posted 02-07- 06:59 PM CT (US)        

One of the major things I'm planning is that this game is going to be HUGE. So huge, it can't all fit on one map. What I have planed now is that there are multiple dmods, and at a point in the game, you would save your game then transfer that file to the other dmod. The problem with this is, its annoying, and incompatent people will end up losing their save games and blaming me. It will work this way, but my game is going to be a caste game, like zelda, so if you want to go back to a castle a while ago, you might be required to save your game and quit dink, transfer a file, then start dink again. This is even more tedius because my game already takes a rediculously long time to load. Basicly, I'm wondering if it is possible to make the map file bigger, so it cane have twice or thrice as many squares. If not, I'm looking for a more efficiant way to switch between the dmods. I'm guessing you can't help me with the map file, so I'll email seth on that...

Another thing that will screw me over big time with my large game is the parameters. I'm only alowed so many sprite, so many edits of those sprite, so many globals, so many EVERYTHING!! Its making me mad! Changing this will probebly require some editing from seth, but possibly this has come up before.

Getting actually into my game, I have noticed the limited ammount of space for items and magic. This doesn't bother me in dink smallwood, as how there are only 4 spells and not very many items, but my game will require a larger amount of space. What I hope to do, but have failed to, is either make seperate screens for magic and item selection, or make it so if you scroll to the bottom of the selection screen it scrolls down to another, for more items magic etc. The problem I'm facing is that there is no script for the screen, so I can't do anything save edit what it looks like. I also need to know how this works for a status screen I hope to include. So if anyone has ever figured out how this works, please inform me, if not, seth will recieve an even longer email from me.

Also itching in the back of my head, but not nearly as big a deal, is how to effectively play music. Right now, i'm using wavs, because they sound better than the midi versions of the songs i've written for the game. This causes the problem of largness, at nearly 50 megs each. So, people have told me to make a midi version. Which i started to do. The thing is, I also went to wavs because you could get them to loop, and keep looping until you told them to stop, midis play once through, and i really really don't like it. If there is a way to make midis loop, that information would be very much appreciated.

I know this is a long list of requests, and many far fetched, but please attempt to help me out here. I'm attempting to do something revolutionary, and I fear I cannot do it alone. Anything I cannot get answered by you guys I will hope seth can do something about.

posted 02-08- 05:54 AM CT (US)            

2) "Another thing that will screw me over big time with my large game is the parameters. I'm only alowed so many sprite, so many edits of those sprite, so many globals, so many EVERYTHING!! Its making me mad! Changing this will probebly require some editing from seth, but possibly this has come up before."

I didn't understand...

3) In Prphecy of the Ancients, Gary managed with 2 items, and each made a choice appear on the screen. Not very easy to use (for the player as for the creator I think), but... it worked!

4) Playing MIDI in loop: In RedInk1's neat stuff tutorial, there's a way to loop Midis, based on a timer. But it didn't worked neatly (what a shame for such a titled tut ;)), because the first time, the MIDI take a bit of time to load... So there's a bit of blank between 2 playing. So I did this:
void main(void)
{
loop:
wait(10);
playmidi("mymidi.mid");

if (&player_map = 123)
kill_this_task();
goto loop;
}

It may make the game be slow on old comps, I didn't tested.
There's still a bit of blank between 2 loops, but never longer than 1/2 or 1/4 second, as if you played a midi in loop with WinAmp.

Here it is!
Post again if you want to precise things (e.g. #3).

posted 02-10- 10:04 AM CT (US)            

2)What i mean by this is you can only have like 200 globals, and i want more. Only 500 hardbox edits at the bottom of dink ini, those little set_sprite_info things, i need more. You can only have graphics up to #1000...well, i don't need more there...yet. Those kind of parameters. Things that make it so I can't make my game bigger..the map could be considered one also...i'll definately have to email seth on that, i'm not sure he'd be willing to, or could...

3)yeah, i just got done with prophesy of the ancients, the way he did it there was pretty good...i'm not sure it would work for me though... what i really really really want is to have a magic screen and an item screen... that or have it so when you push a button or scroll to the bottom it goes to another item screen..this would require knowledge i bet only seth has, as nobody else has managed, that i know of, to duplicate the item screen. Also, i need to do a status screen, pretty similarly, so the knowledge would help me out there.

4)Hmmm...that might...might work for my game...it would require a little extra work, possibly slow it down some...but i'll try it... yeah, i really don't like the way in the game midi will stop, and not start again till you leave the screen...

Well, i'll wait a little while longer, seeping what information from you guys i can, then i'll write to seth and see what he can do. Thanks everyone!

posted 02-10- 10:58 PM CT (US)            

thanks for your ideas, i'll use some of them...
oh, when you mentioned making my own invintory at the start, well, the reason i'm asking these questions is because i don't know how the additem commands really work, so i could like, say you have an item, and maybe put it somewhere on a status screen, but how to equip it, i have no friggin clue...

posted 02-24- 02:45 PM CT (US)            

If yes, then your DMOD must be a great as LOT! (even if I didn't played this one yet ;).