Archive: 15 posts

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...I just never thought it would one day follow me into the world of video games! Hi guys and gals. I'm Skip. I can't tell you how great it is to find a group of people who share such a great love and bank of knowledge, for the game I've piddled away the best part of three months of free time on! That said, I'm afraid my past two evenings with LBP have not been happy ones. I've been growing steadily more frustrated trying to get this guy here to work: http://i44.tinypic.com/103fr11.jpg He's an enemy in the mad scientist themed level I'm presently carving away at. Everything above the red line in the diagram is enclosed and unseen to the player and the bumps on the back of his head are brains. When the piston retracts, the plan (in an ideal world) is that the bolt spins a full 180 before the piston extends, giving the player the impression that the creature is turning around each time he retracts into his burrow. This forces the player to employ a little bit of timing and thought into taking it down. The problems I've encountered so far are thus: The timing of the bolt eventually offsets itself to the piston (this can either ruin the 'retreat and turn' effect or breaks the creature entirely) The player has to hit two brains to make the kill making it appear as two enemies I'm hoping one of you clever chaps may be able to tell me a magical piston/bolt time ratio that will keep the flow peachy keen. If not, maybe something smart with logic boxes/ switches. The two brain problem is secondary and I can live with it if needs must, but I'd hate to have to scrap the whole concept of this enemy altogether. Sorry to have my first post here be one of a 26 year old man begging with a crudely drawn picture attached! I do hope to get actively involved with this community as time goes on, and I know I'll be happy here.

2009-02-16 23:26:00 Author: Unknown User

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Hehe Nice Drawing, and i can't really help you because am not the "Creative" kind, but ock or Thee-flash will soon come to help you i bet.

2009-02-16 23:53:00 Author: 01philip01 Posts: 545

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hmm im not sure entirely, but Im sure with a little bit more tweaking (havent tried it, but like the pause time on the piston should be equal or slighly greater than the movement phase of the bolt, the pause phase of the bolt should be like I think the movment phase of the piston plus the time it takes it to be completly inside.. and not sure about the sync.) dont take my word on any of this because I would really have to try it out myself to be sure.. as for the brain problem.. you should just like get rid of the brain on the bottom, since it would have to be hit from behind anyway... not sure if anyof this is helpful, not feeling very mathmatic right now.. but good luck, hope it helps some..

2009-02-16 23:57:00 Author: Madafaku Posts: 738

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Say, for example, the piston timing is 2 seconds, and the pause is two seconds. The wobble bolt SHOULD be set to a pause of 7.5 seconds, and a timing of 0.5 seconds. BECAUSE! Remember that the piston timing affects both inward and outward movement, and it pauses after each move. That adds up to 8 seconds. Math is importaint because the timing and pause of the piston MUST equal the timing and pause of the bolt. Add sync as necessary (You will probably end up needing a Sync of four for this example) Let me know if you need anything explained.

2009-02-17 00:46:00 Author: DRT99 Posts: 431

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Say, for example, the piston timing is 2 seconds, and the pause is two seconds. The wobble bolt SHOULD be set to a pause of 7.5 seconds, and a timing of 0.5 seconds. BECAUSE! Remember that the piston timing affects both inward and outward movement, and it pauses after each move. That adds up to 8 seconds. Math is importaint because the timing and pause of the piston MUST equal the timing and pause of the bolt. Add sync as necessary (You will probably end up needing a Sync of four for this example) Let me know if you need anything explained. yea thats what I was trying to say...

2009-02-17 00:47:00 Author: Madafaku Posts: 738

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i would ask OCK he is as most would say " a Creative Genius" and all of his levels and creations are awesome. so send him a message and ask if he has any idea on your littlebigproblem. and Hi hope you enjoy the site as much as i do xD

2009-02-17 01:37:00 Author: Zommy Posts: 1232

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If you could just put one big brain at the center, visible from either head.

2009-02-17 12:36:00 Author: uzman Posts: 209

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why is a piston required? Wouldn't having 2 seperate enemies each using their own wobble bolt be just as effective and not need a piston at all? Anyways... just a suggestion.

2009-02-17 17:27:00 Author: mindphaser74 Posts: 349

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How many layers do you have to work with? You could rotate the face and the brain independently with separate wobble bolts if you wanted.

2009-02-17 17:29:00 Author: Risen Posts: 251

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I was thinking that instead of letting the wobble bolt do the work, create a magnetic switch and place a key on your guy, that way you control exactly when he does and does not retract, rather than letting the wobble bolt try to stay in time. This doesn't have to be mathematic, just put in a 3rd variable (mag switch) that serves as a control. Set the mag switch to directional, that way when the piston retracts, the wobble bolt sits at one extent, and when the piston extends again, it sits at the other. Attach the key to another piston that manages when one face is out. Say you have a 10s rotation on the primary piston. 5s for one face 5s for another. Then keep the second piston at 10s with an offset of 5s. I think that's how I'd approach it anyway. I would assume the acceleration/deceleration of the wobble bolt is different than the piston's which might be causing them to go out of sync.

2009-02-17 17:48:00 Author: Inspectigater Posts: 126

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AAAAARRRRGH! Guys I'm so sorry. I typed out the most long-winded reply to every one of the points you made and then lost it all through the error of not being logged in first! I'm afraid I'm not too used to the process of posting in forums. I'm going to have to wait till tomorrow before I can give you all the responses you deserve for taking the time to help me with this. Until then please know that I'm just so grateful for your time and am sorry for leaving this hanging for so long.

2009-02-17 21:29:00 Author: Unknown User

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AAAAARRRRGH! Guys I'm so sorry. I typed out the most long-winded reply to every one of the points you made and then lost it all through the error of not being logged in first! I'm afraid I'm not too used to the process of posting in forums. I'm going to have to wait till tomorrow before I can give you all the responses you deserve for taking the time to help me with this. Until then please know that I'm just so grateful for your time and am sorry for leaving this hanging for so long. : ) No worries, pal. We're just trying to help out a fellow creator. Take your time getting to the responses, it's no big deal. The ball is in your court anyway. ^^

2009-02-18 01:21:00 Author: Inspectigater Posts: 126

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Hey guys, sorry for the belated response. Let me give your comments the attention they all deserve for taking time to help me out with my problem: Phil, I'm glad you like my picture. You probably would find it hard to believe, but I am actually quite an artsy guy when the fancy takes me! Madafaku & DRT you guys were right. It turned out timing was everything with this creation. The hardest part was getting the times of the different items to fall in line with each other without eventually falling out of sync and resulting in chaos! Zommy, I contemplated getting in touch with Ock but thought it best to sit on it myself for a while longer (just in case he decides to only grant one wish per person genie style!) Uzman, I considered the idea of putting one big brain in the middle but after using a couple of people to play test the enemy it turned out to be a gameplay strength that the enemies two brains need to be taken out. Making the process of taking it down a little more challenging and interesting. Inspectiator, it took me a while and a few read-throughs to digest your concept but I think I eventually got it in the end: http://i43.tinypic.com/etusjq.jpg The items numbered in the picture are as follows: 1. A piston set to extend in 0.5 seconds and make contact with the switch 2. Magnetic switch set to directional 3. Wobble bolt set to rotate over a range of 180 degrees 4. A scared witless sackboy, glad that he didn't wear any pants today If you'd like to know the exact timing of all the mechanisms, just let me know and I'll be happy to give you a detailed run through (in case you want an enemy like this in your own levels) If anyone's interested in seeing this enemy in action with the aim of having a go at dispatching him and another two like him; send me a friend request. My PSN is Skipjimrroo (note the extra "R"). I can always publish it half finished an then take you into it for a look-see. Thanks again fellas. Couldn't have got this off the ground without your help!

2009-02-19 19:30:00 Author: Unknown User

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That picture is awesome. I think the "Yipe" sign sells it. Inspect. was just trying to have another method (piston-based) to do the timing, because he thought maybe your time values were already correct but it was still desyncing. If the timing works perfectly once you have it set up right, there's no need to use the extra piston for timing.

2009-02-19 21:30:00 Author: Risen Posts: 251

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That picture freaking awesome... LOL.. but yea seems like if the timing isnt working right this would be the next step. I had one once where a bunch of sackboy crushers ran on pistons.. and I couldnt quite get the timing right on it, so instead of messing with getting them synced up, I just build a big spinning wheel with mag keys all over and a mag switch at the bottom, and hooked them up to all the pistons, so as it spins the pistons shoot the sackcrushers down/up... then it was just a matter of setting the wheel slow enough to where its possable to get through alive, but fast enough to where its exciting...

2009-02-19 22:32:00 Author: Madafaku Posts: 738

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