[F8] The Game I'm creating- Also I am looing for help!

hah cool game!i cant wait to see what its like when its all done. i cant rlly critique yet since its not done. but make sure u add some nice enemy xploding graphics, that always makes it better =]

Hey my new version is coming out soon, I just wanted to show you a little sneak peek since it might take longer then expected to come out.
This is the game menu thus far:
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...evils/menu.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...evils/menu.jpg

Currently I'm just tweaking my explosion effects, because I know smith wants to see some:) Also I'm trying to add cool enemy turrets, enemies that follow patterns and ai enemies which follow you. The ai is good and I made a spawner, but I'm having one little problem. Every time another alien comes from the spawner, the one before it disappears:( Any reason why?

Code:

---

_root.attachMovie("AI","AI"+i, 100+i);
_root["AI"+i]._x=this._x;
_root["AI"+i]._y=this._y;
i++;

---

Thats just the simple spawner code, now I have the ai working perfectly, thats not the problem it's getting the spawner to work perfectly. If anyone has any ideas tell me, also give me some critiques about the game menu.

perhaps because the variable i is overwritten somewhere else?

Perhaps....... I'll still tinker around with that, maybe I'll find the solution. So render, what do you think of the menu?

mandelbrot algo pic?
font and the pink color are a good match :) so does the background (though if you know what it is again very technical :p).
My only dislike is the menu frame (the black translucent rounded rectangle) - it doesn´t play well with the rest- it doesn´t feel integrated.

Hmmm....Well what would be a good way to make it integrated, or a good replacement that would be integrated, but still does the same thing?

What is the scope if the i variable in the spawner?

The main reason I see for the thing to be overwriting the last monster is that i is getting reset and it keeps making the instance name "AI1" or "AI0" over and over again at the same depth.

Try sticking a trace at the beginning of that code.
trace("New enemy spawned: AI" + i);

Ya I think your getting somewhere here, when it spawns it says "AIunidentified, AINaN, AINaN" when it should say something like this "AI1, AI2, AI3, AI4, etc"

I'm truly sorry to send two messages back to back about the same thing, but the problem still remains, but I'm getting closer to the solution.So how would I make it so the spawner says "AI1, AI2,AI3" instead of "AIunidentified, AINaN, AINaN"?

just use a different variable instead of the "i"
it seems that the variable i was not defined propper,- e.g you need to define the variable somewhere before and assign it with a default value:

PHP Code:

---

var i = 0;//start at 0; 


---

but personally I´d not recoment using i as it is often used in loops,- better use something like

PHP Code:

---

var count = 0;
function attacksome(){
    _root.attachMovie("AI","AI"+count, 100+count);
    _root["AI"+count]._x=this._x;
    _root["AI"+count]._y=this._y;
    count++;
} 


---

It did not work properly that way, the ai enemies did not even come out. Whats the attacksome function for?
I got some progress though, I used a variable like you did for the counter, It's still called i though.

Code:

---

var i:Number = 0;
trace("New enemy spawned: AI" + i);
_root.attachMovie("AI","AI"+i, 100+i);
_root["AI"+i]._x=this._x;
_root["AI"+i]._y=this._y;
i++;

---

Now with that code the trace function says "AI0,AI0" instead of "AIunidentified, AINaN, AINaN". We are getting closer, but theres still something missing. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Look at your code. You define i to be 0 INSIDE your loop. So i keeps getting reset.

You have to move that var i bit outside your loop.

If the code you posted above is ALL you have in your spawner and it is called from somewhere else, then you need to use a variable that is defined in the root.

So your main timeline would have:
var i:Number = 0
somewhere at the top in frame 1.

Then your code for your spawner has to refer to that 'i' as '_root.i'

Just make sure you never use a for loop that uses 'i' on the main timeline or you are going to really confuse yourself trying to figure out what is wrong.

My current project uses a root level variable I have called "gi", short for global i that I use anytime I need a unique SOMETHING I can just tack "+ _root.gi++" on the end of the instance name it and know it does not exist anywhere else.

Yes I agree, I'll change the variable from i, but at the moment, my AI is in a fla with just the spawner, AI and the ship, so I can get it to work, before I implement it in my game. So in this FLA there would be no other variable called i.
But from here on, i will not be my variable name of choice.

I'm so close to having a new release done now, and this stupid ai error is the only thing holding the release back, so I'm going to send a basic test fla so you guys can further see whats happening. I'm confused:(
I have tried everything you guys have told me.

The problem is solved, don't bother help. But instead, stay tuned for my next release in a few days.

that´s nice to hear

My god it's a new release! Run for cover, woman and children first!

http://northernmost.org/cosmos/Cosmos%20v1.8.html

Now I got your attention. :)
It appears that I made a newer release. This release is not much different from the old one, except for the fact that I took out the ball, increased the ships flight speed and the enemies projectile speed, added Flashsaga's wonderful particle effects that he so kindly offered me, and added a game menu and credits screen. The credits screen works, but sometimes it screws up and shows the game all messed up with the timer saying NaN, but that happens only here and there, for a reason unknown.

What should we expect from the next release?

Well thats simple really(answering my own questions, man I'm good at this).
Previously I told you the next release should have AI enemies, turrets and enemies that follow patterns. Which it will! I programmed all of those things already, but the models aren't made for them yet, so I'm not going to release a version where squares are shooting at you and stuff, haha. Also the ship is going to get another speed up and the game screens going to be increased! Also I got a new firing system where you just have to hold the mouse button down and it rapidly shoots, but since the enemies are all stupid thus far, and none of them have AI yet, I figured that would be to powerful to add in this version. Also there will be enemies with different hp, so they won't get killed by just 1 hit. I hope you enjoy this release, please tell me your thoughts!

I like the feel of it and the look of the 2 models you have in there so far.

One thing I noticed that I am not sure if it fits logically is that the ship takes damage when it 'hits' the top of the screen. That seemed somewhat out of place to me. Intuitively, my expectations would be that the top of the screen would stop me (not bounce me back) but not hurt me. Maybe that is just me though.

The flame effect looks nice.

Thank you Alluvian, I'm glad your enjoying this game so far. The reason why I made it so you bounce off the top of the screen and other parts of the screen is because I wanted this game to eventually be about dodging obstacles and going through a vast quantity of platforms, as well as killing enemies. Your ship has hp with recurring health pickups so other things then just enemies have to be a factor in your demise. I haven't spent much time on the winner screen yet, because eventually I'll have like a high score system and everything. I hope people will eventually enjoy this game, and theres a large quantity of work still do complete on this game. This game in particular might take me a year or more to complete, but I'll persist at it.

I love those shooting sounds,- really makes a difference :)

I made a screen mockup,- perhaps some inspiration for you
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/flashki...ter_mockup.jpg
I mixed some colors in the background (balck soley is boring imo.) some asteroids with depth blur wich could be used in a paralax movement. Laster tralis or lines after the shots (just those red dots look boring) some lense effects on the engine and a thin fall of of black color and the top and the bottom.