The other good trick is to type “actions on” in your game, and then type the command and see what action it triggers.
Cool, thanks for the tips.
If there’s anybody here who wouldn’t mind basically being a mentor or whatever, available for answering these kinds of basic questions while I learn the ropes, I’d appreciate that. PM me.
Actions is a kind of best friend to you, as you start debugging your source. Once you’re comfortable with I7, your second best friend for debugging will be ‘RULES’. It lists all the rules used and when they are being called. When your game gets bigger and bigger, it starts pouring ALOT of rules, though, so be warned.
Also: it’s always better to search the forums and read the documentation before asking around, but if you did so, then don’t be afraid to post your questions here, even if they feel basic. Truth is a) any question will always be basic to some; and b) if even hedgehog gets his “doubts” answered, then you most surely must not fear posting yours.
That way your doubts become available to others who are also starting to learn the language.
I do actually think it might be nice to have mentors, not necessarily for basic questions, but for encouragement, quick feedback, etc. But, yeah, I like seeing questions on the board. And it’s clear from the thread that people catch each other’s mistakes and have differing ideas of implementation, which is always pretty interesting.
I use the forums as kind of a second manual. The official I7 manual is still good for reference, difficult to navigate as it may be, but it doesn’t always provide the full picture. Conversely, when an issue is raised on the forum, the discussion usually plays out in a way that lets me parse it mentally. So in a sense I suppose I use the manuals for different things: the I7 manual as a dictionary, Aaron Reed’s Creating Interactive Fiction with Inform 7 as self-help guide, Jim Aikin’s Inform 7 Handbook as a “don’t panic” comfort blanket/towel, the I7 for Programmers as an explanation of the overarching principles, and the forums themselves whenever I need things explained.
Not the most straightforward approach, I admit, but one that seems to work for me.
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Thanks! That is good to know for me too!