[WIP] Creeping Me Out!

[Mixel]

Hmm that sounds like what happens when you don’t have enough Chip Ram free when you load from WB, how much do you have free? It needs ~1.9MB free i think.

[skyzoo73]

Originally Posted by Mixel

First bugfix release http://mixelslab.com/CMO1j.lha - I'm not sure if it'll help your issue DaveInFL but maybe!

Fixed a few worldmap glitches
Fixed some really funny level geometry problems
Earok fixed the UI bugging on ECS machines

Very interested if people have any issues with the statusbar showing corruptuion or anything.

Retested on my Amiga600 (2mega Chip+4fast)
corruption of the dialogs is gone, ALL OK now!

[Mixel]

That’s great! I wonder how playable it is later - particularly the motorway level! My assumption would be that it’s unplayably slow but it might be interesting anyway.

Ed: Oh weird I just tried your config in winuae on the motorway.. Certainly makes collecting the gems easier!

I just found another massive bug that might be present in .j, I'll try to fix that.

—-
I’m on graphics duty for a while..

Here’s an (unfinished) snail for the swamp levels..

[DaveInFL]

Originally Posted by Mixel

Hmm that sounds like what happens when you don’t have enough Chip Ram free when you load from WB, how much do you have free? It needs ~1.9MB free i think.

I should have more than enough memory.

[Mixel]

Ah, no, specifically that isn't enough Chip to run it from WB. it runs fine from mine with 1.9 free. That's likely the problem. Maybe it'll run from the workbench if you add more ChipRam in FS-UAE.. (though I couldn't vouch for that config, no classic Amigas have >2MB chip so I don't know how Scorpion deals with it?)

Does temporarily disabling the background picture save any chip ram? it would on a classic Amiga. IDK if you're using UAE rtg screenmodes etc though. (this is why i run my A1200 in High Res (non-laced) limited colours, so many games need a ton of chipram and it saves a lot of time messing about turning down settings)

[Predseda]

Originally Posted by DaveInFL

I should have more than enough memory.

My booted WB has 1,924kB chipmem when I succesfully run Creeping Me Out. After I finish the game and it quits itself back to WB, around 200kB is remaining. So your 1,7MB is just around the limit and that is probably the cause of your problems. Launch the game without startup-sequence and I am sure if will run fine.

[Mixel]

Ive polished him a bit since, but here’s one of the swamp monsters, based loosely on the Ozark howler.. when it comes to diversifying the range of creatures and not just using the standard creepy archetypes (I’m using a ton of those too!) - rather than looking back at old mythical creatures (as in ghouls n ghosts and castlevania, largely) I’ll be leaning heavily into cryptids.

Things get weird fast with cryptids.

[commodorejohn]

As a cryptozoology/weird-stuff buff, I heartily approve

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by commodorejohn

As a cryptozoology/weird-stuff buff, I heartily approve

Haha! Glad it’s not just me! Maybe you’ll like the CMO take on the Loveland frogman, lol.

I also have mothmen and a few more in the early stages.

[commodorejohn]

Hahaha, brilliant

[Mixel]

Finishing off outside the barge..

https://imgur.com/a/vQoWTIy

[Adrian Browne]

Originally Posted by Mixel

Finishing off outside the barge..

https://imgur.com/a/vQoWTIy

Looks great- nice shading and definitions.

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by Adrian Browne

Looks great- nice shading and definitions.

Thanks! I hope it’s a pretty big improvement.. I’ve been doing tons of graphics lately for the next levels too.

—
On the other side of the coin I’m experimenting with a rough around the edges lower spec build of the demo that’ll run on a base A1200 with no fast ram. It should also perform much better for people with slower cpus than the A1200’s.. for now I’ve stripped some things out and I’m playing around with 25fps too. It’s really not indicative of any future performance, or any exact build I’d necessarily want to make for the full game, but it’s been cool to see it plays nicely at 25fps, and looks decent without EHB! (Though a lot of the graphics clearly need a little TLC) the parallax had to go though, as well as (for now) the fancy menus. I’ll probably be done with it over the weekend.

[Mixel]

Done a bit more work on this speculative no fast ram build. I think these are pretty interesing. I'd say I'm about 50% of the way through optimising the sprites/bobs for this new, half sized palette.

I had to drastically tone down the parallax backgrounds as they use up sooo much chip if you do them as detailed as they are in the EHB version, and to maintain a completely smooth framerate when I'm pushing a ton of enemies around i've locked it at 25fps. I also trimmed the middle third out of the motorbike level to save ram.

These all seem worthwhile experiments as the assets will be useful later on and I'll know what limits I may have to work within later.

Taking into consideration that I haven't really touched up *any* of the tileset yet, this is just Aseprite's attempt at keeping them as accurate as possible.. Once remastered they shouldn't look any worse than the originals, just with fewer ranges of colour to play with.. It'll basically start looking significantly more Psygnosis-y - I think it's looking pretty ok already though!

[Mixel]

Hmm..

Pretty sure by the time I’ve finished the reduced palette 32colour tile-set there’ll potentially be some argument that the low spec version actually has better graphics? Lol.

Fewer colours is forcing me to use a lot punchier curves which ups the contrast wildly. In the EHB palette I’ve usually gone with smoother shading, which gives a much earthier look..

I may have to use what I’m learning from the 32colour version and do a pass on the EHB tiles so they have the best of both, but high contrast more confident shading and more between tones.

[saimon69]

You can use other neutral or seemingly not related but in the scale colors to mix for the tiles, like a light brown/grey/dark brown gradient, in a CRT might come smoother and give more shades

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by saimon69

You can use other neutral or seemingly not related but in the scale colors to mix for the tiles, like a light brown/grey/dark brown gradient, in a CRT might come smoother and give more shades

Yup I've been mixing scales in the EHB graphics occasionally already, but I have to rely on it more now in 32cols. There are examples in that photo even, the grass has dark blue/grey instead of dark green to complete its shadows.

I’m reluctant to do too much with dithering as it can look pretty ugly.

In the mossy slime bricks I had to run into grey and brown shades to get the required effect, thich isn't a problem, if anything they look mossier with a bit of brown in there. Not having the dark shades means I dont have all the subtle blues anymore so I've had to move into my purples and greys for the blue stones..

By reducing the colours, the graphics are getting more colourful, lol, consistently, which hadn't occured to me until I started remastering the graphics.

[Mixel]

Here's some very rough around the edges footage of the lowspec built (25fps locked, reduced graphics..)

And a (probably temporary) feature for the couple of people who said the game moved too slowly.

[ Show youtube player ]

[Mixel]

I've been using Tiled's Atlas feature to map out approximately the bare minimum of map that's going to be in CMOhn so I can see how far i am into the game..

This is the overview of the project map such that it is so far.. (ive got a looong way to go!) Purple=already in the demo.. Blue = under construction, greeny yellow = cutscenes, credits, UI stuff.. Bright yellow is the show the size of an individual screen in game.

It's more likely to grow than shrink, I'm just covering all the bases from the overworld map but there's a chance i might spin off some boss levels from their main ones.

[Mixel]

Swamp in progress.. Tiles still need a lot of work but I think I have all of the enemy types done (in graphics terms anyway) I HOPE YOU LIKE FROGS!

Someone elsewhere asked if I was putting multiplayer in CMOhn, and after a lot of thought, not in a “two equal player characters” way (eg Anna and Francis) through the whole campaign.. that would take a lot of rethinking and rebalancing and it’s probably not worth it. Can’t rule it out for a sequel or special edition or something but I’ve planned puzzles that play on swapping between the two characters so that gets squished if you’re simultaneously both of them .. it’d likely be too easy with that much attack power. Would probably be difficult to trim down for the low spec version too.

I’m toying with a few ideas for asynchronous MP though where one player plays a minor support roll, good for helping a kid play, or for letting them join in but not have the ability to wreck your progress. Either some small spirit entity who can do something slightly useful (one lofty and probably stupid idea being possess and control enemies, another to just slow the enemies down slightly) or a talking pigeon that exists at this point in CMO’s story that won’t make much sense but would be funny. I might give him Joust style controls if I go that route.

Even in single player it might make sense to summon the 2p character, to pan the camera slightly further. That’s the idea at least. Only ideas at this point.

I have no idea why the photo is coming out sideways. Oh well.