Thanks for the explanation!

vtrix

Thanks! That looks like the exact thing I'm looking for !

I hope it 'll work, I've encountered strange behaviour using plugins and some just crash at runtime.

Regardless of that plugin, I should say that construct would be even greater with more variable types.

I have a game logic with 150+ events that use a certain number of sprites.

If I want the user to be able to choose a different set of sprites before the game starts (before I create the containers, and create the sprites), I have no choice but to copy the whole gamelogic and change events and actions to use other sprites.

I basically need to copy the whole game just to alter the look of an object.

In my case I want the user to be able to choose a skin for a deck of cards. Each card consists of 4 sprites.

But the problem could also arise if you want the user to choose between a large number of avatars or player characters that need to be composited at runtime.

Not being able to put a Sprite object into a variable creates a big overhead and causes tedious, unefficient programming in these cases.

I guess there is a way which involves putting in the graphics for different skins into animation of 1 object/sprite but that would complicate gamelogic programming unnecessarily. And that would still limit possibilities/efficiency compared to a Sprite var.

Hope I'm not overlooking a clean solution, I've looked for it long...and hard. I hope I'm not blind :)

Thanks for your reply Ashley!

I was looking at the 'Approx. download:' text in the status bar at the bottom of the window. Assuming this is reliable I noticed that I could reduce that by a lot by replacing the images (ie 000.png) by original ones manually. The image I import is a PNG-32 to begin with , so I fail to see why this happens. It is a different compression when editing and runtime than when exporting?

Hi,

As far as I know it is only possible to create a sprite/object by picking one from a determined list.

Being able to create/manipulate an object by using a variable (that holds a string that matches a certain object name in the project window) would seriously improve flexibility and reduce code.

As such one could make a function that creates and manipulates different sprites in the same way in 1 routine instead of having to copy the routine for each object. Using UID's doesn't cut it, because it is not always pre-determined what object needs to be created/manipulated.

My use case is skinning. I want the user to be able to choose between various skins for a card deck. Each card in my project consists of 4 sprites (to be flexible in animations and overall filesize).

The sprites are obviously used throughout the game logic.

So in my case at this time, it would mean that I need to copy +150 events and many more actions for each skin to complete this task.

I'm at 206 events total, and the game is not nearly finished. If I want 4 skins this would easily become 650 events, instead of the 215 or so when being able to use a variable type: Sprite.

I hope you will seriously consider looking into this Ashley! I can think of many more cases where one would tremendously benefit from a Sprite variable.

Thanks!

Hi,

I would really appreciate the option of using the original image when importing files.

I've noticed that sometimes Construct 2 imported files are between 10% and 500% larger in filesize compared to the original.

example: I have a background image that is a 145Kb 32b PNG when saved from photoshop. When I import it into construct2 it becomes 745Kb...

Same happens with small files. 70Kb becomes 99Kb, 15kb becomes 20Kb, 13Kb becomes 15Kb.

I have to manually replace and rename the images in the project folder one by one to get the smallest filesize possible.

Sometimes filesize is equal, sometimes construct compresses slightly better, sometimes it blows up the filesize.

A 'keep original' setting would be beneficial to resolve the latter.

There also seems to be built in support of some kind for this:

scirra.com/tutorials/73/supporting-multiple-screen-sizes/page-2

I think I would still use the manual sizing and positioning to make everything responsive to many screensizes and retain full control over values.

Please correct me if I'm mistaking on anything dear forum members.

I've only been working with C2 for a couple of weeks.

You can check for the height and width of the display and layout.

scirra.com/manual/126/system-expressions (sorry, I'm not aloud to post full URLs)

These values change when setting your project to fullscreen.

Set the width, height and position of your objects to relative values instead of fixed values and it should work.

(I've done this with size only, but it logically should also work with position)

It depends what your definition of art is.

If you read the dictionary's definition, then yes; A lot of games can be described as art.

Art is as much about creativity as it is about making use of a skill and conveying an emotion or feeling.

I know many games that are enourmously immersive, made with mastery and creativity on technical as well as visual and auditive levels.

oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/art

To me, skill is a necessary element amongst other to categorise something as being art. I can admire the skill that is needed to make something without having to like the end result.

Old paintings by the masters might have been propaganda etc, they might be old and dusty, but you can not deny that they are painted with enourmous skill and talent.

Even WW2 posters can be admired for their typography typical for the era.

As pointed out in previous posts, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I agree with Jeansson.

A variable that can hold an object could come in handy in different situations.

Creating an object by UID is not possible as far as I know.

A possible use case is what I'm trying to accomplish in my current project:

I create 1 or multiple decks of cards, each card consists of a background, value, suit and face sprite.

This reduces file size considerably and offers much more flexibility in animating etc.

Now, I want the user to be able to choose different skins for the game. Instead of having to duplicate the function that creates the deck for each different skin, a variable referencing an object in the projectbar passed on to the function would do the trick.

Being able to create an object dynamically by string/name or UID would make that possible too. But another variable type for e.g. sprite/audio etc would be the best and would open up many more possibilities.

Hi there everyone!

I'm a schooled musician making a living using flash, photoshop and illustrator. Currently employed by an agency as an online producer (mostly advertising)

I made a game for android with my dad last year.He programmed most of it and I did the graphics/sound/music.

That adventure seemed to have been a one off for him, but I want to make more entertainment! :)

This nice piece of software will hopefully enable me to try out some ideas I have for games. Currently learning its capabilities, I hope to have a prototype ready soon!

I would be happy to provide any other information needed.

Getting this plugin working would be a real timesaver for me.

thanks!