Stick Online V3 Official Sneak Peak!

[Meiun]

The following represents a work in progress. Nearly everything you see is subject to change! Most of what you see here should just be considered a peak rather than an all encompassing preview.


Key Game Features to Expect
-Entirely new game engine written entirely in C#, utilizing some customized components of the Microsoft XNA Framework.
-All new and improved game graphics and sprites.
-The use of Tile based graphics for level/world design.
-More intricate combat and gameplay, while still keeping many of the familiar and simple aspects of the original.
-A unique skill system, offering both customization as well as exciting new discoveries.
-Improved monster AI, and unique monster behaviors.
-Character customization via a variety of different player ?traits? (in addition to just stats) that will uniquely impact both your strengths and weaknesses, as well as how you play the game.
-All new hats and weapons, along with some new equipable item types.
-A potentially massive game world. While the world itself is still being designed and added to, with the use of the new tiles, level editor program (see below), and the highly scalable server and client design, it is easily able to be made gigantic, exciting, and intricate.
-Clan system, with clan based PvP.

Additional Features:
-Efficient game client which runs at a smooth 60fps (currently only uses around 1-2% of my cpu on my machine).
-Highly scalable game world, supporting near limitless independent "levels/zones" (as opposed to seamless world), indoors locations, and more. This will allow for an immensely more complex and exciting world design.
-Advanced game physics, including player acceleration and inertia (skidding to a stop when moving fast, etc.), variable speed animations based on players speed, and more.
-Expanded platform game based elements, including the ability to sprint as well as walk. Navigating through certain newly designed levels is now part of the excitement as oppose to just what lies at your destination.
-Highly multi-threaded server design, written entirely in C# (no XNA for this part of course).
-Highly server based game design, making for a much more secure and cheat-free game environment.
-A powerful level editor tool that I wrote from scratch (currently for team member use only) to allow non-programmers to quickly and effectively crank out new levels and world regions with ease (written in C# minus XNA as well).
-Brand new independent auto-update system.
-Custom and unique delta-time based game engine to ensure accurate and smooth gameplay even when system slowdowns/lag occur.
-Newly and improved game interface & GUI?s
-Increased security
-Parallax Scrolling backgrounds (as well as much more foliage and other environment pieces than what you see right now).
-Far more animated characters
-SQL based account system
-An eventful and exciting game world
-Free to play!
-Much much more! It?s really hard for me to list off all that is different, as V3 is really an entirely new game. While it is certainly was designed with its predecessor in mind, it was rewritten 100% from the ground up, so it is quite tough to describe everything without seeing it or having sat through numerous discussions.

Screens from a quick test session Dan and I did earlier




    There is still lots to be done before I'd consider it ready, and before every single one of the features listed above are complete and fully implemented. While much of the engine and underlying mechanics are in place, there is still many of unfinished components. As I have stated numerous times before in previous postings, due to a variety of factors, things have only really been moving forward strongly (and in the right direction) for a relatively short time when compared to how long the public V2 server has been down. But since things have really gotten rolling, they have been moving quite quickly, and quite effectively.
    But regardless, I hope that this can at least serve as a glimpse at what is in store, as well as some reassurance that (as I have stated countless times) V3 is coming, even if it?s not coming quite as quickly as many had hoped. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I will most likely be much more willing to keep you guys posted on progress and other information about the game, so stay tuned!
   We will also likely be in need of an additional team members in the near future. The main one would be an additional artist (with a primary focus on monsters and animations) in the near future. I also may be looking for some level designers (who would use the level editor tool I wrote), as most of the areas you see in the screen are just for testing. But more news about all this later.

Current Team:
Meiun - Programming/Game Design
Venuse - Lead Graphics Artist
Ceroblitz - Graphics & Animations


Also, if anyone has any further questions about anything, feel free to ask. There are still certain details that I would like to keep private for the time being, but overall I should be pretty willing to answer most questions somewhat freely now.

[Tuffi]

This is very exciting news, thank you!  I understand these are still a work in progress, but I have a few comments, mostly about the fonts. 

The black font for chat with a white shadow seems a bit off to me.  Personally, I really like the white with a black shadow that is currently implemented in v2.
Edit: I see you were typing that the chat interface will be changed, so disregard my first comment

Also it's a little bit hard to read the name fonts against the fence in the second screenshot.  Maybe a semi-transparent background behind the names would work better?

Thank you for the content update.  I know everyone is excited to see what you have accomplished so far.

[Meiun]

This is very exciting news, thank you!  I understand these are still a work in progress, but I have a few comments, mostly about the fonts.  

The black font for chat with a white shadow seems a bit off to me.  Personally, I really like the white with a black shadow that is currently implemented in v2.

Also it's a little bit hard to read the name fonts against the fence in the second screenshot.  Maybe a semi-transparent background behind the names would work better?

Thank you for the content update.  I know everyone is excited to see what you have accomplished so far.

Thanks for the feedback =) I am well aware of the font issues here, I already have plans to replace the fonts and improve upon the overall chat UI in the future. Just one of the many things that is still a WIP. If you'll notice that in the second screenshot I was even typing out a message stating that much of the chat interface will be changed/improved. But yes, the player name font will certainly be changed as well (if you'll notice, Danimal's name isn't exactly that legible there). A semi-transparent BG for them is a good idea, although I'd probably make it something that you could toggle on and off for those who are more comfortable with the original SO name display style like you see now.

[Titan]

This looks so sick. Thank you for taking the time to make an update about the progress on the game.

Only question I have, is how much bigger is this world going to be then SO2's world. Also, if it is much larger, will there be quicker forms of transportation?


Once again, looks amazing, keep up the good work!

[Meiun]

This looks so sick. Thank you for taking the time to make an update about the progress on the game.

Only question I have, is how much bigger is this world going to be then SO2's world. Also, if it is much larger, will there be quicker forms of transportation?


Once again, looks amazing, keep up the good work!

Most of the areas you see in those screenshots are really just place holders that I made using the level editor tool that I programmed for the game (mentioned in the first post). I don't really consider myself an expert when it comes to level design, so at some point I will probably be looking for some new level designers to use my tool and crank out new levels for the game. The editor offers a powerful and extremely simple way to create new areas to the game without having to write a single line of code, and it's really just as easy for me to implement them once they are created. There is also really no restriction on how big any individual level can be, so there can still potentially be large seamless areas as big as the V2 world, it's just not required now.

But to actually answer your question, I really hope to have the world be very large, certainly many many times larger than the current SO world. But more importantly, because of a number of new design factors with the game mentioned in the first post, the world will also be far more intricate and exciting to travel across. There can be multiple completely independent routes to take, hidden areas, indoor areas, underground areas, you name it. The actual game client and server can both scale up extremely well in terms of supporting additional areas, and I really don't foresee any issue with either being able to support hundreds to thousands of individual "levels" (of any given size) if needed.

I also really am hoping to have the actual act of traveling around be a somewhat exciting experience in and of itself, incorporating a number of platform game elements such as hazards, obstacles, and otherwise tricky to navigate terrains. This, combined with the fact that you can now skid off into a pit if you are going too fast and don't stop in time, should make for a very interesting experience in my book =) I have a couple of ideas for a few forms of alternate transportation between areas, but it will likely be somewhat limited.

[havok]

truly epic i can't wait for it to be released.

i love the new graphics on the stick people.I cant wait to see what is in store for monsters and items,with all the gaphic changes :p

[Titan]

This looks so sick. Thank you for taking the time to make an update about the progress on the game.

Only question I have, is how much bigger is this world going to be then SO2's world. Also, if it is much larger, will there be quicker forms of transportation?


Once again, looks amazing, keep up the good work!

Most of the areas you see in those screenshots are really just place holders that I made using the level editor tool that I programmed for the game (mentioned in the first post). I don't really consider myself an expert when it comes to level design, so at some point I will probably be looking for some new level designers to use my tool and crank out new levels for the game. The editor offers a powerful and extremely simple way to create new areas to the game without having to write a single line of code, and it's really just as easy for me to implement them once they are created. There is also really no restriction on how big any individual level can be, so there can still potentially be large seamless areas as big as the V2 world, it's just not required now.

But to actually answer your question, I really hope to have the world be very large, certainly many many times larger than the current SO world. But more importantly, because of a number of new design factors with the game mentioned in the first post, the world will also be far more intricate and exciting to travel across. There can be multiple completely independent routes to take, hidden areas, indoor areas, underground areas, you name it. The actual game client and server can both scale up extremely well in terms of supporting additional areas, and I really don't foresee any issue with either being able to support hundreds to thousands of individual "levels" (of any given size) if needed.

I also really am hoping to have the actual act of traveling around be a somewhat exciting experience in and of itself, incorporating a number of platform game elements such as hazards, obstacles, and otherwise tricky to navigate terrains. This, combined with the fact that you can now skid off into a pit if you are going too fast and don't stop in time, should make for a very interesting experience in my book =) I have a couple of ideas for a few forms of alternate transportation between areas, but it will likely be somewhat limited.

Is there going to be an application process? Because this is something I would be quite interested in doing.

[Jmac]

 :o Amazing job Meiun! I'm glad we finally get to see some info after waiting so long! :) So will the level editor eventually be released to public for the community to create new level designs to be implemented in the game? (I ask this due to the fact that you said it's currently for team members)

[Meiun]

This looks so sick. Thank you for taking the time to make an update about the progress on the game.

Only question I have, is how much bigger is this world going to be then SO2's world. Also, if it is much larger, will there be quicker forms of transportation?


Once again, looks amazing, keep up the good work!

Most of the areas you see in those screenshots are really just place holders that I made using the level editor tool that I programmed for the game (mentioned in the first post). I don't really consider myself an expert when it comes to level design, so at some point I will probably be looking for some new level designers to use my tool and crank out new levels for the game. The editor offers a powerful and extremely simple way to create new areas to the game without having to write a single line of code, and it's really just as easy for me to implement them once they are created. There is also really no restriction on how big any individual level can be, so there can still potentially be large seamless areas as big as the V2 world, it's just not required now.

But to actually answer your question, I really hope to have the world be very large, certainly many many times larger than the current SO world. But more importantly, because of a number of new design factors with the game mentioned in the first post, the world will also be far more intricate and exciting to travel across. There can be multiple completely independent routes to take, hidden areas, indoor areas, underground areas, you name it. The actual game client and server can both scale up extremely well in terms of supporting additional areas, and I really don't foresee any issue with either being able to support hundreds to thousands of individual "levels" (of any given size) if needed.

I also really am hoping to have the actual act of traveling around be a somewhat exciting experience in and of itself, incorporating a number of platform game elements such as hazards, obstacles, and otherwise tricky to navigate terrains. This, combined with the fact that you can now skid off into a pit if you are going too fast and don't stop in time, should make for a very interesting experience in my book =) I have a couple of ideas for a few forms of alternate transportation between areas, but it will likely be somewhat limited.

Is there going to be an application process? Because this is something I would be quite interested in doing.

Not quite sure what you mean by that. Do you mean in terms of how you register? Currently that is set to be done in-game similar to how it is with V2, but it is possible that this could change.

:o Amazing job Meiun! I'm glad we finally get to see some info after waiting so long! :) So will the level editor eventually be released to public for the community to create new level designs to be implemented in the game? (I ask this due to the fact that you said it's currently for team members)

It's pretty unlikely that I'd release it to the public, but I guess it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. I was more preluding to the fact that at some point I may be interested in selecting a few individuals from within the community to join the team for the purpose of creating new levels. There would likely be some sort of screening process or other method of ensuring that they were fully capable and creative level designers before they would be provided the tool though.

[T-Rok]

@Meiun: By application process, he was asking if you would have to fill out an application to be a level designer.

Damn, when you said "sneak peak", I was expecting a tiny little thing with a few images. This blew my mind.

I had been hoping you would use C# to create it, mainly because of the ability to transfer it to multiple systems much easier than most languages. I am officially feeling very giddy now.

I can not wait to see how vast the world gets, and this community.

Proud to be Shmexie for life!

[Titan]

@Meiun: By application process, he was asking if you would have to fill out an application to be a level designer.

Damn, when you said "sneak peak", I was expecting a tiny little thing with a few images. This blew my mind.

I had been hoping you would use C# to create it, mainly because of the ability to transfer it to multiple systems much easier than most languages. I am officially feeling very giddy now.

I can not wait to see how vast the world gets, and this community.

Proud to be Shmexie for life!

Yeah, thats more what I was going for . :P

[Meiun]

@Meiun: By application process, he was asking if you would have to fill out an application to be a level designer.

Damn, when you said "sneak peak", I was expecting a tiny little thing with a few images. This blew my mind.

I had been hoping you would use C# to create it, mainly because of the ability to transfer it to multiple systems much easier than most languages. I am officially feeling very giddy now.

I can not wait to see how vast the world gets, and this community.

Proud to be Shmexie for life!

Ah, gotcha. I think my previous post might help answer that a bit. But to elaborate a bit further, I may either do some sort of application process like you described, or perhaps even some sort of competition. I haven't quite decided yet, ultimately whatever I feel will work best at finding the right people for the job.

[stick d00d]

Wow this looks great! Can't wait to see how smooth it runs, if only we could have a video preview?  ;) One question I have at the time is; will it run well on a Netbook? because that's all I have at the moment.

The helmet and sword sprites at the top look great! Good luck with everything.

[Celson]

Any plans of implementing a trading system? It would really help solve one of the biggest problems that was known in SOV2.

[Meiun]

Wow this looks great! Can't wait to see how smooth it runs, if only we could have a video preview?  ;) One question I have at the time is; will it run well on a Netbook? because that's all I have at the moment.

The helmet and sword sprites at the top look great! Good luck with everything.

Maybe later on for the video preview :P Runs fine on my netbook, and although mine is a modern one, it's certainly not anything too fancy. So in short, yes.

Any plans of implementing a trading system? It would really help solve one of the biggest problems of SOV2.

Yes. This is something I plan on at least having a basic system for from launch.