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Newcomers AppGameKit Corner / i don't actually want to make a game...

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Klingbeil
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Posted: 17th Nov 2015 23:39
i want to make a classic AD&D 2nd edition character generator. i'd also like to eventually be able to add class modules for extended customization of characters as needed.

i'm completely new to AppGameKit and haven't written anything since the days of QBASIC

does anyone have some tutorials they can point me at to help me along with doing forms, buttons, data manipulation, etc etc etc... ?
Van B
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Posted: 18th Nov 2015 12:37
I think you'd learn all you need just by checking the tutorials - things like buttons and sprites are very easy to create and monitor.

Personally I would use a TYPE, which would then be used in an array - this would allow the system to hold more than 1 character at a time.
Like:
TYPE rpgdude
name as string
age as integer
ATT as integer
DEF as integer
HP as integer
ENDTYPE

DIM dude(32) as rpgdude

Now there would be an array called 'dude', and you can access the components of the type quite easily, like say you just want to roll some stats...

dude(0).age=RANDOM(18,100)
dude(0).ATT=RANDOM(1,10)
dude(0).DEF=RANDOM(1,10)
dude(0).HP=RANDOM(50,100)

Just using RANDOM(start,finish) to give basic values, but of course you'd go further than that.

One benefit of using a TYPE'd array like this is you can hold several characters data at a time - those could be heroes in a party, or even opponents... like you could have enemy characters in there as well, and use it to calculate encounters and combat automatically.

Things like a characters inventory or gear could be stored in another array, maybe an array of items with a TYPE component for the character number that is currently holding it, which makes it easy to drop or give items to characters.

I would suggest just getting stuck in, but take your time and consider the end goal and the data you need to work with. There are a lot of examples that explain the finer points, and there is always help and advice here.

Klingbeil
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Posted: 18th Nov 2015 17:31
hey thanks! that's all very helpful to get me started

are virtual buttons pretty much the only onscreen option for an interface and is the index ID restricted to numbers or can it include letters?
Klingbeil
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Posted: 18th Nov 2015 20:02
also, any thoughts on how to do pull down menus, checkboxes, spin buttons, scroll bars, and radio buttons?
Blendman
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Posted: 19th Nov 2015 13:36
Quote: "also, any thoughts on how to do pull down menus, checkboxes, spin buttons, scroll bars, and radio buttons?"

in 2014, I have made a lib to use some gadgets (buton, panel, menu, checkboxes, spin, trackbar, imagegadget...)
There missing other gadgets (radio buttons), but it work pretty well I think.
Perhap's you can try it to see if this lib is usefull for you :

https://forum.thegamecreators.com/thread/211483
http://www.dracaena-studio.com
Klingbeil
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Posted: 19th Nov 2015 18:02
Quote: "n 2014, I have made a lib to use some gadgets (buton, panel, menu, checkboxes, spin, trackbar, imagegadget...)"


that is fantastic! thanks for the link
Van B
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Posted: 20th Nov 2015 07:35
I think Blendman has provided you with the best option for these features. But keep in mind that you are in control of how your app works and looks. AppGameKit prefers not to rely on built in controls, because it's multi-platform - I mean a radio button in iOS, Android, and Windows might work 3 different ways. What AppGameKit does is let you control every aspects and maintain that throughout the different versions.
Klingbeil
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Posted: 22nd Dec 2015 22:12
Quote: " a radio button in iOS, Android, and Windows might work 3 different ways"


isn't that actually the point of AppGameKit? to create the common ground for operations across multiple platforms?

and just out of curiosity, because i honestly don't know why, but how would a radio button work differently across on various platforms? wouldn't it still be "only one of these options can be chosen"?
xCept
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Posted: 23rd Dec 2015 06:42 Edited at: 23rd Dec 2015 06:42
Quote: "AGK prefers not to rely on built in controls, because it's multi-platform - I mean a radio button in iOS, Android, and Windows might work 3 different ways"


It wouldn't be too difficult for TGC to implement native controls based on platform. In fact, AppGameKit does this already with some of the commands including Message() which calls the native dialog controls to generate a pop-up box on all platforms. Supporting native controls including input fields, radio buttons, drop-downs etc. would massively expand its capabilities for general app development and I would use it a heck of a lot more if they included such features.

@Klingbeil, I did create a replica iOS picker control in AppGameKit for one app I made but never got around to releasing the code for this control. So your best bet at this point would be to use the Blendman's kit.

Van B
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Posted: 23rd Dec 2015 08:20
Klingbeil, well one thing that occurs to me is that in Windows, a radio button can have 3 states, true, false, or null. I'm not sure, but I don't know if other systems would support a radio button with 3 states. Null is the killer really, because different systems deal with it differently. I mean, if a radio button doesn't have a value, does that make it false? - it becomes an issue that has to be programmed around... you might want to force the end user to specify all values rather than assuming a null radio button is false. At the end of the day, it's better to have a standard control that does exactly what you need it to across all platforms. An internal library of GUI controls for AppGameKit to use across all platforms would be great. Especially the tricky things to program like combo lists, that would make a big difference.... not needing a sprite or 3 and text and an array and specific code handling just to have a simple list of options.

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