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211

Technical forum / loop avi as a background

« on: March 03, 2008, 11:15:15 AM »

Hello all

I have a scene of a pond that contains a lot of water. To make this ripple, I've used a program that outputs an AVI (I'll worry about OGG later, that's a whole other bunch of difficulties).

Now I want to use that AVI as my background and have it loop constantly while in that scene.

I've checked the documentation and PlayVideo(Filename, Type, X, Y, FreezeMusic, SubtitleFile) appears not to have a 'loop' option.

So I checked the forums and found this:
var video;
video.PlayVideo("Video\MP10W.avi",true,,);
but all that does is give me a script compiler error.

With the game design of 'Rhiannon', if we can't do looping videos, we're stuffed, and we're due to go to beta in May.


Thanks

212

Technical forum / Re: Global variable becoming corrupted?

« on: February 21, 2008, 11:26:28 AM »

Well I thought it was clearer but clearly I don't know how to 'call' a method. So I'm stuck again. I don't know what "call" means because the code below gives me "CheckGarage not referenced". I've looked in the book and can't find any definition of what "call a method" means in terms. I know it must look dead basic to you and I am genuinely sorry to appear so daft but, Help!

I've got a script that goes:

#include "scripts\base.inc"

global ND;
var ItemNormal;
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
on "LeftClick"
{
//increment dial
ND = ND + 1;
if(ND > 9)
  {
  ND = 0;
  }
//display digit
var spritename = "scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_Zm_Lock\"+ND+".png";
ItemNormal = Scene.GetNode("D");
ItemNormal.SetSprite(spritename);
//have we got the combination?
Scene.AttachScript("scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_Zm_Lock\scr\check.script");
this.CheckGarage();
}

While in 'check.script' I've got:

#include "scripts\base.inc"

global ND;
global gGarageOpen;
method CheckGarage()
  {
  if(ND == 1)
    {
    gGarageOpen = true;
    Game.PlaySound("sounds\unlock.ogg");
    Game.ChangeScene("scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_DoorOpen\X11E_DoorOpen.scene",0,0);
    }
  }

213

Technical forum / Re: Global variable becoming corrupted?

« on: February 21, 2008, 09:36:24 AM »

Thanks Mnemonic, that's much clearer.

  ...I was thinking more about this. Two truths; 1) Game developers (i.e. The Ones Most Likely To...) are most likely artists and writers first, programmers second. 2) WM doesn't implement full C++ so there's no point in learning the entire language, but it gives you more than enough to make a magical gaming experience. Put these two together and you have what attracts game developers to WM.

The problem is that even with WM, the developer MUST have, or acquire at least a modicum of understanding about object-oriented thinking, then expressing that in an esoteric language. This is a large expectation and I wonder how many developers have failed because they could not make that leap from artist to programmer.

Sure, you, Meta and others do much to help the Newbie, but I can't help thinking that a more example-and-explanation based approach to the core documentation would help enormously. For instance - there is nothing in the docs to insist that a Method() would be needed in an attached script, or indeed why. This is not a criticism, but a suggestion - I wonder if WM would be even more popular if its documentation became more programmer-to-artist than its present tendency to be programmer-to-(you-already-know-all-about-OOP-Right?)-programmer. Time to complete the 'Advanced' tutorials, perhaps?

Can't help thinking that it's in your interests also. If inventive artists and writers are necessary for commercially successful games, then more artistic Muties would likely bring more commercial success, which in turn would bring more donations. I wonder how many do not donate because their games don't make a fiscal surplus? I wonder too how much less busy you would be answering case-by-case issues on the technical forum?

Cheers,

Kaz 

214

Technical forum / Re: Global variable becoming corrupted?

« on: February 20, 2008, 01:17:32 PM »

It's a combination padlock with four numbers - each number can be rotated 0-9 by clicking a button, named A, B, C, D. Clicking button 'A' runs a script to set global CL = "A". It then adds one to a global CN, CN = CN+1, setting it to 0 if it's over 9, then this.attaches a script. The script takes the letter, parses the number through an array to get its Ascii equivalent, adds the letter to the ASCII number equvalent to produce the name of a sprite node, then sets that node to active. All the code is included above. It's just that when I send the letter 'A', the letter 'D' arrives.

Help file says that the attachscript is executed - that's why I don't understand Mnemonic's answer. It seems to be at odds with what the help file says.

Thanks

Kaz 

215

Technical forum / Re: Global variable becoming corrupted?

« on: February 20, 2008, 11:43:01 AM »

Forgive my ignorance - I'm not a programmer by trade, so I don't have your experience and so I don't understand your answer. Perhaps attachscript was not the way to go? Should I be using some other method to pass one variable to another script and insist on its immediate execution or can you demonstrate how I might use attachscript to achieve that effect?

Thanks

Kaz

216

Technical forum / Re: Global variable becoming corrupted?

« on: February 20, 2008, 11:28:45 AM »

#include "scripts\const.inc"

global Scene;
global Keyboard;
global actor;
global gNBInventoryActive;

217

Technical forum / Global variable becoming corrupted?

« on: February 20, 2008, 11:00:46 AM »

I have a scene_init that sets a global variable to contain the letter "A". I then pass that variable to another script to make that "A" part of the name of a sprite entity, then display the entity. But the "A" never gets there. When it arrives, it's a "D". I've commented out everything else but the departing Game.Msg and the arriving one both show that the variable has changed en route.

scene_init is:

// setup scene according to state variables
global CL = null;
global CN = null;
CL = "A";
Game.Msg("At scene_init, CL is " + CL);
CN = 4;
this.AttachScript("scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_Zm_lock\scr\Combo_Disp.script");
//CL = "B";
//CN = 9;
//this.AttachScript("scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_Zm_lock\scr\Combo_Disp.script");
//CL = "C";
//CN = 8;
//this.AttachScript("scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_Zm_lock\scr\Combo_Disp.script");
//CL = "D";
//CN = 6;
//this.AttachScript("scenes\01_Forecourt\X11E_Zm_lock\scr\Combo_Disp.script");

display script is:

#include "scripts\base.inc"

global CL;
Game.Msg("At Combo_Disp CL is " + CL);
global CN;
var NumRef;
var CR;
var ItemNormal;

NumRef[0] = "0";
NumRef[1] = "1";
NumRef[2] = "2";
NumRef[3] = "3";
NumRef[4] = "4";
NumRef[5] = "5";
NumRef[6] = "6";
NumRef[7] = "7";
NumRef[8] = "8";
NumRef[9] = "9";

// Display the next number in this column
CR = CL + NumRef[CN];
Game.Msg("CR contains " + CR);
ItemNormal = Scene.GetNode(CR);
ItemNormal.Active = true;

// What was the last number in this column?
//CN = CN - 1;
//if(CN < 0)
//  {
//  CN = 9;
//  }
// Switch it off
//CR = CL + NumRef[CN];
//ItemNormal = Scene.GetNode(CR);
//ItemNormal.Active = false;

// Initialize
//CL = null;
//CN = null;
//CR = null;

I'm at a loss - to me it looks like a simple corruption. What have I missed?

Thanks

Kaz

218

Technical forum / Re: Water animations - any ideas?

« on: January 14, 2008, 07:44:01 PM »

Thanks for all the replies.

We've downloaded the SqirlzReflect utility and it's really useful. Bit worried at first that it would spoil the reflections that we'd already placed in the water scenes but if you set the transparency option to 100% it just moves the pixels around on the reflections you have created rather than superimposing its own. The individual frames can then be saved as jpgs or pngs and a sprite made as was suggested. So it looks like we have a solution.

All ideas much appreciated.

Kaz

219

Technical forum / Water animations - any ideas?

« on: January 06, 2008, 08:18:30 PM »

Hi all,

We have ponds and streams in our game and we're using particle emitters to animate them. The effect is good, but not perfect (although we realise that could be down to the accuracy of the sprite we're using). Anybody got any ideas for ways to effectively animate water?

For example - the particle emitter imposes an effect on top of the water in a 2D picture - could we perhaps move the pixels in the scene directly, the way it's done in Adventure Maker for instance?

Thanks,

Kaz

220

Technical forum / Re: graphics resolution using graphic/text in a window

« on: January 06, 2008, 05:59:13 PM »

Hi Mnemonic

Thanks for the diagnostic suggestion - by forcing both versions into graphics files, we noticed the difference had disappeared. So we thought it might be hardware. Once the screen was set to Native Resolution, the difference disappeared in the game as well. No further problem.

Advice to fellow 'Muties - always default hardware to Native Resolution, regardless of Game Resolution Settings.

Thanks for a very speedy response - especially on a Sunday!

Cheers

Kaz

221

Technical forum / graphics resolution using graphic/text in a window

« on: January 06, 2008, 03:32:50 PM »

Hi

I'm having a problem with the look of a textbook I'm trying to place in my game. It's made up of individual pages of text and graphics. It all looks fine in the Windows editor but once in the game, the text becomes pixellated.

Tech detail: game at 1024x768, Window matches graphic actual size at 618x402, PNG transparency.

Anybody got any ideas what may be causing the graphical display difference between the Windows editor (OK) and the in-game view (pixellated)?

Thanks.

Kaz

222

Technical forum / Re: full screen view shifting backgrounds to the right

« on: October 17, 2007, 06:30:32 PM »

Oh dear, seems like this is a feature of every computer and I've never noticed it before. 

So ignore me and I'll get back to my game.

Thanks for your help.

223

Technical forum / Re: full screen view shifting backgrounds to the right

« on: October 17, 2007, 05:15:55 PM »

Thanks Guys

I've checked everything you suggested and have almost solved the problem.

You were quite right in that somehow the display on the monitor was not centred correctly and for some peculiar reason the resolution on my screen was set to 1280x768 - although as soon as I went into control panel to adjust it, it miraculously decided it was 1024x768 - but that has solved the problem of the graphics seeming to be shifted to the right and so I can now see the whole background when I test the game - which is great.

I've also double checked the size of my background graphics (all 1024x768) and also the layer dimensions. The scene viewport is set to full screen.

The only final problem I have is that even though I have set my region entities (that control the cursor areas to move through the scenes) to be on the edge of the background graphic, the right hand and bottom of screen cursors shoot off the screen whereas the left and top ones hit the side of the screen (which is what I want). I've tried moving the region entities slightly further in to see if it's because I've gone outside the background image with the region entity but to no avail. Can you help me on this one?

Thanks again.

224

Technical forum / full screen view shifting backgrounds to the right

« on: October 17, 2007, 02:30:48 PM »

Hi

I'm sure this is something simple that I've not done but here is my current problem...

I began my game project using 800x600 jpg's for my backgrounds so set the resolution height and width to 800x600 in the start up settings and in all the SceneEdits. However, having compared these settings with backgrounds which are rendered at 1024x768, the higher res backgrounds appear sharper (presumabley because they are not being stretched quite as much in full screen). So I decided to change the game settings to 1024x768 and replace all my backgrounds accordingly.

Having done this - i.e. altered the start up width and height and gone through each scene and altered them all to 1024x768 - I now find that when I test the game in debug mode the backgrounds are not sitting in the middle of the screen - there is a line of blank screen about half a centimetre wide on the left and there is about the same amount of the background missing on the right. Same thing at the top of the screen.

I've checked that the position of each background is at 0, 0 coordinates so that's not the problem.

Can anyone suggest why this is happening?

Thanks

225

Technical forum / Re: WME 1.8 keeps crashing

« on: October 02, 2007, 06:14:21 PM »

Hi

Thanks for your very prompt reply - I didn't expect to hear from you so soon so I'm afraid I didn't check the forum until now.

I've discovered the problem which was that the graphic that I was trying to import into the scene was not a png but another type of file that sometimes accompanies pngs that my brother sends me for the game (he uses a Mac and I think they are some sort of thumbnail of the graphic). I had somehow managed to save the thumbnail rather than the proper png. For some reason though, WME didn't like the file type so much that it crashed the program rather than just refusing to load the graphic.

Just in case you are still interested though, the previous version I was using was 1.7.003 but I assume it could be a universal reaction to the type of file I was attempting to load. I've now loaded the png successfully and have no further problems.

Thanks again for your speedy response.