VX - sure, I can agree with, due to the rather limited mapping tileset issues and such. Its what turned me off when i first downloaded the trial. Though there is that contested debate about which is better, but overall, I prefer XP due to the tileset advantage. I feel its important enough to be "nitpicky" about it.

In the end, for XP and VX, it really depends on what you end up doing in terms of scripts, sure a lot of battle systems look the same, but that's no different for any of the programs. I mean heck, people can build MMOs with the proper knowledge.

I love 2003, a lot, but I found some pretty sick tilesets for XP that I may just see what I can do. I think this world map tipped the scales just so i can TRY something in XP, despite my somewhat fanboyish preference to 2003. I mean, in the end, this program ranks up there on my #1 favorite programs of all time, with AutoCAD as a close second. Just dont get me wrong, 2003 is currently my version of choice, but I am going to see what happens in XP.
http://www.rpg-palace.com/artists/xptiles/map.php (I personally find it very attractive, even if the mountains need some fixes. Click on a section for a 1:1 view)

I set XP on equal terms with 2003, even if 2003's database is a bit more broken down and fluid. I think it is an upgrade enough, that if i learn even a little bit of Ruby Game Scripting, then it would be pretty cool. Otherwise I'm pretty good at eventing just due to my 2000/2003 experience. That's why i used the term 'potential' because yeah, without heavy modifications, they all do look the same, same with every rpgmaker from 95 to now.

i forgot about that one, thats the other one i played.

My very first "game" of "Pikachu's Adventure" !! (lol, but its how i learned the program.. hooray for tutorials off of Don Miguel's site way back when)

I honestly don't know.. the only other 'decent' RPGMaker game ive played was Final Fantasy: Endless Nova. I bet there are lots in XP/VX that show tremendous potential, but its hard to really find stuff, most are incomplete demos, incomplete projects, etc.

It's really hard to stay focused.

It's actually quite straightforward.

To begin, you need a map that has your player character (the moogle) and the 5 NPCs lined up in such a way that you talk to them. Upon talking to one of them, you probably want some dialog, and then it initiates a teleport to the map in which the event about that character begins. When you finish that event (like you kill a boss or whatever), be sure to trigger a switch saying that NPC1's event is done, as well as a variable that counts up to 5 (+1 for each completed event) so you can create a trigger that happens once all 5 are done. When you teleport back to the moogle map, the switch puts that character in a different state.. maybe glowing, faint, or even just disappeared to symbolize that it has been completed. Then your "moogle" talks to the next character and so forth until all 5 have been completed.

Be sure to use erase screen during the teleport sequence so you can remove / add party members and so forth if you use a different graphic for the "moogle" since your party will shift during each event. Once all the party and item management is done, just show screen and begin whatever (likely) auto-start trigger is there to allow the player to continue with the story. Likewise, dont forget to use erase / show screen to shift party and items around when you go back to the moogle map.

edit -- heres a 5 minute demo: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HBHOZAWK
used rpg2003 rpgadvocate's version 1.08
will need rtp and such to run it.

Well, part of it is cause i went a bit overboard (realistically i only need like 10 levels). sure i can delete levels 11-50, saving me a bunch of time in the future, but its going to be an unfinished project anyway, i may do something completely different with whatever ideas tinker around in my head. The point is that I now know how to do it, so its easy to make a new one that's more streamlined.

I still consider it scalable because i organized it in such a way that everything is located very easily and i just dedicate another page of 20 variables to a new character. Everything is labeled in such a way that i know what changes into what -- like... {[0021:X weapon] set X's weapon #} turns into {[0041:Y weapon] set Y's weapon #}. I would essentially preemptively add in these pages for a lot of characters so it doesn't create much of an issue, ideally characters aren't randomly added if you plan everything well.

Skill adding, however, is easy.. i just plug in a fork condition for when X is equal to Y, learn such and such skill. that's super easy to do.

Experience checks took a while to figure out, but that fits in well, and again, everything is organized in such a way that i just copy and paste and replace for each new character. When i added a 5th, it wasn't a hassle at all, aside from the level experience variable replacing, which isn't difficult, it's just a mundane task.


What i want to do is replace the current custom menu from being a series of maps into images (such as your stuff when playing with the skill levels -- forgot the proper name, it decided to bug out where arrow keys don't work and I'm too lazy to restart), but I'm not really sure how to do that effectively. The best way i can think of in my head is coordinate positions and conditional branches to move coordinates when a key is pushed and certain actions at certain positions, which obviously correspond to the command on the screen.


The big thing is, yes, motivation, and I'm sure you are well aware of how important that is.

1. Tales of Symphonia
2. Final Fantasy 6
3. Dungeon Keeper (both)
4. Tales of Vesperia
5. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
6. Eternal Sonata
7. Blizzard's Games (Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft)
8. Rollercoaster Tycoon (first and second)
9. Golden Sun (both)
10. Azure Dreams

Thanks

It's actually rather scalable.. just copy each section in the common events for a new character, the hard part is that its so involved that it takes up the time, its very easy work though.

Just think of it as being similar to final fantasy's job system stuff, with its own experience system and own skill system separate from whats given to you on the character sheet. That's what makes it take a while. The only change i would make, and it would cut down the time, is reducing the levels so its not 50 (wtf was i thinking back then anyway), but just one level per skill, and its rather possible to do without much hassle i believe.

I just copy the 20 or so common event pages, 10 of which resets equipment, because class changes removes equipment, the other 10 are the levels, so i have a billion fork conditions of "greater than X, less than X" to keep it between experience numbers.. 50 times.. for 10 classes.

I have an experience checker (only 4 lines / character).. and i guess the last long thing is displaying the values on a custom menu, cause then its lots and lots of modulus variables of 1,10,100,1000

So.. its very scalable (just copy / paste, and change a stupid amount of fork conditions); its just a very involved system.

Plus, for minor characters, i can give them special items that cant be unequipped, keeping them a specific one, then its simple work.