also..

[billybob884-no-login]

off hand, would anyone happen to know of a project on the listing page that has an example of a collapsing bridge/platform? like one that breaks ~2 sec after the player jumps on it.

[durnurd]

I can't think of one off hand, but I know there is one.  Just start downloading!   Juuust kidding.

Are you looking to see how they did it to implement in your game or just because you want to play?

If you're looking for how it was implemented, here's a general idea:
https://sourceforge.net/docman/display_doc.php?docid=28775&group_id=9970

[billybob884]

yea i was going to use them; but depending on how easy it was to put in, i'd try to use at least a few. heh, this is lookin a little complex though, eh, well see once i give it a try.

oh, SATs were long... when we got there at ~20 of 8, everybody was saying that we were going to be out by like 11:45, and we hit 12:30 and were only starting the 9th section (out of 10).

[bluemonkmn]

I have a somewhat simpler (no inventory involved), and possibly more fun-to-play-with solution depending on how flexible you are on the specifics of the implementation.  I did it with falling pieces of bridges instead of disintegrating tiles.  I was going to upload it and post a link but I didn't have the password that I thought I did and ran out of time, and now I don't have the project handy, but I will post it soon.

It's not too hard to implement and I think it works pretty well:
1) Create a bridge tile (just draw a tile that looks like a piece of a bridge)
2) Make a solidity definition to define the bridge tile as solid.
3) Create a path on the map anywhere (the position doesn't matter in this case, only the direction) and put the second point of the path directly above the first point.
4) Create a "FallingBridge" sprite using the same graphic that is of type "Path Vector" (whatever the vector one is called)
5) Set the sprite to follow a path relative to the sprite's starting point and make sure the initial instance box is not checked.
6) Set the speed of the sprite to some low value and the gravity to the slowest possibly downward setting.
7) Define a collision definition between the player sprite and FallingBridge so the player can ride the bridge like a platform.
8) Create a special function that creates an instance of the FallingBridge sprite.  Set the relative position for the new sprite to 0,4 relative to the trigger point.
9) Create a tile interaction on the bridge tiles that will replace the tile with an empty tile and activate the special function.

Then when you touch a brdige tile it will "bounce" a bit and slowly fall down beneath you, allowing you to jump off at any point.  My example had the parameters adjusted properly so that you could run accross a bridge without jumping and have it falling down behind you.

[bluemonkmn]

The sample project that I mentioned that demonstrates my method is now available at http://gamedev.comdel.net/files/Collapse.zip.

[billybob884-no-login]

thats exactly what im looking for, except ill probably cut out the bouncing part.., but hey, this level is really still in the planning stages.

[durnurd]

Cutting out the bouncing part may be harder than it seems.  It is the slight upward force at first that makes the bridge fall at a natural rate.  If you make it fall down in this manner (by making the path go downward instead of up), it will add extra force to the already-present gravity.  But you can fiddle around with this to your desire.

[durnurd]

Now that I've downloaded it, that's awesome!

(Also, really reallly fast on my computer without limiting the frame rate).

And BlueMonk, do I detect a hint of the original "metal man" in that ?

[bluemonkmn]

And BlueMonk, do I detect a hint of the original "metal man" in that ?

Gah!  You said "metal man" -- the forbidden title for TechnoVenture's "secret" predecessor!

But yes, that player sprite is kinda based on the TechnoVenture robot.

For those out of the loop, "Metal Man" was a name I was using before I settled on TechnoVenture, and I half-jokingly decided I did not want to hear the title "Metal Man" any more after that.  But there was also a small game that I created using the TechnoVenture sprites before creating the full-blown game.  And I guess that small game would still be called "Metal Man".  Since this was all done on an Amiga 500 in AMOS, I don't really have access to that any more, though (the old Amiga's not in good shape these days -- still not sure if the IDE interface on the juryrigged hard drive I was using with it could be hooked up to a PC and used somehow).  But to sum it up, Metal Man was just a 1-screen game with randomly placed tiles and enemies where you could (if I recall) ride platforms, run and jump and shoot at the enemies.

Anyway, the bouncing is kind of an integral part of the design, though -- it prevents the block from falling too soon/quickly, and allows the block to start 4 pixels below the player to make sure the player doesn't fall through the blocks before having an opportunity to step on top of them.  But you're certainly welcome to fiddle with the idea to see what you can come up with that works for you.  If you find anything interesting, let us know.