Hi there,
I would find it useful if the dialog GUI could display a header line (e.g. 'select one...' or 'your answer?'). The easiest way to implement this (or so it seems to me) would be that the first dialog option is displayed centered, and is not clickable.
(of course this requires a switchbox in the dialog editor)
I think the way AGS handles dialogs could do with new features etc. it seems to have been left in the dark.. ie different colour options when they have already been used, headers, Scrollable options etc.
The easiest way is surely to make the caption part of the Dialog GUI? ;) :P
Well, that too, of course :) but I thought a dialog GUI was similar to a textbox GUI (at least that's what I'm using) and that doesn't support headers very well (okay, you can use the top left image and put text in it, I suppose)
I don't think there's any reasons why you couldn't have a label in a dialog GUI. If you can't you can always have it in a separate, adjacent GUI anyway, although that would have be be turned on manually.
What if you wanted them split up? Like
Ask About:
Bleh
Bleh
Bleh
Reply with:
bleh
Bleh
Bleh
etc
ie, multiple dialog sections
Write your own dialog engine?
Seriously, though, it could be a good idea what hotpsot said. I would suggest that each dialog option has an extra toggle box called "Clickable". This way you could in general have non-clickable lines such as Hotspot suggested. Also there could be a global variable called game.unclickable_dialog_justification, which could be set to CENTRE, LEFT or RIGHT to decide how the unclickable options are shown on the dialog GUI.
Whatdyafink?
I didnt suggest that O_O
No, but what you suggested could be implemented with what I said. I just generalised and abstracted...
I'm sort of wondering whether the dialog options should be totally customizalbe, by way of some sort of "draw_dialog_options" function in the global script which you could write, which would then use RawDraw type functions to construct the options. I'm currently unsure how feasible this is.
Well, anything that makes icon-based dialogs easier is fine with me
I believe currently the dialogs are printed on a textbox GUI.
It's probably easiest to allow them to be printed on a non-textbox GUI? Then the user can customize whatever he wants. Simply create an option for Labels on the GUI to be filled in with dialog options. The rest can be set with SetButtonPic etc.
Quote from: Hotspot on Tue 31/08/2004 11:10:48different colour options when they have already been used, headers, Scrollable options etc.
Those are great ideas - especially the different color ones, I'd love to see implemented. Perhaps along with some kind of "repeat click"-option that would scroll through different replies after the main info was given. I.e. if you don't want to remove the topic altogether because it contains hints (like "stop bugging me, I told you to go distribute those flyers.").
Because there are so many different things that people can want (eg. different colour options, header text, scrolling, etc) I think it makes more sense to go for a more generic approach and allow people to script whatever they want, rather than trying to keep adding more and more particular features in.
Quote from: Radiant on Thu 02/09/2004 18:44:42
I believe currently the dialogs are printed on a textbox GUI.
It's probably easiest to allow them to be printed on a non-textbox GUI?
I don't know if it's an official thing but we can have dialog options printed on a non-textbox GUI.
Quote from: Pumaman on Thu 02/09/2004 21:38:00
Because there are so many different things that people can want (eg. different colour options, header text, scrolling, etc) I think it makes more sense to go for a more generic approach and allow people to script whatever they want, rather than trying to keep adding more and more particular features in.
That would be wonderful! Thus everybody can write his/her own dialog system and then we will have a bunch of dialog templates to choose from.
Quote from: Pumaman on Thu 02/09/2004 21:38:00
Because there are so many different things that people can want (eg. different colour options, header text, scrolling, etc) I think it makes more sense to go for a more generic approach and allow people to script whatever they want, rather than trying to keep adding more and more particular features in.
I totally agree with this - Most of the problems I come across in AGS are features that are hardcoded to act a certain way - i.e. as in the old Sierra and LucasArts-games. I was thinking though, if you start making things more generic - meaning that even basic things require a lot of scripting - are there any chance of a more modular approach to templates?
Yeah, script 'modules' is something I've been meaning to implement for ages. Currently the global script can become rather a mess, particularly in larger games.
Quote from: Pumaman on Thu 02/09/2004 21:38:00
I think it makes more sense to go for a more generic approach and allow people to script whatever they want, rather than trying to keep adding more and more particular features in.
Great! I agree :)
thanks,
D.
Maybe making a new dialog GUI?
Quote from: Radiant on Thu 02/09/2004 18:44:42
I believe currently the dialogs are printed on a textbox GUI.
Whaddya mean? My dialogs are on a normal gui, not a message-box one.
EDIT: Could I also request something now?
A "add-score-first
int score" function for the dialogs which will only give the player score the first time he chooses that option and if it comes round again he won't carry on getting points.
or dont be lazy and use global ints :/
What's wrong with proposing a feature to make your life easier? I can see how an add-score-once thing would be useful, but I'm not sure if it's useful enough as a dialog command to justify being added.
Hmm, if we get along to see the hard-coded scripts it would be VERY VERY VERY useful.
Quote from: Edwinxie on Tue 07/09/2004 00:53:22
Hmm, if we get along to see the hard-coded scripts it would be VERY VERY VERY useful.
Are you saying it would be useful if we could edit the engine???
Yes... That would be very very useful... hahha... HHahhaha.... MUAHAHHAHAHHAHA!!!! Uh... ::)
Hey, uh, Radiant, you can make your own Dialog GUI, just make one and then click "Dialog options on gui" checkmark
That's true, Edwin, however it doesn't place the dialog text where I want it (specifically, it always places it in the upper left corner of the dialog, but I'd want to place some kind of border around it). Also the dialog may run off the GUI if it's too small.
By the way, there are game.dialog_options_x and game.dialog_options_y variables specifying an offset from the top left corner of the dialog GUI.