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Ok, I had this idea a while back--posted here about it, in fact--about a continually growing adventure game where expansions could be downloaded for it and run from the main game.  Initially I'd intended to have the expansions each given their own subdirectory because each would need to have its own MUSIC.VOX.  However, I also need the expansions to be able to return to the original game--I'd intended to do this via another RunAGSGame command that would call the original game.

Then I found out that there's no way to go "up a directory" with RunAGSGame.  So, the only way for the game and the expansions to BOTH be able to run each other is to have them in the same directory.

Now I have my original problem--I need the games to have different music, and I'd rather not have the music as separate mp3 files.  I want it to be compiled somehow so that it is only accessible through the game.

Bottom line: I want to make it so that one AGS program can start any of several others, and that the others can all start the original, and all of them have separate music which is only accessible through the game.  Am I asking for the impossible, or is there a way to accomplish this?

Hmmm.  Well the problem with doing things the way your ListBox suggestion works is that this would be overriding characters instead of inserting them.

I am thinking that the String array idea would indeed be better.  I don't think I would include it in the saved game at all, in fact.  Rather, I would just have it "save" the journal entries by dumping them straight to a text file.  That way I can skip a step in the process.

Of course, I'll have to learn more about String editing to figure out how to make this work.  Since v2.71 allows infinite strings (from what you've said), I suppose I could make each page be a single string.  That could easily fix the word-wrap and other issues.

In the end, if I can't figure out how to do it, or if it seems like just too much of a hassle, I suppose I could go with a bare-bones version where you could add, delete, and view entries (strings), but not edit previously made strings.  I may have to be satisfied with just that.  I'll have to see.

Thanks for all your help, GarageGoth.  Couldn't have figured out even this much without you.

*is already putting "GarageGoth" under Special Thanks in the game manual's credit section, along with a few other helpful people from these forums*

Edit 2: I think this topic is advanced enough to be moved into the real Tech forum instead of Beginner's Tech

Wow, really?  I feel important now .  I think that would be my first-ever thread in that forum.

A few questions about your other advice.  First off, could you explain a bit more about the height and width coordinates via listbox and GetTextWidth?  Using a listbox hadn't even occurred to me, I'm ashamed to say.  I was thinking Labels, but I bet this would work better.  To clarify my own needs: I want the player to be able to click anywhere in the listbox and have a typing-cursor appear there.  Using the up, down, left, and right keys should also move the cursor.  Then if they enter text, it appears where the cursor is, moving over any text that is next to it, and if they hit DEL or BACKSPACE the appropriate functions are implemented.

Having the AGS games in the same folder is not a problem, it's going to be required for the expansions to work anyway.  HOWEVER, it occurs to me that some of the functionality may need to go "up a folder".  In other words, it would probably work like this:

The game is in a directory called "Game".  Within that directory we have two other folders called "Journal" (where the journal pages go) and "Expansion" (where another AGS "game" goes that can only be accessed from the first one in the main "Game" directory).  Now, I'm pretty sure I can use "Expansion/NewGame.ags" or whatever to access the new game from the old one, but how do I go UP a folder from the new game?  i.e. from the new game's program, access the Journal pages which are in the Journal folder, and the main game which is in the Game folder?

Thanks for your help already, and in advance for whatever else you can help me with.

P.S: Whoa, conversation log.  Good idea.  Wish more AGS games had something like that.

[MOST IMPORTANT]

One of the features I want to implement in my game is an in-game journal that the player can add new text to and edit existing text in.  I am having trouble figuring out how to do this.  I want the journal to work similar to a word processor, so that clicking somewhere within the text field positions a cursor there and the player can then delete text already written, insert new text, etc.  The following features I want to include, but am not sure how to do so:

(1) Player can enter an entire "page" of text.  In other words, the current max string length (unless it is changed in v2.71 which I have yet to download) is too short.  I need a way to have longer strings, or else have one string merge seemlessly with another somehow, or something.

(2) Player can click anywhere on a current journal page and edit the text already there, delete it, or add new text, just as if they were using a word-processor.

(3) Player can add as many new pages as they want to, possibly via a "add page" button on the journal.

(4) (MOST IMPORTANT) Journal can be accessed from more than one AGS game, since this game utilizes more than one file with continuing downloadable expansions.  I want the player to be able to take the same journal with them from one expansion to another.  I am guessing this means the journal will need to output to some kind of external file somehow.

(5) Strings / words / sentences do not have to necessarily have to wrap from page to page, but if there is an easy way to do this it'd be nice to implement it.  In other words, if the player could just keep typing at the end of a page and have the text automatically continue onto the next page, that would be a nice convenient feature (but not worth it if it would take a ton of effort to make it happen).

[even after you release the button]

You're right, I just checked and my version is 2.70 not 2.71

Regarding the repeating keypress issue--read the EDIT section in my above post.  It doesn't matter how long you hold it down.  The program will continually take screenshots even after you release the button until you give the program new input--i.e., a mouse click or a key press.  I have actually only tested the mouse-click but I assume another key press would also do it.

The only way I can think of to solve this problem is to have the program simulate a mouse-click immediately after taking the screenshot.  However, I cannot figure out how to do this. Right now unless the player himself stops the process by doing something interactive with the program, it will continually take more and more screenshots (even after the screenshot key is released).

Ah!  I guess I didn't take into account the fact that the GUI would pause the game!  I knew it was something obvious.  Thanks Gilbot--I didn't realize changing the order would actually solve the problem, so that's what I'll do.  I appreciate your help.

[I think what we need is for the program to simulate a mouse-click or keypress immediately after taking the screenshot, but I have no idea how to do this. Anyone?]

Here I am, back to do just that.

It needs modification.Ã,  First of all, I had to move "String tmpstr" to the script header and change "String" to "string".Ã,  Second of all, the String.Format thing does not work in the newest version of AGS.Ã,  The way to do it now is apparently like this:

Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã, StrFormat(tmpstr, "scrn%03d.pcx",sscounter);

I found that in the help file and used it, and it worked.

After that there is only one problem--SSH was correct, more screenshots were saved than were supposed to be saved.Ã,  I pressed the F12 button twice and ended up with 6 screenshots.Ã,  My guess is that the on_key_press is getting called more than once--i.e., if you hold the button down it will keep calling it, so depending on how fast your computer is, the longer the button is down the more screenshots are saved.

So, I'll have to come up with some code to prevent it from running more than once.Ã,  If anyone has any ideas on how to do this, post it here.Ã,  Meanwhile I'm going to try to figure it out myself.

Overall structure of your code worked great, though, Gilbot.

EDIT: It's not related to how long the key is pressed, it's more than that.Ã,  After more testing I've found that the program continues taking screenshots until there is some kind of new input--a mouse-click works to stop it, and I assume another keypress would as well.Ã,  I tried having "keycode" set to 0 right before the return command, that changed nothing (I sort of thought it wouldn't, but I had to try).Ã,  I tried putting a Display command right before the return as well, thinking that since Display normally pauses the game until you click, this would solve the problem.Ã,  That didn't work either--the display box actually clears itself and the process repeats until you click the mouse.Ã,  I think what we need is for the program to simulate a mouse-click or keypress immediately after taking the screenshot, but I have no idea how to do this.  Anyone?

Ok, so I'm trying to make the gui turn on and off with the press of the ESC key.  I wrote code that I thought would work, but it only works halfway--the ESC key turns the gui on but not off.  Here's the code:

  if (keycode == 27) {
    if (gMaingui.Visible == true) {
      gMaingui.Visible = false;
    }
    else {
      gMaingui.Visible = true;
    }

This is in the on-key-press function.  The gui itself is a Popup Modal, does that disable keypresses or something?

I'm probably doing something very dumb or overlooking something very obvious.  Any help would be appreciated.

Gilbot--looked over your code and it looks shorter and more efficient than the way I was going to handle it.  Do you mind if I just copy/paste what you've got there?

Thanks all for your help w/ these questions!

BTW what formats can it save screenshots as?  Is pcx the only option?  Is it the best option in terms of quality-to-size ratio?

UPDATION!Ã,  I've put in the walkspeed/hint/hotspot-cursor fixes, have got my music and am now just spacing out the sound effects.Ã,  I'll have it re-released early in the AM Wednesday!Ã,  Thanks again for the wonderful feedback!

Homestawmy Soldeahs, hoo wah!

Awesome!  I'll tell everyone I mentioned the game to about the update once it's available!

One of the funniest games I have ever played!  The only AGS game that I've played which I am actually actively telling other people about .

Up above someone has suggested music/sound and a faster walking speed.  I second both of those.

...and I'd love to hear more from the famous chicken in the future .  You could really make a thing out of this, y'know?  Wallpapers, a website...the new "Homestar Runner".  And of course... "Chicken vs. Road II"

Thanks Strange Visitor!  Awesome game!

Wow that would be great! Especially when you go against the AI and die by default! I'm phoning up Peter Molyneux right now and telling him I've found a fantastic game designer!Ã, 

-Through a chain of something like 15 or 20 secret keypresses

1. I never said that the AI could play this character.
2. If it takes that many keypresses, then even if the AI could play that character, you would know it was doing the move by all of the movement-with-no-purpose it was doing, and if you are hitting it as much as you can, it will never have a chance to DO the move.

Before you make sarcastic attacks at someone, it helps to actually read what they wrote, and what they didn't.  Just some helpful advice for the future.

[Gabriel Knight]

Ahhhhh!Ã,  I didn't know Sierra hada name for the QFG hero.

Never heard of nethack or the @.Ã,  But I'd really love to see a question mark for the main character of MYST!Ã,  Maybe that's just because I am a die-hard Myst-series junkie.Ã,  Or if not a question mark, then maybe a black shadowy outline or something.Ã,  He'd be a pretty nifty "secret character" that has to be unlocked somehow.Ã,  Moves could include things like:

-Link: He opens a book and teleports to right behind the enemy.
-Book Throw: He throws a book at the enemy.
-Tree Rise: A wooden wheel appears, which he turns, and a big tree suddenly rises up beneath the enemy, doing a ton of damage.Ã,  A good nearly-unavoidable move.
-Brothers' Dilemma: Looks just like the Link move, but instead of teleporting he duplicates himself to the other side of the enemy.Ã,  The duplicate is an illusion that just moves around, doesn't attack. The enemy doesn't know which one is the "real" character so this buys you a little time.

And if you want to make him really really tough...

-The Prison Book: Through a chain of something like 15 or 20 secret keypresses, he traps the enemy in a Prison Book, defeating him instantly.Ã,  Completely unavoidable.

(shrug) just a thought.Ã,  I'd love to see Bobbin Threadbare too as you suggested--that's one I hadn't thought of.Ã,  In that same vein, Robert Foster of "Beneath a Steel Sky" might be a good character too.

Ooooooooo!Ã,  I just had a brainwave!Ã,  What about Gabriel Knight?!!

So I am trying to get the hang of this whole DynamicSprite thingy, and I'm left with several questions here.

First of all, I am daunted by the help-file's insistance that I delete the DynamicSprite as soon as I am "done using it".  One of the things I want to do in my game is create an area where the player can actually use their own custom picture in the game--specifically, there is a desk in the game with a picture frame on it, and that frame depicts the picture "MyPicture.jpg" or something like that.  I want the pictureframe object to load up MyPicture.jpg when the program starts and then keep that graphic for the remainder of the game.  If I use a DynamicSprite to import the picture, then tell the object to change its graphic to the DynamicSprite's graphic, should I then delete the DynamicSprite or not?  If I delete it, will it screw up the pictureframe object?  If I don't delete it, will it mess up the game's memory somehow?

Secondly, I want to include functionality in the game where the player can press a button (say F3, or Enter, or something) and the game will take a screenshot (just as it would do when saving) and EXPORT that screenshot to a file outside the game (Screen1.jpg or something).  Furthermore I need the game to be able to recognize if there is already a file by the desired name so that it will use a different name to avoid overwriting--i.e. if Screen1.jpg already exists, the game saves your screenshot as Screen2.jpg, or if that exists it saves it as Screen3.jpg, etc.  I see and understand DynamicSprite's screenshot function but what I can't figure out is (a) how to export the screenshot as an image file and (b) how to do the override-avoiding file-detection.

LOL.  And then "Quest Fighter vs. Marvel vs. Capcom vs. Mortal Kombat"!

This is THE BEST ags parody game I've ever seen.  Just the fact that someone did this cracks me up, and the game is very satisfying.

Might I make a request?  QUEST FIGHTER II!!!!!  I'd really love to see a sequel--basically an extension of the first one, but including at least the following characters: KQ5 graham (but keep the old Graham too), Quest for Glory Hero (you could call him Unnamed Hero), Torin (from Torin's Passage).  And if you are at all interested in using non-Sierra adventure characters, you might also include: Sam (from Sam 'n' Max), a Maniac Mansion character, April Ryan (of The Longest Journey, because it needs a female character), and as a bonus funny secret character: the main character of MYST!  Basically, the sprite would be a giant question mark, since the whole point of Myst is that the hero is always unknown.  But that question mark could have some rokkin moves...

Excellent.  Thanks for the input guys, I'll get to work on that right away...if I ever finish this thing (the first download, anyway) I'll make it available here.

Thanks for the tip, I've read up on it in the help file now.  Excellent feature! I didn't know we could do that. That solves all of my problems, though I do have a couple of questions/concerns.

I don't want to use an exe file for the expansion areas, for the simple reason that they should only be accessible from the main game. I've never used the .ags format for anything and I am wondering--if I use the .ags format, does that mean that players would be able to edit the expansions assuming they had AGS?  Because I'd rather they not be able to do that. In my opinion, one of the strengths of AGS is that you can produce a game that cannot be readily edited by others, since everything is nicely compiled into one or a few files. This is an advantage over, for example, the RPG Maker series, where all you have to do is copy the game files into your RPG Maker directory and you can edit to your heart's content.

Will it only accept these two formats or is there a way to utilize a different format? Or, would it be possible to just change the extension of a .exe or .ags filename and still have the game recognise it?

I will of course experiment myself but I figured if someone might already knowsthe answer to these questions I might as well post them here.

I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time, and I'm wondering how it might be possible with AGS.

There was a great multiplayer adventure game called Uru Live that was based on the Myst storyline.  Every couple months, new content was added.  To me that's a fantastic idea.  (The original game has been shut down but there is a somewhat limited free version now called Until Uru: plasma.cyanworlds.com has more information).

Now I am wondering about the possibility of making something similar.  I think it would be really cool to create a free exploration-themed adventure game with AGS that could be downloaded by a lot of people.  But the best part is: Every now and then, new content (in the form of new areas to explore and solve puzzles in) would become available.  You could download the new content off of the website, install it to your previously installed game, and visit the new areas.  A great online community could be formed around this concept, too.

What I am wondering is how this could be done with AGS.  I've heard that there are patch-installation type programs out there, but as far as I know these are geared towards making version updates and one-time expansions possible.  What I want to do is something like this:

Bob downloads "KingMick World" (it would definitely have a better name, of course), plays and finishes the core game.  Then he goes to the website and sees that two new areas are available for download: Dungeon Land and Space Station Land.  Bob is more of a fantast person than a sci-fi person, so he decides to download Dungeon Land but not Space Station Land.  He downloads the Dungeon Land patch, which adds new rooms, characters, dialogs etc. to his copy of KingMick World, without adding any of Space Station Land.  A month later he comes back and sees that Mushroom Land is now available, so he downloads that, too.  The patch installs Mushroom Land and nothing else (it was created after both Dungeon Land and Space Station Land, but it does not add either one.).  He can still visit the areas in the core game, as well as the ones in his previously downloaded Dungeon Land.  The Mushroom Land patch does not change this, it only adds the new areas.

Is there a way to do this?  I can see a really great project if I can just figure out how to do this.  Anybody have any ideas?

Sorry, I have no idea how to make spoiler tags here.  So don't read this if you haven't beat the game.

I just tried your advice, Venus, and still can't get it to work.  The eye and brain on the poster in the rec room give me nothing but "It looks familiar, but you don't know why" type of messages.  The posters in Knox's office give me nothing after the notice of the temporal lobe.  I can't get back to the original lab at all (if you meant that brain poster) because it just says "I don't think Dr. Mitchell's office is that way".  So, basically, am I just screwed here?

Going to keep fiddling around with this.  If I figure it out I'll post the solution here.  If someone else knows how to fix this or figures it out, PLEASE tell me since I am dying to know the rest of the story--this is an amazingly cool plotline...