A little while ago, I got the first few Battle Challenges set up, where you can earn Power Points for fulfilling special conditions while winning a battle. After playtesting those challenges, some are much easier said than done!
In the last week I've been putting together the system you use to spend those Power Points - an "upgrade tree" of sorts. It's been time-consuming, and sometimes difficult, but I'm learning more about the way the parts of the code works together, and the way the event pages work, as I go.
To access the Upgrade area, you just select it from the menu screen. Eventually I want to give the menu screen its own look and feel rather than the default XP style, but for now at least it shows off a few of the custom choices and fields that are up there.
Choose "Upgrade" and you're immediately warped to the Upgrade Tree for the chosen character. Each skill the character knows (or can know) will have its own strand of upgrades that you can buy with Power Points.
You can actually walk around the upgrade tree with your character (I made it using the standard map editor) and interact with each node of the tree.
Had to stitch together two screenshots for what you see below, but I think it really shows off the structure better than a raw freeze-frame.
You can buy upgrades for any skill you know, but within each skill you start at the bottom of the tree and work your way up to the top. The symbol on each node describes the kind of upgrade you can buy:
As you buy the upgrades, you move further and further up the strand. The upgrades become more expensive, but also more powerful.
If you look carefully at some of the screenshots, you'll also see four different colors on the node outlines, designed to help you understand what you can do at a glance:
And when you learn a new skill from one of the tree's nodes, it immediately "unlocks" allowing you to work on that skill's strand.
One more cool thing you can do on the upgrade tree: if you work your way all the way up the strand for a skill and purchase all five upgrades, the skill itself is permanently modified in some way. Might be more power, lower cost, or bonus effects that trigger when the skill is used.
So that's what I've got on the Upgrade system so far. A full proof of concept, but a lot of content that still needs to be fleshed out.
I'd love to hear any thoughts you guys have on the system, and I'll keep you posted as I work on it!
In the last week I've been putting together the system you use to spend those Power Points - an "upgrade tree" of sorts. It's been time-consuming, and sometimes difficult, but I'm learning more about the way the parts of the code works together, and the way the event pages work, as I go.
To access the Upgrade area, you just select it from the menu screen. Eventually I want to give the menu screen its own look and feel rather than the default XP style, but for now at least it shows off a few of the custom choices and fields that are up there.
Choose "Upgrade" and you're immediately warped to the Upgrade Tree for the chosen character. Each skill the character knows (or can know) will have its own strand of upgrades that you can buy with Power Points.
You can actually walk around the upgrade tree with your character (I made it using the standard map editor) and interact with each node of the tree.
Had to stitch together two screenshots for what you see below, but I think it really shows off the structure better than a raw freeze-frame.
You can buy upgrades for any skill you know, but within each skill you start at the bottom of the tree and work your way up to the top. The symbol on each node describes the kind of upgrade you can buy:
- "Treasure Chest" nodes give you powerful items when you activate them. The type of item is usually related to the skill; a defensive Ice spell might yield a Frozen Shield.
- "Fist" nodes grant the character who purchased the skill a permanent upgrade to one of their stats.
- "Staff" icons unlock a new (usually related) skill for the character.
- "Star" icons have a wide variety of unique effects.
As you buy the upgrades, you move further and further up the strand. The upgrades become more expensive, but also more powerful.
If you look carefully at some of the screenshots, you'll also see four different colors on the node outlines, designed to help you understand what you can do at a glance:
- Gray: You can't purchase the upgrade (because you don't know the skill, or haven't made your way up the strand yet)
- Pink: The upgrade is availble, but you need more Power Points to buy it.
- Gold: You can purchase the upgrade.
- Green: You've already purchased the upgrade!
And when you learn a new skill from one of the tree's nodes, it immediately "unlocks" allowing you to work on that skill's strand.
One more cool thing you can do on the upgrade tree: if you work your way all the way up the strand for a skill and purchase all five upgrades, the skill itself is permanently modified in some way. Might be more power, lower cost, or bonus effects that trigger when the skill is used.
So that's what I've got on the Upgrade system so far. A full proof of concept, but a lot of content that still needs to be fleshed out.
I'd love to hear any thoughts you guys have on the system, and I'll keep you posted as I work on it!
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