Exult Studio updates

[Scythifuge]

Greetings,

It has been a while since I last posted. Some of you know that my life took some drastic turns for the worse; near death motorcycle accident and then sepsis after that, another car accident during December of 2017, my business failed due to mismanagement while I was recovering, divorce, financial issues, and I just broke up with my fiance yesterday (it was the right thing to do. Well, all of that is behind me, now. I am not posting sny of that for sympathy. I just wanted to let everyone know that those are the reasons I haven't produced anything Ultima related in a long while.

I am working on spriting again, in addition to getting back to my other hobbies and friendships.

I have some requests. I have considered Unity, Game Maker Studio, or Godot for fan/commercial products, though E.S. is still fun to work with and is useful for prototyping.

Is it possible to update e.s. to remember multi-level/higher lift structures?

Is it possible to add per pixel collision? This would allow for larger mojsters/objects/etc.

I have a livjting/palette question, though I will wait until I create a mock up.

Can combat be altered through modding/scripts? For example, hitting a button which causes the avatar to swing a sword each time the button is pressed, detect if a hittable object is within range, and then damage said object? For instance, the player would walk up to an npc, amd hit the "attack animation" button. The avatar would swing the sword. The script checks adjacent tiles for a hittable object, and then the npc would take damage as though the player double-clicked the npc. The avatar would then stand there, waiting for the player's next action.

This one is more difficult to explain. Can scripts/mods be made to add more frames of animation? For example, we would create another object that contained extra walking frames. The script would have the avatar switch between object id's in order to add more frames, making the walking animation more fluid.

Can external files/scripts be created to circumvent other "hard xoded" limitations? Sort of like how Morrowind can utilize script extenders and what not to add new features to the game?

That is all for now. I am just now getting back inti the swing of things, and I live with chronic pain and malaise, especially when it is cold. I will do my best, though I do have a lot of tome on my hands these days.

[Knight Captain]

By Lord British's Throne, we're glad you're alive!

I have a ton of artwork that has only been shown in screenshots. And I have more not yet shown. Sprite making is difficult.

Exult can support levels above Z-15 but the current save game format does not support it. I believe Marzo had it on his list at one point. I have Usecode that makes a 3 level tower.

It may be possible to make a huge monster by updating the other frames around him but then you'd only be able to attack/kill the standand monster frame. I think that would be far more Usecode than it is worth.

I believe the palette use is done by Exult's code. While I have not tried it, it seems that you could add a custom one if wanted.

No idea on the pause attack.

I don't believe so. The Avatar uses less than all possible frames.

External file settings would require the Exult engine to be de-hardcoded. For example I made a larger backpack shape to fit the higher resolutions but the item space rectangle is hardcoded.

[Scythifuge]

Thank you, KC. I apologize for not responding right away; the current weather aggravates my condition due to the metal implants and I have trouble sleeping.

I hope that the z level issue can be handled. In the interim, I am going to experiment with various tricks, including faking an isometric view.

I am going to create a mockup of what I hope can be achieved with palettes and light sources, in order to create more atmosphere. It is also to add noir elements to another project (the cyberpunk project I mentioned, years ago.)

Maybe large monsters can be made if it looks alright when the pc/npc's attack the legs only.

I am hoping the combat issue can happen as an option for an alternative combat model, as it would allow for an Ultima 8/Diablo style of combat, while making the game(s) more accessible.

I am hoping for more animation options. I would also like to add diagonal movement frames. It would be great if more features could be added for new games outside of Ultima VII.