I want to to do this:

<img src="http://i50.tinypic.com/23r9tmb.png">

(The circle represents the player. The black line is a gun. The white blocks are platforms/obstacles.)

I want to make a game where the player can shoot a laser and that bounces off of surfaces. I don't know where to start.

I tried using the ball movement, but that presented a lot of problems. For example, if the player moved, the laser would stop being a straight line.

Secondly, you have to set the speed really slow in order for it to look like a line rather than a bunch of circles being fired. I want the laser to come out fast. Not instant hit, but fast enough so that the player can see the laser actually bounce off of the wall.

I've tried other things like the line object, but so far everything I've tried hasn't worked. I'm stumped. Could someone maybe post an example to show me how I'd accomplish this?

I don't think qarp is necessary, but it does use a small bit of math. For a basic grapple hook all you really need are three variables; 'distance', 'angle', and 'speed'. When your grapple first latches on you set the 'angle' value to the angle between the grapple point and the character and set 'distance' to the distance between these two points.

Every tick that the character is latched, add something like:

180 * cos(GUY('angle')) * TimeDelta[/code:29rdx3zh]
Then, add this to your angle value: 

[code:29rdx3zh]GUY('speed') * TimeDelta[/code:29rdx3zh]
After that, it's a simple matter of setting the position of the grappling object to:

[code:29rdx3zh]X: GrapplePoint.X + cos(GUY('angle')) * GUY('distance')
Y: GrapplePoint.Y + sin(GUY('angle')) * GUY('distance')[/code:29rdx3zh]

If your character first grappled onto something at a 45 degree angle from the grapple point, he would swing endlessly between 45 and 135 degrees; at 10 degrees, between 10 and 170 degrees; etc...

[url=http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/917406/grappleHOOK.cap]Simple pendulum example[/url]

I hope this helps with the basic concept to some degree. 

Thanks, that makes it a bit clearer. I'm going to try messing around some more, hopefully I can work this out.

I take that back, I really have no idea what I'm doing. What the heck is qarp anyway? Well, yeah. I looked it up and it's Quadratic Interpolation, but then what's that? How do I even use that? This is so confusing.

> It's not that difficult to make a NES style BC swing, but there are tons of ways of doing it. Since no physics or pseudo-physics are used, all you have to do is set up a rope object which shoots out of you, then rotate your grapple sprite around the grappled point, while setting your character to an image point on the other side of the rope. It requires no math! (but you will have to set up a few variables to determine swing length and swing speed, also a grappled state for your character.)

>

Huh?

An example?...Please.

Actually, I wouldn't mind one either. I think I get the idea though (keyword being I think) but seeing it in action would help.

Interesting, I'd like to know more about this as well.

I remember the same thing happening with Game Maker. It caused quite a storm I think. Fortunately, someone forwarded the code to decompile .exes to the main developer of GM and it's going to be fixed in the Game Maker 8.

http://www.messy-mind.net/2008/complete-gm-decompiler/

http://my.opera.com/smarttart62/blog/show.dml/339421

Yeah, I played Bionic Commando NES and Bionic Commando Reamed again today and I noticed something I never noticed before.

The character swings forward the same amount of distance forward no matter how far you swing. Even swinging with a really short, almost retracted arm, kickstarted with the shotgun in BCR causes the character to swing forward at the same distance.

Something like that probably wouldn't be so hard to do after all. I think I have a better idea of what to do now, thanks everyone. I'm going to fiddle around with it some more and see what I can come up with.

They were working on one for DirectInput, which is the standard for non-360 controllers (before Microsoft decided, hey screw it, let's make something only for our pads). I think it may be released later but isn't done yet.

Yeah, but the actual swinging part. Doesn't that require some advanced math? Honestly I've almost dropped out of school because of math, I really suck at it.

I mean, I remember someone mentioning this to me once:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendulum

And it has some sort of.. I don't even know what that is. Calculus? I never got that far in math. So this is like greek to me.

Or am I overthinking things a bit too much here?

Please someone help me. How the heck do you make a grappling hook, like in Bionic Commando? I don't want anything fancy like realistic rope physics or anything. Just a simple grappling hook like Bionic Commando that shoots diagonally and connects to a wall allowing you to swing forward (and can also shoot upwards to cling to ceilings).

The thing is that I am really stupid and I can't figure out how to do things on my own worth a damn and this obviously requires some math which is something I fail at.

I have an amazing idea for a game that absolutely requires a grappling hook. The thing is I can't even get started on it because I can't even figure out how to make a grappling hook in the first place. An example or a .cap file would be nice. Anything to give me an idea of what I'm supposed to do.

Possible, yes. One word: MESH.

Are there any demos of the mesh feature being used for anything practical (as in an actual game) outside of it just being there? I'll reserve judgement until I actually see someone make good use of it.

Being able to use the 3D box object to make other 3D geometry (and perhaps someday 3D models) would be something with far more potential in my opinion. But anyway.

I just wanted to say that this demo is amazing. This is what Construct is capable of, and I know I say this a lot, but I'd like to see its 3D capabilities (and usability of said capability) pushed even further someday.

Holy crap, this really shows the potential of Construct's 3D abilities. It honestly looks like a modern 3D game made in a language like C++ than rather than something made in a game making program like Construct.

I love how you managed to do this with only 3D boxes. I could hardly tell that this game was comprised of mostly boxes alone.

Man, I know I sound like a broken record, but I want to see more like this. I really hope to see more 3D functionality in Construct someday.

Hell, maybe at the very least the ability to make half boxes to form triangles. That way there could also be sloped platforms in games like these. Would that be hard to do?