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   Adventure Maker v4.5 Help Document  
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Introduction
   Program Overview
   List of Features
   What's New

Creating software without scripting
   Getting Started Tutorials
   Some Techniques and Tips
   Creating puzzles without scripting

   Creating third person games
   Creating interactive 360-degree panoramas
   Creating software for
PSP
   Creating software for iPhone and iPod touch

Creating software with VBScript
(Full Edition only)

   Introduction to VBScript
   Language Reference
   Objects Reference
   VBScript Techniques and Tips

   Sample Source Code

Pictures, sounds and music
   => Creating Pictures
   Music Maker help
   Creative Painter quick help
   Sounds and Music
   Videos, Icons, Cursors

Plugins (Full Edition only)
   Overview of the Plugins System
   Downloading/Uploading Plugins
   The Plugin Properties window
   About the Flash Plugin

Tips
   User Interface Tips
   Reducing the project size
   End-User System Requirements

Advanced tutorials
(Full Edition only)

   Creating a custom startup menu
   Using ActiveX components (ocx)

Troubleshooting
   Common issues and solutions
   Known bugs and limitations

About us
   Credits
   Website
   Contacting us
   Helping out

"iPhone" and "iPod" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. "PSP" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

As of the release date of this version, Adventure Maker is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc., Sony Corporation, SCEI, or any Apple or Sony subsidiary.

   

 

SOME TECHNIQUES

1. Is there a way for a hotspot to be activated after I click on another hotspot in a different location (without scripting)?
2. How to go to a frame or to another frame depending on the value of a variable (without scripting)?
3. How to allow the player to open a door with a key?
4. Is it possible to create a hotspot that is on all or just some of the frames, without having to create it in every single frame?
5. How does the Dialogue Wizard work?
6. How to combine two inventory items?
7. How to get Adventure Maker to loop a video within a frame?
8. How to resize a hotspot?
9. How to achieve a "fade in / fade out" effect when going from one frame to another?
10. How to put frames into folder?
11. How to load a project that is located on a network drive?
12. How to run images larger than 640x480?
13. Does Adventure Maker support files with the "jpeg" extension?
14. Are global variables stored in the savegames?
15. How to edit the rippling water masks?
16. Can I rename the project folder, as well as move and copy it?
17. How to save a project?
18. The music starts over every time that I go back to a frame. How can I fix that?
19. How to duplicate a folder?
20. How to prevent the player from picking up several copies of the same item?

21. How to run or display a frame for a very short time only, like 10 seconds for example?
22. How to make it so that when the player reloads a saved game, the frame displayed is like a portal (...)
23. Can I make some areas in 1st person and some other areas in 3rd person?
24. Can I distribute a main game and then add expansion packs to it?

 

1. Is there a way for a hotspot to be activated after I click on another hotspot at a different location (without scripting)?

Yes, through the use of variables (NO scripting is required). Just follow these steps:

1. Go to the "Hotspot Properties" of your first hotspot and change the first option that is under the "variables" tab so that a variable becomes 1 when the hotspot is clicked.

2. Go to the Hotspot Properties of your second hotspot and change the second option that is under the "variables" tab so that the hotspot is activated (i.e. "visible" or "enabled") only when the value of the variable is 1.

 

2. How to go to a frame or to another frame depending on the value of a variable (without scripting)?

Just create two hotspots stacked one on top of the other. Set the first hotspot to go to the first frame and the second hotspot to go to the other frame.

Then use the options that are under the "Variables" tab of the "Hotspot Properties" of each of the two hotspots to make it so that the first hotspot is enabled only if the value of the variable is 0, and the second hotspot is enabled only if the value of the variable is 1.

 

3. How to allow the player to open a door with a key?

This question assumes that you have already created an item named "Key" and that you already know how to add the item to the inventory (otherwise, follow the tutorial "How to create a key that can be picked up?").

1. Create two frames: one with a picture of the closed door, and the other one with the picture of the open door.

2. Go to the frame with the picture of the closed door and create a new transparent hotspot over the door (with the same size as the door). When the "Hotspot Properties" window pops up, just click OK without selecting any options.

3. Now click "Manage Inventory Items..." from the menu on the left. Select the "Key" item and DRAG-AND-DROP it onto the hotspot that is over the door (in other words, hold down the left mouse button on the item, and release it when you are on the hotspot). A special "Hotspot Properties" window will automatically pop up when you release the left mouse button on the hotspot.

4. Under the "General" tab of that special "Hotspot Properties" window, select "Go to another frame", and choose the frame with the picture of the open door. Then click OK.

That's all! Now start your game in the frame with the closed door. You will notice that it is possible to open the door by drag-and-dropping the key onto the door.

 

4. Is it possible to create a hotspot that is on all or just some of the frames, without having to create it in every single frame?

Yes, the "Runtime Frames Merging" function makes it possible. Just create a new frame (called for example "Toolbar"), then create a hotspot on that frame, and then go to the "Runtime Frames Merging" window (from the PROJECT MENU) to merge that frame will all or some of the other frames. You can easily undo the operation at any time later by reopening the "Runtime Frames Merging" window.

 

5.   How does the dialogue wizard work?

The Dialogue Wizard allows creating conversations between the player and the characters of your game (or application). It can also be used for other purposes, such as the quick creation of menus, tutorials, and other similar stuff.

When using the Dialogue Wizard, you will notice that there are "Questions" and "Answers". The "Questions" are those that the player can ask to the game characters. The "Answers" are those that the game characters will give to the player. If you want to give the player the possibility to answer a question made by the game characters, just create "Questions" that are answers and "Answers" that are questions.

The best way to fully understand how this works is to experiment a little with it. Here is a short tutorial that will guide you through the creation of your first dialogue:

   
Tutorial:

1. Go to the frame that contains the character you want to talk to,
2. Click "Dialogue Wizard" from the menu on the left,
3. Click "Create New Question",
4. Enter both a question and an answer,
5. Click OK,
6. If you want to create more questions, click "Create New Question" again, and repeat the steps 4 and 5.
7. Once you have finished creating questions, click OK to close the dialogue wizard.
8. Now start the game and move to the frame that contains the dialogue. You will see that you have the opportunity to ask questions to the character and get the answers.

 

Notice that when you create a dialogue inside a frame, the dialogue will automatically start when the player goes to that frame.

Also note that while the dialogue is open, you can move to another frame without causing the dialogue to disappear.

The dialogue will disappear only when all the questions have been set as "hidden" (i.e. when there is nothing else to ask), or when the player clicks on a question that is supposed to "quit the dialogue", as specified in the "Question Properties" window (i.e., in order to create a question that will cause the conversation to stop, check the option "Quit the dialogue after this question (stop conversation)" that is under the "General" tab of the "Question Properties" window).

 

6.   How to combine two inventory items?

The tutorial below you show you how to make it so that when the player drags-and-drops the ITEM1 onto the ITEM2, the two items disappear from the inventory, and a third ITEM3 appears.

Tutorial:
1. Go to the "Frame Editor" of any frame in your game (to do so, just select a frame, and then click "Edit Selected Frame"),
2. Click "Manage Inventory Items". The window titled "Inventory Items List" should appear.
3. Create the three items by clicking on the "Create New Item" button.

4. Once you have created ITEM1, ITEM2 and ITEM3, click "Using items on each other" from the menu on the left,
5. Click "Create New Event". A new window should appear.
6. Select ITEM1 and ITEM2 from the two available drop-down lists,
7. Check all the 3 options that are available ("remove the first item", "remove the second item" and "add a new item"),
8. Select ITEM3 from the drop-down list at the bottom.
9. Click OK to confirm.
10. Click "Back to project menu" to continue working on your game.

 

7.   How do I get Adventure Maker to loop a video within a frame?

Just create a new hotspot. When the "Hotspot Properties" window appears, choose the option "Looping video" that is under the "Hotspot appearance" section. Then click "Click here to select a file", and import the video file that you want to loop. Then click OK to close the "Hotspot Properties" window.

 

8.   How to resize a hotspot?

Simply right-click on the hotspot. When the context menu pops up, click "Resize". Then move the mouse until you find the size that suits your needs, and then single-click with the left mouse button to validate.

 

9.   How to achieve a "fade in / fade out" effect when going from one frame to another?

Just select "Display a full-screen transition" from the "Hotspot Properties" window, under the "Go to another frame" option. Then select "alphablending" from the drop-down list, and specify the duration of the fade in / fade out effect.

 

10.   How to put frames into folders?

First load a project. Then click "Show Folders" at the bottom of the "Frames Management" window. The list of folders should appear on the left. Click "Create New folder" to add folders to your project.

To move your frames from a folder to another, just select one or more frames, and drag-and-drop them into the destination folder.

Note that you can also move the frames from one folder to another by right-clicking on a folder, and then clicking "Organize Frames..." from the context menu. A special window will appear, allowing you to move the frames from one folder to another.

 

11.   How to load a project that is located on a network drive?

Since the "Load Project" window shows only the drive letters and not the other computers on the network, you must map the network drives so that they appear as a drive letter on your computer.

To do so, simply right-click on the icon "My Computer" that is on the Windows desktop, and click "Map network drive". A new window will appear. Select a network drive, and also select the letter that you want to associate with it. Then click OK, launch Adventure Maker, click "Load Project...", and select the drive with the letter that you have chosen.

 

12.   How to run images larger than 640x480?

To do that, just follow these steps:
1. Run Adventure Maker,
2. Load a project,
3. Click "Project Properties",

4. Go to the "Options" tab,
5. Increase the "Frame Size" (choose "custom" from the drop-down list and enter the width and the height in the corresponding text fields).

 

13.   Does Adventure Maker support files with the "jpeg" extension?

Yes, but you need to manually change their extension to "jpg" (instead of "jpeg").

 

14.   Are global variables stored in the savegames?

Yes, global variables are stored in the savegames.

 

15.   How to edit the rippling water masks?

The rippling water masks are black-and-white pictures that tell Adventure Maker to which pixels the rippling water effect must be applied. They are saved as files that have the RWM extension, under the "Frames" sub-folder of the project folder. To edit them, just change their extension to BMP, open them with MS Paint or any other drawing program, and then change their extension back to RWM.

 

16.   Can I rename the project folder, as well as move and copy it?

Yes, you can safely rename, move and copy the project folder.

 

17.   How to save a project?

There is no need to save a project, because every time that you make a change to the project, the change is automatically saved. For that reason you cannot lose information, not even if you experience a system crash.

To try out some changes that you are not really sure about, it is recommended that you create backup copies of the frames that are concerned with the changes. To do so, just use the "duplicate" function that is on the context menu that appears when you right-click on a frame thumbnail.

 

18.   The music starts over every time that I go to back to a frame. How can I fix that?

Just use the "Audio" tab of the "Frame Properties" window instead of using the "Audio" tab of the "Hotspot Properties" window.

 

19.   How to duplicate a folder?

To duplicate a folder that contains several frames:
1. Create a new folder,
2. Select all the frames from the folder that you want to duplicate,
3. Right-click on the frames and choose "Duplicate",
4. The duplicated frames will be automatically selected. Just drag-and-drop them into the new folder.

 

20.   How to prevent the player from picking up several copies of the same item?

Go to the Hotspot Properties of the item to pick up and check the option "Hide and disable this hotspot (permanently)" that is under the "Action" tab.

 

21.   How to run or display a frame for a very short time only, like 10 seconds for example?

To display a frame for 10 seconds only, go to the "Frame Properties" window, and check the option "Enable Timer". Enter "10" next to "Interval" and choose the destination frame (choose "[LAST VISITED FRAME]" to go back to the previous frame).

 

22.   How to make it so that when the player reloads a saved game, the frame displayed is like a portal that the player must enter that will return the player to their last position in the game. I have different music tracks in different areas of the game and would use this 'jumping in' point to load the appropriate music based on a global variable that constantly monitors the region of the game that the player is in within the game.

This is exactly what the "Resume Locations" feature of Adventure Maker is for. Just click "Set Resume Locations..." from the Project Menu of Adventure Maker (available only when creating a game for Windows) and follow the on-screen instructions. This will make it so that the portal is displayed when the game is resumed.

Then, in your portal frame, use the "Go back to the last visited frame" command that is under the "Hotspot Properties" window to return to the last position in the game.

 

23.   Can I make some areas in 1st person and some other areas in 3rd person?

Yes. Just follow the instructions for creating a third-person game, and then, in the frames that you want to be 1st person, just uncheck the option "Show the Third Person Plugin character" from the "Plugins" tab of the "Frame Properties" window.

 

24.   Can I distribute a main game and then add expansion packs to it?

Yes, but creating and distributing expansion packs is not very easy to do.

You can distribute the expansion packs in ZIP archives, and then tell the users to extract them into the directory where the game was installed. You must tell them to overwrite all the existing files, and to preserve the directories structure of the ZIP archive.

To create the ZIP archive for the expansion pack, just install the whole updated game on your computer, then go to "c:\Program Files\YourGame" and remove all the files that you don't want to include in the expansion pack. You must be sure to include in the expansion pack enough files to prevent the game from not working any longer. Then, compress the whole folder into a zip archive, and you are done.