What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

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Holger
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Holger »

I will fix that problem, using your Reflektor level set as a reference to check that it works correctly again. :)
This bug should be fixed now.
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[RF] Music info + new element, perhaps.

Post by Eizzoux »

Holger wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 11:20 pm This bug should be fixed now.
Good, the update fixes it, although I still don't get why was that happening specifically in the demo I released and not in the main build I base these demos off. But since it's fixed now anyways, then there's no point of minding that anyways.

Also, just a little, I guess, teaser of an element I'll potentially use in RF. Well, not a teaser, per say, just a sprite.
kasdvgjasvkjdas.png
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It might look a bit similar to the sprites I've shown in MM envelopes idea topic a while ago, but that's not it.
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[RF] Global anims on android

Post by Eizzoux »

Recently I decided to check how Reflektor works on Android (and since it's much easier to import custom levels now), but I've stumbled upon one problem.
After I start the game and leave to the main menu, some of global anims are just fading out along with the touch... well, touch control buttons, I guess. And since the doors on the right I have in there is actually a global anim, then it just fades out, leaving black space in the door area. Interestingly, not all of the anims are disappearing. From what I can see, it's only the '.class: window' ones which are fading out. The only three ways to return them is rather play the game again, so they will fade in again, but, of course, fade out after leaving, restarting the game or re-entering the levelset.
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Holger »

Very strange! I just tested your latest public beta of "Reflektor" with the latest version of R'n'D (4.3.5.2) on a more or less recent Android phone (Galaxy S22, with Android 13), and as far as I can tell, it works just as it should (that is, no global animations fading out; door area looking fine after leaving the game).

I have tried with both "virtial buttons" and with "follow finger", having used both the "stop" overlay button in the top left corner of the screen, and your custom "leave" button.

Any chance to test this on a second Android phone, to rule our specific problems on a single device?

At home, I will also try this on some older phone and/or some older Android tablet...
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

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Update: Just tried the same on an older Android tablet (Android 12, latest versions of R'n'D and Reflektor), with exactly the same results (that is, everything seems to be running just fine and as expected).

However, I noticed that when leaving the game via the "leave" button (or the overlay "stop" button, or pressing the "escape" key), the game panel flashes to a black, empty rectangle for a very short time, before the door closes again, sliding over the usual game panel graphics, as displayed during the game. But I think that's not what you encountered on your Android device...
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Eizzoux »

I can't exactly capture the phone for now, and screenshots won't help much, but what I encounter is global anims slowly fading out. And, by the way, it's not just after playing, but also after almost all of the requests (aside from the player request one). Pretty much after sequence that involves some of the touch buttons to appear on the screen. The phone I have is Xiaomi Redmi Note 7.
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[RF] Element info update

Post by Eizzoux »

Alright, just as the most recent update came out, I immediately started changing the elements info screen here. I think that works out pretty well. Again, doing some tricks, but that's what I usually like to do - sorta exploiting some of the capabilities in some unintentional ways to make it a bit more unique.
ksbdgkfbsdfk.png
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Holger »

That really look s great! :D

Did I remember correctly that you created yellow and green text by using upper and lower case characters?

Very impressive -- just the light blue text at the bottom is a little bit too prominent now, I think. :)
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[RF] Slopes... or Fixed mirrors?

Post by Eizzoux »

Holger wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 11:02 am Did I remember correctly that you created yellow and green text by using upper and lower case characters?
Nah, not really, I just used most of other characters from exclam to underscore for the yellow font really.
Holger wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 11:02 am ... just the light blue text at the bottom is a little bit too prominent now, I think. :)
Yeah, I changed it to the smaller font, maybe that will make it look a bit better.

aksgdbkaus.png
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Also, while designing more levels, I feel more and more to consider replacing slopes with just fixed mirrors, because there were quite a few cases where I'd need the down-left or down-right facing slope, but can't really do them because I only have up left and up right ones which just replace 'mm_mirror_fixed_2' and 'mm_mirror_fixed_4', so I can't really make more of such slopes for use.

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Maybe at one moment I'll just consider replacing slopes with fixed mirrors despite them looking pretty aesthetically more fitting in some spots. (esp. remembering the first level)

kausdbhkhasb.png
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Holger »

Did I remember correctly that you created yellow and green text by using upper and lower case characters?
Nah, not really, I just used most of other characters from exclam to underscore for the yellow font really.
Just using upper and lower case letters of an extended font definition would not only be easier to edit, but would keep help text files to be readable. Let me know if you should need any help with this. :)
Yeah, I changed it to the smaller font, maybe that will make it look a bit better.
Yes, indeed, I think it looks much better (and more consistent) now! *thumbs up*
Also, while designing more levels, I feel more and more to consider replacing slopes with just fixed mirrors, because there were quite a few cases where I'd need the down-left or down-right facing slope, but can't really do them because I only have up left and up right ones which just replace 'mm_mirror_fixed_2' and 'mm_mirror_fixed_4', so I can't really make more of such slopes for use. [...] Maybe at one moment I'll just consider replacing slopes with fixed mirrors despite them looking pretty aesthetically more fitting in some spots. (esp. remembering the first level)
Yes, I see. And I have a solution for you! :)

I have just added 16 "DF style" fixed mirror variations of the normal, rotatable "DF style" mirrors -- just like they already exist for the "MM style" rotatable and fixed mirrors. So you can now just take the two "DF style" fixed mirrors with the same angle as those you already used from the "MM style" fixed mirrors, and just give them the opposite graphical slope style you still need -- the behaviour is the same, but the look will be the one you were missing! :-)
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Eizzoux »

Holger wrote: Just using upper and lower case letters of an extended font definition would not only be easier to edit, but would keep help text files to be readable. Let me know if you should need any help with this. :)
Oh neat, so it is a possibility in current versions? I mean, like, vanilla-style? If so, then how do I do that and what is, perhaps, the layout of the characters if it includes upper and lower case characters as part of one font grid? Yeah, I might want to learn that for the later works.
Holger wrote: I have just added 16 "DF style" fixed mirror variations of the normal, rotatable "DF style" mirrors -- just like they already exist for the "MM style" rotatable and fixed mirrors. So you can now just take the two "DF style" fixed mirrors with the same angle as those you already used from the "MM style" fixed mirrors, and just give them the opposite graphical slope style you still need -- the behaviour is the same, but the look will be the one you were missing! :-)
Cool as well. That will definitely be handy.
Also just curious if it's possible to execute actual slopes in MM? I mean, I can kinda imagine the half of it behaves like, of course, a solid object. On other side, we have 45 degree mirror behavior, but with a slightly higher range, which, I now think about it, has at least five points where the beam can go into. The middle of the element, which is where beam usually goes, then corners, which might actually interact with steel walls as well, sorta like when you point at a corner built out of three DF steel walls and point the beam right at it, and then last two only really achievable with the 24.5 degree beams, which is the center of sub-tile block (a quarter of an element, in other words). Yeah, this sounds quite complicated... But I ain't asking to do it, but just asking if it is, like, possible with MM engine.
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Holger »

Oh neat, so it is a possibility in current versions? I mean, like, vanilla-style?
Yes, this is indeed a feature that already exists for many years -- I added it to support intro messages for the EMC collection!
If so, then how do I do that and what is, perhaps, the layout of the characters if it includes upper and lower case characters as part of one font grid?
Just have a look at the graphics set of any Emerald Mine Club level set that shows an introductory text message (which usually always contained upper and lower case text, using the standard Amiga font). You can find out both how such a font is defined and used in "graphicsinfo.conf", and how the font grid looks like (which you can also customize in "graphicsinfo.conf" to fit your needs, for example, to prevent changing an existing font map image file).

Please let me know if this information is enough to get you started, or if you would like to have a small, simple example level set. :-)
Also just curious if it's possible to execute actual slopes in MM? I mean, I can kinda imagine the half of it behaves like, of course, a solid object. On other side, we have 45 degree mirror behavior, but with a slightly higher range, which, I now think about it, has at least five points where the beam can go into.
I'm afraid that it is only an ordinary, fixed mirror (that works from both sides, as usual), but which would only be graphically modified to look like a solid block that was cut diagonally into half. No special mechanics here. :-)
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

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Holger wrote: Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:35 pm I'm afraid that it is only an ordinary, fixed mirror (that works from both sides, as usual), but which would only be graphically modified to look like a solid block that was cut diagonally into half. No special mechanics here. :-)
Well, I didn't mean replacing the original mirrors, of course, I just meant if there is a possibility that it could be actually created as another game element?
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Holger »

Ah, do you mean that I could create four new "slope style mirror" game elements with the properties that you have described? That is, being reflective on the one side, being a solid block on the two other sides?
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Re: What if Deflektor had some elements from Mindbender

Post by Eizzoux »

Pretty much that, yeah. Just a possibility of that, in theory?
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