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curious visitor with questions.

Started by Thunder-squall, 27, December, 2013, 03:06:44 PM

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Thunder-squall

Hi, I'm mostly here with questions about your community.  On Steam I noticed a version of RPG Maker going for <$20, and so I wondered if technology and access to tech has reached a point where it's easier to cobble a game "from scratch," rather than to hack.   Or do the current cheap tools on the market not provide you will all the tools you want, such as an easy way to program all the various psionic powers on the overworld map?

I also understand how hacking could be fun as a hobby, the way people still mess around with radios and the like.  So is that a main motivation of people in the group, or is that just a main motivation of the founder and care-taker of the forum?  Essentially, what keeps the hacking work going?  Is it that you can apply the same hacking skills to a variety of different games, and so it's not just about hacking Golden Sun, but about hacking other games as well?

And it's been forever since Golden Sun's been current (though I recently played Dark Dawn).  What keeps you interested in it after all these years?

Atrius (He/Him)

First, to be honest the community is well into it's decline.

When I first started working on the editor in 2008, Dark Dawn hadn't even been announced yet.  A lot of fans of the series including myself really wanted a new game.  Originally I was just going to make my own Golden Sun fan game using a cheap game making program, but when I started ripping data and resources from The Lost Age I found I enjoyed figuring out the data formats.  It was the first game I'd ever hacked.  Since then I've made the decision to start working on my own original games though.
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

Thunder-squall

What kind of games are you working on?  And how does that tie into this community, or into your hacking?
(feel free to direct me to another thread if that'll be easier for you)

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

I think Atrius was working on something he's called Forgotten Dreams. (It's probably a working title, though.)

I believe he first revealed that here?:
http://forum.goldensunhacking.net/index.php?topic=2116

And later, he made a topic:
http://forum.goldensunhacking.net/index.php?topic=2181
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Thunder-squall

So why do you still around?  What are your personal projects?

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

#5
Quote from: Thunder-squall on 31, December, 2013, 05:52:17 PM
So why do you still around?  What are your personal projects?
If that is a question to me, well. I was planning on coding a GS editor myself in Java. The plan was for it to be universal. (Allowing you to edit practically anything you wanted.) That would also include code editing, but don't get your hopes up if I decide to ever cancel my plans. (Either way, chances are, there will be long periods of time when my project is not being worked on.)

That, and I also was doing an editor for the M&L series called Yoshi Magic. I might put it off for a long time and recode the stuff in my new GS Editor if it ever gets done.



As for Atrius, just think of this forum as a simple community for the open-sourced project he left behind. (His last version for the GS Editor was 0.5, and is in the News and Announcements forum.)
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Thunder-squall

So I guess the most important thing about Open-sourced projects is documentation.  I don't do this in any way, shape or form myself, but out of curiosity,

(1) have you ever used something like GitHub?  I think it's like DropBox for computer code.  Projects have their own forums and wikis, and are geared towards sharing open source stuff.

(2) have you shared documentation documents on stuff like Google Drive, or Microsoft's SkyDrive?  I think those would be easier way for smaller teams to collaborate, in comparison to stuff like wikis.

Truth be told, though, I don't know what these editors do.  If I were to guess, I imagine all data is basically stored in text files (or files which can be opened in text editors), and your editors basically change stuff in those files.  I suppose you've got a thread somewhere on hacking 101?

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

(1) I've heard of it, but I don't use it. There's also SourceForge, Google Code, and some others...

(2) I do have a document that I was doing that I wanted to put all the stuff I found in GS2. This document was posted in the Golden Sun Hacking forum. (Unfortunately, I lost quite a bit of the newer stuff I had due to losing all my files on my other computer, so I was thinking about just hosting it on Google Drive.)

The editors don''t make text files. (Although, I suppose one could code that sort of functionality if they wanted to.) Usually editors use controls much like a normal tool would, and you just use the controls to set the values and stuff.
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Kioll

To answer the original question...  It's more powerful to code a game from scratch, but simpler to hack.  So people hack because it's what they know how to do, as opposed to coding a new one, which most people don't.  For instance, I have a thread on this site about a Golden Sun MMO I want to code.  It has gotten nowhere, however, because I haven't gotten anyone to do pixel art for it.  So, ya know.
I am the almighty emissary of fire...  the Mars Adept Kioll.  Oh, and did I mention that I'll see you long before you see me?

Misery

Not sure if I've said this clearly before, but in that case I'll say it now. Use placeholders. You're much more likely to get an artist to help out with the game you've made than the game you say you're going to make.

Thunder-squall

^ That's good advice.  AND it'll be easier for other people to mod later, too (I love full-circle stuff)

But why an MMO?

Kioll

Because I'm a huge fan of Golden Sun, and I wanted to build a game where people could make their own adepts, choose their appearance and element, lead their own team, etc.
I am the almighty emissary of fire...  the Mars Adept Kioll.  Oh, and did I mention that I'll see you long before you see me?

Thunder-squall

But why the "Massively Multiplayer" aspect?  Additionally, it seems that this very forum already was a " game where people could make their own adepts, choose their appearance and element, lead their own team, etc."

Kioll

First off, the forum isn't a game.  Not in that aspect, anyways.  Secondly, I tend to play a lot of MMO's, and I think it would be a really good world for interaction between adepts.  I'm also fond of large scale roleplaying, such as MMORPG's are capable of making possible.
I am the almighty emissary of fire...  the Mars Adept Kioll.  Oh, and did I mention that I'll see you long before you see me?

Thunder-squall

I've only dabbled in some MMOs to get a taste of the culture (Lord of The Rings Online, Vindictus, and Wakfu).  What existing MMO most resembles the one you want to build?

Kioll

The problem is that Golden Sun being what it is, none of the existing games really spring to mind as "resembling it".  However, if you go to the thread I made about it, you can get a feel for what I want.  I honestly could care less whether it's a modded ROM or a from-scratch game, but I want to add so much...  I'd need additional class slots, too.
I am the almighty emissary of fire...  the Mars Adept Kioll.  Oh, and did I mention that I'll see you long before you see me?

Thunder-squall

#16
There are a lot of boards on this forum. Where should I begin looking for your thread?

Question:  What are the best tactics for sharing images or files?  In this community, I mean.

EDIT:  I've just been attaching stuff to posts.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

I'm assuming Kioll is talking about his BYOND project, right? It may be in the Creative Works section.

For images, I like to use Photobucket.
For files, I usually like to use Mediafire.
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)