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[IndigoFenix]

Pleh.  And I'll assume that you never manually downloaded a copy since there's never been any real reason to do so.  Well, that sucks.  After all the work you put into it.

I can only assume that something went wrong during the last save and somehow the code compiled a legitimately formatted, but completely empty world file.

Now I feel terrible.

I'm going to set up an automatic backup system and maybe something to check for suspiciously empty save data so this doesn't happen again.  It'll double my data usage, but I can't have people losing their work because the code hiccups.

I'm really sorry.

[Kamani]

Nope.

Okay.

Eh, glitches happen. I probably should have been saving backups anyway. I’ll just have to make it again. Shouldn’t take as long this time, either, since I learned a lot going through it the first time (plus, all of my monsters are saved, since I released them as a package). It is a pain, but that’s life.

Okay.

Eh, don’t worry about it.

[IndigoFenix]

I've updated the save function.  Whenever a world is saved, it will automatically backup the old file, but only if the old file is over a certain in size (ensuring that empty files will not be backed up, even if someone accidentally saves after their world is deleted).  There is no in-game restore function, but if this bug ever happens again just send me a message and I'll restore it manually.

This won't happen a second time.

Glad to hear you're still up for building.  You're right that rebuilding is often a lot easier than building the first time, but it's still got to be frustrating.

Maybe release bits of the dungeon piece by piece, each part with a public gate, and then tie them together afterwards.  That way you'll give other players a chance to test out your creations and not just me, and also earn some sparks while you're at it.  (There are other people playing - I can see them logging in - but nobody seems too keen on building, for whatever reason).

Actually, now that I've set up a system where each world can have multiple data files, I might make a system where each world can have both a "public" and a "private" version active at the same time, so you can make experimental updates on an active world without affecting other players.

[Kamani]

Okay. Cool!

K.

It is frustrating, but that is life. If you give up when bad things happen, you never get anywhere.

I guess I could release it in thirds(village, dungeon 1st half, dungeon full). But, since I have no intention of making the items gained from tokens persistent (and there will be a use for the rope in the village), I’d probably just block off the end once reached or something.

That would be handy. Would have been useful while I was testing Shadowmage for example (I should probably gave them an actual name (this makes more sense when read after my comment on NPC names from just before the post about it randomly deleting itself. So I attached it). Their past will be explored, to a limited extent, in some of the secret room events).

From earlier post on character names (which got missed because I ended up posting a second time for that glitch), which was in response to NPC names not being that important:

I guess. I just don’t want NPCs to be non-entities, even if most of them will never have their pasts mentioned or be explored.
That reminds me. I should consider renaming Elen and Alend. They became more important to the project then I planned when I chose the names (they were originally just going to be in that dungeon, then I figured I would put them in other projects, then they became core to my full project), so I don’t feel like names that were basically copied from a book (with the last letters cut off) are right, especially since the characters have absolutely nothing to do with the characters that they basically share names with.

[IndigoFenix]

Yeah, I see what you're saying.

What are you planning for the Shadow Mage though?  I'm a bit of mixed opinions about that one, because his sprite is (a) very recognizable, (b) very cool, and (c) created by one of the main contributors to OpenGameArt (RedShrike), and then made the sprite free for public use which is not common for boss sprites, which means that a lot of world builders (myself included) are probably going to want to make a boss out of him.

He looks insane and voidy, so I'd expect a multiple-choice loose canon would be acceptable.

My basic idea was that the creature itself - Harlequin Epicycle (I prefer to keep the name the original artist gave, plus it's a cool name) - is not really a "person" so much as an abstract force, but people who touch the Void between the Worlds can slowly take on his shape as they are consumed by the Void.  That basic concept allows people to come up with their own versions of the character while still maintaining a sense of cohesion.  (I guess a similar concept could be used for any other different characters who happen to share public-domain sprites.)

Does that fit with your plans?

[Kamani]

Hadn’t considered others’ use of the same art. Bad planning, in retrospect. I’ll look for something else (bright side of restarting, I guess). Of course, all of the art I use will be open source probably, since I can’t sprite (hence Spids being another thing from open game art while in boss mode).

Shadow Mage is a close friend of Spids (which is primarily why they are assisting with Elen and Alend’s project in the first place. They have no real interest personally, besides being there for Spids), who they originally met when they originally traveled (and transformed. They didn’t become bitter and transform, they saw themself as a shadow, so that is what they became. Sort of). I doubt any more than that will ever be mentioned (although some more exists, it mostly just exists in my head to make character actions and dialogue fit better with who they are), especially as they don’t tend to talk about themself, but they are not being consumed by the void. Although doing a take on that might be interesting... Eh, another time.
Edit: Ugh, I hate trying to explain characters. Even if I know why they are interesting, I can never get it down right. It should be more interesting in practice than in brief explanation.

A note on pronouns: I use they to refer to everyone, always. Sorry if it can occasionally be a bit hard to tell who I am referring to.

Edit: Is something up with the resources search tab page system? I don't seem to be able to find spider without specifically searching for it. I am guessing that it would go past 2, and the pages don't go past 2 for some reason. Not sure, just guessing, but...

[IndigoFenix]

I'll check it out.

Don't worry too much about using public art, I'll make it an aspect of the lore.  Forms of monsters have their own existence independent of the people who take them, so multiple people can take the same form.  If players want their art assets to not be used by other players, they have to draw them themselves.

Releasing the dungeon in thirds seems like a good idea.  You can make them public exits in the meantime.

Oh, by the way, the way the doppelganger object works has been changed.  It is no longer a copy of the player object, instead it simply copies the player's class when it is created (this means the player sprite actually has AI, it is just normally overridden by the fact the player is controlling them).  This makes it a bit harder to modify directly, but if you still want to make weak shadow clones you can adjust their variables and apply flash effects after creating doppelgangers.

[Kamani]

K.

That works. Makes it easier, since a fairly large number of people will jut use the easily available open art.

I’ll do so then. Thanks.

Okay. Considering my (lack of) plans for the Shadow Mage fight, it might not matter for that, although I’ll probably use doppelganger eventually.

[IndigoFenix]

Working on some new functionality for file uploads and searches.  You can add tags to packages now.  Search by tag and adding tags to media files coming soon.

[Kamani]

Cool! That should make sorting easier.

[Kamani]

It is the last two or three weeks of college (I’m not really sure which), and I have a large work load right now, so I probably won’t get anything done until the end of that. Sorry. On the bright side, after that, I should have more time, so the project should accelerate after that.

[IndigoFenix]

Nice.  Good luck.
I should be getting the flowchart system done soon, so you'll have some new tools to play with by then.

[Kamani]

Thanks.
Oh good. That should make the dialogue system for the core item for my project less of a nightmare to make.

[IndigoFenix]

Update: Flowcharts have been added!

Classes can have flowcharts, which are accessed by clicking the "Edit Flowchart" under the "Functions" tab.  Each class has an infinite "flowchart space" where you can add nodes and move them around freely.  Each Start Node represents a point that a sprite can enter flowchart space.

Flowchart nodes include dialogue boxes, dialogue options, functions, and conditions.  Each flowchart node can be linked to another node by clicking the "?" button under it.  Conditions ("If" statements) can have an "Else" link by clicking the ":" button.  Dialogue boxes can be linked to multiple dialogue options, as well as a single "default" node that runs if no option was selected.

Unlike functions (which can run simultaneously) sprites can only be at one specific point in their entire flowchart space at a time.  This makes flowcharts less useful for complex action-based or update operations, but makes them very good at creating extensive dialogue trees or cinematic cutscenes.

Some minor updates as well:
    Added tags and tag searching for packages
    Added an option under "Run Function" to allow a single sprite to run multiple copies of the same function to run at the same time (generally not recommended, but might be useful in certain circumstances)
    Fixed passive textboxes getting deformed when close to the right side of the screen

[Kamani]

Great! It’ll be nice to try flowcharts out after the semester ends.