RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

[Libby]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

This is kinda far away in responses...but someone is using my Library tip?

Neat. ^_^

[Spirit]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

More! more! I MUST HAVE MORE!!

[Wavelength]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

OK, so we've got the numbers that beach terrain forms and is walkable at, but I don't think it's immediately obvious how to make a huge beach (in fact, until today, I had only succeeded, with great effort, in making one of moderate size). Think we could merge this into the current information on beach terrain? I can make this more concise if necessary.

How to make a large beach

Using the Field Map editor, start by making a basic outline of the coastline using G-Mode. The area that is not water can be any terrain (because most of the area is going to be beach sand) but I recommend using grassland and rock since you can include patches of these terrains later to break up the monotony.

Now, assuming your Water Level is "Normal", we know that beach terrain forms at around 77-80 altitude, and that it's unwalkable until about 81. Even at 81-82, random parts will be unwalkable, so we want to shoot for an even altitude of about 84-86. I've found the easiest way to get a consistent altitude is to lower the terrain to slightly less than this level, then add some random mounds of land and use the stretch terrain feature.

First, go into V-Mode use the smooth terrain feature (using a big tool) judiciously. Aim to have your lowest points (besides right on the coastline) be at about 80 altitude. Bits of unevenness are perfectly fine. Next, add some mounds which bring small parts of the land to 95-110 altitude (use the gentlest "mound" tool available). Use a fairly big tool, but make sure to use a very light touch. Just tap your finger on the button for a tiny fraction of a second a couple times and then move your cursor and do the same thing elsewhere.

Next, use the stretching tool. Again, make it pretty big (maybe 10-15% of the map in each direction). Place the center of your tool near (but not directly at) the center of one of your mounds and stretch the terrain just a bit in any direction. Move back to where you started and stretch it in another direction. Don't hold it too long in any direction or you'll lose the mound entirely.

If you're doing it correctly, you will now have a wider area at a roughly intermediate height (probably 85-90). Keep doing this until you get a large portion of land at a height of 84-86. Then, place your cursor at the center of this area, and make sure it's a reasonable enough size that all the area inside of your tool is also at 84-86 height (if bits are slightly higher, that's fine. If bits are slightly lower, that's not okay.). Stretch it all the way to the end of the coast in one direction. Then do so in another direction, and another, and all of the land you stretch it out to is now beach area.

You now have a large beach area that you can use in your game! It looks a lot nicer than using desert terrain by the shore, and you can add a separate group of random monster encounters to this "beach terrain".

If you want to make it even more believable, use a very small smooth tool at the edge of the coast to allow the sand to smootly transition into the sea instead of having a sudden dropoff. Also, you can use the "mound" and "stretch" tools together to raise small areas of the beach back slightly above the beach level, allowing grass, rocks, or dirt to form and break up the monotony of the sand. (While using the stretch tool, make sure you don't start your tool over any water, or you could end up sinking large parts of your map!)

[Pagerron]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

Cool Wavelength!!

I've added this as "trick" 9b, connected to JPS suggested elevation for walking at the water's edge.

Yay!

[Tussin]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

#29b
CHOOSING A GENDER, CLASS and NAME - (an alternate option by Specter)

just new to events and all the other major functions in RPGMaker 3, for my game i want to know if its possible to code like up to 33 class choices from one menu?

i dont care much about gender or name choices

even if its

1- Warrior
2- Cleric
3- Ninja
4- Other

if you select other then the next window is

1- Shaman
2- Monk
3- Samurai
4- Other

and so on and so forth until all classes can be selected from the same event?

[Wavelength]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

#29b
CHOOSING A GENDER, CLASS and NAME - (an alternate option by Specter)

just new to events and all the other major functions in RPGMaker 3, for my game i want to know if its possible to code like up to 33 class choices from one menu?

i dont care much about gender or name choices

even if its

1- Warrior
2- Cleric
3- Ninja
4- Other

if you select other then the next window is

1- Shaman
2- Monk
3- Samurai
4- Other

and so on and so forth until all classes can be selected from the same event?

Yes, it's possible, but the 50-line limit means that you'll have to use either multiple auto modes, or multiple Auto Events which "masquerade" as a single event.

I should also note that if you plan to have events "read" what class you are and respond appropriately, you are going to need to spend tons of time and data to set those events up if there are over 30 classes in your game.

Here's an example. Pagerron, feel free to add this as a subitem to the Tips/Tricks if you think it fits in, or feel free not to if you think it's too much detail.

Assume Shared Var 1 keeps track of your class. 1 means you're a warrior, 2 a cleric, and so on.

MODE 1 - BUTTON (or Touch or Auto)
Message: It's time to choose a class.
Set Mode to 2.

MODE 2 - AUTO
Message: What class do you want to be?
4-way choice branch:
....Warrior
........Message:You're a warrior!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 1
........Display Off: This Event
....Cleric
........Message:You're a cleric!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 2
........Display Off: This Event
....Ninja
........Message:You're a cleric!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 3
........Display Off: This Event
....Other
........Set Mode to 3.

MODE 3 - AUTO
Message: What class do you want to be?
4-way choice branch:
....Shaman
........Message:You're a shaman!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 4
........Display Off: This Event
....Monk
........Message:You're a monk!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 5
........Display Off: This Event
....Samurai
........Message:You're a samurai!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 6
........Display Off: This Event
....Other
........Set Mode to 4.

~And so on, until you exhaust your options, and return to Mode 2.~

MODE 12 - AUTO
Message: What class do you want to be?
4-way choice branch:
....Mechanic
........Message:You're a mechanic!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 31
........Display Off: This Event
....Chef
........Message:You're a chef!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 32
........Display Off: This Event
....Valkyrie
........Message:You're a valkyrie!
........Set Shared Var 1 to 33
........Display Off: This Event
....Other
........Set Mode to 2.

[godkiller]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

A couple of things I did to spice up my game:

Time travel. I doubled the size of my game by traveling forward in time. Backward would be more fun. You could just do one town if you want.

Golem Town: A town poplulated by talking objects, boxes, barrels, statues, and so on. Shop and innkeepers were stone colored. Turned out to be pretty cool.

Battle items: Don't forget your battle items. Cool, funny, powerful battle items. The trick is to design fields populated with the kind of monsters the item is strong against, makes it more rewarding. It just make combat less tedious.

Tons of easter eggs: I hate RPGs with no secrets, so I threw in a bunch. It really matters. And don't forget your side quests.

[Wavelength]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

Thanks for the suggestions GK - but I believe this topic is more for the technical way to pull off unintended "tricks" and non-obvious graphical or gameplay enhancements, rather than more general advice about making a good game.

The "Golem Town" one might be worth adding if you can give us a list of the different models that you used to fit each color scheme, or how you put different models together to give that golem/automated look to things.

[godkiller]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

Right, sorry, new here.

[MetalKingTonberry]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

Sword in a Table:

I thought this was kind of cool. Create two invisible events, put them close together, press R1 or L1 to select them, change one to a Hero Stone with whatever sword you want, then change the other to a desk. Desk 2 works good because it's harder to see the Hero Stone.

[Pagerron]

Re: RPG Maker 3 - Tricks To Spice up your game

Yes, that is cool. Just like the chicken in a bag event submitted by Kittykicker. There are lots of creative ways to overlap events/decorations like that.

Thank you for the post.