Recent posts by Lysis on Kongregate

Topic: Programming / width and height of flashmovie

Kongregate will scale down your game if it is wider than 700. So don’t do that if Kong. is important to you.

I typically use 640×480 now, but a smaller size is better if you don’t need the space.

Topic: Programming / How do you make one story line continue into the next game?

Jabor you are wrong. I’ve just tested it – internal swf files still write shared objects to their own location.

For what it’s worth, though, I’d just put the sharedobject on the top level – with a long, unique name. You could also add an internal checksum for the variables – which also will help prevent hacking.
If other games accessing your shared object really concerns you, you could keep your main SO in the local directory, and have a second ‘data passing’ SO which is just for moving information between games. If that gets corrupted, you could arrange for your player to fix it by simply reloading the previous game.

Topic: Programming / Useless damned dynamic text!

Have you embedded the characters you need in that textbox? Make sure to do that.

Topic: Games / Zilch and People's Stupidity

The story of Mel

I’ve not played this game yet – this thread has interested me in it so I’m about to. But I’m inclined to side with MrRubix, because I know people’s stats abilities are generally very poor, and also that gamers don’t appreciate AI.

Topic: Kongregate / The 99 Bricks impossible badge...

Hah! new lowest 99 tower:

This tower isn’t falling down; I was a bit worried by the overhang to the right though.

I think the reason the score (left bracket) is greater than the height (right bracket) is because one of the topmost bricks started off going in squint or something.

Topic: Kongregate / The 99 Bricks impossible badge...

I finally managed the impossible challenge – and when I did, my tower was rock steady.
I found two overhangs on each side to be optimal – it gives enough width to be able to cope with undesirable bricks most of the time.

The only slight issue here is the stack of two red zeds half way up on the right, which was forced by brick order.

If you see a seam developing – a vertical split of 4 or more, my advice is to try and cover it sooner rather than later. If you put it off for the ideal brick it may not arrive until after you’ve had to extend the seam some more. Furthermore, make sure to block it thoroughly – a single block overhang followed by resuming the split may well not suffice.
The other thing is to try and lay your bricks horizontally. You avoid even beginning more seams that way, so your tower will be that much more stable.

Cobshape I beat your “lowest 99” record by some margin!

Topic: Kongregate / removed exclusivity to kongregate

Assuming you’ve already done what cj10203040 suggests, you should find that your revenue percentage drops as your game gets more plays. Which I think is reasonable – as otherwise they’d be taking some of the money you’d already earned.

Topic: Programming / Is it possible to change the fps of a movieclip while it is running(as2)

I’m not sure what you mean about an accelerate tool. While it’s true you can’t change the onEnterFrame rate, you can set up an independent framerate using the setInterval callback, with updateAfterEvent.

Topic: Programming / Maths Behind Flash Games

Don’t 90% of kids get A* nowadays? ;-)

What cert said about code making things difficult to understand is true. While evangelical programmers may sometimes say things like "the code is the documentation’ that’s generally bollocks. A simple algorithm may be pretty easy to see, but if it’s been heavily optimised or you’re not particularly familiar with the language syntax, it’s much harder to read code if you didn’t write it yourself (ie already know what it does).

So if you do know maths, and can program in actionscript to some degree, then it is understanding how to apply the maths you don’t get. I recognise that this is hard – it took me a while to get into the right mind-set. I suggest you stop looking at the code in actionscript-based tutorials. Instead try to find basic tutorials about the topic you’re having difficulty with, and write your own code. In my opinion, that’s a much better way of learning in any case.

In brief, you need to figure out how you’d describe a problem in a maths or physics lesson, or whatever, then convert that to a function.

Topic: Programming / Maths Behind Flash Games

I suggest you study maths for the sort of things you want to do first. The equation you mangled is probably Pythagoras theorem. If you don’t know that, you won’t get far in working out distances.

Well, you could stick with ‘click the button’ games I suppose.

Topic: Programming / any ideas...

So you’ve got 2 threads on this topic here, and 1 on Mochiads. Wouldn’t a single one be sufficient?

I answered you in the Mochiads forums, incidentally. What you can do depends on what your player looks like.

Topic: Programming / Tower defence

I suggest create your own tower defense

You didn’t look very hard, did you?

I mean, it’s only on the front page.

Topic: Kongregate / Kongai is perverted?

Never mind the booobies, what about the tentacle porn?

sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry

Topic: Games / Light-Bot Thread! Walkthrough and post your solutions here!

In that case Zerris, I should point out that my records for levels 1 & 2 remain unbeaten. ;-)

Topic: Games / Light-Bot Thread! Walkthrough and post your solutions here!

I’m a programmer – you can see my flash games on my profile.

I have to say, I’m a bit suprised by the badges it’s got. Not that it’s got badges, but that it’s got a hard badge just for completing it. I suppose that if a maximum was given all the walkthroughs would just be modified to fit in under that.

I’m actually rather blown away by many of the level scores here – I can’t do any of the later levels anywhere near the current best.

(Edit yes! done level 8 in 10)

Topic: Games / Light-Bot Thread! Walkthrough and post your solutions here!

My word, ThirdParty, you’re right.

I’d thought the same as you – I think I must have used a self-calling function and assumed it was conclusive. So far I have:

1. 1 : 3
2. 2 : 9
3. 3 : 9
4. 4 : 10
5. 5 : 9
6. 6 : 14
7. 7 : 10
8. 8 : 10

So you can still improve your score.

Topic: Games / Light-Bot Thread! Walkthrough and post your solutions here!

I’ve now managed it in 157 (see above). For some reason Kong. hasn’t reported the score. ThirdParty, your score for level 10 is suboptimal. It took me ages to get that last instruction off level 6, but sometimes knowing that something can be done is half-way to doing it.

In the mean-time the 157 score has disappeared – now there are scores at 153 (by Fooble), 155 (by Zerris) and 156 (by MikeyBeeeeee). So apparently there’s some more slack to be pared, somewhere.

Topic: Games / Light-Bot Thread! Walkthrough and post your solutions here!

Ah, now it definitely won’t get an impossible badge, since the possibility of completion using a walkthrough precludes it. I’d prefer you not to change your walkthrough – it completes the game, isn’t that enough?

ThirdParty, I’m impressed by your score – I’ve managed to match your score for level 3, and have my level 6 score down to 15.. And I was quite pleased with my level 10 score – which you’ve beaten by two!

You’re right, I shouldn’t claim the scores above 150 are bogus without proof (I hadn’t seen your score or Midcyber’s 158 when I wrote that). However, I’m sure you’ll agree that the scores at 52 and below are… unlikely to be valid.

Topic: Games / Light-Bot Thread! Walkthrough and post your solutions here!

I think when you discuss a game in the forums you should provide a link: Light-bot

I love that game – something about the optimisation challenge. Speaking of which – most of your solutions are sub-optimal; I think that’s a good thing in a walkthrough, since people who want to perfect their solutions arn’t beaten out of the highscores by those who just follow the walkthrough for the badge.

You could mention that, actually. Here are the scores I’ve achieved for the different levels; if any can manage better please shout below.

• (edited to show current scores)
• 1: 3
• 2: 9
• 3: 10 9
• 4: 10
• 5: 11
• 6: 16 14
• 7: 13
• 8: 13
• 9: 14
• 10: 26 21
• 11: 23
• 12: 17

There are a few scores above mine on the highscore table (edit for clarification – less than 60 instructions), but I suspect they’re hacks (or glitched wins).

Topic: Games / Darwin's Discs

ybom, no they don’t. Did you neglect to read beyond “Various circles are drifting around in the foreground”...?

Topic: Kongregate / getting badges onto games

Hmmm. There seems to be a fair amount of movement of scores around at least the bottom part of the list.

Darkness Episode 2 1090 ratings (3.70 avg) was the lowest game on Greg’s list, is now 6 down on the 15th page.

1. Above it on that page are:
2. Doodle Defender (not on list)
3. Ninja Rinseout (not on list)
4. Now Boarding: First Class (not on list; new – published september 9th)
5. Darkness Episode 3 ~ (was – 7th from bottom of list) (see note1)
6. Modern Tactics 2 (not on list)
7. .
8. And on page 14:
9. Jelly Blocks (on list)
10. Brute Wars ~ (not on list)
11. QWERTY Warriors (on list)
12. colourPod 2: dimensionPod (on list)
13. Mad Virus (on list)
14. DropSum v1.3 (on list)
15. ! Music Mania ! ~ (not on list)
16. the Game of Disorientation ~ (not on list)
17. .

So (at least) three (non-new) games have gone in to the top 210 – probably because a few badged games went down in the ratings. I assume Greg chose that many because its about where he’s got to with adding badges – in which case 3.70 is the rating score to beat, to get that badge of honour. This explains why ‘oh the huge manatee’ isn’t badged – it was just below the cutoff, while Vector Runner was (presumably) just above – I think it’s actually rising slightly; now it’s 3.79.

Also interestingly, at least two unbadged games have dropped out of the top 210. This may be because a few people went to play them because of this topic, and decided to make sure they didn’t get badges. But in any case, the lesson is that if your game is doing well and gets close to the cutoff – put the API in quick, so they’re got a chance. :-)

...Actually you might want to leave it until after the chance to win prizes has passed, depending on what sort of game it is.

[1] Incidentally, I think I’ve found a forum bug – asterisks immediately surrounding brackets bolds the asterisk, hides the brackets and their contents, and then doesn’t debold at the trailing asterisk.

Topic: Programming / how do i make a preloader?

1. Create an empty frame at the start of the main timeline.
2. make sure you’ve not got any movieclips, sprites, sounds etc set to ‘export on first frame’
3. Draw a box of some sort, convert to movieclip. This will be your loading bar.
4. Give the bar mc an instance name, like ‘bar’.
5. put the following code on the main timeline actionscript layer:

stop();
function onEnterFrame(){
  bar._xscale=100*this.getBytesLoaded()/this.getBytesTotal();
  if (this.getBytesLoaded()==this.getBytesTotal()){
    gotoAndStop(2);//change this to whatever frame you like, and gotoAndPlay if you want
  }
}

Job done.

Topic: Kongregate / getting badges onto games

About tally system: First, there is the issue of no API getting into the list (Easy to fix). Secondly, broken API. Thirdly, developer and his/her band of alts. Lastly, ignorance of users not knowing programming/patience (omg y is greg not badging dis gaem even after i pres dat btn!!!)

Generally, when considering an alternative, one should compare it to the current system.

Your first two points are the same with the current system, so are irrelevent. For the third, the current system is theoretically worse – since a rogue dev can use their band of alts to vote the opposition down as well as themselves up. For your last point… I imagine it’d be the same as now.

Topic: Kongregate / getting badges onto games

Bleh, no comment. At least I can use this list for my own use from now on, though…

Well, sorry. I do appreciate it, though.

In fact, I don’t like the current badge selecting system. Because I think that some badges are added depends on Greg’s mood/mind (when there’s NO tech problems), which has some chances to be unfair.

Dude, Greg’s just pretty much disproved that. Going by the current ratings system may not be the best way, but at least it’s consistent.

I think that add a link like : “Request this game to have badge(s).” for the non-badged games would help. Because It’ll make Greg’s job a bit easier.

Even ignoring the issue of broken API, I don’t see this being to helpful.
Every game would get requests.

I dunno – it might have some advantages. At the very least, it ought to reduce the number of ‘needs badges’ posts.

It wouldn’t make Greg’s life easier, but if done right it would pick out games which a minority of the site loved. I’ve gone on about this before – so I won’t write too much…
Such a system would of course tally ratings automatically, so it’s just an extra stat for each game like the rating is. You’d probably also want to either limit badge requests per person per week/month/other unit time, or weight requests depending on how many that person has already made. So those who requests badges on every game would have the same say as those who picked out their favourites.

Topic: Kongregate / getting badges onto games

Wow. Well, I did want an answer, but that’s more than I expected. Thanks Greg.

I hope that that list was something you’d already essentially prepared for your own use, otherwise it looks like I’ve seriously impacted your productivity for today.

I think most people who are interested know that badges often have a negative effect on ratings (and I know you worry about it), but the important point is that they do always increase a game’s plays. But I’ve watched games move, and sometimes they go up considerably after getting badges (I wasn’t sure whether this had happened to either of the two games I mentioned).

And thanks for answering the question comprehensively. It’s not worth putting your own achievements in a game or going to town on the API – unless you think it’ll increase your rating – as it won’t buy you in to a badge, even in an emergency.