[Big Concept Map] The RPG Engine - Not dead yet!

[deathz0r]

I am genuinely interested in this. If you can still get on IRC, talk to me there.

[SirTimberWolf]

PM sent, if you have any questions please don't hesitate... If you don't like it, toss it back and I'll come up with something else, I've got a few RPG scenerio scripts laying around here (not related to what I sent you)

[Apothem]

Thanks SirTimberwolf. I'll need those extra scenarios for the test mission if at all possible. Aside from that, I've done a good bit of updating to the documentation. I recommend taking a look at the update log and everything I've changed thus far. Thanks to everyone for their cooperation and interest thus far!

[Apothem]

I'd like to inform everyone that the baseline dungeon requirements are in and will be added to later on this week. I've also made quite a few other updates, and I feel that I may be able to begin coding this very soon. Once I get the baseline maps in order, I'll be able to release a beta with all the menu and vendor scripts in place.

[solarsnowfall]

1) Working cam system for world, city, and dungeon. If the world and city views are going to be from the "birds-eye" third person perspective, then those could probably be based from that vehicles demo Apothem made. The dungeon cam system will most likely be a scripted sequence based upon some static map spots, as they rotate about.

2) Once this is done then further mapping specifications can be made. For the world map, I think of a ZTerrain map from a relatively high altitude view. Then there can be small "buildings" or some sort of object symbolizing a town for the player to walk to. With the world map being the "main" map, the town locations would hub to other maps and back.

3) For town maps, I think it would be good to have the third person "birds-eye" view will work as well, but from a lower altitude. The town maps would be more detailed, buildings that are viewable from outside only. When the player enters a building, it would teleport (or hub) to part of the map (or other map) designed to be the inside of the building.

4) Now, this is where I have uncertainty. Once inside the buidings, would it be best to maintain a third person over view, or switch to the Zdoom chase cam? If it's going to be more like a traditional turn based old school rpg, it would still maintain a thrid person POV. It' is important to know, becaus in this case, the insides of buildings would have to keep a fairly rigid standard. For one, you never see the ceiling in this POV, and all of the ceilings would have to allow for the camera to move around in. If a chasecam type view is used for the insides of buildings, then we can persue a more traditional Doom style to mapping.

5) The dungeons, as I understand it, will be the most detailed parts of the maps. Since there will be random encounter battles, the player will need to be warped to the battle area where the turn based fighting begins (very FF7 esque). Drop a map spot where the player was when the battle began, and warp him back when the battle is over.

These are the kinds of things that need to be discussed in order for us to make a demo for other mappers to design from.

[Apothem]

The plan is, for shops and inside buildings inside the town, is to do them like the way their done in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

[Deathsong12]

Okaydo: Basic Storyline.

---

When a person dies, their mind seperates from the body, and forms a new spiritual body in the spirit world. Here, the soul is guided by beings called Deaths, one of which exists for every way there is to die, to their place in the afterlife. For every virtue and good deed the soul possesed in life, he is given a specific reward, the quality or quantity of which is dependant on how much of a particular good deed or how strong a virtue was in life. On the other side of the line, every flaw and sin builds up negative energy that must be purged by specific punishments, again with the amount depending on how much of a force a particular vice was in the soul's life. These rewards and punishments are overseen by beings known as Angels and Demons, souls that so embody a virtue or vice that they are forever reciving the approptiate reward of punishment. To determine the rewards or punishments a soul must recive, the soul is brought to the Temple of Judgement, where the Master itself once passed sentance, and a powerful device, the Throne of the Master, speaks aloud that which the soul will recive. When a soul has been rewarded and punished both, it is sent back into the world for another try. This is how the Master left the world, and this is how most hoped it would always be.

---

But something terrible has happened. A group of evil men have discovered how to enter the spirit world with their bodies intact, and have created terrible weapons to conquer the spirit world. While armies of Angels, Demons, and Deaths holds their genetically altered and robotic terrors at bay, they have occupied the Temple of Judgement, and are defiling the Throne of the Maker in their search for the secrects of the universe. Thus, no soul can recive it's proper punishment and rewards. Those souls already judged are trapped in their current state, be it punishment or pleasure. The lines of unjuged grow longer every day. No new children can be born with souls. The system is falling apart.

---

Those trapped in the realms of punishment are very, very angry. Their torment may never end. Led by Demons who have endured these tortures since they fell from the grace of the Master, they now attack the realms of reward, seeking to claim the pleasures for themselves and cast the good into their former positions. All is chaos.

---

Our Hero was a good man. He made the world much better somehow. Perhaps he cured a disease, saved his homeland, or stopped a demonic invasion. But a mysterious group of assassins killed him. Unlike the others, he is not content to wait in lines for the system to be fixed. He will put things right and recive his judgement, even if he has to send the whole spirit world to wherever spitits go when you kill them.

[Apothem]

Yay, background information is in!! Wootzer. I'll start working with local and global sources to create missions and I'll need to talk to you about getting a detailed journey together. We'll make the teaser the introduction to the storyline and go from there. Thanks very much Deathsong!

[Apothem]

Thought I'd like to update everyone on the progress:
Currently I'm working on the basic battle system framework and trying to get all the baseline functions and scripts in place. Once I can get all the framework in, it should be relatively easy to create new melee and magic attacks.

Magic attacks will be a basic decorate projectile that activates a script upon spawn and upon detonation. I haven't quite figured out all of the specifics and the exact contents of the scripts but, the magic attacks will still just be basic decorate projectiles that activate a script.

Melee attacks will be done a tad bit differently, and I will be releasing more information on these as I get to them.

[DrClim]

Is there any way I can help out in this project (mapping or coding)

[Apothem]

Maybe, if you can email me a sample of your work at my email and tell me the position you wish to help out at, I'll consider letting you be a part of the team.

[Shadelight]

are you going to change the player's sprites? because a doom marine, wouldn't look right for an rpg....

[solarsnowfall]

That remains to be discussed. Clearly for an RPG game it will need to be done, but that may be left up to those who want to develop for the system we are making here.

[Apothem]

We do indeed need some skins and animations for a main character. If any of you have anything worth looking at, please let me or solarsnowfall know... Otherwise, we'll prolly end up making some kind of POS mspain gfx

[jallamann]

Heh.
Console -> summon jallamann


Ripped from World of Warcraft without any real work put into it (there's some green around the edges and stuff).