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Opinions on my game template


Primed

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Hello all, newish to the forum, I did post a few mccode mods in the past under a different name (can't remember it), but I've since started using the grpg script.

I find it to be the less complex, and more flexible of the two scripts. That said, I've rewritten the a lot of the script and virtually the whole core.

I'd like some feedback on the visual side of the template.

At the moment I'm not worrying in the slightest how good it is from a developers point of view, or how well written it is. Just how it comes across to a regular player.

Some screenshots:

Landing page/login:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-6Xb12_WZRAb3M5VDdFWHdCNFU

Index:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-6Xb12_WZRAbjk5ckhYLS1acVk

Bank:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-6Xb12_WZRALXRyT2ZZWEY1a2M

Inventory:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-6Xb12_WZRAOGhONS1rRHZGOUU

I've blurred out the game logo & names for because it's only hosted locally, and also for privacy until it is complete

Please post any feedback or criticism, suggestions, etc you have

Many thanks

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Honestly currently it seems like any random McCode game... A black template, without much to be attractive. Seems to be the ever kind of options on the menu, and the layout is pure CSS. Sorry I don't find it bad, but I don't find anything which would drive me to it neither.

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Honestly currently it seems like any random McCode game... A black template, without much to be attractive. Seems to be the ever kind of options on the menu, and the layout is pure CSS. Sorry I don't find it bad, but I don't find anything which would drive me to it neither.

This is actually GRPG like he says in the original post.

But like a_bertrand has said this looks so much like the default template for GRPG, even though it has nice improvement it still looks the same.

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I never used neither McCode not GRPG but from the look... it's nearly the same. I mean, those menu, gym, etc.. they are all the same. So maybe and quiet certainly it's not McCode as you stated but, for me it looks all the same as always... boring.

Yeah I agree with you. Most the games about have the same features, same look, basically are the same game.

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Appreciate the posts fellows.

It does have the GRPG/Mccode feel to it, but at the end of the day, if it didn't, it would be an unfamiliar experience for players. This header, menu & content block style layout is proven to work, so I feel no need to change it. I have made my own mark on it, but don't see any positive side to it being drastically different, other than it simply 'being different'.

Same kind of idea with gym, crimes, etc, they are the proven features of a game and apart from my plans to make them function slightly different from other examples I've seen, I won't be changing the general idea behind it.

I intend to make gameplay fresh with new, hopefully unique features, I even have an idea to promote co-operation to achieve some goals and in turn rewards. But as touched upon in the original post, the game is just starting development, and I intend to get the basics right before moving on to new features and perfecting everything.

However! The thread has already went off topic. I just wanted to know if the game looked playable to a regular player.

Not how many other games have a gym feature.

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Sorry, when you buy a PC or console game you expect it has the same look as... GTA for example? Nope, each game do have a different way to behave, and a different look. If they would be all the same, it would be as annoying / plain as possible. Look at amazon, google, apple, oracle, tomshardware websites, do they look the same? Again nope. So no reason why a web game must look like a standard McCode game.

Also, I'm pretty sure this standard look is by no mean the best possible user interface out there ;)

And on the game play, I would be again with a drastically different point of view as yours. If you wonder why many games you saw do have those features, I can answer quickly: their owners are lazy and have little ideas, but if you dig a bit more you will discover tons of successful games (even more successful one) which share nothing with McCode. How come they don't fail? A few examples?

http://www.dragonfable.com/

http://www.runescape.com/

http://lotgd.net/home.php

http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/login.php

http://www.travian.com/

etc... etc...

So don't tell me all games must be the same otherwise players will not be able to play, that's simply... stupid.

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If you consider a text-based game and how it will look, there are limited on what can be done.

amazon, google, apple, oracle, etc all look different because they serve different purposes. If amazon wanted to be a search engine, they would have a site designed more like google

You can't possibly compare my template or gameplay with a game like runescape.

All games of the same genre have similarities. Take Saints Row and GTA for example. Call of Duty, Battlefield and Medal of Honor.

Where ever the genre is the same, so are many of the features. Not because the developers are lazy but because they are basic elements of gameplay.

I'm not saying that all mafia textbased rpgs should be the same, but there will always be aspects that are the same, and other aspects that will have similarities. Mainly gangs systems, levelling systems, gym and crimes.

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Reason being why all mafia text based games have Gym,Gangs,Crimes is because people want to be top level,Want best gang,Want highest stats and beat everyone else.Its a accomplishment for them to reach it wheter they get it top 50 or become best.

Its also a money maker for the owner as people spend money to buy point packs to give them that boost to reach top

 

To say the owners are lazy is a bit unfair as if somethings not broke no need to fix it

I played these games for years and if those features where removed I wouldn't be interested in that game or know what to do

Edited by Unreal
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Reason being why all mafia text based games have Gym,Gangs,Crimes is because people want to bs top level,Want best gang,Want highest stats and beat everyone else.Its a accomplishment for them to reach it wheter they get it top 50 or become best.

Its also a money maker for the owner as people spend money to buy point packs to give them that boost to reach top

 

To say the owners are lazy is a bit unfair as if somethings not broke no need to fix it

I played these games for years and if those features where removed I wouldn't be interested in that game or know what to do

I would agree that there is no point re-inventing the wheel, but that doesn't mean you can't improve the tires.

The game as a whole works, and it is a good concept but what should be changed are things like the story line and the way you do such things in order to make it more interesting. For example, and as others have said, why would you play a game which is the same as the last? Even just changing the story line and the names of a few things would be a big improvement, you can't really call it your own game otherwise.

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I would agree that there is no point re-inventing the wheel, but that doesn't mean you can't improve the tires.

The game as a whole works, and it is a good concept but what should be changed are things like the story line and the way you do such things in order to make it more interesting. For example, and as others have said, why would you play a game which is the same as the last? Even just changing the story line and the names of a few things would be a big improvement, you can't really call it your own game otherwise.

Yes I agree you can improve on those features a little bit

For gangs you could make a gang war system where you place the prize for the gang who wins instead of one gang taking on the other.

Have a proper system

For gyms you could add a feature where you get a random chance for a critical train which gives a big boost to stats

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Why play another game which has the same features, the same tools, maybe a couple of different rules (but not too much because it has been proved to work, right?) and even the same layout? Guys, stop making such copy cats and play Torn then if you all think it's the best game ever. Sorry but this is crazy. You think on one side "it works well so let's keep it" and in the other "I need to tweak a bit and I will get tons of donations", no way. Torn is successful, first because it was nearly one of the kind at first, and second because there is a lot of players. If you start with a copycat you will not succeed much. It's a fact. Otherwise all those plain McCodes games or grpg or whatever would have millions of players too. Too bad it's not the case. Sure there is a couple of successful McCodes games, but either tweaked it a lot and invested a lot on the marketing side.

Also, it is not given that because a game works, than another of the same kind will too.

I would say, you all need to think a bit more on the story, content, game play, and more over, think out of the box, don't simply download an engine (whatever it is), change the template, the name and a couple of text and hope to be a success. Sorry it doesn't work. Now of course I will be bashed by ColdBlooded which guarantee me that many McCodes game made a lot of success, yet I have to see a plain McCodes installations which was so successful.

Also, gangs, levels, crimes, combats, all that can be totally changed, even made better than what you saw so far, and yet completely differently presented. I'm sure that if you really want a mafia / gang game, you could come with something original and yet even better to play than the way too many copy cat we can find on internet. However people don't do it because they are lazy, or are simply not skilled enough to do so. That's a sad story but true.

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It gets a bit old for everyone to be grasping at things so much just to drag MC-based games down. I don't get it. Live and let live.

The majority of the public is simple and stupid. (Yes, we, the coders, are included in that.)

They don't want innovation. They want something they can jump on while it's still hot and ride it to the top before anyone else.

The "Ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude is exactly why there "may have been a few successful MC games."

They added their personal touch on the core system. That's it. It's 90% aesthetics.

Furthermore, as far as these "Oh, it looks like MCCodes" layout comments... It's getting ridiculous.

The ones who release templates regularly, or have in the past, (Peter, for example) If they make a bad template, they just get told it's not so great.

However, when the random Dick makes a template, and people don't like it, "HEY THAT LOOKS TOO MUCH LIKE MCCODES!"

What works for players will never be the same as what works for "developers." Stop treating every single post like it will.

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Seker: you are tired? me too odd.

Yet I think the goal here is to make games, not to simply copy exiting websites, or is it? If yes then maybe I'm the admin of the wrong forum. If somebody post a template, I shall be able to comment it. I wasn't insulting I think, I simply stated that for me it look like one of the many plain installation of some engine. GRPG or McCodes doesn't matter. Does that mean that one of those engine cannot be used for something else? No. Does that mean that the public want always the same kind? I doubt. Simply you guys played one game, like it, and thought it would be great if I'm the admin / owner of such game myself, I will get a lot of easy money and it will be fun too. Sorry but wake up it's simply not the case.

A game, to be even relatively successful is a lot of work, not only to setup the script, but also to administrate it every day, keep things on track, advertise it, and even make sure it runs due to the hosting or whatever else issue. So no, simply placing a script on a shared or free host will bring you nowhere. So if you are not even willing to think about a story, some content, or ideas more than simply "I will tweak a bit this and that", well... for me it will, in my own opinion, with my experience, I believe it will not work. But please go ahead and try it yourself.

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Why play another game which has the same features, the same tools, maybe a couple of different rules (but not too much because it has been proved to work, right?) and even the same layout? Guys, stop making such copy cats and play Torn then if you all think it's the best game ever. Sorry but this is crazy. You think on one side "it works well so let's keep it" and in the other "I need to tweak a bit and I will get tons of donations", no way. Torn is successful, first because it was nearly one of the kind at first, and second because there is a lot of players. If you start with a copycat you will not succeed much. It's a fact. Otherwise all those plain McCodes games or grpg or whatever would have millions of players too. Too bad it's not the case. Sure there is a couple of successful McCodes games, but either tweaked it a lot and invested a lot on the marketing side.

Also, it is not given that because a game works, than another of the same kind will too.

I would say, you all need to think a bit more on the story, content, game play, and more over, think out of the box, don't simply download an engine (whatever it is), change the template, the name and a couple of text and hope to be a success. Sorry it doesn't work. Now of course I will be bashed by ColdBlooded which guarantee me that many McCodes game made a lot of success, yet I have to see a plain McCodes installations which was so successful.

Also, gangs, levels, crimes, combats, all that can be totally changed, even made better than what you saw so far, and yet completely differently presented. I'm sure that if you really want a mafia / gang game, you could come with something original and yet even better to play than the way too many copy cat we can find on internet. However people don't do it because they are lazy, or are simply not skilled enough to do so. That's a sad story but true.

Why would I ditch a crime system, or gym system, or gang system just because most other games have them? I see absolutely nothing wrong with them from a gameplay point of view.

You seem to think that everything is bad just because it already exists and this just isn't the case.

No one on this thread said that as you put it "I need to tweak a bit and I will get tons of donations", I just asked was my template nice looking, or horrid looking, I even explicitly said from a players point of view, not a developers view with a vendetta against anything not unique.

You're creating your own arguments, and as I've said the thread has went from

I'd like some feedback on the visual side of the template.

At the moment I'm not worrying in the slightest how good it is from a developers point of view, or how well written it is. Just how it comes across to a regular player.

to
I would say, you all need to think a bit more on the story, content, game play, and more over, think out of the box, don't simply download an engine (whatever it is), change the template, the name and a couple of text and hope to be a success. Sorry it doesn't work. Now of course I will be bashed by ColdBlooded which guarantee me that many McCodes game made a lot of success, yet I have to see a plain McCodes installations which was so successful.

With all due respect to you as an Admin, I won't reply to any more offtopic stuff :(

 

The template doesn't look to bad to me, good job.

Many thanks :cool:

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Bit simple, nothing that makes it stand out above the crowd really but its still nice :) Seen many many successful games with standered templates and simple features, there not everything in a game, building a good community and running your game properly is enough to have a successful profitable site.

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Bit simple, nothing that makes it stand out above the crowd really but its still nice :) Seen many many successful games with standered templates and simple features, there not everything in a game, building a good community and running your game properly is enough to have a successful profitable site.

Thank you. I know what you mean by it seeming simple, but I rather a subtle colour scheme than anything bright and striking.

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I like the graphics that you have used. The muted tones make it easier on the eyes if someone were to be on for an extended period of time. If this is your first attempt ... I think it is rather a good one.

I have seen better and I have also seen much worse as well. Kudos.

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I like the graphics that you have used. The muted tones make it easier on the eyes if someone were to be on for an extended period of time. If this is your first attempt ... I think it is rather a good one.

I have seen better and I have also seen much worse as well. Kudos.

Many thanks, it is my first serious attempt at a template, previous attempts were just incredibly basic table templates. I've started using div elements with any new stuff and about half of the template I've changed from complicated tables to simple divs :)

No doubt there is room for improvement, but it's still a bit of a work in progress. Thanks

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