Hint system

wendymorrison

Hi i was just wondering how would i implement a hint system. When you click on the hint button it will randomly choose a object to highlight. I did get one working but when i get to the last one to find it wont highlight that last object and also when i do click on the hint button all menus and buttons disappear until a certain amount of time. I do want it like that but i just want the hint button to get affected by it. Its a hidden object game too i should mention that. I wouldn't mine if anyone has time to do a tutorial on how to implement a hint system.

Thanx in advance.

ChrisIceBox

When you run an ActionList that blocks gameplay, then any Menu that has an Appear type setting set to During Gameplay while hide automatically for it's duration.  You can prevent an ActionList from blocking gameplay simply by changing the When running field to Run In Background, found at the top of the ActionLists' Inspector.

If your Hint menu's Appear type is set to Manual, then you can turn it on and off using the Menu: Change state Action.  So you can amend your button's ActionList to turn the Hint menu off, then flash the object(s), then turn the Hint menu back on.

SkyTree

And how would one go about time cooldown ? Lets say 10 sec, would one need to use QTE?

wendymorrison

Hi i have found that when i put a menu item on manual and then if i save my game during playing it the button would just disappear. I worked that one out when it was happening with the inventory then i changed it to duing gameplay then it actually saved so how would i avoid this.

wendymorrison

Hi i have tested this out but i haven't got a menu for the hint button. Its only a button so how would i turn a button on and off though.

wendymorrison

Just worked the button out i was puttong just the element name instead of the button name but still am having problems with the hint system though. I did work out how to check for random object but when there is one or two items left it actually checks for an item that is not there.

ChrisIceBox

@wendymorrison: You'll need to show us exactly what you've done so far - please post screenshots and descriptions.

@SkyTree: You could just run a Cutscene, that's set to Run In Background, that locks the menu, waits 10 seconds, and unlocks the menu again.

wendymorrison

Hi i tried to insert images but its asking for a url and i dont have one so i have no idea how to put up some images of my hint system.

ChrisIceBox

Upload them to an image-sharing website such as imgur.com, and it'll give you the URLs you need to paste in here.

wendymorrison

Hi thanx for the link to imgur.com, i had to work it out so hopefully i done it right.

http://imgur.com/guD82Td, http://imgur.com/pR5GLwu, http://imgur.com/HJjuddL, 

http://imgur.com/SKHOaDd, http://imgur.com/2rbLCUO, Its a long hint system thats why there is quite a few images. I hope this helps you to understand the problem in my hint system. When you have only a few items it just checks for items that isnt there. I've tried turning the hotspot off as soon as the player finds items. I've even tried removing the item and hotspot completely but it still doesnt seem to work. 

ChrisIceBox

The Object: Check presence will only check to see if the object is in the scene's hierarchy - nothing to do with whether or not it's on or off.  Are these objects specifically (i.e. "hat", "paper_boat" etc) being deleted using the Object: Add or remove Action?

By the way, this is a prime case for using parameters - since you've got seven chains of Actions all doing the same thing, but with different objects.  With parameters, you can have just one of these chains, and re-cycle it for use on a different object each time.  This tutorial will explain more.

wendymorrison

Hi thanks for getting back to and oh ok i thought check presence would mean to check if the objects were there or not. I have been learning how to do parameters. I,ve used it to find the objects and get rid of them. And yes i tried the object: Add or remove Action with it but it didnt work but maybe check presence was getting in the way of that.

wendymorrison

Hi thanks for getting back to and oh ok i thought check presence would mean to check if the objects were there or not. I have been learning how to do parameters. I,ve used it to find the objects and get rid of them. And yes i tried the object: Add or remove Action with it but it didnt work but maybe check presence was getting in the way of that.

ChrisIceBox

No, you're correct: check presence will check if objects are literally in the scene or not.  I just meant they can't be used to see if a Hotspot has been disabled, if the Hotspot is in the scene but not turned off.

But since this ActionList you're running is an asset file, you can see it's relying on the referenced object's Constant ID numbers to find them.  The only way this could return a false positive is if there was another object in your scene with the same ID number - not something that should happen unless you tell it to, however.

wendymorrison

Hi thanx for getting back to me and i decided to start again so i can learn to use parameters more. So i,m thinking of another approach for using a hint count down timer and then i will see if i then can work out the hint system. Can you use a timer like this. I saw the quick timed events but not sure if that would work out and also with my screenshots i posted before i actually put the inventory up top and just used text that will get destroyed when you find an object which worked really good but i was just wondering if it is a entirely different inventory where you click on an object and the graphics for inventory in a half circle spawns then once you do decide to close that inventory/container you cant find the objects until you make the inventory toggle. I did learn how to toggle inventory on this forum but just wondering if this type would be supported. I'm thinking maybe to use a container to this. Anyway i have posted some links in to what i mean.

http://imgur.com/58wMKba,8QGLTX3,hX0lv7y,1C8HicY#0

http://imgur.com/58wMKba,8QGLTX3,hX0lv7y,1C8HicY#1

http://imgur.com/58wMKba,8QGLTX3,hX0lv7y,1C8HicY#2

http://imgur.com/58wMKba,8QGLTX3,hX0lv7y,1C8HicY#3

Sorry if i haven't explained that good.

ChrisIceBox

It's best to try to get the functionality working, before styling it to look like that - so let's put the half-circle aside for the moment and just concentrate on getting it working right.

You won't want to use quick-time events for this, as that's for a very special purpose.  Instead, you'll want to create a new Global Variable of type "Integer" and call it "Countdown time".  Then when you turn on your Hint system, set the Variable's value to whatever your start time (in seconds) would be, using the Variable: Set Action, and then call an ActionList that looks like this:



It's very important that this ActionList is set to Run In Background (it's in the Inspector), so that it doesn't block gameplay.

As for the inventory, I don't understand how your game is supposed to work - what do the items shown in the circle mean?  Are they objects there you can find?  Please explain it as clearly as you can.

wendymorrison

Thanx for getting back to me really quick. Sorry yeah i should have mentioned that the items shown in the circle is the objects that have to be found. But yeah i would try to get the mechanics down first i was just wondering if it would work of course if it does work it most likely to be harder to do though. Thanx for helping me on the timer. 

ChrisIceBox

I've always thought the best way to approach a hidden-object game in AC would be to actually give the items to the player at the beginning - and remove them when you "find" each one in the scene.  That way, you could easily show them what's left to find since any remaining item is listed in the InventoryBox.

wendymorrison

Yeah that way is easier and better most likely but there is games that do a inventory like that. I was just wondering if you have to just stick with an horizontal or vertical inventory/container bar, if your using unity UI system. Also while on the subject of inventory is there going to be any implementation between adventure creator and NGUI because i have to admit it that i'm not that use to the unity UI but am ok at NGUI. It also has an inventory setup images.

ChrisIceBox

No, you can only use Unity UI, which is very flexibe and powerful - and the implementation allows for you to arrange slots however you choose.  They can be horizontal, vertical, circular, or however you like.