I'm trying to make a 2.5D game but I'm just barely starting my project and I suck at pixel art, i can't commision someone to do it for me, I'd much rather make the sprite myself rather than using someone elses. This is mostly due to money.
So I'm trying to make a 2.5D top-down game inspired by Octopath Traveler. For the worldbuilding, I'm using Unreal Engine. If that becomes too complicated for me, I'll use Godot, Blender for the structures, and Aseprite for the Sprites and textures. But the issue I'm dealing with is the Humanoid sprites because I'm planning on making this a Fantasy RPG that includes different races, classes, and Worlds/Realms. And to be frank, the pixel art is already killing me. Any tips or suggestions would be helpful. Please and thank you :)
Hey, is there a Discord server like this community?
Do you guys think that if someone made "Dungeon and Stone" as an actual game, do you think people would play it?
Proposition
From my previous post on Media Ripping with the use of DVD Burners, I then thought about the persecution that people might face, so I'm here to talk about a sort of Decentralized Internet, which could be our "Pirate Round" (The main long-distance route pirates took in the late 17th and early 18th century). This would provide Anonymity, Security, Safety, and Free.
Mesh Structure
This can be done through the use of a Raspberry Pi, which can be utilized to create a custom wifi wireless Mesh Network. Now connect to your peers. You will need an Ethernet cable to connect to your peer's own Raspberry Pi. This will only allow you to connect to those you are connected to and no one else. I would suggest that the Wifi mesh uses OpenWrt and a Routing layer like BATMAN, OLSR, or Babel.
What this would bring to connected users is a free, private, and Localized community that can chat, share files, and browse sites. Now, if you want to make this long-range and a long-term network, then create a Node Key for user identity and security, along with an Identifier for the Node Key. meaning that with the identifier, this will tag and assign users a cell (Group).
Gateways & Cells
The Gateway for the Mesh Network will be placed between a local cell and a nearby cell. This can be done with an overlay protocol like Yggdrasil, CJDNS, Wire Guard, etc., meaning that the Gateway is a bridge between the local network and the rest of the mesh network. Not only would users have an encrypted key, but also the gateway. Inside the cells will be a local mesh for a peer-to-peer network that is connected through the gateways with an encrypted overlay.
Since each node, gateway, and cell has identities, there will be a list of members detecting the Node keys and Gateway Keys, or the cell could just have a label, and the trust for that Cell Key comes from which gateway keys it chooses to represent it.
Revocation & Quarantine
On every routing attempt, the gateway will check the user's Gateway Keys and if the user's keys are in a Revocation List or Quarantine list. If they are, then the user will be denied connection through the gateway; if they aren't, then they will be allowed to continue and be instructed in the rules
Local First
The cells will prioritize local routes and intercell routes (via gateways) secondarily. When a cell is compromised, its gateways will stop providing routes to other cells and will drop overlay connections to other gateways. While at the same time, other gateways will drop any routes that go through those gateways, turning the quarantined cell into a local-only until the quarantine is lifted or made permanent.
Node Key Detection
Also, to provide a second layer of security for players, if there are two identical keys for a User Node, then the network will assume that someone stole or copied the private key and is impersonating them. So, if that happens, then both keys will be revoked, and the user must create a new one.
Cell Protection & Node Security
The network will also monitor if someone in a cell or another cell shows signs of suspicious behaviour, like if a gateway detects traffic patterns that match known attacks, or if a node is repeatedly trying to deanonymize others or scan the mesh. This will then trigger a quarantine, closing off all gateways where the suspicious behavior is located, and a message will be announced to the overlay network that said gateway will be updated and set to a quarantine state. An investigation will be launched, analyzing all users' node traffic in the cell and search Logs. If cleared, then an announcement will be sent across the system and the Overlay network that the quarantine for X Cell is lifted. However, if there is a confirmation of suspicious behavior or an attack, then the user will be put on the revocation list, and all those connected to the situation will be on the list, and then the Quarantine will be listed.
[TL:TR]
1. Build a small local cell
- 3-5 nodes with Openwrt or Linux
- Mesh routing (BATMAN/OSLR) for local connectivity
- Each node has a NodeKey
2. Designate 1-2 Gateways
- Give them Gateway keys
- Run an overlay (Yggdrasil/CJDNS/Wireguard) between the gateways of two cells
3. Add a simple Revocation List/Quarantine mechanism
- Functions
+ Stores a list of revoked/quarantined Keys
+ Syncs that list between gateways
- Gateways analyzes this list before
+ Accepting node connection
+ Advertising Routes to other cells
4. Add "Local-First" routing Policy
- Cell Configuration
+ Prioritizes Local Mesh Routes
+ Inter-Cell Routes Secondary
5. Cell Security and Protection
- Node Key Security
+ If Overlay Network detects a duplicated key, then the keys will be revoked
+ User will need to create a new Node Key to log in
- Quarantine
+ Quarantined Cell will be local only
+ Other Cells can't reach it and won't advertise routes to it
The crackdown on internet privacy has been ongoing since "Napster," and the "Own nothing, pay forever" is ludicrous; look at modern streaming services. Take the prices for Netflix: The Standard (With Ads) is $8.99/month, Standard is $19.99/month, and Premium is $26.99/month, compared to the original $7.99/month.
So, I suggest Media Ripping, scouring the internet to download media (eBooks, Movies, games, etc.), and burning the data to DVDs using DVD Burners. This way, even if our favorite Piracy Websites are down, we can always turn to our physical copies. The price of the DVD burner and the Blank DVDs is about $50-$25.
I'm not saying I'm the first person to think of this, no, I'm saying this as a pitch in case corporate companies finally end piracy. And the reason why I wrote this is that I just found out one of the websites I use was just shut down, and I was just thinking how long until Piracy falls. Once the components for this are obtained, people can establish a "local first, peer-to-peer mesh" that protects our identity from government surveillance and arrest.