Posted October 12, 2022 by Pikku-a
#update
Big changes
Little changes
Bug fixes
Behind the scenes of this update
In the short video below you can see this in action.
New optional argument to textbox_set() script: text separation
New optional argument to textbox_set() script: syncSprite - To animate character sprite only when text is going.
New optional argument to textbox_set() & textbox_set_bubble() scripts: image speed (of character portrait and continue icon)
Sprite argument in textbox_set() is now optional
Moved position variables to “settings area”
New example npc that shows some of the new features
Started improving the scripts by adding better JSDoc Script Comments and adapting to the new ways of using scripts. This work will take some time and I’ll be doing it little by little.
Improved performance a lot, especially when using options
Improved code formatting a little and added/edited some comments
Updated manual
Other small changes
Also, there is now a discussion board for this: https://pikku-a.itch.io/dialogue-engine/community
Fixed bug: Changing separation in the “settings area” didn’t have any effect
Fixed animation bug related to speech bubble continue icon
This update was one of the most difficult updates I have made for this engine.
For example, the smart line break feature. Every once in a while I tried adding it, but there were weird bugs that I couldn’t fix. But some time ago, I decided to finally get it working, so I put some Mozart from the headphones and started coding. And after 2 days and many hours of Mozart, I finally found out that the bugs were happening because of the options system. But even after figuring that out, it wasn’t easy to get it working with this dialogue engine. But I did it! (Sort of. It works in 3 out of 4 projects.)
Other stuff that was difficult to add was the possibility to use Draw GUI instead of the normal Draw event.
Also, making the voice synchronize with the text wasn’t super easy either. I had to use equations to figure out what kind of calculation I should be doing.
Let’s hope there are no bugs with the new features. I hope they are useful!