XENOMIC'S PROFILE

Touhou Fantasy
Events of the Pandora's Box

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Trying to reduce CPU usage on computer

So, this is a pressing issue that I need to resolve, as even with ONLY Skype, Task Manager, and Foobar open, there's about 69-72 processes running, and CPU Usage tends to jump from 10% up to 100%, and oftentimes stays around the 70%+ mark. I am trying to figure out what could be causing it, but I'm not sure and require assistance in trying to tackle this problem.

Whenever I record videos, sometimes the computer will stutter a bit, and even then there are times where when I'm just browsing the net or whatever, the computer SOMETIMES stutters a little, as though it's about to lock up. Tonight, while recording just a 6 second clip from MUGEN, the computer locked up and stuttered for about 5 seconds...which it's never done before so yeah...can anyone help a bro out? : S

Tracking AI Help [2K3]

Okay, so here's something I NEED to desperately get done, and since a friend of mine brought this up that she was doing in her game, I figured why not ask about this now?

So here's the dealio: I have 2 separate instances of this that I need to get done.

1) Where the AI will follow the character, but avoid getting stuck on terrain and the like. Just non-stop following...not hard to get THAT part working, as it's just Toward Hero. But to make the AI not get stuck on terrain? How to deal with that? This is for a chase sequence where if the boss catches the player, they're forced into a fight.

2) A variation of the above, where if you get within seeing sight of the boss, it'll start chasing you, but if you get out of seeing sight of the boss, it will stop chasing you. I'm not sure how easy this one would be to do, or if it's possible to make it stop chasing properly (and not be like "Oh, I'm just gonna slip behind this tree when the boss is right behind me and it'll not see me!").


I DO have some coding worked up, mind you. I just...don't know if it's the way to go about this (or if there's a plugin for this already? If there's a plugin, that'd be super swell especially if it's fully tested and doesn't break anything).






I do not know how worth it it is to do these, but thought it'd be something to try and get working properly. Any help would be appreciated. x_x;;

Looking for help [2k3]

(I posted this in my blog as well, but since that was really, really old and posting in blogs never makes them show up again...).

Once again, I come to you, forumgoers, for help on finishing my game. Details are as follows:


Details for Touhou Fantasy:

Production: 5-6 years in the making
Completion: 50%
Rough Current Gameplay Estimate: 30-40 hours (aiming for roughly 50-60 game hours for main game)
Maker: RPG Maker 2k3


For those interested as to what's left to do, or what's in the game entirely, the following is the current To-Do list in order of events in the game. Where the * is in the Beta5 section is where I'm currently at:


Touhou Fantasy Order of Events:

BETA 1:

1) Introduction - Kourindou, Myouren Temple, Chireiden, Sunflower Fields, Hakurei Shrine
2) Hakurei Shrine (Start of Game)
3) Human Village (Supplies)
4) Misty Lake (Defeat Cirno and Daiyousei. Cirno joins the party.)
5) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Meeting with Remilia. Marisa leaves the party.)
6) Hakurei Shrine Ruins (Meeting with Hope)
7) Kourindou (Meeting with Rinnosuke and Yukari)
8) Forest of Magic (Defeat Rumia and Mystia, event with Reimu and Cirno)
9) Marisa's House (Lose vs. Marisa)
10) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Defeat brainwashed residents. Patchouli and Meiling join the party. Aya leaves the party.)
11) Bamboo Forest of the Lost (Defeat Wriggle, Reisen, and Tewi. Reisen joins the party)
12) Eientei (Defeat Tewi and Eirin. Lose vs. Kaguya).
13) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Defeat Remilia. Sakuya joins the party. Revelation about Hope. End of beta1).


BETA 2:

1) Human Village/Underschool (Defeat Keine and Tenshi)
2) Youkai Mountain (Switch to Momiji and Aya. Save Nitori from youkai. Defeat Suwako. Party split between two teams, one lead by Reimu and the other lead by Momiji. Defeat Hina, Sanae, and Parsee with Reimu's team, and defeat Tenshi with Momiji's team. Switch to 3rd team (Sanae) and defeat Rinnosuke, where Kanako and Suwako temporarily joins the party. Go to Giant Toad's Pond to defeat Rinnosuke/Yukari, and then Exodus. Storyline events unfold, and then Momiji and Nitori joins the party. Sanae and Suwako can then be bought from the shop. Lily White can also be fought here at any time after switching to Momiji's team.)
3) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Optional fight with Remilia. Can get Remilia as a party member if victorious).
4) Winter Forest (Defeat Ice Behemoth)
5) Hakugyokurou (Defeat Youmu, then storyline events. Defeat Yuyuko, then later Saigyou Yuyuko. Lose vs. Rinnosuke. Introduction to Fate. Youmu joins the party.)
6) Bamboo Forest of the Lost (Cutscene as forest is destroyed)
7) Eientei (Defeat Tiamat. Storyline events. Cirno and Komachi joins the party. End beta 2.)


BETA 3:

1) Road of Reconsideration (Defeat Lich and Kraken. Storyline events with Shikieiki. Can battle Advent Cirno for a brief time before is unavailable.)
2) Remains of Hell (Defeat Kisume, then later Marilith)
3) Sunflower Field Ruins (Defeat Yuuka. Yuuka joins the party.)
4) Road of Reconsideration (Cutscene with Shikieiki. Final chance to fight Advent Cirno)
5) Bamboo Forest of the Lost (Defeat Mokou. Mokou joins the party. Keine becomes available to buy at the Tengu Village shop)
6) Road of Reconsideration (Cutscene with Shikieiki.)
7) Remains of Hell (Defeat Yuugi. Yuugi temporarily joins the party. Defeat Kisume/Parsee, then later Kisume/Parsee/Tenshi. At Chireiden, defeat Satori. At Blazing Fires of Hell, defeat Utsuho. Storyline events unfold from here.)
8) Mayohiga (Defeat Chen and Ran. Storyline.)
9) Human Village Ruins (Cutscene)
10) Poltergeist Mansion (Defeat Lunasa, Lyrica, and Merlin, then defeat all three together. Lunasa temporarily joins the party. Defeat Alice and Chaos. Reimu is temporarily unusable from the party. Defeat Meimu with forced party of Momiji, Marisa, Yuuka, and Byakuren. Storyline. Byakuren and Remilia joins the party. End of beta3.)


BETA 4:

1) Kourindou (Defeat Adrammelech. Cutscene at Youkai Mountain).
2) Misty Lake (Defeat Kraken. Temporarily lose Cirno and Yuuka.)
3) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Defeat Culex, then later Flandre and Hades. Temporarily lose Remilia and Patchouli.)
4) Mayohiga (Cutscene with Ran)
5) Road of Reconsideration (Cutscene with Lich)
6) Remains of Hell (Defeat Marilith, Koishi temporarily joins the party. Defeat Omega Weapon, Yuugi leaves the party and Utsuho temporarily joins the party. Defeat Rin. Cutscene. Teleporter becomes active in Chireiden. Koishi and Utsuho are then buyable from the Tengu Village shop. Komachi temporarily becomes unavailable.)
7) Hakugyokurou (Lose vs. Mima)
8) Myouren Temple (Cutscene).
9) Hakurei Shrine Ruins (Enemy gauntlet. Defeat Iron Giant)
10) Youkai Mountain (Temporarily control Sanae. Hina, Minoriko, and Shizuha temporarily joins the party. Defeat Exodus at Giant Toad's Pond, then head to Kappa Caves. Defeat Chaos Spider and then Kanako. Defeat Tenshi with Momiji/Aya, then defeat Ozma with Momiji/Aya/Byakuren/Tenshi. Defeat EX Tenshi, then lose vs. Order. Temporarily lose Aya.)
11) Dream World (Defeat Kurumi, Meira, Elly, Kana, and PC-98 Yuuka)
12) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Koakuma temporarily joins the party. Head to Interdimensional Rift, then defeat Medicine and Yamame.)
13) Icicle Caverns (Tempoarily use Iku/Letty/Nazrin. Defeat Alice.)
14) Insect Forest (Tempoarily use Mystia/Wriggle. Defeat Tenshi, then Chen/Tewi tempoarily joins the party. Lose vs. Order, then in 2nd round with Iku/Letty, have Iku use 5 turns. Defeat Order with forced party of Iku/Letty/Yuuka/Cirno.)
15) Eastern Forest (Yuuka, Cirno, Remilia, Komachi, and Patchouli all rejoin the party. Koakuma leaves the party.)
16) Cave to Makai (Defeat Alice, Shingyoku, Meira, Sara, Elis, and Rikako. Mokou and Aya rejoins the party, then defeat Fate. Storyline. End beta4.)


BETA 5:

1) Cave to Pandaemonium (Defeat Iron Golem, Asura, Shadow Dancer, and Pandaemonium Warden.)
2) Pandaemonium (Storyline, then defeat Alice, Yamame/Medicine, and then defeat Rikako with Yumemi.)
3) Hollowed Caverns (No Magic can be used in dungeon. Defeat Yuugenmagan. Yorihime temporarily joins the party. Defeat Louise).
4) Hollowed Caverns - Interdimensional Rift (Yorihime is no longer available as a party member. Avoid Omega with 3 separate parties (Marisa/Hope, Momiji who later finds Aya/Nitori, and Remilia who later finds Sakuya/Patchouli/Meiling. Defeat PC-98 Marisa with just Marisa, then defeat the Magic Stone).
*5) Makai Fields (Defeat Inferno with one of three separate parties, then defeat Yukari using Shinki/Mima/Youki).
6) Makai Caves (Tempoarily use Rinnosuke/Yukari/Yamame/Medicine. Lose vs. Akyuu, then lose vs. Meimu. Defeat Kanako).
7) Pandaemonium (Storyline events involving Byakuren. Defeat Myouren with Byakuren. Storyline events involving Cirno. Teleport to Hakurei Shrine becomes available.)
8) Valley of Corpses (No Items can be used in dungeon. Does not affect Nitori's Stock command. Defeat Yuugenmagan, Marquis Malboro, Lich, and Tiamat.)
9) Valley of Corpses - Dimensional Rift (Defeat Kotohime and Magic Stone)
10) Pandaemonium (Storyline events. Relationship between Mokou and Reisen expanded upon)
11) Frozen Fields (Defeat Yuugenmagan, and then later Yuki and Mai)
12) Frozen Fields - Dimensional Rift (Defeat Gilgamesh, Kotohime, and Magic Stone)
13) Pandaemonium (Storyline events. Revelation of Byakuren and Mima working together)
14) Hollowed Caverns (Defeat Curse Dragon)
15) Miasma Fields (10 minute time limit before Strong Poison is inflicted on the party and will constantly deal damage over time. Defeat Rika/Flower Tank, then later Ice Behemoth/King Behemoth)
16) Ruins of Vina (Three separate parties. First with main party, second with Mima/Youki, and third with Chaos/Lunasa/Koishi/Utsuho. Defeat Rika/Evil Eye Sigma, then later Elis)
17) Ruins of Vina - Dimensional Rift (Defeat Erich, VIVIT, and the Magic Stone)
18) Pandaemonium (Storyline events. Battle vs. Seiga who steals various ultimate weapons that Shinki gave the party.)
19) Fallen Shrine (Defeat Zodiark and Death)
20) Fallen Shrine - Dimensional Rift (Defeat Magic Stone)
21) Reimaden (All gimmicks from past dungeons appear here with a couple new ones. Defeat Akyuu, Tenshi, Five Magic Stones/Phantom Mima, and Pestilence.)
22) Pandaemonium (Storyline)
23) Sealed Cave (Storyline)
24) Pandaemonium (Defeat Yumeko with Sakuya alone. Defeat Shinki, then defeat Sara/Luize/Yuki/Mai/Yumeko/Shinki with various parties.)
25) Silent Shrine (Defeat Rika, Warmech, Meira, and Mugetsu).
26) Pandaemonium (Storyline. Defeat Nazrin and Shou.)
27) Myouren Temple (Defeat Kogasa)
28) Palanquin Ship (Defeat Ichirin and Murasa)
29) Hokkai (Defeat Nue. Nue temporarily joins the party. Can choose a party from Marisa/Hope/Byakuren/Shinki/Shou/Nazrin/Mima/Nue/Youki/Alice/Chaos/Lunasa/Koishi/Utsuho. Defeat Kikuri, Elis, and Meimu. Defeat Order, then Order again with only Byakuren, then defeat Sariel. Lose Byakuren from the party. End beta5)


BETA 6:

1) Hakurei Shrine Forest (Defeat Chaos with only Hope)
2) Hakurei Shrine (Defeat Reimu with Hope and Chaos. Chaos leaves the party. Reimu rejoins the party.)
**THE FOLLOWING CAN BE DONE IN ANY ORDER, BUT CIRNO HAS TO BE GOTTEN IN ORDER TO PROCEED AT THE VERY LEAST**
3) Forest of Magic - Lunatic Path (Defeat Marisa)
4) Misty Lake - River Bank (Defeat Cirno/Advent Cirno)
5) Youkai Mountain (Defeat Aya and Momiji. At Genbu Marsh, defeat Nitori. At Moriya Shrine, defeat Sanae and Suwako.)
6) Scarlet Devil Mansion (Defeat Meiling, Patchouli, Sakuya, and Remilia, then defeat all four together.)
7) Bamboo Forest of the Lost (Defeat Reisen and Mokou/Keine/EX Keine)
8) Hakugyokurou (Defeat Youmu and Yuyuko)
9) Road of Reconsideration (Defeat Komachi)
10) Sunflower Fields (Defeat Yuuka)
11) Probability Hyperspace Vessel (Defeat Chiyuri, then defeat Yumemi)
12) Remains of Hell (Defeat Koishi and Utsuho)
13) Myouren Temple (Defeat Nue. Nue can then be bought from the Tengu Village shop)
**END**
14) Mirage Tower (Party split with 2-3 parties. Tempoarily lose Cirno)
15) Pandaemonium-R (Defeat Rikako/Yuugi/Flandre/Suika, then defeat Rikako with Cirno/Advent Cirno and Daiyousei. Heart of Pandora also takes place during this event, with the player having to use Mystia, Tewi, Chen, Wriggle, Shikieiki, Minoriko, Byakuren, and Eirin as their party members)
16) Eientei - Pathway to the Moon (Yorihime tempoarily joins the party)
17) Lunar Path
18) Lunarian Capital
19) Lunarian Palace (Defeat Kaguya, then defeat Yorihime and Toyohime)
20) Sea of Clouds (Tenshi temporarily joins the party.)
21) Bhava-Agra (Defeat Ultima with Tenshi/Yuuka/Mima/Youki. Defeat Rika/Meira, and then finally defeat Konngara. End beta6)


BETA 7:

1) End of Gensokyo (Defeat Youki, Mima, and Yukari. Yukari joins the party.)
2) Gaplands (Trials)
3) The Void (Storyline and defeat all guardians and components. Defeat Rinnosuke/Pandora Rinnosuke/Pandora. End game if good ending is not active, and give bad ending.
4) Heart of Pandora (Storyline and defeat Minoriko, Eirin, Satori, Shikieiki, and Byakuren, then finally defeat Sariel, Pandora Sariel, and Hope Complete. Final battle against Sariel with just Reimu and Hope. End game).


BETA 8:


TOTAL = 100 events
Current Done = 48 events
Current Left = 52 events



So essentially, there's about 47 more events left to do. Still quite a few dungeons in general at that (some are going to be omitted. If you are willing to help on mapping dungeons, feel free to ask me).


What Needs Done Still:


Mapping: A rough estimate of 35 dungeons remain for the maingame. I am trying to keep maps for each dungeon, save for final dungeon, under 10 maps each. For more information about what needs mapped, contact me. In addition, some maps can use updates to make them look better.

Spriting: Unless someone wants to make a whole bunch of custom sprites to replace the Final Fantasy sprites, there's not a whole lot needing spriting. Mostly for the OCs such as Chaos, Hope, and Fate, and for Advent Cirno and Youki, and that's it.

Images: Only for the OCs, as there's no need for images for the Touhou characters. Images include concept art and face portraits.

Eventing: This I can probably do for the most part myself, but there are some things here and there that I wouldn't mind having help with, in particular things such as setting up and making sure puzzles work correctly, as well as game systems such as character abilities.

Beta Testing: Always looking for people interested in giving feedback and criticism on the game, as well as find out and test the game for bugs!


Again, if anyone is interested in helping, feel free to contact me! I am really REALLY wanting to get this game done and over with, as working on it (mostly) solo for 5-6 years has been rather taxing, and I really would like to finish this before doing any other games (in particular, I've been thinking of doing a Fire Emblem type game but...that isn't going to happen until this game is done!).

Why do I want to finish this? Well...aside from the aforementioned tired of working on it (mostly) solo for 5-6 years, I'm kinda done with Touhou in general. Lack of interest and all. Now, I COULD just abandon this game, but that feels like such a waste after spending so much time on it, and I hate leaving a good story to hang to dry and never be done, so I'm trying to wrap this up as much as possible. Post-game content may not be included at all due to this of course.

Dungeon Designs: The Good and Bad

Note, this doesn't just pertain to RPGs. This also pertains to action/adventure, platforming, puzzle, etc. games.

So, I'm here to talk about the various designs of dungeons. That's pretty much it! Since I've been reworking a dungeon of mine (and have yet another dungeon to remake), I've been thinking of what would be good to do with them in terms of design and puzzles. As you all may know, I am NOT the best mapper out there despite me working on 2k3 for 5-6 years (and even worse with puzzles), so making a good dungeon is kinda hard for me to a degree. So, I've been looking at various games (well, remembering some as well), and thinking of what would be good ideas and bad ideas.


Note that this is going to not be super long and probably very, very limited due to not thinking atm. So expect my opinions/thoughts to be rather dull and dreary. But it's not mostly about me anyways, I'd like to hear what you guys have to say too.


Good Dungeons:

Magus's Castle (Chrono Trigger): It's a long dungeon, yeah, but it's a very plot-important, pivotal dungeon of the game. And it's not super annoying to navigate, nor are the puzzles or gimmicks that bad. I rather liked the save point gimmick (it's not like it was difficult to get through those, but nonetheless), the enemy gauntlet was neat (and easy to skip past), and it was super difficult either.

Temples (Final Fantasy X): I'll admit, the temples DO feel like they take forever to get through (especially when you want to get the hidden treasures), but in the end, I really think the puzzles they provide are really well done for the most part. They use the spheres really well and change up the puzzles enough that each one is unique enough from the other. And the Zanarkand puzzle is kinda fun in a way too. It's like playing Simon Says! Though they are rather drab to look at...

Besaid (Final Fantasy X/X-2): Besaid? Why do I say this is a good dungeon? Well...not so much about dungeon as mapping itself. While there's no actual gimmicks or challenge, the maps themselves are really, really beautiful. I know this is due to it being a 3D game and all, but compared to a lot of the other areas in the game, it just feels like it's the most beautiful area in the game. Just...something about it sticks out. I guess you could say Kilika is the same in a way in that regards (as again, opposed to the temples which are dreary as hell). Macalania Woods falls into this category as well.


Bad Dungeons:

Cave of Shadows (Final Fantasy III): Normally, I have no issues with hidden paths, and I know my game uses them (in one such area, which is going to be scrapped and redone, it's REQUIRED to move on with the game), but when the entirety of a dungeon revolves using hidden passages to get to where you need to go, with no real way of knowing which way you have to go and forcing you to brute force your way through? Not particularly a good gameplay design. Add into the fact that the enemies, while the multiplying effect is kinda neat, just make the dungeon even MORE annoying to get through (moreso in the NES version than DS version), the dungeon comes off as just...unfun.

(In retrospect, I can't think of ANY dungeons in FFII or FFIII that were particularly good...)

Pharos at Ridorana (Final Fantasy XII): This dungeon...at first I kinda liked it. Kinda...until it started throwing some annoying gimmicks in there (find the right teleporter! Guess wrong? You get to fight all these enemies that like to inflict a bajillion statuses all at once! Hope you have the MP and items to deal with them!), and it just felt like it dragged on and on and on and on...and at that point in the game, the bosses were pretty much jokes.

Great Crystal (Final Fantasy XII): This. Freaking. Dungeon. I do believe it goes without saying that this is probably one of the worst "maze" dungeons in any game I've played. I mean...it wouldn't be so bad if the map wasn't a piece of garbage in that area. Except you can't really use the map and unless you know EXACTLY where everything is (good luck remembering that), you're going to get lost all the time. Add to that that you have to activate gates and GET to said gates in X amount of time (time does still run in fights, and the fights aren't exactly easy either), and you got yourself a very frustrating dungeon. Made even MORE frustrating when you have to go back to this place to find a Mark and/or fight Ultima. Just...fawk this dungeon...


Those are just some examples from me. I could've went into non-FF games (Legend of Zelda, Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Valkyrie Profile, etc.), but I'll keep it to a minimum for now. Don't want to rant all day and whatnot!

But yes, what do you guys find to be really good dungeons and maps? Whether it be in terms of how the map looks, the puzzles, etc.? Perhaps ya'll can even give me good ideas for dungeon and map designs! ^^

Motivation Problems

Originally, this was just going to be a rant about my RPG Maker game that I haven't worked on for like the past half year (excluding the little map fixing up I was doing and did a whole 3 maps). But felt this is a better use of a topic...

So, as of lately I've been having a severe lack of motivation to do anything really outside of working on the Fire Emblem wiki and doing Let's Plays (even then, sometimes I don't do either of those). Well, more like I've had a motivation problem for the past 5 years, but been getting worse and worse as time has gone on. I'm seeming to find it more and more difficult to keep wanting to do things that I used to do a lot. I'm pretty sure it's more to do with that things get tiresome/old after some time and I just need something new, but the few new things I've done/attempted (i.e. Fire Emblem hacking, which I've worked on for like a week and is still wanting to work on, and drawing, which some of ya'll have seen from me here, but I haven't done anything with for the past month now) I haven't been able to keep my interests in.

So, is there any advice you guys can give on how to improve this motivation problem that I have? Or any ways of dealing with it? I hate just sitting around doing nothing for hours on end, so I try to keep myself busy, but then I get into that rut where I just don't want to do anything, but want to, and it's just uuuugh...


(If you're curious about what I do, it basically boils down to this: Doing videos for Let's Plays, working on the Fire Emblem wiki (with a side of Final Fantasy wiki since I have nothing to do there really after 5 years of being there), my Fire Emblem hack, art, and obviously my RPG Maker game. That's literally all I do...no luck on job hunting because the jobs around this town all suck and either seem to never be hiring despite how much I pester them, or when they say they're hiring they say they're not or to try again in 1-2 months...)

Recording Woes Revisited

I know, I brought this up ages ago too, but I never really resolved it. For those who don't remember, I am having issues recording SNES games. Dxtory does not record ZSNES or SNESx9 correctly, and while Camstudio can record, it will only record the audio of the game or my mic, not both. I have actually tried with recording with both Camstudio (for in-game stuff) and Audacity (for my mic), which seems extremely inconvenient and unreliable, even moreso since Camstudio has a 2 GB video filesize limit. So my question is, is there a simpler method of recording SNES games that'll record both audio of the game AND mic without fear of having to worry about filesize limits? Or am I stuck having to use Camstudio (which I use XVid MPEG-4 Codec for) with Audacity??


I am really asking for help here, as I'm heavily wanting to LP Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and some other games, but need to know what I can do to record mic and game audio. ;___;

[2k3] Setting up Narshe Battle Sequence





So I've recently been forcing myself to finally try and finish up this game (by finish up, I mean work my ass off so that I can finally get it done and over with...5-6 years is far too long for this one game IMO). Here's the thing: This particular map, and sequence in general, is a big throwback to the Narshe battle sequence with Kefka in Final Fantasy VI. Thing is here, your Banon is REQUIRED to be used in a party, and if she dies, it's game over. You get three parties of which you can switch between (I think I have a working system for that, not sure yet...will have to test), and if one party falls that's not the one with the Banon in it, then they're done for the rest of that map. The enemies are meant to just wander around the area really, and the boss is down at the bottom, guarded by the boss from the intro (just more souped up).


So here's my question: How can I make it so that if any of the enemies touches any of the player sprites, even if you're not the one controlling them at the moment, that it'll throw the player into a fight using THAT particular party, and then throw you back to the last party you were using? In addition, how would it be best handled for having the player sprites be right where you last left them?

Your Game and Music

So, as to avoid clogging up another thread with talk about my own game, I'll be making this topic. As many of you may be aware of, one of the major issues with my game is the music. For example, let me put into perspective the differences between the RAR files for my game:

Game itself: 3 MB
Vanilla Music pack: 539 MB
Extended Music pack: 177 MB

(I don't know how the Vanilla Music Pack is so much larger than the Extended Music Pack, I really don't...).

So, for those who are curious, I have a lot of music in my own game (I have cut out a good 30 tracks or so a while back, but there's still plenty of other tracks in the game). You may be wondering, why not find MIDI versions of said songs? Mostly because they're remixes of Touhou songs, and aren't in MIDI format to begin with. Now, why not convert them into .OGG format? Because last I checked, 2k3 doesn't support .OGG format on its own (I hear people say convert their music files into .OGG a lot, but all I've ever seen is MP3, MIDI, and WAVE).

Due to the shear size of the music in my game, I tried to split it into Vanilla Music (the bare minimum amount of music that one would need in the game) and Extended Music (everything else that's not in the Vanilla Music pack would go here). As you can see...I still have issues trying to get the music into the Extended Pack. Why's that? Well, let's break it down a bit (this is for all of the music in my game):

Total tracks currently (this is for the entire game, not just up to beta4's end): 260

~24 event themes
~30 character battle themes (battle themes change according to who the current "party leader" is. Some of these battle themes are just the character's boss themes, but not always)
~118 boss themes
(The rest are mostly stage themes)


So yeah, you can see the major problem here for the most part. Most of MY music, in general, is meant to captivate the feel of each individual area and segment, where appropriate. For instance, trying to find a party member who's very important to the plot before the enemy does has a song that gives a sense of urgency and despair, and while it's a cave area this plays at, it wouldn't work for any other cave areas in general (for instance, going from the overworld to Makai has a more adventurous and epic feel to it, as it's the halfway point of the game, while going through a cave where kappas are supposed to live but nobody knows what happens to them or why they're there gives a sort of melancholic feeling to it). Most of the boss themes can probably be moved into the Extended Pack (though what's in the current Vanilla and Extended packs, I can't say now...I need to redo them anyways). Perhaps someone could help me out with trimming down this music with me?


So, how much music does YOUR game use? Does it only use 10 tracks? 100 tracks? Are they in .OGG/.MIDI/.MP3 format? Do you try to make each song fit in at specific places? Or do you just use them whenever, wherever? Where does one find a balance of where to stop adding music?

[2K3] Creating Enemy AI Patterns

So, I'm going to feel really REALLY silly for asking this, but since this is literally the first time I've done an actual AI pattern, kinda need to ask.

Ok, so here's the dealio, and I'll use this current boss that I need to work on as an example, I need to make a boss follow a strict AI pattern of using skills on each of its turn, since it has a gimmick of its own. Pattern is subject to change depending on how hard the fight may be:

Turn 1-4: Specific actions, or it can be randomized as to what the abilities are. Not sure yet.
Turn 5: Summon 2 spirit flames.
Turn 6-7: Random actions probably
Turn 8: If one of the spirit flames is alive, absorb it and regain 10% Max HP. Adds +1 to a variable which is stored upwards to +8.
Turn 9: Random action
Turn 10: Absorb spirit flame if the other is still alive. Otherwise, summon 2 spirit flames again.
Rinse and repeat until variable hits 8 for absorption, at which instance boss changes forms for 8 turns which is invincible and has a more powerful, different skillset. After it uses up 8 turns, will revert back to normal and repeat the pattern.


The spirit flames will not have a specific AI pattern of their own. I don't know what any of the other abilities will be for them or the boss yet. They're all flagged as Undead (they're ghosts).


So yeah, I'm not sure what to do for making sure the AI is followed exactly as planned. I don't remember if it's the first number or second number in Turns Elapsed that dictates it'll be used on each of its own turns (if that can happen) or if I need to set a switch randomly or something in battle events or what. x_x;;

Flashing Maiblox icon

So, for the past few weeks, I keep getting a message at the top, despite not having any actual new mail. I remember this happening a long time ago as well, and I'm assuming it's the same error? I'd like to do something about this as it's kinda driving me crazy a bit lol. If that's not too much to ask. ^^;