Problems with Cloneindexes in Non-Level Editor Games

[DST]

This is a question for all the authors/programmers of Game Editor.

I was working on the wiki, and i wanted to deal with the section entitled 'doors'. However, i have a problem:

When you compile an exe in GE, the cloneindexes and ZDepths do not stay constant to the objects in editor mode. This is only in exe - they work normally in editor.

Now doors usually work in pairs, right? Each side of the door takes you to the other side, to an area somewhere else in the editor/game.

Now when you create a level editor of your own, you can assign doors however you wish; but for people who use Game Editor itself to design the levels, how can we pair doors together if the cloneindexes are unpredictable?

The simple script of collision with door

Code: Select all

mydoor=collide.cloneindex;

+ keydown(up) event>

Code: Select all

int which=mydoor%2;
int nextone;
Actor * this;
switch(which){
case 0:  //even door
nextone=which+1;
break;
case 1:
nextone=which-1;
break;
}
this=getclone2("door", nextone);
x=this->x; y=this->y;


Will work in editor, but will be completely unpredictable in the final exe.

What is the recommended solution to this? 95% of all your users are not going to be making their own level editors....


There are methods such as using separate sequences made from the same animation and assigning those, but there has been trouble in the past with spawning using sequences - not sure what the status of that is now. If sequences spawn properly, then that may be the simplest solution, because a player can then get the animindex and use that in place of cloneindex.

[lcl]

I have done simple door system just like this. See the code there -> viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9806
It works well in GE and also exported version.

[DST]

Yes, that's a good door script, however it still doesn't address the issue. Your script still relies on cloneindex to work.

In my experience, Cloneindexes cannot be relied upon in exe mode. And i have a lot of experience.

[skydereign]

That problem really should be fixed, but what I have done before is use different animations, as I believe animindex does not have that problem. So instead of cloneindex, use animindex, and make all doors have different animation names. That, or using xy coordinates, relative to all the others, setting a variable on create... but that way is tedious and not worth using.

[lcl]

I have to say that I'm not having any problems with cloneindexes.
My game has now something like over 80 doors meaning 40 pairs of them and the door pairs
stay the same in exported version as well as in GE's game mode. And I have land actor that has 3 clones and everyone of them acts differently according to cloneindex and they've always worked as they should. So, as skydereign said, it seems that this problem has been solved.

[skydereign]

Well... what I meant was it should be fixed, not that it has. Some people seem not to experience it, but it definitely happens, just not consistently. For the menus in apalia, I've had to use animindex, as cloneindex was only reliable in the editor. It worked fine when I exported it to linux, but the testers using windows found it flawed.

[lcl]

Ok sorry sky. I understood you wrong.