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Version 1.39 - Ouya support, new interaction modes and hardware cursors

edited October 2014 in Official news
It's that time again!  The focus this time is on overall refinement, but there still a few interesting additions:

New Physics demo
There's a new demo game out! This one demonstrates AC's recent capabilities for physics puzzles, and can be played here. Though the source for it is not included in the official AC release (for file-size reasons), it can be downloaded for free on the same page.

OUYA support
All thanks to OUYA Android developer Tim Graupmann, AC now supports the OUYA console, and can emulate both the mouse and a regular controller.  Instructions in the manual, but it's all pretty simple, and the controller mapping can easily be changed by editing the dedicated script file.

"Context Sensitive" mode upgrade *IMPORTANT*
Games made in Context Sensitive mode now support more than one "use" Interaction on a Hotspot - though only the first will be considered the active one.  This allows you to easily change the Interaction / Icon in-game without resorting to "swapping out" different Hotspots.

However, all Hotspots already in your game will have to be upgraded.  Upgrading is simply a matter of viewing the Hotspots in the Inspector window, and saving the scene - you might get an "Unsupported type Generic Mono" warning in the Console, but this can be safely ignored.  If you run your game without upgrading Hotspots, they'll be temporarily upgraded at runtime, but you'll be reminded to upgraded them properly afterwards.

"Choose Hotspot Then Interaction" mode upgrade
Games using this mode can take advantage of a number of new features related to triggering Interactions.  Firstly, the Interaction menu can be made to appear when the cursor merely hovers over a Hotspot, rather than having to click on it.

Meatier, though, is the ability to change how Interactions are selected.  The default is still to click an Interaction icon from a Menu, but now you have the option to "cycle" through the icons with a dedicated axis and click the Hotspot (Walking Dead on PC-style) as well as the option to cycle through Cursor Icons.  The latter is similar to the cursor-cycling of the old Sierra games, but only works when over Hotspots, as it'll only cycle through the Interactions that have been assigned to it.

Hardware cursors
Something a little less complicated.  Want to use hardware cursors instead of a texture overlay?  "Cursor Manager" -> "Cursor rendering" - > "Hardware".  You can also finally define a "click offset" for each cursor, for those that don't appear in the centre.

Path Cutscenes
You can now define a Cutscene (or ActionList asset) to run whenever a Character reaches a node in a pre-defined Path.  Additionally, the Character involved can be used as a parameter in this Cutscene - allowing you to control that Character dynamically.  This is handy for background NPCs that can wander a scene, and do different things as they reach each destination.

"Variable: Run sequence" Action
Let's say you want the Player character to have a different response each time you click on something, so that it doesn't feel too repetitive.  This Action will sync with an integer Variable (local or global) and play a different subsequent branch of Actions according to it's value.  The integer will increase by one each time it's run, making it easy to set up different responses each time.

Improved PlayMaker support
You can now run FSMs attached to the Player, as well as differentiate between different FSMs on the same GameObject.
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Comments

  • edited October 2014
    And the full changelog:

    = Upgrade note =
    Hotspots built for Context Sensitive games require upgrading. To upgrade, simply view each Hotspot in the Inspector and save the scene. "Unsupported type Generic Mono" errors can be ignored.
    • Added: Physics Demo game - download for free from www.adventurecreator.org
    • Added: Support for OUYA platform - just check "Playing on OUYA?" in Settings Manager
    • Added: Option to see Interaction menus when cursor hovers over a Hotspot, rather than clicking one (Choose Hotspot Then Interaction-mode only)
    • Added: Option to start Interactions by cycling available Interactions as Cursors or Menu icons, then clicking the Hotspot (Choose Hotspot Then Interaction-mode only)
    • Added: Ability to assign a Cutscene or ActionList asset that runs whenever a Character reaches a Path node
    • Added: Ability to define an ActionList asset that runs when the game begins, regardless of starting scene
    • Added: "Variable: Run sequence" Action - Increases an Integer Variable's value, and runs different Actions afterwards
    • Added: "Object: Change material" Action - changes any material on an object
    • Added: Option to use either Software or Hardware Cursor rendering - set in Cursor Manager
    • Added: Ability to define "Click offset" for Cursors, for Cursors whose "click point" is not the centre of the graphic
    • Added: Ability to call FSMs on the Player prefab using the Third-party: PlayMaker Action
    • Added: Ability to specify the FSM by name to call when using the Third-party: PlayMaker Action
    • Added: Ability to limit the number of steps between Menu Slider values - setting to zero removes the limit
    • Added: Option for Sliders not respond to player clicks - useful for creating gauges
    • Added: Ability to set the global "GUI depth" of all Menus
    • Added: Option for a Menu to ignore Cursor clicks
    • Added: Option for Object: Send message Action to be ignored when it's ActionList is skipped
    • Added: List of required inputs in Settings Manager now distinguishes between Button and Axis input types
    • Added: Option to only show Menu Buttons set to Shift Inventory Or Dialogue if the button will actually have an effect
    • Added: Public variable to RuntimeActionList script that stores a reference to it's "source" ActionList asset file
    • Added: Hotspots in Context Sensitive mode can hold more than one 'Use' Interaction, but only the first enabled will be active
    • Added: Ability to link a GameCamera's pitch to it's target's height
    • Added: Notice on _Camera script Inspector that it can be attached to custom Camera types to integrate with AC
    • Added: Option for Moveables to ignore collisions with any other Moveable that has a Rigidbody
    • Added: Option for Moveables to place children on the same layer
    • Added: Option to remove a Hotspot's yellow cube gizmo in the Scene window
    • Added: Option for Paths that loop to teleport the Character moving along it to the start when they reach the end
    • Added: Option to ignore gravity when using Character: Move to point Action - "Pathfind?" must be disabled, however
    • Added: "LightSwitch" script - attach to Light objects and use the Object: Send message Action to turn them on and off
    • Added: Option to NavigationMesh script for mesh renderer to not be disabled when the game starts
    • Added: Option in Cursor Manager for Walk cursor to only display when the cursor is only a NavigationMesh object
    • Added: Option to disallow Point And Click movement if the Player has an Inventory Item selected
    • Added: Ability to define the starting state of Colliders with the Remember Collider script
    • Added: Ability to map cycling of Hotspots to an Input Axis called CycleHotspots when Hotspot Detection is set to Player Vicinity
    • Added: Ability to play a sound clip when scrolling speech text - a default Sound prefab must also be defined within the Scene
    • Added: Clearer explanation of inventory and interface options in Settings Manager
    • Removed:
      Ability to explicitly set an Input box to display text right-to-left -
      this is handled automatically if the current language is named "Arabic"
    • Removed: Ability to translate the default label of Input boxes
    • Fixed: Menus not taking "click priority" over those drawn underneath
    • Fixed: Various issues related to Interaction Menus and Inventory Items
    • Fixed: Colliders on sprite-based Characters not scaling with sprites according to Sorting Map
    • Fixed: A Hotspot's ability to emulate Context Sensitive mode not being clear enough in the Hotspot Inspector
    • Fixed: "Check" Actions not always returning correct result when skipping ActionLists
    • Fixed: Container Menus not staying open when set to "Pause when enabled"
    • Fixed: Menus not being able to fade out if they were previously turned on instantly
    • Fixed: Third-person Cameras not decelerating properly when controlled by drag input
    • Fixed: Third-person Cameras not rotating relative to target rotation if the target is not the Player
    • Fixed: Player sometimes not being able to walk to Hotspot markers following a scene change
    • Fixed: "After running" setting not being obeyed by Engine: Run ActionList Actions placed in asset files
    • Fixed: Icons over Hotspots with BoxCollider2D components not being correctly positioned
    • Fixed: Speech Manager giving copied Menu Elements the same ID number as the original Element
    • Fixed: De-selecting an ActionList no longer removes the Actions from the ActionList Editor window
    • Fixed: Hotspots not de-selecting if entering a Trigger initiates a Conversation
    • Fixed: Sprite-based Player prefabs having wrong scale and rotation for one frame when using Player: Switch Action
    • Fixed: NullReference Exception error if a Menu Slider references a Global Variable that does not exist
    • Fixed: Previous subtitles occasionally briefly displaying if speech text is set to scroll
    • Fixed: Backspace errors when editing Input elements that display text right-to-left
    • Fixed: When a Variable is set as the value of an Input element that reads right-to-left, the text is not reversed
    • Fixed: Vertical axis for activating Arrow prompts being the wrong way around
    • Fixed: Character sprite children scales being forced even if "Frame flipping" is set to None
    • Fixed: Left-clicking Inventory item on a Hotspot with no Interaction defined not de-selecting the Item if supposed to
    • Fixed: "Right-clicking when Inventory item is active" rule not being obeyed when Cursor is over a Hotspot
    • Fixed: Viewing ConstantID components in Inspector causing Scene to be marked as modified
    • Fixed: "Play while game paused" option on Sound objects finally works!
    As always, please back up before upgrading!
  • Nice update! Thanks!
  • edited October 2014
    Great! Thanks for the hard work, this is a really nice release. Very happy with the expanded interaction methods :)

    So far nothing broke after upgrading, but I noticed something peculiar with hotspots on characters. I'm using 2D mode with choose hotspot then interaction mode, and have sprite-based NPCs with a box collider 2D set to Trigger and a Rigidbody 2D. Whereas in 1.38 the interaction menu (set to appear at the hotspot center) would render at the feet of the characters, it now renders way up above them at the edge of the screen. On regular hotspots it works fine.


    The physics demo is very impressive btw! Really smooth. Can't wait to make a game using that.
  • Me think you got a new buyer :) But please don't make it a 24h deal too soon, or else I'll feel bad, like last time when I bought something and a few days later it was made free ;(

    btw, did you try to let it run under an iPad, to see if it all works?

  • edited October 2014
    @hedgefield: There's always something!  Though I can't recreate this - any chance this is to any of the custom scripting we were discussing earlier?  One thing I'd appreciate you checking: is the position somehow inverted in the vertical direction?  i.e. if the character was raised up, would the menu's position lower?

    @Smolli: Welcome to the forum!  Think that's the first time I've ever been asked NOT to do a sale.. ;)  When it comes to iPad, as I don't have one myself, I've been getting feedback from users instead.  Seems to work just fine, so far as I know - the saving system in particular will adapt for iOS devices.
  • Oh, don't feel obliged to listen to me, but then tell me first ;)

  • edited October 2014
    @ChrisIceBox Aye it just won't leave us be eh? It's not in the scripting, I removed all that custom stuff now because the new over hotspot setting works perfectly (thanks again), I think the culprit is the Box Collider 2D.

    (it shows up a bit lowres but you can download if you want a closer look)

    The interesting part is that the bigger the center Y-offset is, the further the menu displays from the center of the collider. With a setting of 0 the menu displays at the NPCs feet and with a setting of 6 it displays way above the NPC (though in that case the collider is correctly positioned).
  • edited October 2014
    Update working now----found PhysicsDemo_manager and clicked assign managers 

    Hi :
    I downloaded the physics demo and am trying to get it to work. 

    -I imported the demo scene  and then adventure creator into a new Unity scene.
    -In the Game Editor created new mangers for each tab
    -Dragged Brain from BrainOffice into resources to create a prefab. Tagged as player
    -Name menu Tutorial  to prevent warning of no tutorial menu.

    Problem I am having - Initial cutscene works fine. I then open middle drawer to see a what looks like a sheet of paper. Close the drawer and then cannot get out of this cutscene, game just stays focused on drawers even when I click around to get out.

    Warnings I am getting 
    -No navmesh set.
    -could not find menu element tip1, tip 2 , tip 3.....tip 9

     
    In PDF it said map r to the input manager. I used Unity's input manger edit>project settings.input to add this

    Said select PhysicsDemo_manager package - could not find this looking under Physics demo > managers

    Anyway any help would be appreciated in setting up this demo properly




    Regards,
     


  • Hi Chris,

    You mentioned a few updates ago making a new tutorial to explain how to make use of the Parameters feature. Is that still coming, or was it made and I simply don't know where to find it? Thanks
  • What an update! Will get my teeth into this with a couple of pizzas as soon as this backup is complete !! :-D Ive been waiting for some of these features!.. 
  • @DieHappyGames: I need to get round to making a more focused tutorial, but parameters are covered in this one on QTEs - though it'll make more sense if you read the one before it first.  Parameters are also demonstrated in the new Physics demo.

    @hedgefield: Can you start a new thread for this?  I'll need to see your Interaction menu's settings, too.
  • edited October 2014
    With this update I got the jitter problem with UFPS, but the script execution order doesn't help. :( Once my character walks up a staircase everything starts to shake and then gradually returns to normal until I try to walk up the stairs again. Also, the jitter occurs while walking on the flat surface, but not as bad...

    Update: I found out that jitter disappears if I have the Camera&Controller object in the scene, but once I delete it, the jitter is back.
  • @Vadbag: Same again - please post this in a separate discussion.  Have you tried using this player prefab?
  • Just tried this prefab, but still the same pattern - jitter is there after the player prefab is deleted in the scene.
  • 1.39a is out, because of a critical bug related to Top Down 2D mode.  A couple of minor additions, but really it's a bugfix update:
    • Added: Save game screenshots - enable in Settings Manager, then change SaveList element's Display type to show them
    • Added: Option for Menu Buttons that execute custom scripts to accept held-down mouse clicks
    • Added: Option in Speech Manager to retain subtitle text in buffer after playing - use to display the last spoken line in e.g. "Dialogue option" menus
    • Added: Option for sprite-based Characters that use "frame flipping" for custom animations to also be flipped (not just the "standard" animations)
    • Fixed: Top Down 2D Characters no longer moving if a Sorting Map is present in the scene
    • Fixed: Loading scenes no longer working
    • Fixed: Icons and Menus set to appear over Hotspots not accounting for the Hotspot's local scale
    • Fixed: Cursor Manager's option to only show the "Walk" Cursor when over the NavMesh not working correctly
    • Fixed: 2D demo's Bird NPC having "Single 'use' Interaction" checked in Hotspot
    • Fixed: Scene Manager's list of existing prefabs not reliably updating
    • Fixed: Menu element "hover" sounds playing continuously
    • Fixed: Menus set to Follow Cursor not always being correctly positioned in when using Ultimate FPS
    • Fixed: Jittering effect on objects moving due to Parallax2D script
  • edited October 2014
    Getting two errors on 1.39a

    Assets/AdventureCreator/Scripts/Save system/Serializer.cs(285,30): error CS0117: `System.IO.File' does not contain a definition for `WriteAllBytes'

    Assets/AdventureCreator/Scripts/Save system/Serializer.cs(293,53): error CS0117: `System.IO.File' does not contain a definition for `ReadAllBytes'

  • edited October 2014
    Deleted
  • edited October 2014
    Thanks @matrix211v1 - looks like 'a' had a problem with WebPlayer builds.  1.39b fixes that, and that alone - no need to update unless you're using WebPlayer:
    • Fixed: Console errors when working on WebPlayer platform
  • does the OUYA support uses the "AdventureInput" class that I inproved upon (i dont' remember if Tim merged it into the main Github). I'll check soon as i update. (i'm always afraid to update things that work :) )
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