A big health bar on screen

[doyleman]

Ok, along side millivanilli, i have another brother that would like to make a game (some of you know him as he typed on my AIM account for ahwile)
Now, his health system is setup as a health bar, and we have been working on this, but, 10 effects is the limit for a VFX. I thought about connecting VFX's, but with apply together, it lags up the screen alot.
Is there a simpler way to do this?
or is 10 about the limit for us?
(my hearts for my game is easier to use as the 11th will make the 1st row disappear temp. and the 11th will look like one, just it's lower than the top row)

[Tinbok]

Well, I haven't made a Zelda-like game yet. I suggest maybe putting like 10 hearts and after the player gets more have a +N next to it.

For example:
The player has 15 Hearts.

YYYYYYYYYY +5

The player has 27 Hearts.

YYYYYYYYYY +17

Just a suggestion. Hope it helps. ;D

[doyleman]

thanks for the help, but i need to know how to make a health bar, i was saying it should be like making hearts on zelda, but it's harder for me to make a bar with more than 10 VFX without it laggin'...

btw, my hearts on zelda go like this: *=heart

********** that's ten, then when you get the 11th container, it'll go like so:

* (that heart is located slightly lower than the first row)
and the top row disappears till you get damaged to the point of the 10th heart

[Tinbok]

Hmm... sorry, I wish I could help ya... but I've never attempted a Zelda-like game so I wouldn't know too much about it.

Maybe Nash, Taizon, Jugem, or someone can help you. Nashs "How To" topic may help. Taizon's "Action Script F.A.Q. Tutorial" topic may help as well (under technical help).

[doyleman]

i like ur pic tinkbot ^_^
well, idk, it's confusing me on how to make this bar work...

[Tinbok]

Thanks.

Lol, Tinkbot huh. ;D ;D ;D

[doyleman]

Woops!
sorry, i read your name wrong
i had the same prob. with DW,
is it alright if i call you TB instead?
...i am really sorry!

*is extremely embarrassed

[Dungeon Warden]

Can't you do a word as a single effect? Maybe you can use '-' or another character as the life bar and just string them together in a single effect instead of making ten seperate ones. If you make it big and green, '-' will look like a life bar. Just a suggestion.

[doyleman]

well, it wouldn't go down then would it?

by 10 i was relating to the limit of elements in a VFX limit.
He has a set-up where he wants the health to get bigger as the main char. levels up, but, once the 10 elements for the one VFX are used up, we have to use another VFX, but, when we use "apply together" it slags up badly.. am i doin something wrong to make the slag?

[Dungeon Warden]

I was thinking of replacing the effect with a different one each time the bar went up and down. If you use text you don't need to use more than one element.

Another option is to change the color whenever the bar goes above ten. That way you still only need the one effect, you just use a different color version. This would fix the problem.

[Tinbok]

Doyleman~ Lol, no problem. ;D You can call me TB. No need to feel embarrassed, I've done it plenty of times.

By the way, I noticed you have a Sylvester avatar. Below it, you still have have the text: hehe, i can't do that dance : )
Just wanted to point that out.

[doyleman]

::)thanks for reminding me TB,

[Tinbok]

;D ;D ;D No prob.

Sorry for the double post, deleted the first one.

[Deleted]

I think DW's idea'd work nicely. (you can alter only one dimension at a time on "elements" in the VFX editor in case you didn't know)

[BloodKnight]

When I use multiple effects, I put them in different events. This way, the game doesn't lag, and I can put in a lot of effects. And DW's color is what I do as well, but only because I don't feel like scripting another bar of hearts.

[doyleman]

Ok, sorry, but you all lost me somewhere, DW, i didn't quite get what your saying about the text, what text? a [? idk also what you mean by colors, and I think i could change the color screen, take a snapshot of the screen, and make a bar outta that, idk.
Can you guys sumarize what you just said a little easier? Sorry i don't quite get what your saying, .
and thank you for telling me how, but i need it put simpler,
Thanks in advance:
Doyleman:)

[Deleted]

In the VFX you can make "elements" (something, like an icicle/fireball/meteor/magiccircle/etc.) that are words. You can thus use one symbol such as a hyphen like so... - ... and enlarge it a ton. Then, you can edit one direction at a time (X, Y, or Z) and make several different VFX of it being shortened in one direction and each time the size of the bar changes the old VFX is removed and the new one is added, but to the player it'll look like the bar is being shortened or lengthened. You can also change the color of the bar in the FVX editor. What they're saying is you make it so Link has a green life bar, then after that one the bar becomes yellow and he has a whole 'nother life bar, then after the same with a red; instead of one life bar or tons of hearts. Likewise, if Link got healed some he could fill up his red bar and go back on to this yellow one, then if he gets damaged enough again he stilll has his red one. Some DBZ games have done this that I know of.

[Dungeon Warden]

Thanks for explaining that William, I assumed Doyleman knew one of the effects elements was letters. I should also point out that you should use the 2D letters and not the 3D ones, since the 2D letters appear on a specific place on the screen and the 3D ones appear on the map (where depends on the event that created it).

There are several games that use the multi-color bar idea, so it would be fine to use the idea in your game.

[doyleman]

ummm, ok, did i mention that i was only saying making a row of hearts was making a health bar, and that i was using the hearts of a example as the only kind of health display i worked with, i have no intention of making a health bar w/ zelda games, that would be kinda weird for me....
OK, now i get what your saying, , thanks Will and DW, yeah, i have played Boduki 1 and 2 and i get what your talking about (Kingdom hearts used that for bosses too though)
Thank you guys for your help!!

[NASH7777]

If you plan on doing a budukai thing with multiple colors and when bars go down you get a new one then I have something to save ya time. Have just one full bar of each color. And then maek a black or white bar that covers the end of the bar. This coverer must be applied second to cover. This way you save some time and visual effects for each bar.