Evora

[Rammy]

Okay, well…I would like to present to you our currently unfinished server: Evora.
I will update this thread as we go by.

Theme:
-The Wild West (American Indians + Cowboys)

Screenshots:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3582[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]3583[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]3584[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]3585[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]3586[/ATTACH]

Additional Screenshots:
http://forums.graal.in/forums/showthread.php?7432-Thanks-Guys

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?:
-I started this server about 2-3 weeks ago by myself using pics1 :awesome:, I knew that I needed some help, so I started recruiting on iClassic.
After a day or so of recruiting, I choose 2 people: a Level Designer (which turned out to be the guy that worked on almost every level on our server at the moment), and a Server Maintenance guy (who had recruited a couple extra staff and helped me test things on the server.
-After a week or so, I was lucky to come by a few friends of mine who were willing to help test, level and recruit too.
-Finally, after finishing up our first main levels and getting to know how to use the RC and etc…A Graphics applied and made parts of our main tileset (Western Themed Tiles).

WHAT YOU WILL SOON FIND :
-We haven’t gotten into the detail of what types of things we are going to add, but I will tell you what we have agreed on at the moment:
-We are currently using the standard HUD (that might change later), same inventory system (with a few tweaks to help keep things neat) and our own custom tileset.
-We are working on adding guns (we have the sprites done and are working on the gani’s for them, we will also be keeping swords/bows as a second option),
-We will be working on our own custom GUI’s, and new/custom items, as well as new graphics for the “baddies” and horses.
-The map is about 301 levels (only about 7-8 of the levels are done).
-We will also be adding several different types of landscapes (i.e: Desert, Town Area…) as well as many quests/jobs/items.
-We will also be adding a wagon that players can have in there inventory and hop on tracks (to speed across the land). :awesome:

Quests that we would like to have:

Jobs that we would like to have:
-We are currently thinking of adding both mining and lumber. (other jobs may be added later on)
-We have custom images ready for everything (pickaxes, gold, silver, wood…).

Towns:
-Evora is divided among two parts (with exception of Evora’s City: no name yet): The North and The South.
-The North will be dominated by the American Indian culture, therefore you will see forests, water and tepees…
-The South will be dominated by the Cowboy’s, therefore you will see a vast (sand-filled) landscape(=the desert).
-Evora’s City, which is currently unnamed, will be a mix of both cultures. There you will be able to find everything from Pubs, Inn’s and Barber Shops all to
Wild West standoffs and possibly mini-games.

Travel:
-Evora will be pretty huge, so to help our players out, we will be adding a wagon (=draisine), which players may get for free from the Wagon Shop (not yet available).
-The tracks will be spread out across the entire map, from North to South and passing through our City for faster travel.

TEAM:
Nick/Rammy (Owner, LAT, GFX, GAT)
Kage (LAT)
GeorgeTheKitty (LAT, GAT, GFX)
Coco (GFX)
Aydun (Host)

Special Thanks to:
-Deadpool and Kakkoii for mounts and several hats.
-The Mollusk, 2ndwolf (and for all those who helped me) for there support.

[Dylan]

Not a single picture posted didn’t have tile errors with your “franken-tiles” tileset. Work on stuff more before spamming the forums with this.

[2ndwolf]

Good stuff Rammy… have you considered making two classes available : Cowboys and Natives?

They would be pretty much the same other that Native would use the bow and the cowboys would use guns. I’m thinking of a recruiting booth at the center town where you can change class to make this less complicated. Just a little feature that came across my mind. Keep it up

[The_Mollusk]

Not a single picture posted didn’t have tile errors with your “franken-tiles” tileset. Work on stuff more before spamming the forums with this.

Don’t do this. Don’t you think this is part of the reason people get chased off? Criticize, please, but at least be constructive. He stated very clearly that it is under construction. I rather see a thread about people doing something, even if unfinished.

It looks interesting. I appreciate the Phoenix-thread like template

The tileset is pleasing and looks like you’ve got quite a big team. That can be bittersweet. If you don’t manage it well then people start fighting about the quality and direction of the PW and everything falls apart. However, with that many people you should be able to get a lot more work done. Considering half of your team are LATs you should probably have more than 7 or 8 levels. In my experience I can tell you the first 50 levels are a breeze. After that, you’re going to be in some trouble in terms of keeping the levels looking fresh and different from the rest of them, and motivation.

My advice: Have a very clear goal of what you are trying to accomplish (write it out for your team to read) and what you expect from your team; set weekly or monthly deadlines; pay attention to detail, if something you have is broken or looks out of place: fix it; and finally test, test, test, test, bugs arise so quickly in Graal - don’t let them get out of hand and fix them as you find them.

[Dylan]

Don’t do this. Don’t you think this is part of the reason people get chased off? Criticize, please, but at least be constructive. He stated very clearly that it is under construction. I rather see a thread about people doing something, even if unfinished.

It looks interesting. I appreciate the Phoenix-thread like template

The tileset is pleasing and looks like you’ve got quite a big team. That can be bittersweet. If you don’t manage it well then people start fighting about the quality and direction of the PW and everything falls apart. However, with that many people you should be able to get a lot more work done. Considering half of your team are LATs you should probably have more than 7 or 8 levels. In my experience I can tell you the first 50 levels are a breeze. After that, you’re going to be in some trouble in terms of keeping the levels looking fresh and different from the rest of them, and motivation.

My advice: Have a very clear goal of what you are trying to accomplish (write it out for your team to read) and what you expect from your team; set weekly or monthly deadlines; pay attention to detail, if something you have is broken or looks out of place: fix it; and finally test, test, test, test, bugs arise so quickly in Graal - don’t let them get out of hand and fix them as you find them.

He’s already made several threads, why a new one?

[hosler]

He’s already made several threads, why a new one?

Would anyone object if I decide to delete dylans posts?

[Dylan]

Would anyone object if I decide to delete dylans posts?

I would

[The_Mollusk]

He’s already made several threads, why a new one?

I told him to make an official one.

[Rammy]

Good stuff Rammy… have you considered making two classes available : Cowboys and Natives?

They would be pretty much the same other that Native would use the bow and the cowboys would use guns. I’m thinking of a recruiting booth at the center town where you can change class to make this less complicated. Just a little feature that came across my mind. Keep it up

Thanks! One of my friends brought it up, but I get screwed when it comes to that stuff in GS1…
I might try to create something simple and ask for help, but that is a great idea.

[Codr]

I don’t understand the extreme obsession with tile errors to begin with. Yes, when you see them, they’re not perfectly pleasing, but generally they’re very minor and you (or at least I) have to specifically be looking for them. Regardless, tile perfection is not the most important aspect of a server. The gameplay is.

[Dylan]

I don’t understand the extreme obsession with tile errors to begin with. Yes, when you see them, they’re not perfectly pleasing, but generally they’re very minor and you (or at least I) have to specifically be looking for them. Regardless, tile perfection is not the most important aspect of a server. The gameplay is.

The odd tile error isn’t an issue, but when every level has multiple tile errors it looks pretty sloppy.

[Codr]

The odd tile error isn’t an issue, but when every level has multiple tile errors it looks pretty sloppy.

Stop looking for them just for the purpose of judgement on something insignificant?

[Dylan]

Stop looking for them just for the purpose of judgement on something insignificant?

I don’t have to look for them when the entire level is composed of them.

[Codr]

I don’t have to look for them when the entire level is composed of them.

What exactly do you want when the client has no support for tile layers? Every insignificant thing as an image just so a few pixels can be prettified?

[tricxta]

I don’t have to look for them when the entire level is composed of them.

Yer, I find myself in the same scenario, I can tolerate them if the gameplay is good enough though. 2ndwolf’s server was a great example of that.

[Rammy]

I don’t have to look for them when the entire level is composed of them.

They call it an unfinished server for a reason.
The tiles work for me, thus I have the right to post those pics.
They work for most players too. I have been trying everything to fix the errors and I believe that I finally have.
I tested them out with a new user on my new laptop and they worked fine for me, as well as a friend that I invited over.

I know you love my server, but you can’t just demand a fix. Please be patient.

[Dylan]

They call it an unfinished server for a reason.
The tiles work for me, thus I have the right to post those pics.
They work for most players too. I have been trying everything to fix the errors and I have.
I tested them out with a new user on my new laptop and they worked fine for me, as well as a friend that I invited over.

I know you love my server, but you can’t just demand a fix. Please be patient.

I don’t care if it’s unfinished, you should do it properly in the first place. It will take longer to put out a polished playerworld if you constantly have to go back and fix everything. Yeah, it’s okay the levels don’t need to be 100% perfect, I understand that, but when the main parts of the level such as walls are made from incorrect tiles it is clearly laziness or lack of leveling knowledge. Most people are going to try to make you feel better about your development skills because Graal is a slowly dying cess-pool and nothing more will ever become of it than what we have here, so we resort to trying to be hospitable to the least talented developers and not even trying to get to them learn. When your half-assed server is “finished” nobody will play on it except for your friends. We try to convince ourselves that there will be better gameplay that will allow us to forget about the graphics, but deep down we all know that the effort put into the levels will reflect on everything else, and the gameplay will most-definitely be no better. I remember there was a time where developers where encouraged to work on other servers and learn, not start out managing their own server at once. The funny thing was that it actually worked and some very enjoyable servers came out of it. Now we hide in our separate corners trying to manage our own projects, as they slowly become more tedious and unmanageable, inevitably being scrapped and forgotten. I probably sound like an asshole and to be honest, I am one. I hate new developers or people that can’t do things perfectly, but just taking my advice will most likely help you in the long run. I propose an opportunity for you, I will help you make some levels if you either a) give me the tileset and ask of me to create a certain level or b) give me RC when the server is on, shoot me a PM and get me to fix or create some levels.

[Rammy]

I don’t care if it’s unfinished, you should do it properly in the first place. It will take longer to put out a polished playerworld if you constantly have to go back and fix everything. Yeah, it’s okay the levels don’t need to be 100% perfect, I understand that, but when the main parts of the level such as walls are made from incorrect tiles it is clearly laziness or lack of leveling knowledge. Most people are going to try to make you feel better about your development skills because Graal is a slowly dying cess-pool and nothing more will ever become of it than what we have here, so we resort to trying to be hospitable to the least talented developers and not even trying to get to them learn. When your half-assed server is “finished” nobody will play on it except for your friends. We try to convince ourselves that there will be better gameplay that will allow us to forget about the graphics, but deep down we all know that the effort put into the levels will reflect on everything else, and the gameplay will most-definitely be no better. I remember there was a time where developers where encouraged to work on other servers and learn, not start out managing their own server at once. The funny thing was that it actually worked and some very enjoyable servers came out of it. Now we hide in our separate corners trying to manage our own projects, as they slowly become more tedious and unmanageable, inevitably being scrapped and forgotten. I probably sound like an asshole and to be honest, I am one. I hate new developers or people that can’t do things perfectly, but just taking my advice will most likely help you in the long run. I propose an opportunity for you, I will help you make some levels if you either a) give me the tileset and ask of me to create a certain level or b) give me RC when the server is on, shoot me a PM and get me to fix or create some levels.

What you are saying is not wrong. But I put a lot of work into my levels. Honestly I don’t care if only my friends play on it.
Let me give you some advice: as long as you like your work, that’s all that matters.
If they are offering constructive criticism (like you sort of just did -minus the insults), then I will take it, otherwise fuck them.
If you don’t think I can run a server because I am just some random iClassic player that thinks he’s so l33t for hanging with the Reborn crew. Then you are wrong.
I joined a little over 2 weeks ago, you joined 1 year ago.
I came here to isolate myself just enough from the Graal crap. I saw an opportunity to create a server for free and learn how to manage it.

[Dylan]

>Let me give you some advice: as long as you like your work, that’s all that matters.
Not in real life or anywhere actually.
>I joined a little over 2 weeks ago, you joined 1 year ago.
A year ago? Three years actually.

[SeraphX]

ladies please