Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains answers to frequently asked questions about GMRoomLoader.

📍 What platforms does GMRoomLoader support?

Platform	Status	Notes
Windows	✅ Yes	Fully tested and stable
macOS	✅ Yes	Fully tested and stable
GX.games	✅ Yes	Fully tested and stable
Linux	🚧 Likely	Untested
HTML5	❌ No	Cursed. Use WASM with GX.games
Android	🚧 Likely	Untested
iOS	🚧 Likely	Untested
PS5	🚧 Likely	Untested
Xbox	🚧 Likely	Untested
Nintendo Switch	🚧 Likely	Untested

📍 What versions of GameMaker does GMRoomLoader support?

The latest Monthly. Currently that's IDE v2024.13.1.193 and Runtime v2024.13.1.242.

📍 How do I update to the latest version of GMRoomLoader?

1. If you've made changes to the RoomLoaderConfig script, make a backup of the script before continuing.
2. Delete the GMRoomLoader folder from your project.
3. Repeat the Installation process.
4. If you've made changes to the RoomLoaderConfig script, paste the changes back from your backup.

   KEEP IN MIND

   The config setup might change between versions, so make sure to pay attention to the release notes and adjust your pasted configs accordingly.

📍 Can GMRoomLoader assist with procedural generation?

No. GMRoomLoader is designed specifically for loading rooms. Procedural generation, along with any custom logic for determining which room to pick and where it should go, will need to be handled on your own.

📍 Can GMRoomLoader be used for modding? Is live reloading supported?

No. GMRoomLoader retrieves data from room_get_info(), which only provides access to room information initialized at compile time. This means that at runtime, you can only access rooms exactly as they existed when the game was compiled.

As a result, modding and live reloading aren't possible by design.

If any of this is essential for your project, consider buying GMRoomPack by YellowAfterlife, the OG library that inspired GMRoomLoader. While it's not as modern and fancy as GMRoomLoader, it works directly with room .yy files, which allows for both modding and rather trivial live reloading.

📍 How does GMRoomLoader actually "load rooms" if GameMaker can only have a single room active at a time? Does the library get around that somehow?

GameMaker can indeed only have a single room active at a time. GMRoomLoader doesn't change that.

When we say "load a room", what we really mean is "recreate a room" or "load room contents". GMRoomLoader does this by taking the data from room_get_info(), processing it for loading, and using it to recreate room layers and their respective elements.

📍 What room elements does GMRoomLoader support? Can I load everything?

Element	Layer Type	Status
Instance	Instance	✔️
Tilemap	Tile	✔️
Sprite	Asset	✔️
Particle System	Asset	🚧 Broken because of a GM bug
Sequence	Asset	✔️
Background	Background	✔️
Filter/Effect	Filter/Effect	❌
In-layer Filter/Effect	Any	🚧 Missing room_get_info() data
Creation Code	-	✔️
Views	-	❌
Physics	-	❌
Display Buffer & Viewport Clearing	-	❌

📍 I'm loading a room and it I think it works, but I can't see some (or all) of the loaded elements. How can I fix that?

Mind your depth! GMRoomLoader creates room layers at the exact depths assigned in the Room Editor. If the room you're loading other rooms into has a few layers, make sure to manage their depths so they are either in front or behind loaded layers, depending on your use case.

📍 My rooms have instances with Variable Definitions and Creation Code. Does GMRoomLoader support those?

It does! room_get_info() provides both as scripts for GMRoomLoader to use.

NOTE

The execution order follows GameMaker's default and is structured like this:

1. Room-defined parameters + Variable Definitions (mixed in a single pre-create struct).
2. Create event.
3. Creation Code.

📍 Can I "destroy" or "unload" a room after loading it?

• If you're loading full rooms with RoomLoader.Load(), it returns an instance of Payload, which has a .Cleanup() method for removing all loaded layers and their elements.

Example

// When you load a room:
roomPayload = RoomLoader.Load(rmExample, 0, 0);

// When you need to unload a room:
roomPayload.Cleanup();

WARNING

GMRoomLoader only tracks layers and elements it loads itself. Anything else you add afterwards must be cleaned up manually.

• If you're loading instances with RoomLoader.LoadInstances(), it return an array of loaded instance IDs. Loop through the array and call instance_destroy() on each instance to remove them.

Example

// When you load instances:
loadedInstances = RoomLoader.LoadInstances(rmExample, 0, 0);

// When you need to destroy loaded instances:
array_foreach(loadedInstances, function(_instance) {
    instance_destroy(_instance);
});

📍 How can I collide with loaded tilemaps?

When you load a room with a tile layer, a new tilemap is created. To collide with this newly loaded tilemap, you need to grab its ID and store it somewhere.

If you're currently colliding with, say, a variable holding a tilemap ID, you'll need to change that to a dynamic setup using an array.

Example

// In some script, initialize a global array of collision tilemaps:
global.collisionTilemaps = [];

// On Room Start (or somewhere else, if relevant), fetch your baseline collision tilemap ID:
global.collisionTilemaps = [layer_tilemap_get_id("CollisionTilemap")];

// When loading a room, grab the collision tilemap ID and push it to the global collision tilemaps array:
roomPayload = RoomLoader.Load(rmExample, 0, 0);
var _collisionTilemap = roomPayload.GetTilemap("CollisionTilemap");
array_push(global.collisionTilemaps, _collisionTilemap);

// When unloading a room, remove the collision tilemap from the global collision tilemaps array:
var _collisionTilemap = roomPayload.GetTilemap("CollisionTilemap");
var _collisionTilemapIndex = array_get_index(global.collisionTilemaps, _collisionTilemap);
if (_index != -1) {
    array_delete(global.collisionTilemaps, _collisionTilemapIndex, 1);
}
roomPayload.Cleanup();