Old Cookbook Definitions Page

ForumNinjaForumNinja Key Master, Head Chef, Member, PRO Posts: 554
edited July 2014 in Working with GS (Mac)

Edit: This page can now be found in section 1 of the cookbook with the name "Glossary".

I know that a lot of you were upset that the old Cookbook definitions page had disappeared. So listed below should be all the information from the old page. Feel free to copy/paste it to a text doc and save it on your computer for a reference or you can just refer to it here (edit: the definitions can also be found in the Windows and Mac Creator manuals that can be downloaded here: http://gamesalad.com/manuals):

  1. Accelerometer: Determines the angle and rate of movement of the device; useful for determining when a user rotates or tilts their device.

  2. Accelerate (Behavior): Specifies the speed and direction of acceleration for an actor. Actors will continue to accelerate unless drag is applied or another movement behavior takes precedence.

  3. Accelerate Toward (Behavior): Allows user to specify the precise location an actor will accelerate toward.

  4. Action: These are behaviors that are not meant to fire continuously, such as movement, changing image, color, or size, or accepting keyboard input; they are best used when governed by a rule.

  5. Actor: All the items (both visible and invisible) in your game are actors; they are governed by Behaviors that control how they interact with both other actors as well as with people playing your game.

  6. Actor Mode: This is the default mode for the scene editor, and allows the actors to be placed, moved, rotated, and resized in the scene.

  7. Actor Tag: Actor Tags are used to categorize actors; they can be added and removed through the Project Editor.

  8. Alpha Color: Alpha controls the transparency of an actor, and can be set to any real number between 0 and 1, with 0 being completely transparent and 1 being completely opaque.

  9. Animate (Behavior): Displays a series of images in rapid succession to create animation.

  10. Attribute: Attributes contain numeric or text values that govern various aspects of the game, scene, and actors.

  11. Behavior Library: A list of all available behaviors which can be assigned to actors.

  12. Behaviors: Behaviors are actions or states of being that apply to actors; they can change how actors move, look, sound, and act.

  13. Camera Mode: An alternative mode while editing a scene, Camera mode allows the user to set the sensitivity and range of the camera's movement.

  14. Change Attribute (Behavior): Allows user to set or change a game, scene, or actor attribute. For instance, users can create score-keeping systems, instructing the game to add points (or remove points) to a specific actor, or remove health/life from a player or actor.

  15. Change Image (Behavior): Change an actor's image to a new image - useful for showing damage or other changes to an actor without having to create multiple actors.

  16. Change Scene (Behavior): Goes to a specific scene - useful for moving to the next level, a credits scene, or the game menu.

  17. Change Size (Behavior): Grows or shrinks an actor (use a negative number to shrink). Insert a timer container to control how long the growth or shrink should take.

  18. Change Velocity (Behavior): Specify movement changes relative to another actor or to the scene.

  19. Collide (Behavior): Use this behavior in conjunction with a tag to control which actor or groups of actors the primary actor will bounce against.

  20. Collision Shape: This option determines whether other objects will collide with this object as if it were round (or rounded), or square (or rectangular).

  21. Constrain Attribute (Behavior): Continuously updates an attribute - for instance,constraining the actor's location to that of the mouse. Essentially ties two attributes together.

  22. Control Camera (Behavior): Allows users to cause the camera to follow an actor - keeping it in view.

  23. Density: Density refers to the heaviness of the actor. A higher value will make the object harder to move by less dense actors. A value of 0 will make an object immovable but still affect other actors in the scene. Density can be set to any real positive number. (i.e.Density >= 0)

  24. Destroy (Behavior): Removes the ACTOR from the scene - apply this rule to objects that can be destroyed, like the blocks in Breakout or the bricks in Mario. Best used with a rule - for instance, contact with the ball in Breakout.

  25. Devices: The Devices pane (under the "Game" tab in the Scene Editor) allows you to change various attributes relating to the device, including mouse, touch, accelerometer, screen, and audio.

  26. Display Text (Behavior): Allows users to change the color, size, font, and other elements of text displayed in-game. Change "alpha" to 0 (found under color in the attributes list) to make all parts of the actor invisible other than the text.

  27. Editor: Can refer to one of three editors: the Project Editor, the Scene Editor, or the Actor Editor. There are three primary editors in the software. The Project editor is used for editing overall detail about your game. The Scene Editor is used for creating your scenes by placing actors, changing various attributes, setting tags, and more. Actor editor is used for changing a variety of attributes about your actors.

  28. Fixed Rotation: Selecting this option will prevent the object from rotating when it collides with other actors in the scene. Leaving this box unchecked means that the actor will rotate normally when it collides with other actors.

  29. Friction: Increasing this number will slow this object down more when it interacts with other objects. Set to 0 for no friction (and hence no slowing).

  30. GameSalad Creator: The best software in the world for making games with no coding!

  31. Gravity: Each scene can be set up with an X and Y gravity attribute.These are real numbers that affect all actors which are Movable.

  32. Group (Behavior): Creates a group container that holds a set of rules or behaviors.

  33. Image Library: A repository of .png assets that have been imported into the GameSalad Creator.

  34. Instance (actor): An instance is a unique example of an actor, with altered behaviors, attributes, or abilities from the prototype actor.

  35. Interpolate (Behavior): Allows you to cause an attribute (location, value) to go from A to B in a set amount of time - for instance, from 100 to 1 (a countdown) or from position X to position Y (for pre-programmed movement)

  36. iOS: The operating system created by Apple, Inc. to run on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

  37. Layers: Layers allow you to prevent actors from interacting with each other - this can allow you to create backgrounds, scores, and more without having the player's actors bump into them.

  38. Load Attribute (Behavior): Loads the value stored by a custom key name from persistent storage. Allows users to change an attribute upon specific input or events.

  39. Logic: A term which refers to the combination of rules and behaviors that jointly define how a project operates.

  40. Max Speed: This attribute controls the maximum speed an actor can reach through acceleration and gravity. Please note that some behaviors, such as Change Velocity and Interpolate, will override Max Speed.

  41. Movable: Allows you to specify that an actors is able to move (or not able to move) when interacting with other actors. (Check the box to allow it to move)

  42. Move (Behavior): Specifies movement in a particular direction relative to the actor or scene. Movement is perpetual unless stopped by some other rule or object.

  43. Move To (Behavior): Specify movement towards a particular X&Y coordinate; upon arrival the actor stops moving, or resumes any prior movement that the Move To behavior overrode.

  44. Note (Behavior): Allows users to write a note to self or other creators about a particular behavior, rule, actor, or group - useful or explaining why something is done a particular way.

  45. Open URL (Pro Behaviors): Only available to individuals with a Professional-level membership, this option allows the developer to specify a specific URL to open when a certain action takes place (we recommend a button being clicked or pressed). The URL will open in the user's default browser.

  46. Orientation: This determines whether your game runs in "up and down" mode (portrait) or "side to side" mode (landscape) on iDevices (iPhone, iTouch, iPad).

  47. Otherwise: An optional component of a rule; behaviors placed under this heading will trigger whenever the conditions of the Rule are not valid.

  48. Particles: Particles are small objects that move out from the actor in a defined way. See "Particles (Behavior)" for more information.

  49. Particles (Behavior): Create an explosion! Radial or fountain of particles - can also set an image, color, lifetime, and other parameters.

  50. Pause Music (Behavior): Pauses a currently playing music file upon a particular event.

  51. Platform: The devices or locations where your game will be able to run. Platforms that are currently available include iOS, Mac Desktop, Android, and HTML5.

  52. Play Music (Behavior): Triggers a music file to play - can play once or loop.

  53. Play Sound (Behavior): Triggers a sound file to play - can play once or loop

  54. Preview: Allows you to see how your game will look and run instantly! Can be done both in GameSalad and in a browser window. Use often to ensure that the rules and actions you are giving your actors are working properly.

  55. Project Size: The current memory needs of your project can be found in the bottom-right corner of the GameSalad Creator. The recommended maximum size for GameSalad Arcade games is 20 MB

  56. Prototype (Actor): A prototype actor is an actor that possesses all the overall governing behaviors, but does not possess some of the specifics that an Instance Actor possess (such as spawning location).

  57. Publish: Publishing uploads your game to GameSalad's servers, where it is turned into a binary that you can then submit directly to Apple, GameSalad Arcade, or an Android store.

  58. Replicate (Behavior): Creates copies of an actor based on an attribute or integer. Useful for displaying the number of lives a player has left, having an item duplicate itself, and much more.

  59. Reset Game (Behavior): Resets the game and all scenes (best used with a rule to specify WHEN or HOW this happens)

  60. Reset Scene (Behavior): Resets the current scene and all actors in it (best used with a rule to specify WHEN or HOW this happens)

  61. Resolution Independence: Allows your game to be displayed in low or high resolution, depending upon the capabilities of the device

  62. Bounciness: Makes your actor bouncy - 0 is no bounciness; 2 is superball bouncy. Any real positive number from 0 to 2 can be used.

  63. Rotate (Behavior): Alone, this causes consistent clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation. Can also cause an item to only rotate when an event happens, such as pressing a keyboard key or collision with another actor.

  64. Rotate to Angle (Behavior): Causes rotation to an angle relative to another actor or to a scene.

  65. Rotate to Position (Behavior): Causes rotation to a specific XY coordinate on the screen or relative to actor

  66. Rule: Rules create a condition or set of conditions that, when met, cause actors to act in specific ways.

  67. Rule (Behavior): Creates a condition or set of conditions to check for player input or an attribute change.

  68. Save Attribute (Behavior): Save a particular value into persistent storage with a custom name. Allows users to save games (see "Load Attribute" for information on loading saved information)

  69. Scene Attributes: These are attributes that specifically affect a scene, rather than an actor or the entire game. They include Name, Time, Size, Wrap X, Wrap Y, Gravity, Color, Camera, and Autorotate.

  70. Show iAd (Pro Behaviors): Shows an ad whose text and destination is determined through Apple's iAd system.

  71. Spawn Actor (Behavior): Creates a new actor instance in the scene - useful for projectiles, dropping items, etc.

  72. Stop Music (Behavior): Causes a music file to stop playing.

  73. Timer (Behavior): Timer allows you to perform behaviors or rules at specified intervals. These intervals are defined as after a certain number of seconds, every couple of seconds, or for a certain number of seconds.

  74. Keyboard Input: Saves keyboard input text into a specified attribute.

  75. Pause Game (Behavior): This behavior will pause the scene by freezing all activity in a given scene and opening another scene that you specify. Use this to open up in-game menus or simply pause the action. Use “unpause” to resume the scene.

  76. Unpause Game (Behavior): This behavior removes the pause screen and resumes the paused scene.

  77. Log Debugging Statement (Behavior): Logs a statement in the debugging window. Statements can be attribute values for error-checking or text entry to flag an event when your game is running for testing purposes.

  78. Playhaven: PlayHaven is a creative new ad network that provides an interstitial app referral immediately before gameplay. "Pro" accounts will have the option to include the interstitial or not. "Pro" account holders will also receive a revenue share for completed referrals in their games. PlayHaven is also the first partner is GameSalad's game referral system, included on all games published under a Basic account.

  79. Kiip(no longer used) Kiip is a system to provide real-world rewards when players complete an achievement in your game. "Pro" account holders will have the option to integrate Kiip Rewards into their games, and will receive a revenue share when players accept a real-world reward offer.

  80. Function: Functions are various mathematical formulas available through the expression editor that allow you to have the Creator calculate sines, cosines, logs, and much more.

  81. abs (Function): provides the "absolute value" of a number. In other words, it will make a negative number into a positive number. For example, abs(-5.23)=5.23.

  82. acos (Function): This is the trigonometric arccosine (inverse cosine) function. Values for x should range from -1 to 1, with results from 180 to 0, respectively. Any other input values will result in 'nan'.

  83. asin (Function): This is the trigonometric arcsine (inverse sine) function. Values for x should range from -1 to 1 with results from -90 to 90, respectively. Any other input values will result in 'nan'.

  84. atan (Function): This is the trigonometric arctangent (inverse tangent) function. Results will range from -90 to 90.

  85. ceil (Function): The integer when you round up a value. For instance, ceil(0.3095)=1, ceil(9.2850)=10, and ceil(-3.5)= -3.

  86. cos (Function): This is the trigonometric cosine function. cos(0)=1. For more information on sine and cosine, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonometric_functions

  87. exp (Function): The exponential function e^x, where e is approximately 2.71828182818. For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponential_function

  88. floor (Function): The integer when you round down a value. For instance, floor(1.5)= 1, floor(9.2850)= 9, and floor(-3.5)= -4.

  89. In (Function): The natural logarithm of a value. The natural logarithm is the logarithm to the base e, where e is approximately 2.71828182818. For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_logarithm

  90. log10 (Function): The base 10 logarithm of a value.
    For instance, log10(10)=1, log10(100)=2. For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logarithm

  91. magnitude (Function): Finds the length of a line segment drawn directly from the origin 0,0 to the given point. You can also include an offset to find the length between two points - for example, magnitude(x-x',y-y'). Say you have one actor at 100,240 and another at 25,30. To find the distance between them, use magnitude(25-100,30-240).

  92. max (Function): Returns the higher value of the two numbers or variable units. This can be very useful for determining if a new score is higher than an existing score, or for other similar comparisons. For example, max(12,35)=35.

  93. min (Function): Returns the smaller value of the two numbers or variable units. For example, min(12,35)=12.

  94. padInt (Function): Displays an integer with the specified number of digits. For instance, padInt(32,5) will display 00032. However, padInt(38025,2) will display 38025. It will always display at least the minimum number of digits needed to retain the value of x.

  95. padReal (Function): Displays a floating point with padding and precision. For instance, padReal(9.1234,15,6) will display 9.1234 with at least 15 total digits (including the decimal) and at most 6 digits to the right of the decimal. - 00000009.123400.

  96. pow (Function): Returns the value of x to the power of y. For example, pow(2,3)=222=8.

  97. precision (Function): Displays a floating point number with the specified number of decimal places. For instance,prec(1234.234,2) will display 1234.23.

  98. random (Function): Returns a random integer equal to or between the first integer and the second. For instance, random(1,5) could return any of the following values: 1,2,3,4,5.

  99. sin (Function): The trigonometric sine function. This is similar to the cosine function, but is offset by one quarter of a wave cycle. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonometric_functions Tip: if you use the sine function and start your incrementing variable at 0, your actor's movement does not start at the middle point between the minimum and maximum points of the wave.

  100. sqrt (Function): Provides the square root of a value. Input values less than 0 will result in 'nan'.

  101. tableCellValue (Function): Returns the value of a cell of a selected table at a certain row and column. Tables are numbered starting at 1. You can also use the row or column name as an input for this function. For example, tableCellValue(game.Data,1,15) will return the value in table, Data, at row 1 and column 15.

  102. tableColCount (Function): Returns the number of columns in the selected table.

  103. tableRowCount (Function): Returns the number of rows in the selected table.

  104. tan (Function): The trigonometric tangent function. For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonometric_functions

  105. vectorToAngle (Function): Finds the angle relative to the origin 0,0, given an X and Y coordinate. For instance, vectorToAngle(100,200)=63.435. You can also find the angle relative to an offset - for instance, vectorToAngle(x-x',y-y'). VectorToAngle(100-200,150-250) will find the angle between the points 100,150 and 200,250, or -135 degrees.

  106. round (Function): The integer when you round to the nearest. If exactly 0.5 between two integers, the result is the greater. For instance, round(1.5)= 2, round(9.2850)= 9, and round(3.7)= 4.

  107. roundTo (Function): Round a real number to a specific decimal digit. Unlike the precision function, the return value is still a number, not text. To pad the decimal with 0's for display purposes, use the precision function instead.
    Examples:

roundTo(0.12345, 3) = 0.123;
roundTo(2.5, 0) = 3;
roundTo(4, 2) = 4;

Cheers,
FN

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