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NPC'S ANYONE????
Posts
ackian
0
ackian
View playlists
CloseIs it okay to make the town NPC's static? Something like, they're just standing there looking something from afar. Or would it be better to make a "random-moving" NPC?
And thanks.....
And thanks.....
Xanedil
490
Try to have some variety. If they are looking at something far away, then by all means have then stand still, but at least have them say something about what they're looking at or something. You can also have some that move randomly, some that move back and forth, and even some who move on they're own custom path. Just don't be too repetitive.
nickad
261
It's a matter of personal preference - But moving NPCs make the town look a little more lively and realistic.
You could make certain NPCs stand somewhere, looking off into the distance for a while, and then move around. No one just stands in one place forever!
You could make certain NPCs stand somewhere, looking off into the distance for a while, and then move around. No one just stands in one place forever!
Darken
3952
I really don't like random movement it's easy for an NPC to get caught in some awkward place like a ladder or something. Custom patterns and standing still are fine, maybe even standing still but doing an animation (like say, playing an instrument). But yeah spice it up, add variety, make the town feel lively. And if the town is dark/gloomy/rainy/shitty, do the opposite, have little NPCs, little movement etc. Be creative.
sunshinesan
534
An NPC blocking the way of where you're suppose to go is probably my number one pet peeve for RPGs. It is just goddamn infuriating.
Aten
1570
post=147458
I really don't like random movement it's easy for an NPC to get caught in some awkward place like a ladder or something
Which is why there is a little "forbid event overlap" checkbox. Put it on your ladder/teleport/door event and no npc can move through/over it.
Yeah, I never put random move routes on my NPC's, I generally just set them to a repeatable move route or get an animated sprite from somewhere. I feel really jipped when an NPC has no dialogue myself so all of my NPC's can be spoken too.
Darken
3952
post=147477post=147458Which is why there is a little "forbid event overlap" checkbox. Put it on your ladder/teleport/door event and no npc can move through/over it.
I really don't like random movement it's easy for an NPC to get caught in some awkward place like a ladder or something
Yeah but what if it just gets in your way?
The forbid event overlap stops any events from stepping on that spot. Put one in front of your door/ladder/space you don't want to get caught in and they can't go there. Easy fixed.
Tonfa
150
I generally prefer static NPCs because they're less of a pain to track and interact with. Don't give a damn about how realistic or unrealistic the 2D fantasy town is - gameplay first.
Tonfa
150
post=147515
Important NPCs can always be left in a certain spot if their role demands it, but most NPCs (the ones who have little to do with the gameplay) should be doing more than just standing around going; "Welcome to Lamesville" whilst walking around the same patch of grass over and over.
Hm, well. To expand on the last post, NPCs moving around and living "realistically" (which really just ain't happening) does not equal immersion.
In Soul Nomad & The World Eaters, NPCs are literally just menu options in towns you choose and get some dialogue from. Yet the game does NPCs so much better than most - NPC dialogue is updated a double digit amount of times during the course of the game, some NPCs migrate, change their job title, or die. All of this while you don't even see their graphic unless you pick a fight with them (in which case they use a generic class sprite).
Aten
1570
post=147496post=147477Yeah but what if it just gets in your way?post=147458Which is why there is a little "forbid event overlap" checkbox. Put it on your ladder/teleport/door event and no npc can move through/over it.
I really don't like random movement it's easy for an NPC to get caught in some awkward place like a ladder or something
Man. So many people DON'T KNOW THIS! Ok, basically, every good rpg engine has a "player can't be trapped by an event" algorithm. This started from the original Final Fantasy and EVEN RPGMAKER HAS IT. Basically, if you get trapped in a corner by an NPC, just push against them. That's all. Pushing them will get the algorithm into effect, causing the NPC event to "move" out of your way, it will randomly pick a direction to walk in until it finds a spot it can move to and move out of your way.
Problem solved. (FF9 had an even better one, pushing NPC's caused you to phase right through them)
Darken
3952
That's not what I'm really talking about. Let's say the random NPC wanders in front of a door. How is that not annoying that you have to wait for a second for him to move out of the way to get to your destination? What about a sitation where you're trying to walk out of the town, a random NPC walks infront of you, you accidentally press against him but decide to go around him but he goes in the direction you were trying to go around. It's not about getting stuck, it's about getting your time wasted.
AznChipmunk
4613
Yeah Darken, I know exactly what you're talking about. I know what you mean Aten but that isn't related to what Darken is complaining about -- it can make it worse sometimes too. I see in commercial games too. I despise randomly moving NPCs and I never do it.
Aten
1570
post=147881
That's not what I'm really talking about. Let's say the random NPC wanders in front of a door. How is that not annoying that you have to wait for a second for him to move out of the way to get to your destination? What about a sitation where you're trying to walk out of the town, a random NPC walks infront of you, you accidentally press against him but decide to go around him but he goes in the direction you were trying to go around. It's not about getting stuck, it's about getting your time wasted.
I get you. And anyway, I have yet to encounter a game where that sort of "time waster" happened to me . Must be some really really small maps. Something like that would never happen in bigger maps where NPC's have more space to move around.
Interestingly, I was just playing Sunset over Imdhal yesterday and I noticed some NPC's were scripted to walk from one house to another etc etc, that was pretty neat. You could take that one step further and just give the NPC a "phase through" during that scripted walk cycle and they'll just pass through you.
I can see what Darken and Azn are talking about but I never really cared. I'm relatively easy to please, and the leagues of players out there who we hope will play our games are as well, so I don't really bang my head against the wall about these little things.
Kaempfer
1932
Man some dude put 1000 hours into making this awesome RPGMaker game and it is great in every regard but come on now I have to wait literally less than five seconds for an NPC to get out of my way?
*burns down house*
I play all games in the editor so I can ctrl+walk when needed! I would deal with it if I couldn't.
*burns down house*
I play all games in the editor so I can ctrl+walk when needed! I would deal with it if I couldn't.
