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Save Format

The next version will finally have save files working. This is actually a very tricky thing to do for a classic RPG running on a modern PC.

It's all about what gets saved and what doesn't. Back in the old RPG_RT 20XX prototype, decided to not support Enterbrain's save format and it was still challenging. I had to figure out via testing what gets saved and what doesn't. But now I'm doing my own thing completely, it's up for me to decide this instead of adhere to some standard.

Let's break it down:

+ First, you have to save where the player is, Map, X, Y, and the often forgotten facing direction. That last part isn't necessary, but it's a nice touch.

+ Then, the variables. In the context of these RPG creation tools, this is typically a global table of values that control game progress.

+ It gets tougher at this point because I support variables local to the event that are also saved. I use a bucket technique to quickly match nonzero local variables to an event's ID and map ID. From your point of view, this lets you do something like clone an item box and for each one to work separately giving the player that many items without having to specify a new variable each time.

+ And then it comes down to the database. Each database type could have persistent data. For items, its your inventory. For players, it is their stats and level, but also other mutable traits such as their name, title, appearance, etc.

+ There's also the system state. This actually does include the current system graphic, but also the current battle music, transitions, and other things. Some values, such as your current money, get saved here too.

+ For the map you were on, I'm going to record the events' locations, facing, and motion paths (if they had any). This helps games that let the player save anywhere remain stable. Events will still initialize when you change the map.