Small map crashes?!!!

After intercepting a death event at the weapon, I set the map coordinates and the map name then the map loads (I can see the character on the map at the right place). But it promptly quits after that. I have checked the map and it looks ok.

Maybe someone out there has some knowledge of this and a fix. At least something for me to check out.

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Just trying...

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Originally posted by Albadar:
**After intercepting a death event at the weapon, I set the map coordinates and the map name then the map loads (I can see the character on the map at the right place). But it promptly quits after that. I have checked the map and it looks ok.

Maybe someone out there has some knowledge of this and a fix. At least something for me to check out.

**

Do you have any events linked to the loading of the map?

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Thanks,
GrahamVH
graham@warcraftcentral.com
Coldstone Developer

Quote

Originally posted by GrahamVH:
**Do you have any events linked to the loading of the map?

**

Only the one that calls it from the weapon hit. The map still needs a location right?

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Just trying...

Quote

Originally posted by Albadar:
After intercepting a death event at the weapon, . . .

You say "intercepting" a death event. What do you have to prevent the death from proceding once the teleportation has taken place? It may be that the grim reaper is catching up with you after the flight out of town. ~RD

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My Doctor said I was having too much wine, women, and song - so I gave up singing because 2 out of 3 is not so bad.
The (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/rduck/")Kingdom of Garendall(/url) sectional map is easily printed from gif format pages.
Find those areas you missed the first time around. You'll want to explore those hidden areas now made accessible with Spells Expander.

Yep, this is what it does when you try to stop the death event. I don't think that you can actually stop the death event without it crashing. I tried many a time, including teleporting to a different map (with corresponding location).

I think the engine WILL, however, let you change the map position in the SAME map to interrupt the death event, and you add stamina via an attribute. And place it in the weapon. But as far as I can tell, that's the only way.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

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Originally posted by Debra:
**Yep, this is what it does when you try to stop the death event. I don't think that you can actually stop the death event without it crashing. I tried many a time, including teleporting to a different map (with corresponding location).

I think the engine WILL, however, let you change the map position in the SAME map to interrupt the death event, and you add stamina via an attribute. And place it in the weapon. But as far as I can tell, that's the only way.

**

Ok, The weapon checks to see if the damage to the character is great enough to cause a death event. Before it allows that, it changes the stamina to 1, and transports the character to a different map. The program quits with an error in the finder (OSX). haven't checked it on OS9. will check that today along with a few other possible problems.
If death catches up to me, then where am I supposed to "intercept" the death event "before" it occurs?
And how can I change the damage done by the weapon to a smaller amount say 3-5 total without add armor to the character (presently the NPC's are set to do 1-2 damage and the weapon is set for 1-1 (min-max). this is all very strange!!

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Just trying...

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Ok, The weapon checks to see if the damage to the character is great enough to cause a death event. Before it allows that, it changes the stamina to 1, and transports the character to a different map. The program quits with an error in the finder (OSX). haven't checked it on OS9. will check that today along with a few other possible problems.

Yes, I've done that. And it crashes.

What was relatively successful when I went through this is you set the conditional (in the weapon) that if stamina is equal or less than 10 (depending on the possible damage of the weapon because you want to be higher than the worst the weapon can do), add stamina. My experience is that the NPC will try to fight over and over and then give up on you. The trick is to NOT create the death event at all.

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If death catches up to me, then where am I supposed to "intercept" the death event "before" it occurs? And how can I change the damage done by the weapon to a smaller amount say 3-5 total without add armor to the character (presently the NPC's are set to do 1-2 damage and the weapon is set for 1-1 (min-max). this is all very strange!!

I suggest that you do not deal with the death event at all. Create your own death event, like transporting the Player to another "heaven" map (or hell). Make a conditional that says that when the stamina gets to a certain point, the Player will be transported. You just have to be careful that the NPC doesn't get another swipe at the Player and REALLY kill him!

The only way to change the damage by a weapon is to have another NPC, the same as the first, except with the weapon damage specs considerably lower. Place a conditional in the weapon of the first NPC that if the stamina gets to a certain point, then if true change the NPC. Place an NPC control (in the right column) to delete the first NPC and replace it with the second NPC at &&Actual;_X and &&Actual;_Y. I haven't done this, but I suspect that the new NPC will pause before fighting again, which is what you may need to happen. But that NPC will be fresh, with no damage himself. (A dialogue will cover this.) The other option is to replace with a passive NPC. I'd try with the conditional about stamina in the left column, then a call event in the right. The call event would have: attribute: increase stamina, dialogue, NPC control, sound, map position, teleport. I'm thinking that it would roll like this:

fighting galore
in the weapon: if stamina is equal to or less than 10:
stamina increases
dialogue: Ha! I'm invincible and you're dead!
A click on the dialogue window brings you back to face a new NPC, fresh
but you're outa there
and dead according to the Creator's rules

I haven't tried this, though. I tried too long to manipulate the death event, gave up, and didn't go this far.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

I've done all of that. Only I check for less that 5 stamina. (which is why I want to lessen the damage done by the attackers.) The character only has a starting stamina of 20. All the weapons used are of the same type (halbreds) and they have the link (hit link) that checks the stamina less than 5. If yes (you gonna be dead) change to 1 set map name and coordinates, and transport!
But the game CRASHES! Not quits (sorry about the other posts). It dies a horrible death and gives me a "The OS X is just fine. Only your stupid game has died!" message.

So should I make the starting stamina at 30 or more. Then check to see if it gets below say 15? Then stop the action? Man that doesn't look all that realistic. But I guess I can fix it somehow. Is this what all of you say is the way to do this?

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Just trying...

Quote

Originally posted by Albadar:
**I've done all of that.
But the game CRASHES! Not quits **

To find the cause of the crashing, remove one element from the sequence at a time, till it no longer crashes. The last thing you took out is the problem that needs fixing.

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My Doctor said I was having too much wine, women, and song - so I gave up singing because 2 out of 3 is not so bad.
The (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/rduck/")Kingdom of Garendall(/url) sectional map is easily printed from gif format pages.
Find those areas you missed the first time around. You'll want to explore those hidden areas now made accessible with Spells Expander.

Yes, it crashes! It crashes! I know. You're allowing the Player to enter the Death by Engine. And you're trying to change the Death by Engine event; thus the entire game CRASHES!!! Sometimes the entire computer crashes. An ugly sight.

Those NPC's are really, really quick. You can't transport to another map. You CAN change the player map coordinates within the SAME map. But once you mess around with the Death by Engine string, your game will crash!

While the conditional says once you get below 5 stamina, do this, the engine isn't fast enough to actually do it if the NPC is still flailing away and, consequently, actually kills you. You're setting the conditional too low. Keep in mind, too, that if the NPC isn't set on "berserker" it'll stop fighting if the Player damages it too much.

(edit) And you must increase the stamina points as part of the conditional.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

(This message has been edited by Debra (edited 05-11-2003).)

How to stop the death event:

Include an event on the "hit" link of every NPC weapon (and if your npcs don't have weapons, then give them weapons) that checks if the player's stamina is equal to zero. If so, set stamina at one (this keeps death from happening) and then teleport the player wherever you want. The hit event is called after damage is done, but before the death event is called. If the player has stamina after the hit, he was never killed, and the death event is never called.

myshkyn

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"I'll give the fans just what they want, and nothing else at all."

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Originally posted by Debra:
**Yes, it crashes! It crashes! I know. .....Sometimes the entire computer crashes. An ugly sight.

Those ..... crash!

**

Yeah, Now I know that you have experienced it too (no offense). Ok, should I set the stamina real high so it doesn't allow the next hit to kill the character (or hits as the case may be) and then set it in the new map on enter?

By the way Debra, Thanks for letting me know about the corrupted files on your cd. I was begining to think I had the only one that was bad. Finally begining to smile again.... (thanks all)

Edit-> Myshkyn- Yes I've done all of that. My problem is - it crashes anyway. By the way,
do you know how to make the attackers hit for only one or two points each time? Mine are hitting for about 16 each time they swing. Out of 20, that hurts real bad real fast.
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Just trying...

(This message has been edited by Albadar (edited 05-11-2003).)

No offense taken. You can control the damage done I think two ways -- in the item and in the NPC. Look at the specs in both and adjust to low. Myshkyn, yes, this is precisely what will not work. If it works for you and I'm incorrect, then PLEASE tell us the specifics! The trick is to stay out of the death event all together. But that's difficult when the NPC is attacking (and consequently kills you) because the engine needs time to do its thing. So if the NPC "accidently" kills you and the engine is in the middle of doing its thing, it'll complete the events you've placed in there and then crash.

No, I don't think that you have to set the stamina conditional REAL high. Adjust in the NPC and the weapon item and keep trying it I suppose. (I'm not sure about the item, but I am sure about the NPC.) Try it and if it doesn't work, try adjusting again. I find that I have to test everything to make sure it works properly. And then test it again until it works right. If it crashes, you've entered the death engine event. A REAL pain, but that's just the way of the world when it comes to creating games I think.

I still think that replacing the NPC when your stamina gets to a certain point will work. But I haven't tried it. I'm not working on my game right now or doing anything Coldstoneish until I get my lines down for a Shakespeare play I'm in, and unfortunately my character talks WAY too much. I'd rather work on my game!

Please keep us posted, especially if you've got the right mix. You're not alone.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

It's possible that I have a magical copy of Coldstone that does everything I tell it to. But if this is true, why has it not washed my car yet? I haved asked it repeatedly to do this, but it just sits there in my Applications folder. And I think it's flipping me off.

So, the only answer is we are doing different things. I will tell you exactly what I'm doing, just to make sure there is no misunderstanding.

In my game, you cannot be killed until you are first warned. Every NPC has a weapon, and every weapon has the following event in it's "hit" link. Note that this is not the hit conditional link, but the hit link: the event that is called when the weapon scores a successful hit. Meaning I am allowing the NPC to deliver the killing blow, but the killing blow does not actually kill the player. This is the event:

action 1:
conditional: is player stamina less than or equal to zero?
if yes: call action 2
if no: do nothing
action 2:
attribute wizard: set player stamina to one

Why this works: The order of a hit seems to be:
-cause damage
-call hit link event
-call death event if player stamina = zero. Meaning the hit link is your one chance to save the player.

If this is basically what you are doing, then I do have a magical copy of Coldstone, and I'm going to start asking it for wishes. If anybody wants wishes, I'm charging $50, but you get it for free if you ask for world peace.

In all seriousness, let me know if we are doing the same thing, because I would really like to know what the problem is.

myshkyn

edit: I actually mis typed my all powerful event.

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"I'll give the fans just what they want, and nothing else at all."

(This message has been edited by myshkyn (edited 05-11-2003).)

The problem is teleporting. I couldn't help it, I tested everything.

When my Prevent Death event is called, it calls an event that sets stamina and gives the player his warning dialogue. I tried adding a teleport to it and it didn't work. I even tried adding the teleport to an answer link in the dialogue, but that didn't work. I was able to keep my little player alive, but I was not able to teleport him away. This is not a factor in my game, but it obviously is THE factor in yours. Because I plan on one day playing your games, I would like to get this solved. I have come up with one suggestion and will let you know if I think of any more.

This might be tedious, but its my first shot: It is possible to teleport the character after his death is being prevented, but not during, so you have to call an event after the hit somehow. You could add a change global action to the Prevent Death event. Then you could have the npc's attack animation check the global to see if the player needs to be teleported. See, the damage is dealt on the first frame of the attack animation, so you should have some frames leftover to launch a conditional before the npc attacks again. I have not tested this, but I am tempted to. Let me know if you discover anything.

--interlude--

What am I, just really bored tonight? I tested the above suggestion and it worked. To sum up, I have prevented the player death and successfully teleported him to a different map with no crashes, and it all happens in the expanse of a single NPC attack animation. If I have left anything out, let me know. Also, I may not have been very clear, but I am officially done editing my posts tonight, so please let me know if I need to clear anything up.

myshkyn

edits 1&2: was typing fast, became incoherent
edit 3: added interlude and conclusion
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"I'll give the fans just what they want, and nothing else at all."

(This message has been edited by myshkyn (edited 05-11-2003).)

(This message has been edited by myshkyn (edited 05-11-2003).)

(This message has been edited by myshkyn (edited 05-11-2003).)

Quote

Originally posted by myshkyn:
**The problem is teleporting. I couldn't help it, I tested everything.

**

Yes, that is EXACTLY where we both have the problem. Ok. Now where are the extra animation frames that you have attached the check of the "is he going to die soon?" and what exactly did you put in there? Did you also disable the fighter? ( I have three that attack me, but I can slow down the attack speed so no problem there) Did you move the transport to a map event or to a regular event? Since you have a global of gb_KeepTheMainKidAlive:=0 or 1 , you check this in the NPC Animation? But do you transport from there, or somewhere else?

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Just trying...

Oh, so you place the conditional in the NPC ANIMATION and NOT the weapon? I didn't think of that, which is why this board is a really really good thing to have around!!

Yes, I could keep my Player alive, but couldn't do anything, like teleport, except keep him alive so what's the use? Anyway, could you post the specifics? Thanks much!!

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

Yeah, sorry I didn't realize exactly what the problem was at first. It seemed like you guys were just having trouble keeping your players alive. But it was the whole teleport thing. Anyway, if you haven't already figured it all out, here is exactly what I did:

Include the Prevent Death event (Event 1)on the npc's weapon:
conditional-is player stamina less or equal to zero?
-if so, call event 2
-if not, do nothing

Event 2:
Set player stamina to 1 (or whatever amount)
Set "player killed?" global to 1

This keeps the player alive, and lets the game know that the player has been saved from death. To teleport the player, I then did this:

In the npc's attack animation, I set the third frame to call this event (Event 3):
conditional-does "player killed" global equal 1?
-if so, call teleport event
-if not, do nothing

Quote

Originally posted by Albadar:
**Now where are the extra animation frames that you have attached the check of the "is he going to die soon?"

**

The extra animation frames are already in the attack animation. The damage for all attacks is dealt on the first frame of every attack animation. This means every frame after the first is for visual effect, or to space out the attacks. So if you attach this event to the 3rd frame of an attack animation, then this is what happens:

The NPC attacks
Event 1 is called, preventing death
One frame of NPC attack animation
The player is teleported

This should make it all happen quickly enough that other NPCs would have to get pretty lucky to land a hit in the midst of it. If one does, however, it will not kill the player because Event 1 can be triggered over and over without fail.

If I left anything out, let me know.

myshkyn

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"I'll give the fans just what they want, and nothing else at all."

Unable to try it at this time. But if it works, you are definately a decent individual! Thanks!

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

Actually I have had three problems:
1. How do I lessen the initial damage from the NPCs (they do about 16-30 for
the first hit every time I test.)
2. I would transport and the program would DIE! CRASH!! Go bye byes!
3. Any message I wanted to display allowed other NPCs to get extra hits in.
(Causes death at the next screen, and the die, crash, bye byes again!)

Anyway, I got it to work, but I did it a different way. Here's how I did it. You can use this as much you please. No royalities or acknowledgements required. (heeee haaa)

Set a New global "DidHeDie" ( the program will add the gb_ in front of it )

Create a map event called "Transport from here"
Is "gb_DidHeDie" greater than or equal to 1
If yes:
set the new map coordinates
transport <Your New Maps Name>
FadeFromBlack (slowly)
If no: Nothing
On your map, find an area that is surrounded by "no-access" blocks. Set an
event at this location (remember the location for use later)
Save the map

Create a new event (using the file menu - new - event )
is "gb_DidHeDie" greater than or equal to 1
if yes:
start with what ever dialog(s) you may wish to display. "Boy, did you die!"
add a fade to black (must be after to ensure continuity)
set player "Stamina" to 1 ( this ensures that if a hit was received it
still sets the value to 1)(*note I had this problem 1x only)
set coordinates to the coordinates from the map event above
(yes, you will transport to the same map your are already on)
if no: Nothing
Save it as "z_Almost died"

Go to the weapons, create a weapon called "nonKill_dagger" of type weapon.
select 1-handed, small size, does 1-2 damage, $0-cost, no other adjustments
go to the links tab (at the top), "hit" is selected in the mid screen, click
the "link" button close to the bottom
is player "Stamina" less than or equal to 4
if yes:
set player "Stamina" to 1.
set "gb_DidHeDie" to 1
Event link to "z_Almost died"
if no: Nothing
Save weapon

Ok here is the sequence as it happens on the screen
You fight.
You see a message that says you almost died.
The screen fades to black
(The new map loads - you can see the loading dialog)
The screen fades to the new map

There you go. If you have a question about why I did these this way ask me. It works very well, and NO CRASHES!!!

(now if only I can figure out why the NPCs are hitting me for so much the first (and only the first) hit.) ggrrrr and please don't say 2 out of 3 ain't bad! he he he

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Just trying...