LOVE-Adventure-Game-Engine: A Lua repository from xpresso

WELCOME!

This is a simple README just to tell you the gist. This is a game.. Engine. It
is supposed to be an engine for a Zelda-style adventure game with real-time
overworld and shit. It's unfinished so don't think it's done.

More will come.

ATTENTION:
In order to test this code, you must download and install Löve2D. A 2D game
engine creation enviroment blah blah blah. Just download it.

http://love2d.org/

Next, drag the folder these files are in onto the Löve application icon. It
will run.

Alternatively...

If on OS X:
Rename the folder with a .love extension. You will then be able to double-click
to run.

If on Windows or OS X or Linux:
Open this folder (You already have), select everything, at least main.lua and
the game folder and ZIP the files into an archive. Make sure the main.lua file
and game folder are at the root of the ZIP. Then rename the .zip with .love.
You will then be able to double-click to run as well.


NOTES:

• Create maps complete with tiles and scenery objects. Scenery objects in the
  map engine are sorted by Y value. That is to say the higher their Y, i.e. the
  further down on the map, the closer to the camera, the later they are drawn.
  So further back scenery gets drawn behind front scenery.

• In the engine, scenery is just one of a few "Y sorted" objects, or "sprites".
  Along with scenery are NPC's, the player, projectiles, switches, pushables,
  enemies, explosions, dropped items and anything that is not a tile.

• The map editor, while still pretty newborn, is capable of creating any map
  the engine can support. There is no limit to how many "sprites" can be placed
  in a scene. Only the framerate of your computer. But the Löve2d environment
  is fast enough to support 1000's of drawing calls per frame on any modern
  computer. Some maps may have hundreds of trees in the same screen at once.
  There's no problem.

• Currently you can create scenery, but you cannot delete it from the GUI yet.
  This will be implemented hopefully soon. As a workaround, you can edit the
  map's "scenery" script manually to remove the misplaced scenery.

• Currently you can only place one of three tile layers and a scenery layer.
  In the future, the map editor will also be able to create switches,
  pushables, even enemies. If there is time of course. This map editor is
  mostly for my own benefit and ease of use. It is here to create the actual
  game that will eventually come from this project.

• A tip for placing scenery on top of other scenery. Please note: The sorting
  algorithm is not perfect. If two objects occupy the same Y location, they
  will overlap, but they will never always be in the same order. So as you play
  you will notice jittering of the two objects. You can fix this, if you MUST
  put something in front of something else, and you will have to, a tip is to
  add a fraction of a pixel, say .01 or so to the Y of the object you want in
  front. If you want something else, add .02. It doesn't matter. It can even be
  .0000001 if you want. The sort function will sort them by number. Currently
  you have to do this in a text editor in post, but in the future I will add a
  "Nudge" key or a "Send forward" or "Send backward" key to add and subtract
  these fractions, or decimals.

• Another tip, say you want to create a two story house. You would use the wall
  scenery twice on top of each other. But you will want to make their Y's the
  same. Scenery has an "Elevation" parameter that allows you to make scenery
  "float" in the air. So the wall is 64. One wall would have 0 elevation. The
  other would have the same Y, but an elevation of -64. To do this, hold LEFT
  SHIFT and press UP or DOWN to add/subtract from the elevation.

• When a map is created, currently it creates two files. A .MAP file which
  holds the tile data and a .LUA Scenery file that holds all scenery, the
  background color and in the future other data. There is another .LUA file
  that is user created that will allow you to add anything you want. This
  goes in the /game/maps/post/ folder and will have the same name as the .MAP
  and .LUA files. Take a look at the POST file for the Courtyard and notice
  the goodies:

  • Pushables, signs, other conditional statements for adding scenery at
    certain times, hot zones, etc are all in here.

  • Also note the three functions. mapUpdate, mapDraw, mapUnload. These are
    used for computing stuff while a map is loaded. Update is called every
    frame, as is Draw and can calculate and draw new things to the map as you
    wish, and Unload is called when the map changes. These three functions are
    completely optional. If they are not present, they won't be used.



© 2009-2010 Jason Anderson
xpresso/LOVE-Adventure-Game-Engine
