So here we are shown a table with 5800 rows of input (from back in 2012)...
Then today (2017) we can now only do 999. Why may i ask, did we go backwards?
Comments
tatiangMember, Sous Chef, PRO, Senior Sous-ChefPosts: 11,949
I believe the 999 row limit is for tables that you create in GameSalad. But you can import CSV files that have many more rows and you can also add rows using the table behaviors during runtime.
Not helpful sir. Then i shall find myself even further from my small table. Should the two ideas of yours be combined i don't even think it would pass health and safety?!
PhilipCCEncounter Bay, South AustraliaMemberPosts: 1,390
Not helpful sir. Then i shall find myself even further from my small table. Should the two ideas of yours be combined i don't even think it would pass health and safety?!
just a tip, you CAN add rows at runtime, but if you are aiming at a large table then it is not advisable. Adding a row forces a memory reallocation, i.e. you will see a big memory usage spike, and possibly some lag during gameplay. So if your tables are large, rather accommodate for the maximum size it will be from the onset by importing a large CSV file.
My pirate ship namer app has a list of nouns & a list of adjectives, both of which have reached 1000.
Now i'm forced to add some mad code that will go to a second table for no reason other than gamesalad decided we should be limited to 999 entires in the editor?!
Is this something that can easily be addressed @ForumNinja
tatiangMember, Sous Chef, PRO, Senior Sous-ChefPosts: 11,949
edited April 2017
Back in 1965, tables were only 4 rows long. It was inconceivable that they would EVER grow beyond double-digit rows. So the limit was set at 99. But just ten years later in 1975, someone discovered a reason to have 102 rows. And ever since, the pie-in-the-sky limit has been 999.
GameSaladHistoryMoment
But yeah, I'd be curious to know why the limit exists, too.
@smurfted It can be easily addressed. Export CSV. Open CSV in Excel, Numbers or similar software. Change rows to whatever number you would like to. Export as CSV. Import CSV into GameSalad. Done.
There are some arbitrary limits in GameSalad, yes. Another one of them is font size (99). That one is much harder to get around, as you have to edit the XML files. But then it works like a charm.
The CSV export is only half-workaround. To be honest, I almost never use GameSalad to edit the tables, always export. An actual spreadsheet app gives you so much more speed and flexibility editing the tables, with expressions, auto-fill etc. And CSV import/export takes about 5 seconds each way.
@pHghost said:
There are some arbitrary limits in GameSalad, yes. Another one of them is font size (99). That one is much harder to get around, as you have to edit the XML files. But then it works like a charm.
A trick I use is to make the font size a specific number like 99 or 88, open the actor's XML into any text app and Cmd+F (find) '88', then just type the new value over it.
I suspect the reason they've set a limit is that GS appears to render (rasterize) the text at run time, massive sizes, although perfectly possible (as editing the XML shows us), might end up generating large unwieldy images. One of the few optimizations I agree with on the infamous '31 optimisation tips' thead is number 17 (’Don't use the "Display Text" behavior wherever possible'), I've seen even a handful of Display Text behaviours have a marked effect on a project.
@smurfted said:
Nopity nope nope, i replaced the images with bigger ones in the compiled file and it all worked perfectly.. Editor limits only lad
You can circumvent these limits with all sorts of various tricks / workarounds, whether in GameSalad or on iOS devices, but these limits really do come from Apple, if I remember correctly they are set by file size (memory footprint), and limits like 2048 or 1024 are aimed at keeping files within those limits.
It is a limit imposed by apple for the devices. Each device has it's own limit, with the maximum currently at 4096x4096. this is imposed by openGL. It may change in the future, but that's what it is now.
@Socks said:
A trick I use is to make the font size a specific number like 99 or 88, open the actor's XML into any text app and Cmd+F (find) '88', then just type the new value over it.
Yeah, I do the same. Though as you mention, in many cases it is better not to use DisplayText at all, especially with bigger games.
@smurfted said:
Nopity nope nope, i replaced the images with bigger ones in the compiled file and it all worked perfectly.. Editor limits only lad
As @AlchimiaStudios mentions, there is a limit set by the OS. Currently the limit is 4096 for iOS and has been so for quite some time. Two years ago or so it was a feature request I was asking for, to change the GS limit to that. If I remember correctly, I was told that due to Android limitations (which supports a lot of much weaker devices), 2048 was still the limit they wished to keep.
Comments
I believe the 999 row limit is for tables that you create in GameSalad. But you can import CSV files that have many more rows and you can also add rows using the table behaviors during runtime.
New to GameSalad? (FAQs) | Tutorials | Templates | Greenleaf Games | Educator & Certified GameSalad User
Thinner rows back then.
so in program I can add rows, but not columns?
Correct.
New to GameSalad? (FAQs) | Tutorials | Templates | Greenleaf Games | Educator & Certified GameSalad User
That's not nice..
@smurfted said, "Tables are too small to eat from... "
Stand on a box or maybe get a high chair.
Not helpful sir. Then i shall find myself even further from my small table. Should the two ideas of yours be combined i don't even think it would pass health and safety?!
Forget beureaucracy and H&S.
Just lick the plate.
I'm gad you have a sense of humour mate.
I try to forget beureaucracy, but hue and saturation. Never..
Oh, you meant health and safety. My mistake, as you were..
@smurfted
just a tip, you CAN add rows at runtime, but if you are aiming at a large table then it is not advisable. Adding a row forces a memory reallocation, i.e. you will see a big memory usage spike, and possibly some lag during gameplay. So if your tables are large, rather accommodate for the maximum size it will be from the onset by importing a large CSV file.
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Cheers for the insight @Hopscotch. Infotastic as always! So add row should only be done between levels, if at all then fella?
@smurfted between levels is fine.
MESSAGING, X-PLATFORM LEADERBOARDS, OFFLINE-TIMER, ANALYTICS and BACK-END CONTROL for your GameSalad projects
www.APPFORMATIVE.com
just wondering what you need that many rows for?
My Apps
https://itunes.apple.com/de/artist/david-zobrist/id733552276
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My pirate ship namer app has a list of nouns & a list of adjectives, both of which have reached 1000.
Now i'm forced to add some mad code that will go to a second table for no reason other than gamesalad decided we should be limited to 999 entires in the editor?!
Is this something that can easily be addressed @ForumNinja
Back in 1965, tables were only 4 rows long. It was inconceivable that they would EVER grow beyond double-digit rows. So the limit was set at 99. But just ten years later in 1975, someone discovered a reason to have 102 rows. And ever since, the pie-in-the-sky limit has been 999.
GameSaladHistoryMoment
But yeah, I'd be curious to know why the limit exists, too.
New to GameSalad? (FAQs) | Tutorials | Templates | Greenleaf Games | Educator & Certified GameSalad User
@smurfted It can be easily addressed. Export CSV. Open CSV in Excel, Numbers or similar software. Change rows to whatever number you would like to. Export as CSV. Import CSV into GameSalad. Done.
There are some arbitrary limits in GameSalad, yes. Another one of them is font size (99). That one is much harder to get around, as you have to edit the XML files. But then it works like a charm.
Also true fella, there is also the limit on the image sizes, but should we have to do work arounds...
Surely all of these are very easy to change @ForumNinja
The CSV export is only half-workaround. To be honest, I almost never use GameSalad to edit the tables, always export. An actual spreadsheet app gives you so much more speed and flexibility editing the tables, with expressions, auto-fill etc. And CSV import/export takes about 5 seconds each way.
I'm pretty sure the image size limit is from Apple rather than GameSalad.
A trick I use is to make the font size a specific number like 99 or 88, open the actor's XML into any text app and Cmd+F (find) '88', then just type the new value over it.
I suspect the reason they've set a limit is that GS appears to render (rasterize) the text at run time, massive sizes, although perfectly possible (as editing the XML shows us), might end up generating large unwieldy images. One of the few optimizations I agree with on the infamous '31 optimisation tips' thead is number 17 (’Don't use the "Display Text" behavior wherever possible'), I've seen even a handful of Display Text behaviours have a marked effect on a project.
Nopity nope nope, i replaced the images with bigger ones in the compiled file and it all worked perfectly.. Editor limits only lad
You can circumvent these limits with all sorts of various tricks / workarounds, whether in GameSalad or on iOS devices, but these limits really do come from Apple, if I remember correctly they are set by file size (memory footprint), and limits like 2048 or 1024 are aimed at keeping files within those limits.
It is a limit imposed by apple for the devices. Each device has it's own limit, with the maximum currently at 4096x4096. this is imposed by openGL. It may change in the future, but that's what it is now.
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Yeah, I do the same. Though as you mention, in many cases it is better not to use DisplayText at all, especially with bigger games.
As @AlchimiaStudios mentions, there is a limit set by the OS. Currently the limit is 4096 for iOS and has been so for quite some time. Two years ago or so it was a feature request I was asking for, to change the GS limit to that. If I remember correctly, I was told that due to Android limitations (which supports a lot of much weaker devices), 2048 was still the limit they wished to keep.
Editing in post i have had many 4096 images running happily on both devices.
Nobody is saying 4096 is not possible, simply that GS had decided to stick with 2048 to better support Android, which has a lot of low-spec devices.
Understood, i just think that we should have the choice over these things..