Messages

1

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:The parameter is incorrect...Help!

« on: October 17, 2004, 04:22:24 PM »

I haven't had the chance to test it, since I don't own a copy of Windows 95/98 anymore.  I'm using only Windows 2000/XP, so I'm not sure if it works.  I'd love for people to test it, and let me know.

Modified SCI Studio

PS:  I did have some conversion problems between compilers (Brian used Borland C++ Builder 5, I use Borland C++ Builder 6), so if anything else is broken let me know.

EDITED TO CORRECT URL ERROR

2

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:How to give custom name for view resources

« on: August 18, 2004, 01:14:04 AM »

There are two ways:  easy and hard.  The easy way is to simply "slow double click" on the item you want to rename.  That is, click to select the item, wait a second or two, then click it again and it'll change to allow you to edit the name.  Simple.  There doesn't seem to be any other way in SCI Studio right now.

The hard way simply involves opening the game.ini file in your game's directory.  There, you'll see something like this:

Code: [Select]

n000=Main
n974=Door
n975=AutoDoor
n976=InitRooms
n977=Dying
n978=DisposeLoad
n979=Controls
n980=DPath
n981=DCIcon
n982=Rev
n983=Wander
n984=Follow
n985=Timer
n986=Window
n987=Gauge
n988=Extra
n989=Sound
n990=SysWindow
n991=Jump
n992=Cycle
n993=FileIO
n994=Game
n995=Inv
n996=User
n997=MenuBar
n998=Feature
n999=Obj
n800=TitleScreen
n001=rm001

Simply find the current name, and change it, saving the file afterwards.  Easy, but annoying.

3

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:LSL 7 Animation extraction

« on: July 29, 2004, 06:29:14 PM »

How many times has this question been asked so far?  Certainly, this time has to be the most info-merical like time.  But wait, there's more.

4

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:legality of selling games

« on: July 20, 2004, 02:12:31 PM »

<LOL!!>  That's hilarious, but it could easily be real.  A lot of those graphics look authentic, but not SCI.  That's an AGI game, with staggering, 160x200 AGI graphics.  Best to ask about that game on the AGI board here.

Also, no.  I believe FreeSCI requires either Windows 95+/DirectX or some sort of windowing interface on UNIX/Linux like X11 (which controls KDE, GNOME, CDE, etc.)  I think there's a Mac port as well, but I'm not familiar with it.  Also, if these are actual requirements, then FreeSCI requires no less than a 386, and probably recommends a Pentium+.  Still, you can check their site http://freesci.linuxgames.com to find out more about it.

5

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Query on differences on SCI language versions + bonus question!

« on: July 12, 2004, 10:05:25 AM »

So: Essentially, how useful will SCI1 knowledge be in programming an SCI32 game?

What differences, if any, exist between the SCI versions? I don't mean much in the way of, "version 1 can do a lot more than version 0, and do it better!" so much as I mean, "version 32 does things in such a spectacularly different way than version 1!"

BONUS QUESTION: Can SCI (any version, but VGA specifically) handle gamepad inputs via either PS/2 or USB? Do we know if the upcoming version can handle DirectInput? I'd like to do some QFG4-style arcade combat with a gamepad (actually fairly important for my design) and if it can't, I'm going to have to look for another engine, or hope Brian can add it in. =/

(here's hoping I don't get saddled with the pat "wait an indeterminate amount of time and see" answer so many SCI VGA questions get

--nunix

The differences between the SCI1 and SCI32 virtual machine are pretty distinct, but programming them with an abstract language (such as the SCI language or, when it's completed, the C++ style language), the differences will be relatively transparent.

As for Gamepad control, yes an no.  SCI has integrated support for joysticks (which Gamepads are, believe it or not).  However, since USB wasn't invented until a few years ago (1996 or 1997 I believe), it wasn't included in early versions of SCI, and likely not even in later versions of SCI.  However, it might be possible for a USB Gamepad or joystick to be used in SCI if a proper driver was loaded, either by Windows or by a 3rd party programmer.

Although it is possible to hack the SCI engine to add support for USB devices in SCI, this would be way above and beyond the call of duty.  Simply adding support into SCI Studio won't affect the actual game engine.

6

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Automatic doors

« on: June 27, 2004, 04:10:11 PM »

Keep an active record of what state the door is in:  closed, opening, open, and closing.  Then, when you hit the navy control line, you just need to examine the state, and change it if necessary.  Exact source code would depend on your implementation and idea. ^^

7

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:setting gEgo's properties

« on: June 15, 2004, 01:07:13 PM »

That's a good question.  You might be able to use the "underBits" property of View to determine exactly which part of the character is touching the control line.  If I remember correctly, underBits is a heap pointer to a chunk of data relating to backgroun, priority, and control data.  Another possibility is simply to determine which direction the ego was headed and about where it touched the control line.  For instance, the below image:

Code: [Select]

............
.........../
..._..._../.
../.\_/.\/..
./..........
.|..........
/...........
If this was a control line, I would only need to know about where the character was on the screen, and the direction.  Since you know the control line contours, you can make a "grid" system and detect the collisions yourself, more or less.  Course this may be more trouble than it's worth if SCI has this ability already.

(Edited:  if you read this post before I modified it, I apologize.  I misunderstood what you meant.)

8

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Can you open KQ6 with the SCI editor?

« on: June 01, 2004, 12:15:08 PM »

I believe King's Quest 6 is an SCI1, or SCI32 game, depending on if you're using the CD/high resolution version.  SCI Studio 3 only supports SCI0 games.  SCI Studio 4 will support all versions of SCI, including the cross platform versions such as Amiga and Macintosh.  However, SCI Studio 4 has not yet been released.  There are other tools which can open, display, and extract graphics from later SCI versions, but I don't know what they are, or where to get them.

9

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:SCI VGA backgrounds

« on: May 25, 2004, 09:23:11 PM »

Although I cannot say exactly how SCI Studio 4 will work, this would be my impression:

In creating pictures, you will have to specify which version of SCI you're going to be using (which may already be determined by the project file).  If you're making an SCI0/SCI01 compatible picture, it will only have the option to save as a vector graphic (that's the official term).  If you're making an SCI1+ compatible picture, you will probably only have the option of making a raster graphic (again, technical term).

To me, this method makes sense, although a better way may be implemented in the final, polished version.  Regardless of what Brian will do, one thing is certain.  SCI Studio 4 must provide support for all types of pictures, including the vector graphics of SCI0 and SCI01, and the raster graphics of SCI1+.

10

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Diagonal Views

« on: May 22, 2004, 01:13:02 PM »

You have to set your actors' and/or ego's cycler to StopWalk, instead of Walk.  ie:

(send gEgo:setCycle(StopWalk 1))

And there are some other, smaller details, but I'll let you figure them out.  

11

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Will SCI Studio be released?

« on: May 21, 2004, 10:12:46 PM »

"Are we there yet?"
"No."

Repeat these lines a thousand times, and you have a traditional family vacation.  The first few times you hear it, you don't think much of it; the kids are curious and don't really understand the concept of time and distance.  However, the more often you hear it, the more your blood boils and the shorter your fuse gets.  Asking "When will SCI Studio be released" is the exact same question.  The first few times people ask that question, it's understandable.  The webpage isn't updated regularly, no comments are made by the creator, and no one is talking about the newest version.  But it's already been established that SCI Studio's production has been seriously slowed, by Brian's own admission.  Even looking at the webpage should tell be enough to convince someone.  The latest update was a few months ago, and has to do with GBAGI, which (if you've used it) is a massive undertaking and unrelated to SCI, so obviously SCI Studio production slowed down.

And, Disturbed Soul, some people do lurk on forums, yes.  I have a tendancy to go a few months without making one post, and still be reading.  However, I doubt that is truly your case because just about every month, someone comes to this forum to ask "are we there yet?"  You would have seen it, and seen the reply.

12

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:i cannot hear anything!!

« on: May 19, 2004, 10:54:14 AM »

Try VDMSound.  It's a driver-like program which allows command prompts in Windows NT flavored OSes (NT 4?, 2000, XP, 2003, etc) which allows audio to be played (through MPU-401/SoundBlaster 16 emulation, I believe).  It's simple enough to download and install, but in order to use a program with it, you must right-click on the program, and select "Use with VDMSound..." or something like that.  Check their documentation for more details.

13

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Diagonal Views

« on: May 18, 2004, 09:43:19 PM »

Download the source code to LockerGnome Quest, and look in Cycle.sc.  There's an extra class at the end called StopWalk.  Start there.

14

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Diagonal Views

« on: May 17, 2004, 07:43:03 PM »

Wow, I thought there was a solution already posted here, but I guess not.  An attempt was made here, but a minor typo led to an unsolved mystery (Cloudee, & and | are bitwise functions...you needed to use or and and).  Some correct (and relatively accurate) code is provided below:

Code: [Select]

     (if ((<=(send client:heading) 22) or  (>=(send client:heading)337))(send client:loop(3)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading) 23) and (<=(send client:heading) 67))(send client:loop(5)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading) 68) and (<=(send client:heading)112))(send client:loop(0)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading)113) and (<=(send client:heading)157))(send client:loop(7)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading)158) and (<=(send client:heading)202))(send client:loop(2)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading)203) and (<=(send client:heading)247))(send client:loop(6)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading)248) and (<=(send client:heading)292))(send client:loop(1)))
      (if ((>=(send client:heading)293) and (<=(send client:heading)336))(send client:loop(4)))

Replace this with "DirLoop(...)" in cycle.sc.  The loops 4, 5, 6, and 7 represent upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right respectively.  Feel free to change the loops to whatever you want.  Hope this helps!

15

Mega Tokyo SCI Archive / Re:Will SCI Studio be released?

« on: May 13, 2004, 10:59:37 PM »

No, I modified and recompiled the source code so as to keep GDI memory leaks to a minimum.  There shouldn't be any leaks any more, but like I said, I can't be certain.  Barring any serious problems and/or complaints from Brian, or the other moderators here, I'll post a link to the file.  It's significantly larger than the current scistudio.exe which I still haven't figured out...it's a around 2.5 MB.

BTW, Brian, if you have any problems at all with me doing this, by all means, remove the link from this post...I'll have no problems with it.

Window 9x compatible SCI Studio???

I really hope this works!