Messages

This is so frustrating. I wish Gabarts would send us the sources so that the comunity could fix all the bugs EDIT: most bugs fixed in version 2.5 and insert the relevant hints where appropriate.

I think we should stop this conversation now : gabarts has given his reasons and explained his reactions. My only concern is that if we continue the thread will get locked by moderators, and players will never be able to get hints and tips for the game

[Alone in the Dark]

It wouldn't count as a 2D game but Alone in the Dark was really cool and atmospheric. I assume SquirlyGirl only meant she doesn't want to play triple-A FPS.

Maybe in next version I can put a big wallet attached behind the bookcase, or maybe in the fridge...

Hey Gabbarts, I understand that it is very difficult to hear such rough critics about a game you spent so much effort into making. I'm not sure how I would react if someone said "I'm just going to uninstall this game" about my baby.
It's true, Last Crusade had a lot of pixel-hunting. So, if you made the choice of including pixel-hunting by design into your game, because you think pixel-hunting is cool, then keep it like that.
But if you're just trying to mimic LC, then you need to understand that most people consider that pixel hunting was bad design choice even at the time. Pixel-hunting is the bad part of point n' clicks.
You don't need to have pixel-hunting to make the game difficult. Just add more interactions and subtle hints, and I guarantee you can make it more difficult, longer, and more satisfying when the player solves the puzzles! This way everyone will love you game and your game will have extra value because it will take some time and (non-irritating) thinking to complete.

what is "ags_shell" ? I find almost no reference to it in the forum. Is it a plugin that allows to run OS commands, such as "mkdir", etc.?

Did I win? Huzzah! Yeeppeeeee! (intense joy and immense pride here)

Thanks to everyone who liked what I made. Everybody's entries were very cool though! That was refreshing and stimulating.
Now it's my turn to pick a theme! I'll think about it and post very soon. I need to find something as interesting!

Happy new year everyone!

CW explained everything perfectly.

About the Drawing Surface: You have to imagine that your sprite is like a painting locked behind a protective piece of glass, to avoid anyone painting onto it by mistake.
- When you "get the drawing surface", it's as if you were asking the curator of the museum (the game engine) : "hey could you open the glass case? I need to paint something onto this painting". If it's a dynamic sprite, he will bring the painting to you and allow you to paint onto the surface. He "gives you the surface".
- Then when you're done you tell him: "I'm fine you can close the glass case again, thanks". That's when he "releases the drawing surface". He's taking away the surface from you and everyone so that nobody can draw onto it.

[Bad]

I think that your issue is very simply that you check what character is at (tigerBad.x, tigerBad.y) but then you compute something using (tiger.x, tiger.y).


The code should be :

Code: ags

Character * Charhit=  Character.GetAtScreenXY (cTigerBad.x, cTigerBad.y);
if (Charhit!=null) {
    Charhit.Move (100, 180, eNoBlock, eAnywhere);
}

I didn't copy the texts though. That's bad because they were supposed to be part of the entry.

[ALL ENTRIES IN THIS GIANT PICTURE (also in the first post)]

ALL ENTRIES IN THIS GIANT PICTURE (also in the first post)


Reminder of the topic and rules:

Always wanted to become someone like Indiana Jones and share your greatest conquests with everybody?
Then grab your hat and your whip and show us your marvelous discoveries!!

Your objective is to demonstrate the lost city that you have found in your journey, and tell us a little information about it. The background must be able to be used in ags

Voting Categories:
   - Concept
   - Artistic Execution
   - Playability

Images presented separately :

   
LostTrainDude          I<3Pindorama!

   
Cassiebsg              yakatakatulla

 
Monsieur ouxx             cat

   
Mandle                     adventuress

Nice bg, cat!

but yours appear to be working on a text box.

Yes. His function is connected to the text box where the player types the game's name. I dion't think that's right.

[-1]

That's probably a small bug caused by the fact lstSaveGames.SelectedIndex is -1 (because no item is selected in the listbox) yet you clicked on "Save". Therefore, the script tries to access cell -1 of array  lstSaveGames.Items[], which is impossible.

From there you have two options :
- if you try to enhance your scripting skills, then go on trying to make your own custom save/load interface.
- if you want to save time and avoid extensive testing and corner-cases bugs, then use an out-of-the-box module : For example, this one.

the whole no outlines thing is certainly working!

Yes it is. Intermediate solution: draw the black lines on a separate layer and make it 50% opaque or less -- almost-but-not-fully transparent. The benefit : At such a low resolution, the darker lines act as a simple substitute for occlusion shading in every corner. Worth a try. You can even try blurring out that layer with the black lines before reducing its opacity.
.

What you can *try* in the AGS world is spot some characters that might suit you in existing games, then PM the author of the said game and ask them if they're cool with you re-using their art (and sending you the source sprite loops). Most people will probably say yes if you credit them (and don't mess up their work), the only issue is the response time.

["plugins"]

A little comment about the use of word "plugin". Be careful, don't confuse "plugins" and "modules" in the AGS world.

- Modules are just custom scripts (written in a slightly packaged manner)that we exchange to help each other. That's what I recommeneded to use above. You could make a module if you wanted to. It's very common to use a shitload of modules if you intend on making a full-length game, because they allow you to do things you (and others before you) have seen in certain types of adventure games (for example: background speeches, as seen in Lucasarts games )
- Plugins are special libraries that were written in C++ or in C# or other advanced languages, then compiled into .DLL files. They need to be copied to your game folder if you want it to be able to start up. They are not part of standard AGS and they are usually used to perform advanced stuff that require a lot of calculations, such as graphic filters, etc. It's not very common to use plugins, especially if you're a beginner, unless you need to do something very specific or CPU-hungry.

[QueuedSpeech v3.5]

I don't know exactly what's wrong with your code, but the "queued background speech" module (s) should make your life much easier.

This one : QueuedSpeech v3.5 here
Or that one : BgSpeech v2.2 here

A more elegant solution for mouse-over event would be :

Code: ags

// in repeatedly_execute_always
if (GUIControl.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y) == Button48) {
    //change graphic permanently with .NormalGraphic, as shown by slasher
}

the markitup code disappears when you go to preview the post

For the record: I have the same issue. I suppose everyone does.

You are talking about puzzles? Or the fact that you had hard time solving them because of some kind of bugs?

I'm talking about the weird interactions and pseudo-bugs. No offense though!