ARC Legacy Edition - Engine Beta 2

Started by Blizzard, May 19, 2012, 02:57:22 pm

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Blizzard

I forgot to mention for scripts:

If you want to check whether your script is being used in ARC or in RMXP, simply check for ARC.

if const_defined?(:ARC)
  # your ARC specific code goes here
end
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Memor-X

in regards to supporting multiple resolutions scripting practice, wouldn't it be far more work that what it's worth, a change to the resolution mid game would require you to not only make sure that Windows are re-sized/re-positioned but also since we use sprites a change of resolution would just allow the player to see more of the map which means you will have to keep that in mind when making events disappear when they go off screen (unless someone suggested a If position is off screen condition) and even without that, if you made an event walk off screen and you have the player wait, larger resolutions would require either the event to move faster or the player to wait more and even if you try and hide that with a Map Zoom, it will be noticed very easily

wouldn't a better practice is to choose a resolution and stick with it since unless someone creates a plugin for ARC that allows it to import Vector based graphics mid game resolution change won't make any different graphically unlike what it does in AAA games (and maybe some Indie but i can't think of any off the top of my head.....wait, does Bastion count....and did it even have resolution change) and the reason why you change the graphics via resolution is to greatly reduce the amount of data that is being possessed and rendered

G_G

Quote from: Memor-X on May 24, 2012, 06:40:04 am
mid game resolution change


I don't think you'll be able to change the resolution mid-game. What I was referring to with scripts auto-sizing for resolution is whatever resolution the developer decides to choose, he won't have to worry about tinkering with the script to make it fit properly.

Blizzard

Technically you will have those API calls available, but they won't be used by the default scripts.

@Memor-X:

Who said anything about being able to change the resolution mid-game? Yes, ARC will provide script calls for doing that, but they won't be included in the default scripts. If somebody wants to do that kind of thing, they are on their own. We are talking about a script working in multiple resolutions, not about changing the resolution during the game.

AAA games don't use vector graphics and neither do Indie games. They are basically all 3D and rendering a 3D scene in a different resolution is completely different in concept than rendering a 2D scene. In 2D games the only realistic solution for using different resolutions it that the graphics are either scaled to fit into the resolution or the game's contents include graphics in different resolutions (e.g. one graphic for a 1024x768 title screen, one for a 1600x1200, etc. or one big graphics that is simply being cropped on smaller resolutions).
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

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MikePjr

It just crashes when i run it.
I click to run.. it acts like it's about to start.. but then quickly crashes.

Blizzard

I will be a real ass here and quote myself in a condescending tone.

Quote from: Blizzard on May 19, 2012, 02:57:22 pm
Keep in mind that this build does not include any resources. You should copy/move all RTP resources into the project's directory once you have unzipped it. Otherwise it won't run.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

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MikePjr

Sorry.... :(  i missed that part...

DarknessSurrounds

Hey, are you guys going to release how you implement the Window class?  I want to eventually extend it to function like a better RMVX window class (basically multiple stretched/tiled background layers at different opacities).  I think I remember you saying something about supporting about the ability to do this eventually.  Am I just getting way ahead of myself here?

Ryex

we implemented the window class in C++ so it's not a simple as extending it with ruby. but for the full version of ARC we are planing on having a much improved window class, Blizz has a cool I deal that I can't remember at the moment. he hasn't posted it anywhere that I know of so I'll let him fill you in
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Blizzard

May 26, 2012, 02:40:04 am #29 Last Edit: May 26, 2012, 02:41:56 am by Blizzard
I once made a WindowX class in RMXP for somebody that would allow you to customize the window class a lot more. You were able to define how big the borders were, possible background except the window skin, a scroll bar if the window's contents don't fit in the window, etc. It was part of a complex menu system that needed some really custom stuff. I realized that the best way to make it work is simply to rewrite the window class. Any other solution would have been just half-assed and I would have ended up with more problems in the end.

All of these features and more will be available in ARC's window class. The awesome thing here is that AprilUI already supports a ScrollArea and ScrollBar object so it's just a matter of skinnging and making a Window class which is basically a composite Object that uses them.
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DarknessSurrounds

That sounds awesome!  I take it this functionality is going to wait until the full version?

Blizzard

Yes and no. The AprilUI based Window class will be available in the full version later. But I will already implement some additional stuff in the RGSS Window class. But this will wait until ARC-LE v1.1.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

tginick93

I just have one question for the engine. Earlier I found that certain things were not rendering properly on my computer.
Quote from: tginick93 on May 20, 2012, 02:14:13 am

Spoiler: ShowHide




Does this mean that the engine will require a relatively new system (or gpu for desktops) to run properly on? I'm just curious about this because my computer is a mid-2010 model. It's relatively old yeah, but I can still run graphically intensive games like Assassin's creed with no problems other than lag on it.

Blizzard

If it has a Pixel Shader, it can run ARC normally. And Pixel Shaders have been around for 10 years. If this is happening to you, your drivers aren't working right.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

tginick93

Fcking apple... Well thanks for the clarification :)
Can't wait for the first release!

Blizzard

July 18, 2012, 12:30:35 pm #35 Last Edit: July 18, 2012, 12:59:10 pm by Blizzard
If it's any consolation, I am actually trying to come up with a solution for this. xD The problem happens because during the texture rendering stage you can specify an additional constant color that you can then use in the shader calculation. The problem is that not all drivers support it. I am having exactly the same problem in a virtual machine. Since having no opacity is not really an option, I will have to come up with a solution for this problem.

EDIT: Alright, I just checked. It's simply not possible. The card has to support pixel shaders. You will notice that nothing works, neither opacity nor color nor tone.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

tginick93

It's weird, nVidia says my card supports shader model 4 (this is a gt 330m) so there's probably something wrong with either the card or the driver. Color works fine, it's only the cloud layer that's rendering improperly which means pixel shaders are supported on my card (according to what you said). I'll have my friend check if this problem exists on inferior hardware.

Thanks for letting me know. Still looking forward to the final release :)

Blizzard

That may be true, but if you are running a virtual machine, you are actually using just a generic driver provided by the virtual machine which is offered only a generic interface to the graphic card from the host OS. So it's not a problem with hardware, it's because the virtual machine doesn't know you have a GT 330M. And I'm not sure if that can be fixed somehow.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

tginick93

I don't use a vm. This problem occurs when I run ARC on my physical machine (W7 dualboot config)

tginick93

July 19, 2012, 03:56:34 am #39 Last Edit: July 19, 2012, 05:10:25 am by tginick93
Sorry for double post, but my friend tried the engine and told me what happened.

On an integrated nVidia geforce 9300m (this is not an apple computer): same thing happens.
On an integrated Intel 4000 HD (on a recent Macbook air): crazy shit... along with the transparency problems.
Also my card (the GT 330m) is discrete, not integrated.

Spoiler: ShowHide





EDIT: I would like to point out that the transparency issues do NOT occur in v 0.9.4.620