Some questions before I start

[ICEzW3RG]

Hi there community =)

Before I start to build my game (RPG style) with MMF2, I'd like to ask you some questions, because I don't know if MMF2 is the correct platform to use.

1. Show value of variable for Debugging/HUD
Can I output variables for debugging resp. show their values in the HUD?
So let's say, I create a variable "hunger" for a character and now I want to know if the value of "hunger" decreases correctly.
Is it possible to print out the value anywhere?
I had a quick look at MMF2 but did not find a way to do this - only predefined things like "Score", "Lives", etc

2. Spawning Objects
I need to spawn different Objects (enemies, powerups, etc) by random (position and time).
For example there should always be 20 enemies in the level. When the player kills one, there should spawn a new one after rand() seconds on position randx(),randy() <<< (Pseudocode!)
Can I do this with MMF2?
If yes: can I access the different statistics of each object? (Health of object 1, mana of object 2, hunger of object 3 and so on)

3. Getting the color value of the pixels behind an object
Maybe I need to know what color the pixels of the underlying picture of my character have - I think you call that pictures backdrops?!

4. Resize Objects on demand
Can I resize objects on demand?

I would be very happy, if you could answer my questions =)
This will save me from trying things, which arent possible due to MMF2's limitations

Thank you very much!

[MuddyMole]

Yes to everything except possibly #3.
Bear in mind though, that RPGs are one of the most complex and difficult genres to make, and if you're new to MMF2 I would *strongly* recommend you start with something simpler (retro arcade games are a much better starting point).

[DaveC]

Yes you should be able to do all of those things fairly easily in MMF2... I'm not sure what you meant by number 3 though. I suspect you wouldn't use a backdrop object for that though..

1) there is a built in debugger, but if you don't wish to use that - use a counter and set the counter to any variable (alterable value) you have assigned to any of your objects.

2) easy enough, you'd need to be more specific with what you want to achieve. As a simple logic example:
Count the number of enemies -if number of enemies is lower than 20 - Create enemy at random x/y position. You could also set the enemy HP/power or anything else on creation or whenever you like.

4) resizing objects at runtime is just a matter of using the scale function.

[Redsquirrel]

Yeah all sounds possible except for 3? Counters are your friend for debugging!

Also i agree RPG is pretty tough to start with but if you are dedicated then you never know.

[ICEzW3RG]

Hey MuddyMole (and all the others who answered, while i was typing ),

first things first, so thank you very much for your fast reply!

I'm planning a very simple game in top down view. Just a horse which you can ride through the wildernes and some objects to interact with. Nothing special so far.

Hmm. #3 not possible. Bad luck.
I thought about using this "technique" to determine if my horse is running up a hill (hills have another color), so i can set its size bigger...
Maybe you have a better idea how to solve it?! =)

[J3sseM]

You could simply add an invisible box and check if horse has collision with it.

[RhysD]

For the hill problem, you could create an active object that would be the "top" of your hill in the world. Then set the size of the horse depending on how far away it was from the top of the hill. This way, you could approach the top from any direction Use the Clickteam Movement object to get access to an easy compare distance function.

[ICEzW3RG]

Hey RhysD,

dunno why, but I cant quote you.

Your idea sounds very nice. Will try that. Thank you =)


One more question:
Is it true, that those backgrounds/grounds are always huge images or at least tiles??

[J3sseM]

It really depends on how you are planning to create your game.
If you have huge play area I would create it with tile sets.
Also if you are planning to make your game for multiple platforms, android, iOS etc. It is better to keep it as light as possible.

But if it's PC only, or consoles and the play area is not too big then you should be ok to use one single image without any problems.

[ICEzW3RG]

Hey again,

where do I find the Clickteam Movement Object?

Thanks! =)