Hi

I have been trying to call a DLL called Bigdll.dll that I downloaded from Acknex WDL & Dll. The DLL says that it 'plays mp3, wav, wmv, midi, ogg etc. with all the engine versions'. Would there be an expert who could tell me what I am doing wrong?

1. Do I need to register a DLL for it work and how is this achieved?

When I attempt to call the DLL using the following CScript code:

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

var video_mode = 7; // 800x600 pixels
var video_depth = 32; // 32 bit mode

var walk_percentage;
var death_percentage;
var success = 0;
var_nsave dll_handle;


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

string work21_wmb = <work21.wmb>;

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

text deletion_txt
{
pos_x = 200;
pos_y = 200;
//font = std_font;
flags = visible;
}
//dllfunction var buck_palace(x);

starter terminate_file
//{
dll_handle = dll_open ("C:\\Program Files\\GStudio6\\Tutorials\\cscript\\cscript_samples\\samples\\workshop21\\Bigdll.dll");
//while (key_t==0) {wait(1);}
//success = happy_beep ("c:\\somefile.txt");
//if(success==0)
//{
//deletion_txt.string = "The file was deleted sucessfully";
//}
//else // success = -1 here
//{
// deletion_txt.string = "Error while trying to delete the file!";
//}
//sleep (3);
//deletion_txt.visible = off;
//dll_close (dll_handle);
}

I get the following Error in the syntax checker results at the bottom of the page:

Error (29)Keyword unknown starter

The DLL has been placed in my work directory.

2. My second question is how do I correct this error?

Thanks

D

First of all, "starter terminate_file" should be replaced with

function terminate_file_startup()

George

Thanks very much for your help. I have been struggling with DLLs for months now and think I have reached the limits of my abilities in this area. I had thought of getting someone e.g. on Elance, to do some paid work on this for me but suspect the average person would not know GameStudio that well. Are their gamestudio contractors out there? Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks again

D

Sorry for the delay - I have upgraded my computers and I didn't have internet access. You can post your request in the "Jobs Offered" section of the forum.

I believe that .dll (Bigdll.dll) was created by the 3DGS forum user TripleX (check name).

There should be a thread for Bigdll, in the 'Contributions' section of this forum.
You should be able to find the latest version there.

*I would not attempt to use Bigdll with A7 and / or Lite-C without more information.
I think 3DGS versions 6.31.4, 6.40.5, 6.5 (buggy) and 6.60 are OK for Bigdll, but check that or experiment.

If you are using C-Script .wdl, you should have what I refer to as a 'main' file, a .wdl which contains function main.
Try to 'include' your scripts in that file before functions in that file.
Try to add this line near the top of the 'main' .wdl and place Bigdll.dll in your project directory (folder) not the work directory:
plugindir = "."; // look for and automatically open plugins in current project directory
With that, you shouldn't need to explicitly open the dll with the dll_open function.
So you would probably nix the starter terminate_file and the dll_handle = dll_open(...) line.

The Bigdll plugin distribution should contain a .wdl 'interface' file (FreeDll.wdl?) with dllfunction C-Script declarations.
Place that .wdl in your project directory (the directory containing the 'main' wdl) and 'include' it in the main .wdl file near the top, before functions, maybe right after the plugindir = line:
include <FreeDll.wdl>;
Then you should be able to use the functions declared in FreeDll.wdl (check name in newer versions). There should be brief instructions in that file also.

If the .dll is opened or accessed 'automatically' and 'correctly' there should probably be a brief message as an indication in the white startup window when you start the engine.

Normally, you do not have to 'register' 3DGS .dlls, I think.

I recommend that you do not use the work directory. Use a separate project directory and sub directories in that directory to organize assets.

If you are using an older version of 3DGS, some plugin .dlls, like Bigdll.dll may not work.

I use 3DGS version 6.60 and work with .wdl on occasion (no A7 or Lite C yet). In the past, I have used the 3DGS C / C++ SDK to write a few plugin .dlls. There are some questions, I can not answer, or will not answer. There is some help, I can not offer, or will not offer. However, if you need a bit of free, minor assistance,...