Channels allow devices to communicate with each other. It’s a wireless version of wires!
How Channels Work
Channels are basically one giant group chat with all the devices on your map. They can all send messages in the chat and & run actions when others send messages in the chat.
Using Channels
The events/actions you might use wires for, you can also use channels! For example, let’s look at this option in the Item Granter device.
With this option, we can type in a name of a channel, and the Item Granter will grant the item when it receives a message on that channel.
You can use an unlimited number of channel names. Plus, there is no need to create a device for a channel or anything like that. Simply just type in the name of the channel! In this case, since this Item Granter grants cash, we’ll name our channel grant cash.
Let’s say we want to grant some cash when a player presses a button. We’ll bring in the Button device to do that.
We can modify the button, and when it is pressed, we can set a channel for it to transmit on!
All we need to do is enter grant cash here too, and everything will work! The Button will transmit on channel grant cash. The Item Granter receives that message and since the channels match, it grants the item!
When To Use Wires vs. Channels
Both wires & channels have their pros & cons. In maps that Gimkit creates, we mainly use wires but also use channels when it works better. Here are a few places where you might want to use channels.
Cable Management
Just like a desk with a computer, display, keyboard, mouse, webcam, can quickly become a mess of a bunch of wires, it can in Gimkit Creative as well!
For example, if you wanted a Button to hide all these trees, here’s what it would look like using wires!
As you can see, it’s getting a bit messy. With channels, it can all be nice & clean.
Duplicating Mechanics
Channels also become very helpful when you want to duplicate the mechanics of a certain device or prop.
When you copy a device/prop, it doesn’t copy any wires along with it. In the example above, if you wanted to add another tree but also made sure it got hidden, you would have to connect the new tree with the button!
And if you wanted to add 30 more trees, you would have to connect each of the trees to the button, which can take a lot of time!
Compare that to channels. You could simply just copy a tree that’s already there, place it, and it will work & hide automically. No extra work!
Long Distances
The final area channels become very helpful for communication between devices far away. Channels are generally a better option so that you don’t have a bunch of giant wires running through your map while editing.
Naming Channels
When it comes to naming channels, it’s usually best to have the channel describe exactly what it’s doing. You can use spaces in your channel names, so be as descriptive as you’d like!