Portal in ZZT,

Post by **Zenith Nadir** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:41 pm

SHORT SWORD -- You start the game with this sword. It is so weak, you feel lonely (you have no confidence in this sword).

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:44 pm

Again, How is that relevant? There's no sword in Portal. There's a portal gun, and possibly a cake.

Post by **Zenith Nadir** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:49 pm

ando is autistic

dave3 likes men

i hit bullys

fuck of zenith

http://zzt.org/zu/wiki/Category:Catchphrases HERE

(this quickly defused the tension)

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:23 am

Ok, I get it, I still don't see how that's relevant. Anyway, I answered my own question (is there a program that generates scrolling bottom-line text?) when I looked through the utilities and found Quill. Great stuff, Quill, except that it runs really slow and makes annoying sounds if it's not in the foreground. Or maybe that's just the old computer I'm using right now. Running windows 98 SE with 72megs of RAM. Old, but it can somehow run ZZT and KevEdit. I also have ZZTunder on it. Anyway. I'm changing the blue text boxes to bottom-liners because then GLaDOS' speech doesn't interrupt gameplay, leaving it as the peripheral it was in the original Portal. There's that noise again, I must be crazy running that thing on this old computer with firefox open at the same time. If dosbox ran half-well on this thing I could use that and then maybe I could turn the sound off. Oh man, I just realized I have KevEdit going too. Ah well, WiL and Michael Cockrum are still on my dedication list for such a useful tool.

Does anyone have any idea how to portal boulders or something similar in ZZT? I'm beginning to think I'll need to split up the objects or just work without the weighted cubes.

Microwave · Post by **Microwave** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:33 am

I haven't even really read/grasped/played anything here, but it's making me want to create neat things with ZZT.

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:13 am

Microwave wrote:I haven't even really read/grasped/played anything here, but it's making me want to create neat things with ZZT.

Awesome! Personally I've tried several times to make neat things with ZZT but always either get distracted or hit some snag. This is actually the first time I've tried posting my issue to a board, and whadda y'know? I've kept focused on PortalZZT for a few days so far! My last project was 5thWall, it sputtered after a day or two when I finished the title screen and had no more ideas about gameplay. But you wouldn't know about that because I never posted it. Some great games and engines that influenced and inspired me are Aura, Little Square Things, and Chrono Wars. As for grasping the concepts, mainly I'm working with player clones and [#bind] commands, which are covered more extensively elsewhere, so I don't feel a pressing need to rant about them right now. Not that I wouldn't if asked...

Post by **Dr. Dos** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:32 am

Nupanick wrote: EDIT: I felt that GLaDOS was interrupting the gameplay too much. Who reads those scrolling blue text boxes (besides me on a good day)? I was going to make a small bottom line scroller and discovered quickly that even with copy and paste, I would be doing about one line for each letter of the message. Does anyone know of a program to convert text to ZZT marquee? If not, I'll probably write one and take more time than using copy/paste would.

pretty sure there's something in the utilities called Quill for just that.

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:09 pm

Yeah, I know. I found it. I'm still stuck on the cubes, though.

EDIT: hey, I've getting run-time errors on some passages. Is this just DosBox or did I mess something up?

Commodore · Post by **Commodore** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:40 pm

weird, could be dosbox.

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:07 pm

So what do you think of my new level? I had an idea about GLaDOS and the status bar. If I move the bar to the bottom, I can work in a section for GLaDOS's scrolling speech. It should also have game title and level displayed on it, and the space around the edges I can use for [#bind]ing objects for the cameras. Binders Keepers works with those. I tried it with the portals, I'm still trying to get the original to stop closing when the [#bind]ed one does. Anything else I should put on the status bar? Ideas to handle cubes? I'm out of ideas, maybe I'll have to leave the cubes out.

BTW:
http://xkcd.com/375/

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:34 am

So I made the status bar on the bottom like I was talking about:

I think it's looking pretty good!

Oops, I just noticed I spelled "Objective" wrong. Oh no! Someone might care about my spelling on a ZZT forum!

NAH!

Post by **Quantum P.** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:55 am

In the forum, no. In a game, yes.

Welcome to z2, by the way!

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 1:22 am

Thanks, and I already fixed it. As for your gracious welcome to Z2, thank you

. It's very nice.

Even if it's probably to small to show up as more than a town or city on one of these:
http://xkcd.com/256/
but imagine if you took all those minuscule communities and put them together somewhere in Subculture, that'd be a nice little island.

Well, it's an interesting thought. And yes, Z2 rocks, although I personally prefer Lolcat Pidgin to FISHIGN.

Example:
I AM IN UR ZIG, TAKING ALL UR BASE
vs
ALL UR BSAE AER BELLOG 2 PIE YAYAYAYAYAY!!!

Do I have the gist of it, or is my FISHIGN a bit too readable?

And, for the record, I sometimes talk bad like this in real life. It's amazing how it seems to take less energy once you let grammar slip away like that.

EDIT: Say, you wouldn't happen to know how to have an object check for a given object in a given direction, would you? I'm still working on PortalZZT. I'm probably going to get Portal soon, I was going to save up for the Orange Box but I don't like FPSs much.
*Ducks awkwardly in case there are any HL2 fans listening.*

--Yeah, I do that in real life too. I attempt to duck comedically when I say something I've just realized would offend a group of fans.

But seriously, does anyone have ideas? I'm afraid this project is starting to sputter like my last one did. Maybe playing the original portal will spark something.

CUBES! THEY AER TORTRUING MEH! NO MOER CUEBS!!! I NOE RIEK YOU! WAHT PUZLEE GMAE HSA NO CUEBS!!! A DUMM OEN THTA'S WAHT OEN! WYH CNAT I MAEK CUEBS WROK!?!

Dang, now I see what all the buzz is about. So that's what a FISHIG-fueled rant feels like. But seriously. Need cubular ideas or sommat.

Scribbit · Post by **Scribbit** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:52 am

So, me and my brother chipped in and we're getting Portal through Steam. I'm excited, but I'll have to wait, because as of now(7:37 PM) Steam reports the file 11% downloaded. I can wait... And I made a simple art board thing, more likely I'll use it as level design somehow:

Thank you KevEdit!

7:43 and 15%.
Wow, I'm obsessing. I can be patient. Oh, I know! I'll use that board as a title screen! There's space for the player to navigate from the center spot!

...

7:51 and 22%.

Commodore · Post by **Commodore** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:38 am

looks like a good title screen. could also be a menu screen, should you have need of a menu.

Nupanick wrote: Even if it's probably to small to show up as more than a town or city on one of these:
http://xkcd.com/256/

I think on that map were a small rowing boat off the coast of the isle of 4chan bailing water.

z2

Portal in ZZT,

Ah.

We need reenforcements!

Re: WTF?

Yeah, I know.

Hmmm...

Status Bar on the Bottom! With REAL computer flavor!

no prob.

I'm getting Portal! YAYAYAYAY etc.