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Excellent, thank you. Yeah, this is exactly what I was looking for. Looks like they even pay for people to submit walkthroughs.

Thanks,
-junc

Hello,

Does anyone know of a site that specializes in spoiler free walkthroughs? I was looking for something that would allow you to go through tiered hints that progressively move towards explicit instructions. My google-fu didn't turn up anything. I was considering building a site to do this but want to make sure one does not already exist. Also, would there be demand for it? My assumption is that there would. Better yet, would you (as a player or developer) take the time to add walkthroughs to the site?

Thanks,
-junc

I created this a while back:

http://keptosh.com/downloads/adventure-game-example/adventure-game-example.html

Basically, I'm approaching it using concepts I learned from AGS. Specifically, what this demonstrates, is walk-behinds (see below).

It was my intention to create a template game with a set of instructions that would be written with AGS users wanting to make the move in mind. I set up a list of basic functionality (see further below) that I wanted to achieve. I have kind of moved back and forth on the project and not really touched it in about two months. I think what you are looking for would certainly be possible, but also a rather large project. What I have built here is pretty simple and could be completed fairly quickly. It definitely walks away from being a part of AGS though. I could see it as a first step toward realizing your goal, while also generating interest in the larger project.

I went ahead and made a slightly older version of the project available on Github:
https://github.com/mitchellshelton/AdventureGame

Please let me know if you do more with this.

Code: ags

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

/**
 * Player controller and behavior 
 */
public class Ego : MonoBehaviour {

	// Speed of the player
	public Vector2 speed = new Vector2(1, 1);

	// Store the movement
	private Vector2 movement;
	private float egoY;
	// Use this for initialization
	void Start () {


	}
	
	// Update is called once per frame
	void Update () {
		// Retrive axis information
		float inputX = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
		float inputY = Input.GetAxis("Vertical");

		// Movement per direction
		movement = new Vector2(speed.x * inputX, speed.y * inputY);

		// Create a dynamic sprite sort order for object layers
		// Get the Character Y position
		egoY = transform.position.y;
		// Set the sort order based on the Y position
		if (egoY <= 2.0 && egoY > 1.9) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "0";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.9 && egoY > 1.8) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "1";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.8 && egoY > 1.7) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "2";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.7 && egoY > 1.6) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "3";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.6 && egoY > 1.5) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "4";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.5 && egoY > 1.4) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "5";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.4 && egoY > 1.3) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "6";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.3 && egoY > 1.2) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "7";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.2 && egoY > 1.1) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "8";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.1 && egoY > 1.0) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "9";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 1.0 && egoY > 0.9) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "10";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 0.9 && egoY > 0.8) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "11";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 0.8 && egoY > 0.7) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "12";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 0.7 && egoY > 0.6) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "13";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 0.6 && egoY > 0.5) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "14";
		}
		else if (egoY <= 0.5 && egoY > 0.4) {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "15";
		}
		else {
			GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>().sortingLayerName = "0";
		}

	}

	void FixedUpdate() {
		// Move the game object
		rigidbody2D.velocity = movement;
	}
}

Code: ags

Unity3D Custom 2D Adventure Game Template

Walk Behinds
Walkable Areas
Character Movement
  Right
  Left
  Up
  Down
  Collision Detection
Animations
  Walk up/down/left/right
  Pick up high/mid/low
  Sit down/stand up
  Lay down/stand up
  Death
  Hit
  Throw
  Talk
  Misc dance/wave/etc
Inventory
Dialog Trees
Score
Save/Load
Interaction
  Button Interface
    Look
    Walk
    Talk
    Interact
  LucasArts Interface
    Give
    Open
    Close
    Pick up
    Look at
    Talk to
    Use
    Push
    Pull

Well, too be fair, ScummVM have said they would definitely consider supporting AGS games if the file format was made open source.

This matters to me more than anything about the editor itself belonging to some particular license. Whatever is comfortable for CJ and whatever keeps the engine alive is good enough for me.

I left AGS after creating Keptosh and have never seriously approached another project with it. I love AGS, but I feel that with 10 years of no true cross platform support for games, I will never again use AGS. Of course, this breaks my heart, I love the community here. After 8 years of lurking around these forums with no intention of using the editor, I think it says a lot about the strength of the community. I want that back. I want to make games with AGS again. The one thing that would bring me back faster than anything would be ScummVM support (not that anyone wants me back ).

I feel that the editor being cross platform or having a specific license outside of what Chris has already done is just silly. If you are a game developer and you are too lazy to run wine or VirtualBox, or better yet, just run it in Windows natively, then you are not serious about developing games with AGS.

Thanks,
-junc

Ugh, sorry, my head has a hard time not thinking in the immediate new and awesome gadget. Dear god...I went back and read that post, I should not reply to threads before coffee.

I agree with Snarky. I paid $100 for a wacom tablet (3x3 I think (I guess about an A7?)) years ago and pretty much never use it. But, I don't regret it at all. When I do use it, it is nice, but not my thing to use all of the time. Heck, I even mailed it to Darth Mandarb and he used it for a few months and sent it back

Since you do draw a lot, I recommend trying one out, you might not like the feel. If you can't test one, just be prepared to deal with adapting to using it (I think this is where that "it depends" thing comes in a lot). On mine the surface was really slick so I used to lay a piece of paper over it, felt more natural to me that way.

Regarding size, I recommend against getting one too small. If you want to be a serious artist you will want to save up some money and dump a decent amount on it. This will, after all, become your primary drawing tool. Then again, maybe start small and upgrade later. I feel that my small wacom has kept me from using it more than anything else. Everything feels cramped. Are your options really A4 or A5, that seems off. In the US we tend to have A7 and A4 and then maybe an A3. I would recommend you go for the A4 if you can, that is the size of a piece of notebook paper, which most people are comfortable with drawing on that size surface I think.

Wacom seems to be the defacto standard. I imagine there are other brands out there that are better, but I think Wacom just has a better reputation. Just do your research in this regard. Figure out the size problems and if you want to get one at all before worrying about the brand.

Oh, and back to my original screwed up post: Have you considered that route? The non drawing tablet-tablet? One of my problems with the drawing tablet was not seeing the results on the pad with the pen, it didn't sit right in my brain. My wife is an artist and she HATES the wacom tablet (then again she mostly paints and dislikes anything digital). The pricing point on those two is about to get really close I think.

Sorry about my bashing around in your thread.

later,
-junc

Well...it depends...

j/k

You are trying to buy a tablet at the worst time possible. Every vendor under the sun is about ready to start a mad rush to sell these things. I say give it 6 more months to a year. You will have a choice with lots of reviews discussing quality for price. Not to mention artists that might recommend one over another. The iPad will benefit this market a great deal. Ideally, you would want to wait for the second generation iPad and see what kind of responses other companies have come out with. That way the market will be well established.

later,
-junc

Actually, I can't find an official "Main Street" except for what is on Roosevelt Island. I always assumed there was one, that is just weird, most American towns have a "Main Street". That leaves Fifth, which the wiki article seems to indicate was established as part of the city in the 1860s. So I think you are safe with Broadway.

Where is Dave Gilbert when you need him?

later,
-junc

In the beginning, Broadway was a Native American trail  called the Wickquasgeck Trail. The trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along the length of Manhattan Island. When the Dutch arrived, the trail became a main road through the island. It was first mentioned, by Dutch explorer and entrepreneur David de Vries, in 1642. At first, the Dutch called it "Heerestraat". In the 18th century Broadway ended north of Wall Street, where Eastern Post Road continued through the East Side of Manhattan while Bloomingdale Road on the west side. By the late 19th century, Bloomingdale Road north of Columbus Circle was widened and paved, and was called "The Boulevard". By the end of the century, however, the whole old road was renamed to Broadway.

Source: http://www.earthdocumentary.com/broadway_new_york_city.htm

Oh and this if you want to double check, I didn't, but that might help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Streets_in_Manhattan

Good luck!

My personal web host is amazing. After years of jumping from host to host I finally settled on this one and have been very happy with their service, prices, and uptime. They also offer VPS now.

http://www.dreamhost.com/hosting-vps.html

I tried slicehost for a while and learned that VPS doesn't interest me. They are supposed to be one of the best out there.

http://www.slicehost.com/

For your specific needs though, dreamhost sounds like the better choice. I don't know if you are going to find the extra storage you are looking for with most VPS services. At least not without the huge prices.

Good luck,
-junc

Googling 'res/commandimagelist/' brought up a crap load of references to Open Office. Looks like a bunch of icons. I don't believe it is tied specifically to Open Office itself, but perhaps a open library of icons used in several software packages.

BTW, which Windows OS? XP, Vista, 7?

EDIT: A little more googling reveals that these are most likely resource packages. They will most likely contain images, which is why they are showing up on a picture search I guess. That is assuming that you mean they have a ".res" extension. There may be a chance that for some reason the search tool is returning results from within these packages, accounting for the large number and inability to find an actual location.

later,
-junc

I don't "know alot about programming", but I will give it a wack.

MFC gives you some kind of basic access to video controls at least. If you need something more advanced than what those libraries offer I imagine the next logical step is DirectX for Windows based multimedia programming. Obviously, there are other C++ libraries that can do the same basic stuff.

Honestly, if you are manipulating audio, I don't imagine video will be a big step away for you.

Since you mention MFC I imagine you also aren't trying to write your own libraries here. I'm not sure if many people even bother with that anymore. Once you create a layer of abstraction for controls like that it really shouldn't matter which library you are leveraging in the end.

good luck,
-junc

Nomination done Ptraci. Just a note to clarify. These are nominations that invited people can give out, not actual invites. So, there is no guarantee that you will get an invite. It just greatly increases the odds I imagine.

I would still recommend signing up here:

https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/

As far as I know I was never nominated for an invite. I only used that form.

My gmail name is juncmodule, so if anyone else on here has an account, "Wave" me

later,
-junc

I actually agree. I think once it becomes more developed (extensions) it may appeal to people for more reasons. In it's current form it only seems to be collaborative tool.

I think for a team working on an adventure game it could be really useful. Instant feedback and modifications to images, documents, code, etc.

Setting up an AGS "wave" where we use it like a giant interactive chatroom could also be interesting.

I'm hoping to use it to expand networks at my job. I'm a web developer in a university with possibly hundreds of other web developers and I work with and collaborate with no one. It is not a very productive environment for me or the university.

I think it is one of those tools a lot like "twitter". Either you get it or you don't get it. However, I think "get it" is a weighted term in this case. I think "get it" means it is actually useful to your workflow. I use twitter as a micro RSS feed and very seldom tweet myself. I imagine Google Wave will eventually fill this kind of adapted role for many people.

I see it more as a extension of google docs in a way. With a lot more features than an office suite could ever provide.

EDIT: Nomination sent Khris. If you get in you have to repay me by going to Berlin and giving all of the Ableton developers a hug.

later,
-junc

I have some invite "nominations" to give away. Does anyone still need one?

later,
-junc

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=31775.0

I imagine there is something in that thread that might help you out.

I never did do it. Although I got a decent job/career started, so maybe someday.

later,
-junc

I'm having a strange GUI issue. I have several buttons and a few of them do not work. The code looks the same to me so I don't understand. When I double click on the working buttons in the GUI editor it takes me to the location of it's corresponding function. However, when I double click on the broken buttons it simply takes me to the top of the script.

I created the functions for the broken button manually, rather than double clicking. Is there some process which I have to follow to "register" the new functions somewhere. It appears that I can not undo this and just double click to add them. I have triple checked the spelling on the function names and the script but just can't see what I'm doing wrong.

In the following sample code buttonLocWare and buttonLocRep do not work. The other two work flawlessly.

Code: ags

function buttonLocWare_OnClick(GUIControl *control, MouseButton button)
{
  player.ChangeRoom(4);
}

function buttonLocRep_OnClick(GUIControl *control, MouseButton button)
{
  player.ChangeRoom(5);
}

function buttonLocPub_OnClick(GUIControl *control, MouseButton button)
{
  player.ChangeRoom(6);
}

function buttonLocReg_OnClick(GUIControl *control, MouseButton button)
{
  player.ChangeRoom(7);
}

Thank you,
-junc

EDIT: Ugh...sorry. Events. Didn't see events.

I would also be interested in any extra invites anyone has laying around.

I probably already use google for way too much. Might as well provide them with the remainder of my internet soul. They make the process so fun.

I wonder if that is really the difference between Microsoft and Google. Microsoft makes the whole soul stealing process painful and leaves you feeling bitter and used in the end. Google makes it feel good and in the end it buys you a dress and tells you that it thinks you are pretty.

I want to feel pretty.

later,
-junc

@Snarky: I didn't say that female leads are better written. I said "female characters are always easy to find inspiration for.", but I agree with many of your points. I think my female leads may fall close into the range of type three that ProgZmax pointed out. I certainly agree that men are portrayed in the more "meaty" roles. But, I guess my problem is, how often is that done well? You cited many books that I have never read, but many VERY good authors. I think, if anything, this proves my point. I don't think I've read a single book that you mentioned and I'm sure that they would be inspiring characters. I believe they are in the minority though when compared against the flat males in film. Perhaps this is the real problem, my source of inspiration coming from film instead of books.

Gord10 nailed it in a way. If I find it easy to write female leads, maybe I just need to build up the male as a female and then swap genders. I believe the line in As Good as it Gets was: "How do you write women so well?" "I imagine a man and then I take away all reason and accountability."

Perhaps I shouldn't have said male "lead" to folks making adventure games. I agree with everyone that the male lead in an adventure game needs very little to be engaging. In fact, the less of themselves the ego brings the easier it is to become involved in their story. It is usually the other characters that make the story interesting from the adventure game perspective. So I guess apply those questions to your NPCs instead.

@Anian: "isn't the whole point of a story the way a character changes through it" Absolutely! That is my issue, getting a good and interesting starting point. I have the story, have the romantic lead, the challenges and adventures that will shape my male lead into a great character. But my first chapter is looking terrible Bringing him, and the reader, into the story world is the whole problem. He isn't interesting enough for a reader to follow for 300 pages, little enough for me to write him for 300 pages.

Also, in regards to the "tabula rasa", this is part of my personal problem with the male lead to. My starting point has been a blank slate, because he started as an adventure game character.

So is the general consensus that I'm wrong? That I'm just not seeing the many dynamic males that are out there? The males do have the meaty roles, and I'm just being block headed and refusing to accept them?

@Babar: thanks, I took all of that stuff down a while ago, more on accident than anything. Perhaps I should put it back up. Guess I haven't received any requests for it so just kind of forgot.

later,
-junc

I slapped together a quick mockup. Hopefully it will help.





Download PSD

Don't worry about the content for now, just get the overall layout together, header, footer, nav, content space. Odds are someone will want to change the content area after you finish anyway. Make sure you never make the nav static images, people always want to change things. Using text and dynamically stretching menu items resolves this problem (most of the time). If you can do away with the multicolor menu items then I recommend you do, it means you will have to have a total of 12 images (normal/hover) at least.

You lack a footer completely. I recommend adding the address and phone number, a nice small pic of the school maybe, whatever a user might need to have available from any page. Also, this could be a good place for a few links to commonly used pages, although the site doesn't look big enough for that.

Oh, and never make a site for anyone. They will immediately assume you are the magic computer box wizard and expect you to fix the ENTIRE internet anytime anything is "wrong" with it.

good luck,
-junc

Male leads in stories are broken, or perhaps not broken enough.

I look to movies for a lot of inspiration, as I'm sure many here do. A large problem that I'm having is that female characters are always easy to find inspiration for. I can write a dynamic interesting female without problems. When it comes to the male though, everything falls apart.

Male leads are almost always, it seems, shaped by the world they are currently in or the love interest they have. I think characters should be shaped by the world they *have* lived in, not the current one. So, by their past. This is how people work, they adapt to a new environment and events based on past experiences.

With the male lead this seems to be not quite coming together for me.

An example: When I think male lead and go to movies to find that male lead, one mind springs to mind, Johnny Depp. A few weeks ago I watched Edward Scissorhands. I think this is a great example of my problem in a way. This character certainly doesn't seem flat. But, when I break down what makes him interesting, I can't see anything left but his environment, love interest, and the story before him. Without a doubt, I see "incompleteness" as the dynamic trait that drives the character. Somehow this doesn't seem to do it for me.

Perhaps this is a problem with me, I just like creating females more. I, personally, don't find males interesting.

So, the question is, what do you do to overcome this? How do you create male leads? Is there anyone that has the opposite problem?

Thanks for reading.

later,
-junc