Sunday, August 11, 2013

8-11-13 - Engine Reboot Update: Ability Charms and Lava

Got some more accomplishments over the past few days that I'll be touching up on in this update:

For a start, I have added functionality (and visuals) for lava pools in the game. Its not just a fall in and get hurt/death scheme here. As mentioned before, Spike has the ability to swim around in it and when he's acquired a certain item, he has full control and movement in it like he would with water.

However, a bit different than the water mechanics here.. While without the item for water, Spike can swim unharmed at the water's surface, Spike when without the item for lava will rapidly lose health while swimming at the lava's surface.

Once you've gained the item for lava Spike would be able to hop into the lava harm free and swim in it with full control. Also the lava will turn slightly translucent revealing hidden paths that  Spike can go to as he pleases. I thought this was a nice little touch to the game's engine and it looks pretty cool too! :)

Concerning items themselves:

I've set it up where Spike will need to collect Ability Charms throughout his quest in order to be able to do certain physical acrobatics and stuff. There's just five different charms here:

  - Lizard Charm
This charm will allow you to slide (and kick off of walls) as well as the ability to perform a slide kick while crouching on the ground. The slide kick could be used as an attack on certain enemies, and its also used to temporarily remove special tiles with the lizard icon on it (some of these tiles may be hidden in the main tileset via Metroid style)

  - Pegasi Charm
With this charm, you will be able to perform a double jump. Useful for reaching high and hard to reach places. Or transcend nasty death-pits that are too wide to cross with just a regular jump.

  - Anvil Charm
This charm will enable you to do a ground pound while in the air. While in 'flight' simply tap the down button and Spike will quickly pound the ground. I've considered using this also to temporarily reveal hovering ghost tiles when the  ground is pounded. The ground pound can also temporarily remove special tiles with the anvil icon on it (also potentially hidden like in Metroid)

 - Water Charm
As explained before, this charm will enable Spike to submerge himself into the depths of lakes. He can swim freely, up, down, left and right (with the ability to perform a swimming thrust in either of those directions). But while doing this your air meter will come into view and Spike will start to lose breath. So be sure to return to the surface asap!

 - Lava Charm
As already mentioned in this blog post, this charm will be that special item that Spike needs in order to swim harm free in the lava. the controls are similar to swimming in water and this charm allows Spike to see through the lava (as mentioned, the lava goes transparent while Spike is in it) revealing the secrets beneath the surface. But again, the air meter will also reveal itself and Spike will need to resurface to regain his breath.

currently the functionality of each of these charms are already hard coded into the engine. You cant yet collect them visually but I have a debug system that turns on and off their flags as I need them. I'm curently working on the visuals for these items and hopefully in the next day or so I'll have the system finished where you can collect them in the game instead of having to debug them into existence :P

More to come soon!

3 comments:

  1. Pleasant to see that you continue still! I do not believe that anyone so far has practiced your degree of persistence here, with a faltering and then a resurgence, attributes that surely would be deemed valuable in a game studio (if you want to go there). And through compliance with that virtue, you have attracted me. Weak in terms of what I can really do, but perhaps valuable due to the fact that few others are doing what I'm doing, I am without competition, in mitigating the assumed grimness of not being noticed in a maelstrom of cyberspace.

    But to be on topic, all the charms can be equipped at the same time as to save effort in changing equipment?

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    Replies
    1. The charms are auto-equipped. like the flippers in Zelda.

      once you have the item, you can use the abilities right away without the need of equipping the charms.

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  2. i have some suggestions, i noticed you named the double jump charm ''pegasi charm'' and i though that the lizard charm could be named ''gummy charm'' hehehe :P

    anyways, the charm mechanics and names are very well thought and done, it's quite impressive ^^

    cheers =D

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