AGS 3.0 Final - it's been a long road

[WackyWildCard]

Ok. I've been using the latest beta of Adventure Game Studio. I'm starting to slowly practice the new functions and script commands. So far, I'm doing good! Just a minor snag, so far: I can't seem to get the sound and music files to play in my game. I have updated my computer, and those same sound and music files play just fine by themselves in Winamp Player - but not in a dummy game that I'm making. I've followed the instructions to a T in the Manuel: SOUND1.WAV and MUSIC1.MP3 - just dummy sounds and songs not final game sounds and songs.


I've included my dummy game that I've been monkeying around with. THIS IS NOT MY ACTUAL GAME THAT I'M DESIGNING. Please feel free to test it out, and tell me what I could be doing wrong:

<A HREF='http://www.flyupload.com/?fid=5907185'>Download Now</A>


Thank you so much for your help!

WackyWildCard

[Ashen]

I'm pretty sure this is nothing to do with the beta, or AGS. It looks like your files aren't named properly - they're actually called MUSIC0.MP3.mp3, MUSIC1.MP3.mp3, SOUND1.WAV.wav, and SOUND2.WAV.mp3. Fix that and they should work OK (they seem to play for me, anyway - Sound2 needs the mp3 extention, not wav).
If you're using Windows, you might need to uncheck the 'Hide extentions for known file types' option (Tools -> Folder Options -> View) to get the names to display properly in Explorer.

[Ghost]

Just a few things I'd like to know:

It has been mentioned that the new version of AGS will come with an installer; does this mean it's no longer a "clean", copy-in-a-folder-and-you-are-done software? Will it have an entry in the Software folder of Windows?

What exactly does this NET Framework do? I installed it to be able to use the new AGS version and I understand that a framework is programming-related- so what other use has this framework?

Apart from that there's nothing but positive feedback here. I tinkered around a bit with the newest release, no troubles. I must say the new templates are very, very good. Both the new default template and (expecially) the verb coin are top quality. Great job, just remember to update the TUTORIAL to mention them!

I commend you, Mr. Jones.

[WackyWildCard]

 
Thanks Ashen for your helpful Input.

Heh. Sometimes I need a different point of view to get things working. Heh.

Thanks again, and have fun!

WackyWildCard

[Reaper]

I want to make an english translation for my adventure. But in the English.trs file the GUI text is missing. Even updating does not help. If I remember correctly in 2.72 GUI text could be translated.

Tested in AGS 3.0 beta 15

[SupSuper]

What exactly does this NET Framework do? I installed it to be able to use the new AGS version and I understand that a framework is programming-related- so what other use has this framework?

It's basically just a bunch of DLLs that all .NET applications (usually coded in C#) need.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I'm getting this error a *lot*. I'm getting it when playing the game with the editor on, F5-style.

Error: The process cannot access the file 'C:\AGS\MY templates\IF Mouse\dbgrecv.tmp' because it is being used by another process.
Version: AGS 3.0.0.15

System.IO.IOException: The process cannot access the file 'C:\AGS\MY templates\IF Mouse\dbgrecv.tmp' because it is being used by another process.
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
   at System.IO.File.Delete(String path)
   at AGS.Editor.EngineCommunication._watcher_Changed(Object sender, FileSystemEventArgs e)
   at System.IO.FileSystemWatcher.OnChanged(FileSystemEventArgs e)
   at System.IO.FileSystemWatcher.NotifyFileSystemEventArgs(Int32 action, String name)
   at System.IO.FileSystemWatcher.CompletionStatusChanged(UInt32 errorCode, UInt32 numBytes, NativeOverlapped* overlappedPointer)
   at System.Threading._IOCompletionCallback.PerformIOCompletionCallback(UInt32 errorCode, UInt32 numBytes, NativeOverlapped* pOVERLAP)

I get it twice, even.

EDIT - I *really* get this a *lot* while testing with F5 and debugger on. Oh, and using breakpoints and F11.

EDIT 2 - And apparently even without using breakpoints and F11. And now, an unprecedented problem - AGS is crashing quite often with this error, always when on F5's test window.

[DoorKnobHandle]

I've been using the last day to work into the new 3.0 editor and I really dig it so far. It's really improved A LOT!

My knowledge of AGS in its newer versions is a bit rusty, so please cope with me. Plus, while having read a lot of the threads on the development, I can't promise I've seen all the information - so, I hope I don't repost any issue - if I did, please excuse that.

First things first, I have only very minor complaints sorted kind-of by importance from very to not-very:

- I dislike the way tab-indents are handled. In the old editor and all other programs, a tab is not broken up into the "spaces" it consists of, the new editor does that. It's really confusing for tab-lovers such as me. You press tab, hit left-arrow (which used to jump back a tab) and now, with 3.0, you're going back one space "into" the tab. I didn't see anything wrong with the old, standard way of tabbing.

- I love how modules are "gone" and now represent a new script-file, that's very nice. While it's been possible to split up code between several files (or modules), it's always been quite the annoyance with the module-manager etc., now it's really awesome. However, I would suggest to add directories for the files. For example:

Code: ags

+ Mouse cursors
+ Fonts
- Scripts
      + Renderer
      + Tile-System
      - Global Script
            o Script
            o Header
      + Other file
+ Plugins

I know that this is a matter of taste, but the "double" entries in the scripts-hierarchy are somewhat confusing (as the only difference lies in the last letter of the file-extension). What do the others think?

- It was somewhat tricky with the manual to get the way RawDrawing works now. I managed to get it down, now, but maybe there should be a dedicated entry in the manual for "old" users? Or have I overseen that?

- New tabs open on the left. I think I read something about this, but couldn't find the post now. To me, that's very irritating. I expect new tabs to open on the right, not on the left pushing all other tabs away to the right. If this is really down to taste and other people prefer this "left-way", then maybe make it customizable in the preferences?

- I noticed *= and /= are not supported. Any special reason for that? I think both symbols are pretty useful.

- When I load a bigger game, the editor appears "stuck" for a few seconds. Specifically, after clicking "Ok" on the "load-recent-games" dialog. The dialog appears and nothing happens for a second or something. Then the right-hand side hierarchy-pane blinks and the game is loaded. How about a small "Loading game..."-message-box in that time? Especially for users with slower machines working on larger games.

- And, the least important issue: when I start up the Editor, the hierarchy-pane on the right-hand side isn't pulled to the left enough. The words (for example "Inventory Items") are cut off in the middle. My resolution is 1280x960 with WinXP, I suppose this is a simple calculation flaw?

I'm very happy with the new stuff, though. Amazing work!

[OneDollar]

I just found two very small issues with creating a new game:

1) When you create a game using the blank template the first thing you are presented with is a compilation error because there is no room 1 and no character 0. This is right, but only because I haven't had chance to add them yet. Prehaps you could skip the compile check when a new game is made? It's not a big problem but could be a little off-putting for someone who's not quite sure what's going on, and the compile error comes before the warning about using a blank template.

2) If you create a new game but don't save it, the AGS folder is created and all the files made but the game title you entered is not saved. The game appears in the game list but with the default title of 'New Game'. Should the game name entered during the creation be saved when the folder is created?

They're both very small issues in an otherwise fantastic program

[Pumaman]

3.  I didn't notice an option in preferences anymore to disable warnings.  Am I missing it?

Not sure what you mean by this, can you clarify? What sort of warnings are you talking about?

Nothing else really stands out as needing (imo) adjustment for a RC so excellent work, really.  Some future improvements such as being able to place characters visually in rooms and perhaps a modification to how dialogs work would be in order but those are clearly enhancements rather than fixes, and probably the only things I could think of that would enhance your editor at this point.  Great job!

Thanks, glad to hear you think it's worthwhile!

It has been mentioned that the new version of AGS will come with an installer; does this mean it's no longer a "clean", copy-in-a-folder-and-you-are-done software? Will it have an entry in the Software folder of Windows?

Not sure what you mean by the "Software folder", if you're talking about the Start Menu then yes it would. There are a couple of reasons for using an installer -- for example we've had problems in the past with people not unzipping the file correctly, or trying to run AGS from within the zip rather than decompressing it first; these are problems that would be avoided by using an MSI.

What exactly does this NET Framework do? I installed it to be able to use the new AGS version and I understand that a framework is programming-related- so what other use has this framework?

It's the system on which the new editor runs. I guess you could think of it as a huge set of script modules providing various functionality, that the AGS Editor uses to avoid having to re-invent the wheel.

Various applications these days run on the .NET Framework so once you've installed it once for one application, any other programs that use it will work as well.

I want to make an english translation for my adventure. But in the English.trs file the GUI text is missing. Even updating does not help. If I remember correctly in 2.72 GUI text could be translated.

What type of GUI text is missing? The translation should include all GUI Label and GUI Textbox texts.

I'm getting this error a *lot*. I'm getting it when playing the game with the editor on, F5-style.

Error: The process cannot access the file 'C:\AGS\MY templates\IF Mouse\dbgrecv.tmp' because it is being used by another process.
Version: AGS 3.0.0.15

Hmm, interesting. I've never seen this myself, but I'll see if I can work out what's happening.

- I dislike the way tab-indents are handled. In the old editor and all other programs, a tab is not broken up into the "spaces" it consists of, the new editor does that. It's really confusing for tab-lovers such as me. You press tab, hit left-arrow (which used to jump back a tab) and now, with 3.0, you're going back one space "into" the tab. I didn't see anything wrong with the old, standard way of tabbing.

Heh thanks, I hadn't noticed that. I'll add it as a preferences option.

- I love how modules are "gone" and now represent a new script-file, that's very nice. While it's been possible to split up code between several files (or modules), it's always been quite the annoyance with the module-manager etc., now it's really awesome. However, I would suggest to add directories for the files. For example:

Not sure about this one, but I'll have a think about it for a future version.

- It was somewhat tricky with the manual to get the way RawDrawing works now. I managed to get it down, now, but maybe there should be a dedicated entry in the manual for "old" users? Or have I overseen that?

Fair point, I'll add something to the manual about this.

- New tabs open on the left. I think I read something about this, but couldn't find the post now. To me, that's very irritating. I expect new tabs to open on the right, not on the left pushing all other tabs away to the right. If this is really down to taste and other people prefer this "left-way", then maybe make it customizable in the preferences?

To be honest, I don't think this is a big enough issue to be worth the hassle of changing at this point. Also, it's the same behaviour that the recent Visual Studio IDE's use.

- I noticed *= and /= are not supported. Any special reason for that? I think both symbols are pretty useful.

No special reason, these have never been supported. There's never been the demand to add them.

- When I load a bigger game, the editor appears "stuck" for a few seconds. Specifically, after clicking "Ok" on the "load-recent-games" dialog. The dialog appears and nothing happens for a second or something. Then the right-hand side hierarchy-pane blinks and the game is loaded. How about a small "Loading game..."-message-box in that time? Especially for users with slower machines working on larger games.

A "Loading" dialog is a possibility, I guess.

- And, the least important issue: when I start up the Editor, the hierarchy-pane on the right-hand side isn't pulled to the left enough. The words (for example "Inventory Items") are cut off in the middle. My resolution is 1280x960 with WinXP, I suppose this is a simple calculation flaw?

Could you provide a screenshot, I don't get this behaviour? Do you have Large Fonts turned on?

I'm very happy with the new stuff, though. Amazing work!

Glad you like it!

1) When you create a game using the blank template the first thing you are presented with is a compilation error because there is no room 1 and no character 0. This is right, but only because I haven't had chance to add them yet. Prehaps you could skip the compile check when a new game is made? It's not a big problem but could be a little off-putting for someone who's not quite sure what's going on, and the compile error comes before the warning about using a blank template.

Hmm, interesting point. I'll have to think about this one.

2) If you create a new game but don't save it, the AGS folder is created and all the files made but the game title you entered is not saved. The game appears in the game list but with the default title of 'New Game'. Should the game name entered during the creation be saved when the folder is created?

Thanks, I'll have a look at this one.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

BTW, it has been mentioned that Ctrl-B for matching brackets was a really useful feature that's now gone missing, replaced by the other bracket highlighting. Why not both? The latter is great when coding, the former is almost essential during code-check and especially when you have to change really old and convoluted code (happens to me all the time...).

[Reaper]

I want to make an english translation for my adventure. But in the English.trs file the GUI text is missing. Even updating does not help. If I remember correctly in 2.72 GUI text could be translated.

What type of GUI text is missing? The translation should include all GUI Label and GUI Textbox texts.

I have text in GUI labels and buttons. The text of the labels is shown in the translation file, the text of buttons is not.

[DoorKnobHandle]

Thanks for the response there, Pumaman. Here's the screen, I do NOT have "large fonts" enabled.

Note that Photobucket has downsized the screen to 800x600, my resolution is actually 1280x960...

I'm happy with all your answers. The tab-indents were a main problem, the rest is really, really minor, so it's definitely no problem if - for example - the order of newly-created tabs stay the way they are at the moment or anything.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

BTW, food for thought for later versions - the current way the text parser is implemented makes it easier for us, in the futures, to define manually what type of word we want any word to be - not just Normal or Ignore, but maybe Verb and Noun and Object and Name and whatever. Then a simple function to get the type of verb would open lots of doors.

Just a thought.

[gojerry]

Can the 40 object per room limit be removed? (Or increased to say 200 or so)

Also,

I get an out of bounds error when trying to address objects beyond 20.

example:

object[21].Graphic = 2; 

produces the out of bounds error, while:

object[20].Graphic = 2; 

does not.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

<stares at gojerry>

It's been increased to 40? And you already need more?

[Pumaman]

BTW, it has been mentioned that Ctrl-B for matching brackets was a really useful feature that's now gone missing, replaced by the other bracket highlighting. Why not both? The latter is great when coding, the former is almost essential during code-check and especially when you have to change really old and convoluted code (happens to me all the time...).

Well, it's easy enough to just delete and re-type the closing bracket if you want to simulate a "match brace" type feature? Would pressing Ctrl+B actually be any faster?

I have text in GUI labels and buttons. The text of the labels is shown in the translation file, the text of buttons is not.

Ah, oops ... thanks for spotting this, I'll get it fixed.

Thanks for the response there, Pumaman. Here's the screen, I do NOT have "large fonts" enabled.

Hmm, that's strange. Does anyone else get a problem like this? I can't replicate it.

Can the 40 object per room limit be removed? (Or increased to say 200 or so)

Well, if you have that many objects in one room you're quite likely to run into performance problems. Can you give an example of a situation where you need more than 40 objects in a room?

I get an out of bounds error when trying to address objects beyond 20.

Thanks for this, I'll fix it.

BTW, food for thought for later versions - the current way the text parser is implemented makes it easier for us, in the futures, to define manually what type of word we want any word to be - not just Normal or Ignore, but maybe Verb and Noun and Object and Name and whatever. Then a simple function to get the type of verb would open lots of doors.

Sounds reasonable, but not really appropriate for the 3.0 thread. Perhaps you'd like to start another thread about this to see if it's something other people would be interested in.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Well, it's easy enough to just delete and re-type the closing bracket if you want to simulate a "match brace" type feature? Would pressing Ctrl+B actually be any faster?

No, but it wouldn't feel like a hack...

Sounds reasonable, but not really appropriate for the 3.0 thread.

Agreed, it's very specific. I think I started a thread about it a long while ago, but it seemed there was very little interest... I only remembered it because I noticed how much simpler it would be to edit the words categories now, and decided to bring it up again... in a passing, very-low-priority way.

[monkey0506]

One thing I noticed while testing my AGS_MAX_* constant workaround was that SCM files exported by AGS 3.0 appear corrupted if you try to import them in older versions of AGS. Sometimes they will import properly anyway; other times they will not.

One of the greatest parts of the SCM file type was that it allowed portability not just between OSes, but also between versions of AGS. Has the way the SCM files are saved changed since AGS 2.72? If so, is there any way to restore the old behavior in saving these files?

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Not sure what you mean by this, can you clarify? What sort of warnings are you talking about?

Sure.  I mean compile warnings like ags 3.0 special 'normal view x has less than 4 loops and could crash the game', which pulls up a nice box to tell me about it and a loud beep every time I compile.  I'd just like an option to disable these warnings altogether (and I can't seem to find one) since I'm aware of what they are .

Well, if you have that many objects in one room you're quite likely to run into performance problems. Can you give an example of a situation where you need more than 40 objects in a room?

I can:  multi-tiered rooms!  I've recently been experimenting with this in Boyd Quest, making several playable rooms on one screen, each offset by enough pixels to not be visible and then popping the player to the new walkable zone.  This saves me a great deal of time, both in consolidating rooms in an area together and allowing me to bypass the often annoying look-up-destination-coords-and-flip-between-rooms-to-get-them-right phase since it's all in one area.  As a result, I tend to use more objects and certainly more hotspots.

You could also make an asteroid belt without using Rawdraw if you had enough objects....


Oh, one thing I forgot to suggest was perhaps a more robust naming system for sound, music and voice files?  I can't begin to explain how many times I've had to go back and listen to sound or music files to remember what they were.  An option in the editor to do a push-button load of any supported sound file into a 'slot' that would remember the filename would fix this, I wager.  That way the files could still be played numerically in the engine, but the editor would display their filename (and maybe a preview button?) so you knew exactly what they were.  A preview would also warn you of garble issues with sounds rendered in pcm signed mono (I think that's one I've had trouble with).