What are "pages" in Custom Elements (halfway down on the "change" screen) and how do you use them? I know they have something to do with the "page" at the bottom as well, but it's not clear to me, and there aren't any help pages I could find.
Thanks
"Page" - in CE's. What is it?
Moderators: Flumminator, Zomis
> What are "pages" in Custom Elements (halfway down on the "change" screen) and how do
> you use them? I know they have something to do with the "page" at the bottom as well, but
> it's not clear to me, and there aren't any help pages I could find.
The concept of "change pages" works as follows:
Beside the "info", "config 1" and "config 2" tab, there's that "change" tab, where you can define conditions and actions for custom elements to change to other elements.
In many cases, it's desired or needed to have more than one page of these change definitions -- that's what "change pages" are for. Press the "new" button, and you get a new, blank page where you can define more change conditions and actions. Select them by using the selectbox left of the "new" button. (The two other buttons are "copy" and "paste" buttons to copy your change pages around.)
All these change pages (for a certain custom element) are then checked one after another in the game. That means, if any condition defined on a certain "change page" is TRUE, the defined action or element change takes place. This way, there can be different conditions to let a custom element change to a certain element, for example, by testing for a collision with more than only one element (and having your element changed to different elements for each different collision element).
(If the condition is the same on each change page, and also the "target element" is the same, and only the elements this condition is checked against are different, you can also use only one change page and use a "group element" which is defined to contain all these elements, instead of checking against each single element with its own change page. Example: Custom element changes when touching an emerald or a diamond. You can either use one change page for "touching an emerald" and one for "touching a diamond", or you could instead define a group element that contains the emerald and the diamond, and use that group element instead, requiring only one change page.)
Then there's the second "page" selectbox in the middle of the screen. This can be used in conjunction with the "change by page of" condition two rows above. It is useful if you want to change the current element X when another element Y changes. But what if element Y has more than one change page, and you want element X only to change when the change of element Y was caused by a certain change page (but not all)? In this case, you can explicitly specify the page that should cause the change. Normally, this is set to "any", so element X will always change when element Y changes, regardless of which page of Y triggered that change.
I hope it is a bit clearer now how things work here. If not, please don't hesitate to ask again!
And yes: I'm a lazy dog. I should start documenting those things. It's not as obvious as I might think that it might be... :-(
> you use them? I know they have something to do with the "page" at the bottom as well, but
> it's not clear to me, and there aren't any help pages I could find.
The concept of "change pages" works as follows:
Beside the "info", "config 1" and "config 2" tab, there's that "change" tab, where you can define conditions and actions for custom elements to change to other elements.
In many cases, it's desired or needed to have more than one page of these change definitions -- that's what "change pages" are for. Press the "new" button, and you get a new, blank page where you can define more change conditions and actions. Select them by using the selectbox left of the "new" button. (The two other buttons are "copy" and "paste" buttons to copy your change pages around.)
All these change pages (for a certain custom element) are then checked one after another in the game. That means, if any condition defined on a certain "change page" is TRUE, the defined action or element change takes place. This way, there can be different conditions to let a custom element change to a certain element, for example, by testing for a collision with more than only one element (and having your element changed to different elements for each different collision element).
(If the condition is the same on each change page, and also the "target element" is the same, and only the elements this condition is checked against are different, you can also use only one change page and use a "group element" which is defined to contain all these elements, instead of checking against each single element with its own change page. Example: Custom element changes when touching an emerald or a diamond. You can either use one change page for "touching an emerald" and one for "touching a diamond", or you could instead define a group element that contains the emerald and the diamond, and use that group element instead, requiring only one change page.)
Then there's the second "page" selectbox in the middle of the screen. This can be used in conjunction with the "change by page of" condition two rows above. It is useful if you want to change the current element X when another element Y changes. But what if element Y has more than one change page, and you want element X only to change when the change of element Y was caused by a certain change page (but not all)? In this case, you can explicitly specify the page that should cause the change. Normally, this is set to "any", so element X will always change when element Y changes, regardless of which page of Y triggered that change.
I hope it is a bit clearer now how things work here. If not, please don't hesitate to ask again!
And yes: I'm a lazy dog. I should start documenting those things. It's not as obvious as I might think that it might be... :-(
So "change by page of" might be called "change caused by [change] page X of element Y"?
Perhaps we should decide on some more clear wording for the next version's CE "Change" config screen?
EG, make the dropdown be worded as
maybe "change triggered by change page" of element "Y" page "X" etc...
Perhaps we should decide on some more clear wording for the next version's CE "Change" config screen?
EG, make the dropdown be worded as
This language seems a bit more technical than some people might like. Any suggestions?[X] "change triggered by page X" of element "Y"
Where X="ANY/1/2/3..."
etc...
maybe "change triggered by change page" of element "Y" page "X" etc...
> So "change by page of" might be called "change caused by [change] page X of element Y"?
Exactly, where "X" is the selectbox "page: [any]" two lines below.
> Perhaps we should decide on some more clear wording for the next version's CE "Change"
> config screen?
I would really like to have the wording more clear -- unfortunately, there is only limited space on the screen.
> [X] "change triggered by page X" of element "Y"
> Where X="ANY/1/2/3..."
As "change by page of" is only one of several selectbox options, we must take care not to make things too confusing for the other available options. :-/
> This language seems a bit more technical than some people might like. Any suggestions?
> maybe "change triggered by change page" of element "Y" page "X" etc...
Always check how much space would be required for the suggested text strings, and how the screen (texts, gadgets) would have to be changed accordingly...
Exactly, where "X" is the selectbox "page: [any]" two lines below.
> Perhaps we should decide on some more clear wording for the next version's CE "Change"
> config screen?
I would really like to have the wording more clear -- unfortunately, there is only limited space on the screen.
> [X] "change triggered by page X" of element "Y"
> Where X="ANY/1/2/3..."
As "change by page of" is only one of several selectbox options, we must take care not to make things too confusing for the other available options. :-/
> This language seems a bit more technical than some people might like. Any suggestions?
> maybe "change triggered by change page" of element "Y" page "X" etc...
Always check how much space would be required for the suggested text strings, and how the screen (texts, gadgets) would have to be changed accordingly...