[WIP] IsoMine 2D {Discussion}

[GamingAssociation39]

This project is to be able to create a 2D MineTest/MineCraft/Terraria like game.

Possible Features:
Mobs
Multiplayer
Mod API

[TheGreatCoffeeKing99]

Hmm...
I'll remember this, but for the moment I can't tell if you have worked on it yet.
Do you have any screenshots, or just code? I'm interested.

[GamingAssociation39]

At the moment it's definitely a wip. At the moment this is the discussion area. We are gonna set a goal to get to. First is to figure out the main goal of this game.

[TheGreatCoffeeKing99]

Here are some 2D games that are fun and each has its unique qualities:

Well, there is this game called Digaway (not Dig Away, be careful) which is 2D, kind of like Terraria, but you only really mine, and once you have completed a quest, you just want a fresh world, or you have died, then you can generate a new one really easily. There is no building aside from upgrading your pre-generated camp or placing ladders, platforms, etc. A quest involves mining a certain amount of a (usually) rare mineral. There is a built-in level-up system with improvable stats like stamina and luck.
Also, games like The Blockheads (I'm a personal fan, my avatar is a sprite from that game) involve more building and slower mining. The emphasis is really on the crafting, the are many, many different "crafting tables" to use.
There is a slant toward realisticness and an easy (perhaps too easy) to access multiplayer system.
Of course Terraria is about exploring, lots of fighting, some crafting (mostly just making armor/weapons/tools), and a lot of mining. A villager system and boss fight progression tied in with material progression and things like the dungeon and hardmode show that the game is geared toward a more quasi-RPG style.
A game like Junk Jack (formerly Junk Jack X, I haven't player the older version), where the avatar is only one block high, is about finding metals for crafting, discovering crafting recipes, fighting some basic monsters, and finding portal blocks to build portals to other planets (I love portal blocks!) where you can find different stuff and maybe even more portal blocks. In the end it's really about going to all of the planets.

If you want this game on mobile (ALL of the games I mentioned earlier are mobile games) then you cannot have a mod API unless there is a built in feature that allows you to make stuff in game (not download files).
Otherwise you have lost the iOS crowd.
Sure, a desktop version would also be great, but I think mobile is where it's at.
That's just my opinion, of course. I know squat about coding outside of some SUPER basic HTML and CSS, and a smattering of Minetest's Lua API.

[GamingAssociation39]

We need a new simple familiar crafting system.

[Xudo]

There are some things, which I don't really like in minetest at this moment.
1. There are no multiplayer challenges.
Of course you can go MP server and mine along with someone else. You have no real reason to interact with anyone. I expect mobs, which can be beaten only by two or more players.
2. You have no "progress" in game.
In most cases you can just dig deep hole and get diamond armor and weapon in 1-2 hours. Game is over.
3. World on old servers filled with garbage and silly protected
I think protection should be very limited. VikingCrafters server was better than any other server in this matter.
In addition, world should change over time. Old mine sites should ruin. Old passages should close. Maybe there should be active volcano. Maybe nature should spread more insistently.

I would like to implement gameplay different from default or even modded MT.
From this point of view, it is good that we are going to make isometric game instead of full 3d.

I am not familiar with 3d in js and don't have a lot of time to learn. I am not familiar with developing android or ios apps. Though, I do have experience with 2d drawing in browser and with server and desktop java applications.

Assuming that "GamingAssociation39" has started this dicsussion but don't know how to code, I expect detailed design descriptions. Not just "simple familiar crafting system". Does "familiar" means that it should be like in MC-MT? If it is "new", then what should be different from MT?

[GamingAssociation39]

We need a crafting system that has an option between autocrafting and manual. Autocrafting should be default. The manual crafting needs to have a crafting guide feature. We definitely need a workbench.

Ores:
Bronze
Iron
Gold
Diamond
Coal


We also need our own electricity system for lights etc. etc.

Farming (Food/Plants):
Wheat
Berry Bushes
Carrots
Potatoes
Beets
Melons
Pumpkin
Tomatoes


Trees:
Oak
Birch
Aspen
Jungle
Pine
Spruce
Acacia

Fruit Trees:
Apple
Peach
Banana

Mobs:
Pigs
Cows
Sheep
Chickens
Owls
Slimes
Bats
Snowman

Any other suggestions?

[Xudo]

It is better than "new simple familiar crafting system".

Could you describe in more detail, how isometric world would be structured?

[GamingAssociation39]

Biomes that are randomly generated. That are perfectly flush. With the ores placed randomly but at the right height.

[Xudo]

How do you imagine "height" in isometric game?

So far, everything you want is already implemented in MT. May be you just need to propose a patch for non-first-person camera?

[GamingAssociation39]

Well there are many things that I feel need to be implemented. Different mobs/bosses. Some different blocks/ideas. Height would need to be figured out by what the biome is (i.e. desert). Also we need dungeons and other things. Many other things that is impossible to implement in MT.

[Xudo]

What kind of different ideas?
"Other blocks" is perfectly implementable in MT. Same for biomes and mobs, unless they have some special properties.

[GamingAssociation39]

Yeah and glowing ores that only the ore glows not the stone. Fully functional dungeons that work properly. Proper mob spawning. Much more you can do with using js/java :) MT is very limited to what you can do and we want a 2d perspective game that is similar to MT/MC/Terraria but also our own by adding things that aren't in those games at all.

[Xudo]

You want some special ore? I don't think it is a good idea to add glow effect for iron and coal.
Btw, glowing ore can be implemeted very easy in MT. There is a "light value" parameter for each block.

What exactly do you mean by "proper mob spawning"? What is different from MT?

Once again, what exactly means "height" (you mentioned it early) in 2d perspective game?

[GamingAssociation39]

Glowing ore would be custom ores that can be made. It doesn't work properly in MT because of having to layer png's and it makes the stone glow also.

Proper mob spawning i.e. proper spawning rate, not having to rely the mob to spawn on a certain block but spawn in the biome.

Yeah because it's 2D there should be different heights (100, 150, 200, 250 etc etc blocks high from the lowest point)
to get hills, plains and valleys.

[Xudo]

I see. You want light from ore veins on the surface of the block, but not block itself. I think it is possible with shaders, but I don't really know how to implement them (even in java/js).
What is the gameplay purpose of this special glowing ore? Is it radioactive one?

What is the gameplay difference between spawning "in biome" and "on block of type X"?

I don't get about height.
Here is the example of isometric map. You see only surface of the land.
There is some difference in height, but you are unable to see caves underneath.

[GamingAssociation39]

For mountains will be taller than the plains so it will be taller/higher than everywhere else.

[GamingAssociation39]

For the mobs you'll have the ability to properly control the spawn rate and to be able to control the temperatures where they spawn.

[Xudo]

For mountains will be taller than the plains so it will be taller/higher than everywhere else.

Isometry in games is somewhat different. Do you remember Diablo series or Civilisation or HOMM? There is no height. Action take place on the plane. Only X and Y coordinates, without Z one. Changing camera view from first-person to "from the sky" don't make game isometric. How do you imagine exploring caves with camera "from the sky"?

Can you propose any examples of proper rules for mobs?

You didn't answer about the glowing ore. How players are supposed to use it?

[GamingAssociation39]

This is supposed to be more of a 2D project flat 2D is what I mean.

[GamingAssociation39]

Anyone willing to help with this?

[Xudo]

Help with what?
You haven't even answered my previous questions.

[GamingAssociation39]

For mobs they should be able to follow the player if/when they are hostile.

Glowing ore can be like redstone in MC or can always glow slightly.

I think IsoMine 2D should be sorta like terraria not isometric

[Xudo]

What activity will be most important in the game? What goals are you planning to offer for players to achieve by this activity?

[GamingAssociation39]

To of course survive the night maybe add our own set of achievements. To have seasons probably. To have multiply biomes. Etc etc.