Messages

Updated to v1.0.1, new version works only for AGS 3.2 (uses new-style audio scripting)

If you want the old version for use in older AGS versions, you can get it here

Enjoy!

Hmm... finally decided to give this one a go. (Finally got some time )

I'm experiencing the following: when playing a sound clip through the editor, and then whilest playing double-clicking on another sound clip 'hangs' the editor.

I had to kill the process and restart. This doesn't occur every time though.

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As a sidenote, I mostly like the new audio system, except... why only have a master volume setting?

I would like the player to be able to change the volume of ALL music, or sound clips, or speech (the last thankfully still being possible) separately.

What if the player doesn't hear the voice over the music playing in the background so he/she only wants to tune down the music but wants to hear the special sound effects crystal sharp?

Just one of the possible examples, but my point is:

I would like a System.MusicVolume, System.SoundVolume and a System.AmbientSound setting, in addition to the general System.Volume

I don't want to deprive any player (hard-hearing or not, full-sound spectrum hearing or not) of the possibility to tweak these to his/her liking.

Considering you can set the default volume of a clip, I would be happier if I would at least be able to change this default volume in code, as I could then build a workaround for not having the multiple system volume settings

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Just my 2 cents.

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EDIT:

PlayAmbientSound, PlayMusic, PlaySound are not marked as old style.

I set the general setting to 'Enforce new-style audio scripting' and those commands were still considered valid. (Even though the help says they're obsolete)

On account of the topic title, who had this idea that a questionnaire would stop forum trolls and noobs?

Errr- that should probably have been given more thought. Anyways, hope this thread title change might ease things up a bit.

We've got a great community here with loads of people happily answering questions. The idea's to improve the community even more, not subtract in any way.

Any forum moderators having a better idea for a name?

How should that be defined? I mean it's rather better to have this:

Works with AGS 2.72 [ x ]
Works with AGS 3.0   [ x ]

Built for version: 2.72

If it works with 3.0 it will work with the most recent versions


Or we should just try it for AGS 2.72 and the most recent versions, and have this:

Tested and works from 2.72 till 3.1.2

I'm looking into how the wiki works, could you start on maybe something as simple as an excel sheet with this info?
I'll get a mockup wiki page ready.

I set up a mockup page:

http://www.americangirlscouts.org/agswiki/Module_Compatibility

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Any other ideas/suggestions? (to not get sidetracked to much)

I've downloaded a 75% of the modules that own a working link, how about we make a list of each module, define version it's working on, and categorize them. Then the same thing for plugins, and templates. I think just that would really help newbies.

I'm game for that. The wiki's just the place to do so, too. We should add the overview there. Some work's been done on it in the past, but it really needs a makeover and update.

EDIT: the start page for modules

http://www.americangirlscouts.org/agswiki/Category:Modules

Let's start by adding the AGS version info to it.

[So what's YOUR ideas on this subject? Let's get some ideas brewing and figure out better ways for the community to work together.]

First off, let me say I like the forums and I usually can find whatever I'm looking for, but that's due to years of experience sifting through these forums. Anyone new to it all will find it somewhat confusing, I'd wager.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but as new versions of AGS come out (which each one losing backwards compatibility, which is not a bad thing, mind you), the way modules and plugins are all thrown in one big pile on the forums is a little complicated and confusing, especially for those new to AGS.

So, I suggest to split up the 'Beginners Technical Questions', 'Technical Forum' & 'Modules, Plugins and Technical FAQ' into branches for the different AGS versions.

Something like:

Really old AGS versions (pre 2.7)
AGS 2.7+
AGS 3.0+
AGS 3.1+
AGS 3.2+

Or at least some sort of tags to show about which version of AGS it is all about.

I'm not asking for this to be implemented straight away like this, but to open the discussion:

How do you think the forum should handle all the different AGS versions?

How many times have you dug up just the module/plugin you wanted to use, only to find it's for an older version and not compatible with the latest ags version you're using?

What about the many different modules which basically seem to do the same thing? Should they be grouped together? Is anyone indexing all this stuff, who's updating the wiki?

The point of all this? Making AGS more user-friendly from the support (aka the community) side and liven up the place a little.

So what's YOUR ideas on this subject? Let's get some ideas brewing and figure out better ways for the community to work together.

I've been searching the forums about this, but no luck.
Does anyone know how I can add a fourth function to the verbcoin, next to use,look and talk?

I see some "usermodes" in the script, but I do not know how to use them to make another function.

Does anyone know how to, or can anyone redirect me to some tutorial or topic I haven't found?

Edit: The version of the template I use is the one included in the AGS3.1 package.

I already answered your PM, but in case someone else wants to know:

You have to select the hidden button(s) on the verbcoin (they're in the dropdown list in the gui panel) and enlarge them over the verbcoin area of you choice. (just type in some value in the width and height fields)

Up to 6 buttons in total are possible.

Likewise, if you want less buttons to be available, resize the ones you don't want to 0 width and 0 height.

When can we expect new materials?

For the moment, I'm still digging through everything that's been happening the last couple of months.

I won't post any new materials for a while, instead, focus on getting the game in a playable state. (transforming the raw materials into AGS-friendly stuff, aka the whole 'sprite-size reduction' animation integration stuff; Can't just pump in full 640x480 animations, gotta be clever if I want the game to be playable and not slow down to a crawl when animating.)

I will, however, post more regular updates, and reveal a little more information about the game every time.

(Like: how BIG is this game anyways, how many locations are there, how many characters will introduce themselves, maybe a little more on the background story... how far along are we after all these years, how 'come it took so long and more!)

Now if you'll excuse me for a while, I gotta dust off some old ags project files and boot up the game to see where we were, then compare it to the puzzle outline document, etc;

Less talk, more action!

[November 2009]

November 2009

After a year where development crawled to a halt due to my life getting totally swamped, things are about to change;

Due to recent events in my life, I find myself all of a sudden with a lot of spare time, and a burning desire to continu where I left off, see what the guys have been cooking up while I was away (animations & stuff looking pretty cool), and take back the helm of the ship.

All my other projects are temporary put on hold, I'll finish stuff sequentially, rather then trying to finish everything at the same time, resulting in getting nothing finished.

The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can’t do.

[Running AGS games with WINE]

In order to prevent forum clutter and you having to search any and all threads to find answers, I'll try to bundle all important Q&A regarding to playing AGS under (Ubuntu) Linux here.

Running AGS games with WINE

Install WINE. Put the ags game somewhere on the fake C: drive (preferably, not necessary). Run the exe's with WineLoader. (Double-clicking them should also work)

Running AGS games with the native port

Check out these threads: AGS 2.72, AGS 3.12

Running the AGS windows editor with WINE

See this thread if you want to give this a try. I cannot guarantee a fully stable editor.

Porting the AGS Editor to Mono so it will run natively

Mono is now able to run all the C# parts of the editor, but unfortunately because the editor also relies on a Windows C++ DLL (AGS.Native.DLL), it cannot run in Mono at the moment.

At some point in the future I might port all that code over to C#, but it's really not high on the priority list right now.

I'll add that I would love to help Chris in this endeavor, but I'm struggling to find time as it is. If this changes in the future, it's next on my TODO list after maintaining the Linux builds.

I'm experiencing sound stutter in Ubuntu Linux

Kill the pulseaudio server. This solves tons of problems:

Code: ags

ps -aeww | grep pulseaudio

this gets you the pid number example:

Code: ags

3123 ?        00:00:11 pulseaudio

Code: ags

sudo kill -9 3123

Go to system -> preferences -> sound, and change the sound mixer.
Example: from HDA Nvidia (Alsa Mixer) to Realtek ALC888 (OSS Mixer)

(This drove me crazy in some non-AGS games. Haven't experienced it in AGS games yet, but just throught I'd mention it just in case. This might actually resolve some other sound issues as well)

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Any and all comments or suggestions, questions and answers that should be listed here, are appreciated.

It looks nice, but it runs very slowly on my Ubuntu machine, to the point where it takes 10 seconds for a fadeout to complete. Are my system specs too low or am I doing something wrong here?

Nope, I got the same problem. I've been looking into it, but doesn't seem I'm gonna figure this one out soon.

I get a Segmentation Fault when I try to run the setup program.  Using Ubuntu 32-bit with all appropriate libraries installed.

What's the exact error you're seeing in the command terminal? (segmentation fault is a bit vague, and can point to numerous things)

Will this work on an 64-bit AMD machine?

Yes, if you get all the required 32-bit libraries. (Which the installer script does for you on Ubuntu Linux, though there might be issues with the gstreamer video plugin libraries)

If you can get it to run with the original libraries, stick with them. If you can't, there's some notes in the package (either of this one or the 3.1.2 package) which will help you fix the sound bug in the allegro library. Not all distros suffer from this bug, but if yours does, read the readme.txt I included!

A new beta is up. This time without the game-breaking bug and with an updated setup utility.

Enjoy!  8)

(Oh, and don't forget to file bug reports if you have any problems with the engine or the setup utility!)

Looks like there's some more problem with this build. I'll try to resolve all problems asap.

bearseatbeats, the 2.72 runtime should work flawlessly. Did you change the game runtime filename (the .exe file) to 'ac2game.dat'?

Also, try to run it from the command line to get more details. (install the nautilus command line package from the package manager, it gives you a handy extra button in the right-click context menu which allows you to quickly open up a terminal)

I must be doing something wrong, I cannot get any game to run, I always get the resolution error message. Can you post a sample config file we can use that definitely works on your system?

I'll try finishing the new config utility this week(end?).

I'm currently swamped with work and the move to my new appartment. I'll put a sample config file online soon, though.

Admins, please keep both this thread and the AGS 2.72 one stickied. (as neither is considered final and needs further testing and development)

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So yes, it's finally here: a 3.1.2 SP1 build.  

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Please submit any and all bugs you encounter!

[There was a problem initializing graphics mode 800 x 600 (32-bit).(Problem: 'Graphics card does not support Pixel Shader 1.4')Try to correct the problem, or seek help from AGS homepage.]

Hi.

We are getting some error reports from people trying to play TGP (mainly on laptops) with D3D enabled.

The error is:


There was a problem initializing graphics mode 800 x 600 (32-bit).
(Problem: 'Graphics card does not support Pixel Shader 1.4')
Try to correct the problem, or seek help from AGS homepage.

Most likely it's got to do with the low resolution not being supported by their screen (flat screens are set to an optimal screen resolution and don't support most other resolutions, while CRT screens (the old, bulky things) can actually switch to any resolution you can imagine, with less limitations).

Have them try to set the filter settings in the config utility to scale 2x or 3x. That should resolve the problem.

The pixel shader shouldn't be the problem.

[News update:]

Hiya! Nice to see the linux port alive again.

I'm trying out the video test game on Ubuntu 64-bit. I ran install.sh but still get loads of warnings about missing plugins. I also tried running getlibs manually, with no luck. The video starts playing, but VERY slow without any sound, and then hangs after a while. I actually had to change the video file for another to find this out since the default one would just give a black screen.

The engine itself seems to work fine. Nice work!

EDIT: Well I don't know what happened, but now the video works just fine. I still get the warnings, but i guess they're not really relevant. Some weird problem with the codecs i guess... Thanks anyway!

Yes, I also get weird problems on my 64-bit Ubuntu. Did you have a look at this post where I describe a way to sort out some of these problems?
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=37968.msg501855#msg501855

Note: Depending on the codec used to encode the video file, you might get different results. (If the codec is in the default gstreamer "good" or "ugly" plugins, it should play just fine. Codecs which exist in the "bad" or other plugins might not be properly supported and have playback issues. (which is the case with the example video file, I guess, since it uses an older version of DivX, though I'm not sure. It was made a few years ago.)

EDIT: It seems my problem is sound related. The video won't play for me with certain MIDI settings in ags_setup. OSS seems to be the most reliable: other settings, even "No music" will hang the video. Sound and music for other AGS games work well. Pretty odd I think...

Also, the sound settings seem to have no effect on the audio playback of the video, the audio is always heard.

The ags_setup setting do not affect the video playback whatsoever. I basically tell the gstreamer backend to play the video file, without bothering about setting audio playback volume or other stuff.

News update:

- I'm currently shifting my focus to AGS 3.1.2 SP1. Video playback for Linux will work identical, so any fixes (audio level, ...) I'll make later on to the new version I'll backwards install in the AGS 2.72 build.

- I'm leaving on holiday for a few weeks. In the meanwhile, please keep testing the current build and reporting any issues you come across. You can also post suggestions on what you want in the Linux video playback. (audio volume control with '+' & '-' keys, pause on pressing spacebar, ...)

Once I'm back I'll take a look at all bug reports & suggestions.