Object Parameters

Hello again everyone. I finally got my Internet back, so I should be picking back up on things. Then again, finals are starting and I've been really focused on that.

Anyway, Parameters are something I brought up in a previous post. Unfortunately there weren't working exactly as intended it, so I ended up removing it from the first build of the level editor. It's been reworked and seems to be working correctly now. Even though I briefly talked about it before, I want to go into greater detail of how important parameters are.


First, I need to describe how Multimedia Fusion 2 would normally handle a procedure like this. Creating a single object in MMF2 is simple enough, and copying that same object through out places on the map is also simple. The problem comes when you need to differentiate the two. Alterable Values for an object can be changed for an object before runtime, but it will apply to all similar objects. If I had three moving platforms moving at 1 pixel per frame, and I wanted to change the middle platform to 3 pixels per frame, MMF2 would end up changing all of them. The only way around this would be to hard code events and manually instance them using spread values. If you've used MMF2 before, this might be familiar to you. For the images below, imagine that the length of the arrows represent the speed the platform will move at.

Changing value 'Y Speed' of middle platform in MMF2, changes every similar platform in the level.

The level editor itself is still made in MMF2, but it uses a more easy workaround. Objects aren't created until runtime, and every single individual object will have a unique sets of parameters. By creating those same three platforms in the editor, even if they happen to be moving at the same speed, they are actually still different from one another. As such, using the same example from before, changing the middle platform to move at 3 pixels per frame would be incredibly simple.

Changing 'Y Speed' using Parameter feature, only effects selected object, keeping every platform unique.

As of now, I've only implemented basic parameter functions, but now that the basework is complete, it's possible for me to add in more advanced things. Some examples would be script objects to instantly change the weather effects in a level, or adding auto-scrolling with variable speeds. Right now, I opted not to do any parameter functions for enemies, as I'm planning on working out a custom scripting system for them and bosses, so you can create your own. There's no actual... plan... yet. But I'm thinking about it.

Thanks for checking in. Feel free to post below if you have any comments, suggestions, or criticism for me. I'm open to everything. I'll be working on the background and music systems on the weekend, and I hope to finish atleast one of them by next week. If so, that'll be the topic of next post. Until then, take care.