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huh. i got it working by removing "is not overlapping sprite" as a sub event and making it its own event

not ideal ebcause i wanted to have two separate dialogue npcs (one for units and one for lore tablets so i could make their boxes different) but i guess it'll do

the dialogue box is on layer 'dialogue', so the idea is that it's supposed to go away by making the entire layer it's on invisible when you're no longer overlapping the npc sprite.

to answer your second question, not it does not. it doesnt go away even if you disable pressed E either. if you disable pressed E, the dialogue appears when you overlap the sprite and stays when you are no longer overlapping the sprite, even though that's the condition for the layer to turn invisibile again.

im literally miserable over this right now so im going to try to ask for help

this is in construct 2

sprite has a text instance variable named 'dialog' that's just set to some chatter. if you want to copy it for testing just put in filler text.

sprite font and dialog box are set on layer dialog, everything else is on the main layer.

so the idea here is that when the player is no longer overlapping the sprite, the dialog goes invisible, right?? but it doesn't. it just hangs there. i want it to go away. it wont let me make an 'else' variable that turns the layer invisible. i cant figure that one out either.

this reminds me of a pic i drew a few years ago after reading about colors on other planets

keep up the good work!!

Dialogue get!!

on to finishing my level design and then making assets :D

wandering npcs are a go!! once i implement dialogue, i free from having to add new mechanics.

Title screen done!! I will add buttons and stuff to it at a later date. It probably wont be a gif-compressed in the game either, since i will make it using sprites instead of putting the gif in.

i feel like ripe butts and my sleep schedule is hecked now

the level is almost complete!! not pictured: hidden caves!! ;o

once the level is complete, i will need to start testing cutscenes and dialogue, so im on track to spend all next week doing artistic assets!

aaah im really sorry to hear about your troubles )): i have hope for you yet!! your stuff looks really cute + nice, so hopefully you can get something down.

ive been practicing pixelling for a little while in preparation to try to make the game im making now,,, so my goals are

-learn construct 2

-create a decently fun and interesting level

-fill it up with pretty art

so far ive created all the mechanics i want aside from dialogue, so now all that's left is to do all my art and writing!

holy shit it really is almost smashing

thank you so much!! it's really flaterring so many people are excited ;__;

wheezes @ my insomnia my entire body hurts but i cant sleep, so i must game

i made the first npc!! theyre pewfies, created by my sister. :3c im gonna make a variety of them, this one is her self-insert!

and

i also totally revamped my title screen sketch from earlier!

insomnia... im still awake. i'll start counting this as day 5 anyway.

i made a face by accident

everything is fine

literally spams updates

what's this?? is this??

HIDDEN CAVES???

A title page sketch!?

I wonder why it's called Hydra's Mouth...

sort of update: i gamed for several hours since i have an obligation to an mmo guild :p

after much yelling @ construct 2, i got my layer shennanigans to work. honestly not sure how. but they did. woohoo!!
(they're a bit buggy, you want to avoid shimmying around inside the collission box for the objects that detect the layer switching)

https://www.scirra.com/tutorials/509/movernos-a-ot...

I imagine it will be something similar to this tutorial, but without switching layers.

i made a very messy example here. perhaps you can streamline it for your own use.

explanation: when the player collides with the object, 'stairs' they are teleported to image point 1 of the stiars, which i set to the top right. taking them to the higher level.

double grapple seems to be the limit, so i'll see if i can bring out its full potential!!

thanks!! that's a relief to hear. i dont have enough experience in platforming level design to create something challenging, so i am just trying to make stuff that plays to my mechanics' strength.

day 4:

level design and layer shennanigans!! my layer shennaigans are /almost/ working. ive designed my level to where you are made to head up the left side and continue on to the right, which requires so layer funtimes to pass through blocks. there are a few kinks i need to work out.

a small preview of level stuff

i'd like my final goal for the day to be getting the layer nonsense to work. once i do, i'd like to implement dialogue and npcs. after that, all i have to do if finish designing the level and i can commit my time to visual assets.

day 3 i havent worked much, but i did some level design today!! here are some gifs of stuff :D

this grapply hook relies on construct 2's physics engine. i could not, for the life of me, get a non-physics based grapply to work. there arent actually any pivot points, though i'd love to have them. instead, when the 'hook' collides with a solid surface, the player character is forced toward the point the hook is at. the player doesnt have a lot of control while they're being pulled like this, which is why i added the ability to doublejump while in the air after grappling. i think it's creating some really fun gameplay elements, though. i just gotta get good at level design!! i'm trying pretty hard right now to design a level that really compliments this gameplay.

sometimes my mainblog will have dev posts, but you're most likely to find me talking about it on my twitter, or just on my thread. i've been practically liveblogging on my thread.

THANKS SO MUCH!!! I LOOOVE COLORS + COLOR THEORY

im going for a very cool theme, the sky will be much darker than this. i wanted my ground tiles to reflect that by being heavy in the purples and blues. i think the colors i used for the rocks here will appear brown to the eye when placed on a darker sky.

honestly, the grapply was the hardest thing to implement. B) if i can implement some dialogue and cutscenes, as well as like one instance of looting a powerup, i can dedicate all my time to level and sprite design.

so the sprite work will be even more beautiful!!! (thank you so much :'D)

NOW I JUST GOTTA MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A SCARF!!

In my quest to figure out why my scarf grapply doesn't display right (like... seriously it works on everything else ;__;) i've refined the grappling mechanic some more!! it plays a little smoother, and you get a double jump in the air after grappling! the double jump only refreshes if you touch ground afterward.

here's a low frame gif example... it doesnt show very well but it's there, i promise.

honestly, my goal now is to get the grappling to display properly so i can spend the rest of the jam making pretty assets and designing a world that will be fun to explore.

EDIT:

WAIT NO I DID IT

i fooled myself for 8 hours into thinking that i'd changed the origin image point for the grapple line, when i actually hadn't ;____;

spent some time making tiles!! i've never made a tileset before...

these dont perfectly represent the aesthetic im going for, but huge tilesets take a lot of time, so hopefully i can make even a fraction of the assets im envisioning ;w ;

yeah for sure!! thank you so much!! messy code is the spice of life, and if there's a way i can clean it up (or even complexify it LOL) to make it work better for myself, well, that's just part of how it goes yeah? some things work better for other people!!

this program is just a mystery... i have been struggling to figure out why the rope wont display propely when it doesnt differentiate at all from my references?? like i've referenced three or four different grapply hooks made by other people and this rope problem has been consistent across all of them :I

oh wow this looks so cute!! at the end of the jam i may have to send it to all my friends who love gay plants. :'D (which is a lot of them) your color palette is really good too!!

do you have any tips/tutorials you used for a dialogue system in construct? i've been so busy battling my grapply hook i haven't had any time to think about it.

i love clicker games!!! and the concept art is really cute... i can't wait to see more.

[shrieks] it works!! it's a bit clunky but im just happy it works. i spent all day on it

now if only i could figure out why the rope displays weird LOL

not having a lot of luck with this grapply hook-- i've got it, but every time i make it, i break it somewhere else. soon?! i'm gonna get this working because i'd really like to incoportate hookshotting into the gameplay

anyway, have some gifs of my struggles

the writhing mass of 'scarf'

helvetica is having a really hard time

while checking why my grapply hook wasnt working, i discovered i'd dissociated helvetica's hitbox from their body. after this i combined their sprite and hitbox-- i'm hoping this wont cause issues later.

????? PARTIAL SUCCESS? THERE THEY GO. GOODBYE.

the last gif is the version of the grapply hook i have now. i cant figure out why it launches them into the void and it interacts really poorly with their sprite ;___;

i drew a messy concept of the ripped bird npc. i think i'll definitely make it a goal to get him implemented.

he's a miscellanious corvid, and needs a nap.

Some day 1 stuff:

Started on Helvetica's sprite. Having trouble with the legs. Never realized fitting birds legs (which i love to draw) in sprite form was so hard. have to make a unique sprite for both facings since helvetica is missing an arm-- mirroring just wont do.

Started on a run cycle for helvetica's sprite. 8 frames seems to be giving me a lot of trouble. I might refine a 4 frame run cycle and work on 8 frames later.

began hashing out a layout and experimenting with what i can do-- brown tiles are regular ground. green are fall-through. orange are the kind you can jump up through and stand on. im hoping to figure out a way to put walkable ground on a layer behind the fall through tunnel you see there, to create sort of a loop around... fall down, climb up to the left, map continues on to the right.

my main goal for the end of tonight is to get a special mechanic working-- i want helvetica's scarf to be utilizable as a grappling hook. so far i've got the grappling hook implemented... im just having a hard time getting it to display and grapple properly.

YESS good... i hope he gets great fanart.

yeah!! helvetica's armlessness is inspired by a really good friend of mine, who portrays xirself as a one armed gryphon, and they are missing their arm in real life. stuff to reference mental illness will be drawing from myself, and many of the characters who i want to include are personifications of this.

i just want to make something that's enjoyable, and since i often feel bad about my ability to write a story, i wanted to make it very visual.

oh, birds have abs B) anthro birds do. ripped birds. there's going to be a Sort Of ripped bird, but i think his sprite will be too small to see them.

i think that plays a lot into it!! for me, the game is a little less about telling a good story and a little more about creating the helplessness that might accompany a lot of things-- mental illness, physical disability, and just plain helplessness in the face of new things. but through all of these things, also being able to explore and enjoy things as well!!

i may include light as a gameplay element, but maybe not for gamejam!! i have a secret game mechanic i wanna see if i can make work before i try to pile more and more game mechanics in... trying to keep it simple, though i want to be complex ;v ;