Level Time Limit WITHOUT LunaDLL Tutorial

[silent_]

Yes, it is possible. Also, I think it is overcomplicated to make a tutorial while having good grammar; excuse the errors.

1. Make a layer (I'll name it "stuff").
2. Make everything in the level that layer (any other layers and events are allowed but everything should at least have a layer, including tilesets that are stationary too).
3. In the level start event, write the amount of seconds you want your level to be in "Delay".
4. Make another event. Name it whatever you want.
5. In the new event you created, put every single layer you had in your level in the "hide layer" section. Therefore, when time is up, everything will disappear except the background and the music and you'll be forced to die. Also, feel free to add some sound effect for this event too.
6. Go back to the level start event and under trigger event put your new event.
7. Test the level. If it still doesn't work, contact me via PM or this thread. I will be happy to help, but you'll have to be willing to specifically tell me what's wrong. I am unable to assist you if you just say, "Help, it doesn't work". Alternatively, you could give me the download link for the level for which you're struggling with getting this to function properly. I will check your layers and events and find the solution and re-upload the level for you. This would be easier on me.

Optional: Make a message in the level start event saying how much seconds you have. When time is up, make another message.

I feel like a lot of good things are possible in SMBX without LunaDLL. I am currently trying to discover more, so stay tuned for more tutorials.

[FanofSMBX]

Wouldn't it be impossible to show a "Timer: 300" without lunadll?

[silent_]

Wouldn't it be impossible to show a "Timer: 300" without lunadll?

The whole point isn't to SHOW a timer, it's to just have one.

[Emral]

Wouldn't it be impossible to show a "Timer: 300" without lunadll?

The whole point isn't to SHOW a timer, it's to just have one.

unfair towards the player

[Chad]

A level timer with just SMBX's capabilities is generally frowned upon because it's invisible. Even if you warn players (which you definitely should, it's cruel not to), you still have to either count the seconds in your head, or hope you're lucky enough that the level doesn't just delete itself before you get to the end. It'd help to have a certain sound play every x seconds, but it's still better to have a time limit that people can actually see.

[bossedit8]

What I can think of is make a 30 Number Timer (Custom Graphics) and slowly counts down without having to waste a lot of events and much slower than the original seconds Timer...

[Julia Pseudo]

Yeah, I think someone made a tutorial like this on the original forums or something. Problem is, like Chad said, there's no way for the player to know exactly how much time is left. That's pretty important if you want the time limit to be meaningful. Additionally, the way the player will die is a bit ugly in my opinion, since the background and music will remain and the player will actually fall off the screen (even if you had the event disable the background and music as well). LunaDLL is the way to go.

[zlaker]

This timer thing is pretty unfair to the players. And as pseudo said the way the player die isn't good. I can't rather see the problem by not using LunaDLL.

[silent_]

Well, take note guys before you complain, this isn't supposed to be genius, I just invented it since I don't know how to work LunaDLL. And while it may be partially unfair, I think it's kind of cool if you can't reach the timer. This way, the player is encouraged to speed-run throughout the entire level, and if you had a time limit shown, the player would go slow for the first fifty seconds and really speed up at the last bit. Also, Bossedit8 made an awesome point; though I wouldn't see how it would be possible to create thirty frames, unless you made layers and events and made the trigger event twenty-nine, twenty-eight, etc.

Anyway, I'm open for recommendations as for what happens when time's up instead of all of the blocks, NPCs and background disappearing and you being forced to fall down a bottomless pit.

[Emral]

I just invented it since I don't know how to work LunaDLL

Trust me, it's well-known since years. The reason why you never see it being used is:

This timer thing is pretty unfair to the players

Bossedit8 made an awesome point; though I wouldn't see how it would be possible to create thirty frames,

Code: Select all

frames=35
framespeed=x

x is the speed required for 1 frame to be visible for 1 second. It should be around 32 somewhere.
the last 5 frames would be the same and would ensure no reset.

[bossedit8]

Also, Bossedit8 made an awesome point; though I wouldn't see how it would be possible to create thirty frames, unless you made layers and events and made the trigger event twenty-nine, twenty-eight, etc.

You can do this on Blocks/background Objects/NPCs you do not need and you can make something like a timer that slowly goes down... and if the timer reaches 10 it turns into a different color like near red and to 5 very red to make this a better timer... at least for me. If the timer hits zero you have to make the player die naturly... like make either make a lava tile invisible and move it very fast go down so it hits the player no matter what it is doing instead of making everything go away...

[RudeGuy]

Timer in SMBX without Luna.DLL is in my project. May if you check the events itself instead reading the tutorial will help you.

[FanofSMBX]

Timer in SMBX without Luna.DLL is in my project. May if you check the events itself instead reading the tutorial will help you.

Eww please no... It's really unfair that you can't see the countdown numbers. It's better to just ask Lief Erickson for a code and modify it to your preferred number. He really helped me.

[zlaker]

Eww please no...

No need to be rude.

It's really unfair that you can't see the countdown numbers. It's better to just ask Lief Erickson for a code and modify it to your preferred number. He really helped me.

DarkChaox has already made a topic about it.

[RudeGuy]

Timer in SMBX without Luna.DLL is in my project. May if you check the events itself instead reading the tutorial will help you.

Eww please no... It's really unfair that you can't see the countdown numbers. It's better to just ask Lief Erickson for a code and modify it to your preferred number. He really helped me.

I wonder why you quite me instead the creator of the topic. Also I put a sign in the very first level which use the time to say in which levels there is a time of (put a random number).

[MECHDRAGON777]

Also, Bossedit8 made an awesome point; though I wouldn't see how it would be possible to create thirty frames, unless you made layers and events and made the trigger event twenty-nine, twenty-eight, etc.

You can do this on Blocks/background Objects/NPCs you do not need and you can make something like a timer that slowly goes down... and if the timer reaches 10 it turns into a different color like near red and to 5 very red to make this a better timer... at least for me. If the timer hits zero you have to make the player die naturly... like make either make a lava tile invisible and move it very fast go down so it hits the player no matter what it is doing instead of making everything go away...

THis is perfect, and the only error is to have the NPC move with the player unless it is a friendly Lakitue, but a number floating around is a bit weird!

[SMBXxer]

Anyway, I'm open for recommendations as for what happens when time's up instead of all of the blocks, NPCs and background disappearing and you being forced to fall down a bottomless pit.

Just an idea: Make the lava block invisable, fill the whole level with it and hide the layer, and when times up make it appear and kill the player.
But... this would be SUPER laggy and would most-likely crash SMBX...

[bossedit8]

...this would be SUPER laggy and would most-likely crash SMBX...

It depends how big your Level is and where you placed those Invisible Lava Tile. It is not really necessary to fill the entire screen of it. Just make each second row of blocks Lava through the entire section and on best method horizontaly. Most likely, one row Lava, second row nothing, third row Lava, fourth row nothing and the list goes on...

[SMBXxer]

...this would be SUPER laggy and would most-likely crash SMBX...

It depends how big your Level is and where you placed those Invisible Lava Tile. It is not really necessary to fill the entire screen of it. Just make each second row of blocks Lava through the entire section and on best method horizontaly. Most likely, one row Lava, second row nothing, third row Lava, fourth row nothing and the list goes on...

Oh yeah, that sounds really good.

[Magician]

If there's a powerup anywhere in the level when that happens, the game could still outright freeze, I think.

If it were me, not using LunaDLL (though I'm not sure why I wouldn't use LunaDLL), I'd restrict this kind of thing to like a technological setting where the area is self-destructing. There'd be a lot of various-sized monitors as BGOs with a countdown display, and I'd probably make the layer sink off screen at 0.