SYN TIP: Keeping track of your own logic.
synthesis
Member Posts: 1,693
I was helping someone else tonight and decided to pass this tip on to everyone.
One thing you should always do (if you don't already) is making your attribute names relevant and specific.
For example...
you are trying to make a Galaga style shooting spaceship that is locked in its Y position on the screen and the X position is variable.
When setting up your tracking attributes...use naming structures that make sense to you and explain their use parameters. Make attributes for each unique use...don't share containers.
For example...here are a few attribute names that I would use in the above game example:
shooterShipCurrentXPosition
shooterShipNewXPosition
shooterShipXMoveToSpeed
shooterShipYLocationFixed
shooterShipRateOfFire
shooterShipFireRequest
shooterShipHasFired
shooterShipHasDied
shooterShipHasBeenHit
shooterShipMaxDamageAllowed
etc.
By being descriptive...as you develop the logic sequencing...you will better be able to understand your Rule Structures...and finding bugs will be easier or finding something out of sequence will be more noticable.
Then once everything is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Save the game and then save it again to a new version name. Then in the new version...you can simplify or abbreviate the attributes.
Using this TIP in conjunction with my previous RULE DISABLE tip will assist you in finding many of your own errors and reduce frustration in trying to locate bugs.
RULE DISABLE TIP LINK:
http://gamesalad.com/forums/topic.php?id=3913#post-22935
One thing you should always do (if you don't already) is making your attribute names relevant and specific.
For example...
you are trying to make a Galaga style shooting spaceship that is locked in its Y position on the screen and the X position is variable.
When setting up your tracking attributes...use naming structures that make sense to you and explain their use parameters. Make attributes for each unique use...don't share containers.
For example...here are a few attribute names that I would use in the above game example:
shooterShipCurrentXPosition
shooterShipNewXPosition
shooterShipXMoveToSpeed
shooterShipYLocationFixed
shooterShipRateOfFire
shooterShipFireRequest
shooterShipHasFired
shooterShipHasDied
shooterShipHasBeenHit
shooterShipMaxDamageAllowed
etc.
By being descriptive...as you develop the logic sequencing...you will better be able to understand your Rule Structures...and finding bugs will be easier or finding something out of sequence will be more noticable.
Then once everything is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Save the game and then save it again to a new version name. Then in the new version...you can simplify or abbreviate the attributes.
Using this TIP in conjunction with my previous RULE DISABLE tip will assist you in finding many of your own errors and reduce frustration in trying to locate bugs.
RULE DISABLE TIP LINK:
http://gamesalad.com/forums/topic.php?id=3913#post-22935
Comments
Does having a long attribute name add heavily to the running speed (processor usage), or when it is packaged, would GS not slim things down where it can.
But you can always trim names at version 0.9.9.9.9.....as a last step before publishing to v1.0
If you look into the gameproj's various XML files, you will see this.