The Adliberum Engine
VOTE ADLENGINE FOR GAME OF THE YEAR 2017!
To do so we need votes....
VOTE NOW at: http://tiga.org/awards/game-of-the-year
(one vote per person)
Thank you!
~ Liam
%special% coming in next update
when constructing commands you will soon be able to use surrounding %%'s to have the command lookup special values. You can use any number of them in a command and it will replace all before processing the command.
for example we could set up a variable:
gvar=hello
in our command we can then do the following:
build %var%
using the %s looks up the value against all the special properties including but not limited to:
- local vars
- global vars
- private vars
- random (value randomly rolled)
- chosen (value randomly picked from the choice command)
You could also assign a var to player.var or target.var and then use this as a special.
Another use could be to assign special values as part of a description. For example.
lgrillstatus=closed
grill.if opened lgrillstatus=open
grill.if closed lgrillstatus=closed
You are standing in a dungeon, a grill in the floor lies %grillstatus%
I am sure we will all be able to use this to great effect.
This will be live in the next update.
IMPORTANT: changes to setting vars coming... PLUS global / private
$ = local
# = global
~ = private
instead of just #
you will use $ (for local)
i.e.
$varname=100
NEW global vars:
use (#) to set a global var..
i.e.
#varname=
NEW private vars:
or (~) to set a private var...
i.e.
~varname=
This will be live in the next update!
All combinations have been confirmed working, to manipulate you would need to do:
$clockhours+timehours;
#timeleft-1;
~health*roomdamage;
Just be aware that it also currently doesn't prevent you from creating duplicate variable names across each scope so its a good idea to use unique vars until I can address this issue at a later date.
=D New folder location for custom files...
Unfortunately I can't use the app folder as permissions will cause too many issues, so the next best place is in the user folder..
typically c:/users/username/adlengine/
When you launch adlengine OR when loading a map it will create the following folder structure.
users/username/adlengine/
users/username/adlengine/mapname
users/username/adlengine/mapname/images/
users/username/adlengine/mapname/theme/
users/username/adlengine/mapname/sound/
Again you will be able to specify a subfolder, i.e. images/imagename.. this will in time be the place where players playing your creations will extract the "gamefiles"
In the current version it now looks for location images first in the user folder and if it cant find any it will then look for images using the location data i.e. 0|0|0|.jpg OR failing that it will load from the project files (in package.nw)
I'd love to automate this process but its tricky. I could write a quick app that copies the files to the folder which you can place in the final game zip. They would then double click this to install the game.
I will also be looking at a menu system that shows games you can play in adlengine (that you have installed) rather than having it load a game at default.
This will tie in eventually with the player_only version of adlengine and will make life a lot easier for using custom files.
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UPDATE: playing SOUNDS from this location confirmed working also =D
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Theme Customisation Is COMING!!
So let's look how we would say, set a text objects color.
{text-main}.fontcolor.r=100;
{text-main}.fontcolor.g=100;
{text-main}.fontcolor.b=100;
structure (of example above).
text = type of object to target
main = name of object that you wish to affect
.param targets a specific parameter e.g. text, font color, width etc
= sets the value!
Once you call the command, the renderer updates the theme accordingly
e.g.
{text-loc}.text=This text has been changed manually.
This will be a huge addition to the engine and will open up the ability to amend / render your own buttons, text, sprites and more to the screen.
For example you will be able to do:
{text-health}.new;
{text-health}.x=100;
{text-health}.y=200;
{text-health}.fontcolor.r=0;
{text-health}.fontcolor.g=128;
{text-health}.fontcolor.b=0;
{text-health}.fontsize=24;
I hope to eventually expose behaviours such as fade in/out, sine etc to allow animated text and more.
#ADLENGINE NOMINATED in TIGA AWARDS (for best ROLEPLAYING)
This rounds off a fantastic year of alot of hard work in #gamedev for myself!
Details about the awards and shortlist:
http://tiga.org/news/tiga-games-industry-awards-2017-finalists-revealed
Here's to many more chapters and thank you for your ongoing support!
~ Liam
UPDATE: ADL-ED + ADLENGINE v1.1.55.3
Download the (experimental) editor at:
https://www.adliberum.com/engine/ADL-ED/
The new engine update is live on steam and will update for you shortly.
I will do a brief guide on using the editor although hopefully a lot is self explanatory. It "should" also work with your current maps. Just load them in top-left.
The engine will only sync between engine -> adl-ed (and back again) initially by either typing:
sync
In the engine..
OR pressing the "sync to adlengine" button in the editor.
NB: CREATIVE MODE must be active! to sync... the editor / engine will sync automatically between once connection has been established and the content has been mirrored for the first time. However you can use the sync command or sync to adlengine button to sync, if there are any issues.
Let me know how you get on :)
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Arrow keys scroll the map
Q W E R
A S D F
Z X C = move in editor
R & F = move up / down a floor
space = build room
U I O P
J K L ;
M , . = build / toggle exits
P & ; = build / toggle exits up / down
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Any issues, let me know, like I said its experimental so may have a few teething issues.
NB: CREATIVE MODE must be active! to sync...
Sneak Peek At ADL-ED (Standalone Editor for ADLENGINE)
UPDATE: NEW IMAGE.
Lots of work is going into it to make it a) as intuitive as possible and b) to get it syncing up perfectly with ADLENGINE (plus working independently also - actually harder would you believe)
Would love to hear your feedback / suggestions / feature requests...
The editor will be live as soon as humanly possible. IF you would like to use it BETA (it wont sync though!) as the listener stuff will be in the next update, ping me an email to freedom (at) adliberum (dot) com.
Have to say, I'm excited as it makes creation 100x faster!
Standalone Apps Interacting With ADLENGINE.
A few examples:
A separate command / movement controller which would handle all input including voice recognition, great for accessibility e.g. with programmable buttons.
A narration / events app that both controls events and also doubles as a tool for the DM to handle narration and event control, which would be great for live roleplaying etc.
Theme / ui editor which controls visuals, images, buttons, rendering and more.
Working on Stand-alone Editor
The new editor is great, syncing beautifully across.
One new bit of functionality (available in the next update) is the goto command now accepts location, such as 0|0|0| which means you could easily map exits to a room not conforming to the grid. For example a secret passage might take you back to the start of the map. OR you might want to teleport the player to a jail cell. That sort of thing.
Character data now syncs correctly without leaving traces of old character location behind as it replaces the location rather than cycling, copying old to new and deleting the old. Alot more efficient and accurate.
The interactable map also has quick toggle exits, which make building your maps quick and easy. It simply fires commands to adlengine to mirror the data across as you make changes. It is pretty much real-time but delays will occur where focus is lost from adlengine as it will pause and catches up when in focus. Fingers crossed this is only due to it being in preview mode.
I will write the ability to quickly add / delete rooms next.
One major speed gain is that I can now live test both the editor and adlengine without exporting it first as I was previously.
I'm open to ideas for what elements of the engine you want exposing in the editor and whether you prefer everything open before you, or if you'd rather show only what you need i.e. toggle between viewing objects, characters, scripts etc.
Or if there is anything that would speed up your development.
While it doesn't look overly pretty it makes creating 100x faster.
I will push the update as soon as I can, once I do I will make the editor available.