Attack Range, Item Enhancements and more...!! - How to Use Ver. 1.3 New Features
Hello everyone!
Thank you for the great response to Ver. 1.3.
As for the features added in this update, many of them are achieved by combining several functions. The purpose of dividing the functions into smaller groups is to increase the degree of freedom for users to create their own projects, and to make it easier to convert the functions to other uses. But on the other hand, some of you may be wondering, "Which one of those functions do I use to make a mini map?"
A "Dungeon RPG Sample" has been added to the Game Gallery as an example of combining various functions. Here is a brief description of what we did in that sample game. We hope this will be helpful for your creation.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Make Player Invisible ][/h3]
To hide the player when in first person, specify "Stamp with no graphic setting" in Database > Casts > Graphic for Moving. In the Dungeon RPG sample, look at "Ken" in Database > Casts. If you click on the moving graphic, you will see that it is assigned the 2D stamp DungeonPlayer_2D.
Next, go to Resources > 2D Stamps and look at DungeonPlayer_2D, and you will see that the graphics section should be unspecified. The subgraphic also specifies nothing for the graphic, only a local light. This is specified to illuminate the front as if the player has a light.
The stamp with only the subgraphic local light setting without this graphic setting specified is also used in the B1 map of the Dungeon RPG sample. This stamp is placed on the map as an event, and the subgraphic is turned off with "Change Display State of Event Subgraphic" before the boss is defeated, and turned on after the boss is defeated, changing the brightness of the room.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Grid Movement ][/h3]
In the Dungeon RPG sample, grid movement (movement in units of terrain squares) is achieved using a common event. Please refer to the "Grid Move" event on the Common Events palette of the Dungeon RPG. You can also export this event, create a custom event in your project's common event, and import it into that event to introduce grid movement.
Walking speed can be changed using the "Change Player Movement Speed" panel at the beginning of the event sheet. However, if the speed is too slow, it may not be possible to climb steps in some cases.
After disabling the player's operation, the directional keys pressed are checked again. The player is moved to the specified angle and also adsorbed in the center of the grid.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Front Row/Back Row ][/h3]
In the battles, the concept of front/back rows is specified on the party side. (For the sake of simplicity, enemies are only in the front rows.) Members in the back row cannot attack the enemy unless they have a long-range weapon, and conversely, bare handed attacks from the enemy will basically not hit them. Bakin achieves these mechanisms by specifying the following:
- Specify the positions of allied party members in the battle layout.
You can specify the placement of allies and enemies during battles in the Game Definition > Rules and Operations > Battle Layout settings, the Map Settings palette > Enemy Distribution, and the "Execute Battle and Check Results" event panel. Not only the display position during battles, but also the distance between allies and enemies is calculated based on what is specified here. The Dungeon RPG sample is positioned as shown in the following image.
- Specify Attack Range
To introduce the concept of attack range into battles, first, turn on "Use Attack Range" in Game Definition > Rules and Operations. Then, specify "Attack Range Judgment Type" as either "Line" or "Distance" in the pulldown.
Next, you need to specify the attack range of the weapon and the cast itself (bare handed attacks) in the Database > Items and Database > Casts > Basics tabs. The unit of attack range is the grid of the battle layout. If an enemy is out of range during battle, the battle command "Attack" cannot be selected. If 0 is specified, attack range is treated as infinite. All skills are judged with range 0.
If "Attack Range Judgment Type" is set to "Line", Only the "front" and "rear" distances on the battle layout will be taken into account. In the case of "Line," if you set the attack range to 1, they can attack "an enemy with one grid in between."
When "Distance" is selected, the diagonal distance is also included in the attack range.
In the case of "Distance", if the attack range is set to 1, they can attack "enemies adjacent to each other horizontally and vertically". For example, to target an enemy that exists diagonally in front of them by one grid, put the attack range √2≒1.5.
The area in blue is the range that can be reached when "Attack Range 1" is specified.
(Left: Line, Right: Distance)
If the attack range does not reach the center point of the grid, it cannot be attacked.
Therefore, if the "Distance" is set, the attack will not reach the diagonal grid.
"Attack Range" also affects the range of its effect in the following cases.
- When an item is used as an "item" in battle
- When an item with a skill is used as a "skill"
- The Front/Back indication that appears above the members during battle is specified in the Layout Tool > Battle Status.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Damage Indication ][/h3]
In battle scenes, damage values and effects when attacked appear in the party status display area.
This is accomplished by placing parts with the special coordinate specification tag DamagePosition on the Layout Tool > Battle Status screen. Please refer to the "Damage Display Position" container in the layout parts list.
[hr][/hr]
[ Rearrange the Party Members ]
When the concept of front/back rows is introduced into battles, it makes sense to rearrange the order, such as putting deeply damaged members in the back row. In addition to allowing "swapping places" as a battle command, we also handle such things as automatically moving members who have been disabled in battle to the back of the line.
- To display the rearrange order command during battle, create a command in the "Battle Command Menu" under the Database > Casts > Battles tab, specifying "Swap Places" as the function to be assigned.
- To automatically send members to the back row depending on their state during battle, first, turn on "Rearrange by State During Battle" in Game Definition > Rules and Operations. You may turn on "Restore the Original Order when States are Removed" if necessary. And which state to move to the back is specified in the Basic Settings "Move to Back of the Party while Granted" in Database > State Definition.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Switching Battle Backgrounds in the Dungeon RPG Sample ][/h3]
The background 2D graphics are switched as necessary, for example, between encounter battles and boss battles. This is achieved by an event.
First, place an event for background graphics on the "Dungeon_2DBattleMap" used as the battle map. Within that event, there are multiple event sheets that are activated by variable values, and background graphics are assigned to each of them.
Then, at the event where the battle occurs, the background is switched by putting the value for the event sheet you want to use as the background into a variable.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Narrowing Down the Entries to be Displayed on the Layout ][/h3]
In the item list and picture book menus, it is possible to narrow down the items to "weapons only" or "valuables only". This is achieved through a combination of Database and Layout Tool functions.
- You can freely set tags with a "#" in the Management Tags + Notes field under the Database Entry Tree. Items also have internally generated tags by specifying "Consumables," "Weapons," and "Armor" in the Basic Settings and setting the price to 0.
- Use the Layout Tool to specify which of the tagged entries are to be displayed. You can specify entries to be displayed by specifying tags in "Management Tags for Items to be Displayed" in the layout properties of the Item Selection screen, etc. Note that specifying multiple tags will result in an AND condition ("00 and xx").
- Please note that picture books will not be displayed unless "Register to Picture Book" is turned on in the "Others" tab of each option in the Database.
The Dungeon RPG sample's picture book, or Monsters in the "Notebook," shows only the enemy casts. To achieve this, we first specify the #Monster tag for casts that correspond to so-called monsters in Database > Casts. And this is achieved by specifying #Monster for the layout property "Management Tags for Items to be Displayed" in Layout Tool > Cast Picture Book.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Enhancement Items ][/h3]
Events occur where enhanced items like "Knife +1" come out of treasure chests or enhance items on hand. This is achieved through a combination of the following features:
- If you want to make an item an enhanced item, remember to first go to Database > Items and turn on "Enhancable" for the item you want to enhance.
- For items from treasure chests, we have set up an item enhancement event in Database > Items with a custom event. A custom event is triggered when an item is obtained. In the event, items from "+1" to "+3" will appear using random numbers and loops.
- The item enhancement event on the B1 map is achieved by a combination of Layout Tool and Common Events. The common event "Item Enhancement_B1" is called from the action in the sub-menu container of the Layout Tool > Enhancement Item Selection screen.
Also, in the layout properties "Variable Specification," specify the "nth Parameter in the Inventory" variable to be used for "Item Enhancement" and "Advanced Variable Box Operation" on the Common Event side. Note that the Enhancement Item Selection screen takes effect in combination with Common Events.
- You can specify which abilities of the item will be enhanced by the event content.
Please refer to sample events in the Common Events section for more information on enhancing items.
(Caution)
- Each enhanced item is treated as a different type of item.
The capacity of the Inventory, which can be set in Game Definition > Rules and Operations, allows you to specify the number of "types" of items the player can have.
In other words, each enhanced item is counted as "one type".
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Mini Map ][/h3]
A mini map with auto-mapping is displayed on the screen. Icons of doors and treasure chests found are now also displayed on maps. These are achieved through a combination of the following features:
- The mini map can be displayed simply by specifying the special format \minimappreview in the Layout Tool on the Panel for Rendering Strings. The size and display position of the mini map will reflect the panel's settings. In the Dungeon RPG sample, a layout called "minimap" is created in the Layout Tool > Free Layout for Events screen, and the mini map is displayed by calling the layout from a common event.
- The color of the mini map to indicate where the area is traversable or non-traversable, the size of the grid on the screen, and whether or not auto-mapping is used can be specified in the Game Definition > Rules and Operations > Current Location Map Display Settings.
- The setting of whether or not to be able to walk on the terrain can be changed for each terrain in the Resources > Terrains section.
- You can specify how much of the map to display on the mini map by going to Map Settings > Map. It is common to create maps that are larger than the area that the player can be walked around during play, for example, for visual purposes. Specify this option to prevent unwanted areas from being displayed on the map.
- The icons for doors and treasure chests on the mini map are specified as images in Game Definition > System Resources > Current Location Map.
- The event sheet specifies where to display the images set in the System Resources.
Please see the door event in the sample game. The image is specified in "Change Elements During Sheet Execution" > "Graphic Settings" > "Image for Displaying Map" in each event sheet when closed or opened. By allowing each event sheet to specify its own icon, it is possible to switch the icon to be displayed depending on its status.
[hr][/hr]
Thanks for taking the time to read this long article.
We hope this will be helpful to you in creating your own wonderful projects.
We will continue to brush up on the features added in Ver. 1.3.
Please continue to enjoy making games with Bakin!
(These will be augmented in the manual.)
As for the features added in this update, many of them are achieved by combining several functions. The purpose of dividing the functions into smaller groups is to increase the degree of freedom for users to create their own projects, and to make it easier to convert the functions to other uses. But on the other hand, some of you may be wondering, "Which one of those functions do I use to make a mini map?"
A "Dungeon RPG Sample" has been added to the Game Gallery as an example of combining various functions. Here is a brief description of what we did in that sample game. We hope this will be helpful for your creation.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Make Player Invisible ][/h3]
To hide the player when in first person, specify "Stamp with no graphic setting" in Database > Casts > Graphic for Moving. In the Dungeon RPG sample, look at "Ken" in Database > Casts. If you click on the moving graphic, you will see that it is assigned the 2D stamp DungeonPlayer_2D.
Next, go to Resources > 2D Stamps and look at DungeonPlayer_2D, and you will see that the graphics section should be unspecified. The subgraphic also specifies nothing for the graphic, only a local light. This is specified to illuminate the front as if the player has a light.
The stamp with only the subgraphic local light setting without this graphic setting specified is also used in the B1 map of the Dungeon RPG sample. This stamp is placed on the map as an event, and the subgraphic is turned off with "Change Display State of Event Subgraphic" before the boss is defeated, and turned on after the boss is defeated, changing the brightness of the room.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Grid Movement ][/h3]
In the Dungeon RPG sample, grid movement (movement in units of terrain squares) is achieved using a common event. Please refer to the "Grid Move" event on the Common Events palette of the Dungeon RPG. You can also export this event, create a custom event in your project's common event, and import it into that event to introduce grid movement.
Walking speed can be changed using the "Change Player Movement Speed" panel at the beginning of the event sheet. However, if the speed is too slow, it may not be possible to climb steps in some cases.
After disabling the player's operation, the directional keys pressed are checked again. The player is moved to the specified angle and also adsorbed in the center of the grid.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Front Row/Back Row ][/h3]
In the battles, the concept of front/back rows is specified on the party side. (For the sake of simplicity, enemies are only in the front rows.) Members in the back row cannot attack the enemy unless they have a long-range weapon, and conversely, bare handed attacks from the enemy will basically not hit them. Bakin achieves these mechanisms by specifying the following:
- Specify the positions of allied party members in the battle layout.
You can specify the placement of allies and enemies during battles in the Game Definition > Rules and Operations > Battle Layout settings, the Map Settings palette > Enemy Distribution, and the "Execute Battle and Check Results" event panel. Not only the display position during battles, but also the distance between allies and enemies is calculated based on what is specified here. The Dungeon RPG sample is positioned as shown in the following image.
- Specify Attack Range
To introduce the concept of attack range into battles, first, turn on "Use Attack Range" in Game Definition > Rules and Operations. Then, specify "Attack Range Judgment Type" as either "Line" or "Distance" in the pulldown.
Next, you need to specify the attack range of the weapon and the cast itself (bare handed attacks) in the Database > Items and Database > Casts > Basics tabs. The unit of attack range is the grid of the battle layout. If an enemy is out of range during battle, the battle command "Attack" cannot be selected. If 0 is specified, attack range is treated as infinite. All skills are judged with range 0.
If "Attack Range Judgment Type" is set to "Line", Only the "front" and "rear" distances on the battle layout will be taken into account. In the case of "Line," if you set the attack range to 1, they can attack "an enemy with one grid in between."
When "Distance" is selected, the diagonal distance is also included in the attack range.
In the case of "Distance", if the attack range is set to 1, they can attack "enemies adjacent to each other horizontally and vertically". For example, to target an enemy that exists diagonally in front of them by one grid, put the attack range √2≒1.5.
The area in blue is the range that can be reached when "Attack Range 1" is specified.
(Left: Line, Right: Distance)
If the attack range does not reach the center point of the grid, it cannot be attacked.
Therefore, if the "Distance" is set, the attack will not reach the diagonal grid.
"Attack Range" also affects the range of its effect in the following cases.
- When an item is used as an "item" in battle
- When an item with a skill is used as a "skill"
- The Front/Back indication that appears above the members during battle is specified in the Layout Tool > Battle Status.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Damage Indication ][/h3]
In battle scenes, damage values and effects when attacked appear in the party status display area.
This is accomplished by placing parts with the special coordinate specification tag DamagePosition on the Layout Tool > Battle Status screen. Please refer to the "Damage Display Position" container in the layout parts list.
[hr][/hr]
[ Rearrange the Party Members ]
When the concept of front/back rows is introduced into battles, it makes sense to rearrange the order, such as putting deeply damaged members in the back row. In addition to allowing "swapping places" as a battle command, we also handle such things as automatically moving members who have been disabled in battle to the back of the line.
- To display the rearrange order command during battle, create a command in the "Battle Command Menu" under the Database > Casts > Battles tab, specifying "Swap Places" as the function to be assigned.
- To automatically send members to the back row depending on their state during battle, first, turn on "Rearrange by State During Battle" in Game Definition > Rules and Operations. You may turn on "Restore the Original Order when States are Removed" if necessary. And which state to move to the back is specified in the Basic Settings "Move to Back of the Party while Granted" in Database > State Definition.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Switching Battle Backgrounds in the Dungeon RPG Sample ][/h3]
The background 2D graphics are switched as necessary, for example, between encounter battles and boss battles. This is achieved by an event.
First, place an event for background graphics on the "Dungeon_2DBattleMap" used as the battle map. Within that event, there are multiple event sheets that are activated by variable values, and background graphics are assigned to each of them.
Then, at the event where the battle occurs, the background is switched by putting the value for the event sheet you want to use as the background into a variable.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Narrowing Down the Entries to be Displayed on the Layout ][/h3]
In the item list and picture book menus, it is possible to narrow down the items to "weapons only" or "valuables only". This is achieved through a combination of Database and Layout Tool functions.
- You can freely set tags with a "#" in the Management Tags + Notes field under the Database Entry Tree. Items also have internally generated tags by specifying "Consumables," "Weapons," and "Armor" in the Basic Settings and setting the price to 0.
- Use the Layout Tool to specify which of the tagged entries are to be displayed. You can specify entries to be displayed by specifying tags in "Management Tags for Items to be Displayed" in the layout properties of the Item Selection screen, etc. Note that specifying multiple tags will result in an AND condition ("00 and xx").
- Please note that picture books will not be displayed unless "Register to Picture Book" is turned on in the "Others" tab of each option in the Database.
The Dungeon RPG sample's picture book, or Monsters in the "Notebook," shows only the enemy casts. To achieve this, we first specify the #Monster tag for casts that correspond to so-called monsters in Database > Casts. And this is achieved by specifying #Monster for the layout property "Management Tags for Items to be Displayed" in Layout Tool > Cast Picture Book.
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Enhancement Items ][/h3]
Events occur where enhanced items like "Knife +1" come out of treasure chests or enhance items on hand. This is achieved through a combination of the following features:
- If you want to make an item an enhanced item, remember to first go to Database > Items and turn on "Enhancable" for the item you want to enhance.
- For items from treasure chests, we have set up an item enhancement event in Database > Items with a custom event. A custom event is triggered when an item is obtained. In the event, items from "+1" to "+3" will appear using random numbers and loops.
- The item enhancement event on the B1 map is achieved by a combination of Layout Tool and Common Events. The common event "Item Enhancement_B1" is called from the action in the sub-menu container of the Layout Tool > Enhancement Item Selection screen.
Also, in the layout properties "Variable Specification," specify the "nth Parameter in the Inventory" variable to be used for "Item Enhancement" and "Advanced Variable Box Operation" on the Common Event side. Note that the Enhancement Item Selection screen takes effect in combination with Common Events.
- You can specify which abilities of the item will be enhanced by the event content.
Please refer to sample events in the Common Events section for more information on enhancing items.
(Caution)
- Each enhanced item is treated as a different type of item.
The capacity of the Inventory, which can be set in Game Definition > Rules and Operations, allows you to specify the number of "types" of items the player can have.
In other words, each enhanced item is counted as "one type".
[hr][/hr]
[h3][ Mini Map ][/h3]
A mini map with auto-mapping is displayed on the screen. Icons of doors and treasure chests found are now also displayed on maps. These are achieved through a combination of the following features:
- The mini map can be displayed simply by specifying the special format \minimappreview in the Layout Tool on the Panel for Rendering Strings. The size and display position of the mini map will reflect the panel's settings. In the Dungeon RPG sample, a layout called "minimap" is created in the Layout Tool > Free Layout for Events screen, and the mini map is displayed by calling the layout from a common event.
- The color of the mini map to indicate where the area is traversable or non-traversable, the size of the grid on the screen, and whether or not auto-mapping is used can be specified in the Game Definition > Rules and Operations > Current Location Map Display Settings.
- The setting of whether or not to be able to walk on the terrain can be changed for each terrain in the Resources > Terrains section.
- You can specify how much of the map to display on the mini map by going to Map Settings > Map. It is common to create maps that are larger than the area that the player can be walked around during play, for example, for visual purposes. Specify this option to prevent unwanted areas from being displayed on the map.
- The icons for doors and treasure chests on the mini map are specified as images in Game Definition > System Resources > Current Location Map.
- The event sheet specifies where to display the images set in the System Resources.
Please see the door event in the sample game. The image is specified in "Change Elements During Sheet Execution" > "Graphic Settings" > "Image for Displaying Map" in each event sheet when closed or opened. By allowing each event sheet to specify its own icon, it is possible to switch the icon to be displayed depending on its status.
[hr][/hr]
Thanks for taking the time to read this long article.
We hope this will be helpful to you in creating your own wonderful projects.
We will continue to brush up on the features added in Ver. 1.3.
Please continue to enjoy making games with Bakin!
(These will be augmented in the manual.)
- A special coordinate specification tag DamagePosition has been added to the Layout Tool for displaying damage values and damage effects. 
- Added "Use Attack Range" and "Attack Range Judgment Type".
We hope you will find them useful in your projects!