The goal of this project has been loading content automatically and handling multi-part areas, so it's important to include features like quest definitions and to specify which area in a chapter the player will begin in.
Create a file in the chapter/1 folder of the project directory, contents, and open it in a text editor.
This chapter is simple and needs only two pieces of information.
On the first line of the chapter content file, specify the chapter start:
start:
The chapter will begin in the desert_camp map, on a square next to the tent decoration:
start: desert_camp 8,6
On the next line, we'll detail the chapter's goal: the collection of eight coin objects:
start: desert_camp 8,6
goal: coin 8
Save the content file and open game.lua. This module creates the game object and attaches its relevant functions. The game:Begin() function is intended to launch a particular chapter. In order to do this, it will read the content file to place the character in the right scene and note which accomplishments it needs to track on the player to determine when the chapter is over. Start by looping over the lines of the content file for the specified chapter:
function self:Begin(chapter)
local target, x, y
for line in io.lines(directory.."/contents") do
local action, details = line:match("^([^:]+):%:%s+(.+)$")
end
endWhen a start line is found, record which scene and location it needs to go to; we'll finish processing the file before launching the actual transition:
for line in io.lines(directory.."/contents") do
local action, details = line:match("^([^:]+):%:%s+(.+)$")
if action == 'start' then
target, x, y = details:match("^(%w+)%s+(%d+)%,(%d+)")
x, y = tonumber(x), tonumber(y)
end
endWhen a goal line is found, record the type of goal being sought and how many are required:
if action == 'start' then
target, x, y = details:match("^(%w+)%s+(%d+)%,(%d+)")
x, y = tonumber(x), tonumber(y)
elseif action == 'goal' then
local kind, count = details:match("^(%w+)%s+(%d+)")
self.GoalKind, self.GoalCount = kind, tonumber(count)
endWhile we're processing this file, go to the Proceed function in the gotoScene call further down, and register the game to receive events that indicate the player gained a new item:
self.Player = character
self.Player:addEventListener('Gained', self)
UI:AttachPlayer(self.Player)Add a function to the game object to respond to user when these events are received:
self.isVisible = false function self:Gained( event ) end function self:Begin(chapter)
This handler will compare the received prize to the desired goal item to determine if it should be counted:
function self:Gained( event ) if event.object == self.GoalKind then self.CountAcquired = (self.CountAcquired or 0) + 1 end end
If the count has reached the needed number of items, the chapter is declared completed:
if event.object == self.GoalKind then
self.CountAcquired = (self.CountAcquired or 0) + 1
if self.CountAcquired >= self.GoalCount then
self:dispatchEvent{name = 'Goal'; action = 'completed', kind = self.GoalKind}
self:dispatchEvent{name = 'Chapter'; action = 'completed', index = self.Chapter}
end
end