I've been a Clonk player for years, ever since my brother found the free version of clonk planet online. Since then I bought Endeavour and upgraded to Rage before sadly discovering only a year or two later that Matthes was planning to leave Clonk behind.
Fast forward to today. I recently downloaded version 1.0 of Open Clonk, which as you know wasn't released too long ago. I must say, I'm very pleased with how you overhauled the controls. I personally never had a problem with the "Classic" control system, but I really can't deny that this one is much better. Overall, I'm very impressed with everything.
There's one thing that I don't like, though.
The clonk was completely redesigned from a silly little man in a jump suit to a weird looking guy in cargo pants.
Now over the years I've grown fond of that silly round-headed moron, as ridiculous as he looks (how on earth do they even get in those suits? They don't even have a zipper!) And they have truly come to mean "Clonk" to me. Suffice to say, after all this time I find it hard to appreciate such a large change in style between the Classic clonk and the New clonk.
I just feel a little alienated.
> silly round-headed moron, as ridiculous as he looks (how on earth do they even get in those suits? They don't even have a zipper!)
You've taken the words right out of my mouth. :)
By the way, here is the evolution of the OC clonk throughout development:
:I
I know it's not really a big deal, and I certainly wouldn't leave clonk just for a small style change. But honestly, I like the old clonk better than the new one.
What about different player models? Surely this should be much easier now that you're using 3D models instead of sprites. I'm not interested in decking out my clonks with hats and accessories, but I'd still like the option to change their overall appearance.
>What about different player models? Surely this should be much easier now that you're using 3D models instead of sprites. I'm not interested in decking out my clonks with hats and accessories, but I'd still like the option to change their overall appearance.
That idea was brought up before. Noone was against it, there was just noone who made the effort to start this yet.
Personally, I like old (number 2 in the list) clonk model very much (even created my avatar out of it - now, with the change of the clonk appearance, I have to keep up the pace :-( ... ). Would be very nice to see it around again
>Wow, seriously? Am I the only one?
Dont forget that our model-developers have some 'personal relationship' to their clonk model, too. What i mean is that they put a lot of work into the models.
I guess i know what you mean, its a big difference to the old clonk, but you will get used to it... ;) (like everyone does...)
And Openclonk isnt Clonk...
i should have said: Openclonk isnt Clonk Rage
and btw Gurkenglas: if Openclonk would be Clonk Rage there wont be an Openclonk project, cause it would be all the same as Clonk Rage is right now...
Licensing stuff ("purchase price") is probably the biggest point about renaming Clonk Rage :)
>how on earth do they even get in those suits? They don't even have a zipper!
When they're born, they get one, sleeves slipped back. And Inuit jackets even grow in size!
- Clonks only change their clothes during a game with magic help
- Their clothes stretch when the Clonk grows or shrinks
- They apparently can change their clothes between rounds, or their clothes can change colors. (I'm not sure whether any canon scenario ever changed the color of a Clonk's clothes during a game.)
- The clothes are never damaged by anything
So if we don't want to invent something new, I'd suggest that the clothes are simply so stretchy that the Clonk can climb into and out of them through one of the five holes. Actually, clothes like that exist in our world, and they even look similar to the ones Clonks are wearing. Alternatively, the clothes are magically teleported onto the Clonk.
> They apparently can change their clothes between rounds, or their clothes can change colors. (I'm not sure whether any canon scenario ever changed the color of a Clonk's clothes during a game.)
In one of the Knights maps, "Kingdoms" perhaps, the King could cast a spell that turned all corpses near him into living clonks on the player's side. Their clothes changed colour.
Perhaps Clonk clothing isn't actually clothing. It could be a part of their biology-being, capable of changing colour to match whoever they're loyal too.
> In one of the Knights maps, "Kingdoms" perhaps, the King could cast a spell that turned all corpses near him into living clonks on the player's side. Their clothes changed colour.
The Revaluation spell also can change clothes. I've not seen the raise-undead spell, but I'd guess that it also instantly changes the appearance of the Clonks, suggesting some form of teleportation.
> Perhaps Clonk clothing isn't actually clothing. It could be a part of their biology-being, capable of changing colour to match whoever they're loyal too.
That's not consistent with the official artwork. For example, the title screen I've taken my avatar from clearly suggests that the blue stuff is separate from the skin-colored stuff, as do the pictures of the CX Clonks.
Hm, the stretchy clothing theory is also contradicted by the loose fit of the sleeves in those pictures. So teleportation or some unseen technique seems the only remaining explanation. Given the prevalence of teleportation in Clonk (buying/selling stuff in the base!), I'd favor that explanation.
> For example, the title screen I've taken my avatar from clearly suggests that the blue stuff is separate from the skin-colored stuff, as do the pictures of the CX Clonks.
I think what actually looks like a sleeve on the clonk in your avatar image is actually a secondary mouth where the clonk can digest food.
The different colors of clonks over-skin are just you know, like the chameleon.
> Clonks only change their clothes during a game with magic help
Or in the arctic. That one scenario really is full of revelations about the nature of Clonks. ;-) But the obvious interpretation seems to be that their anoraks are a separate piece, and that the clothing underneath the anorak follows the same rules as the clothing of the normal Clonks. There's no explanation for their shrinking behaviour, though — separated from their Clonks they assume a fully grown size.
The arctic Clonks don't seem to have access to the teleportation technology normal Clonks have, can change their clothes between rounds, and can shrink between rounds, depending on how they are introduced during the next round. But that's easily explained with the theory that all Clonks in a players crew can meet between rounds, and the arctic Clonks are simply shrunk by hazard Clonks, and given access to the teleportation technology. Though that it requires explanation is a strong hint that all this stuff is an after-the-fact explanation for things that weren't considered during the game design...
With OpenClonk, we're trying to experiment. There's only so much incremental enhancements one can do. At some point, you have to take risks. Both changes to the Clonk and to the controls were controversial in the past, but I think we were right in doing them. And it's not yet clear whether the new Clonk model is better than the old one: Humans have a huge tendency to favor the familiar, so we need to give the new model a chance and evaluate it when it is about as familiar as the old one. (I for one like the new model, by the way.)
I respect the decisions of everyone involved in the creation of this great game, and I know the development is out of my hands. But if you ask for feedback, feedback is what you'll get. ;)
And by the way, I've worked with computers all my life too. I know C and Assembly language and I use them every day. In fact, I've been hired before to program games myself.
... I tell you these things just so that no one assumes I don't know anything. ;)
For example the old model had to become thinner get more realistic proportion so it can hold things twohanded without problems and so on.
An agreement made of a new body and an old head was inadequate. So We decided to change the whole design.
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