How Far Have You Come?

Inspired from reminiscing a bit with JP in the Ruin Thread...

How far have you come with the OHRRPGCE since you first started using it? Did you have a rough beggining, but have now become a great artist? Have you struggled with using the engine? ...Do you still struggle with the engine?

All of these are great questions for everyone to answer and discuss. Let the discussing begin!

First look at the O.H.R
Then I looked at the O.H.R. the first time, I was scared off by the all english and only-to-use-with-key-board interface.
Years later I did try the O.H.R. again. . .
Now I'm very happy with it. Some things need and deserve a second try.

How far did I come?
I can't really say.
I guess there is still a long way of learning depending on what plans I make up for games.

But, I'm quite happy with my progress, especially after I discovered plotscripting.
At frist I didn't dare to try using it. I'm very thankfull for the tutorials at the wiki.
It's also really good that you can always ask for help on the forums, so you don't need to walk all the way alone.

I guess the O.H.R. script language, together with library books really help my programming skills, (if they can be called skills...)
Without OHR there wouldn't be a real motivation to work on this.
So, I'm on my way: wanting to learn computer programming!

Am I am artist?
I'd never finished an O.H.R.-game yet.
Kim and Jose's 2nd Demo english translation needs to be imported in the editor and then I need to upload it.
Spell cheking will take time, I feel I don't really have at the moment.
The good thing: Without the engine I would have never gotten this far!
I hope the random-collab game with Charbile will be one of the (rare) games that I do finish.

Problems with the Engine:
I still have trouble in with the tile-editor choosing the right layer to edit.
I have not figured out how to use slices as well!
I do have a vague idea what they are...

How long is the way to go?
One thing that I'd like to try one day, but I do not feel ready for is a side scrolling game, or a game with special battle script.
I want to get better with OHR-scripts, and in other programming langagues as well!
If I can do this, by playing abound with O.H.R-scripts, that is even more fun!

Conclusion:
All in all, I really like the engine. It makes things simple. That's great.

Plus, it's always work in progress, I think it's fantastic that you know there are people woking on it in their free time and that we can also take part in this progress of improving the engine!


(( P.S. I hope there are not to many spelling mistakes, but i'm tired. ))

Edit: @ Master K: How far have you come? Where do you want to go with your next projects?

How far have you come with the OHRRPGCE since you first started using it?
I've made a small handful of complete games, and receive an occasional compliment on the battle balance (or more often) the graphics I make for games. Gameplay compliments mean more to me than graphical compliments, but any nice words seem nice enough to me.

My games have become less likely to begin with a whiny text crawl about how bad people on the forums hurt my feelings since 2007. My appearance in OHR House 3 gave me a point of reference from which I could gauge my own self-worth.

Did you have a rough beggining, but have now become a great artist?
My beginning was rough because I didn't have any sort of guide to how the controls were supposed to work, and the only examples of graphics I had to work from were those in SAMPLE.RPG and PSTUTOR.RPG.

My graphics are generally nicer looking now than they were back in 2003, but you'd probably recognize the style if you looked at my pre-Wolf's Quest stuff and compared it with my post-DnO stuff (it's all the projects I started between these two that look awkward and out of place to me).

Have you struggled with using the engine?
I had to find out for myself that there were ways to flee from battle other than hitting F4 (and that the "Unescapable" bitset actually isn't broken), that enemies can still hit you when it's your turn (a feature I disable every time I can now that I have the option), that you need to name your spell list in order for it to show up (and not just fill it with stuff), that the heroes face left instead of forward in battle, and so on and so forth.

...Do you still struggle with the engine?
Long story short, I simply cannot be relied upon for plotscripting.

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Remeber: God made you special and he loves you very much. Bye!

First look at the O.H.R
Some excitement came into me, and some horrible anguish came over me. What I saw was lots and lots of functions that I had no clue how to use, nor did I know how they all contributed to making a game. I was confuzzled.

How far did I come?
I've come a far ways. My very first sprites were crappy smiley faces, pathetic walkabouts, solid color tiles, horrendous battle sprites, ect...I was a newbie, and I still consider myself fairly new. But, i'm getting better, and it's obvious when you look at Grayscale, then look at Forsaken. I'm still trying to improve, but currently, the art style of Forsaken is my current style.

I'm currently a newbie in scripting, but i'm trying. Currently, the farthest I have came with scripting is minor variable work.

Am I am artist?
Somewhat. I try to do my best. I absolutly hate it when I can't draw something how I would like it, like maptiles, or enemies. But it is nice when something does come out the way I want.

Problems with the Engine:
Slices. I don't like slice work. They're too...complex. Well, at the moment. That could change.
Statting. I don't like statting, because I tend to make things way to powerful. Everything is either Super Saiyan, or too weak.

How long is the way to go?
I have a fair trip ahead of me. I still need to learn how to script better, and my artwork could improve. I have yet to complete a game, but eventually, I will. Forsaken has a better chance of becoming complete, but its a long ways to go before I can call it complete.

Conclusion:
To summarize, I had a rough start, but i'm trying to climb my way up with the 'greats' of OHR. I accept that, right now, i'll probably won't make graphics as great as Fenrir, or script as well as James Paige or TMC. But I have faith that one day, i'm going to release something that will make it's mark on the community.

How far have you come with the OHRRPGCE since you first started using it?

First base.

Did you have a rough beginning, but have now become a great artist?

Not really.

Have you struggled with using the engine?

Yes. We have a love and hate relationship, but it's completely one-sided. The engine just sits there, expecting me to do most of the work. It's kind of weird.

...Do you still struggle with the engine?

Yes, but much less so. So long as I don't worry about importing graphics, we tend to get along better.

First look at the O.H.R
Growing up, video games were always in my life. I remember wanting to maker rpgs from a very young age. So, in 8th grade when my mom took my out of my middle school because of some violent events that had taken place there and made the news, I took the time to learn how to make video games. Looking online I found several programs and guides that would help me do it. When I saw rpg maker I was a bit excited, rpg's were my favorite type of game at the time. The program was disappointing and I found myself unable to do the things I wanted from the very beginning of using rpgmaker. Then I found the OHR. Having used dos based computer since I has 6, it's non-windows interface was actually very refreshing. I found myself working with the ohr for hours. I didn't ever get into the community, I didn't even know one had existed. The games I made were only ever played by my family and a few friends.



How far have you come with the OHRRPGCE since you first started using it?
When I first stated using the ohr I had no idea had to plotscript. I'm not even sure if you could yet, but I remember discovering plotscripting and being completely overwhelmed. But, the game I was making had an airship in it and back then vehicles didn't stay were to put them. Not only that, but I wanted an airship that acted more like the ones in other rpgs. So I got to work on a script that would make an airship, fly it toward the player from off screen and land it in front of the player. I was so proud of my script that I showed everyone I knew. Most of them didn't think it was that cool.

Now, I like to think that people consider me as very fluent in the plotscripting language. Having made a sidescroller and mouse based puzzle game with an rpg engine leaves me with a since of real accomplishment.

Did you have a rough beginning, but have now become a great artist?
Well if we're talking graphics than I'd definitely say I had a rough start. I'm not talking Loser Man!!! rough. That was done on purpose. But the graphics I made for my games in 8th grade were almost as bad.
I'm not really sure I've come all that far. I like to think my graphics are a lot more presentable, but I don't consider myself good with graphics.


Have you struggled with using the engine?
From time to time, I would come across something in the engine that I didn't know how to use. I would ignore it at first and trying to work around it. But it would bug me. I would find myself unguidedly poking around in the ohr trying to figure out how things worked. I made a lot of test .rpg files to test stuff out with.

...Do you still struggle with the engine?
Nope

First look at the O.H.R
i first heard of the OHR way way back in middle school. this was the first game making experience i've ever had, and like all first-timers, i wasn't very good at it. i actually thought that the map tilesets were the maps at first! i felt really silly when i realized what the tilesets were.

and the graphics... ohh, don't get me started on those. colorful stick figures fighting wispy airbrushed clouds in a bland and flat world. yet somehow, i couldn't have been more proud of it.

How far did I come?
when i first started, i really had no idea what the heck i was doing with the OHR. my first game was a game called "blood ruby", which was a horrible mess of blocky graphics and bland battles across three snow covered maps. i abandoned that game fairly quickly, and forgot about the OHR for a few years.

my sister bought our computer from my mother because she desperately needed money, then moved out. i was computerless for a good long time. eventually, i saved up enough money for my own computer, and decided to see what had happened with the OHR. i was delighted to see that people were still working on\with it, and to see that it had been updated, so i decided would give it another shot. now that i was a bit older (and smarter), i wanted to see what i could accomplish with it, and i started to make a game to play around with plotscripting, which i had never attempted before as it looked rather daunting to me at 13 years old. it has been about 4 years since then, and i'm still working (kinda, sorta, sometimes) on this game, and constantly developing my plotscripting skills. i'd say that i have come a long way from when i started.

Am I am artist?
i wouldn't exactly say that i am an artist, but at least anybody can tell what they are looking at, which is enough for me.

Problems with the Engine:
the only problems that i have are when it comes to some of the more advanced plotscripting. i occasionally end up tripping over my own feet, but thanks to this community, i can always figure out what the problem is and fix it.

How long is the way to go?
like many other people, i would really like to make a sidescrolling game. or, to be more specific, a metroidvania type of game. i have had plans for one ever since i was in middle school, but have never known where to even begin with it. some day, i suppose...

Conclusion:
the ohr has always been my favorite engine for making games, and i love to see games like slimes! and other games that show how flexible the engine can be. however, i hope that one day i will be able make a game from scratch. until then, i will keep learning on my own, if only to see what i can do on my own.

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Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy... So here's some lunchmeat... Sandwich, maybe?