Custom Chat

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Note

This feature will not function unless we have enabled it for your game. If you would like to have this feature enabled, please email us at [email protected]

Custom chat API

This client API allows your game to interact with the Kongregate chat client by opening up a custom tab which you have control over. Please note that this API is optional and not necessary to have normal Kongregate chat for your game. It also does not provide chat services - it is only a way of displaying content in a chat box, though that can be used for your own chat if you hook it up to your own chat system.

Overview

The chat API allows you to display a tab in Kongregate chat. This tab is split into two components. The top half, or the "canvas" can be drawn on with various techniques including text, images, and support for the AS3 drawing API. The bottom half, called the "dialogue", is used for displaying chat style messages, whispers, etc.

The canvas

The canvas is made up of different kinds of display objects. These are basically named movie clips which can be created with the contents of an image, text, or custom art using the AS3 drawing API. The canvas supports a wide range of positioning and layout options which allow you to customize the canvas as you see fit. You also have control over how large the canvas is, and can query the API for its size.

The dialogue

The dialogue should look familiar to anyone who has used Kongregate. It allows users to type in chat input, as well as receive messages from other users, along with general information such as challenge announcements.

The chat API allows you to display custom messages from users in this dialogue. For example, it can be used to create a "match chat" between two players. When the game receives a match chat message from your opponent, it would use the chat API to display that message in the custom tab. It would also add an event listener to receive copies of any messages the user puts into the chat box.

Accessing the API

Once you have the Kongregate API loaded in your game, you can access the chat functionality by referencing the chat member of your Kongregate API object. The following is a list of relevant API calls for managing the custom chat tab:

• Chat.AddEventListener
• Chat.ClearMessages
• Chat.CloseTab
• Chat.DisplayMessage
• Chat.ShowTab

Positioning canvas objects

Before you can display a canvas object, you must know how to position it properly. Position objects can have various properties describing where the element should be displayed. The object can have many different properties, not all of which are supported by every element type:

Displaying canvas images

You can load an image from an external source into the canvas by using the displayCanvasImage function. It takes a name, url, and position object:

Example: Load an image and display it at 100,100 on the canvas

var url:String = "http://www.fake.com/picture.jpg";
var position:Object = { x:100, y:100 };
kongregate.chat.displayCanvasImage("Image", url, position);

var url = "http://www.fake.com/picture.jpg";
var position = { x:100, y:100 };
kongregate.chat.displayCanvasImage("Image", url, position);

Displaying canvas text

You can display text on the canvas with the displayCanvasText function. It accepts the following arguments:

Example: Display the text Testing123 at 0,0 using the Verdana font at size 12.

var options:Object = { font:"Verdana", size:12, color:0x7FB7FF };
kongregate.chat.displayCanvasText("Text", "Testing123", position, options);

var options = { font:"Verdana", size:12, color:0x7FB7FF };
kongregate.chat.displayCanvastext("Text", "Testing123", position, options);

Drawing custom shapes

You may use the drawCanvasObject function to use any of the methods in the AS3 Drawing API in order to create a custom graphic shape. This function takes a name, and a list of drawing operations and arguments:

The drawing operations must come from the following list:

beginFill
beginGradientFill
clear
curveTo
endFill
lineTo
lineStyle
moveTo
drawRect
drawRoundRect
drawCircle
drawEllipse

Example: Drawing a box using the drawCanvasObject function

var commands:Array = [
   ["beginFill", 0x333333, 100],
   ["moveTo", 25, 25],
   ["lineTo", 75, 25],
   ["lineTo", 75, 75],
   ["lineTo", 25, 75],
   ["lineTo", 25, 25],
   ["endFill"]
];

kongregate.chat.drawCanvasObject("box", commands);

var commands = [
   ["beginFill", 0x333333, 100],
   ["moveTo", 25, 25],
   ["lineTo", 75, 25],
   ["lineTo", 75, 75],
   ["lineTo", 25, 75],
   ["lineTo", 25, 25],
   ["endFill"]
];

kongregate.chat.drawCanvasObject("box", commands);

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Note

Unlike other display operations, calling drawCanvasObject using a name which already exists will not replace it, but instead will draw onto the existing object.

Removing a canvas object

You can remove any canvas object with the removeCanvasObject function, which accepts the name of the object to remove:

Example: Remove the object named "MyObject"

kongregate.chat.removeCanvasObject("MyObject");

kongregate.chat.removeCanvasObject("MyObject");

Canvas size

The size of the canvas can be retrieved using the getCanvasSize function. It returns an object which has width and height elements. This function is only valid after the tab_visible event has been fired for your tab.

var size:Object = kongregate.chat.getCanvasSize();
trace("Width: " + size.width + ", Height:" + size.height);

var size = kongregate.chat.getCanvasSize();
console.log("Width: " + size.width + ", Height:" + size.height);