Scorpion Engine

[earok]

@malko Yes, exactly

Experimental check in. This is partly as a favor to NEESO games to help with Jackal, but it's also a stepping stone towards Micro Machines and Asteroids style controls as well as something cool I wanted to try out in AlarCity.

P1/2/3/4 "control" type now has a rotational speed. If it's set to something other than 0, it will smoothly rotate through all directions on the way to the desired direction. Also makes it reasonably easy to stop on a diagonal direction.

Demo video from AlarCity https://i.imgur.com/u998fDO.mp4

Note that it's biased towards clockwise (but will obviously go counter-clockwise if it's faster to do so).

----

Just a heads up - I'll be stopping new features in Scorpion for a few days at least, though I'll do emergency bug fixes to experimental if need be. I'll be focusing on the first public release of RetroAnimator (animation toolkit used for Metro Siege), there's a few bugs and things that need to be sorted out first.

[malko]

Ohhh. I didn't know that Jackal was ported to Amiga. Thanks for the info
https://neesogames.itch.io/jackal-amiga-port

[earok]

No worries! Jackal is still very much a work in progress, it's an entry for the AmiGameJam contest that runs for another five or so months.

I know of a couple of others being made in Scorpion that I can't mention because they haven't been announced publicly, my own project is decided on but I haven't even started on it yet. The only other one I know of that's been publicly announced was Rush N Attack / Green Beret by Dante Mendes. NEESO had been working on a port of Captain America and the Avengers as a proof of concept before switching to Jackal.

[ElectroBlaster]

I am blown away by what can be done with this program!

..but is there a guide for a newb? I have so much stuff stored away, music, stuff ive drawn over the years and never done anything with etc.

[Neil79]

Originally Posted by malko

Ohhh. I didn't know that Jackal was ported to Amiga. Thanks for the info
https://neesogames.itch.io/jackal-amiga-port

Ahem

[acidbottle]

Originally Posted by ElectroBlaster

I am blown away by what can be done with this program!

..but is there a guide for a newb? I have so much stuff stored away, music, stuff ive drawn over the years and never done anything with etc.

Scorpion is constantly evolving so a guide is difficult just now. However, your best bet is to look at all the demos and see how they work, honestly you pick it up and learn something new all the time.

Failing that just come on here and ask for advice.

[malko]

Originally Posted by Neil79

Ahem

I see
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/0...s-getting.html

[ElectroBlaster]

Originally Posted by acidbottle

Scorpion is constantly evolving so a guide is difficult just now. However, your best bet is to look at all the demos and see how they work, honestly you pick it up and learn something new all the time.

Failing that just come on here and ask for advice.

I shall delve into everything.

Thanks btw!

[Clydos]

Originally Posted by ElectroBlaster

..but is there a guide for a newb? I have so much stuff stored away, music, stuff ive drawn over the years and never done anything with etc.

Welcome, ElectroBlaster! Well, the Scorpion Editor was quite overhelming to me when I first opened it. Although slightly outdated what really helped me was this video by earok: [ Show youtube player ]

After that a lot made more sense to me. It also helped me to better understand the other demos, which are very helpful, like acidbottle said.

Also this forum helps, BUT ... :-) IMHO a lot of valuable infos get lost in this mega thread. Especially for beginners it can be hard to find infos and then we ask for common stuff again. Also, I can imagine that earok loses track of some topics sometimes.
I think it would be very helpful to have separate threads for certain topics/questions regard Scorpion. One way to accomplish this would be to use the "Discussions" functionality on GitHub, which earok woud have to enable for his repo.

OR is it possible her in the eab boards to have kind of a separate Scorpion forum were we can start separate threads?

My 2 cents ...

[Mixel]

Hi ElectroBlaster! I think people are right to suggest tinkering and asking a ton of questions.

Are people aware of the Scorpion Discord Invent71 set up on Nebula Design's server? I didn't realise so few people knew about it and can't remember how *I* know about it, I thought it popped up earlier in the thread. It can be a good place to get support and find contacts who may be able to give tips.

Clydos: I dunno if EAB is receptive to the idea of a whole Scorpion section. I'd love that too.. Would it be coders.scorpion ? This topic has come up before, as well as the idea of a Wiki. It could really help, but currently I think generally just ask any questions, don't worry how nooby they sound or if you think they may have been asked before, reading the mega thread shouldn't be a prerequisite for starting. (and in many cases the old answers are probably out of date anyway..)

[Tsak]

Hey guys, currently me and Erik are setting up a new Discord server which will have a dedicated Scorpion section with all the necessary threads. I think this will help much the (ever growing as it seems) Scorpion community to have such a centralised and extended place to call home, get help, showcase their projects e.t.c.

[Mixel]

Woohoo! That sounds great! Really looking forward to that.

That will make a big difference! Scorpion seems like it’s growing in users exponentially now.

[malko]

Originally Posted by Clydos

[...] Also this forum helps, BUT ... :-) IMHO a lot of valuable infos get lost in this mega thread. Especially for beginners it can be hard to find infos and then we ask for common stuff again. Also, I can imagine that earok loses track of some topics sometimes.
I think it would be very helpful to have separate threads for certain topics/questions regard Scorpion. One way to accomplish this would be to use the "Discussions" functionality on GitHub, which earok woud have to enable for his repo.

OR is it possible her in the eab boards to have kind of a separate Scorpion forum were we can start separate threads?

My 2 cents ...

I see no differences between this exact thread (where most of the informations are available - as well as @earok) and a new GitHub, Discord or whatever other "discussion" place that you can set-up to so called "better find" information. I mean information will get lost for everybody not willing to use a "search" feature or read existing documentation or examples. Site does not matter except that the more you "fork" the less you find information and the more place has @earok to read and kind of "maintain".
Of course, if the problem for someone is that typing 'eab' is less "hype" than 'discord', this is another story...

[domkid]

Originally Posted by Tsak

Hey guys, currently me and Erik are setting up a new Discord server ...

wow great news

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by malko

Site does not matter except that the more you "fork" the less you find information and the more place has @earok to read and kind of "maintain".
Of course, if the problem for someone is that typing 'eab' is less "hype" than 'discord', this is another story...

Nah.. The thread is off putting.. you go to the start and it’s basically talking about entirely different software! Where are they supposed to start? What are they supposed to ignore?

It’s almost like saying indexes aren’t worthwhile, as that’s all organising it would do. Allow people to find exactly what sort of info they need without needing to use EAB’s (actually not that great) search function.

Structure will make it much, much easier for the users to support each other. It’s likely going to grow past the point where Earok could realistically be expected to put time into supporting every project and also get anything done himself. Or have any free time.

People keep complaining about the inaccessibility of everything being in this one thread. It’s not a slight against EAB, the thread is great, but it’s not useful as a “living manual” which is all Scorpion can hope for until it’s finished enough to get a real manual.

People definitely hold back from over-sharing here for fear of derailing it, too.. There is a lot of helpful info stuck in the heads of the users with nowhere obvious to put it, atm.

Oops wall of text, sorry.

[acidbottle]

This thread a small goldmine of info but it is difficult to find it amongst everything else, must admit.

I agree with malko that by splitting up the current sources of info it could be potentially more difficult to find info or the help you need.

I have chanced upon using discord several times and always leave the platform very irritated by its function. For some god forsaken reason it never logs in, I truly hate it and the UI/account management. I am in a minority I know!

Will probably continue to use this forum as its easy and worked up to now!

Talking of help and info I do need some again

How does everyone handle checkpoints in game? I did a test run of using a hidden block to set a variable number that matches the block. A codeblock is used upon death to check the variable and to move to a specific location. It does not teleport or move the player to the checkpoint co-ordinates no matter how I arrange the code. I use the same code for when I start the character on the map so not sure what the issue is. If that makes sense of course any tip appreciated, am sure there are far better ways!

Also have an issue whereby my character is jumping off the top of the screen and getting stuck, out of sight. screen still still scrolls like the character is there, just need it to fall back into the map!

Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by acidbottle

This thread a small goldmine of info but it is difficult to find it amongst everything else, must admit.

I agree with malko that by splitting up the current sources of info it could be potentially more difficult to find info or the help you need.

People needing support outside of this thread (a forum section would be a different story) is an inevitability though, by the nature of how it's all just clumped together. I'm just really happy Earok and Tsak are working on it. The number of people who've brought up the unweildiness of everything being a single thread is growing.. Every time a new user starts almost.

How does everyone handle checkpoints in game? I did a test run of using a hidden block to set a variable number that matches the block. A codeblock is used upon death to check the variable and to move to a specific location. It does not teleport or move the player to the checkpoint co-ordinates no matter how I arrange the code. I use the same code for when I start the character on the map so not sure what the issue is. If that makes sense of course any tip appreciated, am sure there are far better ways!

This doesn't sound too different to what I'm doing in CMOhn.. In fact it sounds identical? I have those floppy disk save point blocks, which set two variables ("SpawnX" and "SpawnY") to Actor_X and Actor_Y, then I activate my death animation and teleport my player to SpawnX and SpawnY.

One thing I notice looking in my Spawn code (as well as the piles of other assorted nonsense, lol) I have the camera move before the player? I can't immediately remember why I did this, but there must be a reason or I wouldnt have done it, haha.

Also have an issue whereby my character is jumping off the top of the screen and getting stuck, out of sight. screen still still scrolls like the character is there, just need it to fall back into the map!

That isn't normally possible? I bounce off the top of the map in CMOhn.. Do you have a panel at the top by any chance? Maybe they're jumping to bits of the level behind the panel?

[UltraNarwhal]

Originally Posted by acidbottle

How does everyone handle checkpoints in game? I did a test run of using a hidden block to set a variable number that matches the block. A codeblock is used upon death to check the variable and to move to a specific location. It does not teleport or move the player to the checkpoint co-ordinates no matter how I arrange the code. I use the same code for when I start the character on the map so not sure what the issue is. If that makes sense of course any tip appreciated, am sure there are far better ways!

Also have an issue whereby my character is jumping off the top of the screen and getting stuck, out of sight. screen still still scrolls like the character is there, just need it to fall back into the map!

Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

I use a block that on collision stores the block x & y as variables. When the player dies I move them outside the map (to be destroyed in inert state), then move the camera to blockvariable_x * 16 & blockvariable_y * 8, then spawn a new player on checkpoint block, then tell game to folllow player again.

[Tsak]

Imho I think we've passed the threshold for the usefulness of this thread. Reasons being:

1) Often new people looking for info get directed here but it's a mess and they can extract little to no useful stuff having to scroll through pages and pages of text with literally every topic discussion posted. Let alone find the actual thread (among the 1m in this site) and keep them updated on Scorpion related discussions.

2) Erik's experimental and normal update posts get buried while it's crucial for all existing projects to get informed on changes as these often affect their projects.

3) The same can be said about reporting bugs or asking for new features.

4) There are a TON of new Scorpion projects that are either spread through this thread or all over EAB or in other sites. Having a centralised place can help these projects to promote or discuss their game and ideas and get in touch with other Scorpion users direcly.

5) Speaking of which, Scorpion users connectivity is another important step, there needs to be a specific place to ask for advice or exchange ideas and having people available that can help is also super helpful. In a sense Scorpion already has a community in place so it's about time for this community also to gain a dedicated centralised place that promotes direct communication.

--------------------

For all the reasons above, here's the current Discord setup I've made:

a) user-projects : Post about your Scorpion project! New games, ports, experimental stuff, project updates. This is the place to showcase your work!

b) help-corner : Are you new to Scorpion? Need help with something? Ask here!

c) feature-requests : Need something to be added to Scorpion or something to be changed? Ask here!

d) bugs : Found a bug? Something not working properly? Report it here!

e) updates-main : New features added or changes made to the main branch of Scorpion (this will be a read-only thread, so users will have direct access to the latest changes only, without having to scroll between comments).

f) updates-experimental : New features added or changes made to the experimental branch of Scorpion (same as above, a read-only thread).

That's the main structure so far, feel free to suggest changes or threads added

[malko]

@acibottle & @Mixel : I agree that a "Scorpion" Sub-forum of, let's say, "Coders.Language" can help in the organisation of the information.

edit : @tsak : until you prove me that EAB is not respecting my privacy, and as long as @earok & you will continue to post news of course, I will continue to follow Scorpion from this thread .

Discord security and privacy issues in 2021