Posts by pdsoft

I really can't say I didn't see this coming... it seems the flash game market has been on the decline ever since the mobile game market began to blossom.
But I really am saddened by this news. I run a few small portals that rely heavily on mochi services, so Im left wondering what to do next, are there NO alternatives?? Was Mochi the last standing?
I found out about the shutdown through kongregate, which is ridiculous. Mochi could have at least warned its users 3 months ago or something. This is really short notice, its already the middle of this month...

Quote from AyreGuitar

pdsoft - You're asking about efficiency, but efficiency of what? Eg memory, speed, file size, time spent making your program, etc.

In terms of time taken:
I've been down the one frame per scene, and my game progressed quite quickly, and was fun to make, using the frame editor as a level editor.
Yes, bugs were a bit of a pain to copy and paste to all frames (as well as graphic changes!), but would probably have taken less time overall than rewriting it to work with a single frame and my own level editor, which I did and the game still isn't finished yet!
Adding new features now takes a lot longer, since I have to update my level editor each time. I needed qualifiers too, so couldn't use Global Events.
I'll end up with a level editor that could be included with the game as some consolation.
Perhaps I should have taken some time to look at Macro programs to automate the copying and pasting of changes to each frame?

I think where MMF2 excels using 1 frame per level/scene and having levels that vary quite a bit to add variety (as long as there aren't hundreds of levels!) - much harder/takes longer to do that with a single frame IMHO, but I know others on these forums swear by the single frame approach.

Unfortunately, you'll probably have to try various methods until you find what works for you.

Good luck with your visual novel!

Thanks!

When I was referring to efficiency I meant in terms of both Memory and File size. (But Im more interested to find out about Memory)

I had a project that would not build to flash at all. I kept getting errors say ''out of memory''. When I deleted several frames everything would build to flash ok.
I would have to say my main concern is memory. I don't want to hit that wall in flash again.

Quote from redpandagames

What type of game are you making? Putting everything in one frame is very difficult to manage and debug, but 1000 global events seems unnecessary. Also, adding too many large objects to one frame is going to kill your frame rate.

Im making a visual novel
Originally I tried to figure out a way to get everything in one frame. I was going to utilize a text array object but immediately ran into its limitations regarding string character lengths. The 1000 events is every scene combined. Each scene really only has about 150 unique events. I could have optimized that more but I wanted to build something that is reusable.

Quote from Jacob

Why do you need multiple near-identical frames? Is there a way you can do this dynamically all within one frame?

The reason I chose different frames is because of organization. Im using the frames as scenes. There are about 30k-40k words in the game total. Each scene has about 1,000-2,000 words each, certain sentences are accessed dynamically depending on events etc. Its much easier to navigate things this way but I can also see its not very optimal.

Quote from Ryan

Don't use global events, there's far too many limitations on the global event editor. It's a fairly big waste of time to go down that path. Everything in one frame is the way to go. Your 1000 events should be broken up into groups so they're not all running at the same time, they're only activated/deactivated when you need them.

Also, if you're really concerned about file size due to duplications of objects, the installer will compress the file and reduce duplication. even Flash and iOS games are compressed before they install. You shouldn't really worry about filesize in this way, but definitely be concerned about duplicating code due to the problem of maintenance down the line. That's why the 1 frame method is the preferred way all around.

I haven't used any global events yet, though I was planning to implement one for volume control. But I think I might be able to pull that off through global values...I havent tested it yet.
You mentioned the duplication of code, I have ran into problems with that, lol! I made a code template and copied it to every frame but when I ran into bugs that meant every frame had those bugs. It was a complete headache.

Thanks for all the advice!
Im going to try and organize my game into larger frames. As I explained, my main reason for multiple frames was text management. Some things will still need to be separate because the game is not 100% visual novel but I think I can make that work. Im already 20 frames deep and just wanted to know if its worth it to change my methods? (Which I think it is now) Im just going have to use lots of comments in the editor so I know whats going on.

Hello,

I don’t have much experience with MMF2 but I think I might be working in an inefficient way. Im not so sure yet, so I have this question.
Is it better to work with multiple frames that have less code or less frames that have lots of code (broken into group events, over about 1000 total) ?

I like to work with multiple frames that have less code because its much easier to navigate and troubleshoot. However Im unsure of its efficiency…
(In my head "Frames" are "Scenes" but maybe I shouldn't use them that way.)

The program I’m developing has lots of graphics (large jpegs, moderately sized pngs).
Each frame has almost the same exact graphics in it. What I don’t know is if MMF2 regards identical graphics from different frames as one single object or as separate objects? (is this something I can control??)
My file gets bigger and bigger every time I add a frame, so my guess is no. But I’d like to know if there is a way around this?

Thanks

Quote from liamcss

Where can I get the beta android IAP object? I'm not sure if I'm just being daft here...

If you're looking for the download it's in the android owners lounge, first thread on the page.
To access that forum you have to activate the android product key through your member profile.

I had this same issue. Here's the solve...
When you save an array you usually just put "AppName.arr" BUT for android you must also specify the location at the same time. Thats the gotcha... so it should look like this instead:

DataStorageDirectory$( "Android object" )+"AppName.arr"

You must have the android object in your frame, as The "DataStorageDirectory$( "Android object" ) pulls from there to make a save location.

Hope that helps.

I asked a similar question not too long ago too. MMF2 seems to lack a built-in constraint system for objects.

In the past Ive tried making my own custom movement but got hung-up on collisions. Ive got an old project laying around somewhere, it was missing a line like this:
"Set X position of Player box to (X position of Player box -(abs(Xspeed)/Xspeed))"
and it was also missing "On Loop" conditions, the player object would always get stuck on backdrops.
Probably the only thing that will use fastloops is my player object, so performance issues may not arise? Im going to test for each platform.
Thanks for the explanation! Im going to try this out.

Hey,

Ive been trying to figure out if MMF2 has any type of parent/child system for objects like actives? I need to group a set of changeable graphics together so that they will move at exactly the same time, when in use with the 8 direction movement.

I tried just setting the x, y position to a target but there is noticeable lag. I need timing to be exact.
Ive heard of fastloops, it speeds the process up? I need something efficient enough for flash and mobile platforms. I not sure if fastloops will work properly on every platform...

I need something like this because Im currently working on a new game and it will feature a customizable character. Things will be changeable like armor, clothing and hair style. When the character walks, I need the hair and clothing to move exactly with it.

Is there a method to doing this that I might not be thinking of?

Thanks

did you manage to get that example mfa working properly on android?
Im trying to figure it out, myself. I works perfectly on iOS but I can't pinpoint what needs to be corrected for it to work on android...

This was good news to me too!
I had lost faith in the XBone but now, maybe its not so bad. If XNA is going away, I wonder what will replace it?

Quote from Koji_Kabuto

I'm leaving default handling of my characters with the normal Joystick, which works only the reading of the right and the left, above and below does not work.

Hi,

Ive been following this thread since I got my Ouya.
Did you ever figure out how to get the clickteam movements working properly?
Im building a game that will use the 8 direction movement, would be nice if it was compatible with the Ouya controller.

UPDATE!

Ok, I found your post in the other android forum, DaveC. Thanks so much for the help

Now I know the expression should look something like this:

save array to file DataStorageDirectory$( "Android object" )+"array.arr"

And its working.

Thanks! I didnt notice this expression before.
I tried these expressions on the array object

save array to file DataStorageDirectory$( "Android object" )

And when that didnt work, I tried

save array to file ExternalStorageDirectory$( "Android object" )

But it still crashes for either expression
Are there further requirements besides that? Is there something im missing?

Also, I did another test. Saving to INI files works. Its just arrays that are giving me this problem

Hello,

I recently bought the android exporter because of all the neat features finally being added.
Im currently porting a game from iOS to Android and I had some crashing issues. Ive managed to pinpoint the problem to the action of saving to an array file, I think.
Im a complete noob when it comes to android and noticed android apps need things called ‘permissions’ to use certain features properly.
I assumed saving data onto the device will need a certain permission?
I need help with figuring out which one is appropriate.

I tried WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE but the app still crashes in the same place...
When I remove the save to array, everything works fine.
Im using the latest beta of MMF2 DEV 257.22

Thanks

UPDATE:
I set up a test application to make sure if this was really the issue with android and it is.
In my test app, at start of frame I set a random number in a counter then save that to the array as a value at x,y location. The app crashes.
Is there something Im missing? This same action works smoothly in every exporter except android for some reason. (which is why Im assuming its a setting Ive got wrong, like permissions or version)
I set the version of android to 2.2, the app crashes
I set the version of android to 3.2, the app freezes
I haven't tried 4.1 or 4.2 yet (I don't know how to change the android sdk directory for MMF2 android applications, but thats a different question ^^; )

Quote from JasonDarby

I suspect they are selling out because there aren't that many of them. I mean not even the kickstarter backers have all received them yet.

The device from what i've read isn't that good.

I think you're right about that scarcity.

I got an Ouya from Best Buy a few days ago. According to the people working there, only select stores received 1-4 units. Most of the stores reporting 'sold out' never received any Ouyas in the first place. The whole situation sounds like a marketing tactic...

So far I think the Ouya is a neat idea. I really hope it catches on, or some device which is similar at least. Im having fun playing the demos on the Ouya store, not sure I will actually buy anything just yet. If clickteam makes a Ouya IAP extension I'll definitely attempt to make something for it

I'll check that out, it would be great if someone is already doing that.
A few things would have to change within the playtomic object though, unfortunately I do not have enough programming experience to fiddle with MMF2 plugins. I would also struggle a little with setting up a server as well.
I'll stay on the look though.

Lately, Ive really started to feel the flash ship sinking...So many companies are discontinuing service or focusing on mobile. Anyway, back to why I started this topic...

With mochi analytics and now playtomic gone, are there any other plugins capable of in-depth data tracking for flash?

Thanks

It doesnt take nearly as long to get an app up on google play from what Ive heard. No jumping through hoops, either.
I can't wait for those objects, this is all great news.

Im currently designing an app with in-app purchase features, I already have iOS exporter and was thinking of purchasing the android exporter too but Im curious about how this in-app purchase feature works on android.
I recently bought an android tablet and noticed there are various stores that provide users with apps. If I wanted my app to feature in-app payments what would I use?
I heard about the Amazon app store having an in-app purchase API, also google play has something called google wallet.

Is there an object included with MMF2 that handles in-app purchases for android, via Amazon or google play?

Thanks