Shattered Realms [Prototype]

Comments

  • @Tightrope I've seen this problem before, all you need to do is download the latest DirectX runtime libraries and install them (has to do with the shaders we're using in the game). You can get them here:
    DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010)

    @ennohex Thanks for all the amazing feedback this weekend, the local FGC is just sooo amazing :D Seriously, you guys rock! I will keep you updated with the latest builds (every month or so) so you can put it through its paces and then let me know where it breaks. Those infinites :)

    And to everyone who stopped by the stand this weekend to show their support, thank you so much, we really appreciate it. You really refuelled our reserves with vigour to make this the best we can make it.

    Also, here is the latest EGE Build that we showed from Saterday onwards (reduced difficulty):
    Shattered Realms v0.0.2.1
  • Yes that's it. I also came across the shader error. Sadly installing the the end-user runtimes didn't solve the problem for me :(. I'll see what I can do about it.
  • Hey, I played the game at EGE, and here is a
    I played for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, which was about all the time I had since I had to return to our table, and I only got to see the sharks, not http://orig15.deviantart.net/1a75/f/2016/210/0/9/shattered_realms___boss_mode_by_pieterator-dabweqp.png
    I'm not sure how long others played for, but it could be better to just have one shark wave at the beginning before going through to stage 2 (etc. - I don't know what happened after I killed the 2 shark waves).
    But maybe I just sucked :P

    Also, this has progressed a lot since the first build I played, nice work!
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • Tightrope said:
    i want to try this out but I run into the following error even before the "insert coin" screen. "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\d3dcompiler_43.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error."
    I know this is a problem with my PC and not with the executable. Any advice? I've downloaded and replaced the .dll and reinstalled DirectX 12 but to no avail.
    Hey man, just install the latest DirectX User-Runtime drivers and that should solve it :)
    Hope that helps
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • Please can you provide the ability to re-bind the keys? "N" and "M" are not obvious Accept and Cancel keys and I had a devil of a time just trying to just navigate the menu until I looked at the OP for instructions.
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • @Fengol I'm so sorry that the controls are causing you frustration. Rebinding keys is definitely functionality we want to add, I just haven't been able to get to it yet. It probably won't make it into the Amaze build either, but after that we will be fleshing out the menus, and it will be one of the first things that gets added.
    Thanked by 1dammit
  • After showcasing our game at EGE, Sigma, a prominent member of the local fighting game community, made this amazing video showing just what the Bullet Elf is capable of.

    It's only when the game is put of the hands of fighting game enthusiasts that it really shines :D I can't begin to describe how welcoming and kind the fighting game community is. It inspires us to make Shattered Realms the best it can be.

  • It feels like he's just toying with those enemies ;P
    Thanked by 2pieter dawidstrauss
  • For everyone who are not able to attend A Maze, here is the latest build that we will be showcasing during the following week. There are a lot of small graphical and audio updates, as well as some much needed juice (my favourite part of game dev :), though no oil yet (sorry key config, pause menus, etc).

    Download, enjoy and let us know what you think. All feedback is welcomed :D
    Shattered Realms v0.0.3.0 (A Maze Build)

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    (Finishing a Section with a Super Move)
    Thanked by 1dammit
  • Hey, just played this game at Amaze. Its a great game and i was fully entertained even after playing it like 4 times.
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • Hope to see some more videos please!
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • This looks pretty cool! Will fire up one of your builds to test play sometime this coming weekend
    Thanked by 1pieter
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    So we finally released an updated build of Shattered Realms, and we've set it free, and it now lives over on itch.io!

    Shattered Realms on itch

    There was much squealing and spleeing when we published it :D But now begins the process of slowly building a community around Shattered Realms, taking their comments and feedback to make it the best game it can be. There is still a (very) long road ahead of us, but hopefully this helps us lay a solid foundation to build our game on.

    For those who love trailers (I know I do), here's the itch.io trailer Deon put together for us.

    I'll be sure to keep this thread updated with any breaking news that happens over on the itch page ;)
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    Just to show what this baby is going to look like ;)
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
  • edited
    Love the more modern pixel art style here!!!

    Though, I think the smudge frames on the sword could be done slightly differently.

    In particular, on the downward sword attack, there are two frames during the smudge with the same silloette, the white frame and then the one afterwards. It sort of feels like the sword stretches rather than is moving (as it is pausing on a smudge frame).

    And then the sword-edge on the bottom of the downward sword attack (at the bottom of the sword) shifts oddly as the detail comes in at the end of the attack (as the smudge catches up).

    I've made a gif with these minor tweaks, the frame after the white flash is already catching up with the sword attack (so the movement doesn't feel like it pauses there), and the outline at the bottom of the sword holds its form better (though I'm not sure my solution for the detail coming in is right for this art style).

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    Original (for comparison):

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    Thanked by 2dawidstrauss pieter
  • Thanks for the feedback Evan :)
    Glad you like the new art direction.
    Means a lot.
  • I really like the new use of colour, and dropping the outlines!

    I feel like the poses are a bit stiff (i.e. they look like body parts were copy-pasted around), with minimal squash and stretch. I feel like that's a bit of a pity, because it's one thing that generally makes 3D fighting games look worse than their 2D counter-parts in my opinion; there's a looseness and exaggeration that I find beautiful in 2D animation that I don't think you're capitalising on here. At the same time, I know that that looseness comes at a cost (it takes a while to do), so I also understand if not taking that route's a conscious decision.

    (And I miss you, dude! Hope you're doing well!)
    Thanked by 2dawidstrauss pieter
  • Thanks Jono,
    I'll take that into account :) for sure, the new art style makes it really easy to do that, and I should.
    Thanks again

    (miss you too dude.Hope YOU are kicking ass)
    Thanked by 1Elyaradine
  • Hey Guys, Just letting you know that we have in fact, been working on the title still. And to a much greater extent, and will be showing off some work by the end of next week. Sorry about the lack of updates, but we are terrible at this sort of thing (ie Updates) So stay tuned, and sharpen your wits, because big things are coming!
  • I expect our perceptions to be shattered into multiple realms :D
  • Sorry for the Delay in the art dump folks, will happen this week! Promise ;)
    Thanked by 3pieter Jurgen SUGBOERIE
  • THE GAME HAS CHANGED!

    Hey everyone, over the last couple of months we have putting our heads down building the world of Shattered Realms. We were super fortunate to entice a very talented local artist, Malcolm Wope, to help us out, and together with @dawidstrauss, have been building the characters and world of Shattered Realms.

    In the next few months we're going to be putting together promotional art that will represent what we envision the final production quality of the game will be in order to gauge if there is enough of an audience for what we're creating.

    We would love to hear from you guys, and get some feedback on the art, and where it's headed. We've been using the local game dev community as a sounding board since the game started, and it's improved the quality way beyond what we could have accomplish on our own. Thank you for every smile, encouragement, high five and above all, every soul crushing reality check, we take them all to heart. :D

    Check out more of Malcolm's work over on Behance.
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  • Overall, I love the direction! :D I'd like to leave more, better feedback, but I'm kind of crunching at the moment because I found out this morning that work's a bit tighter than I thought it was. I may find time tonight.
  • I personally like the new direction :)
  • edited
    I've been staring at it tonight, and like it more and more. I like how vibrant and colourful it is, and the great shape language.

    I feel like there are a handful of different time periods that are being explored; some of it looks ancient and gothic (cultists, gargoyles, stone architecture, fantasy-like tropes), some looks quite contemporary, and some of the fashion has futuristic glows and clothing-patterns next to fantasy symbolism, and then there are some aliens/monsters in the mix. I think this is great in terms of trying different things out -- it's what concept art should be. Are there ones in particular that you're leaning toward (in which case perhaps your iteration/exploration focuses more on that)?

    I'd like to see more of a sense of purpose, especially in the enemy designs. If he's wearing a gasmask, maybe he should have some kind of gaseous spray or flamethrower, to give the gasmask place, but also to make it easier to read how this person is likely to fight? If she's got a head of teeth, perhaps that should be exaggerated more so that the teeth-head is very obviously dangerous, rather than simply being alien? I think having a type of attack (not necessarily mechanically -- you don't have to have designed the attacks already -- but just in terms of a theme) be the base around which the rest of the character's visuals is designed doesn't just make it easier for the viewer/future-player to read what's likely to be going on in your game, but it also helps to avoid some of the more generic designs (e.g. just a big, muscular dude). (There's a point at which the archetypes get boring, and there's certainly space for designing more complex characters with more surprises in them, but I think that having the first few be easier to read is a good thing.)

    I'm not sure if that first character is a main character (her pixel art version looks damn cool), but in the painting her eye looks off. It seems too far to the side for her to be a cyclops, but too close to the middle of the head (and a little too high up) to match the read of a normal human being.

    Lastly, I feel like it's easy to let the pressure of success cause significant anxiety (especially when you've got some damn fine artists working on this project), and that that can sometimes be crippling (I know from first-hand experience, at least with that last part anyway :D). I just want to say I love you guys, and you're winners in my eyes, whatever your work looks like and however the game turns out.
  • @pieter

    That is one hell of a visual upgrade. I can't wait to see the game in action with the new assets. Sorry that I can't offer any in-depth critique. I just wanted to pop in and say keep up the great work! :)
    Thanked by 2pieter dawidstrauss
  • This is all looking amazing to me! I'm particularly fond of the character with power fists and a pet otter! That is an otter right?

    Very curious about how some of the later characters fit into the Shattered Realms world. Can't wait to see all this in motion too!
  • @MrBexy @dammit Thanks guys, we really appreciate the support, so much of ourselves is going into this project :)

    @BenJets I believe it's a ferret, and in the lore he's not a pet, he's actually the big guys wrestling couch, teaching him the ropes as it were :D

    @Elyaradine Thanks for all the amazing in depth feedback. We were actually discussing some of the points you made this afternoon. You're right, as amazing as the art looks, we're still hunting for that secret glue that's going to tie everything together as a cohesive whole. And thank you for the encouraging words, it spoke to all of us ;)
    Thanked by 1BenJets
  • Here is some of the sprite work that @dawidstrauss has been putting together for us. We are drawing a lot of inspiration from Hyper Light Drifter and also the gorgeous Dead Cells. Focusing on detailed backgrounds and characters being more flat-shaded and stylised.

    I'm really stoked with the amount of progress he's made in such a short amount of time.

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  • Does anyone have any crits or suggestions?
  • The cavern-like environment looks a lot better than the street imo. The street looks quite flat, and the gradients in the windows in particular remind me of old Flash games (in a "cheap"-looking way). I hope that makes sense.

    The character animation's looking pretty amazing!
    Thanked by 2pieter dawidstrauss
  • @dawidstrauss
    Something about the gradients in the backgrounds vs the cell shading on the characters is causing some dissonance for me, personally would like to see the same treatment for the background as the characters, with a light and shadow color.

    The run cycle for the blue hair character seems the center of gravity is too far back making it feel quite light, be conscious that during a run cycle the less up and down movement there is the more weightless feeling will be, good for tippy toe ninjas and ballerinas.

    The impact of the punch feels soft because the spacing is too even through the movement, maybe consider favoring the windup to give more oomph to the impact frame. Favoring in the whole pose not just the arm, the twisting the hips and legs so that it really snaps into the contact position will give it powah.

    It's awesome that Malcolm has joined the realm, you guys are going to create some mad work for this game!
    Oh I also really really like the graphic shapes of the impact effects, and dude in the white suit.

    Here are some potentially useful or not so useful links:
    http://www.dinofarmgames.com/a-pixel-artist-renounces-pixel-art/
    Beware, you may get lost in study on this one for hours.
    http://kofaniv.snk-corp.co.jp/english/info/15th_anniv/2d_dot/gallery/character/

    Looking forward to seeing this game evolve!
    Thanked by 2pieter dawidstrauss
  • 360 Reference views of the characters, together with some move ideas for Lynx.

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  • @Pomp, thanks for all the thoughtful feedback :) I've spoken with the art team, and they all agree on the points you've raised. As the assets are going into the game we'll be sure to tweak them, especially that Gigaton Punch, it needs to hit like a truck!
  • @Elyaradine, thanks for the insights. Looking at it again I can see what you mean with the flash look. This is exactly the kind of feedback we were looking for :D
  • Some gifs of the progress we've been making on Shattered Realms.
    Art team is really hitting all sixes!

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  • We've reached the end of our incubation with Free Lives, So tonight at midnight(CAT) we're launching it as a demo on itch.io

    So. very. happy.

    We decided to pare it down a little from some of our earlier ambitions, in terms of stages and narrative components, and focus in even more intently on the combat systems, mechanics, and feedback. So this version is even juicier and more intense than anything you've seen so far. We also opted to only allow 2 players instead of the full 4, because we feel that the 4 player mode is not representative of the quality we want to present.

    Currently waiting on the trailer, I'll post again when I have actionable things to link to. In the meantime we have:

    A facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ShatteredRealmsGame/
    the twitter thing at https://twitter.com/shatteredbrawl
    and we would greatly appreciate signal boosting today and tonight. :)
  • Awesome, looking forward!

    FYI, there's something on this page that's trying to link to a restricted part of your website
    image

    Ok, I had a look and your website http://shatteredrealmsgame.com/ is password-protected.
  • not to worry, that's just because the whole site is still under construction, I'm working on it.

    Thanks tho' :)
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • The Alpha Demo of Shattered Realms is finally live!


    Download the free demo on itch.io!
    Shattered Realms Alpha Demo
  • Uh, any mac builds? :)
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • @Tuism Going to look into it now, will you help me test?
  • Yeah of course :)
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • Played this a bit last night and wow, what a sick game! Amazing work! Really keen to see how this evolves :)
    Thanked by 1pieter
  • Really cool :D!
    The visual effects are great. Combo's feel good and I can rely on them to help me progress. Wish I had a downward dash or upward dash on the floor to get out of tight spots.
    I like the bit of story at the start, I was wanting more story a bit earlier, perhaps the main character saying something about their surroundings etc.
    Looking forward to more of Shattered Realms :D

    Great!
  • Super necro, and maybe I've missed something important, but what's happened to this game?
  • Oh, this is really just a super necro, write to the developer himself. Not the fact that you will receive the answer now.
  • @dammit

    I believe they're chatting to publishers still to get the game funded, so development is simmering along
  • edited
    Hey everyone :D So I didn't really want to post anything until I had something signed and sealed. I've spoken with ALOT of publishers in the last year or so, some showed promise while others didn't have capacity for another project, or the game didn't really fit their portfolio.

    I realized early on that you should not get exited until you have a signed agreement, because before that, anything can cause the deal to fall through. So many negotiations went to 99% before ultimately falling through because of a small detail or misunderstanding.

    And it's really frigging tough on you. When publishers look at your game and they all agree that it looks awesome and shows potential, but can't you do it cheaper, can't you do it faster. To do it faster, you need more people. With more people you need more money. But to do it cheaper you need to pay them less. Maybe if you work 18 month without taking a holiday, leave or sick day you can get it done quicker. Take that pay cut now, you'll make it back when the game sells well.

    But avoiding the tough calls now, just moves them into the future, where they'd likely just accrue interest.

    I've calculated a realistic timeline (thank you Shaz for all your insights and time) with a realistic budget for the project. I am in talks with a publisher that seems really keen, they just have to make sure the numbers work for them as well. If the deal does goes through, I know I'll have the resources to create a good game, and if not, then it wasn't meant to be. I've had plenty of opportunity to low ball and get the deal, I just have to trust I made the right call not to take them.

    I unfortunately had to take a full time job away from game dev to make sure bills get paid while I negotiate with publishers, because negotiations can take a looooooong time. Progress is still being made on the game, and I've included quite a few additional features. But I'm lucky if I get 4 - 8 hours a week to work on Shattered Realms, let alone the energy after being exhausted from work.

    The fire in me to create Shattered Realms still burns white hot though. This is a game that needs to exist. It's doing something new and unique with a beloved genre. I want people to have fun playing this game. I want them to collapse back in their chairs when they've finished it and go "Fuck yes, that was amazing!". I want them to feel that the time they spent playing Shattered Realms was time well spent. I want to give that to gaming.

    So onward and upward! If I have anything exiting to share like a publishing deal I'll be sure to post it here. In the meantime, check out this video of Woolie and Matt playing Shattered Realms. It was really fun watching them enjoy Shattered Realms :)
  • Hi Peter,
    it looks to me like the sensible approach to take to give it the chance of success it deserves, the low ball deal would be short-sighted if you truly believe in this game.

    I believe in you, it is you and your passion that will make this happen or whatever project you put your mind and efforts to!

    God bless and do what is right for you and your dream since this is yours.
    Thanked by 1pieter
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