Castle Paradox

[Blacklight_Studios]

Okay, so i have the script written, for the most part. but i come across a problem:

the intended action of fading the screen out, then fading it back with a new text box isn't working correctly. It ends up being after an NPC triggered tutorial script placed at the hero's start point, which is fine, but when the script goes to fade the screen out, it shows the map screen before the fade. So how do I need to change in the script to fade the screen straight to black without flashing the map?

It would also help for you to know that the text boxes in question have backdrops on them to help enhance the plot.

[JSH357]

(I'm assuming this is meant to happen when you start a new game?)
I would recommend not using the NPC activation method.
Go to your general game bitsets, then special plotscripts, and then set the script as your "new game script."

Another thing that might help is to use backdrop 0 (the black screen) or upload a black screen.

Then you can do this:

[Blacklight_Studios]

It seems that I should explain better, or I don't quite understand:

the NPC triggered script is the tutorial file. By whatever reason that script runs before the game intro script. This I'm okay with.

The game intro script is in fact loaded into the New Game option in the Special Plotscripts section of the General Game Data.

I guess it would be better to show the coding for my scripts and you tell me what's wrong with it.

[Blacklight_Studios]

it looks like I just need to add a showbackdrop command after the wait for text box that matches the text box... Opinion?

[JSH357]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but does script #1 begin exactly where the second one ends?

If that's the case, it would be more efficient to take out the new game script entirely and just put the code from script #1 at the end of #2. If you don't want to do that you can just call the script by name in the first one, e.g.:

[Blacklight_Studios]

Yes, the script happens one after the other.

I didn't think the wait command could work like that. I'll try fixing it the way I think it'll work, then yours if my method doesnt work.

Thanks for the help!

[TMC]

The screen fade commands cause endless confusion. Hopefully after reading this, you should understand what's going on.

The engine runs in a loop like this:

poll for new keyboard/mouse input
run scripts until a wait is encountered
process player input (move heroes), move NPCs, trigger textboxes, etc
redraw the screen
repeat

However, screen fades (fade screen in, fade screen out, update palette) are performed immediately when the command is reached, using the PREVIOUS screen state (which is currently being displayed). The engine pauses until they are finished (unfortunate). So if you write:

[Blacklight_Studios]

huh, i'll try that. thanks for the tip.

update: I've taken the tutorial script out altogether, and put the text boxes to an NPC.

A new issue I've come across is with a different NPC, that disappears prematurely. i'm wanting it to be in place when Tag2=OFF, then disappear when the tag gets turned on, which ive set for when the hero get his first weapon item. for whatever reason, when i run the .rpg file, the NPCs are either missing, or when I "talk" to them, they disappear. They're more often missing. I do have the usable repeatedly bitset on. is there something I'm missing with the tags or bitsets? or is it the fact that i don't have a starting weapon item equipped to him, so the game defaults the weapon prematurely, if that makes sense?

[Blacklight_Studios]

Sorry for the double post, guys.

I tried Mad Cacti's script suggestion, and the script now looks like this:

[TMC]

No no! You want to place waits BEFORE "fade screen in" and "fade screen out". (However since you already have a "wait for textbox" before each "fade screen out", you don't need an additional "wait (1)")
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[Blacklight_Studios]

So then, the code would look something like this?

[Blacklight_Studios]

Urg... again with double-posting...

One more question with the script: would it be profitable for to add the "suspend player" command on this script? or would that create more problems than necessary?

[Bob the Hamster]

[Blacklight_Studios]

Alright, I'll add that into the code...

it's still flashing the map whenever the textbox is terminated before the fade out... I'll try getting rid of the preceding wait commands and see what happens.

[msw188]

Wait, are you saying you want the screen to fade out WITH THE OLD TEXT BOX STILL ON THE SCREEN, and then to fade back in with the new text box already in place? If that's the case, how will you know when to fade the screen (ie, how will you know when the player has finished reading the text box?)

If this is what you are trying to do, you will need to be familiar with the commands:
suspend box advance (and resume box advance)
advance text box

And if you want the player to trigger the fade without making the text box go away, you'll also need:
keypress commands like 'wait for key'

Let us know if this is the issue, and we can help you.
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