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Alternately, you could use draw a version of your background with the shadow in place and set the background frame from normal to lighning at the appropriate time. The advantage of this is that you wouldn't need to darken the shadow area, you could brighten everywhere else, which could look more realistic.

GarageGothic's suggestion is more flexible, but I think using background frames could be simpler. Also, you wouldn't risk the game slowing down on slower computers.

Thanks for the offer Dan_N, and thanks to Domino and Babar for remembering the alien!

Anyway, forget the alien, he was weird looking. Thanks to Gord10's suggestion, my avatar is now Henry VIII. Let him remind you all of a time when red haired people like me were in charge, rather than publicly ridiculed.

Thanks for your help guys! From now on, consider the question 'Can you see my avatar?' to be a very basic eye exam.

My avatar goes through anonymizer. I haven't been able to see it for years, because the system I'm using doesn't allow anonymous surfing. I visited the forums through a Wii the other day and with a mixture of horror and Wii-induced delight, I saw that my avatar didn't display!

So, can anyone see my avatar? If not, can anyone recommend a place for me to put a new one? I don't like not having an avatar, it's like having no face.

The natural elements have a nice feel, it's the building that seems incomplete to me.

The wood stands out too far from the wall, and because of the colour it looks like chocolate. If this is supposed to be a log cabin, look at the way the corners have interlacing logs. If it's not a log cabin, then I feel the wooden boards should go vertically not horizontally. Similarly, there are no tiles or shingles on the roof, so it looks plain.

You could also try choosing a less-red wood colour and drawing wood grain. I don't think the diagonal shadow on the gable end makes sense either.

That said, it's a very pleasant and peaceful looking backdrop.

[Owl Stretcher:]

Owl Stretcher: I'm sorry to hear that you're still having problems. Presuming you're running the game on windows, perhaps you could gather together information about your setup and post the problem in the Tech forum. I'd love to help, but I'm not that technical. Alternately, you could try downloading the audio pack and playing them through Media Player for an approximate experience.

ank: Thanks. I do intend to make a sequel but it won't be for a little while, I'm afraid.

[Angela & Paolo:]

Angela & Paolo: Version 1.4 is now available, and there's a patch too. It should sort out the problems you've been experiencing. See the first post.

Thanks guys. Gilbot, that was my first thought too. However, because it's impossible to deselect the listbox in my game, I didn't think it would be that.

GarageGothic, many thanks for pointing that out. I'm glad my incompetence helped you tighten up your script too!

A couple of people have reported this error message in Nelly Cootalot:

An internal error has occured [sic]. Please note down the following information.
If the problem persists, contact Chris Jones.
(ACI version 2.72.920)
Error: run_text_script1: error -6 running function 'LoadList_SelectedIndex':
Error: Array index out of bounds (index: 23, bounds: 0..19)
in Global script (line 1494)

I can't recreate the error, but I'm not actually sure what the error report means.

Below is the script in question. It's called when the selection is changed on a listbox called LoadList. The idea is to show a screenshot from the currently selected game on the button called LoadScreen.

Code: ags

function LoadList_SelectedIndex(GUIControl *control) {
  
if (buttonSprite != null) {
buttonSprite.Delete();
}
listselected = LoadList.SelectedIndex;
buttonSprite = DynamicSprite.CreateFromSaveGame(savegameindex[listselected],82,61); //this is line 1494
if (buttonSprite != null) {
LoadScreen.NormalGraphic = buttonSprite.Graphic;
}
}

As I say, this worked fine when I tried it, I wondered if you could spot a potential problem.

Thanks,

Ali.

This looks funny! Not enough stuff is 'galore' these days.

That's a really terrific walkcycle! Aren't you tempted not to make a character pack, and to just make a fabulous looking game of your own?

I can't understand the argument that good templates / free graphics are a bad thing. I think exciting graphics like this are far more likely to encourage people to make their own high quality work than a shoddy, mundane and uninspiring alternative.

[Nostradamus:]

Nostradamus: There are over sixty different sound effects... thanks for noticing! I'm glad you didn't hate the everybody-hates-these-puzzles puzzles. Also, with the colouring thing, I was just being lazy.

Simb: That bug is fixed in from version 1.2 onwards, sorry you got stuck with it. I'm pleased you seem to be having fun.

As a non-Max (edit: erm... Maya) user I can't make direct use of the tutorials, but the fake caustics technique is extremely clever. I also think your interiors are lovely, though I'd love to see you produce something darker and moody, possibly in an adventure game context...

*Ali sidesteps the 'happy endings' debate and cuts in*

What I'm looking for is just some idea of what sort of adventure game you like.

I'd be careful asking this question. If I'd asked the forums, "Do you want yet ANOTHER pirate game, this time about my girlfriend" I would have got a resounding, "No, do something more original, you hairy moron."

I made Nelly Cootalot (see signature) because I knew that the person I made it for would like it, and some AGSers have enjoyed it too. If I asked the forums now what my next game should be, I reckon at least a few people would suggest another Nelly game, when I might be saying to myself, "No, do something more original, you hairy moron."

As someone who's only made one short game, I'm by no means an authority on this sort of thing. I just felt it was worth underlining the argument that you should make a game that you want, inspired by your influences.

But, to answer your question, I like the kind where you have to combine hundreds of zany items in your inventory, and you have to solve puzzles without knowing why.

[Marion:]

Marion: Thank you!

tube: Thanks for the information. Regarding Linux midi problems, I don't have the means to convert MIDIs to a digital audio format. Perhaps the best solution is to send m0ds to Linux users' houses to hum the music as they play.

paulo: Thanks for the report, I'll look into that!

covox: I'm sorry you had trouble on Linux. Compared to other AGS games, Nelly is quite hefty (particularly near the end), so maybe the Linux-emulator-thing struggles. I'm glad you're able to play it all the same.

I think Dave's suggestions make a lot of sense. As a non-RoNner, the fact that they're away from my comfy AGS home makes me suspicious of them, much in the same way I'm suspicious of foreigners.

That's an exaggeration, but the quality control issue is a big one for me. From an outsider's perspective, when looking at RoN I've been more aware of its shoddier elements. A number of AGSers I respect have a high opinion of RoN, though, so I wonder if perhaps I haven't seen the best side of it.

I also agree that the site could be arranged in a less intimidating fashion. It might be useful if there was a 'mission statement' of sorts explaining whether or not new RoN game-makers should worry about stepping on their predecessors' toes.

It's 'Tiffany Aching' in English. This sounds like a lot of fun, but I think you should work on a synopsis that would make sense to people who weren't familiar with the characters.

I've never played a RON game, though I have been aware of RON since I joined the forums.

I think what's kept me away from RON is it's history, so many characters and some rows. I've never considered engaging with that history because it seemed to me that 'you had to be there'.

Nostradamus' final suggestion is good. it might be less intimidating for new RON games or a RON MAGS to take elements or characters from RON, rather than take on RON as a whole.

[Fatal Fury:]

Fatal Fury: It seems that flattery will get you everywhere!

Linux users: Version 1.3 is now available. This version disables the problematic smooth scrolling script on a Linux OS. I can't guarantee that there will be no further problems for you guys, so please let me know if you run into any.

-Ali

[Wellington:]

Wellington: Thank you for your thoughts.

tube: Thanks for the information. I'll work up a non-smooth scrolling version for linux users soon.

As far as pick of the month goes, I missed the release of Sidney finds employment, so it seems like a good choice to me!

[Sheepisher:]

Version 1.2 can be downloaded HERE.

This shouldn't cause the divide by zero reported by covox & Rasi. I'm not able to test the game on Linux, however, so I'm just hoping there are no further problems.

A patch is also available, but since it's a windows executable I guess that won't be much use to Linux users.

Sheepisher: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely use the succinct-dialog-replacement technique in future.

The question of 'not just yet' responses was raised by beta testers. I must say, I favour a response in that vein to a generic response, or worse. Really, it's a result of poor planning, but I'm glad it wasn't too detrimental to your experience!