I've got the standard floating @OVERHOTSPOT@ gui for mousing over objects/hotspots, etc. I keep running into places I would prefer the text to change after observation or interaction. Ex. "Wobbly Mound" becomes "Sharpei" after closer observation. I ran into one Feature Request post for hotspot.SetDescription which would be ideal (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=41245.0). The workaround on that post was pretty messy and requires setting a separate label, bypassing @OVERHOTPSOT@. I looked at setting an "afterdesc" custom property, but those are also not writable by script.
I know others have had to work around this. Looking for possible approaches. Thoughts, ideas?
Here's something I wrote recently:
String OtherName(String desc) {
int ro = player.Room;
int mx = mouse.x;
int my = mouse.y;
int c = -1, h = -1, o = -1;
int lt = GetLocationType(mx, my);
if (lt == eLocationCharacter) {
Character*cp = Character.GetAtScreenXY(mx, my);
if (cp != null) c = cp.ID;
}
if (lt == eLocationHotspot) {
Hotspot*hp = Hotspot.GetAtScreenXY(mx, my);
if (hp.ID > 0) h = hp.ID;
}
if (lt == eLocationObject) {
Object*op = Object.GetAtScreenXY(mx, my);
if (op != null) o = op.ID;
}
// room 2
if (ro == 2) {
// hotspot 1
if (h == 1 && mound_looked_at) desc = "Sharpei";
}
return desc;
}You'd use it like this:
// inside repeatedly_execute
lblHotspotDesc = OtherName(Game.GetLocationName(mouse.x, mouse.y));
You could also store the description in a global variable and put the handling into the room scripts to avoid having all the game's alternative names bundled together in one place.
Thanks, Khris. I meant to post back sooner. Definitely works well. A lot of work, though, in what's turning into a hefty game. I'd whine about the lack of a setDescription function, but I still remember my early attempts at writing simple games without a tool like AGS that already does most of the heavy lifting. Counting my blessings.
Still, I and many others believe this feature is a logical fit for the standard AGS scripting language and should be included in a future release.
Cheers,
Sparky.
This could be done quite easily in a module.
- On game_start create an array of strings with size Room_count * 30 (max number of hotspots)
- On room_first_load dump all the hotspot names to the array
- Make 2 extender functions for hotspots. One which gets the hotspots description and one that sets it.
Oh yeah, of course. I've managed to do it a number of ways, but I still think it belongs in the standard scripting language that comes pretty much as it is.
EDIT: Btw, what the hell happened to your name, Calin? :=
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=42415.0
though I keep reading Elephantshittingonface ;D