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RPGs for tablets - seeking list additions

zwanzig_zwoelf

Guest
The Raventhal is now posted to Google Play Store (may take a bit to show up, propagate across all servers).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iceblinkengine.ibb.raventhal&hl=en

Promo shots:
Screenshot_2014-05-07-12-23-42_framed.png
Screenshot_2014-05-07-12-255-12_framed.png

Looks pretty good.
Fuck Google Play Store, though. Got a separate apk or something?
 

pakoito

Arcane
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slowdive

Bree Arts
Developer
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
236

pakoito

Arcane
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Messages
3,092
You're packing the default activity with the hello world textview lol

It seems you went java-based, is the original engine java too?

JSON for definitions? ok, that's cool
 
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slowdive

Bree Arts
Developer
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
236
The original engine and toolset I did for the PC version was in C#. For the Android version, I did everything in Java. I kept the same object structures so converting a PC IceBlink module to the Android version is pretty quick and automated. The PC version is a more complicated game system though, the Android version was simplified to work and make sense for mobile devices. I'm a completely self taught coder and this was my first Android app, so yeah, I may have done everything the hard way ;-)
 

pakoito

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Messages
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The original engine and toolset I did for the PC version was in C#. For the Android version, I did everything in Java. I kept the same object structures so converting a PC IceBlink module to the Android version is pretty quick and automated. The PC version is a more complicated game system though, the Android version was simplified to work and make sense for mobile devices. I'm a completely self taught coder and this was my first Android app, so yeah, I may have done everything the hard way ;-)
What are you using for drawing? raw OGL? I can't find any external libs.

I would recommend you proguarded your classes, if you can find a tutorial it's not awfully complicated.

EDIT:

You're painting with native components and Canvas OMG you crazy person.

Your main class is 10k lines long. You are really self taught, I can recommend you a couple of books on patterns that will save you lifetimes of pain if you want.
 
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slowdive

Bree Arts
Developer
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Messages
236
Well, it is just a hobby, but any book recommendations you may have would be appreciated.
 

pakoito

Arcane
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Well, it is just a hobby, but any book recommendations you may have would be appreciated.
What I see you're mostly lacking is respecting some OOP principles like encapsulation, single responsability, no code repetition, etc... Then the second problem is communication patterns, as I've seen you have up to 10 nested do-whiles and that humongous multipurpose class. You have identified well a couple of commonalities like your model (data) and your state machine, but took an overly complex approach to implementing them.

You need to split your code in meaningful, atomic, independent bits and make them communicate with each other, rather than running them in an overly complicated orchestration impossible to test/bugfix/maintain. Finally to help you solve this problems there are this thing called design patterns that are no more than flexible snippets of code that solve common problems.

There are plenty of resources around the web to help you improve with this. 30 seconds of google brought me to most common design pattern examples and this other webpage has a tutorial I always recommend to college beginners to OOP. Feel free to also visit opensource projects to see how they are tackling this problems. Shameless plug to my old, old prototype. Also if you feel frisky try looking up Model-View-ViewModel and Entity-Component-System, which are two high-level approaches to software development.

Despite having a college education in CS most of the programming I've learned has been working on my own. You get better over time, but it's better if you don't do it in isolation as learning from others gives you so much. Plus you're given the chance of someone looking over your stuff and giving tips, which is invaluable. There's no shame in wanting to learn to be a better programmer. I do and will for many years to come.


EDIT: The other problem is that Android's UI components are quite stiff and slow for videogame purposes. You made them look and run okay but everyone else is rolling external libraries like libgdx, XNA/Monogame, SDL2 or MarmaladeSDK. They give you a more game-oriented approach to graphics, touch events and audio than the base SDK, and include goodies like your JSON parser, LUA scripts, gamepad controls...

EDIT2: I'm OCD about code and love my job, if that wasn't obvious.
 
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eremita

Savant
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
797
The Raventhal is now posted to Google Play Store (may take a bit to show up, propagate across all servers).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iceblinkengine.ibb.raventhal&hl=en

Promo shots:
Screenshot_2014-05-07-12-23-42_framed.png
Screenshot_2014-05-07-12-255-12_framed.png

Looks pretty good.
Fuck Google Play Store, though. Got a separate apk or something?
What's wrong with Google Play Store?


So I played Shadowrun Returns on my new android and it's pretty fucking great (I mean controls and shit). There's a great potential for izometric turn based RPGs on those devices I'm sure of it now. Anyway, I'm a little bit scared there's no infromation about Dragonfall Android version though. I know it's not officialy canceled and they said they're working on it, but they've been quiet for a long time...
 

slowdive

Bree Arts
Developer
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
236
Well, it is just a hobby, but any book recommendations you may have would be appreciated.
...
Despite having a college education in CS most of the programming I've learned has been working on my own. You get better over time, but it's better if you don't do it in isolation as learning from others gives you so much. Plus you're given the chance of someone looking over your stuff and giving tips, which is invaluable. There's no shame in wanting to learn to be a better programmer. I do and will for many years to come.
...
EDIT2: I'm OCD about code and love my job, if that wasn't obvious.

Thanks for the links and explanations. I did a little coding on my c64 and Amiga 500 (basic) back in the day, but this OOP stuff is still slowly sinking in. I'm sure I'll get better over time, but (as you suggested) it would be better if I had a friend or two that I could work with and help me learn. Can't say I "love" my day job, but it pays well (my day job is Transmission Planning, EE). Despite all the flaws and almost procedural coding approach, it does play okay...right...did I do something right :oops:?
 

pakoito

Arcane
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Messages
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You finished your game, and that's more than most of us ever did. I cannot make myself sit and program on my spare time because of just thinking the amount of time it'll take to get something out of the door is disheartening. That is a great skill. The code is ugly but nobody else is going to reverse compile the apk to see it :P
 

slowdive

Bree Arts
Developer
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
236
The code is ugly but nobody else is going to reverse compile the apk to see it :P

Thanks for the guidance and feedback. It sure is ugly, but I do hope to learn and improve my coding skills over time. This whole IceBlink Engine project has been fun and a learning experience. I would love to have more time to practice and study programming, but with work and family, my free time is very limited.
 

MicoSelva

backlog digger
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Codex 2012 Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Divinity: Original Sin 2 Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I helped put crap in Monomyth
I've managed to run Might & Magic III on my android phone (and tablet), but it is only playable if you have an external keyboard, like Asus Transformer, and even then not very comfortable.

The emulated RPGs list can be greatly expanded too. I successfully played SNES version of Dragon Warrior 1 & 2 on my phone and even had some fun with Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (not an RPG, though), until the difficulty became too great for the not-awesome combo of my reflexes and touchscreen controls.

I have also played Vampire's Fall RPG to completion. I have no idea why I liked it because, frankly, it is pretty crappy, but I somehow got addicted to it.
 
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thesheeep

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Codex 2012 Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth

Zarniwoop

TESTOSTERONIC As Fuck™
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Your Android list is a bit out of date. Baldurs Gate EE is already on the Market (or Play Store herpaderp). It's crazy expensive though. Also Chaos Rings.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Grab the Codex by the pussy Serpent in the Staglands
report back, I need an amusement for a plane ride Tuesday Morning.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Actually, it's not bad; I only played it for about 20 minutes last night, but it was fun. The controls were good, and the enemy and power ups were interesting.

I wouldn't call it an RPG, though, at least not the good sort. It's an action game.
 

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