Battle Design Options

[bulmabriefs144]

-Here, I'll make a crude map of it.

You first have the library which has books you can simply read (the read one has walls, and probably a more cylindrical shape). Then you notice the ladder and unshelve books to climb stacks (we can make a better stack graphic), you can push stuff to make a bridge (rotating the bookcase graphic can give us a tilted and sideways one, and it probably can be done on Paint), or stack entire bookcases with help from the team (bookcase deposit spots are in green). I'm sure this can be more complicated, using levers and such to move platforms, but here's the basic idea. At all points, it should be possible to not just push/topple the shelves, but also read what's in them (it provides interest beyond the pure puzzle, especially if the books are really weird, like The Bloody Shovel of Love). It probably also could stand to be more 3-d, but I made it in like 10 min.
- I don't really care about the battle room, so sure.
- Maybe a mirror puzzle, with warped space? I do know how to make reflective mirrors, and can pass the code along.
-Sounds good.

This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Dec 9 2012, 05:50 AM

[MEands]

Oh okay, I think I get that. Yeah the main thing I'm hoping for is that we can get a 3D puzzle look to it. Perhaps certain parts of the puzzle will be near impossible to figure out, causing the player to read the books that teach how to do some of it. This will just be incentive for them to read the books (cause seriously, when you play an independent game with no current fanbase how much does the lore matter to you?).
But yeah, this seems pretty cool. I think we should make more than one way up though, so it looks more like a real library, and not a set up path for you to solve a puzzle for.

Mirror puzzle? That sounds really cool, I'd like to hear more on that.

[Sparrowsmith]

Oh okay, I think I get that. Yeah the main thing I'm hoping for is that we can get a 3D puzzle look to it. Perhaps certain parts of the puzzle will be near impossible to figure out, causing the player to read the books that teach how to do some of it. This will just be incentive for them to read the books (cause seriously, when you play an independent game with no current fanbase how much does the lore matter to you?).
But yeah, this seems pretty cool. I think we should make more than one way up though, so it looks more like a real library, and not a set up path for you to solve a puzzle for.

Mirror puzzle? That sounds really cool, I'd like to hear more on that.

When reading the books, I think there should be a brief description, and then the book itself.
-Examine Book
-"[It's a recording of famines in the local area"]
-Show choice: Continue reading/ Ignore.

[bulmabriefs144]

Yea, there should be some way both to push the shelf and to read the books.

Books on a shelf are usually best as the following:

(Title/Brief description)

Read?

Y/N

Books in rpgs should also be summaries, about the length of a children's story, even if it's a historical account. You can use also characters to sum up long details, and skip pages. And children's stories should be even shorter, but so freaking sappy they auto-tearjerk any ounce of feeling from you.

Mirror puzzle could probably be something like wandering around in circles, and if you turn the wrong corner you get warped space (teleport back and forth alot, and string together a few maps). You might be able to do things like walk through a mirror to proceed, or there might be situations where you have to get the mirror image to move a certain way by moving away. Or outrun your mirror image somehow.

[MEands]

I'm really into this mirror puzzle now, is there any way to program a working reflection in a mirror?

[bulmabriefs144]

This is the basics of how you do it.



I figured this out by walking in front of a mirror. The image follows you (in this case by teleport, but if could also probably do a pass through movement) and faces you except when you are facing away. People mistakenly reverse the left-right facing, but this isn't really what happens.

When you walk away, the mirror image should do its last animation and change to a blank charset. You need a touch event that does this.


And you need a moving/teleporting event that normally looks blank until you change the graphic (the Mirror Image).

You can also use this for something like an enemy that bars your path by mirroring you, by editing the code slightly.

This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Dec 11 2012, 06:41 AM

[Sparrowsmith]

I like it!
Also, if we're walking through mirrors (or anything really) we'll want to darken whatever is on the other side of the mirror (or object) to make it less obvious you can walk through it.
Not hard to do, I just wanted to bring it up.

[bulmabriefs144]

No need. You make effectively a wall inside all the mirrored area. The mirror is a floor length, and just basically looks like an ordinary funhouse mirror maze. Only you can walk into some mirrors (slip-through followed by a teleport to another zone). And possibly some things can walk out...

To keep people from being completely baffled, there should be some small detail that lets you know there's something not right. Maybe the reflection in this case is less/more transparent.

This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Dec 12 2012, 05:10 PM

[bulmabriefs144]

Bump.

In regards to the whole counterspelling thing, I figured out how to turn base on 2k3.

Make all applicable enemies with TurnWait is ON. If TurnWait is ON, Do Nothing at 100 (put this above all other battle actions for monster). Also make a variable named Turns.

Now, make two common events, both are in their own Turn 1x. The first one just has Enemy Turn common event in it. The second has if Hero1 Attacks, Defends, etc for all heroes, and Your Turn inside it (it advances a turn into enemy attack each action).

Enemy Turn:
If TurnWait OFF
If Turn >= MonsterNum (set this at the battle start, the number of monsters on the field)
Turn, Set PartySize (set this at the start too the number of party members. This will adjust for your total party, meaning it's more difficult to attack with one member, rather than giving the same turns as the monsters)
TurnWait ON
Else
Turn +1
End
End Event Processing

YourTurn:
If TurnWait ON
If Turn <= 0
TurnWait OFF
Else
Turn -1
End
End Event Processing

(It basically fills and empties the counter)

For spells you can make them only cast if a Cast switch is ON (less reliable, sometimes it doesn't turn off in time), making a proper counter stop the spell.

We're not using 2k3, but it should be easy enough to translate this over, unlike script.

This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Jan 30 2013, 08:06 PM

[Sparrowsmith]

I can see that working.
In theory it's just about pausing the attacks and having common events be ran instead.

[bulmabriefs144]

Yea, that sounds about right.

...We need to keep working on this. It's been few weeks with no new ideas.

[Sparrowsmith]

It's hard to get motivated with fewer and fewer people actively contributing, not to mention the forum as a whole is quieter of late.
If I can find the time, I'll make some headway on that battle system, maybe even make a concept design of opening scenes.

In the meantime we can discuss dialogue, characters, how they interact, etc.
Seeing as most of the group are gamers (to some extent) I imagine they would make references to games occasionally in conversation, and especially while playing one. I've also been thinking about Johnny, and the coma situation. Would it be unrealistic, considering the affiliations he has with the programmers, for him to have an interest in programming himself? Combined with Kevin being one of the programmers, this could lead to some interesting conversations between the two of them that can be interpreted differently when you think of Johnny as being programmed himself (or his world at least).

I also think in regards to Matryoshka, we could use water as a symbolism for free will. I believe I mentioned this some time ago, when Matryoshka or pandora talks to any characters (if this happens). All worlds with free will must be contained, because their contents are fluid, and mix around. Any world with free will is contained within a container of some kind (layer 1, layer 2, layer 3?).
Basically, whenever a big decision is made in game, or even a small one, we could place flowing water nearby (where appropriate) to symbolize the appropriation of free will.
Just some thoughts I had.

[bulmabriefs144]

If you've got an idea, go with it. I want exciting and fresh, the sort of thing that draws people back into this project.

Middle paragraph, yes this is fine, although not for layer 1 of course (too low tech, since it's fantasy).

It's kinda sucky that we can't use 2k3 (guys said something about copyright), I found a number of plugins (some newly made). I figured out in fact a script that can write a short password to a a txt file, with an equivalent script in another engine you could read it. If someone can "translate" this code into a script, you could do the file storing and file checking (if it checks, it turns on a switch, which helps with new branches, and you can do stuff on each playthrough or transfer plotlines from game to game). It's sorta limited, you can't transfer stats this way, but you can do stuff like carrying a branch.

See if you can use this.

That, and Save Detector (if you can get it to translated somehow with the other engines).

This post has been edited by bulmabriefs144: Feb 8 2013, 08:25 PM

[MEands]

I like the water idea, I think that'll do very nicely.
(Sorry for not being much help, I'm not much help when it comes to battle programming, I'll try to come up with more things later)

[bulmabriefs144]

Then let's work on the other stuff too.

I only posted here to start with because I'd come up with new code.