Sunday, May 18, 2014

Flockers Meat Maker (A Pendulum)

Today I will attempt a timing puzzle using a pendulum.

I created a simple map here to start playing around with anchors and whatnot. My plan is to have a slight step in the middle that will require the players to work at finding the right moment for releasing the sheep across. In my first few plays I was able to save 15 sheep so I would think this level could be done perfectly given enough time. However a cool level is not my goal here. The goal is to help you better understand how the mechanics of the level builder work in Flockers.
I created this at the very bottom of the screen to allow more time as the pendulum swings.

Anchors
Next I placed an anchor at the very top middle of the screen. I used the X coordinate from the middle landscape piece to make sure both are in line vertically. You should name the anchor as well if you plan on using several on the same level.

Anchors are what keep your “physics objects” from simply falling off the screen, or onto scenery objects, when the level starts.

Physics Objects
I decided I wanted a saw blade as my pivot point for the pendulum. I placed a saw blade and then copied the position coordinates from the anchor to put them exactly on top of each other.

I also renamed the object to “SawBlade.” Since this object is simply cosmetic I left it at that. However if the level is started at this point the saw blade falls to the ground. It still needs to be tied to the anchor. You do this with a Weld Joint.

Weld Joints
Weld joints do not have any icon on the graphics screen. Instead you enter the name of two objects that should be “welded” together.

Since you will end up with many weld joints on larger levels its good practice to name them as well. I named mine “SawPullyWeld” And now I see that I have too many L’s in the name. Sad smile

Now for the pendulum object. I played with a number of objects and finally settled on one of the cogs. I was going to have it roll along the middle piece decided that may be too advanced for my second tutorial. Lets keep it simple. I guessed about where it should go…

To create the link between the saw blade and this cog I need a Rope Joint.

Rope Joints

These simply show as this icon until the next time you press either Test Mode or Edit Mode. Pressing Edit Mode while currently in edit mode simply refreshes all of the objects in the graphics window.

Then using the rope joints properties specify what two objects should be “tied” together. Increasing the number in the Initial Length field will put some extra slack in the joint. Gravity will remove that, if possible, once the level starts. In this case I want no extra chain because I’m trying for a smooth pendulum swinging motion.

Then you test it. It took four tries for me before I finally had the cog positioned where I swung down without hitting the floor or missing the sheep entirely.

I added a few staring abilities, then played the level a number of times. I did come back and adjust some of the landscape pieces to make the level a bit easier. Once I finished with 15 across and with resquing the golden sheep I wrote down the scores and set the Star Scores.

Good luck. This was a fun level to build and fun to play. I have a number of others planned. I’m not sure how much I will document on them here… I’m not sure anyone is really reading this. I may just build some levels and post them.

By the way, this level will be posted as SWILE’s Tutorial 02.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Flockers Meat Maker (Level Editor)

I am having some serious issues with figuring out how to use this level editor and figured I should share what I learn. This is all done with the pre-release copy and I have no intention of ever updating this.

After saving a new map name, it took me the longest time to figure out why the level screen still had the logo screen on. You need to press Edit Mode to see your new blank level.

This seems to be the default starting screen for a new level. It has the entrance, exit, and a golden sheep. Simply drag them into position.

The mouse wheel zooms, pan by using WASD or moving the mouse close to the edge of the graphics screen. Ctrl and clicking on objects multi selects them. And the Spacebar seems to switch to a gray scale mode. MAJOR TIP: Use Alt+Tab to switch out of the graphics window. Otherwise you scroll all the way to the side each time and then have to scroll back.

The Spawn Point (Entrance)

The spawn point can be moved around the level and it comes with a number of options. Lets explore those options.

NameId: Since multiple spawn points can exist in a single level, it may make sense to name them for easier reference later.
Position: This updates as the object is moved around. The exact coordinates could be manually entered as well.
Movable: Changing this to True will allow the object to fall when the level starts.
Rotation: Changes the starting rotation.
Max: Total number of sheep to spawn. (1-50)
Time Initial: This is the how many seconds the spawn will wait after level start, or when triggered, before sheep start spawning.
Time Repeat: Time between sheep spawning
At Once: Number of sheep to spawn with each repeat time. There seems to be no limit but anything more than 50 doesn’t make sense.
Spawn Force: Controls the speed of the incoming sheep. It also does strange things to the angle the sheep enter if more than 1 are entering At Once. I seen little difference in speed between 75 and 999999999. Both should have killed the sheep when they landed but it doesn’t seem to hurt them landing so fast.

The Exit Point

The Exit Point has only a few options. From what I just explained above I doubt I need to go into detail on these few.

The Golden Fleece

Scenery Objects

With this being pre-release, I would think more objects are coming. There are currently only 45 scenery objects to choose from.

All objects seem to only have two options, position and name. There is a third unchanged property called Resource Path.

Clicking an object adds it to the browser on the left as well as to the graphic window. I have seen some issues where I couldn’t see the object until I switched to Test Mode and then exited and went back to Edit Mode.??? Placement is a little flaky as well. The objects seem to want to place over top of the currently selected object. If nothing is selected, the new objects seem to randomly choose a location. Sometimes the new objects seem to hide behind other objects and I couldn’t find them. I found it works best if I select an object from the browser that is close to the one I want to place the new object. After I started doing that, I spent far less time looking for my new parts.

Also clicking on an object in the browser, focuses the graphic window on that object.

The only way I have found to delete objects, is to right click on them in the browser and choose Delete from the menu. Seems it would make more sense to window select what you don’t want in the graphics window and simply press Delete.

My final map ready to test…

The Setup

We are not quite ready to start. First we need to set the Starting and Win conditions. On the Setup tab there are only a few options.

Theme: Currently there are only two options here. Factory and Factory Exterior. These seem to be nothing more than a background slide and some lighting changes. There may be sound effect changes as well.

Win Condition: Sets the games win/lose criteria. Number of Sheep to Save (0-50) and Time Allowed (0-999999999)

Star Scores: Sets the score needed to earn 1,2, or 3 starts upon completion. (0-999999999) I haven’t a clue what the multiplier is for calculating score. My guess is you need to run through a few times and see what scores you get and then set these scores accordingly.

Starting Abilities: Since we haven’t got into setting creates and whatnot I figure we give 10 of everything for this first level.

Starting Camera: Sets starting screen position. Zoom has two toggles. (Far-Close)