Dialogue

[Nick]

Using the ini object to store text for dialogue is a very strange technique. Any user can open up the ini file and read all the text from there!

Personally, i would use the list object, and just read different lines from the list object and insert them into the string object.

[Mycale]

Fantastic! thanks a lot for those explanations, treehugger!

Well then, I'll best get on to trying what you told me. I began the dialogue tutorial. I only did the first part though. I'll have a look at popcorns tutorial.

Thanks :P

@nick Is there a tutorial on how to use the list object? Or could you tell me how to handle it?

[Nick]

The list object is literally... a list. Make sure you make it invisible or off the screen so the player can't see it.

Fill it up with different lines like:

Hi
What are you doing here?
Can you go to the farm for me?

Now, if you set the string to line 1 of the list box, it will display "Hi", if you set it to line 2, it will display "What are you doing here?"

[Mycale]

Thanks a lot. Sounds a tad easier than working with ini files

[pinacoladaxb]

I see just one problem with using the list object...how do you know who is saying what? I suppose you could just do a bunch of events that say, "if line = x then set person y to be talking," but that would be tedious. Rather, I would do one of two things:

1. Set the first letter of each line of text to the first letter of the name of the person talking, then only display the letters after the first.
2. Use the List View object. Set one column to the text and the other to the person talking.

Unfortunately, both of these methods can seem complicated the first time you use them. Is there a better way that anyone has thought up?

[Nick]

You could use string parser to split the line in two, like this:

Nick@My method is the best!
pinacoladaxb@No, my method is better!

[pinacoladaxb]

Haha.
I don't have any particular method that I'm trying to make look better here. Just suggesting things I think are helpful. Nick, I agree your string parser method is better. Happy now?

[Nick]

Lol, i wasn't being seriously competitive, don't worry! It was just a fun way of explaining my idea!

[pinacoladaxb]

I know. I laughed when I read it anyway.

@Mycale (since Nick hasn't yet)
The string parser is a way of splitting a string up. The help file on it does a really good job of explaining this. Check it out. What you do is you set the text before the split (or delimiter) to the person talking and the text after the delimiter to the spoken text. Again, this may be confusing, but the string parser is one of the most commonly used extensions and the only reasonable way to do what you are doing.

[Mycale]

@nick, pinacoladaxb thanks a lot for those suggestions and the explanations! I'll have a look at this string parser thing :P I think I keep getting closer to my perfect dialogue

So the parser is used in conjuntion with the list object? What if I wanted to add a picture to my dialogue? Is this only accomplished by drawing an active object and link it to my list object?

In any case, thanks a lot for your help!