Savage Empire still on, update

[Scythifuge]

Greetings all!

I can only assume that many, if not all, have given up on the Savage Empire Remake. It has been a while since I have posted a comment, or shown any new work since the Avatar's house W.I.P.

Well, life can be a pain. Many personal issues got in the way, and are now over, or resolved. Such is life. Though, now I am back to work on the project. It never died, though was worked on sporadically. I have much completed, and want to show. I am thinking of creating a Facebook page, just for the ease of comments, photo uploading, and possibly attracting people to the project.

Since starting back up, I have what I want for mountain textures. All I have to do is create some seamless walls, and I can create either a bunch of shots, or an actual demo.

Honestly, the lack of help is a big part of the delay. I can draw, but if people could take what i have done and do the leg work of turning it into seamless textures, that would save a lot of time. I have enough assets to create some kind of demo. I just lack the time to create multiple frames of everything, and the technical expertise to create anything playable. As it is, I will continue to work on it to at least one day make the world map with all of the objects placed, since I have been compelled to do so these last few years.

[agentorangeguy]

Awesome! I'm glad your still going on. I'm still doing some stuff on the u6 one.. hoping tohave it polished up soon, enough to show what I have so far(Britain w/npcs, Skara w/npcs, Yew w/npcs, Empath Abbey w/npcs, pretty much the whole upper left corner of the map down to Trinsic done map-wise, the shell of Minoc, Cove minus npcs, and a few other random areas of the map near complete.)

I can offer some help with usecode stuff. Every now and then I'll just play around with usecode and I've made a few neat things you might be interested in. just email me sometime, email addy is my screen name here at yahoo . com

[Korneluk]

Glad to see Savage Empire is still growling!
I think I've read through all of the posts on Exult about your re-make and they contributed to my growing understanding of exult and exult studio.

I've been drawing creatures, plains and mountains and found that, for the last two, creating seamless textures means drawing one very large piece of artwork.

I choose to work in tile sizes of 64x64, for easy chunk creation, and draw mountains say 512x512, than cut it up into the 64x64 tiles and designated the resulting 64 tiles as either "tops", or mountain "walls."

The result is that I don't have all those little mountain pieces, various triangles, that you see where the original mountains curve, but I've been able to create mountains with the illusion of height that leaves the screen, so you can feel as though you are entering a narrow pass or having your progress stalled by mountains that go up and up and..... While my pieces can't be placed in the same manner as the original, they still have utility. With the mountains I've drawn, various juxtapositions allows for ranges that feel like mountains.

I hope there will be some way other than facebook to view your work...

[Scythifuge]

Thanks for your offer to help with usecode, agentorangeguy! I have a lot of stuff that has multiple frames for interaction, such as lamps, the sink, tub, toilet, etc. I have a metate with multiple frames for grinding corn, potassium nitrate, and sulfur. Though I'm going to stop drawing that kind of stuff, so that I can wrap up the mountains and related objects and tiles.

Korneluk, it seems that you are drawing things the way that I did a couple of years back. I still have my old mountain pieces somewhere. Though that way would have taken up too much map space for what I have planned for the final world map.

If I use Facebook, I can more easily upload and delete pics as necessary. Plus, I may be able to attract more attention not only to the project, but also to Exult as well! I've had issues using Photobucket and Imageshack, sometimes pics disappear forever, or don't show up right. If I upload new art, I could post the link here on the forum.

[Korneluk]

Have you had any luck creating the larger creatures, ie. dinosaurs?

So, if I understand you correctly, you are building your mountains out of 'wall' frames, but with a mountain texture? Than couldn't you also just draw one very large wall and slice it up into your frames? I'd like to know, just how you are doing the mountains.

I might be able to lend a hand with drawing extra frames of objects...

[Scythifuge]

The only creatures I have worked on are parrots (recolored and modified U7 parrots), a snake, a jaguar (regular and black, heavily modified S.I. snow leopard), and a smilodon, none of which are complete, frames-wise. I've experimented with dinosaurs a little, and will probably use the original apatosaurus' outline, and SNES version outlines to work from.


You understand correct about the wall frames. I have tried the large texture idea, back when I tried using a free texture that I found online. Since Eodon is very mountainous and hilly, I am trying to create a set of walls that can be placed side-by-side and stacked in any order. This is so that they are not only seamless, but never "samey". I will then take these walls (at least 8 of them), and make about 24 more that have vines on them, or color-cycled water flowing down them, etc. Interiors of these "hollow" mountains will contain caves and such, similar to U7's dungeons, though with the ability to have levels going up to the grass "roof". There are many possibilities!

Thank you for offering to help! I should create the Facebook page soon, between tonight and Saturday, after I decide what to show as far as pics.

[Scythifuge]

Ok, I created the Facebook page. It of course will need work, but I posted a mockup for all to see!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Savag ... 6811954890

[Gruck]

Nifty, I always want to see more.

[Korneluk]

Nice pic!
I am gonna think about these walls and try something tomorrow. It clicked just before i read the line, that it would be easy to construct multi-leveled caves this way.....
of course, you won't be able to paint quickly with chunks.
hmmmmm.
Time for more experiments!

[Scythifuge]

Thanks!

The "leafy rooftop" won't be all samey like it is, since that is just a test object. There will be multiple frames, multiple sizes, with gaps. Beneath the canopy will be less green, more shrubs and tree trunks that extend into the canopy. A z coordinate or two beneath the canopy and offset slightly will have the same leaf shape, but completely colored with transparency, for a shadow effect.

I've been wanting to show off the fountain, since the original one that I posted long ago was ripped from the original game, and only slightly modified. This new one is huge, and drawn from scratch.

The cubic blocks will be changed and have multiple frames. They are for building various ruins scattered about Eodon.

The bamboo may be brightened up, and there will be a few variations.


My thoughts exactly, Korneluk, concerning the caves! I have many ideas that will use them. Also, the Barako tribe will live in homes "carved out of the rock, similar to the ancient inhabitants of the real Skara Brae, and these will use the mountain and dirt walls I'm working on. The difference with Skara Brae though, is that the Barako live in a temperate rainforest region.

Hence the one the main reasons for the wall-mountains, to save map space. I'm cramming different types of terrain onto the map. Mountainous, jungle, temperate, plains, and volcanic.

[Scythifuge]

Posted two more pics!

[Korneluk]

The shadow on the kiln is perfect, your detail is nice and clean.
I tried drawing some sample walls last night and although they fit together without revealing a break between them, my eye still divides the larger wall I built with them, into rectangles. I think because, to create a smooth transfer to any potential neighbouring piece, I kept the same color at the edges. Even with different details in the interior, the 'frame' is the same size.
Your brown, grass-topped wall, on the other hand could work if all it's neighbours continue its pattern. neighbours could also have a variation or two, but fitting them together in any order as you want seems tricky.
I am going to try varying the size of the wall pieces, but I fear the larger wall built will still look too straight.
I wonder if a very plain wall could serve better and various skins used for texture, vines and whatever else. Skins don't need to obey the grid size restrictions since they will be mounted on wall pieces that do.
Any thoughts?

[Scythifuge]

Thank you for the compliment on my kiln!

I have set up 6 of the brown walls in an almost tic-tact-toe pattern, each slightly apart, from which I will draw the variations to avoid monotony, while "connecting" the edges with the dark brown lines.

I to, will make smaller versions, to make variously shaped mountain sides, or outcroppings. I am also going to experiment with ways to make "hills", inspired by a couple of U6's tiles.

As far as skins, I'm not sure what you mean. I have vines and things like that drawn to add to the mountain-walls when they are finished. I supposed that I'm drawing the skins from scratch.

[Korneluk]

Skins may not be the right term, but I was imagining shapes much larger than the wall pieces that could be placed in such a way as to appear to be part of the mountain. Seems that's what you're doing.

[Crowley]

Hey, I'm still willing to help with the graphics. No idea how much I'll be able to contribute, given all the other stuff I have going on (including my own mods, still).

[Scythifuge]

Thanks Crowley! At some point, I'll probably need people to draw frames for animations, such as npc's. Right now, I'm still trying to find time to finish the mountain pieces. As usual, I have a lot going on! Once they are done, things will speed up, since the mountain pieces are main parts of the entire world map.

[Scythifuge]

Crowley, I sent you an email with the Kotl shield attached. Sorry for the delay!

[Scythifuge]

I have nearly completed a waterfall animation, using 52x28 pixel "walls", 4 frames. I have no idea what the sound effects are, though I am sure that there is a list somewhere to add particular effects.

I say nearly completed, as I need to tweak details, as well as work on the "pouring over" animation on the tops of the walls. They can be stacked for different heights. There will be other sizes, such as 8x8 "posts" for thin waterfalls. They are designed to go between the mountainside "walls" that I will be working on over the next few days. I will more than likely make variations, such as rocks protruding out from a water fall, etc.

The color cycled version that I made some time ago seemed to cycle way to slow and had various issues, and I am trying to animate more things.

I struggled with this off and on for a LONG time, and it is one of the reasons for things taking so long!

[Scythifuge]

[Dominus]

Wow

[agentorangeguy]

that is really awesome dude.

[Scythifuge]

Thanks guys! I felt that I should show off some other stuff since I don't update very often. The NPCs need to be animated and are WIPs. I am hoping for multiple Avatar shapes for when a backpack or quiver are equipped.

The world will be built with blocks like the ones on display. My 9 year old son is very impressed with my waterfall, and I was able to assign the fountain sound effect to it.

I am still trying to tackle the mountain walls, they are the biggest hurdle right now. The ones on display on the Facebook page are the ones I am currently toying with, though I want to make better ones.

[Dungy/Gruck]

I LOVE the NPCs. Can't wait to see them animated and in action

[Scythifuge]

Thanks! It will probably be a while before they are animated. I'm working on environment graphics before going back to npc/animal/"monster" graphics.

Of course, if anyone wants to animate any NPC from the ones I provide, that will be greatly appreciated! That would save me a lot of time and work, as I am still going at the project alone.

[Crowley]

Is that an electric guitar? And my offer to animate stuff is still open. Right now my main computer is being repaired, so I can't get on that right away, though.

[Scythifuge]

Hi Crowley! It is an electric guitar, one of a few that I drew. It is from the cyberpunk graphic set that is on hold. I'll probably include it in the Avatar's House at the beginning of Savage Empire.

I appreciate your offer to animate stuff! A lot of time will be saved if people come on board. I usually draw from frame 16 when I start an NPC.

I have a few seamless mountainsides that I am working on, though it is tedious. I have to then rotate and flip all of them, and then recolor them a shade lighter for the vertical walls. Then, I will make two more versions each with bits a grass and vines. Then there are the different sizes...

Also, I think that Exult plays sound effects for every object on screen. With four waterfalls stacked, the fountain sound effect sounds like an actual waterfall!

[Scythifuge]

I know that I stated that I am working on environmental stuff before I draw anything else, however:



I worked on these for the past hour, to take a break from the many mountain walls I worked on today (TEDIOUS!). Here we have WIPs of Jimmy the Reporter and a Yolaru warrior, inspired by Zulu warriors.

The Yolaru warrior is indicative of the detail that I am going for. Some NPCs will be depicted with shields and weapons. If killed, they will have a dead body frame with no implements, though the implements will be in their inventory. For example, this particular Yolaru warrior "always" has a spear and shield, and thus all frames save for the dead & sleeping frames will depict them.

Another example is Darden the Huge, usurper of the Urali tribe. His frames will be based on Boydon from Serpent Isle. He will "always" use a stolen, two-handed macuahuitl, and thus will be depicted with it in most of his frames. Upon death, he will have a normal death frame, and the two-handed macuahuitl will be in his inventory. I am already imagining the fight with Darden & his blowpipe thugs...

[Scythifuge]

Work continues daily on the mountain walls. Currently, I have 15 horizontal walls, and will draw one more for a total of 16. Then I have to shade and detail them, and then convert them into a lighter shade for the vertical versions. The I will make the corner pieces, and size variations.

Though I have to take breaks, and I keep working on other stuff, such as this Jukari Tribe concept:



This might be controversial, but I am rewriting the Jukari. They are going to be more "Conan-esque", and not as unintelligent as they are in the original. They are still primitive, though very brutal & warlike. Their primary source of trade is the obsidian that the Nahuatla use for their weapons. Due to the death of the Jukari chieftain, the Myrmidex attacks, and the usurping of the Nahuatla throne, trade has ceased and rumors of war with the Nahuatla are being heard throughout the valley...

[Scythifuge]

I forgot to mention, that is a concept shot, and I need to work on the transitions from the rocky ground to the lava flow.

[Crowley]

Playing a bit of Savage Empire recently got me thinking, how much have you looked into the coding side of things? I might be wrong, but seems to me that the black staffs would be tricky to get to function like they do in the original, that is to say, zap myrmidex with lightning but simply poke on the head when used against anything else.

Personally, I don't mind altering some of the tribes.

[Scythifuge]

Crowley, I honestly have no coding knowledge (yet!). I look at code posted here on the forum, but I don't know how it is implemented. I remember doing some basic scripting back in the Morrowind days, & I think that I can do some coding if I have some specific examples & some practice. However, I'll be looking for help from people when it comes time to put everything together!

Even though I don't know how to code yet, I do have an understanding of how things work in relation to how Ultima VII works. I remember discussing some of things with Marzo, Dr. Code, & Colorless a while back. If the black staff isn't possible, it may need to be left out. The story could be altered to just be a unique super weapon similar to the Black Sword.

There are other concerns as well, such as Exult not being able to save items stacked above a certain height. I truly hope that someone can figure out a way around that, or the Nahuatla pyramids will be very small!

The only other tribe that is getting a major overhaul is the Disquiqui. I am going for a more serious, mature tone similar to Ultima VII & VIII, so I think that I'll be leaving the three stooges and a giant cow-bell out of the remake. I'm thinking that they may try to sacrifice Jimmy Malone to the t-rex instead, and the player must slay the t-rex...or something along those lines. We'll have to wait & see. I am still thinking about the cannibal, head-shrinking tribe that I want to add...

[Crowley]

I think there might be some workarounds for the black staffs (staves?). For instance, you could have them always shoot out the lightning, but have it use a damage type for them which is not applied to anything else in the mod (I think the various types in U7 provides more than enough to choose from) and give everything but the myrmidex a near-perfect resistance to that damage type. I think that could be done.

[Scythifuge]

Crowley, I hope so; I worry about other things that may need workarounds as well. I wonder if it is possible to have external plugins perform extra functions. I remember using Morrowind Extended to run mods that allowed for decapitation of enemies and combat combo moves that were not possible using the TESCS. There will be issues concerning large dinosaurs such as the T-Rex that will have to be dealt with due to shape-size limitations. I vaguely recall Marzo saying that there could be a solution; I will have to search through old posts.

Anyway, I have been drawing daily. I have reached a milestone with the mountains. After some cosmetic changes, and different sets are done, I will post something, hopefully sometime this week!

[Scythifuge]

Found the post I was referring to:

Quote from Marzo:

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]

I'm still working on the mountain walls, I promise!

I was working on shading the vertical walls a shade lighter when I redrew a portion for a test & it looked 5x better than my previous design, so I am applying it to the rest of the walls. Honestly, it is going to add only an hour or two to the process, as it is a color swap between to lines of pixels. After all of that, it is just little details here & there. Players will be seeing these a lot, so I want to get them right.

In on a quick mountain-wall-drawing-break, I came up with a couple of different designs for the swinging bridges that I am looking forward to testing.

All in all, the vision that I had for the look of the game is coming to fruition. The hiatus actually helped with the quality & creativity factor (with my guitar playing also!), as well as continued support from the Ultima community.

[Zacros]

Wow, these are awesome mate. Very professional - almost as if you'd done the graphics for the original U7

Keep up the great work!

[Scythifuge]

Thank you Chris! I try my best! The NPCs I must admit are tweaked/heavily tweaked versions of Ultima VII NPCs. It is difficult to create them from scratch and have them fit in with everything. Though in some cases such as Jimmy Malone, the sprite ends up being around 90+% original when near completion.

[voskat]

God, I don't come to this forum very often, but this gets me well excited.

There isn't a website yet for this project?

[Scythifuge]

Thank you for your interest!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ultima ... 6811954890

[Crowley]

Speaking of rewriting tribes, do you have any plans to make the Haakur be more in line with the more recent studies about neanderthals?

[Scythifuge]

That is a good question, Crowley. I have yet to decide. In the original story, there is but one surviving female Haakur, indicating that a lot of in-breeding has been taking place. A "classic" view of neanderthal man would be explainable in such a scenario. However, I am looking at real sources as well as fictional ones such as Clan of The Cave Bear for inspiration.

Since the Jukari have no real-world explanation given in the original story, it is easier to take certain liberties.

[Crowley]

From a practical standpoint, having the Haakur physiology be close to human would at least cause less hassle with paperdolls (if you intend to implement those).

[Scythifuge]

I do hope for paperdolls, though I am sure that I will need help with those. I will probably have to experiment when it comes time to work on the Haakur.

[Crowley]

I'd be happy to help with the paperdolls, and gumps too, if you need it. I think I've gotten a fair bit of experience with those when working on Beh Lem.

[Dominus]

I haven't played SE yet, still waiting for nuvie, but do you really need the haakur paperdoll? Does a haakur join the party? Except for cheating you shouldn't be able to see the paperdoll of a non-party NPC.

[Paulon]

There's a Haakur named Ugyuk who can join in the original game. He's a rival of Dokray (the Dupre counterpart).

[Dominus]

I see, thanks

[Crowley]

I finally got to looking around the damage types, and it looks like it would be fairly trivial to have the black staff zap everybody but only affect myrmidex. Just set it to use a specific damage type (lightning, magic, ethereal, sonic...) and tick some boxes in Exult Studio for immunity to its damage type for everyone but the intended targets.

[Scythifuge]

That is great news Crowley!

[Knight Captain]

Is this still in development? I've seen a lot of the art assets and would love to put them to use in a different mod.