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Designing Games with GameMaker
Designing Games with GameMaker

More main actions

Some additional main actions are available in advanced mode. The following actions are added:

Set Time Line
With this action you set the particular time line for an instance of an object. You indicate the time line and the starting position within the time line (0 is the beginning). Also you indicate whether the time line should start immediately and whether it should loop at the end.

Time Line Position
With this action you can change the position in the current time line (either absolute or relative). This can be used to skip certain parts of the time line or to repeat certain parts.

Time Line Speed
With this action you can change the speed of the time line (either absolute or relative). A speed of 1 is the normal speed. When you e.g. set it to 2 the actions will happen twice as fast and when you set it to 0.5 twice as slow. You can also set a negative speed, in which case the time line is played backwards.

Start Time Line
This action starts the time line from its current position (if it is paused or stopped).

Pause Time Line
This action pauses the time line. Use the start action to let it continue.

Stop Time Line
This action stops the time line and sets the position back to 0.

Splash Text
With this action you can show a text file. This can either be a .txt file or a .rtf (Rich Text Format) file (no images or embedded objects are shown though). You specify the file name. Make sure the file exists. You should either distribute it with the game or include it in the game through Include Files in the Resources menu. (Note that no scrollbar will be shown nor is there another way to scroll the text. So the text must fit the window.) This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Splash Image
With this action you can show an image file. Most common image file types are supported. You specify the file name. Make sure the file exists. You should either distribute it with the game or include it in the game through Include Files in the Resources menu. You can e.g. use this to create a series of images as help for your game. Not including the images in the game itself will reduce game size and improve game loading time. This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Splash Webpage
With this action you can show a webpage. You provide the url and whether it should be shown in the game window or in the default web browser. The url can be the address of a website, for example http://www.yoyogames.com) or can be the file name for a local html file. Note however that you must provide the full path for this to work (which is not the case for the other splash actions). So you best use as url something like "" + working_directory + "\index.html". (The first two quotes are required to indicate this is an expression rather than a string.) You should either distribute the file with the game or include it in the game through Include Files in the Resources menu. You can e.g. use this to create fancy help pages for your game. This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Splash Video
With this action you can show a video/movie file. You specify the file name and whether is must be looped. Make sure the video file exists. You should either distribute it with the game or include it in the game through Include Files in the Resources menu. This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Splash Settings
With this action you can change certain settings for the splash screens that you display with the previous actions. You can provide the caption for the help window (only when it is shown in a separate normal window), you can indicate where the splash screens must be shown (inside the game window, in a normal window, or full screen), you can indicate whether a close button must be shown in the top right corner of the splash screen and whether pressing the escape key or clicking with a mouse in the splash screen will close the splash screen. (For web pages clicking with the mouse will not work nor will the escape key work unless the close button is shown.) This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Replace Sprite
This action can be used to replace a sprite from the contents of a file. You indicate the sprite you want to replace, the filename and the number of subimages in the sprite. Many different images file formats are supported, e.g. .bmp, .jpg, .tif, and .gif. For a gif file the number of subimages is automatically decided based on the number of subimages in the gif file. Other settings for the sprite, e.g. whether it is transparent or not, are not changed. You can use this action to avoid storing all sprites in the program itself. For example, at the beginning of a level you can replace sprites by the actual character sprites you want to use. DON'T change a sprite that is at that moment being used in an instance in the room. This might give unwanted effects with collisions. This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Replace Sound
With this action you can replace a sound by the contents of a file (.wav, .mid, or .mp3). You specify the sound and the filename. This avoids having to store all the sounds in the game itself. For example, you can use different pieces of background music and pick the one you want to play. DON'T change a sound while it is playing. This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

Replace Background
With this action you can replace a background by the contents of a file. Many different images file formats are supported, e.g. .bmp, .jpg, .tif, and .gif. You specify the background and the filename. This avoids having to store all the backgrounds in the game itself. DON'T change a background that is visible. This action is only available in the Standard Edition.

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