Reply to A New Version of Dink? (canceled)
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Well...this might sound bad to some of you after all this hype, however I imagine it was to be expected after I mentioned my lack of experience in C++. As much as I'd like to, I'm more than likely not going to finish this new edit of v1.08. Why? Because the simple task of trying to implement DirectShow (for mp3 support and removal of midi lag) has proven to be incomprehensible to me, and shown me that I don't know what I'm doing at all; I don't have the time to completely learn to code in C++ properly just so I can implement things without breaking everything. It's also worth mentioning that most of the changes I would actually have the skills to implement into the engine could be done just as easily (or in most cases, more so) with modifications to the DinkC scripts instead, and is likely the direction I will be taking now.
In other words, I'm not giving up on making Dink more accurate and fun to play, but I am basically giving up on directly modifying the v1.08 code.
Sorry for the meaningless hype surrounding this release, but I hope you understand and are not too disappointed.
If anyone wants to take up my place, and work on the source in my stead, I can supply you with my current edition of the source upon request.
Original Post:
Well, as some of you may already know from my previous topic, I've been dabbling in the source code of Dink v1.08. I have a few goals in mind, and hopefully by the time I'm done I'll have something that resembles an unofficial "Dink v1.09 Aural+" which will have as many of my fixes you may have seen on here already incorporated into the source as I can do. At any rate, I thought it was about time to make it a topic of it's own.
For me, this is quite ambitious as I don't really have much experience at all with C++/C; what little I have is from years ago and I've forgotten almost everything since then. I do have a lot of experience coding in DinkC and in Game Maker, but they aren't quite the same thing.
As for what I have accomplished so far: I have successfully compiled the source, which is more of a feat than it may sound like. I've also managed to make the damage text set to nohit (which replaces a part of my exploding missiles fix). Every DMOD I've tested so far seems to function exactly as it did in v1.08 which is great.
Here is my current list of changes that I am hoping to attempt to work on. Please note that because of my inexperience, I don't know yet if I will actually be able to solve all of them:
-Reimplement the mp3 feature that was present in v1.08 Aural+.
-Fix where if you have the escape menu open and close it after you die, you can move around for a while.
-Exploding Missiles Super Fix changes.
-Make it so sp_kill_wait(1) actually works (thus fixing the attacking delay with weapons and spells).
-Function that does the same thing as hurt, except you can also specify some more things, like the target to take, so that you can make custom damage formulas (using hurt_ext(), for example) without the enemy losing it's target when you hit it and without you losing experience from killing the enemy.
-Fix where monsters instantly revive sometimes when entering/exiting areas (a problem with secret trees?).
-Increase the variable max from 250 to a higher number.
-Editable choice menu colors (maybe...)
-Update version information
-Add a delete savegame function?
-fix where enemies "wait()" functions aren't frozen when opening the inventory, since it can do things like make dragons really dangerous to inventory surfers.
Feel free to make suggestions if you can think of any good things to add to the engine or to fix, just bear in mind I'm no expert, so I can't promise they'll be implemented. Also, if I fear that compatibility will be a serious issue with any change, I will more than likely not do it. I want this new "Dink.exe" to be as compatible with v1.08 as possible.
At the minimum, at some point I will need at least a couple testers to make sure that the .exe file I've created works the same on other people's computers and that I'm not overlooking any errors. So if you would like to help test, then please send me a private message on here telling me what email to send the .exe to and that you would like to help. When I send the "Dink.exe" to you I will also include some instructions to help you in the testing process.
I'm also open if anyone wants to work on fixing up the source with me, although you need to document everything very carefully (I will be doing the same thing) so that we can find the changes we've both made without trouble. If you are interested, please private message me with contact information.
Thanks for the support you've shown in the previous topic, Dinkers; it makes me a lot more enthusiastic to work on this. Although I have to admit, it's already very satisfying to be able to fix some things in the engine itself, that will then positively influence the gameplay in every DMOD.
What I'm working on now: Getting mp3 playback to work again so it's like v 1.08 Aural+.
In other words, I'm not giving up on making Dink more accurate and fun to play, but I am basically giving up on directly modifying the v1.08 code.
Sorry for the meaningless hype surrounding this release, but I hope you understand and are not too disappointed.
If anyone wants to take up my place, and work on the source in my stead, I can supply you with my current edition of the source upon request.
Original Post:
Well, as some of you may already know from my previous topic, I've been dabbling in the source code of Dink v1.08. I have a few goals in mind, and hopefully by the time I'm done I'll have something that resembles an unofficial "Dink v1.09 Aural+" which will have as many of my fixes you may have seen on here already incorporated into the source as I can do. At any rate, I thought it was about time to make it a topic of it's own.
For me, this is quite ambitious as I don't really have much experience at all with C++/C; what little I have is from years ago and I've forgotten almost everything since then. I do have a lot of experience coding in DinkC and in Game Maker, but they aren't quite the same thing.
As for what I have accomplished so far: I have successfully compiled the source, which is more of a feat than it may sound like. I've also managed to make the damage text set to nohit (which replaces a part of my exploding missiles fix). Every DMOD I've tested so far seems to function exactly as it did in v1.08 which is great.
Here is my current list of changes that I am hoping to attempt to work on. Please note that because of my inexperience, I don't know yet if I will actually be able to solve all of them:
-Reimplement the mp3 feature that was present in v1.08 Aural+.
-Fix where if you have the escape menu open and close it after you die, you can move around for a while.
-Exploding Missiles Super Fix changes.
-Make it so sp_kill_wait(1) actually works (thus fixing the attacking delay with weapons and spells).
-Function that does the same thing as hurt, except you can also specify some more things, like the target to take, so that you can make custom damage formulas (using hurt_ext(), for example) without the enemy losing it's target when you hit it and without you losing experience from killing the enemy.
-Fix where monsters instantly revive sometimes when entering/exiting areas (a problem with secret trees?).
-Increase the variable max from 250 to a higher number.
-Editable choice menu colors (maybe...)
-Update version information
-Add a delete savegame function?
-fix where enemies "wait()" functions aren't frozen when opening the inventory, since it can do things like make dragons really dangerous to inventory surfers.
Feel free to make suggestions if you can think of any good things to add to the engine or to fix, just bear in mind I'm no expert, so I can't promise they'll be implemented. Also, if I fear that compatibility will be a serious issue with any change, I will more than likely not do it. I want this new "Dink.exe" to be as compatible with v1.08 as possible.
At the minimum, at some point I will need at least a couple testers to make sure that the .exe file I've created works the same on other people's computers and that I'm not overlooking any errors. So if you would like to help test, then please send me a private message on here telling me what email to send the .exe to and that you would like to help. When I send the "Dink.exe" to you I will also include some instructions to help you in the testing process.
I'm also open if anyone wants to work on fixing up the source with me, although you need to document everything very carefully (I will be doing the same thing) so that we can find the changes we've both made without trouble. If you are interested, please private message me with contact information.
Thanks for the support you've shown in the previous topic, Dinkers; it makes me a lot more enthusiastic to work on this. Although I have to admit, it's already very satisfying to be able to fix some things in the engine itself, that will then positively influence the gameplay in every DMOD.
What I'm working on now: Getting mp3 playback to work again so it's like v 1.08 Aural+.
