SUGGESTION: Save screenshot to file button

[Snarky]

Hey, this is a feature request as a game reviewer. It would be great if there was some button (or button combination) on the keyboard that would take a screenshot of the current screen and save it to a file.

I'm currently playing through an AGS game for a review, and trying to grab good screenshots for the article. And it's a pain in the ass.

I know F12 copies the screen to the clipboard in some games (but not all), and how to use PrintScreen. But it's very tedious to switch back and forth between the game and some image app to paste in each screenshot. And if I'm trying to get a particular frame, it's almost impossible.

In DOSBox you can save a screenshot with Ctrl-F5. In ScummVM it's Alt-S. Those, or any other key shortcut, would be very much appreciated.

[Ashen]

Shouldn't F12 already do that, assuming whoever made the game didn't change it:

Code: ags

  if (keycode==434) SaveScreenShot("scrnshot.bmp");  // F12

You have to change into Explorer (or equivalant) to rename it before you can take another, but still...

Surely it's up to the game developer whether they want you to be able to take screenshots?
Unless it was hard-coded, but with the option to change or disable it - like the 'Abort' key on Alt-X.

EDIT (after monkey_05_06):
That's obviously the sensible way to do it, for anyone who wants to include numbered screenshots, but it's not really much help for a game reviewer as in Snarky's suggestion. I was saying I wasn't sure how it'd work as a suggestion since it kind-of already exists.

[monkey0506]

Code: ags

int screenshot = 0;

// on_key_press
if (keycode == 434) {
  SaveScreenShot(String.Format("scrnshot%03d.bmp", screenshot));
  screenshot++;
  }

[EDIT:]

I like it padded to 3 digits.

[Edit after Ashen's edit after my edit:] n00b'd.

[Kweepa]

For this game, try:
http://cliptray.f2o.org/
Free, and keeps a history of clipboard operations.

[Gilbert]

How to save a screenshot is the game maker's preference, so if he changed or just removed the F12 code it's his choice, there's no point to implement compulsory hard-coded button for it.

If you just want to grab screenshots without going forth and back and save, etc., there're many programmes that automate this for you. For example, you may just use Irfanview and set up its capture function to save teh files automatically with incrementing numbering whenever a screenshot is grabbed, without the need to manually going back and forth to save them.

[monkey0506]

I guess I should have paid more attention...

But there are other alternatives for the reviewers.

[Snarky]

How to save a screenshot is the game maker's preference, so if he changed or just removed the F12 code it's his choice, there's no point to implement compulsory hard-coded button for it.

If you just want to grab screenshots without going forth and back and save, etc., there're many programmes that automate this for you. For example, you may just use Irfanview and set up its capture function to save teh files automatically with incrementing numbering whenever a screenshot is grabbed, without the need to manually going back and forth to save them.

Given that it can be done from outside the application, I don't really see why it's something that needs to fall within "the game maker's preference". Not much point arguing about it, though. Thanks for the IrfanView tip, that works well.

[Gilbert]

It's the game maker's own decision on whether he should (or how to) incorporate it as an integrated function of his game, get it?