Problems with full-screen

[u9]

There are some problems when running full-screen. If I alt-tab from the application i get this error

(Dialog title: stub)

Run-time error '-2147024866 (8007001e)':

Automation error
The system cannot read from the specified device.

when running a compiled version. Running from the IDE i get

** ERROR **
Automation error
The system cannot read from the specified device.
Line: 130 Column :2

Key terminated
Mouse Terminated

On line 130 is Mouse.update. Also it might seem strange that key and mouse terminate, but not graphics. But maybe that is some cleanup that you do when a program crashes.

Also, my gf ran a compiled version in full-screen in 1024x768 which was ok, then she tried a compiled version with 800x600 resolution and she got a black screen where only the text was visible. This same version ran ok on my computer.

Another problem I am having is that i get lots of artifacts shining through from the desktop on some frames. Especially the blinking network icon (when there is traffic) and also if i have this poor gif animation opened in firefox or ie it shines through.

Hartnell is also having problems with the mouse not working in full-screen.

[Guilect]

If I alt-tab from the application

Well don't do that.

What is happening is the running program is trying to do something with the screen but, the screen is not avaiable because you alt-tabbed out of it.
I could disable alt-tab when in full screen mode.
Or you could check if the application still has focus before rendering or clearing the screen; like wise before calling keyboard or mouse calls.
I'll also see what B2D can do in an automatic way to handle this.

maybe that is some cleanup that you do when a program crashes.

Correct. From the IDE if an error is reported Brutus2D will terminate any running objects to keep things clean.

she got a black screen

What kind of video card does that PC have?
What kind of video card do you have?

lots of artifacts shining through

Is this from the IDE; this is not so unexpected then.
If from a compiled exe then it is a different matter.

Hartnell is also having problems with the mouse not working in full-screen

Hartnell are you using the latest version of B2D; v1.7.1?
If not give that a try.
brutus.pewtersoftware.com/upload/files/Brutus2D171beta.exe

[u9]

I'll check her gfx card. I'm using an ati radeon 7000 i think it is called. Actually the artifacts shine through both when compiled and from the IDE. But i didn't notice it so well from the ide because most of the time the ide is covering the entire screen. It is only animations that come through. Here's a screen shot when i was viewing this image. (sorry the previous link didn't work).

[Guilect]

Confirmed.

Full Screen mode uses exclusive mode to have full control of the screen. Interesting....

[Guilect]

Looks like it is now fixed.

Give this a try.
Unzip both files to B2D install directory.
Fixes apply to both IDE and exe's.

brutus.pewtersoftware.com/upload/files/v171beta.zip

[u9]

Works like a charm. I cannot test the compiled version though, because includes don't seem to work in the beta.

A quick question. Does "re-initializing" particle emitters waist memory? After i have played my new cool game for a while the fps seem to drop, and i thought it might be because when ever i shoot a missile i initialize a particle emitter, one that has previously been used. The reason is that i cannot clear/remove a particle emitter, so i figured i cannot keep loading emitters again and again, so i tried just to initialize one i have previously used that has emitted all it's particles.

[Guilect]

I just tried a fresh install of v1.7 and placed the two v1.7.1 beta files in it; loaded your v0.7 asteroids; made an exe of it; and it ran fine.

Regarding particle emitters, the biggest resource used is the image. If you are re-using the same loaded image then there should be no memory drain. Re-initializing an emitter might redimension an array but, again nothing that I would imagine should bring the fps down.

You might consider setting the ".SetLoop" value of an emitter to False when you are done with it to stop it from drawing. Then use initialize to start it again.