albert_camus

I've been playing with Lunar tiles for a while now, they're so beautiful. Good to see some appreciation for such an awesome game :)

It's such a pain in the ass to have to convert avi (divx) files luckily though there's some alternatives; - most newer DVD players come with DivX compatibility so you can burn as a data disk with just the avi file - next-gen consoles i.e the ps3 and xbox 360 can play avi files from USB so grab a usb stick and put the film on it and plug in. Or buy an external Hard Drive and create a big collection of digital movies. - Or of course you can convert to VOB as suggested but it will take a lot of time and also can hog a lot of computer resources meaning sometimes hard to use the machine while it is converting (depending on spec of computer)

Basically I want to display a list of players who are in the same guild in a listbox, my guild system is built upon MS4 so is not unfamiliar. The code I have is as follows and is under the sub for a clickable image on the MainGame form; ``` Private Sub imgGuild_Click() Dim i As Long picCharacter.Visible = False picInventory.Visible = False picSpells.Visible = False picOptions.Visible = False picGuild.Visible = True GuildList.Clear For i = 1 To MAX_PLAYERS If i MyIndex Then If IsPlaying(i) Then If GetPlayerGuild(i) = GetPlayerGuild(MyIndex) Then GuildList.AddItem (GetPlayerName(i)) End If End If End If Next End Sub ``` Whenever I click the button in game I get this; (Albert being the name of the character who clicks button)  Anyone know why?

@Petey: > I'm aware of partitions. when I said "next to windows", I meant on a second partition on th C:\ drive. Either way you're doing it wrong.

@Petey: > Eh, not a sily idea… Especially since the Ubuntu guide says that's the best way to dual boot :) > > Also, the looks nowhere near as good as guitar pro. You dont install Ubuntu next to windows, you partition your hard drive to hold a linux distro so for example you would have one partition for windows, then an ubuntu root partition and a swap partition. It would be impossible to install linux onto Windows C:\ as Windows uses NTFS and Ubuntu uses Ext3 file systems.

There's two "OakField" towns? Is that intentional?

@Petey: > Luls. > Tried installing Ubuntu 10.04 on my C:/ drive next to windows… > Wrecked my C drive, had to re install windows. > I'd completely convert to Ubuntu if it weren't for guitar pro. Yeh silly absurd idea. Also as for Guitar Pro just use TuxGuitar instead, it's better anyway [http://tuxguitar.herac.com.ar/](http://tuxguitar.herac.com.ar/)

@Chalk: > What Is Ubuntu? > > Better than windows? Ubuntu is a linux distribution. Whether Linux is better than Windows is pure opinon, this website lists some advantages of using Linux though. [http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/](http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/)

Also sorry for double post but I don't think OP would notice this if I edited. Harris why not dual boot windows and Ubuntu to make sure you get everything compatible etc? and to get a feel for it before a full switch? This way you can have both windows and ubuntu alongside each other and if you cannot use vb6/EO in Ubuntu ssimply boot into windows…

Sort of Off-topic but; Urgh just don't use Ubuntu :( My advice is (without sounding like the countless people who pretend to be uber computer savvies) use Ubuntu for a couple of weeks or so, but focus on getting used to bash commands (Terminal) and the general linux environment e.g folder structures then when your relatively comfortable with how linux works grab yourself; [http://www.archlinux.org/](http://www.archlinux.org/) Arch Linux basically provides the core files needed for a linux operating system and leaves the rest to the user. For example there is no GUI by default. This means that the user tailor makes their operating system to their wants/needs/desires/specifications etc leaving you with a completely personal OS. So therefore you donthave all the xcess baggage such as driver packs for hardware you don't even have or software that you don't even use. Arch is fast, really fast mainly due to how light the OS is. But yeah leaps and bounds over Ubuntu but beware it does need some understanding of a linux environment but not too daunting. The Wiki is an excellent resource :)

Marshall's suck end of. And if you got a Fender strat then you MUST buy it a greate amp. Please don;t waste the guitar :P Get it one of these [http://www.dv247.com/guitars/fender-65-twin-reverb-guitar-amp-combo–34768](http://www.dv247.com/guitars/fender-65-twin-reverb-guitar-amp-combo--34768)

@Braiton: > To resume everything: If you are just starting out get the Frontman. I disagree, countless new guitarists purchase an amp just for the sake of it and then when they find they can play 6 moths down the line they want a new amp already! Take your time, choose wisely, think of an amp as a long term thing not just "I'm new to guitar playing i'll get a noob friendly amp and change next year"

It all depends on playing style and what you need the amp for. For example if your into rocky distorted overdriven kinda stuff then Marshall are ok however marshall clean channels suck! Conversly Fender clean channels are amazing whilst they lack in distorted tones! Also in regards to what the amp is for then if it's needed for gigging then you want to be looking at at least 60w (solid-state) and 40w (all-tube) however if its purely for practising and thats all its gonna be then splash out on a tastey low wattage tube amp e.g small vox or orange amp (in my opinion of course). As a guitarist for nearly 6 years heres my opinion on each amp: White Horse 120W - Never actually seen this amp before looks kind of cool, big output but to me just a standard run of the mill budget big amp. Laney - Always had a soft spot for Laney amps but HATED this range, in my opinion avoid but thats just me, im not a fan of gimmicky electronic extras. Fender Vibro Champ - You've picked an exact amp i was talking about in the practice range mentioned above. The vibro champ has that beautiful Fender clean tone for blues, jazz, indie, twangy melodic music coupled with a pretty decent distortion (all be it not the best). Serious consideration if looking for practice only no gigging. Fender Frontman - Actually was about to buy this amp not so long ago. Very nice to play, miles better than other amps i've seen in this price range until I found my beloved amp :P Definately worth a look will be perfect for gigging nice clean tones and a pretty average overdrive. White Hourse 60w stack - I like this I really do, nice amount of power and its a tube amp. Tube amps are brilliant they will last longer than you do! However nice this is though White Horse seem to be a brand of "gear4music" and I don't have any idea of the quality of the products. But I like his, seriously consider although carrying a stack around is a pain :P And thats sort of sums it up, in my opinion if its gigging you want the amp for go for the 60w tube stack or the fender frontman. But if its just for a small practice amp go for the vibro champ or find a similar vox or orange amp or an old laney tube amp too! Also I have an Ashdown Fallen Angel 40W all-tube amp, they're not in production anymore but if you can find one buy it! I got mine for £200 when they were easily worth £300-£400 and are somewhat similar range to the frontman and white horse 120w except mine has beautiful tone, clean and dirty. Seriously find one :)

My original code was based with mirage realms system in mind but started fresh rip and got it working. Cheers.

Here's hoping that you'll see this Robin as I'm looking for more of a general answer than coded specifics. Basically I want a system where when a player dies their sprite changes to a gravestone and they have the option to wait to be resurected by another player or to return to town with an experience penalty. Quite straightforward I know but I'm hitting some snags, Firstly I've added the gravestone onto the end of the default sprites with origins and added an if statement to BltPlayer that if the player "player(index).isdead" then "With Rec etc" but it doesnt seem to work when I call BltPlayer in the Packet sent to client when death occurs. Any ideas on this? Secondly I can get my system to work fine for individual players but I can't get it to work when multiple players are playing. I have used the SendDataToMap in my packets and if you see my code below it also shows the "Revive" picturebox to everyone on the map. Should I create different packets? one for whole map and one for player themselves? Have a look at my code; BltPlayers ``` 'Dead? If Player(index).isdead = True Then With rec .Top = 0 .Bottom = DDSD_Character(Sprite).lHeight .Left = 12 * (DDSD_Character(Sprite).lWidth / 13) .Right = .Left + (DDSD_Character(Sprite).lWidth / 13) End With End If ``` Server Death Packets: ``` ' Death Sub SendPlayerDead(ByVal index As Long) Dim Buffer As clsBuffer Set Buffer = New clsBuffer Buffer.WriteLong SPlayerDead Buffer.WriteLong index SendDataToMap GetPlayerMap(index), Buffer.ToArray() Set Buffer = Nothing End Sub Sub SendPlayerRevive(ByVal index As Long) Dim Buffer As clsBuffer Set Buffer = New clsBuffer Buffer.WriteLong SPlayerRevive Buffer.WriteLong index SendDataToMap GetPlayerMap(index), Buffer.ToArray() Set Buffer = Nothing End Sub ``` Client Packet Handlers: ``` Private Sub HandlePlayerDead(ByVal index As Long, ByRef Data() As Byte, ByVal startaddr As Long, ByVal extravar As Long) Dim Buffer As clsBuffer Dim i As Long Set Buffer = New clsBuffer Buffer.WriteBytes Data() i = Buffer.ReadLong Player(i).isdead = True Call BltPlayer(i) Call Dead(i, True) End Sub Private Sub HandlePlayerRevive(ByVal index As Long, ByRef Data() As Byte, ByVal startaddr As Long, ByVal extravar As Long) Dim Buffer As clsBuffer Dim i As Long Set Buffer = New clsBuffer Buffer.WriteBytes Data() i = Buffer.ReadLong Player(i).isdead = False Call Dead(i, False) End Sub ``` The Dead Sub reffered to in handler packets: ``` Public Sub Dead(ByVal index As Long, isdead As Boolean) If isdead = True Then frmMainGame.picDead.Visible = True Else frmMainGame.picDead.Visible = False End If End Sub ```

Cheers Robin didn't even think to enum them. Got it working fine now :icon_jedi:

You don't change the arguments, why would you need to? They stay the same as it is the way the engine handles data packets.

I've implemented resource skill levelling so basically you gain exp and levels from woodcutting, mining and fishing (how original :P). Anyway at the moment each of the three skills are coded completely separately so I have lots of code, and 3 server to client packets to keep the levels up to date. Is this badly coded? Should I have created just one packet which sends data by skill level by a byte identifier (woodcutting = 1, mining = 2 etc.) or will it not really affect performance/robustness of my game? I hope you get what I mean :)

The Data() refers to the Data stored in the byte array if you check the sending of the packet you have the line; ``` SendDataTo index, Buffer.ToArray() ```This stores the data in the Data() then in the handle subs the line; ``` Buffer.writeBytes Data() ```Simply reads the information stored in the array. The StartAddr argument as far as I'm aware takes the first item stored in the packet which is always the packet address. For example when a packet is sent a line like this is used; ``` Buffer.WriteLong SUpdateItem ```This then makes the packet identifiable by using an address included in the modEnumerations file.

First off, I hate my first topic to be a question. I have been a frequent lurker on the forums so I'm gonna go ahead anyway. Basically I've implemented a skill proficiency system for resource collecting (think runescape-esque 1-99 mining) and at the moment the chance of receiving the resource is based upon luck based on damage of the tool which is from 1 to 5\. It goes as follows; 1st pickaxe generates 20% chance - damage of tool = 1 2nd pickaxe generates 40 % chance - damage of tool = 2 and so on until the "perfect" axe. This is done by generating a random number from 1 - 5 then checking if it is = 1,