Release notes? Cant access them, so here's a thing.

[Misery]

Is anyone able to access the release notes at all?  I keep trying to go there to write in the update I just sent (not to mention see what everyone else is doing) but all it wants to do is the ever-useful function of downloading index.php.   I sure love it when that happens.

Rest of the Arcenwiki site seems to be working just fine.  So.... I dont know.

Anyway, just to sum up what I did add so that it's written down SOMEWHERE before I forget, I've added a new boss named Labyrinth.  Some new ideas here, this is the first non-standard boss.  Comes complete with it's own unique room.  It does not have it's own art yet.  Took absolutely forever to make.  I hate typos that involve the <> symbols.  Visual Studio gets a bit weird about them.  And then it glitches out and I spent 30 minutes looking for a non-existent problem.  Sigh...  But it's done.

Whenever this is updated into the playable build, as you fight the thing be aware that it's sort of experimental at the moment.  It will get more balancing over time, and there's a particular function related to it's little "friends" that I dont think is there yet.

So there, that's me listing, somewhere at least, the addition.

This does not seed until floor 4.  You're welcome.

[nas1m]

The release notes are accessible for just fine - at least now.
The url seems to have changed, though.

So maybe the new Arcen webguy worked some of his magic?

[Misery]

Ah, you're right!

Thanks for pointing that out, I've been able to go stick my info into the list there.

Well that's one task done and over with.

....also the patch notes for .202 are sorta hinting at me that MAYBE, possibly, Battleswarm pumps out too many bullets at once.  It just could be the case.  I might alter that just a bit, otherwise that boss on harder difficulties will just implode the whole thing.  That'd be a pretty unfair attack.

[keith.lamothe]

....also the patch notes for .202 are sorta hinting at me that MAYBE, possibly, Battleswarm pumps out too many bullets at once.  It just could be the case.  I might alter that just a bit, otherwise that boss on harder difficulties will just implode the whole thing.  That'd be a pretty unfair attack.

I was just poking fun, not making a real criticism.

If there were some lower-shot-count way to achieve what you wanted with those "green boxes" of shots that emerge from the purple lines in the second phase, that would be good. But I know the nature of the hitboxes could make that difficult. But is it possible to just make two or three larger shots in a row that give the same overall dimensions for each box?

There's more performance that can be squeezed out, to some extent we only optimize when we actually know the limits of what the game needs to efficiently support. But if we can avoid gratuitous immolation of the cpu, that's nice too.

[Misery]

....also the patch notes for .202 are sorta hinting at me that MAYBE, possibly, Battleswarm pumps out too many bullets at once.  It just could be the case.  I might alter that just a bit, otherwise that boss on harder difficulties will just implode the whole thing.  That'd be a pretty unfair attack.

I was just poking fun, not making a real criticism.

If there were some lower-shot-count way to achieve what you wanted with those "green boxes" of shots that emerge from the purple lines in the second phase, that would be good. But I know the nature of the hitboxes could make that difficult. But is it possible to just make two or three larger shots in a row that give the same overall dimensions for each box?

There's more performance that can be squeezed out, to some extent we only optimize when we actually know the limits of what the game needs to efficiently support. But if we can avoid gratuitous immolation of the cpu, that's nice too.

Oh I know it wasnt a real criticism, but you were right, there WAS some definite slowdown.  I'd merely forgotten about the problem (again).

If there's a way to increase the size of bullets though, I dont know what it is.  I tried looking in the XML documentation for a way to increase the size of the things, but if it's in there I've totally missed it (which wouldnt at all be a surprise, I miss TONS of stuff, I'm very good at it).  Though there's those new "giant" peaked shots I could do something with.   Though, I dont actually NEED to do it that way.  I can just thin the green blocks out a bit.  Either works, I just have to remember to go and do it... 

It's gotta be done anyway since the versions on the hardest modes will probably be putting out alot more of those blocks than the current pattern, so it does need to be trimmed down alot so that nobody's PC explodes.

[keith.lamothe]

You can increase the scale of a bullet in the bullet pattern by putting something like this at the top of its block:

<change self_scale="2" />

Like:

Code: [Select]

  <var name="FieldSplitGreen">
    <bullet speed="100" angle="[A]" shot_type="BulletTriGreen">
      <change self_scale="2" />
      <wait time=".3" />
      <change angle="[B]" />
      <wait time="60" />
      <die />
    </bullet>
  </var>
You don't have to put it as the first action of the bullet, but that lets it do the change before it's actually rendered, avoiding the appearance of it "popping" in the second frame.

That would double the scale of the bullet. Which might make it look pixellated. If you find yourself wanting really big bullets, it's probably better to request a larger image and shot type to work with.

Btw, BattleswarmStageTwo has a lot of "$FieldSplit" lines in a row; does the loop tag not do what you want there?

[Misery]

You can increase the scale of a bullet in the bullet pattern by putting something like this at the top of its block:

<change self_scale="2" />

Like:

Code: [Select]

  <var name="FieldSplitGreen">
    <bullet speed="100" angle="[A]" shot_type="BulletTriGreen">
      <change self_scale="2" />
      <wait time=".3" />
      <change angle="[B]" />
      <wait time="60" />
      <die />
    </bullet>
  </var>
You don't have to put it as the first action of the bullet, but that lets it do the change before it's actually rendered, avoiding the appearance of it "popping" in the second frame.

That would double the scale of the bullet. Which might make it look pixellated. If you find yourself wanting really big bullets, it's probably better to request a larger image and shot type to work with.

Btw, BattleswarmStageTwo has a lot of "$FieldSplit" lines in a row; does the loop tag not do what you want there?

I hadnt exactly mastered the art of condensing things when I put that boss together.   And by "mastered" I mean "at all understood".  Some of the earlier-designed patterns are still definitely a bit messy.  Though they're better than the horrible exploded disaster that was the TLF Obscura patterns.

Hm, I'll have to go back and fix that then now that you've reminded me of it.

Though I also think I might not have realized at the time that I could just stick certain commands like that in that particular file at all.  Or something.

[keith.lamothe]

Unless you can read my mind the bullet pattern language is an opaque wall of mysteries

At least there's documentation now, after a fashion, unlike during the first TLF expansion development.