Greetings!
Ok, heres the situation, in a nutshell...
Im creating an interactive animated movie/game based on the arcade classic 'Space Ace' by Don Bluth...this is a 'follow up' game, wherein the player controls Dexter/Aces girlfriend, Kimberly, as she attempts escape from the Evil Borf!
Everything works great so far using the wonderful 'Games Factory' to create this thing (animations change as they should when the player hits the appropriate keys, etc)...but Ive run into a sliiiight problem...
Has anyone here ever attempted to load animations into the ACTIVE OBJECT field, and been LIMITED as to the number of frames you can import, one at a time?
The problem varies per level of the game, I have found...you are going along, adding one frame at a time ('Capture full frame...ok...frame is added', etc) and then I hit a high number, usually around or over 100...and that last box/frame on the animation timeline refuses to 'accept' the current frame I am attempting to add!
It just keeps coming up as a blank white frame!
I have attempted closing the entire program, and going back to where I was initially attempting to add the frames, and when I 'get lucky' it will occassionally let me add one or two...then the same thing occurs....
Might this be a RAM issue??
I actually emailed the CLICK TEAM guys that created Games Factory, and asked THEM about it, and all they had to say was 'it shouldnt do that, the GF is able to add limitless animation frames.'
Any ideas or thoughts on this would GREATLY be appreiated!
Please email me at...
karcreat@icehouse.net
I rarely go online anymore for anything other than reference material for work/projects, so it maybe awhile until Im back here at the board...
THANKS in advance for any advice anyone can spare!
Kevin
PS...If you are a fan of the original 'Space Ace' and want to see the game so far, frames, etc...check out...
Hmm... it could possibly be RAM. I would say it has to be memory-related since I'm unaware of any limit on the number of animation frames in TGF. I know with MMF I've added animations to active objects that are 1000's of frames; that reminds me, are you adding it frame-by-frame or are you adding an animation file? Perhaps you could try using VFW or some other program to create an animation, then add the animation as an Active Object.
If it doesnt work, try downloading the MMF demo and adding your animation to a blank frame in that. If it works, you might need to consider upgrading. Discounts I think still apply to TGF owners.
Mike
"Now I guess we're... 'Path-E-Tech Management'" -Dilbert
Im adding the frames one at a time, asthis is neccesary in order to see each individual frame and what number in the timeline they correspond to, so I can assign the players responses (ie, if player hits 'left arrow key' between frames 60 and 67, go to animation sequence 2, etc)
Whats VFW?
(Can you tell Im still new to all of this?...
I would consider making the jump to MMF, but the demo doesnt allow saving/distributing the finished games, right?
Also, would I be able to import the current GF '.gam'file into MMF?
You're right, the MMF demo doesnt allow you to save files, I'm simply saying you should try to add the animation sequences to that so you can see if it's just a problem with TGF.
Yes, MMF does open TGF files.
VFW = Video For Windows... it allows you to turn video files into animation files (FLIC or AVI), which makes importing a lot easier since you only have to go "Import Animation" and load all the files at once instead of doing it frame-by-frame. You use strings like "myanim_#.bmp" or something like that, and it replaces the # with a number as it goes through. So if you have the files myanim_1.bmp to myanim_1000.bmp it will add them to an animation automatically. It's free to download (there used to be a link on the CT website, so I'd check there first, otherwise just do a search.
Mike
"Now I guess we're... 'Path-E-Tech Management'" -Dilbert
I stopped into a this (?) kind a propblem, if i know whatīs going on..(see, normally i pressed enter around this section of the text..) I did some very framely animation which had got about
150 frames. after the frame 151 the GF didnīt wanted to do any frames anymore..
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If it is a ram thing, restart your computer and try again. That should free up your ram.
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Ive tried that...AND simply closing the entire prorgam, and reopening it...occassionally it WILL let me add an additional frame or two to the sequence in question, then it does the same thing again...primarily, THAT is whats making me think it may be a RAM issue...would adding more RAM to my system help, do you think?
How much RAM do you have ATM? If you have less than 512 then I recommend getting more, anything less than 256 then I STRONGLY RECOMMEND getting more.
It doesnt matter whether you use DDR or SD since it's not the speed of the RAM that's causing the problem, but the amount of information that is trying to be stored within it.
Mike
"Now I guess we're... 'Path-E-Tech Management'" -Dilbert
I currently have 640.00 RAM...is this the problem, do you think?
Im HOPING it is, as I downloaded the MMF demo, opened the file in it...and its WAAY more difficult to figure out than GF or CNC was!...
For one thing, it doesnt tell you how to simply add one frame of animation at a time to existing sequences...in GF or CNC, you opened the 'Animation Properties' and simply clicked on the last frame (blank white) on the right of the sequence to add a new frame....MMF doesnt seem to have this feature, and the set up is too complicated...all I want to do is continue to use GF to do all this (I JUST learned THAT sans instructions, so if its possible, I would like to continue using it...plus, I cant afford the 99.00 asking price for MMF!)
....?
Why did that last post of mine come up TWICE...and the fisrt one is only HALF of what I wrote, I wonder?
(This particular BBS wont let me edit or erase that 'half' one either...WEIRD!...
Thats enough ram for sure, I have less then that and I never have problems. So you can add a few everytime you restart, but you need to add over 100? If you want you could send it to me or someone else and see if they can do it, but if you have to do it alot that wont work ethir. Ah well, its not your ram for sure (unless its defective ram).
We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams...
If its 'not the RAM for sure'...what could it be that is preventing me from adding frames?
Too small of a harddrive? (I have a 14GB, and its about 1/2 full)...something else??
I would send you what I have done so far, but its weighing in at 165MB...
I was SURE it had to be a RAM issue, as I am sometimes able to add one or two frames to an animation that previously I WAS NOT able to, after I reopen the program...then it stops again, and I attempt to reclose/open, and its a 'no go'...
I REALLY need to determine whats wrong here, Im excited that the game actually WORKS in GF, its just that the problems its causing are halting further developments/additions...;(
640mb... other than being a strange number, is ample. Though you mentioned only having a 14gb HDD... perhaps the problem is indirectly related to the RAM in this respect (i.e. the RAM becomes full so Windows uses Virtual Memory instead, but since you dont have a lot of HDD space, it's causing a problem). Though you'd need to be adding a couple hundred frames of a pretty large size to fill up that much RAM in the first place.
I recommend trying the MMF demo before you try to think any further on this issue. It may end up being a limitation on the software. I dont know who you emailed at CT, but if it wasnt one of the programmers, then they may not be aware of the limitation if it does exist. Like I said, I've added animations that are 1000's of frames to an active object, and I only have 512mb DDR, and I've had no problems at all.
Mike
"Now I guess we're... 'Path-E-Tech Management'" -Dilbert
Thanks...sorry about that, I think it was 'my bad'...
640mb... other than being a strange number, is ample.
Why is that a 'strange number'? (NOW ya got me all worried and what not!...
Though you mentioned only having a 14gb HDD... perhaps the problem is indirectly related to the RAM in this respect (i.e. the RAM becomes full so Windows uses Virtual Memory instead, but since you dont have a lot of HDD space, it's causing a problem).
I currently have TWO drives, one is 14GB, the other about 19GB..a friend has offered me a 60GB, would this help, ya think?...
Though you'd need to be adding a couple hundred frames of a pretty large size to fill up that much RAM in the first place.
Each frame of animation is about 65kb...there are about 40 animations so far, each ranging from 12 to 202 frames each...
I recommend trying the MMF demo before you try to think any further on this issue.
I did.
Found it rather overwhelming, sans detailed instructions (like the simple task of importing animations, one at a time, which was so 'self obvious' to figure in CNC and GF...
It may end up being a limitation on the software. I dont know who you emailed at CT, but if it wasnt one of the programmers, then they may not be aware of the limitation if it does exist.
Not sure who it was, but I sent the email via their 'form' you fill out on the website @ Click Team...
They stated that 'there was no limitation on the number or size of animations you can add, and the problem is a mystery'....
Like I said, I've added animations that are 1000's of frames to an active object, and I only have 512mb DDR, and I've had no problems at all.
What screen size and file size are these animations?
Are there a limited number to each SET of animations (ie, 'RUNNING', 'WALKING', 'CLIMBING', etc...each adding UP to 1000s of frames?)
Thanks for your input, Im checking back here on a regular basis now to see what everyone has to say on this, as I could use the help and I aint afraid to ask!...
In MMF you can add any number of animations. Just remember, everything is RIGHT-CLICK based...right-click to insert object, right-click to insert anim, right-click to insert direction, right-click to edit frame....
I may have a *possible* work around for you. Load in frames in a "load" object(in TGF), then copy it over to your other objects.
I would however recommend upgrading to MMF. I thought TGF was great, but after getting over MMF's interface I realized it's way more powerful.
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Edited by the Author.
Mike 
