Overview Core Dump - Work In Progress Episode 75 September 9, 1998 :Zandvoort is next... Next to me are two books. Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines - Marvin L. Minsky Language, Truth and Logic in Mathematics - Jaakko Hintikka (Selected Papers 3) I am trying to formulate a research plan for my graduation in Tilburg, that's where I study Philosophy. At the same time I have an appointment next week with Rob Hoogerwoord (at the other University) for my graduation project for Computing Science. As you can see from the books, it's quite likely at the moment that I'll be graduating on the Philosophy of Mathematics of some kind, but nothing's sure as yet. This is actually very important for my future, so you can imagine it's hampering Core Dump at the moment. But that doesn't mean I can't tell you stuff about it. Level Editor I've made a number of games, and for each game I designed a new level editor. Even graphic editors changed all the time at the beginning. The only thing that remained is DD-graph (or AGE, as it is also known) by T&E Soft. Writing a general editor takes far more time, so I never really got round to doing it. But for Blade Lords I developed a multi-purpose 8x8 block oriented editor, called OX. This one has been in use after that for Akin, and now for Core Dump. The function I use most is it's GE5->block converter, that can convert multiple screens to block-oriented maps. It detects which 8x8 block are the same, and this results in compression, and it helps to scroll the picture. But now for Core Dump I've used a cooler approach. Some of you might have seen it already, I demonstrated it on an MSX fair about a year ago. The level editor is actually incorporated into the game. It requires pre-constructed block sets, and you can then create any number of maps, any size, and fill them in. But the filling in can be done using "librairy" elements - for example, once you've constructed a computer, or a complete room, you can copy it all over the place, which saves a lot of time. Then, you can determine at which points enemies can appear, and where the items are, and where the doors are. You can then play the map. The use of incorporating it into the game is this: the player routines are available. So if I put a platform at a certain position, I can do "player test", and I can immediately test if the jump is not too difficult. If it's wrong, I adjust the platform. This makes for really easy map editing. Especially now I've desinged this "gradual progression" difficulty system, which can even decide how many units of a certain type appear when the difficulty rating is such-and-such. Needless to say, the main Aleph base is actually quite large at the moment. See you there? And whatever happens, I will be at the Zandvoort fair on the 19th of september, so maybe I'll see you there. Just wear a T-shirt with "Hi, Cas!" and I'll be sure to recognize you all. Go on... Read the previous entry