Whatchu Workin' On? Tell us! Topic

42

04/13/2015 02:33 AM

author=LockeZ
Sparker, if the game is accepted then you can hover over your name in the top bar of the site and choose Manage Games to manage the game profile and add a download. You can't add one until it's accepted.

No advice on making it not suck, sorry. I dislike the entire CYOA genre, personally. There is a game design and theory forum where it would be a good place to ask questions about how to make your game better, and a help requests forum where you could ask questions about how to use Renpy if you're having trouble with that.

Thank you so much LockeZ, that helps a lot. I not a huge fan of the genre either, but until I can afford to purchase one of the RPG maker engines, I thought that this would be a good way to practice. Thank you though.

BizarreMonkey

I'll never change. "Me" is better than your opinion, dummy!

1625

04/14/2015 03:29 AM

author=Sparker117
Thank you so much LockeZ, that helps a lot. I not a huge fan of the genre either, but until I can afford to purchase one of the RPG maker engines, I thought that this would be a good way to practice. Thank you though.

That's the spirit!

See you obviously want to make games, because even without tools that do a lot of the work for you you're managing to make do!

Biz did not always use RPGmaker, ohoho no! First, when I had no idea how useful the internet was, I would write game manuals (like DND style) in Microsoft Word, then I used the Neverwinter Nights toolset, which doesn't hold your hand nearly as much as RPGmaker does.

We all start somewhere, and you have the knowledge it exists. I didn't, I just went with what I could get my hands on.

slash

APATHY IS FOR COWARDS

4158

04/14/2015 01:35 PM

I'm diving headfirst into the Luna Engine because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need some custom visuals for this battle system. It took me a while to figure out how to import it all, but then I realized I should just look at the example projects ;-_- anyway... I can already see it's got a heck of a lot of potential, though.

Also, I'm starting on an actual Unity tutorial, and trying to figure out what topics I should hit. There's already a lot of really good tutorials out there that are probably way nicer than what I could make, so I'm wondering if there's anything I can really add..?

Erynden

Gamers don't die, they respawn.

1702

04/15/2015 01:39 AM

So, apparently I lied to myself when I said I finally got the "Finished" product of my main cast.

.

The one are the far left is one of the characters I posted earlier but felt a strange urge that my main cast of party members had too many humans in it. The other two are currently NPCs vital to the story but still determining whether or not I want them in the actual party or not. And I tried making the Orc have a dark-ish blue skin color, but after posting this realizing it kinda clashes with the cloak color. D=

CashmereCat

Self-proclaimed Puzzle Snob

11638

04/17/2015 12:05 PM

New slick animations for Account Mu.

Housekeeping

3571

04/17/2015 03:28 PM

Those look pretty slick, cash.

BizarreMonkey

I'll never change. "Me" is better than your opinion, dummy!

1625

04/18/2015 04:57 AM

Began working on Intelligence a fair bit for a change.

Finally working on closing the curtains, and as such things are really gonna begin ramping up. The plot is 'bout to go apeshit goddamn bananas up in here.

Rebezion

1364

04/18/2015 08:18 AM

I am working on map picture

CashmereCat

Self-proclaimed Puzzle Snob

11638

04/18/2015 08:46 AM

Map picture is good...

...map picture is good.

edit: Oh, and thanks, Housekeeping :)

Rebezion

1364

04/19/2015 04:20 PM

I am working on dungeon now.

Craze

why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar

15170

04/20/2015 12:47 AM

wooah i love that "map picture." the trees are so cute =)

class Game_Battler < Game_BattlerBase

  def execute_damage(user)
    on_damage(@result.hp_damage) if @result.hp_damage > 0
    
    dmg = @result.hp_damage
    
    # do u gotz a shield
    if self.mp > 0 
      shield_dmg = [dmg, self.mp].min
      self.mp -= shield_dmg
      dmg -= shield_dmg
    end
    
    # take it like a man
    self.hp -= dmg
    
    # drain it good boi
    user.hp += @result.hp_drain
    
    # Not used, sorrz buds
    self.mp -= @result.mp_damage
    user.mp += @result.mp_drain
  end
  
  
end # Game_Battler

it was hilariously easy to turn mp into shields for my current project

slash

APATHY IS FOR COWARDS

4158

04/20/2015 12:52 AM

That looks a lot better than mine, haha :P


  def execute_damage(user)
    on_damage(@result.hp_damage) if @result.hp_damage > 0
    
    # MP (shield points) takes damage first. remainder goes to HP.
    # ~slash
    if @result.hp_damage > 0
      if self.mp > 0 && @result.hp_damage < self.mp
        self.mp -= @result.hp_damage
      elsif self.mp > 0
        self.hp -= (@result.hp_damage - self.mp).round
        self.mp = 0
      else
        self.hp -= @result.hp_damage
      end
    end
    
    if @result.hp_damage < 0
      self.hp -= @result.hp_damage
    end
    
    self.mp -= @result.mp_damage
    user.hp += @result.hp_drain
    user.mp += @result.mp_drain
  end

I probably should actually learn more about how to do inheritance in Ruby instead of hacking over the original scripts ;-_-

Craze

why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar

15170

04/20/2015 03:07 AM

yeah your logic is sound but you don't really need it. my script will look a lot more hellish soon though, since there's a lot of effects that tie into Shield --

Magic Encirclement- Trait - If Match has a Shield, she takes 20% less Arcane/Psionic/Heavenly damage.

Enduring Arms - Trait - If Natalie’s Shield is greater than her current HP, Natalie takes halved damage.

Talisman - 2CD - 1.5x Psionic damage. Generates no Threat and bypasses Shield.

Gambit - 1CD - 1x Arcane damage to an enemy’s Shield. This attack uses Resolve, not Magic. Hex: Enemy’s Shield takes 20% more damage for two turns.

and so on =P

CashmereCat

Self-proclaimed Puzzle Snob

11638

04/20/2015 04:11 AM

How would you guys recommend getting into balancing RPG battles? I've never actually made a proper RPG, but I'm thinking of getting into making a really battle-intensive game. Any suggestions?

LockeZ

I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.

5958

04/20/2015 04:19 AM

A good place to start would be to use a system with spells and classes/characters closely based on a game or series that you enjoy and are very familiar with. Possibly even a fan-game, but not necessarily, it can just be a game with combat strongly inspired by that game. You probably already know many of the game's flaws in that game's combat and equipment and so forth, and so you can try to figure out how to fix them. When you test your gameplay and watch other people play it, you'll discover that your solutions have unforeseen side-effects and that you will need to address many of those side-effects too. In some cases you'll even discover exactly why the original designers didn't do it your "better" way.

BizarreMonkey

I'll never change. "Me" is better than your opinion, dummy!

1625

04/20/2015 05:56 AM

For balancing, I use very formulaic round numbers, that said, if you want to make a traditional RPG where random encounters give XP, then my methods will be useless, since mine are all progression based, as in: Only plot-progressing bosses give you experience.

Gonna really go nuts with dev in May. Right now though I'm getting things organized and marking my calendar with different dates of importance. Tomorrow I've gotta ring the TAFE at southbank (which is like a college) and reinstate my midyear admission into the desired undergraduate course, ask questions in relation to when it begins, part time and full time semantics, student rented units-- if full time because I'm not gonna travel 2 hours each day if I can avoid it.

Based on those answers, I will decide on if I enter the IGMC, and regardless I also want to start saving for a decent *work* laptop, since I can't go hauling my monolith around everywhere.

So for what I'm working on? Heh, life. :/

But it's all in the interest of making bigger, better game.

slash

APATHY IS FOR COWARDS

4158

04/20/2015 06:39 AM

@Craze: Aw, nice! I don't know exactly how Shields work in your game, but doesn't Enduring Arms kind of encourage taking a lot of HP damage before trying to build shield? It seems like that might feel weird!

I think I have a few SP-centric things in my game:

HP can't be recovered at all during fights, so building SP repeatedly is important.
"Preparation" as a basic stat that determines how much SP you start with
"Kindness" as a basic stat that determines how much SP you generate with spells (on yourself or others, like a healing stat)
"Dissolve" as a above-average DoT effect that only reduces SP, not HP (exposing you to other attacks)
"Shield Burst" as a super-powerful ability that blows up your shield for massive damage (to combo with other heroes' shielding effects)

author=CashmereCat
How would you guys recommend getting into balancing RPG battles? I've never actually made a proper RPG, but I'm thinking of getting into making a really battle-intensive game. Any suggestions?

It really depends on what kind of game you're designing for your players. I'd definitely playtest a lot - like puzzle games, RPGs are hard to test yourself because as the designer you already know the best way to win (and unlike an action game, where even if you know the best moves you still need reflexes).

If you're planning something battle-centric, you can go with a few different approaches. Giving the player the ability to customize their strategy - via equipment, skill choices, a job system, etc. - is a fun way to let them be creative. However, if you want something more like a "puzzle" battles, you can reduce the customization and give each battle a more defined solution for the player to discover. Both have a lot of potential! In addition, your typical attrition-based RPG is a bit easier to balance at the cost of less interesting individual battles, while a heal-after-battle RPG usually has less battles, but each is unique, interesting, and heavily-tuned.

Also, it's super-easy to prototype RPG battles on paper! I'd do some quick little paper battles with paper, dice, and a calculator. You can get a loose idea of how a battle system will "feel" before you actually have to dive into RPG Maker at all, and you can save yourself hours of database work scripting/databasing a system just to find out it's not fun :P

Corti

60

04/20/2015 08:08 AM

author=CashmereCat
How would you guys recommend getting into balancing RPG battles? Any suggestions?

Learn how the numbers are calculated. You should not be surprised by numbers and you should know how and why they are calculated. You should also be able to predict which numbers you are going to see.

If you see numbers you don't understand, find out why they are that way. Don't just change some values here and there.

Balancing is also not about configuring a certain state, a certain battle. It's the path of progression for the player. I wrote two articles about that, but they are in german. If you happen to speak it, i'll give you a link.

LockeZ's advice is worth a mint. I did that years ago and it helped me a lot. Gamefaqs and wikia can be good sources for formulars. If you play an MMO, try that. Those usually have some kind of theorycrafting-scene, so you will find more information.

Things i'm working on:
Plugins and other battle system stuff for Dark Sword.

Craze

why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar

15170

04/20/2015 05:09 PM

slash
@Craze: Aw, nice! I don't know exactly how Shields work in your game, but doesn't Enduring Arms kind of encourage taking a lot of HP damage before trying to build shield? It seems like that might feel weird!

It is a little weird, but it's very strong if you can get it working. Natalie has lots of ways to build Shield though, so with effort you could get her Shield above even her max HP. Enduring Arms is Nat's final upgrade though (instead of levels, you unlock Traits), so it's not something the player needs to worry about until the endgame.

Also:

Barrier Projection Field - Trait - Natalie builds Shield at the end of each turn equal to a third of her Tenacity.

Empowering Arms - 3CD - Natalie converts an amount of her HP (equal to her Tenacity) into a Shield, then buffs her Defense by 2 stages.

These help as well =P

CashmereCat
How would you guys recommend getting into balancing RPG battles? I've never actually made a proper RPG, but I'm thinking of getting into making a really battle-intensive game. Any suggestions?

What is your planned progression? How many combatants? What sort of atypical features are you planning on, if any? There's very little help I can give for something so broad. The only things that come to mind as sort of universal mindsets are:

>Know both sides' HP and base attack/skill damage around it. For example, in Wine & Roses each of the Roses are meant to be able to survive, on average, 7-8 normal hits before falling (all other battle elements notwithstanding). WaR didn't have mooks, but in my current game common enemies will take about 5-6 normal hits (or 2 300% damage hits, or 12 50% damage hits, etc.) before falling. Determine how many hits the party and enemies should be able to take and balance enemy stats around that.

>Determine your power progression and genre at the very start. You could balance everything nicely for a hardcore attrition dungeon crawler with DQ-style leveling, but that wouldn't fit well if you then decided on a FFXIII-style heal-after-battle setup. Your design can fluctuate, but you need at least some sort of boxes to work within.

Aegix_Drakan

6037

04/20/2015 07:00 PM

For some reason I can only muster lots of motivation to work on my games when I have tons of work to procrastinate on, and thus have no time to work on them. XD

One more puzzle in Mayhem Maiden done, one of the three branches of the next dungeon mostly done. ...Only two more to go, and the battles and stuff.

WHATCHU WORKIN' ON? TELL US!

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