NaaLaa - a small MultiScreen Platformer

[kevin]

Hi....one of my current projects which I am still actively working on and changing each time I look at it....I would appreciate any suggestions you have for improvements, or details of any bugs that you find...instructions are in the game, but the main thing to remember is that you can add or remove sections of the wall just by clicking on the screen where you want to make the change (but not at the edges) - but it costs you 10 seconds each time so use sparingly....thank you.....Kevin
Edit - I've found a more serious error in the code where the Player can get stuck and you need to force the program to close - so I've removed the attachement while I work on an improved version........

[Mopz]

Sorry for the late response! There's so little time for fun these days.

I haven't played the game that much yet, been trying it while cooking

I had some problems with the jumping. Sometimes the character could jump the height of one block, and other times he couldn't. Also, why don't the keys disappear when you pick them up? Other than those things it was fun (and I'm sure it gets even more fun when I make some progress). The fact that you can add and remove blocks while playing makes it remind a little of Solomon's Key for NES.

Why not be inspired by Minecraft and let the player collect the blocks he removes so that he can put them at other places?

I'll play it some more when I get the time

[kevin]

Hi - thanks for trying the game.....the character jump is quite precise so you need to be in the correct place and hold left/right while jumping.....it seems ok here but I need to work on the character collision with blocks anyway as it is too loose and makes him seem to be standing in mid-air sometimes -   I'll look at jumping as well as I'm not happy with the gravity effect either. The key disappears when I do it, but you cannot pick up a second key if you already have one - that is deliberate in the game so perhaps you were trying to get a second key? It may be better if I just show one key at a time I guess? Let me know please if this is not the problem and I will look into it further.
I like the idea of collecting the blocks before being able to add one........

[Mopz]

Ok, probably my bad with the keys Maybe just slowing the jump down a little will make it easier to control?

When I use integers for positions and movement my jumping usually looks like:

Code: [Select]

gravityTimer = (gravityTimer + 1)%4
if gravityTimer = 0 then playerMoveY = min(playerMoveY + 1, 5)
if keydown(VK_UP, true)
   playerMoveY = -5
   gravityTimer = 0
endif

Doesn't make sense as a code snippet, but I do it like that in the platform "tutorial" I uploaded to youtube the other day. However, it may depend a lot on how you do collision handling etc.

[kevin]

Thank you for the code example. I haven't looked at this Platformer for a while but will pick it up again soon and work on the jumping, gravity and collision more. I find my attention span is really short with the projects I work on in my spare time, and I tend to jump from one to another rather than seeing anything through to the finish......

[ScriptBasic]

I find my attention span is really short with the projects I work on in my spare time, and I tend to jump from one to another rather than seeing anything through to the finish......

Like having too many kids running around all wanting your attention. 

[JSM]

any progress on this one? looks great!

[kevin]

Hi...got distracted on a golf game I started to work on, but I will return to this at some time because it was a lot of fun working on it...but at the moment....nothing I'm afraid...I will have some time next week away from work so hopefully I'll get either the golf game or this platformer nearer to completion.

[Mopz]

I'm looking forward on this one too

[kevin]

As I have some time on my hands at the moment I thought I would take the opportunity to look at this again......it has a few problems with collision detection, but I've managed to sort one of them out today, so hopefully will have an update ready soon......and maybe some more rooms (currently eight).

[kevin]

I've now updated this program, and a new zip file is attached. The jumping issue that Mopz identified has been fixed hopefully, but please let me know if anyone still has issues.
I normally hate reading instructions, but the "How to Play" and "Practice level" options are probably worth looking at before trying a full game.

In case you prefer not to use those options, the main points are:
- move using arrow keys
- the game is time limited - collect as many coins as you can before time runs out
- avoid ghosts and arrows
- a key is needed to pass through a door - only one key may be held at any one time - keys cannot be carried out of the room
- move blocks CLOSE to you by left-clicking.....place them in new positions CLOSE to you in the same way.....only ONE block may be held at a time
- you cannot move blocks that are on the edges
- the player will speed up as time runs down

I've concentrated on the game so far, but still could do with working on more rooms

Any suggestions, comments, bugs would be very welcome......

[kevin]

I've uploaded a video to YouTube so any non-members can see it.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myDAOk4K6wc&feature=youtu.be

I used the video recorder recommended by Mopz earlier this year - BB Flashback Express- it's so easy to use.......

[Mopz]

I'll give the new version a go right now The video looked great, my ten year old son (a retro game fan) started jumping up an down while watching it.

[Mopz]

Fun fun

The only "bug" I've found is that you can put a block on your character's position, which makes him stuck, but I kind of like that.

[kevin]

Thanks....I kind of knew about that bug but didn't really think it was too much of an issue as you can just pick the block up again - the restriction to only picking up a block in adjoining areas is also not quite perfect and I think if I can resolve one, then the other will also be solved....I tried to show the bug of putting a block on the character in the video, and fixing it by just picking the block up again... I think I know how to fix both issues by checking for 32 pixel areas on the screen, so I'll look at both and re-post if I resolve the issues......