Custom menu systems

[Kelg]

Is there any way to draw stats(or text) on screen for custom menus?

 

[Andar]

RM2K3 has no script capacity, but I heard this has been done before by show text, control variable and show choices commands - but those are limited in their functions.

 

[Kelg]

I was mostly wondering if this is possible in this version of 2k3:




I'm not sure if he's using a modded version of the program that allows this(probably is).

 

[Iavra]

complex menus are usually done be teleporting the player on a new, screensized map that works with a lot of events.

 

[Marston]

Is there any way to draw stats(or text) on screen for custom menus?

Since textboxes aren't there the whole time, you would have to resort to pictures. You don't really need a new map, but you need many many (common)events, variables and switches for a custom menu.

 

[Kelg]

Anyone know how to show numbers for a menu system like in that video I posted?

 

[Iavra]

Numbers can by displayed with events. You usually fit 2 digits in one tile, so for 3 digit numbers (up to 999) you have 3 events and move the 10s and 1s to the same place using an outside event.


The events themselves have 1 page per digit (0-9) and additional pages if you want to hide them completely (for example, if you want to display 9 instead of 009). You also need a parallel event that splits the numbers you want to show into digits (via division and modulo).


It's been a while since i've done something like this, but in general 2k3 custom menus are a lot of work.

 

[Marston]

Either use events, pictures or a combination. But I think most graphics use pictures instead of events.

 

[Kelg]

How do I get the value of each digit? Say the value of the thousands digit, the value of the tens digit, etc.?(equation?) That's mostly what's troubling me.

 

[Iavra]

Let's say your value is 1234.


First, you divide by 1000. The maker will automatically convert the resulting number to integer, rounding down.


So: 1234 / 1000 = 1.


Next step is getting the remainder from 1234 / 1000. This step is called modulo (%).


So: 1234 % 1000 = 234.


And so on:


234 / 100 = 2


234 % 100 = 34


34 / 10 = 3


34 % 10 = 4


So you have 4 variables to store your digits in and another one for temporary values (234, 34 in this case). It's generally a good idea to reserve a bunch of variables for temporary stuff like this.

 

[Kelg]

Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Cherry]

In order to automate tasks such as creating tons of similar conditional branches, etc., you could take a look at RMEventFactory.

Before this starts the whole legality discussion again: To my knowledge, use of this tool should be perfectly legal, it operates purely through the clipboard. The usage of the tool itself doesn't conflict with RM2k3's EULA. The argument I heard last time, that "anything obtained/created through illegal means can't be used legally", doesn't apply here, because even though creation of this tool did involve reverse engineering, using reverse engineering to analyze protocols such as RM's clipboard format, especially to allow interoperability, is explicitly allowed by Austrian law, which overrules any EULA. Therefore, because I live in Austria, this tool was created legally.

 

[Seriel]

In order to automate tasks such as creating tons of similar conditional branches, etc., you could take a look at RMEventFactory.

Before this starts the whole legality discussion again: To my knowledge, use of this tool should be perfectly legal, it operates purely through the clipboard. The usage of the tool itself doesn't conflict with RM2k3's EULA. The argument I heard last time, that "anything obtained/created through illegal means can't be used legally", doesn't apply here, because even though creation of this tool did involve reverse engineering, using reverse engineering to analyze protocols such as RM's clipboard format, especially to allow interoperability, is explicitly allowed by Austrian law, which overrules any EULA. Therefore, because I live in Austria, this tool was created legally.

EHmmm.... What does this mean?

 

[Cherry]

You can ignore it. It usually pings a server for usage statistics (no personal data is transmitted, just a product which identifies this as rmeventfactory, to count the number of users), but it appears something went wrong. Probably I messed something up when I moved to a different hosted some time ago. But thanks, I didn't realize before that there is any issue!

Bottom line: ignore it, it should work anyway.

 

[Seriel]

Ok, the program works fine.

Thanks!

 

[Farkas Ürdüng]

complex menus are usually done be teleporting the player on a new, screensized map that works with a lot of events.

That is just a very common way. Usually everything is a picture. I think 2003 allows 50 pics on the screen at the same time, so it's manageable to fit the menu on the same screen without having to mess around with teleports and the effect of tint screen, weather.

Some menu parts can be even made to float in if you control the image coordinates with variables. It is advised to always use variables for coordinates, it makes copying faster. The only thing that's really a shame is picture IDs can't be controlled by variables...

Here's what I made:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGS_c3EmpB8

 

[Iavra]

50 pictures only last until you want to draw a status screen with lots of numbers and don't want to create hundreds - thousands of pictures and conditionals.


That said, event menus have their own issues, like event positions resetting unless you track every event with variables.

 

[Cherry]

Well, that's why RM2k3 has 1000 pictures now.

 

[Seriel]

Yeah, the official translation has 1000 Pictures:

 

[Farkas Ürdüng]

Wow. That's actually more any hackers of the unofficial 2003 could accomplish. Now it's much easier to make custom systems if one has the skill to do.