Tobye's Forum Posts

  • johnnyl7x - replied! It would be good if PMs also gave notifications.

  • mindfaQ - oops! Thanks! I fixed it (name = player name (no action) followed by else: create array etc.).

    Tested it with a few different players at once and it works fine.

  • Hey all,

    I've been on here for a long time, but realised I never officially introduced myself!

    My name's Tobye (pronounced the same as Toby). I am a big believer in C2 and have had a ball using it. I love making RPGs, but to date have only completed smaller games. So if you want to talk shop about RPGs, I'm your man!

  • I ended up writing a tutorial about this if you're interested.

    All questions or comments are welcome, it's my first tutorial and I'd like to see if anyone finds it useful/has problems with it.[

  • mindfaQ - The problem with that is when they die/you change layouts, the experience is lost. By making it an array, it will not be destroyed allowing you to track it throughout the whole game and without causing mess with global variables.

    To make it work with multiple characters, you simply create a variable in the array called 'id' and set it the the relevant unit's UID. It does involve 1 extra condition for picking, but is more flexible. Alternatively, you could just add a name variable to the array and reference that.

    To me containers are not good for this sort of thing as you can't lose one without the other. If you decide later you want effects that, say, remove a character from play for X seconds, they now lose all their experience. You can make fixes and work-arounds of course, but that just keeps adding to the mess and requires more thought for solutions as these problems arise, instead of always knowing exactly what to do. And obviously if you want to carry experience between layouts, containers simply don't work at all.

    To reduce the need for picking, you can also use functions. So character kills enemy: call function 'getExp' with parameters: character.uid, experience amount. Then in that function, you can do all your picking and experience assigning. 1 condition, 1 action, less room for error and more room for improvement.

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  • I would track all those sorts of things in the instance variables of an array. So make an array (I suggest you also rename it to something like 'experience'), add the instance variable 'exp', 'level', etc. This is just cleaner than using global variables and the array isn't destroyed between layouts like other objects. Also, if you later decide to add levelling for another character, you can just clone your existing array instead of needing to add more variables.

    How to make a comprehensive levelling system is something quite complex, but for just a simple 'exp > 10,000: set level to 2' system, you should have no trouble.

    EDIT: Also if using the paid version, create a family for your experience arrays and add the instance variables to the family instead of the array itself. This just allows more options and quicker cleanup in the future.

  • Wow, replies. So, well, I definitely wasn't narcisstic nor comparing my skills to others. And where did that come from?

    No idea ^^ I don't know how saying 'what I do isn't special' is narcissism.

    I very much agree with what you're saying, except that the distinction between programming and coding is bigger than a lot of people say. And C2 has, by this mass saving of time, allowed people the chance to make games who literally could not have before, due to the time involved in learning to code vs time they have available to learn. So in this way it has 'saved' many people who could not code and allowed them to make games.

    Heh, not directed at you, but I remember on the RM forums the veteran users would say 'if RM put in all the features you liked they would lose the scripting community! So if you want to make good games, learn to code so you can make your own scripts and stop asking the work to be done for you.', which just sounds totally bananas. But that is the mentality a lot of people have. I really wonder how great RM could have been if they A: tried, and B: regulated their community in any way shape or form.

  • I love building RPGs! I was an RM user way before C2. But these guys are right, it's tough. I have been refining my engine for about a year part-time, just to make sure text is easy to input, combat can achieve all the things I want, inventory works, and most importantly, it's all incredibly easy to develop from.

    But if you really want to make one, the best idea is to make half a dozen small games that all use features you would like to see in your final project (levelling up, text systems, missions, etc.). Your first attempts will not be adequate, and this is not a good thing if you're going to spend a year(s) using those systems!

  • Hm, this is a worry then. The only 3rd party plugin I use is 'moveTo', which I expect every single user has ^^ Maybe some problem with my PC? Because now tried 3 that all didn't work with 151 but did work on 148.

  • Hey all,

    I've been using C2 for a very long time already and have a nice little team going, but it's clear we need to expand as we move onwards and upwards.

    So, I would like to just get comfortable working with some other C2 users over an SVN. I am not asking you to join our team, but just knock about and make some small games together so I can gain more experience with a cooperative environment. At the moment, I handle all the logic and the sound and art guys handle their thing, so I haven't really had to worry about it before (had a few early teamworks, but we never really settled into a standard).

    I'm extremely comfortable using C2, but my weak points are advanced maths and polishing details like exact window placements and collision boxes (not that I can't, I just really loathe it).

    So if you're competent with C2 and would like to try bashing out some quick cooperative projects for fun, let me know :) If we work well together I would like to continue working with you, but that is by no means a prerequisite or promise.

  • Just got it working by reverting to version 146, same projects and no other changes. So this seems to be a bug with the new beta.

  • It basically ended up with him dismissing Construct 2 as a learning tool or a fast prototyping tool at best.

    I reckon this is the troublesome part. You'd think people involved in the technology industry would be more supportive and interested in new ways to do things. This to me is like someone in a horse and cart dismissing the idea of an auto-mobile, because it's not what they're used to.

    Sure you can't do everything you like (right now), but you can do so much more in the time vs. content created equation. Even if you don't directly benefit greatly from not using code, it enables whole new teams to be formed - all of a sudden you could have 4 people bashing away with you who would have otherwise never lifted a finger, and you're all doing it faster than with code. It just opens up so many more styles of development.

    So really, I think that coding and programming are two very different things. They both take logic, but only one takes learning. I know half a dozen people who have been through the platformer or shooter tutorials just for fun, yet don't know anyone who has learnt to code a game from scratch in a few hours for laughs.

    And while of course you need programming somewhere to make games happen, it doesn't mean everyone involved needs to know it. That's like saying everyone should know to mill flower before baking a cake. They are two different jobs and more can get done if people specialise in their own role.

  • Well aren't I feeling silly ^^ Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

  • spongehammer - thanks for trying it out for me! And yep, I tried both ways. I'm using Windows 8 x64. Similarly I have never had issues before and have used it often in the past.

    Are you using the latest beta? It would be good if you could try to export to NW as well and see if you get the same problem (I have tried 3 different games of mine so far, none work).

  • R0J0hound - cool, it looks great :) Even though this isn't my problem, I can see myself using the solution somewhere down the track.