Hi all, even though the worklog is empty BABS 3 development is progressing at full speed. Just head over to the Shiny Sword/BABS forum to find out about the latest advancements. These include vast improvements to the tile editor and the introduction of arbitrary tile sizes, among many many other things ;)
I already spread some stuff on the forums, but now I feel I’ve been working on this sufficiently seriously to put this officially on the map.
BABS 3 is officially in development. It will be a heavily re-engineered and refactored version of the BABS 2.5 engine, which should allow people to make much more interesting games without a lot of additional effort.
Things BABS 3 will support for sure include:
– A vastly improved SMEE editor, with a more intuitive interface (I might throw in a resolution increase too).
– Support for arbitrary tile sizes and resolutions (so finally you can use those neat 42×42 tiles for your Hitchhiker’s Guide fangame ;)).
– Improved performance and responsiveness of the overall toolkit.
– Severe enhancements in the roleplaying department. This will evolve as I work on it, but for sure I’m going to add interactive dialogues and a personality engine. The latter will ensure that the responses of NPCs will match the way you roleplay (so no more mr. NPC Nice Guys when you start behaving like a murderous idiot :)).
What it will for sure NOT include:
– Kickass graphics (there are other games for that).
However, I might write out a graphics contest or two to improve the visuals of BABS 3 and its corresponding game. These contests will include some kickass prizes and I’ll let you know more about it in due time.
BABS 3 will also get its own game, which actually is the main reason why I’m working on BABS 3. Also, it will remain open source and supported by the lads here at the Source (yes, that includes me too, despite my near-decadal hiatus :P).
If there are any things you’d like to see, or you’d like to help in the graphics department, feel free to let me know by posting on one of the forums!
Back in April of 2010, we mentioned a very promising looking Shining project by Ken Hilf. Since then, the game has made some major progress, and there’s now a demo available and some great videos too.
From Ken’s site:
Over the past 11 months, new additions to the engine have included:
- Music and sound effects via the Audiere sound library
- A custom scripting language used both to control game events and logic and construct game assets such as characters and equipment
- A turn-based strategy RPG combat system with basic enemy AI
- Animated battle cutscenes that show the results of each engagement playing out on the battlefield
- A more robust system of windows and menus that tie the game together
- Some slides (.pdf) discussing some of these features in more detail are available here.
The download is available in this post, so give it a try!
Read More: 2010 Year in Review
It’s only a few weeks until the Shining Force SOS project goes to Camelot, so there’s still time to send your letters and videos. Here’s my contribution, a little run down of Shining Online Demo 4.
You can download the demo from the Shining Online project page.
Make sure you swing over to the SOS site and show your support, and keep working on those great fan games. We’ll get one finished yet ;)
Barnard from the Shining Force Central forums has posted some great screens from a 3D Shining Force game called “Shining Force: Legacy of Heroes”. It’s still early days, but as you can see there’s some really impressive modelling going on!
Make sure you drop by his topic and check out all the screens. The project is also looking for programmers, so if you have some 3D game experience I’m sure your help will be greatly appreciated!
