SAUCE'S PROFILE

If you want realism, realistically people don't talk to every random pedestrian they meet.

What you can consider is that interacting with NPCs allows you see what the NPCs are doing, as opposed to having the protagonist interact with them. Earshot eavesdropping scenarios can give you want you need - passing knowledge onto the gamer without unrealistically having every person talk to the hero.

You could do this just to mix in with actual total stranger interactions between NPC and hero.

In my opinion, though, if you're making a game with traditional RPG mechanics, you do probably need some suspension of disbelief to make it enjoyably playable.

Even if you can square away dialogue, and items, there's always things you can question.
"Does sleeping overnight at an inn really heal my wounds?"
"Why are major roads, traversed by many people, so populated by killer predators?"

That kind of thing.

author=Link_2112
Something like that. With my setup, I'd probably go with a key input processing checking if you are holding SHIFT. In the event that checks if the ball hits you, I'd add a branch checking if you are holding SHIFT. It would bypass the damage code and instead run some catch ball code.

The only concern would be not allowing the gamer to hold SHIFT before the correct time. Maybe check if SHIFT is being held too early and then penalize by letting you get hit?

Divide the minigame arena into LANES or COLUMNS, however you want to call it.

Say you have 5 different columns.

Have a separate "ball" being thrown from each column depending on which lane the coach is in (keep the ball in each lane invisible and change graphic to visible when thrown)

Then have switches track which lane the hero is in, changing when he jumps from one lane to the other.

Ex. (Hero is in lane one, jumps to lane two = Move Route - Switch HeroLaneONE OFF, Begin Jump, Move right, End JUMP, Switch HeroLaneTWO ON)

- This way he won't be hit if the ball is in the danger zone MID JUMP and before he's done "changing coordinates".

Have the ball's defined movement route Turn ON a Switch once it reaches the "danger zone" for the Hero. Parallel check if the hero lane switch is one simultaneous with the ball being in the danger zone = hero hit by ball.

I did this quick little minigame without ever using X,Y coordinates. The graphics suck but you get the idea.




Uh, hold on, I just realized that this recording doesn't show him getting hit at all. Let me rerecord and upload one with him taking damage.





There you go.

author=Neverm0re
Top hat and gas mask now available for all my sprites!

Considered giving his gas mask a monocle...still considering it :D

Gas mask? Miasma setting? Delicious.

I think the party and enemy combined visual representation of the ATB gauge was the standout feature of the first Grandia, not particularly the underlying mechanics.