New Battle System w/ Cannons

[Drazus]

OK, for my pirate RPG, I'm gonna set it up where you can buy cannons (like 6 different kinds) off a blackmarket or whatever and equip it to your ship.

OK, I just want to have it set up the easiest way, I don't care if it involves items so you have to carry it to your ship or if it's just loaded automatically to the ship. So, I need a few tips, maybe even some examples on how to set up the visuals and make it so you can have several different cannons. (I thought about a few ways to do this, but it'd mean that several of the same cannon would appear when you only bought one.)

As for the battle system, I'm going to have it based mainly on chance as far as cannons go.

Here's how it'll work:

Say, you've bought some cannons and whatnot... Say you have like a ballista, gatling gun, and basic cannon on your starboard side of the ship. You stumble upon an event that triggers a pirate match.


Well, to load a cannon, here's what you do:

1) Load the first part of the ammo. (For balista and stuff, you load the large arrow, for cannons, gunpowder with a ramrod, ect..)
2) Prepare the second part of the ammo (Balista: crank it back, cannon: cannonball followed by ramrod)
3) Prepare a fuse (if necessary) and choose how to fire (either attack the ship or the opposing crew). Each shot has a chance of successfully doing its selected task with different chances for different guns. For taking out crew, I also need an option of "friendly fire."
If you fail to successfully load a cannon, it breaks and you take damage, and you gotta repair it from supplies from the repair locker.

I know how to set that part up pretty well using variables, just how to get all that prepared is the problem. Plus, I need to know how to make the chance effect some random enemy pirates and cause them to do some kind of dying motion. (I just know this is gonna require a crapload of scripting.)


Well, I also need to have this set up for the enemy ship:

I need the pirates (yours and theirs) to fight each other, and after a certain amount of time, have one of them die. If you brush up against a fight, you automatically fight. But, if you just look, you have the option of sneak-attacking. With this you'd have a 50% chance of successfully killing a pirate, or taking some damage and be forced into a battle. This I need some help setting up.

Also, I need to make it where the pirates also on your ship will also fire some cannons (but with much less accuracy).

Then, you can slip inside the ship and steal their plunder.

If you've killed at least half of the opposing pirates plus their captain, you have the option of salvaging the ship or just destroying it. If you salvage it, it'll follow you until you either repair it for use and to replace your ship or sell it for some extra gold.

So, in short, I need to know the following things, examples would be helpful:

1) A way to set it up a way to buy/sell cannons.
2) A way to make it able to fire and repair cannons
3) A way for your crew to fire the cannons.
4) A way for your crew to fight with other pirates and win or lose.
5) A way to steal random ammounts of plunder.
6) A way to set up options to either sink or salvage a ship after defeating the captain and his crew and taking the plunder.

I'm expecting this to be complicated, so just tell me roughly what I'll need and what general events and scripts I gotta use and how. If ANYONE can give me some examples (or even type up the exact scripts for me ) it would be EXTREMELY helpful.

[Rodak]

Re: New Battle System w/ Cannons

I'll try to get you started, but am pressed for time (as usual lately...)

Use a menu system for equipping cannons on the ship. Maybe an "Arms Master" your captain gives orders to?

Make a character who, when spoken to says something like "What Do You Want You Scurvy Sea Goin' Prostitu... OH! It's You Captain!! Yes Sir! Awaiting Orders!"

Then open a multipe choice menu (or a series of them based on what cannons the captain brought onboard) and have the captain choose which to equip to the ship.

You will need to set a variable whenever a cannon is bought and use it to control the choices.

Then have invisible events wherever cannons will eventually go.

Change the model for those events whenever choices are made.

That part and everything after depends on how the environment is set up. How are you giving the illusion of a ship? The questions are so broad.

I suggest the Tips and Tricks thread for seeing how a variety of different things are done, and borrow elements from the ones you like.

Also downloading "open script" games (like my Videogamedrome demo) can be of great help in seeing how to make complex systems work together.

Check my VFX Editor Guide for more ideas! [/shameless self-promotion]

Good Luck with it.

Peace.

[rpgfanatic]

Re: New Battle System w/ Cannons

Well, for the cannon weapons, you could create weapons ( with the item editor) that have a cannon effect. For the different types of cannons, put different effects, like missiles or magic cannonballs or whatnot.

If you want to use the cannons on pirate ship (outside of the battle screen, which is probably what you do want), you can create a cannon-like graphic on the edges of the ship with the building editor. You can make events for your crewmates to fire the cannons by making a pirate captain menu.

It would be helpful to make this a SQUARE button event. Have a script branch as being a condition flag xxx is on. But you need to edit the enter vehicle script to turn flag xxx on. Basically, when you enter the pirate ship, the xxx flag is turned on, and you can give commands to you shipmates.

As for the stealing, you can have an option that pops up when another ship comes close like "Raid the enemy ship?" and for yes, have all your crew jump aboard the enemy ship. Then, you can set the ratios for different amounts of money stolen. You can have a treasure chest or a certain crewmember to be assigned to report on how much money is stolen.

I really hope this helps...pm or email me if you need more help or details.

[Drazus]

Re: New Battle System w/ Cannons

K, I kinda see where you're going.

And for graphics, if worst comes to worst, I could just use the object graphic supplied.

One thing you lost me on: What do you mean by square button event?

[ErikaFuzzbottom]

Re: New Battle System w/ Cannons

You can customize what the Square button does. Just create a content script, put it in a system event, and use the system event in the Square button option in the General/Game Settings (I forget which). Then, any time you press the Square button, that event will activate.

There is a much more advanced way to assign commands to each button, but for now I would recommend seeing if the Square button would work for you.

[Drazus]

Re: New Battle System w/ Cannons

K, cool, thanks.