1.) Yes, both.
Check out the "Speech style", "Dialog options go upwards on GUI" and "Dialog options on GUI" settings in the General settings.
2.) I've played around with it, but it's pretty slow since RawDraw functions have to be used. The plugin is able to draw on the screen directly every game cycle. So it's possible, but very slow. The speed issues have been discussed here.
Here's an excerpt from a private discussion I had with the plugin's author, Scorpiorus, more than a year ago:
Just to get you started.
Check out the "Speech style", "Dialog options go upwards on GUI" and "Dialog options on GUI" settings in the General settings.
2.) I've played around with it, but it's pretty slow since RawDraw functions have to be used. The plugin is able to draw on the screen directly every game cycle. So it's possible, but very slow. The speed issues have been discussed here.
Here's an excerpt from a private discussion I had with the plugin's author, Scorpiorus, more than a year ago:
Quote from: ScorpiorusQuoteI was wondering if it is possible to code rain without using a plugin?Yes, the only limitation is that you can draw only onto background.QuoteI don't know anything about how the plugin system works. Do you use AGS built-in function to draw the raindrops on the screen?The plugin uses Allegro library and draws ontop of the screen.QuoteI've done a simple test moving a single raindrop with repeatedly_execute and RawDrawImage. Is it worth pursuing or shouldn't I bother?Sure, here is the basic script code. I used RawDrawLine() but it can be RawDrawImage() as well
Maybe you could give some hints on how you move all those raindrops?// room script file //the max number of drops: #define DROPS_MAX 100 // Drop struct struct TDrop { int x; // x co-ordinate int y; // y co-ordinate int speedX; // x-speed int speedY; // y-speed int baseline; // drop baseline }; // declaring an array of drops: TDrop Drops[DROPS_MAX]; //initialization: function Drops_Initializate() { int i=0; while (i<DROPS_MAX) { Drops.x = Random(320); // set them along the screen width and... Drops.y = -Random(500); // ...off top of the screen Drops.speedX = 0; // let it be 0 Drops.speedY = Random(7); // falling speed 0-7 Drops.baseline = 180+Random(20); // baseline 180-200 i++; } } // for repeatedly execute function Rain_RE() { //clear screen: RawRestoreScreen(); int i=0; while (i<DROPS_MAX) { // move drop: Drops.y += Drops.speedY; // if drop has just landed reinit it's y-coordinate (off the screen) if (Drops.y > Drops.baseline) Drops.y = -Random(500); // set color RawSetColor(15); // draw drop RawDrawLine(Drops.x, Drops.y, Drops.x, Drops.y + 5); i++; } } function room_*() { // script for room: Repeatedly execute Rain_RE(); } function room_*() { // script for room: Player enters screen (after fadein) RawSaveScreen(); Drops_Initializate(); }QuoteI suppose you've used a struct & an array too to store and retrieve each raindrops properties?Yeah, basically you have a struct with all the properties you need. To add a wind effect you can adjust speedX variable. Snowflakes drifting is a bit harder as the plugin uses floating point numbers and appropriate sin() and cos() functions to handle that sort of thing.
But I still haven't got the mechanics quite right. Which properties do I need and how do I incorporate wind and the like? Could you give me the formulas you've used or give me a link to a tutorial?
For example the drifting formula is:
Drop.X = Drop.x0 + DriftRange * Sin(DriftSpeed * Drop.y);
Drop.x - result X coordinate
Drop.x0 - init x coordinate (should be set once and not modified later)
DriftRange - well, just an amplitude of drifting
DriftSpeed - frequency of drifting
Drop.y - current Y-coordinate (can be replace with some timer variable).
Just to get you started.