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Game Design & Demos How do you fill a role?

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Jaabi

October 10, 2009, 08:05:14 am

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Cliché characters are fine if they're justified. "Clichés" and "stereotypes" will forever be argued. It's not the elements of the characters themselves that's the problem: it's how they're used.

Mary Sues are different. When you have a cliché character without negative elements to balance out the defining ones, when you don't have reasons for the way they are, then the character is flat, and the player won't be able to connect.

Okay, I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I think that covers how I see it.

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Game Design & Demos Check if a hero knows a skill based on variables?

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Jaabi

September 29, 2009, 09:56:09 pm

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Oh I know I have to check every skill for the picture display. There's no way to create a code that 'builds' a filename to look for. (I've got filenames formatted like sk_1_2 meaning skill - level 1 - id 2) I was more concerned with getting the variables right. This code means I just have to grab a hero and it'll give me five variables for each skill the temporary hero data has, then use those in the picture menu.

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Game Design & Demos Check if a hero knows a skill based on variables?

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Jaabi

September 29, 2009, 01:08:18 am

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@Mineyl: Well, never mind that. I went back with my original idea because items are limited to 99, and I didn't want to mess around with the way I am formatting IDs to get around that. Plus "EXP to Next" has to be a variable too (along with Conditions! Jeez. D: ), so using some variables for individual heroes turned out to be unavoidable after all.
... and I got sick of naming items. (I cheated with the variables by only naming the first ones. I'll name the rest when the get directly edited later.)

@Lackeos: True. To avoid this possibility I have been using Labels in some other code to skip areas depending on variables. This mind you will be much more important with something like this where there are far more branches. Multiple event pages will work too.

Anyway.

This is the code I ended up with. I find the loop I've created kind of neat, because it cuts down branches drastically... I just have loads of branches to set the "starting point" for the variables to be set up.
The first variable being set - 0087 - is being set to 81 because 81 is the temporary skill ID 1. The following branches then tell where to get the value from to put into variable 0081, and then an loop sets and increases the values.
As long as variables are in the same order, this works very nicely. %D

So much for that then. If only there were more things that could be dumped/checked to/from variables. :<

You know what would be good right now though? Some sort of photoshop plugin that can turn a list or Access database into images automatically so I would be going through edit - save for web - check name - edit - save for web - check name ... my hands are sore only after 17 edits to the help/description and list image. D:

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Game Design & Demos Check if a hero knows a skill based on variables?

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Jaabi

September 28, 2009, 04:03:53 am

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@Mineyl:
Oh... let's go with that. Thank god I hadn't started on the tedious variable naming. XD Well, onto making... 150 items instead! XP
Let's see... that should make the code...
If [Temp ][/Temp] = [hero ][/hero]
Var [Temp ][/Temp] = [hero ][/hero]
Var [Temp ][/Temp] = [hero ][/hero]
etc.

Right?

@Lackeos:
Groups of six characters link up to learn the same skills, with a menu asking what skills to learn upon level up. Not learning some skills will obviously cut off others. This limits each "slot" to only a few possible skills, and the possible skills are checked by temporary variables. This means the player has to decide what characters in the same skill-class learn what skills.
The only lag that might be induced is either when the temporary variables are set (30 conditional branches being checked to set 10 to 15 variables) or if I have no Wait somewhere for picture display.
I might be missing something in relation to your post.

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Game Design & Demos Check if a hero knows a skill based on variables?

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Jaabi

September 28, 2009, 12:29:33 am

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Posts: 18

Dumping the database altogether - as I would in option 2 as far as skills are concerned - would be more flexible; but I am so fussy about the organisation of my custom systems. And with switches and variables - they're much harder to organise if you change something later or even forget something... as I have before.

Option 1 isn't so much messy, as needlessly bulky. Conditional branches for every hero (30), with every possible skill they can learn (about 8-12 I think, depends on the hero). If I could set it by variables, it would probably reduce it drastically.

I could've cemented character skills so that they always learn the same ones - this would avoid this problem because I'd just check IDs and levels - but I worried that players would feel like they don't have enough customisation, so I planned a "skill grid"-like system, resulting in the need to check specific skill knowledge.

EDIT: I'm going to go ahead with the second option and see how that goes. Because it's only the skills that will be managed this way it may be easier than my last CBS attempt disaster. = w=;
I'm not sure what using items like skills would do - my guess is that they'd be equipped in each of the five equipment slots to work as the five skills, then- oh! XD I see what you mean, I can actually check item IDs this way to check skills just like equipped items. Sounds like a good idea, but I am using equipment for... equipment. Maybe for another project... (Though after this game I think I'll probably be sick of RM. Way too many dead projects... Oh real life you scamp.)

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Game Design & Demos Check if a hero knows a skill based on variables?

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Jaabi

September 27, 2009, 09:42:53 am

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I am working on a custom battle system; and as a CBS it is populated by a-many pictures to display things.
Including menus listing skills.

In the CBS there is an event that checks if temporary variables are specific values for specific entries. There are five temporary variables - the number of skills a hero can learn, and the number that is displayed on-screen.

I have come across a problem though. Conditional branches can check if a hero knows a specific skill - but neither can be determined by variables. They're absolute, if that's the right term.

* * *

There are two ways I could get around this:

The first way is messy code-wise, but may be easy in the long run.
In my "temporary variable common event" - a common event that "dumps" hero data to a set of variables based on their ID, I check what ID is being checked, then for every possible skill that hero can learn I have a conditional branch. The kind I mentioned earlier.

If [Temp ][/Temp] = 1
If [Hero ][/Hero] knows [Skill ][/Skill]
Set Var Temp Skill 1 = 1
end
If [Hero ][/Hero] knows [Skill ][/Skill]
Set Var Temp Skill 1 = 2
end
And so on.

Thankfully only certain skills can exist in a certain "slot" - thus reducing variance, but it is still incredibly messy. I can still use RM2k3's core skill system, and thus reducing code elsewhere.

* * *

The other option is much cleaner and smaller, but it doesn't quite... stick.
For each hero there are five variables, and these store what skills are known. With thirty characters planned in total (okay six, but each one has five characters they can use like equippable skill-sets... it's not that complicated... I think.) this would amount to 150 variables used.

Code-wise, I'd just need to create a loop that sets the temporary variables to the value of these variables - as set by another variable, thus meaning I only have to set about five variables code-wise, with a "starting variable" controlling the loop.

However this means I will be using 150 variables and ignoring the core database, as opposed to only 5 variables and using the database.

* * *

After the disaster of trying to dump everything to variables for hero data, then dumping it to another set for temporary use, I want to try and avoid using variables for individual heroes when the database provides for me.

Which method should I use? Or are there any tips or better ways I can go about this?

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Game Design & Demos sample game in rm2k3?

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Jaabi

September 24, 2009, 01:48:57 am

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Uhh.... yeah. I don't see how posting an RM2k game - made with a legal version or not of RM2k(3) - is illegal.

Basically what Corfaisus said above. You must be seriously missing something if you are on a forum that is very closley centred around the RM series and you think that posting games made from the said series is against the rules.

*headdesk*

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Game Design & Demos Rare RPG Maker Game/Demo Request Topic

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Jaabi

September 17, 2009, 02:48:39 am

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Quote from: SegNin on August 21, 2009, 06:47:05 am

That's actually an older demo. There was a newer version uploaded to the RRR forums with part two, and then again at RMXP.net (maybe RRR too) with part one revamped again.

So it's not complete in the sense of getting to the end of the game complete. :/

EDIT: oh UzaNeim already pointed this out derp %B

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Game Design & Demos The Screenshot Topic

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Jaabi

August 23, 2009, 05:12:34 am

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@Mince Wobley: What you describe sounds a little odd, because it'll seem like you're loosing EXP. Instead I've swapped the states (was next to Lv) and EXP around, and now just have To-next-lv-exp displayed.

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General Talk Introduce yourself

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Jaabi

August 22, 2009, 03:40:44 am

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Cyone banned after one post? ... I better watch my back then. |P

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Game Design & Demos The Screenshot Topic

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Jaabi

August 22, 2009, 03:02:22 am

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What are these 'rules'? I didn't quite follow the first post, and seeing as I haven't seen many gut wrenching posts, I'm not sure if "making Craze throw up" is a real task for this topic or not.

Unless you're talking about different rules.

EDIT: Prettified version of my above screen. Character art is a placeholder. (And the item names too obviously.)

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Game Design & Demos Rare RPG Maker Game/Demo Request Topic

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Jaabi

August 21, 2009, 03:33:00 am

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Posts: 18

@Nessiah: It's on the list isn't it?

I notice Legend of the Philosopher's Stone is on there too with a '[FULL]' next to it. I didn't know it was finished... :/ (I got two demos from here before the big main-site change, and there was an earlier one too.) Or maybe it's just the latest demo? The one that ends just after the prison dungeon.
The link is broken though, I'm getting errors like:
Warning: main(/QueryString.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/rpgunlea/public_html/forums/SSI.php on line 57

I might upload Taut to be added to this list, unless Charon plans on returning here soon to fix his topic and continue the game. :/

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Game Design & Demos The Screenshot Topic

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Jaabi

August 21, 2009, 02:58:30 am

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Messed around with RMVX's default stat behaviour; equipment uses separate stats, the three hidden rates (hit, evasion, critical) are now visible and increase each level (if a bit linearly), and added four new stats that work to boost the main stats similar to Shin Megami Tensei. (At least the first two, not sure about the others.)

That was easy. God only knows how I'm going to get an Individual Turns Battle System to work. D:

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Game Design & Demos Strange idea for custom feature

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Jaabi

August 06, 2009, 05:25:59 am

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Quote from: Drule on August 01, 2009, 06:07:22 am

Well, that's 3 ATK for me then. . _.;

"Tests" that affect stats or misc stat boosts are fine, but only if they're done well. Or rather; if they don't make too much difference early in the game and the strengths can be altered later on. Like with FFTA2's "privileges". The initial privileges were defined according to the answers to your questions in the beginning, and you could earn new ones later on.

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General Talk The launch of GW7

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Jaabi

July 23, 2009, 03:31:27 am

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Wordpress is becoming pretty popular. It's kinda cool to see how people are using it in different ways. :o

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General Talk Introduce yourself

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Jaabi

July 21, 2009, 08:39:17 am

Self proclaimed lazy bum
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Posts: 18

Insert generic welcome here and blabbering fanboyism towards RPG Maker. (Not really. I'm more of a blabbering artist and web designer.)

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Game Design & Demos The Screenshot Topic

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Jaabi

July 21, 2009, 08:11:04 am

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Posts: 18

Tip: When you're pushing giant boulders around during mountainside dungeons, make sure you check where your boulders are going.

... I ought to make the blockage look more like a pile of rubble lodged in there.

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