Need Some Recharge? I can fix that!

[Radiant Arin 412]

So lately, I noticed a particular thread asking about how you can use recharging items, so that you basically use the item, and then wait for a particular time for it to cool down, before being able to use it again. Many games like "Star Ocean" use this feature in their "Silver Chalice" item, where you can only use the item once every five minutes. Today, I'm here to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to accomplish such a feat, in a small tutorial written by me, inspired by Galv.

 

Step 1:

 

Open your Database and go to the Items Tab. Create two new blank spots for the item that you want to use that will use a cooldown. In this example, I've rigged up my "Silver Chalice" to use for this tutorial.

 

 

 

This first item is the one that we want to use. This will be the item that heals the entire party, or whatever effect you wish to assign to the item. Also notice that it has a Common Event call, which we will get into later.

 

 

 

This second items is the one that will appear after we use the item. It is called the "dummy" item and represents the item on "cooldown". It has an occasion of "Never" so that it can't be used.

 

Step 2:

 

Common Event and Variable time. Go back to your first item (the one that isn't the dummy item), and make a Common Event saying something like [silver Chalice ON]. 

 

In the Common Event that says [silver Chalice ON], you will need to set it up so that it does not have a particular trigger. You will need two variables and one switch. The variables can simply be named [silver Chalice 1] and [silver Chalice 2], and the Switch can be something as simple as [silver Chalice]. At the beginning of the command field, set up your Silver Chalice 1 variable to equal playtime, while also adding 400 (400 comes out to approximately six minutes, I believe). You can set this variable up however you like, but first make sure that it is equal to playtime. So if you have an item that has a 60 second cooldown, you may set the second value much lower than 400.

 

 

 

After setting up the variables, we will need to subtract 1 of the usable item, and add 1 of the "dummy" item so that it can't be used. Then, we will need to throw the switch to signify that the item is on cooldown. This switch then throws your second Common Event.

 

Step 3:

 

Your second Common Event. As stated above, the switch in the last Common Event needs to throw this Common Event.

 

 

 

Set this Common Event up to have a Parallel Process trigger with the switch Condition equal to the one you used in the first Common Event. Go to your second variable that you haven't used yet, and also set that one equal to playtime. Right underneath that, make a Conditional Branch stating the following:

 

Variable [0001: (Whatever you used for your second variable here)] >= Variable [0002: (Whatever you used for your first variable here).

 

In the Conditional Branch, we will need to minus 1 of the "Dummy" item, and then add 1 of the usable item, while then turning the Silver Chalice Switch off. This then starts it all over again. Don't put anything in the "Else" branch.

 

How Does this work? Why can't I just use Wait Frames?:

 

Using Wait Frames inside of a Parallel Process event is a bad idea for one reason, and that is when you transfer to a new map, the counter resets and you will gain your items back. When you use a Conditional Branch setup, the game will continuously check to see if playtime2 is greater than or equal to playtime1, and will ONLY minus/add the items IF the condition is fulfilled. It's a common mistake that I once used, and will probably also stump newcomers as well.

 

You can do lots of interesting mechanics with this technique, such as making a temporary state that evades combat, or something along those lines. All it essentially comes down to is variable manipulation and exploitation.

[RetroExcellent 369]

Fantastic! That'll be really helpful to a lot of people and the tutorial is really helpful and well written!

[amerk 1,122]

To answer your (slightly unasked) question. Each frame is 1/60 of a second in RM. So a cool down of 1 second would be set up as 60 frames. 400 frames is approximately 6.67 seconds, so you were close.

 

Thanks for this, by the way. I've wanted something similar to this for awhile.

 

How about a skill that only works once per battle? I assume you would use something similar, but eliminate the time and just reset the switch after the battle ends.

 

So you use a skill. The switch is on, can't be used again for that battle, but after the battle, the switch turns off. The only thing I'm trying to wrap my head around is how you tell the system the battle ended and the switch can now turn off.