Need help creating player entity

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CalvinMT

I'm having trouble creating an entity movable with the keyboard.

// I created a Player class which extends Creature:
protected Player () {
    this.setSpritePrefix("player.png");
    this.setLocation(centerOfScreen);
}

// Now, I tried adding it to the environment as so in the game class:
Game.load("map.litidata");
Game.loadEnvironment(new Environment(Game.getMap("map")));
Player player = new Player();
player.setController(MovementController.class, new KeyboardEntityController<IMobileEntity>(player));
Game.getEnvironment().add(player);

The screen shows up, but nothing happens. The map doesn't even appear... :/
And I don't know if a Creature would even be movable with arrows or WSQD.

I tried looking into your "ldjam42 - GoIn" source code and understood some features a bit better. But alas, did not suit my needs.

It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction.
Thanks.

CalvinMT

I managed to get the map to appear without the player (can't remember how, but it was something dumb).

Another problem now is that only a quarter of the map is showing at the bottom right of the screen. In other words, the top-left corner of the map is in the center of the screen, and not in the top-left corner of the screen where it is supposed to be. And I can't find a function to adjust it... :/

Anyone, please?

Jikai

CalvinMT Did you set the camera? Maybe it's pointing a corner by default, I saw a code snippet somewhere where you had to setup the camera to the player

CalvinMT

Wow, thanks! I forgot about in-game cameras.
I wanted a fixed camera to see the entire map, and I have it.

All I'm missing now is the player.
Do I need to added it to a map on top of adding it to the environment?
Because it has a sprite and a location, and I don't know what it would be missing. Unless it isn't supposed to extend Creature (but that doesn't make sense...)?

Jikai

CalvinMT Can you provide the version of the build you are using?
Also post your code here, where you add all to the environment.

Creature extends Entity, CombatEntity and collisionEntity. It also implements IEntity, so it should work...

Normally you just have to add all to Environment, are you sure you're adding it to the Active environment?
Did you do something like Game.getEnvironment().add(new Player()); ?

CalvinMT

Jikai I'm using "litiengine-0.4.13" and "JavaSE-1.8". I think that's what you asked for.

There's no much more than what I firstly posted.

@Override
public void prepare () {
	super.prepare();
	
	// Initialize Game
	final double screenCenterX = Game.getScreenManager().getResolution().getWidth() / 2.0;
	final double screenCenterY = Game.getScreenManager().getResolution().getHeight() / 2.0;
	Player player = new Player(screenCenterX, screenCenterY);
	Game.load("resources/maps/map_test.litidata");
	Game.loadEnvironment(new Environment(Game.getMap("map_test")));
	Game.getCamera().setFocus(screenCenterX, screenCenterY);
	Game.getEnvironment().add(player);
	// ---------- ----------


	Input.keyboard().onKeyPressed(KeyEvent.VK_UP, (key) -> player.move(Direction.UP));
	Input.keyboard().onKeyPressed(KeyEvent.VK_DOWN, (key) -> player.move(Direction.DOWN));
	Input.keyboard().onKeyPressed(KeyEvent.VK_LEFT, (key) -> player.move(Direction.LEFT));
	Input.keyboard().onKeyPressed(KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT, (key) -> player.move(Direction.RIGHT));
	Input.keyboard().onKeyTyped(KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE, (key) -> {
		Game.getScreenManager().displayScreen(MenuScreen.NAME);
		Game.getScreenManager().getRenderComponent().setCursor(new ImageIcon("resources/cursor_white_64.png").getImage(), 0, 0);
		try {
			// Finalizes this instance of InGameScreen
			this.finalize();
		} catch (Throwable e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
	});
}

CalvinMT

Every test I do seems correct.

System.out.println(Game.getEnvironment().getEntities());
// Returns: [player (resources/player_32.png) #-1]
System.out.println(Game.getEnvironment().getCreature("player").getLocation());
// Returns: Point2D.Double[624.0, 344.0]  which is the center of the screen

I think the problem is coming somewhere around the image.
The image is a 32 by 32 PNG.
It is loaded as followed in the Player class (see 1st post):

this.SpritePrefix("player_32.png");

I don't even know what "Prefix" is supposed to mean in a sprite, but it looks like it's working according to the return of "getEntities()".

I tried to set the size and even took a different image, but nothing changes.
It's driving me crazy.

CalvinMT

Ok, just found out about the "sprites.info" file...
I was wondering all along where the sprites location was added in the code. My bad I didn't look all the way down at the end of the sprites folder in the "ldjam42 - GoIn" source code...

So I managed to import the sprites in the utiLITI, but when I want to create a creature, I nothing appears in the drop-down list to select a sprite. I tried re-importing the map and re-loading utiLITI but nothing changed. Any ideas?

P.S.: you guys should really get out a tutorial and some documentation. Even if it's fast and meaningless, at least it will point users in the right direction.

P.P.S.: and I don't mind people telling me that the code I posted is right or wrong without much explanation. Again, it at least gives an indication and point me in the right direction.

CalvinMT

Done!

All I needed to do was to add the sprite to the map with utiLITI and enter this:

player.addController(new PlayerAnimationController(player));

And here's the code from the class PlayerAnimationController(Player player):

public PlayerAnimationController(Player player) {
	super(player, new Animation(Spritesheet.find(player.getSpritePrefix()), true));
	this.add(new Animation(Spritesheet.find(player.getSpritePrefix()), true));
}

It doesn't work every time. When I start the game, sometimes the sprite appears, but sometimes it doesn't.
I'll leave a note by if I find out why.

Jikai

CalvinMT Spritesheet.find(player.getSpritePrefix()

I’ve got a nullPointer for this part. I’ve set the prefix in the player entity but how do you specify where is the sprites.info? Does it find it by itself?

My sprites and the .info are located in sprites/sprites.info.

Sorry for not replying before @CalvinMT but I’m trying to figure out on my side as well haha!

nightm4re

Hey and sorry for being quiet so far.
This weekend, we're working on a tutorial creating a small example game for LITIengine from A to Z.
We expect a lot of questions to get answered once people get to see the tutorial.
We'll get back to your request, please stay patient for some more hours.

CalvinMT

Great news!
I promise to be patient, then.

It is true that I might have forgot that this is an alpha, and things such as code structure and functions might change.
But important stuff like AnimationControllers, sprites.info, the fact that you need to actually use the utiLITI (in a way that it isn't just an optional software) so that the LITIengine works; they should all be mentionned because they are essential to know.

I hope I didn't make too much of a scene, but being left without being answered while others are caused me a little of frustration.
Please forgive my overreaction.

steffen

CalvinMT

the fact that you need to actually use the utiLITI (in a way that it isn't just an optional software) so that the LITIengine works ...

That's not exactly true. In fact, one of our main contributors to the engine @TheRamenChef doesn't use the editor at all. We just think that the utiLITI editor brings some very helpful stuff to the table especially for new users. A workflow without the editor is totally possible but is a bit harder to get into.

It's true that we design the engine with the editor in mind but using the engine without it is absolutely possible.

nightm4re

I really appreciate your patience and the way you've managed to figure out what's going on with your problem by yourself. It's just that we're two guys doing this noncommercially and working on documentation while enhancing the product itself and building a community, that's consuming tons of time. We have a new contribution guide in the repository where you can find hints on the various things we need help with (that's the point of open source projects, right?). Let us know if there's anything specific you want to work on

CalvinMT

Jikai
According to this post: steffen, I think that editing the ".litidata" file is avoidable. The "sprites.info" has all the information, so I also think that it is self sufficient.
But I haven't got a clue how... :/

CalvinMT

Jikai
We're fine! XP

You can put "sprites.info" in any folder that you want.
Inside it, you need to write something like:

#PLAYER
player.png, 32, 32;250, 250, 400, 250

The first part is the name of the file containing the player's sprites.
The second and third parts are the sprites size (I'm guessing they all need to be the same size).
And the last part, after the ";", is the duration that each sprite will take before the next one (sprite1 will take 250ms, sprite2: 250ms, sprite3: 400ms, sprite4: 250ms (I think they're milliseconds)).

Then, one way of doing it is by loading those sprites with the utiLITI.
To do so, first open utiLITI and import your map.
After that, go to: Project -> Import Spritefile...
And select your "sprites.info" file.
Save and done.

steffen

CalvinMT
Good to see that you figured out this workflow. I also agree that this process should be documented better. But we'll get there

A few notes on this:

"The Spritefile Workflow" is a workflow that was present before the utiLITI editor even existed. It allowed us for some automated workflows that included a small Photoshop script which auto-generated these files from layers. Typically a spritefile is used for a batch import process.
"The UI Workflow" is an alternative approach on this and allows to directly import image files from the filesystem. It then let's you specify the KeyFrame duration over the utiLITI UI. (Project -> Import Spritesheets...). The amount of keyframes will then automatically be provided, depending on the spritewidth and spriteheight. You can later adjust the provided Spritesheet settings by navigating to your Spritesheet in the "Resources" explorer and clicking the pen icon (Resources Explorer -> Edit Asset).

Jikai

steffen CalvinMT nice to know. It means that utiLITI will only update the sprites.info right? I will not update the litidata (map) file I guess?
So I can do it manually inside the sprites.info?

I think my loading is failing cause I've specified 2 frames length while I currently only have 1 frame (static image).
I'll try this out then.

Is there a way to load a full image file, I mean, with all animations on a single png file? Like first line is UP walk, then next line is RIGHT walk and so on?

CalvinMT

Dmartin42
Yep! No probs.
Add issues on MY GitHub project (LITIengine_test) and I'll reply.
I've also replied to a comment about importing sprites on this forum. I'll add a link here in a few moments.
By the way, I use the utiLITI and the sprites.info file to import sprites.

Edit:
Here's the post CalvinMT

And here's my Github: https://github.com/CalvinMT

CalvinMT

steffen Dmartin42
True.
We started off talking about what I did on my Github project. That's why we ended up there.

I'll clarify things discussed here.

Images of your sprites must be a sequence of an animation.
i.e.: one image contains sprites of the moving/facing up animation, one for the moving/facing down, etc...
Each sprites of an image must be of the same height and length.
The "sprites.info" file needs to be created and edited with a text editing software such as "Notepad" or "Notepad++" (recommended) for users under Windows.
"sprites.info" can have any name that you want. But it needs to end with ".info".
Go to this post to learn what to do with the "sprites.info" file: CalvinMT

Hopefully, there will soon be a tutorial at this address:
https://docs.litiengine.com/getting-started/managing-resources/images

CalvinMT

Jikai
If you look into the "ldjam42" project on GitHub, you will see that each animation has its own file.
And because you cannot specify the position of a keaframe in the "sprites.file", I think it isn't possible.

utiLITI upadates the ".litidata" file when importing "sprites.info".
What I did is to, as you said, manually modify the "sprites.info" accordingly to what I wanted.

Jikai

CalvinMT Yes I saw it in the ldjam42, just wondered if it was possible

And what does it add in the litidata? just for my knowledge..

CalvinMT

Jikai
It adds lines like these:

<spriteSheets>
  <sprite width="32" height="32" name="player_32">
   	<image>iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACAAAAAgCAYAAABzenr0AAABGUlEQVR42uWXPQ6DMAyFIzXqteBO7NAjdOACZO4cNli4Q+deoFO3DjRGREoCgfwJq+JJlhDEeZ8gdgIZEUVA84UWVVVNA/I8XzyLDc18DSDLsuPMTYDDzVUAFHMJgGZOlBEo5hIAzdxWhrao69pa003TaGP7vk8L4NFczJxXNEBAh9NyowAi2uwUsL52q8BmXhRFMADn3O0tbAEk2GzUeSgawLy53bEBnqcHYNiL8OoNwBgLNh+GIb4MUzQiudX/byv2haCUmjmfIABQ13XavbZtnb45BOQGb8dbrzTpYWQNwEwWl195btwzlgtO6E1ctVKv49bZEVSWpRaLvx0fSQDXCWCdiXhAa53jJuJCQhVFn0Ko5sonOK9+N9jlL71CNcYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=</image>
   <keyframes>250</keyframes>
  </sprite>
  <sprite width="32" height="32" name="ennemy1_32">
  	<image>iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACAAAAAgCAYAAABzenr0AAAAnElEQVR42mP4z8DwfyAxw6BxAAOdwdB2AFBx/X8rq2Uo+P9/eZo7gOh4pbYDyE5g1HAAxamcEgdQLauR4wCq5/ch5QCalXpDwgFAhj3Nyv7//1kIOwBUqtHKAXJyEwbWAaghPTIdsJ+wA4C1Gg0TIdtoOTBaFwyd6nhQNEgGRZNsUDRKMTQDazVQqYZkaT1QjHnkdExo4oAR2zsGAKzmT6qppX1QAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC</image>
   <keyframes>250</keyframes>
  </sprite>
  <sprite width="16" height="16" name="unicolors_16_16">
   	<image>iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAQAAAAEACAYAAABccqhmAAABSklEQVR42u3UQREAMAzDsEILtDLfQOS3SXem4JneaUpStbtVrYHPGQAYgAGAARgAGIABgAEYABiAAYABGAAYgAGAARgAGIABgAEYABiAAYABGAAYgAGAARgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPCgC47XOYjosE69AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC</image>
  </sprite>
 </spriteSheets>

Jikai

CalvinMT Ok I see, is it mandatory for the engine to find the image or can we avoid editing the litidata?
I the sprites.info sufficient to describe the animation and sprite?