Adventure Game Studio

AGS Support => Advanced Technical Forum => Topic started by: bspeers on Mon 05/09/2005 07:29:04

Title: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: bspeers on Mon 05/09/2005 07:29:04
Okay, I'm making a large map that the characters can explore the world from.  I know that the pathfinder can't handle anything higher than that (I also tried to see, and indeed it didn't work).  I only would need a few hundred more pixels to get a nicely-spaced world map, but am concerned about what possible memory problems AGS might run into.  I was thinking that if I didn't allow use of the pathfinder, say if I used arrow-key movement, I might be able to run the larger room, but I don't want to have to set up all that just to find out that larger rooms don't work for other reasons.

So, has anyone done research into rooms greater than 2800 on the y axis (I already have seen that higher values work in the x axis)--are there any problems that are likely to come up, or is it just a pathfinder problem?

I'm talking about a room that's likely going to be 3300 X 3600, ideally.

As a footnote, if anyone working on AGS 3d is reading this, do you think the 3d engine could be applied to a map to give it a bevelled effect similar to the Mode 7 effects on world maps in console RPGs for the SNES, etc?  I'm planning on looking into it eventually, I just was wondering if someone already had some idea.
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: Kweepa on Mon 05/09/2005 16:12:29
How's about a screenshot of the effects in question?
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: Privateer Puddin' on Mon 05/09/2005 16:30:44
I'll assume it's this and that you can understand it :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_7
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: Kweepa on Mon 05/09/2005 17:24:49
Well, I know what mode 7 is :=
I just haven't seen the "bevelled effect" in an RPG world map.
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: GarageGothic on Mon 05/09/2005 17:52:33
At least in theory you could split the screen into a grid of sprites and then rawdraw the visible ones every game cycle while the screen scrolls. That would allow for an almost infininetely large screen. I'm not sure of a good way to handle the character movement code/collisions though other than resizing invisible objects sprites  to cover non-walkable areas.
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: bspeers on Mon 05/09/2005 18:48:34
This image is taken off someone else's site, so I'm just linking to it, not putting it in the message itself:

http://bonusweb.idnes.cz/obrazek/ff6psx_10.jpg

It's an example of Mode 7 to sort of bend the landscape in quasi-3d so it feels less flat than a traditional map screen.

That's not the primary question though.  I was just curious if it was possible to make larger screens if you didn't use the pathfinder.
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: Kweepa on Mon 05/09/2005 19:09:10
Hmm, that isn't possible with Ags3d. It might be possible with Heir of Norton's 3d texturing (in progress).
Don't have any insight into your primary question - why don't you just try it and see?
Title: Re: Screens larger than 2800 pixels
Post by: bspeers on Tue 06/09/2005 02:54:51
Quote from: SteveMcCrea on Mon 05/09/2005 19:09:10
Don't have any insight into your primary question - why don't you just try it and see?

I think I will.  If you don't know of any particular reason it won't work then there can be no harm in trying.

Thanks!