Hi,
It's been a while since I last posted here. From the threads I read here, I still don't understand if AGS reads MP4 files. I tried it and there is an error. I know it plays AVI, etc, but AVI files are huge, so I was wondering if there is a ways of compressing those video files.
Also, I was wondering if it is possible, in a sort of a cut scene, to display frames/images, or screenshots/backgrounds, and scale them, if need it? I am trying to do zoom outs/Ins. Or Displaying some frames, before the rooms appear on screen, e.g. Different animated frames of a room before the sun rises (from night to day) - after the sun rises, the actions take place...
Thanks :)
To play MP4 files you need to have the codec installed. Which means playing MP4 files depends on the users machine.
My suggestion is to encode your video to ogv, since AGS reads and does not rely on any outside codec to play these.
As for your other question. Yes, it is possible.
You'll need to use DynamicSprites for that though. Check it out in the manual, and don't be afraid, they don't bite and they're a lot of fun to use. (nod)
Quote from: Filipe on Fri 03/01/2020 00:14:34
Also, I was wondering if it is possible, in a sort of a cut scene, to display frames/images, or screenshots/backgrounds, and scale them, if need it? I am trying to do zoom outs/Ins. Or Displaying some frames, before the rooms appear on screen, e.g. Different animated frames of a room before the sun rises (from night to day) - after the sun rises, the actions take place...
Hmm, depends on what exactly are you trying to do, but it's worth mentioning that AGS 3.5.0 supports full room zoom using Viewport/Camera script functions.
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags-manual/wiki/UpgradeTo35#new-viewportcamera-system
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags-manual/wiki/Camera
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags-manual/wiki/Viewport
Thanks...
Windows media player reads my MP4 file, but still, AGS is giving me that error. My problem is with file size of the videos. I thing OGV does not compress the file, right? Is it the same size of the AVI file? Because AVI are huge...
ogv uses compression as well.
OGG Theora Video is what you want.
Uncompressed AVIs are huge, yes. Saying AVI is huge however is not correct. AVI can be compressed with codecs like divx, xvid... which produce a compressed avi file. But again, for the player of your game to be able to see these videos they would need to have the corresponding codec installed.
Convert your MP4 to OGV, play around with the compression, until you're satisfied that the quality-file size is right for your needs. ;)
Thanks :)
Do you know of any free converter?
I can't recommend any, since I normally just encode my videos as Ogg/ogv. but Google provides several options:
https://www.google.com/search?q=convert+mp4+to+ogg+video+fre
Otherwise check a reputable (or one you trust) tech site that might have some recommendations for the best one to use.
I would suggest to use ffmpeg, but if you want a GUI then you could try HandBrake (https://handbrake.fr/).
Hi, thanks...
Is it safe? the Handbreak, I mean... I'm trying to find a converter that I can install on my computer, and I'm completely lost with all the posts...
Cannot find the ffmpeg2theora.exe... don't know where is the exe, and the Handbreak is asking me for the NET Framework 4.8 ... :(
Just click the Windows link here: http://v2v.cc/~j/ffmpeg2theora/download.html
Ok, but where is the EXE file?!?!? I cannot start it..
Also, I try the one with gui (the Handbreak), but I don't know how to use it... what should I chose??! I cannot find the OGV extension?!?!? What am I doing wrong?!??
By the way, has anyone tried this? The VLC converter?
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/what-to-use-to-convert-video-files-to-ogv.71975/
I'v tryed it, the qulity is very bad..
Can anyone explain me how to work with ffmpeg2theora, please :( Thanks :)
Sorry, I should've checked that the link actually works :P
Found a working link: https://www.videohelp.com/download/ffmpeg2theora-0.30.exe
Here's how to use it: http://v2v.cc/~j/ffmpeg2theora/examples.html (it's a commandline program, there's no GUI)
About VLC, what bitrate did you set encoding to? Make sure it's high enough. Experiment with it.
Edit:
Try something in the range of 6000 to 9000
Also it takes long time to encode, so if your video is long, you don't need to let it encode fully. Just encode like 30secs, then hit stop and see if quality is good enough, if not, just increase the bitrate until you happy with it. Once you happy encode the full video. :)
I don't like the quality... I try 24000, but ir crashed (maybe I'm doing something wrong) :( LOL Also, in VLC what do you choose? I don't find OGV, only OGG or Theora Vorbis ... should I change the extension afterwards to OGV?
Tell me, does ffmpeg2theora offers better quality? Does it converts from Mp4 files, or only AVI?
Thanks :)
ffmpg2 should be able to convert from mp4 to ogg/ogv. But I haven't tried it. I know it's one of the choices in Blender to encode it's movies.
You can choose either Theora Vorbis or Theora Flac, I tried a video with 6000 and looked okay. 9000 looked good. 24000 is probably too much. (roll)
You just rename the ogg to ogv. The container is OGG, but we tend to call it OGV when there's video. OGV is in reality another codec, not by Theora.
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Tue 07/01/2020 19:11:46
ffmpg2 should be able to convert from mp4 to ogg/ogv. But I haven't tried it. I know it's one of the choices in Blender to encode it's movies.
You can choose either Theora Vorbis or Theora Flac, I tried a video with 6000 and looked okay. 9000 looked good. 24000 is probably too much. (roll)
You just rename the ogg to ogv. The container is OGG, but we tend to call it OGV when there's video. OGV is in reality another codec, not by Theora.
I converted with VLC... The quality is great, but then, AGS is giving me this error: Unable to load Theora video... do you know why? It is in the Compiled folder. The AVI file reads ok... Please help :(
Wait, ok I put in the project's folder, but now it froze in the first frame. It is a 1080p movie with 50fps though... but I'm just testing... could it be this?
Is your game's resolution 1080p?
No, it is 800 X 600. But I was just testing... I convert my video to 800X600 and 12fps. Now it works :) By the way, should one put a type of racio resolution of 16:9? I mean, what resolution do you advise me? If the game is to be played on a tablet, or smart phone... 1066 X 600, perhaps? is this 16:9 format? Thanks :)
if you want to know if it's 16:9 you just divide 16 by 9 = 1,777778
Now you divide your 1066 by 600 = 1,77(6) which then I would say, yes. It's 16:9. Though you might want to go with a resolution that can be scaled up.
you can use this table to see which values are recommended here: https://pacoup.com/2011/06/12/list-of-true-169-resolutions/
And these days the norm is going 16:9 or 16:10.
I always use 16:9 myself.
No idea about best tablet/smart phone res.
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Tue 07/01/2020 21:40:39
if you want to know if it's 16:9 you just divide 16 by 9 = 1,777778
Now you divide your 1066 by 600 = 1,77(6) which then I would say, yes. It's 16:9. Though you might want to go with a resolution that can be scaled up.
you can use this table to see which values are recommended here: https://pacoup.com/2011/06/12/list-of-true-169-resolutions/
And these days the norm is going 16:9 or 16:10.
I always use 16:9 myself.
No idea about best tablet/smart phone res.
Thanks :) What do you think about 800X600? Now that I start doing on 800X600, to convert it to 16:9, Should I use: 1024 X 576, or 896 504? What resolution do you use?
800x600 = 1,333(3) = 4:3 = old tv size. If you want it to be 16:9 that won't work.
Stick with one of the green (or the "standard" 320x180) res. on that table.
I normally use 640x360 or 1024x576 . But what I use is irrelevant, you should pick the resolution that best carries your art. If you have lots of small details, and want people to enjoy them, then the extra pixels will be appreciated and you should pick a higher res. If your art is simple or pixel art 320x180 might be perfect for your needs.
Ok, Thanks a lot :) Can you guess why my video froze? Was it because of the high resolution, or the number of frames (50)?
Sorry, don't know enough to answer that.
Maybe the high resolution being bigger than the game itself?
AGS should be able to deal with high frame rate, though I can't see why you would such a high frame rate. Cartoons run fine at 15 fps, and movies and TV run at 25-30 fps. AGS defaults at 40fps.
Filipe, could you send us your test game? We could try to investigate why the video freezes.
It was only a test.
I converted my MP4 to OGV. I guess fullHD with 50fps was too much. After I convert my video to 800X600.
Cassiebsg, is 1024 X 800 strange resolution? I look at my game, and notice that it was in this resolution. For me it looks good. What do you think? By the way Is 1280 X 800 too much, or 720p? I really need to have around 800 pixels vertically. Thanks :)
If you need 800 then go with 800. But decide what aspect ratio you want. But at the end of the day, it's your game, so you decide.
I don't dabble into such high resolutions. But 1280x800 sounds like a "normal" screen resolution (at least is an option for my Graphic card), so it should be fine. So you need all those pixels to cry your game's art, then go with it.
Just keep in mind that the higher the resolution the bigger and more resource hungry your game will be.
Thanks again. I will go with 720p... I changed it and it looks the way it should be :)
Anyway, I'm just beginning here, so I have a lot of doubts. I come from video, after effects, and it is so much easier to do cut scenes that way, so I was wondering If I could mix a lot of video with playable gaming. I did a video, and try to play it before, but unfortunately, there is a pause/lag/fade in between the video and the part where you actually play. Is it possible to remove that pause? To make the transition shall we say instantaneously? Because with videos you can add a lot of animated things... and effects... like lighting, etc...
I thought maybe I could do a zoom in of a scene, and then, zoomed it out, before my character enters the room. So, if video doesn't work, maybe I could just display frames, until it zoomed out, and continue playing. Is it possible? I thought maybe I could use object as big as the room, and just play with the visible property... What is the best way? What are dynamic sprites? Or the zoom out features of the AGS, where I can learn about it (Crimson Wizard told me about them Thanks Crimson :))? Are there any video tutorials on that? What about Parallax scrolling?
Also, If I use the zoom functions, is it possible to play while the camera is zooming?
Last question, I love animating the rooms... Why are so few rooms backdrops? Only 4? Maybe AGS "should" allow for 8, or 16 frames per room... It is really difficult to do animated loops with only 4 frames, specially clouds animations in the sky :(
Thanks, and sorry about al these questions :)
Replacing video with just animating a single sprite may not be a good idea. Video is streaming, which means (as you may know) that program does not load all the video at the same time, and only buffers number of frames. With sprites you would have to either load them all up at once, or script your own loading/deletion, which will probably work worse. Also, video may be just compressed better than sprites in AGS.
So, just one big animated object or animating room background is not a good equivalent for the video. When you replace video with in-game objects you should be ready to simplify animation and also split the animation between multiple objects.
The major question here is, how complex your animation is. May it be replaced with few objects moving around the room? Could you show a short example of your video? That would help to understand what you want to do, and figure out the best approach. Without it, our discussion will be quite abstract.
Quote from: Filipe on Sat 11/01/2020 09:13:12
Last question, I love animating the rooms... Why are so few rooms backdrops? Only 4? Maybe AGS "should" allow for 8, or 16 frames per room... It is really difficult to do animated loops with only 4 frames, specially clouds animations in the sky :(
Although it's technically possible to increase max room backdrop count, it was never a high priority to do, because it's pretty inefficient to create long animations like this (as I explained above).
Usually people would create separate objects for each part of animation.
In my memory, room backdrops were used either for simple room-wide effects, such as raining on background, or simulating day time, or weather changes (one static background per variant).
Thanks Crimson Wizard :)
What I want is like a pan down/up movement of the camera, or imagine, that I'm doing a close up, of a name of a street or something, and then do a pan right (with zoom out), and the main character appears, and then it change to an animated room static. I only need 5 or 6 frames before the static room show, so the room doesn't show always with a fade in. If you were able to just display frames, instantly on screen, you could easily do it (if the image is bigger then the room size), before the room shows, but without the fade in... Also, when you do video, there all all this sort of effects, you can add, like wind, sunshine, in different layers, etc, so the animation is more effective... Can you just display images with AGS? before the room appears on screen, with no delay (fade in)?
On the other hand, if you are doing an animated room, with only 4 frames, it is difficult to to loop things, because you don't have margin to do fade ins, or fade outs. How can you animate the clouds in the sky with only 4 frames, and turn it to a loop, or the river flow, or the tide of the see, etc? 8 or 16 frames, per room, it would be fantastic... do you know if they working on it?
Quote from: Filipe on Sat 11/01/2020 20:02:27
Can you just display images with AGS? before the room appears on screen, with no delay (fade in)?
You can turn fade-in/out between rooms completely in the general settings (this is called "Default transition effect"), or run it the moment you like (script functions FadeIn() and FadeOut()).
You can display anything on screen either on room background, using room object, using Overlay, or using GUI. Objects and GUI buttons can also be animated using Views.
Any kind of additional effect may be added over the room using overlays and GUIs. For example, you may create a translucent GUI of certain color and simulate a fog or haze, or lighting effect.
Quote from: Filipe on Sat 11/01/2020 20:02:27
On the other hand, if you are doing an animated room, with only 4 frames, it is difficult to to loop things, because you don't have margin to do fade ins, or fade outs. How can you animate the clouds in the sky with only 4 frames, and turn it to a loop, or the river flow, or the tide of the see, etc? 8 or 16 frames, per room, it would be fantastic... do you know if they working on it?
You use room objects, or GUIs. Any object may be moved around and animated. Objects may have any number of frames per animation, in AGS this is done use Views.
Also, it's better to split complex animation into several objects to keep things efficient.
Ok, thanks :) These are wonderful news :)
Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Sat 11/01/2020 20:32:07
Quote from: Filipe on Sat 11/01/2020 20:02:27
Can you just display images with AGS? before the room appears on screen, with no delay (fade in)?
You can turn fade-in/out between rooms completely in the general settings (this is called "Default transition effect"), or run it the moment you like (script functions FadeIn() and FadeOut()).
You can display anything on screen either on room background, using room object, using Overlay, or using GUI. Objects and GUI buttons can also be animated using Views.
Any kind of additional effect may be added over the room using overlays and GUIs. For example, you may create a translucent GUI of certain color and simulate a fog or haze, or lighting effect.
Hi again, I've tried using the Overlay on the before it enters the room function, and there was an error. It said I could not use the wait(). Also, when displying a video on that function there was only audio, and no video :(
Any way, If I use the Overlay funtion, will I be able to play with my character? Or the wait() is also necessary? Thanks
Quote from: Filipe on Sat 11/01/2020 20:02:27
On the other hand, if you are doing an animated room, with only 4 frames, it is difficult to to loop things, because you don't have margin to do fade ins, or fade outs. How can you animate the clouds in the sky with only 4 frames, and turn it to a loop, or the river flow, or the tide of the see, etc? 8 or 16 frames, per room, it would be fantastic... do you know if they working on it?
You use room objects, or GUIs. Any object may be moved around and animated. Objects may have any number of frames per animation, in AGS this is done use Views.
Also, it's better to split complex animation into several objects to keep things efficient.
Quote
Hi again, I've tried using the Overlay on the before it enters the room function, and there was an error. It said I could not use the wait(). Also, when displying a video on that function there was only audio, and no video :(
You need to add those to After fade in, not before. Before fade in, means you are doing stuff before the screen is drawn to, which means you can't display any image, cause image is only shown after fade in. Before fade_in is used to setup the room, like placing the character, adjusting objects, and such stuff that you want to be ready when image is drawn.
Quote from: Filipe on Sun 12/01/2020 13:04:51
Any way, If I use the Overlay funtion, will I be able to play with my character? Or the wait() is also necessary?
Yes, you can keep it on screen while the game is going. For this you need to create a non-local variable to keep overlay on (otherwise it will be removed automatically).
For example:
Overlay *hangingImage; // declare Overlay variable outside of any function
function Room_BeforeFadeIn()
{
// only create Overlay and assign to a variable here
hangingImage = Overlay.CreateGraphical(... parameters ...);
}
function Room_Leave()
{
// when leaving room, remove the overlay and reset variable
hangingImage.Remove();
hangingImage = null;
}
(Don't forget to link these functions on room events pane.)
Ok Thank you guys for your help :)
I love AGS...I don't know, there is something about AGS, that it is addicting... :) I LOVE IT... It remind me those old days in front of ZX SPectrum.. :) I like coding... engines such as Unity, etc. feel like cheating to me but, I just wish AGS had a better, or agraphic editor inside, also, a camera, so we could do zoom ins, etc... I just wish AGS had the basic 3D features of After effects... and a kind of new GUI (just for the camera) :(
Uhm? What do you mean with "no camera"? Did you not read CW's first post on this thread? I'll quote it here for you:
Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Fri 03/01/2020 14:09:59
Hmm, depends on what exactly are you trying to do, but it's worth mentioning that AGS 3.5.0 supports full room zoom using Viewport/Camera script functions.
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags-manual/wiki/UpgradeTo35#new-viewportcamera-system
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags-manual/wiki/Camera
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags-manual/wiki/Viewport
I did not mentioned it because it's rather new and I forgot about it. :-[
Great :) Tell me, if you had a camera, what resolution should you use? If you are doing zoom ins, so it wan't come out very pixelated...
I can't answer that, I haven't even tried to use to, so have no idea.
But the fact that you do have a camera, means that you can have the resolution of your game at one size (keep the one you decided on) and encode your video at a higher res and zoom in. So my only advice here, is experiment!
Make a small clip (like 15-20 seconds or so) of your video at different resolutions, and experiment zooming in and out each one. Until you have found your favorite.
Quote from: Filipe on Mon 13/01/2020 23:50:28
Great :) Tell me, if you had a camera, what resolution should you use? If you are doing zoom ins, so it wan't come out very pixelated...
Because AGS uses bitmaps for sprites, not vector graphics or models, no matter what you do, when zooming in things will become pixelated. The resulting effect depends on what game resolution you chose and how much zoom you do.
The best way to see is to try it yourself with different test scenes. AGS is an old engine, so it's quite possibly not suit for your needs.
:( But I love it, and I already learned its basics... you see, I used to do music on a proprietary synth sequencer... It was very difficult to change computer sequencers, and DAW software, such as Cubase, etc ... I just wish AGS had some commodities of new engines... like resizing objects in realtime, etc... for instances, this camera, does it have a graphical interface? Like, a time line, so I could just hit record and start recording my movement?
Quote from: Filipe on Tue 14/01/2020 09:05:18
:( But I love it, and I already learned its basics... you see, I used to do music on a proprietary synth sequencer... It was very difficult to change computer sequencers, and DAW software, such as Cubase, etc ... I just wish AGS had some commodities of new engines... like resizing objects in realtime, etc... for instances, this camera, does it have a graphical interface? Like, a time line, so I could just hit record and start recording my movement?
No, you cannot record animation, or any other changes, in ags editor. You can only set starting positions in the editor, and then write all movements and changes in script. Then you will have to test it all by running the game.
This is not at all how AGS works. The Camera that was added supports 2D movement, nothing more. It's not a cool zoom feature, it's just a slightly more convenient way to use 2D viewports.
There's no zooming, no timeline, nothing of that sort. AGS is a 2D engine built to create old school 2d adventure games. The editor looks much more modern now and great features were added in the last years, but at its heart it's about pixeled sprites moving in front of pixeled backgrounds.
Quote from: Filipe on Tue 14/01/2020 09:05:18... I just wish AGS had some commodities of new engines...
And I wish AGS supported JavaScript. What's your point?
If you think it is the wrong tool for you, don't waste time because you've already learned the basics. Switch back to blender or Unity or whatever else is around that supports zooming and the like.
Quote from: Khris on Tue 14/01/2020 09:56:42
This is not at all how AGS works. The Camera that was added supports 2D movement, nothing more. It's not a cool zoom feature, it's just a slightly more convenient way to use 2D viewports.
New Cameras do support zoom, it is achieved by having Viewport and Camera have different sizes.
Here's the new Tween module demo, for example: https://video.drift.com/v/abaMWDTGzbo/
Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Tue 14/01/2020 10:09:40
Quote from: Khris on Tue 14/01/2020 09:56:42
This is not at all how AGS works. The Camera that was added supports 2D movement, nothing more. It's not a cool zoom feature, it's just a slightly more convenient way to use 2D viewports.
New Cameras do support zoom, it is achieved by having Viewport and Camera have different sizes.
Here's the new Tween module demo, for example: https://video.drift.com/v/abaMWDTGzbo/
This is great I love it...
What I mean is that at the time I assemble all my animations in after effect, so it has the right size... If all this could be done in AGS it would be great... like resizing objects as needed, etc... this is what I mean with commodities ..
Quote from: Filipe on Tue 14/01/2020 10:17:06
What I mean is that at the time I assemble all my animations in after effect, so it has the right size... If all this could be done in AGS it would be great... like resizing objects as needed, etc... this is what I mean with commodities ..
With all due respect, but this discussion becomes pointless. AGS cannot do that now, and it will take A LOT of work on the editor to allow that. So, not soon, and idk if ever.
This is not a discussion :) Thanks a lot for your help :)
Ah, I should've checked first :-[
The broader point I was making still stands, I guess.
Quote from: Khris on Tue 14/01/2020 14:20:51
Ah, I should've checked first :-[
The broader point I was making still stands, I guess.
A game takes a lot of work... I love AGS, but as normally I wanna save time... it is frustrating not to be able to resize the objects in real time as needed graphical, I mean... I'm really torn here... I just wish I never had heard about Adventure Ceeator :(
You can't resize objects, but you can resize Dynamic Sprites, and then use that Dynamic Sprite as the object sprite. But yes, you need to do all that in with AGS scripting. You can't do it in the editor. However DynamicSprites can be a lot of fun to use and learn, so don't be afraid to give them a try. They're not as hard to use as you might expect.
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Tue 14/01/2020 17:09:09
You can't resize objects,
Ok, I have to comment on this. You can resize
some objects, as in, you can scale "room objects" and characters at runtime. In AGS characters support manual scaling, meaning you can tell them to resize anytime. Room objects do not have such property for some strange reason (maybe an oversight by original authot), so they have to rely on room areas. Walkable areas have Scaling property that lets you define the scaling factor applied to characters and objects which are positioned on this area. This scaling may be either fixed, or dynamic. Dynamic scaling changes as character or object moves towards the "screen" or further from it.
Thanks, that's why we love you. :) One learns so much from reading this board. (nod)
Quote from: Filipe on Tue 14/01/2020 15:59:37it is frustrating not to be able to resize the objects in real time as needed graphical, I mean...
Just create your sprites and backgrounds at the proper size in the first place, like everybody else.
Get a graphics program with layer support, like everybody else.