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Huzzah! I made it to the podium thing. Though I have to admit, I got stuck a few times and just started leaping around like a crazy person until I found an alternate gravity source to continue on my way. Did you mean it to be like that?

Here are my current suggestions:
1) Navigation. Something needs to be done so you know where you're even supposed to go. I'm sure backgrounds will help and such, but really if you want it to be non-linear at any point, you need some sort of map or something. Perhaps just a very vague "You are here" with a general direction if you bring up a map? Or you could zoom out to an overview of the entire level, that would just change the feel. I personally would like that more, probably. It would then feel like "Okay, I know where I need to go, now I have to put my skills to the test to get there!"
2) The edge grabbing seems a little funky. Sometimes it works, most of the time, but not always. Plus you can just leap from the edge and that can create issues with clipping I think. Maybe after you grab a ledge it could just animate to pulling up to the platform and you couldn't jump from a hanging position? Just a thought.

Anyway, great job so far and I can't wait to see more.

At 10/21/09 03:29 AM, CloudEater wrote: Well I've done a bit and will post an example it a bit later on during the week.
But for now I'll just show everyone THIS, which is Catoblepas style, but is slightly similar to my 5SoO submission.

Wacky. Reminds me of some sort of living Jello...

Can't wait to see how it fits the theme!

At 10/21/09 07:39 PM, PBass wrote: I hope you all know I'm going to have to include a vase in one of the rooms in the space station as an Easter egg now.

Ha ha, awesome. And all of three people will "get" it. :P

At 10/21/09 11:23 PM, ForNoReason wrote:

At 10/21/09 07:40 PM, FourSwordsKing wrote:

At 10/21/09 07:39 PM, ForNoReason wrote:

At 10/21/09 07:37 PM, FourSwordsKing wrote: Could you take cs3 per chance?

I only have flash 8 :(

Damn...well, I was only gonna do something simple anyway like the credits.

can't cs3 export into flash 8 format?

Yes it can. But AS 3.0 won't translate, maybe that is what he was talking about?

Very interesting, that's not something you see everyday. I liked the music especially.

I like the style you went with, but it perhaps needs a bit more actual animation. Also it tried to kill my computer with it's high quality, so maybe do some optimizing. :)

Seems like it could be interesting past just an intro. As I said, the style really works well. Good luck with it.

At 10/21/09 02:12 PM, Azmarith wrote:
so yeah, presuming PBass doesn't die job goes to him. Appreciate the help JKR, if u ever need something coded i owe you one!

Glad things worked out then. Good luck with it! I hope it turns out great. Just keep at it, I'd hate to see it fall by the wayside like a lot of Flash games do sometimes. And if you guys get stuck and need some backup help (or voice work), let me know and I'll see if I can jump in for some assistance.

yeah, i got PBass' message just after i posted that. I like the room, i appreciate that it was just a quick example but its the right kinda thing (except the vase... A vase on a space station? lol).

It's a space vase! For... um... moon flowers...

*cough cough*

I liked Naruto until they started killing main characters. Then I didn't anymore. And when they started bringing main characters back to life, except the first time with You Know Who Of The Sand, it got really stupid.

Still a fun manga to read anyway. Better than Bleach, that's for sure! Uhg...

At 10/20/09 05:17 PM, Azmarith wrote: yeah, Id really appreciate it if you could help with the game. However, one concern is having the artwork fit together. But im sure we can sort something out. Send me a PM and we can sort something out if the time comes.

Well just to see if I could do it, I tossed together a really fast idea for one "room" in that style. Just to see if it would fit. Obviously it's a rather meaningless room, it's only to see the style.

I think it turned out okay. I didn't have the same colors he used, so it won't match perfectly color wise. What do you think? (It's totally okay if you don't think it works, it is your project after all!)

At 10/20/09 03:41 PM, ReNaeNae wrote: I REALLY wanna do something for this. I've been trying, but I just can't seem to come up with anything.
I think my brain is broked! :'(

If anyone has to come up with something, it's you! Yours was probably the best in Shades of Green!! :)

What I did was go to the dictionary here and read the list of definitions. Suddenly a LOT of ideas sprang to mind. Too many. I had to cut most and start story-boarding my final plan so I wouldn't get side tracked...

Now that I think about it, that's probably a little weird. I came up with the theme word without having an idea in my head to start. Ah well.

At 10/20/09 04:40 AM, KaynSlamdyke wrote:

At 10/19/09 11:39 AM, JKR wrote: Looking good so far! You'll have to forgive me, I'm not familiar with vcam. What does it entail? I suppose it shouldn't be a problem as long as the AS is 3.0 and doesn't interfere with any of the other animations or menus. Feel free to explain it further, but I don't think it will be an issue.

Not that I'm complaining, but you've given us a template for Flash 8 users, who wouldn't be able to code particle effects and the like (or use thier own V-Cam) in a project where AS3 is mandatory.

Ah, that's a good point. It's true that I will be compiling this all with Actionscript 3.0 using Flash CS3. If you are using AS 2.0, I don't think it would work. Unless I can call it remotely, which is something we did in previous 5 Shade Collabs. Does anyone know if you can call a SWF file that uses 2.0 into a Flash CS3 project and have it work/run properly?

At 10/20/09 07:38 AM, CloudEater wrote:

At 10/19/09 02:03 AM, CloudEater wrote: Does it matter what type of audio we include??

What do you mean by "type of audio"?

Sorry I probably should have asked that better.
Are we allowed to use any music (Copyrighted), voice acting or explict words?

Gotcha, gotcha. Well, if you want to use the copyrighted music it's up to you. I know I don't personally as a rule, so not only do I never have to have things threatened to be taken down by the original creators, but also so I have the ability to sell anything I do if I ever decide to. I leave that up to you, though.

As far as explicit audio or text, I really would prefer we keep this project clean so more people can enjoy it. So let's stick with non-explicit. If you'd like to use audio that contains explicit language, I can probably bleep it out if you are set on using that song or whatever. Otherwise maybe just plan on not using it from the get go. Sorry I didn't explain that in the first post. :)

Man, this KILLS me that you don't have someone yet. This clearly looks like a project that is actually having work put into it (unlike some "I need help making a game" threads we sometimes see) and I'm surprised no one has jumped on board.

I won't be available online after Saturday until November 1st. The internet won't be available to me during that week. However if you still haven't found anyone by then, I'd be willing to do as much as I can to help this along. I have other projects, but I think I could at least get things moving in the right direction for you, and do at the very least another 3-4 rooms. And if you absolutely HAD to find someone else to finish the last few scenes, at least you'd have more done. Is that something you'd be interested in?

Well you should at least have mine before the end of the week, and I might put it up at FredtheMonkey.com before the month ends since it is the month for Breast Cancer Awareness. Hopefully, like you said, there will be enough entries ready to go before November hits. If not, it isn't like Breast Cancer Awareness isn't important enough to get more than just a month to think about!

Are you serious?! Give me a freaking break. This is insane. Just make the freaking program last for more than a year and a half, freaking Adobe! FREAKING!

>:(

1) Make a frame with the start of the movement. Have only one symbol on that layer.
2) Make another frame farther in the timeline, and move the symbol to the end point.
3) Right click the space between and select "Make Motion Tween"

Hope that helps.

At 10/19/09 02:17 PM, Deadclever23 wrote: Anybody seen this.
The art forum is making a game collab and needs a programmer.
So far only 1 reply.
I reckon someone should take this chance.

I gave the only help I could, which was to point towards an awesome tutorial that maybe will help out. I suck at coding. :P

Though I'm tempting to do something on the art end... If only I had the time....

Man, I understand the boat you're in. I always come up with interesting ideas too, but rarely have the time to see many of them through. The trick really is to just focus on one thing at a time and finish it completely. Yes, some ideas will fall by the wayside, but the really good ones always have a way of coming back and getting done eventually. Maybe finish a few of your smaller projects and once they're out of the way you can focus more on this one?

Just an idea. Good luck with it.

Dang, PBass, I think you win the internet.

Nice post. This place would be a lot better if more people were like you.

At 10/19/09 03:24 PM, spartan2744 wrote: ok, cuz my computer messed up and i lost 3/4 a movie i made so i'm adding that 3/4 i lost and then resubmiting it

Then yes, it sounds like more of a new submission than a simple update.

At 10/19/09 01:46 PM, Wolfears2 wrote: I definitely like the sound of this, but I'll make a preview before you make your decision about my acceptance.

Oh it isn't up to me. Anyone is welcome to join. At the end there will be a vote for final spots, like the previous 5 Shades Collabs. The trick is to make it awesome so you secure yourself a spot in the final group. But previews are always awesome to share anyway, so I look forward to it. :)

I believe so, if it has been drastically changed and you aren't doing it over and over on purpose or anything.

I can't tell you for sure (since I didn't make it myself), but there is absolutely a mix of frame by frame and motion tweening. It's pretty smooth, so I'd bet on a FPS of around 24, perhaps a little lower.

If you want to do something like this the biggest key is to have good form and small movements that close out a motion. What I mean is if someone falls, they don't just hit the ground and stop, they bounce slightly. It's the basics of animation though, so if you aren't aware of them any good animation book or tutorial will explain it pretty well. You just have to remember never to have anything stop or start from a dead stop. Things in the real world aren't so sudden in movement.

You should check out this link: http://www.kongregate.com/labs

There is one of the best side-scrolling shooter tutorials I've ever seen. You may still want a full time actionscripter, but if you don't find one you could probably use that.

Good luck, can't wait to see how it turns out! :)

Having voice work (well done), and having lots of things to look at, even if you can't pick them up or use them.

The easiest way would be to trace a photo you want to use as inspiration with the pen tool. That may be what they did for the example you posted, which was very cool by the way.

I got stuck though and had no idea what to do next. Maybe include a hint system in your game? I found the DVD but couldn't play it, and the camera hooked up to the computer had no data. Boo.

At 10/18/09 04:50 PM, farfenwaffle wrote: I have a quick question, I plan to use some form of vcam, Would it be allowed? If so, what actionscript version?

also, I have this so far, ok? You like?
http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/2809/497 85_five_orange_preview.php

Looking good so far! You'll have to forgive me, I'm not familiar with vcam. What does it entail? I suppose it shouldn't be a problem as long as the AS is 3.0 and doesn't interfere with any of the other animations or menus. Feel free to explain it further, but I don't think it will be an issue.

At 10/19/09 02:03 AM, CloudEater wrote: I spent an hour on my 5 Shades of Orange piece last night and I'll post a link after I get a bit more of it done.
I really can't think of a story and am having a bit of trouble trying to get 'ring' to fit in somewhere.

Does it matter what type of audio we include??

What do you mean by "type of audio"?

I'm still going to try and get something done in time. I hope it works out, and I guess even if the "collab" ends up just being a few people it will still be okay.

In my experience, Front Page, which obviously only happens if you have something quality to show. Though honestly, if it's quality then it will be seen by a lot of people regardless. Front page gets you the most views, however, out of the things you listed.

Better the animation/game = more views.

My suggestion is to not have solid lines when doing the background city scapes. If you have the shapes as fills only, it will end up being much more stylized and look better. Usually.

Obviously for buildings in the foreground you'd want to use the same line type as the other action going on.

Ah, thanks for reposting it without the weird symbols, ughanation. I wish I could have just edited it out, but alas, I'll know for future to be careful about writing a thread in Word and then pasting it in I guess.

Happy to have all the folks on board who have posted. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all are planning on doing for this one!