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Zoom - Release 2 (1996)(Active Software)[!].iso
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new_features.doc
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1995-09-16
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GRAC 2.0 - New features
-----------------------
Here is a brief list of the new features in GRAC 2.0. More complete
descriptions are given in the main documentation files.
* Complete incompatibility with GRAC 1.0 and 1.1. This was unavoidable.
However, it is possible to convert between them, with a suitable program.
See the 'readme' file for details of obtaining this program.
* Support for IFF animations.
* Close-ups (also used for map screens).
* Fast character scaling for realistic perspective.
* Player can control any character, and switch between them. The program now
'remembers' the location of all the characters, so that they will still
be in a room if the player leaves and reenters.
* New verb type : QUICK - has immediate effect when the verb button is
pressed, not requiring an object to be selected.
* Animate characters from within text strings.
* New script commands:
play anim - plays animation
limbo - clears everything from memory to make room for large
animations
flash - flash colours
fade picture - fade out a picture
toggle flag - switch flag from 1 to 0 or vice-versa
scroll on - allow automatic scrolling
scroll off - disable scrolling
scroll - scroll the screen
switch - switch between characters
control palette - change the palette used by the control panel
fade control - fade the control palette
close up - go to close-up
exit close up - leave close-up
clear flags - set all flags within a range to zero
cycle - colour cycling
cycle off - stop colour cycling
save off - disable save game facility
save on - allow save game
verb off - disable a verb
verb on - allow verb to be used
walk off - stop the character from moving
walk on - allow the character to move
compare - new compare instruction, replaces all other compares
pause - new form of timer
pause off - cancel pause
anim - alternative to amal
set mark - place a mark for use with 'goto mark'
goto mark - goto the stated mark
perspective - activate character scaling
scale - set the size of all characters in a room.
static - speed up the display in rooms with a lot of objects
position voice - allows speech in close-ups and pictures
* Improved script editor.
Scripts can now be any length, and are edited as in any text editor,
i.e. press return to insert a new line, backspace to delete, arrow keys
or mouse to move the cursor.
Commands are entered in one of the following formats:
command first parameter,second parameter
command parameter
command
A flag can be entered as a parameter using the # symbol, e.g.
compare #16,1
would replace the old instruction
compare value 16 1
There are several preset variables to make it easier to enter parameters.
These are:
room - indicates the current room
item - the selected inventory item
pc - the players character
entrance - the last entrance
gtime - global time; time elapsed since the start of the
game
rtime - room time; time elapsed since the room was loaded
current - background/foreground/inventory item/character
associated with the script
string - string associated with selected object
height - height of the selected object
A comment can be inserted in a script using the * character, like this:
* Put the comment here.
The function keys now have different uses. F2 to move to the next script,
F1 to move to the previous script. HELP functions as before. DEL deletes
the current line. Shift-up moves up one page, shift-down moves down one
page.
* 32 background objects allowed per room (rather than 16)
* When selecting verbs for actions, the script numbers are printed in the
requester so you can see at glance which verbs have associated scripts.
* The GRACplayer now prints text in two lines instead of one. I think this
looks better but some text in old games may need to be rearranged a bit.
* A button to change the text colour.
* Finally, a new mouse pointer (the AMOS one was getting on my nerves).
All this takes memory of course; the GRACeditor is now about 40K larger,
and the GRACplayer is 30K larger. When crunched on disk the increases are
much less. The extra memory requirement is offset by the fact that text
strings can now be stored in the room files and loaded only when needed.
Therefore, you won't have to cut down a project if it is pushing the
memory limits, just relocate the text.