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[rybray]

I would like to know how global variables work, the Wiki didn't help me very much and there dont seem to be good youtube tutorials (id love to make one...if i understood how they worked).

Global variables: what are they, how do they work? What functions do they have in a custom story?

Global variables are like any other variable, but more like a local variable.

Normal Variable: int x = 5;
Local Variable: SetLocalVarInt("x", 5);
Global Variable: SetGlobalVarInt("x", 5);

Global variables are used in a custom story to "connect" all the maps together in a sense. Lets say you pick a path between two on a map called "Map01". The path you pick leads you back to the same track you were on where these two paths join up again. If you played Gears of War, then you'll know what I'm talking about. But let's say the path you choose alters later gameplay. Lets say there's a monster boss at the end of the game. If you choose "Path01", then you have found the monster's weakness, else if you chose "Path02", then you didn't do what you did when going to "Path01". But the boss is in "Map02", the second map.

The computer needs to transfer the data of the choice you made in "Map01" to "Map02" where you fight the boss. This is why there are global variables so that data can be altered throughout multiple maps in a custom story without worrying about the connection between all of them.

To set up global variables, you need to make sure that you make a file in your custom story's "maps" folder called "global.hps". Where the ending extension is ".hps" and isn't part of the actual name. In there, you can set a global variable up like this:

Code: (Select All)

void OnGameStart()
{
     SetGlobalVarInt("Global01", 0);
}

Then you can access this data in whatever script files for your maps are, which should be in the same folder with this "global.hps". You can use "AddGlobalVarInt("Global01", 1);" to chance the value of it much like the way local variables work.

I hope this helps you, and if you have any questions, ask away!

I'm glad you mention GoW, because I probably wouldn't have understood unless you said that

So by using the "AddGlobalVarInt("Global01", 1);" you change its value from 0 to 1, causing whatever you want to happen. It seems like this can be used to create branching story paths in custom stories, to an extent at least.

If you wanted larger changes to occur in a map, would it make more sense just to take the map and script file and just alter them totally and have the new map load instead of writing script for global variables?