ace of swords

here are a list of features i would like to implement but have no idea how to do so: -animated cutscenes, like textbox backgrounds maybe that scroll through by themselves? -a massive number of heros that join leave and open and close various story paths and side quests -"zelda-esque" action game parts, perhaps even a side scrolling "castlevania/zelda2-esque" part? -a "revolving star map" gauge in like the corner of the screen that is maybe based on time passing, or the steps you take, that makes certain attacks more or less effective, makes certain characters appear in certain places, along with opening and closing certain paths, depending on the current star sign??? there is more id like to do, but for now i need to figure these things out, if you can help in explaining how i would do this with plotscripting, maybe an example script, or any assistance would be very much appreciated, im working on having a better demo soon that shows more of the actual game, would be nice to have some of these features included perhaps??? thanksies ^_^

1) Well as far as animated cutscenes in which seem to scroll by themselves I think the easiest way is to have the game enter a new map. This maps tiles will act as the cutscene stuff. You could import some tilesets into the game and draw up a nice map you'd like to scroll across during the cutscene. Now use some of the camera functions in your script to pan across that map while text is displayed on screen every so many ticks.

Or perhaps write a simple script that flickers through a series of map screens or background screens at a fast rate such that the images of the backdrop seem to be moving. This may take more effort to draw but could be more effective if your cutscene has more precise animated stuff going on.

2) If you want a ton of heros that open up certain segments of the game when you meet them just create some tags. For example have a tag that is activated once "Joe" enters your party. Now all of "Joe's" quests and areas are available or some current maps change such that they suit "Joe's" specific storyline and need. This is pretty simple to do but could be a hassle if you have many side quest characters in your party at once. It would be easiest to do this if one side-character enters your party at a time. The best part about this is you don't necessarily need scripting, just tags that turn on and off when certain conditions are met.

3) I am no good with creating side-scrolling stuff with this engine. It's a lot of work unless you want to get in to a fair bit of scripting. You could imitate a side scrolling area by replacing your hero sprite with a "hero side-scrolling sprite" that you could draw. Though getting in to things like jumping, pixel-by-pixel control, handles, and such is still beyond me.

4) The Revolving Star Map idea sounds cool. I'm not sure how to make it appear overlain on the screen like a HUD but I think this idea could easily be implemented with something like tags. For example you could write a script that says for every 40 steps you take the Star Map revolves to the next phase. When in phase 1 it could activate a tag which controls whether Fire is especially strong... Something like that... It would be an eaach-step script and check if your steps equals a certain number, then as your steps reach a certain value the script would cycle over again. The tags activation could control a variety of conditions such as making a new person appear or a path temporarily open.

Hope that helped a bit. Now I'm interested about how to go about creating a HUD over the in-game screen. I'd love to know that.

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⍠ C O L L A B M U S I C: https://dustpuppets.bandcamp.com/releases

thank you very much for all of that information ^_^

Say, I'm also new to this community, and I believe I could help you develop Ace of Swords!

Basically, I'm a writer and musician, but I assume you may need help in scripting... And I also happen to be a highly experienced Java programmer, so HamsterSpeak is quite easy for me.

If you want an example of something I made with HS, you can download this demo of my project: http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewgame.php?t=5872

... And yes, I'm also good making musical remixes and tracks, and I rate stories, but I don't know if my style would suit your needs.

Welcome to the Community!

There's something special seeing the newcomers gather like this
I have hope for the future.

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dOn'T MiNd mE! i'M jUsT CoNtAgIoUs!!!
Play Orbs CCG: http://orbsccg.com/r/4r6x

@ep1cluis: scripting help would be absolutely fantastic! if yoo like writing, perhaps we can start another project with yoor story and even music, and i can do graphics??? I also plan on having quite a variety of music in ace of swords, theres a late game area that i was hoping to get some dubsteppy modern type music for. Perhaps we should pm these

I need a way to make heros stay in a certain area, like they join you in a certain area, maybe 4-5aps big, but when you leave the area they would mention wanting to stay and leave your party, but if you came back you could find them and they would rejoin as long as you were there, is this sort of thing possible

???

Also today i ran into a grahics card fiasco, which is why my posts may seem wonky (im using my phone) so i am unable to work on anything for now, hopefully i can find a solution to this asap tho

Yes, making heroes wait for you somewhere is a super easy task!

... First you'll need a tag to let the game know if the hero is or is not in the party; That way you can let the script take action of showing this hero in a spot in the map, as an NPC, or to follow you as a partner. The Hero Tags submenu allows you to set a tag that will turn on/off depending on if you have the desired hero in your party; You can also make your script manage this tag directly. (This engine is so flexible!). We will call this tag "Tag 1" - When this tag is ON/TRUE, Hero 1 IS in Party. Else, it is NOT.

And when you have that tag, you can now proceed to set a place for this hero to stay. Make an NPC which has the same walkabout graphics as the desired hero. This NPC will represent the hero waiting for another hero to pick them up.

Now, this NPC, which we will call NPC 1, must require Tag 1 to be OFF in order to appear. (This way, when Hero 1 is in party, it obviously means that he is not waiting anymore in the map)

Finally, make the script that the NPC triggers when getting talked at. Here you place a dialogue. If the player agrees to let Hero 1 join, place the hero (If there's space) in the party with add hero (desired hero), and NPC 1 will automatically disappear. You can do something similar for when the hero must stay waiting again; perhaps you can make another NPC which allows the player to command Hero 1 to stay waiting.

(... I know that may seem a little too complex, but you'll get around it very quickly, specially if your having fun making this game.)

By the way, here's the Complete Plotscripting Dictionary; You'll need it! http://hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/docs/plotdict.xml

Thank yoo very much for the information, encouragement, and even helpful link ^_^ i may have more specific questions for how to make this heros stay in one area work exactly how i need it

Is it possible to make music change upon emerging through a door???

Also how exactly does the elemental bits percentages work??? Is a posative number on heros enemies and equipment a resistance or weakness??? I assume 0 is normal damage???

100% means normal damage
50% means half damage
0% means no damage
200% means double damage
-100% means healed for the same amount as normal damage

To understand how hero elemental resistance is combined with the elemental resistance of the equipment they are wearing, you should go to:
"Edit General game Data" -> "Battle System Options" -> "Hero Elemental Resistance Calculation"

There are three choices for how resistances are combined. I suggest "Combine resistances by multiplication"

You can also press F1 on that screen for a more detailed description of each formula

If it is totally necessary to change the music when using an exact door, you can use a script set to an invisible NPC, or even use an NPC as the door itself (As an advantage, this lets you set all the things that happen when using this NPC in one only script. As a disadvantage, you have to make a script and an NPC for every door that needs special functions.). This implies using NPCs as doors, which means they must be triggered when you step on them (Set Activation to "Step on")

If with using a door you mean going to another map, then there's an option that allows you to set a default music track for a map.

"set ambient music (song)" changes the ambient music. This music will repeat itself endlessly in the map where set ambient music was called.

"play song (song)" will play one song once, and after it has finished playing one time, the regular ambient music will persist to repeat its loop.

"suspend map music" and "resume map music" will stop or resume the ambient song loop. (Note: If you have used suspend map music, the music won't be present until you call set ambient music, play song, or change map)

Not exactly. "play song" starts a song playing, and it will continue looping until some other action has caused a different song to play (a battle, or moving to a different map)

There is actually no easy way to make a song play just once without looping.

Yes, Bob is right. Pardon me, must've read something wrong or confused this command with something I wrote...

Also, I'm working on the HUD features you asked for; I think it is possible to implement such thing... But as the camera moves, I don't know how exactly you will make a gauge that would always be in the right place. You should also consider using a global variable and display it using commands. (This means the flashy gauge won't be there, but instead a number displaying an amount of something, or maybe even an "amount/cap").

Is that a backend limitation? It'd be a great addition for things like "you opened a chest" fanfares.

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Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks

Fanfares would be awesome.

I've had this idea of dividing battle themes into two parts; One part which is a loop that continues through the whole battle, and one that only plays one time before the battle begins (usually when showing red flashes in the screen (you get the idea)), but without the player noticing they are two different tracks. I though this could be possible by making very drastic tick counts.

But that's another topic.