mekonbekon's Forum Posts

  • Asmodean That would work in some circumstances, but you may have situations where the boolean state needs to remain e.g. I only want sprites with the boolean On to react to a subsequent event.

  • Zion Check out this thread:

    It's possible, but it's not straightforward and may not be achievable depending upon the type of game and behaviours you've got going on.

  • Hi all,

    I'm probably being quite dense about this but I can't figure out a simple solution for this problem:

    I have multiple instances of a sprite that has a boolean instance variable. On the boolean for a particular instance being switched on, that instance should perform an action.

    This doesn't work:

    sprite.boolean is On, trigger once | do action[/code:23qjfngw]

It triggers the first time the boolean is on for any sprite and then that's it.  Nor does this work:

[code:23qjfngw]For each sprite, sprite.boolean is On, trigger once | do action[/code:23qjfngw]

I get why that these don't work, based upon how the picking system and trigger once functions. I know that I could work around this by using a number variable instead of boolean and using something like:

[code:23qjfngw]On start sprite.no = 0;
If sprite.no = 1|do action; sprite.no = 2;[/code:23qjfngw]

...but I'd like to try and preserve the use of the boolean if possible.

Any ideas?

  • Just so you know, you can set the tags to anything, it doesn't have to be the name of the audio sample. This is very useful if you have multiple versions of the same sample playing - you can give each of them a different tag, allowing you to control each independently.

  • In the "On start of layout condition" you need to set the (tag "") in the play actions to "siren" and "redAlertFixed" in order for the mute actions to work.

  • R0J0hound - thanks for trying! I'm only asking out of curiosity and haven't got a project specifically in mind for it.

    I'm guessing then that there's no low level way to treat the layout coordinates system in such a way that 0 and layout.width or height are equivalent, like you might with 0 and 360 when dealing with angles? Essentially saying, "topologically this layout doesn't exist on a flat plane, it's actually wrapped around a cylinder/donut".

  • That's cool, just wanted to know if it was achievable

  • R0J0hound

    Do you know whether it is possible in principle to develop a plugin that would allow you to define a cylindrical or toroid layout/layer or are there limitations to how the layout system works that would prevent this?

  • igalencar

    Select File>New and then scroll down to the bottom of the list of templates and examples - there's a bunch of templates demonstrating different transition FX.

    For a basic fade I use a global layer on the top of the layout with a black (or white) tiled background stretched across it with the fade behaviour, then use a function to reset the behaviour to fade out or in at the start or end of the layout respectively. For the end of the layout you can trigger the next layout using the On Fade-In Finished condition.

  • I've lately been feeling a lot of stress and doubts as a developer, and I'm hoping I'm not the only one who gets these sort of feelings... Makes me think I'm a hack...I'm a fake...I'm not good enough...my development work is not good enough.

    You certainly aren’t the only developer that experiences these emotions, in fact I’d say it’s par for the course for independent creatives, as Jake’s video illustrates. We’re all prone to imposter syndrome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) - some it afflicts harder than others. I’ve been in the industry for a couple of decades now, and I still experience these insecurities on a daily basis - in fact I've recently been going through a similar dip to you that I've just begun to surface from.

    I’d wager that you’re currently stuck deep in the bowl of the Dunning-Kruger effect

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    - you’re aware of just how much work needs to be done in order to master this art of game development but undervaluing the competence that you’ve gained so far. Use this awareness to drive self-improvement and remember that the path to success can be trod with little steps as much as it can with giant leaps - it’s not a race, it’s a journey.

    Sometimes I think my efforts to develop a game or keep going to push out a finished product or prototype isn't worth it.

    This is something only you can decide. Ask yourself honestly what you hope to achieve - what counts as a win? Is it actually going to intrinsically reward you to complete the project or has it become a millstone around your neck where finishing it will merely be unsaddling yourself of a burden? Do you look forward to the next project or dread the onset of new set of self-inflicted tortures?

    If your long-term objective is to become a commercially successful developer then every project completed will increase the chances of that happening, but be aware that this is high risk - the competition is fierce and few get rich. If, on the other hand, you develop because it satisfies your interests/passions (for me, game development scratches too many creative itches to drop it, regardless of my success - or lack thereof!) then maybe you need to reevaluate your goals and focus more upon the process than the end product. This may mean stepping back from full projects for a while and learning some new skills or doing some experimenting with features of the platform that you haven’t explored.

    Having people part of my small development community (whether on Discord or elsewhere), ones who came because of my development work, having them leave...it kind of stresses me out. Having people leave my patreon (which primarily exists for my programming endeavors) gives me the same anxieties.

    Followers in your communities will come and go - that’s something that needs to be accepted. It can be incredibly demoralizing when there is an exodus, but in your case it seems like you know at least some of the reasons why this is happening, which gives you the opportunity to rectify the situation. I guess my advice would be, “Confess! Confess!” Be honest with your community, strike a new deal that’s more realistic (if that’s an option) and most importantly keep communicating even if you have little to show, or the news is less than positive. People don’t like being kept in the dark. More followers may leave but at least you’ll be regaining control of the situation. The world doesn’t end.

    I could make the excuses that my sleep habits or laziness makes development more difficult but I don't want to do that, as true as it is.

    If it’s true then accept that these are issues affecting both your mental state and performance and ask what can be done to change them. Remember that you’re not set in stone, you’re a malleable being that has the potential to improve your situation and modify your behaviour. Treat them as bugs to be fixed and try out different solutions until you find something that works. Easier said than done, I know - habits are hard to break, but are often best beaten through incremental change; lasting solutions rarely take hold overnight.

    At its worst laziness can be masking depression (and if you feel that might be the case then it's always worth seeking some professional help) but often it is an avoidance tactic. I try to overcome this with productive procrastination: I recognise that I’m being lazy in order to delay dealing with a seemingly insurmountable task, then I consider all the other associated tasks I could do instead that would be still productive and make the mountain ahead less of an ordeal - could I build a few art or audio assets? Maybe organise my file system? Write a bit of narrative or simplify some code? I chip away around the big task and often in doing so it seems less of a hurdle, plus it gives me time to reflect on new approaches. Doing 50% of your intended work is always better than doing 0%.

    Being a solo developer can be a demoralising experience, especially if you spend a lot of time by yourself, caught up in the whirlpool of your own thoughts. You’re doing the right thing in reaching out. As others here have said, make time to get out and socialise - chatting to friends and family can help put things in perspective and recharge the batteries.

    Hope that helps! <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile">

  • Klarner

    When I started learning Construct I found it very useful to go through the templates and examples included with C2 to get an idea about how the basic behaviours and object types worked: you can access these by selecting File/New and then scrolling down the list.

    The following features/objects will become invaluable as you move onto more complex projects so take time to study their usage:

    Array

    Dictionary

    Families

    Functions

    Groups

    Containers

    Learn the difference between global, local and instance variables and their best use cases.

    As dop2000 has already mentioned, read up on the different expressions - loads of seemingly tricky coding problems can be solved with just a single expression.

    When tackling new material to learn, or if I run into a problem I approach it as follows: read the relevant manual entries, search tutorials, search the forums. In 90% of cases the solution is already out there; if that doesn't answer my question then I'll submit a post.

    Beyond that, my advice would be to make lots of small games before moving onto anything big - in addition to getting you really comfortable with C2 this process will help you recognise the general systems common to many games, give you experience in formatting and simplifying your event sheets and establish a pipeline for development that will stand you in good stead when moving onto your magnum opus. It's also a lot more motivating to have a string of completed projects that others can play and provide feedback on.

    Hope that helps, and all the best with your creations

  • Are you resizing in the sprite editor? If so, this will often add a slight gradient to the edge of the sprite.

    If you're simply need a large single colour sprite, try using a tiled background instead; you can make it a small 8x8 block and then drag it to whatever size you want.

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  • There's no link to the capx to check, but I imagine that you can achieve what you want using something like:

    repeat 5 times| System spawn roadSprite at (X + roadSprite.Width*loopindex), Y

    ...where X and Y are your starting points.

    At the last company I worked for we used Construct 2 near exclusively for creating B2B HTML5 games. Initially I was sceptical about using Construct over a bespoke JavaScript solution or a framework like Phaser. I was very glad to be proven wrong - over a three year period we produced around sixty titles and prototyped many more. I don't believe we would have come anywhere near to that output with other tools. In fact, we could have reached a much higher total catalogue had we capitalised upon the advantages to the pipeline that Construct offered earlier on in our production process.

    The sheer speed with which you can prototype a concept was invaluable. Often we would skip a pen and paper concepting stage and skip straight to producing a demo in C2 - the time difference was negligible and at the end of it we had something we could actually play. If approved, the prototype could be worked on directly by the coders and artists to produce the final product - no work thrown away. The ability to modify the tool with JS-based plug-ins and behaviours made it easy to adapt to our in-house systems.

    The fact that C2 could be learned quickly and easily by all team members meant that everyone was speaking a common language, improving communication about the project and giving us an immense amount of flexibility in how we assigned tasks.

    Obviously Construct isn't going to be suitable for all types of games/studios. I can see it being problematic for games with large teams where many people need simultaneous access to different parts of the project; graphically intense/processor heavy games may suffer. However, for a range of HTML5 and mobile products Construct is certainly a viable, and in many scenarios optimal, tool - sadly often overlooked in favour of more expensive or less flexible options.

  • I was wondering if anyone has been experiencing this issue:

    This started with the latest beta version (beta r249). My capx files are saved to a local folder that is backed up on Google Drive.

    Periodically, when attempting to resave a project I get the error message:

    "Error saving project 'myProject' - the project has NOT been saved to disk. We applogise for any loss of work. You may want to report this issue to Scirra.

    Message: Failed to move .capx.tmp to .capx!"

    When I check the save folder I can see: myProject.capx.tmp and myProject.capx.backup1, but myProject.capx has vanished!

    The .tmp file is ticked as saved on Drive but the .backup1 file is still marked as syncing.

    I can save the project file as a new name fine, but usually at some point this same problem will arise and I'll have to resave under a new filename.

    I have plenty of space on Drive so I don't think that would be causing a problem.

    It works fine if I save outside of the Drive folder, but ideally I'd like to be able to keep the current save location to ensure everything is automatically backed up.

    Any suggestions on what could be the problem? If this isn't an isolated incident I'll try and create a minimum reproducible and log it as a bug.

    Edit: I'm running Windows 10 on a PC