UBERMAX'S PROFILE

Search

Filter

Button Mash - Forcing the player to use different skills

I agree with a lot of what Einander said (excellently written, btw), but I don't like the idea of getting rid of your lower level spells. Yes, it does clutter up your spell list when you have to scroll through "Fire 1, Fire 2, Fire 3", etc, but I think the failing isn't that you have them, it's that there aren't enough opportunities to use your lower level spells once you get the next level up. This, I think, is a mistake on the part of the game creator. I like my options to be open in a fight, and until someone figures out a sliding power indicator that lets me choose how powerful an attack I want my fire spell to be, I'd rather have multiple levels of the same spell that I can use differently in different situations.

An example off the top of my head: Let's say you're fighting an ice monster. Obviously you go for your most powerful fire spell to melt the bastard's face. Ah, but what's this? He's right next to a monster that explodes when struck with fire, dealing your party massive damage, and your high level fire spell always has splash damage! What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

You use your lowest level fire spell, of course, thus melting frozen face and keeping you and your buddies alive. Man, aren't you glad you held on to that weak little spell?

And so on.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have a system that replaces each level spell with the next, but I enjoy a system that makes clever use of the spells I've already learned, giving me more control over a battle and pushing me to use a bit of strategy. Not for every fight, no; this seems to be something a lot of people agree on, you don't want to bog the player down with fight after fight of mental challenge. But every once in a while, it's fun to see something clever and new, something that makes me think. It keeps the game from getting "grindy", and makes the entire experience more fun.

TL;DR - Options are good, but don't overdo it.

What are your best time savers and shortcuts?

author=Yellow Magic
- Recycling maps from discontinued projects

I hope you're asking their permission first.

What are your best time savers and shortcuts?

^ This.

Also, to save on the MASSIVE number of variables and switches I would need to use to program the story events that progress the plot, I instead tally those which occur in chronological order and use a single variable that I increase by 10 at the end of each scene. So the beginning game dialog is set to shut off after the variable reaches 1, then the next time people talk it shuts off at value 10, etc. I use multiples of ten so that I can slide another event in between if I need to (like if I decide to add in a scene later, I don't have to completely recode everything).

The RPG Checklist

Is it bad that my game holds many of these cliches? I mean, I'd like to think I'm putting a new spin on old themes, but...

Vacant Sky Vol. 1: Contention

No worries! Thank you very much!

mk7.jpg

This looks hilarious. I can't wait to play it.

Vacant Sky Vol. 1: Contention

I downloaded and started playing. I have to say, it looks AMAZING. Very professional. But just as I was getting into the story, I got an error and it shut down on me! =( sad face.

Edit:

The error reads: Script 'FmodEX *' line 303: Runtime Error occurred. FMOD Ex returned error 58.

Added Weather Effects?

I don't know of any mods that would let you do this, though they may exist. I use pictures in mine, with a basic parallel process event to keep them scrolling.

Do you want to talk to your computers? (and consoles)

This goes back a few years, but there was a game called Lifeline for the PS2. I got it thinking it would be really cool to play a game just by talking. Two hours later I was screaming obscenities at the main character and wishing there was a joystick mode.

gloriousdawn.png

That's really clever, Sailerius. I do agree that, based on this picture alone, the lighting does look to be a bit much, but I look forward to checking it out in-game so you can prove me wrong.