Mods, tools, and a big GMEdit update!

Where did January go anyway

January was a busy month!

I was originally going to publish this update two weeks ago, but I thought I’d put it off until I release the GMEdit update, and then I decided to add a few things to it, and then a few more things, and - lo and behold - I only released it on 31st.

GameMaker extensions

Not all too much happened here since most of my free time was spent on GMEdit

• I released a GMS2-compatible version of my clipping region shader example!
  A notable GMS1➜GMS2 change is that primitives no longer use texture coordinates, meaning that you need different versions of a shader - one for textured geometry and one for untextured.

• I released an extension that lets you get data from TheEyeTribe tracker!
  Given that the company was bought out by Oculus in 2016 and was never heard from ever again, this is likely only useful to the one person that paid for development of the extension.

• I added GMS2.3 support to my BMFont➜GM converter!
  With GMS2.3 having added even more options to fonts the tool had become a little less useful, but it is still good for adding effects to fonts.

GMEdit

I released a big GMEdit update! It brings auto-completion and error checking to the next level by greatly expanding support for type information.

So, if you state that your player object has an array of obj_item by doing

items = []; /// @is {obj_item[]}

GMEdit will then know to show you completions for obj_item’s variables when you access them from there, no matter how complicated the code is:

Showing variables from obj_item on complex field access

Thanks to Anton’s contributions, GMEdit is aware of types in almost every built-in function, which will catch plenty of trivial and less-trivial errors related to mixing up argument types,

Warning about mixed up arguments (L2) and using wrong blend mode (L4)

and you can specify types for your own scripts and variables using JSDoc tags.

I also added #RrGgBb color literals (which make it easier to copy-paste colors from image editors into your code) and an experimental live update mode for linter that allows it to detect small changes (like adding/removing local variables) without having to save the file:

Live auto-completion and error checks while typing the code

Nova Drift mod

I added a few options to my Nova Drift Tweaks mod!

First, the circular healthbars:

As you may or may not know, the most efficient way to draw a circle is to not draw a circle. Based on an old blog post of mine, these are drawn as 1..5-triangle primitives with a texture coming from an appropriate-looking sprite.

Then, SHIP LEGS:

Originally a jest at people making “I can’t believe this is not a twin-stick shooter” comments on Nova Drift discussions / reviews, the option enables the player to move in any direction but gives the ship comical, stubby legs to scuttle with.

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On a closing note, here’s a doodle from some time ago:

See you later!