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a GOTO Action list

I have a Curscene  with umpteen Actions that crisscross  making it a spider web. A good way to make it  cleaner is by having a simple Action saying : Action:GOTO number and since every Action list has a number of its own one it should be not difficult to implement and would avoid crisscrossing of lines . Incidentally PlayMaker has such a feature.

Comments

  • That PM has a particular feature does not automatically mean AC should too.  All Actions can skip to another Action within the same list - it's not clear exactly what you're after.  A mockup screenshot would help to explain.
  • You are right, don't be offended . I used to work with PM before and the fact that I am using now AC exclusively means that I think it is better. The particular instance that I had was solved using the technique you mention: instead of 'Continue' I have a run cutscene to the same Action list. It is just that it makes it easier and easier to  debug it's like your implemented Comments in each Action.

  • No offence taken.  I'm all for improvements, but I'm still not quite sure on what you mean exactly.  You can set your After running to Skip instead of Run Cutscene - that's the recommended way to run another Action within the same ActionList.  Using a "dummy" Engine: Wait Action of zero seconds is a good "middle" Action that you can use to re-wire multiple Actions into, also.
  • There are multiple examples of what I mean. In flow-charting a script there are many logical events that are called for from many places and there I used a little circle with an arrow and a number corresponding to the destination instead of a line connecting them avoiding the spider web. A simple example from your EvilLair.unity 3d tutorial in the Interaction  BrainTalkTo  there are 4 connections to Dialog:startConversations so instead of lines crossing one could have a small arrow and a circle number from each source box to the common destination. But that is a very simple example there are many others more complex where this "jump to" substituting long connection lines would be ideal.

    But I am sure you have other priorities in your big project.

  • edited April 2016
    This is not a bad idea at all - and something I use all the time in articy:draft (which I use for story design and writing dialogue) to make complex logic easier to follow visually.

    Not the highest priority, but would be really convenient in many cases.
  • I'm still in need of a mockup image, here.  Actions already indicate the Action number they skip to - your description makes it sound like you're just asking for the wire to be hidden.
  •  ..... just asking for the wire to be hidden.   EXACTLY what I mean. You already have the numbers so only required is a short arrow with a circle kind of showing the number of the next Action to go.
  • ................It's just an esthetical, a beautification,  action not a technical one  it does the same as your recent update for the Comment line in each Action which I am using now every time once I know that the scene works 
  • Sounds cool, not having the wires show all the time would clear some clutter. But you should post a picture of how it's supposed to look, or try to put it in better words for those who haven't used those apps or plugins. From what I get, instead of the usual wire, a circle would appear in the corner of the action boxes, enclosing the number of the action it's attached to, and a little arrow would be pointing at the circle as an indicator and a reminder about the action it's connected to... but mind you, I've studied to be an editor for a while, so I'm used to getting the idea behind vague phrases... 
    Still the first part was a bit confusing. You either want an action that works as a hub to connect to other action. Or, as I imagine, you simply meant you want every action box to have a "Goto" field/box where you can select what action to connect to. And once it's connected it would look something like this:

    (setup quickly in photoshop):

    image

    Anyways, If I got it right, it sounds like a pretty cool idea. specially if you have a sequence resembling a "switch", a long check variable or random number action, and others, which may need a lot of connections. Still actual pictures would clarify the idea.
  • I attach a suggested picture :

    http://i.imgur.com/fUF0Z84.png

    In this example I have 2 outputs one of them is normally going to an adjacent Action and the other to a distant Action 12.

    which is also exactly the same as what you suggest above  " a circle would appear in the corner of the action boxes, enclosing the number of the action it's attached to,.."

    What you show above is complicated and it's  probably because it would do much more than what I suggested. A simple very practical way is what we both suggested.

    Thanks for considering it.


  • Without a suggested picture earlier on, I've already gone and made a change in the latest release.  The display of wires/output sockets out of an Action can be toggled on and off per-Action.
  • I can see the 'Toggle Output sockets' choice but I don't see  any change at all on the sockets am I missing something? what am I expect to see?


  • I see it now  but now it looks worse than before because the minute window containing the destination is almost undefined. I have set a Variable:Check and two other Actions one is a set:Variable and the other is Engine:Manager Systems. Now I connect the outputs from the Check:Variable the miniature window just shows "Set" and the other just shows "Manage" but which Set and which Manage?

    The number of the next output actions would give the perfect identity to the destination.

    I did give a suggested picture 2 messages back here

  • You did - but it came too late.

    Post a screenshot of the Actions you're now referring to.
  • Anyway I studied your solution and it is OK I did not look correctly at the small windows but now I see that the number of the next Action is also included so even though there may be 2 or more, say, variable:set Actions each will show its corresponding 'box number'

    image

    So THANK YOU (you didn't need my screenshot after all)

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