Crunchy Frog

What's that splash screen for, TGM? A scenario entitled "This little piggie went to market"? I'm not entering. Because my graphics skills suck.

To get walls, switch to terrain mode. Look at the top-right and you'll see a bunch of wall segments; some dark grey, some brown. Place these walls on the map so they line up like walls should, and you can build buildings. It takes a while though; one of the things that really annoys me about the editor is how much more difficult placing walls is than in Blades of Exile. For people, guards, monsters, and so on, use the C1, C2, etc. menus. Select a type of creature and click on the map to place it. Shopkeepers are a little more complicated, as they require scripting. It'd take a while to explain, so I'll let someone else do it. The manual explains it fairly well if you're already a programmer, but if you're not it can take some getting used to. By the way - Blaspheme, what does your signature mean? I don't know a word of French.

I'm guessing that a lot of people are staying quiet deliberately, because the moment you announce something, your chances of success signficiantly decrease. At least, they do for me.

Overwhelming - Yeah, the numbering when you set up the buttons starts at 0, but the value you get back starts at 1. Jeff admits that was a pretty stupid thing for him to do; it was basically a rather large oversight.

Quote: Originally written by Archmagi Micael: but BOOKS are different. I agree with you that there are too many paintings already Can't you recognise sarcasm when you see it?! Void Master has said all else that needs to be said.

I think you mean PDF. And they're also in Word format, at least in the Windows download. Regardless, you can use the text selection tool in Acrobat Reader to copy and paste it into whatever program you choose.

Why make a new BoE scenario? You might as well ask why write a new book, or paint a new picture - after all, there are already thousands of books and pictures out there. Besides, why not?

Aww. I didn't get to see it.

Nope. The problem is with the call run_pick_lock().

This isn't a call, and I think somebody already requested this, but... I'd really really really like to see item descriptions. We already have string properties for objects of all kinds - why not descriptions? There's even a spot for them on the item info dialog already; just have them replace the "This is an Object. It weighs 5 pounds." message, if they're set. And maybe have one description string for identified and one for non-identified. The underlying framework is already there. It just requires a few small changes and additions here and there, and I for one would LOVE to be able to set item descriptions. And I'm sure every other scenario designer out there would as well. Please, Jeff? Pretty please?

Could you do it manually? As in: Find the charater in the party with the highest Tool Use skill, and get the highest quality lockpick they have. Then test the strength of the lock against that character's Tool Use skill plus the Tool Use bonus of the lockpick. It's hacky and annoying, but it could work... right?

You haven't actually set the variable "choice" to anything. You have to explicitly assign it to run_dialog(), like this: Code: choice=run_dialog(1)

There is a program that can patch Windows exes. Deus Ex: Invisible War uses it. *goes and checks* Here we go. It's called RTPatch (http://www.pocketsoft.com/). I can't find a price listing, though; I'm guessing you're supposed to contact them for a quote.

If anyone's played Half-Life, there's a bit in the introduction (the first chapter, before the disaster) where you're getting let into the experiment chamber thingy, and two scientists have to do retinal scans at the same time at opposite ends of the room to let you through. You could do a similar thing with keys or keycards; so to get through, you'd not only need the key/keycard, but you'd need to enlist the help of an NPC or glue the keycard into the slot. Or if the player is smart and has more than one PC, they could just go into combat mode and give each keycard to a different PC...

Quote: Originally written by Grey-Eyed Stranger: Isaac, he wasn't trying to use HTML. Methinks it to do with the eval...function of PHP, but filtering it out is rather stupid, considering if the board actually executed code in members posts, this board would have more security holes than could be humanely possible. Yeah, that's probably it. Khoth is right about the speed difference, though; you really don't notice any slowness at all unless you're doing lots of number-crunching, which the editor doesn't need to do. Besides, a lot of the clunkiness I've noticed in the BOA editor has more to do with the interface and the fact that it has a slight delay every time it plays a sound (from clicking buttons and stuff) than actual execution speed. Yeah, it would be a pretty major project, but I can dream can't I? And in the meantime, I could make a script editor or something... hey, that's actually a pretty good idea. Now to learn wxPython, properly this time!

You know, sometimes I think it might even be better to recode the entire thing from scratch in something properly cross-platform. Python would work well; then you could even stick a fully-fledged script/macro thing into the editor itself. (The eval function rules. ) Of course, that would be way too much work. Notice that I said "better", not "easier". (Erm... at first I tried to type e.v.a.l.(.), without the periods, and UBB told me that the "eval" HTML tag wasn't allowed. What the? )

Notepad has a word wrap function. Just remember to turn it off when you want to count line numbers.

Hooray! The wait is nearly over! You know, it'd be neat if you could preorder Spiderweb games before they came out... just an idea. Unless you can already, and I'm just missing things.

It might be possible to modify and recompile the editor source to give a larger view. Then again, it might not. Take your pick.

Quote: Maybe most progammers are afraid no one would create any scenarios. But it works! And they'd be pretty silly to think that; just look at Half-Life. That game wouldn't have sold nearly as well if not for user-created mods like Counter-Strike. People like making games, especially when the engine is already made for them. And yes, good RPGs are much harder to make than good arcade/board/puzzle/etc. games. Much much harder. The same applies to adventure games, in my experience. The engine isn't too hard, but the content creation can take FOREVER... Edit: Messed up my tags. Oops!

Heh, I walked right into that one. No custom sounds for Trademark Monster!

That would require effort. So it's probably a Bad Thing unless the scenario really, really, REALLY relies on the sounds. Which would be almost never.

Quote: If there is an insane character anywhere in your scenario, amputate him. It would have helped The Draining. HAH! That is so true. If I ever make another Blades scenario, it will have proper motives. Promise. I'm interested that you seem to think all insanity as a plot device is bad, though. Just out of interest, what would you think about the use of an immortal villain who, say, randomly lashes out at people because the sheer interminable, grinding boredom of his eons-long existence has made him bitter and angry (he wishes to die, but he can't, and there is NOTHING he can do about it - not even commit suicide, because he can't)? Because I can actually see that happening... if I suspend my disbelief just enough to accept the "immortal" bit.

Cool. I want to play that scenario too. Great article!

You found a straight road in Canberra?! WHERE?! I must see this marvel of engineering! Yeah, Canberra is like that. Rule of thumb: In Canberra, if you want to go left you should go right, and vice versa. Oh, and I forgot to say hello to TM. Hi, TM. They're still calling you Trademark, I see. And to give this post a semblance of on-topic-ness: Jeff, I think the support is pretty much unanimous for releasing the Windows editor now. Pretty please? I really don't want to have to port it myself.