OSS Preview and Background Kit Vol 2 NOW AVAILABLE

Orion Space Saver Progress:

Version 1.13.01 is now in the making. I'm tweaking the new build under TGB 1.8 as of right now, upgrading from the 1.1.3 version if that gives you any idea of the improvements. Torque 2.0 isn't really what I'm looking to upgrade to for the program but once I'm done, I'm planning to release the code package to the backside after the program is finished.

Source Code Released, Your Kidding ??

Nope, I'm not kidding. I'm hoping to have the complete backside released once the first segment releases this summer, 2013. The code will contain everything I made the Orion Space Saver with. Currently, I'll be releasing the art, sounds and scripts which the art and music will be the only two things that will not be allows to be reused in your own games or programs, but can be used as a filler piece to test the code with.

I'm planning to sell the code to my program for just $99.99. I figure it is set low enough most everyone can jump in that needs this type of code to build from. I plan on including all 4 examples in the source packaging that I use in the full versions and you also get those 4 in the demo version as well to see how it was all put together. I'm also including source art and music as fillers to show you how it was all put together, the Art and Music remain un-releaseible in your project.

Special Music Pack will be released shortly after the main 4 pack of demos and full versions come out...

A unique music pack will be released down the road for this source kit as an add-on to the source. This way you can use useable music for your project with this code. I'm not planning an Art pack as of yet, but maybe that will happen, we shall see. I'm expecting pricing of the audio pack add-on to run about $20-$25 once it is done. I will keep you posted...

Background on the Project:

Overall, the project has been in the building off and on since late 2006. In 2007 I released the first Orion Space Saver v1.0 and it received much attention considering it was a first of it's kind "Space Screen Saver" within a game engine, a 2D engine at that. The first version was about 200 lines of code, the new version is even less. Roughly it took about a month to get it all put together the first time, just for the demo you see out now. Thanks to my layout design of how I will put it together the next time, I can cut it down to a week to a week and a half now. Still, don't let this fool you. There is a lot of work in the backside as you can read below.

I began using TGB 1.0 when it was in the BETA stages, I've used a number of tools to make the art... Mojo World 3 was a program I bought for digital Art, it was used for all the space scapes in the Orion Space Saver and others in the group, for the backgrounds you see within them. The worlds themselves are extremely time consuming to create and render out, even using the wizard. I average 2-3 high quality renders from the software every time I sit down to render something out. Then, comes the really fun part... editing the renders...

After I build the world how I want it in the engine, I edit everything up in Paint Shop Pro 13 and trim what I don't want and edit the mountains and sky, add new color, tint and whatno to the scene. This phase usually runs about 2-3 days alone, depending how detailed I need the objects, backgrounds or forground scenes. I work on all them here in this time period... first the background, touch and touch up's, then forground objects like mountains, rivers, oceans, trees, rocks or whatever it is, then the moving objects such as asteriods, stars twlinkling, shooting stars and such.

Then comes the engine stuff... this is where I like to be. Editing it all up and putting the puzzle together. In this phase, I take all the art, import it and script everything as i need it. This is where I create paths for the objects to move. Then, I begin working on effects and particles such as lighting, stars, flame effects and more in this stage. I try a number of unique effects to see what works best, and also try a lot of my own created particles and textures to see if one if better then the other and go from there.

Finally, after I have a working "saver" screen, I begin working on the GUI for the intro into the game, followed by the open and exit screens of what I want if it is a demo vs a paid for product. Finally, I begin to work on a custom audio track in Properllerheads Reason 6.5 for the menu, load and demo screens as needed. Usually, these are in OGG formats and very short and to the point since they have to fit into a smaller memory space. BTW, I'm for hire if anyone needs a ambient artist to make sounds, hit me up with an email if interested. I'm also available for terrain building as well.

What was the hardest thing to create on Orion??

That would have to be the art you see in the demo and the full pay versions. Hours and hours went into editing the art up. Most of the time was spent ending things in PSP but overall, anyone who has seen the result will have to admit, it looks good.

Overall progress is going well for the 4 kits. I'm in phase 1 of the work, making all the world renders now so I can just move on to phase two, editing them all up. Currently, there will be 4 packs that I'm planning on selling...

Dying World
Ocean World
Lost Valley
Fire World

This is what is planned anyways. Demo will be available in Dying World only. The rest are pay savers that I plan on releasing as a four pack for somewhere between $24.95 and $34.95 once it is finished. I'm hoping to have this complete pack done by early Spring/Summer, 2013, all depends on if I run into issues along the way. I will let you all know in another blog what is going on with it and new images coming shortly...

Background Kit Volume 2 Now Available

www.myambientworld.com now has the Background Kit 2 which is a collection of 16 render done images for a TGB/Torque 2D game. Cool looking backgrounds to make any 2D shooter look good. Sizes of images include 13 in 1024x512, 2 in 512x512 and one in 1441x627. You can check out the sample images over from my last blog I did, located here: www.garagegames.com/community/blogs/view/22174. The pack was going to sell for $14.95 but I dropped the price to $9.99 for Indies and $49.99 for Pro studios. Grab a copy if you want, ordering is at the bottom of the page on my site. Note, you can also get our Crate pack there as well.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this...

Will Zettler
Digital Lightstorm Game Studio
Indianapolis, IN USA