Pandora NanoLemmings [Original Game]
- Thread starter _wb_
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No idea yet. For the main menu I was planning to do my usual "menu on top of actual game background", but that's mostly because I suck at drawing a real title/menu screen
mcobit
Advanced Member
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Would it help if somebody would draw it for you?
Do you have anything in mind how it could look like?
More like the first lemmings menu where the lemmings are holding the menuentries or more like later incarnations where there is a menubackground and normal menuentries to scroll through?
Do you have anything in mind how it could look like?
More like the first lemmings menu where the lemmings are holding the menuentries or more like later incarnations where there is a menubackground and normal menuentries to scroll through?
If you (or anyone else) feel inspired to draw something, that would of course help! I don't have any particular preference on how the menu should look.
comradekingu
Glowing ember
what are the menu options?
I don't know yet - usually I add menu options while I implement new features. Probably the first option would be a level selector / "play" button (or scenario selector, with a submenu to select a level). I don't know if an "options" submenu will be needed. Maybe at some point there will be a built-in level editor. Maybe there will be a "help" submenu too, and one for "credits". I don't know if an explicit "quit" option is needed.
OK, I have a "let's go!" from rError and a "nanonano" from Farox (I edited it a bit to change the pitch and speed and added some echo). Sounds I can still use (in order of importance):
- a splashing/splattering sound (for when they fall down)
- a exploding lemming (maybe it can say "bye bye" or "oh oh" or something, then explode)
- a lemming squeek (when they fall out of the level / into lava or whatever) -> multiple versions would be nice
- other versions of "nanonanonano"
- the sound a lemming makes when getting to the exit (I don't really like the "poing" of the original Lemmings, I was thinking something like "yipee!" or "woohoo!" would be better)
- the sound of a floating/gliding lemming (a gentle breezing sound or something, or the sound of a parachute opening)
- interface reaction sentences, like "okay", "your wish is our command", "aye aye" etc (think warcraft)
For most of the above, it would be best if the sound can be made such that it either loops nicely (or at least lasts long enough), or is extremely short and not too loud. The reason is that since there are so many lemmings, if something happens to one lemming (e.g. falling in a cliff), chances are that it is also happening to a few dozen other lemmings at the same or nearly the same time. So it would be a bad idea to use, say, a 5-second scream and play it back for each and every lemming falling into the cliff -- that would be a deafening and unrecognizable noise. Instead, I can keep playing a long sample / loop for as long as lemmings keep falling, or play a not too loud 100ms sample for each lemming that falls down.
I am recording some "Lemming sounds" for you. I should have all edited and uploaded within 24 hours. Here are some of the phrases, any suggestions are welcome.
Game Phrases:
- GoGoGo
- Let's Go
- Get Ready, Go
- GAME OVER (maybe not in a lemming voice)
Positive Phrases:
- Hooray
- Yes
- Okie Dokie
- Excellent
- Good Work
- Good Job
Negative Phrases:
- Oh No
- Nope
- Can't do that
- Uh Oh
- Houston, we have a problem
Lemming Noise:
- Scream (multiple version will be created)
- Ouch (multiple version of pain noises: "ouch, oof, uhhhh", ect)
I will try to loop what I can (screams, yells, ect). Most sound clips will be between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds.
Game Phrases:
- GoGoGo
- Let's Go
- Get Ready, Go
- GAME OVER (maybe not in a lemming voice)
Positive Phrases:
- Hooray
- Yes
- Okie Dokie
- Excellent
- Good Work
- Good Job
Negative Phrases:
- Oh No
- Nope
- Can't do that
- Uh Oh
- Houston, we have a problem
Lemming Noise:
- Scream (multiple version will be created)
- Ouch (multiple version of pain noises: "ouch, oof, uhhhh", ect)
I will try to loop what I can (screams, yells, ect). Most sound clips will be between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds.
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I haven't implemented lava or water yet - in fact no animated background at all - but that would be cool indeed. I can probably find such generic sounds on some public domain sound fx website.
@rError: nice!
This is what the main menu now looks like:
Thanks to mcobit for the artwork!
The little nanolemmings you see are of course animated; they're floaters. It's kind of neat how they accumulate in some letters (e.g. "u") of the level name, and then when you change the level, they fall down because the text changes.
Thanks to mcobit for the artwork!
The little nanolemmings you see are of course animated; they're floaters. It's kind of neat how they accumulate in some letters (e.g. "u") of the level name, and then when you change the level, they fall down because the text changes.
bzar
A Commando
(S)he looks like me at work before morning coffee
comradekingu
Glowing ember
I will forever think of the bubbles in beer as nanolemmings
Gruntfuggly
Mostly Harmless
Ooooh - please make this available to test soon - it's looking awesome!
One tiny suggestion - can you make it so the the area around the pointer is magnified? Maybe when a key is held down? I really want to see what the little chaps are up to!
One tiny suggestion - can you make it so the the area around the pointer is magnified? Maybe when a key is held down? I really want to see what the little chaps are up to!
OK, for those who want to design levels: here is a tarball of my current work in progress. It's still a bit rough, but the basic game mechanics should be stable enough now. Maybe new terrain types etc will be introduced at some point, but at least levels that work in this version should also work in future versions.
Here is another screenshot of the game in action: (all lemmings are climbers and floaters here, so they look a bit different from normal lemmings)
It's probably best to take a look at the example levels to get an idea of how things are done. In short, it's as follows: every red pixel (#FF0000) becomes a nanolemming, and when they reach a green pixel (#00FF00), they are at the exit. Pixels of color #CC9933 are "soft wall" (diggable), black pixels (#000000) are air, all other pixels are solid wall - if you want to be future proof, use some shade of grey for solid walls, I won't use those for new terrain types. When you are painting, make sure you use a crisp brush, otherwise anti-aliasing will add unwanted edges of solid wall.
In the screenshot above, the "level image" is the same as the image describing the terrain, but that does not have to be the case. So you can make much prettier levels than that
Before you start to draw pretty levels, it's probably best to first playtest the raw terrain though.
You can add your level by adding some lines to maps/maplist; it should be self-explanatory.
Have fun!
Here is another screenshot of the game in action: (all lemmings are climbers and floaters here, so they look a bit different from normal lemmings)
It's probably best to take a look at the example levels to get an idea of how things are done. In short, it's as follows: every red pixel (#FF0000) becomes a nanolemming, and when they reach a green pixel (#00FF00), they are at the exit. Pixels of color #CC9933 are "soft wall" (diggable), black pixels (#000000) are air, all other pixels are solid wall - if you want to be future proof, use some shade of grey for solid walls, I won't use those for new terrain types. When you are painting, make sure you use a crisp brush, otherwise anti-aliasing will add unwanted edges of solid wall.
In the screenshot above, the "level image" is the same as the image describing the terrain, but that does not have to be the case. So you can make much prettier levels than that
Before you start to draw pretty levels, it's probably best to first playtest the raw terrain though.
You can add your level by adding some lines to maps/maplist; it should be self-explanatory.
Have fun!
Oh I forgot: there is no helpscreen yet, so I'll explain the keys here:
Shoulder buttons: zoom in/out
Nubs: panning
dpad: steer the current selection of lemmings
Touch: nearly everything else
F: Faster (or click the "+")
S: Slower (or click the "-")
action button A: select all lemmings
action button X: explode
Exit level: Q or SELECT
Exit game: ESC
There are 6 actions: select, build, dig, explode, climb and float. Not all levels have all actions available, of course.
The first three of those (select, build, dig) have big buttons and remain active once selected. The last three (explode, climb, float) have small buttons and can be assigned only once to a level. If you click the button, it will assign the skill to all lemmings in the current selection (initially all lemmings are selected), at least until you have no more of the skill.
The selection action is used to change the lemmings selection. You can just draw a rectangle on the screen, and all lemmings inside the rectangle will be selected.
The build action is used to make bridges and other structures. You can draw stuff on the screen (there are three different brush sizes you can use) and lemmings will try to build the corresponding structure by locking themselves into place. You'll have to get used to how exactly it works.
The dig action is used to dig tunnels and to unlock builder-lemmings. You can draw on the screen just like with the build action.
If by unlocking builder-lemmings, a bridge becomes suspended in mid air, it will fall down. This can be useful, because petrified builders cannot die from falling, so you can use falling bridges to survive big falls without needing floaters.
A normal lemming can climb two vertical pixels per horizontal pixel. So it can climb on top of another lemming. Climbers can climb straight up, but once they hit an overhang (i.e. there is a pixel right above them), they change direction and will probably fall down. However, if they hit a perfectly horizontal ceiling, they can cling to the ceiling without falling down.
Normal lemmings can survive a drop of less than 40 pixels (don't count too much on the exact number, it might still change). Floaters open their umbrella/parachute/glider/whatever after falling 20 pixels, and from then on, they fall at a somewhat random and slower rate. They float in a randomly changing direction, which can be controlled with the dpad.
Shoulder buttons: zoom in/out
Nubs: panning
dpad: steer the current selection of lemmings
Touch: nearly everything else
F: Faster (or click the "+")
S: Slower (or click the "-")
action button A: select all lemmings
action button X: explode
Exit level: Q or SELECT
Exit game: ESC
There are 6 actions: select, build, dig, explode, climb and float. Not all levels have all actions available, of course.
The first three of those (select, build, dig) have big buttons and remain active once selected. The last three (explode, climb, float) have small buttons and can be assigned only once to a level. If you click the button, it will assign the skill to all lemmings in the current selection (initially all lemmings are selected), at least until you have no more of the skill.
The selection action is used to change the lemmings selection. You can just draw a rectangle on the screen, and all lemmings inside the rectangle will be selected.
The build action is used to make bridges and other structures. You can draw stuff on the screen (there are three different brush sizes you can use) and lemmings will try to build the corresponding structure by locking themselves into place. You'll have to get used to how exactly it works.
The dig action is used to dig tunnels and to unlock builder-lemmings. You can draw on the screen just like with the build action.
If by unlocking builder-lemmings, a bridge becomes suspended in mid air, it will fall down. This can be useful, because petrified builders cannot die from falling, so you can use falling bridges to survive big falls without needing floaters.
A normal lemming can climb two vertical pixels per horizontal pixel. So it can climb on top of another lemming. Climbers can climb straight up, but once they hit an overhang (i.e. there is a pixel right above them), they change direction and will probably fall down. However, if they hit a perfectly horizontal ceiling, they can cling to the ceiling without falling down.
Normal lemmings can survive a drop of less than 40 pixels (don't count too much on the exact number, it might still change). Floaters open their umbrella/parachute/glider/whatever after falling 20 pixels, and from then on, they fall at a somewhat random and slower rate. They float in a randomly changing direction, which can be controlled with the dpad.
ptitSeb
Serial Porter
Looks like an impressive game (again I might add)! Congrats
Can't wait to try (and I'm sure my kids too).
Can't wait to try (and I'm sure my kids too).
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