AGS 3.0 Final - it's been a long road

[Pumaman]

I know it's a pretty major (as in big, not important ) feature request but I was thinking today: will the new editor make it possible for future implementation of associative arrays. I'm know this isn't the place for requests, but I'm simply curious if the editor rewrite would make this feasible.

That would be a compiler feature, so the new editor would make no difference to its feasibility

I have one more little suggestion. Could the focus upon loading or creating a room be on something non-scrollable? If I now turn the scrollwheel down after doing so I get presented a dialog to choose a background frame to import...

Sounds fair to me!

Ive got a strange problem. Some of the dialog voice acting in my game cuts off at the end and then the character keeps talking until you click. The mode is on timer or skip but the timer won't stop it. Is this a problem with the beta version or is it because of something else.

Has anyone else had a problem with speech in the 2.8 betas?

I'm having humongous issues with the sprite importer. I like to use tiled sprites in my games (they're much easier to animate) When I go to import a sprite, the yellow overlay rectangle is off, it often seems to cover half a pixel, but never a whole one. It's very difficult to get the exact portion of an image because of this.

Yep, this has already been reported here, I'm working on it for the next beta.

Every pull-down tab I've tried will only let me move up or down one entry before deselecting the pull-down tab altogether

This is done deliberately in two places -- the function list in the script editor, and the type selector in the room editor. The former is done to make sure that the script has focus after you select a function (so that you don't have to click in the window to start typing); and the latter is done to stop the shortcut keys to the drawing tools from activating the list box and changing the displayed type.

All other drop-down lists should work normally.

Is it possible that we could get rid of the run-script dialog function, and instead simply have some sort of escape sequence that tells the compiler to "run this as AGS script, not dialog script" like the following:

It's a good idea, but it's too big a change to be incorporated into 2.8 at this stage. The dialog system is something I'm reviewing, however.

[Pumaman]

Ok, beta 9 is now up. This should fix most of the reported issues -- if there are any outstanding problems, please let me know.

I'd be interested to know whether this new version works on Windows 98 or not.

[Ghost]

Wow, the fixed include 4 of my suggestions! I actually contributed, in a way! I'll try it out now. Thanks in advance, CJ!

Edit:

First, the small naggings I mentioned are fixed, and importing sprites is smooth as hell now.

Second: this is weird, and I am pretty sure I'm doing something wrong again. Let me describe what happens.

I made a new game from the default template.

I created a room and imported a 500 x 240 background. Game resolution was set to 320x240.

I saved, build the exe, then run with debugger.

Error message: Can't access [game folder in own files]

Build exe again, called game setup, selected save and run. Runs without fault.

----
Any ideas here?

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

You are a machine!

This is done deliberately in two places -- the function list in the script editor, and the type selector in the room editor. The former is done to make sure that the script has focus after you select a function (so that you don't have to click in the window to start typing); and the latter is done to stop the shortcut keys to the drawing tools from activating the list box and changing the displayed type.

Couldn't you just get around this by having the room tools all displayed (but greyed out for sections where they don't work) that way you could cycle through the room elements quickly?  The mousewheel could move up/down the various elements of a particular section in the right entities window (like moving up/down the views) and then clicking outside one of the areas could let you focus on the scrollbar again, though this wouldn't be immediately useful until/unless you implement my earlier suggestion of one-click viewing updated information in one tab.  The two together would make for some nice streamlined viewing and editing, though!

I checked font deletion and that's working fine now, but I notice you can't delete View folders still or re-order views into/out of folders.


One thing I'd like to know out of curiosity is why you have the editor set to import room elements like this:

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
hotspot1_a();
}

Wouldn't it be cleaner/better just to import the elements to operate on one function call (updating hotspot1_a to hHotspot1_Look or just naming the hotspot look interaction hotspot1_a in the editor)?  The way it is right now is kind of misleading since you seek to hHotspot1_Look to edit it and then have to manually seek to the function inside of it.  It just seems unnecessarily complicated .  In case this isn't clear, why not:

function hotspot1_a()
{
//all the stuff
}

OR

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
// all the stuff
}


instead of

function hotspot1_a()
{
  //all the stuff
}

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
hotspot1_a();
}

[theatrx]

Okay... Chris and everyone else.

I've been thinking about this upgrade for awhile.  I've usually used the upgrades when they come out since Chris is so damn intuitive about what needs to happen.

Question:  Will this wreck all the games I've done thus far?

I probably think not.

I suggested a while ago a hybrid character/gui/object thing... did we get that?  Just wondering.

The more I use AGS the more I marvel at it's singularity with the universe.

Just kidding.

The more I marvel at its versatility.

The other thing is I've noticed a dicotomy in the way objects can be displayed in that

Sometimes object[0]. somthing works
and sometimes oKey.works

It's probably because I turned off all the stuff in the entry screen because the program kept crashing.

Thanks Chris and everyone else involved.

theatrx

[SSH]

Sometimes object[0]. somthing works
and sometimes oKey.works

oKey will not work in global scripts or modules. It is only scoped in the room the object is relevant to.

The scripting has not really changed at all in this version, except a few minor tweaks. The editor is what has changed.

[Lt. Smash]

Bug:

I doubleclicked a frame in view and then closed the window which came up and this error occured:

Error: Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt.
Version: AGS 2.8.0.9

System.AccessViolationException: Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt.
   at ?A0xc23bfd61.doDrawViewLoop(Int32 , Int32 , ViewFrame* , Int32 , Int32 , Int32 , Int32 )
   at drawViewLoop(Int32 hdc, ViewLoop loopToDraw, Int32 x, Int32 y, Int32 size, Int32 cursel)
   at AGS.Native.NativeMethods.DrawViewLoop(Int32 hdc, ViewLoop loopToDraw, Int32 x, Int32 y, Int32 size, Int32 cursel)
   at AGS.Editor.ViewLoopEditor.ViewLoopEditor_Paint(Object sender, PaintEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.PaintWithErrorHandling(PaintEventArgs e, Int16 layer, Boolean disposeEventArgs)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmPaint(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.UserControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

[smiley]

Fixed PlayVideo to look in the Compiled folder when running under debugger

Thanks a lot!

But I think, I was too unprecise about "File.Open" and "PlayMP3File".
They are using the folder in which "Game.agf" is instead of the "Compiled" folder.

[SupSuper]

Problems importing games:

One of them seems to get permanently stuck in "Importing game...". The other one brings up the following error in the output window: (which made me notice: the Output window needs a Copy button to copy error messages, and errors should be clared after loading a new game)

There was an error saving the script for room 2: Room file is from an old version of AGS and cannot be processed

Although the game still loaded, but when selecting room 2:

Error: Could not find file 'D:\Jogos\AGS28\The Legacy Lo\room2.asc'.
Version: AGS 2.8.0.9

System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file 'D:\Jogos\AGS28\The Legacy Lo\room2.asc'.
File name: 'D:\Jogos\AGS28\The Legacy Lo\room2.asc'
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
   at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share)
   at AGS.Types.Script.LoadFromDisk()
   at AGS.Types.UnloadedRoom.LoadScript()
   at AGS.Editor.Components.RoomsComponent.LoadNewRoomIntoMemory(UnloadedRoom newRoom, CompileMessages errors)
   at AGS.Editor.Components.RoomsComponent.LoadDifferentRoom(UnloadedRoom newRoom)
   at AGS.Editor.Components.RoomsComponent.LoadRoom(String controlID)
   at AGS.Editor.Components.RoomsComponent.CommandClick(String controlID)
   at AGS.Editor.ProjectTree.ProcessClickOnNode(String nodeID, MouseButtons button)
   at AGS.Editor.ProjectTree.projectTree_NodeMouseDoubleClick(Object sender, TreeNodeMouseClickEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.TreeView.OnNodeMouseDoubleClick(TreeNodeMouseClickEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.TreeView.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

Problems with Vista integration:

When there's something wrong with the boxart, a "Unable to load custom icon" error comes up in the Output window. The message should probably be changed for clarity.

Also, when loading an Enhanced Savegame (from Windows), the game started in the default room, then faded out, then I got this error:

---------------------------
Adventure Game Studio
---------------------------
An error has occurred. Please contact the game author for support, as this
is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
(ACI version 2.80.932)


Error: RunAGSGame: unable to load new game file 'ac2game.dat'

---------------------------
OK  
---------------------------

Also, when registering the game onto the Games Explorer, the game now gets added twice, (if it's relevant, I used custom boxart for it) and only one is removed when unregistering.

I also noticed when registering games (though it also happens without it) that if the game is run from the command line with a non-exact filename (eg. "test" or "test.exe" instead of the correct "Test.exe"), the game still runs but comes out with this error:

---------------------------
Adventure Game Studio
---------------------------
You must create and save a game first in the AGS Editor before you can use
this engine.

If you have just downloaded AGS, you are probably running the wrong executable.
Run AGSEDIT.EXE to launch the editor.

(Unable to find 'ac2game.dat' in D:\Jogos\AGS28\Test\Compiled)

---------------------------
OK  
---------------------------

Also, being able to provide your own savegame extension worries me since there's no standard so conflicts may arise in the future (multiple games using the same extension). I think it'd be better if the editor generated its own extension. (for example, from the game name, so a game named "Lots of Stuff" would get savegame extension ".LotsofStuffSave" since games having the same name is much more unlikely)

Also, isn't it about time for the File menu to get a New option? (instead of always requiring an editor restart)

[theatrx]

Another question...

I had asked this a few times but got so workable solution

Is there a way with the new beta to

if "View, Loop, Frame" is visible than...

Just wondering.

Once again... CHRIS!!! where do you get the time to do these major renovations!?  I admire your mind.  And thanks.

[RickJ]

Windows ME/98 Evaluation
Ok, tried Beta-9 with Windows ME machine.  It started up without any errors, however there were a few quirky behaviors.

• Initial Startup - On initial startup the start page borders and background were displayed and then it seemed to get hung for perhaps a minute (long enough the make one believe that it had hung for good).    Then after awhile the remaining portions of the start page and editor  are displayed and everything is normal.
  
  
• RUN - A default game was created.  The first time "Run" command is executed (selected from main menu) the editor seems to hang again and  an error message pops up stating that there is insufficient memory.  My WinME machine has 192MB.  I will recreate this and post the resulting message later when I  am at my Win ME machine.   Subsequent executions of RUN did not produce the error message and I am not sure but I think it still hung for awhile before the game window poped up.   
  
  
• RUN Without Debugger - this seemd seemed to work better.  There wasn't noticeable hang time or as noticeable as RUN.
  
  
• RUN Full Screen - This seemed to not work or it hung long enough to look like it wasn't going to work.  I did ctrl-alt-end to abort and tried again, forcing windowed mode.
  
  
• Other Editor Hung - There seemed to be another instance of the editor hanging but at the moment, I can't remember what it was.  I'll continue testing and try to remember better next time. 
  
  Just wondering if these are all related to lack of memory or other resources?  Earlier betas didn't seem to have this problem so is there something that can be done to improve the performance or will more resources be required?  If more resources are required then perhaps the System Requirements need to be updated to reflect this.
  
  Usability Comments
  Being the lazy cuss that I am Here are a couple of things I noticed...
  
  
• Navigation Tree - I've been using the Linux side of my brain lately and have grown accustomed to not double clicking everything in the world.   I don't think single clicks in the navigation tree used for anything, are they?  If not, why not use single clicks to open the file and/or select the associated editor tab. 
  
  
• Smart Name Entry - One thing I really liked about Visio is that if you select an object and then start typing it figures out that you want to enter text in the object's text field.   I was thinking that it would be nice for AGS to do something similar.  For example, when an Object, GUI, etc is selected and text is entered why not set the focus to the Name or Description field of the selected item and allow the text to be entered there?  If any other fields are selected for focus then of course this behaviour iwould be aborted. 
  
  
• Interaction Functions ? - I was wondering what happens, or is supposed to happen, if an interaction function, created using the "Events" window, is deleted using the script editor?  Currently, if an interaction function is so deleted, the game seems to build/test without errors but when you look in the Events Window the events are still there.   Are those #SECTIONSTART, #SECTIONEND lines still needed, I noticed that they are not automatically inserted.
  
  
• TAB Spacing Option - I changed this in the preferences but it didn't seem to have an effect.  Is this perhaps because the files remain open in the new editor?   
  
  
• Saving Files - It isn't clear what SAVE and SAVE ROOM functions actually save.   I guess that SAVE ROOM saves the CRM and ASC files but what does SAVE save?  Does it save the currently selected file or does it save everything?  What if I want to save a specific file or save it to another file name?   Perhaps SAVE should be renamed to SAVE ALL or SAVE GAME.  Also perhaps there should be a SAVE FILE function.
  
  ==============
  Oh! and by the way, is the game file now contained in that XML file?  If so very, very nice!   Overall, there are some very nice features that I look forward to making use of.    There is a small learning curve but it's a small price to pay for the new features.   
  
  The only disappointment I have is that the editor will no longer run under linux.   I know that theoretically .NET apps can run under MONO but the little I've read on the subject suggests to me that it isn't as easy as it sounds and that it is unlikely to occur unless fair effort is made in this regard. 
  
  Anyway thanks for your hard work and a great programming environment.
  
  
  

[td]

Im sorry but have 2.8 version a global changes In comparison with more habitual 2.7 version?

[Gilbert]

As mentioned, the major change in V2.8 is the editor (completely rewritten, needs .NET, etc.). There're changes in the engine but are considered quite minor in comparison.

[InCreator]

Thanks for needed changes, CJ! 

New editor is... inspiring. A bit challenging at first, but inspiring.
Back to my projects! \O/

[Pumaman]

I made a new game from the default template.

I created a room and imported a 500 x 240 background. Game resolution was set to 320x240.

I saved, build the exe, then run with debugger.

Error message: Can't access [game folder in own files]

Build exe again, called game setup, selected save and run. Runs without fault.

Can you post the exact error message?

Couldn't you just get around this by having the room tools all displayed (but greyed out for sections where they don't work) that way you could cycle through the room elements quickly?

What I mean is that if the room types list has the focus, and then you start drawing a line onto the background and press "Ctrl+H" for example to change the drawing mode, it will also activate the list box and select "Hotspots"... it shouldn't really when CTRL is pressed but it does for some reason.

One thing I'd like to know out of curiosity is why you have the editor set to import room elements like this:

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
hotspot1_a();
}

It's because you might not just have a single Run Script interaction -- if you had the interaction set up to do "Run Script, Display Message, Run Script" then it would import as:

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
hotspot1_a();
DisplayMessage(4);
hotspot1_b();
}

However, perhaps it could be improved to detect when there is just a single Run Script, and handle it more intelligently.

Question:  Will this wreck all the games I've done thus far?

That's why this is a beta, so that we can find out!!

I doubleclicked a frame in view and then closed the window which came up and this error occured:

Hmm, and presumably you can't replicate it. This has been reported a few times now but it just seems to happen to people as a one-off ... I'll have to see if I can do anything about it.

But I think, I was too unprecise about "File.Open" and "PlayMP3File".
They are using the folder in which "Game.agf" is instead of the "Compiled" folder.

Hmm, this debugger thing has opened quite a can of worms ... I'll look into it.

One of them seems to get permanently stuck in "Importing game..."

Any chance you could upload this for me to take a look at?

The other one brings up the following error in the output window: (which made me notice: the Output window needs a Copy button to copy error messages, and errors should be clared after loading a new game)

Quote
There was an error saving the script for room 2: Room file is from an old version of AGS and cannot be processed

Although the game still loaded, but when selecting room 2:

That error message seems reasonable enough for this situation; however it shouldn't really crash when you attempt to open the room afterwards, I'll look into that.

Also, when loading an Enhanced Savegame (from Windows), the game started in the default room, then faded out, then I got this error:

Hmm that's very odd, did you save the game when playing the same EXE file that you registered to load it?

Also, when registering the game onto the Games Explorer, the game now gets added twice, (if it's relevant, I used custom boxart for it) and only one is removed when unregistering.

Are you sure it's getting added twice, or is there just an entry already there from a previous attempt? Did you import your game twice from 2.72, for example? Whenever you start a new game or import a 2.72 game, a new ID is generated for the game, and it's this ID that is used to identify the game in the Game Explorer.

I also noticed when registering games (though it also happens without it) that if the game is run from the command line with a non-exact filename (eg. "test" or "test.exe" instead of the correct "Test.exe"), the game still runs but comes out with this error:

Yeah that's a known issue with AGS generally, that the game won't start if you do that from the command line. Windows doesn't seem to pass the full path to the EXE when you start the game this way, I haven't yet got around to looking into it.

Also, being able to provide your own savegame extension worries me since there's no standard so conflicts may arise in the future (multiple games using the same extension). I think it'd be better if the editor generated its own extension. (for example, from the game name, so a game named "Lots of Stuff" would get savegame extension ".LotsofStuffSave" since games having the same name is much more unlikely)

Well, the editor does default the save game extension to the game name. I don't think it should prevent people from changing it if they want to, though.

I had asked this a few times but got so workable solution
Is there a way with the new beta to
if "View, Loop, Frame" is visible than...

Depends on what type of thing you're expecting it to be displayed on. If it's on a character for example, you can use the character.View/Loop/Frame properties to check.

Ok, tried Beta-9 with Windows ME machine.  It started up without any errors, however there were a few quirky behaviors.

Thanks for trying it out, and for your feedback. To be honest, I'm not really bothered about Windows 98/ME... it seems that nobody is using it any more. As long as AGS games still work on Win98, I don't think it's essential that the editor does.
Does anyone here still use Windows 98/ME on a day-to-day basis?

If not, why not use single clicks to open the file and/or select the associated editor tab. 

Well, mainly because of consistency with applications like Visual Studio. If AGS works in a way that people don't expect, it'll cause confusion and annoyance.

Smart Name Entry - One thing I really liked about Visio is that if you select an object and then start typing it figures out that you want to enter text in the object's text field.

Interesting idea, I'll think about it.

Interaction Functions ? - I was wondering what happens, or is supposed to happen, if an interaction function, created using the "Events" window, is deleted using the script editor?  Currently, if an interaction function is so deleted, the game seems to build/test without errors but when you look in the Events Window the events are still there.   Are those #SECTIONSTART, #SECTIONEND lines still needed, I noticed that they are not automatically inserted.

The #SECTIONSTART/END lines are not used any more, but the editor won't remove them from any old scripts.

TAB Spacing Option - I changed this in the preferences but it didn't seem to have an effect.  Is this perhaps because the files remain open in the new editor?   

Ah, hmm, you might need to restart the editor for it to take effect. I'll look into it.

Saving Files - It isn't clear what SAVE and SAVE ROOM functions actually save.   I guess that SAVE ROOM saves the CRM and ASC files but what does SAVE save?  Does it save the currently selected file or does it save everything?  What if I want to save a specific file or save it to another file name?   Perhaps SAVE should be renamed to SAVE ALL or SAVE GAME.  Also perhaps there should be a SAVE FILE function.

Yeah, I'm not sure if the Save Room option needs to be there. The main Save option will save everything, including any open room, so I'm not convinced that the Save Room option is necessary.

Oh! and by the way, is the game file now contained in that XML file?  If so very, very nice!   Overall, there are some very nice features that I look forward to making use of.    There is a small learning curve but it's a small price to pay for the new features.   

The Game.agf file contains the main game data, and is XML. However, I really wouldn't recommend editing it by hand.

The only disappointment I have is that the editor will no longer run under linux.   I know that theoretically .NET apps can run under MONO but the little I've read on the subject suggests to me that it isn't as easy as it sounds and that it is unlikely to occur unless fair effort is made in this regard. 

Well, as I've said before in theory the use of an interpreted language like .NET should make it easier to run on other platforms, once their interpreters catch up.

Im sorry but have 2.8 version a global changes In comparison with more habitual 2.7 version?

What do you mean by "global" changes?

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

What I mean is that if the room types list has the focus, and then you start drawing a line onto the background and press "Ctrl+H" for example to change the drawing mode, it will also activate the list box and select "Hotspots"... it shouldn't really when CTRL is pressed but it does for some reason.

Fair enough!

However, perhaps it could be improved to detect when there is just a single Run Script, and handle it more intelligently.

That would be cool, since right now it seems like you need to reimport an old ags game from scratch with each new beta for the functions to work properly.  Every time I've tried using a new beta with a previous beta build of an imported game (boyd quest) opening a room creates event functions that don't actually seek to anything, and in some cases the functions aren't even created, like hHotspot1_Look will show up in the properties list but when you go to the room script nothing is there (but there's a hotspot1 function).  The game will compile but when you try to do anything with the hotspots it crashes since nothing is handling them.

[monkey0506]

Oh! and by the way, is the game file now contained in that XML file?  If so very, very nice!   Overall, there are some very nice features that I look forward to making use of.    There is a small learning curve but it's a small price to pay for the new features.   

The Game.agf file contains the main game data, and is XML. However, I really wouldn't recommend editing it by hand.

This seems to have become a pretty standard warning, however I have edited my AGF files "by hand" safely on numerous occasions. Clearly it's not "recommended" practice, but from what I've seen unless you're simply trying to break AGS then you shouldn't have problems.

Some things to keep in mind if you do want to try editing your game's raw XML though:

0) You shouldn't normally EVER have to edit your Game.AGF file manually. Doing so could break your game. Chris Jones (CJ, Pumaman, etc.) assumes no responsibility for anything you do to your game or your computer by manually editing this file; nor is there any promise that your game's data will be recoverable if you corrupt it by manually editing this file.
1) ALWAYS back up your game's AGF file before editing it manually!
2) If you don't know what something is for DON'T TOUCH IT!
3) If you don't know what tag is used to modify what you want, try looking for similar tags, but don't make up your own tags!
4) Some things are assigned a unique ID by AGS when your game's AGF is built for the first time. Specific examples include you're game's ID and the unique ID assigned to each script. Do NOT make up IDs.

There's really not a lot of good reasons excuses for modifying this file directly, although in prior alphas/betas that didn't support importing/exporting SCM files, I have edited this file to (successfully) port ASC/ASH files between games (copying the script's XML data from the original game to the new game). This is no longer necessary now that full SCM support has be reimplemented. There are still other valid reasons to want to edit this file directly, though you must keep in mind that there are no guarantees when you do so.

P.S. Great work on all the new alphas/betas Chris. It's really coming along great.

[Ishmael]

Saving Files - It isn't clear what SAVE and SAVE ROOM functions actually save.   I guess that SAVE ROOM saves the CRM and ASC files but what does SAVE save?  Does it save the currently selected file or does it save everything?  What if I want to save a specific file or save it to another file name?   Perhaps SAVE should be renamed to SAVE ALL or SAVE GAME.  Also perhaps there should be a SAVE FILE function.

Yeah, I'm not sure if the Save Room option needs to be there. The main Save option will save everything, including any open room, so I'm not convinced that the Save Room option is necessary.

Well, if you mess up something in many rooms or in the global things, but wish to keep your changes to one or two rooms, the Save Room option would still come in handy, in my opinion.

[lowesalex]

Wow you are fast....
I will keep it short:Could it be possible that when you create a new char in the game,you could click/duble click (linux/windows/whatever) the image and it will go right to the view section.(sort of a shortcut instead of the game thinking you want ego to be the char).
It will smoth the char making process.

[SupSuper]

One thing I'd like to know out of curiosity is why you have the editor set to import room elements like this:

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
hotspot1_a();
}

It's because you might not just have a single Run Script interaction -- if you had the interaction set up to do "Run Script, Display Message, Run Script" then it would import as:

function hHotspot1_Look()
{
hotspot1_a();
DisplayMessage(4);
hotspot1_b();
}

However, perhaps it could be improved to detect when there is just a single Run Script, and handle it more intelligently.

Maybe the scripts should be copied directly where hotspot#_x() currently goes? Keeping them in separate functions just makes it all messier.

One of them seems to get permanently stuck in "Importing game..."

Any chance you could upload this for me to take a look at?

The other one brings up the following error in the output window: (which made me notice: the Output window needs a Copy button to copy error messages, and errors should be clared after loading a new game)

Quote
There was an error saving the script for room 2: Room file is from an old version of AGS and cannot be processed

Although the game still loaded, but when selecting room 2:

That error message seems reasonable enough for this situation; however it shouldn't really crash when you attempt to open the room afterwards, I'll look into that.

I decided to try rebuilding all the rooms in AGS2.72 before importing and apparently some of the rooms were corrupted, so you might need to improve the error handling during importing. I restored a backup and re-imported and it all seems to work fine for now, I'll do some further testing and let you know how it goes.

It didn't crash, it just errored, since it didn't convert that room but it was still left in the room list.

I also noticed how interaction variables are left for me to fix, GAH, now I regret having fallen into the interaction editor trap.

Also, when loading an Enhanced Savegame (from Windows), the game started in the default room, then faded out, then I got this error:

Hmm that's very odd, did you save the game when playing the same EXE file that you registered to load it?

Ah, found the problem, I loaded a savegame when running the game from AGS. Didn't know the EXEs were different.

Also, when registering the game onto the Games Explorer, the game now gets added twice, (if it's relevant, I used custom boxart for it) and only one is removed when unregistering.

Are you sure it's getting added twice, or is there just an entry already there from a previous attempt? Did you import your game twice from 2.72, for example? Whenever you start a new game or import a 2.72 game, a new ID is generated for the game, and it's this ID that is used to identify the game in the Game Explorer.

Dammit, you're right, looks like I left an entry lying around. Sorry for the mistake.

Is there any way to get the GUID that AGS uses to register the game for us advanced users that want to add more to it? (custom shortcuts for example)

Also, being able to provide your own savegame extension worries me since there's no standard so conflicts may arise in the future (multiple games using the same extension). I think it'd be better if the editor generated its own extension. (for example, from the game name, so a game named "Lots of Stuff" would get savegame extension ".LotsofStuffSave" since games having the same name is much more unlikely)

Well, the editor does default the save game extension to the game name. I don't think it should prevent people from changing it if they want to, though.

That's true. It only defaults the save game folder though, the extension is left blank. (and brings up an error if you leave it blank)

The only disappointment I have is that the editor will no longer run under linux.   I know that theoretically .NET apps can run under MONO but the little I've read on the subject suggests to me that it isn't as easy as it sounds and that it is unlikely to occur unless fair effort is made in this regard. 

Well, as I've said before in theory the use of an interpreted language like .NET should make it easier to run on other platforms, once their interpreters catch up.

Well currently AGS seems to be beyond Mono. I tried installing Mono for Windows and running AGS2.8 on it and... nothing happens. Absolutely nothing.

If it helps, I ran AGS2.8 through the Mono Migration Analyzer and it brought up this. Might give you a guideline if you wanna aim for future Mono support.