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[zbdarkflame]

A new series by Z.B.Darkflame

Spoiler:

About 900 years ago there was a war that would one day engulf much of the Galaxy. At it's center were the worlds of Mircandia and Helios.

Helios was a planet renowned for its ability to produce both large numbers of starships and starships that were relatively inexpensive. As such, it became a huge trading hud, and the economy of Helios flourished. Unfortunately, this increase in the economy also meant an increase in the amount of raw materials needed. In its search for resources, Helios crafted trade agreements with many of its neighboring systems...and those that did not form agreements were either subjected to destructive economic sanctions, or the military fleet of Helios, known simply as the Star Forces.

Mircandia was one such world that refused to form any trade agreements. Mircandia was a highly introverted world that refused to work with most of the outside. There were a few ship manufacturers that were allowed to trade, but that was the exception to the rule. Unlike the other worlds that Helios sanctioned, Mircandia was self-sufficient. It also produced ships that were more powerful than any other world, but those numbers were few.

Helios eventually declared outright war on the Mircandia. The result was both a weapons race, and the taking sides of many worlds. Many worlds whom Helios had forced trade upon took the side of Mircandia, while most who had openly agreed on trade with Helios stayed allies with them. As such, it was no longer a simple war between two worlds, but rather a war between all the major economic powers. Mircandia, with its new found allies opened up its world for trade and as such, Mircandian hybrid ships began to surface.

About 800 years later, the war had ended. Helios was the victor, winning with sheer numbers. As a result, the Confederation of the Galaxy was formed, with Helios at its center. Mircandia was essentially destroyed in the war. Most of its peoples either fled to other worlds, or died in the war itself. Also, all Mircandian ships were destroyed, and the technologies lost.

It has been 100 years of peace and trade since then. This is the backdrop to the main story, and still people remember that war. There is fear of another economic war, and yet, there is also fear of the military power of the Confederation. Although most of the military ships have been redesigned for scientific missions, there is still the potential for great violence and power. Such is the beginning of the future.

Spoiler:

Stentson is the son of a successful ship builder, who has minor connections to ancient Mircandia, and the heir of the family business. But instead of taking his position as head of the family, Stentson left to join the Star Fleet under his long time friend Marylin, who is captain of the Star Ship Stratos. Because of his sudden departure from his family, Stentson's younger brother is now the head of the Stargazer family. There is constant tension between the two, and this hurts Stentson greatly as he truly loves his younger brother. There is also a little sister whom Stentson is very fond of. The reason Stentson left is unknown to all except Stentson himself and his father.

On the ship Stratos, Stentson works as a diplomatic officer. He has quickly become friends with the entire crew, especially the Technologies Officer Alestin. Stentson has found a new home, but the strings of his old home still hold him, and it pains him greatly, though no one seems to be able to tell, except maybe Marylin.

This series is the story of Stentson, and the Stratos. This is the story of their adventures in the outer reaches of the galaxy. This is the story of government conspiracy, treachery, friendship, and finding ones own place in the vast stretches of the universe.

Spoiler:

Well, my chapter idea is no longer...mostly because it is just not feasible. So, I'm going for one game. I'm hoping that it will still be done in episodes, but still one game. So, over all, I guess length of the game will be between 10-20 hours depending on how long it takes you. I'm hoping that with all the extra free time I'm going to get soon that this will be a doable goal. So, sit back, relax, and watch me put out a, hopefully, awesome game.

Spoiler:

Stentson

Spoiler:

Name: Stentson Stargazer
Age: 26
Height: 72in.
Weight:164 lb.
Rank: Officer (Diplomatic)
Station: Star Ship Stratos
Bio:
Stentson is the son of a successful ship builder and the heir of the family business. But instead of taking his position as head of the family, Stentson left to join the Star Fleet under his long time friend Marylin, who is captain of the Star Ship Stratos. Because of his sudden departure from his family, Stentson's younger brother is now the head of the Stargazer family. There is constant tension between the two.

Stentson is an outgoing person, and because of his level of education, has an understanding of all of the galaxy's major spoken languages. This has lead to Stentson becoming the Diplomatic Officer on the Stratos. Because of his mostly positive attitude everyone on the Stratos has become friends with him, especially the ships technologies officer, Alestin, who likes to tease the young officer.

Stentson, when he is alone, often thinks about his family and especially his little brother whom he loves greatly. The growing rift between the two hurts him greatly. He also has a little sister whom he is very fond of. Even so, Stentson does not think ill of his decision to cut ties with his family, the true reasons of which have not been disclosed.

Stentson is also very learned about ships designs, especially those of his families origins and can easily tell the manufacturer and most ships statistics.

Marylin

Spoiler:

Name: Marylin WolfNight
Age: 29
Height: 62in.
Weight:137 lb.
Rank: Captain (Stratos)
Station: Star Ship Stratos
Bio:
Captain of the Stratos, Marylin has been active in the Space Force for nearly a decade. She quickly rose up in the ranks, with only her nemesis Selence matching the pace that she had set. Marylin was more than glad to learn that she would be given one of the Atmos Class Starships. Yet, when she learned which one, Marylin felt more than betrayed.

The main mission of the Stratos is to patrol and explore the outer galaxy, a huge section of the Galaxy that is mostly underdeveloped and overall highly uneventful. For Marylin, being given such a position was more than just a small insult. Even though she begrudged taking her position, she did not complain, and instead shifted her goal to becoming a fleet admiral.

As a person, Marylin is very forward, strong, stubborn, and brilliant. Marylin's leadership can get her ship out of almost any possible situation, and her plans, though often crazy sounding, and quite good. This has made her crew respect her greatly. Especially Alestin, who quickly befriended the captain.

Marylin and Stentson have known each other since they were little. Both coming from highly respected families, the two often met at important dinners, state affairs, and family events. There was even some talk about arraigning a marriage between the two before Stentson left the family. Marylin knows Stenston very well, and can usually tell when he is hurting, even if no one else can. She hates Stentson's father even more than Stentson does.

Alestin

Spoiler:

Name: Alestin Freeman
Age: 32
Height: 74in.
Weight:173 lb.
Rank: Officer (Technologies)
Station: Star Ship Stratos
Bio:
Alestin is the technologies officer on board the Stratos. Being the son of a major weapons and defense systems manufacturer, Alestin has had access to some of the highest level technologies all his life. As such, he has become extremely proficient in his use of computers. He can hack, code, and do just about everything in between.

Alestin joined the Star Forces after an incident within his family. Alestin was not always the most studious person, and had done drugs and drinking. His actions angered his father so much that Alestin was disowned by the family. Shortly there after, he joined the Star Forces since it could supply a steady income.

Since then, Alestin has become an officer, and a great friends with the captain of the Stratos. He has for the most part sobered up, but when he does find alcohol he has a habit of over doing it. He is also not very good with his money, and usually spends most of his income of random "junk."

He is a very calculating man. He is highly stubborn, and a bit of a loner too. He has taken an interest in Stentson, although that is partially because of Stentson's family ties. He is also close friends with Marylin. His past choices haunt him. He was an only child, and the only heir to the buisness. With his fathers recent sickness, his emotions have become even more blurred, and this shows greatest in his private space.

The Crew

Spoiler:

The Stratos:
The Stratos is an Atmos-Class Cruiser. Made for speed, the Stratos is small, agile, fast, and light on weaponry. It is also equipped with state of the art sensors and an experimental warp drive, making it one of the most highly advanced ships in the fleet. Yet, its main mission is to patrol the outer-galaxy region, a very quite and uneventful area of space. The Stratos is able to hold a total of 4-6 smaller craft in its hanger bay. It also has 10 laser turrets total, placed in strategic locations (this is much less than the average 25 cannons per capital ship). The shields are also underpowered because of the small shield generator. In a combat mission, the Stratos must rely on other ships for protection due to its small hull, weak shields, and small weaponry. Yet, the Stratos is perfect for strike and run missions. To date, the Stratos has not yet been involved in any real militar battles.

Gregory:
He is the ships Warp Drive operator. (Because of the intricacies and instability of the Warp Drive on the Stratos, the ship has its very own Warp Drive specialist, while on any normal ship that job would just be given to the pilot.) He is an olded man and has been around ships and engines since he was a young boy. He is one of only a few select engineers who has training with, and the only one whose used, the experimental Warp Drive found on the Stratos. He is a conservative man, wishing to find the safest way out of situations. He often clashes with the more rash Marylin, but is still loyal to her to the end.

Higgans:
Higgans is the ship's pilot. He started his piloting career as a small buisness owner running a Currier buisness. He hen joined the military and won numerous metals in space combat war games. He has since gone on to pilot larger ships, until given the helm to the Stratos. He is a member of the aristocracy, and dresses the part. He belittles much of the crew because they are mostly of lower classes. He does respect Marylin though, partly due to her high political stature and partly because he respects her. Higgans is quite, and few really know much about him.

More to come...

Battle Roles:

Spoiler:

Stentson: He is the quick one. Wielding the lightest weapons, and having a fast agility, he can attack more time in a battle than most everyone. His special attacks also recover quicker than most. Unfortunately, this also means that his attacks are weaker, and his defense is lower.

Marylin: She is the defender. Being a captain requires that you stay alive. Therefore Marylin has developed many different shielding techniques. She equips the biggest armor, and has the highest natural HP. She has a very low speed though, and weakened Spirit.

Alestin: He is the tank. Alestin caries some of the most powerful weapons, and some of the most devastating skills. He also has the ability to scan enemies to learn their skills. Because of his high offense, he has a lower MP than most.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

-All Mack Style Characters
-Ziifii Wait Gauge Battle System
-Awesome Tiles by Zeroplumber, D*M, and EB
-Skills that need certain types of bullets or items to be used
-Learn Skills by Scanning the enemy
-Game Journal
-Item Crafting
-Email Friends
-Fly through space and dodge meteors
-Radar to find hidden items

And here are the scripts. Some of them are not currently in use, or are commented out, but it gives you an idea of what to expect script wise. Of course, there is a good chance that more will be added, but for now, this is pretty accurate. Enjoy.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Demo: Demo1.1
Only 25MB!

Spoiler:

Due to the large amount of credits and links and such, I have decided to not put all credits here. Please refer to the credits text file included with the game for credits.

Authors Note & Support

Spoiler:

So, tell me what you think of this project. I'd gladly accept any criticism about any of the game's mechanics and story. I'm also wide open to suggestions at this point. So please comment, and play the demo.

If you would like to support this project, please post this code into your sig. It would gladden me to see it there.

CODE

[topic=20679][img]http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll89/zbdarkflame/ubd3205.png[/img][/topic]

This post has been edited by zbdarkflame: Apr 11 2010, 04:17 AM

Attached File(s)

 Credits.txt ( 6.61K ) Number of downloads: 573

 

[Saekonungar]

Great project, zb, it was a short but fun: even with so little dialogue it's easy to tell that the characters are not only interesting and but also well thought out. This demo truly left me wanting more. Does it have a definitive end, btw? I couldn't get to open the second door blocking the right hallway...
About criticism...hmm, the bullet system: it's kind of restricting, specially keeping in mind that your weakest technique already consumes 3 bullets.
I hope to hear more about this soon

[zbdarkflame]

Glad you enjoyed it then! Yeah, it just sorta ended. I din't bother giving it an ending really because it was just a tech demo. But I really am glad you enjoyed it. It's insperation to make more for this. I might be able to get a better demo going since Wednesday and Thursday are short days for me this week.

I'm glad you're not complaining about the battle system. That realtime system is sooooo hard to balance its not even funny. I was afraid I made the enemies too easy or too hard depending on which one. As for the bullet system...I was trying to restrict the use of those skills so that you weren't always using them. It's just a matter of availibility of bullets, and how much I restrict them. That too is a balancing issue, and I think I might have to work on it...

Thanks again Saekonungar. Hopefully you'll play the next demo too! Now, anyone else play.

[Vizzy]

Pretty nice pretty nice. I really enjoyed it and pretty much your other games as well. I found some cool sci-fi-ish battle music on newgrounds last night but it seems you already found some music to use in your game. My first battle I got imobilized thee times in a row so I died

This post has been edited by Vizzy: Sep 28 2009, 05:26 PM

[Smirnoff]

I'll download this now. I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi settings like this. I'll do a wrap up of the game when I have a chance.

[zbdarkflame]

I'll download this now. I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi settings like this. I'll do a wrap up of the game when I have a chance.

Glad to see another who enjoys Sci-Fi type things. Also, can't wait to see what you have to say about it.

So, here's a quick grapics update. Vizzy has finishes Alestin's face set, and it is awesome looking. Thank you so much Vizzy. I also have a title screen. Borrowing one of the screens from T.D.Labs, I made a quick title screen. It's not anything fancy, but I kinda like its simplicity. Tell me what you think.

[Sen?]

I love the sci-fi feel of the title screen and the color, but I'm not so sure about the text I feel its quite out of place. (Of course that maybe JUST me )

Trying out the demo soon, as soon as I get back to my desktop and I'll give you my feedbacks

[Saekonungar]

I really like the text, but don't like the background. I feel it's too ambiguous and generic and would prefer something that shouted "In space!" at me, like a starry sky or something

This post has been edited by Saekonungar: Sep 29 2009, 09:29 AM

[Smirnoff]

I finished the demo although it took a while getting lost in space n' all. I liked the look of the indoor areas though found them pretty empty in terms of interacting with the scenery and learning about it. That way you can build more stuff about the mission. I really liked the Fold Space areas and on the 2nd area when you added the Parallax which made it look like a maze of walkways.

I like the battle script though it's tough to do anything faced paced with all the spinning and what not I liked the look of the skills being in categories. Makes me think there's gonna be quite a few to use later on. The ammo system was really clever. It made me preserve it until I really needed it unlike if I didn't to which I'd just use Triple Shot constantly.

I'd easily keep playing this game when it comes out.

[zbdarkflame]

Haha, we seem to have some disagreement on the Title...we'll see. At this point, very little is really set in stone.

Thanks Smirnoff for your review. I know what you mean about interacting with the objects. That would be a really good idea, especially when looking at some of the computer screens. That would make it much more interesting. Thanks for that suggestion. As for the battle system...glad to see you found it balanced. Like I've said before, that is where most of my questions lie.

[MrWaltz]

just finished the demo (I think? couldn't really proceed even after unlocking the first door with the lever). Your mapping is pretty great, and you put the sci-fi tile set to good use. That warping effect you had in the Fold Space area was a nice touch, and was exciting the first few times, but then I realized it took a long while to warp from location to the other, you should make the scrolling a little faster. The music was pretty much appropriate for the setting of the game and the battle tune was catchy. It might be just me, because I'm used to having fast-paced battles when I test my own game, but your battles seemed a little slow. You should make the wait gauge fill up a little faster. I had a hard time for playing a "tech-demo." I had to run from a few battles because I was low on health. My only hope of staying alive was leveling up to recover all my HP/MP and using that one Gift Box I found that healed a great amount. I love Stentson's custom sprite and face, however, it was weird seeing his face and then seeing those RTP faces during dialogues. Seeing two different art styles in one game? eh, not good in my book, heh.

also, I don't know if this has happened to anyone, but when I first went into the Fold Space area and quickly exited back out, Stentson's face was changed to Ralph's face for the entire time...weird!

Overall though, I had a lot of fun and hope to see a full fledged demo soon. I know you made a title screen already, but I was wondering if you could let me cook something up for you?

[zbdarkflame]

Thank you MrWaltz for your wonderful review. Don't worry, the RTP faces will be gone in the future. It's just a place holder for the time being. I've now replaced Alestin's face, so all that's left is Marylin. Other than those three, I'm not sure if I'm going to have any more faces...we'll see.

I was wondering about the speed of the transport, and you just confirmed it. It's become a bit faster now, and I think that helps a lot. I'm sorry about the battles...I still have problems with them, and I think that it doesn't help that I love difficult battles. I've tried to lower the stats a little, and beef up Stentson a bit. Laser Beam has also been lowered in power by a bit...that was too powerful.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I wish that I had a new demo out. I've gotten the next few maps done, for the most part, and this will conclude it to the point of going down the center path. Umm...if you want to make a Title Screen, that would be awesome. The one I have was just something I did very quickly, and if you could do something else, that would be really cool. Thanks!

Also, I have been releasing lots of information about this series on my blog. I have a habit of updating that with some types of information more than I do here. So, visit the blog often to find some of smaller stuff I'm planning. The blog link is here: http://darkflamegames.blogspot.com/

PS: after re-readng your post, you reminded me of the battle theme, so now I'm listening to it again...I love that battle theme.

[MrWaltz]

the battle theme is familiar...where is it from?

here's a title screen I made. it's very abstract (that's my style ^^), but it also looks like a bunch of Mircadian ships being demolished. How is it? I can still edit the image in any way you want, or I can start from scratch if you don't like it at all.

[zbdarkflame]

First off, I need to thank you MrWaltz, that is an awesome title screen. Thank you so much for your time in making that!

Next up, we have a...
New Demo

This one continues the story. There are some other changes...you can now buy some drinks from the vendors. I've also updated all the faces for Alestin. Marylin, not yet. Lastly I've made the file about 1/2 the size of the previous download. That is good, no. Please, enjoy this demo, and the new stuff in it. If you find any problems, or have any suggestions, please post them. There are still things I need to do, like begin interactions with the environment, but I'll try to get to them soon. With the next demo I'd say I am in actual developmental stages.

Enjoy, and please comment.

Z.B.Darkflame

[rmvx_phill]

Nice, still playing though. I'm in the Fold Space and it kind of confuses me on how I am because of the paralaxe.

[Vizzy]

Ooo looking nice and more puzzle like on the ship. I was looking through the tilesets edits and one that I thought would be a good fit would be Avadan's Sci-fi set especially his starfighters.

[Jaide]

Ooo looking nice and more puzzle like on the ship. I was looking through the tilesets edits and one that I thought would be a good fit would be Avadan's Sci-fi set especially his starfighters.

I was thinking the exact same thing! I'd been considering messing around with those edits on my own project, and I'd in fact been looking at which tiles were used in Stratos to give me an idea of what I might want to do with my own game. I find standard RTP tiles, or fantasy tiles in general, much easier to work with than sci-fi, so it's all a learning process for me, to map something like that.

Anyway, this game impresses me, and I'm downloading the new demo right now. :3 I love sci-fi games, particularly ones that are well thought out, as opposed to just using sci-fi tiles for the hell of it. If you had a smaller support bar to link back to this topic, I'd be happy to display it.

Also, I was looking at your database, and you have a real talent for making animations. A lot of people just stick with what's already in the database because animations are something of a daunting task for most people (myself included) but not you! I'd love to learn from you. XD Animations are something I scarcely touch.

This post has been edited by Jaide: Oct 5 2009, 09:11 AM

[zbdarkflame]

Thanks guys for your comments. I've been thinking about adding the Avadan tiles into the edits I've got, but unfortunately I've got no program that can deal with transperancies...so for now I'll just stick with what I've got. Maybe for episode two I;ll get on that.

Thank's Jaide for your comments. I understand what you mean about the futuristic tiles being harder to work with than normal tiles. It's taken me a while to get comfortable with them myself. Its just a matter of using them over and over again.

Thanks for your kind comments on the animations. Not all were made by me, the first twenty being made by someone else whose name I can't remember now. But believe me, that are tediously hard for me too. It's just I'm a perfectionist when it comes to them, and if every skill doesn't have it's own animation I go crazy. You can use them if you wish...although i fear a few may not work since I kinda deleated a bunch of the animation sheets to cut down on file size.

As for a userbar...I'm getting one soon I hope. Even I think its way too big.

[Jaide]

My issue is mainly that.. I don't really know HOW to set animations up. It looks easy, but then when I actually try to do it they just look awkward and I'm not entirely sure why. Guess I just need to read some tutorials and study existing animations more. ^^

Anyway, your project will likely serve as some heavy inspiration for my own project; I've had the story and the characters for years, but have had a difficult time bringing it all to life in RM. Looking at and playing your game is inspiring me to work harder on my own.

[zbdarkflame]

Hey Guy's. Just a little update. I apparently made some major eventing errors at the end of the demo...I'm sorry about that. I'll try to get a new version up this weekend, but for now you'll have to wait...I'm really busy today and the rest of the week, especially with my midterm coming up. So, again, I apologize for my stupid mistakes.

On the much brighter side of life, I now have an actual user bar thingy, instead of that ugly monstrosity that was in my sig. It has now been replaced by a nice normal userbar. If you want to support this project, please put this code in your sig. It would warm my heart.

CODE

[topic=20679][img]http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7045/ubda5707.gif[/img][/topic]

Last thing, I'm almost at the point that I'm finalizing stories and maps and such. Before that though, I just want to know what are your suggestions for the game are. If there is anything you feel I should add/subtract/change then I ask that you do it. With the next real demo (not the fixed demo) I'll have this moved into project development, so at that point, I'll be mostly set in my ways...please give me opinions. Thanks.