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I just finished Technocrat's excellent Technobabylon series up to the third installment.  I enjoyed it a lot.  I also got stuck on the third installment a lot, and wished I had a walkthrough when sifting through everyone's various hints.

In response to Three Headed Monkey's observation that Technobabylon III is significantly tougher than it's predecessors (And having a rediculous amount of trouble with it myself), I decided to spend a couple hours putting together a walkthrough.

It tries to be bare bones about the steps to be taken to solve the game, so it tries to avoid spoilers and doesn't spend too much time giving hints; just straight up solutions here.

I know it's about a year too late, but hope it helps someone!

[NINJA EDIT: I just noticed AGA's sticky regarding walkthrough's and realized the mods probably don't want whole walkthroughs posted directly in the Hints and Tips board.  So, here's a link to a .txt version of the walkthrough.]

Hey there,

After years of iffy WLAN functionality, my laptop's 'A' key is refusing to consistently stay attached to the keyboard.  Also, the laptop is refusing to power on consistently.

It's one of those HP Pavilion dv6000 tragic duds, whose hardware failures are well documented.  (Apparently it's a motherboard failure)

I'm thinking I'll try to use my warranty to have it fixed, but if they won't do anything I'll either get one of those mini laptops, or a custom built desktop.  I suppose I should be thankful these failures happened just after it would have been tragic (e.g., the middle of a full-time semester at a university), but now I'm not getting the most out of my internet bill. 

Anyway, I wanna hear some hardware horror stories so I don't have any excuse to complain about my problems in light of the true tragedy others have experienced.  Any takers?

EDIT 08/02/2009: Read my post 4 posts down from here if the mod by KhrisMUC doesn't solve your problem (although it should)

Hey there,

To try and save some time,  my issue is demonstrated HERE.

The Short Story: Clicking on hotspots results in the game being blocked during the ProcessClick() function under the GlobalScript.  I need this to not happen.  What causes this?

The Long Story:

I'm trying to create an interface where clicking on a hotspot doesn't result in the game script being blocked.

If a player attempts to interact with a hotspot, the player character can walk towards the hotspot and interact with it upon reaching the walk-to point.  However, during this time the repeatedly_execute functions in the game should keep running, and the player should be able to "cancel" the interaction simply by clicking elsewhere.  This actually was working out fine with the Lookat cursor mode, though I've no idea what I might have changed to cause this.  

Also, there is a counter used as a sort of "timer" which counts down as a player walks around a screen, increasing the chance the player will hit a random encounter a la SNES JRPG's of yesteryear.  I don't want a player to be able to avoid such encounters by interacting with a bunch of hotspots in the room.

WHAT'S BEEN TRIED:  I initially thought it might be an issue with mouse modes, specifically the StandardMode property in the mouse cursor editing schema.  Set to true or false, the result is the same.

Hey there,

I decided to restart a project from scratch when I saw that AGS 3.1 got a final release.  The game resolution was set to be 640x480.  However, after a few days of scripting, I've noticed that the letterbox mode option in the general game settings was set to "true".  I checked it off and tested the game, but now the window displays at 640x400! 

I checked the resolution again, and it says it's still at 640x480.  I clicked on the 640x480 option from the drop-down list of resolutions just to be sure and ran the game again, which displayed a 640x480 window...with the letterbox bars there again!

Whenever I reselect 640x480, the letterbox option sets itself to "true," as if the resolution is set at 640x400...am I just being really, really stupid and missing something obvious? 

Thanks in advance for any input.

Hi,

I brokeded my blue cup. 

After adding several buttons and a label to a GUI, I had decided the label was unnecessary and proceeded to delete it.  This caused the engine to crash, leading to the engine instructing me to post the following message here:

***BUG REPORT***

Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
Version: AGS 3.0.1.35

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at AGS.Editor.GUIEditor.bgPanel_MouseMove(Object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnMouseMove(MouseEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseMove(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

***END BUG REPORT***

Now that I think about it, I don't think I could have picked a stupider place to ask this question.  Thankfully I'm too disappointed to care.

For those of you who live in the United States, I recently discovered my Social Security Card has turned up missing.  Coincidentally, my drivers license from Vermont has simultaneously expired.  Last time I went to get a replacement card, my drivers license was sufficient ID to prove my identity and have them send me a replacement card. 

Knowing this, I decided to see what my other options were:  http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ss5doc/

After inputting my info (Replacement card, adult, US born) I note that two other acceptable forms of ID are a student ID card and a health insurance card. 

"Gee willickers, I've got those ones!" 

I grab the bus to the Social Security Office several miles away from where I live, a good 20 minute trip.  After arriving, I grab a number and wait for an hour and a half before I'm called. 

I get to the desk and present my scarce identifying documents.  After pausing for a moment, the clerk informs me that my insurance card is no good.

HB: "But I was informed that a health insurance card could be used...?"
Clerk:  "That's only if you're under 18." 

Thankfully, I'm used to this sort of disappointment by now, after losing my first SS card to begin with.  I lamely offer my license, hoping the clerk won't mind (or won't notice) that the license is expired.

Clerk: "I notice that this license is expired."

Damn.  So much for that.

At this point, I'm digging through my wallet, notice my New Mexico voter's registration card I recently got.

HB: "Well, would this work?"

All of a sudden, the clerk was really short with me, as if I'd said something offensive: "Drivers license, State ID, or passport."

HB:  "Well, I don't have any of those...you have a nice day."  The clerk just continued with some work as though I was gone already.  I don't know if the clerk was afraid I'd snap on her, was angry that I tried to use an expired license, or was just an insensitive person in general, although I would hope the former is the case.  Knew I should have shaved this morning...

10 minute walk back to the bus stop, 20 minute ride, 15 minute walk home.  Over two and a half hours wasted, and I might be screwed.  This is because I need to get a social security card to get a drivers license, and I need a drivers license to get a social security card.  So on top of being stranded 2000+ away from my original home, I might not be employable if I lose my job. 

...Oh, I guess I said I was going to ask a question, wasn't I?  I forgot what it was...um...oh, wait, that was it.

Has anybody here, over 18, and is a US citizen, been able to use a health insurance card as (at least partial) proof of identity when applying for a replacement Social Security card?  I ask because I think that clerk was wrong, and wanted to get confirmation. 

Also, for the sake of general discussion, anybody else ever get stuck in one of these Catch-22 situations (you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't)?

What's in MY Big Blue Cup?  Well, I like to have coffee in it, mainly, although lately it's been filled with green tea. 
What comes OUT of my Big Blue Cup?  Lately, an attempt at emulating a card game. 

[SOLUTION: It turns out that all I had to do was declare the variables from the global script, then "export" those variables, and then call them in the room they belonged in using "import."]

SOLUTION:  It turns out that all I had to do was declare the variables from the global script, then "export" those variables, and then call them in the room they belonged in using "import." 

(Start Intro--Skip to 'End Intro' to get to meaningful part of post.)

For anybody who read my previous thread about scripts not seeming to run, you'll recall I have begun a card game project and have used objects instead of GUI buttons for the games interface.  This has come back to bite me in the butt, for I've run out of objects to use and finally have resorted to employing GUI's in my design.  Of course, since object scripts run locally and GUI's run globally, the need for a workaround has arisen.  Being my stubborn self, I'm still refusing to start over, because (a) I'm not interested in rewriting 600+ lines of code just yet, and (b) it'd be better in the long-run to know why this snag has come up anyway.

(End Intro--The Problem)   
(Or for Phoenix Wright fans: --WITNESS TESTIMONY--)

The following are a list of facts about the script of my game:

1) The Script Header contains the line "bool workaround_strike = false;".

2)  In a room of the game (room 2), there is an "if" statement within the content of the function which handles the "repeatedly execute" event.  In particular, this statement tests whether workaround_strike = true.  If it is true, then the stuff inside of it happens.

Code: ags

<
	if (workaround_strike == true)  
	{
	  if (turn == 1)  //If P1 attacked P2 with a card...
	  {
				p1.attacking = true;
				blocking(2);  //P2 Must now choose a card to block
											//with (or not)
		}
		
		if (turn == 2)  //If P2 attacked P1 with a card...
		{
				p2.attacking = true;
				blocking(1);  //P1 must now choose a card to block 
		}                 //with (or not)
		Display("before workaround is equal to false");
		workaround_strike = false;
		Display("after workaround is equal to false");
		
	}
>

3)  A GUI button is set to, whenever it is clicked on, to set workaround_strike
to a value of "true".

Code: ags

<
		if (interface == gStrike.ID)  {
			val_display = String.Format("workaround_strike is equal to %d", workaround_strike);
			Display (val_display);
			workaround_strike = true;
			val_display = String.Format("workaround_strike is equal to %d", workaround_strike);
			Display (val_display);
		}
>

(Note:  val_display is a String variable, declared at the beginning of the global script.)

So then, if I click on the GUI button, the "if" statement within the "repeatedly
execute" event of room 2 should run its script, right?

"Not quite" is the answer I've been getting so far.

Trouble-shooting methods I've already tried:

-Placing a Display() function before and after the workaround_strike = true assignment in the GUI script.  Both ran, and both gave different values, thus
indicating that the assignment worked fine.

-Placing Display() functions at the beginning and end of the "if" statement within the "repeatedly execute" event.  Neither of these messages showed up, thus indicating that the "if" statement wasn't tested (or possibly Repeatedly_execute was still false for some reason.)

Any ideas as to why "repeatedly execute" doesn't seem to catch the boolean switch?  Any and all input will be greatly appreciated!

--End Post--  (Or, to PW Fans: --CROSS EXAMINATION--)

Okay.  It would have been better to use a GUI instead of a ton of objects.  Nonetheless, I would like to know why this approach doesn't work.

I'm attempting to make a card game interface in AGS, and the method I've chosen is to have a room, filled with objects which represent areas on a table-top where cards in the game go.  Essentially, I have it set so that the initial graphic of each object is an outline of the area where the card goes ("card slots"), so when cards are dealt, the graphic of each object changes to the card that was assigned to that object.  That itself works hunky-dory.

I also have an additional object in the room, a "highlighter" (a box that fits around a card graphic), so that when a card is clicked on, the highlighter is directly over the card.

I went to edit the interactions of one of the card slots, and under the "Any click on object" trigger (or are they called events...? I digress.), I added the following script:



object[18].SetPosition(91,160);   

//   18 = The "highlighter" object
//   (91,160) = the coordinates of the card slot



I went to test the game, and it compiled fine.  However, no matter how much I clicked on the card slot, the highlighter refused to overlap the card slot. 

Aside from the fact that I've picked an overly complicated approach to the making of a card game, why doesn't this work?

Hey!  I've got something of a request.

Anybody ever play "The Tower (by Akumayo)"?  I just read about it, got interested in it, but now his download website is gone from the internet...FOR-E-VER.  I would presume.

Anyway, I don't suppose anybody has a copy of the game?  If they do, I would greatly appreciate obtaining it!

I'll send a PM to whoever happens to respond to this with e-mailing info.

Even though I have a fear in the pit of my gut that I'm going to be hated for starting a thread like this, I'm starting it anyway. 

Ever since I first stumbled upon the Adventure Game Studio about a half-year ago, I've been closely following the works of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.  I love his work, and am eagerly awaiting his last game which will conclude the mystery of the dark forces that revolve around Trilby's Life.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Yahtzee mentioned on his website somewhere that he's planning on, someday, creating a special edition of the four games in his series, and even selling them commercially.  After playing through Trilby's Notes (The last in the series of events revolving around Trilby), I'm convinced that Yahtzee is the Alfred Hitchcock of the AGS community, and as such his games would be well worth paying for.  (I swear, I didn't fall asleep unil 3:00 AM after my first night of playing that game)

For this reason, I think it's important that any plot-holes in his series are located and brought to light.  I definitely know of one plot-hole in particular that happens to be in the series, although it's so horribly obscure I'm not sure it could even be called that.  It's the following:

In Five Days a Stranger, one of the main characters is Simone Taylor.  In Seven Days a Skeptic, the last name of the doctor on the crew happens to be Taylor as well. 
In the README file included with the download of Seven Days a Stranger, Yahtzee mentions that the doctor is a descendant of Simones.  Personally, I see two problems with this:

1.  When a woman is married, her last name(usually) (EDIT: almost always) (EDIT: Doesn't it always?) becomes that of her husbands.  So it's extremely unlikely that this Dr. Taylor is her direct descendent.
2.  A certain event that happened at the beginning of the game Trilby's Notes (an event I can't mention for risk of spoiling the game) made such a form of leiniage (did I spell that right?) not possible. 

I had another comment about the series, but I can't remember what it was. >_< I'll probably edit later and add it in.  (Being obsessive-compulsive about what I post in forums these days, I tend to edit all of my posts 5 minutes after I post them)


Anybody else?  Improvements?  At all?