The "rotate for t seconds" is an interesting idea. How fast would you rotate and in which direction? Perhaps it could be
"turn d degrees right in t seconds"
like the current turn blocks, but with a duration. In fact, it could replace the current turn blocks, which are just "turn d degrees right in 0 seconds"
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It would be a good idea to add a block that senses the number of pixels in a sprite. It could be added to the list of things like x position of sprite 1 etc. It could be like:
pixel count of sprite 2
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penguinpenguin, could you give an example of the use for the "pixel count" block? It seems like it would be pretty easy to implement, but what would you do with it that couldn't be done almost as easily with costume # and size?
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Yeah, that'd be useful. It could be like "show variable _____" and "hide variable_____" maybe, "move variable _____ to X:_ Y:__"
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kevin_karplus wrote:
penguinpenguin, could you give an example of the use for the "pixel count" block? It seems like it would be pretty easy to implement, but what would you do with it that couldn't be done almost as easily with costume # and size?
I was thinking of having a game where the "weight" (pixel count) mattered. Some thing like, a bridge breaks if your pixel count is over 300. I guess size would work too, but Im sure that there are many people who would enjoy having "pixel count"
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I have more of a larger, complex idea; that may be a good idea for a program either combined or separate with Scratch.
How about haveing a program that can let you create your own blocks. This would have to be a little more kid-friendly than Squeak; for kids at a younger age. But then, you could create your own block, save it and then import it in Scratch. Of course, (to be a little more specific) You would be able to choose or modify the characteristics of certain blocks maybe by combining blocks (?), or choosing from a list of characteristics. Who else thinks that this is a good idea?
Last edited by MITscratcher (2008-01-26 09:49:27)
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That sounds interesting. But in what language would you define what the block does? So you would make this block than export and import it like a sprite. But it might require changing a lot of what is already in Scratch.
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There could be an addition to the key-pressed block that would ask if anykey was pressed. It could look like <key_anykey_ pressed?>
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Would it be possible to make a version of scratch with minimal graphics? My home computer is really slow and sometimes even moving blocks around takes time. Things like getting rid of the shadows when you move blocks and making the different panes simpler Some of the things that I see are just for show and unnecessary. So under the files only version there could be a low-graphics version.
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MITscratcher and beepbeep,
Define-your-own blocks have been suggested many times for Scratch. They are probably the most requested feature, both from users and from teachers of programming. (Well, comments may be more requested by teachers.)
I think that the Scratch Team will do define-your-own blocks in some future release of scratch, where the blocks will be created as scratch scripts. There are several user-interface issues that they will have to address and experiment with, so it may be a year or more before we see anything.
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penguinpenguin,
We've been using scratch on some pretty old computers at school (about 10 years old, I think), and have not had too many problems. Changing the graphics would probably not speed things up much, as the effects currently used are not very compute-intensive.
You might want to check to see what other programs are running at the same time and how much of the computer they are using up. I've found that some programs are real CPU hogs, even when they are doing nothing (Firefox, Photoshop Elements, and Scratch seem to be the worst offenders on my Mac).
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kevin_karplus wrote:
You might want to check to see what other programs are running at the same time and how much of the computer they are using up. I've found that some programs are real CPU hogs, even when they are doing nothing (Firefox, Photoshop Elements, and Scratch seem to be the worst offenders on my Mac).
You are right! I usually keep Firefox open 24/7 so I can check on my favorite websites at any time. But when I closed Firefox, the speed of Scratch grew very quickly! I guess a new version of Scratch isn't necessary after all. Thanks for the advice, Kevin!
BTW, which is a better browser, Firefox or Safari?
Last edited by penguinpenguin (2008-01-29 07:06:26)
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I prefer Firefox, but if you have a slower system, maybe it isn't the best choice.
How does something get "sticky" and what does it mean?
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a sticky forum topic will always stay on top of the list, even if nobody contributes to the thread for a while, or if another thread is more active. Usually such topics are made "sticky" by the ScratchR-team and by the moderators which are of permanent or long-time interest to many people, making them easier to find and more convenient to keep track of.
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Hey, could somebody make this sticky? I know its pretty small, but a lot of people use it.
Also, I noticed that when a costume has lots of vertical lines, it is like 200 Kb, but if its horizontal lines, it is 2kb. Is this a glitch, cause it seems strange that just turning it can change the size by alot.
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i think there should be a (if i recieve_____), so you can put those blocks in between blocks
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Yeah, a message sensing block would be very useful.
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Beepbeep
adding posts using
PenguinPenguin,
Beepbeep
Georgebush
to get lots of views and comments is called cheating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just use one username.
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Beepbeep
adding posts using
PenguinPenguin,
Beepbeep
Georgebush
to get lots of views and comments is called cheating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just use one username.
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HI,
You have some good ideas.,
But still, it is not fair to use multiple aliases.
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ooogabooga wrote:
Beepbeep
adding posts using
PenguinPenguin,
Beepbeep
Georgebush
to get lots of views and comments is called cheating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just use one username.
This is not true. And besides, there isn't any rule against this if I actually did do it.
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