Custom Battle System (Help and Assistance), Quick questions in RM2k3 Options

[OranGemeo]

Hey there,

Question 1:] Answered! (Was in regards to exporting images from Photoshop to RPGmaker.


Question 2:] Don't believe I need Q2 anymore (Was asking about the prospect of using "Linking to an Event" under the Class Menu.
--Any help would be appreciated, or comment if this just sounds quite complicated. Anyway, thanks for your time, and any help would be welcomed

Question 3:] Hoping to implement a custom battle system that does the following:
-ATB style play (waits though, on character turn)
-Has the option to Attack and Flee with influence from stats.
-Possibly the option to have an additional stat. (I think I do this through variables)
-Battle command options:
Attack (duh)
Spirit Command (Characters equip ghosts, or spirits, that give them traditional FF skills and abilities. They use from this menu. Most characters can only equip 5 of these.
Character Specific Moveset (Character has an ability that is used by accumulating AP throughout the battle. These tend to be rather powerful, such as summoning a magical beast or boosting the defenses of all party members the same as "defend" would)
Item (Surely hope I can tie this to the default item menu or something)
Flee (Chance to flee)
Character Specific Action (Character uses an action that costs no MP or AP. They aren't amazing, but can be useful. One character learns "Pray" - which heals all members a tiny bout of HP)

Any help on how to achieve this will be helpful! Thanks

This post has been edited by OranGemeo: Jul 6 2011, 12:38 PM

[Vanit]

Question 1) The file was initially black in rm2k3 because it will ONLY accept images that are with an index of 256 colours or less. You can do this in photoshop by changing the image mode to indexed once you're done and it will do the indexing for you, and then save it without changing the mode, and then undo it so your source file ofcourse is still in full colour.

As for the resolution, rm2k3 only accepts title screen images that are 320x240. If you want to make your image look better in lower resolution I'd suggest minimizing the amount of antialiasing you have as it doesn't work well in low resolutions.

--

I have no idea about question 2 sorry, I don't use the default systems.

[Zinx10]

1. I would suggest Cherry's better auto enter patch:

2. Better Auto Enter Patch for RM2k and RM2k3

Download Patch (625 KB): http://cherrytree.at/downloads/betteraep.rar
Download Demo Project (321 KB): http://cherrytree.at/downloads/betteraep_demo.rar

This patch includes everything you need for creating your own title screen
> The standard title screen will be skipped, the game starts directly at the start map.
> You can call the load menu from an event script.
> You can exit the game from an event script.
> BetterAEP is a stand-alone patch. You don't need any other patch to get it working. If you want to combinate it with another patch, apply BetterAEP at first.

To call the loading menu or exit the game, the event command "Stop Parallel Events" (or "Stop Event" in some versions) and the variable no. 3350 is used. This variable has been chosen, because most of the games don't use it.

If variable no. 3350 contains the value 1 when "Stop Parallel Events" is called, the load menu will pop up. If it contains the value 2, the game will quit. If it contains any other value, the standard "Stop Parallel Events" command will be executed.

2. I am not understanding 100% of what you mean. Try going under battle layout to create battle menu options (if that is what you meant).

[Vanit]

^

I'd just like to clarify the auto-enter patch will just let you skip the title screen and make your own custom menu that can act in place of it. You're still restricted by rm2k3's image restrictions even if they show the title screen as a picture ingame.

This post has been edited by Vanit: Jul 6 2011, 12:46 AM

[OranGemeo]

Thanks for the help. Vanit, that sounds exactly like what I was looking for the the title screen. I'll try it and let you know how it went.

-As of today, I've been focusing my attention to my battle system. Which is I think really important before I continue any more. I really want the FF4 type look, and this is what I've come up with so far.


(Please Note: The battle background and character battle sprites aren't what they will look like. This was just thrown together. Been working on this since 8am this morning)
Of course, it is far from functional. I've just been getting my pictures aligned where they should go. What I want to ask, is... Am I going about doing a battle the right way?

So far, I've been using parallel processes and I assume I will be using variables to control enemy attack, defense, values. Am I going to have to somehow program each ability such as attack and defend, or am I allowed to use the attack command from the battle system? (I don't see how I'd do this)

I know it's a pretty big task, and I suppose I should ask, have custom battle systems been done in Rm2k3 before? If so, does anyone have any links or tutorials I could use to help me understand this better? I'm so confused as to how you'd do an ATB gauge, and HP/MP, etc.

(I don't suppose there is a way to just make a few adjustments to the default ATB battle system, is there? o.O)

This post has been edited by OranGemeo: Jul 6 2011, 09:20 AM

[Zinx10]

Custom battle systems HAVE been done before. There aren't tutorials, but I could help you (I am making a custom battle style).

SIMPLE CBS PROOF (Not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZJZeN8xls4...notation_364323

[OranGemeo]

Custom battle systems HAVE been done before. There aren't tutorials, but I could help you (I am making a custom battle style).

SIMPLE CBS PROOF (Not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZJZeN8xls4...notation_364323

I would love some assistance to get some grasp on how to do some of this stuff. Is it essentially going to be all variable work? And, something in the back of my mind that scares me, is would it be possible to do a number counter vs a gauge? For hp, and stuff?

[Zinx10]

Yes it is all possible. And from my progress, it is mainly pictures and variables.

[OranGemeo]

Awesome! I'm going to get to work on creating almost all the possible pictures I can imagine I'd need. I look forward to working with you

(I detailed the first post with what I'm hoping I can accomplish)

[Zinx10]

Alright, remember that there is a 50 picture limit (if this is 2003). Otherwise, you'll need a picture patch.

[Vanit]

This is something I've been working on, so I can tell you its definitely possible. I'd recommend using the picpointerpatch as it'll save you A LOT of work. Also there's a patch to increase the maximum number of pictures to 127 (Hyper Patcher 2, iirc).

This post has been edited by Vanit: Jul 7 2011, 12:32 AM

[OranGemeo]

This is something I've been working on, so I can tell you its definitely possible. I'd recommend using the picpointerpatch as it'll save you A LOT of work. Also there's a patch to increase the maximum number of pictures to 127 (Hyper Patcher 2, iirc).

That looks incredible Very nice job! That's exactly how I'm wanting mine to play. Did you have to code the skills differently than using the default engine to do it? (Database -> Skills)?

How do RM2k3 patches work btw? I have nothing to worry about by installing them do I?

(I really hope you finish the project you're working on too, btw. Is it a complete FF7 remake? If it is... It'd be my first time playing FF7)

This post has been edited by OranGemeo: Jul 7 2011, 04:16 AM

[Zinx10]

Patches can be easy to handle. Like the auto-enter patch is VERY simple to work with. Some other patches are harder since they edit the database. Like the picture patch. There shouldn't be anything to worry about. Also, he probably used variables. It also seems that you won't need my help, since his is closer to yours (if he is willing to help).

[Kero-chan]

Hi, everyone.

I will ask a question:
Hyper Patcher 2 Demo works in RPG Maker 2003 1.09a?

[Zinx10]

Hi, everyone.

I will ask a question:
Hyper Patcher 2 Demo works in RPG Maker 2003 1.09a?

Not sure, but I think it would be best to ask Cherry.

[OranGemeo]

I'd take any help I could get Been playing around it some, I just can't wrap my head around some of the stuff yet. Is it mainly variables and switches I'll be using to make this happen?

[Kero-chan]

But how can I ask to Cherry?

[Hardrock16]

Is there any site where i can download the PicPointer Patch..?
Cherry's download link is dead...

[Renkai141]

Is there any site where i can download the PicPointer Patch..?
Cherry's download link is dead...

yea I pointed that out long ago

[GalzaRPG]

Question 3:] Hoping to implement a custom battle system that does the following:

-Has the option to Attack and Flee with influence from stats.


Spirit Command (Characters equip ghosts, or spirits, that give them traditional FF skills and abilities. They use from this menu. Most characters can only equip 5 of these.
Character Specific Moveset (Character has an ability that is used by accumulating AP throughout the battle. These tend to be rather powerful, such as summoning a magical beast or boosting the defenses of all party members the same as "defend" would)


Character Specific Action (Character uses an action that costs no MP or AP. They aren't amazing, but can be useful. One character learns "Pray" - which heals all members a tiny bout of HP)

Any help on how to achieve this will be helpful! Thanks

Dunno if you still need help with this... tinkered a bit with a few "custom" engines, so I might be able to shed some insight with this. You might want to do your own tinkering and research besides what I say here, this is just what I've come to understand through trial and error.

Fleeing based on stats - This is going to have to be a variable linked to either your characters HP or MP (its only what 2k3 allows you to variable in battle unfortunately) .. which means you'll probably have to use HP. Like, the higher HP the better they are at running away. You can actually add the Flee command in the menu and trigger it using battle events like "Character uses Command" condition trigger and the run the variable.

Spirit Command - So basically materia right? Here's the thing about this. You can add skills by items the party is using, but if you want them removed when the character is no longer using the item, you're going to basically hit a brick wall. I did something similar with trinkets, adding a tiny additional skill with it. You end up with a mile long common event that brings the game to a lagging halt. 2k3 just doesn't have the processing power to do it. There's probably a way you can work around this by having the skill unlocked over time, but either way its going to have to stay on the character if you want to use this as a means of learning spells and such.

Char Moveset - This one is easy. Make a variable for each character, each time they get an AP, whatever you want to trigger it, add one to the variable. Whenever they reach their limit or their requirement, add in the skill. Removing the AP might be a bit tricky, there's only so many ways you can do this. 2k3 doesn't have the ability to distinguish what skill is used by whom and when, just if they possess it, or what command it's under. So.. removing AP is going to result in having it all spent at once. Great for having final limitbreak style attacks, but if you want more than one, might run into a few issues depending how creative you were hoping it to be. Having it as its own separate menu works because you can use that handy "Character uses Command" option to empty out your AP.. then its just a matter of removing the skill when the AP isn't sufficient. Displaying it in a way that makes sense is another thing you'll have to wrangle with. I'm not sure how custom bars work in 2k3, but I know it can be done.

Char Speific - I'm not sure if you want to use this as a menu thing or not. (Locke's Steal, Terra's Morph etc) Its pretty easy to make a skill that only one character has that doesn't cost him/her anything for the sake of redundancy, I personally would bundle this stuff with AP, but it's not really my call to make. The menu option is going to follow the similar "Character uses Command" in battle events as well as a variable that controls it, say like.. Pray is tethered to 1/2 the user's HP or something. Easy to do, but kind of limited. You'll find that out a lot the more you tinker with the program.

This post has been edited by GalzaRPG: Nov 5 2011, 08:22 AM