Thoughts/Ideas on/for a H&H Clone.

[Senviro]

to get a clue of the reddit threads OP work
http://i.imgur.com/qQNlZ.jpg

That is one of the most magnificently ineffective uses of Zspheres I've ever seen

[NOOBY93]

to get a clue of the reddit threads OP work
http://i.imgur.com/qQNlZ.jpg

That's the funny part, but it has nothing to do with the top comment. The top comment pretty much relates to any game developer who wants to make an MORPG without having a lot of people working for him... It took 2 guys like 10 years to make Haven and Hearth as is, and like 2-3 years to be playable, and they KNEW how to code from the start. Imagine 1 person doing it with no prior knowledge of programming.
On the other hand, I don't think Haven was based on any engine which is why it took so long. Anyway good luck.

[borka]

Nooby there are zillions of websites and Books where Devs are giving good hints on how to develop a game.

My point was to show that that guy made a worthless attempt in convincing (while his post was good as his intention was)

Senviro here said the he's not a programmer - thus when asking for thoughts, ideas it might include teaming up with one that show up.

Nowadays there are so many engines free to use - and loads of tutorials - so why shouldn't someone try. If he fails he still has made a lot of experiences and learned a lot. I wouldn't want to miss my (mostly crappy) experiments with 3DSMax,Maya, ZBrush etc. and modding for existing games.

Loftar and jorb are an outstanding example - but i guess everything started with a different approach - a coder and an artist met and both wanted to learn and develop their skills - what's better than to make a game together

"a full-fledged design bible" ?!? - don't dare to ask Loftar and jorb about

Search Hint: Fallout Bible

[Duderock]

NPCs, Races, Party control? This doesn't sound like an H&H clone at all, but rather something completely different.

[Senviro]

NPCs, Fantasy, Party control? This doesn't sound like an H&H clone at all, but rather something completely different.

Sounds true enough, but as with most short posts, I'd not fully explained myself. The idea is a clone in terms of themes and atmosphere. Think of H&H, with the (eventually earned) second character control mechanic. You click your second character's portrait, and you take direct control of that character, much like a drag-drop strategy approach of selecting units. But you can only have two, and must micromanage them both at either different locations, or the same one. Or one can be logged off. The idea of having the ability of having two characters is a sense of safety, and risk. If you see two players, and feel like killing them for their stuff, you'd not be sure if it was a single player with two characters, or two players using their weak alts to scout, with their strong mains hanging behind to jump into any fights.

As for the fantasy aspect, I cite trolls and dryads as an example of what my intentions are, but on a weirder level. Common animals ought to be mixed in with weird creatures, but handling them in as realistic a way as possible. Typical fantasy horseshit like magic will be mostly tribal/traditional nonsense used only for minor buffs. Something along the lines of Game of Thrones, or The Witcher, minus over-the-top mysticism, and minus the oddities of overly massive creatures such as dragons.


NPCs, on the other hand, would be there for flavor and danger. NPC settlements is an idea that I'm very much attached to, especially when mixed with different races. A player, unable to understand the language of a different race, won't be able to tell if they've run into players, or A.I. However, if they run into an NPC controlled village of the same race, they could do simplistic trading with them. Or get some buddies together and roll on it and take over (if they're strong enough.)

The differences are indeed there, but the wood gathering, the complete weakness at the start, the crafting, building, farming, quest for better quality and resources would still be key. Controlling two characters can make that easier or harder depending on the location, and NPCs can be an extra threat where resources are concerned.

TL;DR: Kinda, but not completely. Same feel, different vibe.

[jcm2214]

I think a npc population in an mmo style game is a really easy way to screw up if their is anything like first person gameplay.

[Jungletoe]

Dwell took 2 years of slaving away programming til 5AM to be remotely playable and will still probably be continuously refined for a bit to come. While it's not an HnH clone, albeit in the same genre, good fucking luck and I hope you know what you're in for.

[factnfiction101]

For me the hardest part of creating a game is the artwork. I'm not a good artist I consider myself as being ok-ish. I know many many people who can program, but not many game artists/pixel artist/animators/etc... RPG require a lot of artwork and to me that has been the biggest hurdle. I have created different RPG engines using sprites from other games. I now have a few artist friends who are helping me a lot. So yeah

[jordancoles]

For me the hardest part of creating a game is the artwork. I'm not a good artist I consider myself as being ok-ish. I know many many people who can program, but not many game artists/pixel artist/animators/etc... RPG require a lot of artwork and to me that has been the biggest hurdle. I have created different RPG engines using sprites from other games. I now have a few artist friends who are helping me a lot. So yeah

Long time no see

[MagicManICT]

(Digs throughs tack of RPGs on computers from last 30 years...)

Yep, lots of really high quality art there... oh, look at that one, it's all fake 3d lines with static images! (ie Bards Tale, might & Magic, etc) hey! I even have a few that are ascii graphics.

Ok, snark aside, you don't need artwork to make an RPG. A FPS or RTS? Probably very helpful, though you could do billboarded actors or no animation. Heck, the best sim/RPG game available right now is done in ASCII. I know the line is a bit blurred anymore with a lot of games between FPS and RPG with the distinction being the action style alone. (Probably more distinctions, not worth arguing.)