Gold Runner - ComputerCraft Forums (archive)

nitrogenfingers #1

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 04 June 2013 - 09:06 AM

What is it:

The original Lode Runner is a game from 1983 designed and programmed by Doug Smith and published by Brøderbund Software for the Apple][ and later other platforms. The game is pretty simple. Collect the money in each level, then get to the portal. You can climb ladders and monkey bars, and shoot out the ground on the diagonal next to you to reach hidden treasure. Making the game harder are the Mad Monks, that chase you and steal gold, which you can only fight by trapping in the ground you shoot out. Gold Runner is a full rewrite of that game for ComputerCraft.

You can see it in action here: https://www.youtube....h?v=_NQGnzJwbZ0

Installation:

Grab an installer here:
http://pastebin.com/YRFeS0G3
Latest executable (no levels):
http://pastebin.com/GF02dzhB

Once it's done downloading, execute GoldRunner to play :)/>

How to Play:

A and D- move left and right
W and S- climb ladders
Q and E- shoot ground left and right

Arrow Keys- to navigate menus
Enter- to open the in-game menu and select options
Space - to quickly restart a level

Collect all gold ($), while avoiding the mad monks (&). When all gold is collected, head for the portal (@)

Making your own level

Gold Runner now has it's own in-game editor, to allow you to quickly make new levels or change old ones, and test them quickly and easily- the feature is available from in game and the main menu. The editor works very easily:

Left click- paint with whatever tool is selected
Right click- open the tool palette to select a new tool
Mouse scroll- scrolls between tools
Enter- opens up a menu to save or test levels

The file format remains identical to the format used by paint and npaintpro so you can also use these to make levels if you prefer. Each colour represents a particular tile, and you can refer to the legend below to find out which is which:

Spoiler

I might post a few level packs if this picks up momentum, and I'm open to suggestions for new features. But for now, this remains a nice afternoon project- hope you enjoy it!

-NF

Yevano #2

375 posts

Location USA

Posted 04 June 2013 - 11:14 AM

Just played a few times. Actually really enjoyed this. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. :D/>

Could you make the keys sticky so that I don't kill my fingers pressing the keys a hundred times?

Mackan90096 #3

695 posts

Location In my basement.

Posted 04 June 2013 - 11:16 AM

This seems epic. I'll check it out as soon as I get home

nitrogenfingers #4

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 04 June 2013 - 11:21 AM

Yevano, on 04 June 2013 - 11:14 AM said:
Just played a few times. Actually really enjoyed this. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. :D/>

Could you make the keys sticky so that I don't kill my fingers pressing the keys a hundred times?

Thanks :)/> You can hold down keys to move but the players speed is capped by quite a bit so as not to give him an unfair advantage- I found the only way to make sticky keys really worthwhile is with a much slower game, which is less fun. I'll keep tinkering as I do more bug fixes though.

unobtanium #5

504 posts

Posted 04 June 2013 - 12:49 PM

Yeah! nitrogenfingers is back <3

And awesome game right there ;D
You did this only in some hours/one afternoon?

ETHANATOR360 #6

419 posts

Location your hardrive

Posted 04 June 2013 - 04:15 PM

looks like a great game gonna try it now
edit:i always get stuck in a hole i dug and then it regenerates and kills me :wacko:/>

nitrogenfingers #7

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 04 June 2013 - 10:39 PM

I've made a few quick bug fixes I noticed when playing multiple levels:

- I reset levels before loading new ones so artefacts like dead monks and unwanted blocks don't appear in the next level
- Monks no longer 'double jump' when escaping from holes
- You should no longer need to restart the level manually when the monks catch you, though you still can of course

I've noticed a few little problems, especially monks falling into ground after it's been sealed but not dying. It doesn't break the game but it's silly so I'll try to fix that next.

I've separated installation from the executable, but have updated both, so if you already have the level packs (which you won't need to update), you can just download the new executable to replace the old one.

UNOBTANIUM, on 04 June 2013 - 12:49 PM said:
And awesome game right there ;D
You did this only in some hours/one afternoon?

Thanks :)/> I put aside an afternoon to do something computercraft related, and this is what I came up with.

ETHANATOR360, on 04 June 2013 - 04:15 PM said:
edit:i always get stuck in a hole i dug and then it regenerates and kills me :wacko:/>

Most (but not all) of the levels I've included in the installer are at least partially based on the 1983 game, and I must admit playing through it again I had forgotten just how punishing a game it is! Falling in holes and dying is something you get better at, until you hit levels like Pyramid where digging holes and dropping down needs to be done under a very tight time limit.
I'll admit those unfamiliar with it will find it very hard so I'll probably post a video of me playing it in a bit. I'll also start work on a few level packs that aren't quite so gruelling as pyramid or sky_islands.

On that note- if you like this game, have a go at making some levels! Send them to me or stick them in a post here, and if they play well I'll add them to a community level pack.

billysback #8

536 posts

Posted 05 June 2013 - 05:20 AM

This looks pretty cool!
Simple but fun :)/>

I haven't had a go at it yet because I haven't had time but when I have I will tell you what I think of it!

ETHANATOR360 #9

419 posts

Location your hardrive

Posted 05 June 2013 - 12:56 PM

billysback, on 05 June 2013 - 05:20 AM said:
This looks pretty cool!
Simple but fun :)/>

I haven't had a go at it yet because I haven't had time but when I have I will tell you what I think of it!

ill get to work on those levels and while im at it ill look under the hood and get a good lesson on game programming

Edited on 10 June 2013 - 08:58 AM

superaxander #10

620 posts

Location Holland

Posted 05 June 2013 - 02:18 PM

And another beatifull program from nitrogenfingers. You are awesome man. Everything you published is awesome thanks! I am going to try make a level pack for this.

EDIT: how big must the image be?

nitrogenfingers #11

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 05 June 2013 - 06:03 PM

superaxander, on 05 June 2013 - 02:18 PM said:
And another beatifull program from nitrogenfingers. You are awesome man. Everything you published is awesome thanks! I am going to try make a level pack for this.

EDIT: how big must the image be?

To make things easy, just the canvas size for standard paint on an unmodified computer terminal display- that is 49 by 18 pixels

Symmetryc #12

Symmetryc's profile picture

500 posts

Posted 05 June 2013 - 06:13 PM

Amazing game :D/>! Although, I think I've found a problem, you can still walk on hidden ladders before they appear.

gman798 #13

gman798's profile picture

1 posts

Posted 05 June 2013 - 06:31 PM

it says line 36 is not working for me

nitrogenfingers #14

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 05 June 2013 - 06:50 PM

Symmetryc, on 05 June 2013 - 06:13 PM said:
I think I've found a problem, you can still walk on hidden ladders before they appear.

Thanks for picking this up Symmetryc! I've patched the executable and am fairly certain the problem has been solved (along with an issue trying to move outside the bounds of the level, both popped up in Pyramid).

gman798, on 05 June 2013 - 06:31 PM said:
it says line 36 is not working for me

I don't know how this is possible. Line 36 of the program is a variable declaration and the installer has nothing there at all. Please provide all information when posting reports like this- that is the full name of the error that occurred.

nutcase84 #15

770 posts

Location In My Lonely Little Computer Corner

Posted 05 June 2013 - 07:09 PM

A awesome game! I wish I was that good at game coding. I'm not that good with timing. :D/>

Symmetryc #16

Symmetryc's profile picture

500 posts

Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:03 AM

nitrogenfingers, on 04 June 2013 - 10:39 PM said:
Thanks :)/> I put aside an afternoon to do something computercraft related, and this is what I came up with.

How did you write over 1000 lines of code in a single afternoon :P/>.

nitrogenfingers #17

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:11 AM

Meant to spend this evening making a bunch more levels, looks like that'll be a job for tomorrow. Instead spent time fixing a few bugs, tweaking the AI and overhauling the front end. The code is now pretty messy but there's now a title screen, level select screen and access to paint is incorporated via a shell call into the program. It's quite handy- you can make a level inside the program, then immediately test it, going back to edit it and make further tweaks if you need to.

I try to be as humble as possible on these forums but I do think the title screen is far and away the coolest on the forums :)/>

Anyway these combined features make creating levels much easier, but sharing is a bit cumbersome.

I've not updated the installer yet, will do that when I've made more levels and found a better way to incorporate them into packs.

PixelToast #18

2217 posts

Location 3232235883

Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:24 AM

i love you, this game is awesome

superaxander #19

620 posts

Location Holland

Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:37 AM

You removed the installer…

Why does it start with level 3?

nitrogenfingers #20

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 06 June 2013 - 12:17 PM

superaxander, on 06 June 2013 - 10:37 AM said:
You removed the installer…

Why does it start with level 3?

Removed the installer to work on a few more levels, then got tired, gave up. I've put the installer back up now with 9 levels rather than the original 5 (well, 10 if you include the title screen :P/>). The installer is worse rather than better than the previous one but I'm pretty wiped so won't look at that until… later.

The compression format however works well enough for level packs so I guess I'll just keep using that.

NF

jesusthekiller #21

587 posts

Location Wrocław, Poland

Posted 06 June 2013 - 12:26 PM

Wow! Awesome!

nitrogenfingers #22

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 08 June 2013 - 11:28 AM

I've added an in-game level editor to Gold Runner, to make design a bit easier:

It's quite useful now- you can jump into a level you're making, then try it out, if it doesn't work go back and make more changes. The interface works really nicely and encourages iterative development.

A few bugs have appeared I'm in the process of ironing out.

This has been a lot of fun, and though it's yet to receive much comment I've especially enjoyed playing around with the AI and pushing the limits of their particular method, so I put up a video on my channel demonstrating that stuff. I've enjoyed making this game and I hope you guys have enjoyed playing it :)/>

Edit: The video just went live, so you can check it out here if yuo like:

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NQGnzJwbZ0

Edited on 08 June 2013 - 10:18 AM

M4sh3dP0t4t03 #23

570 posts

Location Germany

Posted 09 June 2013 - 04:14 AM

I like the video you made. And dan200 tweeted about it.

nitrogenfingers #24

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 09 June 2013 - 05:32 AM

KingOfNoobs, on 09 June 2013 - 04:14 AM said:
I like the video you made. And dan200 tweeted about it.

That made my day :D/>

I've made one last change to the executable. I found this website this afternoon and quickly made a converter to change those files into ones compatible with my own rendition. Unfortunately most of the links are broken, but I was able to get the first 17 levels of both the original and championship edition of Lode Runner, and will add the rest if/when I can track them down. In total now, the game has about 45 levels, which is pretty good.

The size for those levels was actually 28x16, compared to my 49x18 so I've had to scale them to fit the screen, but nevertheless they look good and play very well:

Apple ][:

ComputerCraft:

That's it I think. I've had a lot of fun making this but I've added all the features I think it needs and a lot of levels. If you guys want to make more send them to me and I'll post them but I think I'm done with this one.

It was a lot of fun to make, and I think the end product is really good :)/> Thanks for reading!

theoriginalbit #25

7508 posts

Location Australia

Posted 09 June 2013 - 07:22 AM

Wow that looks brilliant! Nice work, as always, nitro!

GravityScore #26

GravityScore's profile picture

799 posts

Location Land of Meh

Posted 09 June 2013 - 09:06 AM

Wow, really cool nitro! Amazing fun - even if I do suck at it :P/>

I love the idea behind finding an old game for a (compared to today's standards) simple old console/system, and turning it into something for ComputerCraft - it works really well. I love how you've emulated the original levels from the game. :)/>

ETHANATOR360 #27

419 posts

Location your hardrive

Posted 09 June 2013 - 02:29 PM

nitrogenfingers, on 09 June 2013 - 05:32 AM said:
KingOfNoobs, on 09 June 2013 - 04:14 AM said:
I like the video you made. And dan200 tweeted about it.

That made my day :D/>

I've made one last change to the executable. I found this website this afternoon and quickly made a converter to change those files into ones compatible with my own rendition. Unfortunately most of the links are broken, but I was able to get the first 17 levels of both the original and championship edition of Lode Runner, and will add the rest if/when I can track them down. In total now, the game has about 45 levels, which is pretty good.

The size for those levels was actually 28x16, compared to my 49x18 so I've had to scale them to fit the screen, but nevertheless they look good and play very well:

Apple ][:

ComputerCraft:

That's it I think. I've had a lot of fun making this but I've added all the features I think it needs and a lot of levels. If you guys want to make more send them to me and I'll post them but I think I'm done with this one.

It was a lot of fun to make, and I think the end product is really good :)/> Thanks for reading!

you are too good at what you do :P/> +1

SkiterBR #28

SkiterBR's profile picture

1 posts

Posted 04 August 2013 - 03:58 PM

how can i install it?

nitrogenfingers #29

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 04 August 2013 - 09:50 PM

SkiterBR, on 04 August 2013 - 03:58 PM said:
how can i install it?


pastebin get YRFeS0G3 grinstall
grinstall

MulticolouredMarshmellow #30

MulticolouredMarshmellow's profile picture

21 posts

Posted 01 September 2013 - 02:54 AM

+1 Happy customer

neptune12100 #31

neptune12100's profile picture

15 posts

Posted 08 November 2013 - 09:50 PM

oh my god. You deserve more than diamonds. You get gold-pressed latinum.

illegalwaffles #32

illegalwaffles's profile picture

1 posts

Posted 01 December 2013 - 11:03 PM

I logged in for the first time in almost a year to say:

I found a CC floppy in a mine shaft chest cart with this on it, Googled it, and now I'm logging in to say this is awesome. :D/>

secret1timb7 #33

secret1timb7's profile picture

18 posts

Posted 02 December 2013 - 06:44 PM

How does my game have more views then this? this is way better o_O

axel.codeFail() #34

47 posts

Location A bit lost

Posted 18 April 2014 - 09:11 PM

When I try to run this, I get:


[string "GoldRunner"] : 1263 : '=' expected near 'goldrunner'

TheOddByte #35

1852 posts

Location Sweden

Posted 23 April 2014 - 08:15 PM

axel.codeFail(), on 18 April 2014 - 09:11 PM said:
When I try to run this, I get:
[string "GoldRunner"] : 1263 : '=' expected near 'goldrunner'

I don't think you'll get any help from NF anytime soon, seems he's not been browsing the forums in a while :P/>
But when viewing that line in the code it seems to error when you're browsing the levels or something right?

Edited on 23 April 2014 - 06:15 PM

nitrogenfingers #36

513 posts

Location Australia

Posted 28 April 2014 - 06:27 AM

TheOddByte, on 23 April 2014 - 08:15 PM said:
axel.codeFail(), on 18 April 2014 - 09:11 PM said:
When I try to run this, I get:
[string "GoldRunner"] : 1263 : '=' expected near 'goldrunner'
I don't think you'll get any help from NF anytime soon, seems he's not been browsing the forums in a while :P/>
But when viewing that line in the code it seems to error when you're browsing the levels or something right?

I don't think this is a code error. The line you quoted in my copy of the source doesn't have the string goldrunner anywhere. Is this being run from a script or are you just typing GoldRunner into the shell and getting this problem?

I still pop by from time to time, just don't have much to contribute to the community these days.