Hey all, Nightbringer here.
I just stumbled across this site 15 minutes ago, and I have to admit that I'm interested in this. You see, I'm hoping to get into game design, and was looking for something that would help me to make something now.
I'm an experienced artist and programmer of RM2K(3), which really isn't that hard to use. I've also just begun formal training in college (just finished VB.net and will be moving to C# next semester) so I'm used to object-oriented programming.
I'd like to know first of all, how reliable is Byond? Are there major bugs or problems that I may have to work around?
Also, just what level of programming experience does it require? Is it more like coding everything yourself (the impression I currently have) or is it closer to something like RM2K(3) or RPG Maker 2?
I'm hoping for something that involves more independant programing, but not something that would be too big of a challenge at the moment. Also, what kind of support can I expect if I need help with some code?
ID:173601
 Dec 11 2003, 5:17 pm
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Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to give it a try, and will definately look over the sample games and guides.
I have done some more advanced programming than using a "maker" so this sounds like a good learning tool for me. I have one final set of questions for now: How complex can graphics get? What are the size standards and image limitations for things like map tiles, character sprites, ect. Also, about how many frames per animation (map movement and battle) are standard? Should I use the standard 3 frame step, or can I make a single movement take 5 frames of animation? I'm basically asking these becuase I'd like to know how detailed I can make everything. The more frames per animation that work well, the smoother and better looking the game will be. | |
The size limitations are pretty much 32x32. You can take multiple 32x32 images and put them together, though. You can use as many frames of animation you want, but each frame will last for at least 1 tenth of a second(you can make it slower with a delay).
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Thanks again, I'll have to do some experimenting with the graphics then, but that'll come later.
Expect me to be around for a little bit, I'm definately interested in using this. | |
BYOND is pretty much one of those easy-advanced things. its easy enough for some 12 year olds, but too hard for some 45 year olds who still live with their mom
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Nightbringer wrote:
Thanks again, I'll have to do some experimenting with the graphics then, but that'll come later. The graphics system is both quite sophisticated and rather limiting. Once you fully understand it, though, you can do most things you want with it. All game systems have limitations, and the important thing is to understand what each will and won't do for you. BYOND truly shines in the area of multi-player gaming. You can create a multi-player game very easily, with almost no thought to the networking. In fact, it takes some no-how to *not* create a multiplayer game! There is the whole hub/subscription system built in, which is pretty powerful. It has an incredibly nice and simple to use object-oriented language, and I say that as someone who is very picky about languages and OO programming. It is free-form...you can create pretty much any kind of game with it. BYOND has some extremely nice HTML capabilities built in. Other game systems provide much more flexible graphics options, and the ability to create a stand-alone executable (which BYOND doesn't). However they never provide automated multi-player...either it's not supported or they give you the ability to hook up to other clients but you have to implement it all yourself. I don't know of any other systems that provide the subscription/hub/game updating system that BYOND does. Often other systems are not object-oriented; sometimes they use very limited templates that you must try and plug your game into. If you want to create a stand-alone FPS game, there are other systems that are quite good for that. If you want to create multi-player games from Chess to MUDs to mini-Massively Multiplayer games, or you want to easily create a board game or a word game, this is a great system. | |
Thanks, I missed it the first three times.
First of all, game design is different than game programming. But yeah, BYOND is good for making a simple thing rather fast.
There aren't very many major known bugs. I believe the only crash bugs are rather obscure. The most obvious one is if you try to send too much information from an HTML form. Aside from that, BYOND is rather stable.
Oh, and sometimes there's an error when trying to connect to a server, but that's rare, and won't affect the server, just the client trying to connect.
It's rather simple. I'd say somewhat more advanced than any "Maker" program, though.
Well, this seems a right for you. BYOND is essentially just a really big collection of functions. It's somewhat limited in some respects (the biggest of which is how it automatically handles client-server communication, with no way to override it), and the on-screen drawing mechanisms.
Oh, and I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting help, just be sure to keep your questions as specific as possible, but I can tell you already know how to manage that.