Anyone here? I've got a question

Discussion in 'Modding Discussion' started by EsotericOdyssey, Mar 10, 2015.

  1. EsotericOdyssey

    EsotericOdyssey Space Hobo

    I got this game a while ago and I really enjoyed the main campaign. I've got an idea for my own mod campaign, and while I don't have any experience with coding, I've been experimenting with the mod tools and reading the wiki to try and expand my knowledge. It's just an idea at the moment, and I haven't done any real work on it, but I've got an open-world thing in mind for this thing I'm thinking about making. If any of the devs are here, tell me: is that something someone could pull off with the mod tools? An open-world thing instead of mission-based, where you navigate the ship room-by-room, sort of like a metroidvania type thing, as opposed to doing missions one by one and returning to your home base at the end of every mission? And, if you could do that, would it be possible to have respawning enemies that come back, possibly in lessened force, after you clear a room for the first time?
     
    • Seminus

      Seminus Halfway Developer Developer

      Hmm yes we are here :)

      You could build a "room-based" game play yes instead of a mission -> back to home base loop we have. The first two levels work exactly like this.
      So it is up to you how you connect levels with each others. In the main campaign the home base is also just another level that we hook in between missions.

      About the enemy respawn: What do you have in mind exactly?
      The whole level system is rather flexible but the spawning is more limited to the level. Also you can not save the state of the level/room you already left. That means if you reenter the level it will be the same as before.
      But let me know what exactly you want to achieve and I may can help you. :)

      PS Sorry for the late replay.
       
      • EsotericOdyssey

        EsotericOdyssey Space Hobo

        S'alright. What I wanted to know is if it'd be possible to have enemies spawn again is you leave a room and return to it later, after some time has passed. The ideal sort of situation would be to have any enemies that show up on return trips be a weaker group in comparison to the ones that were there when you first entered that room, like crummy little scavengers as opposed to some group that managed to get a decent foothold in that part of the ship.

        edit: Also, to clarify, is it actually possible to script rooms that can be returned to?
         
        • Seminus

          Seminus Halfway Developer Developer

          hey :)
          Yes you can make rooms that you can return to. That is just a matter of linking the level exit properly so that it loads the right level when you enter the exit zone.
          What you have in mind with spawing new group of enemies is not that easy possible.
          To explain the system a bit more:
          The enemies that are spawned are always the one you have placed in the level. So if you want to change the typ of enemies that are spawned when entering the level again would be solved this way:

          1. You make the original room/level you enter the first time. -> Hard enemies, good loot etc. lets call it level001Original.
          2. Then you make a copy of this level and name it level001Return or something and place less enemies, change the content of the loot containers and save it.
          3. Make the second room/level the same way.
          4. Now connect the first level001Original with the second level level002Original, but in the level002Original you link back to the level001Return etc.

          I made this small example to get you started. But please note: This is a workaround as Halfway was never intended to be a metroidvania style game so it wont 100% be the same, but it should simulate your idea to some degree.

          Here is the sample demo of what you can achieve:
          http://robotality.com/downloads/metroidvaniaTechDemo.zip

          Additional note: If you would go via the map including a mission briefing like in Halfway, you would have more control over this sort of things as the game progress allows you way more control over what rooms/levels are available and which not but it would move the concept a bit away from your original one. (But it would make your life easier I guess.)
          With the demo above you will soon hit some problems if you want more variation and more none linearity. But I hope this helps you to get your head around how you can connect levels with each other. :)
           
            Last edited: Mar 17, 2015
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          • EsotericOdyssey

            EsotericOdyssey Space Hobo

            The download's not working, but I think I get what you're saying. Might not be easy, but I'll work at it and see if I can pull it off.
             
            • Seminus

              Seminus Halfway Developer Developer

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