Messages

player.HasInventory.. or something like that.. check the manual

EDIT: also i would avoid "you need something else" type things.. they are arbitrary and stupid.. despite the fact i use one in McCarthy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaYp-lXhgF8&feature=related

   Azure - female voices
 

Azure is certainly making waves it seems

I put up my first game.

I think if you believe the game to be fairly fun to play and you believe there to be some narrative interest then you should upload it. The comments about not uploading your first game are really for people who were just playing around with the engine and didnt really have a clue what they were doing.

But i'd like to see your game so that we can help you become a better developer. I learnt alot by posting my game.

this seems almost relevant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MGnCp3gbkk&feature=sub

I dont think anyone has particularly demonstrated that the ratings ARE flawed. They seem pretty robust to me. Even IF the rating for mccarthy is slightly lower than expected its only 1 out of hundreds. the vast vast majority of ratings are more or less spot on.

that looks ok,

my latest code is

Code: ags

function PassOut()
{
  DynamicSprite *BaseImage;
  DynamicSprite *DrawingSprite;
  DrawingSurface *Surface;
  BaseImage = DynamicSprite.CreateFromScreenShot();
  DrawingSprite = BaseImage;
  
  int counter = 1;
  int Transparency;
  float ResizeFactor = 1.0;
  float width = 320.0;
  float height = 200.0;
  float functionfrequency = 1.0;
  while (counter < 220)
  {
    Surface = Room.GetDrawingSurfaceForBackground();
    Surface.Clear(16);
  DrawingSprite = DynamicSprite.CreateFromExistingSprite(BaseImage.Graphic);
  DrawingSprite.Resize(FloatToInt(width), FloatToInt(height));
  DrawingSprite.Resize(320, 200);
  //ResizeFactor = FloatToInt(Maths.RaiseToPower(2.0, IntToFloat(FloatToInt((Maths.Sin(IntToFloat(counter / 4) ) + 1.5 * 1.5))) ) );
  //ResizeFactor = Maths.Sin(IntToFloat(counter / 4) * functionfrequency) * 4.0 + 5.0;
     ResizeFactor = Maths.Sin(Maths.RaiseToPower(IntToFloat(counter), 0.5))*1.5+1.5;
    ResizeFactor = Maths.RaiseToPower(2.0, ResizeFactor);
  width = 320.0 / ResizeFactor;
  height = 200.0 /ResizeFactor;
  int o = FloatToInt(-0.5*ResizeFactor);
  if (counter > 200) Transparency = 90 + (counter - 200) / 2;
  else Transparency = FloatToInt(ResizeFactor) * 10;
  Surface.DrawImage(o, o, DrawingSprite.Graphic, Transparency );
  Wait(1);
  DrawingSprite.Delete();
  counter ++;
  functionfrequency -= 0.005;
  }
}

well i did try to find a youtube video but its not the kind of thing people take videos of :p

Essentially the screen pixellates to various degrees, in and out. Like the image is blurring.

so i used a sine function to dictate the 'blurring' effect... however it doesnt quite look right since it pulses in and out in a regular fashion.. it should be more like slowly closing and opening your eyes whilst finding it more and more difficult to keep them open each time.

the reason i chose a trigonometric function was to simulate the whole 'slipping in and out of conciousness' thing.

A quadratic wouldnt give this effect

I'm not sure there needs to be a right of appeal, but I think the panel should be receptive to public opinion in this case and reconsider the rating.

I dont think the author should be able to appeal since they simply arent objective. No one can seperate themselves from the amount of hard work they put into a game. Everyone wants 5 cups.

However, having said that, I see no problem with the community at large suggesting a rethink since it is the community that the ratings are for.

I'm trying to achieve this:

Code: ags

function PassOut()
{
  DynamicSprite *BaseImage;
  DynamicSprite *DrawingSprite;
  DrawingSurface *Surface;
  BaseImage = DynamicSprite.CreateFromScreenShot();
  DrawingSprite = BaseImage;
  Surface = Room.GetDrawingSurfaceForBackground();
  int counter = 1;
  float ResizeFactor = 1.0;
  float width = 320.0;
  float height = 200.0;
  float functionfrequency = 1.0;
  while (counter < 200)
  {
    Surface.Clear(16);
  DrawingSprite = DynamicSprite.CreateFromExistingSprite(BaseImage.Graphic);
  DrawingSprite.Resize(FloatToInt(width), FloatToInt(height));
  DrawingSprite.Resize(320, 200);
  //ResizeFactor = FloatToInt(Maths.RaiseToPower(2.0, IntToFloat(FloatToInt((Maths.Sin(IntToFloat(counter / 4) ) + 1.5 * 1.5))) ) );
  ResizeFactor = Maths.Sin(IntToFloat(counter / 4) * functionfrequency) * 4.0 + 5.0;
  width = 320.0 / ResizeFactor;
  height = 200.0 /ResizeFactor;
  Surface.DrawImage(0, 0, DrawingSprite.Graphic);
  Wait(1);
  DrawingSprite.Delete();
  counter ++;
  functionfrequency -= 0.005;
  }
}

I want to recreate the classic "passing out" effect seen on alot of old snes games.. especially the old Final Fantasys.

I think i need to decrease the coefficient of x exponentially rather than linearly.

I have a loop controlled by a counter from 0 to 160 (i.e a 4 second counter) and i want to create a sine function based on that counter with a frequency that slows as the loop goes on.

The function must return an integer between 0 and 3 which will be passed as a power of 2 which will give me the values 1, 2, 4 and 8 (they are used as resize factors).

I kinda know how to do this but i keep getting the mathematics wrapped round my head with all the stupid floating point conversions and stuff.

Halp?!

Yeah I didn't protest :p and I still don't protest.

It has only helped to spur me on to improve the next episodes and get more cups for my collection.

How about getting started with that  :

I'm working on it smart arse

Clockwork orange only at 12? Thats bullshit.. which idiot rated that...

so are we all agreed? 5 cups for McCarthy? ok cool.

In all seriousness, I'm a musician so i am *no* stranger to bad reviews.. seriously some reviewers can be feral. Especially if youve spent the evening unknowingly chatting up their girlfriend..

And McCarthy has attracted a fair amount of criticism on both the thread in completed games and on the games page so it is by no means perfect but I feel its a little arbitrary to have a single person decide a rating which is supposed to denote 'quality' in some kind of objective manner. Just because a game doesnt deliver what the reviewer wanted (in this case a challenge) it doesnt mean the game should be penalised for that.

Now this is obviously not the fault of the reviewer. They didnt like it so they marked it down which is entirely reasonable but the rating they gave doesnt seem to be representative of the general community which is exactly what the cup rating should be. If the game was rated by a 'panel' of reviewers it would be more fair.

I could quote the player approval rating but that seems to be a little premature since i have no doubt it will likely drop dramatically as more people vote. My game currently out-rates practically every 4 cup game but its obviously inferior to those.

I will say however that I actually agree with practically every panel rating I see. They are usually perfectly in line with the player approval rating. Sometimes its almost scary how accurate they are in terms of reading the opinion of the community. I also do not want the rating of McCarthy to be changed. It would be arrogant of me to simply assert that the reviewer is wrong and should change their opinion. The rating has actually helped me to see just how weak McCarthy is in a great number of areas and that it does suffer from "style over substance". It has only helped to spur me on to improve the next episodes and get more cups for my collection.

I wish i'd known about that command.. wouldve avoided alot of pointless boolean globals.

I was under the impression the games were reviewed by the panel as a whole or at least a portion of the panel. If only a single person rates it how is it any more authoritative than any other review?

I thought the purpose of the panel was to act as a kind of 'normaliser' which is not able to be influenced by the author in any way but still reflects a good estimate of the quality. I mean what if my game was rated by someone who appreciates the puzzles and jokes found in adventures games but nothing else? they might as well have just rated it "boring"

If however you have a group of people is gets rid of that bias.

.. damn that Marionette!

What are you complaining about? You ARE the Marionette. 

Very true :p I really need to get round to recording those lines... tonight i promise :p

Also, why's nobody complaining about not being the pick of the month? 

I would very much like to be pick of the month.. damn that Marionette!

I agree with the anonymity to some degree.. although it does remove accountability it possibly preserves honesty.

I dont think the games should be reviewed by a single person though. The strength of a 'panel' is multiple opinions, that is kind of the purpose of a panel.

So perhaps the games can be reviewed by more than one person and an amalgamation of their opinions used?

I think the whole point of it being a 'panel' is that it isnt a sole opinion. it's the opinion of the 'panel' which should be more than one person.

If its just a single person offering their opinion then yes i agree the ratings are arbitrary.

Also i think its the purpose of the panel to review a games 'quality'. The rating system is to allow gamers to find games with a high degree of polish and professionalism. I think this is slightly different to a normal review but perhaps im wrong on that.

As for the order in which the panel reviews the game ideally it should be a kinda FIFO system but really you cant force the panel to review a game they dont want to play particularly.