Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Oct 2, 2012 5:20:10 GMT -8
- Zu, if everything will go just right, you will be able to add custom notes to your levels in ... vanilla Gruntz Along with a custom tile sets. Just give me some time. - Silver Swich timers - any visible timer placed on the map will look oddly. I'd prefer other solution: making a switch depress itself after a timer sequence is done. That way we'll be at least notified when the sequence ends. Also, the less new and ... weird ideas added to the game, the better. Sweet news about the ANI files and PID files Do you have any handy way of extracting the hotspot data from the PID files? This is wonderful! I'd really like to get the data into configuration files in JSON format, if you know how to output that. I guess what I'd need is for each ANI file, an equivalent json file that lists the properties of each frame / sounds in a subsection. And then for each folder of PID files, a json file that lists the offsets of each frame Early days though, I think there's a lot of optimization that can be done i.e. in most cases a single ANI file can be associated with a set of images. Can you tell me: - whether you can work out how export into JSON format, else tell me how you're reading the ANI and PID files - whether you think it would be practical to have a configuration file for each ANI file, associating sound timing with pictures, their offsets and their animation delay, so that I could eventually bake this information into a single config file for each tool / toy? I'm looking at a timeline of weeks / a number of months for getting it all working, so really no pressure About exporting: I don't have to know what JSON format is ( not like if it was a big deal, it's simple enough ). Just write a simple template of how a JSON file should look like, where should I put keys, values etc. As far as I can see: as of now you store all of the frames of one animation as a single PNG file ( in vanilla Gruntz each frame was a single file ). It's a good way to keep every frame synchronized with each other - make every frame the same size and adjust them within a single animation. Doing it manually will be tiresome tough. An automated way of doing this would come in handy. HOWEVER, there's a nasty side effect - each animation will have the frames of a different size. In this case it's impossible for a game to know how exactly should it align sprites of an animation along a tiled map. Alternatively grab the PNG frames as they were just exported from PID files and ... merge them together so that all of the frames form a row. Don't resize any of the frames. That way the size of a single frame in pixels will vary, but we could add this information in our animation file itself along with the hotspot data. It's a win-win. If it doesn't convince you, here's another alternative: use all of the frames as single files ( just like original Gruntz does ). They could be packed with WinZIP for instance - it'll be more efficent then. I remember Java having methods making it fairly easy to get such files from ZIP packages. Or not. Whatever. What keys should we include anyway? Frame ID, timing, sounds, frames' hotspots, any paths maybe ( like where sounds should be stored, frames etc. ) ... anything else? Also, what animations should I include? That way I can just prepare a sheet of JSON data which you could use right off the bat. Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Oct 2, 2012 4:46:27 GMT -8
First of all, the fact the Gruntz are green in my video doesn't mean a thing - remember it's just an image. The Gruntz could be red or white as well. So don't mention it's a 'Dumb Chaser' because it's just not true.
Hugh - neither Wand Gruntz nor Warpstone Gruntz can attack. These animations are present in the game files along with the proper sounds and images ( as you can see in my video ), however they were scrapped from the source code and were not implemented in the final release after all.
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 30, 2012 11:42:08 GMT -8
It's not like I'm very strict at reproducing the Quest Levels. In my opinion, they're too ... loose. They also use the tiles that are used against their real purpose ( especially in Gruntz In Space, where you must have walked through an open space in order to reach a secret ). I don't really approve of that. I really, really encourage everybody to make Custom Levels. Any of them! At this point I don't care they're not classic - as of today it seems like only Zu makes Custom Levels. That's ... quite pessimistic if you ask me. PS. lol, so the bricks in the middle of the map actually were supposed to give me hints? Good to know Where there any other hints as well excluding obvious Warpstone images that I've missed?
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 30, 2012 9:46:02 GMT -8
Not that I'm grumpy, but I'm really bothered no-one makes classic puzzles anymore. You know, like with creative and reasonable terrain ( no quirks like a hill ending abruptly or ground tile patterns forced to look like letters, that resemble something when viewed on mini-map ... who needs that? ), only two secrets ( one Secret Switch, one Secret Teleporter, one WARP letter and none of them are a part of puzzles required to finish a level ), no glitch exploting ( like recovering an item from an opened-wide hole by first filling it and then digging it afterwards, no Gruntz crossing between two raised pyramids diagonally and so on ), no areas left unoccupied by any structures! And many others! Is it only me, who feels like designers feel bored with Gruntz and try to find new ideas that don't necessarily suit the game itself?
I always was trying to reach these ... "ideals", with only few exceptions. But what's the point of designing such levels if you can't really enjoy playing them? You know all of the secrets, all of the solutions ... Moreover, when nobody actually sees how much effort you put into the levels you design, how much details you've deliberately included in your work, you start to lose the motivation to carry on, even though you found it entertaining to some extent.
Yes, I've played the level. But do I really have to say, after all what I've just written, that I didn't really enjoy it?
I hope I didn't offend anyone here with this elaborate post. But come on, is it only me who thinks it's wrong, or maybe I'm just a zealous conservative?
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 29, 2012 14:04:51 GMT -8
Here's a little test of my *.ANI viewer. The animations I was previewing ... well, you'll never see them in the game, that's for sure Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 28, 2012 8:13:45 GMT -8
Hugh, I feel like it's going a little off the topic here Maybe we should carry on with our discussion in one of the old threads about Gruntz 2? I'll answer your questions there Just let me know which thread you will pick 'cause there was a few of them.
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 28, 2012 6:50:44 GMT -8
Decoding Wap files? It's not that easy, really. I've been working with two people already who wanted to decrypt WWD files, one of which was willing to publish a library designated just for that. Might be helpful in your case. Here are stock levels I've just packed: dl.dropbox.com/u/18806920/Levels.rarAnd back to ANI files: I've successfully decoded all of the essential data ( there are few fields that are yet to be decoded but it's not a priority right now ). I've even run a little test: I've edited the raw REZ file and replaced the sounds of one animation and changed its timing. The results? When a Grunt breakes his Moster Wheel, instead of blinking sound the game uses the sound of falling into a hole ( whoosh sound! ) and one of his blinks lasts for 15 seconds It looks ridiculously ... awesome! However, there's still a problem: all of the animation files are being ... shared. For instance there's only one animation file designated for rising a pyramid - it's just a list of frames' IDs which are stored in a folder. The game chooses what folder should be the source for animation frames. The point is in order to play an animation in my viewer, you'd have to point a finger at a correct folder which contains your PID frames ( which normally would be the job of the game, right? ). That makes the tool less user-friendly, but what can I do? If you want me to extract some data out of these animations for use in Gruntz 2, just tell me what form do you want them in. It'll be a matter of seconds for my test program to spit out the data in a form you want. ==EDIT: Right, about "aligning" the frames. Each frame has its "hotspot" which is the anchor point for the game to render them properly. It's a part of data stored in every PID file iirc. I'll look into that. ( Another EDIT ): Yup, it's in a header of every PID file. Heh, I completely forgot about that. Well, I'd recall it fast enough when I rendered my first animation Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 28, 2012 6:10:05 GMT -8
If you want the new images to remain in the editor, just add a new image set in World Options ( with a new prefix ). Unfortunately it's not going to be visible in the game itself. I don't really know why though.
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 26, 2012 10:56:35 GMT -8
If we were forced to actually change the name, I wouldn't choose "Monkz". I'd prefer something more ... gruntzy. For instance, anything with "goo" in it would be better Hugh, when it comes to images and animations: I've decoded tonight the most important data from ANI files, which includes: reading a sequence of particular frames, their timing and the timing of the sound effects played in game. Now I need to check if this pattern is uniform in all ANI files and compare the differences. After that ... well, I suppose writing a little test app rendering all of these animations shouldn't do any harm Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Sept 25, 2012 5:11:40 GMT -8
I am a coder, though I'm not familiar with Java. I use C++ for all my projects. Sure, I think I could just take a look at the source code and try to do something with it, but we all know you will do everything better anyway If emails sent to Monolith are left with no response, why can't someone just pay a visit to the Monolith headquarters and have a look around? Or get a telephone number which could help us reach someone working there. By the way Hugh, what happened to your former account and website?
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Jul 16, 2012 22:17:01 GMT -8
I check here everyday and even now I'm late with wishes. Anyhow, happy birthday BattlezM! I wish though you were making a new CL or two, there's nothing comparable to your levels, that's for sure! Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Jul 7, 2012 5:27:06 GMT -8
Deleting the forums? No way, I'd never regret that. Do you mean you'd never accept that? Judging by the rest of your post, you must've mistaken the wordz to use there. Just great. So it turns out I'm a cold-blooded egoist who doesn't give a damn about the site. Could it get even worse? Thanks Gui for pointing that out, though I'll never forgive myself for such a mistake in these circumstances. I'm sorry GooRoo ...
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Jul 3, 2012 1:10:45 GMT -8
I drop by here every day to see what is cooking. Deleting the forums? No way, I'd never regret forgive that. Just like everyone here though I'm not happy with little interest the forum's got recently. Changing the domain wouldn't change it much imho.
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Apr 10, 2012 10:59:00 GMT -8
Don't take this seriously, it's just some random thoughts scattered around. Just 4 fun. Some kind of an easter egg I suppose. Those lines that you mentioned: "Gruntzketball" - it's a line a Grunt gives when picking up Springz. To be more precise: "These are illegal in Gruntzketball!" "Nobody is gonna be able to find that!"- I'm pretty sure they meant the Credits prank. "ActuallyRemoveGrunt()" - a function header from C++. The "code" at the end is simply a game data dump used to debug stuff. These lines refer to the Gruntz currently on a map - there are listed their current health and stamina levels, the tools and toys they're carrying, if they're selected or not, and so on. The next lines refer to the state they are in and which affect their behavior. The lines I particularly adore though are: "Win a double date with Kevin Lambert and Chris Hewett!" ( wish I could haha ) nakedchix.cpp - I wonder what this module was responsible for Beware of the bored programmers! The random number generator is hilarious as well! Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Mar 15, 2012 11:59:15 GMT -8
Ahh, I getting nostalgic again ... I got my copy of Gruntz from a Polish gaming magazine. There was an issue which was dedicated to Gruntz entirely in which all of the tips and tricks were explained in great detail. Something about 20 pages total and I keep it to this very day It's got 13 years already ( 1999 issue ) and counting. Rescued twice from inevitable ( seemingly ) devastation and rather in a bad condition overall but still - I'm taking care of it like if it was my own child. Your PDF file reminded me of that ( hah, it's even the same month my magazine was issued - 4/99 ). Thank you for bringing me back all of those good memories Cheers!
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Mar 7, 2012 10:00:53 GMT -8
Duh. Fretz, you lucky ... right. The second run I made today ended up with my BomberGrunt getting blown up even one gray pyramid earlier that the day before! That just ain't fair. The spot my Grunt was starting the run from each time was a bridge, sticking out of a land. When I'd ordered my Grunt to start his kamikaze run from the GruntzCreationPoint, he ... succeeded on his first try, blowing up enemy SwordGruntz at the end of the passage. I just don't get it After that, getting Perfect score was not a problem. Alex, I know Zu has already given you enough of complaints about this CL ( all of which were unreasonable imho, but that doesn't really matter right now ), but you could give a little more spare time in this SilverPyramidz sequence, so that the BomberGrunt would always succeed at his run. Other than this, great CL! Keep it up Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Mar 7, 2012 9:45:27 GMT -8
Got Perfect in 25:00, but could be less. I really enjoyed myself with this one, that's for sure! The most annoying part however was figuring out what the secret switch does. I've spent up to 7 minutes watching the whole map for anything to change. Until I looked behind me. Geez, I'm such a moron at the times Cheers Edit: Huh, which parts were in fact meant to be frustrating?
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Mar 5, 2012 5:42:14 GMT -8
I'm having exactly same problem as fretz does. No matter what I do, the BombGrunt gets blown up on the last pyramid. Coincidence? And don't say it's a timing - it doesn't matter when I start the kamikaze run - when he hits the switch the amount of time needed for him to pass is always the same. Isn't that right?
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Nov 7, 2011 8:25:52 GMT -8
I had taken few attempts at learning Java once but I got discouraged pretty fast. I've spent too much time working with C++ to try something new. Perhaps I'm just lazy, since there's a lot of similarities between both languages.
@gooroo: I recommend Eclipse as well. IIRC it is free and has a lot of helpful features ( like aforementioned code suggesting system and so on ). The only thing you're gonna need is Java Development Kit (JDK) which consists of application(s) capable of compiling the *.java files straight into the *.class files which are ready to be executed ( and therefore are the essential part of Java programming ). That's what you would find any good tutorial anyways. If JDK is not included with Eclipse, which is very likely, you'll have to download the latest version from the Java website. Cheers
|
|
Tomalla
Designer
General Modder
Posts: 525
|
Post by Tomalla on Oct 7, 2011 7:58:42 GMT -8
I can's see to get to the Red HS beside the blue switch . When i go to the Blue switch the red warp are on this Red switch I think i come back there but can't find the RW to get there. I need down a red tile to get to the Black switch for to get the warp stone I have get the shovel ? There are two Secret Teleporters that lead to the area with Blue and Red Toggle Switches. One of them is hidden in the area with Bricks. Another one is on the plateau in the part of the area with an enemy Scroller Grunt to the north-west.
|
|