Breeding event *finally with video*, uses ACTUAL science! Options

[Alt_Jack]

Sometimes I make an event so complicated and convoluted, I feel the need to share it (work recognition n' such, you know? ) , so I made this one for my game. You take two characters and "breed" them, producing a single character (you lose the parents, to keep party numbers reasonable) with traits from both "parents" . It's kinda like synthesizing items, but with actors. You can also make it more complicated by requiring an item (we'll go into that later) . Keep in mind that my math (esp. algebra) is terrible, because I very rarely use it. Here goes:

[Show/Hide] responsible sexy time

condition branch: actor XY is in party (this is actually encompasses all the available possibilities, because... )
-> condition branch: actor XX is in party (...it establishes one parent, then checks if the potential matches are available)
text: Parents: Father: \n[XY] , mother: \n[xx] (might as well know who the parents are)
(optional - have some images fly in to show the "happy" couple and get some idea of the horror miracle you/they are about to create, and remember to have them erase after you make your choices, otherwise they stay on the screen)
Is this okay?
choices: yes, no
when yes - (bare with me, because this is where the science and math come into play, which I'll explain in a bit)
control variable: father level - set to - actor XY's level
control variable: mother level - set to - actor XX's level
control variable: Add variables father level + mother level
control variable: divide father level (I'm not sure if it matters) by 2
(this is a bit backwards from the "natural way" : Meosis )
remove (the parents, yes both of them)
add actor (whoever their kid is)
change level (of said offspring) - increase (for their own good) - variable (whatever the parents was)

[Show/Hide] You see, Peter...

The variable math adds, then divides the parents respective levels (PL) in a kind of reverse meiosis (you can do it the other way, but I found this way works better) , then inceases the child's level (CL) be the result. Assuming that you're starting the child off at Lv1, PL will be increased by 1, because you're adding it to the child's initial level. Ex:
Father's Level is 16, Mother's Level is 12
divide both in half
PL = FLv = 8 + MLv = 6
PL = 14
Child's Lv = 1
PL + CL = 15
therefore, the child will start off at level 15.
As an Excel or Algebra formula (for easier caculation) it looks like this: =A3+((A1/2)+(A2/2))
A1 is the father's level (16) , A2 is the mother's level (12) and A3 is the child's initial level.

anyways, so the parents are gone (for whatever reason, probably dead or irresponsible or something) and you've added the kid and increased their level. I'd advise doing this next:
recover all: (the offspring) Why? Because the stupid thing doesn't change the numbers proportionally. If they had 12 HP at Lv1, guess how much HP they have now? TWELVE. Yeah. Always heal your chars after an inexplicable level change.(here you can add a wonderful picture of the kid, which you have to remember to erase as well)
Then open up your party menu to check to make sure you didn't f--- anything up like I always seem to do (usually several times, actually) .

[Show/Hide] to review

pick the parents, confirm the parents, get their levels, do the math, remove them, add the kid and add the level result to the kid's level then heal up the kid so they don't have <4% of their HP/MP, and erase any visual aids that you may have employed. As for items (cuz cloning, inter-species mixes and in vitro are all the rage), just put an additional condition branch in before it checks for parent #2.
And that should be everything.

side note: I'm not entirely sure about what happens when PL + CL is, say, 13.5 or really anything that ends in .5 nor can I tell you about any changes in their total Exp. I think it just rounds it down , so it'd be 13, rather than 14. That's what I got, anyway.

This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: Jul 20 2011, 12:17 PM

[Pharonix]

Pretty nifty, I was thinking about a Generation, breed system.
This might just help me at some point

[Alt_Jack]

It gets a bit tricky, since you wind up having a very large character base. I'm at about 30+ characters, which means I need ref images, facesets and sprites for all 30 of them, as well condition branches for each possible combination. I got all fancy and made a choice system whereby you can "breed" your new members either naturally (sexy time! ) or "mystically" , with both processes yielding different results (ex: natural yields higher attack stat, mystic yields higher magic but lower def) . The mystic option also means you can have inter-species (i.e werewolves, vamps, ect) or same-sex parents. Well, I shouldn't say inter-species; you're just adding some extra DNA into the mix, since it's energy rather than the more limited natural methods. Again, this creates significantly more work for you (and they do have to look like their parents) , so I had to make an extensive Excel chart to keep track.

This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: Jul 16 2011, 06:44 PM

[Pharonix]

Lots of science there.


On another note....
[I have 46 playable characters,

of course not really,

Many characters might not join if conditions aren't met.

There's a quest or two that a player fights solo against a monster/boss etc as the character who may join. if they die during the battle, that character 'dies' for good however, the character joins if you win with him, or you can choose to fight with him at the start, losing karma.

This many characters allows me to make some sort of guild as well.

Also a generation-based game allows me to set up multiple storylines, and remove characters who would either die
or in general leave after the first.

One character, Ulrik, becomes the new king after a certain generation, so he leaves the party, but you can still interact with him.

This post has been edited by Pharonix: Jul 17 2011, 09:28 AM

[Alt_Jack]

You might want to grab a "large party" script like KCG's for that kind of thing.
I have this one script where you can create huge choice lists, which makes selecting the parents a lot easier, but I just hate having to make so many sprites and facesets.

This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: Jul 17 2011, 08:35 PM

[Pharonix]

I'm actually using modern algebra's integrated reserve party.

Works wonders

[Alt_Jack]

The tricky thing about this event, though, is that it cuts your party numbers down significantly, which forces you to try to come up with as many combinations as possible, since your 4 member party becomes 2 members. All in all, it's a pretty complicated event and I'm sure few people will find a use for it.
At least all the graphics I've made for it seem popular (esp. the facesets).

[Alt_Jack]

Okay, so I've finally finished it.
The script I use to manage this monster is Yerd's Event Command Menu (or something like that), which works via switches. Basically, this is how it works:

[Show/Hide] I hope you're ready for this

I just used a door; you walk in, flash of light, suddenly you're down two members and have someone else and pop up somewhere else. I will address this door-related nonsense later.
You create a condition branch common event to check who's in the party (or the reserve party, since you probably have a ton of people), which you get to run first. If they are, it turns on a switch.
If the switch is on, it displays the associated common event (which you create for each character, along with a switch for each of them) and you select that member.
In the member's common event menu, you have it turn on the char's switch (it's probably on anyway), and turn off the other character's switches, to establish who you've chosen
My setup has 3 fathers; you select one and the common event turns off the switches for the other two. It also assigns them a corresponding variable, and stores their PL variable, so that you have 2 numbers stored. You then select the mother, which is where it gets complicated (as usual).
The mother's common event has condition branches that check which father switch is on (I couldn't get it working with the variable) , and then runs through the level math-ing, character changing cluster-|=v(K of an event above. You have to create one for each father, so in my case your max. would be 3 switch-activated condition branchs, one for each dad.
At the end (somewhere between adding your new char and adjusting their level) insert a switch that turns the parent's respective switches OFF (they're gone, so they won't reappear).
The whole thing relies on switches and conditional common events, to check who's available. It's worth noting that the kids don't get switches.

[Show/Hide] the doors

Here's where it gets a bit easier. Actually, this is more like the classic magic trick of "A goes in one door, B comes out the other" but with events.
As we all know, doors have 2 event pages.
One the first page, have your special common event menu switches to bring up your mega-menus.
I threw in an animation; you don't really need one, but it looks neat.
Somewhere in the move route commands, change the character's transparency just as they step through the door. Why? Try it without the transparency. Weird, eh? Your character just flickered and changed into someone else. That looks dumb, which is why we throw in the transparency to hide the flicker. They go in, turn invisible, change graphics (while invisible), and then turn off the invisible after they've changed, making it look like they reappeared as someone else. It's a bit of slight-of-hand magic, and it can be tricky to get the transfer timing right, but it just looks better visually.
At the very end on page 2, re-call your common event that checks who's in the party (since it changed while you were invisible), to update the switches and turn the appropriate ones back on.

[Show/Hide] extra-mystic method

I talked about this before, having an alt. method to the birthing process. Guess what? It gets even more complicated.
create another switch called "mystic", which, again, turns off at the end.
Just under the condition branch that checks the father switch, have an "else" condition branch that checks for: the switch, and any items or states that are required. We'll say it's bird DNA, which lets you make a harpy.
After it checks, give a choice box that asks if you want to add the bird DNA.
If yes, remove the item in question and go through the parenting process, except that it creates the harpy, rather than a human. Save yourself some pain by using the "jump to label" command for the "else" branches, so your event will look like this:

condition branch_ switch [father] is on

condition branch-item-bird egg in inventory ---->the "else" branch for this creates the normal human, which will be labelled.
-flavor text
yes (harpy process)
no jump to label: human
else-jump to label: human

label: human (regular human process)

if the item isn't there or if you decide you don't want to give birth to a harpy, it just label-jumps to the normal process, so really you have 4 possible routes, but only 2 slightly different methods. The label jump just saves you the hassle of having to fill in the other branches.

That should be everything. I'll look it over later and see what I missed, if anything.

[Pharonix]

I think my brain just blew up.

That is actually quite insane (in a very good way)

It's very impressive with the way switches and triggers are used

When can I expect some sort of demo? if possible.

[Alt_Jack]

I think my brain just blew up.
That is actually quite insane (in a very good way)
It's very impressive with the way switches and triggers are used
When can I expect some sort of demo? if possible.

Not for a while, I'm afraid. When I do, it'll just be a Youtube vid, since I don't release playable demos. Most event stuff you can stick in a few boxes, so creating an entire game file just for those boxes with maps, tiles, ect just seems like superflous work.

Anyways, I've hit a bit of a bump. There's a switch that defines which birth method you're using that's causing me some problems, so I'm going to have to run a couple dozen tests to figure out where the wires are crossed.
The problem comes from having to check, "reset" and update everything. When you look at how the common events are thrown together and how the work with the script, it's just like "yeah, well, that makes sense" but when you put it all together and something goes wrong, there's a mountain of stuff to sift through to find out where the problem is.

[LaDestitute]

Okay, this was one of the oddest tutorials I've ever read.

[Alt_Jack]

Okay, this was one of the oddest tutorials I've ever read.

...probably because it's not a tutorial.
I think I might be able to get things working enough for a demo vid; hopefully it'll make more sense.

At least it's not another |=v[|<ing mining event.

This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: Jul 20 2011, 09:14 AM

[Redd]

Wow, looks fantastic This would've been a good thing to use if I ever finished Aradiah xD

[Alt_Jack]

Here goes...you might want to grab a pen and paper.

[Show/Hide] video

the vid took too long to load, so use this hyperlink

[Show/Hide] the results

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-37C__6saPQ

For now it's just that little group, since it obviously takes a lot of time to set things up.

This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: Jul 20 2011, 09:44 PM

[Alt_Jack]

AAaaaaH!!! Double-Post!!!!

This is it, the last part of this crazy event. If you look carefully, one of my other events makes a sort of "cameo" at the beginning. Same-sex couples using witchcraft to create human-animal hyrids...take that conservatives!

[Show/Hide] part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFN_LvWTQk

my apologies to those who made straight-forward events that people can actually use. Don't worry, I'll be gone for most of the school year.


This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: Jul 31 2011, 10:55 AM