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At this point, I'm basically weighing whether it would be easier to figure out how to do the dialogue format in AGS or learn a new scripting language and figure out how to do a point-and-click style inventory in Ren'Py.

If I did want to try to do it in AGS, what would be the most efficient method of doing this type of dialogue formatting?



Obviously GUI elements for the text backgrounds. But what about the placement of all characters' dialogue in the lower box? I feel like SayAt for every instance would be a bit clunky. Perhaps a custom Say-type function that assigns the dialogue to labels on the GUI would be more elegant? But then, would I still be able to call speech audio from the speech folder that way? With Game.PlayVoiceClip, I suppose?

I'm curious how you more skilled folks would approach this.

PS: Ignore the stuff at the very bottom. A dialogue history/rewind feature isn't really crucial to me.

Thank you for the great responses!

I'll poke around in the Ren'Py forum a bit to try to see how difficult it would be to do the things more native to AGS.

Hi guys,

I'm interested in making a game with elements of both point-and-click adventure and visual novel games (somewhat Phoenix Wright-esque), and would appreciate feedback from those familiar with both programs whether I would be better served using AGS or Ren'Py to make it.

I've spent the last few years getting to know how to use AGS quite well, whereas I have no prior experience with Ren'Py or the Python programming language, which I'm not entirely against learning if it'd be more beneficial in the long-run.

Elements that I'll want in the game and other factors to consider:

1. HD resolution, which I know AGS can manage, but I believe is the native choice for Ren'Py.
2. Still character images during conversations with the text in an overlay band near the bottom, as seen in most visual novels.
3. Branching dialogue trees. I know these well in AGS, but am not sure if Ren'Py only allows singular-path dialogue.
4. Speech audio. Again, I am experienced with this in AGS, and I believe Ren'Py can do it too, though I don't know how easily.
5. An inventory system with items that can be picked up from the background.
6. Interactive background hotspots, which inventory items can be used on. Not sure if such functionality exists in Ren'Py.
7. Background music that changes with each room/background. Pretty sure this should be as easy to do in Ren'Py as it is in AGS.
8. If it turns out well enough, I'd like to release it on Steam and (if possible) get it ported to console(s) via a company like Ratalaika, who appears to port both AGS and Ren'Py games, but I'm not sure if one engine is easier/more compatible to port than the other.

Based on these points (and any others I may not have considered), I'd appreciate any input on how might be best to proceed. Thanks!

Hey guys,

I'm currently offering music composing for multimedia projects, including games. Here's my ad:

You can hear full-length samples at: https://soundcloud.com/kyrocomposing and either message me here or via kyrocomposing@gmail.com to discuss your project.
 

Thank you! All appears to be working right on my end now.

Unrelated (possible) UI bug, regarding the new Log Panel:

I can open and close it repeatedly from the "Window" dropdown menu just fine. If, however, I close it with the "X" on the log panel itself, it won't re-open again until I restart AGS.

[EDIT:]

EDIT:
But because new version in 3.* branch must be backwards compatible, I would need to fix the FadeIn command not working in room load, since it worked before.

I wouldn't want you to have to go through whatever work that would entail just because of me and my freakishly unorthodox game. Please only make that change if you can confirm that 3.5.1 works that way on your end as well.

Winsetup displays a configuration merged from at least 2 sources: default config file found in the game's directory (this is what you set in Default Setup), and player's config found in game's save folder. If you want to see what the default config looks like in winsetup, then delete config file from save folder.
You may refer this article for more information:
https://adventuregamestudio.github.io/ags-manual/EngineConfigFile.html

So then, if I'm following correctly, if I were to launch the program on a new system with no prior save data, or delete the entire save folder beforehand, shouldn't the configuration take on the settings I made in Default Setup? Because it's not (at least the scaling method isn't; it always resets to "nearest-neighbour" on a fresh launch). Even on my primary system, where I had previously set the configuration (both in AGS and the player config) to linear interpolation, a new build has nearest-neighbour selected.

EDIT:
Interestingly, if I open the compiled acsetup.cfg file (the one in the installation directory, not in the save folder) with Notepad, it does show "filter" set to "linear", but winsetup still shows "nearest-neighbour" upon each new build. Does winsetup only take effect if the user makes changes and hits Save, or should it be matching what's in the default acsetup.cfg from the get-go? In other words, would a fresh launch of the game on a system with no prior AGS configurations be following the settings in acsetup.cfg, regardless of what winsetup may show?

I want to give a big "thank you" to you guys for the performance enhancements. 3.5.1 builds of my game ran like a snail on my household's other system. I'm not sure if it was the new PrecacheView function (which I made good use of), the enlarged cache sizes, other changes you've made, or all of the above, but it runs great now. View animations, OGV playback, even simple dialogue exchanges are all noticeably snappier and smooth now. So THANK YOU! Well done.

I do have a couple quick questions:

1. Was something changed about either room_load or the fade scripts since 3.5.1? In upgrading to 3.6.1, I needed to move my FadeIn commands from the end of room_load, where I used to have them and they worked fine, to the beginning of the "after fade in" function (which seems backward to me). Otherwise, my pre-fade commands (characters moving into position, etc.) were now happening after the fade.

2. I don't know if this issue is new to 3.6.1, but some of my default setup choices are not sticking in the "winsetup" program after compiling. Most notably for me right now is the scaling method. I selected "linear interpolation" in the default setup pane, but after compiling, it reset to "nearest-neighbour". Is there some reason Windows would make this selection by default, or should that setting be keeping? I noticed something similar previously with the driver mode resetting to OpenGL even though I had Direct3D 9 selected in default setup, but this seemed to be fixed after de-selecting and re-selecting it. The same solution didn't seem to work for the scaling method though...

Hi all,

I've updated these themes for newer versions of AGS (tested up to 3.6.1 RC 5), as the tool bar was appearing differently than in 3.5.1.

You can download them here: https://github.com/imagazzell/AGS-Color-Themes/releases/download/GrayTones-v1.2/GrayTones-v1.2.zip

@eri0o If you're the one who previously added the themes to the official repository, you might want to update them there as well.


I also have another theme that uses the dark script look of GrayTones(DarkScript), but otherwise replicates the overall look of the default light theme.

That one can be downloaded here: https://github.com/imagazzell/AGS-Color-Themes/releases/download/DarkScript-v1.2/DarkScript-v1.2.zip

Thanks for all the info, CW!

Yes, sorry, I meant the limit in the setup program. I should have been more clear about that. I'm glad to hear that limit has been raised.

But it does sound like I would probably benefit more from the new precache functions you mentioned, as the lag seems to be its worst the first time an animation is run. Has the local Help file been updated to explain how to use these new functions?

I also get lag and stuttering when playing .ogv cutscenes, but I'm guessing that's related to something else (perhaps just general slowness of the test system involved). I wonder if any of the other new enhancements may help with that at all.

I will also try to optimize my animations, as you suggest, by seeing where I can crop out any excess transparent pixels, etc.

My apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere that I couldn't find (I did search), or if this is the wrong place to be asking, but has the Sprite Cache size limit been increased at all in either 3.6.0 or this new build, or is it still capped at 512 MB, as in 3.5.1?

My game is hi-res and has a number of big (both in dimensional size and length) animations, and runs like a slug on some systems. I imagine a larger cache size limit (at least 1 GB / 1024 MB), in addition to the other performance enhancements you guys have been working on, could help.

If this has not been implemented, I'd humbly request it to be considered, if anyone else would also find it helpful.

This is not usual for AGS games to be that large...

Oh, trust me, I know. There's a LOT behind the curtain of my game that is not normal, things that may both intrigue you seasoned pros as well as make you want to pull your hair out :'D

In any case, at least we figured out what the issue was. Thank you for the extra info.


Sidenote: Is there an easy way to package the build files into an Install Wizard style installer to load onto other people's systems like most programs, or is it better to just have them handle placing the files wherever and putting a shortcut on their desktop?

UPDATE: Yep, the large file size for the exe appears to have been the issue. Once I split the resources and recompiled, it opened right up. Going to try it on the other computer now to make sure it works on there as well.

PS: I chose 1024 MB (1 GB) as the resource chunk size. Is that good or would another size be better? Interestingly, that setting only resulted in two split resource files, the larger still being over 5 GB, where I was expecting ~6 files of 1 GB each... Hmmm.

Could you upload your game.exe somewhere to let us check it out?

It's pretty big (6+ GB). I'll have to see about uploading it...

Have you been able to run some other ags games, made by other people, on the same computer?

I can run other people's games, yes. They open right up.


Interestingly, I can run the Compiled\Data version via the AGS run-time engine app, just not the Windows version. Strange...

(Could the large file size be the issue? Should I try splitting the resources? If so, what MB-sized chunks are good?)

Were you able to run the game at all, for example, as a test run from the Editor? Have it run before?

Oh yes, countless times. It runs just fine from the Editor. It's only the compiled builds that don't want to work.

So, this is something that started happening relatively recently, after one of the Windows Defender updates, and been affecting other people too:
https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/beginners-technical-questions/compiling-errors-due-to-virus-scanner/

Well that's certainly something, but why wouldn't it work on my Win 7 computer (which doesn't use Windows Defender) either?


I did override the security settings of the "threatening" file and AGS altogether on the Win 10 PC (with a fresh install of AGS 3.6) and got the game to compile "successfully", but I'm still experiencing the same errors as stated in the OP.

I guess it must be something to do with my game, but what? Are there any specific settings I should be checking in General Settings or Default Setup that I may be missing?

Here's how I've got it set currently:




Anything look amiss in there?

Which version of AGS are you using?

3.5.1. That was the latest version when I started making the game, and I was hesitant to upgrade after being knee-deep in the process.

Can you run the game from Compiled/Windowed folder at all after you compile it with AGS?

As mentioned in my last post, I'm getting errors trying to run it on the source computer as well ("not a valid Win32 application").

Which files are present inside that folder after compilation?

acsetup.cfg, audio.vox, game.exe, speech.vox, and winsetup.


My attempt to compile the game in AGS 3.6 on the Win 10 PC has also failed. Windows Security blocked what it detected as a threat ("Trojan:Win32/Bancteian!pz" affecting the file "RCXD099.tmp" in the Compiled\Windows folder), and AGS reported: "Unable to set EXE name/description: LoadLibrary failed".

How do I tell Win Sec to butt the heck out?

Is it possible that the laptop is running the 32bit-Version of Windows 10?

Both systems are indeed 64-bit. I apologize for not mentioning that in my previous details.

Looking for a description of this error message, it seems besides other things it may be displayed if Windows does not trust the downloaded files.

I couldn't find evidence of any of the files being quarantined in the Windows Security app (the only security app on the Win 10 PC). Is there anywhere else that I should look, if this were the issue?


Curiously, I just tried installing the game on the same Win 7 computer that I made it on, and received the same error when trying to run winsetup (about making sure game.exe is in the same directory), and when I try to run game.exe, an error that it "is not a valid Win32 application"... Does that glean any helpful hint for the issue?

The next thing I was going to try was to install the latest version of AGS on the Win 10 system, copy over all of my game files, and try to compile it on there and see if that works.

PS: I noticed when going to download AGS that the page says Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 also needs to be installed for Win 7 and Vista systems. My Win 7 has v4.8, not 4.5. Does that matter?

Hi all,

My compiled game won't load on my other computer.

If I try to run the "winsetup" file, I get this error message: "Error: unable to launch 'game.exe'. Make sure that the file is in the same directory as this Setup program." (It is.)

If I try to run "game.exe" (both directly and via the command line with "--setup"), I get this error message: "This app can't run on your PC. To find a version for your PC, check with the software publisher."

I just triple-checked, and Windows IS selected as a build target platform in General Settings, along with DataFile (I assume there wouldn't be a Windows folder in the Compiled directory otherwise). Also, "Attach game data to exe (Windows only)" is set to true, if that matters.

What am I doing wrong?

Some spec's: I made the game on my Win 7 desktop (AGS v3.5.1), compiled the build successfully with no reported errors, zipped the "Windows" build folder, copied it over to my Win 10 laptop, unzipped, and tried to run the setup. Does any of that sound like a problem?

Thanks!

Eureka! That did it, Crimson. Much thanks to you and Snarky. Your encyclopedic knowledge of the program never fails to impress! It may be elementary to you, but to me, even after years of playing with AGS, there are just so many little things that trip me up that you all set me straight on, seemingly with but a snap of your fingers. Thanks again!

Thanks, Crimson, but I already did have the Overlay pointer declared in Global Variables (I apologize if my last post was confusing on that; when I said "the function in which it was generated" I meant the function in which the speech text was generated, not the pointer).

Here's my "quick time event" script:

Code: ags

function quick_time_event()   // called in room or dialog scripts
{    
  gMeter.Visible = true;   // makes the custom meter GUI visible
  meter_toggle(1);   // activates meter animation in the meter GUI, handled in a separate script
   
  SetTimer(1, 360);
  cNPC.LockView(NPCSPEACH);
  cNPC.Animate(cNPC.Loop, 4, eRepeat, eNoBlock);
  overlay.CreateTextual(50, 80, 120, Game.SpeechFont, 15, "Blah blah blah.");
  Game.PlayVoiceClip(cNPC, 1, true);
}

function player_response()   // what happens after NPC's speech, called by repeatedly_execute function below
{
  cNPC.LockView(NPCSPEACH);   // to stop NPC speaking animation
  cNPC.UnlockView();
  meter_toggle(0);   // deactivates meter animation and hides meter GUI
  cEgo.Say("&1 Response.");
}

function repeatedly_execute()
{
  if (gMeter.Visible == true && IsTimerExpired(1)) {
    player_response();   // launches the above function once the timer expires, only if the meter GUI is visible, so that the function doesn't run repeatedly
  }
}

The NPC's voice clip plays while the player's response correctly waits, the speaking animation starts and stops as expected, and the custom GUI appears, functions, and disappears as desired. The only thing not working right is the Overlay text, which, as noted, disappears as soon as the quick_time_event function reaches its end (before the voice clip finishes playing), despite the Overlay pointer being defined in Global Variables.

So what does it look like I'm doing wrong here? (Sorry if it's something obvious that just hasn't clicked with me yet.)