[7/22/2019]D&D, Laziness, and the Save Editor
Well, will you look at that; I'm only TWO MONTHS late for a blog update x3.. So a little while after
we last left off, I had come to the conclusion that the best way to figure what exact variables would be
needed is to go ahead and start cobbling together a "Save Editor". Originally I figured it would be text-based
much like the Stat Program. Then I decided it should be a stand alone debugging program to be used even after
the whole game is complete. Given that its sole purpose was to create and edit the game's actual save files I
ASSUMED it wouldn't take too long to make. ..oh how I was a naive fool. As the weeks rolled by and evolved into
months I became discouraged, lazy, stagnant. But hey I discovered the magic of D&D :P
ORIGINALLY I figured the program would just need the actual font assets that would be used- that alone took
weeks (off and on) to develop. After trying to wrap my mind around how much of a pain that program would be
for managing items and stuff with mere text, it became apparent it would be EASIER to develop the save editor if
I created actual inventory icons as well...
So it took many more discouraging weeks until I came to you with the news that I have 60 out of 105 inventory icons
complete at the time of this writing. What you're looking at now is ten of them. Once more, I was naive in thinking
pixel art would be easy, so hopefully they don't look too bad ><.. (if it looks blurry, use chrome)
With all that said, I apologize for the delay in an update. Frankly I wanted to wait until there was something noteworthy to say; but as weeks turned in to months, noteworthy no longer became worth the silence. Ultimately I'm just slowly chipping away at ambitions of a grander scale than once thought.
So I'm late for this update; a couple events happend. 1.) I went to go see Detective Pikachu with
friends (great movie btw!) 2.) I partied a little and lost a lot of sleep. 3.) I HAD a functioning
test done on time but it got saved to the TEMP directory and got overwritten by example codes :( .
So I had to rebuild it from scratch and boy am I glad I did! Learned a little about readable code and
separating core elements into functions that can reside in separate files.
As such, I was able to put the code for the hard-coded initialization of the 3D array in its own file; I
put all the stat-calculation formulas in THEIR own file, and ultimately it feels a lot more clean and less
of a headache :). The only problem is the editor doesn't do a fancy color-code of the written functions or
a description of their syntax when in a separate file, .. so that's going to be some thought-overhead.
Still, I cant argue that the end-result is STILL something that feels more proffessional and less ghetto-rigged.
I mean.. take a look! This accurately determines what your stats would be at a given level and stat-point
distribution! It updates in real time whenever you change a stat and only allocates as many points as you
would recieve at a given time in the actual game. It honestly makes me try to strategically plan a character
even though there is no game to start yet! So with that dose of procrastination out of the way, I am due for
developing a D&D session coming in a couple days..
When we last left off, I had taken an inventory of what was done and what had to be done. I
decided that I needed to finish writing how the 3D-Arrays to describe each treasure-chest's
inventory should be arranged. After some sweating dedication, it was done. The next step was
to design a program for to populate the arrays with their respective data. Problem though, was
it started to look like I'd be writing out exactly how the code should go anyway..
So it was obvious enough that I couldn't avoid attempting to code something any longer; the time
had come to hard-code an entire two 3D-Arrays (close enough to equal 1,300 variables!). I learned
pretty quickly that the sheer tedium of making this game will likely consume my life for the forseable
future..
After 2 consecutive days of literally nothing but coding, IT WORKS! Now I'm still very novice at
programming anything but when something works, that's grounds for a celebration if I do say so myself.
The program functions as follows: It displays what is contained in an individual chest at a given
iteration (or literally just shows the data on a given point of the array); you can scroll through
and see what is contained in any one of the 54 chests; you can re-roll (repopulate the array with a
different iteration of data, as each chest contains random quantities of items within a range); and
you can see which chest at which section the item(s) are contained in. This allows easy troubleshooting
of what will become the initial chest-propigating (idk if i used that word right) mechanic of the final game.
On to the unfortunate meat of the issue though; this game is to be coded in what is essentially abandonware.
Some readers (assuming anyone reads this) might have heard of this now-ancient programming language called
"DarkBasic Professional". Well, back in 2016 TheGameCreators had made the executive decision to cut support
for this once-sold product and release it free on GitHub as an open-source respository (sometimes I pretend
to know what words mean xD). That's all well and good ..assuming anyone contributes to the source and make
it y'know.. better. In the end though, the only documentaion that remains are forum-posts and independantly
published textbooks that make references to no-longer-existing material. On top of that, I personally never
was able to get that copy to work which is honestly heartbreaking; after all, it was the very first thing
that allowed little-old-me to feel like I actually could make a real game.
Because of this, the only real way I managed to get anything to come of that software was hunt down now-ancient
computers still running an otherwise legitimate and full-purchased (back when they charged for it) copy, and
proceed to move the installation files on to USB drives. This has several drawbacks.. One, it completely
breaks the nice little help-files and examples in the name of getting the compiler to run. Two, another way
of doing had completely broken the compiler in the name of getting the help files to run. Three, this caused
the best documentation to be the aforementioned textbook and also a printed-out forum-post of tutorial. And
four, most terrifying, god-forbid the computer(s) and drive(s) break and I'll be sealed out of that software,
forever. I weap for anyone trying to get in to that program in this day and age because it seems highly
unlikely they'll get it to work..
..and believe me, I tried. Honestly I would LOVE to see it working, elegantly and correctly on my main
computer. That software and everything related to it, including the community (which appears to still be going
strong for some reason), gave the whole process a certain nostalgic charm even while it was NEW. I remember when
I was much much younger, a kid, that I was trying to come to grips with how does program. Made VERY crappy things
here and there that friends would giggle with me about. Had little daydreams and etc. In the end though I simply
never buckled-down and made consistent commitment to improve in that area. Now, finally able to do such, and nothing
works? .. frankly I find it hard to believe.
..so I've taken to the forums and whined. We'll see if anything reasonably comes from it. If not, I suppose
I'll have to hoard the last remaining copy that works like some ancient JRPG crystal. In the meantime, I guess
it couldn't hurt to get more RPG2 done. At this point I just really want to see that thing bring something great
to the DarkBasic Professional name (and it'll be fun to say I made something noteworthy in abandoned software).
If this really can't work, I guess it'll be time to move to Unity or something in the future. We'll find out :P
After who knows how long, production on RPG Thingy 2 has begun once more. The very first thing
that happened though was taking a good hard look at what was done so far. After all, once you
stop working on a project, getting back into it is nothing short of a convoluted clusterfuck..
This chicken-scratch of an algorithm-plan can be explained as follows: Your very first battle
can occur anywhere between zero to ten seconds of movement, but this time the duration that took
will be remembered. That duration is then put in to one of three categories that can be thought of
as too-quickly, just-right, and too-long. Whichever category that fell into will then be used to
define how long it will be until your next battle. For example, let's say it took about 5 seconds
of movement to get in to combat: Your next battle will either happen between 0-3 seconds or 8-10
seconds of movement because the last one took 4-7 seconds to occur. I think this will ultimately
make random combat feel more random and less annoying :)!
That said, influencing stats will now become a MUCH more convoluted process. Without attempting to
break down every little step of the journey, it will be safe to assume each piece of equipment or
spell (there will be buffs/debuffs) will have a solid bearing on their respective stats. This will
result in the need to strategize what kind of equipment will be most beneficial for your individual
character-build. For instance, an archer-type character will rather not be slowed down by tank-y armor,
or a tank-y type character would rather use a heavy sword than a dinky magic-wand that will pose no
physical use to him/her. (yes, there will be manipulatable stats!)
Every single item, in every single equipment-slot, will each have its own bearing on your stats.
Some items may buff certain features of your character while others may actually weaken them. Every
little bit will help as you climb the ladder of progress though, and monster-stats are shaped with
your potential equip-loadout in mind. So don't abandon that crappy helmet or those torn-up rags;
they might just save your life...
So; the best way to maximize the number of turns you can take before the baddies get their share, is
by decreasing the new "ActBar" stat as much as possible! Literally what this new stat reperesents is
the time, in seconds, it takes until you're free to choose an action. Depending on how fast your character
is, this time can be anywhere from near-zero to a grudging four seconds. But the drama won't stop there;
players of the original RPG Thingy will recall their foes patiently waiting for them to choose an action.
Well buckle-up buttercup because now, monsters are only going to wait a second before deciding to take
their turn while you're still picking an action- be quick or get 
Some monsters will fly, others will not, and some will be completely spectral! It will then fall on
to you to react accordingly to each one. For instance, a sword relies solely on your character's brute
strength to determine how hard that edge cuts in to your foe. But if that foe is flying, odds are it
won't do as much damage if you're struggling to reach it. This problem can be circumvented with a bow
or crossbow which can be reloaded quicker than regaining your footing after a swing. However if this
foe happens to just be a ghostly figure, then there really isn't anything to hit is there? That is why
it can pay to invest in glass weapons or even magic. The problem with all of these though is certain
character-builds are better suited to certain kinds of attacks over others. So it pays to play to
your strengths and strategize how best to deal with your weaknesses.
It may make sense to brute-force a monster with physical damage. But some may actually be weak against
magical attacks. Contrarywise, some monsters may be well-versed in minimizing damage from the nonphysical;
and wouldn't expect to be struck by the blade as much. Of course, some foes are just simply prepared for
either outcome and will have to fall by whichever means your character can muster.
That's right, say hello to the Bazooka Mark II! Who needs to worry about what
attacks work versus what monster when you got good old fashion artillery at your side? (please note:
you won't learn anything from just blowing up your foes, hopefully you won't encounter something that's
expecting you to do that...)
Best of all, if you're worried that you'll merely get a stick in return for your deeds (seriously, whose
lame idea was that?) then worry no more! Every quest will have a very worthwhile reward; You can count
on it!
This is all going to be handled by a much more satisfying inventory managment system that will yield
a much more interesting array of potential treasure. Due to how inventory management is going to work,
players will only be able to carry so much before deciding what to keep anymore. That said, any old
treasure chest can also be used as a personal vault to keep your items in case you want them later!
(not to worry though, you can remove an item from existence entirely if you so desire.)
As of about 7pm 4/27/2019 the blog for RPG Thingy 2 has been established! I put this
gif here to remind myself the syntax for putting images next to text XD