Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Trigger Scenery is a JCS Event. It’s used to create sceneries that change when a specific crate is destroyed or when the player occupy a specific area. It is used primarily for making things appear and viceversa, opening and/or closing them, unlocking areas, etc. There are 2 ways to activate this event: Trigger Crates and Trigger Zones. To create a simple Trigger Scenery, first create an animated tile with two frames: the first one is the initial state, the second one is the triggered state. You can put animation speed to 0, but it’s not required to work. Then copy this animated tile in the position you prefer and set the Trigger Scenery event on it, selecting the TriggerID you prefer. Then set the Scenery Trigger Crate or Trigger Scenery event somewhere else with the TriggerID parameter set to the same value.

Types of Triggers

Trigger Crates

The most commonly used method, especially by those new to JCS. Trigger Crates are metal boxes, which activate the associated Trigger Sceneries once destroyed (by either stomping them, or using uppercut, sidekick or TNT). Please note that they can’t be destroyed by normal guns, and if hit by a shot it will behave like the Ricochet event. The TriggerID of the Trigger Scenery and of the linked Trigger Crate have to be the same, and must range between 0 and 255. Note that a Trigger Crate can’t restore a Trigger Scenery to its original condition, it can only activate it.

Trigger Zones

Trigger Zones work in a similar way, but instead of having to destroy a box, the player must pass through the area occupied by this event in order to make the associated sceneries trigger. This event is completely invisible, so usually many Trigger Zones have to be placed in order to fill an entire area. This Event requires a specific ID number in order to work, too, as explained above, but it mustn’t be 0, otherwise it won’t work. Differently from Trigger Crates, Trigger Zones have two other parameters: ‘switch’ and ‘on/off’, giving it greater flexibility than its Crate counterpart and the possibility to reset the Trigger Scenery. ‘Switch’ has a glitchy behaviour, and it should be left to 0; ‘on/off’ has to be set to 1 if the linked Trigger Sceneries have to be activated, 0 if they have to be restored to the original status.

How Does it Work

This is a step-by-step example. Here we want to set up a wall that disappears when a metal crate is destroyed.

1. Create an animated tile in which the first frame is the wall tile and the second frame is the empty tile.
2. Set the animation speed to 0 FPS. (Not necessary)
3. Place that animation somewhere on your future wall in Layer 4.
4. Put the event “Trigger Scenery” on it. Be careful on what ID you use: remember that a Trigger Crate/Zone when activated, triggers all the Trigger Sceneries with the same ID!
5. Create your wall using this tile and the B shortcut.
6. Put the Trigger Crate event somewhere in Layer 4 and enter the TriggerID.
8. Test the level. If you go to the wall, you will see there is nothing interesting to see. Now go to the place where you have placed the Trigger Crate and destroy it. Now go back to the wall: it should have disappeared.

NOTE: You can use an empty tile as the first tile and solid scenery as the second tile when creating an animation for Trigger Scenery. This way the obstacle will appear when triggered, instead. You can use this to make walls appear, close areas, build bridges, etc.

Animated Trigger Sceneries

You can also set up animated Trigger Sceneries. They look like normal Trigger Sceneries at first, but the first time they are triggered they show an animation, before changing to the final state. This can be done by simply changing the animated tile: the first frame is the initial state as usual, the second-last tile is the final state, and the other frames in between are the animation shown when it’s triggered; the last frame is never shown, and it’s mostly a placeholder. The animation is shown at 10 fps, regardless of the speed you set in the animated tile properties. A good use of this feature can be seen in one of the “Devres” levels (Episode Five: The Fortress of Ruin – Deluge), where upon activating any of the three crystals, a series of magic sparks will appear near the crystal as if they were emanated from it, aside from setting the crystal proper “on”. In FSP: Rent collection, blocks don’t simply disappear on thin air: a short, neat animation follows before that.

See also: Trigger Sceneries on JCSref

Related Articles

Triggers

JCS Details

• Event path: Gameplay -> Triggers & Scenery -> Trigger Scenery
• Event ID: 234
• Tile text: Trig Scen