Outer Battle Issues

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CarbonatedSlime
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Outer Battle Issues

Post by CarbonatedSlime »

Okay, so being the noob that I am, I'm not sure about certain things. Due to the nature of my game, I would prefer that battles not take place on a separate screen. It's about ships flying in space, so naturally I'd like them to be able to attack and fire projectiles without the whole traditional RPG screen thing. Think the Crypt of Baconthulu. As a result, I have some questions.

- Am I okay just using walkabouts, or do I have to create the hero and enemy graphics?
- Can projectiles be set to hurt?
- Can NPCs attack one another?

Thanks for any suggestions.
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Foxley
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Post by Foxley »

Weeellll, unfortunately there's some bad news... If you don't want to use the default battle engine and have a combat system that takes place on the map, you'll have to code your own battle system. Battlescripting hasn't been implemented yet, and it's been a planned feature for over 15 years, so I wouldn't expect it anytime soon.

The good news is that there have been custom battle systems made that you might be able to borrow from, if the authors are OK with it, and you can ask for help on the forum while you get started.

Alternatively, you can just roll with the default battle system, which is IMO generally the best choice for a RPG. It is a damn good battle system, it's just the aesthetic parts of it lack customization. It's good to ask yourself how vital the look and feel you want is, and if it's enough to where you must commit hundreds of hours to rigging your own battle system in order to have it.
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Post by CarbonatedSlime »

Lol, I'm sure the battle system is lovely, but it just won't work for what I'm doing. It's cool, though. I'll just figure something out with code.
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Post by sheamkennedy »

CarbonatedSlime wrote:Lol, I'm sure the battle system is lovely, but it just won't work for what I'm doing. It's cool, though. I'll just figure something out with code.
Keep in mind that coding battles can vary a lot in difficulty. If you need help just plan exactly how you want your battles to commence and then break it down into manageable tasks that the community can help you with.

I think a simple one-on-one battle system could be done in which:
1) All Heros and NPCs are suspended (so they cant move and the player can't control them).
2) Your hero speed stats are compared to your enemy speed stats to decide who attacks first.
3) When it's your turn to attack a menu pops up with certain options (ex. Attack, Magic, Item...)
4) When you select "Attack" your hero will be animated to swing their sword, shoot their gun, etc... In your case you want a projectile, so you can code a slice to be projected from the hero to the enemy.
5) Some sort of stat comparison will decide how much damage you deal and probability can be used to decide whether you miss or hit the target.
6) Now you have to update the enemy health and check whether they have perished.
7) If they're dead you will want some sort of experience-up menu to occur and receive items if they had anything on them.
8) Then unsuspend everything so the player can move freely once again.

Note: This is a pretty basic and boring system I have outlined and would probably take the typical programmer a few weeks working steady on it to get it just the way they like in terms of looks, pacing, etc...

Keep in mind that as soon as you start wanting to include things like additional attacks, elemental attacks/resistance, abilities (like steal, transform, jump, etc...) that the amount of you have to do will become immense. Not to mention you will likely be coming up with your own stat comparison algorithms meaning that you will have to do extensive testing to make sure the battle system is balanced in a way which is fair and is at good level of difficulty for the player throughout the game as they level-up. At the end of the day you can always research the formulas used for calculating damage, resistance, etc for OHRRPGCE and copy/modify them.

If you're really passionate about having your own unique battle system then definitely go for it, I hope I haven't discouraged you but just wanted to point out that this will be a huge undertaking. Either way there are people here to help you figure out each step of the process.
Last edited by sheamkennedy on Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by CarbonatedSlime »

I'm not really looking for anything unique. I just want players to be able to shoot NPCs without going to a dedicated battle screen. I also want people to be able to run away by simply moving away. There would be no speeds stats or freezing NPCs. Just point and shoot.
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Post by sheamkennedy »

Ahh okay that’s easy to pull off.
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Post by CarbonatedSlime »

What, for real? So I would be able to just get away with walkabout graphics? I took a look at the data for Baconthulu, and that's what it looks like James did, for both the hero, enemies, sound effects, and weapons. I'm not entirely sure how to make that work, though.
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Post by sheamkennedy »

CarbonatedSlime wrote:What, for real? So I would be able to just get away with walkabout graphics? I took a look at the data for Baconthulu, and that's what it looks like James did, for both the hero, enemies, sound effects, and weapons. I'm not entirely sure how to make that work, though.
Ahh yes I've read through the Baconthulu code too. Everyone codes in a different way. When I personally read through this code it took me awhile to grasp just because the way it was structured is not how I personally structure things. This is a good thing though, it forces us to make our own code from scratch and reference the Baconthulu code for insights.

I think looking at the Baconthulu code there is a lot going on, it's overwhelming especially if you're just getting into coding. Your best option is to start by breakdown one single thing you want to happen in your game.

For instance you may ask the forum:
-How can I make a projectile begin at the hero and shoot in a straight line in the direction the hero is facing?

Once you figure that out the next question naturally becomes:
-How can I make this projectile harm enemies (how can I make enemy health bars?

After knowing these things you may have some insight as to how you can create a health bar for your hero as well as how you can make your enemy attack you.

Just start with the simplest main mechanic and your questions should be manageable and come to you naturally. People here will help you along the way. I'd start by asking the community that first question I suggested assuming that's sort of what you want to do. I personally have codes already made from other games like Gunpigs found here: https://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewga ... cb07c8afd8 for shooting projectiles but I'm sure other more skilled programmers will have better ways for accomplishing this. You can check out Gun Pigs and see if this type of projectile behaviour is what you want...
Last edited by sheamkennedy on Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by CarbonatedSlime »

Sweet! I think I can make this work. Thanks so much!
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Post by sheamkennedy »

CarbonatedSlime wrote:Sweet! I think I can make this work. Thanks so much!
Awesome, I look forward to it!
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Post by CarbonatedSlime »

Uh...how do I examine a script in a game? I'm trying to look at the game to figure out the code, but it's not particularly intuitive as how to do so.
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Post by kylekrack »

You can't look at a game's scripts from within the OHR. Those are found in the .hss file the game compiled in the game. That file (or files) is usually stored in the same folder as the .rpg file, if the author included it in the download. Open it in a plain text editor, like Notepad or your system's equivalent (or even a more complex code editor like Sublime or Brackets).

Conversely, to compile your own scripts into a game, you have to open a blank file in a text editor, save it as "filename.hss", and then in OHR Custom, you can select "Script Management" then "Compile and/or Import scripts". You may be able to export the scripts from a game in the same menu, but I'm unsure about that.
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Post by TMC »

You can view a game's scripts. Open the game in Custom, go to Script Management, and select "Export scripts backup copy". Then use a text editor to open the exported files. That may not work for ancient games, which didn't include a copy of the scripts.

Also, there are some useful scripts on the wiki (although I don't see anything 100% on topic); maybe start at http://rpg.hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/Script_dump

I wish there were a set of easy to use scripts for zelda-likes, like Mogri's Sidescroller 101 scripts.
Last edited by TMC on Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Foxley »

HELGA unfortunately does not have readily usable scripts, it's 3,000 lines of pure psychological terror. It's going to take some serious courage for me to refactor it into a general use scenario.
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Post by SwordPlay »

Something out-there, but I hope useful to someone.

It's relatively simple to create a shooting game (or mini-game) by enabling the mouse and clicking on slices (either already existing ones e.g.walkabouts, or ones you loaded yourself)

The great thing is that mouse input also works for touchscreen, using touch instead of click.
Mouse/touch support extends to most of the engine features, like menus and moving the heroes and activating npcs.
Look in "Edit General Game Settings">"Mouse Options"
Last edited by SwordPlay on Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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