z2

Wow I can't believe I did not think of that.... I am dumb. I remember when I couldn't get the multiple choice to work because i put 1: instead of :1 and I
was getting all mad. When i figured it out I was like... Duh!! Slapped myself.
Thank you.

The encyclopedia has a lot of tricks, but I wouldn't say that it covers every single thing you can do in ZZT-OOP. The encyclopedia is somewhat old, and every now and then someone comes up with a new ZZT trick.

KevEdit has a lot of features, but it's pretty easy to use as long as you ignore the stuff you don't understand. I use KevEdit, but most of the time I only use a couple of its features. That said, if the built-in editor works for you, use it! Just don't be afraid of the alternatives.

I still say we make a new encyclopedia.

Breaking ZZT is the only way I can enjoy it these days.

Dr. Dos wrote:I still say we make a new encyclopedia.

Breaking ZZT is the only way I can enjoy it these days.

Agreed.

I would love to help on that... to bad would hurt it more then help.

let's make a list, shall we:

* bomb countdown glitch (dr. dos)
* kangaroo effect (gingermuffins)

Hmm, what else is there. Please feel free to contribute.

Zenith Nadir wrote:let's make a list, shall we:

* bomb countdown glitch (dr. dos)
* kangaroo effect (gingermuffins)

Hmm, what else is there. Please feel free to contribute.

http://zzt.org/dr_dos/Limit.zzt

Binders Keepers (Dr. Dos)

@shawnwilson: Always with the negative waves, man! You'd probably be pretty valuable as a tester/proofreader -- after all, people like you might be the intended audience, right?

I like the idea of a new encyclopedia. Any thoughts as to format or organization?

I made a life bar by using red on red gems and crushing them against a wall, as seen in the last fight of the living dead.

from EFCW {

a grenade (only works on objects) follows you around and you push it to throw. On collision it turns into a slime, then the enemy objects check to see if they are surrounded, then it turns the slime into stars for a second (so that it might hurt the player as well).

a mirror that has objects checking for alignment perpendicular to the mirror object so that you appear smaller in the mirror (or not at all) when you are further away.

with kevedit you can hide objects on top of solid blocks, I used this to make it appear as though enemies came in from another board when the alarm was sounded.

}

nadir's flamethrower from lebensraum comes to mind as something worth adding.

I remember this cool overworld engine wil made. It was random like DGN but you walked to any edge and the map would show you were you were and the terrain would be different depending on the map tile. i can't remember where I saw it though. Also where's the fine line for ripping off ideas or code? Can we include things done by zzters who are inactive or uncontactable?

So Zenith, say like only one person submits a new toolkit. Are you really gonna go through the trouble of shifting the boards down one to get it all in alphabetical order?! HMMM?

Furthermore, toolkits are awesome. Everybody used to have their own toolkit! Kevedit can copy and paste sections of a board. Previously, moving your board down one space was a horrible pain. Also, now that windows can't copy and paste text from dos, kevedit is necessary. But other than that I say zzt!

@Commodore: I wouldn't copy-and-paste anybody's code without permission, but I don't see any harm in taking ideas. It's not like anyone patents ZZT engines (I hope).

For example, suppose I wanted to make an entry on advanced sidescroller design. I wouldn't copy code from Sid's Adventure, nor would I duplicate the gameplay. Instead, I would identify general concepts that I would like to teach (such as how to add injuries from falling, or ways to add special moves). I would then write an example from scratch that demonstrated those general concepts.

thinking of platformers and engines, there should be a general discussion about the different methods for using the player as a controller, like arrows that detect contact and put an empty vs arrows you have to actually touch.

I was also thinking (this was an idea back when we were going to make a MIG encyclopedia) that there might be some font boards, not like ascii fonts, but complete alphabets for different ways of drawing big letters, like for title screens. That would probably have to be a file unto itself.

superbowl shuffle wrote:So Zenith, say like only one person submits a new toolkit. Are you really gonna go through the trouble of shifting the boards down one to get it all in alphabetical order?! HMMM?

note my use of the plural in the previous statement. also yes, yes i would.

anyway if i recall correctly the lebensraum flamethrower thing was appropriated/derived from something that was already in the encyclopedia, so it shouldn't really go into a new entry. however, there IS the whole "hiding stuff under black objects" thing going in that game, that could possibly, conceivably be worth putting into the list

I think if possible, show the tricks of the trade as basic as possible. Like to use for reference or easy for a newcomer say like myself can come along and figure it out.

The last ones are good, but I thought maybe a bit flashy. You could maybe make albums from the easy stuff to pull off up into the complicated things. Volume it out like that. So as to not confuse people. So that some one can come along and get the basic script and know how to do it and add upon it as they see fit. Try to fine tune the scripts to be as basic as possible? Then you can just go in easy get a reference or whatever then build off that into your games.