Skip to content

Temporary Screenshots

The temporary screenshot feature allows capturing clean game scenes before UI elements appear, ensuring save thumbnails show actual gameplay content rather than menus or dialogs.

Overview

When players open save menus, the current screen contains UI elements that shouldn't appear in save thumbnails. The temporary screenshot system solves this by:

  1. Pre-capture: Taking screenshots before UI appears
  2. Temporary Storage: Keeping screenshots in memory temporarily
  3. Priority Usage: Using temporary screenshots for saves when available
  4. Auto-cleanup: Automatically clearing temporary screenshots after use

Usage Patterns

Basic Usage

# In your scenario script
scene classroom
show yuko happy center
yuko "What a beautiful day!"

# Capture clean screenshot before opening menu
capture

# UI operations won't affect the saved screenshot
ui save_menu show

Programmatic Usage

# Before showing UI
func show_pause_menu():
    # Capture current game state
    ArgodeSystem.capture_temp_screenshot()

    # Now show UI - won't be captured
    pause_menu.show()

# Save will use the clean screenshot
func save_to_slot(slot: int, name: String):
    ArgodeSystem.save_game(slot, name)  # Uses temp screenshot if available

Auto-capture Helper

# Built-in helper for UI systems
func show_menu_with_capture(menu_name: String):
    var save_manager = ArgodeSystem.SaveLoadManager
    save_manager.auto_capture_before_ui(menu_name)

    # Show your menu UI
    show_menu(menu_name)

Technical Details

Storage and Lifecycle

  • Memory Only: Screenshots stored in RAM, not on disk
  • Base64 Format: Compressed JPEG encoded as Base64 string
  • Fixed Size: Thumbnails resized to 200x150 pixels
  • Automatic Expiry: Screenshots expire after 5 minutes if unused

Behavior Logic

# When saving, the system checks:
func _get_screenshot_for_save() -> String:
    if has_valid_temp_screenshot():
        return temp_screenshot_data  # Use temporary screenshot
    else:
        return capture_current_screen()  # Fallback to real-time capture

Cleanup Events

Temporary screenshots are automatically cleared when:

  • Save Completed: After successfully saving to any slot
  • Load Completed: After loading from any slot
  • Expired: After 5 minutes of inactivity
  • Manual Clear: When explicitly cleared via code

API Reference

Core Methods

# SaveLoadManager methods
capture_temp_screenshot() -> bool              # Capture temporary screenshot
has_temp_screenshot() -> bool                  # Check if valid temp screenshot exists
get_temp_screenshot_age() -> float             # Get age in seconds
auto_capture_before_ui(ui_name: String) -> bool  # Helper for UI operations

# ArgodeSystem wrapper methods  
ArgodeSystem.capture_temp_screenshot() -> bool
ArgodeSystem.has_temp_screenshot() -> bool
ArgodeSystem.clear_temp_screenshot()

Configuration Constants

# In SaveLoadManager.gd
const ENABLE_SCREENSHOTS = true        # Enable/disable screenshot feature
const SCREENSHOT_WIDTH = 200          # Thumbnail width in pixels  
const SCREENSHOT_HEIGHT = 150         # Thumbnail height in pixels
const SCREENSHOT_QUALITY = 0.7        # JPEG quality (0.0-1.0)
const TEMP_SCREENSHOT_LIFETIME = 300.0  # Expiry time in seconds (5 minutes)

Best Practices

When to Capture

Good Times: 

# Before dialogue choices
narrator "Choose your path..."
capture
choice "Go left" go_left
choice "Go right" go_right

Before menu access: 

func on_menu_key_pressed():
    ArgodeSystem.capture_temp_screenshot()
    show_game_menu()

What NOT to Capture

Avoid capturing during: - Loading screens - Transition effects - Text boxes or dialogues (if you want clean backgrounds) - Other UI elements

Integration with Save Systems

# Example save menu integration
class SaveMenu:
    func _ready():
        # Capture was already done before showing this menu
        populate_save_slots()

    func save_to_slot(slot: int):
        var save_name = save_name_input.text
        # This will use the temporary screenshot captured before menu opened
        ArgodeSystem.save_game(slot, save_name)

        # Temp screenshot is automatically cleared after save
        close_menu()

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

No screenshot captured: - Check if ENABLE_SCREENSHOTS is true - Ensure viewport access permissions - Verify the capture command ran successfully

Screenshots showing UI: - Make sure capture is called BEFORE showing UI - Check timing - UI might be showing during capture

Screenshots expiring: - Default lifetime is 5 minutes - Capture closer to when you'll actually save - Check get_temp_screenshot_age() for timing

Debug Information

var save_manager = ArgodeSystem.SaveLoadManager
print("Has temp screenshot: ", save_manager.has_temp_screenshot())
print("Screenshot age: ", save_manager.get_temp_screenshot_age(), " seconds")
print("Screenshot enabled: ", save_manager.is_screenshot_enabled())

See Also