Topics

1

Advanced Technical Forum / List of Struct Arrays - How to select array in code? [SOLVED]

« on: 22 Apr 2013, 11:32 »

I currently have a bunch of arrays declared as follows:

Code: Adventure Game Studio

1. // Header
2. struct StoryBlocks {
3.   String Speaker1;
4.   String Speaker2;
5.   String Speaker3;
6.   int Speaker1mood;
7.   int Speaker2mood;
8.   int Speaker3mood;
9.   String Line;
10. };
11.  
12. import function InitStoryBlocks();
13. import StoryBlocks SB_01[1000];
14. import StoryBlocks SB_02[1000];
15. import StoryBlocks SB_03[1000];
16. import StoryBlocks SB_04[1000];
17. import StoryBlocks SB_05[1000];
18.  

Code: Adventure Game Studio

1. // Script
2. StoryBlocks SB_01[1000];StoryBlocks SB_02[1000];StoryBlocks SB_03[1000];StoryBlocks SB_04[1000];StoryBlocks SB_05[1000];
3. export SB_01;export SB_02;export SB_03;export SB_04;export SB_05;
4.  

Now I want a piece of code to use a pair of global variables to first select the array we are using, then select the row from that array.
That's where I hit a wall just now. Being a bit simple I first thought I'd do something, well, simple:

Code: Adventure Game Studio

1. String GetCurrentBlock() {
2.   // Returns the name of the target array as String
3.   if (gCurrentBlock == 1) {return "SB_01";}
4.   if (gCurrentBlock == 2) {return "SB_02";}
5.   if (gCurrentBlock == 3) {return "SB_03";}
6.   if (gCurrentBlock == 4) {return "SB_04";}
7.   if (gCurrentBlock == 5) {return "SB_05";}
8. }
9.  
10. String GetTextLine() {
11.   // Uses the array name and global variable "gCurrentLine" to return a line of text from array
12.   // The nextrow is stupid and should be regarded as pseudocode
13.   return GetCurrentBlock()[gCurrentLine].Line; // <- What to replace this with
14. }
15.  
16. function DisplayNextLine() {
17.   // Displays returned text in a GUI label "labTXT"
18.   labTXT.Text = String.Format("%s", GetTextLine());
19.   gCurrentLine++;
20. } export DisplayNextLine;
21.  

So, as far as I know, I cannot currently create an array of arrays within which to nest these existing arrays of structs, so that leaves me a bit confused.
Suggestions, ladies and gentlemen?

2

Competitions & Activities / Fortnightly Writing Competition - Dark moon [WINNERS ANNOUNCED]

« on: 26 Feb 2013, 08:30 »

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Fortnightly Writing Competition!

The theme for the upcoming two weeks is "Dark Moon". The only guideline for the story is, that it must revolve around the moon, or rather the lack thereof, since almost exactly two weeks from now there will be a new moon. What would go through your mind if you one day realized the moon was not up there anymore, or that it was simply not visible anymore for some reason? Would you care? Would you be frightened? Would you be curious?

The competition starts right now, on the 26th of February, and ends at noon (GMT) on the 13th of March, after which the voting begins. Trophies will be made for the top 3 stories (and probably for all participants too).

3

The Rumpus Room / Something completely unrelated - PlanetSide2

« on: 28 Nov 2012, 11:27 »

Yeah, so... I got into the Planetside 2 beta earlier, got hooked, and now that the game has been out and released for about a week I've played it for... I don't even know anymore. The hours of the day just disappeared somewhere and then its time to go into work again, then sleep, then videogames. I call it a vicious cycle!

Nevertheless, I've tried to do something productive by depicting the sheer awesomeness of Planetside 2 in writing, so here's a link to the Planetside 2 forums. I'll be updating it with 4 short stories, of which the first one is completed and the second one has been started at the time I post this. Feedback is welcome, as I am also using these stories as means of practicing the english language, grammar etc.

DAS LINK

TERRAN REPUBLIC FOR LIFE, YO!

4

General Discussion / That feeling and how YOU get it

« on: 06 Oct 2012, 20:42 »

I have just beaten Dark Souls for the first time in my life. It took me well over a year and my playtime clocked at over 120 hours, and I finally did it. I think I've just sat here for about an hour or so, trying to digest the information... I can't remember the last time a game felt this good to beat. The level of challenge, the frustration of being stuck and still finding the game world interesting enough to bring me back to make that one last push, and then breaking the back of a boss and uncovering an entire new area to explore, those made Dark Souls unforgettable and precious to me.

We all have had that feeling of accomplishment sometime, what games made you feel like going out to the streets to shout and scream in joy upon beating?

5

Competitions & Activities / Afrika Korps - A community roleplaying adventure in 1942

« on: 06 Oct 2012, 10:09 »

Afrika Korps - A community roleplaying adventure in 1942

Welcome, dear viewer, to a new community roleplaying adventure!
If you have no idea what this is about, take a look HERE and heed the following instructions:

- Any player is welcome to play, it is recommended, though not necessary, to read through previous events of the game before playing
- To play, simply post a reply in this thread with either a new command (as instructed below) or a quote of another player's command that you wish to see happen (this will count towards the popularity of that command).
- All commands must be preceded by the > -symbol so I can easily differentiate between commands and other discussions and ideas
- The command to be executed is selected as follows: By default the most popular command is executed. If there is a tie, the command posted first will be executed.
- The commands can be anything you like, but try to keep them in a simple and short form, such as you might see in a text parser game.
- For example "> Take the gun and shoot the man in the head" is a valid command
- "> Take the gun, reload it, swing around like a kung-fu fighter and fire three snapshots: one in the enemy's leg, one in the arm and one in the head, and thel turn around and run away to take cover" is too complicated and will be IGNORED.
- Each amount if game-time that passes on each command entered varies depending on the command in question
- While this game can be humorous, serious or absurd (depending on my mood and player input), keep in mind that I will try to make the game world respond realistically and accurately to player actions. NPC's might not respond well to period-inaccurate comments or actions, though such actions are allowed.

With these guidelines I hope anyone can join us and participate! Without further ado, let the game begin!

--------------------------------------------------
INVENTORY & STATS
--------------------------------------------------

Current stats:
HEALTH - FULL


Traits:

> Homesick


Current inventory:

> Military uniform (currently wearing)

> Canteen (water, full)
> Canteen (water, full)

> Rucksack (tightly packed, containing)
- a pair of footwraps
- a pair of socks
- white scarf
- boot polish and a small brush
- mess tin and spork
- chocolate
- hip flask (containing alcohol)
- a letter from home
- crucifix pendant
- bible (bloodstained, worn)

> Shell casings - rifle caliber (3)
> Shell casings - pistol caliber (4)

--------------------------------------------------
GAME BEGINS
--------------------------------------------------



A gentle warm wind blows in through the door of the tent as you lie in a crude hammock strapped to a pair of heavy wooden stakes driven deep into the ground below the tent.
Through your half-sleep you register the heat of the day, but continue to cling onto the fragments of an elusive dream you saw in the night, sure that if it were time to wake up one of the other soldiers would have woken you up by now. A good night's rest is a rare thing out here in the desert...

[ Please enter command ]

6

Recruitment / [HELP WANTED] Music & Graphical assets for top-secret project - UNPAID

« on: 05 Sep 2012, 13:19 »

Hello ladies and gentlemen!

I am working on a SUPER SECRET PROJECT that is in need of 3 pieces of music.

Style: chiptune / arcadey, fairly fast-paced

Tracks: 3 (intro, main theme, outro)

Track lengths:
1 - < 1 minute
2 - 1-3 minutes, looping
3 - < 1 minute

This is not a paid position, but then again, I do not have high requirements. You get to affect the style quite freely and only the rough style will be dictated by me.
The only true requirement is, that the music needs to be finished by late november.

Contact me via PM or e-mail (wham@whamgames.com) if you are interested, and if possible, send me a demo of your earlier work!

EDIT:

Now also looking for graphical assets as follows:
- Background: Buildings, trees, clouds, distant mountains etc

If you have anything of the above you might want to contribute, send me a PM!

7

Beginners' Technical Questions / SOLVED - DynamicSprite basics - save dynamic sprite to sprite slot

« on: 04 Sep 2012, 18:44 »

The subject says it all:

Can I replace the sprite in a sprite slot with a dynamic sprite on the fly?

What I'm trying to do:
- Take sprite from slot X, create new dynamic sprite from that sprite.
- Rotate and fuss about with the sprite
- Save the sprite so that the player's current sprite (has only 1 sprite) is overwritten

Can this be done, or do I need to go for some kind of sorcery?

8

Beginners' Technical Questions / [SOLVED] character.say - How is the time delay calculated?

« on: 01 Jun 2012, 10:14 »

I am building my own functions to replace character.say, and at this time I am wondering how the default character.say -function really works?
As far as I can tell, the default .say -function first checks if there is a piece of audio strapped to the line. If there is, the engine waits until that audio finishes and then ends the .say -function. If no audio is set, AGS generates some sort of delay after which the line is skipped and the next one gets triggered.

Does anyone know how these default delays are calculated?

9

Competitions & Activities / Background Blitz - A glimmer of hope [WINNER ANNOUNCED]

« on: 26 May 2012, 10:09 »

A glimmer of hope



All hope seems to be lost, there has been no way to recover from the terrible things that have happened, but then... Something!

You'll have three rules:
1. The scene must convey a scenario in which all hope has been lost
2. It must also have an element, a single object, that serves to give the player / protagonist that one glimmer of hope
3. AGS compatible

Ideas:
- A barren, dead wasteland of rubble and dust, but alas! A single sapling has poked it's head from the ruin!
- A shantytown for those poor, broken down wrecks that used to be men and women, but in the middle stands a single unbroken building offering aid to the hopeless
- A ship has been lost at sea for weeks, it's decks filled with debris and filth and signs of desperation, but alas! Land in the distance!

Deadline is on the 10th of June for now.

Have fun everyone!

10

The Rumpus Room / Jubilations!

« on: 21 May 2012, 10:57 »

I just got news that my job, for which the contract would have ended in september, is to be made into a permanent position!
*does a little happy-dance*

11

Site & Forum Reports / [] -tags not working

« on: 13 May 2012, 11:32 »

Just tried to make a post using tags such as [ b], [ img] and [ center], none worked in the post, instead appeared as text. (Spaces added to these examples in case the forum starts to work again all of a sudden)

Example below:

12

Advanced Technical Forum / Translation missing words

« on: 14 Mar 2012, 19:46 »

Hiya everyone!

We're working on translating Big Blue World Domination and there seems to be a problem. While most of the game translates just fine, a few bits just will not take the translation, and I am wondering if this has something to do with how the translations work, as I can't seem to figure it out.

I have checked the .trs file and the original words and phrases are all there, but for example the agent codenames are not translated and neither are the description texts for empty save game slots.

An example:

In a script file "names" i have an array that contains all the codenames, and I have a function that populates this array (NameSetup()) at the start of the game, with names I punched into the source code manually.
[code]Name[0].codename = "Ponch"; Name[1].codename = "Darth"; Name[2].codename = "Ghost"; Name[3].codename = "Icey"; Name[4].codename = "Dualnames";[/code]

All the names above appear correctly in the .trs file.

As an agent is assigned a name, the codename is generated like this:

[code]String CodeNameGen() { // Generates a (cool) code name for an agent
  String N;
  N = String.Format("%s-%d", Name[Random(29)].codename,  Random(99));
  return N;
}[/code]

However, this apparently does not manage to draw a translated codename, but an untranslated one instead.
Any ideas?

13

Beginners' Technical Questions / Learning basics of DrawImage - Transparencies in DynamicSprite? [SOLVED]

« on: 06 Mar 2012, 13:16 »

I am finally learning the basics of DrawSuraces etc.
What I have:
- A global dynamicsprite
- A room that refreshes an object in the room using above dynamicsprite
- A function that draws some sprites onto the Dynamicsprite

So far so good, all works fine. However, when I do this:

[code]
surface.DrawImage((Xcoord + (41 * whiler)), 58 , frame.Graphic, 0); // Draws a sprite into predermined X coordinate and Y coordinate 58
surface.DrawImage((Xcoord + (41 * whiler)), 68 , frame.Graphic, 90); // Immediately afterwards draws another sprite onto the previous one with 90% transparency
[/code]

What I expected to see what the first sprite, overlayed by the second one at half transparency. What I got instead, was the first sprite shown correctly and the new sprite drawn over the first one, but instead of appearing as a transparent image, it turns pink!
EDIT / CLARIFICATION: The sprite's transparency works ok for the part that it overlayer the sprite behind it. However, the background sprite onto which all the latter ones are drawn is a 100% transparent .PNG and the parts of the transparent sprite that do NOT overlap with a solid sprite turn pink.

I can see that I am doing something wrong, but I can't tell what. Is it even possible to draw with several transparency values onto a single drawsurface and then stick the result into a DynamicSprite?

Also: basic hints and tips welcome, I have never used any of this stuff before yesterday.

14

Completed Game Announcements / Big Blue World Domination

« on: 04 Mar 2012, 14:23 »

The MAGS voting has been restarted due to the previous votes being done in a "slightly unsecure way". Check the MAGS thread to see more and don't forget to vote again!
Don't forget to check the competition: SUPPA NINJA! http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=45511.0

It's done, people! Deadline met and game is ready to challenge you!

Click me ---> Big Blue World Domination <--- Click me

So YOU want to become an evil villain mastermind and take over the world? Well, you'd better be ready in case some of those pesky secret agents with their shaken-but-not-stirred martini's try to sneak in to steal your secrets and foil your private space program, which is completely not aimed to build a network of world-dominating space lasers despite the fact that the rockets are carrying space lasers capable of dominating the world. Perhaps you should hire some secret agents of your own, just to make sure nobody else launches their evil space program first, not that your space program is in any way evil, that is.

FEATURES:
* Build your own super secret base (of peace and love)
* 9 Different room types to build, all of which can be upgraded to improve their quality and function (the non-lethal lasers are for the rave party)
* Hire scientists, technicians, security guards and secret agents to do your completely (non-)evil bidding
* All of your staff gains experience and levels up (Cybernetic implants only given to Ninjas who signed a consent)
* over 50 different technologies to research
* 20 different gadgets to equip your agents with (including porn magazines and jetpacks!)
* Compete with other agencies worldwide (for world dominance)
* Bribe faction leaders to make yourself seem less threatening (although you were never threatening to begin with)
* Original music by Guney Ozsan!

15

Beginners' Technical Questions / How to ignore right clicks in GUI [SOLVED]

« on: 29 Feb 2012, 23:05 »

Small and simple question, I fear the answer may be all but...
Is there a way to make a GUI button only accept clicks from the left mouse button and not all mouse buttons? Or will this require some serious coding magic?

16

Beginners' Technical Questions / Custom Display -function - How to replicate blocking [SOLVED]

« on: 15 Feb 2012, 10:32 »

I'm trying to create a custom GUI that I could use instead of the normal display function inside AGS.
With the normal AGS code, a function reporting information to the player might look something like this:
[code]
int whiler = 0;

while (whiler <= 9) {
  Display("The whiler is now %d", whiler);
  whiler++;
}
[/code]

What this does is DISPLAY the default text "The whiler is now" and the value of the variable, pausing the script execution until the player either presses a key or clicks the mouse to dismiss the displayed text.

What I want to be able to do is:

[code]
int whiler = 0;
int msg;

while (whiler <= 9) {
  msg = String.Format("Message content - Whiler is %d", whiler);
  Notify(currentgamespeed, "Header", "msg ", "Dismissal button text");
  whiler++;
}
[/code]

My current Notify -function looks somewhat like this:

[code]
function Notify(int speedatpause, String Header, String Message, String BtnTxt) {
  PauseGame();
  Gspeedatpause = speedatpause;
  Time_Currentspeed = 0;
  GUI_Notificatio.Visible = true;
  label_NotHed.Text = Header;
  label_NotMsg.Text = Message;
  btn_NotConfirm.Text = BtnTxt;
}
[/code]

It seems I was falsely under the impression that the mere act of adding the PauseGame(); to the start of the function and having the dismissal button give the UnPauseGame() -function would be enough, but it seems I was sorely mistaken.

Can anyone explain to me how the built-in Display(); -function pauses the running of a script and how I could replicate it in my custom function?

Edit: clarification: the manual clearly states that Display() is a blocking function. It is this blocking property that I seek to replicate in my function, with the clicking of the button inside the GUI acting as a trigger to undo the blocking, just like in the Display() -function.

17

Beginners' Technical Questions / SaveGameSlot and refreshing save game list [Solved]

« on: 06 Feb 2012, 22:38 »

It's me again, and with a new Save/Load GUI.
However, I have a small problem again.

Example scenario:

I have saved a game in slot 1 and it's description was written as "Testsave".
Later on I reopen the save/load GUI, which automatically calls the RefreshSavelist() given below and the name of the save shows up just fine and dandy. However, I then decide to delete the aforementioned save using the btnDeletesave_OnClick -function below, which just overwrites the save slot with a new name that identifies the slot as unloadable (I don't want null values and I want to keep the pre -created save files) and then refreshes the list again. But the refresh still gets the now deleted "Testsave" -name for slot 1! Only after the function has gone it's way completely and I reopen the GUI and the refresh function is run for a second time, do I get the correct value.

Wat do?

[code]
function RefreshSavelist() {
  LIST_Savegames.Clear(); // Clears the save game list
  // Repopulate list manually with save slot descriptions
  LIST_Savegames.AddItem(Game.GetSaveSlotDescription(1));
  LIST_Savegames.AddItem(Game.GetSaveSlotDescription(2));
  LIST_Savegames.AddItem(Game.GetSaveSlotDescription(3));
  LIST_Savegames.AddItem(Game.GetSaveSlotDescription(4));
  LIST_Savegames.AddItem(Game.GetSaveSlotDescription(5));
}


function btnDeletesave_OnClick(GUIControl *control, MouseButton button)
{
  SaveGameSlot(ActiveSaveSlot, "Empty slot"); //"saves" game and gives the save the default "Empty slot" name, which identifies the slot as unloadable
  RefreshSavelist(); // Attempts to refrest save list - FAILS: deleted save game slot still receives it's pre-deletion name
}


[/code]

18

AGS Games in Production / [COMPLETE] Big Blue World Domination [MAGS]

« on: 06 Feb 2012, 10:14 »

LOOKING FOR BETA TESTERS!!!

Time is short so if you are willing to test, keep in mind that the MAGS deadline is NEXT WEDNESDAY!
If this does not deter you, CONTACT ME VIA E-MAIL at wham@whamgames.com! Message should containt AGS forum screen name.

In response you will receive a link to the game's first beta build as soon as it becomes available, as well as access to the bug reporting documents.

Big Blue World Domination
This game is being developed for MAGS - February - 2012

So YOU want to become an evil villain mastermind and take over the world? Well, you'd better be ready in case some of those pesky secret agents with their shaken-but-not-stirred martini's try to sneak in to steal your secrets and foil your private space program, which is completely not aimed to build a network of world-dominating space lasers despite the fact that the rockets are carrying space lasers capable of dominating the world. Perhaps you should hire some secret agents of your own, just to make sure nobody else launches their evil space program first, not that your space program is in any way evil, that is.

FEATURES:
* Build your own super secret base (of peace and love)
* 9 Different room types to build, all of which can be upgraded to improve their quality and function (the non-lethal lasers are for the rave party)
* Hire scientists, technicians, security guards and secret agents to do your completely (non-)evil bidding
* All of your staff gains experience and levels up (Cybernetic implants only given to Ninjas who signed a consent)
* over 50 different technologies to research
* 20 different gadgets to equip your agents with (including porn magazines and jetpacks!)
* Compete with other agencies worldwide (for world dominance)
* Bribe faction leaders to make yourself seem less threatening (although you were never threatening to begin with)
* Original music!

Screenshots:

The control center of your base. Here you will be able to watch over your agents as they spy, assassinate, kidnap and sabotage your enemies (for world peace)


Build your base, but keep in mind that the closer a room is to the entrance, the easier it is for enemy agents to infiltrate it. Do you want to hurry up and build the best stuff first, or do you wait with patience and leave the top secret stuff to be built in the back?

19

General Discussion / I drew a room and I liked it (VIDEO)

« on: 22 Jan 2012, 08:28 »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PFlMOGvUto

I made a video of me drawing a room from scratch. It's two and a half hours long. Youtube is also screaming at me because it contains so much music owned by record companies in the background.

Take a look, and do give deedback as well. I was close to posting this in the critics lounge at first, but I'm not really looking for critique so much as putting this up to demonstrate my own methods.

EDIT: I just checked the video's information. Youtube is not allowing the video in: Canada, Japan, Montenegro, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Serbia
EDIT2: http://www.labnol.org/internet/video/youtube-blocked-video-not-available-in-your-country/2680/

20

AGS Games in Production / Undead hangover [PRODUCTION HALTED]

« on: 22 Oct 2011, 12:24 »

Here's what I have for the Bake Sale of 2011!

Undead hangover

Uriah Sweetings is a promising young upstart in a web-based indie game developer society. He has worked on dozens of games and is finally on the verge of actually releasing one! At the realization of this, he must have gone out partying with friends for a bit, because as he wakes up next to his bed in the afternoon, his head aches and he can't remember what he was doing last night.

Oh well, the hangover might be the least of his problems, as the LIVING DEAD have risen to take the streets of his hometown and seek the flesh of the living to consume! Just like in one oh Uriah's unfinished games! Oh dear...

Time is against you as you must find a way to escape your home alive. It's not too easy, though, as the living dead can smell your tasty flesh all the way to the street.

Features

- Thrilling time-based gameplay to the tune of WHAMGAMES classic: "LaSol"
- Barricade the doors to slow down the undead advance!
- Multi-action hotspots
- Figure out what happened last night, someone's life might depend on it
- Challenging but rewarding difficulty level
- A bunch of unlockable achievements to make replaying the game after death a bit less depressing
- Original soundtrack by Toni "Ferrara" Caven
- Full voice acting

Uriah ponder on the duality of life as he looks at the door leading to the streets.


I'll give you just two guesses if Uriah can still remember his computer password after last night's binge...