Pausing playtime while in menu

[Bobadubub 1]

Hi all, i'm looking for a little help.

 

In my project the player must avoid an antagonist that is chasing them for 60 seconds before giving up.

The event relies on tracking the $game_system.playtime variable to change a switch when a certain time is reached.

(this is all done using other people's scripts; I have almost no scripting knowledge)

 

Unfortunately, it is possible to open your menu to freeze event movement while playtime continues to climb, go make a cup of coffee, and come back to the antagonist giving up with no effort.

 

I would like to have playtime paused while in the menu so this is not possible.

(I could only find custom pause screen scripts in my search which is NOT what I want, I want the playtime paused while in the default menu.)

 

Thanks!

[Aletheos 41]

class Scene_Map < Scene_Base
  alias ale2501_start start unless $@
  alias ale2501_call_menu call_menu unless $@

  def start
    ale2501_start  #Do whatever start normally does
    @old_frame_count ||= 0  #Set the symbol old_frame_count to a value
    Graphics.frame_count = @old_frame_count  #Set the current frame count to the old frame count
  end
  
  def call_menu
    @old_frame_count = Graphics.frame_count  #Set the old frame count to the current frame count
    ale2501_call_menu  #Call the menu as normal
  end
end

The Game_System.playtime method uses Graphics.frame_count / Graphics.frame_rate to calculate playtime in seconds

When you close the menu, the Scene_Map.start method is called again.

And, of course, call_menu does exactly what you think it does.

 

Does this satisfy your request?

 

EDIT: ...and as per usual, my solutions are not safe for saving. When reloading a saved game, the @old_frame_counter will be undefined again, and reset the time to 0.

That's less than desirable, sorry. One solution is to save the Graphics.frame_counter value in a variable, without using scripts. But, I might have another idea. Be back in a sec...

class Scene_Map < Scene_Base
  alias ale2501_call_menu call_menu unless $@
  
  def call_menu
    Old_Frame_Count.set(Graphics.frame_count)
    ale2501_call_menu
  end
end

class Scene_Menu < Scene_MenuBase
  def update
    super
    Graphics.frame_count = Old_Frame_Count.get
  end
end

module Old_Frame_Count
  def self.set(value)
    @old_frame_count = value
  end
  
  def self.get
    @old_frame_count
  end
end

Version 2. Yay for modules. This should work much better. Now it continuously sets the frame counter value so long as the menu is open. Also, since you have to open the menu

before it can be open, the value is set from the current frame counter, so it should be safe with old save files. Time is now properly stopped while the menu is open.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Aletheos

[Bobadubub 1]

Wow thanks! This appears to do the trick.

 

Thank you very much for your time, and for your explanation.

[Aletheos 41]

I'm glad it was helpful. Please tell me if you find any bugs.

[Rikifive 3,391]

 This thread is closed, due to being solved. If for some reason anybody would like to re-open this thread, just send me a PM. (=

If you'll find bugs or/and just want to add something, feel free to message me and I'll reopen the thread for you. (=