Dating Sim Engine Customization

[comicsansdev]

Hello! I'm probably just not looking in the right places, but I have some questions.

I'm trying to figure out how to customize the Dating Sim Engine using image mapping like for the rest of the UI. I know how to do that, but I'm not sure how to go about doing the same thing for the Dating Sim Engine. I'm also not entirely sure how to use that engine to affect character interactions and the like? This is all for NaNoRenO, so I'm just trying to make sure that I understand how all of this works. I don't like the standard look of it for what I'm planning.

The standard layout looks like this - (http://40.media.tumblr.com/d01debba71a8 ... 2_1280.png).
I'd like it to look at little like this (http://41.media.tumblr.com/25bbd4df084e ... b_1280.jpg) - not exactly, but you get the idea hopefully.

Basically I just really need help figuring out how to do stats, have them affect the story and interactions, and image map the screen.

Thank you, and I should mention that I'm still relatively new to Ren'py and I don't pick up coding easily, so please be very simple when explaining things. Otherwise I'll just feel dumb asking for clarification on things. Step-by-step is most helpful for me, but clear instruction works too.

[Shakezula]

Well it looks like the 2 screens aren't too different, you can just probably edit the dse screens, (which are defined and ripe for editing in the dse .rpy files) with your own image resources that you used to make that custom screen. the only major differences are instead of a 'vbox' (frame with objects inside lined up in vertical order) with statistics over day planner, its an 'hbox' (horizontal frame order) with stats next to day planner and instead of textbuttons (buttons labeled with theme-colored plain text) they are imagebuttons (buttons represented by clickable images).

you can check out how to make fully customizable imagebuttons in the documentation specifically here, although you may need to read starting from the top and skip down to imagebuttons: http://www.renpy.org/doc/html/screens.html#imagebutton hbox and vbox are alphabetically ordered on that same page; I suspect that that single page contains all you need to know, and it's layed out fairly comprehensively (I'm also a renpy newb )

So you can continue to code your game with DSE the way it is according to it's documentation, and just slowly edit the planner screens with your own resources, as they affect the same variables and fields, so it will work totally the same. as you edit things one by one, press shift + r to see your changes almost immediately, which will help you fine tune the screen and see what you still need help with, (although the answer will always be somewhere in the documentation).

If you have any specific errors you can't seem to figure out however, come on back, and we'll help you figure 'em out.

[comicsansdev]

hi! sorry for taking so long to reply - I've been trying to wrap my head around it so I'd actually have something to show you, but the truth is, I'm not really a "read and learn" learner. I learn visually, by actually seeing the code. That's pretty much the only time things like coding click with me...so I've read through the document and looked at the DSE files and none of it really turning on any lights...

I have no clue where any of the imagebutton codes go, or how they function. I can read through the documents all day and night, but I can't understand it unless I'm given actual examples. I've looked through the forums, but everyone that answers a question about customizing the DSE menus gives pretty much the same answer: read the documentation. Or they and the person asking the question have experience with coding beyond what my experience is, or the asker is a logical learner and grasps it easier.

[runeraccoon]

Hi there! I wonder if you've checked out this sample made of several basic cookbook codes, including the scheduler: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 51&t=22393

Or, to further explore about imagebuttons, this thread by Leon (adapted from Uncle Mugen's imagemap tutorial): http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 51&t=22565

I think these examples are as newbie-friendly as it gets! I'm also learning in the same direction as you are (with the same visual limitations), so let me know if these actually help.
Another suggestion would be to partner with a programmer, I guess? :">