Tips and Tricks

  • Create your own scriptpresets :
    Create a textfile in the PaC-DK folder and name it presets.txt. This is how you write your presets :

    PRESET Your preset title
    your scripts
    more of your scripts
    ...

    PRESET Your next preset


  • Look for Tutorials :
    There are or there will be some Tutorials on the PaC-DK Homepage that explain the editor step by step and give you some ideas on how to create more complex stuff.


  • Supporting older PCs :
    Remember that not all PCs have High-End-Graphiccards. Your game should have an option in the menu to disable all effects like SpecialFX, Particles and FX-Shapes.
    When you play Video and Flash-Movies use the instruction "moviewait" to be sure that the movie will end where its supposed to end.


  • Video Codec :
    To be sure that videos can be played on many systems use a common codec like WMV7, which is included in windows since Win2000.


  • Mainscript and "Anywhere Objects" :
    The mainscript and the possibility to use objects everywhere in the game, can be used for creating new controll elements or mouseicon effects!


  • Use the DevMode for testing :
    Created games can be started in DEV Mode. In this Mode you can enter Script-Commands "ingame", just press the ^ key. With that you can test things that should be solved later in your game.
    You should also make intelligent Saves, so you don't have to play a finished part of the game over and over again.

    Dev-Mode functions are : '^' key for opening the console and F11 for displaying all game variables.
    New : With the keys + and - you can increase the gamespeed up to 3x, so you can play parts of the game faster.


  • Create new kind of Game Controlls :
    You don't have to use the known standard ways of controlling an adventure. Imagine a game where you are a wizard. This wizard has an Amulett which contains magical stones to cast things with. You collect these stones in the game and you can combine them.
    All of that you could realize in the Taskbar.


  • Use Numbers for creating new advanced stuff :
    If you want you could even create some RGP elements in your game with health, strength, ect. By using numbers a high amount of new possibilities are offered to you!


  • Creating a Myst-like Game :
    To make a game like Myst create a room that is 2x2 screens big. The backgroundimage for that room is made of 4 single graphics, each a view of one direction.
    With clickable Objects placed at the borders of these single graphics you can turn around like in Myst (use the setpos-command for viewing the right position in the room). Every Point in this adventure where you can go would be a single room in the editor..


  • Animations between two states :
    Changing a state of an object does not have to be instant. The steeldoor in the TestAdventure shows how this can be done.


  • Long Animations :
    If you have very long animations you can combine many states behind another with setobj (object ; 1 ; 2 ; 3...)


  • Adding Strings :
    To fuse two strings to one you can use this : setstring (text1 ; [text2] [text3]) (no "+"!)


  • Negative numbers :
    To set a number to a negative value we have to use a little trick : setnum (num1 ; 0-6)
    The Zero makes sure that the result is -6. If you would only type -6 then 6 would be subtracted of the value num1!