Steven M

derepped

A water park zone. White-red colour scheme with an ocean/sky background - Greek elements here and there. Some indoor areas here and there, infrequent - most of the action takes place in the outdoors. Pipes to run through, pipes to run along on, giant rubber rings, swimming pools with items at the bottom, zone-spanning water slides, glass towers, etc. The sub-boss fight takes place in a S2 Special Stage-esque water pipe. The end-of-zone boss fight takes place in a large half-pipe which actually connects from one zone to the next (post-zone cutscene ala Sonic 3/& Knuckles).

Not a good sign, but I'm stuck on the plan of action for the first demo or proof-of-concept. The way I see it I've got three choices, but any advice (especially from people with a dab hand in level design) would be appreciated. Lay out miniature levels, gauntlets of screens for each character - the girl Pepper gets the swinging Quick Claw levels, the boy 'Guyman' gets the winding Guide Claw levels. Guyman gets puzzles and takes the defensive/strategic in combat; Pepper takes to the air and relishes in going on the offensive. Both characters get a unique end-boss and sub-boss. The advantage is that the levels will be relatively tight, going through gimmicks like candy - think Rocket Knight Adventures or Gunstar Heroes. Create two open-scale levels with features and items for both types of play; allow/'encourage' the player to tag-out with another character; whoever's out of play has their health gradually restored while whoever's in play has theirs decreased because of the suit. Both characters get a unique sub-boss depending on the path chosen, but the end-boss is the same. The advantage is that the levels are far more open-ended and non-linear to an extent, encouraging exploration and co-op - think 2D Spiderman games. There's the possibility of combining 2 with 1 - open levels with exclusive paths opening up depending on the character you're playing at the time. Said paths turn into more linear gauntlets before ending with a large pre-boss area. The disadvantage is that this would be twice the workcontent for each level.

Whipping up some sprites - have a WIP sheet. I'm not great at animations or backgrounds but I'll work on those along with the engine. Top row: the heroes, also featuring different renders of the same suit (currently gunning for the far right suit) Bottom row: teh bad guys

And maybe the sub-boss takes place on a girder that's being transported to the top floor but acts as a dangerously unstable see-saw for the player and boss. And if you were a fan of scripted routines for level designs you could easily take a leaf from cartoons like "Homeless Hare" or something like "Baby's Day Out" - more moving girders, pipes and other objects. Maybe the original Egg-o-Matic could return as a bulldozer/demolition boss. Of course when you say 'skyscraper' do you mean for a city zone or a Robotropolis sort of zone? Because that could also change things up a bit.

A custom-created platforming engine where the player sprite uses Static Movement. The actual moving around is done by manipulating X and Y values - "if [player] isn't overlapping with a backdrop AND is being pressed, THEN set [player] X value to [player] X+1", etc. There are some good tutorials for static engines on the main site.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27392295/quickclawbetav027.exe Not pictured: player swinging around at a rate of approximately eight full-circles per second. Use the arrow keys to move, the Shift key to single/double jump and the Q/W keys to use the left/right claws. You can connect to platforms and walls, zip up the line and through the platforms, or even swing around a bit. While you're connected to a platform you can swing around through backdrops but you can't jump-disconnect through them. Yet. If that could be implemented without breaking the game, I'd like to try it. I am by no means an expert when it comes to physics or game design/programming, so I'm working in Multimedia Fusion 2 as usual. So if there's something technical about the demo that gets your goat (or you end up glitching out) then do let me know! And if you're interested in helping me fix the problems let me know also. DONE Guide Claw demo Quick Claw demo TO DO Quick Claw movement - allow player to use the Claws while moving horizontally/vertically (bug seems to send the chain link objects completely out of whack when trying this); allow player to use moving platforms again (see chain links, out of, whack, etc) Quick Claw camera - adjust the camera somehow so it doesn't 'snap' when the player enters the swinging phase Throw Claw demo - collecting, dropping and throwing Objects Hostage situations and at least one boss fight A fully working level for SAGE Nightmare Redcoat mode

Context: 'mask' is obviously the active object used to test for backdrop collisions. Group.Neutral defines the chain-links. Group.Good defines the crab claw(s). This code sets the position of the objects while future events juggle the numbers necessary to put the swing in motion. [LIST]Movement of 'mask' = 4 +Alterable Value A of Group.Neutral = 0 =Start loop 'give IDs' 1 time(s) [/LIST] [LIST]On loop 'give IDs' =Spread value 0 in Alterable Value A of Group.Neutral [/LIST] [LIST]Movement of 'mask' = 4 = 'mask' Set X position to "X( "Group.Good" )+((value( "HighestFound" )*6)*Sin(Alterable Value C( "Group.Good" )))" = 'mask' Set Y position to "Y( "Group.Good" )+((value( "HighestFound" )*6)*Cos(Alterable Value C( "Group.Good" )))" = Group.Neutral Set X position to "X( "Group.Good" )+((Alterable Value A( "Group.Neutral" )*6)*Sin(Alterable Value C( "Group.Good" )))" = Group.Neutral Set Y position to "Y( "Group.Good" )+((Alterable Value A( "Group.Neutral" )*6)*Cos(Alterable Value C( "Group.Good" )))" [/LIST] Problem: this code is obviously vital for setting the position of the player. However I can't successfully set up any events to test for backdrop collision - e.g. to stop the player from swinging through platforms from below, or to test if the floor detector 'lands' on a platform when the player swings 270 degrees. I mean, I know how to set those events up in MMF2, don't get me wrong baby steps, but these tests in the Events List inevitably result in me running the frame, executing the fire-claw-into-ceiling-press-direction-to-activate-Movement=4 routine, only to have the player instantly stuck in the backdrop where the claw connected. And the chainlinks don't reposition themselves, naturally. I'm absolutely sure it's to do with that 'set x/y at' event in the code but I'm at a loss as to how to go about fixing this. For the sake of context this is a copy of the source file I'm working on at the moment, though the events list will be a nightmare to decipher.

It does use sin/cos in the event list, it's just a matter of customing the Alt Values to get the accel/decel to feel 'right', particularly on larger swings where the accel seems pathetically fast in comparison to the decel. Then again I'm hardly an expert on trigonometry so I can stand to be proven wrong in great detail. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27392295/modifiedswingphysics.mfa

On a related note, let's say I have five duplicates of an active object. How do I assign them each a different Alterable Value - duplicate 1 has AltValA=1, duplicate 2 has AVA=2, etc? EDIT: Spread value. DOUBLE EDIT: if I have [x] duplicates, and I spread value '1' in AVA, how would I get the largest value from a duplicate object? Say if there's 5 dupes and the largest value is 5, or there's 20 dupes and the value is 20, etc? TRIPLE EDIT: Ok, scratch that, I have a working trigonometric swing with a starting point (circle), [x] number of chain links and a platform. I can modify the number of links and the swing works regardless. All I need to do now is convert that experiment into a swinging mechanism for the final game. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27392295/modifiedswingphysics.exe

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27392295/lobster01.exe Use the arrow keys to move, the Shift key to single/double jump and the A/S keys to use the left/right claws. Hints and Tips: DONE Guide Claw demo TO DO Quick Claw demo Throwing Swinging/climbing/possibly wallbouncing Hostage situations A fully working level for SAGE

And suddenly you realise why they put the level in Generations in the first place.

I like the colours on the bottom picture, but the colour contrast on the top picture gives the graphics a bit more... clarity on the details?

Thanks for the link! I'm going to try and decipher the events list and see what I can learn from the grappling hook commands. Actually it's not for a Mario fangame. In fact it's not going to be a fangame at all... although if I'm allowed I'll submit it for SAGE. Sounds good!

Before we start: I'm working on MMF2 with as few additional extensions as possible. Assume that I have a player character that uses a static engine to move around the level. Assume that he has two other active objects to work with - a large claw object (to grab platforms or objects) and a chainlink object (which can be duplicated to connect the two). At the moment it looks like this (frame editor screenshot, hence the example placement of objects): Also assume that the game won't look so asstastic later. This isn't a Mario fangame, it's all test graphics. Anyway how do I set up an event group that allows the player to extend a hand in friendship towards platforms cling onto platforms/ceilings and swing around all willy-nilly? I don't need Umihara-level physics, just something to let the player swing left, right, and maybe climb up/down the claw-arm too. Like if you want to make the swing shorter and bring the player closer to the platform, you press up (bringing the player closer to the claw/hook/whatever). And if they overlap with a pass-through platform they climb up and on the platform (like in Bionic Commando where you can scale buildings by doing this), but if there's like a huge chunk of background in the way then they just dangle from the ceiling? I can reliably set up an event where pressing a button fires the claw a short distance (in your chosen direction, natch) and holding the button down would make said short distance a bit longer (counters, etc). It's the actual 'create the right number of links between you and the hook' and the whole 'swinging' thing I can't get my head around. This is pretty neat too, don't get me wrong, but in terms of what I'm aiming for it's swing-and-a-miss.

1) A dedicated spindash button is shown off as the player can begin a spindash while running, an alternative to the 'hold down push jump' method that we've seen before in Sonic Adventure.2) Shoemanbundy uploaded a Sparkster (SNES) hack featuring Sonic sprites. The result is rather reminiscent of Sonic and the Black Knight, although it's interesting to see Sonic boosting in 8 directions. 3) Platforming with an emphasis on finding alternate paths with spindashing, walljumping with spindashing, and spindashing up walls, ceilings and entire rooms.I think this is a good starting point for brainstorming, testing ideas for new Sonic moves on paper and in-game. Beyond a dedicated spindash button, consider the following, whether they could honestly add to the side-scrolling Sonic experience or whether you believe them to be change for the sake of change: 1) a mid-run/air spindash option - perverse but worth investigating - perhaps some sparse justification for uncurling. 2) 8-way spinattacking - allowing the player to boost into the air, ride walls to some extent, break ceilings, reach higher paths in the level, etc. 3) giving the player more control over spindashing - allowing the player to dash from floor to ceiling, from floor to wall, from wall to wall, dashing on the spot (e.g on the ceiling), etc. It should be obvious enough to acknowledge the fact that level designs would have to be changed, if not radically altered to accommodate these concepts.

Soleil/Crusader of Centy Rafflesia Training Grounds Monster Area Battle 1 Battle 3 PokeMon Trading Card Game Silver Surfer Wario Blast (can't find YouTube links for these tunes dadblastit) Arena Zone Warp Zone Boss Shatterhand Contra Rebirth (they're all good remixes but still!) Castlevania Rebirth (see above) (Stage 2: Lullaby Sent To The Devil 04) (Stage 3: New Messiah 05) (Stage 5: Aquarius 07) And to veer from the intention of the original topic I want to recommend the soundtracks for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick - both from the newest generations of gaming, both from the same composer, but the music is full of crunchy chiptune goodness.

The fact that they already have at least eight alien power sources regularly transforming Sonic throughout the game kind of makes hunting for the Chaos Emeralds on top of that pretty redundant. Plus having the Emeralds be a recurring plot element again would take the edge off the Wisps - this is their chance to shine, as opposed to being a side element thrown into another Sonic game.

Trying to decide between tiled floor or plain-ish floor, though there's still bits like grassy texture to work on. It's early days and I'm also hesitating over whether to scrap the aesthetic and go for Sonic 1 graphics.

I decided yesterday to install SFML. It's been a bit of a bumpy ride in terms of library linking and installation, but I've already got a sprite to rotate and move around by keyboard, so that's more progress than I expected. I'll keep working on C++ as I do SFML, so with any luck I'll have a minigame sorted out sooner rather than later (although I'm actually partial to some adventures in text parsing now...).

If I wanted to create a 2D game (sidescrolling platformer for instance, or sidescrolling beat-em-up, or even SHMUP), what would be the best software development kit to use in conjunction with C++?

As a rank amateur in C/C++ programming (complete with obligatory "Hello World" build) I'm going to attempt this problem first, if that's alright. EDIT: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?guw6ojhdcv7646j - it doesn't seem to play nice with larger numbers, since I can't seem to fix the size of the console window yet, but it works!

Loving the new look, Overbound!

Me talking out of my ass. Regardless the first level was alright, it was another tropical level like so many other fangames. To be honest I didn't have a lot to say about it. Even the boss was just there. The zone was too long and a chore to play through, the underwater effects were nice, the badnik placement was a bit frustrating (the level design occasionally encouraging you to run faster and then FUCK YOU HAVE A ROBOT), the automated platforms were a nuisance, the high platforms that you could slip off were a nuisance, and by this time the acceleration was really starting to annoy me (Sonic runs at a fair clip which is great, but he accelerates like treacle). Boss was cool, sort of reminded me of Sonic 3's final boss. It was a little tricky to hit him from above (I attacked directly from below and it penalised me) but other than that it was alright. The zone was not. Easily the best zone in the demo, probably the best zone of SAGE 2010. Not joking. The only real issues I had were occasional moments where you had to bounce off flippers and into bumpers (because sometimes it worked and sometimes it was a pain to get right), and the one solitary block to push out of your road seemed a tad out of place. Otherwise, everything really worked - the spikes, the half-loops, it went together very well, it was fun, it wasn't frustrating to navigate. Calcified Cavern felt like a bad combination of the elements of the last two levels, contrasting between the rush and the slow. It's not impossible to have speed in a level where you need to watch your step, but a bunch of slopes to boost across followed seconds later by a falling wall of spikes? A half-loop with a spike ball and a slippy platform in the middle, and the floor of the loop has water in it dragging your speed down? You could argue that this is the kind of level you need to play over and over again to memorise the layout, but the level has to be fun enough to play over and over again to do that, and... this level wasn't fun. I don't want to sound harsh or discouraging, but I think this level needs a bit more work. The boss was pretty interesting though. I think a lot of what I've touched upon could be seen as purely opinion (other people would like the levels I disliked for their own reasons, etc) - the big issue I could not ignore was the acceleration and deceleration, which made Sonic more difficult to handle than he should have been. I think if you fix that, and combed through your levels a bit more, you'd have a real winner on your hands here. Honestly.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You may have already downloaded this demo and found the in-game font doesn’t match that in the screenshots. To fix this, please download this font file and place it in your Fonts folder. The zip file has also been updated to include the font. I apologise for this fuckup.