ID:1920627
 
(See the best response by Lummox JR.)
Hey, guys! I hope this is the right place to post this but I'm just looking for a bit of advice. From what I remember, the last time I was tinkering around with BYOND, interfaces were still primarily used. I know a lot of that has changed and BYOND itself has become much more complex with HTML5 and on-screen objects. My question is: what does that make the *new* best ways to do things like an opening interface?

For example, what do people nowadays use for intro windows (to create a character, log in, etc.)? I figure that most of the in-game inferfaces (such as menus) and HUDs are all on screen. Honestly, I just feel a bit out of the loop. Could anyone help me out by linking to some more information/tutorials?

Thanks :)

EDIT: Another questions: for the intro window, I'd like a GIF to appear and at the end of the GIF, it to close and then there are the buttons to create, log in, etc. What would be the best way to go about that?
Best response
The webclient is capable of translating your interface, so you can use a regular Dream Seeker interface and, if you wish, augment it with more controls. You can also create an entirely different webclient-only interface, so that webclients will use that and Dream Seeker clients will use the DS style.

Menus are one control that is not yet supported in the webclient, nor is it yet included in the skin translator. But most other controls are included.

HUD objects are of course fully supported, with the exception that secondary map controls aren't yet supported in the webclient--but that's coming very soon.

If you want to create brand new controls for the webclient, Doohl has several tutorials, although his tutorial series has been on hold for a bit. (I hope he'll pick it up again, as it had some really good information.)

As for the .gif question, that's rather more difficult. I get the impression you'd want to use that as a sort of intro movie, but Dream Seeker would be very ill-suited to that use. I would suggest instead trying to do that kind of thing in a browser window; in the webclient, it'd be even better to make a custom control for it.
Thanks for the information! To be completely honest, your post is the first time I've seen the term "webclient" being thrown around. Could you possibly give me more information as to what it actually is? Is it a whole separate thing than Dream Seeker? Is it actually web (IE) based like a browser game?
Indeed you have been out of the loop, then.

The webclient is basically the evolution of our old Flash client project, except as Flash has been dying we've transitioned it to HTML5. It can play games in the browser (though they have to be hosted in the regular software). There are only a handful of things the webclient can't do that DS can; for the most part, the webclient is actually more capable and it's highly extensible as well.

The webclient doc is (still, for the moment) here: http://files.byondhome.com/LummoxJR/webclient_doc.html

This is still a beta feature, so it has to be enabled in Dream Daemon when you host.
I was actually just reading that doc! I poked around with the Daemon and saw what it was like for myself. It's really cool! I also read somewhere that tablets and phones can support it too, correct? If so, that's very, very cool.

I've slowly been trying to transition everything that I had in old interfaces into either on screen objects or I suppose I'll have to really tinker around with the new HTML5 features.

Getting back to one of my original questions; the interface window that I originally tried to fill with a GIF now displays the gif perfectly in the webclient. The only problem really being that it loops. Is there a way to make it so it plays once and then the window closes? Plus, can you add actual video now?

What did you mean by "browser window" before?
In response to Akira Sieghart
Akira Sieghart wrote:
Getting back to one of my original questions; the interface window that I originally tried to fill with a GIF now displays the gif perfectly in the webclient. The only problem really being that it loops. Is there a way to make it so it plays once and then the window closes?

As far as I know, there isn't any kind of "signal" built into browsers that would allow them to detect when a .gif is finished animating, so no. (Though you can at the very least tell the .gif not to loop.) You would have to time it.

Plus, can you add actual video now?

Yes, you can use video with the webclient. On DS it's shakier because you'd have to get it to play in a browser control, but it's possible to force the embedded browser to use "Edge" mode so it supports modern HTML.

What did you mean by "browser window" before?

I meant a browser control, the classic browse() output for showing true HTML content.
Thank you! Any ideas how to tell the GIF to not loop and how to time it? :S

Also, I'm noticing something odd. When I open my game in DS, everything works and looks proper. However, when I open the game in the webclient, when I move around, some of the tiles act up. They sort of look like to shifting. It's a bit hard to explain but hopefully you get what I'm trying to say.
In response to Akira Sieghart
Akira Sieghart wrote:
Thank you! Any ideas how to tell the GIF to not loop and how to time it? :S

Telling it not to loop is done through whatever tool you use to create it. Timing it is just a matter of using sleep() or spawn() or what have you, but frankly it's a terrible method; it won't sync up well with the end of the .gif so the timing will tend to be off one way or the other. What you really want is something with an event-driven approach, but .gifs don't (AFAIK) support that.

Also, I'm noticing something odd. When I open my game in DS, everything works and looks proper. However, when I open the game in the webclient, when I move around, some of the tiles act up. They sort of look like to shifting. It's a bit hard to explain but hopefully you get what I'm trying to say.

The webclient is in beta so there may be some oddities. I'm still fixing bugs from the last major change to it. I don't really get what you're trying to say, though, so maybe a graphic would help. Just search the forums for stuff about recording GIFs and I'm sure you'll find loads of information.
I managed to record a GIF of what I was trying to explain:

http://gfycat.com/ShinyRapidDairycow

It seems that it only happens when moving near that one type of tile. It's a lot more prominent when moving right. You can see the vertical lines shifting.
What you're seeing is a scaling artifact. I intend to look at StageXL soon and see if there's a way to prevent that.
In response to Lummox JR
Lummox JR wrote:
What you're seeing is a scaling artifact. I intend to look at StageXL soon and see if there's a way to prevent that.

Alright, so no fix in the meantime? No biggie.
I actually have a separate question: I'm currently redesigning what players see when the first connect to the server. I'd like for them to be greeted by a DMF window asking for a Username and Password but I'm a bit confused on how to do it. The tutorial I'm following for the username/password system is:

http://www.byond.com/developer/Yusuke13/PasswordLoginDemo