New AGMAPI demo (version 1.4.9 released)

Check out the 64digits blog post here: http://www.64digits.com/users/index.php?userid=Alert%20Games&cmd=comments&id=273027

Version 1.4.9 FINALLY fixes all the security when sending information to the website, and when saving profiles.

Things to still work out is the highscores, and improving the multiplayer portion, including adding UDP support.

Try it out and remember to give feedback!

AGMAPI Update 1.4.7 + Demo

This update includes something special:

Branded Login GUI with multiple profile support

Other things have been improved as well:

• Checksum implementation. (Allows either dev. or anyone to test WIP versions. Keeps out hackers.)
• Internal password can personalized for your game.
• Unnecessary checking variables removed to increase portability
• Other bugfixes

A demo will be available to try in the next couple days!

There are some known issues that will hopefully be solved soon:

• Sometimes encrypted files dont read correctly.. Problem is probably with a certain character being read as something else…
• Highscores list is somewhat glitchy and not very portable. Should be redone soon to be very customizable.
• Multiplayer still isnt finished and doesnt have UDP support yet.

Stay updated on my twitter and 64digits posts!

-Mark

API update on 1.4

I didn’t update the version number, but if you want you could consider it 1.4.1

Basically I only did a couple things:

• Re-ordered a few scripts to easily delete the multiplayer scripts if you dont need them.
• Made a sample saving and loading file that saves the GP’s (achievements).

Remember to use semi-colons after assigning values, and always use the anti-decompiler for even demos! The source of the API is private so that theres not very many cheaters to deal with

AGMAPI Update 1.4

This version pretty much has what you need, with the bugs fixed up. I’ll make the blog quick; this is what was added:

• Friends lists download after you log in. But if you prefer, you can download the highscores list or nothing instead.
• Server remove check file. Stores the server info in a file, so if the game crashes or you lose connection, the next time you play it will remove the server. This is useful because it does not allow you to have 2 servers up at a time.
• Fixed some potential bugs with the frameworks.
• Fixed some bugs with the multiplayer and other things.
• Downloading avatars works good. Theyre stored in the root folder (global.appDataRoot) by default.

So that should be good to use in your games! I recommend this version, because next updates may only have features that people request later on, and some that you may make yourself. Some things that I may want to add are:

• UDP support
• Chat commands to make use of the ban list and kicking players.
• Possibly a feature to only show servers available on your friends list

Enjoy! and as always let me know if theres any bugs…. seriously.

AGMAPI Version 1.3

Some definite improvements in this update! Hopefully this will make things easier, and if not, let me know if you have a suggestion.

• Added FRAMEWORKS. This allows you to use only the stuff that you are actually going to send to the site. (Even if you are using your own coding, the framework is used to create variables possible to communicate with the site)
• Added AGMaction(actionconstant); Instead of doing all the request information in the objects, I combined them all into one script. This makes it easy to find the coding to send the requests, and use them in your own objects if you prefer.
• Fixed some bugs. Honestly I dont remember what they all were….
• Added Avatar downloading! They download quite fast and easily with their user ID as the argument of downloadAvatar(id); They download to the appdata folder by default, but no caching or displaying is implemented. You can easily code that in though.
• Added a ‘save password?’ option
• The security object is referenced by a script, so you can easily combine your own security object to it.

I also put up the ani-decompiler and obfuscator for you to use. PLEASE use at least the anti-dec on your EXE demos. Letting out the source just makes it easier to cheat :/

I hope you enjoy this version! Here’s some stuff to look forward to in the next release though:

• Downloading friends lists, and optionally what they are playing. Hey, why not; Lets make a new steam while we’re at it…
• Packet security. Especially on the join sequence and other important infomation, it would be good to implement more security.
• Better multiplayer example. Right now the actual multiplayer gameplay coding is terrible. Joining, leaving, chatting, etc. all works great.
• UDP support. Right now only TCP is enabled. UDP would help for things like adjusting direction on players/enemies, and when there are a lot of things going on in the game
• Add some common chat commands. Such as keeping a ban list.
• Storing values in a DS list, rather than an inefficient game maker array. Specifically for the highscore lists and server list. (EDIT Arrays seem to actually be faster.)

Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts/questions!

AGMAPI Update 1.2!

Fixed a few things. Heres the scoop:

-Fixed bugs with the lobby code, such as more than 2 players joining, and stuff.

-Fixed some chat problems, but there are still a couple display issues to work out.

-Made it easier (and compatible) to go on either testing (localhost), or online.

-Fixed some multiplayer data transmit problems, so now you can actually test it.

Some things coming to the next version:

-Buffer encrypting of packets. Probably implemented to login sequence, but also will have it optional for things such as trading things. Nobody likes cheaters.

-Optional posting to the players’s feed. This will be available on the homepage of AlertGames.net

-Option for the player to save their password on the computer.

-Possibly an upgrade to the simple multiplayer example lol.

Other things:

Im thinking since there is a lot offered in this API, I will probably post a video explaining what to do with it, so you dont have to do a lot of reading in the documentation.

This API will help to make more multiplayer games with a whole lot of features. I’m really excited for things to get going!

Minor Setback >:(

So after testing the time verification option I’m making for the API, I found out something discouraging.

It turns out that if a semicolon is in the right place within a sent string from the game, it will return a 406 error…

Edited: After some research, I also found out that HTML tags would also trip the error, and so I’m also adding tag characters to the list of switching out. This mod_security does help security, but also hinders how easily data can be sent. Fortunately I found all of this out before releasing the API…

In order to prevent this from possibly happening I’m updating all my scripts to sub. out the semicolons. It is a hassle, but has to be done

Better news, however, is that the multiplayer was tested and is looking really good. It will need some more testing when it comes to the way to efficiently send gameplay stuff such as bullets and movement. But everything else is looking really good. And for an added bonus, the security is 100x better than reflects’!

Be sure to keep preparing your games for some multiplayer goodness!

Black Friday Update (Joining sequence)

Today I will be hopefully testing with someone the new join sequence. The last version tried to send and receive data at the same time while joining, which made it very hard to establish a connection.

This new version fixes that issue. Essentially this is how the joining procedure works:

• Client Requests join ->Host approves, after double checking if they are banned or if there is enough space in the lobby.
• After connected, the client sends their information (name, rank, version, game id, etc) -> Host checks if version doesnt match, kicks if it does.
• Now the Host needs to send all players’ data to the new player, and the new player’s data to all the other players.
• The other players then receive the new player and we are done! Ready to start playing!

As you can see it is a bit more complicated than you would think, but that is the whole point of this bundle of crap. Doing all the hard work so we can focus on something we like to do: make cool games!

In next versions I will be combining more things into scripts to keep the coding uncluttered. Objects pretty much handle the code of the sequences at the moment, but will rely on more scripts to make it easier to edit. It is easy to edit right now, but it will be even easier if everything you would need to edit is categorized into scripts

Keep in touch! Next blog will most likely be about the release of Skydiver Mach II: AG. Will be fun!

A few minor API updates

I cleaned up the API a little bit to make it more organized and consistent. But the most important is yet to come… probably because it is kinda hard to test over the internet.

The highscores system is added
Achievements system has been tested, but could use a little better documentation
Scripts more organized, and documented

What I need to do is test a potentially better system for joining a session. Last time we tried joining games, it didn’t always work and sometimes took almost random number of tries before it magically joined you in. I was gonna try a loop method of joining once or twice with a custom timeout, and to try to make it not freeze the game. CPS games gave me an example of his new joining sequence, which is similar to what I was thinking of doing. So I will update it soon so we can test it out.

Other than that, I took out saudio and supersound from the GMK. I put a SG audio example in a separate ZIP in case anyone wanted to use it. I may also release a non-multiplayer version of the engine, so that it is easy to add to a game for just the login, highscores, and achievements.

Thanks for checking this out!

Returning after 5 years

I haven’t published a blog on here in over 5 years! Wow.

I decided to return to this blog to document changes if people want to see more in-depth stuff about the API im programming. That way everything is in one place and you can see what was changed and what is planning to be changed.

I’ll be uploading the new AGMAPI version tonight so here are some details of what will be available and what im planning on adding soon when needed:

• Highscores table of scores: top, friends, and rivals
• Example of submitting score and achievements
• Saving passwords works correctly
• All the other multiplayer features seem to be working

Heres some things that need to be fixed:

• Choosing profiles that youve signed in with from a list
• Some multiplayer sending efficiency
• Some multiplayer features

Things to be added at some point

• Retrieving the GP’s theyve earned
• Getting their friends list, friends online list, and friends playing this game
• Test using the time check on the request checksum for added security

So for anyone who isn’t really following me, my plan is to release the new api version so other people can start testing and using it. I might also release a public beta, as a closed-source executable to test out the hosting and joining system.

This means that I will need to finish up the display of the servers on the web site to test the whole system. After this I can start implementing the new system into the older games and then new games for you to play!

Till next time