Site Index: [ Stickman Home ] [ Buccaneer Home ] Blog Index: [ HARV'S LATEST ] [ Nev's Blog ] Man, it's just become serious... Saturday 17th May 2008 13:44 Crazy month this one has been...blimey, sounded like Yoda then eh? Well, it's all become very serious, and we're into milestone hitting mode with our publisher. We hit our first one this week, which is cool, but the next is a BIG one. Basically, all game modes, levels, ships, all multiplayer game, all single player game, A.I. etc. ....everything has to be sorted in 4 weeks time. Not only this, but in the latest version of the Torque advanced engine. So, we've got a full time man in helping from the code end, and just going for it big time. It's pretty exciting stuff, but we're also pretty shattered from the hours we're putting in....We've also bought the swear box back into the studio this week, as the language of'Das Boots'crew is getting out of hand..It lasted about 3 days, and we've kind of dropped the idea for now, as our pockets have been emptied of the meager amounts we've been carrying around of late already. We've got enough cash in the swearbox to keep us in teabags, milk, and ships biscuits for the next month or two now though 8) ... The final push...uur...again Saturday 19th April 2008 15:07 LOL!! uuur, daily blog eh? I think we can knock that idea on the head right now. Right, sat here working in the diving bell, just having a 5 minute breather from getting a demo together for a well known publisher. We've got to get it out for the end of next week. Stuffs crazy at the moment. We're in the final throws of development now, and are in full swing with our route to market etc. so the pressures full on. We're into contracts, lawyers, full on development, code craziness, art bugfixes, a brand new system for the terrain collision and water rendering, a much better way to hook everyone online with a decent forum system etc. etc. It's really, very crazy. We're almost certainly going to be releasing Q3 this year too, so as you may guess, to do that, we've actually got to get the game completely finished by July time...It's going to be a crazy Q2... Oh yeah, by the way we've got a full ship A.I. system now too that's going in over the next two or three weeks, so should be fun... Happy New Year! Friday 4th January 2008 10:49 Well, a massive happy new year one and all...What a year 2007 was here at Stickman Studios...We went to GDC, managed to survive the year by outrourcing like crazy for local games companies, completely redesigned the way loads of the game works, added a load of extra functionality to the multiplayer game, redesigned the entire GUI, got a real sweet deal on the table that we'll be able to tell you all about soon, and generally got the game from a really interesting, working concept, to now feeling like a great quality game. We've got a couple of months of very very hard work ahead of us now, but we're on the final run, basically assembling all the game elements we now have, with the story we've been dreaming up for the last couple of years into a really cool experience...It's fair to say that 2007 was our hardest year yet, I can't believe we've actually survived it to be honest, but 2008 is set to be the year Stickman is put on the map etc. I for one can't wait !! Bring it on, 2008, what a one! It's been sooooo long, AGAIN! Sunday 24th June 2007 17:36 How you all doing? Well, it really has been too long since I posted on my 'daily' blog so I thought I best get on the case with it again. The game's coming on nicely, Nev is away at the Grasspop festival in Belgium until Wednesday though (the place we decided to go it alone 2 years ago), but I've been getting on with things in his absence. Right, what can I tell you about? For the past couple of months Nev and I have been working on site at a games company helping them out with some environments and Wii stuff, and of course Nevs been creating hairstyles for them, it seems to be his lot in life 8) .. He loves it really, I've still managed to get a good 20-30 hour week in outside work, but it means we've got a few months extra funding now, when we drop back onto Buccaneer full time we should be cool for cash until Xmas, which is all the time we need to nail Buccaneer we think, so ace, it's been a big worry this year, moneys too tight to mention as they say. I've revisited all the ships to get proper death animations for them now, so when you kill an AI ship, or each other, you'll see each other break up and sink etc. They're looking the business actually, I've just got to LOD them all up now, a big job which will take me the next couple of weeks I think. On top of all this I've also built all the new GUI in game so you can now buy and trade ships, upgrade them etc. and unlock new ones etc. etc. It's what we needed to do to give the game the depth we wanted, but has put us back 6 months really, hence the expected Xmas launch. RIght, I won't leave it so long next time, and thanks again for checking us out and stuff. Harv. Chart Screen Saturday....31st March 2007 09:16 Well, Nev's finished designing the new chart screen, which is a map with over 50 islands/areas etc. all belonging to different factions etc. Some friendly to Corsairs, some to Freebooters etc. etc. you'll now be able to pick what area of the map you're going to attack and see if you can complete, and unlock levels, there's a few suprises in there too, which we'll leave you to discover. I spent all day yesterday implementing the new map screen into the game, it'll take all day today too, and probably Monday too...wish me luck, it's a very complicated one...We can already see what a massive difference it's going to have to gameplay though, it's the first step to getting the final game ready! Overhaul Friday....30th March 2007 09:53 This daily blog is turning into an entry every 10 days huh? I'll get my finger out and start servicing it more I promise, we've just been sooo busy over the last few weeks. Well, there's big changes going on over here in Buccaneer land. We've now got a demo, or more like a prototype together and it's looking really nice, we're very satisfied with the art side of things. We're now working hard on gameplay. We've got our levels in as they stand, and it wasn't feeling, well, piratey enough for our liking. Don't forget this is our first game, and we want it to be really cool, so we've had a good look at it, and have altered the way the single player game works, by making the entire experience much more customisable, you can pick whatever ships you want, and upgrate them etc. You're going to have to be good at the game though and steal plunder through the levels in order to afford those bigger guns, or more crew etc. The levels too are much more 'hit and fade' affairs, with more emphasis on appearing over the horizon and attacking a community, nicking their gold, or maps, or kidnapping someone of importance etc. and getting out of there while you're in one piece. After all, every cannonball that pierces your hull will need fixing up in your port, and it all hits you where it hurts a pirate most...In your pocket.....After all, who's ever heard of a skint but infamous pirate? This is all taking time to impliment obviously, so rather than get a half baked view of what the real game will look like, we've taken the banners for the demo off the site...We don't think it'll effect us much though, and are still aiming to get the game finished by the end of May, but we'll then be working to get the game on sale, either from our site, or through a few other options that have come our way, we'll keep you all posted. My gut instinct is that Buccaneer will be on sale in June/July time, with the proper demo out there April/May. It's a set back for us as we've obviously got to fund every month we're working on the title, but the end result will be a proper, fun, deeper game, and don't forget, the multiplayer side is already in the bag, and it's a right laugh! What happened to the last 19 days? Tuesday....20th March 2007 07:39 What has indeed happened to, and in the last 19 days? Well, good question...We finished up the first draft of the demo, I worked over 200 hours in the 12 days leading up to GDC, got on a plane to San Francisco, met up with a few guys out there, and took in the Game Developers Conference. Managed to survive the culture shock of 7th Street for 5 days, and came back. I've spent the last week fighting a crazy bout of Jet lag while still working every day to get the demo optimised to help the frame rate etc. So, we're looking at about 2 weeks to hit the deadline we've set ourselves to get the single player Beta-Demo ready, and we're looking fairly good to hit that I think. It means another mad 2 weeks, but then we'll be able to let you lot loose on it...I'm looking at improving the animations for the Merchant ships you'll be sinking over the next couple of days, it should make a big difference to the satisfaction you get by nailing one, and Nev is crazily making the whole thing feel more 'piratey' etc. Everything we add to the game from now until release has to improve gameplay, and the overall feeling of the title, we've had a pact not to go adding more artwork to make it shinier and shinier, everything from now on has to aid gameplay.... A sign of the times Thursday....1st March 2007 00:32 Well, what can I say. It's been a crazy week this week. I have to apologise for the lack of the 'DAILY' blog, but it has been crazy in Das Boot for the last week. We've been putting 15, 16, 17 hour days in for two weeks now, I actualy went to bed for 6 hours over the entire weekend. We're going to keep this up untill Friday night, until we're finished with the demo, and then we're going to call it quits for a couple of days, as we're both feeling shattered.... I'm going to have a well deserved weekend at the folks, and then I'm off to GDC next week...I'll be able to spare the 10 minutes a day to keep the blog up to date then. So, the good news is the A.I. is in, the demo is pretty much in the bag, and we've a massive list of bugs to get through before it's ready for people to get their hands on, but we're playing it, and Nevs' already bragging about his 436 infamy score, which I can't get anywhere near. Then again, I'm a bit busy to sit there practicing ... he he he... What a week!!... Friday....23rd Feb 2007 20:22 What a week! Well, both I and Nev have just completed over a weeks worth of 15 hour days. We're both shattered, and I'm having a well deserved evening off ( well, kind of). I'm going to have a good run through the rest of the bulk of work I've yet to do over the weekend, then Monday night, we're going to attempt to put our very first, proper alpha version of the demo together in TGEA. Should be fun, we've so much to do it's crazy, but it's jumped forward in a big way over the last couple of weeks. We're both starting to see the fruit of our labour, it's really coming together...can't wait to upload the new screenshots, it makes the old ones look a bit tired and dated now. 8) See, I told him! !... Thursday....22nd Feb 2007 23:57 What did I tell you? Nev entrusted me to have this blog file and to update it in the html jobby every day, and apparently I've broken the links in the thing. Well, I'm sorry but I did say I would... If you're going to play with fire and all that. I think he's only got himself to blame. It's not my fault, I just copy and paste another section, and change it. If there's a bit of extra weird looking stuff in there that doesn't look like my bad spelling I just tend to delete it, he's the expert. I can't see what all the fuss is about...I'll get me coat.... oops .... An even later one !... Wednesday....21st Feb 2007 23:58 Right, I've not finished yet for the day, but I've a spare 2 minutes to update my Blog. And it's a good job it's only 2 minutes as it's 2 minutes to 12. And as Nev has told me I have to fill this in once a day, I've only 2, no 1 minute to hit my daily diary deadline. I'll tell more tomorrow, but ALL stuff is now in the new engine that we had in the old one. This is a massive, huge, monstrous big deal for us as the A.I. was proving tricky but we've sussed it. Oh yes.. I've got all the rubble models working again today, all normal mapped too, and I've almost sorted a way to be able to control refraction through the water surface...Almost...Right, back to it... H ... Oh, almost forgot, I booked my flight to GDC today, off to SanFrancisco for 5 days.... 8) A late one....AGAIN!... Tuesday....20th Feb 2007 23:13 Well, today has been the fastest day ever. Real time warp stuff, ..Why does time zip by when you’re busy? Well Nev has surpassed himself…He’s come up with a fantastic solution to making the new Advanced engine water look, quite simply stunning. You wait until you see the screenshots! It’s transformed the game. It makes SUCH a difference. I’ve been looking at getting realtime shadows off the Ships, maybe self-shadowing too if the framerate will cope with the extra burden. I turned it off in code almost a year ago now though, and do you think I can remember how I did it, nope…..Hopefully it’ll come back to me in my sleep, I’m going to try and dream about what I did so I can get it back. I’ll look through all last years notes tomorrow too…grrrrr, it’s a 2 minute job and has taken 3 or 4 hours of my day hunting through forums etc to see what I can do. I’ll sort it….Anyway, I’ve decided I’m going to use a bit of the Stickman Swear Box tomorrow and book a flight to GDC (Games Developers Conference) in San Francisco … 2nd week in March for a few days….Very nice! The Longest day... Monday....19th Feb 2007 23:47 Man, that was a hard day.. I've not looked up from my keyboard for almost 15 hours. We've been burning some midnight oil alright!! But HUGE progress has been made. Almost all the art assets are now working in the Advanced engine, I've started playing with normal mapping buildings like the Governors Hacienda etc. It's starting to look great..Nevs had a dapper idea of how to make the sea bed look pretty stunning too. He was sitting there still doing it when I left 'Das Boot' at 11.30, oh talking of which, cabin fever has set in, big time, especially as Nev has been coding the website again, the language is getting worse...Right, off to bed for me, I've another long day tomorrow..YAAAAAR !!!! Back in Das Boot tomorrow Sunday....18th Feb 2007 16:15 Just a quick one...Managed to get the water looking A-OKAY in the new engine today, took a few hours..also fixed a few bugs. We've a massive day on our hands tomorrow, and are going to attempt to get the demo roughly together and playeable...Should be fun, but it'll be a very late one though. I'll get a post in and let you know how we get on, should see the A.I ships going into the new engine etc...Hopefully by the end of the week we'll be in a position to post some screenshots from the new engine up on the screens page. Nevs still sending snippets from the new website through, it's looking good. We're getting loads of hits on the site now by the way..cool ! Saturday alone in The Diving Bell Saturday....17th Feb 2007 18:59 Wow, what a day! I’ve spent the entire day normal mapping ships and buildings, getting textures to display that are broken in the new engine and tweaking the shaders for the water to start getting it back to the quality we had for the original shader water. It’s certainly getting there, I’ve had a really productive day, especially after having quaffed a few ales last night... By the end of Monday I think we’ll have a demo in the Advanced engine, ready to polish up and show off some extra ‘next-gen’ special effects, DRL (dynamic range lighting) and glows etc. that we previously couldn’t do. I’ve been getting mails off Nev all day saying he’s updating the Buccaneer website, can’t wait to see it! Right, as I’m in ‘the diving bell’ at home I’ll sign off and see if I can fit any more in tomorrow. …Harv 8) The First Entry Friday....16th Feb 2007 18:56 Well, here we go, Nevs been beavering away re-designing our website for the last couple of days, and he's entrusted me with a daily blog..Did you hear that? a DAILY blog...I hope he knows what he's doing letting me loose in his ftp account thing. I'm probably writing all over his Java, html code or whatever it is he sits there pounding into his keyboard all day..It must be difficult, the language that comes out of his mouth while he's doing it..put it this way, it's no wonder my left eye is twitching, doink, doink, doink, and has been, constantly for the last 3 weeks..I'll keep this short as I'm going out for a well deserved drink as it's Friday night, but I'll be updating this page daily from now untill the launch of Buccaneer. I'm putting together the demo we're going to upload for free at the moment, and we thought rather than keeping it all behind closed doors, we'd like to give everyone an insight into what goes into getting an indie game to market. So, check back tomorrow and I'll let you know how I get on! Did you get that? Yes, I'm working all day Saturday normal-mapping forts, and docks etc., Dapper! Blog Index: [ LATEST ] [ Nev's Blog ] Site Index: [ Stickman Home ] [ Buccaneer Home ]