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About this blog

Blog about the development of a cyberpunk RPG "Ixias - Stellar Complex"

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Ixias Development Road (How to not plan a game)

(I wrote this in a different blog for school earlier. Decided to copy it here as it's relevant)   So I have this video game, called "Ixias - Stellar Complex". First draft of this game was born in summer 2013, and during the next half a year it evolved into a completely different kind of draft, and based on that I started making this game in January 2014.   I planned on finishing the game before summer 2014 and it all looked sweet and dandy for a while, until I started to run into development problems. First of all, the game was going to be way too fucking huge. Much bigger than I could ever handle on my own. This is common for game developers, but competent game developers realize this BEFORE the game is in production. So I had to make a decision. Either I cut content out or I never finish the game. So I cut about 80% of planned content out.   That was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Rubicon Alleys   At first it felt like the game was going to be much smaller than I wanted and maybe even too small. But then I realized that even with the remaining 20% of content, it was going to be huge. Incredibly ambitious and extremely -stupid- to make all by myself.   Since it was summer and the game wasn't even close to being finished, I said it would be done in December 2014. When December came, I had a pre-pre-alpha version done and I was struggling with motivation. I decided to have a break and finish the alpha version, and give it to a handful of testers to find motivation and hear what other people would think about it.   To my surprise everyone who played it, loved it. It was weird as I hadn't really thought much about what other people will think, as it was my passion project. It was Ixias, it was mine, and it didn't matter what anyone thought about it. But they loved it. Needless to say it's a pretty big boost in motivation.   Then the preparations to get into school started. I wanted to make the best pre-task ever so I worked on that full-time and let the game be on the down low. I used Ixias in my portfolio though which was great material. When I heard I got into entrance exams, I started to prepare for them fully and when I heard I got into school, I decided to finish Ixias before school started so I could concentrate on that.   Well it didn't happen. Windenfyr District   As you can see, Ixias didn't develop a lot between early 2015 and summer 2015. I was so busy and stressed over the school stuff that I just couldn't work on it. Every time I looked at Ixias, I just wanted it to go away. I was getting tired of my own child and I knew something had to be done. So I just let Ixias be, work on it when I felt like it and outside of that, tried not to think about it.   School started, and I started to be too busy to work on Ixias. The game still wasn't finished, not even close. I had made so many promises that the game will be done this and then, but I always had to break those promises because I just couldn't work on it.   Then, in October, I started a small, very small game that I planned to finish in 3 days, just to get away from Ixias. I finished the game in 3 days and it was a kind of a joke game just for few friends. And holy crap did that motivate me! I finished something! It might've been a tiny game but it was FINISHED.   So magic happened.   And now it's November, and as I'm writing this, I'm uploading the closed beta version of Ixias onto the internet, soon to arrive in the hands of beta testers.   The game is finished.   It's finally finished.   After almost 2 years of shedding heartblood onto this piece of shit.   It's done.   If you read this, then I hope it was interesting at least a little. And thank you for reading.     Sinathor out.
Sinathor

Sinathor

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Can I reboot the year? Please?

Hey!   This post is about the development of this game --->   I am terrible with deadlines. I knew I shouldn't have told anyone about my release plans for the early alpha. This happens every time.   Ixias early alpha was supposed to be released late 2014, around the Xmas times. Well it didn't happen. I had been so busy and when I finally had time for myself, I didn't feel like working on the game at all. And the pressure from having to let others to actually play the game, got the best of me. The year didn't start off too well either. I guess I'm still kinda stuck in last year and I have to get it into my head that it's 2015 and I'm supposed to do a lot of crazy shit this year, and the game is just a side-project. So I try not to stress about this, when there's so many other things to stress about.   HOWEVER.   I'm starting to feel Ixias again. I'll cut some corners and wrap the alpha and get it out of the door. That's what I'm gonna do. We'll see how it goes, right?   If you're interested in some cyberpunk rpg action, check the linky link above! Thanks!   I guess that was all. Had to get it off my chest. Thanks for reading, whoever you are!   Best regards. - Sinathor
Sinathor

Sinathor

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A new alpha release?

Yo!   Before I begin, click this and see what this is all about --->   So I've been thinking. Maybe I should release another alpha build before the official beta stage. I could really use some more feedback. My last alpha build is from last spring and needless to say the game has changed tremendously since then. This would not only help me catch bugs and balance the game, but it would also help me with questions like "Is the game too bloated with side quests?", "Are there enough side quests?", "Can the story be followed without a constant headache?" and so on and so forth.   This is all valuable information that I just don't have. Every once in a while I think there's too little to do, and then the next day I think there's too much to do. And then I think about if the player can even follow the basic storyline (The story is a bit complicated), but I wouldn't want to treat the player like an idiot either.   Of course, I could just make the alpha and give it to everyone and then that's it. The problem is, that once the game is finished, or reaches beta, the alpha saves will surely be completely fucked and the old players cannot continue and would have to start over. Is this a big deal? Or am I just making it a big deal? Surely, as a tester, you know the alpha version is prone to piss under itself?   So my question is: Would you want to play an alpha version? Or would you like to wait for the beta, or full v1.0 release?   I don't like doing things half-arsed, and that's why I never release anything that isn't polished. But the project is so big, it's hard to get further sometimes without outside feedback.   I guess that's all. I'll write again soon! Please follow my development blog or my main thread if this was at all interesting in any way, and please comment on my main thread or here if you have anything to say.   Thanks for reading! Take care.   Sinathor out!
Sinathor

Sinathor

1
 

Skill system overhaul

Hey all!   So I've had this idea for a long time that I'm going to change the skill system when I start working on the sequel to Ixias. But the more I test my game, the more apparent it becomes that the skill system doesn't only suck, but it sucks massive monkey balls.   So I decided to re-do the entire thing.   Now, it isn't that big of a deal after all. I'll keep most of the skills I've made, and I haven't balanced the game at all yet, so it won't break the entire game.   In the original, the weapons were seperated into two categories: Melee and Bullet.   Melee weapons were effective against the Turinquas (mutants) and Bullet weapons were effective against humans. There were 3 melee weapon types (Sword, Dagger, Spear) and 3 bullet weapon types (Handgun, Machinegun, Sniper Rifle). Each weapon had 10 or so skills, which are learned through AP, that you got from combat. So you had to specialize in weapons, but you couldn't specialize in just one, because there would be both human and turinquas enemies. You could switch weapons in battle to serve the situation.   This all sounds really nice on paper.   But the reality was different. First of all, changing equipment in combat is clunky as hell, and you had to do it for each character if you didn't remember to change weapons before going to a new dungeon where you knew the enemy type would change. Secondly, it's hard to keep track of what skills you've learned in what weapon types on what characters. Thirdly, I kept running into situations where I had used sword, and learned a +Defence skill for it, and had to use it regularly because enemies hit like trucks. Then I went to a new area with human enemies, so in order to use my defence skill, I had to switch to sword, then cast the skill, and then switch back to a weapon that's actually useful. Also, I have a boss that one-shots the entire group unless you drain its SP away before it gets to use the skill. But what if you haven't learned an SP damaging ability? These are just some of the problems that come with this system. They may work in some game, and they can be refined. But it's just not worth it for this project, I think.   Now, I realise that most of these things are design issues. I could design the game in such a way that these situations wouldn't happen. But reaaally. It doesn't matter. The main character starts the game with a sword. And after you learn the first skill for the sword, why would you ever want to change weapon type again? It's just a pointless hassle.   So I assigned a specific weapon type to each character. Skills are learned through levels (unless I can come up with something better) and both weapon types work on both enemy types.   It's streamlined, yes. But I think this is for the best. My game is complex and deep enough without this system.   I think that was all. Had to get this whole thing off my chest!   Be safe, everyone.   Sinathor OUT!
Sinathor

Sinathor

1
 

Fresh testgame started

Hey all!   This is my first development blog entry and I'm hoping to try and write actively here in order to get people interested in my game, as well as so I can keep track of stuff I've done during the late stages of the game's development.   My game is called "Ixias - Stellar Complex" and you can find it here: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/27893-ixias-stellar-complex-old-school-cyberpunk-rpg/   Anyway. On to the posting.   My testgame save file started to become so old that most of the changes I had made didn't carry over to the savefile. So I had to start a new game, and I have to say that since I've been taking my time to polish the game with missing graphics and some "less important" stuff, the game feels so much more complete now, and that is a great feeling!   I could actually play the game like a real videogame. Everything neatly in place. And I got an authentic gaming experience too when I listed 25 new bugs! Brilliant! It's like Skyrim all over again! *runs off to fix them*   In all seriousness though. As the game is nearing completion, I keep getting new ideas for the sequel constantly and I'm getting way ahead of myself, as I'm a very impatient person. But at least it'll be a direct sequel. So there's no point to a sequel if you don't have the first game, is there   It's been a long year with this game, as I started the project in january. As this is entirely a hobby for me and I won't be asking money for playing Ixias, it's important to me that people still play and like it. I know commenting can be a bit of a bitch for some people, but eh... If you're reading this, I hope you atleast try and throw a comment either here or in my Ixias thread. It's so incredibly important when it comes to motivation to continue doing my best and not do anything half-assed.   Here's a new screenie in celebration of the first blog entry! Yay!     I guess that's it. Fixing bugs. Adding missing graphics and stuff. Balancing the gameplay a bit (doing this properly once the game is finished) and adding some missing content.   It's coming along nicely!   I've been thinking I'd write about my process when I map. Would anyone be interested in that? Write it in the comments.     Sinathor out.
Sinathor

Sinathor

2
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