I would like to preface this by saying I am still quite new to gameMakerstudio and I do not know all there is to know about how the software works and this is probably the root cause of my problem as I do not know why I am having this current layering issue.
I have been having an issue where I have TWO DrawGUI events in separate objects within the same room.
The first object is a Fog Of War that draws a GUI and reveals the map as the player moves, and keeps explored places visible but not in view.
The second object is the joystick where a player will use their thumb to drag the stick to move the player.
Ever since I have implemented the Fog of War. I have been unable to view the joystick. It appears that the fog of war draws overtop of it and I am unable to use it.
I understand there are other draw events where I can do this.
Draw Draw GUI Draw Begin Draw End Draw GUI BEGIN Draw GUI END
After changing where I have the code drawing. Example: At first the joystick and the fog were both in Draw GUI, After moving one from Draw GUI to Draw GUI Begin, the same issue appears.
I have made sure to place the joystick at the top most level in the room and the fog of war at the bottom most layer.
I have tried to apply depth the object
oJoystick_Stick.depth = -100;
this does not achieve anything.
Is there another way to force two objects on the GUI layer to be on top of the other?
To my understanding, DrawGUI always prioritises the objects drawn there above anything in Draw, including Begin Draw and End Draw.
This is because DrawGUI is for an interface (like the stats you see about your character like health, ammo ect.), and objects drawn there aren't part of the room itself. You may also have noticed that the objects drawn in DrawGUI also follows the camera/Viewpoint.
So, to clear up the draw priority:
First is the DrawGUI layer that places objects in front of everything, like an interface.
After that, the depth variable and layers inside the room has priority, each layer has also given a depth value, with an interval of 100.
If the depth is also the same (for example when they're in the same layer), then the order of the objects and code loaded decides the order drawn.
The latter is not always reliable when multiple objects are overlapping at the same depth, because if the objects are redrawn in-game again (e.g. a persistent object been loaded into a new room, or pause and unpause using instance_activate_all), then the order of objects drawn may differ. Keep in mind when overlapping objects, that they are placed in different layers to prevent mixed priorities.
I've however not used a Fog of War system myself, so I don't know if it's build-in or not, but I wouldn't recommend placing them in the DrawGUI, as that should be reserved for the interface layout. With the default Draw options, you'll have more flexibility to the layers inside the room.