Ahhhh!! Potato! :DDDDD
You actually added it! I love you forever

I'm partial to nice Red myself! Could not turn down A Potato's request. The game will have a few other hidden references to the calc community and calc-related topics.

Proximity-Triggered Events


Okay, this is one I've really been procrastinating on: proximity-triggered events and proximity-triggered text!

Events are bits of highly-reusable code that are triggered by objects on-screen. The item shop menu from yesterday's screenshot is an example of an event. You touch the shopkeeper, the game looks up which shop menu to load, and then the interface appears. This game has dozens of shopkeepers, but only one Shop() event.

Today I added the first event that can run when you get within a certain distance. It changes from an "[E]" to an "[!]" when triggered (these will be invisible in the released versions).

Since events can do things like force your character to turn around, they are useful for keeping the player out of restricted areas and dungeons until he/she acquires the correct item.

Sums it up nicely.

Is it bad I kinda want to add some stuff to wabbit emu just because breaking this game open for like speedrunning sounds fun >.>

all the awesomeness still tho I second Tifreak

Yep. Actually I had speed running in mind early in the project. (The character so fast with speed maxed out, that screen blur was becoming an issue). "Teleport" might appear in this game as an unlockable.


Item: The Zapper
In-Game Description: Slows down enemies

The Zapper is a defense-class item available at the Armory Shop. It fires a pair of short-range probes that have a TASER-like effect against biological enemies, and an EMP or malware effect on machines. The resulting attack will immobilize the enemy for a rather long time. The Zapper is battery-powered an never runs out of ammo.

That said, it has a few limitations:
* The effects are non-damaging and temporary
* The range is shorter than most of your power/wu xing attacks
* The probes can be destroyed by projectiles
* Very large enemies are immune
* The Zapper is useless without a battery, so it costs you 2 item slots

Overall, it's a handy tool for dealing with enemies that are hard to hit with the melee attack.

Wow. I want a Robot War OS where all you can do is play Robot War all day

I guess there's always the built-in file select.

New Character (no spoilers)

Here's a new character portrait, courtesy of MS paint. I forgot to mention that the text box will reposition itself to avoid covering up Edgar. (I'll need to raise the "2nd" graphic 1 pixel to stop it from covering the text.)


I might not have new screenshots for a while until I update the ObjectPlacement code. Most maps have a list of objects and enemies to load into pre-set positions. Items need a way of flagging the game to indicate when the player has picked them up so that they don't reappear each time your revisit the area. The decoder puzzles have to do something similar if you've decoded them previously so that unlocked doors stay unlocked.

Here's a snippet of some current placement data:
(Format: Object Type, Y position, X position, Level, HP or Text Dialog #)

Code:

Is all of this entered by hand? You haven't built any tools to help automate the process a la Spencer's Zelda map editor or even macros? It seems like this game is too huge to keep track of all that, especially as things change around and need slight updates, like the items not respawning if they've already been picked up.

Yeah, it's mostly manual. To pre-arrange objects, I usually view the map editor, and mouse over the tile to get the X/Y coordinates, unless it's near a corner, which makes it easy to estimate the X/Y from regular gameplay.

The boolean flags for tracking what the player has done so far might benefit from some automation at some point. Right now it's tracked in the main header file and other documents.

Man oh man, it's taking some sweeping changes to implement the anti-respawning feature for items and events.

New format:

Code:


The Object type code indicates what the object is (1 = Mine, 13 = Squid bot, 39 = Item; to name a few).

The flag offset and mask bytes tell the code what past events should or shouldn't have taken place in the past in order for the object to be loaded onto the map. Items, events, and decoder puzzles will store these 2 bytes into their own attributes so they can flag the game automatically when touched (if they have one-time appearances).

Param1 and Param2's uses depend on the object type. Most objects will use them to specify the object's starting HP and Level. Events will use them for the event code #, and event sub-type. (Example: A decoder puzzle will always have event code #5, and the event sub-type indicates which puzzle to load).

I'll be really glad when this is done because it's going to make the rest of the alpha version way easier to program.

Item: Hidden Achievements
In-game Description: x2 Loot Value


The game has several of these hidden items scattered throughout. And there is a special unlockable feature in store for players who can collect them all!

If you have space in your item pack, this item will vastly boost your progressions through the game. Don't worry if your pack is full. The game will give you credit just by touching it. But unlike coins and skill points, you do actually have to touch the acheivement as opposed to shooting it with one of your weapons.

Only 2 acheivements have been placed so far, so let me know if you have any ideas for hiding spots.

[edit] And upon closer review, I have a spelling correction to make.

Hehe "Acheivement"?
Nice job anyway, is the item visible or do you have to find it by luck?

They will be visible by default. Most items will become indistinguishable "shadows" when submerged in water or lava. It's also possible to hide things behind large enemies and neutral objects.

The 2 sweetest words in the English language - De FAULT!, De FAULT!, De FAULT!

Seriously, are you releasing this on GameBoy as well?

I was thinking of trying out smartphone app proging after this. Not sure of where to start though, tutorial-wise.



One feature you might like is the new File Select GUI. 100% finished!

Cloning and deleting saved games

Oh my gosh!
That is amazing

Okay, over the Thanksgiving break I got a ton of the Oceanside programming done in the indoor areas. Non-playable characters (NPCs) are now able to drop special items for you to borrow. Dialogs with NPCs can also update the story progress-tracking flags to let the game remember who you talked to already.

Decoder puzzles improved


The decoder puzzle dynamic was also improved. Now, any time you see a blinking computer going berserk, you know it is scrambled. Decoding the puzzle successfully can unlock a door or have a long list of other effects.

In the animation, the first computer was not scrambled at all and unlocked the door on contact. This is kind of a bug at the moment, since the randomizer occasionally leaves puzzles in their original state. In the future, all puzzles will be guaranteed scrambled under normal conditions.

Of course, the DESCRAMBLER item will still simplify most puzzles.

Two things surprise me : the amount of details in the game, and how fast you add yet more details to it. It's amazing !

where can i get Robot War 1 from? I really like Robot war 2 and can't wait until it's complete but i think it would be interesting to play the first one.

I believe chickendude is still hosting the most recent 83+/84+ builds on http://www.mirari.fr/FRG1. The original TI-82 build is still hosted on ticalc: http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/380/38065.html.

Drop and item, sell an item


You can drop most items by using the DEL key in your item inventory. Edgar will drop it on the playfield where you can recover it if have second thoughts. (If you leave the area or exit, the item will be erased though).

To sell something, drop it while you are in an item shop. Right now, items sell for 1/2 their original value, but future builds might use a formula that adjusts for the item's health.

Non-droppable Plot Devices

Don't worry about accidentally loosing a plot-critical item. The game will prevent it.

Other Item Progress
- NPCs can now check you for certain items and load different dialogs accordingly.
- NPCs can take borrowed items back from you.
- Item anti-respawn now works!