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Hey all!  My apologies if this topic is covered elsewhere--I looked through the help file, ran a few searches on these forums and even googled the problem and couldn't find the solution, but if I missed something obvious than I apologize.

It's been years since I used AGS, and learning version 3.3 is almost like learning a whole new program.  I notice that I can now conveniently create a room template from a right-click menu on the room in the explorer.  This opens up a wizard which just asks for a template name.  Unfortunately, no matter what name I type, I get an error message: "There was an error creating your template: ERROR: unable to open file for writing".  Anyone have any idea why I'm getting this?  I'm hoping this is some easy-to-solve bug that my longtime absence from using AGS has made me ignorant of.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my question!

Interesting game so far.  Obviously I'm stuck, since I'm posting this thread

Spoiler

I've got the mug, key, blueprints, broom and basket of chickens.  Talking to Alfonso reveals that he's looking for something he's lost, but apparently I am unable to ask him what it is.  From the in-game hints it's clear I need to find this item to get him to help me with reading, but I have no idea what it is or where to look for it.  I've searched Loftus' place, the crossroads, forest, main street of town, castle drawbridge area and alley to no avail.

[close]

Here's something I've been fiddling with for a while.  You know how in some games (e.g. Black & White) the mouse "cursor" is actually a physical part of the environment and affected by it?  I'd like to do something similar with AGS.  I want to force the cursor to stay within walkable areas, and change size based on the scaling of the area it's in.

I've already come up with one way to do this, but it has some flaws and so I'd like to find an alternative.  The way I found to do this was to make the actual cursor invisible (sprite 0), and create a cursor "character".  In the repeatedly_execute function of the room, the location of the mouse is checked to make sure it's in a walkable area--if not, it is returned to it's previous position (from the last game cycle).  Then the "cursor character" is told to walk towards invisible cursor's location via WalkStraight.

Unfortunately this does cause a few problems.  The cursor character can only move as fast as its speed is set to--and if it's set really high (i.e. 30 or 40), it looks jumpy/choppy on the screen.  If it's set too low and the player moves the mouse quickly, sometimes it doesn't quite go where the player was trying to put it.  This method might still work if I could figure out a way to lower the mouse speed.

So I am wondering--

1) IS there a way to lower the mouse speed?  ...and...
2) Can anyone think of a better way to do what I'm trying to do?

Quick question.  I think this is actually NOT a problem, but I wanted to double-check.  I've developed a nice little custom Save/Load/Quit/Etc gui for my work-in-progress Sleight of Hand.  The GUI makes use of a Dynamic Sprite to display a screenshot of whatever save-slot is currently selected.  Normally the script calls "Delete" on the Dynamic Sprite when the GUI is "turned off" (game resumed), since this is what the help file advised.

Anyway, here's the (possible) issue.  If the player clicks "Quit" on the GUI then the game ends, but of course, since the GUI is still up and running at the end time, "Delete" is never actually called on the Dynamic Sprite.  When I play the game thru AGS's "test game" function, the result after quitting is an error message telling me that the Dynamic Sprite was never deleted.

Now, I don't think this is actually a problem--if one quits the game and thus ends the program, it seems to me that the memory being used for the Dynamic Sprite would automatically be freed, regardless.  Also, I am assuming this little error message will not pop up when the game is run from it's actual distributed executable.

So, I am just looking for verification/contradiction here.  Is this going to cause any problem with players' computers after the program ends?  If not, then I'm not worried about it (just need someone to smile and nod I guess).  If it IS a problem, and suggested solutions would be most welcome.

Hi everyone!  So, yeah, this is my first post on these forums.  I wasn't entirely certain where to post this, as I see posts about completed demos in both this forum and the "Completed Games" one.  I decided to play it safe (I think) and post it here.  If I'm in the wrong place, hopefully some mod will be kind enough to move the thread.

Simon Hand is an accomplished performance magician. He can do all the card tricks, hat tricks, box tricks, and escapes necessary to stun his audience at every show. But when a mysterious woman shows up backstage after one of Simon's shows and asks for his help, Simon finds himself face to face with people who believe in magic in a very different--and far more deadly--way. He is soon caught up in a kidnapping case and a hundred-year-old feud between two magical cults, both desperate and willing to kill for an artifact that each believes Simon already has in his possession. With very few allies and plenty of enemies, Simon must find a way to diffuse the conflict before it ends with his own early demise.

The playable demo is now available at The Storygamer Blog (my site).

And here are a few screenshots:



Intro Shot
Gameplay Shot

<EDIT: I feel like an idiot, I finally saw that little link and got this game submitted to the game page >

As for a progress report...well, this actual download (the demo) is 100% done, of course.  The full progress report is as follows:

-3d environments & background graphics 75%
-Sprites ~48%
-Room builds ~25%
-Music ~100%
-Cutscenes 20%
-Dialog 0%
-Extras 0%

I wanted to ask for criticism but it appears I can't by the forum rules , so I guess I'll run over and create a thread in the Critic's Lounge...

Feel free to email me and let me know what you think: carlpalmner@gmail.com.  Also let me know if you find any bugs.

EDIT (4/21): Sorry I haven't been updating this post.  I've kept the website updated, but haven't had a chance to come back to this post in a while.  Anyway, it's updated now--more backgrounds and sprites finished.  Since I do these with 3d render programs, it takes just as long to make the backgrounds and sprites as it does to build the actual rooms and such.  I haven't worked on this in about 2 weeks due to my own illness and my computer issues (site has more details), but hopefully in about a week or so I'll be able to return to the project.