Ranger Fox

I'm organizing a little more in the forums. Anything that covers setting up devices would best be kept in the hardware section.

This thread would benefit everyone more under "Wherigo Hardware". I'm moving it there.

I'll start pinning the thread that discusses the builder's current version so people know right where to look.

Or you could just require people to upload the completed cartridge file. I'm not sure how the completion code is created, but if it's the same for every player, and when someone else downloaded and played The Arena under my supervision it was, you could make an embedded graphic with the completion code. If I ever make a cartridge (coming up with a top quality, fully fleshed out idea is difficult), I'll allow people to play it through without restrictions. However, at the very end if the elevation is equal to zero, the cartridge will not be marked as complete. This will separate armchair players from those in the field while still giving everyone an experience. It's great because the check is easy to set up and doesn't complicate things. And, let's be honest, we do want people to play our cartridges using any means. The more creativity and time we pour into it, the more we want others to experience and talk about it with us. At the moment, I think people care less about badges and the number of unlocked cartridges than they do just playing what their peers put out. Plus, the more cartridges you play, the more you get ideas of what elements work, what doesn't, and what to refine further. Gee, that sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Wasn't that close to the sentiment with geocaching--less about the numbers, more about sharing a special experience, showing something to people, and improving on ideas?

Look at the following thread for more details: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...5&hl=unlock In short, use the following code to find the player's unlock code. I don't think you'll know it when you build and upload the cartridge. Player.CompletionCode

I looked at the log file. It's very detailed and tells the actions taken by a player. Here's just a snippet of what a raw log file looks like:

I try not to bring up the subject of grammar too often because I have seen even the slightest mention of it easily offend people. It's great to see you have taken the suggestion the way it was intended: just helpful advice. Here's looking forward to the next version!

I didn't play a cartridge just yet, but I can confirm the player works on my X51v Axim and detects my GPSr. I'm getting the same signal/no signal problem cited in another thread, so I may check into that later. But, first, I'll have to build a test cartridge. I may just create one where I ride through zones on my way to work and each time I enter a zone, some test happens. Talk about lazy testing...

I already added my suggestions to the cartridge's log page and uploaded the log file. My two suggestions were: 1) Look over the text for grammar errors. I'm not trying to be critical, but I do believe any sort of grammatical or spelling error brings down the perceived professionalism of any product, not just cartridges. 2) It would be nice for the Gorn to hop to random zones as the game progresses. It would make it seem as if it really is out to get Kirk. I didn't know how much time you put into the cartridge until you made the post here. I'd say it was a good learning experience and a successful test. I didn't pick up on the problems you had or the complexity of the game's inner workings while playing it. That says a lot right there. Having a thread open to discuss the game seems to be a good idea. You might get some very creative suggestions and responses.

Yes, it has been reported that Lua is case sensitive. Please do be careful. The trick is to find a way to name everything that works for you. If it makes more sense, just use all lowercase. If you have any more questions, TOSY, you know where to ask them. There are a lot of people around who are eager to help.

You could either include it in your end game credits by showing a series of dialog boxes to the user. I think that would be less invasive. You could also preface your source code with two dashes, which comments out the line, to show your references in the source as well. Alternatively, after the ending message, you could stick an item in the inventory or a task in the list which will display the credits when examined. Either way, really. I appreciate your concern on this. I have had my pictures used by a newspaper, trade show competition, and magazine (three cases, unrelated subject matter) without so much as a byline or monetary compensation. And I have always asked for such, too--mostly the first one. I tell ya...

I'm posting the same code, but with David's changes to it. This way others will save on the copy and paste and edit. I was confused when I opened the Lua script and saw quotes instead of the square brackets, which led to my use of quotes instead of brackets. It's good to know. ============================================================== ============================================================== ============================================================== require "Wherigo" ZonePoint = Wherigo.ZonePoint Distance = Wherigo.Distance Player = Wherigo.Player -- #Author Directives Go Here# -- -- #End Author Directives# -- cartnumcoins = Wherigo.ZCartridge() -- MessageBox Callback Functions Table used by the Builder -- cartnumcoins.MsgBoxCBFuncs = {} -- Cartridge Info -- cartnumcoins.Id="0740bc64-26dd-4983-a9c4-da9e45006193" cartnumcoins.Name="numcoins" cartnumcoins.Description=[[Demonstrate the numcoins code. Every time you enter the zone, you will add a coin to your inventory. The first time you enter the zone, you will begin with four coins.]] cartnumcoins.Visible=true cartnumcoins.Activity="TourGuide" cartnumcoins.StartingLocationDescription=[[]] cartnumcoins.StartingLocation = ZonePoint(37,-80,0) cartnumcoins.Version="0.01" cartnumcoins.Company="Ranger Fox Adventures, Ltd." cartnumcoins.Author="Ranger Fox" cartnumcoins.BuilderVersion="2.0.4715.3441" cartnumcoins.CreateDate="1/18/2008 12:54:38 PM" cartnumcoins.PublishDate="1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM" cartnumcoins.UpdateDate="1/18/2008 1:06:18 PM" cartnumcoins.LastPlayedDate="1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM" cartnumcoins.TargetDevice="PocketPC" cartnumcoins.TargetDeviceVersion="0" cartnumcoins.StateId="1" cartnumcoins.CountryId="2" cartnumcoins.Complete=false cartnumcoins.UseLogging=false -- Zones -- zoneAddcoincount = Wherigo.Zone(cartnumcoins) zoneAddcoincount.Id="6e7d9dd5-329b-42b8-a466-496c554c2886" zoneAddcoincount.Name="Add coin count" zoneAddcoincount.Description=[[When you enter this zone, you add a coin to your inventory.]] zoneAddcoincount.Visible=true zoneAddcoincount.DistanceRange = Distance(1500, "feet") zoneAddcoincount.ShowObjects="OnEnter" zoneAddcoincount.ProximityRange = Distance(200, "feet") zoneAddcoincount.AllowSetPositionTo=false zoneAddcoincount.Active=true zoneAddcoincount.Points = { ZonePoint(36.99981,-80.00034,0), ZonePoint(36.99975,-79.998,0), ZonePoint(36.99911,-79.99792,0), ZonePoint(36.99908,-80.00034,0) } zoneAddcoincount.OriginalPoint = ZonePoint(36.99981,-80.00034,0) zoneAddcoincount.DistanceRangeUOM = "Feet" zoneAddcoincount.ProximityRangeUOM = "Feet" zoneAddcoincount.OutOfRangeName = "" zoneAddcoincount.InRangeName = "" -- Characters -- -- Items -- zitemcoin = Wherigo.ZItem(cartnumcoins) zitemcoin.Id="4501462b-9431-428c-8d29-bde68faeae31" zitemcoin.Name="coin" zitemcoin.Description=[[]] zitemcoin.Visible=true zitemcoin.ObjectLocation = Wherigo.INVALID_ZONEPOINT zitemcoin.Locked = false zitemcoin.Opened = false zitemcoin.Commands = { } -- Tasks -- -- Cartridge Variables -- numcoins = 3 cartnumcoins.ZVariables = {numcoins = 3} -- Builder Variables (to be read by the builder only) -- buildervar = {} buildervar.numcoins = {} buildervar.numcoins.Id ="818f7ce7-d9b5-48b3-bcf3-96b61bb0e71e" buildervar.numcoins.Name = "numcoins" buildervar.numcoins.Type = "Number" buildervar.numcoins.Data=[[3]] buildervar.numcoins.Description=[[]] -- ZTimers -- -- Inputs -- -- -- Events/Conditions/Actions -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------Builder Generated functions, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- function zoneAddcoincount:OnEnter() -- #GroupDescription=enterZone -- -- #Comment=enterZone Comment -- numcoins = numcoins + 1 zitemcoin:MoveTo(Player) zitemcoin.Description = [[You have ]] .. numcoins .. [[ coins]] zitemcoin.Name = numcoins .. [[ coins]] end ------End Builder Generated functions, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------Builder Generated callbacks, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --#LASTCALLBACKKEY=0#-- ------End Builder Generated callbacks, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ -- #Author Functions Go Here# -- -- #End Author Functions# -- -- Nothing after this line -- return cartnumcoins

The attached code should help you with what you need. Hmm... I can't upload a .lua or .txt file. Instead, I copied and pasted the code to the end of this post. If you run the cartridge in the emulator (after compiling it, of course), you will see one zone south of the player icon. The first time you move the player into the zone, the coin will be placed in the player's inventory. Including the first visit, every time the player enters the zone, the coin count will increment by one and show up nice and neat in the player's inventory. I changed both the coin's name and description in this example. You can do either or both. ============================================================== The code will break if you save it in the builder. If you do, fix it by going to lines 109 and 110 in the source. You will see the following: zitemcoin.Description = You have .. numcoins .. coins zitemcoin.Name = numcoins .. coins Add the quotes back to make it look like this: zitemcoin.Description = "You have " .. numcoins .. " coins" zitemcoin.Name = numcoins .. " coins" ============================================================== First of all, do you have a variable names "numcoins" declared? If you don't, that's where your problem is--and it's an easy fix. And you did assign a default value to the variable, right? As you can see above, apparently, that part in Lua is using quotes to denote a string instead of the square brackets. That might be the cause of another problem once you get past the variable null value. ============================================================== See if this helps. If not, you know where to ask. As for everyone else, including our developers at Groundspeak, how would you rewrite the example so it would not break when saved in the builder application while still producing the same effect? I think the answer to that would be very helpful--especially if this could be accomplished without opening the Lua file in a text editor. ============================================================== ============================================================== ============================================================== ============================================================== require "Wherigo" ZonePoint = Wherigo.ZonePoint Distance = Wherigo.Distance Player = Wherigo.Player -- #Author Directives Go Here# -- -- #End Author Directives# -- cartnumcoins = Wherigo.ZCartridge() -- MessageBox Callback Functions Table used by the Builder -- cartnumcoins.MsgBoxCBFuncs = {} -- Cartridge Info -- cartnumcoins.Id="0740bc64-26dd-4983-a9c4-da9e45006193" cartnumcoins.Name="numcoins" cartnumcoins.Description=[[Demonstrate the numcoins code. Every time you enter the zone, you will add a coin to your inventory. The first time you enter the zone, you will begin with four coins.]] cartnumcoins.Visible=true cartnumcoins.Activity="TourGuide" cartnumcoins.StartingLocationDescription=[[]] cartnumcoins.StartingLocation = ZonePoint(37,-80,0) cartnumcoins.Version="0.01" cartnumcoins.Company="Ranger Fox Adventures, Ltd." cartnumcoins.Author="Ranger Fox" cartnumcoins.BuilderVersion="2.0.4715.3441" cartnumcoins.CreateDate="1/18/2008 12:54:38 PM" cartnumcoins.PublishDate="1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM" cartnumcoins.UpdateDate="1/18/2008 1:06:18 PM" cartnumcoins.LastPlayedDate="1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM" cartnumcoins.TargetDevice="PocketPC" cartnumcoins.TargetDeviceVersion="0" cartnumcoins.StateId="1" cartnumcoins.CountryId="2" cartnumcoins.Complete=false cartnumcoins.UseLogging=false -- Zones -- zoneAddcoincount = Wherigo.Zone(cartnumcoins) zoneAddcoincount.Id="6e7d9dd5-329b-42b8-a466-496c554c2886" zoneAddcoincount.Name="Add coin count" zoneAddcoincount.Description=[[When you enter this zone, you add a coin to your inventory.]] zoneAddcoincount.Visible=true zoneAddcoincount.DistanceRange = Distance(1500, "feet") zoneAddcoincount.ShowObjects="OnEnter" zoneAddcoincount.ProximityRange = Distance(200, "feet") zoneAddcoincount.AllowSetPositionTo=false zoneAddcoincount.Active=true zoneAddcoincount.Points = { ZonePoint(36.99981,-80.00034,0), ZonePoint(36.99975,-79.998,0), ZonePoint(36.99911,-79.99792,0), ZonePoint(36.99908,-80.00034,0) } zoneAddcoincount.OriginalPoint = ZonePoint(36.99981,-80.00034,0) zoneAddcoincount.DistanceRangeUOM = "Feet" zoneAddcoincount.ProximityRangeUOM = "Feet" zoneAddcoincount.OutOfRangeName = "" zoneAddcoincount.InRangeName = "" -- Characters -- -- Items -- zitemcoin = Wherigo.ZItem(cartnumcoins) zitemcoin.Id="4501462b-9431-428c-8d29-bde68faeae31" zitemcoin.Name="coin" zitemcoin.Description=[[]] zitemcoin.Visible=true zitemcoin.ObjectLocation = Wherigo.INVALID_ZONEPOINT zitemcoin.Locked = false zitemcoin.Opened = false zitemcoin.Commands = { } -- Tasks -- -- Cartridge Variables -- numcoins = 3 cartnumcoins.ZVariables = {numcoins = 3} -- Builder Variables (to be read by the builder only) -- buildervar = {} buildervar.numcoins = {} buildervar.numcoins.Id ="818f7ce7-d9b5-48b3-bcf3-96b61bb0e71e" buildervar.numcoins.Name = "numcoins" buildervar.numcoins.Type = "Number" buildervar.numcoins.Data=[[3]] buildervar.numcoins.Description=[[]] -- ZTimers -- -- Inputs -- -- -- Events/Conditions/Actions -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------Builder Generated functions, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- function zoneAddcoincount:OnEnter() -- #GroupDescription=enterZone -- -- #Comment=enterZone Comment -- numcoins = numcoins + 1 zitemcoin:MoveTo(Player) zitemcoin.Description = "You have " .. numcoins .. " coins" zitemcoin.Name = numcoins .. " coins" end ------End Builder Generated functions, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------Builder Generated callbacks, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --#LASTCALLBACKKEY=0#-- ------End Builder Generated callbacks, Do not Edit, this will be overwritten------ -- #Author Functions Go Here# -- -- #End Author Functions# -- -- Nothing after this line -- return cartnumcoins

I agree, TOSY. There are many ways to do this, depending on the effect you want and how your game works. The way I posted seemed to be the simplest. However, I'm still looking for someone to suggest a way that doesn't involve opening the script in notepad. As time goes on, there will be more people who will only understand the builder and will be lost if we tell them to open the file in notepad. So finding an answer in the builder would be preferable to doing anything more "advanced" like I suggested.

Okay. So .Net is already installed. You just have to install the player and that's where you're running into a problem. The player will not be called download.html. You should have been able to (left) click on the player's "Download Player" button to download the file. It's a file called "PlayerInstall.CAB" and not "download.html". Try downloading the player again and seeing what happens.

No, you do not have to do anything with the .Net Compact Framework after it is installed. It's not quite a program by itself, really, more like program parts that other programs use. I checked the installation file. Yes, this is the type of application you must install from your computer. Run the installation file on your computer. It will then queue the .Net Framework for install the next time you connect your Axim to your computer. After this operation completes, plug your Axim to the computer and confirm the installation on your Axim. After that, you can install the player .CAB file by installing it on your device through the SD card. Keep the .CAB file on your SD card, though. To upgrade properly to a new version of Wherigo, you'll need this old .CAB file to uninstall Wherigo before copying the new .CAB over to the card. If this is not done, Pocket PC has a way of acting up.

Why not change the inventory coin's name to indicate the quantity? For instance, when you have one lackey coin, it says "Lackey Coin". But for more coins, it will say "Lackey Coin x3". That might offer the cleanest and least confusing UI for the user. You could also change the coin's description to match the number of coins the player has. Either way. At the end of the game, you can also display a tally. When the player uploads the completed game, I assume you will be able to see as well. I haven't gone that far yet, though.

At the moment, I don't know if they'll be able to get the streets on it, but perhaps they'll be able to draw a graphical map representing the dimensions and positioning of all active zones relative to others and the user. Would that be closer to what you want? I just don't know about the road overlay, though, whether that will happen any time soon. And I wonder how hard it will be draw this in Lua or else manipulate a graphic predrawn in .Net. I'm musing here, speculating what people might want/need versus what could be provided in the foreseeable future. I can easily see how maps will help people to visualize where they need to go.

It should be this one: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en I think you'll have to attach your PDA to the computer to install the .Net Framework onto it.

I don't know about real-time maps, but you could always do a zoomed-out screen shot of Google maps and offer that as a map of the playing field. Perhaps the player could receive a new map at the beginning of each task? When the player needs to know where to do, s/he can pull up the map from inventory and view it. The previous completed task's spot and the next task's destination can be shown. As for the Colorado, I'll have an answer for you when those come out. I'll purchase one, construct a test cartridge, and play it through on the GPSr. I don't know if you can switch between the maps. I'm assuming you can, but I doubt the zones will be colored as they are on the Emulator's map.

Let me put this into context. Let's say you have a place in your game where players can pick up, for instance, a coin. Players can also pick up the same coin in other areas and you want to tell the player how many coins s/he has. To do this, first, you can move the same coin item around to different areas. When the user picks the coin up, it will display the same "You have x coins" message. Here's an easy way to do this: First, create a variable in the "Variables" section. I will call it "numcoins" for reference later. Make it a number type and start it off at zero. You will have a coin item already created with a "pick up" event, so I won't go into creating that. However, in your "pick up" event, you will show a message to the player. You currently have "You have x coins" typed in there, but it doesn't display a number at the moment. Sound good so far? Now, above the message, add an action. Choose "Increment a variable by a value". Fill in everything to increment "numcoins" by 1. Click "OK" when you're done. The next part gets a little funky at the moment. In fact, Nate could probably provide you with a better alternative. But, for the moment, I can show you what I do. First, save the cartridge. After that, open the .lua file in notepad. Do a search for "You have x coins". You'll see something like this: Wherigo.MessageBox{Text=[[You have x coins.]],} Change it to read: Wherigo.MessageBox{Text=[[You have ]] .. numcoins .. [[ coins.]],} Save the text file and re-open your cartridge in the builder. Now, this isn't the best of approaches to use because I've been told the Builder may overwrite this later and not interpret it correctly. In fact, I've seen it to my code before. I'd suggest doing this last, just before you build your cartridge. I tried adding a script and firing that particular message box in the custom author script section, but the Builder wouldn't accept the code. However, it does well with the steps I outlined. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions in the thread. I'm around multiple times a day and so are the Groundspeak folks. You'll get a good answer.

Sure. Go ahead. As far as I know, all reviewers are aware people will be creating Wherigo cartridge caches. Get really creative with it. I love to see what people come up with. If you have any more questions, just browse the forum and ask if you can't find an appropriate thread.

Let me ask a few questions so I understand what you are seeing. You're at the download page where there's a graphic that says "Download Builder" and you are logged in, right? You click the graphic, something comes up, and then a box says "done". First off, what browser are you using? If you're using IE, so you see a yellow bar across the top of the web page? Have you tried holding the Ctrl key through the click and download process? Do you have your browser defaulting to a specific download folder, such as the desktop? If so, the installation file will be downloaded there and you won't see anything more. Or did you download the installation program, run it, and it says it's done? Do you have .Net 2 on your computer (check it by going to "Add or Remove Programs" and looking for "Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0" in the list)? To help you more than this, I'll need to ask you to describe your problem a little more. If you have found an answer, please post that as well. Who knows if others have had your same problem?

Yes, it's good to know what changes have been made. According to the following post, you can see version changes in the Builder's readme file. Go to Program Files/Groundspeak/Wherigo/Builder and you'll see the readme file. The Jan. 15th update includes three fixes. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...t&p=3259268

As I understand it, you can keep clicking the "+" button to zoom farther. However, you will come to a point where you cannot zoom any further. This is a "problem" with Google Maps because they were never meant to zoom to such a low level. I played your cartridge a week or so ago and saw at one location you had almost a pixel point for your fourth stage. It's really difficult to drop the Lackey on that specific point. No, you can't zoom deeper. I would have liked to because it was really difficult to play "Drop the Lackey".