KWarp
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That could work. I've had a lot of practice with lipsyncing.
BTW, how much do you know about php? While I'm on that, will the webhost the site will be on have support for php? I think it'd be a great idea if mirrors were randomly selected to download from juxtaposed to viewers just constantly straining "Mirror 1"'s bandwidth.EDIT: Oh yeah, color scheme. Black and spacey like a galaxy would be sweet. Flash could take that kind of thing much farther though. I'm well-versed in actionscript and can make most any kind of interface imaginable. Imagine a huge galaxy background, and as the user moves the mouse over it, it magnifies where the mouse is and planets come into view.
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Hello everybody, I just signed onto this project a few days ago.
I talked it over with Arek, and I am going to be taking on the role of Webpage Designer. I am excited to join the project!
Arek and I went over some basic designs, and I think we found something that could be effective for this project. I can do the designing with little to no problem, but if we want the webpage to have artwork at all (menu interface, etc) I will need some help with that. (I'm no good at graphic design)
I believe Arek told me the site's banner has already been taken care off, but I really think the menu system could use some work. Here is what i have now for the menu buttons:
http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/justtesting/kirby/basic.html
That's about as fancy as I can get with pictures. If we want a very sleek site, we could integrate some kirby backgrounds. Nothing too flashy that stands out. Something simple, almost faded into the background.
As for the actual layout, I'm still working on that. I'll need to talk with a few project coordinators about the color schemes (I was hoping for black, but since this is a 'lighthearted' project, we may need something lighter).
I'm glad to be aboard. I would love ANY and ALL suggestions regarding the web site! I love your opinions and ideas so I can make this as best as can be. I can be reached by:
AIM: Jace3210
MSN: Jace321@hotmail.com
E-mail: vespere@gmail.com
Yahoo: Weatherstormer
Hope to have a blast, while working on this kickass project!
Jason,
Web Site Designer
Ha! Interesting. I think this will work out perfectly. You seem to have a great grip around html and creating webpages but lack much practice in graphic design while I've had a lot of practace in graphic design but barely knew enough html to get my website off the ground.
This is the kind of situation I was hoping for. Now there can be 2 websites: an interactive Flash interface designed by me, and an HTML alternate designed by Weatherstorm. *party*
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I dont know if this is possible because of the delay on the writing portion, but mabey we should do the chapter art after we write the story or at least part of the story. Though it can still be done without the story, it will make the artists jobs a little easyer.
I think the best way to handle this is to have the general plot outlined for the artists to work with. Next, the artists will outline their own work. Once the writers see the basic outline of all the art, both groups can hopefully finalize their work without conflicts.
Hey, it's like I'm not even gone.
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Heya people. KWarp again. I'm finally down in Africa and stuck with dial-up. Nothing Firefox and disabling images can't handle though.
I think I'm going to drop Plasma Kirby and keep working on Cutter and Yoyo Kirby. I just can't make a good illumation effect with my current drawing ability. <(>_>)>
Will one of the pages have a picture of Kirby defeating Marx? If so, which ability do you plan on having Kirby defeat him? Im thinking perhaps something heroic, like Sword, Beam (charged), or Figher (projectile kick). Or maybe he gathers all the strength he can and unleases a Crash attack, finishing Marx off.Totally up to the artist.
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Whoa. Making big moves already eh Arek?
Posting from London btw. The flight crew was awesome (they all swore under their breath whenever there was a mishap. Total hilarity.). Jolly good place London is. These internet stations are everywhere. 
I dunno if LAOS can get a WIP in if I'm to play the melody for it.
Ill be in Aftrica in around 20 hours...
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Hey guys it's KWarp. I'm posting from the airport on a connection that charges money so my time's limited.
I want the artists to keep in mind that each planet will probably have a color theme that's appropriate for the given planet. Probably green for Floria, blue for aqualiss, etc.
KEEP A SEPERATE COPY OF YOUR LINE ART IN CASE THE COLOR THEME OF THE PLANET YOU'RE DRAWING CHANGES!!!!
I'm going to visit this topic as much as I can.
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WHOA!! 100% DONE!?
Anywhoo, I made some final modifications to the demo before I have to leave for Africa. Everybody please look at it.
http://www.kwarp.com/demo.html
While on the trip, I'm bringing my sketchbook and will practice drawing most of Kirby's copy abilities. I call dibs on Yoyo, Plasma, and Cutter art for the project.
See ya'll in 5 weeks. Let me know what's going on with the project through email. KWarp11(at)gmail(dot)com
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Whew, glad you posted this the day before I left. <(
; )>I hope LAOS doesn't mind, but I quickly put together some sheet music of the Time to Learn/Training song and performed it.The melody itself is really quite easy. I didn't even need to put 5 minutes of practice to achieve the result above (that should be very evident
). If LAOS (or any of the other remixers) are interested in having a live Cello performance in their remix, I'm more than up for it. The easier the part, the better I'll play it. 
In the storybook, the Time to Learn song is going to play in the first few pages where there will be a small tutorial telling users how to use this book. Keeping it short would probably be acceptable.
BTW, wanna put a Cello in your remix?
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Rapture In the Aqualiss (crappy WIP ReMix)
Tell me what you think, and, see you all in a week.
Whoa, that's sweet. I love the direction you took.
Sweet. One minor gripe: if you go forward past a page that triggers no new sounds and then back to the page that triggered what you're currently listening to, the music restarts. Could you make it check to see which page it came from before starting the music over?Also, since each chapter is going to be multiple pages, you'll also have to have it check for each border page between chapters, because in the event you go backwards, say, from Aqualiss to the last page of Floria, you'll want to change the music back again.
Easiest way as I see it: have a variable track which chapter you're in by assigning each page a chapter number. If the chapter changes, have your music code handle the song change.
I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll do everything I can to make the code run exactly as it should be. Just curious, but what kind of progamming background do you have? (I've taken 2 years of JAVA programming.)
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Today's your lucky day. I just finished adjusting it.
(it replaced the older version)http://www.kwarp.com/demo.html
There's a bit of nasty slowdown on it.
It happens with web browsers sometimes because of the framerate or something. It's nothing to worry about as the final version(s) will be very much not-in-a-web-browser. -
Allright, as some of you may have noticed, I haven't actually tried incorporating any music into pages in the project yet. Support for music isn't actually covered in the book's sourcecode, so it was something I had to type up myself. It took me two hours and a lot of hassle, but I managed to code it properly. Rant below:
I came up with a plan: find the variable that keeps track of the page numbers, find where I need to put code to start the music, and finally write that code. Everything went along smoothly and eventually I got the music to play in the right place at the right time. I thought to myself, "OMG SWEET I CAN ACTUALY CODE!!! 8O" That's when I started flipping backward in the book and the music started playing 4 pages earlier than before!
It turned out that the "page" variable didn't track the pages properly and there was nothing I could do to fix it. I tried a number of alternate methods, but they just didn't work properly. Some time around there I figured out something, the "page" variable may not track pages properly, but the way it does track them is highly predictable. From there it was a matter of determining whether the page was flipping forward or backward and evaluating it accordingly.function startMusic(){ //this method will start the music on each page
if((page == 4 && isForward) || (page == 8 && !isForward)){ //the page variable doesn't count properly, but it is predictable! =D
trace("play floria");
stopAllSounds();
_root.musicfloria1.play();
}
}I'm such a nerd.
EDIT: Hahaha! I just realized that rant fits my new signature perfectly.
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Arek, KineTheGenius is interested in joining this project. Contact me on AIM ASAP.
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Seems I've forgotten about the most important picture of all, the texture for the paper. So far, I can't find any textures that fit the bill, well... no free ones anyway. If anyone could spare (literally) a buck to buy that texture or has something just as good, please help out. Otherwise perhaps someone can make one...
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I have a solution to that actually. We could randomly generate set phrases for that part of the story. It's as simple as assigning the phrases to variables and randomly printing them out on screen.
And yes, that is wicked art.
In fact I think I'll make that the approximate standard of the page art. 450x600 and a filesize of less than 110k, give or take.Also, I've picked up the official names of some of the "nameless" bosses.
Computer Virus: As seen above.
Wham Bam Rock: The temple boss with the stone hands
Ghameleo Arm: The Chameleon boss
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I hope LAOS doesn't mind, but I quickly put together some sheet music of the Time to Learn/Training song and performed it.
The melody itself is really quite easy. I didn't even need to put 5 minutes of practice to achieve the result above (that should be very evident
). If LAOS (or any of the other remixers) are interested in having a live Cello performance in their remix, I'm more than up for it. The easier the part, the better I'll play it. -
I'm leaving on vacation to Africa and Israel on Sunday for 5 weeks. Internet access will be extremely limited (dial-up at best) so if you need to contact me, catch me by email at KWarp11(at)gmail(dot)com. I'll be back on the 27th of August if the wild animals/terrorists/criminals/weather doesn't kill me first.
Arek, CC, don't break anything.
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I browsed through DeviantArt for a couple hours and so far found 5 talented artists. I saw so much insane art browsing through the site that I'm kinda afriad to dive back in there again.
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DOUBLE EDIT: Refelos, that poster is completely awesome. KWarp, what is wrong with it. With the idea I have for it, I believe it will serve its purpose perfectly. Nice job again Refelos.
Don't mind me. I'm just nitpicking. It really is an awesome poster, I just have a hard time complementing people. <(
; )>DOUBLE EDIT: WOOOOPS! Didn't notice that you already were on the writer team. Ya, you can still be on it. I am not taking ANY MORE though.Ha I missed that too.
Yeah, anyway I'm going to drop by deviant art and see what kind of Kirby fanbase they have.
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Writing isn't any easier.
4 writers is already more than what seems managable.This has brought something up, however. I've outlined how much art needs to be done (totally non-final) and it's amounted to quite a bit of work.
1 Cover page
5 Intro pics (this part describes that the sun and moon are fighting, Marx tells Kirby how to stop them, etc)
1 2-page-spanning overworld (aka the the area Kirby could land on any of the planets)
19 Kirby powers
7 planets (an illustration of what each planet looks like)
1 "?" star (secret planet I guess)
7 bosses (a picture of each boss)
7 When Nova Appears and Marx makes his wish
5 Nova (where Kirby flies to Nova and destroys it)
2 Marx (battle begins and ends)
2 Ending (Nova blows up, Scene of Sun and Moon around Popstar)
? End credits (this case is special, I don't know how many pics there will be)
That adds up to almost 60 pictures, and we haven't even included the scenarios for the Metaknight and Dedede music yet. We're going to need more artists. 10 total at the very least.
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Awesome Refelos, although it looks more like a movie preview poster rather than... I don't know.
I may as well let you guys know I'm a Cellist. I picked up some decent recording equipment last week and whipped up a little something. Keep in mind that I'm seriously out of practice (haven't touched the instrument since late May).
http://www.kwarp.com/mp3s/MetaknightCello.mp3 (I usually play much more in tune)
I think I'd be useful in the "Time To Learn" song or another of the songs with a low octave melody.
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There will be at least 4 versions of this file.
800x600 resolution, Windows (.exe)
800x600 resolution, Mac (.hqx)
1024x768 resolution, Windows (.exe)
1024x768 resolution, Mac (.hqx)
hmm... Flash is compatible with both PCs and Macs, so you should be fine with SWF files.
Not really. Not everyone has the Flash player installed on their system, let alone the latest version. Also, of the computers I've used in the past 3 years, roughly half of them can't play swf files not embedded in a web page. Leaving them in projector files simplifies a lot of things.
Also Arek, the time it takes to adjust the stuff isn't anything to worry about. I can make .exe and .hqx files in seconds, and resizing everything only takes about 30 seconds per page. That's 50 minutes if the project spans 100 pages.
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I've done some more late-night experimenting in my lair. This time I've covered how Flash compresses images. *evil laugh*
Two options:
1) Photo(JPEG): This is for complicated pictures of course. Quality settings are 1-100.
2) Lossless(PNG/GIF): This should be for simple pictures. No image data is lost.
Generally, higher-quality bitmaps will slow down your computer more.
I've decided image dimensions for the art will be 450x600. This is to fit the page dimensions in the book. Details below. (I'm almost finished determining how many pictures there will need to be in the project. Bear with me.)
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Onto the topic of compatability. Unlike Arek, who's fine if this project only gets out to the bulk of Windows users (bad, bad Arek), I want this book to be compatable with everything it can be. There will be at least 4 versions of this file.
800x600 resolution, Windows (.exe)
800x600 resolution, Mac (.hqx)
1024x768 resolution, Windows (.exe)
1024x768 resolution, Mac (.hqx)
There will also be a demo on the site containing the first chapter or so for viewers who haven't decided if they want to download the whole project yet.
Any objections/suggesions/death threats? If so now is the time to let your voice be heard!
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I've finished experimenting with all the sound compression settings. I'll be able to put any mp3/wav file through Flash and pump it out with no quality loss regardless of bitrate, VBR or otherwise. Filesize of the compressed mp3s will be about 95% of the originals. Estimated final project size (including art etc.): 75 Megabytes
SO far it seeems as though this project has been making a lot of progress. I am really proud to say that I have made this idea. But that is just it, it was just an idea. I really shouldn't be taking so much credit for this. You guys are the backbone of this project. YOU! If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't even be able to get this far. It is with this post that I say thank you so much all of you! Give yourself a great pat on the back.Agreed. We're just the managers of the project. Our job is simply to guide the artists and musicians in the direction WE ALL decide is best. It's everyone's work that goes into this project.
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Is there any way to make the audio stream not directly associated with the Flash video, so that the sound quality isn't reduced? Perhaps, for instance, having two streams, one audio and one video, and then having the viewer cue them up at the beginning? Each page could have its own chapter/song, and you could have a little note that says when to begin the audio, so they work together. That way (and I know this happened to me a lot) if you have a slower download connection and BitTorrent isn't your friend when it comes to albums, you can still listen to the music online without having to DL the songs, and without the video attached.
I don't think that's possible, and if it is, it's far beyond something I can program. If I don't put the audio in the Flash file, I really have no idea how to make the songs run.
I have a few FLAC files from the RotS project, I'll test how flash compresses those (as wavs) and get back to you.
EDIT:
I have it sorted out.
It seems that the event sound type displays better quality than the stream sound type. Link
There's now no quality loss at all. I'm certain because the mp3 filesize is almost the same as the swf file (it cuts of 5% of the mp3 or so).
http://www.kwarp.com/storage/proof.html (I didn't edit the text. The file is 5 mb)
Milky Way Wishes: A Kirby Super Star Tribute - History
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Damn, I'd give anything to be at my home computer right now so I could outline a website design in Flash. 35 more days.. <(
)>
Oh yeah, more bad news. It seems my parents are taking me to Australia as soon as Winter break starts out on December 16th for the whole break (till Jan 2nd). So much for the project deadline..