Topics

[screwed]

I was using my laptop, on my lap, watching TV. My dad calls me, I turn... and the damn thing falls on the floor. I pick it up, hoping for best as I try to run Notepad. Nothing. The hard drive doesn't seem to respond. So I restart the computer, and lo and behold, it doesn't start up. It gives me an error that says "Failed to recognize hard drive". I go into BIOS setup, and it doesn't even show that a hard drive exists. I go into the Dell Setup and Utilities boot CD, and there's no hard drive or IDE devices in there either.

I call up Dell Technical Support as a last resort and they basically found out that I need a new hard drive. They also regretted to inform me that I had lost all the information on that hard drive.

Everything I had ever worked on for By the Sword is gone, for good. The walkthroughs I had written to help me plan out the entire game in detail: gone. The Poser files I was working on: gone. The characters...the web pages...the work-in-progress images...the scenes...the rooms...the objects...the entire source code for my game...all gone.

Oh, sure, I backed up my porn and free music on the external hard drive, but not my game, the most important thing on that hard drive.

So wish me luck as I start all over again. I'm only hoping that I sent somebody the walkthrough plans for BTS. I believe I either sent them to LGM or BOYD1981. If not, I am hopelessly screwed.

F*ck.

I just had the neatest idea. What if some AGSers used other AGSers' characters in their games in cameo appearances? (Besides RON games, cecause that's implicitly expected). I mean like regular games...  Like I could have some AGSers' characters in my game in a bar sceneas extras in cameo roles, and I could lend my characters to others for the same use. It could also be a form of advertising, scratching each others' backs and so forth. If it were done enough (not to the point of overkill), it could be interesting, no? What do you guys think?

I was just pondering this, and it could be interesting.

One problem, however, is differing styles. But, let's say my game is pre-rendered 3D (which it is), and John Doe's game is classic 2D painted style. I could have one of John's characters in my game and in my art style, and he could have one of mine in his own style. Eh?

[2006:]

Yes, I know it wasn't called anything last year, just a list of future movies and my general thoughts. Here is a more detailed list. Sorry if it's long. I had to omit a few movies that were inconsquential. Note that they're mostly sequels...



[size=+18]2006:[/size]

Back to School
A remake of the 80's comedy, where a hedonistic business man enrolls in college to inspire his son -- and for the good times.
Starrng: Cedric the Entertainer
Outlook: Might be crap, might not be. Hard to tell this soon.

Carmen Sandiego
Status: Unknown

Charlotte's Web
Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.
Status: Announced

Final Destination 3
No other info

Hellboy 2
Status: Announced
Ron Perlman as Hellboy
Outlook: Never saw the first one, but it looked good.

Indiana Jones 4
Plot and Status are unknown, but Harrison Ford is listed as Jones. A 64-year-old Indiana Jones. Can he pull it off? Perhaps.

Metroid
No other info

Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Same cast. In pre-production

Rainbow Six
CIA agent John Clark pacts with other operatives to leave the agency in order to create a UK-based group dedicated to battlng terrorism.
Status: Announced
No cast listed
Outlook: Another video game-based movie. Could be interesting, alongside Metroid.

Shrek 3
Status: Pre-production (writing and storyboard stage)
Outlook: I saw Shrek 2 and it was brilliant and an excellent movie. Can't wait for this one. There's also a Shrek 4 planned for 2008.

Superman
The planet Krypton is on the verge of destruction. Jor-El sends his son, Kal-El to a planet that will protect him and guide him to becoming one of the most legendary figures to set foot on Earth. Superman - The Last Son of Krypton.
Status: Announced
Outlook: Looks to be another remake. No cast listed yet though.

Tekken
Based on the #1 selling video game, "Tekken" is a high-octane action movie about a young man who discovers he holds a great power and must battle a team of elite fighters who will stop at nothing in order to get it from him.
Outlook: Oh, sorta like Mortal Kombat, the movie. We'll see. Video-game-turned-movie #3 for '06.

Untitled Star Trek Prequel
Status: Announced
Just seeing this tiny entry is good news for me. This movie will mark the 40th anniversary of Star Trek. And to see that it will be a prequel raises some questions. Will this be based in the "Enterprise" era?

War of the Worlds
Status: Announced
Cast: Tom Cruise
Outlook: Hmm, a remake of a classic. Let's see how this is done.

X-Files 2
Status: Announced
Cast: The usual two: Duchovny and Anderson

X-Men 3
Status: Announced (script in development - cast credits are tentative)
Cast: Ashmore, Berry, Cudmore, Cumming, Jackman, Marsden, Stewart

[size=+18]2005:[/size]

"The Brat Pack" (TV)
Status: Announced
Outlook: This already looks promising. A mini-series based on the Brat Pack from the 1980's. Might even have appearances by the original actors/actresses themselves.

"Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (TV)
Status: Announced
An exploration of the jury system in New York politics. Includes all aspects of jury behavior, such as deliberations, trials, and access to prosecuting and defense attorneys, from initial arraignment all the way to the final verdict.
Cast: Jerry Orbach, Carey Lowell
Outlook: ANOTHER Law & Order series. Well, as long as it doesn't jump the shark, we'll see...

Aeon Flux
Aeon Flux is a mysterious and amoral secret agent from the country of Monica. Her motives or background are left unexplained...
Status: Pre-production (filming scheduled July 4th, 2004)
Cast: Frances McDormand, Charlize Theron

Batman Begins
The story of how Bruce Wayne became what he was destined to be: Batman
Status: Filming
Cast: Christian Bale (Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine (Alfred), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dodson), Cillian Murphy (Crane/Scarecrow), Cary Oldman (Lt. Gordon), Sara Stewart (Martha Wayne), and more
Outlook: We've discussed this already. But at least it's a prequel type of movie.

Bewitched
In this remake of the classic 60s TV show, Nicole Kidman stars as Samantha Stephens, a witch who cannot resist using her powers to remedy problems she encounters with her husband, Darrin (Will Ferrell).
Status: Pre-production (shoots summer '04)
cast: Nicole Kidman (Isabel Bigelow/Samantha Stephens), Will Ferrell (Jack Wyatt/Darrn Stephens), Shirley MacLaine (Iris Smythson/Endora), Michael Caine (Nigel)
Outlook: Now, I could see Jim Carrey as Darrin, not Will Ferrell. I'll give Ferrell his due, he's good, but Carrey looks more like Darrin. And what's with the dual credits for the first three actors?

By the Sword: Conspiracy (VG)
Cast: Richard Brum, Andrew Edmark, James Hamer-Morton, Alexandra Varlikova...
Er...how did this get in here? Heh heh...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A young boy embarks on a tour to the most magnificant chocolate factory in the world guided by it's mysterious operator.
Status: Pre-production
Cast: Johnny Depp (Wonka), Freddie Highmore (Charlie), David Kelly (Grandpa), Annasophia Robb (Violet), Julia Winter (Veruca Salt)
Outlook: Johnny Depp as a creepy Willy Wonka. Wonderful. Now for THIS, I could see Will Ferrell playing Wonka.

Chicken Little
In a universe completely populated with talking animals, Chicken Little's wildly active imagination...
Status: Filming (CGI)
Cast: Zach Braff (Chicken Little), Joan Cusack (Ugly Duckling), Katie Finneran (Goosey Lucy), Don Knotts (Turkey Mayor), Garry Marshall (father), Amy Sedaris (Foxy Loxy), Steve Zahn (Runt)
Outlook: Pretty good cast, but wasn't this already a movie? Or was that Chicken Run? Ah, whatever...

Die Hard 4: Die Hardest
McClane and his daughter get involved in a terrorist plot while on a holiday.
Status: Announced (filming early 2004)
Cast: Bruce Willis
Outlook: Great... Maybe we'll get "Die Hard 5: What? Still won't die, motherfucker? TAKE THIS!" in late 2007...

Dukes of Hazzard
Status: Pre-production (slated to begin production this summer)
Cast: Jessica Simpson as...get this...Daisy Duke
Outlook: Ass long as Simpson wears those shorts...yee-haw! I'll watch it! Huh huh, I said 'ass'...

Dungeons & Dragons: The Sequel
Status: Pre-production
Outlook: D&D nerds rejoice! A sequel to the utterly crap movie that released some time ago. Wee!

E-Girl
Status: Pre-production
What happens when a resourceful girl desperate to be a screenwriter but while stuck working for America's largest Internet provider, uses her firm's database to obtain the private screen names of Hollywood's biggest celebrities and power-brokers?
Outlook: Gee, I don't know. What? The "E" in it caught my eye.

Fahrenheit 451
Status: Unknown
Simply put, 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns. In this grim look at a fascist future, firemen have taken on a new duty of starting fires as well as putting them out (complete with flame throwers), specifically with the task of burning all books, as way of suppressing independent thought and action in the public. The film's story centers around a young fireman, Guy Montag, who finds himself questioning his job, even as he encounters a beautiful young woman, and learns about an underground of rebels who each memorize the entire contents of a book, so that they can preserve it even without the use of paper...
Outlook: Hmm, a movie based on a classic book. When are they gonna do 1984?

Fantastic Four
A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom
Status: Pre-production (slated to shoot Aug 04 - Feb 05)
Outlook: Hmm, okay, another superhero movie. We'll see.

The Green Hornet
Millionaire newspaper publisher Britt Reid is secretly The Green Hornet, a masked crimefighter backed up by his kung-fu fabulous chauffeur, Kato.
Cast: Jason Mewes
Outlook: Eek! And guess what...Kevin Smith is directing and writing. He's unsure if it will be his next project and/or if he'll direct it. I smell pot humor and...(sniff, sniff)...mmm, pot...

Hannibal
Vin Diesel stars as the Carthaginian general who rode an elephant across the Alps to attack Rome in the 3rd Century B.C.
Cast: Vin Diesel
Outlook: I thought it was about Hannibal Lector, but then I realized there was already a movie named that.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry finds himself selected as an underaged competitor in a dangerous multi-wizardary school competition.
Cast: The usual
Outlook: By the time of the last movvie in 2007, Harry will be 18. Okay, so it's not so old...

Herbie; Fully Loaded
The classic white Volkswagen with a knack for helping couples hook up finds itself in the world of NASCAR racing.
Status: Pre-production (scheduled to begin filming June 21st, 2004)
Cast: Lindsay Lohan
Outlook: Drool. Lohan's hot (and turns 18 soon). And a Herbie movie! This could go either way.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Status: Filming (wheee!)
Cast: Jerome Blake (Vogon), Anna Chancellor (Rontok), Warwick David (Marvin), Mos Def (Prefect), Zooey Deschanel (Trillian), Martn Freeman (Dent), John Malkovich (Kavula), Bill Nighy (Slartibartfast), Steve Pemberton (Prosser), Sam Rockwell (Zaphod)
Outlook: I cannot wait. I don't care who the cast is, I'm sure they chose well.

Johnny Bravo
Status: Announced
Outlook: Interesting. I wonder if this will be cartoon or real life. Most likely the latter. If so, I wonder who they'll choose for Bravo.

Jurassic Park IV
Status: Pre-production
Outlook: Overkill. Whenever there's a 4th movie (sometimes even a 3rd or 2nd) it usually spells disaster.
Tagline: "It began with a theme park, Then a lost world, Then a really crappy third movie, Now, A danger to filmkind" (at least it should be)

King Kong
Set in the 1930's, this is the story of a group of explorers and documentary filmmakers who travel to the mysterious Skull Island (near Sumatra) to investigate legends of a giant gorilla named Kong. Once there, they discover that King Kong is a real creature, living in a massive jungle where creatures from prehistoric times have been protected and hidden for millions of years. As the explorers search for the great ape, their quest puts them up against both Kong and his dinosaur enemies. Ultimately, it is the attention of a beautiful human woman that soothes Kong long enough for him to be subdued by the explorers and shipped back to New York, where his bleak future involves being put on display in front of humans... but how long can even the mightiest shackles of man hold back an ape 25 feet tall?
Status: Pre-production (filming in Aug 04)
Cast: Jack Black (Carl Denham), Adrien Brody (Jack Driscoll), Andy Serkis (King Kong), Naomi Watts (Ann Darrow)

Knight Rider
Status: Pre-production

Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max, finally with us in his fourth incarnation, still wanders the wastelands of a post-apocalyptic Australian Outback
Cast: Mel Gibson, of course
Outlook: Another fearsome fourth.

Miss Congeniality 2
FBI agent Gracie Hart heads to Las Vegas for her second undercover FBI mission.
Status; Filming
Cast: Diedrich Bader, Sandra BUllock, Michael Caine, Regina King, William Shatner (!), more
Outlook: Whee, William Shatner makes another appearance.

Mission: Impossible 3
Status: Pre-production
Cast: Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Ving Rhames, more
Outlook: The first two were great, this one could be great as well if done right.

Mortal Kombat: Domination
Status: Unknown

Oliver Twist
An adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
Status: Pre-production
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Barney Clark, Frank Finlay, Jamie Foreman

Rush Hour 3
Status: Unknown
Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker
Outlook: The first two were awesome, can't wait for this one.

Scary Movie 4
Status: Pre-production
Outlook: Why not?

Silent Hill
Status: Announced

Star Wars: Episode III
As the Clone War continues, Anakin Skywalker finds himself dangerously close to the Dark Side of the Force and comes into conflict with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Status: Post-production (18 months' post-production began Sept 03)
Cast: McGregor, Christensen, Portman, McDiarmid, Jackson, etc.
Outlook: Well, it's a requirement that this movie be done. We'll see.

XXX: State of the Union
Blah blah blah. ANother Vin Diesel sequel without Vni Diesel. What, is he too good to star in his own f***ing sequels?



Discuss!

[IMD]

Think about it! Haven't you ever wondered who sang that song you love? Or what songs a certain band has out? Haven't you ever wondered what year a certain song came out, or how long the album version is? Or what remixes exist for a song?

I want to know if anyone would SERIOUSLY be interested in ASSISTING me in the creation of the IMD: The Internet Music Database. (Or I could call it something else.)

Think it's a big venture? So was the IMDb, I'm sure. I mean there are probably as many movies in existence as there are songs. Or maybe not. Perhaps there could be a limit to how old a song is to be included in the database. But think about it...

Just like IMDB lists actors as well as movies, and even a list of years and what movies came out that year, the IMD could list the same for songs (performer, song title, album name, release year). The following properties could be archived per song:

• Song Title
• Performer (Singer/Band)
• Album Title
• Release Year
• Producer(s)
• Song Length (non-remix versions)
• Genre (this one might be a tough one, there are genres [rock], subgenres [punk rock], and sub-subgenres [emo punk rock], so... )

Possible additional properties:
• Parodies
• Music Video information
• Remixes
• Remakes

Any ideas? Suggestions? Offers for help?

I admit, I don't know much about programming a database on the web. Maybe somebody could help me out with that, I would be more than willing to do the research and get as much information as I can on all songs, in all genres.

[WELCOME!]

WELCOME!

First off, if you post here without reading these rules (and believe me, we can tell), then we will most likely give you a quick answer and tell you to read the rules. There are resources here. Common answers. Solutions. READ THIS THREAD, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!

The idea of this board is to allow those of you that are new to AGS to ask simple questions when you get stuck, without cluttering up the main technical forum with the same questions over and over again.

As there is an increasing number of people who have problems running AGS games with newer versions of the Windows operating system (such as Vista, SeVen, etc.), you may check out THIS SOLUTION first, before posting your problems.

Now, if you're not sure of anything in AGS, then

READ THE MANUAL FIRST!

Take a look at the manual. That's what it's there for. It even has a Search feature, for crying out loud. It's the ags-help.chm help file (ags.chm before V2.7) that comes with AGS. Either press F1 in AGS itself, or double-click on the AGS-HELP.CHM file in the AGS main directory. (Available on-line Right Here)
NOTE:
Some people have mentioned having problems viewing ags-help.chm - which makes it a little difficult to read the manual before posting. The most common solutions to those problems can be found IN THIS THREAD. Please read it through before posting, if you're having problems with the manual.

A lot of beginners' questions on this forums have to do with very simple things, and most often it can be found in the main manual itself. So don't get upset with us if we simply tell you to read the manual and lock your thread.

Feel free to ask here about any problems you have WITH AGS as you're just starting out, but please, keep in mind to look through ALL of the resources below for an answer to your query if you're stuck in AGS.

Also keep in mind, Chris Jones (aka CJ aka Pumaman) PAYS for the bandwidth of these forums out of his very own pockets. The forums have crashed as a result of overuse once or twice in the past few years. Let's not clutter up this or any other forum with redundant topics and double-posting.

If you find ANY thread with a question that you believe should be added to the BEGINNERS' FAQ, then PLEASE use the other sticky thread in this forum and post that link there. Or, if you know the answer, add it directly to the Wiki BFAQ. It's getting tough for me to sort through all the questions and decide which ones are worth adding and are common enough to make note of. Thanks!

FORUM RULES OF CONDUCT

1. Rules of conduct.

• Post in English. This is one of Pumaman's (Chris Jones) rules, and should be followed here as well. 99% of the AGSers can speak English, so this is the main language of the forums. This is covered in the registration quiz as well.
  
• Give your topic an appropriate and descrptive title. "Need help!" or "Simple question" will NOT do!
  
• Don't YELL! This goes for titles AND messages. Please refrain from using all CAPS and unnecessary colouring or formatting. Yelling will not make us answer your question any faster or any better.
  
• Don't double post. If you think of something to add to your post and nobody else has replied DON'T post again - this is what the "Modify" option is for. An exception can be made if a reasonable amount of time (more than 24 hours) has past since your last post.
  
• No bumping. Unless you have a related question or the problem is on-going, don't post in old (no new entries in more than 2 months) topics. It's nice that you want to help, but save it for someone who needs it.
  
• Don't cross-post. This means posting the same topic twice in different forums, or starting multiple topics because you're not getting an answer. This is annoying, wasteful, and you'll get hell for doing it. If you accidentally post in the wrong forum, PM a moderator and ask them to move it - DON'T start a new topic in the right forum. Again, CJ pays for the bandwidth of this site. Don't waste his money. Or our time.
  
• Make sure your post belongs here! Read below on what belongs here and what DOESN'T.
  
• Do NOT use the "thumb up" icon in your question. This will henceforth be reserved for resolved issues. Once a question has been answered or a problem solved, a moderator will edit the post to change the icon to a thumb-up.
  
  What follows is a list of the icons used and what they mean in this forum:
  : The problem has been solved and this should be checked for any answers.
  : This thread has been locked because it either violated the forum rules, or got out of hand (a rare occurance).
  : This thread's problem is still ongoing, or the inquirer hasn't reported on whether or not the solution(s) worked for him/her.
  

2. What belongs in this forum?

• Questions regarding simple scripting (basic stuff) that is NOT in any of the resources below.
  
• Questions regarding non-scripting basics, like GUIs, setup, music, icons, etc.
  
• Short, small introductions to oneself ONLY if the post includes an AGS-related question.
  

And please, always remember to READ THE MANUAL!

From now on, if any of us are reading a thread that has an obvious answer and if we can tell that you haven't read any of the rules or the resources below, we will simply lock it. We shouldn't have to clean up after you guys if you very well know where your topic should go and what it should (and shouldn't) contain.

3. What goes where?

Keep in mind that topics should go to their appropriate forums.

Completed Game Announcements: Fully finished games you would like to announce (NOT demos).
AGS Games in Production: Announce a game you are working on currently and have several rooms done and work to show for it (screens, demo, etc.).
Hints & Tips: For sharing and finding help when you're stuck when playing AGS games.
Adventure Related Talk & Chat: Anything regarding AGS, adventure games in general, and the AGS community itself. Non-tech questions would go here.
General Discussion: Everything else. Just make sure your post has a point to it and isn't stupid.
The Rumpus Room: For the sillier, more off topic discussions and non-creative activities.
Recruitment: For finding people to join your game projects.
Critics' Lounge: Post your artwork (doesn't have to be AGS/adventure related) and other stuff to have it critiqued and commented on ("C&C").
Competitions & Activities: Just what it says. Creative competitions and activities such as Background Blitzes, Sprite Jams, etc. go here.
Beginners' Technical Questions: Where you are now. If you do not know what this forum is for, please reread this thread in full.
Advanced Technical Forum: Advnaced scripting questions.
Modules & Plugins: Home of the user created AGS modules and plugins, for your convenience.
Engine Development: For discussions specific to the development of the AGS game engine.
Editor Development: For discussions specific to the development of the AGS editor.
Site & Forum Reports: For reporting issues found on the AGS site and forums.

4. But...I need some good paint programs!

If you ever ask this here, we will not lock your thread...we will delete it. Because below is a link to a post in the C&C Forum that has a big list of paint programs that are decent:

All the Paint Programs You'll Ever Need!

(A collection of the working links from the Big List of Paint Programs)

5. And I need software to rip sprites!

Do not ask this here, EVER. Ask it in the General Forum or the Adventure Talk and Chat forum. We'll spare you the lecture on originality and copyright infringement.

6. And how do I make midi files? I need software for that, too!
Same as above. Don't ask this here, take it to the General Forum or Adventure Talk and Chat. (Or better yet, search for it.)

INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES

FROM NOW ON, anybody who asks a question that is easily and completely answered in the BFAQ WILL BE LOCKED the minute we discover it! PLEASE, READ THE BFAQ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS. This saves bandwidth and a lot of time and patience.

Before posting anything in this forum, make sure that you have checked ALL of the resources below. If your question can be answered in one of the resources below, we will not hesitate in locking your thread immediately, after posting a "Read the manual" or "Read the BFAQ" or some such post.

1. The AGS Main Web Site by Pumaman
Topics covered: Lots of things. Check out the knowledge database especially for common newbie questions, such as the infamouos BLUE CUP iniventory problem!

2. Getting Started with AGS by Pumaman
Topics covered: Creating the game, palette setup, first room, game testing, hotspots, edges, interactions, objects, inventory, room options, global messages, inventory, sprite manager, views, loops, characters, cutscenes, conversations, dialog, cursors, fonts, text scripting, custom Quit GUI

3. Online Beginners' FAQ ("BFAQ") by TerranRich
Topics covered: Too many to list. It's categorized and in a Q&A format.

4. Useful Scripting Tutorials by Sylpher
Topics covered: Arcade movement, GUIs, idle animations, etc.

5. GAC Tutorials by The Greek AGS Community
Topics covered: Save/load GUIs, smart scrolling, stats displays, cursor changing, etc.

6. Scripting Basics by RickJ
An excellent mini-tutorial on coding, syntax, and even forum typing. A short, but important read.
The above link was on my old server and I forgot to transfer it to my new one. I will talk to RickJ about getting it back up.

7. AGS Tidbits & Snippets by strazer
A great list of small facts and useful tidbits in AGS not really covered by the manual. More of a collection of miscellany.

8. AGS WIKI
Topics covered: Too many to list. A growing, online encyclopedia of all things AGS.

9. Demo Quest 3
The 'official' AGS demo game is currently a work in progress, while it gets updated to the current scripting style. Find the available bits in it's Games in Production thread.

10. AGS Resources maintained by jasonjkay
A fairly comprehensive, regularly updated list of useful Modules, Templates etc. Want to add some nifty features to your game, but don't know how to script them? Check here first - someone might have done the hard work for you!

11. AGS Video Tuts
Nice AGS tutorials on Youtube courtesy of desming.

UTILITIES and OTHER NEAT STUFF

1. Character and Template Downloads[/u]
2. More Templates, Fonts, and Other Downloads
3. ScriptEditor by AJA
Make scripting easier by using this helpful little program.[/s]
4. Previous AGS Versions
5. Mirror Site of Many Modules provided by Candle
Alternate downloads for most of the currently available modules[/s]
(Note from moderator: Most of the links here are dead at the moment. Needs checking and updating. For the mean time, you may try using the WayBack Machine and see whether some of the contents can be recovered.


NON-ENGLISH USERS

The German Help Boards can be found here: http://www.adventure-treff.de/forum/index.php?board=7

The French AGS Forums can be found here:
http://adventuregamestudio.fr-bb.com/

The Portuguese version of the AGS manual (HTML and Word DOC formats) can be found here: http://www.garage.co.nr/

Spanish tutorials by Ciro DurA!n.
Link leads to the first in an on-going series. Other parts can be accesed from that page, or this thread.

AN ADDITIONAL NOTE
Look, the moderators of this board are willing to help once in a while with questions regarding AGS. But please, don't treat us like instant messengers. If you have a question that will take some time to answer and explain, please do so in the forums. That's what they're here for. We moderators have lives as well. If you have one or two basic questions that can be answered quickly and simply, then fine, please be our guests. But to bombard us with questions about why the forums are down, or why your script isn't working is not within our capabilities. Please don't IM or PM us with complicated scripting questions. This isn't a full-time job for us. It's a hobby. You have over 6,000 registered forum members from which you can receive an answer. Please don't rely on just the moderators and elders.

Thank you.

EDIT by Gilbert, 14th August '12: Added solution to running games on newer computers. Also some clean ups.
Note to self: More work on the broken links.

http://void.lbstone.com/CDCTRNZQOZ/mario.swf

I laughed my ass off. This guy has archived all of the stuff he's found, at http://void.lbstone.com/ .

This is for any videophiles and vide buffs out there. Does anyone know how I can play MiniDV tapes without having a MiniDV Handycam...er...handy? Like I've heard of ways to convert MiniDV to a computer file. Is there a way to play it on a regular VHS VCR? Or is there machinery to play it? Or convert it to computer files? Basically, any way of playing a MiniDV tape without a camcorder would be most helpful.

Thanks.

In the Beginners' Forum we have a thread with dozens upon dozens of miscellaneous "did ya know" type of facts that have no real home. What if AGS started up every time with a "Did You Know...?" window that displayed a random facts out of this bunch? It could pop up by default and the user could have the ability to set whether or not it pops up or not. I think it would be a great resource for new users who don't know about the more obscure features of the engine, such as the "%0#d" placeholder adding leading zeroes to a variable, or char's have the ability of using = and ==.

The user would also be able to scroll through the different Tips is (s)he so chose, or close the window for good altogether. Either I could compile the list of Tips into one file that fits the "Did You Know...?" format, or you could just take the sticky thread in the BegTech Forum yourself, CJ. What do you guys think?

Yep, that's right, I turn 22 today. I feel so... OLD!

So, give me presents! NOW, bitches!

Yes, I do. Am I the only person on the face of the planet who wishes, JUST ONCE, that Steve Siegal would get the CRAP beaten out of him? In every one of his godforsaken movies he does all of the ass-kicking and never gets hurt once, unless I missed something. Then again, I haven't watched all of them.

If I had just won the lottery and had 100 million to spare, I would spend half of it just to see Steven Siegal get his ass kicked. I would personally pay him, stage a scene where he is getting beaten up badly, and film it myself.

More specifically, his scenes are not believable. Am I to believe that there is nobody stronger than Siegal's characters? Nobody that can possibly beat him up physically? Are all of his characters some sort of superheroes? Yes, I've developed a vendetta against Steven Siegal and all of his characters.

Basically, does anybody have any celebrity that they HATE for a strange reason? I know this seems like another cliche poll thread. If you think it's stupid, don't reply to it. Otherwise, please do.

Before you flame me and say I'm breaking the law, I'm on. I have a bunch of songs I downloaded LEGALLY from Napster 2.0 and need to burn them to CD. I REALLY don't want to use Napster's method of burning (if it exists), and would like to use Nero to do so, but it doesn't recognize the WMA files because they're encrypted. I've tried every converter I could get my cyberhands on, but none of them recognize it. So I'm at my last resort...the AGS General Community.

Does anyone has any ideas? Perhaps they've heard of such a program that works with encrypted WMA files?

The answer is yes. You can make an RPG with AGS.

Why not? What's stopping you? First of all, you can keep track of stats with global variables. Look them up in the manual. Look for "globalint".

Turn-based combat? Of course it's possible with AGS! With enough scripting knowledge, you can program turn-based fighting in your RPG game.

Any other RPG-related questions, please feel free to ask here. Anybody who has any other tips and pointers for making an RPG in AGS, post here as well.

(Any other "Can I make an RPG" threads will be locked.)

Before you say anthing, I know this is already in the FUTURE.TXT document included with AGS, at like the very bottom of the list. I wanted to know, how hard is this to implement, CJ? Relatively hard? I want to know, because I am starting to learn Flash (MX 2004) and I suddenly had the idea of using Flash for my opening/ending credits. Also, how high of a priority is this to you?

Does anybody else agree that this would be a great feature and very useful?

[hypercube.4d]

http://www.filelibrary.com:8080/cgi-bin/freedownload/Multi-Platform/n/105/4dviewer.zip

This f***ing blows my mind. This is apparently a four-dimensional viewer, adding a "W" axis. I just can't get my head wrapped around the fourth dimension of matter. It loads hypercube.4d by default, and it's just...crazy.

Does anybody understand four-dimensional space? If so, explain!

After much thought and deliberation, I have news that may sadden a lot of you. As some of  you may have known, work on By the Sword has been minimal and my inspiration and motivation have been dwindling steadily. I have thus come to the difficult decision to cancel development of BTS once and for all.

I mean, I've been working on the damn thing for 2-3 years now, and it just isn't going anywhere. I've lost my motivation, my drive, and any desire to see the end result. I'm sorry if I sound so defeated, but what with school now (I started this past Monday), intense schoolwork, my regular job, and other, more personal matters, I feel this is the right decision.

I would just like to thank all of the people that have helped in the development of BTS, including LGM, RickJ, Nellie/Shylock, ratracer, BOYD1981, Gravator, m0ds, Petteri, and anyone else who's had a hand in making BTS what it turned out to be.

Thank you all.

In the manual, it says:

[size=-1]Below each frame you will see "SPD:0". This is the frame's *relative* speed, which you can change by clicking on the word "SPD:". The larger the number, the longer the frame stays (ie. the slower it is). When the animation is run, an overall animation speed will be set, so the actual speed of the frame will be: overall_speed + frame_speed . Note that you can use negative numbers for the frame speed to make it particularly fast, for example setting it to -3 means that the frame will stay for hardly any time at all.[/size]

The thing is, I'm curious as to what exactly those values represent. Is it hundredths of a second that each frame lasts? What is it, man? CJ, you would know, but does anyone else?

EDIT: It looks to me to be some number raised to the power of frame_speed. For example, 2^frame_speed seconds. Therefore, a negative number gives a value below 1, and therefore a very fast animation, and positive values give more than 1 second per frame. Am I right? Close?

I urge all American AGSers (and even those who are not but still might give a shit) to view the following 680-KB flash animation:

http://www.ericblumrich.com/gta.html

it's a very interesting read view on "How Bush Stole Florida".

For the maniacs like me who run their computer on 1600x1200 resolution easily, there could be an option to play a 640x480 game in windowed mode, but in a 2X view so it isn't so small. I mean, sure, someone could just reduce their resolution, but wouldn't it be a neat little option? Hmmmm? I doubt it would be that hard to implement, for some weirdos like me to use.

What do I mean? Well, have you ever seen Star Trek, when a ship is going at warp space and what you see on the bridge are lines (as stars) streaming past the ship outward from the middle? Well, I need something like that, done in a 3d program preferably (or a really REALLY good 2d one), but more elaborate and nifty, perhaps with some colors as well.

If you do this for me, you'll be a made man. Or at least will have special credit in my game.

That's right! I doubt anyone has ever made a board game before in AGS. I might be wrong. But my new pet project (while By the Sword is on hold for a short amount of time) is AGS-opoly (or AGS Monopoly)!

What IS AGSopoly, you ask? Well, simply put, it's Monopoly (the famous American board game of property buying and trading) with AGS Games as the properties. In addition, the railroads are plugins, and the utilities are Mittens and the AGS Forums.

This will be an open source project, and anybody can add to it once I release it. Basically, it will be the entire game, trading and all, except there will be no computer AI players, only human players. And it isn't online-multiplayer just yet. Anyone who wishses to do so can add a TCP/IP feature or AI (if they so choose).

Basically, Computer AI is too hard for my skills when it comes to Monopoly. The AI has to determine if a proposed trade is in their favor or not, and has to have the option of setting up a trade on its own, as well as auctioning, etc. It's too hard for me to do, but maybe somebody else can do it.

So far I have 22 games (the highest of which isn't really a game at all) for the 22 properties in Monopoly. They are as follows, in order from least to most value (see note below)...

Purple: Mourir en Mer ("To Die at Sea"), Moose Wars
Teal: 5 Days a Stranger, Odysseus Kent, Bestowers of Eternity
Violet: SOL, Night of the Hermit, The Uncertainty Machine
Orange: Little Jonny Evil, 6 Day Assassin, Robert Redford Saves the Day
Red: The Adventures of Fatman, Permanent Daylight, The Journey Home
Yellow: Apprentice, Rode Kill: A Day in the Life, Rob Blanc (trilogy)
Green: Larry Vales (trilogy ), Pleurghburg: Dark Ages, King's Quest VGA
Blue: The [Entire]Reality-on-the-Norm Series, AGS 3.0 Source Code!
Railroads/Plugins: agsCreditz, Flashlight, Parallax Scrolling, Snow-Rain
Utilities: Mittens, AGS Forums

Heh. So yeah, a note: The purple spaces are considered by some to be the crappy streets on the Monopoly board and considered low. MeM and MW are NOT, IMO, the "worst" AGS games. On the contrary: I hand-picked the 21 best games (or trilogies/series) I could think of. First, I picked the "classics" or legends in the AGS world, like Pleurghburg and Larry Vales. Then, I picked the rest based on rating in the AGS Games directory.

I apologize if your game didn't make it and you feel that yours is better than some of those listed above. That's just tough crap. Make your own damn AGS Monopoly. You don't see "By the Sword" listed up there, do ya?

Well, what I kinda need is people's permissions to use their games' name(s) in AGS Monopoly. People like Phil Reed and Yahtzee who don't regularly (or at all) visit the forums I will PM/IM/email, of course, but if you made any of the above games and are reading this, please give me permission! This project will NOT be sold. Again, it will be open source and free for all.

Finally, more details. "Go" will instead be "Restore the Game", Free Parking will be "Free Posting", and Jail will instead be Hell. Again, since this is open-source, anyone can change any of the graphics. I will also be commenting my code, as well as creating a tutorial that explains what steps I took in creating AGS Monopoly.


Rich.