Do you think it would be possible to convert this for launching projectiles? I'm currently using a pixel movement system and while it's good, the lag does start to build up when many projectiles are launched at the same time(My test servers usually consist of about 50 people, each of them having about 90 techniques).
You can create simple directional projectiles by overriding the mob's movement proc to make it continually move in the specified direction. No matter how you handle it, lots of moving objects can cause display lag for any user (even the host) and is bound to cause lag for remotely connected players. world.tick_lag is a big factor too.
In terms of programming, Dream Maker is a bit slow when comparing it to C++ or Java and this does have to put some design limitations on certain things like pixel based movement/CPU intensive events
I'd say the biggest limitation is that almost everything is handled by the server. This keeps things simple (you don't have to write a game client) but it also makes all aspects of the game susceptible to lag, even things you might not expect (interface related stuff).
SilkWizard wrote:
I made a couple thousand dollars back in the day off of the original Proelium, and I drew all of those graphics when I had no idea what I was doing with pixel art (and it shows). So long as you have a consistent look, your game will be just fine.
The people who only care about graphics will steer clear of BYOND no matter what. There's nothing we can do about that. People looking for fun games won't care too much about what the game looks like - look at how popular Dwarf Fortress is.
I'm not very good at pixel art, but I've found that how you use the icons can make a big difference. Spies has lots of little effects (the puff of smoke when you teleport, the dust cloud when you run over dirt, the muddy footprints, smoke bombs, etc.) that are more about how you use the icons than what they each look like. Things don't have to be realistic to look nice.
What do you mean by quality?