Rhindon's Forum Posts

  • And also for organisation, groups are great, and as I always say : a clean code is easy to maintain, to debug, to optimise.

    THAT, right there, is one of my next goals to perfect. With my current project, while it start off "simple" enough, working through the final steps to completion is proving to be a bug tester's near-nightmare. Who knew an infinite runner could be so bothersome?

    The ironic thing is that I am actually using Groups to isolate activities, but am finding it a tad confusing because - as is often the case, I'm sure - so many objects/events are related in different categories/Groups. WHERE do I put them? LOL How does this help me keep things CLEAN and tidy?

    Organization is not my friend. LOL

  • TiAm - Metroid Prime was a bad example?!? BLASPHEMY! ... Okay, lol, seriously, why do you feel that way?

    I remember games like the DKC trilogy (now a quintrilogy) that only brought info on-screen from the edges when an item was collected. Otherwise, it was all gameplay from start to finish. Might that be a solution for your current troubles?

  • As I'm working towards the completion of my first game - a very simple infinite runner that I might polish up REALLY nice later on - I've come to an epiphany: I have under-appreciated the use of Groups.

    This got me to thinking...

    What are some of your BEST tips for the use of Groups? What are some "hidden gems" that you've learned about their function? How do you organize your Groups? Is there an "unconventional" way that you use them?

  • Clear information is critical in any game. For reasons that would take up at least a chapter in a book, a HUD or other information on-screen can hinder a game horribly; so much so that the player may literally not know what to do.

    I remember my first ventures into RPGs...I couldn't get into them because the oddly-named items left me scratching my head as to what their purpose was. That's just one example (albeit, in a sub-menu rather than a HUD).

    So I was wondering what games stand out to you with the most interesting, useful, creative, informative, and/or otherwise unique HUD system (or, if you like, menu system).

    For me, it would be the Metroid Prime Trilogy. Not content with simply putting the player in the (GORGEOUS) Samus Aran's head, we got to see what life was like in her suit. The subtle motion delay of the visor information following along with Aran's turning of her head just added to that realism. The HUD wasn't forced - and you could adjust the opacity and motion delay settings, too - and presented easy-to-comprehend information on the fly. And that's not to mention the AMAZING menu system for accessing an Encyclopedia-worth of info on the story, creatures, and more. (Granted, I didn't totally care for MP2's whirly-wig node style, but it certainly was original. And while it wasn't bad, the map system never felt 100% what it ought to be.)

    Now it's your turn! Aaaaand GO!

  • hollowthreat - Look up Flappy Hal on Facebook or Android.

  • jayderyu - Excellent points. I didn't take the high score factor into mind, either. I guess I was thinking on bare-bones terms.

    TheDoctor - Be sure to post it here!

    hollowthreat - *GRINS* Well, my comment about Flappy Bird was just a bit of a joke given what I have perceived to be disdain for the game. I don't really care, either way. A friend of mine made his own variation of Flappy Bird with a couple of twists. I play it and enjoy it.

    Do you have any screen shots for your game yet? Do share!

    mrnannings - Heh heh. Well, the one I'm about to finish now is an absurdly simple platformer. Random platforms of different lengths that randomly generate coins to collect. Don't land on the ground, and it'll keep the coin value multiplier on the up-and-up. There's a bird flapping behind - maybe it's flappy bird angry that he got taken off the market (but I didn't intend it to be that way LOL) - who randomly spits bouncing eggs that will *AHEM* EGGsplode after a few seconds. This was purely a challenge given to me to try my hand at a simple game (I tend to think REALLY big and that can hinder me if I'm not careful).

    Another infinite runner game I started on is where this "box" generates random other boxes that go either up or down in this narrow corridor. A machine follows behind endlessly...it has two electric crushing arms to smash those released boxes so they don't get deeper into the corridor. The trick is to time it so the arms smash accordingly above or below (they operate independently). Not to mention random power up icons that you have to click on in the middle of it all to make your crushing arms wider for a time.

    These are my first two ventures into the infinite runner genre. They're lacking in polish, for sure.

  • Windwalker - I love your thinking there. Actually, what you describe reminds me of Tetris in all its purity. Reach level 9 and it's nothing but a mad-dash to keep from losing.

    jayderyu - Indeed. And that's true for most any genre. Examining the pros/cons of every type of game. Infinite Runners, I think, present a unique challenge to improvement and variety because they simply do not fit into the traditional goal-oriented/completion-minded focus that almost any game promotes. Success is based entirely on NOT losing. LOL

    TheDoctor and hollowthreat - How would you guys improve on or contructively twist the infinite runner genre? How would you make it your own?

  • All disdain for "Flappy Bird" and it's clones aside, what are your thoughts about infinite runners? Those games who never quite end and just get faster and/or more and more difficult.

    I remember one of, if not THE, first infinite runner type games - the helicopter that's on its perpetually last ounce of fuel as you must navigate through an endless tunnel to avoid crashing. That was it - just don't crash. Fly long and make everyone wish you had that kind of gas mileage for real.

    If you have taken or would take on such a genre of game, how would you make it fresh and original? (Games designed to mutilate Flappy Bird are acceptable.)

  • Yarfapet - That would make sense if that's the case. I'm ALWAYS eager to learn about those behind-the-scenes details as to HOW things work in C2.

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  • Yarfapet - LOL Well, that'll do it! I did think about using the Disable Group action, but I wanted to see if I could better understand how I can utilize TimeScale. Thank you for your time! I deeply appreciate it.

  • CAPX: https://www.dropbox.com/s/cb5vw9o59o2hc ... 1-1-1.capx

    Please bear with me; I'll try to keep this concise and clear.

    This is what I want to happen...

    When object MrBlue collides with objects BlockBird or Eggsplosion, the game is over.

    • All objects EXCEPT the GameOver sprite font should be set to TimeScale 0 (zero).
    • The layer "InfoScreen" should turn visible with a red tint and the GameOver sprite font should fall down with its physics property active.

    However...

    I've tried setting the TimeScale of the whole game to zero and the GameOver sprite font to 1, but that doesn't work.

    I've also tried adding all objects (except for those on the HUD layer) to a Family object and setting their object TimeScale to zero, but that doesn't stop certain objects from spawning and moving along.

    None of this is working...obviously, which is why I'm here. LOL

    The lines to check out are on 71 - that's where the game over scenario begins. Also see line 36 (the AmIDead instance variable is my attempt at an alternate solution to keep the spawn objects (off-screen) from generating new platform instances).

  • And if you're paranoid, just download the thing once a day.

    Who says I'm paranoid??? *twiddles thumbs frantically and twitches randomly*

  • Just to verify, on the page you link to, that counter at the top will update every new download, right? Because if not, I don't know where to check when you've reached the millionth download.

  • If that's the case, likely with the platform spawning objects...

    ...I'm going to try to add all GAMEPLAY events into a very large, single group and disable it when paused/game over... I'll also check on the dt issue.

    SUCCESS: pending

  • sqiddster - Well, that stopped all the objects presently on the screen. But it didn't keep the objects from spawning new ones. The system is still moving forward, timers still ticking down...