I used to think of doing something like this. One suggestion and one congratulation.

First, the suggestion- The directional controls are great, but it would be a good idea to create two different 'objects' or animation sets, so that when NiGHTS is going in one direction for a few seconds, he flips over to be oriented correctly, just like in the original. A stopped animation that brings him to an upright position would be good, too.

Now, one thing in this whole system that surprised me was that you somehow got the paraloop to work and effect the objects inside of it. I've tried making a system like that forever and never got my head around it, despite the fact that I'm a serious game developer.

Fill me in on how you did that part. XD If you would.

P.S. Good controls- very nice how you only have to use the mouse. Can't wait to see some levels.

Thanks for the comments and suggestion. It is something that I am working on but can get it to work...

The paraloop sytem is indeed a comlplicated task. I found the solution to it after many many frustrating failed attempts. Given that you are a serious game developer, the solution will make you say "why didnt I think of that before?". Im going to try to explain the mechanics to the best of my abilities, as it is a pretty complicated explanation. Here goes: Nights is always followed by four invisible lines. Imagine a clock with Nights is in the middle of it. Now, there are four lines around him at :00, :15, ;30 and :45. Each line has a variable which indicates if it has touched an object or not with 1 being yes 0 being no. There is also a variable that keeps track of what line touched an object first and another variable that keeps track of the current line touching an object (if the first line that touched an object is equal to the current line, then Nights has gone completely around said object). When a line touches an object, its variable is set to 1 indicating that it has touched the object, the firstline variable is set to the line that touched the object first, and the currentline is set to the line that currently touched the object. Also, as each line touches the object, a timer is set and if it runs out before another line touches the object, all the variables are reset to 0 and firstline and lastline are reset as well. To find out if Nights paralooped around an object, an expression tests if each line's variable equals 1 AND currentline=firstline... if this is all true then the object is programmed to move towards nights. I hope the lenghty explanation helps!

So do you guys like the game? Is there anything that I should add or change?

http://www.4shared.c...rified=c2d3cbcc

ITS A 15MB FILE DUE TO MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS

I know its been awhile since I updated my game (that's what school, work and a girlfriend can do to a guy haha), but I really put a lot of work into it this christmas break. Keep in mind that this is just a temporary level to make sure that everything is functional. Once everything is functional, real levels will follow.

A lot of things have been added and tweaked in this version. First, the control scheme has changed for the best, here are the new controls:

Nights follows the red diamond cursor (mindsight haha) whenever the right mouse button is pressed
Drill dash is done by scrolling down with the mouse wheel
Tricks are done by clicking the left mouse button. Currently, Nights executes random tricks, however, this will change in the coming months.

Second, though it is far from finished, a-life has been added to the game. Nightopians can be seen flying around the level, and eggs can be hatched by simply touching them.

Third, various particle effects have been added to spice up the graphics.

Fourth, spiked rings have been sprinkled throughout the level. Make sure to drill dash through them!

Before playing the game, keep in mind that I changed some of the original game's mechanics to add variety to the franchise. Heres a brief summary of the game mechanics:

There is no time and no kids. A level will be complete once Nights gets to the end of the level.
Link system, trick system and scoring are exactly the same as NID.
NIGHTMAREN CAN ONLY BE KILLED BY LOOPING AROUND THEM OR DASHING THEM.
Nights will lose all his stars if contact is made with a Nightmaren. Nights will restart level if he is touched by a Nightmaren and has no stars in his possession.

Here's some of the things Im working on for the next version:

REALA WILL BE A PLAYABLE CHARACTER.
Stars will be used to "feed" Nightopians (ala super mario galaxy). In fact, if Nights is not moving, clicking the left mouse button will shoot a star in the direction of the mindsight. However, the Nightopians havent been programmed to eat yet.
A-life will be developed as far as my capabilities will allow.
The main reason why the completion of the game is taking so long is the tediousness of ripping every animation frame from each character in NID. Please bear with me!

I'm open to any suggestions. By the way, if someone can come up with a good story that doesnt involve any kids (and allows me to use it), it will be the official story to the game (credit will be given).

The wiimote pointer control scheme is very similar to my homebrew game which I unveiled before the control scheme was revealed... hmmm sega spies

Check out my game (its not finished yet, its basically the first level)

http://www.nightsintodreams.com/forum//ind...p?showtopic=468

Thanks
My opinion of the game is that its great for a fan game.
One thing I can say it when you get use to the controls it becomes fairly easy and there appears to be a lot of open space that could be used up still. But other than those few minor things the game was great.

I am planning on putting more stuff in, remember this is the first level so it should be fairly easy because the difficulty will increase as the game progresses. Any suggestions???

Heres a new link guys ENJOY

http://www.4shared.com/file/22207452/c02f3...rified=c2d3cbcc

I forgot to check (it's my work computer).. it's kinda slow in general, and a few years old. I doubt it's all that high tech. As for tricks, since they're originally just done with a left and right button, maybe simply the left and right keys, or Z ("L" tricks) and X ("R" tricks) perhaps.. As far as varying the tricks, I'm not sure how deep you can program the controls- if possible, maybe as you face different directions and tap the keys, the tricks will change?

The game will definitively run slow on old computers, however it ran perfectly on my girlfriends amd athlon xp 2000. Try it on a decent computer to get the full effect of the game. I dont think i can program the trick system, its too complicated . The way I did it is I just let the computer decide which trick NiGHTS will perform whenever you press the trick button. I will put in all the tricks from the original game though, I just need the time to rip the animations from the original game. I chose to use the scroll wheel to attack because spinning the wheel is very similar to NiGHTS spinning drill. I will try your suggestion though.

I do have all the sounds for the game, theyre in the version you just downloaded.

@ infractus

i uploaded a new exe see if it works now

@ infractus
What are your computer specs??? I have tested it on various computers and it runs like a charm, although it takes a while to load

@viperxmns
What keys would be approriate for tricks? Does it run slow on your computer? What are your specs?

bump

If anyone has any NiGHTS into Dreams ingame sounds I would appreciate it if they could email them to me at makaveddie81@yahoo.com

I especially need the following sounds:

NiGHTS dash sound
Sound made when Nightmaren is killed
Sound made when NiGHTS goes through rings
Sound made when NiGHTS acquires a pearl/star

My my my... Color me impressed. I gave it a play, and I love what I see. This has serious potential, keep up the good work! My only complaint is that the mouse controls feel a little awkward, and making sharp turns seems fairly difficult, such as I'd have minions trailing behind me, and trying to make a quick turn and catch them in a paraloop isn't exactly doable. Otherwise, I give this a 10/10! Can't wait to see more.

believe me a lot of people said the same thing about the control but after practicing a little they loved it and though it was perfect. my girlfriend (not a video game player) got the hang of it in 5 tries are you suggesting i slow donw the nightmarieans???

Its fine.

I'm going around and pointing poeple at your game, btw.

Thanx a lot man, I really appreciate it... However, I need suggestions/opinions/criticisms in order to make the game better. Also, although I currently have all the music and some sound effects, i would appreciate if anyone that has any NiGHTS into Dreams sound effects and is willing to share them with me for the game.

I also posted the game in the official gamemaker forum but no one has replied to it either (and i have a feeling its because none of the members knows that NID even exists) because, and according to my unbiased opinion, its vastly superior to any of their creations.

Do you have a link to the program download/buying site? I've been looking all over for something like this...it may be what I'm looking for.

hopefully im not breaking any rules by giving links to other sites but here goes:

www.yoyogames.com/make


i suggest you download the tutorials as they are great learning tools. you might also want to download/buy the software's official book "the game makers apprentice"

Sounds good! I can't imagine programming something like this is really an easy task ;

actually im using gamemaker 7 which enables you to create games with no programming whatsoever!!! its pretty cool, you should try it out.

do you like the minor changes that i made to the gameplay???

This is pretty cool! I'll spend some more time playing it and come back to this.. but for now:

I'm somewhat partial to there being some sort of special effect when doing paraloops... at first, I wasn't sure that I was doing them right, but once they deflected those pesky minions, well..

Im thinking you mean that a paraloop should trigger some sort of particle effect right??? If yes, Im trying to do that but havent been able to accomplish it. When I do figure it our it will definitively be in the game.

Do you guys have any suggestions??? Also, I need someone to write a story for the game as thats not really my main concern. Again, no kids involved in the story, if anyone wants to volunteer then go ahead and let me know

I havent updated the game in a while since i currently have a very hectic schedule, however I was pleased that a couple of you wanted to try the game out so I fixed the link for you guys... Remember this is not a finished game, only the first level... ENJOY


UPDATED!!! 7-6-2007 FIRST LEVEL FINISHED!!! MUSIC AND ALL SOUND EFFECTS ADDED!!!

DOWNLOAD

http://www.4shared.com/file/22207452/c02f3...rified=c2d3cbcc

SCREENSHOT

http://www.4shared.com/file/19342970/91457695/Untitled.html

Here is the control scheme:

MOVE: NiGHTS follows the mouse pointer, and its distance has a direct effect on NiGHTS' speed

ATTACK: Mouse scroll wheel down

INCREASE TOP SPEED: Hold mouse right button

ACROBATICS: Mouse left button (there are only 3 acrobatics so far)

As in the original game, paralooping kills enemies and attracts chips that are within the paraloop. Also, paralooping certain chips will uncover a secret powerup. If contact with an enemy is made, NiGHTS will lose all his stars and the points associated with the stars. If NiGHTS has no stars when the enemy is contacted, then NiGHTS will have to restart the level.

ENJOY AND PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS