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[Interesting General and Adventure Related Chat Thread Awards!]

Here it is... by popular demand by me, the Interesting General and Adventure Related Chat Thread Awards!

Yes!  The Interesting Threads Awards is a pointless tri-annual award that is hosted by me!  Woo-Hoo!

The winner (The person who started the thread) will recieve:
 1.   Bragging Rights!

 2.      The right to tell everyone about it!

The runner up will recieve:
  1.  Nothing!

This award prerequisets(sp) are quite self explanitory.



Here are the rules:
-  The thread must be from the General Disussion Bord, or the Adventure Related talk and chat.

-  It must be an interesting thread.

- You can't nominate your own.

- THey can't be stickys.

- And the thread you nomitate cannot be this thread.

If you take this seriously, name your nomination here!

If I get a lot of response, I will make a new thread to say the official nominees, and the voting will begin!

The winner of the thread award will get the chance- no, the privelage!- to say that their thread was the best from January to April.


I nominate "Guess Who Thead"  by Peter Thomas.  I learned so much about everyone.  We're a big, happy fammily thanks to that thread!


What about you?

All the other MIDIs in my game work, but for some reason the 2 that I added don't.  I checked the filename and the directory twice, and they are saved right, but they don't work.
I recently moved my game directory to another AGs file, but I don;t know if thats it.
 If there something I am overlooking, pelase tell eme.

Ok, I searched through the forums and help file, and I found stuff for it, but I still don't get it.

How do I make it so that if I Right-CLick on something, then the character looks at it, and if I left click soemthing, the player Talks/Uses it, much like many games (The Uncertainty Machine, Bestowers of Eternity) do.

I know it has spmething to do with the custom properties schema, but I just don't understand how to fit it to my liking.


Thanks for the hlep

[X]

I have kept this in my system for a long time, but now I have finally snapped.  What is going on with Gatorade? (If they don't have gatorade across the lake,  please excuse my ignorance and read my rant anyway   );
I see the new gatorade-  Gatorade X- Factor.  Ooohh!  the X-factor!  Is it just me, or has American culture totally became stupid over the letter X?  I mean really!  Everything has gone from Extreme to X- treme!  I hate that!  Name one common commercial food product that is not X-Treme!

So now the marketers at whatever company parents Gatorade has thought of a brand new, totally original name for a brand new, totally original gatorade sub-quencher:  

               X- Factor


OK, so they got the hype, but where is the substance.  Hmmm, after using every cliche in the book, our high-level marketers have came to a halt.  What has not been used yet that is so cool that it bears the name, X- FACTOR?  Surely our overpaid marketing department can think of something...



But they don't.  So what they do is take one flavor, and combine it with another.



That's IT!!!  They think that this is the thing that can change Gatorade forever!  Two flavors!  Why diddn't they think of that?

Flashback-
...
Begginings of Gatorade Company.
...
After a succesful release of their first line of colors- ahem, Flavors, A new line of flavors cometh.

Remember Strawberry-Kiwi?

Classic




Gatorade sucks.
I had a baseball game today, and one of my teammates got a Gatorade ICE, with "Clear Flavor"
In case you don't know, Gatorade ICE is the exact same thing as gatorade, except there is no color.   It is as clear as water.

Here is the conversation between a low-level manufacturer, Jimbo Jones,  and a high-level manager, Thomas, during the birth of Gatorade ICE:

Jimbo:   Um, hey, boss?

Thomas:  Yes?

Jimbo:  Duuh, we're all out of duh ar-tih-fish-owl color for duh Strawberry flavor?

Thomas:  Jimbo, I told you to use it sparingly.  Only put in what you need.  Have you called our supplier?

Jimbo:    Duh, no.  Theyre closed.  We'll have to wait and miss the shipping, or not use color.

Thomas:  Jimbo, you incompeta- Say, wait...  I've just thought of a fabulous idea!!!!


And thus, history is made.


In today's culture, it seems like anything ICE means that they ran out of artificial colors, and then they decided to market it.

Classic



In conclusion, bad marketing has tried to target the ignorant by using cheap slogans and bad descisions.  They take the exact same thing and they double it, changing the label.  No one is safe.  We must bail out before it's too late!  Earth is in danger!

I am insulted.

This game rocks, but I need some help.

It's not really a puzzle question, though, so there arent any spoilers.


Whenever I go back to the newspaper, Susan keeps saying "I should call it day", but nothing happens.

How do I get to day 2?

Is it just me or is nothing working right?


I was testing my game and before the screen started up, it gave me on of those fatal error messages.
Follows:

---------------------------
Illegal exception
---------------------------
An exception 0xC0000005 occured in ACWIN.EXE at EIP = 0x0042352B ; program pointer is +379, ACI version 2.61.723, gtags (39,0)

AGS cannot continue, this exception was fatal. Please note down the numbers above, remember what you were doing at the time and notify CJ on the Tech forum.



Most versions of Windows allow you to press Ctrl+C now to copy this entire message to the clipboard for easy reporting.

Please help.

Thanks in advance.

Hey.
Let's get right to it.

In my room script, I want there to be this part where Character EVIL's Transparency decreases gradually from 100 .
My idea was this:





 int tran = 100;



    while (tran > 0){
     SetCharacterTransparancy(EVIL,



That was where I stopped, becasue I diddn't know if AGS could set a value to be an integer on a parameter.


I know it can be done, so can someone please tell

[Yes I know that these paramiters are bad and makeshifty, but If people understand what I'm talking about, then I'm sure that we'll think on something.Tell me what you think.]

OK, I was working on my room this morning I had 2 revalations:
 
1.
Why dosen't Chris add a Zoom In and Zoom Out button to the Room Editor?  That will make it really easy to draw hotspots and such.  Consider

2.
(I hope this dosen't exist already, because I did look)
I know that there is a character scaling option, but this is not what I'm talking about.  This is for the entire camera.
I was thinking it could be used in cutscenes.

ZoomIn(int speed, int source X, int source Y, int time);

and...

ZoomOut(int speed, int source X, int source Y, int time);

Yes I know that these paramiters are bad and makeshifty, but If people understand what I'm talking about, then I'm sure that we'll think on something.

Tell me what you think.

OK, let's get right to it.

I downloaded Geoffkhan's sample game, and I noticed a very smart function that he put in there.  Apparently he makes a function to make the character face left, right, etc...

So I was like "Dude, I am so ripping this."
So I copied it and then I pasted it in my global script:

function faceback () {
FaceLocation(GetPlayerCharacter(),160,-1000);
}
function facefront () {
FaceLocation(GetPlayerCharacter(),160,1000);
}
function faceleft () {
FaceLocation(GetPlayerCharacter(),-1000,100);
}
function faceright () {
FaceLocation(GetPlayerCharacter(),1000,100);
}

So then I tried to implement it in my game:

DisplaySpeech(1, "I'm going to check this out.");
faceright();

I get an "undefined token" error message.
Why is AGS doing this to me?  I can't take it!  I even copied and pasted it all, it should work!

[The codephrases for disaster:]

The codephrases for disaster:

Telephone and computer being fixed...

No Intercom...

Door locked from inside...

5:00 PM (17:00)...

Evening deep-sea fishing trip at 5:30...

....


Introducing the promotion for the most awaited Short all quarter....



That's right!  
5- O'Clock Lock!

This game may be small, but it'll keep you up into the wee hours of night trying to figure out the intricacies and solutions of, and to this game.  Don't be fooled by length, this game packs a punch that only your amphibian friend can deliver!

Features:

-- A Custom Set of totally original cursors:



-- 3 rooms!

-- 1 PC, 1 NPC (2 in total!);

-- 14 inventory items!

-- A tolerable amount of puzzles!



Walking around in the office, thinking of a way to escape!



Outside on the balcony overlooking beautiful Santa Barbara, California! (Updated!)



Beautiful.

Be sure to check here regularly for updates!

Status Report- 3/31/04

-Character/Object Art: 100%

-Backround Art: 100%

-Animations: 100%

-Puzzle outlines: 100%

-Scripting: 100%

-GUIs 100%

-Music 100%

Anticipated Release- April 16th

Hold your breath and wait for this game., sure to be a smash!

And even though It may be small, or short, don't let that make you not want to play!  That just means that there is a lot of care in a 3 room game, rather than medium care in a 20-room game(Not saying that all long games have no care, most of them are awesome.  I'm just sayin, the ones that dont.. nevermind)

Hey

I just finished a midi file for the main room of my new game.  It's like the first one that I actually put some thought into.  I was wondering if I could get some CC for it.
Tell me how it is:

http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/bumbum2.mid

Everything was done on the computer (My MIDI keyboard dosent work   :'( ); using a guitar-emulator instead of a piano roll (Since I know guitar much more than piano);

Enjoy!

[Also]

Just when I thought everything was working...

I have a very simple 3-frame "grab" animation.
I thought I was doing everything right, but what do I know?

Here it is:

MoveCharacterBlocking(1, 216, 215, 1);
FaceLocation(1, 216, 220);
Wait(40);
SetCharacterView(1, 11);
AnimateCharacter(1, 0, 10, 0);
ReleaseCharacterView(1);
DisplaySpeech(1, "Jeez, I really need to get these things cleaned one day.");  
Wait(40);
SetCharacterView(1, 11);
AnimateCharacter(1, 0, 10, 0);
ReleaseCharacterView(1);
Wait(40);
DisplaySpeech(1, "Deleted to keep puzzle anonymous");
DisplaySpeech(1, "Don't cheat by reading my speech!");
ObjectOn(6);

Don't tell me to use the character's name instead of number, it dosent work.

Also, I tried to split the script in thirds and do the animation via the interactions editor...
The animation worked but it happens before everything else (even when I put "Quick Animation" after "Run Script");

Thanks to all and all to thank

Hey, hey, everybody!

I was just reading the Competitions and Activities forum rules, and it told me to post here if I had a new competition idea, so here I am!
It's such an obvious idea, I'm surprised no one has implemented it before (if they did, then it is not in the list in the Rules thread)
Introducing...

Animated Graphic Image File Contest (Title pending)

That's right!  AGIF!  

With the internet craze in high gear, animated GIFs are all the rage around the net!  That's why I would like to bring to you the ultimate in AGIF making, bringing the best AGIFers from across the land to gether in unity to compete against each other in a competition run by me!

And here's the good news...

If you post now, you can get the full AGIF expirience for free!  Every week, there would be an AGIF conpetition under strict guidelines made by the winner of the last week!

Dosen't that sound like fun?  Of course it does!

So what are you waiting for?...




UPDATE:  How long should I wait before I suggest it to the Competitions aand Activities moderators?

[389 Hong Kong Dollars!!!]

I need some help
1. I just bought a good, solid, 5-pin MIDI cable.

2. I hook it up to the electric piano.

3. I move piano so it can reach the computer.

4. There is no where to plug in the cable to the computer.

So I call Radio Shack, but they say that they don't carry "MIDI-to-serial" (or whatever) adapters.
So I call Staples, but they don't have any either.

Then I call the local music store.  They said they do have one, but they also said (nonchalantly) "They cost about $49.99!"

Thats 27 pounds!  66 canadian dollars! .12 ounces of pure gold!  389 Hong Kong Dollars!!! (In case Gilbot is here)

So can someone direct me to a good, yet affordable (for a 13 year old) MIDI-to-Serial or USB (or whatever) adapter?

Thanks to anyone, thanks to everyone!

OK, I've searched the forums and searched the help[ file, but I still don't know how to make your own custom DISPLAY GUI, like in Pleurghburg or 5DAS.

IF anyone could help me, I would be darn fine with it.  

Thirsty?
If you could drink anything from the Blue Cup right now, what would it be?

For me, I want some blueberry juice to go with the blue cup, and that would give it some extra AGS flavor.
It would be camoflauged, though, so I wouldn't know if it were spilling.

How about you?

OK, here is another one of those "Bird's Nest" topics (I have began calling them that, beause birds biuld nests from instinct) that everyone seems to know how to do, but isn't in the forums.
I have searched the manual, and I have searched the forums, yet I still do not understand the %S and %D things.

How can I use them?  Are they constants?  Are they variables?  How does the editor understand what to put in place of them?  How can I get the strings on the TopBar?  How can I make a cursor where it says the name right near the cursor like on "The Uncertainty Machine?"

A lot of people know this, so there is no excuse.

If I don't get a reply in 2 hours, everyone will perish.


that is all

OK, here we go...

What should I put in my scripts if I want to have a game where you can name your main character whatever you want?

I see a dialog box in the bigginning saying "What is your name?"

And whenever the player character's name is said during the game, it's the name you enter in the box.  Get it?

Thanks

I can't believe it.  Here is my story:

We just got a TiVo.
For those of you who don't know, a TiVo is a digital video recorder.  It lets you record stuff and fast forward through the comercials.  It also lets you pause live TV!  There's no risk!

Anyway, so I come up with this great idea.  I record the Oscars, get something to-go from the local food distribution facitlity, and come home and watch.  Perfect!

Everything was going good, but the best part was that there was no commercials!  Yay!

Uh-oh. Trouble brewing.  At 8:30, the oscars run late, going into the Barbara Walters extraveganza.
Of course, I don't know this, becasue I'm busy fast-forwarding through a Trail Rated Jeep 4x4.

Then comes 10:15, when our recorded oscars are almost done (unbeknownst to us)...

You guessed it.  I will give you the exact wording as I remember it:

"...and for the best performance by an actress in a  movie, the oscar goes-"
ME:  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

That's right.  I diddn't record the Barbara Walters show after so I missed everything after Best Editing!

That really sucks.

So could someone tell me all the stuff I missed?

[100 freakin points twards my English Grade!!]

Aaah!  Perfect timing to screw up.

I'm making this thing from AGS for my multimedia project for English Class.

EVerything was working great, until today, when I loaded my game and tried to test it without changing anything.  I got this dialog box saying "Blocking FUnction Called Before First Room Loaded"  or something like that.

I thought, "No problem, I'll just get rid of my Wait() command in the Introduction room's script.

That diddn't work.  I also checked the splash screen because what have I got to lose?  Oh yeah, 100 freakin points twards my English Grade!!

So then I was all "Duh, stupid Daniel!  Just check the global script!"  Woo-Hoo!  SOlved.

WRONG!!!!

THere was nothing in the global script!  Well, of course there was something in it, but not in the Game_Start function.

So I checked the forums, and checked the help files and everything else.  Nothing is helping me. So I went back and tried another check, but still, I couldn't see anything wrong!


AAAAAAaaa!!!  My teacher only gave us 5 days to work on this, and it's due on Wednesday!

Whoever helps me will get their name in my credits and 20 points extra credit!

And here is my Global Script:

Inventory_Click/ Interface Click and such seemed rather pointless to this, so I left them out.  But just in case they were neccesary, I asure you, there was nothing out of the ordinary up there:

// main global script file

function game_start() {
 // called when the game starts, before the first room is loaded
}

function repeatedly_execute() {
 // put anything you want to happen every game cycle here
}

function show_inventory_window () {
 // This demonstrates both types of inventory window - the first part is how to
 // show the built-in inventory window, the second part uses the custom one.
 // Un-comment one section or the other below.
 
 // ** DEFAULT INVENTORY WINDOW
 InventoryScreen();
/*  
 // ** CUSTOM INVENTORY WINDOW
 GUIOn (INVENTORY);  
 // switch to the Use cursor (to select items with)
 SetCursorMode (MODE_USE);
 // But, override the appearance to look like the arrow
 SetMouseCursor (6);
*/
}

function on_key_press(int keycode) {
 // called when a key is pressed. keycode holds the key's ASCII code
 if (IsGamePaused() == 1) keycode=0;  // game paused, so don't react to keypresses
 if (keycode==17)  QuitGame(1);   // Ctrl-Q
 if (keycode==363) SaveGameDialog();   // F5
 if (keycode==365) RestoreGameDialog();  // F7
 if (keycode==367) RestartGame();  // F9
 if (keycode==434) SaveScreenShot("scrnshot.bmp");  // F12
 if (keycode==9)   show_inventory_window();  // Tab, show inventory

 if (keycode==19)  Debug(0,0);  // Ctrl-S, give all inventory
 if (keycode==22)  Debug(1,0);  // Ctrl-V, version
 if (keycode==1)   Debug(2,0);  // Ctrl-A, show walkable areas
 if (keycode==24)  Debug(3,0);  // Ctrl-X, teleport to room
}

function on_mouse_click(int button) {
 // called when a mouse button is clicked. button is either LEFT or RIGHT
 if (IsGamePaused() == 1) {
   // Game is paused, so do nothing (ie. don't allow mouse click)
 }
 else if (button==LEFT) {
   ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, GetCursorMode() );
 }
 else {   // right-click, so cycle cursor
   SetNextCursorMode();
 }
}

Whoever helps will be eternally thankful


Thanks (remember, due on the 3rd!);