ones.

Newly completed items are the one-handed macauhuitl, and the aztec cloth armor.

[Malignant Manor]

If it is BG, you can just disable the paperdolls if they are set up to use the appropriate slot in ES. Weapon problem if it isn't viewed on the screen (not just the paperdoll) properly is probably an improper in-hand offset. There is usually a different offset for each frames. Make sure you click apply before you change a frame or it forgets what you did.

You need to get a file from the Exult source called paperdol_info.txt and modify it to either use old paperdoll graphics for the items or create new graphics (another pain). You place it in the patch directory of your mod. Only the stuff you change needs to be included although the old stuff makes a good quick reference. Here is where it is located in the Exult source.

exult-cvs.tar.gz\exult-cvs.tar\exult\data\bg\paperdol_info.txt for the BG file.

exult-cvs.tar.gz\exult-cvs.tar\exult\data\si\paperdol_info.txt for SI.


The file has more details about how to set stuff up.

[Gruck]

I can't wait to see your great work! Even if I prefer Martian Dreams to Savage Empire.

[Scythifuge]

QUOTE:
I can't wait to see your great work! Even if I prefer Martian Dreams to Savage Empire.

Thanks! I hope that people like what I've been working on.

We had some rain while we were at the cabin, so I used that time to rework the bamboo walls, and watch Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. I had to make various adjustments, as well as various different "pillars" to get the walls to line up, as well as get the required room sizes. I am quite pleased with the results. All I have to do to show off Intanya's Hut is to finish a few items that belong in there, and get some workable thatched-roof tiles. The U7 and SNES S.E. ones are no good "as is", but both will be used to create the new ones. If there are any delays in showing screenshots by the end of the week, it will be the roof tiles.

In addition to tweaking the walls, I have made a "jaguar skin" curtain that you can double click to slide open or closed. There will be mini curtains for certain windows. Some npc's will use the curtains for doors, rather than actual doors, though there will be actual doors as well.

Other things I'll be working on are more weapons, and tweaking with the colors of some of the weapons, with the biggest priority being the roof tiles.

[Scythifuge]

Well finally here are some screenshots. They are not as completed as I wanted them to be, but unforseen delays (such as a long-time friend coming to town) are making things take too long.

The thatch tiles are no where near completed, but I threw in a couple of experimental ones to show what I'm working on. Many small items are not completed, so only the walls are a reconstruction of Intanya's hut. Screens of the lab will have to wait until the next time as well.



Here we have the hut, with jaguar skin curtains. All places in the remake will have more detail, so the curtains are more realistic. I'll probably make different curtains/tapestries. I cannot figure out what the design of the tapestries in the original S.E. are supposed to be, so I made the window curtains jaguar skin as well. The door has the original look of the bamboo walls, which I though was way too much.

On the left you can see the obsidian-headed spear, and the Nahuatl cloth armor. In the middle lies 3 macuahuitls. The small one is a one-handed weapon. The one in the middle is a two-handed version, and the one on the right is a Master Macuahuitl, of which only one or two will exist in the game, and must be taken from powerful characters. On the right mat, are the three main shields that appear in S.E.



This shot is just to show that you can open the curtains. I haven't figured it out yet, but the window curtains are supposed to open and close. I had to draw new "window walls" with open and close frames, to make them solid. But I can't figure out how to make the game switch to the next frame when I click on it.



Here are shots of the GUI. I'm still tweaking portions of it, such as the offsets of the icons.



Here is a shot of some random stuff. We have the bamboo plants, as well as the fresh/dried harvested versions. You can see the buckets, the wire screen, the bedroll both open and closed. On the left are two versions of the new and improved oven. The crate is displayed, as well as a recolored giant spider, and various mats. The bamboo table is present, but I think that I'll recolor it.



Here are the basket and crate gumps.

Well, thats all for now. I have other works-in-progress going on, as well as touch-ups to these graphics here and there. The bamboo walls while nearly finished, need some pixels removed or recolored, with some tweaking with the alignments, but not too much. Next round of screenshots will have the roof, other buildings, the rest of the Kurak village items, and hopefully the lab.

[Malignant Manor]

The new shapes look pretty good so far.

Something like this should work for the window. "1111" is where you put the shape number and you need to change the frame number to whatever frames they correspond to.

Window_curtain shape#(1111) ()
{
if (get_item_frame() == 0)
set_item_frame(1);

else if (get_item_frame() == 1)
set_item_frame(0);
}

[Skutarth]

This project has gotten a lot farther than I thought it would.
Thank god.

[Dominus]

Great looking. Congrats!

[Gruck]

That looks awesome. Keep up the good work. As your work progresses you should consider opening up the project to get others involved.

[wintermute_turing_ai]

Excellent work. Keep it coming!

[Scythifuge]

Thank you everyone, for the positive feedback!

I've taken a short break as to avoid getting burned-out on the project, but that hasn't stopped the flow of ideas. I will resume this weekend, and will be alternating projects to avoid burnout on any of them. I wasn't feeling any burn-out, but I know to avoid it! The closest I came to burn-out was when I had a "wall-frame" for the bark shield, but accidentally tripped the powerstrip that the pc was plugged into, and it wasn't saved. That was a real bummer...

I'm going to have to resize the roof tiles, or use a mixture of sizes to get them to fit properly on top of the bamboo walls. I'm going to try to finish many small items as well. If I stick with the smaller items, I could probably get quite a few of them finished, then start on bigger things such as the tiles.

Another thing I am considering is making many versions of the same weapons. This of course would come later, after a lot of other artwork is completed. The idea is that each warrior would probably have his own tribal/clan markings on his weapons and shields. This idea came from many pictures I have been studying for the project, Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, and how pleased I was with the one-handed and master macuahuitls.

Now something about fauna...

I am considering increasing the size of the snow leopard, and recoloring it. This will be the jaguar. The smilodon (sabre-tooth) will most likely be based off of the snes version.

The original game didn't have scorpions, but they appear in the SNES version (the SNES version recycles a few things from U7, such as sea serpents). I have read that there are scorpions in the Yucatán, and since I want to add more to the game, they will be in. They will be recolored.

I am still unsure as to how the dinosaurs will be done, unless there is a way to construct them from various tiles, like they were in the original S.E. I just can't see them being as small as the dragons, drakes, and hydra from U7. Thats one of the things that I actually disliked about U7 and U8, was the creature sizes for tsome of the monsters. Too small...

A bit about the flora...

I have decided that I want the player to have interactive access to every edible item in the game. Therefore, I plan to draw a banana tree, maize stalks, amaranth, etc. The idea is for the player to be able to forage for food while out adventuring and exploring, or to be able to prepare foods and bake them in a stone oven, cooking stone, or a campfire. Items would include things like tortillas and amaranth/honey cakes, roasting meat, and other such foodstuffs. Speaking of honey, there must be bees as well...time to research prehistoric bees!


I am having a lot of fun doing this, and I am learning many things that I didn't know about pre-Colombian mesoamerica, as well as tribes from all over the world.

[Scythifuge]

I took a few days off from both the game and my music, and decided to actually play some games here and there. I was having some trouble with some item frames not turning out the way that I want, and wanted to give it a rest. During the past few days, I have been working on graphics, on and off. I also think about what I want to add to make the game more interactive. For example, I am considering putting a machete in the lab, which the player will have to use to access certain parts of the jungle, with hacked foliage regrowing after so many game days (similar to my bamboo idea). This would also allow for the creation of hidden, "secret" areas that the player can find and explore. Only certain types of foliage would be hackable, thus creating specific paths to these areas. I have to be careful with these ideas though, as I don't want the game to become tedious.

I know that I have mentioned this before, but I have decided that I will definitely be using some sprites from the SNES version, though many will be tweaked a bit (I have been exploring the SNES version, and going sprite hunting). While my goal is to create as many new sprites as possible, I want them to look like Ultima graphics, or at least be heavily inspired by Ultima graphics. There are not enough flora sprites in either Ultima VII or S.E. for SNES to create the rainforest environment that I have envisioned. By using sprites from both games as well as creating new ones (such as the bamboo), there will be a greater variety of plants.

Reusing graphics is also very practical. For example, I do not see a need to redraw certain graphics like a single banana. I could use the single banana from U7, the banana bunch from SNES S.E., and just have to draw the frames for two bananas/three bananas/etc. I believe that most of the food items should be stackable, with graphic representations similar to gold coins and other stackable items.

The NPC sprites from the SNES version will come in handy. Originally, I mentioned that I would probably draw basic clothing on the naked avatar frames. It looks like the artists on the SNES version did this for many of the male and some of the female NPCs. However, I absolutely hate the SNES avatar and will be modeling the male avatar after the original. Also, the avatar and Rafkin npc's clothing is tattered. While this look would be great for some of the modern characters that have been trapped in Eodon for a while, I don't believe that the recent arrivals would be in such a state in such a short period of time. Oh, and one major problem with the SNES NPCs is a lack of frames. Walking frames for generic NPCs probably won't be a problem, but there are no sitting, sleeping, or spell casting frames (at least as far as I can tell thus far).

I'm sure I mentioned this before as well, but when I (and/or others, if a team gets formed) get the majority of the graphics redone, I want to go back and make new versions of many items. While doing research on various cultures for source material, I came across pictures of an Aztec horizontal drum. This reinforces my plan to make each tribe as culturally independent as possible. There will be some shared aspects of course, being that these tribes share the valley, but I want the player to feel that he/she is visiting a completely different tribe in each village.

Speaking of a team, if anyone wants to contribute any graphics, please let me know. I haven't written much about assembling a team, frankly because I am worried about such an endeavor. I have a particular vision of the look and feel of the game, and I don't want to hurt any feelings if I reject something. I don't have much experience working with a team on such projects, as I am used to doing everything myself, especially with my music projects. Either way, it will get to the point where I will run into roadblocks that I will not be able to cross by myself, especially when the time comes to program the usecode stuff.

Well this about wraps up another long winded post/update. While the goal is still to show a completed Kurak Village and Rafkin's lab in the next screenshots, I find myself jumping around, working on various objects. It certainly feels good when I can check off another completed item, regardless of where in the game it will be.

[Scythifuge]

This isn't one of the screenshots that I was going to show next, but I want some opinions from Ultima fans on a couple of objects, as well as show off a couple of lab items and pots.



In this shot, I included the oven/kiln for size comparision. Here we have the Nahuatl Sundial-Calendar. When I put it together from the sprites of the original, it appeared far too small for what I consider to be a monumental city-center-piece. So I blew it up, but in order to maintain the design, it now appears to be "anti-aliased" compared to everything else. If I didn't do it that way, some of the intricate design of the sundial would have been compromised. Please give your opinions on this matter.

The fountain is now a single object, created from the original 3 tiles. I added a base to the bottom of the fountain, as the original look flat. Doing that also made it taller, and I may make it even taller than that! As far as I can tell, the water uses color cycling for it's animation. Well I don't know anything about that yet, so I loaded up Dosbox, lowered the cpu cycles, and took screenshots frame by frame to get the water animation. This resulted in a fully animated, 7-frame single object, 37x52 pixels. Its ES dimensions are 3x4x6. I was thinking about the fountain all weekend while at the cabin, and whipped it up in about 20-30 minutes when I got back. I'm quite pleased with the results, as it is my first animated object. Its too bad that I can't show off the animation with the screenshot.

The fire extinguisher is basically finished, but I may tweak a pixel or two. Its funny, but I spent more time on those scissors than a lot of the other objects! Scissors seem to look the same in most games, being limited to a few pixels, but I think that I managed to create a modern looking, common pair of scissors (I'm sure that many of you have a orange-handle pair lying around the office or house!).

The "new" basket is from the SNES S.E., and hasn't been recolored/touched up yet. You can see original and modified versions of the S.E. pots, still being tweaked. The urn-looking object is from the SNES version. There will be variations of these objects, for uniqueness to both villages and individual homes.

Well, thats it for now. I mainly want an opinion on the sundial, and the height of the fountain (I could break the fountain back up into separate tiles again, and double each of them!). Work continues on some other objects, and thatch roof tile experimentation continues...

[Warder]

The smaller version of the sundial looks much better.

Great job on the rest though.

[Paulon]

Nice adaptions and updates on most of it.
Sundial: I think you're right about needing the increased size, but it needs to be redrawn in the larger size rather than simply having the smaller image enlarged. The large one in the screenshot just looks crappy compared to the rest of the artwork.

[Scythifuge]

Thank you for the feedback and the compliments! I'll try to redraw the sundial later on today. I agree that the large sundial as it currently is, looks like someone vomited all over it.

The lab is nearly finished. I have the floor tiles completed, as well as the open-crate graphic. The tables are also done. I put the lab together, and I have to tweak only a couple of things. I was going to post a screenshot, but I accidentally messed up a couple of items by screwing up the offset, which cut the edges off. After I fix those, I can take a screenshot. I haven't drawn the machete yet, but it is still on the list of planned items.

As far as the Kurak village is concerned, I still have to draw a handful of items, and hopefully figure out how I'm going to handle the roof tiles. After I finish the sundial and lab, I'll try to focus on the village.

[artaxerxes]

a few comments

* sundial: try to blow it up using another scaler. More info about scalers on http://scale2x.sourceforge.net/index.html

* the fountain is perfect. It blends great in the environment.

* same for the extinguisher. Great proportion and colors.

* the scissors might need more work. Sorry. Maybe an orange fade at the extremities of the handle.

* I love the tall urn, just below the scissors, on the left. That too really looks Savage-Empire-esque

* Kiln too is perfect.

* the top-right urn in the group of six might need some shading.

Out of curiosity, is the fire in the kiln using palette rotation?

Great job otherwise. Keep up the good work!

Artaxerxes

[Scythifuge]

Thank you for the feedback and compliments, Artaxerxes! I'll tweak the scissors. I agree that there needs to be a tad bit of shading done. The one pot is a work in progress, I keep experimenting with different colors and designs. I'm not using palette rotation, because I don't know how to use it yet. The colors are a filler for where the glow of the flames will be. One idea was to create separate frames for the fire, like I did with the fountain. I am interested in using palette cycling, as I think it will help a lot with certain objects. I'm also having a hard time doing the translucent glass effect.

Now, without further ado, here is the screenshot of the beta version of the lab!



The lab floor is made from the original tiles, arranged in 4x4 tiles for ES. The tables are a mixture of the original, plus one of U7's tables. The computer, which I felt belonged, has been tweaked to have a dark screen, power and HD lights, as well as the power and reset switches. You can see the new jars for the sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. The hammer next to the wire screen is an alpha version, because it reminds me of a tomahawk. The mortar and pestle is included, but I may modify the base, or remove it all together.

On the table next to the mortar and pestle, is a new addition to the lab. It is a Bunsen/Tirrill Burner that turns on and off with a blue flame. Connected to the burner is a mini-propane tank. I figure that the burner could come in handy for possible world interactions. Also, Rafkin would need some extra equipment that isn't present in the original, in order to construct various items, hence the tongs.

The fire ax has complete weapon frames. The open box uses hay from the chicken coop graphic for filler. The hunting rifle was drawn up only moments ago, and I threw it in as a sneak peak. It is a bolt-action, which I tried to show, but working with few pixels can be difficult. I wasn't sure about the gun-strap, but my son insisted that I keep it on there. I haven't worked out the rest of the frames yet though. I am working on a pump-shotgun as well. Just about everything else is stock U7 stuff, for now. I'll probably use the alchemist stuff as is. The broken bottle is there because I feel that a level room being transported via moongate to uneven ground is going to cause some things to fall over.

Now for the improved (but beta) Sundial.



I discovered that I can create larger images. In the past, ES would crash when I tried to do that. I noticed that the turtle tiles are 72x72 pixels, so I knew that redoing the sundial would be no problem. I wonder what the limit is? If there is no limit, or if the limit is quite high, then creating the dinosaurs will be easier. It will also be easier to create other large objects.

Hopefully within the next couple-few days, I'll have the Kurak village modeled, as well as more items. I'm tempted to begin work on the cliff graphics, but I'm trying to stay focused on the objects.

[Scythifuge]

I forgot to mention that the rifle uses the stock from the U7 musket, and that the sundial will have frames for each hour during the day.

[Scythifuge]

...and the tank uses an ale bottle as a base...lol!

[Malignant Manor]

The limit for Exult Studios right now is 8x8x7 tiles (64x64x56 pixels), mainly because you can't set shapes any higher. I think it can go way higher, but no one seems to want to upgrade Exult Studio and Exult to allow it. You can have much larger sizes althought they won't work properly. They render wrong and aren't collision detected properly because Exult thinks that the shape is smaller than it actually is. You also can't place anything on the portion of the shape that exceeds the size limit.

[Norseman]

Didn't somebody claim that most of the models from the U6 engine could be converted to the U7 engine quite easily? Altho I donæt remember the exact details

[Scythifuge]

"The limit for Exult Studios right now is 8x8x7 tiles (64x64x56 pixels)"

The Sundial is currently 70x72 pixels. I'm going to set it to 8x8x2 tiles to start with.

" I think it can go way higher, but no one seems to want to upgrade Exult Studio and Exult to allow it. You can have much larger sizes althought they won't work properly. They render wrong and aren't collision detected properly because Exult thinks that the shape is smaller than it actually is. You also can't place anything on the portion of the shape that exceeds the size limit."

That would be awesome, to increase the limits of the engine! I'm sure it will happen eventually, similar to adding multi-map support. While I'm assuming that creatures may be able to be made with multiple tiles like the giant turtle, that will be more difficult I think. Part of me is worried about recreating all of these items if the dinosaurs cannot be properly represented (though the pterodactyl and a couple of others should be ok) . I'm still hoping for an increase in stackable tiles!


"Didn't somebody claim that most of the models from the U6 engine could be converted to the U7 engine quite easily? Altho I donæt remember the exact details"

I can't recall if I mentioned that or not, but it is quite easy. The perspective is just about the same. Of course, some objects are too small when converted, or the colors are wrong due to different palettes, or the design of the original is basic compared to what could be done in U7 (such as the oven and the fire ax). Almost everything is bigger in U7, and thus can be more detailed.

[Dominus]

All looks quite nice, the sundial looks good now. But I would do away with the rifle strap. Even before reading your text, the strap sprang into my eyes.

[Crysta the Elf]

the fire axe handle looks too thin

[marzo]

The limit for Exult Studios right now is 8x8x7 tiles [...] I think it can go way higher, [...]

Let me squash this notion now, then: the size data is stored in the tfa.dat file. The originals reserved 3 bits each for x, y and z, and added 1 to x and y sizes. This means that the size limit in the originals *is* 8x8x7. Furthermore, there isn't a single unused bit in TFA which could be used to extend the shape sizes. I have planned to switch to a text-based format for the Exult Studio-saved shape data somewhere in the future; until then, we are stuck with TFA or will have to come up with an intermediate binary format which extends TFA; I am, however, reluctant to do that as it will become obsolete.

Note that the graphics themselves can be bigger than that; it is just the "3d size" of the shape which will be so limited.

[Scythifuge]

"All looks quite nice, the sundial looks good now. But I would do away with the rifle strap. Even before reading your text, the strap sprang into my eyes."

Thank you, Dominus! I'm going to tweak the sundial the same way I did with the oven, by putting nicks on the top and small cracks in the base. I think that you are right about the strap, and I'll remove it. I haven't completed the other gun frames yet, but I think that the strap will be a pain in those frames.

"the fire axe handle looks too thin"

I've been thinking that as well. I have one that is wider, but needs tweaked. The thin handle was done so get the screenshot completed. Other than that, its completed. The swinging frames have a proper handle on them.



"Let me squash this notion now, then: the size data is stored in the tfa.dat file. The originals reserved 3 bits each for x, y and z, and added 1 to x and y sizes. This means that the size limit in the originals *is* 8x8x7. Furthermore, there isn't a single unused bit in TFA which could be used to extend the shape sizes. I have planned to switch to a text-based format for the Exult Studio-saved shape data somewhere in the future; until then, we are stuck with TFA or will have to come up with an intermediate binary format which extends TFA; I am, however, reluctant to do that as it will become obsolete.

Note that the graphics themselves can be bigger than that; it is just the "3d size" of the shape which will be so limited."

I look forward to the text-based upgrade. In the meantime, once I complete the majority of the items and flora, I will attempt to create large dinosaurs. This will be difficult because of the amount of detail, and I will probably and formally ask for help from artists on those. The pteranodon will more than likely be based on the SNES version, but recolored to match the original version (and enlarged).

I was trying to find 3d models of dinosaurs, in order to rotate them to a U7 perspective, draw the 2d sprites from them, and use the textures from the dragon and drake sprites.

[Scythifuge]

I decided to start using a spreadsheet to organize all of the information for each item (such as origin, in-hand offset, etc.). Not only is it a good way to have a master list of each item/tile in the game, but it is a safeguard in case I have a crash. Also, I have had to return to vanilla S.I. and B.G. a few times to get item information, when I imported a frame and the info got screwed up (and thus not place or appear properly in-game). Some graphic-creating may slow down a tad while I gather all of the information. So far, the screenshots only show the items and how they will be placed. Everything will need to be replaced once the actual world is built, but I'll have the screenshots and the spreadsheet to go by, which will significantly speed up that process.

I drew a few more objects last night. I have 3 versions of Jimmy's Notebook, but I can't decide which one to go with, so I'll post a screenshot soon that shows them, and people can give their opinions on which one is best. The main frame of the oar is done, but I'll be drawing frames for use as a weapon. I forgot that the fire extinguisher can be used as a club, and will need attack frames for that.

A few other small items are done as well. Almost all of the generic village items are complete, and I'll soon begin to tweak the jaguar-skin stuff such as the bedding, curtains, folded skin, and the jaguar itself to be better colored. I went to the zoo with my son recently, and got very good looks at an actual jaguar for reference.

Also, between today and the end of the weekend, I'm going to try to do some "small item" crunching, in order to get a majority of those completed and out of the way. I need to do some major tweaking for the "being held" frame of the hunting rifle, as it is totally off, and looks like it is floating next to the avatar. Also, I have modified a couple of items from the lab screenshot, and may add more detail to every location in the future. My goal is similar to what Richard Garriott's was for the Ultima games, and that is to make a world that is a real as possible.

[Scythifuge]

Quick update:

While the next round of screenshots aren't ready yet (due to work on certain shapes, especially roofing tiles), I have been working on many things.

Approximately 20 new/remade shapes are completed or nearly completed. There are a couple of new items as well. Certain items have been tweaked, such as the fire ax handle. Some items are "tentatively" completed, meaning that I will post some shots for opinions at some point. A lot of work needs to be done to determine the x,y values for origin and offset on many items. While I said that I would work on the database, I have been drawing a lot instead. If the muse is visiting, I shall not ignore it!

I'm working on some things to make editing certain objects easier. Using the silverserpent tiles from Ultima 6, I have created a "blank snake construction set" that I will use to both assemble and color snake frames. All pieces are on one large png, and I can copy and paste the pieces together. I have done this with certain default creatures that will be undergoing only minor changes, such as the parrot and the leopard (the former being recolored once or twice for variety, and to recolor the snow leopard to become the jaguar). This technique also aids in creating animated objects, such as adding flames to things.

I've been thinking about the difficulty level, and I wish for this version of the game to be more difficult. After all, it is the SAVAGE Empire! The original could be completed in an unacceptable amount of time. I want the player to feel that indeed they are in an unfamiliar, hostile and treacherous environment, where failure and death can come very easily if one is not careful. The player should be on his/her toes while wandering through the jungle, for who knows what may jump out without warning (and kill half the party in 2 seconds). I have other ideas that are realistic which I shall mention at another time. Any thoughts on difficulty level are welcome.

One example that inspired me to make the game harder, are scenes from Peter Jackson's King Kong, where modern people and weapons were not enough to go by in some situations. Another example would be running into traps set by native hunters, as seen in Apocalypto. One thing that I can guarantee is that the player will not be loading up on everything that they find in the beginning of the game, as the player will start with no backpack (must be acquired), and have only the modern knife and the clothes on his/her back. Satchels can be found early on, but will not hold a lot, and will definitely not hold large items. I'm even thinking of moving the locations of some things, such as the lab, so that players of the original will have more of a challenge.

[siodine]

What visual style is that in your screenshots Scythifuge?

[Scythifuge]

Quote:

What visual style is that in your screenshots Scythifuge?


I'm not sure what you mean. I'm trying to stick to the traditional Ultima look, with both the remade shapes as well as the new shapes.

[Dominus]

Siodine must mean the Windows GUI Visual Style

[Scythifuge]

Quote:

"Siodine must mean the Windows GUI Visual Style "

Ah, silly me! It is Royal Noir.

[Scythifuge]

Here is another update...


Well I'm still working on the thatched roof tiles here and there, because I keep bouncing around doing different stuff. I've completed a bunch more items, both from the original as well as a new one or two.

The screenshots of the village are still not ready due to the roof tiles as well as a couple of objects. I haven't redone/ported any "skeletal remains" yet, and I keep trying different things with the roof tiles. A couple minor items, such as the turnips, aren't done yet. One thing that is stalling progress in those areas are thoughts on how I'm going to accomplish this or that, which almost always results in experimentation.

One thing that I've started to work on are the mountain tiles. I'm not a good enough artist yet to create all-new tiles as detailed as mountainsides, so I'm working with the originals, snes version, and the u7 mountain tiles to create what is needed. Whenever I do post a screenshot, I hope to have made progress in that area, since I think that it is quite major, and I haven't come up with anything that I am happy with as of yet. Also, I've began to take a serious look at the tiles that make up the chunks, but tweaking those have a ways to go. I've also been messing around with the flora, and have alpha versions of some modded trees, such as a very tall palm tree, which is an edited u7 palm.

Now that color cycling and transparency are functioning, I've completed a few Kotl items with these effects. Almost every Kotl object that I have completed is a redesign of the original item. I'm not going to list them at this time as they could be considered to be spoilers. In addition to the cycling and transparency, I've been making more animated objects like braziers and torches.

One new item that I'll mention (since I've brought it up before) is the shotgun. Since I plan on the final game to be harder and longer, I've created some new objects, the shotgun being one of them. I have the first frame drawn and the ammo tiles (1-6 shells) drawn. My plan is for it to function similar to the triple crossbow. I have other little stuff such as different necklaces, earrings, a hammock, a smaller back strap loom that I haven't animated yet, for use by the player to make cloth...

I've also redrawn some things; like the crate, and will show them soon. The sundial is nearly finished, it needs frames for some of the sun phases. With all of this said, some objects will be nearly unchanged, however. For the blue boulders that appear in the original, I have recolored a boulder from u7 for this T.C. The atl-atl is almost unchanged from the original S.E. version, since I couldn't think of a better way to redraw it. These things should be expected here and there with certain objects, especially objects of very few pixels. Everything will be recolored though, since the palettes from both games are different.

Check back for updates!

[Scythifuge]

The mountain-tile situation is nearly solved!

While thinking about the problem one day, I decided to treat them as walls. Since I don't need the 64x64 mountain top tiles, I went back to the S.E. mountain tiles, and experimented with 32x32 and 64x64 pixel sections. The tops blend in with the grass, and look the way they are supposed to. Now it is just a tedious process to create and define each mountain tile for the various configurations that they are to exist in. I'll have to then tackle the waterfalls, with each frame having to be enlarged to match up with the mountain sides. After that, I can then finish the swinging-bridge that I started a few weeks ago. I will add things like vines to some of the mountain tiles. There will be outcroppings here and there for pteradon nests from where they can swoop down to attack the party.

Because of the illusions that the mountain tiles give, and the Exult multi-map feature, the caves will act like they do in the original S.E., or in newer games like Gothic (like when you enter the mines), and some instances in Serpent Isle. Entering them will look and feel seamless, but each cave will have a teleporter within the first few steps that will teleport the party to a different map that contains the cave. This was a given for the Myrmidex tunnels (since they can only be entered through a tunnel opening on the ground), but will probably happen for every "dungeon".

I have also began work on ground tiles for new chunks. For now, I seriously doubt that I will be creating a bunch of new chunks, opting to place the majority of trees, walls, and other such tiles by hand. The few chunks will be for roads/paths, bodies of water, etc. I have replaced many water tiles to look like the originals, and only have to tweak the color cycling and a few pixels. I'm going to attempt to recreate the grass tiles for the plains and other areas that aren't jungle, and attempt to create a "mulchy" bunch of tiles for the thicker jungle areas.

I have also created some new weapons/items that aren't in the original, but are historically accurate. One of them is a Tepoztopilli, which replaces the halberd and was used by the Aztecs as a large thrusting spear that could also to slashing damage. I found a drawing from the conquest of an Aztec shield, and incorporated the design into another round shield (same stats, just different look). A sling will be added, but will most likely be a recolored U7 sling.

More to come, and hopefully some screenshots soon!

[cyberfugue]

Looking forward to seeing more!

[mjohnston]

"For now, I seriously doubt that I will be creating a bunch of new chunks, opting to place the majority of trees, walls, and other such tiles by hand."

you may find that creating a bunch of combos with trees/walls/rocks/etc for certain types of areas will speed up terrain building and provide flexibility with placement of things that you don't get with chunks, but once you have a few combos created it will go far faster than individually placing each tree or whatever by hand for each chunk.

looking forward to seeing more of this project

[Scythifuge]

"you may find that creating a bunch of combos with trees/walls/rocks/etc for certain types of areas will speed up terrain building and provide flexibility with placement of things that you don't get with chunks, but once you have a few combos created it will go far faster than individually placing each tree or whatever by hand for each chunk. "

Combos will definitely be utilized for certain things, like mountain ranges that tend to repeat, or objects that consist of multiple shapes or frames like roofing, large trees, etc. I'm hoping to avoid any repetition of foliage, which is prevalent in many tile-based games. Also, I'm hoping that when I begin to build the actual world, it will be easier to fill everything in due to being able to increase the resolution, and thus see a larger part of the world at a time, noticing any gaps or flaws that might otherwise be overlooked.

"Looking forward to seeing more!"

"looking forward to seeing more of this project"

I can't say when new screenshots will be posted, because I have determined that I will finish certain things first. Its like I'm a producer working for myself! I'm setting goals that I must reach prior to new screenies. There are things that I am tempted to show right now, but I'm going to save it for when I finish the mountains, water, shoreline, and some grass tiles. I'm hoping that it won't be to far off, but I have to tweak offsets, add or remove a pixel here and there, and experiment with coloring.

I can say that the "short" northend mountainsides are approximately 75% completed. I have to draw some vines here and there (the player will be able to pass through the thicker vines like in the original, to simulate climbing them), and I have stone steps that fit in seamlessly and face the cardinal directions. I'm still experimenting and tweaking the southend sides, because the player can't really see them, but has to know that they are there (well the player can see mountains whenever there is a corner). Initial experimenting with the bridge revealed that I will have to tweak things, because the player couldn't walk onto the bridge (being blocked by the mountain edge). I'll get it figured out eventually!

[Scythifuge]

Greetings!

Here is the status of the project. It is not on hiatus, but is rather moving slowly. I am working on this or that and touching up or redoing some of the graphics here and there. I took a vacation from stuff like that over the summer for the most part, but still thought of the project often. Some aspects were getting frustrating, and I don't want to get burned out. Little things like breaking up a large object into smaller tiles, then trying to get them to arrange properly in E.S., and then edit the properties of each one so that they behave properly can take many hours on some occasions. Often I have fun because when something works, it feels great! But when it gets tedious, its time to work on something else or take a break.

At the moment, some of the mountain tiles still need some tweaking, and copies with various differences need to be made. They are heavily based off of the original Savage Empire tiles, and do not use the SNES version's at all. Some of them have vines, steps, and bamboo/stick ladders that are passable. Problems still include getting proper bridge-end tiles, which will require some rework on a nearly completed rope bridge. The ropes are tide to the tops of long posts with human skulls attached to them! But I have to break them up into smaller tiles and try to make them passable.

Many objects are completed, some new plants are in the works, and a lot of work on the Avatar has been done. One of the very tedious things is creating the 8x8 pixel tiles that make up the chunks. I have water tiles almost completed, and I have ground textures (modified from screenies of an unreleased Ultima game ) that need to be broken up into 8x8 tiles. I am having some difficulty in making the shoreline tiles and the "transition-from-one-terrain-to-the-other" tiles.

If anyone who can draw wants to help out with the ground tiles, let me know!!!

In the meantime, in order to get more practice drawing and using E.S., I have been working during the past four days on a project codenamed "Ultima 81". All I'm saying for now, is that it isn't a medieval-type rpg...

[Crowley]

Speaking of a team, if anyone wants to contribute any graphics, please let me know.

I might be able to help with that, provided I first learn to use GIMP. I wouldn't classify myself as an artist, I just fiddle with graphics programs from time to time and have contributed bits and pieces to some fanmade mods.

[SB-X]

Is there any way you could hand those simple but repetitive tasks you mentioned to other people to work on? Even though I havn't played S.E., it looks interesting, and I'd love to help in any way possible.
I can also work on usecode.

Thanks for the update.

[Scythifuge]

Quote:

I might be able to help with that, provided I first learn to use GIMP. I wouldn't classify myself as an artist, I just fiddle with graphics programs from time to time and have contributed bits and pieces to some fanmade mods.

Quote:


Is there any way you could hand those simple but repetitive tasks you mentioned to other people to work on? Even though I havn't played S.E., it looks interesting, and I'd love to help in any way possible.
I can also work on usecode.

Thanks for the update.



I would be more than happy at this stage to receive help in certain areas of the project! What I'm probably going to do over the next few days is go over all of the assets for the project, determine what I need help on and prioritize each item. The first thing I'm probably going to seek help to accomplish is the ground tiles.

I'll definitely need help with usecode, since I'm clueless about it at this time. But my main focus (phase I) is to get all of the graphical assets done. Phase II would be world building. Phase III would be game creating with usecode implementation. Phase IV would be music and sound effects. Phase V would be beta testing, with Phase VI being an official release.

One thing that people can do if interested is draw random tropical plants (that would appear on Earth between the Yucatan and the edges of the Amazon, for example I will no longer be including bananas, but rather plantains). I just don't want any hard feelings if something isn't used, is all. I have graphics that I decided against using, or set aside for other projects. Maybe someday we can have a huge amount of graphic assets that can be used for any Exult project! There are many things I am itching to show to the public, but am unwilling until I can create the scenes I have envisioned. However, if artists jump on board , I will of course share the graphics with them. Maybe we can get an official team started, and get another Ultima remade like the Lazarus team did with Ultima V!

Another thing worth mentioning is that I finally acquired a Savage Empire Cluebook!!!!!!!! As I was hoping, it goes into a little more detail than the game itself does, plus having all of the maps in one book is handy, even though some maps will be different from the original.

One other thing. Not to sound stingy, but all original images that I have created that appear in this thread, aren't to be used without my permission. I only say this because I don't want them used in other projects until this one is completed! Of course, this doesn't include the graphics that I merely tweaked, only the ones I have drawn from scratch. After Phase VI, I will consider all of my S.E.T.C. graphics freely available for everyone on Earth to use for their Exult projects!

[Chris Thompson]

but those people not of this world will not be allowed to use them?