[Graham]

Old-Sckool, on 27 February 2015 - 03:25 PM, said:

hopefully you'll reach a point where you'll stop adding things soon. can't wait to play it

Haha, yeah. I hear ya. Feature creep can be a killer. Though beyond the scrolling background the only features I've added have been completely necessary to make the game succeed. And even the scrolling background thing came with a lot of enhancements to sprite layout in the game that I feel benefited the game a lot.

I am back on track with level design and making really good progress now. I've created some absolutely awesome old-school slider puzzles reminiscent of zzt days. Though the mechanics vary slightly, being a 2d perspective with gravity and all.

[CJA]

Graham, on 28 February 2015 - 09:56 PM, said:

screen1.png

:D:D:D

[Graham]

CJA, on 02 March 2015 - 06:22 PM, said:

:D

This puzzle is an homage to the rube board (possible my favorite Town of ZZT board) redone in side view with gravity being utilized to move some sliders. It works different but all of the elements are there, as well as the way you solve it. This is something I've been working towards for a while, that great ZZT gameplay with object interactivity.

[T-Bone]

What happens when you fail a puzzle? I remember in some ZZT games you would have game-breaking puzzles where as you would have to revert to your last save. Is it going to be more similar to that style?

[Graham]

Yes, I don't really know of any better way to do it, unfortunately. Resetting the puzzle during play seems really difficult and not really worth the effort when compared to the ease of reloading a save.

I have placed save points strategically before each puzzle/obstacle and added a quick-reload feature where you pause and press the status button to open a reload menu. Then you can scroll through previous saves and it actually shows you where you were at when you saved. It reloads saves as you scroll and the menu stays open, the game stays paused until you have found the save you are looking for.

Fail states seem inevitable for puzzle games and I don't really know of any other way around it, which is what made Braid such a genius idea.

[T-Bone]

I noticed a lot of MZX puzzle games play the same way. So its not really a problem. Makes getting to those save points even that much more important lol

[Dr Lancer-X]

i thought a few times about having puzzle resetting in red, but decided that since there's a save system 'eh, who cares'.

[ThDPro]

Lancer-X, on 04 March 2015 - 11:44 AM, said:

i thought a few times about having puzzle resetting in red, but decided that since there's a save system 'eh, who cares'.

I'd argue that leaving and coming back resetting it IS puzzle resetting... But I think that's just the boulder puzzles.

[Graham]

ThDPro, on 04 March 2015 - 12:43 PM, said:

I'd argue that leaving and coming back resetting it IS puzzle resetting... But I think that's just the boulder puzzles.

That reminds me, I do have puzzle resetting when you enter a level (via a swapworld to the same game). This is necessary because some levels would be impassable after certain traps have been sprung, etc.

[Dr Lancer-X]

ThDPro, on 05 March 2015 - 06:43 AM, said:

I'd argue that leaving and coming back resetting it IS puzzle resetting... But I think that's just the boulder puzzles.

nah, all puzzles work like that. i'm mostly thinking of those puzzles that can potentially trap you so you can't leave. i guess there's still the exit spell... BUT WHAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE EXIT SPELL?!?!

[CJA]

luckily the only components required for the Greater Exit spell are a keyboard with Esc and Enter

[Graham]

CJA, on 04 March 2015 - 05:33 PM, said:

luckily the only components required for the Greater Exit spell are a keyboard with Esc and Enter

Ha! Good one!

[Graham]

I've got 7 main levels left to design. Of those, 4 have solid ideas already in them. I've tried to vary the gameplay to keep it fresh, using solid side scrolling ideas found in Mario games and the like as inspiration. For instance, I have an auto-scrolling level. Does anyone have any ideas to offer for level themes? I'm trying to be thorough in trying all ideas, such as a level that has bombs exploding from beginning to end and you have to beat them there (did that).

[ThDPro]

I bet you already have something like this: A board where you're basically falling from place to place down something narrow, maybe a need to push something along with you at some point i dunno it's a old concept, you get the idea. Better Than Nothing had a segment kinda like that. Also, the end of EMF2.

[Graham]

ThDPro, on 06 March 2015 - 11:22 AM, said:

I bet you already have something like this: A board where you're basically falling from place to place down something narrow, maybe a need to push something along with you at some point i dunno it's a old concept, you get the idea. Better Than Nothing had a segment kinda like that. Also, the end of EMF2.

Haha, good idea. Unfortunately, yeah I've already done that level.

[Graham]

I'm designing level 5-4 (4 left to go, 5-5, 5-6, 5-7 & Final Fight). I've got ideas but need to come up with some interesting level designs to tie them together. I don't want to lose steam on the last few levels, the rest are compelling and should make for a good game so I want to make sure everything is ramped up appropriately, to meet or exceed expectations. It kind of feels like portals in that the first few levels were short and easy, but they get steadily more complex and longer. I'm happy with the results.

As summer arrives I feel myself getting pulled away from working on the game somewhat in favor of more out-doors type activities. some of you have probably seen my Facebook posts about car shows, fixing a go cart with my son, and repairing an old bike I had put a 2 stroke motor on & yard work and home maintenance (yuck). the difference between this year and other years is that I have a laptop now and I can sit down at places like my lunch break and still hammer out ideas in MegaZeux. So I'm still active in the game, though not as much as I was in winter.

I really want to complete the game this year, though I don't know how feasible that is. And when I say complete, I'm not talking about fully bug tested and ready to release. I just want it to feel like a fully fleshed out game, ready to be tested. Right now I consider the level design to be my most major hurdle, but who knows if something else will come along later that's just as difficult. I don't find it easy to design good gameplay, it's just not my area of expertise. I think programing and animation are my strengths.

So here's where I'm at:
1.) Finish level design for those 4.5 levels
2.) Add over-world entrances and level exits
3.) Add UI bits for levels
4.) Finish up enemy designs, add enemies to levels
5.) Add floppies/collectibles to levels
6.) Finish story/ending
7.) Implement level art/assets
Seems like a lot, but it's really not, most of this stuff is over half done. it's mostly polishing. so yeah, end of the year is the goal. But I won't rush it. It's about the journey after all, not the destination. Hope you are all having a good summer.

[T-Bone]

Your stages look so diverse and well thought out. Looks like you have a pretty clear solid plan for whats required in order to get the game finished and released. I can't wait to try it!

By the way, in the screenshot where it has the player swimming through what looks like a pool of acid; does the topic status at the top some kind of indicator of how long you can be in the toxic? Kind of like when swimming in Fallout's radioactive water? Stay in it too long and you die? Or is there something else going on there?

This has got to be one of the most interesting looking games I've seen so far. Hope you are able to crunch down on your goals this year in order to get that one step closer to getting it out for us.

[Graham]

T-Bone, on 10 June 2015 - 05:38 PM, said:

does the topic status at the top some kind of indicator of how long you can be in the toxic? Kind of like when swimming in Fallout's radioactive water? Stay in it too long and you die?

That's exactly right. I have this timer object that can be used for anything just by setting a string and counter. I use it for other things like viruses, freezing, or timed doors, etc.

Thanks for the encouragement T-Bone. I've not stopped working on it. It will be finished. I'm learning what things I can compromise on and what I can't. The main goal is definitely to have something that is fun to play, above all else.

[T-Bone]

Quote

I've not stopped working on it. It will be finished.

That's a very good attitude!

[Graham]

I've fixed a number of annoying, mysterious bugs when I came to a realization a few days ago. It started when I was working on testing a level and noticed at first some sprites stopped behaving as intended, a few tests later, they straight up disappeared before my eyes, one after another. Well, three total. I got to looking into it and thinking about it and I'll try and explain what was happening.

When a level is entered or started, some sprites are already initialized. Universal sprites that are used throughout the game. A few are level and scenery sprites (0-3) and some are player based and UI, special effects, etc. (228-255) This means that sprites 4-227 are set aside for level use. their counters are set at the beginning of every level by a robot and cleared upon leaving so they can be recycled and used again. so upon entering a level, in the very first two cycles, nearly every robot controlling a sprite runs a routine similar to this;

set "local" to "robot_id"
if "local" >= "lowsprite" then "next"
set "local" to "('robot_id'+('player'-'lowsprite'))"
: "next"
set "local2" to "thisx"
set "local3" to "thisy"

. "@sprite&local&"
gotoxy 0 "robot_id"

set "spr&local&_ccheck" to 2
set "spr&local&_refx" to "local30"
set "spr&local&_refy" to "local31"
set "spr&local&_width" to 2
set "spr&local&_height" to 1
set "spr&local&_cx" to 0
set "spr&local&_cy" to 0
set "spr&local&_cwidth" to 2
set "spr&local&_cheight" to 1
set "spr&local&_x" to "local2"
set "spr&local&_y" to "local3"

put c?? Sprite "local" at "spr&local&_x" "spr&local&_y"

I say in the first two cycles because 'gotoxy' is a cycle ending command. And I say nearly every robot because their is a caveat to that rule, every robot that is there at the start of the level. So not disposable sprites and robots like bullets or water splashing, those come and go though the course of the level, so they are not initialized at the beginning, that happens on the fly and uses a different format for initialization. it looks like this;

restore "#reorder" 1
restore "unpause" 1
restore "#pause" 1
loop start
if "spr('loopcount'+'lowsprite')_width" = 0 then "next"
loop for 222
* "too many sprites"
goto "done"

: "next"
set "local" to "('loopcount'+'lowsprite')"
. "@sprite&local&"
set "local2" to "bulletx"
set "local3" to "bullety"
set "local8" to "bulletdir"

set "spr&local&_ccheck" to 2
set "spr&local&_vlayer" to 1
set "spr&local&_refx" to 0
set "spr&local&_refy" to 7
set "spr&local&_width" to 1
set "spr&local&_height" to 1
set "spr&local&_cy" to 0
set "spr&local&_cx" to 0
set "spr&local&_cheight" to 0
set "spr&local&_cwidth" to 0
set "spr&local&_x" to "local2"
set "spr&local&_y" to "local3"
gotoxy 1 "('robot_id'+4)"

sfx 27
put c0f Sprite "local" at "spr&local&_x" "spr&local&_y"

I do it this way because when certain events in the game happen like saving or loading, MegaZeux assigns new numbers to the robots. You can't count on the robot_id counter to yield you a sprite that is not being used. So the program looks for an unused sprite by checking if that sprites width is greater than 0. This system has worked great, sprites that are there from that start of the level are protected, the robots go to a basically protected spot on the board and the ones that are temporary search for an vacant sprite and those robots go to a different spot on the board. on other thing I should mention is that these temporary robots need to be rearranged when save/loading in order to not be overwritten by new incoming temporary sprites. I do that like so;

| "#reorder"
gotoxy "('robot_id'+2)" 31
gotoxy 1 "('robot_id'+4)"
goto "#return"

when a temporary robot is initializing a sprite, it restores the zapped label '#reorder', so that if a save or load event happens this label can be called and that robot will move to a temporary spot on the board and then move to a spot corresponding to it's robot ID. because it's ID # will be different after the event it needs to find a new spot to be protected from being overwritten.

Whew, so now to the bug I was having, well it's very simple actually. See, I forgot that I had set everything up this way. I wasn't following the rules I had put in place. I was using a wait command at the very beginning of some programs, before the sprite was initialized or the robot moved, in order to time some puzzles. I have a save at the beginning of a level so you can restart from there if you need to. so by the time these robots began executing code, their ID # had already changed and they would overwrite another robot and re configure the sprite.

So the fix was to have the waiting happen after the sprite has initialized and the robot has moved, but before it starts actually executing code for whatever its doing on the board. this fix was simple, under standing the problem was a little more of a challenge.

Now back to the game!

[Graham]

Hey all, just a quick not to let you know I'm not dead, and very much still working on the game and making progress. It's difficult to know how much to share and I've felt recently like maybe I've been giving too much away (even though this is sort of the place for that). So I guess I've been less share-happy lately

Also wondering if posting stuff about the game has hurt my motivation to get it done. I've gone way past previous deadlines I'd set for my self and the game is yet to be in alpha status, so I obviously have no clue how long it takes to build the game I had set my sights on long ago. But I do hope to have it in alpha or even beta before the year is over. Summers can be hard to make good progress though, just so much other stuff going on here. Oh well, doing what I can.

[T-Bone]

The best motivation:

This post has been edited by T-Bone: 19 August 2015 - 03:54 AM

[Graham]

T-Bone, on 18 August 2015 - 07:43 PM, said:

The best motivation:

Hahahahaha yes! More Shia's means more motivation, right?
https://youtu.be/oTz93Y-qeq0

[Graham]

So I haven't been around much in about a year. What a year it's been too. I went through a very depressed period where I had trouble getting the motivation to do anything at all. Laying on the couch was the only thing I was good for. I think this was largely brought on by my failing marriage, worsening financial situation and the seasonal depression I always seem to get in winter. I got therapy, got on wellbutrin and told my wife I wanted to separate. So two outta three ain't bad. I have been doing plenty of soul searching lately and getting back into things I love more. Shit is still tough right now, not gonna lie. I always feel like to talk about it though would be too seek sympathy from people and you all have got your own problems I'm sure. Heck, you may even have bigger problems than I do, so I won't go into the crappy details. I'm rounding the corner on forty years old (Jeez) and I have to be honest, I haven't really lived up to my own expectations. I spend a lot of time trying to stay safe and comfortable. I'm very risk-averse. It just seems to bite me in the ass too. I get in my own way and prevent myself from really finding what I'm looking for or really doing anything new or better. I'm scared to live life, so I'm not really living it, not really.

I went through all of the forum threads that have been posted since I was last active and that took a couple of hours. As usual, I mostly lurked. It is really good to see that this is still an active community though and I'm happy to be a part of it, even if I mostly stand on the outside looking in. I really love you all, you're personalities and senses of humor. It makes me happy to read the stuff you say back and forth. I laughed a lot last night at your silliness.

I've begun working on my game again too. taking a look at it after so long helps identify some problems I haden't seen or didn't know how to solve before. I'm not going to go into any detail about it, just want to say that I'm still at it. Thanks for being here. I guess I'm back

[Ando]

I know your brother, Andrew. He introduced me to Megazeux in Computer Aided Drafting back in 2000, when we were both in high school. He's a great guy, although I haven't spoken to him in a while; all I know is that he is in the Bay area and is married to a hot Russian woman, or something like that. I'm glad that I was friends with him.

I really liked Amnesia back in the day; there still isn't quite a game like that for Megazeux to this day, I think. I personally haven't made a game in Megazeux (a little cumbersome), but I've made plenty in ZZT. But ZZT is kind of boring now.

[Graham]

Ando, on 13 September 2016 - 02:10 PM, said:

I know your brother, Andrew. He introduced me to Megazeux in Computer Aided Drafting back in 2000, when we were both in high school. He's a great guy, although I haven't spoken to him in a while; all I know is that he is in the Bay area and is married to a hot Russian woman, or something like that. I'm glad that I was friends with him.

I really liked Amnesia back in the day; there still isn't quite a game like that for Megazeux to this day, I think. I personally haven't made a game in Megazeux (a little cumbersome), but I've made plenty in ZZT. But ZZT is kind of boring now.

Oh wow, small world. I didn't live in Pendleton as long as he did but I knew some of his friends. Do you remember if we met? If you want to PM me your name, I'll tell Andrew that we spoke. If not its cool.

You got his details pretty right. They have a one year old son now. He works for a gaming software company (casino gaming, not video games).

Thanks for the compliment, though it was hardly a game. I don't know that it was even a demo. Proof of concept maybe? Anyway it's nothing compared to the hundreds of finished games that these brilliant people have produced over the years. But just the same, thank you. And I'm working on a game that would put Amnesia to shame. If only I could complete it...

[Dr Lancer-X]

Yeah, I've created a bunch of things that can perhaps best be described as starting points for games... a sort of peek at what could possibly be a game, but for whatever reason it just didn't pan out (usually because making a full game in that fashion would have taken more work than is really feasible). Still, one benefit to making a ton of things like that is that every once in a while you create something that can be turned into an actual game with enough effort. The amount of work that gets wasted in search for that is a real shame, though.

[Graham]

Oh I don't know that it's wasted work, at least not for me. I do this because it's fun for me and gives me a good feeling, even if it doesn't become anything. Also each thing you try out hones your skills. If I hadn't made those previous things, this one wouldn't be what it is. If nothing else, you learn what not to do.

This post has been edited by Graham: 14 September 2016 - 12:42 AM

[Verasev]

Here's a question: how come no one has never released a megazeux game that has heavily commented code? Wouldn't that help any new comers? Anyway, good luck on your project Graham.

[Dr Lancer-X]

Because comments slow down your robotic code.