DM-JO'S PROFILE

Has an issue when getting scaled up and down, due to how the game is designed it needs to work up close, at a distance and also on the start screen.

You absolute legend! Thank you!

I will crack on with working on the food carrying now, it's so obvious when someone points it out I could kick myself, lol.

And yes, I'm using Ace and it seems to be okay atm, but I think the variables and branches idea may solve the suspicion meter problem too!


Really enjoy those articles too, please don't stop making stuff :D

I'm finding elements of these particularly difficult.

Using Nicks code for food combinations works well, I've put an extended menu to it so my player can have multiple options regarding cooking different items. Which seems to work fine but I may need to make a complicated timer, with different times for the items to cook and for the customer npc to be willing to sit and wait. Not sure yet.

When the meal is done the player needs to be able to pick it up and carry it (not in menu) in the characters hand and put it down in front of a customer. That bit is confusing me as to how to do it without making a hundred-odd player character sprites. There has to be a way to temporarily attach a food sprite to the main character and then put it down on a predetermined spot but I have zero idea on how to do that.

I have a hiring system but it's basically talking to an npc and selecting yes. Is there a way to have the npc move from where they were speaking and straight to a section they work in rather than just being added to the menu. I can get them to animate and to talk, but moving them doesn't add them and they don't have any effect on their work area (I'm guessing a conditional branch may help that, not sure yet).

I can get npc customers to move and animate on a path but not sure how to get the customers and their wants randomised. I think that's the biggest problem as it's one of the main game elements.

My character has a 'Suspicion' bar (rather than a health bar). If she gets noticed doing certain behaviours or leaves certain mess etc then customers will notice, raising the suspicion bar. I can do that. What I really wanted to do though was have a way that each customer has a suspicion bar instead and when one of theirs' goes up they get the police or investigate the back room. Any ideas?

Thanks for the really quick reply, it is appreciated!

PS Do you write the articles, I've been browsing through for info and there's a Trihan who writes too. If so, good stuff!

I'd love to - I'm a horror writer by trade and have done some playtesting before with EA.