[tcaudilllg]

Here's a "leap" algorithm.

- Set the direction of gravity (up, down, left, right, whatever...).
- Move the actor's sprite, but not its logical location, north at a high rate for a given distance. Call this distance the "distance level". After this distance is passed, reduce the distance level and the rate. This way, the sprite rises gradually slower.
- When the distance level reaches 0, begin falling. Increase the distance/rate until reaching a threshold ("terminal velocity").
- To permit "air hooking", allow horizontal movement in mid air. You might want to add some rate modifiers to the movement to make it look real.

How to calculate the rate: d / t. The decreases are essentially deceleration, due to gravity. And the increase, acceleration due to the same. This gives you a smooth parabolic path.


New feature I thought of: ALL command.

[tcaudilllg]

OK here's a alpha. A few notes:
- The map editor will only open files if the leftmost box at the bottom is blank. Clear out the box and reload to open a new file.
- The actor editor has bugs. The collision detection stuff flatly doesn't work. I don't think events work yet, either.
- Not sure if the state editor works or not.
- For a list of actor commands, review the "ProcessActorCommands" function in ActorScripting.js.

Download: http://progressivesocionics.co.cc/downloads/Gamestar.zip

[Mattias Gustavsson]

I can't figure out how to open maps at all... what browser do I need to run it?
_________________
www.mattiasgustavsson.com - My blog
www.rivtind.com - My Fantasy world and isometric RPG engine
www.pixieuniversity.com - Software 2D Game Engine

[tcaudilllg]

[Mattias Gustavsson]

I get the message "File 'C:\gamestar\tiles.txt' does not exist"
_________________
www.mattiasgustavsson.com - My blog
www.rivtind.com - My Fantasy world and isometric RPG engine
www.pixieuniversity.com - Software 2D Game Engine

[tcaudilllg]

I added a "tiles.txt" file. It should work now. The tiles text file is just a list of tiles for the editor to use, although I guess it would be easier to just load in all the tiles in a folder named "tiles".

[tcaudilllg]

Hajo recently released a tile creation program which features properties for tiles.

I've seen a variety of approaches to tile properties/effects. Some approaches treat them, selectively, as NPCs. I've come to the conclusion that the best method of dealing with tile effects is to keep a list of "concerned NPCs" who will register as having collided with the player when the player steps on a tile that concerns them. Each tile has its own list of concerned NPCs. Thus for a swamp tile which has a poison attribute, you would list the Poison NPC in its concerned list.

[tcaudilllg]

The map editor now has a resize function and scrolling. Not yet integrated the scrolling version into the main program because the sprite engine hasn't been updated to deal with it.

[tcaudilllg]

After a month of procrastination, uploaded the scrolling version of the map editor (GamestarMapEditorScroll.html) to the zip. It apparently has a bug when you resize larger and then resize smaller... I have no idea what the problem is and the complexity of the resize algorithm was such that I've been intellectually exhausted on that front for several weeks. I'll get back to it eventually... but for now I'm trying just to regain my focus. Time wise I'm looking for a gf and trying to build relationships... between that, school, and work there is a lot of competition. I'll get back to it, but for now, a break.

Getting the HTML formatting right for the map editor (and the scrolling) was more painstaking than you might think. I'm satisfied with the results, but they took hours and days to bring to fruition.

[tcaudilllg]

Think I'm gonna implement the actor-tile concern system next.

[tcaudilllg]

Starting to feel the pull again... those code trees are looking more and more tempting.... But, what to focus on first...?

[tcaudilllg]

I dropped this project because I spent like 2 weeks working on a single feature (editor map scrolling after resizing), and was disappointed to find out the editor bugs out after enlarging and then shrinking. Something about that made the project seem monstrously difficult.

A key problem at this stage is that I can't see the infrastructure the editor is programmed to generate. To do that I need to see the variables created by the BASIC interpreter. The easiest way to do that is to create a debugger specific to the interpreter. I also remember that the process of flushing the game engine and restarting it is something of a mess. I need to figure out how to break down the system into parts that I can siphon off and compartmentalize as a distinct project. For that matter as I recall the new scrolling map editor isn't integrated into the main project.

I've found it nearly impossible to capture excitement in a one room, non-scrolling game. Indeed it's the non-scrolling factor that kills the enjoyment of the game, in that it means there are no surprises. Granted I know one screen is fine for puzzle games... but I don't like puzzle games, only adventures. They key concept killing any one room game is the lack of continuity between scenarios: the story has to happen in a closed space, meaning that there is no opportunity for development. Granted I could easily do Bomberman or something... but really even that... it just happens so simply... and quickly... there is just no way to afford exploration, and therefore no capacity for immersion. Instead you're just left with a simple problem of eliminating/avoiding obstacles to a single well defined goal.

[DeveloperX]

[tcaudilllg]

The project is still going. I had just lost focus due to personal pressures and uncertain motivation. Kinda like I tried to push Iconsole before. :P

I had been going pretty hard core at it. Was costing me a lot of social pressure from my family. Most of them simply cannot see the value in such a project, so that's always rough.

I do think there is value though in zero-startup capital creation systems. Especially in this visceral economy where people are forced to choose between investing in and having relationships. I think if enough people really tried to push the games market to its limit, we could have a sort of economic renaissance because a huge segment of the population are potential game makers. A rebellion against the publishing industry, which is the source of disparately distributed profits and the generally low income game makers receive, would be particularly effective because right now it is the concentration of capital which is the sole factor keeping the economy at recession's edge. People have good ideas but they are unwilling to act on them because they know that people who control the capital will demand an unfair take. So they are keeping the ideas to themselves and why not?

Whether or not I complete this project, understand that centralized wealth is the problem with the industry today.

[tcaudilllg]

Oh and BTW: I was trying to think of ideas that used only 1 non-scrolling playfield, like Tetris or Space Invaders. Only 1 map. Try to make a game with that... you won't be able to, hardly.