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Caravel Forum : Caravel Boards : Development : Rainbow Combo Clock (Digital, Analogue, Serpent and Spawn Timer)
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agaricus5
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icon Rainbow Combo Clock (+4)  
Inspired by Larrymurk's Combo Clock, I decided to make my own combo clock for fun. It actually came out better than I intended, so I thought that maybe people might be interested in using it as a mod and decided to release it here.

Features:

- Both digital and analogue timers included (It's mostly digital, though, and it only counts down).
- Three segment timer - The inner segment counts down moves of the spawn cycle, the middle one counts the moves of important spawn events, including a 5-move pre-spawn warning, and the outer one counts down the serpent movement preference changes.
- Segment mini-timers - Rather than having to count for yourself, the hand contains mini-timers that automatically display the number of moves left in a particular phase of the cycle.
- Rainbow colour - The clock comes in full 24-bit colour!

Negatives:

- Some of the numbers may be hard to see as they are a bit small.
- The colours may be a bit too contrasting to be suitable for DROD. I quite like them, but you may find the clock doesn't quite fit in with the game screen.
- The clock may be difficult to read if you are colourblind (again, I speculate).

To install it, simply back up your existing "Clock2.png", which is in the Bitmaps folder, inside the Data folder of your JtRH install, and then replace the original with this copy.

You can also use this clock for anything else DROD-related that isn't commercial (It also contains AE graphics), although please credit me if you distribute it to other people. If you want to create your own clock using this, make sure you set the alpha channel correctly in order to get your clock to appear correctly (I had lots of fun figuring out exactly why the clock had loads of holes in it to begin with).

The alpha channel is a special layer associated with the .png file. It basically acts like a covering over the picture, blocking out parts of the picture you don't want to see, and DROD uses the channel to make these parts of the clock invisible. If you want to set it, I think you'll need to create a mask (i.e. the layer that determines which areas are to be made invisible) and then convert it into an alpha channel. .png files can only save one channel, so make sure that you combine all of your existing ones if you're using several.

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12-21-2005 at 06:11 PM
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larrymurk
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icon Re: Rainbow Combo Clock (0)  
I like
- colors
- Center number counting down spawn
- Outer circle for snake preference
- Middle timer counting roaches hatching

It seems a bit awkward to have the middle timer count down to 5 pre-spawn.

Overall, looks like a keeper to me. Thanks! :fun
12-21-2005 at 06:31 PM
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agaricus5
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larrymurk wrote:
It seems a bit awkward to have the middle timer count down to 5 pre-spawn.
I thought that at first too, but I think I intended it to help act as a general indicator for "safe" moves before you need to start worrying about the spawn timer (such as if you're in the middle of an irregular tar mass).

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12-21-2005 at 07:48 PM
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Doom
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icon Re: Rainbow Combo Clock (+1)  
agaricus5 wrote:
larrymurk wrote:
It seems a bit awkward to have the middle timer count down to 5 pre-spawn.
I thought that at first too, but I think I intended it to help act as a general indicator for "safe" moves before you need to start worrying about the spawn timer (such as if you're in the middle of an irregular tar mass).
Is it necessary to have own counter for that? I *think* it adds only confusion to the clock and just making the big numbers stand out better near the spawn would work just as well.

The clock is otherwise pretty cool and well done, although I doubt I'll start using it because of the colour choices. (Not had possibility to try it in-game yet. Just looked at the picture)
12-21-2005 at 08:08 PM
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agaricus5
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Doom wrote:
agaricus5 wrote:
larrymurk wrote:
It seems a bit awkward to have the middle timer count down to 5 pre-spawn.
I thought that at first too, but I think I intended it to help act as a general indicator for "safe" moves before you need to start worrying about the spawn timer (such as if you're in the middle of an irregular tar mass).
Is it necessary to have own counter for that? I *think* it adds only confusion to the clock and just making the big numbers stand out better near the spawn would work just as well.
Well, I originally thought that as the central counter is counting down normally, and the middle counter isn't doing much then, adding functionality might make it more useful. However, I may have fallen into the complexity trap, and have made it too complicated. I'll see if anyone else thinks that the extra countdown is confusing, and tinker with the clock if it is.

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12-21-2005 at 08:24 PM
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Chaco
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icon Re: Rainbow Combo Clock (0)  
Ooh, shiney.

Personally, I think it has just the right level of information: providing convenient information to get you out of tight squeezes without being needlessly complicated. Me likey much :)

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12-28-2005 at 02:28 AM
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tonyk
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I quite like it myself - the colours are a little out of kilter withe the rest of the DROD style, but I do like the layout - I find it much easier to read than the original clock style.

The only thing I do find confusing is the middle tar-countdown section, but I can see why it's there, and I don't think it's a huge distraction.

I think this may become my permenant replacement. Any chance of a mellower colour scheme? :)

[Last edited by tonyk at 01-03-2006 08:23 AM]
01-03-2006 at 08:22 AM
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Briareos
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File: Clock2.png (344.7 KB)
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Author: Agaricus5
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icon Re: Rainbow Combo Clock (+4)  
Well, I've been using this clock for a while now, but with desaturated colors - might as well post it...

np: Tied & Tickled Trio - A.R.C. (A.R.C.)

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06-11-2006 at 12:08 AM
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Kevin_P86
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Looks good! I'd just like to know what the tar mother eye is supposed to be for...?

Edit: Might help if I read the original post, I suppose... :)

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[Last edited by Kevin_P86 at 06-11-2006 03:13 AM]
06-11-2006 at 03:12 AM
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