[Solved] All hotspots lost their interaction links

Xidore

I was experimenting with different Interface and Hotspot settings my project and now EVERY scene version has lost the link between hotspot and its actions.

I was also at the same time looking at the way hotspots appear in the MENU options. I don't know which of these caused the issue but since its project wide I think it might be something to do with the Managers files. I have well and truly borked the interaction in my project for the time being.

Is there a) a way to go back and avoid me having to relink the actions to the hotspots (of which there are dozens)

Is there b) something I need to be careful NOT to do to avoid a repeat of this?

Thanks 

ChrisIceBox

If I'm following you right, you've changed the Interaction method after placing down Hotspots and defining Interactions.

Of the three choices, Context Sensitive only allows for one "use" Interaction, while the other two allow for however many you want.  The latter two were added after AC's initial release, and are (due to a little lack of foresight when writing the initial version) stored in a List of Interaction variables, as opposed to Context Sensitive's single Interaction variable.

As a result, you'll have to re-link Interactions if changing to/from Context Sensitive and either of the other two.  The old links are still there, however, and will re-appear if you set your Interaction method back to the state it was in when you first defined them.

danielvierna

I know this is off topic but I still wish there were multiple "use" interactions in Context Sensitive mode. I have way too many scenes with way too many objects with duplicated hotspots just because each hotspot supports only one "use" interaction. I can't tell you how this clutters my scenes... Maybe one day, Chris?

ChrisIceBox

Well, the whole point of CS-mode was that you only have one Use interaction!  If you happen to use Choose Hotspot Then Interaction mode, you can still emulate Context Sensitive mode when a Hotspot only has one Use interaction anyway: see the 2D Demo's Exit Left / Exit Right hotspots.

danielvierna

Each hotspot does indeed have only one Use interaction in Context Sensitive mode but that single Use interaction can change over time. Take a locked door, for instance. At first the Use interaction can be used to knock on the door or try to open it and notice it's locked, but after using a key to unlock the door, the Use interaction can be used to open the door or exit the scene. At the moment I need to have two different hotspots for the door, the first provides the Knock interaction and the other provides the Exit interaction. After applying the Key inventory item on the first hotspot, I have to disable the first hotspot and enable the second one (with the Exit interaction). It could have been great to be able to have just one hotspot with multiple Use interactions defined but with only one *active* Use interaction at a time. The "Hotspot: Change interaction" action can then be used to change the active Use interaction using an index, just like we do with the inventory items supported by the hotspot.

As for emulating Context Sensitive mode in Choose Hotspot Then Interaction mode, I didn't try it so I have no idea how will it work or whether it means I have to make changes in all hotspots in the entire game or not. But even if it's doable, I believe taking that path is a bit conceptually-wrong, as Choose Hotspot Then Interaction mode is meant for completely different game mechanics than that of Context Sensitive mode.

Xidore

The combination of interaction types with interface types is quite baffling. 

I'm trying to nail down which I want to use while I still only have one scene before rolling on to the other scenes, I'm trying to cater for both mouse based and touchscreen. That is, at least, trying to provide as close an experience for both without needing to completely re-do all the hotspot/interactions.

Perhaps its a fools errand and I should build for one and then consider the 'migration' to the other a secondary task for the touch screen platforms.

What I'd really like is something like Broken Sword where you click to highlight a hotspot, then touch again for the possible actions. 

What I really DON'T want is the 'talk to' cursor ever to show up except for when there's an NPC involved. I find that absurd.

So to get what I am after I need to swap and change and test every combination/permutation. Problem being that borks up like I initially posted. Incidentally, nothing I do seems to put the links back. I'm going to have to literally run a science experiment to test which gives which outcome.

This is the 'problem' (I use that term in the sense of problem solving) with such a flexible set of options. It means you can do whatever you want but it also means you gotta understand all the ins-and-outs.

Unsure if the manual could be improved in this sense. From reading it the manual assumes mouse cursor for the most part.

Xidore

Oh I solved it

Didn't spot HOTSPOT CURSOR in the cursor panel.

ChrisIceBox

@danielvierna: I'll look into giving CS-mode multiple Interaction fields.  The main problem is ensuring that existing Hotspots update automatically: it's been this way for so long that it couldn't be done if it meant users had to manually re-build their Hotspots.

danielvierna

I perfectly understand your concern, I wouldn't want to manually re-build my hotspots myself. I'll be glad if you do manage to do this as it will significantly simplify my hotspots setup and my scene planning in general.

Thanks.

godatplay

I have the same problem where I want to swap single interactions, sensitive to the context, and I'm using Context Sensitive. In my case I have a linear series of hotspots with paths and I want to go backwards along the paths using the same hotspots.

I've tried searching the forums because I thought an action was added for that at some point, but I'm having a hard time finding anything. Was there ever a solution to this at some point?

godatplay

Ah, I found out where I read that: version 1.39 update, where we can have multiple uses with Context Sensitive. Thanks Chris