Touhou Kart!

[Koog]

Wow! This is great! I can't believe someone is doing THIS!

Awesome! Yes, Renko and Maribel hopefully will have a track each, one of 3 "Rainbow Road" style tracks, the 3rd being Sakuya's.

Hopes Mari and Renko's tracks look great.
Good luck with the project! 

[Fraug]

I'm gonna try to get the Maribel and Renko music tracks done by this weekend. I've been busy these past few days.

[babbe107]

Let's ressurrect this thread to keep you guys updated :3

I have contributed to the game by making the soundtrack for Marisa's stage. Also I've been informed that Hoeloe has been working on more game mechanics such as ghost racers recently. I hope for more screenshots and a playable demo soon!

[Hoeloe]

Let's ressurrect this thread to keep you guys updated :3

I have contributed to the game by making the soundtrack for Marisa's stage. Also I've been informed that Hoeloe has been working on more game mechanics such as ghost racers recently. I hope for more screenshots and a playable demo soon!

Yup, I've been working on it in the small amount of free time I have (probably more than I should, to be honest). Most of the content is there for a demo, but there are still a few things to be done yet. I've seen some previews of one of the new character models, and they are looking good. Hopefully a demo won't be more than a couple of months away! In the meantime, I may look into some more details overviews of the tracks!

[FamilyTeam]

Yup, I've been working on it in the small amount of free time I have (probably more than I should, to be honest). Most of the content is there for a demo, but there are still a few things to be done yet. I've seen some previews of one of the new character models, and they are looking good. Hopefully a demo won't be more than a couple of months away! In the meantime, I may look into some more details overviews of the tracks!

I'm sure the game will be awesome! Unless there are blue shells, of course.

[Hoeloe]

So, my exams are now over, and I think it's a good opportunity to let you know what's going on in my life, and about the future of this project.

First of all, exams are over. Forever. I have (with any luck) graduated from university, so education is no longer getting the way.

This does, however, bring me onto my second point. Because of this, I now need to actually make a living. My intention is to run in head-on and attempt to make my own games using my own IPs (though this needs some serious planning before anything can start). This does mean that, once my short holiday of the next few weeks is over, Touhou Kart is going to have to be secondary to this project.

Secondary, but not gone. I still completely intend to finish this, and work is still going forwards. The reason there haven't been many updates recently is because the progress has been in polishing what's already there, rather than adding new content, in preparation for a demo release which will happen once the first couple of character models are sorted out. Yup, there is a playable demo on the way. It could be a little while, as starting the character models from scratch has been a huge setback, and there's a lot that needs re-organising because of it.

There is the possibility, then, that the demo will not be released before I have to start work on my own project. Unlike Touhou Kart, this will need a budget, and I intend, at the moment, to fund it through the community. It it worth mentioning that, if and when this happens, the more money goes into the project, the more time I will be able to devote to developing Touhou Kart. Less money means I will have to shoulder more of the project, which has to take priority over this. I will post more details here in time, but there's just a little forewarning.

If you want to help Touhou Kart in the mean time, I've set up a Tumblr page which has just got a few screenshots at the moment. One of the most helpful things anyone can do at this point is to support the project. It can't be understated just how important it is to have people supporting you, even if it's just in words, it's a huge factor in contributing to the development. I am about to start one of the riskiest and most difficult ventures I have ever done in my life, and one of the best things I can receive right now is support from the community.

Sorry for rambling a little. That's just a bit of an update into how my life is going, and it's not going to be easy in the foreseeable future. You can really make a difference if you want to just by reblogging some posts on the new Tumblr (http://touhoukart.tumblr.com/), or by generally sharing around the internet. Support is vitally important, especially at this stage, so if you want to contribute to the project, that is perhaps the best way you can do it.

[FamilyTeam]

So, my exams are now over, and I think it's a good opportunity to let you know what's going on in my life, and about the future of this project.

First of all, exams are over. Forever. I have (with any luck) graduated from university, so education is no longer getting the way.

This does, however, bring me onto my second point. Because of this, I now need to actually make a living. My intention is to run in head-on and attempt to make my own games using my own IPs (though this needs some serious planning before anything can start). This does mean that, once my short holiday of the next few weeks is over, Touhou Kart is going to have to be secondary to this project.

Secondary, but not gone. I still completely intend to finish this, and work is still going forwards. The reason there haven't been many updates recently is because the progress has been in polishing what's already there, rather than adding new content, in preparation for a demo release which will happen once the first couple of character models are sorted out. Yup, there is a playable demo on the way. It could be a little while, as starting the character models from scratch has been a huge setback, and there's a lot that needs re-organising because of it.

There is the possibility, then, that the demo will not be released before I have to start work on my own project. Unlike Touhou Kart, this will need a budget, and I intend, at the moment, to fund it through the community. It it worth mentioning that, if and when this happens, the more money goes into the project, the more time I will be able to devote to developing Touhou Kart. Less money means I will have to shoulder more of the project, which has to take priority over this. I will post more details here in time, but there's just a little forewarning.

If you want to help Touhou Kart in the mean time, I've set up a Tumblr page which has just got a few screenshots at the moment. One of the most helpful things anyone can do at this point is to support the project. It can't be understated just how important it is to have people supporting you, even if it's just in words, it's a huge factor in contributing to the development. I am about to start one of the riskiest and most difficult ventures I have ever done in my life, and one of the best things I can receive right now is support from the community.

Sorry for rambling a little. That's just a bit of an update into how my life is going, and it's not going to be easy in the foreseeable future. You can really make a difference if you want to just by reblogging some posts on the new Tumblr (http://touhoukart.tumblr.com/), or by generally sharing around the internet. Support is vitally important, especially at this stage, so if you want to contribute to the project, that is perhaps the best way you can do it.

A'ight, I started following the blog on Tumblr and rebloged some images, so it's something!
Just don't overdo yourself with this project, mate. Put important stuff in higher priority than this, if need be. You probably know that a good place for indie developers to start is Steam Greenlight, so maybe you can do stuff there that will build place for you to stand on. I found this video too, and it can be useful. I wish you good luck on your journey!

[Colticide]

I would advise to rethink on greenlight. There was a game that went through issues a while back called Paranautical Activity, where they were on greenlight but then Adultswim games offered to publish them, and steam told them no which makes no sense. There is also almost no chance of knowing if you game will be greenlit anyway, some devs have talked about how their game is very popular on the greenlight system but random games with no publishers or first timers get right onto steam.

On the other hand, steam dominates so much that it's very unlikely to get very far without it unless your Minecraft. Here is a list of places you can start selling your game once it's done. http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-online-game-stores/ GOG is very good, DRM free and no needing to deal with Valves BS and taking profit when they offer no support. I've heard good things about Desura as well.

Another good tip on getting the name of your games out there is Youtube (duh) but instead of you putting out videos yourself, get others to play them as well and show off what the game would have to offer. Personally I'd try to keep it as spoiler free as possible and feel that gameplay is a selling point. If anything the topic that Game Theroy did with youtube, game sales, and the Diffusion of innovations is proof that the system works.

Thats about all that I can offer, I myself am working on getting to that point, but already having a full time job takes a lot of energy lol. Congratulations BTW on graduating.

[FamilyTeam]

I would advise to rethink on greenlight. There was a game that went through issues a while back called Paranautical Activity, where they were on greenlight but then Adultswim games offered to publish them, and steam told them no which makes no sense. There is also almost no chance of knowing if you game will be greenlit anyway, some devs have talked about how their game is very popular on the greenlight system but random games with no publishers or first timers get right onto steam.

On the other hand, steam dominates so much that it's very unlikely to get very far without it unless your Minecraft. Here is a list of places you can start selling your game once it's done. http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-online-game-stores/ GOG is very good, DRM free and no needing to deal with Valves BS and taking profit when they offer no support. I've heard good things about Desura as well.

Another good tip on getting the name of your games out there is Youtube (duh) but instead of you putting out videos yourself, get others to play them as well and show off what the game would have to offer. Personally I'd try to keep it as spoiler free as possible and feel that gameplay is a selling point. If anything the topic that Game Theroy did with youtube, game sales, and the Diffusion of innovations is proof that the system works.

Thats about all that I can offer, I myself am working on getting to that point, but already having a full time job takes a lot of energy lol. Congratulations BTW on graduating.

Air Control also made it into the store. No, I don't get it, either, but if Valve ironed out those issues then it would be a really good place for our mate here to start.

[Colticide]

I totally agree, and it might still be worth giving it a try, but also knowing the bad parts might help understand why X game made it and how Y is still in greenlight is all.

[Hoeloe]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I've already done a fair amount of research into publishing and so on, and I've got a strategy in the works to make sure it doesn't get swept under the radar. It means a lot that even a few people are at all interested in things I make, and hopefully enough people will be to be able to finish Touhou Kart in reasonable time, too!

[Hoeloe]

So, as I mentioned, I've been working hard on starting up a new IP, which will have to take precedence over Touhou Kart. It's in early stages yet, but our team has released some info about the project:



I'm still very much keen to work on Touhou Kart, but I simply won't have much time in the next few weeks. The Kickstarter has not been started yet, but I hope we can get enough funding for this project. The more we get, the more easily we can complete this project, and the more time I'll get to work on Touhou Kart. Hopefully that won't be a problem, and both can be released happily, but I'll need as much support as I can get to make that happen.

[Hoeloe]

Well, work on Touhou Kart has effectively reached a standstill. I've been spending all my time working on Song of the Firefly, and we're now running a Kickstarter to raise the funds to finish the project. The more successful this Kickstarter is, the more time I can spend working on projects like Touhou Kart once it finishes, so if you're able, give us a hand!

[Pesco]

I'll see about putting ?15 in after payday and when I return from my leave.

[Neodymium]

Why this all of a sudden? Everyone has school/work getting in the way of their projects. I'm just curious what the endgame plan is for this thing. A kickstarter for a non-commercial project sounds like it's taking things kind of far.

For the commercial production of derivative material, or the mass circulation of derivative material outside of doujin shops, you must seek my permission.

Just curious.

Edit: My apologies, I thought this was for Touhou Kart. Ignore this. =) (Though I'm not sure how a non-touhou project is still on topic... Anyway, pardon the confusion!)

[Hoeloe]

Why this all of a sudden? Everyone has school/work getting in the way of their projects. I'm just curious what the endgame plan is for this thing. A kickstarter for a non-commercial project sounds like it's taking things kind of far.

Just curious.

Edit: My apologies, I thought this was for Touhou Kart. Ignore this. =) (Though I'm not sure how a non-touhou project is still on topic... Anyway, pardon the confusion!)

It's on topic because it's currently meaning that I can't work on Touhou Kart. The other project is my job, and has to take priority, but the more funding it receives, the more time I can get to work on other projects. Unfortunately, since I'm managing this project, it takes almost all of my time, and more money towards the project means I can hire more hands to take the weight off me somewhat, and that I don't have to spend quite as much time working out where the money to produce the game is going to come from. If this project receives a comfortable sum, then work on Touhou Kart can continue, but the less money it gets, the longer it will be until Touhou Kart can progress beyond the alpha stage, even into a playable demo.

[Neodymium]

If this project receives a comfortable sum, then work on Touhou Kart can continue, but the less money it gets, the longer it will be until Touhou Kart can progress beyond the alpha stage, even into a playable demo.

Developers often bite off more than they can chew. I mean no offense but how do we know you'll really be able to continue Touhou Kart? In your first post you had a pretty solid gameplay video and things seemed to be going somewhere. Now, it's been a year and a half and still nothing playable.

Instead you're asking for help funding an unrelated project, promising that if you get enough money work on TK will continue. It just sounds like you've got less time and less of a reason to keep TK going now....

I don't mean to be negative, I actually think you're very talented and Song of the Firefly looks gorgeous. I just want to know what the numbers are now that actual money is involved and to make sure TK isn't simply turning into fund-bait.....

[Hoeloe]

Developers often bite off more than they can chew. I mean no offense but how do we know you'll really be able to continue Touhou Kart? In your first post you had a pretty solid gameplay video and things seemed to be going somewhere. Now, it's been a year and a half and still nothing playable.

Instead you're asking for help funding an unrelated project, promising that if you get enough money work on TK will continue. It just sounds like you've got less time and less of a reason to keep TK going now....

I don't mean to be negative, I actually think you're very talented and Song of the Firefly looks gorgeous. I just want to know what the numbers are now that actual money is involved and to make sure TK isn't simply turning into fund-bait.....

Touhou Kart is a project I began not for profit, and with no budget, and I fully intend to keep it that way. Part of the reason it has been so long in development is that it's very difficult to ensure other people will work on it. I have had two modellers who started working on the characters, one of whom left for personal reasons (and is actually now the character modeller for Song of the Firefly), and the other disappeared. The production on the game has been falling because of that, somewhat. The thing is, if I had some time to myself, I could easily find another person to help with this. The problem is that this takes a lot of time and effort - which I can't currently expend because I need to expend it instead on the project that will earn me a living.

Touhou Kart was only ever intended to be for fun, because I'm a fan of the series, and I have fond memories of playing Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing. My reason to keep Touhou Kart going is the same as it always was - I want to see it made, and I want other people to be able to have fun with it. The only problem is that now I have less time, and more funds for the other project will help with that. I don't intend to use Touhou Kart simply as a method to fund my other game. Of course, I want to see it funded, but I also want to see Touhou Kart finished. It was immensely fun to work on, and there are still a lot of ideas and features that I haven't put in yet, and am excited about doing so.

There's not much I can do to prove this to you, but I promise you that my aims with Touhou Kart are the same as they were when I started the project.

[Helepolis]

OT:
Non-profit and hobby projects will always depend on personal time and interest. This is a known element for any fan work for anything, not just Touhou Danmaku or Touhou derived games.

Either way, I wasn't intending on funding any thing but I can understand how it rubs others the wrong way. You're clearly stating yourself that if you get enough funding, you have time to work on it. That is kind of a weird argument and contradicting with the fact you're calling it a hobby/non related project. But I am not posting this to question your choices or project.

On topic:
Classic pitfall for most developers in non-profit or small-games: Dependency on others due to lack of skills to do it yourself. Humans are unstable, whether it be friends you know RL or online. If you're doing a collaborative project or counting on the effort and work of others: You might want to pick them carefully. As you already experience, your project came to a full stall because of this.

Though that kind of surprises me. Surely you could run/continue the game by just using the available model to further develop the game? You have one already afaik. Just like how Saijee did for his Touhou Smash who developed a Sakuya only and focussed on the actual game play. Also, he is more dependant on models than you are since his is a fighting game and you have a racing game. I know that each "character" steers, accelerates, etc different but that can be implemented by regardless of the graphical looks. Worst case scenario: There are also MMD models available to use as placeholders, if you're really that desperate.

Sounds to me you're just not motivated (enough) and money isn't going to change that. Whether that is due to disappointment of modellers leaving you in the cold or not, who knows.

[Hoeloe]

I did make some development mistakes early on in the project, you're right. I had been developing without models, and all of the characters are already implemented without them. My major issue was that I wanted to release the demo with at least 2 fully functioning characters, animated with models, to give people a sample of what the final game will look like. You are completely right, I perhaps should have used placeholders. The trouble is that this all happened while I was at university - while I had other things taking priority, but not taking 100% of my time. That's not true any more. I'm certainly not trying to coax anyone into funding my project - if you don't want to, or aren't interested, don't. I was simply saying that funding allows extra manpower. At the moment, the majority of the work on this game is being done by a small number of people, as well as running and managing a business. Funding would allow me to delegate some of that to other people, and reduce some of the managing strain.

I will return to Touhou Kart when I can whatever happens, but this will be faster if the funding is there for this project. I do see that the way I phrased this might have rubbed people the wrong way, but that was not my intention. I was merely keeping people updated with what is happening to the project, and why it's come to a stall at the moment. I apologise for any misunderstandings that might have come from this.

I want to assure you that I am still just as motivated to make the game as I was when I started, but the time constraints are real, and unfortunately making it very difficult.

[zferolie]

Man it has been months since I checked back on this. Almost a year maybe? I missed a lot it seems

Sorry I never got around to making that music for a tewi stage. life got very busy for me.

I fully understand how life and job comes first, and sadly thats how it is. Kickstarter i don't think would have been the perfect solution either. You got to focus on what you can do to put food on the table.

If possible, you may want to start a patreon. it's a monthly pay system that people can give you money based on either what you produce that month or a flat monthly rate. I see a lot of people making games go their if they never intend to actually sell the game. Might be something to look forward to. You may not get as much as kickstarter, but it may be enough to justify working on it little by little.

I wish you luck in this game. I loved the idea and test footage you had looked promising

[Hoeloe]

I wish you luck in this game. I loved the idea and test footage you had looked promising

I still very much intend to finish it, and work on it when I can, but I've not been able to do much for a while now. One of the biggest issues is that I have no help for the project aside from music. I've gone through two character modellers now, both of whom disappeared (though one did come back and apologise, and later did some modelling work for my IP). If I want to make progress at speed, I'm going to need some help to achieve it.

That does sound like an interesting site, though. I may look into it - it could hugely help my situation.

[Hoeloe]

So with all the little bits of works I've been able to do on this over the last few months, it's actually not far off from a demo release. The one major thing is a lack of character models, and a lack of a modeller to make them. I'm again searching round, but it's difficult to find anyone.

It's been suggested that I use temporary models, such as MMD, for now, but I have good reasons I don't want to do that. Primarily because models need animating and special treatment in order to work in the game, and using temporary models will not only mean doing this preparation twice, but hacking apart these models in order to shoehorn them into the game.

I'm really struggling to find someone. It amazes me how anyone manages to get modellers for these kind of games.

[zferolie]

Another reason not to use MMD models is because of ZUN's policy of making everything yourself. I mean it it's VERY temp and you don't plan to sell then you might get away.

As for finding modelers, I wish I could help ya out. FInding someone to dedicate time to that is gonna be a pain. Best thing for you to do I think is to keep asking around, here and on art forums and such. Perhaps you can find a person that needs to do models for a project, and they are willing to kill 2 birds with one stone and make models for his class you can use in the game.

[Hoeloe]

It occurs to me that the last thing I've shown from this game was quite a while ago, so I thought I'd show you a teaser of how it's progressed since then. Character models are still temporary, obviously, as are some of the UI graphics.

[ExPorygon]

Another reason not to use MMD models is because of ZUN's policy of making everything yourself. I mean it it's VERY temp and you don't plan to sell then you might get away.

ZUN's never explicitly stated that you can't take assets from other places provided you have permission. It's his OWN assets that he doesn't allow the use of in games. In fact, many (if not all) of ZUN's spellcard backgrounds are not made by him; he has purchased them from online sources.

I believe that if you received the explicit permission from the original creators of the MMD models then they would be fine to use, but I consider that unlikely to happen.

[zferolie]

ZUN's never explicitly stated that you can't take assets from other places provided you have permission. It's his OWN assets that he doesn't allow the use of in games. In fact, many (if not all) of ZUN's spellcard backgrounds are not made by him; he has purchased them from online sources.

I believe that if you received the explicit permission from the original creators of the MMD models then they would be fine to use, but I consider that unlikely to happen.

I did not know that. Interesting. I guess that has the MMD models a possibility if you can get permission, and they convert to your program.

It occurs to me that the last thing I've shown from this game was quite a while ago, so I thought I'd show you a teaser of how it's progressed since then. Character models are still temporary, obviously, as are some of the UI graphics.

looks like you have improved. I still think this is a good product to go after, even when that other touhou racing game coming out. yours seems to be more a traditional mario kart while this other one looks more like sonic riders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY087fc0rkU

Granted they seem to have a lot of people working on theirs. Still, from what I have seen of yours I like. More old school mario kart

[Hoeloe]

I believe that if you received the explicit permission from the original creators of the MMD models then they would be fine to use, but I consider that unlikely to happen.

This is basically the issue. The only assets I've used without explicit permission are sound effects, which are either public domain or creative commons (with minor limitations), so all the licensing checks out so far.

The issue I have is that the Touhou development community is much richer in Japan than in the west, so I'm at a disadvantage already. It's far easier to work with people if you are in at least a similar location geographically, and since the biggest Touhou fan population is in Japan, this causes a few issues for me (not least because I don't speak very good Japanese).

[Hoeloe]

Little update: I've changed how text in the game works, allowing me to read external language files.

I've managed to create a rudimentary Japanese translation (though since it's primarily from Google Translate and/or copied from the Touhou Wiki, there are a lot of errors, since I don't speak much Japanese at all).



I may try and find someone to translate all this properly before I release.

[zferolie]

the text looks nice. Do you have all those stages working, or just a moke up?

As for my patreon idea.... given what happened with touhou smash, that may not be the best thing. It's not crowd funding a game really, its supporting an artist, which they seem ok with but, check with someone first