This update has a fair few more "Upgrade notes" than usual, so please take care to read through them carefully before upgrading - particularly if you rely on custom scripting. The usual precaution of backing up your projects should also be taken.
The main aim of this update is to ease the workflow when creating puzzles as prefabs - i.e. prefabs that contain "self contained" game logic and can be dropped into a scene without having to merge it into your variables, cutscenes etc. Much of this comes in the form of the following new components:
A new, third way to define variables (aside from Global / Local) is to attach them directly to a GameObject via the new Variables component. While these can exist on prefabs, they must still be present within the scene to function correctly - but they can be accessed in ActionList assets, unlike Local variables. Attaching the new Remember Variables component will also save their values. For convenience, a new "Variables" logic type is available in the Scnee Manager.
This component allows you to have an ActionList run when a scene starts or loads, without having to reference it in the Scene Manager. This is useful if you need to run some Actions to initialise some settings when the scene begins. If the ActionList makes use of parameters, all parameter values can also be set here.
A simple solution to a commonly-raised problem: how to set all parameter values for a Hotspot's Interaction ActionList. Within the Hotspot component, only the Hotspot itself can be auto-assigned to an Interaction's GameObject parameter. With this component, you can set all parameters based on the exact interaction that was run - even if the ActionList itself is shared amongst multiple interactions.
Other new features include:
VideoClip assets can now be used to display animated backgrounds in 2.5D games. A separate "placeholder" graphic, that represents the first frame of the clip, should also be assigned - as this will be used to mask any loading times while the video is prepared.
This'll only be useful for specific cases, but if your game makes use of Player-switching, this Action can be used to "move" an inactive Player to the current scene. While this'll only have an immediate visible effect if they have an Associated NPC (which'll get spawned in their place), this Player will then appear in the scene when switching back to them.
The Remember Animator component can now be used to set default values for its Animator parameters. This is useful if a scene has multiple Animators that share the same Animator Controller, since each Controller's parameter values can be individually set.
A number of new events are provided, including one to set the replacement text of a speech event token - which by default is simply removed from speech text. This paves the way for dynamically-generated speech, since part - or all of - the speech text can now be set at the moment it is spoken.
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Comments
And the full changelog...
Version 1.68.0:
Upgrade notes
-When restoring a Player’s position with the “Player: Switch” Action, the new Player will be positioned at their Associated NPC’s position if both are in the current scene
-If the active Player's associated NPC is present after a scene is loaded, they will automatically be hidden from view
-If the "Object: Transform" Action is used to move an object to it's current transform, it now ends instantly regardless of the transition time
-The Menu script's GetTargetInvItem and GetTargetHotspot methods have been replaced with the TargetInvItem and TargetHotspot properties respectively
-To access a Menu's runtime linked Canvas at runtime, read its 'RuntimeCanvas' property - not its 'canvas' variable, which is reserved for the prefab
-Removed PlayerInteraction's GetLabel method - use PlayerMenus.GetHotspotLabel or Hotspot.GetFullLabel instead
-The default OptionsData constructor now takes an additional argument for the voice language index
-The Speech constructors no longer includes a language argument
-The Serializer script's LoadFile method is now Editor-only
Variables
ActionLists
ActionList parameters
2.5D
Player switching
API
Editor
Menus
Events
Interactions
Camera
Audio
Characters
Misc
Fantastic!
With 1.68 all the bugs are fixed, system is very reliable and the new approach to variables opens interesting new possibilities. At this stage AC is really mature. All the problems I had with previous versions are gone.
Three cheers to the author!
It's slightly off topic, but I am really happy with Adventure Creator v 1.68. It makes realistically possible for just one dude to create quite an advanced adventure game. It takes time, obviously, but Unity + AC guarantee that the project will be manageable no matter how big it grows.
Only one thing makes me sad: that I payed so little for Adventure Creator. It's worth more than it costs, no doubt about it.
Congrats on the release!
I especially appreciate that skipping action lists that are run from within a larger chain now seems to have been fixed. Will also be looking at the Plugins folder support!
And yes, @Martin has a point - with the level of support you're bringing, the asset is does seem underpriced.
Feedback noted, thanks for the input.
Ooooh, this is awesome! Although I am still on a very old version because of the project, I regularly follow updates! Thanks Chris for your hard work and support for everything
Thanks Chris for your good work and support!
Will you update the manual also?
This is effin' amazing! You're amazing Chris!
@haha: The Manual is always updated - is there something missing?
At the time I posted the comment the version of the manual was 1.67.2.
Which Manual are you referring to? The one in the Downloads section, or the one included in the asset package itself.
Version 1.68.1
this one manual.
Attaching variables directly to components is a game changer in terms of maintainability - awesome work!
Version 1.68.2:
Upgrade note
Changelog
Gameobjects with variables attached to them is an amazing thing that I could finally use to make important non-classic adventure game mechanics without bloating the global variables and without resorting a lot to playmaker integration, amazing news.
I hope I don't bump on any problems with this update!
Version 1.68.3:
Upgrade notes
Changelog
Version 1.68.4: