Author Topic: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6  (Read 19803 times)

hai

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I'm working on a game set up with one main "desert" map, littered with 60+ unmarked trigger points that switch the character to different "Game over" maps. From these "Game Over" maps, it's possible to return to the desert map by moving the character to a "Restart" icon, consisting of a group of tiles with special functions that trigger back to the desert.

I'm wondering if it's possible to also programme it so that these Game Over maps automatically trigger back to the main Desert map after X amount of time (1 minute of inactive play, for example.) Any ideas?

The work will be shown as part of an art exhibition, and so I'm concerned that one visitor might leave the screen open on a Game Over map and walk away. Each visitor should firstly find the character in the main Desert map when they approach it.

Perhaps it's possible to add a sprite into each Game Over map, one which "follows" slowly the active sprite and therefore always collides with it, and this collision triggers a return to the desert? Though for so many maps, some alternative superfast easy solution would be ideal..

Game-in-progress can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/b532we8e2b053na/Death+GameInst.exe


///

A second less important question which I may have now solved, but would like to know how I solved.... I was trying to turn the game to an .exe file for testing on a different computer, using NSIS, and kept on getting an error :path not found.
When trying to play the installed game, I was told no player sprite was specified for startup map ("above"). But this map was not the startup map when I looked in the project. And then, playing the installed game, the game screen turned to this other "above" map that I'd made for an entirely separate project. 

I jiggled files and folders around, resaved the game under different names... and found that if I removed all other .gdp files from the GameDev folder that came alphabetically before this particular game, then it worked. Is NSIS set to always work with the topmost alphabetically sorted file in the program files/game dev directory, when working through Install packager? Flukes are nice, but... 

Maybe it wasn't this at all that solved it. Maybe what I really want to know is: Is there some good practice for where to save all files needed when making a game (.bmp files to load as tilesets + .map files)? As a subfolder in program files/game dev? on the desktop? does it matter?

+ during Install packager, is there something that needs to be set in a particular way that could have been causing the problem?

///

I understand now that the kit version I'm using is verrrry old - somehow I didn't notice until the game was half made (it's my first try at making any kind of video game). I later downloaded sgdk 223 but there seemed to be no way to import all the work made in 1.4.6

v6v

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #1 on: 2013-09-15, 01:14:02 PM »
SGDK2 isn't compatible with SGDK1

You would have to upgrade. It's worth it. You don't have to deal with NSIS scripts and can have everything compiled into a neat little executable. Or you could have it run directly in the browser.

It looks like it's looking for a path on your computer.. Hannahas? You should have all of your images and other form of assets in the same folder you're running the NSI script.
(It's been almost 6 years since I've last used SGDK1 so I'm foggy)

Try to include all of your files in the same folder, the folder where your Death Game exe is. I don't think that SGDK1 makes an effort to move everything to the same folder for you.

I'm trying to remember how I did timed events in SGDK1, there were a million ways and workarounds I found without scripting. Your way sounds neat, and you can adjust the timer by setting the distance of your sprite which follows it and the speed of that sprite. Decreasing inventory items also worked well, but I remember that inventory items would always show up top. (You could disable it, I can't remember)

Ultimately the simple way to do it would be to use a moving sprite moving toward a target, and 6 years ago that's probably how I would have done it as well..

Tell you what, if no other members respond to this thread, upload a video of your game to YouTube. We can't run it on our computers. I'll walk you through making it in SGDK2, timed events are much easier to perform in SGDK2.

bluemonkmn

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #2 on: 2013-09-15, 05:10:28 PM »
I'm afraid even I don't remember much about SGDK version 1.x and haven't used it in many years. SGDK2 does support importing of graphics so if you wanted to recreate the project in SGDK2, at least you wouldn't have to draw everything all over again. You can import a whole graphic sheet at a time into SGDK2 if you look in the file menu while the graphic sheet editor is up. You just have to create a blank graphic sheet at the right size in SGDK2 first. But that combined with all the other work and learning a whole new program might be too much to do before the exhibition.

Is there anything I can do now (for people in similar situations) that would have helped you realize earlier that the version you were using wasn't the latest?

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #3 on: 2013-09-16, 09:28:12 AM »
Thanks for the quick replies!

I tried to download SGDK2 from sourceforge just now through the homepage and when I went to run it, got "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Downloads\SGDK299\SGDK2IDE.exe is not a valid Win32 application.".

(bluemonkmn - I then googled "download SGDK2", thinking I might find it elsewhere without problems and came very quickly to this page http://gamedev.sourceforge.net/download.shtml . The temptation is to click first on Downloads, and not see the Version 2 Home link in the sidebar. I believe this is what happened when I first downloaded it, so perhaps adding some warning in above "Download the Latest Install Now", saying that it's the latest install of SGDK1, but that the more up to date SGDK2 can be found *here* would help other people realise that they're not on the latest version?)

I tried also 2.2.8 and had the same problem running it, but have found that 2.2.2 runs. I'll try creating new graphic sheets there and importing! (Though I had 2.2.2 on my computer a couple weeks ago and couldn't find it today, so redownloaded. I notice it doesn't appear in the start menu... can remember there being some error when opening it a second time, couple weeks back, but don't remember what it was, sorry.)

Despite these challenges, really super enjoying learning with SGDK!

Thanks also for the advice on the file location v6v, and for the offer to check it on youtube! I'll give it a bit of a play myself but might take you up on that offer if I get stuck!

bluemonkmn

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #4 on: 2013-09-17, 05:30:00 PM »
Thanks for the quick replies!

I tried to download SGDK2 from sourceforge just now through the homepage and when I went to run it, got "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Downloads\SGDK299\SGDK2IDE.exe is not a valid Win32 application.".

What version of Windows are you running? Do you have .NET Framework 4.5 installed?

(bluemonkmn - I then googled "download SGDK2", thinking I might find it elsewhere without problems and came very quickly to this page http://gamedev.sourceforge.net/download.shtml . The temptation is to click first on Downloads, and not see the Version 2 Home link in the sidebar. I believe this is what happened when I first downloaded it, so perhaps adding some warning in above "Download the Latest Install Now", saying that it's the latest install of SGDK1, but that the more up to date SGDK2 can be found *here* would help other people realise that they're not on the latest version?)

I updated the download link text at http://gamedev.sourceforge.net/download.shtml. Hopefully that is clearer.

I tried also 2.2.8 and had the same problem running it, but have found that 2.2.2 runs. I'll try creating new graphic sheets there and importing! (Though I had 2.2.2 on my computer a couple weeks ago and couldn't find it today, so redownloaded. I notice it doesn't appear in the start menu... can remember there being some error when opening it a second time, couple weeks back, but don't remember what it was, sorry.)

There's no installer for SGDK2, unless you just use the clickonce install at http://sgdk2.enigmadream.com/clickonce/, but that can be tricky too. So normally you just extract the files wherever you want to keep them, and run it directly, and if you want it in the start menu, create a shortcut there. It's possible the older 2.2.2 version of SGDK2 relied on an older version of .NET Framework, so maybe all you need to do is install .NET 4.5.

I hope you get 2.2.9 working. I just downloaded it on Windows 7 and it seems fine for me. I hope anybody else who has had this problem will speak up.

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #5 on: 2013-09-18, 12:45:16 AM »
Ah yes, this is the problem. I'm on Windows XP - no luck installing .NET Framework 4.5.

And yeah, great! I think it's clearer now on the SGDK1 download link.

bluemonkmn

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #6 on: 2013-09-18, 06:11:01 AM »
Ah yes, this is the problem. I'm on Windows XP - no luck installing .NET Framework 4.5.

I recompiled 2.2.9 to target .NET 4 because the only reason I was using .NET 4.5 was that the clickonce installation process had a bug in .NET 4.0. I didn't really need .NET 4.5. I have uploaded a new file SGDK229_WinXP.zip to https://sourceforge.net/projects/sgdk2/files/sgdk2/2.2.9.3/. Let me know if that works for you.

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #7 on: 2013-09-18, 06:35:33 AM »
Wow, thanks very much!

But no, I'm afraid it's still not working. Got this error:



and then taken to this link http://dotnetsocial.cloudapp.net/GetDotnet?rClrVer=v4.0 where .NET 4.5 started downloading.

I had a look and the computer seems to have .NET 4


bluemonkmn

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #8 on: 2013-09-18, 07:37:47 AM »
Sorry about that. I neglected the built-in logic (part of clickonce install logic) that checks prerequisites, which was still set to require .NET 4.5. I have updated the file if you want to give it another try. I just updated SGDK2IDE.exe so you should be able to confirm that that file has a newer date on it in the updated archive than it did in the original WinXP archive.

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #9 on: 2013-09-18, 07:57:23 AM »
No, sorry. I tried first of all the SGDK229_WinXP.zip which says updated <10 mins ago, and when I extracted the files, the SGDK2IDE file shows Date created: 18.09.2013. 8:32 (I checked my recycle bin, and the previous one in there was created 18.09.2013. 6:58)

but with this new one I had the same result as above screenshot ("would you like to download... =v.5 now?")

and then I tried the "Looking for the latest version? Download SGDK229.zip (4.9 MB)" - back to the error "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Downloads\SGDK299\SGDK2IDE.exe is not a valid Win32 application.".

bluemonkmn

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #10 on: 2013-09-18, 08:18:42 AM »
Sorry again, and thank you for your patience. I see now I neglected to include the updated version of the file SGDK2IDE.exe.config, which is the file that has the information about the .NET framework dependency in it. I updated the archive to include the new version of that file if you want to try again.

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #11 on: 2013-09-18, 08:26:02 AM »
Success !

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #12 on: 2013-09-18, 08:38:50 AM »
Ah but now I'm afraid I'm still not getting any further with importing the project. I see how to create a blank graphic sheet, and Import From..., but the files I have from the SGDK1 game include only .bmp s, for the tilesets, .map s and the .gdp file. Importing any of these to the graphic sheet I get Data at the root level is invalid. Line 1, position 1. . So having a look at SGDK1, and other ways to save  - perhaps I need to do something with the code? I could Export XML, but see no option to then Import XML into SGDK2....

Thanks again for taking the time to sort out the latest version for XP! Even if I end up completing this project on SGDK1, I'll be sure to have a play with the newest one when making my second game...

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #13 on: 2013-09-18, 09:43:55 AM »
You need to actually open the empty sheet in the editor and select "Import Image as Sheet" from the file menu.

hai

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Re: Time triggers + Install packager/file location, version 1.4.6
« Reply #14 on: 2013-09-18, 09:51:33 AM »
got it, thanks again!