Tutorial 1.6: Value Text

Value Text

Some symbols have reminder texts that are displayed alongside them, such as Thief:

The yellow number represents the number that will be added to Thief's value_bonus when the symbol is destroyed, in this case, 4.

We actually want to give Cool Symbol reminder text that is very similar to that of the Thief symbol. To achieve this, we'll start by adding a value_text variable to our script file:

extends "res://Mod Data.gd"

func _init():
	mod_type = "symbol"
	type = "cool_symbol"
	inherit_effects = false
	inherit_art = false
	inherit_groups = false
	inherit_description = false
	display_name = "Cool Symbol"
	localized_names = {}
	value = 5
	description = ""
	localized_descriptions = {}
	value_text = {}
	values = []
	rarity = "none"
	groups = []
	effects = [
	{"comparisons": [{"a": "destroyed", "b": true}], "value_to_change": "value_bonus", "diff": 25},
	{"effect_type": "adjacent_symbols", "comparisons": [{"a": "type", "b": "coin"}], "value_to_change": "destroyed", "diff": true, "anim": "bounce", "anim_targets": "adjacent_symbol"},
	{"effect_type": "adjacent_symbols", "comparisons": [{"a": "type", "b": "cat"}], "value_to_change": "permanent_bonus", "diff": 2, "anim": "circle", "anim_targets": "adjacent_symbol"},
	{"value_to_change": "permanent_multiplier", "anim": "shake", "diff": {"starting_value": 2, "var_math": [{"+": "times_displayed"}]}},
	]

The actual line that the value_text is on doesn't matter (so long as it's indented and after func _init():), in this case, we put it on the line just after localized_descriptions

Let's make the reminder text display double the number of times Cool Symbol has been displayed. To do this, we'll assign the following to value_text:

value_text = {"color": "symbol_reminder_up_text", "value": {"starting_value": 2, "var_math": [{"*": "times_displayed"}]}}

Let's break this down.

The "color" variable has to be a string. It either needs to be a six-character hex code ("color": "FF0000" would be red, for example) or one of the modifiable colors in the settings.

The full list of modifiable color identifiers can be found on this page: Color Index.

Using a modifiable color identifier is highly recommended and good practice. Many players modify their reminder text colors to make the contrast easier on the eyes, so forcing, say, "color": "FFFFFF" on a player is highly discouraged.

The "value" variable works identically to the way "diff" does in the sense that it can be passed an Int/Float, or a var_math Dictionary. Because of this, we know that the reminder text will be equal to 2 * times_displayed or "Double the number of times the symbol has appeared."

Based on our script file, which should currently look like this...

extends "res://Mod Data.gd"

func _init():
	mod_type = "symbol"
	type = "cool_symbol"
	inherit_effects = false
	inherit_art = false
	inherit_groups = false
	inherit_description = false
	display_name = "Cool Symbol"
	localized_names = {}
	value = 5
	description = ""
	localized_descriptions = {}
	value_text = {"color": "symbol_reminder_up_text", "value": {"starting_value": 2, "var_math": [{"*": "times_displayed"}]}}
	values = []
	rarity = "none"
	groups = []
	effects = [
	{"comparisons": [{"a": "destroyed", "b": true}], "value_to_change": "value_bonus", "diff": 25},
	{"effect_type": "adjacent_symbols", "comparisons": [{"a": "type", "b": "coin"}], "value_to_change": "destroyed", "diff": true, "anim": "bounce", "anim_targets": "adjacent_symbol"},
	{"effect_type": "adjacent_symbols", "comparisons": [{"a": "type", "b": "cat"}], "value_to_change": "permanent_bonus", "diff": 2, "anim": "circle", "anim_targets": "adjacent_symbol"},
	{"value_to_change": "permanent_multiplier", "anim": "shake", "diff": {"starting_value": 2, "var_math": [{"+": "times_displayed"}]}},
	]

...Cool Symbol should look like this (after the first spin):

The 2 is added via value_text, the 3x is added via the 4th effect in effects ({"value_to_change": "permanent_multiplier", "anim": "shake", "diff": {"starting_value": 2, "var_math": [{"+": "times_displayed"}]}}).

In the next tutorial, we'll go over how to add art to Cool Symbol:

Tutorial: Art