Tip of the Day suggestions

[subspark]

as with the splash screen's tagline, this is something that can be continually added to over time.

The splash screen loads/disappears too quickly for me to be of any tipping use. Incidentally, CJ, are you still considering taking me up on our new AGS 3.3 splash screen I designed for you a couple of years ago?

To refresh your memory:


You should still have the PM with all necessary files/icons, chief!

Cheers,
Sparky.

[Dataflashsabot]

I like this, but I don't like how it shows what's inside the cup.  Removes the mystery

[kconan]

"Always do a test import of one sprite just to make sure it looks ok in AGS before creating an entire sheet of animation."

[subspark]

Huh?  

Agrees about the cup contents, btw.
Sparky.

[kconan]

Huh?  

That was a tip of the day, and not a comment on your cup, which looks great.  Agreed on removing the contents for added intrigue.

[strazer]

I think these tips are very useful for beginners and this thread gives a chance for every user to contribute, so I'm stickying this.

[Mouth for war]

how about something like... "Don't forget to create a Gui called ghotspot for example then add a lable inside the gui and make sure the text for the label is @OVERHOTSPOT@

Could probably simplify that text but I've seen many people over the years asking "How can I have the mouse pointer describing hotspots,objects etc"

oh well...Just a thought keep 'em coming guys

[Dataflashsabot]

"A GUI label with '@OVERHOTSPOT@' as its text will change to the name of the hotspot under the mouse."

[Dave Gilbert]

"A GUI label with '@OVERHOTSPOT@' as its text will change to the name of the hotspot under the mouse."

...

I never knew that.

[Dualnames]

"A GUI label with '@OVERHOTSPOT@' as its text will change to the name of the hotspot under the mouse."

...

I never knew that.

This is a joke, right, I mean, well, this is the first thing I've learned in ags before everything, so well, Dave, this has to be..eh..a joke. Please tell me so!

[Cerno]

Following a recent discussion:

- Some functions work well in cutscenes (e.g. Character.Say()), while others won't make you happy there (e.g. Dialog.Start()). Choose wisely.

Something very nice I just learned:
- Organize your global variables into structs (e.g. one struct per chapter) to reduce the mess that a lot of these variables can create. Exporting a struct will export all its contents in one go. Nice.

Also:
- Character walking weirdly? Check whether its feet are centered in each image of the animation. Add a blank border to one side if necessary.

Edit addendum:
- Character walking weirdly when passing another character in a cutscene? Try setting the character property "solid" to false.

[san.daniele]

I guess this thread is still active as it is 'sticky'
I started with AGS some weeks ago, so here's things I would have loved to stumble upon earlier than I did (some AGS specific, others general scripting).
… oh, and I leave the wording to one of you guys

- you don't need {} brackets if there's only one action after a condition
- want your character.say() not to time out? Change the behaviour in 'General Settings'
- lots of rooms looking the same/similar? create a basic room, right click and make a template out of it (god I wish I'd known that one earlier!)
- walkspeed 10 means a character moves 10px on each game cycle (at least that's what I heard)
- a quick&short note that about 1 second having 40 game cycles on default settings
- interested in a specific feature? take the time to read into it (manual!) or search the forum. most things are wasy enough to understand even for new scripters if they're willing to concentrate.

[Crimson Wizard]

Huh, - seeing as people keep posting here, - someone should select good tips and put 'em into editor... obviously Chris Jones won't do that now .

[Gilbert]

Well, should I just unsticky it and lock it; or move it to Editor Dev. if you people really want to continue with it?

[TheManInBoots]

Did you notice you have to change your sprites after you finished an animation?
No problem! Just edit your graphics and save them in the original place on your PC and then click on "Import sprites from source" by selecting and right clicking on the Sprites you want to change! No need to create a new view from scratch!

Oh I just noticed that this thread is really old after I posted it, I'm somewhat too late.

[newwaveburritos]

I don't know if this counts as a necropost but I do have a suggestion I wish I had known earlier:

When you import a gif it imports all the frames as individual sprites.  You don't need to cut out the spritesheet in that case.

[Crimson Wizard]

Do people read "tips of the day"? I did not even remember that AGS has this thing... how useful it is?

imho it might be best to have proper articles in the manual.