Messages

91

Programming Questions / Re: Making a save blocker

« on: January 16, 2016, 02:23:17 PM »

I think yuutu used to be standard? I never used it personally. YoYo's GMS engine is probably better annotated if you're still trying to find your way around an engine.

92

Programming Questions / Re: Making a save blocker

« on: January 16, 2016, 02:15:58 PM »

 You might be using a fairly archaic engine if it doesn't come with them constructed already. Anyway, there are a bunch of different ways, so I'm just going to copy/paste the code from the KS engine for you.

Create an object called bulletBlocker and give it a sprite. Using a 32x32 one is easiest. Make sure the visible box is unchecked unless you want it to be something the player can see.

In the step event of the bullet object, use this code:

if place_meeting(x+hspeed,y,bulletBlocker) {
    instance_destroy();
}

Then, just place the bulletBlocker object wherever you want bullets to be blocked.

If you want to make something fancy a slightly different method is better. For instance, if you want to make something that animates whenever a bullet hits it, you'll want to make that entire animation before anything else (make sure it starts from an image that is empty if you want it to be invisible at first.) Set image_speed = 0 in the create event. Then instead of using code in the bullet use a collision event in the bullet blocker object to destroy the bullet and set the image_speed to something above 0. That will play the animation.

Then just make an animation end event that sets the image_index and image_speed back to 0 so everything goes back to normal when the animation's done playing. It's pretty simple when it comes down to it, and you can apply this sort of coding to a lot of other things in your game.

Again though, I would make sure you're using a modern engine before getting too far in your game.

93

Gameplay & Discussion / Re: fangam.es/intro - An introduction page for newcomers

« on: January 13, 2016, 08:13:53 PM »

Since it's for people new to the games, I'd say those would probably do more to overwhelm and confuse than do much good. Not that they're not good resources of course, just that you can't dump everything in someone's lap at once.

94

Programming Questions / Re: Back to hub key?

« on: January 12, 2016, 10:38:33 PM »

Oh, I have no idea how those objects work. I'd remove it and add this to the warping code:

player.x = 400
player.y = 300

That would go to the center of the room, but just change it to whatever you want.

95

Programming Questions / Re: Back to hub key?

« on: January 12, 2016, 08:37:28 PM »

Okay, I see what you mean. Assuming you're using the YoYo Engine, I'd recommend just making use of the built-in secret array if custom code isn't working.

Make an object in the hub room with the create code:

 global.saveSecretItem[1] = true;

Then check if that's true before executing the code you're using to bring the player back. Something like:

// Event for whatever key you want pressed
if global.saveSecretItem[1] = true {
player.room = [whatever the hub room's name is];}

Assuming I'm reading the code in the engine right, this is already built into it. The only thing is that the player will need to save once after entering the hub for that variable to save.

96

Programming Questions / Re: Back to hub key?

« on: January 12, 2016, 06:51:34 PM »

I misread your problem. Not entirely sure what's wrong, but if it functions fine when you start a new game file is there really an issue?

97

Game Design / Re: RNG in avoidance. Doing it RIGHT.

« on: January 12, 2016, 10:24:53 AM »

I understand your intent behind the thread, I'm just telling you that few game makers are going to invest the time required to properly execute your idea.

98

Programming Questions / Re: Back to hub key?

« on: January 12, 2016, 10:22:41 AM »

Do you already have some sort of secret/item array in place in your code? If so, you just set one value of it to true whenever you enter the hub and check if that value is true before executing the code upon key press.

99

Engines / Re: I Wanna Be The Studio Engine YoYoYo Edition

« on: January 12, 2016, 10:19:34 AM »

That was about 8 years ago though. You can already play fangames with controllers so there's not a huge point to getting them on consoles.

100

Game Design / Re: RNG in avoidance. Doing it RIGHT.

« on: January 11, 2016, 08:19:10 PM »

Getting walled is almost exclusively based on positioning, so unless you're some kind of rabbit-human hybrid and your eyes can look at different things at once, you're still going to have to go through an attack multiple times if you're really committed to making sure everything is dodgable from everywhere.

I absolutely guarantee someone will complain about getting walled anyone even if you have made sure that everything is possible everywhere, so it all comes back to how much effort you're willing to put into things for a community that is never happy with anything.

101

Engines / Re: I Wanna Be The Studio Engine YoYoYo Edition

« on: January 11, 2016, 08:14:25 PM »

I didn't realize anyone was whining about that.

102

Game Design / Re: RNG in avoidance. Doing it RIGHT.

« on: January 11, 2016, 01:37:26 PM »

So I gave this some more thought and also realized you could just use random_set_seed. The problem really comes down to the duplication of effort required just to make and test one boss attack. I would estimate about 5 minutes to thoroughly test each seed at different places in the stage, which means at 50 attacks (the minimum you suggested) the amount of time needed for that one attack would be about four hours. It could be significantly more if the pattern is elaborate.

That's not to discourage you from doing it personally, but I think you would be hard pressed to get other people to do it, especially since occasionally getting walled is already the expectation for many people when it comes to RNG-heavy bosses.

103

Game Design / Re: RNG in avoidance. Doing it RIGHT.

« on: January 11, 2016, 11:51:57 AM »

So do you have any suggestions regarding the construction of this seeding system? I'm curious how you would go about it.

Aside from that, I think the assumption that RNG is necessary to keep a fight interesting is flawed. If you're having that problem, you might also try looking into positional targeting and aesthetic accents, both of which I've found to improve the boss experience a lot. If you have a bunch of medium-difficulty random apple sprays or whatever it's not going to be that much different from a medium-difficulty attack that's the same every time in terms of enjoyment.

104

Game Design / Making a Spoilerless Readme (GMS)

« on: January 09, 2016, 10:24:34 AM »

So you want to make a game. You want to properly document the resources that you're using in the game because you're not an asshole, but you also don't want to reveal something about the game. Secret final boss? Elaborate plot twist? Some things should only be known after the game is beaten and making credits is pain! Here's a solution for you.

First, you need the GMFileSystem extension. You can get that at https://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=567528. Unfortunately, this is necessary because of the way Game Maker Studio is constructed. With the base program you can't easily interact with files outside of their %appdata% home, which is generally unhelpful given the traditional packaging of fangames. This extension supports interaction with files in other locations.

Second, create a new script. Call it whatever, it doesn't particularly matter. Try WriteReadme or something. Put the following into it:

var file;
file = FS_file_text_open_write(working_directory + 'Readme.txt');
FS_file_text_write_string(file, "Designed by whoever

Song List:
Sick beats

External Resources:
amazing sprites.");
FS_file_text_close(file);

This will create a text file (in this case called Readme.txt) in the folder containing the executable, which will have this text in it:

Designed by whoever

Song List:
Sick beats

External Resources:
amazing sprites.

Now just execute that script whenever you want the readme to be added to the folder. I know what you're saying already though. "But Kyir, I just want to add resources stage by stage whenever they appear!" Nothing simpler!

Once you've created the readme, either by this method or with a traditional one, you just need to substitute in

file = FS_file_text_open_append(working_directory + 'Readme.txt') 

and whatever text you add with it should appear at the end of whatever is in the file already. In this case, you'll probably want to create a system that will allow a lot of slight modifications, such as making the string in the script a variable and creating an object whose creation code sets the string and executes the script on collision, but I trust you all to figure out stuff like that!

There are other finer tweaks you can do too if you use the commands found in the extension's documentation: httpss://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/61559928/filesystem/GMFilesystem_Documentation.1.5.pdf.

Good luck and godspeed in improving the minutiae of your games!

105

Unfinished / Incomplete / Re: Work In Progress (and Discontinued) Screenshot Thread

« on: December 26, 2015, 10:31:54 PM »

Does needlevoidance = a needle game with an avoidance at the end?