Animmaniac's Forum Posts

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  • i open capx file but they show warning please install (black to alpha yann gragino) but i already install this effect but . not working. and i download and i download alpha threshold form this link . but effect not working still show warning you need (black to alpha yann gragino. please inbox me the solution

    Are you sure you are opening the demo capx provided on this topic?

    From what you describe it seems you are trying to open another capx, probably from someone's else tutorial or something. My demo doesn't use any "black to alpha" effect.

    Thanks for the effect — I was wondering would it be possible to set the opacity for the water?

    Not yet, I need to modify the shader to include this feature.

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  • I could nit pick about scalability for large projects and lacking search boxes, but I think the main problem is information overload.

    I think that with the filter list it's probably more scalable than the current solution, since they can quickly narrow down the number of items to a subset pertaining to a single category, so it could still be manageable even with a very large number of objects/items. The folder structure also better match the filter list on the side than in the current implementation where folders mix with objects.

    For search the idea is to be able to type and jump directly to the match like you do in some file explorers. The mouse cursor determines which list you are searching by hovering. Alternatively you could also navigate and type using the keyboard like you can now. The fuzzy match algorithm would help in this as well.

    Regarding the information overload I don't agree that it's too much to be a problem, and it's also neatly organized. But either way if new users find it complicated it can still be simplified by displaying the descriptions only on hover or removing the lateral filter lists (could be an option).

    Also IMO the biggest flaw is how it swaps the conditions list for expressions - the dialog is already so packed that there is no more room, so it recycles the middle pane for the fourth expressions panel.

    The idea is to recycle both the left and the middle panel for picking expressions only while an editbox is in focus. The reason it changes state is not because there is no more room, it's just a possible solution to not use another window. I agree that the change of state is not the best of things, this is definitely a hard problem to solve. The floating panel is a possible alternative but it also has it's compromises. This is something that needs some testing to see if it's possible to make the change of state clear enough to not confuse users, otherwise it's always possible to launch a new floating panel.

    The thing is that putting the steps side by side, besides helping streamline the process of picking events also results in some nice features. If you are editing a condition and suddenly needs to change the object, in the current system you need to back step 2 times, change the object, than step forward 2 times again. With the proposed system with a single click you can change instantly the object, keeping all the filled forms intact. If the object type is different and there's no perfect condition match, the fuzzy match algorithm could kick in and try to predict the best possible match ("set X" => "set position X"). In general this layout makes it less painful to edit events.

    *ignore that all icons are default

    Another idea is that the list should always be pre-filled with the previous event you were editing. There's a high chance the new event would be related to the previous one, so it's quicker to change just a few parameters than pick all again. For instance, most events created in a row will probably be related to the same object, so you don't need to waste time picking it again. You just edit the differing parameters like conditions or fields. Or if you are setting a bunch of variables, or setting position and scale, or dealing with animations, all conditions will be close to each other so they are a single click away. If they happen to be totally unrelated then you just have to pick all fields normally.

    In my view the problem with the current wizard UI is that it demands too much time and clicks just to navigate the windows, especially for users who don't use the keyboard. If you consider the frequency that these actions are repeated during a project there's a lot of wasted work that could be optimized. Every step is modal, so you always waste some time adjusting to the new context and get some cognitive load creating mind maps of where you are. What I tried to do with my proposal is to make it the less modal as possible. The steps are disposed side by side so you get an overview of the process and minimize both the clicks and the switching of states.

  • I guess my proposal didn't get clear enough. There's no need to parse anything apart from what is already parsed (like expressions).

    The idea doesn't revolve around typing complete phrases (or code) and parsing them into events, that would be extremely hard. Instead you type into predefined form fields and use the fuzzy match to auto-complete. In a traditional programming language you would type a delimiter like "." to separate blocks of information for the parser. Likewise in my proposal you press ENTER or use the arrow keys to navigate to the next field, so the information is pre-parsed during filling.

    Here's a step by step of how it should work:

    Typed Events Mockup

    *the image steps don't coincide with the steps below

    1 - first initiate the typed method by pressing a shorcut like CTRL+E

    2 - then type the object name and press ENTER or RIGHT ARROW to confirm and move to the next field.

    It can be very fuzzy like "sp3" so you can economize a lot of key strokes and type faster. The fuzzy match algorithm does a lot of the job for you.

    3 - type the condition field and confirm to start iterating It's parameter fields

    4 - fuzzy type an object name, confirm

    5 - type an expression to the X field, confirm

    6 - type another expression to the Y field, confirm. When done you can then navigate to actions or add another event by pressing CTRL+E again.

    So basically you just navigate these fields and type in them using the fuzzy match:

    Object >> Condition >> Parameter 1 >> Parameter 2 >> Parameter 3 ...

    Once you placed an event you could do a single click in a field to fuzzy type it again, or do a double click to edit using the mouse. Like opening an object dialog when an object field is double clicked...

    ...or click+drag a number to quickly edit it like in the editbox demo I posted earlier...

    ... or even edit expressions, conditions and actions in place.

    This could unleash the power of edit in place (like in a traditional code editor) and probably speed things A LOT. I believe it may even surpass traditional approaches in terms of speed and efficiency, specially if you consider that it's virtually impossible to get code with syntax errors.

    So my proposal is nothing different from the events system we already use and doesn't need another specialized parser. It's just a different approach to picking events in place without opening any dialog, so it can be faster.

  • Animmaniac Yes! That is exactly all I was looking for! Fuzzy matching is brilliant and I love your proof of concept. It gives the versatility and even if that flying list was like code-hint on any other text editor, it's a game changer for a "no programming required" engine.

    Thanks. Yeah, the idea for the flying list is basically like code-hint, but adapted to a system where the auto-complete is always on so it doesn't get in the way (only when the user wants to).

    Let me know how If I can help with this in anyway!

    I have some other good ideas to improve the evensheet with better structuring, an improved color coding, and some power edit-in-place features that could probably speed things up a lot. However these are just some mockups and ideas for a proposal. I have no power nor the knowledge to implement this in Construct, it's up to Ashley and Tom. I definitely would love to redesign the eventsheet and the overall C3 interface, but it's not on my hands.

    Also I would not expect any changes like these for C2, if it happens it will probably be for C3.

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  • I had a similar idea sometime ago and was going to propose it sometime soon. My insight was to just develop a way to pick events by typing instead of creating a full-blown new script system. Kind of an hybrid.

    Streamlined lists could serve the purpose to expose all possible events and aid discoverability, while an alternative typed method could serve experienced users to gain production speed.

    I discovered a fuzzy matching algorithm that seems to work very well and is very forgiving with typos. It can be used to match the display text of events, so it remains familiar to current users and doesn't require a new script system. I made a rough interactive mockup as a proof of concept that you can try below:

    Autocomplete Proof 01

    1 - Type the object name (can be very fuzzy like "sp3" for Sprite 3) 2 - Press ENTER or RIGHT ARROW to commit and go to next field 3 - Type the condition (skipping vowels or typing just the beginning of words still works very well *)
    • BACKSPACE to clean the field (press again to go back one level)
    • LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW navigate fields
    *you can also continue to type/repeat parts of a new word until it converges to it

    Now this is just a bare bones of what it could be, but it all revolves around a fuzzy matching system and the limitation to only pick existing events (there's no way to get syntax error due to mistyping). Ideally after picking the condition it should be able to navigate the condition fields using the arrow keys to type numbers, strings or objects. By pressing DOWN a flying list could appear bellow with the top 5 alternative matches, where you could switch by pressing UP or DOWN, then press ENTER, RIGHT ARROW, or go all way up to make the list disappear.

    I used the final condition text in the mockup, but probably a way better alternative would be to first match the condition name (like it appears on current lists), and on pressing ENTER or RIGHT ARROW switch to the final condition text (e.g. "Compare X" => ENTER => "X = 0"). It's possible to leave it open to match both the condition name or the final condition text, but that probably may give some unexpected results sometimes (maybe not).

    This fuzzy match system could very well be used to match objects, functions, variables, and all types of linked references in all kind of dialogs. Even for auto-casting similar conditions when an object type is changed: if one object type uses "set X" an another "set position X" it probably could detect it as the best match. It may not give a perfect match 100% of the time, but it sure would help in a lot of situations.

  • If all you want is to blend the original screen with a processed version of itself, all you need is a single shader applied to a layer. Using a canvas or paster will just impact performance by adding another unnecessary texture.

  • I know you have already solved it, but here's my take on it:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7871870/construct/prr-sine-distortion-A03.capx

    (uses Rojo's Canvas plugin)

    The solution of the first layout distorts a sine wave, offsetting each X proportionally to an interpolated linear function that goes from 0 on the edges to 1 at the center. The interpolation power can be controlled by the bottom slider. It can easily be transformed into a single function but it would get long and hard to read. It also gives a seamless tilling.

    In the second layout I tested just interpolating a "sine wave skeleton" to see if it could work. It doesn't tile so well when distorted, but it's interesting that you can adjust the interpolation on the fly to go from a triangle wave to a rounded square, passing through a sine. The downfall is that with too much center offset it kinda breaks the smaller spike, but maybe if a damping is added to not allow the smaller spike to approximate too much from the edge it could give better results. It also uses conditionals to generate the base skeleton, so it's not easily transformed into a single function, but it could be done.

    *Just to clarify that I was lazy and the graph is upside down, with top-left being (0,0) and bottom right (1,1).

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