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You see personally, I think that AGS 3.0 is easier as far as scripting goes. Its even more powerful in my opinion.

I mean most of the standard way of programming is there (Loops, ifs and's etc...) .

Just SOME functions changed in how they work. Personally I feel they are easier to use and cleaner.

But again, those functions can return  with the use of modules.

And even though some features that are added are not necessary, it does make it easier to make your game and it makes it quicker too. Plus some features you just cant get around such as the newly added 1064x768 resolution support.

My suggestion, upgrade your 2.62 games with 2.72 as it will automatically change the code for you. Then do the same with your 2.72 game with the 3.0 engine and mess around with it a little. I think you will see that you will like it the more you use it...

I

Changes in 3.1 beta 3:

* Added 1024x768 resolution support.

Holy Crap!!!!! I didn't expect this one so soon...

That is interesting... Thanks for all your comments. This has been a curiosity for me as to why most people dont use 3.0 since it is far more feature filled and powerful.

As far as the interface goes, its no big deal to me. I like it better to be honest with you. But I guess a skinnable interface would solve most people's issue's with it? I still think its no big deal, personally. But I guess that depends on the users.

Yeah, I really miss the interaction editor, especially since I am not much of a c++/c# scripter. But there is an alternative: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=33637.0
which is a plugin for the editor. Its really nice!

As far as scripting goes, couldn't someone create a module which would allow you to have the old commands and functions and to work the same way? I agree, just when I started getting used to the language, it changed. But thats the way it is I guess.

Personally, I like AGS 3.0 and with the plugins and modules, it could only get better. The thing I really miss the most is the AGS Mac and Linux ports, which I hope they release again. I loved them, being that I have Windows, Mac and Linux machines...

I noticed several users here still use the older versions of AGS. This might stump some of us as to why. Some of us know. But I am personally curious as to why many people here opt out of using the latest versions of AGS. Is it because of no Linux/Mac support? Is it because of the change in the scripting? Is it because of the lack of the interaction editor? I am curious to know your opinions...

He is the creator of my favorite game, Zak McKracken!!!

Some reasonable interviews I guess would David Fox and Al Lowe and I would particularly love to know their thoughts on AGS and its games and community.

Did I solve the piece a puzzle #1? :

Spoiler

The cups on the ground are flipped
The road line is slightly different behind the cactus
The hills on the right have more spikes
The hill on the left, seems to be a boulder in right picture a spikey mountain in the left.
The center background mountains are also different.

[close]

Hope I was right...

And for the #2, which was quite difficult:

Spoiler

Beyond terror
robotragedy
Two of a kind
Tempus fugit --- This was really tough, took me a few days. I had to look through the forums over and over for this one.
enoworld --- What the hell? I had to search for this one too... I guess the last two were really hard.

[close]

I guess I can try to use that. But if Chris could implement the feature, it would be a lot less confusing and a lot cleaner to use as well. The less coding I do, the less the errors I suck at coding in C++/C#/Java syntax.

Good idea. I guess I can use the Property function. Only problem would be on how to filter it in the inventory window. There's no option to filter items with a certain property and I found no help or scripting option on this in the manual. How would you go about this?

I know this can be done already by creating several characters and using their inventories to be displayed in a certain inventory window. But it gets too sloppy, particularly if you have four characters who use 3 different inventories. Plus it could get confusing when scripting it.

My suggestion would be to be able to add Inventory type numbers to an inventory object. For instance, so I have a key. Under the type for it I would put a 1 in it. For a magic potion, I would put a 2 in there. For a gun, I would put a 3  etc.. So basically I have defined for myself that 1 is a normal item, 2 is a magic item and 3 is a weapon.

So if I want an inventory window to display weapons, I would then put in its properties for inventory type to display a 3.

And perhaps some scripting options to change inventory type to display for an Inventory window and to change the type of an inventory as well?

Would this be possible? Would offer some cleaner organization for our games.

Name:

Age: 27      

Female/male: Male

(1. How long have you been involved in the AGS community? )

----Since 1998, around september I think.

(2. Why did you get involved in AGS?)
------I love Adventure games. Particularly the older Lucasarts games. My favorite was and still is Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. I played that on My Commodore 64 and Amiga 500 all the time. It was actually the first game I ever played. I wanted to create my own Zak sequel since I was like 12(Or somewhere around there). I was really hoping LEC would, but they never did, and so I searched and searched for and Adventure writer and I found Adventure Creator.

(3. How do you feel that the fact that AGS is a freeware programme affect the community that has built up around it?)
----------I think its the greatest thing ever. I have never seen so many games developed off one engine. I feel its absolutely awesome and kind. It really helps push adventure games back into the market of game playing. The only thing I think that is a drawback to being free is that many professional developers will think its buggy and not worth a try, so they use other engines because of it. But maybe I am wrong.

(4. How big a part does the AGS community play in your life?)
---------I try not to involve myself with Online Communities too much do to dangers with the internet. So it plays a role. I have known many great people for years here. But apart from gaming and the internet, I have a life and a wife to take care of, and possibly children in the future. So, its a significant role, but not on top of my priorities list.

(5. Have you been involved in making any games using AGS? You may list them if you want)
-----------Lets see... I have helped in translating The new adventures of Zak McKracken into Italian. I beta-tested for the Shadows of the Empire game. I worked and abandoned a Zak McKracken/DOTT 2 crossover sequel game. I was on a team developing DOTT 2 that died away. I helped in the past on working on Demo-Quest. But my three main projects are The Simpsons Game Template, and two games that are coming out from it: Where's Maggie and Springfield Woes. I hope to one day finish a game.


(6. Answer these questions if you have been involved in making AGS games:)
a. Were you interested in game design/programming before you started using AGS?
   --Yes

b. If no, do you feel that you would have got into game design without AGS?
   --Yes
c. Do you make games using other programmes, either freeware or not? How does the eperience differ?
   --I try to make games using Visual Basic 6. They are semi Graphical, Text games that interact with MMORPG's. More specifically one for Star Wars and another for the Transformers.
d. Has AGS inspired you to try and take up game design professionally?
   --Yes, although its just a dream and a wish and probably wont ever happen.

(7. Do you feel that there is a gender divide in the AGS community?)
-------------Absolutely not. I still remember how much of an effect Erica McLane had on this community.

(8. Are you likely to feel differently about a game if you discover it's made by a female? In what way?)
-------------No WAY! They might make better games than men!

(9. Do you feel that AGS makes it easier for females to get involved in computer game design? In what way?)
------------I think it does for everyone. Its freeware with a large community and support. It makes things easier for all of us.

(10. Do you feel that there is a difference between the types of games created by males and females?)
----------------No, not really.

11. Any other comments?
--------------AGS is a great tool. Its the best thing to happen to Adventure gaming and its a great contribution that Ron Gilbert, Al Low, David Fox and any other legendary engine and game developers of the genre would really appreciate. I hope to one day finish an AGS game.

Looks neat and has a unique art style! Gonna check it out.

Just tried my idea. No Deal. It edits the file fine and it restarts, but nothing. Still in English.

Sorry.

It might store the settings in a buffer once the game is loaded. Therefore, changing the config file wont do anything. RunAGS seems to be using the same settings in the buffer.

Have you tried using the SetRestartPoint script function and then RestartGame to restart the game to see if that changes anything?

Its coincidental that this has been revived. But I posted something in the General board that might make things possible for AGS to be ported. Personally, I hope the Linux and Mac ports stay alive and continue to be updated.

But at the same time, I don't blame ETG and Steve if they cancel the ports. The libraries that AGS uses, doesn't port well, or so it seems. It involves a lot of work. I would hate to  think that Chris would release AGS, even version 2, as open source. I could only immagine someone ripping off his code and then implementing some new features, porting it and passing it off as their own engine. That wouldn't be cool at all. Keep it closed source in my opinion.

But, I do have a few options for Chris, Steve and ETG. Perhaps there is someway to keep up the port. Some suggestions could be:

1) Put up a private CVS repository on the site that only you guys and any other program who will help with the port can access. Seeing eachother's changes as its happening would allow for quicker and more accurate porting.

2) Bring back the DOS port which can played through a DOS emulator on almost every immaginable system with full speed.

3) Perhaps the main port of AGS can use libraries that are all cross-platform such as the ones mentioned here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=34792.0
Chris, I dont know which libraries you use, but if I am not mistaken, I think you said you use Allegro for graphics. You use to use SeeR for scripting, now you use your own embeddable scripting language you created. You use WXWidgets for GUI maybe? Would you instead be willing to use different libraries in AGS so its easier to port?

I have heard from many developers who develop true cross-platform applications that the following are the best libraries to use:

SDL (http://libsdl.org/)--- Graphics library. Used in SCUMMVM. Portable to Unix/Linux, Windows, MacOS, AmigaOS and CE devices and more. Requires few changes from OS to OS. Also has a great 3D Renderer.

QT (http://trolltech.com/) --- Great GUI Framework. Used in KBASIC. Code is barely different and noticeable from OS to OS.

Libmpeg2 (http://libmpeg2.sourceforge.net/) -- Mpeg Video stream decoder.

MAD Audio Decoder (http://www.underbit.com/products/mad/) -- Again this seems to be easily portable to all the OS's mentioned for SDL.

HQ2x3x4x (http://www.hiend3d.com/hq3x.html) -- Magnifying an image implementing missing pixels.

AngelScript (http://www.angelcode.com/angelscript/) --- A personal favorite of some of my friends. Great scripting language. But not one thats generally popular. But it is portable.

LUA (http://www.lua.org/) --- This seems to be the scripting engine of choice. Although Chris, if the one you developed works, just stick to that.

Changing libraries is a total gutwrenching task. It would almost not allow for any time to add new features and would require a lot of bug fixes. So I totally understand if it doesn't happen. But if it were, I do think it would pay off being that AGS can then be completely cross-platform allowing for simpler and quicker ports of every new ags version in the future. But what do I know, I am only an amateur C++ programmer still learning the basics....

YAY I had a blurbed interview!!!!!

Lately I have been wondering what would be a great language to use to create programs and applications that are lightweight, portable and provide high functionality. I found several links here http://gpwiki.org/index.php/Libraries#Graphics

C++ is the language to use apparently. Its highly portable and fast!

There is so much that one can use to port applications, particularly game engines, using these tools. KBasic.com is an example of this. Its a Basic program language which also allows you to import and program exactly like VB6 and VB.net and port to linux, mac and Windows.

But from the site above, one can technically use these libraries and create a fully ported application. I hope you guys, even CJ or anyone trying develop in C++ for multiple OS's should give it a look at. These below I feel are the best to use:

AI- ABKIT
Audio- BASS, SDL, SDL_Mixer, IRRKlang
Compression - gzip
GUI - QT, WXWidgets
General Graphics - ClanLib, Allegro, Irrlicht, SDL
Input devices - OIS
Pathfinding A*- MicroPanther
Font - Freetype, GLFT_Font
XML - C++ XML Parser

And for all you game development boys, check out: http://www.twilightsembrace.com/personal/gamelibs.php

For 3D:
Irrlicht - Very Very fast, great features, integrateable easily into your projects, lots of support for file formats, free, available for mac, linux, windows.
OGRE 3d
Crystal Space
OpenGlut

Video:
Theora
Dirac - for high resolution support.

Scripting languages:
Angelscript - Highest portability
LUA


And there are tons of other tools. I just wanted to share these sites with you guys...

Also, if you guys want to be able to test all applications you create but dont have a lot of many to buy a pc, a mac and a linux-box, try the following links:
http://www.topologilinux.com/index.php?menu=1   --- Running Linux within Windows (No emulator)
Or try these links of you have a pc with SSE2 or SSE3 instruction set (You can run Mac, Linux and Windows):
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Installation_Guides/Kalyway_DualBoot_10.5.2
http://adamlerman.blogspot.com/2008/04/tri-boot-ubuntu-macos-windows-guide.html
http://buddhistnerd.blogspot.com/2006/06/namaste-friends.html
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Installation_Guides
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=77069
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=98086

If you develop for Pocket PC: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=EEC33AE3-C129-4C25-ABAA-18E8E842178F&displaylang=en
Or for the Amiga:
http://www.winuae.net/

I hope this helps your development needs. Enjoy!

I didn't play your first game cause it looked too simplistic and childish. I thought the same when I just looked at these screenshots....

BUT:

after watching your little trailer I really think this game seems to be a lot of fun and action. The cartoonish animations are great and I'll give it a try when it's ready.

(the characters are drawn so strange I don't yet know if that makes the game better or worse)

I actually agree!!!! Wow that was a fun trailer to watch!

Actually, it is taken from several elements, including Virtual Springfield and Simpson Cartoon Studio. Actually, I have two games and a template going on right now.

Template and big game is here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=2667.0
There is no demo, but the template should be good enough to give you an idea.

This is the Where's Maggie game and it has a demo:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=24863.0

Very hard to tell. This game has been in production as long as some other games such as Zak 2, or FOY. So, I would say atleast a year and a half with no promises. If I had a team working with me helping me rip sprites and edit current ones and with someone setting up the rooms with all the masks, it would be a lot sooner.

But since I have always been on my own, it has taken long and seems it is going to continue to take a long time. Just the way Game making is I guess... Sorry.

I am not terribly bothered. I never really liked Zac Mackraken to be honest.

***GASPS***

You monster!!!!!

J/K

Its my favorite of all time. I am actually sad this has been cancelled...