Can't be bothered to edit this one so here you are - some level editing information in it for you to dissect :)
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AIM IM with Zack Black <zsculptblack>6/6/2008 7:19 pm
[SNIP]
Richard: but anyways... is it possible to do what I was asking - i.e. to have (say) a spike trap moving on a moving platform?
Zack Black: I actually don't know
should be easy to add though
stuff I never tried
Richard: ah
did you ever try SketchFighter 4000 alpha from Ambrosia?
Zack Black: yeah
loved the idea
wanted to make something like it for years
Richard: was cool - did you ever use the editor?
Zack Black: no
Richard: (even if it suffered from being badly programmed in that *way* too much stuff was hard-coded)
Zack Black: very few things in DC3 are hard coded
maybe 10% or less
Richard: indeed - I have been very impressed so far
Zack Black: but there is a lot of stuff that is simply not available for other reasons
bosses and powerups
Richard: yeah... maybe think about armour sometime but the point I was going to make was the way the `AI' system worked in SKF4kA
basically there was very little real AI in it at all, in fact, basically none
Zack Black: ZM did some very good AI like that in Retro
same style of game
Richard: yup
but what there was was a set of behaviours or simple scripts for moving a given sprite in a very simple fashion
and what you could do was attach any single behaviour to any single sprite
and (the important bit)
any single sprite could have any number of child sprites
such that all the children could have their own (potentially different) single behaviours
Zack Black: that's cool
sounds pretty advanced actually
Richard: and they would move by their own behaviour *relative* to the behaviour that they inherited by being moved by the parent
hence in that, "spike trap on moving ledge" would simply be moving ledge = parent, and spike trap = a single child
and of course, no sprites ever *had* to be visible or solid (for collision detection purposes), so you could have a single visible say great-grand-child sprite with several layers of inherited movement
from sprites you couldn't see - resulting in some more complex (though still completely non-random) behaviour
so... was wondering as a result how keyed different AI's are in RtDC e.g. say the way a mutant moves to the mutant's sprite
Zack Black: ya
I love working on that kind of stuff
Richard: could one, for example, attach a mutant's movement routines to a moving platform?
Zack Black: well all the enemies work on platforms
they are treated like floors
Richard: indeed, but my point is not can you have a mutant *on* a platform, but can you have a platform *move* like a mutant - making it difficult to predict where it is going to move next
and even occasionally `jump' (i.e. just move) up and down
Zack Black: oh no nothing like that
would be cool tho lol
Richard: some things to think about then If you could get a similar form of parent-child sprite AI chaining, that would be awesome
I'd *really* like to shove one of those [SNIP]
Zack Black: ya I know that doesn't work now
but could
Richard: well, maybe for version 1.x where x > 3
another one - for things that do move (e.g. platforms) can you specify a diagonal path? (or even say a circular one?
Zack Black: nah just h / v
so many things I would have liked to have added
just too big
Richard: oh well... maybe one day you'll give me access to the code
or at least to the movement AI side of things
one more question?
Can you have exits lead to different rooms (or even have different exits in a room) depending on the difficulty level?
(other than additional dungeon drops)
Zack Black: no, fixed exits
Richard: darn
I wanted to make some paths much longer based on difficulty...
Zack Black: cool idea'
Richard: but is it possible to alter the room otherwise based on difficulty? e.g. like the way basement and brewery levels change between beginner and advanced?
Zack Black: ya definitely
Richard: Okay - so I guess I could spoof different exists by adding walls that make some doors completely inaccessible depending on the difficulty?
and therefore forcing people to go a longer way round for example?
Zack Black: oh yes true
good idea
Richard: can I change a room's dimensions based on difficulty?
i.e. the physical size of the room?
Zack Black: no
Richard: guess it doesn't matter too much, can always just the short way not cause it to scroll as much...
Richard: spike traps - is it possible to have spikes *always* up? That seems to be the only way I can see of having actual floor that always kills you (barring boots)
or failing that, can you layer two spike traps directly on top of each other and in anti-phase so that one is up whenever the other is down?
Zack Black: ya both I think
Richard: funky -thought that would be an easy way of making things inaccessible on hard levels
So I guess my main plea (apart from a huge AI revamp which is obviously not going to happen) would be to be able to place the gauntlets in the custom level.
since the main problem I can see with making a custom world is that given you have no fireball placement or stoneball placement, or orbs, there is no way to stop the player going through one room before another, except by using (say) those thin ropes, and having them go and find the gauntlets before they can get across...
given that you also can't have a switch do something to a room you are not in...
Richard: Thanks for your time anyway, ttyl
Zack Black: ok cool
sorry kinda busy at wrk
Richard: yeah, no problem - I have to remember that just because it's 8:40pm on Friday and I'm done with the day doesn't mean you are... Anyway, off to cook, so thanks once again. And... let me put armour in my levels, pweeeese!
Zack Black: ok I'll have to see
take it easy
I love reading private chats. Thanks Richard :)
No problem... Another thing I forgot to mention and wasn't included in the above transcript is that (sadly) it won't be possible to have scripted `talking' like with the Black Knight as that was all hard-coded.
Dude... you're just making me dread your levels. But I'm going to love watching your difficulty progression; my levels probably won't be much different as they get harder.
But dammit man, those ropes are OILY, not thin! Get it right! :BKfist:
