AGI Newbie need some basic help

[Jelle]

I find Vector very useful, all pictures my game contains, are drawn in paint (Have a look) and then converted with Vector...

the -p [prio] is an option, use vector this way:

vector -p priority.bmp visual.bmp picture.xxx
xxx = a number between 000 and 255 I think.
This will create a picture containing both the visual screen and the priority screen.

you have to be careful on how to draw the original image, otherwise it might be distorted when it is converted

Just set your height = 168 and width = 158 and then everything should be just fine.

[Jocke The Beast]

Thanks for the answers,guys! Really usefull to get some help here.

Ok, more questions:

- Which Sierra AGI-games are full-working within AGIStuido ? I noticed that Larry1 had some problems...

- Is it legal to release (freeware) a fanmade agi-game with a the start file (sierra.com or mygame.com) ?

- The template game seems very usefull. Do u guys use the template when making your games ?

[Joel]

About messages and defines:

You can use either:

print("Hello");

or

print(m1);

with m1 defined as "Hello"...

I would recommend doing the print(m1) type thing if you have a message that may be printed in several different places in a logic. For example, you might have a "You're not close enough" message that will be printed if the player tries to open a door from too far away or tries to get an object from too far away.

In that case, it's better (as far as code maintenance goes) to have something like:

#message 3 "You're not close enough."

And then use:

print(m3);

anywhere the message needs to be printed. An even better approach is to do what I just showed and add a define at the beginning of the file like this:

#define MSG_TOO_FAR_AWAY m3

And then use:

print(MSG_TOO_FAR_AWAY);

when printing it out.

About the template game:

I'd say the vast majority (like 99.99999%) of the fan games out there are based off some version of the template game.

[Nick Sonneveld]

really?  I was under the impression that the current compiler grouped together messages that were the same?

I'd agree with you if you were talking about commonly used message fragments though (ie "you can't do that because ..." or something)

- Nick

[Joel]

what I mean is that it's better, maintenance-wise, to have this code:

Code: [Select]

#define MSG_TOO_FAR_AWAY m3

if (said("open", "door"))
{
  print(MSG_TOO_FAR_AWAY);
}

if (said("get", "key"))
{
  print(MSG_TOO_FAR_AWAY);
}

return();

#message 3 "You're not close enough."

than to have this code:

Code: [Select]

if (said("open", "door"))
{
  print("You're not close enough.");
}

if (said("get", "key"))
{
  print("You're not close enough.");
}

Because if you want to change the message to something else (e.g., "You're too far away." or "You can't reach it from here."), then the second code can become a maintenance headache while the first is easy to change.

[Nick Sonneveld]

ah sorry, I understand now.  I was forgetting about maintenence.

- Nick

[Jocke The Beast]

Thanks for the answers! Really nice people here...

Anyway, can anyone answer theese 2 questions:

- Which Sierra AGI-games are full-working within AGIStuido ? I noticed that Larry1 had some problems...

- Is it legal to release (freeware) a fanmade agi-game with a the start file (sierra.com or mygame.com) ?

[Jelle]

- Which Sierra AGI-games are full-working within AGIStuido ? I noticed that Larry1 had some problems...

There are some problems with opening certain logics. Have a look here: http://www.mega-tokyo.com/forum/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=2025

- Is it legal to release (freeware) a fanmade agi-game with a the start file (sierra.com or mygame.com) ?

I thought it was legal as long as you don't...      sell the games / make money out of them.

[Zonkie]

I was thinking about this for a while as well: If you enter your game in a competition of games for a magazine, where you can actually win a prize if you send in the best game, would it still be legal to send it in with an interpreter? For which editor would it be, for which wouldn't it?

I was just wondering if any of you knew...

Zonkie

[Andrew_Baker]

Well, if Sierra holds a patent on the resource formats, you wouldn't be able to submit any component of your game, I would imagine.

That notwithstanding, it would probably constitute copyright infringement to package the original Sierra interpreter with your game.

However, it should be perfectly legal to distribute one of the next-generation interpreters like Sarien and Nagi.

[Nick Sonneveld]

Sierra holds patents on some SCI stuff (like path finding and some sound stuff) but nothing that I know of on AGI.  

Copyright applies to source and written works as far as I know.  Somehow it applies to compiled code as well.  Things are still kinda hazy on reverse engineered stuff.

If you're putting it on a magazine CD.. you would want to use NAGI or Sarien.  Many people's machines don't run DOS programs properly now.

- Nick

[Kon-Tiki]

Sorry to be so late about this: but Jocke: for making sounds, try using AGISE. It won't give all those problems converting gives. You can get it here.

-Kon-Tiki-

[Zonkie]

So if i sent it in and gave it in with NAGI as the executable, that would be alright with you? Which copyright information would I have to include, like a readme file that mentions you as the author of the interpreter?

Here the other programs on those CD's are really weak, I guess just about any fanmade game could win first place (which is a free game of your choice ).

Zonkie

[Nick Sonneveld]

I'm not sure what the license I used for NAGI dictates.. but I would be happy just with my name somewhere.  If you distribute SDL.DLL with it (which you probably will for convenience), make sure you include that SDL readme file cause it's required if you package it with anything.

- Nick

[Jocke The Beast]

Kon-Tiki: Thanks! It's downloaded. Phew! Now I must have downloaded all the utilities I need for programming/developing a AGI-game  

All:
Ok,another newbie-question:
- What is NAGI and Sarien ? My guess (after checking out some agi-related sites) is a that it's a executable file (same as sierra.com) only that someone else made it...
But does that file (nagi or sarien) make any different to a AGI game's code/appearance ?