Game Won't Work When Testing *Print screens inside*

Takyon · Sat 14/03/2009 02:34:17

I have just started trying to use AGS. The tutorial is very good and I have followed it perfectly. I just got to the bit that says "Now test your game by pressing F5" and did.

Sadly it doesn't work the little man is at the top of the screen and won't move anywhere and my background is cut off at the bottom.

Here's some print screens of what I've done so far I hope someone can please help me, thanks

.

Settings

Colours

Edges

Walkable Areas

Walk behinds

Build (faulty)

And this is the original image used for the background incase this might be the problem

RickJ · Sat 14/03/2009 02:45:54

Easy problem; You have to change main character's initial position so that he starts out on the walkable area. Open the room editor where you set the walkable area. Position the mouse to where you would like him to start and make a note of the coordinates (they should be displayed somewhere on the screen as two numbers separated by a comma). There used to be a way to cut and paste these coordinates but don't remember at the moment, right click or something perhaps?

Now go the character editor and select the main character. Enter the desired coordinates into the field labled starting position, initial position, or something similar. Now test the game and your character shouyld be able to walk with no problems..

Takyon · Sat 14/03/2009 02:57:14

Thank you so much rickj this has solved my problem

I didn't understand the bit at the bottom of the tutorial for this bit sorry.

Takyon · Sat 14/03/2009 21:28:16

I've just noticed that the top of my background is cut off how can I fit the whole backdrop in?

Pumaman · Sat 14/03/2009 21:42:20

What size is your background image, and what resolution is the game set to in the General Settings?

Takyon · Sat 14/03/2009 21:56:53

dimensions are 1230x826

I'm unsure what resolution the games set in I can't remember sorry I'm not at home. But what resolution would you suggest for this size?

Another thing I was wondering sorry, I don't have to make the whole game in one file do I? For example if I made the first few scenes/rooms etc in one file then the others in another file I could still link them together to work as one game?

Please help

Khris · Sun 15/03/2009 13:15:54

You'll need to choose a resolution first, then draw backgrounds with according dimensions.
If the background is smaller than the resolution, you'll get a black border at the bottom/right.
If the background is bigger, it's gonna scroll. Of course the latter can be done on purpose to convey big locations, i.e. a 700x240 room in a 320x240 game will scroll just sideways (think MI's Scumm Bar).

Takyon · Sun 15/03/2009 19:18:18

Quote from: KhrisMUC on Sun 15/03/2009 13:15:54
You'll need to choose a resolution first, then draw backgrounds with according dimensions.
If the background is smaller than the resolution, you'll get a black border at the bottom/right.
If the background is bigger, it's gonna scroll. Of course the latter can be done on purpose to convey big locations, i.e. a 700x240 room in a 320x240 game will scroll just sideways (think MI's Scumm Bar).

Ok thanks, say I wanted to have one scene with a scrolling background then the next one with a smaller one how would I go about this? make each scene as a seperate file/project?

Vince Twelve · Sun 15/03/2009 19:30:01

You can make each room different sizes if you want. It doesn't matter to the program. You just need to know that the screen is only going to show a viewport equal to the resolution that your game is running at. Everything else will be cut off unless your player walks there.

If your game is using 640x480 resolution, your backgrounds need to be 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels wide. Anything larger than that will be visible by scrolling the background. To scroll the background, either the player needs to walk across it, or you need to manually set the viewport with SetViewport(x,y);

So, if you have a tall background image, like the one you're showing here, the top will be cut off unless your player goes up there (or you can manually set the viewport). If you have a wide background, the sides will be cut off until the player walks over to the side. The "camera" will move with the player to show those parts of the background.

This is just what "After a Brisk Nap" was trying to explain to you back in this thread on adventure gamers.

Takyon · Sun 15/03/2009 20:42:35

Ok thanks Vince. But what if I have to change the resolution for the 2nd room when the 1st was set to a different resolution? Won't this ruin the 1st one?

Vince Twelve · Sun 15/03/2009 21:12:25

No.

Takyon · Sun 15/03/2009 21:53:10

Ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

Pumaman · Sun 15/03/2009 23:47:46

Well, if you meant for both the backgrounds to be full-screen, but you drew them at different sizes, then yes that could cause a problem.

Basically you need to decide on what resolution the game will run at, and then draw your backgrounds accordingly.

Takyon · Mon 16/03/2009 21:42:23

ah ok thanks puma man appreciated I'll let the designer know as I told him wrong info again lol

Hmmm 1024 x 768 seems higher than my screen but 800 x 600 is tiny which one is best considering I want my game to be full screen?

Trent R · Tue 17/03/2009 06:12:54

You can make a 320x240 game run at full screen. Just depends on which res you want your graphics to be at.

~Trent

Takyon · Tue 17/03/2009 12:40:20

Oh ok thanks, sorry about all this I'm complete "newb" to this. Although I'm learning the scripting quite quickly I'm completly inexperienced with resolutions etc.

Khris · Tue 17/03/2009 13:27:44

The resolution determines how big a single pixel is on the screen.
If you switch your Windows desktop to a higher resolution, everything gets displayed smaller because the amount of pixels e.g. a single icon occupies doesn't change, just the pixels' size.

While 10 to 20 years ago, resources were limited and developers were forced to use low resolutions with few colors, it's a mere style choice nowadays.

I'm not sure how 800x600 is "tiny"; considering the background you posted, I'd go for that res.
Getting a grasp of how resolutions work is a matter of minutes, so don't worry.

Vince Twelve · Tue 17/03/2009 19:08:08

I'd suggest just trying a couple rooms to get the feel of it. Take the backgrounds that you have, no matter what size they are, and make a room for each. Then fill each one with walkable area so you can walk around them. Then use the debug command ctrl-x (unless you've changed this) to warp between those rooms. You can also try creating different projects with different screen resolutions and doing the same thing. It only takes a few minutes and it's definitely going to help you understand it more than us explaining it.