Actionparts

Characters

Display text

Displays a text spoken by a character at its current position using its current font. If the character is standing outside the visible area the text is displayed at the nearest visible area of the screen. The following actionparts wont be executed until the text is no longer displayed. During the display of the text no user interaction is possible. If the cursor hasn't been disabled before then the display of the text can be skipped with the left mouse button.

Display background-text

Displays a text spoken by a character at its current position using its current font. If the character is standing outside the visible area the text is displayed at the nearest visible area of the screen. The following actionparts will be executed immediately. The text has no influence on user interaction. It is also possible to show multiple background-texts at the same time. E.g. an action could be created where two NPCs are talking to each other in the background.

Send character to position

Sends character to a specified destination. Be sure the destination is not outside of the way borders. The character must be on the same scene as the action where this actionpart is defined.

Send character to position +

Sends character to a specified destination. Be sure the destination is not outside of the way borders. The character can be on any scene.

Send character to object

Sends character to a specified object. Be sure that both, character and object are on the same scene. The character must be on the same scene as the action where this actionpart is defined.

Send character to object +

Sends character to a specified object. Be sure that both, character and object are on the same scene. The character can be on any scene.

Send character to position and wait

Combines the actionparts Send character to position and Wait until character stops. Sends the character to a specified destination. Be sure the destination is not outside of the way borders. The character must be on the same scene as the action where this actionpart is defined. The execution of the remaining actionparts stops and continues when the character has stopped walking. This actionpart should only be used when the character can't be controlled (either during a cutscene or after an actionpart Hide cursor).

Send character to object and wait

Combines the actionparts Send character to object and Wait until character stops. Sends character to a specified object. Be sure that both, character and object are on the same scene. The character must be on the same scene as the action where this actionpart is defined. The execution of the remaining actionparts stops and continues when the character has stopped walking. This actionpart should only be used when the character can't be controlled (either during a cutscene or after an actionpart Hide cursor).

Wait until character stops

The execution of the remaining actionparts stops and continues when the character has stopped walking. This actionpart should only be used when the character can't be controlled (either during a cutscene or after an actionpart Hide cursor). Normally this actionpart should be after an actionpart Send character to... .

Stop character

This action part stops a character if it is walking (otherwise it has no effect).

Align character

Turns character to look into a specified direction.

Set character to an object

Places character next to a specified object. The scene wont be changed if character and object aren't on the same scene!

Change character

Changes the character, currently controlled by the player. This action also changes scenes if necessary.

Change to scene of a character

Switches to the scene on which the selected character is standing at the moment. This action part is useful for a button like 'Resume Game' in a menu screen. Simply changing the scene wont work since you cannot be sure where a character stands at any moment.

Change outfit of a character

Changes a character's outfit, e.g. from 'normal' to 'leisure suit'.

Change comment-set of a character

Changes the character's comment set, e.g. if character's mood changes.

Example: Current comment set:

"It does not work."
"I can't."

New comment set:

"NO WAY! I will not do this!"
"This idea is as stupid as your last one!"

Change walking sound

Changes the walking sound of a character (e.g. walking on asphalt or mud).

Change font of a character

Changes font of a character.

Change character speed

Changes pace speed of a character.

Change character animation index

Changes the animation index of a character (default is 0 when the game is started). This index is used for talk-, random- and stand-animations. If more than 1 animation exists for a direction then this index decides which animation is shown.

Example: A character has 8 talk animations, 2 for each direction (0, 90, 180, 270 degrees). If the index is 0 then the first of the two animations (for a direction) is shown. If the index is 1 then the second animation is shown.

With this index it is possible to have different animations (e.g. talking friendly / angry) without changing the complete outfit.

Chase character

Order a character to follow another standing on the same scene. Action enables you to choose an action which you want to be executed if the character is within a specified area around the character it is to follow. Configure this radius in pixels under Range.

Stop chase

Character stops following another character. Select the same character you don't want your character to follow any more under Chasing character.

Show/Hide character

If hide is set, the selected character won't be shown anymore. If show is set, a previously hidden character will be shown again.

Set character visibility

Sets the visibility for a character. Visibility [%] defines the desired visibility as percentage. 0 [%] means that the character is not visible at all, 100 [%] means that the character is completely visible (default). If a value for Visibility (Value) is set, this value will be used for visibility and not the setting of the trackbar Visibility [%]. Delay [ms] defines the time from the current visibility to the desired visibility. The visibility of a character will not be saved in a savegame. If the visibility is needed for savegames it should be saved in a value.

Start dialog

Starts dialog between the current character and a partner. The dialog has to be created under the dialog option of the addressed character. Following actionparts will be executed immediately so take care if this is not the last actionpart of the action.

Stop current dialog

Stops the current dialog. This actionpart is only available in dialog actions.

Scenes

Show scene

Shows selected scene without changing the character. This action part is useful for 'in game sequences' or to open a menu. If Fade scene is set, the selected scene will fade in starting on a black screen. Otherwise the scene will be loaded right away.

Change scene

Sets the selected character to the selected object and changes to the scene where the object is located, if necessary. If Fade scene is activated it will be faded in from black to normal. Otherwise the scene will be shown immediately.

Scroll scene to object

Scrolls the scene until the selected object is in the centre of it. Be sure to select an object which actually is on the selected screen.

Scroll scene to position

Scrolls scene's upper left corner to specified position.

Center scene on character permanently

Scrolls the scene so that the selected character is always in the centre of it. You can stop this eighter by choosing another character which is to be centered or by turning it off by selecting the Stop centering checkbox. This action part is meant to be used in cut-scenes in which the current character is not shown.

Change background music

Changes the current background music. When re-entering this scene the original background music will be played again.

Change background music permanently

Changes the background music of the selected scene for good. If re-entering the scene the new background music will be played.

Set light map

Sets the light map (see Light map in Scene) for the selected scene.

Set brightness

Sets the overall brightness for the scene. This brightness is valid until it is changed with this actionpart again (thus it is also valid beyond the current scene). 0 means that there is no light at all and everything on the scene is drawn black. With 100 all images are drawn with their original brightness.

Set horizontal scroll area

By default the scene can be scrolled from the left to the right border of the scene background image. With this actionpart it is possible to limit the horizontal scroll area. Left border sets the left border of the background image where the scene can be scrolled to (default is 0), Right border the right border analogous (default is width of background image). E.g. it is possible to limit the scroll area and let a character walk from outside into the scene.

Set vertical scroll area

By default the scene can be scrolled from the top to the bottom border of the scene background image. With this actionpart it is possible to limit the vertical scroll area. Top border sets the top border of the background image where the scene can be scrolled to (default is 0), Bottom border the bottom border analogous (default is height of background image).

Queries, Conditions, Values

If condition is true then

Executes the following action parts only if the selected condition is true. If false the following action parts are skipped and the action continues at the position of the next 'else' (or End if if 'else' does not exist').

If condition is false then

Executes the following action parts only if the selected condition is false. If true the following action parts are skipped and it continues at the position of the next 'else' (or End if if 'else' does not exist).

If value then

Executes the following action parts only if the value satisfies specified criteria. If not the execution skips them and continues at the very next 'else' action part (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

If character is on scene then

Executes the following action parts only if the selected character is on the chosen scene. If not the execution skips them and continues at the very next 'else' action part (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

If character is current character then

Executes the following action parts only if the selected character is controlled by the player currently. Otherwise the next action parts are skipped and the execution continues at the very next 'else' (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

If language is current language then

Executes the following action parts only if the selected language is the current language in the game. Otherwise the next action parts are skipped and the execution continues at the very next 'else' (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

If command is current command then

Executes the following action parts only if the selected command is the current command in the game. Otherwise the next action parts are skipped and the execution continues at the very next 'else' (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

If current object... then

Executes the following action parts only if the current object where the cursor is at fulfills the following selected conditions:

• empty/not empty: This condition is always true
• not empty: This condition is true if the current object exists (not empty)
• empty: This condition is true if the current object doesn't exist (empty)
• all: This condition is true if the current object is a scene object, an item or a character
• scene object: This condition is true if the current object is a scene object
• item: This condition is true if the current object is an item (in the interface/inventory)
• character: This condition is true if the current object is a character

If the conditions are not fulfilled the next action parts are skipped and the execution continues at the very next 'else' (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

If Savegame/Autosave exists then

Executes the following action parts only if the savegame exists. If Autosave is selected then Autosave-nr must be set, and the corresponding autosave-savegame will be tested. If Current savegame is selected then Autosave-nr is not used, and the currently selected savegame will be tested. If the savegame does not exist the next action parts are skipped and the execution continues at the very next 'else' (if exists, otherwise at the next End if action part).

Else

Marks the else-block of an 'if-then-else' block.

End if

Marks the end of an 'if-then-else' block.

Set condition to true

Sets specified condition to true. Use only if condition isn't a combined condition.

Set condition to false

Sets specified condition to false. Use only if condition isn't a combined condition.

Set value

Sets chosen value to user's entry.

Set random value

Sets value to random number in a chosen interval.

Bag / Inventory / Interface

Add item to inventory

Puts selected item into the bag of the selected character. If it is already in it nothing happens.

Remove item from inventory

Removes selected item from the selected character's bag. If it isn't in the bag nothing happens.

Remove all items from inventory

Removes all items from the bag of the chosen character.

Transfer all items to other character

Gives all items of a character to another character.

Save object

Saves the object which is currently under the cursor. This actionpart is used for the actionpart Execute command on saved object.

Execute command on saved object

The current command is being executed on the previous saved object. For instance a Monkey Island 3 interface can be created with this. For example you can create a right mouse button action which saves the current object and shows the interface, and also an action to each command in the interface which executes the command on the saved object and hides the interface. After this actionpart the saved object will be displayed in the actiontext instead of the current object (the object which the cursor is currently at).

Clear saved object

Clears the saved object. After this actionpart the current object (the object which the cursor is currently at) will be displayed in the actiontext again.

Show bag

Shows the interface and/or the inventory if it was hidden with Hide bag action part.

Hide bag

Hides the interface and/or inventory. The action parts Show/Hide Interface and Show/Hide Inventar will have no effect.

Show/Hide Interface

Shows/hides the interface. Visibility means it will be shown again if it has been hidden, vice versa.

Show/Hide Inventory

Hides the inventory. Visibility means the inventory is shown if it was hidden, vice versa.

Set interface visibility

Sets the visibility of the current interface (with all its buttons and items). Visibility [%] defines the desired visibility as percentage. 0 [%] means that the interface is not visible at all, 100 [%] means that the interface is completely visible (default). If a value for Visibility (Value) is set, this value will be used for visibility and not the setting of the trackbar Visibility [%]. Delay [ms] defines the time from the current visibility to the desired visibility.

Set inventory visibility

Sets the visibility of the current inventory (with all its buttons and items). Visibility [%] defines the desired visibility as percentage. 0 [%] means that the inventory is not visible at all, 100 [%] means that the inventory is completely visible (default). If a value for Visibility (Value) is set, this value will be used for visibility and not the setting of the trackbar Visibility [%]. Delay [ms] defines the time from the current visibility to the desired visibility.

Set active/inactive sprite

Activates the active/inactive sprite of a button. For example this can be used to set the active sprite of the command which the cursor is currently over.

Change the interface of a Character

Changes the current interface of a character. If the previous interface contains placeholders for items then the new interface should also contain placeholders.

Change the inventory of a Character

Changes the current inventory of a character.

Actions

Call other action

Calls another action whose execution type will usually be When called by other action. The current action continues after the called one is finished.

Quit current action

Stops execution of the action. The following action parts will be skipped.

Quit an action

Stops execution of another action. If the other action is not being run at the moment, nothing happens.

Jump to action part

Jumps to a specific action part of the action. If Absolute value (relative otherwise) is selected the execution continues at the position of the action part list set in Skip action parts (e.g. value of 4 means the execution continues at the 4th action part of the action). If Absolute value (relative otherwise) is not selected a certain number of action parts are skipped as set in Skip action parts according to the current position (e.g. a value of 4 means that according to the current position the next 4 action parts are skipped).

Example: Action with 5 action parts:

If condition is true
Display text
Else
jump to action part
End if

If jumping 1 item absolute, the next action part will be 'If condition is true'. Jumping relative the next one will be 'End if'...

Multimedia

Play sound

Plays chosen sound. You can configure volume and balance also.

Play and loop sound infinitely

Plays and loops chosen sound. You can configure volume and balance also.

Wait until sound is finished

The execution of the remaining actionparts is stopped until the chosen sound is finished and not played anymore.

Stop currently playing sound

Stops selected sound if playing currently.

Change general sound volume

Sets general sound volume to a specified value. This action has effects on sounds which are played by using the Play sound- and Play and loop sound infinitely action parts only. If you set volume and balance of a sound which is to be played normally, it will be played using the volume and balance configuration as set here. You can use this action part in a menu in which you can configure general game properties.

Change general music volume

Changes volume of the background music of all scenes to specified volume. You can use this action in a menu in which you can configure general game properties.

Change general speech volume

Changes speech volume of all speech sounds to specified value to volume specified . Speech sounds are sounds chosen in Display text- and Show speaker text action parts.You can use this action in a menu in which you can configure general game properties.

Change settings of a currently playing sound

Changes balance and volume of a chosen sound if playing currently.

Play video

Plays selected video. It can be stopped by pressing ESC. Mouse actions keystrokes have no effect.

Savegames

Save game

Saves the current game. This action part can be used in a load/save menu (a menu with at least one screenshot area, check Menu Tools) only. The user will have to choose a game slot under which the game will be saved. The scene on which the currently played character is will be saved as the current scene (this scene will be shown after loading the savegame).

Load game

Loads a selected game. This action part can be used in a load/save menu (a menu with at least one screenshot area, check Menu Tools) only. This action part has to be the last of the action. The user has to select a game slot under which the game has been saved. After this action part the current scene and character of the saved game are loaded and you continue at the moment on which the loaded game was saved.

Show next savegames

Shows the next screenshot(s) of a savegame in the screenshot area. You can specify the scroll range (how many new screenshots after each scroll) - to do so open Scene settings and set Savegame scroll amount to the desired value. This action part can only be used in a load/save menu with at least one screenshot area (for further details see Menu Tools).

Show previous sagegames

Shows the previous screenshot(s) of a savegame in the screenshop area. You can specify the scroll range (how many screenshots after each scroll) - to do so open Scene settings and set Savegames scroll amount to the desired value. This action part can only be used in a load/save menu with at least one screenshot area (for further details see Menu Tools).

Start autosave

Saves the current game without capturing a screen shot. This savegame can be loaded by using the Load autosave action part only. Autosave-nr is the number of the savegame and must be between 0-99.

Load autosave

Loads a saved game which was saved using the Start autosave action part. This action part has to be the last of the action. Autosave-nr is the number of the savegame and must be between 0-99.

Delete savegame/autosave

Deletes a savegame/autosave. If Autosave is selected then Autosave-nr must be set, and the corresponding autosave-savegame will be deleted. If Current savegame is selected then Autosave-nr is not used, and the currently selected savegame will be deleted.

Miscellaneous

Begin of cutscene

Marks the beginning of a cut scene in the game. The bag and cursor are hidden (similar to the action parts Hide bag and Hide cursor). Both, keyboard and mouse are locked during the cut scene - mouse actions as well as keystrokes won't have any effect except the ESC key. You can skip the cut scene by pressing ESC and the game continues. Action parts which where meant to be executed right after the cut scene will be carried out at once (kind of 'fast forward', e.g. the action part Send character to position will set the character to the desired position immediately).

IMPORTANT: Other actions should not be started (with actionpart Call other action) during a cutscene (the same is true for actions started by an animation frame, see Animations). When a cutscene is skipped (with ESC) these actions will NOT be executed. If it is necessary to start other actions then all changed states (conditions, character positions, etc.) must be set at the end of the cutscene.

End of cutscene

Marks the end of a cut scene. This action part only makes sense if is called after the action part Begin of cutscene. Both, cursor and bag are shown again (similar to the action parts Show bag and Show cursor).

Pause

Stops this action. Continues after a pause of specified duration.

Pause (value)

Stops this action. Continues after a pause of specified duration which is given by the value. The time unit of the value is milliseconds.

Show Animation

Plays the selected animation. If Play animation in reverse order is set the animation will be played backwards.

Show Animation and wait

Combines the actionparts Show Animation and Wait until animation finished. Plays the selected animation. If Play animation in reverse order is set the animation will be played backwards. Execute next actionpart when the selected animation is finished.

Hide animation

Stops and hides the selected animation. If the selected animation was not started then this actionpart has no effect.

Wait until animation is finished

Execute next actionpart when the selected animation is finished.

Preload animation

Loads an animation and holds it in memory until it is deleted with the actionpart Unload animation. By default an animation is loaded when it is shown and deleted when the animation is finished. Loading an animation includes loading the images from the image files and creating sprites (sprites are images in texture memory which are usually stored in graphics memory). Take care to delete the animation as soon as it is not needed anymore to avoid wasting unnecessary memory (sprites are stored uncompressed with 4 bytes per pixel, thus an animation can easily need a lot of memory).

Unload animation

Unloads an animation which was preloaded with the actionpart Preload animation. If the selected animation was not preloaded then this actionpart has no effect.

Start earthquake

Starts an earthquake which lasts until it is stopped with the actionpart Stop earthquake. The earthquake causes the screen to jitter constantly. With Force the maximum movement (in pixel) of the screen can be defined. A higher value results in a stronger earthquake. Speed [ms] sets how long the screen will be shown at a certain position. A higher value means a slower earthquake.

Stop earthquake

Stops a previously started earthquake. If no earthquake was started then this actionpart has no effect.

Set fade effect to new scene

Sets the fade effect which will be used everytime a new scene is shown.

• No effect: shows the new screen immediately
• Fade in: fades only the new scene in
• Fade out: fades only the old scene out
• Fade out and fade in: fades the old scene out and afterwards the new scene in
• Fade to new scene: directly fades from the old scene to the new scene
• Shift left: shifts the old scene to the left with the new scene following it
• Shift right: shifts the old scene to the right with the new scene following it
• Tunnel effect: fades to the new scene with a "tunnel effect"

Delay [ms] defines in milliseconds how long the whole fade effect takes

Set object visibility

Sets the visibility for an object. Visibility [%] defines the desired visibility as percentage. 0 [%] means that the object is not visible at all, 100 [%] means that the object is completely visible (default). If a value for Visibility (Value) is set, this value will be used for visibility and not the setting of the trackbar Visibility [%]. Delay [ms] defines the time from the current visibility to the desired visibility. The visibility of a scene object will not be saved in a savegame and is lost when the scene is changed. If the object visibility is needed beyond the current scene or for savegames the visibility should be saved in a value and set for the object when entering the scene.

Show speaker text

Displays a text at a specified position using a specified font. The following actionparts wont be executed until the text is no longer displayed. During the display of the text no user interaction is possible. If the cursor hasn't been disabled before then the display of the text can be skipped with the left mouse button.

Show background-speaker text

Displays a text at a specified position using a specified font. The following actionparts will be executed immediately. The text has no influence on user interaction. It is also possible to show multiple background-speaker texts at the same time.

Skip current text

Skips the current displayed text (same as with a mouse click). Note: this doesn't work during cutscenes or if the cursor was disabled. This offers the possibility of skipping the text with a key (e.g. space-key).

Show cursor

Shows cursor if status was set to 'hide' (see action part Hide cursor).

Hide cursor

Hides the cursor and ignores any further mouse input. This action part originally was created for cut scenes but usually it is better to use the Begin of cutscene action part.

Set cursor

Sets the current cursor.

Set command

Sets the current command. The command must exist in the interface of the current character.

Set item

Sets the picked up item. If dragged item is selected then the item will be set as the dragged item (the item will be shown instead of the cursor). If it is not selected the item will be set for a combined command. E.g. if the current command is 'Use' the actionpart will lead to 'Use item with...'. This actionpart does not verify if dragged items are allowed (as defined in the game settings) and if the current command is a combined command respectively.

Change language

Changes the language of all texts of the game (click [12_sprachen.htm here] to get further information about how to create text in different languages).

Quit game

Quit game and exit application.