Game Development

Hey I am having trouble with some player drawing stuff in my 2d platformer (coded in java). I was told to come here and discuss it, can someone help me?

Almo

1:16 AM

Someone who knows java may be able to help

attendance is a bit low in the evenings though

Brandon

1:38 AM

-1

Q: Player movement shaking

Player movement is shaking a bit. I dont remember this happening when I first implemented the class. I removed the more memory comsuming bits of my game, and it still does it so I think it has something to do with the player's update method: //logic for the player public void update(GameContaine...

2d platformer

this was my question. I think I have provided enough info, but the video is pretty bad

when my player moves, his texture (just a primitive square) shakes back and forth (up and down when jumping).

idk how to fix it!

John McDonald

1:50 AM

Are your positions ints?

Basaa

Ah ha! Java! Good to hear I'm not alone :D

Quick question: did you make that code?

John McDonald

also, (delta/10) does integer math. I trying to remember which parameter needs to be float for it to implicitly convert the other, but 1/10 = 0 and 1.0/10.0 = 0.1

Basaa

((float)delta/(float)10)

John McDonald

I think you might be able to get away with only converting one of the two, but yeah, it's better to just do them both. And "10f" should convert it to a float. So: ((float)delta/10f)

Basaa

Good point John

Stack Exchange

4:58 AM

0

Q: Can we have MathJax on gamedev.SE?

Other sites like math.SE, physics.SE and chemistry.SE already have it. We get enough questions about math that it would come in handy here as well, though probably not as often as on those sites. For example, here's an answer where I would've liked to use a math formula if possible. I wrote ps...

feature-request

0

Q: No color change when code snippets used inside links

I enjoy using backticks to format names of code symbols, like gluPerspective, in monospace font even in the flow of normal text. I also enjoy linking the names of such functions to some documentation about them, like gluPerspective. Unfortunately, when I do both at once, the result doesn't chan...

bug formatting

GLeBaTi

9:24 AM

Hello) what version of windows now most used by game developers?(xp,7,8)

Kikaimaru

7 probably

since for dx 11 you need win 7 :)

GLeBaTi

win8 early use now?)

Kikaimaru

i dont think it really matters what os you use :)

as long as it supports technology you are using for game devleopment of course :)

GLeBaTi

@Kikaimaru thanks)

Jon

10:48 AM

first day of summer

Gajoo

11:25 AM

@Jimmy @JohnMcDonald @Almo @Kikaimaru I did finish that game, it simply restarted the game!

Kikaimaru

11:43 AM

thats sad

but on the other side i finally added floating names over my bots

but it has to be awfully inefficient

PythonInProgress

12:09 PM

Hiya all!

Kikaimaru

hi

PythonInProgress

whats up @Kikaimaru ? @Busata ?

Busata

struggling with making my fbm function smoother :-(

PythonInProgress

:(

Busata

it's like a bunny on crack!

PythonInProgress

12:16 PM

no, no. it IS a bunny on crack

Jon

Stealing that for my game.

PythonInProgress

only if it uses jQuery

hey Jon

Kikaimaru

i was doing bot names

:)

Busata

if anyone has the time to look at pastie.org/8066270 ? evaluate(x) is the noise function, fbm is the fractal, followed the scratchpixel tutorial

but the values jump way too much

Matt D

12:36 PM

evening :)

PythonInProgress

morning :)

@MattD at least for me :D

whats up, everyone?

Matt D

im watching home story cup! :D

PythonInProgress

why? :P

Matt D

because its live starcraft2 :) www.twitch.tv/TakeTV .. and im about to go to bed. you?

PythonInProgress

i got up a few hours ago :P in the us though

'gonna play some League of Legends later, program some

Matt D

12:44 PM

im working sunday. so no code for me tomorrow :) i am in the future though. so

PythonInProgress

so?

Matt D

friday is over. its almost the weekend :)

PythonInProgress

oh... you live way far away from me.... Asia?

Matt D

australia :)

PythonInProgress

ahh

cool, an aussie

friday just started for me :D

PythonInProgress

1:12 PM

sm4 is rocking GDSE today.... 3 questions already

Matt D

im new to this stack exchange thing

Almo

good stuff

Matt D

but the overuse of the word "pattern" scares me

Almo

requires a bit of learning to use it right

but it's worth the investment

Matt D

especially markdown!

PythonInProgress

1:18 PM

:P

@Almo so... im at 80 people right now..... :D

GO WASTE YOUR TIME!!!! adarkroom.doublespeakgames.com

oops

hey todders

ToddersLegrande

Happy Friday!

Election links got unpinned :(

PythonInProgress

Happy first day of summer!

:P

ToddersLegrande

Well I think I know what 3 people I have to vote for... meta.gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/1192/…

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande Same!

.....except i need more rep to vote......

:P

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress I was going to go upvote some stuff for you but you've only got one question :P

PythonInProgress

1:25 PM

ahh

@ToddersLegrande i can ask another right now, was gonna ask Code when he gets on

but i can post it

ToddersLegrande

2 isn't enough either unless you get a lot of votes from other people as well

6 reputation isn't exactly a good starting point when you need 150 :P

PythonInProgress

ik :P

i have a whole ton, im trying to make a platformer game, and have never done that before

Matt D

hehe, i know j petrie from #gamedev. he knows his shit

what toolset are you using @PythonInProgress

PythonInProgress

im using Python as my language, with the Pygame library

also, im using Wing IDE 4.1 Student

nothing else yet

ToddersLegrande

@MattD no doubt, Josh is a smart guy

PythonInProgress

1:31 PM

yeah

a bit bossy sometimes, but smart

he knows his stuff

Matt D

aye. i havent met him in person yet. I've met a few of the #gamedev peeps. there's only a few of us who are, or were professional game devs tho :)

ClassicThunder

Yeah most gamedev sites are mostly hobbyists it seems

I am

Matt D

I'm certainly happy to try and help out around here, its sort of my long slow re-introduction to getting back into the gamedev programming saddle after a long time off after being waaaay burnt out ;)

most programming sites are hobbyists, period. at least it seems.

and hell, even though i've been doing this for a long time, i still get lots of things wrong ;)

PythonInProgress

:D

will u look at my question in a sec, im writing it now

not really about programming, more design

Matt D

sure, although I've not done any python :)

ToddersLegrande

1:36 PM

@MattD yeah most of us, with a few exceptions are hobbyists. I'm a prolific tinkerer where I put together a bunch of short proof of concepts but I have no real direction / idea in mind for a "game" as they call them :P

That being said... a lot of us are pretty knowledgable

PythonInProgress

a lot of us....

Matt D

yeah. i know lots about a few small areas, outside of that, im either extremely rusty/know enough to be dangerous, or i have no idea :)

PythonInProgress

anyhow, my question should be up soon, i posted it

ToddersLegrande

Ditto

Matt D

its nice to have a bunch of other folk who know the bits you dont!

(and will correct you on the bits you think you do)

PythonInProgress

1:37 PM

^^ starred

@ToddersLegrande @MattD my question should be up, if u will check it out/upvote it

Matt D

wow. thats pretty damn broad question

PythonInProgress

yeah, looking for lots of opinions

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress I hate to be "that guy"

but that's not a good question for the site :(

PythonInProgress

sadface

ok then

ClassicThunder

Yeah sorry but I agree :(

PythonInProgress

1:39 PM

its design though, isnt it?

ok then, deleted

ClassicThunder

Yeah but its unanswerable without writing a book

ToddersLegrande

There may be a good question that you can get out of the concept there... but as it sits you are looking for opinions which are discussion oriented / no one answer can truly be correct

PythonInProgress

ahh

here, ill post it here and we can "dissect" it

ClassicThunder

@PythonInProgress Youtube analysis of mario and other games level designs

also look at the stuff valve has writen about thier level design

PythonInProgress

I am making a platformer game in Python, and was wondering what the ideal layout of platforms would be. Should they be far apart, close together, etc. Also, should they have major or minor height differences? Is there an ideal layout of all of these variables?

Another thing i want to know is if there is an easy way to make it increasingly harder. I want each sucessive level to have slightly higher difficulty, or new game elements, such as power-ups, or the like.

(I know this is broad, but i am looking for lots of answers)

ahh

Matt D

1:41 PM

what you asked was "explain to me the art of good game design" ;) play lots of platformers! (like fez, or shadow complex, or metroid, and smb) and take notes at how they slowly introduce things to the player. thats the first thing, if you like at level 1-1 in SMB. you'll see that concepts are introduced one by one. and slowly more complicated combinations of those concepts

PythonInProgress

k

ClassicThunder

the priciples hold true to platformers

Matt D

if you look at . even.

doing the whole "slowly introducing more complicated things" well is the true art of level design. which is a sub-specialisation of game design. and one not many people are truely good at

PythonInProgress

k

Busata

imgur.com/K0ln80w !!!

I understaaaaand

Matt D

1:43 PM

one of the most amazingly smooth game design progressions was actually pixeljunk's shooter. its not a platformer. but it was just beautiful in how it slowly introduced things

PythonInProgress

@Busata LOLS

ClassicThunder

Honestly I would take a look a MeatBoy

Matt D

but yeah. playtesting. lots of playtesting. focus on mechanics over art.

PythonInProgress

these are all answers that i would have wanted.....

ooh, i like Super MeatBoy

@MattD k

Matt D

(which is what the meatboy guys did too.. and their level design is pretty smooth too. game didnt really gel with me personally. but lots of people love it :) )

PythonInProgress

1:45 PM

yeah

the mechanics are first priority

OOH

ClassicThunder

just the way it introduces new concepts then makes them harder then makes you deal with all of it at once after introducing multiple ones is really smooth

Matt D

yeah. that is the true art of level design

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande i have a good question now!

Matt D

not hiding collectables behind plantpots

ClassicThunder

I liked the old collectathons :(

DK 64 and BK were great fun

PythonInProgress

1:47 PM

is this a good question for the site (dont answer it): Is it more viable, in a platformer game, to have the player fixed or the platforms fixed?

Matt D

hehe. its just that you can walk around levels now and go "if i was a level designer, i'd put something over .. THERE point"

PythonInProgress

hey @sm4

Almo

i quit Sunshine when I found a blue coin underground on a platform way way out where a boss was. I went over there for the hell of it. when i squirted the ground, the coin popped out, and I never booted the game again.

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress I don't know what a fixed player is

Sounds awful

PythonInProgress

ahh

Matt D

1:47 PM

@PythonInProgress not really. thats more of a preference thing.

@PythonInProgress whatever feels right to what you're trying to do

ClassicThunder

@Almo All nintendo games do that

Almo

I don't like nintendo games :D

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande when the player's position is fixed (their x coord is fixed, not y) and the environment moves

ClassicThunder

Ocarina of Time had a random ass spot you could play a song for a heart container

Almo

i hate stuff like that

ToddersLegrande

1:48 PM

@PythonInProgress like a runner game?

PythonInProgress

@MattD ok

Almo

I call that "knowledge-based gaming" if you know, it's easy.

PythonInProgress

yeah, sort of

Matt D

@PythonInProgress the reason that was done is more legacy . if you think back to the hardware of the SNES, it was tile based. so it was far easier to just draw the player sprite tile in the same place ;)

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande a game where you jump on incoming platforms

Almo

1:49 PM

I like "skill-based gaming" where even if you know, it may be a challenge if your skills aren't up to it

PythonInProgress

@MattD ahh

Matt D

@PythonInProgress i think the player sprites werent grid based, but the background was. so it was probably far easier to just pick a static X location for collision reasons

PythonInProgress

@MattD ahh. that actually makes sense. that's what im going to do, i think

Matt D

@PythonInProgress later games you could move l/r without scrolling right? the latter snes mario games you could?

PythonInProgress

i think so

ClassicThunder

1:50 PM

yes

PythonInProgress

oh, thats variable player postition

not fixed

i dont want that.... forward only

ClassicThunder

blog.mimeoverse.com/post/577060703/…

Matt D

@PythonInProgress these days, you're going to be working in world space anyway. and you're going to have a static environment and you're going to be moving your camera, and your player along the world. you're not going to want to do your game using screen space tiles

PythonInProgress

sounds like im using fixed player postion after all... :D

@MattD too much work... :P

Matt D

@PythonInProgress even if you do use tiles, use world space tiles and just move your camera ;)

PythonInProgress

1:52 PM

hey @TreDubZedd

Matt D

@PythonInProgress haha. you say that now ;) itll be more annoying to deal with screen space. especially for different aspect ratios and resolutions.

PythonInProgress

@MattD why do i have to move the camera?

Matt D

@PythonInProgress because its way easier to just update a projection matrix than move the world

PythonInProgress

its just pc (for now) and has a fixed screen size

also, only the square/rectangle platforms move

background and etc stay the same

when you collide with the side of a platform, all of the platforms' velocity is set to 0, and you fall

Matt D

doing it in screen space is just having a uniform transform from world to screenspace ;)

ToddersLegrande

1:54 PM

@PythonInProgress does your level fit on the screen all at once?

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande at this point, yes

later, no

Matt D

and yeah. scrolling. thats a good reason to have a moving camera

PythonInProgress

you'll win eventually, you realize that? you'll convince me at some point.

Matt D

:)

TreDubZedd

'morning, all

PythonInProgress

1:55 PM

morning

we're argueing about my game mechanics

Matt D

if you want to be really awesome. do some parallax scrolling with slightly different z planes

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress I think one of the easiest arguments against this is your physics are going to be all messed up

PythonInProgress

what physics?

Almo

parallax scrolling youtube.com/watch?v=uiAUZe_kL_Y 1989 buckwheat!

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande the only physics are inside the player code

ToddersLegrande

1:57 PM

In your current situation your player doesn't run into the wall or land on the ground. The wall runs into your player and the ground flies up to hit your player. What sense does that make?

ClassicThunder

I'm working on making a 2d game that is made using models. So simply flat 3d models with a orthographic perspective and no attemp at an illusion of depth. I just find it way easier to design, manipulate, and animate models than sprites.

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande it wont seem like that.... hopefully

ClassicThunder

Easier to do things like terrain blending between tiles too.

Almo

PCs were so horrible for gaming back then. The Amiga whomped it all over. 4-channel stereo sound, too. That game ran off two 880k floppies.

Matt D

physics in the player? oh dear.

PythonInProgress

1:57 PM

yeah!

:P

Almo

the vid doesn't do it justice... 60 FPS, vsynced perfectly smooth

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress it won't seem like that to the player, but thats asking for a headache when you need to troubleshoot problems, in my opinion.

Matt D

i always wanted an amiga

they were pretty rare out here

PythonInProgress

@ToddersLegrande ok then. show me working code for your opinion

(see, convincing me....)

ToddersLegrande

I've got an XNA game that does it

Matt D

1:58 PM

more like "write it for me"

;)

ToddersLegrande

Just stole it off a blog honestly

PythonInProgress

in python/pygame

hey ninja

Shotgun Ninja

howdy folks

Almo

hey shotgun

PythonInProgress

or should i say..... ****

Matt D

1:59 PM

you really do want to work in world space. itll make doing stuff later much easier.

and you really dont want your physics in your player ;)

PythonInProgress

fine

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress in the end all I had to do was set camera position to player position and then the camera class did all the calculations automatically :)

Matt D

isnt there a python box2d port?

PythonInProgress

idk

that would be amazing

Matt D

because, for a platformer, id just use that

ToddersLegrande

2:00 PM

@MattD My personal opinion is you don't want to use a physics engine for a platformer

Matt D

i'd justuse it for collision

and effects

assuming you can just make everything infinite mass and move it manually

ToddersLegrande

Effects I could see... collision maybe. Depends on the engine I guess. I find that a lot of engines don't handle collisions properly unless you use their engine for movement as well

So then you have to learn their API for moving stuff around which can make getting the feeling (controls) you want difficult

Matt D

good point. and yeah. most of the time you want faked physics for "fun" reasons

ToddersLegrande

Exactly

Matt D

i was just hoping to use it for collision only ;0

PythonInProgress

2:02 PM

(to myself: this is getting very complicated... how'd i get them arguing with each other?)

Matt D

because we're programmers

semantic arguments are our superpower

3

PythonInProgress

I DIDNT ASK YOU!!!!

Matt D

we're actually agreeing on things

PythonInProgress

lol jk

Matt D

in an argumentative fashion

TreDubZedd

2:02 PM

No you're not :)

PythonInProgress

:)

Shotgun Ninja

wop wop

just wait until you go to college.

PythonInProgress

why?

Shotgun Ninja

semantic arguments get worse there.

PythonInProgress

LOL

Shotgun Ninja

2:03 PM

and become part of the curriculum, in some situations.

Matt D

brush up on your logical fallicies and cognitive biases before you go

win all arguments

PythonInProgress

good advice

Matt D

and understand the dunning krueger effect ;)

PythonInProgress

i feel so stupid

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress how old are you?

PythonInProgress

2:05 PM

@ToddersLegrande 13....

thats why, i think

ToddersLegrande

I wouldn't worry then. I didn't touch a real programming language until I was 18. Didn't know I was interested in it. I had done web "design" type development with HTML, CSS, and "borrowed" JavaScript scripts... but no real programming experience until I had to take a class in college, after which I switched degrees.

PythonInProgress

cool

Matt D

i didnt start programming properly until i hit uni. and you wouldve been -6

PythonInProgress

so, do i just make the player have constant forwards velocity?

@MattD lol

Matt D

at this point. just make shit work :)

worry about making it good later

PythonInProgress

2:08 PM

yeah

Matt D

and just expect to throw everything away, regularly

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress gamedev.net/topic/625941-pygame-2d-sidescroller/#entry4946931

PythonInProgress

@MattD yeah, i am expecting that

Wow... Todders actually found it!

TreDubZedd

Probably my most useful college course was my Deductive Logic class. I kinda believe that I didn't really know how to think before that.

ToddersLegrande

@PythonInProgress bit.ly/16lLg08

:P

PythonInProgress

2:11 PM

lols

ToddersLegrande

Some guy on that forum post said it didn't work so if it doesn't work for you, try some of those other links :P

youtube video looks like it could be useful

PythonInProgress

k

Matt D

alright. night folks. catch you around :)

PythonInProgress

night!

ToddersLegrande

"Basic 2D Platformer Physics, Collision Detection, and Camera Movement in Pygame"

@MattD see ya

PythonInProgress

2:12 PM

@MattD its 12:12 AM for u?

thanks @ToddersLegrande

ToddersLegrande

2:25 PM

@JohnMcDonald new keyboard with brown switches and o rings. I should probably still get my other one repaired but I'm liking this one pretty well

John McDonald

Cool

Shotgun Ninja

@ToddersLegrande No Cherry MX switches?

Legitimately made in my hometown?

ToddersLegrande

My only complaint is this one has programmable keys or whatever they are, on the far left so when I try to press CTRL or ESC I tend to hit the top and bottom macro keys especially

@ShotgunNinja Cherry MX Brown

Shotgun Ninja

Ah, okay.

Produit des Kenosha, WI, USA

John McDonald

I'm freakin out a little bit because I live in the middle of this pic, and red means mandatory evac:

ToddersLegrande

2:27 PM

I had/have a keyboard with blacks which I like but last week I found myself incorrectly typing in passwords like 6 in a row because not all the keys register properly 100% of the time

John McDonald

But, on the up side, no work today!

:D

Shotgun Ninja

Dude, @John, what's going on that you have mandatory evac?

ToddersLegrande

Without typing really slowly and counting the number of keystrokes versus the number of dots that appeared in the I couldn't guarantee myself all keys actually came through so I went out and bought a new one.... I suppose I could have bought a cheap one and got my new one RMA'd but...... yeah. I wanted to try out brown switches anyway :D

John McDonald

Flash flooding. I think it's on its way out though

Shotgun Ninja

@JohnMcDonald My Google-fu told me you live in Calgary, and they're having bad floods.

Punched in "Mount Royal Earl Grey Park", found Calgary's site, and put in calgary into news, and found flooding reports by the AP.

TreDubZedd

2:31 PM

We could use some of that water down here in Colorado...

John McDonald

You can HAVE it

Shotgun Ninja

lololol

TreDubZedd

There are similar maps all over the state...but for fire evacuations

John McDonald

Oh man

TreDubZedd

Colorado Springs just contained another fire, which took 350+ homes before they got it under control.

Shotgun Ninja

2:33 PM

I'm here in Milwaukee. Naturally sheltered from flooding by hills and a long shoreline before the lake. Naturally sheltered from fires by all of the concrete and the fact that even our oldest buildings are constantly re-fireproofed after the Third Ward burned down in the early 1900's.

John McDonald

@TreDubZedd :(

Shotgun Ninja

Naturally sheltered from tornadoes by the tall buildings, and naturally sheltered from earthquakes due to location.

The only thing we get are blizzards.

TreDubZedd

@ShotgunNinja Yeah, but you've got to live in Wisconsin...

ToddersLegrande

@ShotgunNinja and guns

^ Hick from the sticks reporting in.

Shotgun Ninja

Oh, and serial killers.

ToddersLegrande

2:35 PM

It's quite amazing growing up in a rural area.

Shotgun Ninja

serialkillersofwisconsin.weebly.com

TreDubZedd

"Man...it's too friggin' cold here. I know! I'll go murder someone! That'll get the blood flowing (so to speak)."

Shotgun Ninja

Yes, Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer were both from Wisconsin.

to be fair, I'm trying to get the fuck out as quickly as possible.

TreDubZedd

I felt that way about Utah.

Shotgun Ninja

Three years, and I can move anywhere in the US. I'm thinking California.

sm4

2:45 PM

Well, when I finally escaped floods, fires and cold, I get to breathe smog peaking at 401 PSI (that's a lot, but I didn't know neither, I just play smart cause I read it in newspaper yesterday).

ToddersLegrande

As bad as it sounds, because I grew up in a rural area, Milwaukee used to be scary and I could count the number of non white people I had seen growing up on a single hand.

Shotgun Ninja

@ToddersLegrande Black people aren't scary; they're really soulful and vibrant, as far as I've seen.

So full of life.

Kikaimaru

Wooo star trek in few hours!

►

ToddersLegrande

@Kikaimaru as Into Darkness?

Kikaimaru

i dont know, the new one

it doesnt matter, i only wanted to post that video with some context :)

sm4

2:50 PM

@PythonInProgress OHAI

ToddersLegrande

@Kikaimaru haha I see... Well I'm happy to report that I loved the new Star Trek movie(s)

But I'm completely ignorant to the Star Trek universe outside of the new movies so that might help

Almo

Star Trek 1 and IV. Ignore the rest.

:)

sm4

@ToddersLegrande I am a Trekkie and I like them too. I find them like a modernized version of the old TOS and it is good. I just don't get how people can enjoy the movies without the references.

Kikaimaru

star trek TNG and ignore the rest

sm4

@Kikaimaru ToS if you can stand the old effects, TNG + DS9, ignore Voyager and all animated series. Watch Enterprise if you have a thing for cold females with short hair and pointy ears

Kikaimaru

2:54 PM

"The Prime Directive is not just a set of rules. It is a philosophy, and a very correct one"

@sm4 i hate DS9, voyager is so much better

ClassicThunder

fabiensanglard.net/prince_of_persia/index.php

sm4

@Kikaimaru Weird :)

BTW this is how the old Kirk used to fight

►

Almo

Babylon 5.

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