AGS 3.1.1 Final 3 - Christmas Edition

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

freshpaint-  your problem in both cases is the run-script call.  Since CJ has removed the need for dialog_request, so has the need for run-script calls been removed.  What you will want to do is take the code you have in dialog_request for each of those calls and pop it in place of the run-script (with at least one space after each line).  Unless he's making it fully backwards compatible, in which case I suppose it's a glitch afterall.

[Trent R]

rvampire, 'conditional' brings up Interaction events, and the two scripting tutorials. But everything still applies to interaction scripting. Conditional is just the normal, non-programming name for an if-statement.

Pumaman, that did remind me. It always annoyed me that the tutorial help pages where all named 'untitled'. But I read somewhere (previous beta thread I think while running a forum search) that this couldn't be changed because of how the help file was compiled. Is this still the case?

Hehe don't push your luck

Yeah yeah, I knew it wouldn't be with release cycle. But that would be my most desired feature (followed by a variable tab in the output window, but I won't expect that until at least AGS 8.3 ).

And lastly, excellent work as always CJ! Shame (for AGS 3.2 ) that your break will be ending soon.


~Trent

[rvampire]

I'm aware what a conditional is  But following direct quote - including the quotation marks - sounds to me as a reference to interaction editor. Or maybe my reading comprehension is not so good, being a non-native speaker.  (Which you can tell from over sophisticated word choices  )

Add a "Conditional - if inventory item was used" check to determine which item they used.

[freshpaint]

Yes, I know how to fix the run-script thing, thanks. He'd asked me to post the compile errors I received and the lines causing them.  I assume he's looking for a certain amount of backward compatibility.  It will take a long time for me to move all my dialogs (I'm pretty wordy) into the new format, plus there's a lot of possibility for redesign now -- doing stuff while talking! 

This was the only place I'd used global ints, tho, since when new to AGS it was one of the first dialogs I'd done and was following the doc. Don't know whether others have made use of them in this manner.

[Pumaman]

Here's the entire dialog in question.  Lines 18 and 26 get the red-x error message when I compile with the new 3.1.1 rc 1.  With the new dialog features don't have to do this any longer, but anyway....
set-globalint 0, 0
...
set-globalint 0, 1

Thanks, looks like the new compiler doesn't allow commas between the parameters here. I'll fix it.

I noticed the interaction editor is still haunting the help file. Some parts of the help file concerning how to detect which inventory item the player is trying to use still reference interaction editor. I think you can find all the references if you search 'conditional' from the help file.

Well spotted, thanks, I'll get them removed.

freshpaint-  your problem in both cases is the run-script call

I think it's important to note that existing run-script calls should still work fine; the new dialog script should be 100% backwards compatible.

Pumaman, that did remind me. It always annoyed me that the tutorial help pages where all named 'untitled'. But I read somewhere (previous beta thread I think while running a forum search) that this couldn't be changed because of how the help file was compiled. Is this still the case?

Yes, the help file is still compiled the same way.

[Lt. Smash]

error:
if you start typing #XXX (X = random chars) in script editor you get an error.

[Ryan Timothy B]

I noticed if you start typing and when the Auto-Complete menu pops up.  If you backspace whatever text you have typed and type a '(' bracket, it automatically types for you 'AbortGame('.

I seem to do this a lot because I always forget to place brackets on If statements and what-not and once I type a few characters I usually realize.  Therefor creating a 'Grrr' moment once 'AbortGame(' takes place instead of a bracket.

  It's not a 911 emergency or anything by all means, just annoying.

[Pumaman]

if you start typing #XXX (X = random chars) in script editor you get an error.

What error, exactly? I get a compile error as expected, but what are you expecting it to do?

I noticed if you start typing and when the Auto-Complete menu pops up.  If you backspace whatever text you have typed and type a '(' bracket, it automatically types for you 'AbortGame('.

Hmm, well you can always press ESC to cancel the autocomplete. I'll have a look at it though.

[Vince Twelve]

Wow, I'm gone for a while and my entire awesome custom dialog system is rendered obsolete!  Well, I guess not really since I can't upgrade to this version due to Resonance using that upscaled ttf font bug in 3.0.2.  But it will be extremely helpful for Ivy's new game!  Thanks CJ!

[Pumaman]

Ok, RC 2 is now up. Unless any major problems are found, I hope to make this into the Final release in the next week or two.

Please let me know how you get on. In particular, any problems with dialog scripts, Theora video or the D3D driver, please don't keep them to yourselves!

[Ghost]

My save/load GUI (fullscreen GUI in a 320x240 game) creates six dynamic sprites to put savegame screenshots on buttons; this works without any trouble when I use DirectDraw, but causes a short, but noticeable delay when using D3D: About a second in fullscreen and a bit more in windowed mode.
I suppose there's an easy workaround, but wanted to report anyway. Apart from that, no troubles at all, though all else I could test was dialog scripts. One thing I noticed is that in all scripts, when you "stick to the autocomplete", a space is inserted, so that you end up with, say, player.walk(120, 120, eBlock);
When writing scripts in the dialog section, you get player.walk(120,120,eBlock); - no auto-spacing.

[Dualnames]

Please let me know how you get on. In particular, any problems with dialog scripts, Theora video or the D3D driver, please don't keep them to yourselves!

Sorry mate. I didn't do it in purpose. I thought that it was impossible to open videos in D3D that's all. I promise, I'll let you know. Thanks a bunch for fixing it.

[subspark]

One rather annoying thing is the default install path.
There are so many versions of AGS 3+ available now that I believe they all need to be housed in a neat folder like:

C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3\

or C:\Program Files\BigBlueCup\Adventure Game Studio 3.x.x\

Cheers,
Sparx.

[Gilbert]

Well, IMO installation itself is annoying enough already, but I understand that someone may find this helpful (especially VISTA users I think) so I have no objective to it. As long as there is a non-installation alternate download (which is the case for official releases) it's fine with me.

However, the most irritating thing is, test versions that are close to a release are available in installation versions only. I used to keep various versions of AGS in this working computer for testing and such. Also, since I don't have administrative right officially, that means it will cost me extra work to install them. Furthermore, IMO the 'My Documents' folder was one of the most evil features of Windows, which I never use. The change that the default game path is in 'My Documents' (I think it was done because of something related to VISTA) upset me, not that I cannot change it when I make my own games, but when installing AGS itself I will have to choose either not to install the Demo game or to install it and then move it to a much better location, to prevent the mess it causes.

[subspark]

Your point above is 1 of two of the annoyances I was pointing out.
If the install path was standardized then RC installers wouldn't be such a problem.

No more cluttering:
C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3.0
C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3.0.1
C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3.0.2
C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3.1
C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3.1.1
C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3.1.2

I could go on.

Cheers,
Sparx.

[Pumaman]

My save/load GUI (fullscreen GUI in a 320x240 game) creates six dynamic sprites to put savegame screenshots on buttons; this works without any trouble when I use DirectDraw, but causes a short, but noticeable delay when using D3D: About a second in fullscreen and a bit more in windowed mode.

The DynamicSPrite.CreateFromScreenShot function is slow in D3D mode, because reading from the screen is very slow with the 3D graphics pathway. There's not much I can do about this, unfortunately.

One thing I noticed is that in all scripts, when you "stick to the autocomplete", a space is inserted, so that you end up with, say, player.walk(120, 120, eBlock);
When writing scripts in the dialog section, you get player.walk(120,120,eBlock); - no auto-spacing.

Yes, the comma-indentation is disabled in dialog scripts so that it doesn't get in the way when typing normal dialog lines. There is an outstanding request to allow it to be disabled in normal scripts too.

One rather annoying thing is the default install path.
There are so many versions of AGS 3+ available now that I believe they all need to be housed in a neat folder like:

C:\Program Files\Adventure Game Studio 3\
or C:\Program Files\BigBlueCup\Adventure Game Studio 3.x.x\

Well, if I did that, then other people would complain that it was installed in an unnecessary sub-folder that made it hard to get to.
I don't think that many people have more than one or two versions of AGS installed at the same time, so I can't see this being a big issue. If it bothers you, just change the install path when you install it.

However, the most irritating thing is, test versions that are close to a release are available in installation versions only

This is done only with the final RC version, and is after a previous incident where the "Final" installer didn't work and the demo game was broken. By distributing the full thing as RC2, it allows any problems with these things to be found before it's too late.

The change that the default game path is in 'My Documents' (I think it was done because of something related to VISTA) upset me, not that I cannot change it when I make my own games, but when installing AGS itself I will have to choose either not to install the Demo game or to install it and then move it to a much better location, to prevent the mess it causes.

With recent versions the demo game is now installed to the AGS folder in Program Files, rather than into your profile, so this should no longer be a problem.

[GarageGothic]

Speaking of savegames, is there any chance that the name could be stored as a String (or even just a 255 char string) rather than the currently very limited number of characters? I like to use it for storing additional information such as time of save, room ID and the current day in the game, which doesn't leave much space for whatever the player types.

[Gilbert]

Your point above is 1 of two of the annoyances I was pointing out.
If the install path was standardized then RC installers wouldn't be such a problem.

In fact, what I want is the opposite, I'd rather have different test versions installed into different folders (which is the case at the moment), as test versions are not supposed to be used by a normal user, but for more advanced users for testing. Having them in different folders helps people compare the versions during tests. Moreover, installing the final version into a fresh new folder will illiminate possible (rare) problems arising from just copying over the files.

However, the problem is, installers complicate things, by having a default folder (in Programme Files, which I don't want AGS to be installed to) that means I need to go through all those explorer-clickings or type out a path during install if I don't want to use the default folder. Worse of all, you can't remove a version (especially those RC versions, for which only installers are provided) by just deleting the folder, but have to use the annoying 'add/remove programmes' function. I understand the reasons of the move to providing installers (and we have gone through the debate so there's no point in arguing about it) but IMO it's more reasonable to have the non-installer version for the release candidates (having both versions for the official release is enough).

With recent versions the demo game is now installed to the AGS folder in Program Files, rather than into your profile, so this should no longer be a problem.

Oh, didn't notice that. After knowing that it installed the Demo Game in V3.0 (I think, maybe a test version of V3.0) I never install the Demo Game anymore. It's still annoying that creating a new game defaults to My Documents though (and you have to type the whole path manually if you want to create it elsewhere). Yes, I know that this can be changed in Preference, just ranting.

[subspark]

In fact, what I want is the opposite, I'd rather have different test versions installed into different folders.

Oh I get you now. Fair enough actually.

You also make a good point, CJ. I guess we don't really install every version there is without first removing the old ones.

Cheers,
Sparx.

[Dualnames]

So since now I’m not the same fool..so I could check my games on D3D..I’ve noticed that the baselines of the objects match each other perfectly, but they don’t match with the walk behinds area.
I’ve opened a game using AGS 3.1.1 RC 2. Everything appeared to be fine, but normally(I’m using AGS 3.1.0) when I click on a character
If that character isn’t no tea or brush.
a GUI with 3 buttons appears (gChars)
If that character is no tea or brush.
A GUI with two buttons created only for those characters appears.(gOtherCharacters)
and when I click on anything else a GUI with two buttons appears.(gEquip). 
However when I loaded the game in RC 2 (didn’t open it with RC 1), when I clicked on a character instead of gChars(since that character wasn’t tea) gEquip would open. Trying to solve this alone, I’ve put some return commands. (Those I’ve commented on the code below).
The code below works fine without the return commands for any character in 3.1.0. And in 3.1.1  it works only when I put the return. So this difference does it have to do with something that changed on the GetLocationType command(I recall seeing a post about it)?
Other than that everything seems to be in perfect order.

Code: ags

function on_mouse_click(MouseButton button) {
if (button == eMouseLeft) {
if (GetLocationType(mouse.x,mouse.y)==eLocationCharacter) {
if ((chr==cNoTea)||(chr==cBrush)) {
gOtherCharacters.SetPosition(mouse.x,mouse.y);
gOtherCharacters.Visible=true;
//return;
}
if ((chr!=cNoTea)&&(chr!=cBrush)){
gChars.SetPosition(mouse.x,mouse.y);
gChars.Visible=true;
//return;
}
}
if (GetLocationType(mouse.x,mouse.y)!=eLocationCharacter) {
gEquip.SetPosition(mouse.x,mouse.y);
gEquip.Visible=true;
//return;
}
}

Note: If you need the files let me know.,