D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

[MagusMartovich]

Now as some of you may know, not everything in the Middle Ages era was bilked off of a corpse or out of a bejeweled box. On occasion there must have been some sort of an informal trade agreement (I'll give you this if you give me that) and for the life of me I can't figure out how to make the "person" stop giving me the [darn] treasure! IF there is anybody out there who can guide me (by the hand) through the creation of such an event I would be most happy.

[DYRE]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Why don't you just put an "Add mode" at the end of the event code. Then, make a new mode and have the event say whatever you want him to when he isn't giving you things.

[donkeyboy]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

If you're trading gold for an item as well, you have to keep track of the gold with a variable. For some reason you can still get items even when you don't have the gold to trade for it. This is a pretty annoying feature, especially if you have random battles that give gold because that makes it impossible to track with a variable.

[Perversion]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

If you're trading gold for an item as well, you have to keep track of the gold with a variable. For some reason you can still get items even when you don't have the gold to trade for it. This is a pretty annoying feature, especially if you have random battles that give gold because that makes it impossible to track with a variable.

Ditto to what donkeyboy said...if you are making a game with random battles, it's pretty hard to come up with a system of selling things outside of the standard shops. Otherwise, you could be buying something, but in reality have no money with which to buy it.

[MagusMartovich]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

I figured I was gonna get beat on this one... Let me give a better example of what I'm trying to do:

Farmer "I lost my plow! I can't get any work done now!"
(in a nearby dungeon/castle area you can find a plow)

Farmer "MY plow! Oh, I've never been so happy to get back to work! Let me give you this old sword I found several years ago while I was plowing my wif- er, uh fields!"

At this point I want the "plow" item to leave the character's inventory and be replaced with the "Old Sword" item. I can make the farmer say the first part (about losing the "plow"), and I was once able to make him get the second part (after the "plow" was found) but I wasn't able to make him stop giving me "Old Swords"! I don't much like having to hunt down boxes and sparklies (FFIII Style) and I like games that have a lot of dialouge so forcing player to talk to people makes them more apt to enjoy the dialouge I'm trying to make, but I don't want the player to be able to buy the best items in the game right off the bat because my first quest-completion event is messed up.

Maybe someone will help me through this (I hope) and then I can "cut and paste" the procedure throughout the rest of the game...

[Pagerron]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Another option would be (and from what I hear it saves memory as opposed to using modes) using variables. You might as well get started trying to use them. They will come in handy later.

Just use one mode for the farmer

In the event code of the farmer...
Set up a variable branch with three branches

Let's use shared variable 10, for example.

If Shared Variable 10 = 0
Message Display - Farmer: "I lost my plow! I can't get any work done now!"

If Shared Variable 10 = 1
Message Display - Farmer: "MY plow! Oh, I've never been so happy to get back to work! Let me give you this old sword I found several years ago while I was plowing my wif- er, uh fields!"
Remove Treasure Item - Plow
Gain Weapon - Old Sword
Modify Shared Variable 10 (to 2)

If Shared Variable 10 = 2
Message Display - Farmer: "Thank you so much for finding my plow. I will never forget you. Every time I reap my harvest, your image shines as a beacon in my soul."

For the event code of the old plow
Gain Treasure - Plow
Modify Shared Variable 10 (to 1)
Display off - old plow graphic

I hope that can get you started. I don't have the game in front of me right now, but reviewing this quickly it looks right.

What will happen is that you talk to the farmer and he will keep saying the first quote until you find the plow. Once you find the plow, its event code will Modify shared variable 10 (to 1) triggering the message where the farmer thanks you and gives you the old sword. In the event code of the farmer at that point, the shared variable will be modified to 2, and from then on out, the farmer will just continue saying the thing about your image or whatever.

If you use this idea, just remember to write down in a notebook or something that you have used Shared Variable 10 for the plow/old sword scenario. That way you can remember not to use that particular variable for anything else.

[MagusMartovich]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

That is exactly what I was looking to do It might have taken a while (a long while) for me to ask for help but at least I know I can always get help from the Pavilion!

Let's hear it for this great tidbit of help that I got that I should have been smart enough to figure out all by myself!


(...man am I dumb...)

[Pagerron]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Magus,
You are definitely not dumb. Figuring these variables out isn't easy at all at first. I remember when I first logged in here, I had no idea what they did, but the more posts I read, the clearer things became, I began to understand. And then it was like this Eureka! moment. I have Draygone and Rodak (and a couple other people) to thank for helping me first understand variables. I have to find those old posts.

[MagusMartovich]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Magus,
You are definitely not dumb. Figuring these variables out isn't easy at all at first. I remember when I first logged in here, I had no idea what they did, but the more posts I read, the clearer things became, I began to understand. And then it was like this Eureka! moment. I have Draygone and Rodak (and a couple other people) to thank for helping me first understand variables. I have to find those old posts.

I fisrt ran into "switches" in RM1 and I liked those because there were only 1,000 of 'em (only?!) but they all had their own number and depending on you had your game progress you could reuse them as well.

I now have RM3 (as well as RM1) and the "switches" have turned into this evil beast of a thing with no label and no real way (seemingly) to keep track of them. I downloaded the tutor thing and that's helping (slowly) but the whole system is quite overwhelming for someone like me with a family and full time career. I've actually got a lot of time this week to fumble my way through this and I must say that although I may not be dumb its hard for me to believe that so many people figured out how to get these to work based on the (lack of) information that comes with the game itself!

[hitogoroshi]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Umm...Variables in RM3 are far, far easier to keep track of then switches becasue of the internal variables being connected to the character/place in question.

[MagusMartovich]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Umm...Variables in RM3 are far, far easier to keep track of then switches becasue of the internal variables being connected to the character/place in question.

Bwah-?! Woah! See, that there just T O T A L L Y blew me away! I understand that some things will be passed on via the character in question but it gets confusing when you bring outside events in. The game's program keeps track of a lot of information that I don't understand at all! On top of that, its not about '+1, +2...' its about '+1 to the first three areas and +4 to the next...' and its way too confusing for me to even explain because I'm on a beer break right now and I think I'm kinda fried from following alon with that tutorial thing...

[Pagerron]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Well, how did the previous event code that I posted on here work out? You had said that that was exactly what you were looking for. Does is work in your game? Understanding the mechanics of that event code should be able to help you see some of the logic used with these variable things.
What hitogoroshi is saying is that there are shared variables (60 of them) and other kinds of variables too. You can use whatever variables you'd like. Don't get frustrated by it. It'll take a little time.

When I first started using variables, I used those internal ones, but then I decided that it would be much easier to use only the shared variables, at least it's easier for me.

On a piece of paper, write down this information for yourself.

Shared Variables

Variable 10
->0 First conversation with farmer (the mission)
->1 After finding the plow
->2 After turning in the plow

You don't have to use Variable 10. I just gave that as an example. If this is the first variable you are using, you can use Variable 1. It's all up to you.

Also, if you have any specific questions about the variable sample event, just feel free to send a private message.

[MagusMartovich]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

I think I'm still (VERY) green with these variables but if I'm thinking correctly then I should also be able to make an event that only activates once/if a certain character is the the party, correct?
I'm making a very Final Fantasy type game: I have the Hero, a Strong Physical Hitter, an Uber Mage and the junky mascot thing (that isn't too hard to find (if you pay attention to things that people say in the game) that stinks to use in battle until you complete the sidequests (each netting the junk guy a godly piece of equipment that ends up making him carry the team) but I don't want the player to be able to just burn through the sidequests from the get go and neglect having to take along the junk guy.

OKAY: so, I would add (for example) to variable 10
+1 for junk guy joins,
+2 for first sidequest,
+3 for second sidequest,
+4 for third sidequest,
+5 for final sidequest
THEN set the variables in the seperate dungeons to match, correct? This way you are "forced" to collect the equipment in order. Or would it be easier to just make 4 "key" items and you get one with each new step? I know its been a while but I've just worked my way through the tutorial cuz I'm a slow(-ish) learner.

[Pagerron]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Yes, you could set an auto event in a dungeon that has
variable 10 = 2 (for example) as the trigger. Have the event turn itself off as the last step in the event code (using Display off), and it won't repeat later because it won't be there anymore.

Or, you're right, you could do it with treasure items set as triggers to auto events too, whichever way you'd like.

[MagusMartovich]

Re: D[arn] the torpedoes! ..and treasure events too!

Actually, I know I'm going to be confused by the answer to this question but I'll ask it anyway. I'm attempting to make an RPG with about eight heroes all together (and I have a place in each town where you can switch characters) so is there any way I can incorporate the individual dungeon areas while still requiring that a certain member be present? (IE: Bill the Builder needs to be a party member during the quest for Bill's equipment)