Level backgrounds

[Tomi]

Level backgrounds are a thing that can't be done very good with CEs but could look very cool. For examples, see some boulderdash clones at http://www.firststarsoftware.com/boulderdash.htm .

[Martijn]

This was a discussion on the old forum I guess. If I'm right, it's on Holger's TODO list...

[Alan]

Yeah we talked about this already. You should check out the old forum...

Level backdrops are kind of a double edged sword for me,

One the one hand they add great depth (if they scroll slower than the main scroller which isn't going to happen in RnD), plus you can really set the theme with them.

But then I'd have to stop antialiasing all my 3D output for graphics (since they wouldn't be rendered on black). Un-AA 3D looks bad and AA graphics displayed over different coloured backdrops also look bad (See Rockford walking over something in BD2K3)

So I'm not bothered about them.

[Tomi]

> Yeah we talked about this already. You should check out the old forum...
Huh? Is it still accessible? How?

> But then I'd have to stop antialiasing all my 3D output for graphics
Gee, you're right, background would look very strange in BD2K3...

But most levelsets that I've tried to create until now always needed some not-yet-implemented feature, and backgrounds are one of them... (oh no, I've already forgot what did I want them for, but still great idea)

[Martijn]

[quote="Tomi"]> Yeah we talked about this already. You should check out the old forum...
Huh? Is it still accessible? How?[quote]
No, unfortunately not. The old forum was suddenly removed by the forum host. That's why this forum is settled on Holger's own server.

But there's still a backup somewhere around (I can remember it was posted somewhere on this forum by bojster, if I'm right).

[Holger]

> But there's still a backup somewhere around (I can remember it was
> posted somewhere on this forum by bojster, if I'm right).

These were only some links to the Google cached pages, I think.

As far as I can see, the old forum is lost forever -- I don't have a copy of it either, unfortunately.

The forum hosters just deleted the whole old forum without any warning. (The forum hoster was "Proboards.com", so be very careful if you use this provider to host your forum... :-( )

[Mark]

If you played Spider Web's SUBTERRA game, the background concept is't that hard. In Spider Web's game, you would use a "background" element to apply a picture in the background. It has mountains, space and some swirls and what not... The point is that, it would be possible for R&D to load an image and use it for a group element. This group element would work in order so that when you play, you could see the picture wherever you placed this special group element. In SUBTERRA, if I remember correctly, it was a watermarked background. So, if you moved, the picture
would always go with you. Its interesting.

[Tomi]

The problem with CE/GE background in R'n'D is that
a) even if it's walkable over, other moving objects have to dig through the background,
b) even if you set empty space graphics or use any other tricks, they have black square around them.

[Alan]

Ah no...I ment the old-old forum It's still up and running!

http://pub58.ezboard.com/brocksanddiamonds

[asiekierka_notlogged]

If Holger create the option in graphicsinfo to set the transparent color the it will be really possible

[Holger]

Sorry, but no, it won't. It's definitely impossible without some game/graphics engine modifications. (And defining the transparent color seems pointless to me.)

Besides that, Alan already said most if not all about this "double edged sword", although it is indeed a nice idea. But you either need alpha channel transparency or real "pixel art" levels to make use of it.

[Martijn]

I pasted a little image in the black main part of Rocksscreen.pcx, but it's shown black in the game. I'd say, this is a way to still have a background in the levels, but it doesn't work.

Could anyone explain me why the background picture is not visible in the game? It still reads that part of the rocksscreen.pcx as black, while there is a picture in it.

[Holger]

The answer is simple: Only the border is used from "RocksScreen.pcx". The middle part is always replaced with a black rectangle (or, to be more precise, is overwritten by the playfield tiles, which are drawn as solid rectangles.)

As mentioned, the game/graphics engine does not support transparency.

[asiekierka_notlogged]

But in Maze Solver on the P1 Solved the Murphy not have black rectangle, it be "transparent on it"
This is the bug or what?

[Holger]

Yes, the current few cases of transparency (like placing dynamite) are bugs, but I won't fix them... =;-)