|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 12, 2005 18:05:32 GMT -5
True enough, but game designers can keep this in mind when designing battles. Sometimes there are enemies magic won't work on or only certain spells will work. A player can never be sure if a spell will work on a new enemy and many players avoid casting spells unless they know they can't win any other way. It's all about balance - how you decide to balance (limiting MP or making spells fail often) is really up to the designer. It is important to make sure no character is overly powerful or overly week, but in some cases one will have an advantage over another. Keep the battles from being too predictable and players will be forced to upgrade all their characters in case they are needed in the next battle.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Dec 23, 2004 22:27:35 GMT -5
Yes, but in Tactics Orge your magic regenerated every turn. Like I said, if you are going to make magic miss as often as weapons, then spell casers can't be limited in how may spells they can case. How powerful the spells are, yes, but the character should never completely run out of magic points.
I can't tell just by looking at numbers how well your system will work. Play testing, and lots of it, are needed to make sure all character types are balanced in their overall abilities.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Dec 22, 2004 13:26:14 GMT -5
Remember that RPG Maker 2 ignores values below 0, so multiply by 100 first (the default scripts multiply by 1000 to keep a significant digit).
The presets just use a base chance of success for a spell to take effect. I suspose since spells cost MP, it is not a good idea to have them miss very often, unless you make it so that the spell caser has functionally unlimited spells.
In most RPGs, the advantage of damage spells is that they always hit (unlike weapons) but they cost points and are therefore of limited use. If you are going to treat damage spells like weapons, then you need to remove their limitations as well. Otherwise, why use spells at all?
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 17, 2005 16:11:33 GMT -5
Ultimately, it depends on what works in your game. Don't waste time on things that have little effect on game play and play test everything to see how changes effect the rest of the game. This is a question only you can answer as it affects the overall playability of your game.
Good luck.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 14, 2005 21:14:47 GMT -5
I thought he made it clear in the first post that it was game over screens when you die that was the topic of discussion. End of game scenes can last over an hour in some RPGs - which is okay if they are done well and tie up a lot of loose ends.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 14, 2005 14:12:57 GMT -5
10 minutes? I don't think I've ever seen a game over screen last more then a minute - at least not since the Commodor 64 (and most of that was load time). What game has a 10 minute + game over screen?
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 12, 2005 18:15:42 GMT -5
I agree that Game Over screens should be quick and easy to by-pass. On the other hand if something humorous happens to take my mind off dying - that might be okay. Just make it easy to skip if you have just died for the sixteenth time in the same battle.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 13, 2004 9:40:40 GMT -5
I've read the whole black Caldron series and all of C.S. Lewis' novels. I've read some of Feist's works, but none of Rosenberg's. I also read many of Terry Brooke's series of novels which I also enjoyed. I have many other influences, to a greater or lesser extent.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 10, 2004 13:25:01 GMT -5
My biggest challenge was creating the Custom DBS. This required me to understand the DBS inside and out and also understand all the variables and flags as well. RPG Maker 2 keeps track of a lot of information, so if you understand where that info is stored, editing the battle system becomes much easier. I've scrapped some scripts because I found that RPG Maker 2 has an easier way to do it.
The most annoying thing is that there is no command to bring up the ability or item menus, so I have to script them myself. RPGM2 does keep track of all character items but not bag items (other than how many of an item is in the bag). Abilities are stored in the class and character databases, so the game has no variables to track who has what - it is all based on level. In order to find what ability a character has, you have to check their level. It is easier to just use the level to give characters abilities and ignore the classes and level abilities in battle. These are still useful outside battle, unless I want to scrap the default menu system. I haven't tackled that yet.
My game is somewhat based on a book I read, although I have changed the story significantly. I am a long time RPG gamer, so I am inspired by a long history of games.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 11, 2004 9:28:38 GMT -5
I have to say that there is not one absolutely necessary thing. The best games work everything together so that the player has an enjoyable experience. If any piece fails, the whole game fails. If combat is great and the story is lousy you might not feel like finishing the game. If the other way around, you'll give up because you don't want to deal with another fustrating battle.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 13, 2004 9:47:56 GMT -5
I would do a split. My game focuses on story, but I have also created several features that are not part of the basic game system. I would want people to know they are playing something different from many of the other RPG's out there. Not to say mine is better, just that it will be a quality game.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 11, 2004 9:19:10 GMT -5
Welcome to the Default Battle System, Vespuleth. Dispare all Ye who enter here.
I will now explain so things that it took me months to figure out.
1) The ambush script controls what happens when there is an ambush. If you switch to hard mode, you can delete this script and all other Hard scripts. I know someone deleted all the scripts to see if the memory recovered was the same as if you started on hard (it is).
An ambush only happens on the first battle round, and this part of the script is hardwired.
2) the Check Who Goes commands are used to see the battle order. It doesn't effect battle order. Battle order is controled by agility and kept in an Order variable (not sure of exact name) which can be modified if you want the make someone faster or slower.
3) You can't modify many of the battle variables because they are infomation holders not control points. i.e. they change after the fact, they don't cause change themselves. There are several battle variables you can control (most importantly the Action variables) that in turn effect the other variables, so you can effect all the variables, just not directly. This was a major breakthrough for me in understanding how to control and change the DBS.
4) There are some things that are controlled internally. The menu system can't be changed, you can't call the item or ability lists, ambush is internal, and flee is internal (you can determine if the party can flee, but you can't force the party to flee).
I know the battle system can be confusing, and I was planing to write an FAQ about the battle system sometime (using RPG Learner's notes) but I ran out of time before I went back to school. If I have some extra time this weekend, I'll post the battle system variables and flags with a full explanation of what they do and now they can be modified.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 8, 2004 11:51:08 GMT -5
This is a post to let people know what is going on in my Crown of Order forum.
I posted the characters that I plan to have in my game. I would like so feed back if people think I am missing a character type or if any of them seem out of place. Do you like the names I picked or should I choose simplier names. Any suggestions are welcome.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 13, 2004 9:54:19 GMT -5
Right now it is the battle system, but by the time I am finished the core system (menus, time, weather, and the battle system), I would have to say it is how I am pushing RPG Maker to the limits, showing that you can do some amazing things with this game engine, despite the initial limitations. I hope to have a unique game play experience that everyone can enjoy.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 15, 2004 10:55:03 GMT -5
That's a good question. Does world mean world map, or areas totally seperated from each other (like DW7's time traped areas)?
My game will have no world maps. Players will move from one area to the next all at the same scale.
I plan to have two worlds - an over world where the game starts, and an underworld which is connected to the over world by teleport chambers. I don't know if I'll have time to design the underworld, but it is part of the overall story I am planning. Anyone who's player Ultima V will have a basic idea of the world design I am going for.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 11, 2008 12:51:06 GMT -5
If I'm understanding you correctly, you want the party and the two events to move independent of the camera.
On the surface, this is impossible since the camera can't leave the party. However, there are tricks you can use to get around this. Most importantly, the invisible party.
By making the party 100% transparent, you can move the camera around or keep it centered independent of what else happens on the screen.
You may be saying to yourself, "I knew that but I want to see the party." Well, that's where the next trick comes in. Make the party into a group of events. With a little work, you can make the events act like the regular party so the player doesn't know that he is actually looking at a group of events.
If you want the scene to end with the player in control of the party, just move the party over the group of events and turn off the events while turning the party 0% transparent. Now the player can control the party again.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 4, 2008 13:00:26 GMT -5
It has to be an action script so that it will run in the background as the game is played.
I should mention that the script should have a timer on the screen display command so that the light gradually changes as the day progresses (I use 30 F myself). However, doing this makes the light gradually change when the player enters a new map (changing from Noon [the default] to the new light level, which looks really weird if it's suppose to be night).
To avoid this, put the following commands in the enter map script:
Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 0 Screen Display = time [noon] 0 F End SB Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 1 Screen Display = time [dusk] 0 F End SB Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 2 Screen Display = time [night] 0 F End SB Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 3 Screen Display = time [dawn] 0 F End SB
Here's a neat way to do an hour checker that saves memory:
Flag [temp 0] = off SB Repeat Flag [temp 0] = off Script Branch Variable [hour] < 6 Screen Display = time [night] 0 F Flag [temp 0] = on To End SB End Script Branch Variable [hour] < 12 Screen Display = time [dawn] 0 F Flag [temp 0] = on To End SB End Script Branch Variable [hour] < 18 Screen Display = time [noon] 0 F Flag [temp 0] = on To End SB End Screen Display = time [dusk] 0 F Flag [temp 0] = on SB Repeat end
This assumes a 24 hour clock with 0 at midnight and the light changing every 6 hours. You can adjust it to your liking.
How this works it that the repeat never repeats. The To end command jumps the line and causes the repeat to go to the end where it checks to see if it should repeat. Since Flag [temp 0] (a temporary flag that you can use for things like this where you don't need to save the flags orientation) is now on, the repeat ends. This save you from having to check if the variable [time] is between 12 and 18 (for example). Once the scripts checks if [hour] is less then 18, it already knows it must be 12 or higher, since if it was lower, this script branch would have been skipped by the To End command.
Note that the last option (dusk) doesn't need to check [hour] since there is no way to reach this command unless [hour] is between 18 and 23.
I found this trick out by looking at the scripted menu system that the preset game has for testing your game (the one that's set to the [] button). I suggest everyone study this set of scripts for some great tips on how to write tighter code.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 1, 2008 14:34:00 GMT -5
I'm sure this was talked about before. There's probably a script somewhere. There is a clock script in the common scripts topic. What you need to do is run the clock off a variable that keeps track of the hour or time of day so you can use that variable on every map with the clock script.
Here's a simple time of day example. It wouldn't be hard to switch it to a hourly clock.
Script Branch Repeat flag 0 [off] = off Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 0 Screen Display = time [noon] wait 1800 F {This is equal to 60 seconds} Var[time of day] = 1 End SB Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 1 Screen Display = time [dusk] wait 1800 F Var[time of day] = 2 End SB Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 2 Screen Display = time [night] wait 1800 F Var[time of day] = 3 End SB Script Branch Variable [time of day] = 3 Screen Display = time [dawn] wait 1800 F Var[time of day] = 0 End SB
If you place this on every map, then the display will change to the current time of day and the clock will start ticking for the next time of day. To make an hourly clock, all you need to do is have the time of day variable go from 0 to 23. You can make zero equal midnight if you want the hours to follow a standard 24 hour clock.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 2, 2008 13:29:37 GMT -5
If you started on Easy there will be a lot of maps and buildings you can remove if you're not using them. There are also a lot of preset VFX you could get rid of; however, most of the VFX are being used by the Default spells, so you need to be careful not to remove a VFX being used by a spell you're using.
I wouldn't touch any of the scripts unless you know you're not using them (there are a few scripts in the 250-300 range that are just characters talking that you could remove). Most of the unimportant scripts don't take up much memory so it wouldn't make much different if you removed them anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 27, 2008 10:39:10 GMT -5
Never start on Hard unless you're making your game completely from scratch. Normal has everything you need to create a game and little else. Easy, however, had a lot of stuff you don't need unless you what to make a game quickly by throwing a bunch of pre-made stuff together. Actually, beginner has a lot of cool stuff (mainly maps and buildings) that's worth looking at.
On normal, you should have more then enough memory to make a game. If you're running out of space it must be because you're making a lot of VFX which eat away at memory pretty quickly.
Each area of the game also has it own memory limits, which is why the counter showing the available memory in game changes depending on what you're doing.
Get rid of any VFX you're not using and simplify any VFX you created. Don't use snapshots, as you only have enough memory for 3 or 4 of them. Combine several images together if you can, but it's better not to use them at all.
I hope these tips help. Good luck with your game.
|
|
|
pac man
Mar 27, 2008 10:44:29 GMT -5
Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 27, 2008 10:44:29 GMT -5
I don't know of anyone who's make a Pacman-type game, but I don't think you would be too hard. All you'd have to do is have each ghost's script check for the flag and then run for the center if it turns on. Pacman touching the power pellet would turn the flag on and a timer would turn it off.
You'll have to work out the details yourself.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 4, 2008 10:15:19 GMT -5
One other method that works is to place events everywhere the player can jump and this can be used to allow the player to jump higher or jump up on ledges and other areas. There is a limited number of events you can place on an map though, so this method only works for small maps or with maps that limit where you can go (like a platform jumping game).
All the events do is turn on a flag when the party walks on them. Actually a variable might work better or several flags, because the party should be able to jump in some directions and not in anothers.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 3, 2008 11:32:46 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter. A building is a building regardless of how it's placed.
The only way to fix this is to limit where the player can jump. This means creating a check in the jump script that compares where the player wants to jump with where they are allowed to jump. This means that you'll need to check what map the party is on as well. This can lead to a lot of checking to see where the party can go. It's a lot of work but it's the only way it can be done.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 28, 2008 10:38:42 GMT -5
You need the program on the disk to convert the file from a PS2 format to a computer format and vice versa. Any Flash drive will work, so if the max drive breaks you can use any drive to replace it.
|
|
|
Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 23, 2008 15:25:14 GMT -5
I suggest either getting two memory cards and saving your game on both or getting a Max Drive and save a backup of your game on the computer. You should have a Max Drive anyway so that you can download other peoples games and try them.
|
|