QFG4-style dialog and dialog window

[darkseed]

1) I build a custom dialog GUI (normal, not text box, to allow the GUI position customization). I'd like to change topic options colors, remove their highlight on select and put a border in each topic (qfg4 style).

I read an old topic that says it isn't possible.
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=21155.0

This still lasts?

2) Other problem I have is to change characters face expression during dialogs... Do I need to have a talking view for each expression, can't I make 1 talking view with several loops?

3) In QFG4, just a few parts of the character animates in the dialog screen (usually eyes and mouth). You could have the static character image and use sprites for these small parts that animate. It seems to be this can't be done in AGS, I have to use a view with the entire character corpse, right? Quite a waste of space, isn't it?

4) In a game with stats as qfg4, How could I test a combination of stats and game flags to turn on/off certain topics during the dialog? I thought in using "run-script X", which would do the checking and turn on/off a flag, but I'd need to have a LOT of global flags for this (some for each game character). Is there a better way?

5) Is it possible to change the background during the dialog? It'd be useful when you're talking to 2 persons represented by just an character or one character likes to give his opinion, although you're not talking to him. It happens often in qfg series...


Thanks in advance.

[Khris]

1) afaik, yes

2) yes, no

3) Put the mouth sprites in the talking view and animate the eyes in rep_ex_always or dialog_request.

4) Well, run-script x is the only way to run script code during dialogs. Unless you code your own dialog system. I'm not sure why checking a LOT of flags in dialog_request would be a bad way, though.

5) Use dialog_request.

I've never played QfG4 though, so I could be wrong.

There'll be a lot of stuff done via dialog_request. Since you can set global ints in dialog scripts, use that to differentiate, i.e. to add a second parameter to run-script x stuff.

[darkseed]

Thanks for the info, KhrisMUC.

If I can't change dialog topic interface, I'd have to remake the entire dialog engine to support  dialog topics screen like these?





I'd also like to know how well AGS can handle a qfg1/qfg5-style combat. Just in case someone hasn't played all the qfg games, in qfg1 there is a combat screen where you choose your attacks/spells. If several creatures attack you, you fight with them one at each time. Even when a pack of enemies is following you, only one appears in the game screen (you only know when the combat starts). In qfg5, combat happens in the game screen and all your enemies pursue/attack you at the same time. Combat is always real-time.

For what I've read in some rpg threads, qfg1-style combat could be scripted using a character for the current monster fighting and DynamicSprites for the waiting monsters... Am I right? It would be nice if the waiting monsters could be animated, but I don't think that's a problem.

In qfg5 style, I'd need several animated dynamic characters in the screen, each one if with its attacks, stats and attacking/attacked behaviors and animations. Is there some way I could achieve that using Dynamic sprites or some workaround?

Thanks!

[Pumaman]

The customizability of the built-in dialog system is something that's been on my to-do list for a while, and does need improvement.
You can create dialog options similar to the ones you posted, but you wouldn't be able to have the "Ask about" heading, or the boxes around the options in the first example, or bullet points in the second example.

As for combat, there are several ways you could do it. You don't have to use dynamic sprites, you could set aside say 5 characters to be the enemies, and bring them into the current screen and change their views as required. Doing something like that would probably be a lot easier than attempting to do it manually with dynamic sprites.