Messages

The second one appears smoother to me. The instruments volume seems better balanced.
Being an amateur of Badalamenti's music, I'd say the bass could have more reverb... it seems too dry for me to evoke Twin Peaks's atmosphere...
Otherwise I find it really well done!

No, I haven't...

I've already been there in the past and thought that this french forum wasn't very active... but I'm totally wrong!
And there are even some familiar names there...

So I will.

Thanks Arj0n.

[I Want Out!]

Hello,

I'm looking for beta testers for our first AGS project called I Want Out! (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=54249).

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/9hCLsYl.png[/imgzoom]

The game is almost entirely finished.
It misses only one in-game animation, some polishing and the end game cut-scene (under construction and currently replaced by a simple and frustrating end-screen!).


What I'm looking for :
- a feedback, to know players feelings and impressions about various aspects of the game (gameplay / UI / puzzles / etc.) ;
- bug reports if some are found ;
- and above all, we would like to know if the English translation is correct and understandable.

Game length : half an hour / an hour / more ? (the beta test will also help us to know this...) + 5 minutes to answer an online form for the feedback

Last but not least : the game is currently in french only (I will translate it in english when everything is done).
The game is now fully translated in english.

If you're interested, you can answer in this thread or via PM and I'll send you all the details by PM...

Thank you!
Nicolas

Edit : update for english version.
Edit : Help found. Thanks to the testers for the job done!

I updated the initial post with a newer video and progress... It keeps me focused on the project...
I'm currently working on a parallax scrolling script for the ending sequence... which works quite well now...

The game is nearly finished. The playing part is completed. The missing parts are character animations and the ending sequence, so it's entirely playable...

I'm considering asking for help to alpha/beta testers (whatever state it is, now) here on AGS forum. But, as I don't plan to make an english translation before it's finished, it would require french speaking testers... and I don't know if there are many here.

Maybe some affluents for the rivers, too...

There are Soundfont, which are instruments samples banks, that allow you to playback your MIDI files in various software, without having a high-end MIDI sound card. Many of these sound fonts are free.

I personally use Foobar2000, that can play MIDI files with these sound fonts and then convert them to OGG.
You just have to set up Foobar MIDI plugin to use a particular SoundFont for MIDI playback (I recommend WeedsGM3, which is free and has good quality ; I think FluidSynth is free and good too). By playing the MIDI file, you can check if the intruments quality suits you.
Then, you use the Foobar internal convert to create your OGG file.

There's also this program : Sharpkeys, that I use for the exact same reason as you on my old laptop.

You tell the program which key you want to change (by pressing it) and then with which key you want to replace it.
As the key doesn't physically exist on your keyboard, you can use the Windows Virtual Keyboard to simulate the "<>" key press.
The program then writes the changes to the registry, which then become permanent (but reversible).

[SetMultitaskingMode]

I think what you're looking for may be SetMultitaskingMode.

Sorry dude, I am new to this whole thread thing...  I still don't understand how to get a pic from my computer to appear here.  Oh well, if one simply clicks on the link they will see the pics there.  Thanks!;)

Try that :

Code: ags

[IMG]http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2162_1.png[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2162_2.png[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2162_3.png[/IMG]

Yes, it works, now !

On my way, I just saw another thing (why would I stop to bug you... ? ) : alt-enter sometimes restart the game (like F9 does) instead of switching between fullscreen / windowed modes.

There is too little information

Yes, I know... that's the problem : I don't know where to start !
Here's a screen cap (be prepared to be disappointed) :



I've got nothing more than that. When I hit F5, when I "Build EXE", when I "Rebuild all files"...
By double clicking on the error in the message list, it doesn't do anything.


I re-tested beta 3 :
- this behaviour does not happens.
- There is still the issue with the "acMusic_start"... But : when I first "Rebuild all files", it works fine...

edit : I'll try to investigate further by disabling this audiochanel reference when I'll have time... It's very possible there's a flaw in my script.
edit 2 : I deleted all reference to audiochanel. It's the same.
edit 3 : My translation of the message may be wrong. I try again : "The object reference is not defined/referenced for one object". I'll search all those references...

the error says about this : object reference not defined by an object instance

The message appears in french (OS language...). It's a rough translation... (tbh, the sentence in french is not entirely intellegible...)

This was probably the reason you were getting null pointer errors with acMusic_start

So, for the moment, I'm stuck, as I cannot know the origin of the error...

[3.4.1.4 editor]

Do you mean compilation errors or runtime errors you get during debugging?
Can you give an example of script line that you were dealing with?

I'm embarassed because I can't find the source of the error message I get in the beta version.
The 3.4.0.16 editor gives me errors... but I don't know for sure if it's the same errors the errors that cause the beta not to run the game...

In order to troubleshoot this, I can't do better than proceeding chronologically. So it will be a long post, sorry

1) my project runs fine with version 3.4.0.16
2) I tried 3.4.1.4 editor : compiling and running both failed, with getting a "generic" error message, without any more informations.
3) I tried 3.4.0.16 editor alongside acwin 3.4.1.4 : compiling and running work ; I got a "documented" error only when the faulty line was reached (null pointer referenced, with line number).
My code was :
Global script :

Code: ags

GUI *gStart_Screen;
export gStart_Screen;
...
function game_start() 
{
	if (Game.TranslationFilename == "default")
	{
		gStart_Screen = gStart_Screen_FR;
	}
}

Room script :

Code: ags

function room_Load()
{
	gStart_Screen.Visible = true;
	acMusic_start = aMenu.Play();
}

The error pointed to line 3 : gStart_Screen.Visible = true; of course, since Game.TranslationFilename == "default" was impossible. Error fixed.

4) Still with 3.4.0.16 editor + 3.4.1.4 acwin, the game compiles and F5 runs OK... and then, a new error ("Null pointer referenced"). Here is the code:

This is the first room (welcome screen):

Code: ags

AudioChannel *acMusic_start;


function room_Load()
{
	gStart_Screen.Visible = true;
	acMusic_start = aMenu.Play();
}


function room_Leave()
{
	FadeOut(3);
	
	int Volume_fading_speed = 1;
	
	while (acMusic_start.Volume > 0) <- THIS LINE CAUSES THE ERROR
	{
		if (acMusic_start.Volume - Volume_fading_speed >= 0  )
		{
			acMusic_start.Volume = acMusic_start.Volume - Volume_fading_speed;
		}
		else
		{
			acMusic_start.Volume = 0;
		}
		Wait(1);
	}
	if (acMusic_start.IsPlaying != true)
	{
		acMusic_start.Stop();
	}
	

	gStart_Screen.Visible = false;
}

The error is at line 17.


At this point, I'm lost:  the compiled game (step 4) runs fine (the affected script creates a music fade out) while when run inside the editor with F5, it causes the error...


5) Trying 3.4.1.4 editor and acwin : game does not compile, does not run / generic error message



To know more about the error with the beta version, I must fix this new error but I do not find its cause (since acMusic_start was defined at the top of the script and did not cause any problem prior in the script - but there are many chances the error is my fault).

I tested the resolution fix in WinSetup... and it seems OK ! Thanks...

But I noticed another problem... To be able to test the previous issue, I had to fix errors in my script (e.g : change "default" to "" for Game.TranslationFilename).
But to detect them, I had to use the latest stable Editor version with the latest beta ACWin.exe...

If using editor + acwin 3.4.1.4 : I only get a generic error message, without the error line number (the error says about this : object reference not defined by an object instance).
If using editor 3.4.0.16 + acwin 3.4.1.4 : I get a more detailed error message, with the error line number (the error says : null pointer referenced).

So, the 3.4.1.4 Editor is less verbose and it's very difficult to find the error source...

The issue I reported in the latest beta thread about missing resolutions is fixed !

[OpenGL]

Here it is :

The Settings used:

Code: ags

Driver : Allegro/DX5
Run in a window instead of fullscreen
Scaling : Stretch to fit screen (preserve aspect ratio)

Here's the log's video section :

Code: ags

Initializing resolution settings
Game native resolution: 320 x 200 (32 bit)
Device display resolution: 1600 x 900
Game settings: windowed = yes, screen def: scaling, screen size: 320 x 240, match device ratio: ignore, game scale: proportional
Using graphics factory: DX5
Created graphics driver: Allegro/DX5
Supported gfx modes (32-bit): 
	320x200;320x240;400x300;512x384;640x400;640x480;800x600;1024x768;
	1152x864;1280x600;1280x720;1280x768;1280x800;1360x768;1366x768;1440x900;
	1600x900;
Attempting to find nearest supported resolution for screen size 1406 x 879 (32-bit) windowed
Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1406 x 879 (32-bit) windowed
Failed to init gfx mode. Unable to find a suitable graphics driver
Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1600 x 900 (32-bit) windowed
Failed to init gfx mode. Resolution not supported
Attempting to find nearest supported resolution for screen size 1600 x 900 (32-bit) fullscreen
Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1600 x 900 (32-bit) fullscreen
Succeeded. Using gfx mode 1600 x 900 (32-bit) fullscreen
Render frame set, render dest (160, 50, 1439, 849 : 1280 x 800)

The game is displayed fullscreen with a black frame around it (so, not stretched to the screen resolution...)

The culprit seems to be there :

Code: ags

Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1406 x 879 (32-bit) windowed
Failed to init gfx mode. Unable to find a suitable graphics driver
Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1600 x 900 (32-bit) windowed
Failed to init gfx mode. Resolution not supported

By contrast, the same settings but with OpenGL driver give :

Code: ags

Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1406 x 879 (32-bit) windowed
Succeeded. Using gfx mode 1406 x 879 (32-bit) windowed

Could it be that the multiplier matches your screen resolution?

No, it's not :
Game resolution : 320x200
Screen resolution : 1600x900
Scaled resolution (with stretch to fit screen preserving aspect ratio) : 1406x879

Edit : ...and, logically, when it switches fullscreen, there's a black frame around the game screen...

Thank you...

I came across another issue (sorry !) :

When using Allegro/DX5 + Stretch to fit screen (or Stretch to fit screen (preserving aspect ratio) + Run in a window, the game runs fullscreen.
When you set Max round multiplier, it runs correctly in a window.

[ags.log]

Thanks for your reply.

Here's what I got in the ags.log :

Code: ags

Initializing resolution settings
Game native resolution: 320 x 200 (32 bit)
Device display resolution: 1600 x 900
Game settings: windowed = no, screen def: explicit, screen size: 1440 x 900, match device ratio: ignore, game scale: max_round
Built library path: d3d9.dll
Using graphics factory: D3D9
Created graphics driver: Direct3D 9
Supported gfx modes (32-bit): 
	320x200;320x240;400x300;512x384;640x400;640x480;800x600;1024x768;
	1152x864;1280x600;1280x720;1280x768;1280x800;1360x768;1366x768;1440x900;
	1600x900;
Attempting to find nearest supported resolution for screen size 1440 x 900 (32-bit) fullscreen
Attempt to switch gfx mode to 1440 x 900 (32-bit) fullscreen
Succeeded. Using gfx mode 1440 x 900 (32-bit) fullscreen

And here are the available choices I see in the winsetup interface :

Code: ags

Native game resolution (320x200)
320x240
400x300
512x384
640x400
800x600
1024x768
1152x864
1280x600
1360x768
1440x900	

And so, the following choices are only present in the log:

Code: ags

640x480
1280x720
1280x768
1280x800
1366x768
1600x900

Which is odd, because they are quite common standard resolutions...


When I modify %USERPROFILE%/Saved Games/<my name>, by replacing 1440 by 1600, the game runs fine and ctrl-V reports 1600x900 as expected.

So I would guess it's a Winsetup issue... ?

Edit : I tested the very latest version with OpenGL support ; the issue is the same...

I don't know if it's an expected behaviour or not, but my native screen resolution is not available aymore with the latest engine version (beta 3 : 3.4.1.3).
With betas 1 and 2 : I've got the "desktop native resolution" available at the top of the list.
With beta 3 : "desktop native resolution" is unavailable and the available resolutions don't fit my screen resolution (it's 1600x900 and I got 1440x900 as the closest choice).