Cheating in an RPG can be a good thing..
No matter if it is right or wrong to allow cheating in an RPG, it is needed for the RPG developers. When I am making an RPG I want to easily get the right items, spells and levels so I can test if a monsters is too weak or perhaps too strong.
Now when that is cleared, how about for the player of an RPG? I personally would not allow the player to cheat. However if the player really wanted to cheat the system, they can just use Cheat Engine. Half the fun in an RPG is the challenge, the rest would be a great story.
I must admit, I have cheated my way through a few Final Fantasy games. Especially Final Fantasy X-2. I beaten the games without cheating, but sometimes I just want to enjoy the story and music without too much trouble.
The best cheats in an RPG would be a secret teleport system which allowed the player later in the game to teleport to different places. It is not really a cheat but it have the nature of a cheat. It is secret and it gives a clear advantage. I would love a transport system like that in any Final Fantasy adventure.
RPG Maker VX: Random (re)spawn NPC or monster
How to random spawn or respawn NPCs.
I found this useful if I want to have a wandering monster which will fight you when touched, disapears when beaten and then respawns after a random amount of time. This could also be used for any NPC in a village or any place.
- Create one new event. No graphic. Make it to be a “Pararell process”. For event commands: create a new variable called “RandomSpawn” and set it to a random value between 1 and 50. Create another event command and choose “wait”. The default value is good enough. Now click “Ok”.
- Create the event for the NPC or monster. Set the graphic to whatever you want and the trigger to whatever you prefer. I normally use “action button” or “event touch”.
- Whenever the person are done with the event, either when the fight is over or when the NPC done whatever, you will set the events self-switch A to be on.
- Create a new page, and choose self-switch A to be on as condition. Do not pick any event graphic. Make this event page to be a “Parallel process”. Now as event commands, create a conditional branch to check whenever the variable “RandomSpawn” is 10 and then turn the self-switch A off.
- Congratulations, you have now an NPC which will randomly respawn.
I know you could combine the two events to be into one, but I prefer to have one event which will randomly generate a number and then the NPC or monster as a second event. You will see, when it comes to monsters you might want to randomly respawn more than one monster.
Just leave a comment if you have problem and I will get back to you.
Good luck!
RPG Maker VX: One variable for many cut-scenes
As many of you might already know there is a limit amount of variables in RPG Maker VX. The limit is 5000. However as the list gets bigger and bigger, it is harder and harder to find the right variables. So let’s just use one for most of the cut-scenes then! How? I’ll explain.
In most cut-scenes you want your party members to appear around the character or somewhere on the screen during cut-scenes. So let’s create this single variable and let’s call it “CutScene_General”. I figure you already know how to use variables, so I assume you already have created this variable by now.
By default this variable should always be “0″ unless a cut-scene is triggered. When a cut-scene is triggered by either a player touching the event, talking to it or it is just an auto-run event you will start the cut-scene/event by setting this variable to “1″. Now in most cases you want your party members or other people to appear somewhere on the screen. Go ahead and create those events which displays these people. However only trigger those event graphics if “CutScene_ General” is set to “1″.
As the cut-scenes go along you can increase the variable by any number really. You will have to use self-switches to make sure when it is done it won’t repeat itself. When the event or cut-scene have finished you must set “CutScene_General” back to “0″.
I use this for my own games and it works for most cut-scenes. However don’t expect it to work for every cut-scene you are going to make. Sometimes you will be making cut-scenes which will require more variables. This is just good for a normal cut-scenes when your party enters a dungeon and there is a cut-scene where the party members are talking to each other.
Good luck!
I am not living in a fantasy world..
It would be great to live the fantasy worlds I been creating lately in my games. Since the last blog update I got into a very bad cold and I am still feeling ill. However I am feeling much better now.
Unfortunately there is no person here that is meant to save the world, that pass by my town.. and even so I unfortunately could not ask him for a cure, becasue I would not be able to give him a crystal or key for a hidden cave.
And unfortunately I can’t find an item in my bag called antidote or remedy. My girlfriend does not know any white magic either.. so the best I could do was just eat some soup and rest.
I will write some more in one day or two, when I feel much better.
/Anna the ill rpg maker girl
The speed of leveling
Hello,
In the average RPG you can usually level from level 1 to level 99. Of course you don’t always need to if you just want to complete the game but sometimes it can be fun just to get stronger. When you are making an RPG you will have to decide how fast you want the player to level. If they get bonuses from leveling like new spells or more stats, then leveling becomes more important and rewarding. If it is enough rewarding, the player wants to level up.
So far it is simple. However what is much harder is to decide the speed to level up. The speed of leveling is controlled by three factors generally.
- The exp given of the monsters. It makes sense that the more exp a monsters give, the faster you will level.
- So the monsters gives exp.. now it is just a matter of how many times you will encounter those monsters and how long it takes to beat it. If the encounter is one in 5 min and you want to extend the game play time by having longer battles the leveling will be slower and more tedious.
- The third factor is the actual scale of each level and what it takes in exp to reach the level.
By knowing these three factors you are on a good way of knowing how to control the speed of leveling. In general a good rule is to allow quick leveling at the start of the game and as you level up it will be slower and slower. The rewards of leveling should go all way through level 1 to 99, or else the player just want to stop level after a certain level.
It is also important that the player actually have a chance of reaching the required level at any time in your story without too much grinding. Well, grinding is okay in an MMORPG but not in a normal RPG. Players doesn’t put enough time into a offline RPG as they do in a online one.
Good luck!
RPG Maker VX: Move a block
I am now going to explain how to let a character push a block. The block can be a rock, stone or just a block of metal. I will also explain how to easily use this block for your game. In this example we will use a rock that the player can move around and the point of the rock is to move it to a switch which is on the map. When the rock is on the switch, a new event will be triggered.
First we need to create the rock. Pick the place you want the rock to be and then create a new event. Then find a graphic for this rock. Name the event to “Moving Rock”. The priority should. be “Same as Characters” and trigger should be “Player Touch”. Okay, now create a new command. On page 2 of Event Commands pick “Set Move Route”. Here you click once on “Move away from Player”. Do not forget to tick the box “Skip If Cannot Move”. Make sure the other two boxes are unticked. Then click ok. Now the moving block is created.
Now as the second step you want to place your switch on the map. Pick any graphic for it and make sure the event is “Below Characters” and a “Parallel Process”. Also tick “Through” under “Options”. Make sure you remember where on the map this new event is located (remember what X and Y on the map it is on). Okay now we want to use a new variable. On “Operand” pick “Character” and then “Moving rock”. Then pick “Map X”. Now use a conditional branch to check if this new variable is the same value as this current events X position is. (Which I told you to remember). If it is at the same X position then you need to set the same variable to be set to the Y position of the rock. After that, inside the conditional branch create another one checking if the variable is the same as this events Y position (which I also told you to remember).
Now if both these conditional branches goes off, this means the rock is positioned at the switch. Now it is up to you to make stuff happen. A door can open or a boss appear. It is up to you. If you need help, feel free to write a comment to this blog post.
Good luck!
The Crystal War - FAQ
What is The Crystal War?
The Crystal War is a free RPG for PC more or less. The game is about two people being forced to leave their home and that takes them out on a quest which will eventually change the world.
Where can I download the game?
You can download The Crystal War here.
What is the controls?
You move your characters by using the arrow keys. When you want to talk with someone or make something happen it is general “Enter” or “Z” you want to use. To get up the main menu or to cancel some conversations you can use “Escape” or “X”. To walk faster then use “Shift”.
Chapters? Updates?
The game is split up into chapters. Every month there will be at least a new chapter or update released for the game. A chapter is a block of events which advance the storyline. An update will not introduce any major new story event. It will only improve the current chapters within the game. A new chapter usually also includes a small update for the previous chapters.
When will the game be finished?
At this moment the game does not have any set date to be fully finished. There is no set amount of chapters that is left. However when the game is finished story wise there might still be new updates for the game. Those might include new side quests, mini games and bug fixes.
Will the game remain free?
There is no plan to sell the game or charge any fees. In the future you might have to register (for free) to download updates.
How did you make this game?
Currently I am using RPG Maker VX to make this game.
Any other questions?
Just ask in the forum.
The RPG Maker community is dying?
I recently read a post about the RPG Maker community is dying. The person listed a few reasons and I can’t agree. There is serveral forums about RPG Maker programs and there is a lot of people still willing to help newbies around. There is scripts and resources getting made, not in a fast pace but you can always request something and someone might create it for you.
So far Enterbrain (which is the company that makes RPG Maker) have not stopped making new versions of the RPG Maker. At the start of this year they released RPG Maker VX. So come on.. the community is not dying.
Okay many games does not get that far. People give up on them. However there is some people that does not. Like me. Even though my game is not the best, I still try. I even try to help others by writing this blog. So if there is 10 reasons the RPG Maker community is dying, there is another 10 reasons it is fully alive.
Enough said about it. I am going back now to making my RPG.
Have fun!
RPG Maker VX: Massive Multiplayer Online RPG (MMORPG)
It is not impossible. Just download Netplay Plus and you have a good start. The download is located here: http://rapidshare.com/files/43139697/Netplay_2.0_Server_And_Client.zip People have said with NetPlay Plus you are able to make somewhat an online RPG with RPG Maker VX. I am not sure if that is true at all. There is barely any documentation about it and there is a lot of scripting.
So what do I know about it?
- At least it supports RPG Maker XP. I am unsure how well it will work with RPG Maker VX but I know from scripting much of the scripts of XP and VX is much the same.
- You need to know RGSS to get started with it. If you don’t know what RGSS is then you probably should read up on it instead of trying NetPlay plus. RGSS is a script language RPG Maker XP and VX use. With RGSS and NetPlay Plus you will be able to start making a mmorpg.
- It supports chatting and meeting other player in an RPG Maker enviroment.
- With NetPlay Plus you can have PVP, a trade function and private messaging.
- Supports GM functions.
To me it looks very good. I have yet not tried it as I don’t enough of the scripting.
Please fill me in on your experience of NetPlay Plus, mmorpgs and RPG Maker VX. Just leave a comment! Thanks!
New strategy game: Age of Defence
Hello,
Age of Defence is not an RPG but it is a strategy game which probably will appeal to most RPG fans. This is a lot about numbers. It is about earning gold, building an army and defend yourself. Your play in turns where the first 25 turns you are totally protected from attacks. After these 25 turns you will get attack randomly when you click on “next turn”.
Play Age of Defence
Build your kingdom
You earn money for each turn your survive. Either you get attacked or not. You only get attacked once. For the money you get you build your kingdom. You can invest in buildings, your army and science. However you need people, workers and soldiers. You also need land. Everything you buy gets added to your networth which plays a role in battles.
Build your army
Each unit have a value which will add to your total defence score. It is with your defence score you defend yourself against the enemy. Thieves does not give any defence score but they are very valuable. Be careful with how many soldiers and thieves you train. The bigger military, bigger wages. Wages are paid each turn.
Buildings and science
With buildings you can improve any aspect of your kingdom. By building houses you can increase your population, by building banks you will get more money and by building barracks you will increase how good your soldiers will be doing. As long as you have enough peasants that is needed for your buildings, your building efficiency will be at least 100%. That means all buildings will produce what they normally should produce in that number. A lower amount of building efficiency will lower the effect of your buildings and a higher efficiency will also raise the effect.
Do not count science out. It is a great way of improving your kingdom. This is one of the few ways of increasing the efficiency of your buildings for example. Each type of science will tell you what it does and the effect that gets added will in general show up on the summary, building page or army page.
The battles
When you encounter an enemy you will have the option to send troops, use spells or do thief operations. The greater defence score you send out the bigger chance you have of winning. The enemy have also a score which is compared to your defence score. The highest score wins. Magic and theft will help you greatly with the differences between your and your enemy’s scores. Theft can also give you more resources depending on how good you are with stealing.
The enemy score is based on the turn you currently on and your networth. It makes sense that no enemy want to pick on a bigger opponent than themselves.
Magic and theft
Thefts are only available in battles while you can cast spells outside battle to gain money and other resources. To use a spell you need mana and wizards. You train wizards if you have guilds and you gain mana for each turn that passes. You can increase the amount of mana gained by building towers. I won’t explain each spell or theft operations, you should try these out by yourself!
Stances
There is a few stances which affect your performance for each turn. Changing a stance will take time, so be careful when you pick a stance. Read their effects and then decide which will suit best for the current situation.
