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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 15, 2006 19:29:53 GMT -5
Update: We have until the 26th to get this all put together and get it to Ixzion. I would like to aim for an earlier date so that if I get busy or something, we don't miss the deadline (that's simply not an option). If you think you have a scene that should be considered for inclusion, please make a post in Reality's thread. If you have a screenshot already, post it there. If you have a scene in mind but need someone to take a screenshot, you can also let him know there. Please act soon so we can start discussing which ones should be included, and start putting some prototype pages together. So Ixzion asked me today if we would be interested in having a page in the Mag, and of course I said yes. As I thought it over, though, I wasn't sure exactly what to put in there. Once I started coming up with some ideas, it seemed that one page would not be enough, so I may pay $60 and get two full pages to put stuff from the Domain. So here's what I was thinking. The first page would have a screenshot of the message board front page, along with the reason i started it and how far it has come since then, hopefully summarized in a short paragraph. Then, the rest of the page would have some screenshots from various projects going on at the Domain. (Note that some of the screenshot stuff was Ix's idea.) The second page would have some tips from various members at the Domain. I wanted to talk about efficiency (since I talk about it all the time); basically about separating stuff as much as possible so that everything can be reused. If that sounds lame, please let me know. I also want your feedback on what other tips should be included. These should contain no more than brief code snippets, but should be useful to a range of audiences, since some readers will not be RPGM2 experts. I was thinking it would be something like: Column 1 | Column 2 | Tips Tips Tips by blah
Tips by blah
| Tips Tips Tips Tips Tips by blah |
for more tips, visit doanthenado.com/guides.htmlTips brought to you by the members of the Domain of Doan the Nado So give me your suggestions here as to what should be included, and if you like someone's suggestion, be sure to make note of it.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 15, 2006 20:43:37 GMT -5
Okay, now that I accidentally closed that tab I was typing in...
Nash, Reality, and I were talking a little bit about how this thing should look, and I believe we agreed on a few ideas. Namely, the first page would contain a brief history of how this place began (a paragraph or so), along with the smallest possible screenshot of the message board front page. The rest would be dedicated to images that primarily evoke the response, "Wow, I had no idea you could do that with RPGM2!" I would like to include screenshots of a VFX from Reality, DW's battle system (showing the party in an MDBS), that Gundam VFX, a nice map made by TFR, Rodak's Starship Enterprise, and some of the coolest shots from games by members such as Will, Bigfoot, Jugem, Bloodknight, Smurf, Nash, Doyle, and anyone I didn't mention (I'm really sorry, but I'm typing this quickly and I'm bound to miss someone).
The second page would contain tips as I mentioned before, but they should be pretty brief yet helpful in order to hold the reader's attention. One example would be:
How much is too much? WilliamKirk Before making something in your game, ask yourself 1) how will this improve the player's experience with the game and 2) is it worth the amount of time/effort/memory it will take to make it? If you are unsure about either of these questions, then you might be better off re-working it, simplifying it, or scrapping it altogether. The important thing is to get your game finished, leaving room for flexibility, and then adding extra features later.
(I took the liberty to add that final paragraph)
So if you guys can come up with any good ideas like that, I think they would go great on a tips page. We also might want to mention some of the crazy things that have been done, such as arbitratily running Content Scripts, and refer them to an FAQ on the Guides page.
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Post by vespuleth on Aug 15, 2006 21:35:27 GMT -5
What are the chances that this will be a available continuously?
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Post by Bigfoot on Aug 15, 2006 21:37:54 GMT -5
I think thats really cool that your purchasing 2 pages from the mag. I hope I maybe get mentioned to be the first to have firearms... or even have a sex scene for that matter, Nash could get mentioned for his constant breakthroughs, Doyle for his gameplay goodness, Rodak for his very imaginitive VFX, and Smurf for releasing more games than anyone here. I myself am going to buy that issue, and going to have an ad in there. We have so much talent in this community, I don't know how we could fit screens of all the hottest titles on one page, but I hope it works! I would be damn proud to have a pic of Josaigdan up there, I would also like to have this picture up there. But thats probably out of the question... As for Tips, I feel that I have contibuted enough to the community to give one out. And here it goes. One of many ways to not bore the player.One big factor in RPG Maker 2 titles is dialogue. Lets face it. I have played a few titles where I just pressed the X button as fast as I could. But this shouldn't be the case, this should be the time to flesh out your characters, give them a backround, let them develop. Create interesting conversations and conflict between them, the possibilities are endless. This is your main place to give your character his/her personality. As for might mentioning some of the crazy things that have been done, we could.... post this picture...... or just mention it.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 15, 2006 23:13:32 GMT -5
What are the chances that this will be a available continuously? What are you referring to? The print mag? I'm not sure, you would have to ask Ixzion on that one. As far as the content we come up with, I will ensure that I retain rights to it, including the rights to publish those two pages somewhere on the website. I think thats really cool that your purchasing 2 pages from the mag. Actually, Ix was nice enough to offer me one page. I wasn't sure that would be enough, so I asked if I could buy a second one. He said that he'd be able to move stuff around a little bit so that we could have two consecutive pages, so everyone should thank him for giving us this opportunity. I originally wasn't planning on having a "mentions" section, but maybe we could find room for that after the Domain history paragraph. Something like: "I began the Domain when there seemed to be a deficiency in the RPGM2 community. Since then... ...and now we have over 100 members. "As far as our accomplishments, our members have done some amazing things with RPGM2. Bigfoot... Nash... Rodak... Smurf.... "The screenshots on this page are all from RPGM2 games. We hope to show you that it is possible to do quite a bit with this system." I wasn't planning on having screens of all the titles. I agree that we could not fairly put everything on there without picking and choosing. What I wanted to do was to have anyone who responds here (within a week) post a screenshot of the best scene for their game (or talk Reality into doing it for you ). Then, we could decide which ones would make the cut, and which ones do a good job of showcasing the underappreciated power of RPGM2. Wow, seems you're really bent on getting that pic into the page. Sorry, but you're right that it's a bit out of the question. The fact that you can't put the pic directly in this post is a good indication that it might not be appropriate.... As far as a Josaigdan screen, I wasn't sure if you'd want to do that or find a great (non-sex) scene from HH2, since you already have a Josaigdan ad, anyways. Perhaps an HH2 scene that shows someone with a gun from a good angle or something. Another possibility would be a screen of your Smash Bros remake, as that was pretty cool (perhaps the one of the screen showing Mario, Link, and Josaigdan). That is a pretty good tip, and is along the lines of what I was thinking for this page. We should really try editing it down a bit to ensure that we can get as much tips as possible in there. Also, it might be good to re-work the title to add some interest. Hey, here's an idea: Avoiding the X-FactorIf you are afraid of players spending half of your game hammering the X- button, you should check out these tips: Avoiding Boredom in Cutscenes by Bigfoot Keeping Battles Interesting by DW/Will (don't exactly remember) That is, we could have a section with many subsections on how to avoid boring the player. Does that sound good? Keep the suggestions coming.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 15, 2006 23:18:42 GMT -5
So I don't forget: by thetruecoolness from "The Mutanic Fallout" by Bigfoot from "The Mutanic Fallout" by Bigfoot I'll probably continue adding screens that I see around the board to this page.
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Post by Bigfoot on Aug 16, 2006 0:52:43 GMT -5
Yeah Doan sounds good, I like those pics you picked out fine. and I must say, that VFX jet is one of the best damn things I have seen in RPGM2, along with the map made with it! TTC, keep it up man! ;D
And go ahead and keep that title for the tip. I'll widdle it down tomorrow.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2006 2:21:21 GMT -5
The problem with the tip is that, more or less, all you're doing is pointing out the obvious. I'll cover the X button tip with my big, broad, general theory of how videogames are fun, and as you'll see this theory can be applied to any game genre (okay, so it's taken from my DBS Guide and I've posted it several times before, feel free to skip it everyone!):
"To explain how Balance = Fun... The basic principle to making a game fun is allowing the player to do lots of different things to best the opponent. Think of a first-person-shooter (Golden Eye, Halo, etc.) - if you couldn’t move forward/backward, strafe side-to-side, turn horizontally, aim vertically/horizontally, etc.; the game would be very boring. All you would do is press the fire button, and whoever pressed it faster would win. Pretty lame, huh? You see, what makes it fun is being able to do all sorts of different things to win. Well, just like in a first-person-shooter, the more things the player can do to win in an RPG, the more fun the game will likely be. This is why it’s very important to have lots of different types of party members, equipment, items, abilities, etc. - which I will walk you through making those in this Guide.
The other thing to beware of is if one thing the player can do completely over-rides everything else the player can do, there by eliminating his other methods to win. I’m sure you’ve played some game sometime when you thought something was ‘cheap’ or ‘unfair.’ Well, that’s because it was unbalanced with the other things you and your opponent could do; it over-rode you and your opponents' other methods of winning. And, just like in that game, you need your game to be well-balanced for it to be fun. This is why your stats must be balanced - so that your party members, classes, abilities, equipment, etc. (which are all dependent on your stats) can be more balanced."
Doing what you have to do = work = not fun Doing what you choose to do = play = fun Therefore, more choices = more fun And, choice negating other choice = less fun
It's imperative that you not be in denial; if multiple people have played your game and told you something is unbalanced (choice negating other choice), it probably is.
This only covers gameplay; story's a whole 'nother matter.
Edit:
I know you can probably find old pics and/or vids of my games, but don't worry about it. Everyone's gonna want to be a part of this, and honestly, everyone has done more than enough to deserve to, and I'm already happy with the mention I'll get for the tip(s). ;D
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Post by Bigfoot on Aug 16, 2006 6:08:29 GMT -5
Dissin my tip Will? I'll dis your face!
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Ixzion
RPG Making Novice
Runs the Mag
Posts: 62
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Post by Ixzion on Aug 16, 2006 8:26:39 GMT -5
By all means, what you create for the issue can be used any way you see fit. And an RM2 sex scene? I'd have dared said I've seen it all until now.
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Post by Neo Samurai on Aug 16, 2006 20:38:01 GMT -5
Well, here's my tip:
"If you're having trouble coming up with an idea for gameplay elements in an RPG, look at one of your favorite RPGs and find the gaming element of it that really pulls you in. Try to add something like that to your game and add your own take to it. (For instance: Have a cooking feature where you must use ingredients in a certain order to get a desired food)
(but be sure you know the mechanics of RPGM2 before you attempt anything technical)."
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Post by vespuleth on Aug 17, 2006 0:08:52 GMT -5
bad writers borrow material; good writers steal.
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Post by Rodak on Aug 17, 2006 4:15:00 GMT -5
I'll have stuff this weekend!
Nothing like a deadline to motivate those of us who have been lazy!
Anyone have screens of Crown of Order's Battle System?
That's a milestone!
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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 17, 2006 7:30:50 GMT -5
I believe DW is working on patching his latest demo up so that Reality can get some screenshots.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Aug 17, 2006 15:45:07 GMT -5
Yes, I'll be trying to get everything done by Monday as well. I was looking at my notes and noticed a few cool things I could add to the dungeon so I'll try to concentrate on that for now.
A lot of my achievements with RPG Maker 2 are more internal then external, so it's hard to think of what images would best show off what RPG Maker can do.
It might be a cool idea to have a file of short clips on this site showing some of the cooler aspects of RPG Maker 2 (like Nash's light in the darkness clip). It's one thing to see pictures, but seeing things in action is far more impressive.
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Post by realitybites on Aug 17, 2006 17:46:19 GMT -5
it sounds good to me DW
I will be available: Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,Friday of next week.
Im also off on Friday so if anyone else would like to have something done soon just PM moi.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2006 20:29:58 GMT -5
I'm sorry bigfoot. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that over the years at the various forums I've seen people post something along those lines of 'don't have the player just keep pressing the X button over and over', so it really isn't anything new. Plus, since you're just telling them what not to do as opposed to what to do, it won't really help them much. Also, please don't think I'm angry at you because of the legal marijuana topic (nor you Neru)!
I guess another good way to put it is to explain what 'just pressing the X button over and over' means in each genre and methods to avoid it.
For example, the first person shooter one in my above post.
The one we should use would be RPGs though, in which I would say that 'just pressing the X button over and over' means having everyone do the same thing every turn (usually normal attack, sometimes not though) and healing occaisonally when necessary. There are tons of remedies to this, but the basic guideline would be to make everything in your game well-balanced, meaning that every option is equally appealing to the player.
For example, 'Fighter' Member: Normal Attack = 100 damage, Unlimited Magic Attack = N/A HP = 100 And, 'Mage' Member: Normal Attack = 10 damage, Unlimited Magic Attack = 100 damage, Limited HP = 100
Would be unbalanced. The ONLY time a mage will be better is 1) when there is no reason to conserve MP and 2) they can use their all-targeting or elemental magic advantages. Chances are, that will hardly be enough to compensate for the fighter's unlimited but equally powerful normal attack.
The easy solution, and also the solution that would be possible in RPGM1/3, would be to make the mage's magic do significantly more damage. How much exactly? I don't know. You'd have to test it around. I would estimate around twice as much, and then go from there. Twice as powerful might sound like too much, but it isn't. It has to be really good, because the fighter's normal attack is so good.
For more elaborate and complicated solutions like MP-regeneration systems via the Tactics Ogre's or Chrono Cross, etc. we'd have to talk to them here where we have more space to talk and whatnot. Also, chances are most of those aren't possible in RPGM1/3.
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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 17, 2006 20:49:04 GMT -5
The problem with these tips is that there may not be a whole lot of room to elaborate. I'll try to take into account everything that is posted here, along with a few other tips I know of, and fit as much as I can into a page (or maybe even less). Is it okay if I just post the various tip, and then at the bottom list everyone who contributed? I might be able to fit a whole extra tip if I don't post the name right after every tip. It all depends, I'll have to see how it all lays out, I guess.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2006 20:50:38 GMT -5
Yeah, no problem. I figured you'd have to edit them down and stuff.
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Post by vespuleth on Aug 18, 2006 1:39:03 GMT -5
i know i really dont have a say since i dont donate 'tips', but my thought is were all family, right?
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Post by Neo Samurai on Aug 23, 2006 10:22:12 GMT -5
Here are some passages from my articles that I think make good tips: From my "Settings: The Backdrop of Stories" article: "So, how do you create a real, breathing environment? Well, research never hurts. If your setting is based off a real place or is a real place (such as Japan), you should do as much research as possible on it. But be careful! Don’t become so engrossed in researching a topic that you neglect your story. Find the details that you think you’ll need." "Now, if you’re creating a culture from scratch, try to make it sound as believable as possible. If you don’t know if something sounds believable, look at the real world as a model. Steal different aspects from other cultures and create a unique culture of your own. It might also help to have a friend read your backstory to see what he/she thinks." " Bare in mind that if you’re worried that you won’t be able to create characters, a plot, and a theme without a setting, don’t worry. Work on each one together. In the end, everything should weave together perfectly." From my "Let it All Out" article: "If you have a basic idea on where your story is going, you’ll be able to fill in the rest of the details. That's what editing is for. What you need to do is to get everything you have planned for your story onto paper. Don’t stop just because something doesn’t make sense. Don't start editing until everything is finished." "Only make a story that you'll like. If you don’t feel like trying to make your story as satisfying as possible is important, your game will fail." From my "Ingredients to a Good Story" article: "Your characters need to learn a lesson from their adventure. If they don't, then they’ll go back to their everyday lives like nothing happened. Something about the journey should have changed their viewpoint of the world, for better or worse. Without a theme, it isn't a true adventure." "The direction your hero takes to satisfy his/her motive is up to you, of course. Just remember that the hero's direction should not always be the right one. There's nothing more annoying than a perfect hero who is so morally sound that even the gods kiss his feet. You should put your hero on the wrong direction every now and then and cause him/her to do something he/she will regret later." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can keep or throw out as many of these tips as you want. If it would be at all possible, mention that these are articles from my site. Thank you.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2006 18:02:46 GMT -5
Learn a lesson! Learn a lesson!
If you're looking to add "depth" to your story, that's what you should do. If the characters grow as a person and come to learn a lesson in life through the story, perhaps the audience will too. What it then depends on is how mature/immature the audience is in relation to the characters. Give credit to Neo though, but definitely if you use any of his tips use that one!
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Post by Rodak on Aug 25, 2006 17:06:55 GMT -5
WOW!
I got back online in time for the deadline!
I hope the morning is OK!
Not much time now, but I AM making a comeback!! Really!
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Post by Doan the Nado on Aug 25, 2006 17:18:38 GMT -5
I'm actually starting to put something together right now. I can hold off til morning, but I'm doing some moving tomorrow, so please try to get it to me as early as possible.
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Post by Rodak on Aug 25, 2006 18:08:44 GMT -5
I keep ODD Hours!
Just after 7:00 PM Here, and almost bedtime!
I'm up between 2 & 3.
I'll have it uploaded before you wake up, most likely.
Possibly before you go to sleep if you stay up late!
Thanks for the warning about the timimg...
Good Motivator.
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