Boxing Out....

[Pete Holland Jr.]

Actually, since my last post, I've made a lot of progress, or so I think. Here's what my little virtual pet can do so far.

1) Animations are going without a hitch, go me!

2) Changed background color of the screen.

3) Added text to the display.

4) Set up a path and assigned it to the croc so that he is walking up to the zookeeper.

So far, so good.

Now, comes the next part, platforms. Unfortunately, the demos that came with the software kind of leap from adding text to playing with the tiles, so I'm trying to figure this out. Some questions come to mind:

1) The computer Game Editor is on is not connected to the Internet. Is there a way to download the tutorials seperately and put them in a directory or something, or can they only be gotten with a 'net connection?

2) Am I right that the path is mostly for NPC's (non-player characters) like obstacles that don't require a lot of AI? Scripting (to keep characters from dropping lower) and collision detection (for left and right) seem to handle the player character.

3) I'm figuring that I need to create a region for a platform. Do I use the canvas or wire frame?

4) Okay, I create the actor, the animations, and the actions it can take. I use the scripting to move it around (x = x + 1;). The region is not visible when the game runs. Am I correct that I just draw tiles over the region to "decorate" it so the character doesn't look like they are walking on thin air?

5) How do I add the tiles? I've tried going in the tutorials and clicking the options, but nothing seems to work. What am I missing?

[makslane]

Is there a way to download the tutorials seperately and put them in a directory or something, or can they only be gotten with a 'net connection?

Install Game Editor in the machine with internet access, get the tutorials, and copy the Tutorials folder to the other machine.

Am I right that the path is mostly for NPC's (non-player characters) like obstacles that don't require a lot of AI?Scripting (to keep characters from dropping lower) and collision detection (for left and right) seem to handle the player character.

I think is a choice you need to make. Do what is good for your game.

I'm figuring that I need to create a region for a platform. Do I use the canvas or wire frame?

Use canvas only if you will draw in the actor.

Am I correct that I just draw tiles over the region to "decorate" it so the character doesn't look like they are walking on thin air?

You can use the platform actor (your tiles) to handle the collisions. You don't need a region actor. Again, it's your choice.

How do I add the tiles?

Add the animation with the tile blocks (the frames will be your tiles), like this (60 tiles):



Go to the Tile button in the 'Actor Control', select Single tile and select the animation:



And click in the 'Draw Tile' button.

Now, to make the things easier, use the Left Shift key to activate the actor snap, so, you will can put the tiles side by side without alignment problems.