Bay 12 Games Forum

Even though the system is not very realistic in grabbing, it is awesome to strangle someone with your greatsword.

And West Africa is more or less antipodal to that Wellington mine 'rumour', and thus out of range (with or without fuelpods).

I've built a base on Hawaï, which IIRC is right opposite the first Africa mission, and got there with still quite some fuel left... I think it's perfectly possible for a firebird with 2 fuelpods to fly around the earth. (Or to the other side and back)

Found it. Behold, the texturemixer.

package conversion;

import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.image.MemoryImageSource;
import java.awt.image.PixelGrabber;

public abstract class TextureMixer {

private static short baseR, baseG, baseB;
private static PixelGrabber grabber;
private static Image texture;
private static int[] pixelList;
private static int[][] pixelArrayR, pixelArrayG, pixelArrayB, pixelArrayA;
private static int width, height;

public static Image mixTexture(String filename, int lightR, int lightG, int lightB, int darkR, int darkG, int darkB){

// Testcode
// long m1 = System.currentTimeMillis();

width = 16;
height = 16;

texture = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getImage("src/textures/" + filename + ".png");;

pixelList = new int[width * height];

pixelArrayA = new int[width][height];
pixelArrayR = new int[width][height];
pixelArrayG = new int[width][height];
pixelArrayB = new int[width][height];

// Magenta = 255,0,255.
baseR = 255;
baseG = 0;
baseB = 255;

grabber = new PixelGrabber(texture, 0, 0, width, height, pixelList, 0, width);
grabber.startGrabbing();

// Puts all pixels from the texture in a list
try {
grabber.startGrabbing();
while(!grabber.grabPixels()){
}
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
System.out.println("src/worldModel/TerrainType/convertImage: " + e);
}

// Converts the hex list to 4 'readable' lists (RGB and alpha)
for(int i = 0; i < width; i++){
for(int j = 0; j < height; j++){
int pixel = pixelList[i + (j*width)];

pixelArrayA[i][j] = (pixel >> 24) & 0xFF;

pixelArrayR[i][j] = (pixel >> 16) & 0xFF;

pixelArrayG[i][j] = (pixel >> 8) & 0xFF;

pixelArrayB[i][j] = (pixel) & 0xFF;

// Converts every pixel with the correct RGB (magenta) to the 'light color'
if(pixelArrayR[i][j] == baseR && pixelArrayG[i][j] == baseG && pixelArrayB[i][j] == baseB){
pixelArrayR[i][j] = lightR;
pixelArrayG[i][j] = lightG;
pixelArrayB[i][j] = lightB;

/*
* Converts every shade of gray to the 'dark color' multiplied by the intensitie of the grayness.
* In other words, black stays black, white becomes the dark color, and everything inbetween
* becomes a darker shade of the 'dark' color.
*/
} else if(pixelArrayR[i][j] == pixelArrayG[i][j] && pixelArrayR[i][j] == pixelArrayB[i][j]) {
pixelArrayR[i][j] = Math.round(darkR * pixelArrayR[i][j]/255);
pixelArrayG[i][j] = Math.round(darkG * pixelArrayR[i][j]/255);
pixelArrayB[i][j] = Math.round(darkB * pixelArrayR[i][j]/255);
}
}
}

// Converts the 4 human-readable lists (notice the alpha hasn't changed) back to the hex list
int[] pixelList = new int[width * height];

for(int i = 0;i < width; i++){
for(int j = 0;j < height; j++){
    pixelList[i + (j*width)] = ((pixelArrayA[i][j] << 24)& 0xFF000000)
    |   ((pixelArrayR[i][j] << 16) & 0x00FF0000)
                                | ((pixelArrayG[i][j] << 8) & 0x0000FF00)
                                | ((pixelArrayB[i][j]) & 0x000000FF);
    }
}

// Testcode
// long m2 = System.currentTimeMillis();
// System.out.println("Duration: " + (m2 - m1));

return Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().createImage(new MemoryImageSource(width, height, pixelList, 0, width));
}

}

So basically, you could measure a magic user's power by their 'finesse', so to speak?

Yes, and their knowledge of the magic language.

Quote from: JoshuaFH on December 21, 2009, 12:14:27 pm

Does this mean that using magic makes you tired, and you have to recuperate by eating and sleeping?

I believe it was more of an exhaustion thing than hunger in the books, since each action was supposed to take as much energy as performing it under ideal circumstances.  There were a lot of ways to sorta cheat the system, since you could run a rock through someone's skull with relative ease.  It was also reminiscent of programming - you had to "encode" your spells with kill commands so they wouldn't run forever.

It would have the same effect as a physical act. Imagine you just ran a marathon, you'd want to drink and rest first. Though drinking wouldn't be as important, since you probably don't warm up when using magic the same way you do when using muscles.

About the kill spells - the spell would stop when the task was complete, though if you are uncertain about the power that will be required, you could say 'lift that guy in the air untill I say stop' instead of 'lift that guy to the top of the cliff'. That way, you could stop earlier if you feel too exhausted to continue.

Is life energy finite, and is there a standard amount? I.E. if there is a basic measurement system, like lifting a certain weight to 3 feet in the air from a foot away is 1 Energy, will you be able to accurately gauge your magic using for your lifetime?

It's the same energy you use when sporting. So it is limited by how well-rested and well-fed, and how fit you are. If you want to know if you could do it, ask yourself if you could do it with your hands. Eg, lifting the guy up to the cliff would require as much energy as doing it by hand - if you had a pulley system, or stairs. A little less, because there is no friction (nitpicking ftw).

I recently started using an Eragon-based magic system. I think the movie sucks, but they have some good ideas. Magic is the manipulation of energy, trough means of some almost forgotten language. You need to state what you want in this language, eg. you can say 'burn that door' in the ancient language and your magic will burn the door. However, stronger magicians require no sentences, but can use words, eg. 'burn door' or 'fire door' or even 'flames portal', as long as it is clear to the magician himself what he means with it. A very powerful magician might be able to, for instance, say 'pig tail sock' and burn a door, as long as the link between the sock and burning the door is clear to him.

Magic is also possible without saying a word, however this is extremely dangerous, as it is guided only by your thoughts. Eg, if you think 'burn the door' and at the same time think of your wife, you may come home to find her charred remains (Or her body with a door trough it. Or a door with her stuck in it. Or a burning door, whatever). Only trained magicians attempt this, and only if necessary.

As said before, magic was the manipulation of energy. Life energy, to be exact. This means, if you want to lift a stone with magic, you would lose as much energy as you would by lifting it by hand. This amount of energy even increases when the stone is further away. Some spells have proven to be so demanding in terms of energy, nobody has ever succeeded, eg. resurrecting the dead or seeing the future. If you cast a spell that requires more life energy than you have, you die, unless you have a way of interrupting the spell.

You can also take life energy from living things (plants, animals, sentient) around you, but this fact, and especially the method to achieve this, is a well-kept secret. So far, no magic-user has ever found a way to use non-living energy (solar, movement, ...).