DARKEN'S PROFILE

Since no one made a topic yet. You can now https://rpgmaker.net/misaos/2018/vote for what you think are the best RM things ever for 2018. Please vote and you'll get a digital pin to put on to say you voted (not really). Looks like Aria's Story is making the big splash in a lot of categories, Final Fantasy vs Dog kind of the comedy/joke fav as expected (Year of the Dog is a lock in). PSYCHE Locke is cruising in some categories as well. Eldritch Law is poised for the demo category. Have not even heard of Shattered Hourglass but it's popping on some nominations as well, has a crapton of downloads.

Personally I'm pulling for Off the Table to win something, and GRIMPS a little technical marvel I enjoyed. I realize I have not actually played any of the games on the GOTY list... but there's about a month I believe for me to change that.

So please discuss your hopefuls and surprises this year. Your misao dreams and who you're voting for.


Here's to a bold 2019!

So in the far distant future I'll be showcasing a game-in-development to random passing strangers at a convention. It's great to get feedback from people irl especially to get their reactions and to even know your games problems from an impressions standpoint right away. I've had experiences showing games in cafes, bars and small indie gatherings. However those were all actiony games that were easy to jump into (and jump out of).

Obviously RPGs can be text/cutscene heavy in that there's investment required compared to say a game made for an arcade cabinet. RPGs are also exploratory in nature so there's a lot of finding items looking at menus and such. So I've been thinking of ways to make it easier to have a better impression and also get raw feedback. My main idea is to have the demo forwarded a bit more into a linear part of the game with 'edited down' cutscenes specifically for that demo.

My question is, has anyone shown their RPG at a convention before? If you care to elaborate: What was the experience like? Did you do any adjustments/preparation to make it easier to pick up and play? Did you realize what you should have done? Did you learn something from non-RPG players or even non-video game players?

engine: not rpgmaker 2003

Honestly I really don't care what engine people use and what for but I get the feeling people are missing crucial things on how an action game is made. So this can be a potential discussion and perhaps LEARNING experience, I guess...

1. Tile based movement

In rm2k3 (by default) When moving around in the game world, if you want to turn, you have to also move a space in the direction you want to turn. Precise movement has been key since the first Legend of Zelda. In LoZ 1 you would move in 4 directions but still in a pixel movement grid. Troy explains it better than I can: http://troygilbert.com/the-legend-of-zelda/movement-mechanics rm2k3 doesn't quite have the built in control quirks to remedy this. But hey let's look at:

2. Hit detection



In rm2k3 you take up a 16x16 square, you can only move along these other 16x16 squares. A charaset sprite takes up more than 16x16 but it's merely pasted over the square we speak of. To detect when two events collide is rather fishy, the two squares have to be NEXT to other or over each other in order to trigger a simple x is same as x2 scenario. Keep in mind we're using coordinates not the exact borders in which they hit. There are many different ways to have a sword appear and hit the enemy near you but the key thing is, it is the same as a chess board, it doesn't matter if the hit boxes match, it matters if the coordinates match. Which is problematic if you want say... a sword with the hit range of 12x8 pixels in front of your character appearing at a set time and hitting something else precisely.




Oh...

3. Picture/variable detection is more trouble than it's worth

A tutorial and example done by Kazesui ( http://rpgmaker.net/tutorials/498/ ) shows how to do pixel movement in rm2k3 (of course I have never seen anyone else actually use this to make a full game). Keep in mind you are not even using event movements anymore, you are defining hit box borders via variables and checking to see if another bunch of variables are similar. Not only that but you also have to update the movement of the picture and animate it. Fun right? You are no longer using rm2k3's database, event movement or anything that it was intended for. This defeats the purpose of using the program in the first place. I haven't even started on the possible lag issues you run into if you don't do it correctly.

If you are willing to spend hours using Kazesui's methods, then hat's off to you. I cannot stop you. I cannot wait for you to prove that you can spend an afternoon on game maker for the first time doing it wayyyy faster http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=399f6e66456ccf4bdf63270f2582d5e7&topic=3251.0


also: santa claus isn't real

4. As for RMXP and above...

Scripting in RMXP+ is certainly more capable than this, no doubts there. But if you don't know how to script plz use game maker or learn to code (in which case something even better is available).

All in all, if you are the middle of making an rm2k3 action game. Ask yourself, is your game really precise? Can the player feel at home moving around in the game world? What limitations are you working against when it comes to interesting boss fights? Can a high speed chess game be any enjoyable???

peace.

Yet another discussion spawned from a different board (EW = Elemental Weakness due to the typing too many flapping letters).

Random chance in video games is poor design, as is elemental weakness. It's a foregone conclusion; is the enemy weak to fire? USE FIRE! That's what you do. It's not compelling gameplay or intelligent decision making. I wonder if developers keep including it because it makes people feel smart for having deduced to right element to use (scan) and then seeing LARGE NUMBERS come up when they use ice on the Burning Magmalords.

Basic EWs are really boring in a commercial game as the people making it probably have the resources and skills to make it more complex. The only exception I can think of is the Persona series where elemental weaknesses can mean life or death instead of just *you do more damage.* I can accept EWs in an RM game for the simple fact that very little RM games even go beyond the complexity of EWs (or even have a good concrete focus on it when they do). It is just refreshing to see an RM game that forces you to use a variety of skills to win or even make the battles faster.

Scans that take up a turn is really stupid though, so if you're using rm2k3 I hope you are using glyphs in monster names or fake status.

So yeah idk, talk about stuff!!!!

I notice some rm2k3 games use unique message fonts, I never bothered to ask about it but now I'm curious. How do I implement a font in rm2k3? Can anyone point me to a font thats compatible with rm2k3? Thanks.