devonm0

If you want to make an event disappear until the player leaves the map and returns, the simplest way is to use the Erase Event command.

Your mention about having to make an improvised grappling hook or something got me thinking. I'd always wondered as a kid why the Gerudo from Ocarina of Time and Moblins from Wind Waker didn't disarm Link on capturing him. Certainly it makes sense now, but since you said you're basing a lot of what you're doing off of your memories from Zelda games, I would like to think you have puzzle elements that rely on certain items on the field, like bombs. If so, then if the player is captured you can have the characters relieved of their bombs and other puzzle items. Of course I realize I'm assuming quite a lot, but whatever.

Does anyone know if it's possible (by default) to input a monster id into text in a way similar as how you input an actor id to get an actor name, and by the same token get the corresponding monster name out of that. It's not listed in the list of text commands, so probably not, but I wanted to ask.

That's all fine and dandy, but a help file wouldn't help for what I have in mind. At least not for the ones I'm currently making. For example, a server at a restaurant. For that, you would speak to guests and they would place their order, then you would return to the counter to put the order in before reporting to the customer on how long it would take. Then a timer would appear and the order would be ready at the end of the time IF the correct time was given to the customer, and regardless of whether or not the food is actually ready, you have 10 seconds to pick up the food or else the customer will leave dissatisfied. The information that would need to be recorded would be the item, the price, the preparation time, and the time until the food cools. Customers will always be unable to decide between three items, and they would always have very different cooling times. This is meant to take advantage of the difference in spacing of certain seats compared to others. If the food cools before it arrives, you won't get top marks from the customer. Luckily the information is all constant, but the choices that the customers can't decide between will be grouped into different sets that pop up randomly. That's why I think this design would require some actual note taking. There would also be a cooking job at the same restaurant where you would have a recipe that would be viewable at any time, but it isn't up constantly so some might prefer to take notes. The majority of tasks in both of these would be handled by the character, with the player having to make choices from a list that pops up to tell either the player or the customer what to do or how long.

I'm planning a set of activities that serve as paying jobs that will be the main source of income for players of my game. My question is, is it inherently bad to make an activity that prompts the player to have something to write down information on because the amount of information they would have to remember if not written down is likely beyond the scope of the average player's ability to recall on command? You see, while it is technically a distraction, or even a 'mini-game', it will become important to what I see as being most players because of these activities being the main source of in-game income, and I really don't want it to be too easy, but I also don't want to be asking something ridiculous of the player.

How about you have it check if the characters are in the party, and only display the message for each character if that character is dead but in the party. Since you're removing them permanently, that should theoretically work, plus it'll keep more switches open for other things.

Assuming you mean the player character, my first order of business would be to make sure that the transparency is turned off, either when the game starts or by way of events. Beyond that however, more information is required.

Whenever someone asks for help designing a game, the first game that always comes to mind is the SNES JRPG Lufia 2: Rise of the SInistrals. Ever heard of it? No? Okay, well the story is actually pretty cliche as a whole, but in this case, the whole is lesser than the sum of its parts. There are so many localized aspects of the game, from story, to combat, even the fact that this game, in a way, did Pokemon before there was Pokemon. I'm going to list some of them, but they are merely for potential inspiration. So, first off there was the Ikari system, which actually combined strategic elements that could only be implemented outside of battle with the flow of battle itself. Most, but not all equipment in the game have special skills tied to them that could only be utilized in exchange for a percentage of a meter that appeared in battle, and filled as a character took damage. The percentage used varied from skill to skill, but it just added some depth to an otherwise standard battle system. Lufia 2 was also one of the first games to do the hopeless boss trope, and they actually did it differently, because you could beat the boss if you leveled enough and got the right gear (Kinda hard when he's boss #7, huh?) Beating him didn't do anything like a branched story, but the boss did drop his sword in that case, a powerful weapon with a killer Ikari. I don't know how many games had dungeons like Lufia 2's Ancient Cave, but that was an optional 99 basement behemoth of a randomly generated dungeon where upon entry you revert to level 1 and have to leave everything you own at the door. You start the ancient cave the way you start the game, except that you have a full party. Also there are special chests in the cave that contain equipment not found anywhere else. Said equipment is the strongest in the game by any standard, and the only equipment you can take out of the cave with you. However, if you die, then it's a drop everything and run scenario. The 'pokemon' system I mentioned were called capsule monsters. They start off wimpy and grow when you feed them. What do you feed them? Anything. Fruits, vegetables, weapons, armor...I kid you not. And the more they grow, the more refined their taste buds become. And the thing is, they have to like the taste of what you feed them for it to help them grow. Lufia 2 also had a spell shop where, instead of buying tomes that would be stored as items until you use them like what happens in Final Fantasy II for example; you buy them, select the character, and they use the tome right there on the shop screen. Not sure how important that would be to whoever, but I also don't know how to accomplish that one. Then there's also the difficult bosses mod for that game that someone made. You know, since we're talking about bosses too. There were a couple of interesting boss strategies in there, like a boss that used an attack that varied in strength depending on whether the boss was attacked while charging the attack, and a boss that increased its moves per turn in response to an increase in pc aggression (you had to attack that boss only once per round to survive), and there was also a boss that, if you dealt too much damage in one round (>666) the boss would wipe the floor with you because that's how it rolls. If you know what you're doing, there are some really inventive strategies you can make on the RPG Maker too.

Like many people have said already, there's really no set formula or rule governing what the first dungeon is. Also, if you want you can use lava or fire, but if it's going to be a hazard make sure to warn the player in the first area that is made hazardous by it. Also, not necessarily limited to the first dungeon, but the beginning of the game should allow for acclimation to special features of your game. I'm including this here because of how many games include the first dungeon in that 'tutorial period'. Mind you there shouldn't be a lot of hand-holding, but maybe signs or stone carvings describing warnings or game mechanics. Something where the player isn't forced to sit through drabble even during the 20th time playing the game (I'm looking at you Navi).

I have a general backstory thought out for each of my characters, but what I'm wondering is what would players think if they had to play through the backstory segments instead of just reading exposition and watching cut-scenes? What I have in mind is that, for example, when the current party boards a ship to reach the next area,the scene would change, leading to game play revolving around a different character to let the player get the character ready to join the party.

what happens if you tick one of the boxes when the window is glitched? I can't help, but that info might be important to someone who can.

I now have a bit of a teaser written out, though to be honest it might be pretty generic. If it is I'd like someone to let me know. There's no point in a teaser if it's full of stuff everyone expects from an RPG like this. Something is terribly wrong, something that all the knowledge in the world can't prepare you for. A village girl is taken as divine tribute for a god that doesn't even exist. Two ancient tribes, long on good terms, are driven apart by someone not of either. A survivor of a near-extinct species is thrust into a conflict with herself she isn't ready to face. As the monstrous Legion of Blackheart continues to send more and more of its forces through the Gate of Distortions, something even more vile threatens to leave its mark on the world. With so many already involved in their own dilemmas, will the people be ready when the time arrives? Something is coming...but what? When? Why...? As Arik journeys in search of these answers and how he fits into it all, he will discover strength within himself that he would never believe. Meeting a number of good friends and a wide variety of vicious foes, will he succeed? Or will the world die trying? You as the player will discover secrets about the world that very few know about as you help your group grow. Fight legions of enemies. Gather ingredients, be they everyday trifles or exotic treasures. Forge deadly weapons, craft useful equipment, brew powerful potions, and cook delicious food. Hunt for treasures and rare monsters. And if you've nothing better to do, help someone with a favor or two; it promotes community growth.

1. Voice clips can be stored as SE audio, and inserted into the game as such. As for platforming, it really depends on what extent you're looking to go with the platforming aspect. 2. There should be at least one script floating around that skips the default intro. If you use that, then you can use the play movie event command to put your animation into the game. You can then use pictures and 'Show Choices' commands, as well as a script call for each choice, to make your own start screen. 3. This sounds like a broad question. I think I know what you mean, but I'd rather you be more specific first. 4. This sounds like it would be best done with pictures. Use the set of picture related events to spawn the full body images as such, and to manipulate them so they're just right in terms of screen position. When you want to have the image change expression, just put another picture in and remove the one you last used. Also, if you dig you might be able to find a script that you can plug a set of pictures into to make an animated image. I don't know if anyone's made it, but if they have, this would probably be the place to find it. Good luck with your project.

That's weird, but at least it got resolved. And it always makes me happy when someone says that like one of my ideas.

I have a method in mind, and while I don't now the specifics of what you're looking for, it might not matter with this method. What I'm thinking is that instead of using three separate enemies, use the same enemy three times and apply a state to each of the clones. This way, when you want to change the order of the enemies all you have to do is have variables memorize the current HP and current MP of each copy, use another variable, one with a random value to decide where the real one will be relocated to, and then use the variables mentioned above to adjust the HP and MP of each version of the enemy so as to continue with the illusion that they've swapped places. Don't forget to adjust the state bearers based on the number that comes up in the RNG. This SHOULD work, but I haven't tried it so let me know if something happens that you find unfavorable.