Rocks'n'Diamonds

So I was playing a stage from Snake Bite the other day (one of the more difficult ones) and just when I was about to beat the level, an enemy killed me. And I thought, "Aw man, now I got to start the whole thing all over again?" Which got me thinking: why not add a Respawn Anchor or a Checkpoint block into R'n'D?

How it would function:
Just switch the Checkpoint block to activate it. Once activated, when you die, instead of going all the way back to the beginning, you spawn on the Checkpoint block, and you can walk off of it to resume your doings. When you switch the Checkpoint block, all of your progress in a level will be saved, like which items/gems you collected, which enemies you killed, which walls you blew up. Everything's position when you switch the Checkpoint block will remain the same when you respawn in it. Of course, this can be used to make some pretty bad and unfair traps, so I recommend putting this block in a level in which it will actually work. If there are multiple checkpoint blocks in a level, the one you most recently activated will be the one you respawn too. You can keep toggling between two Checkpoint blocks if you want... for some reason. In multiplayer, the first player will spawn first, then the second player, then the third player, then the fourth player. If the checkpoint block is destroyed after you activate it, it will not respawn you there anymore. Find a different one.

If you select a different stage after you activated the Checkpoint block in the stage you were originally playing, then as soon as you start that different stage, the Checkpoint block in the original stage will not be functional anymore. Be mindful.

I understand that even with my elaborate concepts, there are still odds and ends about this block that need to be worked around. However, if Holger even considers adding this block into the game, then I'm sure he will figure something out.

SlappyHappy2000

The tape system makes using an element for this rather superfluous. If you want to pick up your progress from a certain point in a level, the idea is that you can simply replay your automatically-saved tape until you get back to that same point, then press record and resume playing! No need for the level designer to specifically call in these checkpoint elements.

What? I had no idea this was possible. This is incredible news. The number of times I’ve played a level and either pressed one wrong key at the end, or killed a Yam only to discover that I should have dropped the rock on it at the bottom of its path as it created bombs as well as diamonds, which were destroyed when everything fell.

This will buy me back so much life. Thanks!

SlappyHappy: Even though there is indeed the tape and snapshot system (as Anonycat mentioned), I think this nevertheless is a good idea for a new game element! And -- guess what! -- it can indeed be contructed by using a custom element! Try a CE that changes to the player using "[x] [explosion of] [<player element>]"! That should do it, and it should also be possible to build multiple instances where only the last activated one "triggers"!

Jamie: You can also use function keys F1 and F2 for quick-saving and quick-loading the current state (although please keep in mind that there is an old bug in it that may cause broken tapes, even though game play was successful).

And then there's still the "snapshot mode", which let's you even step back and forth within the already executed game actions, but it is deactivated by default and has to be activated in the setup menu. (And as it is based on the same game engine snapshots used by F1/F2, it contains that same bug, unfortunately...)

Holger wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:59 am SlappyHappy: Even though there is indeed the tape and snapshot system (as Anonycat mentioned), I think this nevertheless is a good idea for a new game element! And -- guess what! -- it can indeed be contructed by using a custom element! Try a CE that changes to the player using "[x] [explosion of] [<player element>]"! That should do it, and it should also be possible to build multiple instances where only the last activated one "triggers"!

Tried it, and it does seem to work!... up to a certain point, that is.
It respawns the player after death, but it still registers you as "dead" so you can't move or anything and the game over screen still pops up. Wondering if you can fix this? I attached the level with the Respawn Anchor test to this reply, so you can fix it if you want.

Thanks, Holger! Happy you like my idea!

Indeed... it only works if the CE directly changes to the player, but not when using the "extended change target" like you did (and which should also work perfectly fine, but apparently does not)!

This looks like a bug in R'n'D! I have to check what's going on there...!

Holger wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 11:52 am Indeed... it only works if the CE directly changes to the player, but not when using the "extended change target" like you did (and which should also work perfectly fine, but apparently does not)!

This looks like a bug in R'n'D! I have to check what's going on there...!

Glad you found a bug you can fix.

That's okay though, since I have found the perfect way to make a respawn anchor! Making a proof of concept level now... stay tuned and tell me if you like it, Holger!

Took me quite some time to find the root cause for that broken behaviour (it's really a long time since I had a deeper look into the native R'n'D game engine code), but I think I've found (and fixed) the problem now.

Automated tape tests are still running, but look good so far...

Holger wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:56 pm Took me quite some time to find the root cause for that broken behaviour (it's really a long time since I had a deeper look into the native R'n'D game engine code), but I think I've found (and fixed) the problem now.

Automated tape tests are still running, but look good so far...

I finished the test.
The Respawn Anchor will be showcased in the levels/artwork part of the forum.

Automated tape tests all successful after fixing the "reanimating player using extended change target" bug.

Will be available in the next version of R'n'D.