11 replies to this topic

[Shane]

I'd like to see a Screen Data flag for items appearing when you activate a secret. Fairly simple request.

[Anthus]

I second this. It's one of those things that feels like it should have been there since the beginning in hindsight. Enemies -> Item exists, so it could work like that basically, I'd think.

[Emily]

While it does sound simple on the surface, I immediately note that every single BIT added to the mapscr struct counts a large amount against the memory used by the program, and quest file size. Not absurdly so, but enough that ANY addition to screens must not be done lightly. (FFCs are 32 times worse to add to).

 

That aside, this does sound like a worthwhile addition.

[Orithan]

According to my calculations each bit adds 17 bytes of memory per map (128+8 screens), to a max of 4.352 KB for 256 maps which must be loaded at once. This is significantly taxing insofar as ZC goes and especially large quests like Yuurand are butting right up against the 32bit memory limit as it is.

[Matthew]

Am I crazy or does 4.352 KB seem... manageable? Also, I'm not sure that an extremely ambitious outlier quest such as Yuurand should be a major consideration in adding engine features.

[Emily]

Am I crazy or does 4.352 KB seem... manageable? Also, I'm not sure that an extremely ambitious outlier quest such as Yuurand should be a major consideration in adding engine features.

4.352 KB *for a single boolean*. Also, keep in mind that ZC still has the 32-bit memory cap, and will for quite some time.

Adding a boolean to enemies, is not a big deal. There are only so many enemies, so it adds very little overall. We can sit and add a few hundred booleans to enemies without a single worry. For screens, if we just did that, we'd quickly run into issues.

The point here not being that adding this is particularly taxing in itself, but that everything added to screens piles up MUCH faster than things added elsewhere, so we need to be far more careful in considering each addition.

[Shane]

So is it being added or not? I'd like to have a more clearer answer, please.

 

That aside, this does sound like a worthwhile addition.

[Mani Kanina]

I keep thinking this already exists, because it's something I kinda need in most projects and end up scripting an FFC script for repeatedly.

[Emily]

So is it being added or not? I'd like to have a more clearer answer, please.

As I said it'd probably be a worthwhile addition, that would mean I support it being added; that doesn't mean it's being added immediately, or that I'm the one that'll add it, though. We have plenty on our list to work on, with plenty of big features, and trying to finish 2.55 as quickly as we can.

 

So, in otherwords, it'll be added to the giant pile of things to add.

[Shane]

Fair enough, good luck with the other things! Looking forward to seeing what's in store.

[P-Tux7]

I keep thinking this already exists, because it's something I kinda need in most projects and end up scripting an FFC script for repeatedly.

I'd appreciate if you posted this to the database for the contest you are hosting.

[Mani Kanina]

I'd appreciate if you posted this to the database for the contest you are hosting.

I submitted it to the database, but in the mean time you can get it here:

 

ffc script SecretItem{
	void run(int ItemID){
		
		if(ItemID == 0) ItemID = Screen->RoomData;
		
		while(!Screen->State[ST_SECRET]){
			
			Waitframe();
		}
		
		if(!Screen->State[ST_ITEM]){
			
			item THE_ITEM = Screen->CreateItem(ItemID);
			THE_ITEM->X = this->X;
			THE_ITEM->Y = this->Y;
			THE_ITEM->Pickup = IP_ST_ITEM;
			
		}
		
	}
}

It's now in the database: https://www.purezc.n...=scripts&id=396

Edited by Mani Kanina, 26 July 2021 - 05:41 PM.