Armelline's Custom Monospace Fonts (FREE version)

Armelline

Okay, so a while ago I made a template that lets you use custom fonts in GameSalad in order to display dynamic text in-game. There are some bugs in GameSalad that make certain aspects a bit of a pain, but I thought I'd release this free, stripped down version now so people can start playing around with it. Please note I do intend to release this as a paid template with considerably more functionality, but this thread is for the free version being linked to, so please keep discussion about that. Any questions about the paid version please address to me in PM.

Take a look at the video below for a quick demo of the template:

Download it here: https://app.box.com/s/sepck25nevlwgph9e1eluahebext7eax

(This link will stop working and be replaced by a listing at GSHelper once I get around to adding it there. It will still be a free download with no sign-up required.)

What IS included in the free version:

• Dynamically display text
• Set text alpha and colour (some limitations - must be set on the prototype)
• Include line breaks
• One font included, but add as many as you want!
• Localisation supported - use as many languages as you desire!
• Some special characters (not [(:$^. and a few others that don't work due to a GameSalad bug) - images not included though

What ISN'T included in the free version but will be in the paid:

• Tracking
• Leading
• Text alpha and colour per instance, not just per prototype
• Special characters (including those not working in the free version, at least those I thought of) - images included
• Detailed notes explaining what's happening every step of the logic
• Multiple fonts (at least 5)
• Video explanations for how to add new special characters
• A few variations of the project stripping out un-needed logic for different situations (i.e. no line breaks, or no special characters)

Armelline

The performance hit is very very small, in reality.

When it first loads the text it can take a fraction of a second if there's a large quantity of text, which is noticeable, but in most cases it'll have little or no impact. All that's happening after the initial load is one rule is being monitored (not through a constrain, just like having any rule in any actor). Once you display the text there's is almost 0 strain because of it.

Obviously you would need to use this where appropriate. I made it to save dozens of hours of work dealing with text in a project I'm working on. It loads fast and once its there it's there.

It is a lot of faff for something that should be standard, though. But we make do with what we have.

Hopscotch

Fantastic and super useful as is! All this through one actor in your projects.
Great work @Armelline

Armelline

Thanks @Hopscotch. Well interest in this is so minimal I doubt I'll bother finishing off the paid version. I thought people would have more interest in the ability to use new fonts than they actually do Was fun to make, anyway!

Hopscotch

@Armelline, I think it may help making some quick small demo implementations showing sample uses. Our community is creative, but not imaginative! Just kidding.

Eg. an interactive story book, game with multiple stats on screen, even just a sample game intro tutorial.

Even just the whole hookup with tables is a great plus, not to mention the localisation possibilities in combination with the new user language metric.

RThurman

@Armelline said:
Thanks Hopscotch. Well interest in this is so minimal I doubt I'll bother finishing off the paid version. I thought people would have more interest in the ability to use new fonts than they actually do Was fun to make, anyway!

You might be interpreting lack of downloads as a lack of interest. But perhaps there are other factors you should consider while you interpret your 'market research' data.

For example, this is the beginning of school season for many, and their interests lay elsewhere for the time being. September is a busy month for parents, educators, and their students. (I fit in this category! I am swamped and can hardly find time to download and evaluate your very generous offering. In fact, I really can't justify the time I am taking to compose this reply!)

Or perhaps, you might be able to see a shift in this forum usage pattern. It sure seems to me that the forum conversations have shifted dramatically in the last 60 days. The forum often swings dramatically between those who want to learn GameSalad, those who want to learn the art and practice of game design, and those who want to use GameSalad make money. (I am currently seeing a reduction in posts that I would classify in the first two categories.)

Or perhaps you have noticed an increase in new folks who frankly have very little idea of the value of what you are offering for free.

Anyway, I think there might be other factors at play that might account for a lack of forum responsiveness at this time.

Braydon_SFX

Sorry I didn't see this sooner - looks very nice! Thanks for sharing!

UtopianGames

I think you expect too much from the forums small user base, this is the 2nd or 3rd time recently you've posted something then moaned about lack of interest, you can't win them all

Armelline

@UtopianGames said:
I think you expect too much from the forums small user base, this is the 2nd or 3rd time recently you've posted something then moaned about lack of interest, you can't win them all

Shoo.

(And I really don't see what's wrong with noting what receives interest and what doesn't. My ladders received 200 times as many downloads over the same period. Some things are just more popular than other things, and this it looks like wasn't.)