Tutorial: Create Interesting Objectives

[Cyrem]

This isn't so much a scripting tutorial, but it contains ideas for coming up with objectives. The problem with the levels in Rock Raiders is how repetitive the levels are. All 25 levels require the collection of energy crystals. While collecting energy crystals is the point of the game, it doesn't have to be in every level ever created. NERPS, the level scripting language of LRR was built around what the game needed for the levels and tutorials, and so there is not a lot of opportunity to create entirely new ways to play the game. However, NERPS did not only allow for crystal collection goals. NERPS has a range of other functions, which, if used creatively can make levels more interesting than what they currently are.

A number of functions can be combined to create different objectives. When coupled with messages and the original objective, you can probably almost have a little story within a level. Some functions which I have found that can be used more creatively are:

• Check if a building has been built
• Checking if a building has been upgraded
• Check the number of x building.
• Checking if a vehicle is selected
• Check if a Rock Raider is selected
• Check if a minifigure is in a vehicle
• Generating Slugs
• Check how many monsters are on a level
• Checking how many crystals have been stored, used or stolen
• Checking how much ore has been stored, used or stolen
• Check the oxygen level
• Check if a path has been built on a block
• Moving the Camera to blocks
• Showing Messages
• Locking the camera to an object
• Check if an object was found
• Check how many Rock Raiders are on a level
• Check how many studs you have
• Force pickup of a crystal or ore.

NERPS also has the ability to keep time, to store variables and to generate numbers during a level. By combining all these together, you might be surprised at what you can achieve given these small amount of functions. I've made up some ideas below based on the list above.

Single Rock Raider Levels
Create a level, with one Rock Raider. Lock the Camera to the Rock Raider so that you can not move out of view. Add a check to make sure there is only 1 Rock Raider on the level. If there is any more, fail the level. Players can manually tell Rock Raiders to move and drill, if you need explosive ability, add in a Tool Store & Support Station. The Rock Raider can then be trained for explosives.

Base Building
By using the functions to get the number of powered buildings of each type, the level of that building and checking the number of Rock Raiders, you can make a level that requires the player to build a large base. On the other hand you could make it so the player must complete a level without building certain buildings, or even no building at all. Even building a path from one base to the other.

 

Base Defense
It's not tower defense, but the next closest thing. You can generate slugs and monsters. Create a level with some buildings, start with a lot of crystals and vehicles. Then unleash the monsters and require the player to use his Rock Raiders and Laser vehicles to defend them off. While you cannot get the number of electric fences, you can use the height map or clever use of water/lava to prevent building of them. You can set it up waves of monsters even, using timers.

 

Maze Levels
Without a map, you don't really know where caverns go, you can create a maze by locking the camera to the player and failing if any buildings are created. Make the walls solid and add a tutorial pointer to win the level when a Rock Raider passes over a tile.

 

Co-Op Level
Wait how is this possible? Well it's more like taking turns. Use messages to tell the which turn it is, then when it is another player's turn, moving the camera to the other player's area, or lock and unlock the camera to a Rock Raider if you are playing just using two RR's. How do you know if a player's turn is over, use a timer to time each turn.

 

Time Attack
You can use the oxygen meter as a timer bar. Or if you want check points, use the timer functions and get and set the timers as a Rock Raider passes over a tile, builds buildings or collects crystals. Use messages to indicate if they have much time left.

 

Racing
Create a level where a Rock Raider starts in a vehicle, use a tutorial block to check whether the player has driven over the start or finish line. Use messages for count downs and even combine this with Time Attack.

 

Rescue
While one LRR level contains this, you can base a level solely on this. You might make it so the player only has a certain amount of time before the oxygen runs out.

 

Monster Party
Possibly as a fun thing, the goal would be to cause a large number of monsters to emerge and have x amount of monsters on 1 level. You could do with tutorial blocks with running around rock raiders.

 

Shooting Gallery
Generate monsters, use a timer and get how many Rock Monsters you have killed using a laser vehicle.

These are just some ideas. By combining random functions you can do far more than bore yourself just collecting crystals. I hope this encourages people to create more unique goals in their levels.

[Tracker]

Bailout

You need to hold off a horde of M for x amount of time before rescue comes.

[Glisp]

Not all the levels had Energy crystals as a goal, though that was a major theme in the game and a lot of levels have it. However levels like "Frozen Frenzy" and "Run the Gauntlet" had other objectives. Like "Frozen Frenzy" had you locate the tunnel transport and the number of Energy crystals you had were irrelevant. It's the same with "Run the Gauntlet" which has you direct a lost rock raider back to the Tool Store hidden deeper into the level. Strangely, unlike "Frozen Frenzy", "Run the Gauntlet" actually has an energy crystal limit but it's pointless as you can't very well make use of it since there's almost no energy crystals in the level aside from the ones in the vehicles you find throughout that level.

 

There's probably a couple of other levels I'm forgetting as well that had objectives other than collecting crystals but I can't think of them right off. Cyrem probably knows this stuff but I figured I'd use these two levels above as examples of other objectives that could be done to spice up gameplay a little.

[aidenpons]

Is there a line which you can forcefully tell a monster to emerge? If there is...

Random TRUEFALSE TRUE ? MonsterEmerge    > : D

[Addictgamer]

Is there a line which you can forcefully tell a monster to emerge? If there is...

Random TRUEFALSE TRUE ? MonsterEmerge    > : D

All NERPS functions.

I don't remember which of those causes a monster to emerge. Take a look at the "Defending Rock Raiders HQ" tutorial's script.