2016-08-25 15:44:49

So, here is something for all the complainers who don't wanna pay for Manamon. There you have the source code, so you can make a clone for free if that's what you want. smile

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
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2016-08-27 01:05:08 (edited by pulseman45 2016-08-27 01:16:23)

Still I look forward to the last update, it probably won't be as stable as braillemon1400, but at least more stable then the current test version, and that could be fine. Still to bad that we probably won't have Joto in the game, but at least it's good for being somewhat of a remake of Red and Blue. As there are features from later games and more realistic sounds for some point, I really like to call it a remake. Trueth be told, I personally enjoy it more for this aspect than for the fact it's an audiogame. I probably say so because I didn't like Fire Red and Leaf Green that much, especially in the music department.

2016-08-27 01:10:13 (edited by daigonite 2016-08-27 01:14:07)

I've stopped working on the project because the code was just too difficult to handle (it takes like 10 minutes for it to open the file and compile, no kidding) because of some very seriously bad coding practices. The reason why it's such bloated software is because of this.

The features of completing the game are all there, it's just that I really haven't had the motivation or the time to go and fix it, especially considering how much of a mess it is to debug and test.

Game maker code for the most part is accessible through the script files, however there are issues with a few parts of the interface that I've heard about. There are alternate IDE's such LateralGM and Parakeet:

http://lateralgm.org/
https://parakeet-ide.org/

Sorry to disappoint, but if anything it means that you guys will have access to a quality, unique game that I'm working on that's much much better built and efficient. I do not own Pokemon after all and considering the takedowns for Pokemon Uranium I'm kind of glad that I haven't encountered that fate myself.

you like those kinds of gays because they're gays made for straights

2016-08-27 01:13:44

I'm sad that the project is being put on hold. The test version has so many fatal errors that I can't reliably play it, so I play the old version. Manamon isn't feasible for me, mainly because I can't install anything. I don't have admin rights, and even if I did, I'm not working. I guess I'll have to stick to the old version until a more stable version is released. In the meantime, any navigational suggestions? I've never been past mount moon without sighted help.

Role-play? Simulation? Strategy? Throw it at me! I'm all ears for the games!

2016-08-27 01:24:36

Personally I can't play Manamon because of the fact that I am still having issues with Paypal and my credit card being rejected. And I just prefer the original pokemon experience after all. I mean there are things that Manamon does somewhat better than Pokemon, but still.
Also there are things we are still not sure about Braillemon. Like, for example, is it really possible that I found a shiny pokemon in this game? And probably other things I forgot.

2016-08-27 01:36:08

I think I'm done until the next update comes. It takes a lot of fiddling around to navigate past pallet town, with no viable way to tell the difference between a plain tile and a wild grass tile before I step on it. And when I'm lost and trying to get to the next area, a pokemon wants to battle. For a person like me who gets lost in seemingly endless blocks of areas, braillemon's map can be really confusing. I was listening to my sister play pokemon go, and it got me in the mood to play braillemon, but it takes a load of work just to get to the areas I'm interested in.

Role-play? Simulation? Strategy? Throw it at me! I'm all ears for the games!

2016-08-27 04:27:53

Hi
rachel, if all we donated a sum of money important, you could  continue with the project?
I think this is a game that if it ends will be one of the best rpg we will have available without any hesitation.
It would be a shame abandoning the project ends when there was so little to be done.
greetings and thanks.

sorry my english, is not my native language.

2016-08-27 11:26:46 (edited by pulseman45 2016-08-27 11:27:27)

Also I remember the Braillemon1400 release being pretty stable. I mean, I never encountered any noticible glitch as far as I'm concerned. So what  I'm not sure to understand is, unless the whole code was considerably changed for the current test version, what makes the game so hard to fix?
Now I know that for example the damage calculation was redone, and that the code is so heavy it takes a bit of time to compile, but I still wonder about it.

2016-08-27 14:31:35

What makes the game so hard to fix is this:

The game contains over 40,000 lines of very badly written code. It's very hard to pick out what is causing what bug because half of the time it screws up something else. Furthermore, just to test a bug, it takes about 10 minutes to compile the game, because of how much of a mess it is. This means that repeatedly trying to fix one bug can take many many times longer than a normal game because the software is so bloated.

you like those kinds of gays because they're gays made for straights

2016-08-27 14:49:03 (edited by pulseman45 2016-08-27 14:53:44)

OK. Please excuse me if I appeared to be somewhat rude, that wasn't my intention. I was just surprised given how wel Braillemon1400 went, and I thought maybe it wouldn't be so hard to achieve the same stability. But now I understand how uncomfortable it is to work on it with such drawbacks.

2016-08-27 17:20:16

Nope, you're fine.

you like those kinds of gays because they're gays made for straights

2016-08-27 23:07:08

So sorry to see this end, but I do understand why, despite not being a programmer myself.
I guess I'll look forward to the final release, and hope it's not so buggy that it can't be plaied.
You did learn a lot from braillemon, and you can use it to make Colors a much better game; from a coding standpoint.
Speaking of colors, your website for the games still downloades the 1.0.0.35 demo instead of the new one.
Here's hoping this can be fixed so that the newer demo you're working on can be accessed more easily.
I hope this new progect gos better than braillemon did...
I'll still post bugs for it over in it's topic; once I take a look at the new version.
Later!

2016-08-27 23:39:35

Just gonna stick an oar in real quick here. A couple of comments were made about not supporting Colors, and sticking to Manamon if you want a pokemon-like experience, and I think they were extremely disrespectful. And coming from Sterlock, who was, as far as I know, a beta tester for Manamon...very, very unprofessional, dude. I expect far better.

1. I have never looked at or heard anyone look at the actual data found in pokemon, but to hear that its code was very bloated and not well-maintained is both surprising and upsetting. I know there are some weird glitches involving things like critical hits and super-effective damage. I have been wary of the Braillemon project for that reason, and for many others, but not in the least unwilling to play around with it. I just figured I'd wait till it was more stable, and that never really came to pass. Now I understand why. Rachel, it's a shame you're at this point, but I, for one, would rather see you put your considerable talents to work on something of your own, something that isn't an inherited bloated mess. This is an informed, rational decision that makes both financial and strategic sense on pretty much all cylinders. Sure, it's a little upsetting for players who were hoping for this game to be fully realized, but that happens. That must not be viewed as a strike against you. You're doing the right thing.
2. Aaron Baker has never, as far as I know, inherited such a messy project and then made it shine. Aaron Baker has made his own games, all of them with notable gameplay, design or professionalism issues. To say "stick to manamon" in a case like this is something which, just as a player and a guy from the outside looking in, I find extremely insulting and demeaning. And to then say, based on this one failed project, that you're not going to support Colors? That's just plain selfish. Especially so when you compare just how much support VG Storm, which is the company you referenced indirectly by mentioning manamon, historically gives its games on release. Paladin of the Sky has some really sloppy writing and obnoxious gameplay mechanics more than two years after launch. The Gate was considered overpriced and not terribly well-balanced based on the fair majority of posters in the thread. PsychoStrike had issues almost from day 1 and got abandoned. Manamon is having similar issues, and it's being updated a bit at a time, but there are still rather large holes and problems. It feels a great deal as if Rachel's decision is damning her, yet multiple questionable decisions on behalf of another developer have not encouraged you to blackball that developer the same way you're blackballing Rachel.
And hey, that's your prerogative as a human being, just as it's mine to call hypocrisy out for what it is.

I'm not saying VG Storm is a bad company, or that Aaron Baker is a bad person, or that Rachel is perfect. None of those statements are true. What I'm saying is that the entirety of a situation should be studied before you go off half-cocked and say something that's going to possibly discourage yet another promising game developer. You can make mean jabs like that at Nintendo or the other big guns because they don't hear, and wouldn't care if they did. Do it in our little pocket of the gaming universe, and you're going to end up with a short list of your best friends' games, whether or not they're any good, and no one else who'll stand your double standards.
This all may come across a bit harsh. Maybe it even is. But I'm sick and tired of good people being bashed on really flimsy grounds, and sick of games with issues being held up as gold standards when they aren't. It gives the false impression that said games don't have problems, or that admitting defeat and re-appropriating one's time on a more worthy project is somehow the wrong choice. If nothing else, look at it like this. Rachel is now putting her time into something bigger, better, more original, more marketable to both the blind and the sighted, and no longer has a bloated, badly-coded, copyright-bound nonfinancial monkey on her back to drag her down. This is a win-win situation.

Check out my Manamon text walkthrough at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8ls3rc3f4mkb … n.txt?dl=1

2016-08-28 01:57:54 (edited by pulseman45 2016-08-28 10:20:50)

I agree. The fact Braillemon had some coding issues shouldn't have such impact to the point of not supporting Colors because of it. Plus, as I said, Manamon does some things arguably better then Pokemon (darker story, no HMs), but there are also things that aren't as good as in Pokemon (no teachable moves at all). Plus my Braillemon Sav file contains what I consider to be one of the best teams I have done so far in a Pokemon game, and this is partially due to restrictions I had in a classic Pokemon game and that aren't present here (most notably trading/elemental stones evolutions). And I can't wait to make it to the end with that team on the final update.
I also wish I could continue to support the mainstream Pokemon games, though if the navigation system is going for angular movement, this is going to be difficult.

2016-08-28 05:23:15

Hello!
Just popping in to say, great work so ar Rachel, even at the edge of it. I like Pokemon, braillemon and Manamon all the same, and your project, though not complete, brings some considerably extreme greatness of Pokemon to the blind community. I always respect your work, no matter how buggy or bad written code you say it is, and I'm starting to give Colors a test. Let's see how it goes.
Your last post is dam right, and was something i planned to say as well, but kep forgetting. Keep up mam!

Why do ghost hunters have to hunt ghosts? Well, there's a fear of being ghosted out there. They may need therapy as well as their ghost hunting kit.

2016-08-28 15:38:01

I'd like to say this as a final word here - a major reason why I'm making Colors is to try to illustrate blind issues to the public in a way that forces them to deal with it on a way that is genuine, and doesn't aim to "pity" blind characters.

A major theme in the game is irony - and yes, it's a game called Colors with quite a few stories about blind people. Colors will be accessible not only because I want blind people to play it but because it's actually relevant to the plot, to sighted and blind players. And this whole technology thing is part of the picture. Furthermore, it's about how the public misinterprets the struggles of someone going blind. It focuses heavily as well on how blindness impacts someone's identity. And no, it's not a pity fest, I promise; the blind characters are total badasses.

I really believe that Colors is something that might be able to put my foot out the door, but I'm nervous about working directly with a publisher or an organization because I do not want my story being tampered with in any way and because of the subject material is potentially controversial.

you like those kinds of gays because they're gays made for straights

2016-08-28 19:47:52

I really hope that this game gets an update once Colors is done. I love this game and I don't want to see it uncompleted.

Kingdom of Loathing name JB77

2016-08-29 12:03:40 (edited by pulseman45 2016-08-30 17:04:26)

I'd like it too. However, given how difficult working on the game has become it seems unlikely.

2016-10-10 21:09:40

The link is brochen.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2016-10-12 06:09:13

*sigh*

Well, honestly, I think I had suspected this long before reading it. I'd moved on to other games anyways, and although it saddens me that Braillemon is being laid aside, I'm glad I was around to encounter it when I did. I personally think Colors will be an awesome game and look forward to its completion.

2017-02-13 09:19:28 (edited by pulseman45 2017-02-13 09:20:22)

Hello,
Sorry to bring back the thread for something that was maybe answered elseware, but if it was I couldn't find anything.
Since the last post in the Braillemon blog mentionned a final update, and since a bit of time has past since then, I wonder if the update has been canceled. I would understand if it is, as the focus is put on Colors that has been updated recently, but I was expecting an update of the blog talking about this decision if it was made.
So, is this officially over or can we still expect something new for Braillemon?
Best regards,
Pulseman

2017-02-16 22:01:59 (edited by daigonite 2017-02-16 22:03:18)

The project is officially done and I'm only keeping the files available on my dropbox for legacy purposes. Please let me know if any of them don't work.

Some examples of why the code won't be worked on anymore:
1. The code is extremely messy, including the following:
- Because of a bug that caused HP to dip below 0, EACH STEP the game checks if the HP has gone below 0 and corrects it if it hasn't.
- The pokemon party is built in 6 1-d arrays and is accessed through switch statements throughout the code.
- Very few constants are used in the game, so yeah, every time I reference a pokemon, I'm actually referencing their index number. Imagine how coding with that gets.
- Every single attack's ability is stored in a single function and has a lot of copy-pasted code. This script is over 10,000 lines long.
- The code that handles how attacks are calculated is a spaghetti filled mess.

2. The code is not flexible at all and doesn't utilize inheritance properly.
3. A good portion of the menu code is handled through game maker's drag and drop system, which makes it extremely hard to maintain because this system is slow, buggy and generally crap.

I really hope that this makes it very clear why continuing work on this project is really not worth my time. I have considered contacting the development team of Pokemon Showdown to at least have that be more accessible but honestly I don't feel confident enough in my web development skills to do so.

I hate admitting this but I started braillemon as an ambitious newbie who knew nothing about development, and this is what happens to a large, ambitious project that's managed by someone who clearly doesn't know anything about how to manage a project. All a learning lesson though. Development continues on Colors, but currently right now most of the development is based around the engine itself and not on adding new content; the bulk of the game is expected to start development around June or July 2017.

I expect a full release by August 2019 if I can reach funding goals; if I can't receive any funding it will probably be a year or two pushed back. One of the main challenges with colors is that since it's also a visual game, I need to compensate for graphics as well. So getting graphics to work eats up a lot of my time.

Colors has a much more clear strategy to focus on its completion and is far more flexible in its code than Braillemon ever was; the main thing holding me back now is stress, work and lack of time; however I try to complete a new feature at least twice a month, and try to get releases out every 2 months.

If you haven't already, please follow my page on Facebook to get more continuous updates.

https://www.facebook.com/ColorsChromatics/

you like those kinds of gays because they're gays made for straights

2017-02-16 22:48:39

That's sad cause it seems like the game was nearly completed so from a player point of view it seems like I almost finished the game. I wish you luck on Colors but my heart hopes for some type of good Pokémon game in the future.

Kingdom of Loathing name JB77

2017-02-17 00:42:33 (edited by daigonite 2017-02-17 00:42:47)

I don't think its impossible that I might revisit the idea if I have time, but I'd rather build my own brand first so to speak. Busy with work too.

I kind of derped when I asked to help on the Pokemon Showdown development for accessibility, I should probably do that again. TBH I haven't worked with web stuff outside of building simple websites but maybe I can come up with a few designs to help the devs out. Time permitting of course.

you like those kinds of gays because they're gays made for straights

2017-02-17 01:25:12

PS is already pretty accessible. I'm a pretty devoted player and I find very little wrong with the website interface, anyway.

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