Messages

Or define a negative value for your character(s) z on game start.

Code: AGS

cEgo.z=-4;

have you search on Freesound.org?
A quick search leads me to these sound effects (free registration may be require):
sample 1
sample 2
sample 3
They will require some edit, of course, but sample 1 might do the job.

Could it be possible to allow runtime modification of the Name property for objects and hotspots?

I don't see anything that would prevent this at the moment.

Maybe I have not been clear enough, or maybe I am misinterpreting your answer. I was talking about the build-in Name property, for hotspots or objects, who are read-only (which prevent there runtime modification at the moment - AGS 3.2.1). Surprisingly, InvItem.Name and Character.Name can be editable at runtime. IIRC, those names are display by the @OVERHOTSPOT@ label, and thus it can be useful to allow runtime modification of these properties.
It is not a big problem because one can use your lovely editable Custom Properties () and a custom label to do it.
I am not directly concern by this, but one of the not-english-speaker french AGS user is.

[chaosgodkarl]

Hi chaosgodkarl,
I was in the same situtation than you last year: complete newbe in graphic. And I chose the same approach (but with some pastels). Here my advice, that you may not want to follow (because remember, I am a complete newbe in graphic):
-If you're going to use pencil, keep the game HiRes (i.e. 800 x 600), and leave the pixelated approach, which do not marry well with pencil colors in my opinion.
-Reinforce color contrast. I do it by adding a layer of flat numeric colors behind the pastel layer, and transform white with transparent on my pastel layer (exemple below).
-You may also want to add some contours, like in some Belgian comics for example. I try to use Ligne claire style, but I still need to anti-alias it. 
Maybe it will be less confuse with some examples:

Spoiler

[close]

You can find images corresponding to each steps of image 1 here and here (in french... but images are still images ).
About your composition, I wont say much because I a not a graphic expert. I like the naive style and the broken perspective. I just can't manage to understand what is behind the dog cage ? If it is outdoor, I think you sould show us some sky.
Good luck with your project !

Could it be possible to allow runtime modification of the Name property for objects and hotspots?
Is is already possible for inventory items and characters...
Many thanks.

I started looking at AGS engine source code. Please note that I am in no way a programmer, and that I am a complete noob in C++.
If I understand correctly, the pathfinding thing is code in ags/Engine/ac/route_finder.cpp from GitHub. On the function __find_route (lines 568 - 616) there is these lines:

Code: AGS

  if (is_straight)
    ; // don't use new algo on arrow key presses
  else if (find_route_dijkstra(srcx, srcy, tox[0], toy[0])) {
    return 1;
  }

  // if the new pathfinder failed, try the old one
  pathbackstage = 0;
  memset(&beenhere[0][0], 0, wallscreen->GetWidth() * wallscreen->GetHeight() * BEENHERE_SIZE);
  if (try_this_square(srcx, srcy, tox[0], toy[0]) == 0)
    return 0;

  return 1;

Which means that on straight line movements, Dijkstra is not called but the "old pathfinder". So basically I suspect that if there is any bug, it may be in the "old pathfinder" and not in Dijkstra implementation.
I tried to understand the "old parthfinder", but I failed miserably. 
Any ideas ?

Adeel, I am sorry, but where did you get the idea that a) you need a permission for this, b) I have a right to give such permissions???

Because you rock, sir. 

Here's my few silly ideas, which may or may not inspire you:

• A Tween function for everything
• Native parllax support
• And the most irrelevant one, but nonetheless the most modern: Support of stereoscopic 3D. For example, each background / object / character frame could be associated with a z-mask that will be use by the rendering engine to draw two different (left-eye and a right-eye) images.   

[Cup Shaped Splash #4]

I vote for Cup Shaped Splash #4, very nice and with strong identity.

[PuNKKoMmANDO77]

Allow me to bump another time this topic:
-New minor version v1.3: Small code cleaning + non enabled hotspot won't be display anymore.
-New *Alternative edition* without automatic detection of hotspot coordinates, which is replaced by manual specification of hotspot coordinates by user on two custom properties.
See first post for details & downloads.
Side note: Thanks to PuNKKoMmANDO77, this module (and I by the same occasion) is now famous. 

Open up some of the limits that are currently causing pain and leave the rest for the next go round would be my advice.

The only thing I would benfit would be this:

a way to change [custom] property value at runtime;

Other limits do not "cause me pain". But I will certainly not choose an AGS version that allow runtime modification of custom property "regardless of risks". I'll rather looked carfully at what those risks are. 
Also, I support RickJ:

Your AGS time is far too valuable to the AGS community to be wasted on, as you describe, a flawed methodology.

So please, do only things that won't disguss you from contributing to AGS.

Just to point out that other french tutorials mostly up to date exist. Also, there is a french translation of AGS help.
(and even a french edition, of AGS, but it is still in beta.)

Hello,
I (and other: Kitai and valoulef) have discovered a strange bug in AGS pathfinder (or, at least I think so). It is reproducible, but I have not so well define when it can occurs.
It happens mainly when a "pure horizontal" movement is ordered while the walkable area do not allow a single straight line passage. It may happen in pure vertical movement to, but that I am not sure.

I have made a small example project in which the bug is obvious : Download here, 1.8Mo
Its just the default template with an example room.

Spoiler

[close]

(sorry about image scale)
The archive contain an AGS project (and its compiled file). Just interact with the gray area to trigger this script :

Code: AGS

function hHotspot1_Interact()
{
  player.Say("First movement.");
  player.Walk(699, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
  player.Say("Second (buggy) movement.");
  player.Walk(67, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
}

Briefly, when player is in A and walk to B, character follow the yellow line, which doesn't seem to be the shortest pace. 
(Walkable area is the withe zone).

This bug is reproducible in AGS 3.2.1 and AGS 3.3.0 beta 4.
It does not depend on game resolution (tried in 1024x768 and 800x600).
It does not depend on blocking style.
It does depend on the shape of the walkable area.
It can be trigger with mouse click (and not script), but you'll have to be very accurate.
It is exacerbated when using this (still in development and not so well design) module that try to enforce walk on only 8 directions (verticals, horizontals and isometric diagonals).

Not sure if that helps, but it seems somehow dependent of 3x3 gird AGS uses for pathfinding :

Code: AGS

//Bug not present
player.Walk(699, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
player.Walk(67, 549, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
//Bug present
player.Walk(699, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
player.Walk(67, 550, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
//Bug present
player.Walk(699, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
player.Walk(67, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
//Bug not present
player.Walk(699, 551, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
player.Walk(67, 552, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
//Bug present
player.Walk(699, 552, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);
player.Walk(67, 552, eBlock, eWalkableAreas);

My wife think that it can be due to taking the wrong limit of ArcTan(delta(x)/delta(y)) when delat(y) is near 0, but  :-, it can be many other things and I am by far not competent to have a look in Engine source code.

So far I can only imagine adding +/- buttons on the topmost panel of Room Editor, as a temporary solution for Alpha version.

Not that bad, specially if you try to combine these +/- buttons with that kind of region selection interface. At start, only the + button is available. When adding new regions, colorful buttons with number will start appearing. Right-clicking those button could display a new "supress region" option. Large number of regions will trigger the appearance of an horizontal scrolling bar.
 

There's no reason why this may become unusable...
What changes is actual number of hotspots in room, i.e. you will need to write:

Yes, but that will somehow require to rearrange hostopt.ID when user is deleting one hotspot, wich can be ... disturbing.
But anyway, as long as I can iterate through all hostpots, I will be happy. 

I have no idea of what will be the best solution, but I just wanted to enphasize that we should keep a way to quickely iterate things across all (existing) regions, like what we can do now :

Code: AGS

int i =1;
while (i < 50) { //current hostpot limit
    //do stuff on hotspot[i]
    i++;
}

But maybe there is no need to remind this to you, gods of code.

(Split from here. - moderator)
(sorry about derailing the topic on the first reply.  - Billbis)

Well, what I think is that there is many different ways of coding a 2 click interface in AGS, and that I am far to new into AGSscript to determine the best one (if any).
But I also think that there is a ENORMOUS need for 2 clicks templates, and that the defalut template packaged with AGS should be one of them.
So thanks a lot Ghost for this template.

Well, IMO it easily allow to it dynamically change cursor aspect between "Talk To" mouse graphics and "Use" mouse graphics. There is other way to do that, but setting eModeTalkTo when mouse is on character is an easy way to do it.
Not saying that we should do it that way, but that how I understand people "keeps scripting different actions for Talking and Interacting when using 2 click interfaces if the actions never overlap".

Correct. Ilyich, well done, it is your turn.
I knew I should have post only the piano. 

So it was Le Manoir de Mortevielle (I have no idea of the english title).
Let's continue with the french touch :
[imgzoom]http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2013/23/1370277682-camb.png[/imgzoom]