My first Pyrogine game - "The Probe"

[paul_nicholls]

I have now started on an editor for "The Probe" as it is getting waaaayyy too hard to make levels using ASCII characters in a stringlist!! haha



It will also help me test the game more easily too

cheers,
Paul

[Pyrogine]

Good stuff man.

[code_glitch]

looks good. i must say that is one different idea for a game, but thats why i think it might just catch on and could become popular...

just one question I have which i dont think is worth starting a new thread for:
what did you use to make the 'level / 'map' editor? is it lazarus? if so, could you please suggest a good tutorial?

cheers,
code_glitch

[paul_nicholls]

looks good. i must say that is one different idea for a game, but thats why i think it might just catch on and could become popular...

just one question I have which i dont think is worth starting a new thread for:
what did you use to make the 'level / 'map' editor? is it lazarus? if so, could you please suggest a good tutorial?

cheers,
code_glitch

Thanks for your interest code_glitch

I am using Delphi 6 at the moment to make the editor. I could have used Lazarus, but I know the Delphi IDE better to be honest...

I'm afraid I don't have any tutorials for you that I can suggest either

cheers,
Paul

[code_glitch]

thats ok, i dont really ever expect anyone to help me, but i just like to support the efforts of any pascal programmer...

apart from that, im not too good with tutorials, but i will keep on digging.

thanks for the reply,
code_glitch

[farcodev]

cool work and idea !

[paul_nicholls]

Thanks

cheers,
Paul

[paul_nicholls]

Well, I have now gotten my game editor up and running at a minimum...you can now open/save/edit levels for "The Probe", including single tiles, or pre-defined "tile brushes" I define in the program so you can place a block of multiple tiles all at once. This is great for graphics that are made up of more than one tile

The collision in the game doesn't work yet, and there are some issues with the draw order of tiles ATM (needs fixing), but you can use the editor to make levels, save them as "TheProbe.lvl" into the same folder as the game, and run the game. It will then load the level so you can see it and move around it (ignoring no collision stuff yet).

If you want to play with the editor and see the graphics in the game at this stage, here is the link (2.11Mb 7-zip file):

http://fpc4gp2x.eonclash.com/downloads/The_Probe.7z

Editor Instruction:

To totally clear a level just hit the "resize level" button.
To change the level size, select with width and height, and then resize it.

Left click (or drag) will draw the currently selected tile or brush into the level.
Right click (or drag) will fill the level with spaces.

Some tiles are rotatable, like the TLS emitter/deflector/receiver, enemies, and travellator so when those tiles are selected, you can press the left/right key to rotate anti-clockwise/clockwise respectively prior to placing the tile.

To select a tile, just click on it, or press the hot-key indicated next to the graphic.
To select a brush, just click on it.

To save a level (needs one (1) probe in it), select the menu option, or hit CTRL+s.
To open a level, use the menu or hit CTRL+o.

Let me know what you think

cheers,
Paul

[Traveler]

Hey Paul

It's looks & works pretty good already! I tried the game for a minute, but it didn't appear to do much yet. I assume it's only to test the editor and it's levels.

About the editor, I've made a couple myself and something that I've learned along the way is that you can get carried away with it real fast. It's a bit of an open door, but you should carefully consider the purpose of each new feature you're adding to it. Is it just icing on the cake or a necessity? Another thing is, are you building this editor for yourself to make your live easier or for other people so they can create levels, too?

With Village Defense, an older, now abandoned project of mine, I spent many evenings creating fancy interfaces for an ingame editor. At one point the editor even had become more advanced than the game itself. Its not a total loss, but looking back VD could have been more if I hadn't been working on the editor so often. Anyway, the point I want to make is, give your game priority over everything. I understand the need for an editor, but be sure it stays Paint rather than Photoshop. If you can work with it, that is really all that matters. If at the end your game becomes popular you can still extend on it.

[paul_nicholls]

Hey Paul

It's looks & works pretty good already! I tried the game for a minute, but it didn't appear to do much yet. I assume it's only to test the editor and it's levels.

Yeah, it is mainly to test the editor ATM, but I have now fixed my tile layer drawing issues AND my laser system beam bouncing around using deflectors too in the game itself

I really needed a way of creating levels to more quickly test ideas and functionality in the game, and the editor does this nicely right now already

The only thing I need to add is ]About the editor, I've made a couple myself and something that I've learned along the way is that you can get carried away with it real fast. It's a bit of an open door, but you should carefully consider the purpose of each new feature you're adding to it. Is it just icing on the cake or a necessity? Another thing is, are you building this editor for yourself to make your live easier or for other people so they can create levels, too?[/quote]

Well, it was initially for me only as it really sucked (and nigh-impossible) to create levels using ASCII characters, but I decided in the end that it would be very handy, and probably create a 'community' for 'The Probe' if users can create and submit levels too

With Village Defense, an older, now abandoned project of mine, I spent many evenings creating fancy interfaces for an ingame editor. At one point the editor even had become more advanced than the game itself. Its not a total loss, but looking back VD could have been more if I hadn't been working on the editor so often. Anyway, the point I want to make is, give your game priority over everything. I understand the need for an editor, but be sure it stays Paint rather than Photoshop. If you can work with it, that is really all that matters. If at the end your game becomes popular you can still extend on it.

How true! Feature creep in an editor can really suck time from the main game, and as you say, it is easy to get carried away

Thanks so much for your feedback, and good luck with your unknown project chief

cheers,
Paul