Official SuperSheep Lexicon
This is the finalized list of terms and "vocabulary" that is being implemented within the SuperSheep engine. If something is unclear or does not make sense, please speak up in the accompanying "discussion" thread. I'll try my best to make definitions as clear and succinct as possible. My goal is to hopefully produce lots of documentation in small installments over a long period of time. Room A single playable environment representing a scene or location. Layer The primitive form of any element that exists within a room layout. Layers manage the stack (or layering) of graphics within a room display. Floating Layers, or "Floats". Layers that can move up and down in the layer stack to display above/below other layers relative to their position within the room. Example: a table graphic is placed in the center of a room. The character can float above/below the table image depending on if the character is currently positioned above/below the table's screen registration. All layer types can float with the exception of the background layer. Matrix-based Filters Visual effects that are applied to room layers based upon their proximity within the scene. All matrix filters have two reference points that define a minimum and maximum state for the filter application. The filter's strength is applied to a layer relative to the layer's position between the the reference points and the filter's axis. A matrix filter can be applied to an X, Y or radial axis. A radial axis will apply filter effects based on the target layer's distance for the filter center-point, regardless of where the later is located in relation to the center reference. There are currently four matrix-based filters: - Scale filter: scales an object proportionally between two reference points. - Color filter: tints a object with a color / color saturation. - Speed filter: offsets an object's speed setting to move faster / slower based on location. - Focus filter: applies a blur effect to object relative to reference points. Useful for depth of field implication. Static Layers Non-interactive, non-controllable layers. There are two types of static layers... Background Static layer that acts as the room's framing reference. There can be only one background layer per room, and it cannot float. The height and width of the background will define the actual viewable dimensions of a room, despite other layered graphics that may extend beyond it's bounds. Also note that while the background layer frames the room, it does NOT need to be the bottom most layer in the room. Additional layers can be stacked behind the background layer and will remain visible if part of the background layer is left transparent. Plane Static layer that can be enabled to float and parallax shift. Parallax shifting will move the plane relative to it's size in relation to the background layer as the room scrolls. A plane can parallax shift on an x, y, or x-y axis. The axis shift will position the plain flush left when the room background is flush left, flush right when the background is flush right, and increment proportionally in between as the room scrolls (the same is true for top/bottom shifting). This will cause the background and a parallax layer to scroll at different rates of movement, creating an implied depth effect. Puppet Layer A puppet layer is an interactive and controllable layer. It can be targeted by Lassie scripts, move/path dynamically, and have matrix-based filters applied to it. There are two types of puppet layers... Hotspot A hotspot is a puppet layer with a full range of interactive capabilities. Hotspots can have Lassie scripts and interactions defined for them, be targeted by Lassie scripts, and can be animated dynamically with matrix-based filter effects. Character A puppet layer that appears once per room. The character layer is the main player-character avatar that is targeted by the Lassie reference "_char". The character can be controlled by scripts, move/path dynamically, and be targeted by matrix-based filters.
This is the finalized list of terms and "vocabulary" that is being implemented within the SuperSheep engine. If something is unclear or does not make sense, please speak up in the accompanying "discussion" thread. I'll try my best to make definitions as clear and succinct as possible. My goal is to hopefully produce lots of documentation in small installments over a long period of time. Room A single playable environment representing a scene or location. Layer The primitive form of any element that exists within a room layout. Layers manage the stack (or layering) of graphics within a room display. Floating Layers, or "Floats". Layers that can move up and down in the layer stack to display above/below other layers relative to their position within the room. Example: a table graphic is placed in the center of a room. The character can float above/below the table image depending on if the character is currently positioned above/below the table's screen registration. All layer types can float with the exception of the background layer. Matrix-based Filters Visual effects that are applied to room layers based upon their proximity within the scene. All matrix filters have two reference points that define a minimum and maximum state for the filter application. The filter's strength is applied to a layer relative to the layer's position between the the reference points and the filter's axis. A matrix filter can be applied to an X, Y or radial axis. A radial axis will apply filter effects based on the target layer's distance for the filter center-point, regardless of where the later is located in relation to the center reference. There are currently four matrix-based filters: - Scale filter: scales an object proportionally between two reference points. - Color filter: tints a object with a color / color saturation. - Speed filter: offsets an object's speed setting to move faster / slower based on location. - Focus filter: applies a blur effect to object relative to reference points. Useful for depth of field implication. Static Layers Non-interactive, non-controllable layers. There are two types of static layers... Background Static layer that acts as the room's framing reference. There can be only one background layer per room, and it cannot float. The height and width of the background will define the actual viewable dimensions of a room, despite other layered graphics that may extend beyond it's bounds. Also note that while the background layer frames the room, it does NOT need to be the bottom most layer in the room. Additional layers can be stacked behind the background layer and will remain visible if part of the background layer is left transparent. Plane Static layer that can be enabled to float and parallax shift. Parallax shifting will move the plane relative to it's size in relation to the background layer as the room scrolls. A plane can parallax shift on an x, y, or x-y axis. The axis shift will position the plain flush left when the room background is flush left, flush right when the background is flush right, and increment proportionally in between as the room scrolls (the same is true for top/bottom shifting). This will cause the background and a parallax layer to scroll at different rates of movement, creating an implied depth effect. Puppet Layer A puppet layer is an interactive and controllable layer. It can be targeted by Lassie scripts, move/path dynamically, and have matrix-based filters applied to it. There are two types of puppet layers... Hotspot A hotspot is a puppet layer with a full range of interactive capabilities. Hotspots can have Lassie scripts and interactions defined for them, be targeted by Lassie scripts, and can be animated dynamically with matrix-based filter effects. Character A puppet layer that appears once per room. The character layer is the main player-character avatar that is targeted by the Lassie reference "_char". The character can be controlled by scripts, move/path dynamically, and be targeted by matrix-based filters.