"Mother" from Alien terminal game.

[michael1789]

If you've seen "Alien" you know what I mean. It's a '70's scifi text interface.


The elements I think I require are:

1) An effects layer to apply to surfaces to get the fuzzy, green text with scan lines, flicker, dimming, etc...

2) A curser that stamps out the text (maybe read/write from .txt file?). I can do this in the actual termial, but I want to do it to a window surface. Maybe I can use my tile_map function to print out image tiles. I can put a time.sleep() somewhere in there.. I think. No?

3) An active promt. It needs to match the message text. That means I have to map the entire keyboard and write it the text same way, unless there is an easier way.

If I want to use the tileset from Dwarf Fortress for this, what is the method to use one part of the sheet for each character? An off-set if I use a Rect smaller than the image? Cropping?

I can start on the message typing, but I have to learn how to use a sprite sheet like that.

The display effect I really need pushing off point for.


The story of the game is that you are trapped in an isolated area of a critically damaged space station and need to use a barely funtional terminal to control a repair drone to find yourself and conduct your own rescue.

[metulburr]

This is all in term of pygame thought process...

1) An effects layer to apply to surfaces to get the fuzzy, green text with scan lines, flicker, dimming, etc...

an example of a layer here about half way down at the rainbow image. You can make the layer more complicated with scan lines, flickering, dimming, etc.

I want to do it to a window surface. I can put a time.sleep() somewhere in there..

If you are using any GUI you do not ever want to use time.sleep as it freezes the game. Each library has its own method to replicate that. You first would have to choose which library you are using.

3) An active promt. It needs to match the message text. That means I have to map the entire keyboard and write it the text same way, unless there is an easier way.

GUI can replicate a prompt. There are terminal/console based libraries as well. I cant remember the name of them though.

If I want to use the tileset from Dwarf Fortress for this, what is the method to use one part of the sheet for each character? An off-set if I use a Rect smaller than the image? Cropping?

all the way at the bottom of here shows examples of cutting spritesheets to use individual images.