Windows Prevent layer from updating until: "x"

[Ian Schimnoski]

So I read the guidelines and it said I could ask for help getting the most out of this product but I'm new here and this is my first post, so, I'm hoping it's in the right place.

Here goes: in a game I used to play on the gamecube abbreviated as: "SAB2" the main protagonist in it created a blue light trail which allowed them to draw in the the air with this transparent tube of blue light whenever they jumped.

I used to think about how to replicate that in a 2D plane, and I know that when you don't update a frame but you have a moving subject: it creates a smear line, so I was wondering if it would at all be possible to tell a layer to stop updating, and then to have a semi transparent blue circle follow the player around, and then put that layer above the main game layer.

Specifically I was wondering if it would be possible with minimal programming.(?)

If this thread is in the wrong place could you please help me direct it to the best place to get the best help with my question/problem?

Specifically I want to know if I can create a screen which does not clear the graphics, until a specific event occurs, and then place the output of that screen over top the main screen with the background as a transparency. Thank you for your time, and sorry if I misunderstood the rules of this forum. I thought this thread would be appropriate since it's essentially about menu navigation and toggle-able options although, these options in particular may or may not be a tall order, and if they are, I apologize.

 

[Binsk]

You might be better off using a surface. You can create a surface and render to it whenever you draw a trail. Surfaces only update when you tell them to.

If you draw everything full opacity then draw the surface with limited opacity then you can have a transparent trail with equal opacity across it, even at overlaps.

You have to render the surface manually, however, unlike a layer.

 

[Ian Schimnoski]

You might be better off using a surface. You can create a surface and render to it whenever you draw a trail. Surfaces only update when you tell them to.

If you draw everything full opacity then draw the surface with limited opacity then you can have a transparent trail with equal opacity across it, even at overlaps.

You have to render the surface manually, however, unlike a layer.

Okay and I presume this is well documented? I used to use the free version of the first game maker back in middle school, and became familiar with what I had, but, it's been a long time and I still consider myself a newb even though I'm legally old enough to drink now [but don't worry about that; I refuse to touch alchohol unless it's for antiseptic purposes]. Do you have any tutorials you think are the best?

If so can you link to them?

I like tutorial vids and dnd systems with gml subsystems like GameMaker, because I tend to give myself burnout easily so I windup too tired to learn, so instead I memorize patterns and then recombine them to create art. I can do programming and math [and I've managed to impress some people] but it takes a long time and makes me stressed, because I'm constantly second guessing myself

P.S: I have ADHD and Aspergers, so I try to stay on topic but it's with a sinusoidal interference pattern as I go off on mini-tangents and back

 

[Posh Indie]

There was a blog post by @Mike about surfaces from 2018:
https://www.yoyogames.com/blog/493/using-surfaces

I am hesitant to recommend anything unofficial because I have not used any of the resources myself. That said, I would trust the above as he is a very smart guy and was a part of Yoyo Games before (I have not had any issues with surfaces behaving differently over time, so it should still be applicable).

 

[Ian Schimnoski]

There was a blog post by @Mike about surfaces from 2018:
https://www.yoyogames.com/blog/493/using-surfaces

I am hesitant to recommend anything unofficial because I have not used any of the resources myself. That said, I would trust the above as he is a very smart guy and was a part of Yoyo Games before (I have not had any issues with surfaces behaving differently over time, so it should still be applicable).

I'll check this out