My name is Alexander, I’m a beginner game developer, and since a few weeks ago I’m working on a prototype of a game, inspired by Magic Carpet (I’m not sure if everyone is familiar with that great classic, it’s quite old already).
What I have now: a procedurally generated “real” (spherical) planet, three terramorphing spells, and the very basics of combat (“monsters” flying around randomly, you can kill them with fireballs, but they don’t fight back yet). All art is just placehoders, so don’t mind the standard Blender monkey as a monster model. My first plan is to implement some gameplay that is close to the original Magic Carpet concept, with castles, collectable mana and combat/terramorphing spells, hovewer I’m not aiming at the exact remake and hope to make something original.
There isn’t that much to test yet, but I would be happy to get any kinds of feedback, especially, at the moment, about flying controls and terramorphing spells.
The biggest change: added aggressive AI, monsters now attack the player with fireballs if he/she gets too close to them, and move in an unpredictable way while attacking. Also added some simple GUI elements (player’s health status and help screen) and keyboard shortcuts (for changing mouse sensitivity).
(Image borrowed from this great article which explains this process in more details.)
Each vertex of this grid contains various terrain data, such as height and “material” (sand, dirt, stone). All vertices of the grid are stored in memory, in 6 big arrays. This terrain data is then rendered in small chunks – game objects with meshes and splatmaps that contain information about materials, which is then used by the shader. Chunks are generated on demand when they are close enough to the player. Terramorphing effects are simply modifications of that terrain data, which, when applied, trigger rebuilding of the changed chunks’ meshes.
I have always been a fan of the Magic Carpet games since I was a little kid, I love the fact that somebody else has too enjoyed it! Looking forward to this great game
This is shaping up to be a great game, and your solution for the spherical terrain is very versatile (Maybe you can sell it in the Asset Store).
Edit: Okay, I just played it some more. Mister, you have a true gem in your hands. I see this releasing on Green Light, Mobile, and whatnot and selling well. My only advice right now is to take Magic Carpet as a very loose inspiration and start to rethink the whole gameplay concept with that deformable terrain and day/night system. Don’t limit yourself.
Also, make the default mouse direction up/up and not up/down ( I know it’s nostalgia, but that’s how people play it today )
Mana possession. Mana dropped by monsters can be “possessed” with a special spell, it then increases player’s maximum health and mana.
Castles. Player can build a castle which serves as a home base where the player is much better protected than in the wild. (The castle model shows off my incredible 3D modelling skills.)
Mana collectors. Castle is also a home for mana collectors, that search for mana possessed by the player and bring it to the castle, this increases player’s health and mana even further. (Another demonstration of my great 3D modelling skills. I probably need an artist or something.)
Sprint ability (by double-tapping forward key): player’s speed is significantly increased, but player’s mana is consumed while sprinting.
Alekz, I’m stunned by this. I’ve just spent about 1/2 hour playing it and as an ooold Magic Carpet / Netherworld fan, I have to say you’ve really captured some of the core essences. The terraforming is really fun, and the night/day over the planet works really well. I can’t beleive how much you’ve done on your own! I made a castle spire, then went around killing demons, then wondered if that blip in the castle spell meant more … and yep like 6 more spires popped up out of the ground - woohoo!
You know I don’t think this is far off a real game… it’s totally playable and fun already. Just needs sound, some missions, etc etc. Details!
I hope you had as much fun and reward building this as I suspect you did.
My first plan is to implement some gameplay that is close to the original Magic Carpet concept, with castles, collectable mana and combat/terramorphing spells, hovewer I’m not aiming at the exact remake and hope to make something original.
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