Messages

What's all that american craze around iPods?
I never understood it. My own random-brand MP3 player cost me only $20 and 1 GB is absolutely enough for music. If you have 30GB of  songs, it's very unlikely that you'll be listening even a percent of them. With iPod, as I understand, you have first to be sick enough to legally own all that music.

For video players, there's much cheaper and finer things, and 2,5" screen isn't much for a movie experience anyway.

Crazy stupid consumers.

Well, AGS variable usage (and making em' global) is still quite a mystery for me, so my whole game relies on Globalints only. Why couldn't be it as easy as in Game maker/BASIC/etc?

Then again, if it works, it's not broken.

It's blind guess, but check if your character's default view's very first frame(s) doesn't have any delay?
Like, under view editor.

Loads of thanks, Gilbot!
I would NEVER figure this out by myself.
Neither I knew what on_event stuff is in AGS for.

Got it working now.

(Though, your simple variable assigning does not work in AGS. I used predefined GlobalInt for this.)

Like the comics, hate your drawing style. Well, not hate (as I can't hate any art), but dislike a bit. It's too... Ctrl-Alt-Del, IMO.

Right. I'm using custom gui for quitting game, which has quit confirmation button.
Under the button, there's code:

  if (button == 0)
   {
   SaveGameSlot(21,"quick");       
   QuitGame(0);
   }   

Correct? It's supposed to save whatever is happening to slot 21 and quit game without prompt.

Now, at the game first room I have object "continue" to let player continue game from point he left.
Under object is even simpler code:

RestoreGameSlot(21); 

Problem is... AGS says it cannot find savegame. What am I doing wrong?

There's file agssave.001 in compiled folder, it's not read/write-protected, and I'm not recompiling game before trying to quit and restore. The system is as simple as I explained, no additional bug chances anywhere else.

Yet, AGS fails to save the game. It doesn't report any errors when save-quiting neither. Why?

I'm in.

And fluke doesn't seem to check this thread anymore...
Unless he's up to much greater, improved and shocking comic--

* The joke, as mentioned is between worthless and non-existant. You're trying too hard. There's lot of simpler things in life to laugh about, and console jokes are really old after gazillions of (crappy!) webcomics already around. Try something simpler.

* The art style is colorful and just minimalistic enough to pleasure eye and make it easy to read. What I suggest to change though, is the font and using all-caps.

* The turd(?) thingies look quite cool and have about enough expressions, but you could at least draw two turds, instead of copy-flip-and-recolor. It would make comic better.

My last suggestion is to try more (don't quit!). Find/create better jokes and you're in the business.

If you want 3ds max, go with max.

It's suitable for almost anything. Point is, we have only one life, and if every moment you spend on learning 3D software counts. If you spend it on best program, you spend it in best way.

Same goes with money... why buy lot of weaker programs if you can make one invest?

Max has millions of functions, which really works similar to Photoshop; overwhelming possibilities leave you very confused at first. Then again, the insane amount of tutorials on the web will help you out.

Good-looking catacomb modelling isn't hard at all, if you have decent system and learn to use bump and displacement maps quickly. There's a game level making plugin for 3ds max, which makes everything insanely simple..

http://www.maple3d.com/MainFrameScriptsPage.htm

Your orchestral piece sounds

* extremely professional...

I'm not an expert, but this sounds like real quality music. Casual people won't tell any difference, IMO. At least, I wouldn't. This I like. Also the richness everywhere, changing melodies and all this stuff.

* ...and awfully boring

Really. It's just beautiful music. No real soul or mood. In world of electronic music, it's equal to Ambient - a music which helps to sleep. I can see butterflies and green plains when I listen, but that's simply boring.
You have the skills and dedication, why won't you create something high-paced, hysterical and heroic like these two songs from Age of Empires 3 (?) soundtrack?

If you could create something more similar (in means of urge to jump up and grab a sword! to cry and
celebrate! etc) to these, you would be my hero and if you made a CD, I would be the first buyer.

--
EDIT: Listening it twice again, the first part goes somewhere there. But the melody is... em.. too shy? Like you were afraid to make bigger note jumps and cross octaves, bring in artillery (heavier sounds) and let drums thunder. Sorry for somewhat poetic crits, I just can't explain it in any other way. Orchestral music like this makes me speak like that: strong influence!

Also, try everything minimalistic first. Simple melody, if it's good enough could make a whole anthem. Find it, and then spice it. Otherwise, all you got is lots of spice and no real food.

I don't like multi-sub materials, because it's a hassle to disable reflection/bump etc for quick render or any other thing I wanted to do with my materials. Using instances make it a quick mess aswell. Of course, i'm using multimaps on some things when they're really needed.

Expand... possibilty?! Never seen. Simplest I've used is to clear whole material editor and use eyedropper to quickly put back materials I need to mod. But I want a full overview of my materials, often on recycle or merge some. 24 slots just doesn't cut it.
Or let me put it this way: out of all improvements on max, It's a crime to forget so tiny and easy one.

Modifiers > UV Coordinates > UVW map
is basically all you need. (Until you learn to use unwrap UVW (I never did))

From there, you can set maps to face, box, cylinder, sphere... and this is also basically all you should need to texture stuff.
With actually awful texturing in all 3D programs (I've never seen any tech that really helps) it's not about finding the right tool but planning texturing correctly. Simple box mapping helps out in most cases, and if not, planar.

What I find extremely stupid about Max is that in material editor, there's a limit to material slots. But my single scene takes hundreds of materials and I need them all modifiable quickly. I wonder why they (discreet/autodesk) haven't gotten past this even if it's 9th installment already.

Thanks, I'll try these suggestions. Posting new version soon.

[final render]

I'm planning using GI for final render, to smooth out these shadows and lit dark areas. So fake lights are probably not needed.

I think you should quit playing yourself down, you have good modelling skills and you can only improve.

I'm satisfied with my modelling when I am able to model something organic besides simpler plants. Like an animal or a human. Currently, all I can do is boxes and cylinders. Thanks anyway

My 3D craze continues!
This time, I started on a secret lab. Problem is, I don't know how to fill this room!
So ideas (that I could follow with my weak modelling skills) would be appreciated.

Don't pay attention to disappearing wires and bad shadows yet, they'll be fixed in final renders.

Closeup on crappy modelling... I really should redo the ghostly keyboard...

Also, BIOS can be upgraded.
Like, downloaded from internet and replaced.

And managed thru specific flash-bios software. My machine came with a CD with BIOS program on it (auto-updater), and because MB had some problems with video card, I upgraded bios. But I recall having all kind of options in BIOS upgrading program aswell, one of them was custom splash screen. Due importancy of BIOS and fear that something may get wrong, I never tried those options though.

Just dig up homepage of your motherboard manufacturer or bios type (AMIbios, Awardbios, Phoenix...) and check for bios upgrades/software support for your motherboard series.

But to get HD to work, check master/slave DIP switches or try another IDE/SATA/whatever cable.

Try simple 3D model for better reference!
I always do that.

Haven't posted in ages...


...giving that "Look, I'm an European DJ"-look.

I would like to add... everything from Grim Fandango. I know that majority of AGSers love this game, but I absolutely hated it. None of puzzles in first part of game made any of sense to me. And I never wanted to play further. I'd rather play Larry Vales or random other adventure game.

Lure of Temptress had some quite awful/difficult puzzles too.