The Not-Official-But-Still-Interesting Drakkara Thread

[Kaimetsu]

If I'm not an idiot then I'll have attached the Drakkara now. A couple of things to mention, though.

1) If you wish, load intro.graal. It borders on being cool, but the Star Wars-esque text would need updating.

2) Yes, I need new heads rather than the standard Graal ones. But for that I need artists. Any volunteers?

3) I plan to have multidirectional body segments so that they look different based on the line of the body at that point.

4) Unless I've overlooked something, they are now totally delagged (we're talking LESS lag than bomies). One NPC draws them, and is universal to all players, whilst the other handles dragon players' movements.

Uh, I think that's it. Remember to send some feedback this way (and ask the Info Guys in dragon.graal if you need help ).

[Aidoggy]

Brilliant Intro &Nicely Programmed

Although maybe a little too strong the dragons themselves rule
Keep up the Good Work!!

[Psyker]

Dude, that is @#$&%$*@ing awesome!

[Kaimetsu]

You're right, they're too powerful at the moment but they can be weakened pretty easily. Hmm, I suppose I should make a health bar for them too. How about something like a snake in the top right that decreases in size as the dragon gets more and more hurt?

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Psyker
Dude, that is @#$&%$*@ing awesome!

They'll be better when I get some better graphics for them. *glances sideways at TrueHeaT and all the other artistic maestros*

[Aidoggy]

Yeah Sounds good, wither way the intro Rules

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Aidoggy
Yeah Sounds good, wither way the intro Rules

Heh, just don't look too closely at the NPCs. The scripting in intro.graal is heavily scrappy.

[CrazedMerlin]

Wow good job they look great, i have a few suggestions
1) maybe a attack animation like some sort of a gani
2) slower movement rate since they are pretty powerfull
I dunno those are just some suggestions, but theres cool

[Tyhm]

It's a really good start...
Suggest the following: Each segment's distance from their shadow is determined by a function of sine(x*y), so they sort of "wave" when they walk instead of being constantly hunched over like that.
Health is shown by the number of segments, kinda like in Centipede. This is one of the ongoing gripes about Bomys, they don't show health at all.
New heads. Don't even bother using the existing. Make a Bomy Template sort of head, then you can have them bite attack more realistically.
Sounds are always good, if you can get them.
Either they have to be a whole lot weaker (human level at least: 3 hearts and 0.5 damage), or rarer (see also: Bomy Hatchlings). Maybe the player, Bomy or Human, has to do a quest in a cave with a door that only opens on Sylvester, then is closed for the rest of the year, so you have 1 Graalian Day to get the Dragon Form and get out. Unsticking means you lose the Dragon form, also that you can't get to the cave again (obviously, it IS Sylvester after all). You have the Dragon Form at full power (which would be insanely powerful) until you die, then it's gone until you can get a new one.

[Aidoggy]

it
Rules
=)

[Zulithe]

Wow that sure is different, very interesting, very cool. As mentioned they are very powerful, I'm sure you're planning on weakening them a little. Good luck

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Tyhm
It's a really good start...
Suggest the following: Each segment's distance from their shadow is determined by a function of sine(x*y), so they sort of "wave" when they walk instead of being constantly hunched over like that.

Ahem, I am an idiot. There's a line which I commented out to make them do that and... oh heck, I'll just post the proper version.

Health is shown by the number of segments, kinda like in Centipede. This is one of the ongoing gripes about Bomys, they don't show health at all.

Yes, it's possible, but when you make them only about 2 segs long they end up look like maggots

New heads. Don't even bother using the existing. Make a Bomy Template sort of head, then you can have them bite attack more realistically.

This is my intention, but I'm as artistic as a dead stoat. That's why I'm calling for others to help - perhaps even making 8-directional heads?

Sounds are always good, if you can get them.

Again, I'm trying to stay within my area of expertise rather than mess them up by trying to do things that I'm not qualified to.

Either they have to be a whole lot weaker (human level at least: 3 hearts and 0.5 damage), or rarer (see also: Bomy Hatchlings). Maybe the player, Bomy or Human, has to do a quest in a cave with a door that only opens on Sylvester, then is closed for the rest of the year, so you have 1 Graalian Day to get the Dragon Form and get out. Unsticking means you lose the Dragon form, also that you can't get to the cave again (obviously, it IS Sylvester after all). You have the Dragon Form at full power (which would be insanely powerful) until you die, then it's gone until you can get a new one.

I know they're too powerful, but it's only to demonstrate the possibilities. I can easily change their damage output and number of lives.

[Kaimetsu]

Now, anyway, does anybody think they could make me some heads? I just need one convincing dragon head graphic, which faces a possible 8 directions.

Or should it be eight? Four looks okay but it seems a bit primitive when you compare it to the snazziness of the tail. I think the body segments will one day be eight-directional, so do you think the head should follow suit?

[aran_lesai]

Very cool Intro! I am a beginner when it comes to graphics, but I have made a few heads. I might be able to lend a hand if I have the time. You mentioned spitting things that had been eaten, and I have an idea that might work. You would have to figure out the code, but make it as an NPC weapon, so it could be disabled (so you could pound right through a lot of stuff). I am going to try and make some more segment pngs/gifs so that there will be even more variety. I dunno, maybe one with tiny claws. I know that you have to use an NPC weapon for the drakkara code, (at least right now) but is there a way to make it invisible so it doesn't take up space in the "q" menu? Oh, and it would be much easier to read the instructions (on dragon.graal)
if they were on signs instead of messages. I found it frustrating having to wait for 5 minutes (or whatever) to read all the instructions. Or you could just speed up the messages.
But anyway, that's only aesthetic, so it doesn't matter at all. Again, I love the idea. I'll post some more segments and maybe a head or two when I get some made. I'm really looking forward to seeing this become official (I hope it does ).
Anyway I think I've said enough for now,
C-yall L8R!

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by aran_lesai
Very cool Intro! I am a beginner when it comes to graphics, but I have made a few heads. I might be able to lend a hand if I have the time.

Anything is appreciated.

You mentioned spitting things that had been eaten, and I have an idea that might work. You would have to figure out the code, but make it as an NPC weapon, so it could be disabled (so you could pound right through a lot of stuff).

I actually think this could work too. I could make an NPC server dude that uses move and checks players around it, ect. I'll make a poll about it if we approach officiality.

I am going to try and make some more segment pngs/gifs so that there will be even more variety. I dunno, maybe one with tiny claws.

Sounds good, just as long as you make them 8-directional. Maybe they'll even be the first ever official body segments...

I know that you have to use an NPC weapon for the drakkara code, (at least right now) but is there a way to make it invisible so it doesn't take up space in the "q" menu?

Sure, I could've done that. But I wanted more control over it whilst in the development stage so I left it in.

Oh, and it would be much easier to read the instructions (on dragon.graal)
if they were on signs instead of messages. I found it frustrating having to wait for 5 minutes (or whatever) to read all the instructions. Or you could just speed up the messages.
But anyway, that's only aesthetic, so it doesn't matter at all.

Yeah, it's only a demo level.

Again, I love the idea. I'll post some more segments and maybe a head or two when I get some made. I'm really looking forward to seeing this become official (I hope it does ).
Anyway I think I've said enough for now,
C-yall L8R!

I'm looking forward to it too. I'll have to ask Stefan how long until script ganis are feasible.

[Fai]

That is teh coolest thing i have ever seen

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Fai
That is teh coolest thing i have ever seen

It's gonna get one heck of a lot better when I make multi-directional body segments and heads.

[Fai]

You should take off like 2-3 body segments though. They are waay too long.

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Fai
You should take off like 2-3 body segments though. They are waay too long.

This is another instance of me editing something for my sig and then forgetting to change it back. To change the lengths of the tails, go into the Dragon Drawer NPC and edit the line which says "this.links=10" (at least, I think that's it). A link count of 7 looks best to me.

[Kaimetsu]

Though it's fun to try baby caterpillar dragons (3 segments) and super-duper-crash-computer dragons (600 segments).

[Tyhm]

Thought:
The first 3 segments are in the Drakkara Skin, along with the head (this way the first three can have wings, whatever), and the rest are standard (maybe you can edit the colors, maybe it's really a body.png with an attatched GANI or something so you can change the colors the usual way, I dunno). The longer your tail (past the first 3 segments), the more health. When you only have 3 segments, you die.
So players start with 6 segments, they can go to 7. There would be 2 standard segments, one for a full heart, one for a half heart...

Might help, anyway

[Fai]

They should have a tail segment. Kind of like the big worms that swim around in Megaman X in Launch Octopus's stage.

[Kaimetsu]

Tyhm, those ideas sound super cool, but the problem is that currently (until script ganis are made) my bodies are drawn with showimg and thus there's no way to make them vary in colour. The first few bodies being different sounds pretty danged good, so I'll look at incorporating that, and likewise the tail that Fai suggested. As for length representing health, it won't be difficult to script but it will end up looking stupid if ever more than 4-5 hearts are available.

So, anyway, I ask you all to picket Stefan's house, and threaten to eat the flowers in his garden if he doesn't implement script ganis ASAP. And in the meantime, I ask that the artists around us start to make bodies that comply with Tyhm's standards so that we can make something to woo Stefan with to encourage him to hurry up.

[Tyhm]

All you really need is something like ShowGani...

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Tyhm
All you really need is something like ShowGani...

Not really, because then we hit things like lag again. The script for the visual behaviour of the dragon needs to be stored on everybody's computers, which implies either system NPCs or script ganis.

[grim_squeaker_x]

Hmm, isn't it possible to set the x and y locations to param1 etc.? I don't know if that's any help since I haven't actually checked it out yet though.

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by grim_squeaker_x
Hmm, isn't it possible to set the x and y locations to param1 etc.? I don't know if that's any help since I haven't actually checked it out yet though.

Noooo, people are missing the point. The problem with the Drakkara is LAG. The solution is fuzzy appearances. A simple example:

You're in a forest. It's raining. Lots of showimg water droplets fall from the sky, but are you really staring at each one? No, of course not. So, shall we send information to everybody onscreen to tell them where each little droplet is, or should we have them randomly generated? Everybody with brain cells will choose the latter. Nobody will notice that they haven't got the same rain as other people, after all.

The same principle applies here. The dragons are made up of maybe 20 images each. Do you like the idea of sending information for each of those to the server every time you move? No, but we can make an approximation of the segments' locations just by keeping track of the player's x and y position (which are sent to the server anyway). This way, we can actually achieve zero additional lag. Assigning stuff to player params would just be sending information but in a different basic way.

[Vash]

It's good, but the latch onto players wich would be really easy to pk

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by Vash
It's good, but the latch onto players wich would be really easy to pk

Some people say it's too weak, some say it's too powerful. I can adjust how long between each successive bite quite easily, and what delay is made before the first bite occurs. Also, changing the damage, speed and everything else is a piece of cake. when the race is finished it'll be a simple thing to playtest and update them.

[Kaimetsu]

This is so frustrating. The Zulite have a graphics template but no script, and the Drakkara are the opposite. Well, when I get more time I'll make my own body segments and stuff. Hopefully then people will quickly make their own so that they don't have to poison their eyes with my pitiful attempts at art.

[CrazedMerlin]

vash is back? yay vash is back! (unless this is a old post )

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by CrazedMerlin
vash is back? yay vash is back! (unless this is a old post )

It is. I'm just reviving the thread so that nobody even thinks about it dropping off the bottom.

[CrazedMerlin]

Ask captain USA his gfx are pretty good

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by CrazedMerlin
Ask captain USA his gfx are pretty good

Yeah, I'll ask some of the good guys like Gonmon and the Cap'n when I've got a basic template together.

[Huggles]

They need a new head.... Because that head is orginaly for neo knights

[Kaimetsu]

Oh, yeah, they're obviously not the final ones. I hope to get some eight-directional dragon heads for them.

[AlexH]

any idea when you'll get a head or body template and ill help out makin some gfxs

[richard]

thats good did you make it yourself?

[Kaimetsu]

Originally posted by richard
thats good did you make it yourself?

You silly person. Of course I made it myself.

[Huggles]

Originally posted by Kaimetsu


You silly person. Of course I made it myself.

The dragon head will be easy

The body tho will be tough to do.... I was thinking green scale on the top and the soft belly on the bottom but that would be screwed at the tail