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New beta is up. Like the new 2.72 build, it includes ags & dumb as static libraries.

Please test.

Well, let me know! AGS is one of the few engines I'm actually half decent at working with, and I'd hate to go back and have to teach myself everything from scratch on one of the many half-finished Linux adventure game engines out there.

Try this one:

Freshly build RC3, Allegro & Dumb no longer need to be installed separately with this one. They're included in the executable.

Things I've noticed:

- sound no longer works in Ubuntu 10.10 (*sigh*)
- gstreamer libraries act funny in 64-bit Ubuntu

Please test this build on different systems and tell me where it works and where it doesn't. (With/without audio/video)
Note you need the gstreamer packages for video.

I don't mean to nag, but have you made any progress with the _blender_trans24 error? I kind of wanted to package up a small sampler of AGS game projects I'm working on for Ubuntu users around April or May.

Working on it. Just dug up my old project files from my HD. (New pc and all, temporary forgot where I put them, haven't had time to look into it yet.)

Haven't had time to work on the Linux build in a while. Kinda got away from me when I got a new pc (along with a widescreen monitor) and my project files got lost somewhere on my hard disks.

I'm setting up a nice, clean dev environment using VM's (atm only Ubuntu 32-bit), on which I'll rebuild AGS 2.72 & 3.1.2 SP1 using static libraries (Allegro, Dumb, ...)
This should resolve some of the problems you're experiencing. (In particular the nasty undefined symbol: _blender_trans24 error, which is due to me compiling against the wrong version of allegro at some point)

I managed to locate my old project files, so it shouldn't take too long to set up. (Just have to dig through the garbage and figure out which are the latest proper files) 

signal #11 means a critical error, possibly (and quite probably) related to AGS trying to play a video file but not finding the required (32-bit) gstreamer libraries and/or plugins. I'll look into clearing up the error messages so they'll be more human readable.

I'll also look into the other requests people have been making.

Just noticed the following: http://stanford.edu/~pgbovine/cde.html

This tool packs up the necessary environment and dependencies and runs a linux program in a sandbox.

I'm gonna give it a test this weekend and see if this helps resolving possible AGS dependency and library problems.

This is great news!

Chris, do note that going open source (with any part of AGS) will require more then just releasing the source code and setting up a versioning system if you want to do things right.

You'll need the following:

- Set up chain of command

Only you can check things into the trunk, but you'll need community leads to run the various aspects of development documentation. (see my next points)

- Define initial features and capabilities

current features, requested features, implementation roadmap

=> extend the AGS Wiki with a dev area or dev wiki

- List all known current bugs

Bugtracker! (Separate the engine and the editor bugs, make it easier on yourself.)

- Get a documentation project going

User documentation is pretty well covered so far, but needs to be maintained and updated.
Developer documentation is (almost) non-existant, so that's a major cause for concern and the first thing on the agenda of the dev community. Right now every developer will struggle to get into it, but once the docs are created it will be a breeze to jump in at any point in the editor.

=> extend the AGS Wiki

We've got the infrastructure, just need to pick some community leads (like bugtracker & wiki moderators) to set up the basics so the community can get started and grow in the direction you want it to grow.

Wish I had the time to help out more, but I got less and less spare time, and between my game project and the linux port I've got enough going on atm.

I'd reckon you haven't got the time to handle all these aspects by yourself, so appoint some enthusiastic and trusted folks to help set it all up.

The community is great, but development processes need directions, otherwise they go nowhere fast. (And I'd hate to see that happen.)

After a proper dev community is set up and smoothly functioning for the AGS Editor, it will be much easier to consider opening the engine up. (As suggested by others, keep the file format handlers in closed-source dll's, that way no commercial ags games will get in trouble)

So to the community: let's show Chris what we can do to make AGS so much better!

In other news, here's an estimate of our current status:

GUI coding	99%
Puzzle coding	90%
Animations	40%
Static art	80%
Character Dialogs	60%
Interaction dialogs/monologs	30%
Music	90%
Sound FX	40%

Currently main focus is finishing the puzzles and dialogs/monologs, so the game's playable from beginning to end.

Considering the current status and how much work we actually get done each month, I believe that we might be able to have it finished... sometime next year.

Can't be more specific. It all depends on circumstances.

Tried getting a game to work with the new runtime patch for savepaths, unfortunately I get this error whenever I try and launch the game (For sake of reference, the latest version of Space Quest 4.5: Roger Wilco and the Voyage Home)

./AGS272: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/liballeg.so.4.2: undefined symbol: _blender_trans24

A quick Google search shows that this has something to do with allegro libraries. If we could smooth this one out, that'd be dandy.

This error means the wrong Allegro library is used. Are you using the one I recompiled or the standard one?

I'm not sure if Trilby's Notes is AGS 2.72 or not, but the graphics look pretty strange in it for me. It's a 256-colour game and apparently the Red and Blue colour components have been swapped.

Looks like an old problem. I'll look into it, though. Having to re-compile Allegro is something I'd prefer avoiding wherever possible (though it can't be helped for those who have the no sound problem.)

Another game I tried briefly was Adventures in the Galaxy of Fantabulous Wonderment. There's a graphics effect on the title screen that, when I run it under Windows, happens almost in the blink of an eye. When I run it under Linux it takes 40 seconds or so when I run the game at 640x400 pixels.

Looking into it.

Just for fun I tried the 3.12 release candidate on it, and it was almost the exact opposite: The graphics effect on the title screen worked fine, but the rest of the game was unplayably slow.

Yes, the 3.12 candidate is really slow. Haven't gotten around to it. Will do so right after fixing the 2.72 build;

Hate to bump this up, but is there any word on that save fix for the runtime?

It's been a loooong time and I'm sad to say I couldn't get around to it 'till today. Anyways, you'll find the link in the first post.

Games will get saved to /home/$username$/.ags/$gamename$ with this build.

If I recall correctly (it's been a while), the template is designed by the principle that you don't interact with the environment when your inventory is open.

To fix this you'd have to change the verbcoin module code.

(basically instead of checking whether or not the inventory is visible, check whether or not your mouse is over the inventory)

If the move is non-blocking are you certain that you are providing adequate conditionals to prevent the Object.Move from being called every game loop? Coz if you keep calling it over and over then clearly it won't work.

Actually, I'm using a timer so it gets called only every 3 seconds or so.

Like I said, the funny thing is that the move does get executed AFTER I click on something, rather then all the time. I'll dig into this some further, though. Maybe there's some other script blocking it.

I seem to be having a problem with the Object.Move command in a room_RepExec() function.

Bottom line: it doesn't work. Whenever I perform an action on something in the room, however, the move gets executed.

AGS 3.2 Final 2

Is there any idea as to whether this is compatible with AGS 2.72?

I could imagine it would work, in theory there is not much difference between the two.

If anyone knows about this, that would be fantastic.

Feel free to correct me if below information is inaccurate.

The mac port was built for the powerpc architecture, so it's very likely it won't work on the new intel-based mac's.

Chris always tries to keep version compatible with the nearest major version number.

=> an engine build for the 2.72 would support all 2.7x versions (and possibly some older game engine versions in the 2.x range, I'm not sure), but 2.71 doesn't support 2.72 (which is logical, the new features in a later engine build won't work in an older build)

I could probably quite easy make a build for the 2.72, 3.1.2 (and upcoming new versions) for the mac, but as it stands, I don't own a mac. (let alone a powerpc and intel version)

Update:

- the project's been almost at a standstill for a while (except for the animation department, thanks crew!)
- finally got round to fixing some bugs and getting some more puzzles in.

My TODO list is still freakin' huge, but I'm tackling it one thing at a time. I'll be contacting old friends & crew soon to jumpstart the project again in the other departments.

The project's scope is now fixed, no new fancy stuff until part 1's playable from start to end.

A temporary fix is up for the fading problem. (See first post)

Hi Electro, I know you've not got much time but the fade in/out problem is terrible. Any chance that you could introduce an option to make fades just be instant room changes instead until it is fixed properly?

Thanks,

Andrew

I'll look into it soon, I promise. I cleared the upcoming weekend for my personal projects.

With the install script, be sure to double quote the $LOC variable in the cp and mv commands, lines 52-57.  When setting up a game that is in a dir with spaces, those commands won't work correctly otherwise.

Thanks for the tip!

For most native linux games, savegames don't actually go in the directory of the binary. Since AGS does this, and since this binary would be installed into a place that doesn't have root write access for good reason, this means that there is no logical way to save a game.

Yes. I suppose it would be ideal to put the savegame location into the configuration file so the end user can choose where save games should go.

Say, Chris, I believe not only Linux would benefit from such a change. Right now the windows versions also put the savegames in a fixed location which can be a little obscur to the player.

This needs some more thought to make it more uniform on all platforms.

Also, what about re-naming the game binary and setup utility to be more aligned with that of the game's name? ags-setup works great, but what if a user installs several ags linux games under /usr/share/games, and a link is put under /usr/bin/? This would cause confusion in the system, and running a setup utility from the command line would end up requiring the user to navigate to different folders just to set up their game of choice.

I've got a different solution for that problem, but haven't had the time to work on it yet. For the moment, games can't be in the same location.

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Work's been killing me (both professional and personal), it's almost impossible to find any time for personal projects. (though I try)

I can't promise anything at this point, but I do intend to update the linux port soon.

-----------------

Though I intend to try adding support for other architectures at some point in the future, that's waaay in the future, and will depend on the availability of cross-platform compilers. (as I don't own a PS3, PDA, smartphone or any of that stuff)

[number representing the amount of players that voted]

I love that one, looks good. ('gold cup' ratings... lolz)

As for the percentage display or making it larger: just add a number representing the amount of players that voted, which makes the rating more meaningful, and call it a day.

1 cup...2 cups...3 cups...4 cups... *gasp* 5 cups! this game must be great! Must play...  Oh wait, only 1 guy voted. Must have been the developer. Not playing this game. 


What else does the new site need? It looks great, and I believe ags would benefit from putting it live. Any change suggestions can be put in place afterwards, one at a time.

"If you want everything at once, you'll get nada. If you get one thing at a time, you'll get everything."