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Thanks guys.

Yeah I meant to write what it's currently capable of and what the user can tweak.

For everything and each flare this is called in the rep_ex (probably should be rep_ex_always, but at the moment I didn't have any blocking moments, so I didn't care. ):

function lensflare_flare(int sourceX, int sourceY, Object*obj, int sprite, float distance, int transparency, bool fade, int baseline, optional int viewX, optional int viewY)


SourceX and SourceY: these coordinates are the location that the object evolves around.  So the sun may be: x:100, y:100, but the flares are: sun.x, sun.y because they evolve around the sun (but since the sun or light source 'can' move, is why I've made the flares follow the sun's actual position).

obj: is obviously the object, which makes things easier so you can just do:  obj.X=500, for example.

sprite: is the sprite number. 0 makes it optional, that way if it's optional you could always have an animating flare, sun or light source, instead of just a static sprite.
Also 0 is in case you'd rather just use the graphic you initially set the object at, etc.  All the flares are centered according to the vertical and horizontal center of the sprite image.  So even if your light source or flare is oddly shaped, it will be centered properly, instead of what AGS does with the bottom left corner for objects.

distance: This controls how far from the SourceX and SourceY the object is.  Positive numbers go towards the viewport, and negative numbers go away from the viewport (which I didn't actually use, other than the planet).  0.0: would be static.  It doesn't move from it's evolve point.

transparency: Right now it's a black background, so the flares are pretty easy to see.  All of them in this demo are set at 50% transparency.  So if someone had a brighter background, they could make the flares and such easier to see by decreasing the transparency.

fade: False, means the object doesn't fade when it's further from the viewport, while True does.  The flares fade, but the Sun and Planet do not.

baseline: I decided giving the player control of the baseline would be the best idea.  That way they can customize it to exactly how they see fit.

optional viewX and viewY: If you change this, the thing to affect the light source position wouldn't automatically be the viewport.  The only thing in the demo that I've made not use the viewport to determine the position, is the edge lighting of the planet.  Instead it follows the sun.  That way, if you move the viewport around, it still holds on the correct side of the planet.  I will need to tweak this one a little before releasing it.


That's pretty much it.  The user can control just about everything I can see them needing to.

Yeah, I was thinking about putting in a darkness the more you look at the sun.  I'll update it soon and show you the results.
Also it's only about 25 lines of code, in all.  (not including the calling of the lensflare_flare() function in the room scripts)

edit: Sorry, I didn't write that well enough.  I 'think' I'll be adding a darkness on the background whenever you look at the object more.  I might, not sure yet.  But I'll definitely add the blanket of whiteness (center gradient, so the edges are easier to see), whenever you stare at the sun.



EDIT:  Added a Brighter overlay!

You guys better get your glasses out for this one  8), I think It's a huge improvement with it only being one extra object added (13 in total now).
It 'almost' makes me want to squint... almost..
www.bryvis.com/entertainment/other/lensflares/lens_flares_brighter.zip

Alright.  Yesterday I came across Ali's smooth scrolling module and I saw two great words "lens flares".  But his wasn't very impressive at all, so I decided to write up my own lens flares module in less than half a day.  All the lens flares graphics were created by me with the use of gradients and lots of tweaking.

Have a look at the picture:


You can also download the compiled demo here (without source):
www.bryvis.com/entertainment/other/lensflares/lens_flares_brighter.zip (New, brighter effect when you stare at the sun with the camera)
http://www.bryvis.com/entertainment/other/lensflares/lens_flares.zip (Old file)

(Use the arrow keys to move the viewport and watch the lens flares move around and fade in/out depending how far it is from the camera)

Graphics are 800x600, and I used 9 objects to make the lens flares, 1 object for the sun, 1 object for the Earth, and 1 object for the Earth's edge shine. (12 objects in total)


Would anyone find something like this useful?

The Sun (or light source) doesn't have to be static, it can move.  So this could be headlights on a moving car, or a flashlight aiming at the 'camera', or one of those shiny spacecrafts, m0ds catches glimpses of flying through the sky at night , etc.

I have plans on making it so if the light source is covered by rudimentary shapes like circles, rectangles, or triangles, that the lens flares will start to dim until they are not seen anymore.


Let me know what you guys think.  Is it realistic looking?  Or do you have any ideas or suggestions that you'd find useful?
I figured GenGen was the best place for this since the module isn't complete and ready for general use yet, I'm just looking for feedback.

midpointX = ((A.x)+(B.x)) / 2
midpointY = ((A.y)+(B.y)) / 2

It's literally that simple.

It's:
(edit: an Image once went here..
I had linked an image from another website, but turns out I guess you can only view it if you're actually visiting or recently visited the site. the answer is below anyway. )

Dual, I'm not sure if you were pretending to not make sense, or if it was just an everyday, normally confusing post that you always seem to write. 


(I'm just giving you a hard time, buddy! )

I also think the 2nd from the bottom, the flat colored text by darth, in  image limpingfish had posted is also the best one.
I was mainly just playing around.   But I definitely hate the cartoony text of Hobo.

How about something less rounded?  Here's a quick attempt:


(Warning: It might be slightly washed out compared to the rest of the stuff on the site )

I also feel that Windows 7 is the best Windows OS I've ever had, and I've had them all and totally skipped Vista! 

[quoute][..], but I think it will end up causing too much interference in the current game.[/quote]

I'm so happy you've decided this.   

It makes it easier for the player in many ways.  Control, memory, navigation, etc.  And it looks cleaner.

That reminds me, Crimson.

Hey Harg, just for a heads up. Next time you make an adventure game and have the death screen return you to the start screen, make sure you toss a Load/Restore button in there.  Most gamers don't know about F5 (if that is the button), and having to play the game just to load is a nuisance. k

I forgot to mention that earlier.

Hmm, that's not a bad idea, I could always use a label.

I like every little detail to look authentic that I'm actually willing to give it a try!

Edit: The label works like a charm.  I'll be appending the '|' indicator and remove it every few game loops just to add to the authenticity, just so it has that Windows blinking indicator look.

Thanks for the suggestion Crimson.

Try drawimage with a sprite that doesn't have an alpha on the background, if you haven't.  Then we'll see if it's the same unknown weirdness I had experienced.

Actually something like this has happened to me a few months ago.  Did you start out the game with 16bit color, then after importing the sprites you changed it to 32bit?

I did that once, but it was a fresh game and I had only imported a few sprites in the sprite manager.  The  DrawingSurface.DrawImage  would paste the sprite onto the background in a complete weird whiteish color, and those sprites didn't even have alpha.  Even after reimporting the sprites into the sprite manager and background, it still didn't fix the problem so I made a new game.

Have you checked if the sprites with alpha channel work properly on a character/object?
edit: Sorry, I must be blind.  My guess was that those rain droplets were imported or saved incorrectly.

I also just had this issue, word for word as his posted screenshot (minus the German) .

My video card crashed while I was testing my game, sometimes windows is able to get the video card to work again, sometimes not.  I've mentioned the problem already in the Tech thread.

But yeah, I did the renaming of Game.agf.bak to Game.agf, and it still gives the same error.

Starting to wish I didn't buy a laptop with an nVidia graphics card (it's a good thing I backed it up a week or so ago--it definitely would be nicer if AGS had a backup feature though).

Edit: Just happened again!! Dang Didly Darn Dang-it!

This is definitely a beginners question, but I don't believe there is an answer to it.

Can you change the underscore that AGS places for where the input area is on a Text box?  I haven't seen it under TextBox in the manual, so I imagine it's not possible.

Here's an image example:


It's a mock up GUI to look like a Windows window and that massive underscore near the end is what AGS places in there.  It totally doesn't fit the text style.  Windows does the vertical line, which I'd prefer to have, but even an underscore to match this custom made small text would be acceptable.

If not... oh well, I'll survive..  

I've also never voted on the color and layout either.  But it took us like half a year to even get where we are now.  So if we start changing colors and everything now, it'll take until 2011 to finally update the old website.
And looking at the old, current layout versus the new layout, the sooner I want to get this one up and running.

Some of the shadows could be a little darker, but other than that I think you're doing a fine job.

I never did play KQ4.  Only KQ 1, and 5 to 8 (possibly 2 as well).

Who's knees do we gotta bust to get this going? lol

I've never played Larry Vales so the character doesn't mean anything to me, and I suspect that the same may be true for others who are less than hardcore oldies.

I also haven't played Larry Vales, so seeing that guy in the header does nothing for me as well.

I understand why the 'oldies' would want him in there, but to me he looks out of place and doesn't offer any nostalgia or relevance to adventure gaming.

But all the other characters standing up are pretty cool.  Almost a little too identical in pose, but pretty adventureish.