Stealth

Awesome! If you have any questions or anything, I'll be hanging out a lot in the Headcannon IRC channel, and there's also the Headcannon Forum if I'm not around at some point

I'm attempting to assemble and train a team of developers dedicated to learning to use Headcannon Game Engine and using it to create a game project. Please read this blog post very carefully for more details Feel free to ask any questions you may have; I'll be happy to discuss aspects of HCGE or this project with anyone who is interested before they officially apply, as it will be important for you to understand what you're signing up for If you'd like to help but don't feel like actively participating, please help to spread the word by sharing the blog post and/or this tweet Thank you very much for your interest!

Here's a brief list of things I didn't do: -I had some pointers and samples for some basic API usage -The Ogg playback is based on a public domain (not GPL) decoder -The stuff ripped from some commercial games isn't mine, obviously, though I ripped the majority of it -Level layout and custom graphics for the Megaman game (except custom player sprites) were done by Liz -Custom music for the Megaman game was another musician -"Gemstone Garden" graphics are from a possibly semi-obscure online Sonic editor from "PlaySega", augmented with a few more tiles from Sonic 1 and 2 -Some of the Gemstone Garden layout is mine, but some is from Robjoe, and most is from Markey Otherwise, unless I've missed something, yeah, it's all me

I had some time to throw together a couple of videos. One of them is tutorial-like, but I'll point out this one first, so you can see some non-Sonic stuff This second one might be the start of what some people have been looking for. It's a general walk-through of different parts of E02. There's too much to cover very many specifics all at once, so this is more just for getting oriented. You should end up with a slightly better idea of how to find your way around I don't know how much time I have for these right now, so I can't say how many are coming, and when. I hope what I do manage to get out will be of some use

[New to E02? Check the lower portion of this post for info] This is a major update, bringing about new and better editing interfaces, new and enhanced functionality and ease-of-use script features, and other feature updates such as stereo and Ogg Vorbis music support! There is more, but the specifics are too numerous to list here. Please see the the What's New document Also, those who have been keeping up may have noticed that I've been promising for a while to update the old Sonic example scripts with much better formatting and commenting to make it easier to read and manage. It was a long and boring process, but it's finally complete! On top of that, the functionality has been greatly expanded, including the addition of Tails and Knuckles as playable characters, and as a playable game, it has been expanded to include the same Green Hill zone from the 2008 Project Mettrix demo, as well as an all-new level using Green Hill and Labyrinth Zone objects, graphics based on PlaySega's online Flash Sonic the Hedgehog editor, and two new bosses - "Gemstone Garden Zone". There are even Bonus and Special Stages. Once again, there are too many updates to go into complete detail, so please view the ReadMe document There is also a gameplay video spanning Gemstone Garden from start to finish, though it doesn't cover all possible routes, and only shows the location of two of the nine Special Stage rings (It is possible to get all 7 Chaos Emeralds. There are 7 "difficulty levels", plus a "hidden" eighth difficulty. The layouts are generated randomly each time): -------------------------------------------------------- E02 is a versatile, performance-oriented engine for creating many different types of 2D games. Any game developed with E02 will run on any supported system (assuming the spec of the lowest-supported system has been considered), which currently include: Windows, Linux, Intel/PowerPC MacOSX, PSP (Custom Firmware), Wii (Homebrew Channel), and GP2X Wiz For more information, check out the official site: http://stealth.hapisan.com/E02 Games currently in-development for E02 include: Megaman: Triple Threat - http://stealth.hapisan.com/MMTT Sonic the Hedgehog: Project Mettrix - http://stealth.hapisan.com/Mettrix Currently-Available game templates include: Generic Template - Just enough to be able to put something on the screen and fiddle with it Sonic the Hedgehog Example Game - Made from the same scripts and data as Project Mettrix; six gameplay levels, two types of bonus level, and more demonstrating many features from the original Genesis games including complete Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles player characters, and provides a basis on which new levels, enemies, items, and abilities can be added http://stealth.hapis.../E02/#Templates For discussion and support, visit the Forum: http://stealth.hapisan.com/Forum Or the official IRC channel: Server- irc.badnik.net Channel- #OC The following resources are also available for instant update notification: http://www.twitter.com/E02Stealth http://www.youtube.com/OCStealth

New to v11.09.18: Keywords/Expressions - Replace certain Math and Conditional Commands with a friendlier expression syntax; use variables/values right in the expression Sprite File and Sprite Editor - A new Sprite File format has been created to replace the textual Sprite Data from Character/Object Defs, and allow Sprite Set and Sprite Frame lists to be manipulated from within the Sprite Editor, including importing new Frame graphics from external images Stamps- Structures larger than a single 8x8 Tile can be combined to form "Stamps", which can be used in the Level Editor's new "Stamp Draw Mode" to build levels more quickly. Functions similar to the existing Copy/Paste feature, but Stamps can be cycled through like Tiles, and are displayed below the cursor while editing [see the What's New document for further details, more updates, and older versions]

I had planned for one at the same time as the Sonic template, but converting, cleaning up, and commenting large numbers of massive scripts that date back to 2003 is so time-consuming that I couldn't justify putting off other issues once the Sonic one was finished. As it is, I still need to go back over the entire set to covert all the Command and Variable IDs to Aliases so it's more usable The existing Megaman scripts are extremely ugly and not at all suitable for anyone who doesn't have much experience with E02 and wasn't involved in creating them in the first place. I would not only have to convert, clean, and comment every existing file, but also make an entirely new "game" of them, since I won't be using any Triple Threat content, which means creating a new level and more new event and menu coding, at the very least. It's not impossible, but I can't make any guarantees about when I can put that kind of time into it

New to v11.09.18: Keywords/Expressions - Replace certain Math and Conditional Commands with a friendlier expression syntax; use variables/values right in the expression Sprite File and Sprite Editor - A new Sprite File format has been created to replace the textual Sprite Data from Character/Object Defs, and allow Sprite Set and Sprite Frame lists to be manipulated from within the Sprite Editor, including importing new Frame graphics from external images Stamps- Structures larger than a single 8x8 Tile can be combined to form "Stamps", which can be used in the Level Editor's new "Stamp Draw Mode" to build levels more quickly. Functions similar to the existing Copy/Paste feature, but Stamps can be cycled through like Tiles, and are displayed below the cursor while editing [see the What's New document for further details, more updates, and older versions] -------------------------------------------------------- E02 is a versatile, performance-oriented engine for creating many different types of 2D games. Any game developed with E02 will run on any supported system (assuming the spec of the lowest-supported system has been considered), which currently include: DOS, Windows, Linux, Intel/PowerPC MacOSX, PSP (Custom Firmware), Wii (Homebrew Channel), and GP2X Wiz For more information, check out the official site: http://stealth.hapisan.com/E02 Games currently in-development for E02 include: Megaman: Triple Threat - http://stealth.hapisan.com/MMTT Sonic the Hedgehog: Project Mettrix - http://stealth.hapisan.com/Mettrix Currently-Available game templates include: Generic Template - Just enough to be able to put something on the screen and fiddle with it Sonic the Hedgehog Template - Made from the same scripts and data as Project Mettrix; demonstrates basic Sonic 3 gameplay for Sonic and provides a basis on which new levels, enemies, items, and abilities can be added (At present, this large template has not been updated to use the Alias system introduced in E02 v11.08.11. This update is in progress, and will be released when it is complete) http://stealth.hapisan.com/E02/#Templates For discussion and support, visit the Forum: http://stealth.hapisan.com/Forum Or the official IRC channel: Server- irc.badnik.net Channel- #OC The following resources are also available for instant update notification: http://www.twitter.com/E02Stealth http://www.youtube.com/OCStealth

Overbound- That's a shame, you should give it a shot anyway. Megaman is pretty good (particularly original, all but some of the newest X, and the Legends series), and we did put alot of work into it Sorry about the lack of Mettrix, though. We were really excited about actually getting something done with Triple Threat this year, and I actually haven't had a whole lot of time for multiple projects lately. Doesn't help at all that Ron kinda vanished on me again, which he tends to do for years at a time (no joke). I'll work something out, though.. hopefully, one way or another there will be more before next SAGE Strife- You'll probably get this out of going back to the contest page, but it's actually not me you should be sending a note to, Liz will be keeping up with that Glad to hear that you're interested, though. We'll be looking forward to your submissions By the way, I forgot to mention that anyone interested in asking questions about E02 should probably see if they can catch me in #E02 on Rizon before SAGE is through

http://stealth.hapisan.com/SAGE10 There are various updates to E02, including the new system for downloading the games from within E02 itself, and keeping up with program and game updates from the same menu (http://stealth.hapisan.com/E02/Docs/What%27s%20New.html). Download E02 for DOS/Windows, Linux, MacOS, PSP, or Wii to obtain and play the existing games, or to create your own! Megaman: Triple Threat, Megaman 7 style game created with E02, has finally been updated with a brand new level and Robot Master Boss, with new Character Select and Stage Select screens. Play as Megaman, Protoman, or Bass. New graphics and design by LizSama, and four new songs by Tweaker (Gameplay Video - )Sonic: Project Mettrix, Sonic 3 style game created with E02, hasn't had any significant updates as of this posting, but newcomers may still enjoy trying out the test and bonus stages, two prototype levels for Mettrix itself, or the complete reproduction of Green Hill Zone as Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles

It sure is. E02 itself pretty much leaves game-specific Player and Object behavior and interaction stuff to the scripts Depending on what exactly it is you want to do, you could either still use the same Player Management system that's best used for platforming players, or if you want to go simpler, you could skip that and use Objects as Players instead It's pretty versatile.. stuff you should be able to get out of it would include, but wouldn't be limited to, platformers, shooters, RPGs, fighters, puzzle games..

E02 has gone cross-platform! In addition to the original DOS and Windows versions, there are now builds for x86 Linux, PPC and x86 MacOSX, Wii, and PSP! Check out the booth here: http://stealth.hapisan.com/SAGE09/ The documentation for E02 has been completely updated and converted to HTML, with example script usage and tons of cross-reference links Sonic the Hedgehog: Project Mettrix has received a few fixes, some music has been converted to XM format, and there is also a prototype of the Bronze Lake Zone level intended for the final game Megaman: Triple Threat has had its music converted to XM, and has received a couple of fixes

This is a bit different than what most of you guys are probably familiar with I haven't seen much of what's been worked up around here lately, but what I did see were some things to the effect of using "pixel-perfect collision" against "Objects" of varying sizes that create level pieces the player/enemies respond to based on which pixels are non-transparant, some of which have collision activated/deactivated when going through different parts of a loop (Just as a statement of observation, it seems that's been used to build some nice-looking engines) Anyway, Sax looks to be trying to duplicate the method Sonic Team used, which is based on a grid of fixed-sized tiles, and "Solidity Maps"/"Height Maps" that the player responds to for level collision instead of the tile graphic itself. (That much isn't necessarily unique to Sonic Team, but I think the point is that he wants to write his Sonic player code "their way"?). The tiles are built up in steps into larger pieces to save space, from the 8x8 tiles that're drawn to the screen, to the 16x16 blocks that correspond with the "Height Maps", and depending on whether you're looking at Sonic 1/Sonic CD or Sonic 2/3/K, they're built into either 256x256 or 128x128 chunks that are used to build the level layout. Along with that, there is a set of 256 "Height Maps" that define the solidity, and a list of indexes the same length as the 16x16 blocks list that describes which of the "Height Maps" each block uses. The "Height Maps" themselves are, rather than a pixel map, a listing of how high the solidity goes from the bottom of the block (or how low from the top) for each of the block's 16 columns. When the player is moved, he doesn't trace the path, but instead has his velocity added to his position, and then checks to see if he's inside the solid part of the height map that's ahead of him in whatever direction he's travelling, and if he is, the height value of the colum that was checked is used to push him back out. (They also store "rotated" versions that are effectively "Width Maps" for horizontal collision) What he has here is an editor that allows you to edit the pixel columns in the "Height Maps" his engine uses to draw the shape of the solidity of each of the 16x16 blocks. The purple triangle there shows the first pixel column at it's tallest height, with the neighboring columns being one pixel shorter, creating a 45 degree angled path down and to the left (which is at least half-obvious, I suppose), and I'm guessing that the yellow that's behind it is another height map that corresponds with the same area, except on a different path, with a different shape (Unless, of course, instead of showing overlapping paths, it's showing the solidity mapped on top of the block it corresponds to, and the solidity is "misshapen" just for example). The different "paths" come into play, though, when you look at, as he described, "the helix tubes and loop-de-loops and such". Starting with Sonic 2, each level had two lists of "Solidity Indexes" (the lists that determine which Height Map each Block uses). There was a "path swapper" object (it shows up in debug mode as a column/row of rings) that would change which list Sonic read from for collision when he crossed over one, which is how he was made to ignore part of a loops solidity as he went in one side/came out the other, and also worked out in certain other places like the crossing tubes at the beginning of Chemical Plant, and one area in Aquatic Ruin where Sonic could either run downhill from behind a wall if he took the upper path, or climb up steps in front of the wall from the lower path, in the same place. This is what he's saying that he's implementing right now, in the way of an editor that can edit the height maps themselves and assign multiple maps to each block, and a player that can react to the different maps based on which "path" he's assigned to follow at the time It does look modest, but as long as it works. Kind of makes me remember my original solidity editing program.. The first thing anyone should do is get the basics working before you worry about making it flashy. What he's trying to show you right now is something I've often thought is underappreciated, which is the technical side of people's work; What it does and how much they put together themselves. If you're the only one using it and it's still WIP, sometimes you just don't really care if it's empty and pink And uh, hi. I know it's a bit much, since I usually go on and on, but I hope it being one post doesn't really qualify the extra info as too "off-topic". I just wanted to help out a bit there. Don't really have any screenshots to share, though... As for ProSonic, it seems interesting. Didn't see it coming, after you had left and all, but I guess it was natural. I know what it's like not to be able to quit