Messages

@AGA My image without the white background looks just great, thanks!

And the url that gives a 404 on mobile is https://new-site.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/search/

@tampie85 Linking to my profile name is fine, thanks.

Some positive feedback:

-The site looks amazing on mobile, whereas the previous site was unreadable on mobile. Great work! I really appreciate everything people have done to bring the site into the mobile era. It's really an amazing achievement.

A bug:

-The "Search all games" page returns a 404 on Mobile.

Other comments:

-I too find the progress bar on the game screenshots distracting. Agree with @edmundito about having something less obtrusive.

-On desktop, I feel like the individual games pages are a little bloated. The "Other players rated" and "Share your thoughts" panels add what feels like unnecessary scrolling. I think it would be good if people didn't have to scroll so far down to get to the comments, or to have to scroll some much in general to get to absorb all the available information.

The one benefit of the previous site was that is was easy to very quickly see the the screenshots, description, and comments all together, and to use that to very easily make a decision about whether you're interested in the game.

I wonder if all the awards, ratings, and other panels could be smaller (making the mug illustration in the awards panels display smaller would help with that), and maybe the "other players rated" and "share your thoughts" panels could be combined into one? Maybe the empty vertical space inside each panel above the title of each panel could be removed as well? The more we can minimize scrolling, the more people will pay attention to what's on the screen now instead of wondering what's next.

It just feels like there are a lot of big bubbles, none of which contains much information, even on a game like "If on a Winter's Night, Four Travelers" which won lots of awards. Here's a screenshot showing what I feel like is a lot of wasted space. I had to reduce the display size just to fit it all on the screen enough to capture it, and it still feels like 80% empty space.

Here's my take on requirements.png

And the effect actually gets much worse if the scale of the objects is increased (no other changes).

VIDEO HERE

EDIT: and if you scale the object down to 0.01 it gets much closer to moving correctly.

Hey @Khris and @eri0o I am finally taking my game project further, and am having an issue with the billboard sprites - they appear to be passing much slower than the ground sprite is passing. Any idea what could be causing this?

VIDEO HERE

Code: ags

// room script file

//Mode7 components
Mode7World TheWorld;
float cameraZ = 1700.0;
DrawingSurface* ds;
Overlay* GroundTexture;

function room_Load()
{
  //set up Mode7
  TheWorld.SetViewscreen(640, 360, 0, -10);
  TheWorld.SetGroundSprite(22);
  WhichTerrain = "Forest";
  TheWorld.SetCamera(0.0, 30.0, cameraZ, 0.0, 0.0, 360.0);
  TheWorld.AddObject(100, 300, 0.2, 7);
  TheWorld.AddObject(200, 300, 0.2, 7);
  TheWorld.AddObject(-100, 300, 0.2, 7);
  TheWorld.AddObject(-200, 300, 0.2, 7);
  TheWorld.AddObject(100, 500, 0.2, 7);
  TheWorld.AddObject(-100, 500, 0.2, 7);
  TheWorld.AddObject(-200, 500, 0.2, 7);
  SetGameSpeed(80);
  
}

function repeatedly_execute_always()
{
  //draw Mode7 ground every frame
  
  TheWorld.Draw();
  TheWorld.UpdateObjects(false);
  TheWorld.DrawObjectsOverlay();
  
  //Overlay version
  GroundTexture = Overlay.CreateRoomGraphical(0, 0, TheWorld.Screen.Graphic, true);
  GroundTexture.ZOrder = 0;
  
  //drawing surface version
  //ds = Room.GetDrawingSurfaceForBackground();
  //ds.DrawImage(0, 0, TheWorld.Screen.Graphic);
  //ds.Release();
  
  //place initial Mode7 camera position
  TheWorld.SetCamera(0.0, 30.0, cameraZ, 0.0, 0.0, 360.0);
  
  //move camera and change track animation loop/speed depending on speed variable
    if(Speed == 4){
      cameraZ -= 3.0;
      TrackAnimDelay = 0;
      TrackLoop = 1;
    }
    if(Speed == 3){
      cameraZ -= 1.7;
      TrackAnimDelay = 0;
      TrackLoop = 0;
    }
    if(Speed == 2){
      cameraZ -= 0.85;
      TrackAnimDelay = 1;
      TrackLoop = 0;
    }
    if(Speed == 1){
      cameraZ -= 0.45;
      TrackAnimDelay = 2;
      TrackLoop = 0;
    }
    if(Speed == 0){
      cameraZ -= 0.0;
      TrackLoop = 0;
    }
      
  //reset camera position to maintain continuous terrain loop
  if(cameraZ <= 300.0){
    cameraZ = 1700.0;
  }
  
  //debug GUI text
  LblSpeed.Text = String.Format("Speed:%d", Speed);
  LblTrackLoop.Text = String.Format("Track:%d", TrackLoop);
  LblTrackAnimDelay.Text = String.Format("AnimDel:%d", TrackAnimDelay);
  LblCameraZ.Text = String.Format("CameraZ:%d", (FloatToInt(cameraZ)));
  
  //Change Terrain if button was just clicked
  if (JustClickedTerrainButton){
    JustClickedTerrainButton = false;
    change_Terrain();
  }
}

This one was just posted recently.

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?msg=636662995

Looks like we have a winner! Congratulations @Creamy, well deserved!

Well there doesn't seem to be a poll yet but here are my thoughts:

@Creamy

Spoiler

Your entry made me laugh out loud multiple times, but also had some clever bits. Nicely done.

[close]

@heltenjon

Spoiler

Very fun. I enjoyed the repeated use of blueberry pie. Makes me feel like maybe I took the prompt way too seriously. 

[close]

Overall:

Spoiler

I liked Creamy's the best.

[close]

All right, somehow this became part puzzle solution and part second-person POV short story, but I don't have time to edit it, so... here you go.

THE COOKING AND CLEANING APPROACH

Spoiler

First you need to get your head in the game. You change into one of the UNIFORMS hanging in the closet, which gets you out of panic mode and into professional mode. You grab the MULTITOOL and add it to your inventory. Time to assess the situation more closely.

You investigate the error messages on the TOUCH PANEL. The news makes the situation even worse. The errors are as follows:
-Maid bot has suffered radiation damage, and the core processor is dead. In the current situation this means there's no way to repair it.
-Climate control inoperative due to the room being sealed off to stop decompression. This means the VENTS will be blocked. It also means the room has limited air, and you can't simply wait for rescue. You need to find a way out soon.
-The escape pod has a leak. It has no air, and will bleed away any air put into it. You'll have to plug the leak before the escape pod will be usable. It also means you need a spacesuit in addition to the escape pod. Things have gone from bad to worse to hopeless.
-The food replicator needs to be rebooted. Well, at least you can enjoy a last meal.
-You note that the alien glyph option which changes the menu into the language of the alien crew members works just fine. You speak both languages, so it doesn't really matter.

You reboot the REPLICATOR to have it make your favorite meal. Maybe if you eat something, you'll be able to think better. Scrolling through the food menu, you notice a lot of alien dishes. You can read the names of them, but aren't sure what they are. You use the GALAXYPEDIA to get a better idea of what these dishes are.

After going down a rabbit-hole of alien food and culture, including the chemistry of various alien food ingredients, you realize something: if an alien gelatin used in desserts is mixed with Earth sugar syrup, it will crystallize into a quick-setting sturdy rubber glue! Perfect for sealing the leak in the escape pod!

You use the REPLICATOR to make a jar of SYRUP and a jar of alien GELATIN. You'll need to keep them safe and sealed, however, so you use the replicator again to make SAUSAGES. You carefully remove the casings from the sausages and pour your small jars of ingredients inside them, then tie them tight.

But how to get at the leak? If you manage to open the doors to the escape pod, the room's air will get sucked out through the leak, and the pod still won't have air. Even worse, the increase in pressure might cause to leak to get bigger! You need another way.

Resistance to your fate seems futile. Your eyes wander around the room, until they finally rest on the MAID BOT.

It's dead. But what might be inside?

You use the MULTITOOL to carefully unscrew the outer humanlike shell of the MAID BOT.

Inside you see the OPTICAL DEVICE that the bot uses to detect things that need cleaning. It also has a number of small COMPRESSION TANKS as well as a COMPRESSOR UNIT. Many WIRES hold everything together.

A plan starts forming in your head. You couldn't, could you? That would be insane. But if it's your only option, maybe it's not so insane after all.

Two of the COMPRESSION TANKS hold cleaning fluids. They won't be useful. But the third is EMPTY. And that's exactly what you need.

You take the OPTICAL DEVICE to the WINDOW, through which you can see the side of your ESCAPE POD. You use it to scan the escape pod and locate the leak. There it is! A pinhole in the pod floor.

Now comes the tricky part. You use the REPLICATOR to make more GLUE INGREDIENTS. Piece by piece, you reassemble the humanlike outer shell of the maid bot into a SUIT OF ARMOR on your own body, sealing the seams with the your homemade alien rubber cement, and using the OPTICAL DEVICE to make sure there aren't any leaks.

It works! You've built yourself a SPACESUIT! With one catch... there's no air supply. Even if you could compress the air in the room down into a tank, there's no breathing apparatus to get the air into the suit. You're just going to have to hold your breath until the job Is done. You're also going to need a safety tether. You braid the WIRES to the foot of your bed, and tie the other end around your ankle.

You hook up the EMPTY TANK to the COMPRESSOR, and start feeding all the room's air into the EMPTY TANK. You won't be able to breathe it yet, but you'll need it later.

You take a few deep breaths while there's still air in the room, and then place the maid bot's empty head, now a HELMET, over your head. You SEAL yourself into the suit with the your rubber cement. The COMPRESSOR beeps. All the air in the room has been put in the tank.

You have to move fast.

You use the MULTITOOL ION CUTTER to remove the window from your room, opening it to the cold vacuum of space. There's no going back now. Since the room is already airless, nothing inside gets sucked out. You carefully climb the wall of the ship onto the wall of the escape pod, and make your way under it to the leak. Your GLUE INGREDIENTS are beginning to freeze. You work quickly, using the multitool LASER TOOTHPICK to puncture the sausage casings and spread the glue ingredients over the leak in the escape pod.

You pull yourself back inside along the wire tether, your lungs starting to hurt from the lack of air. Once inside, you untie yourself from the tether, and use the ION CUTTER on the exit doors from your room. Behind them are the manual doors to the escape pod. You turn the handle, straining with the lack of air, but manage to get the door of the escape pod open.

You're not home free though. You take the AIR TANK you compressed the room's air into and bring it into the pod. You close the pod boors behind you. You open the air tank and let the room air back into the pod.

But you still can't breathe! The helmet on your suit is sealed!

Ever so carefully, you use the LASER TOOTHPICK to open a slit on the rubber cement seal around the helmet, feeling yourself get light-headed and faint, lungs burning, time running out...

But it works.

You breathe.

You're inside the pod. You can make it to the planet.

You breathe.

You breathe.

You breathe.

[close]

*bump*

Do you need an extension?

Um...... yes please.

Finally made time to refine a previous MAGS entry enough to upload it to itch.io    This was entered for the MAGS March 2024 theme "Cut It in Half."

MORT: Manageably OK Response Team

The Manageably OK Response Team is in trouble--Pink MORT has been captured! Control Green MORT and Purple MORT (as well as a helpful drone) in a short split-screen single-player puzzle adventure. Defeat guard bots and navigate challenging obstacles as you get closer to your destination. Don't be fooled--this isn't a platformer but a point-and-click with platform mechanics! You'll need to do some logical thinking. Good luck!

PLAY IN BROWSER HERE:
https://rootbound.itch.io/mort-manageably-ok-response-team

AGS DATABASE LINK:
https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2764-mort-manageably-ok-response-team





I had a lot of fun making this game, and am especially happy with the split-screen mechanics. The MORT characters are obviously Roger sprite paint-overs, but otherwise the graphics are all original. Music is from opengameart.org. Thanks to everyone who played the MAGS version and helped fix the many many bugs that arose. There's still one bug outstanding, but I have been unable to reproduce it. Please let me know if anything breaks.

Congrats on the release! It's always a great feeling when something long in development finally gets finished. 

I really want to enter something, just need to make the time to sit down and think through it. Thanks for the reminder.

Seems I misunderstood the request. Apologies.

No need to go to the script API so many times, just store the GUIControl.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y) result in a variable and compare the results. Also you can't be on top of more than one button at the same time.

I considered that but thought it might return a null pointer if there's no button under the mouse. And I assume the button graphic needs to change back when the mouse moves off it, which is why I included the else.

You can use GUIControl.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y) to check what button is under the mouse, and then code within that what images or animations you want the button to have.

For example, in the global repeatedly_execute_always function, you could try the following (untested, sorry):

Code: ags

if (GUIControl.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y) == gButton1){
  gButton1.Graphic = (whatever graphic you want to change it to);
else{
  gButton1.Graphic = (original button graphic)
}
if (GUIControl.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y) == gButton2){
  gButton2.Graphic = (whatever graphic you want to change it to);
else{
  gButton2.Graphic = (original button graphic)
}

and so on.

Or you could uncheck the "Say" box in the dialog editor, and instead use the SayAt command, which gives you the opportunity to give coordinates for the lines of text.

SayAt will also give an optional third parameter to set the width of the dialog speech text box, so it might work well enough for this purpose.

Hi The Great Underground Empire,
Don't worry, no one was taking your specific absence as a problem.  Nobody has to participate, and we all have lives outside this forum (I'm sorry yours sounds so difficult right now  ). I think people were just interested to hear from past participants. So you're all good. Take care of yourself.

@Laura Hunt thanks for commenting! It's encouraging to know people are reading and enjoying the threads even if they don't have time to submit an entry. I think it was the incredibly low voting turnout that I found discouraging this time, so maybe it's just a matter of too quick a contest period.

@heltenjon yes, making puzzles IS hard. The goal of this contest definitely should be designing a fun solution rather than something brilliant, so maybe we can shoot for slightly simpler setup scenarios. Still, I'd also like to preserve the open-endedness as much as possible so that a "right" solution isn't immediately apparent. It's a tricky balance.

@cat feel free to take as much or as little of this into account as you prefer while you make the next scenario. It's true this is still a young contest on a comparably quiet forum, so maybe we need to just keep it going until it's all that people can think about better known as a fun and low-pressure place to build puzzle design skills.

I suppose we could also think of a more appealing title, like, I don't know, "Playing with puzzle design"? The current title might be fine though.

Maybe we can extend the entry period to three weeks instead of two?

Just thinking as I type. Maybe as we get a larger sample of themes and threads it will become clearer if any changes are actually needed to encourage more entries (or at least more votes and comments!)

Onward to the next theme?

Well, with a mere 3 votes (I didn't vote since it was my theme), it seems the winner is @cat !

I don't know if people have simply lost interest in the contest or if recent themes have been less interesting or too difficult for some reason. Maybe the novelty of a new contest has simply worn off.

In any case, I think it's worth considering what makes some setups more attractive than others when it comes to people thinking it will be fun to propose a solution. Comments and discussion here would be welcome.