Koh's New Sprite Joint

[Koh]

I'm sure Final Fantasy Tactics did something of that nature. I COULD, but I'd probably just make it an option. The fill rate I use makes the waiting miniscule; the most you'd wait is about a second and a half. Sort of like FF4, which sported the fastest (and first) iteration of the system. They also let you choose how slow (or fast) you want the fill rate to be. So I could make a 0 option that they didn't provide, which would be the setting that makes the next character get their turn right away (or the same, if they're outturning people).

[Kelvin]

While you're at it, could you make it so when you pick "wait" it actually waits instead of attacking while you're going through your menus? Every FF game I've played up through 9 would keep attacking even when I clicked on wait, which didn't make any sense to me.

[Koh]

The way "Wait" worked in those games was that it'd wait when you're selecting a spell or item. If you were just on the base command menu (Attack, Magic, Run, etc.), it didn't do that. The only reason I can think of that'd justify it being that way is in Chrono Triggers case, where bond attacks can be performed. But at that point, I'd just queue the command, and have them execute it when both characters ATB meters are full.

[Koh]

Progress has been slow, due to college mostly. Finals are week after next, and lots of things are due in this coming week. Right now, I'm working on the textbox system. I do want some level of fanciness with it, besides the usual colored text. For example...

[Koh]

Finally figured out the errors in my string manipulation. Now some of the fancier things I wanted are in place, such as colored text and delays.

Character portraits will eventually be a thing. The system allows me to have any kind of manipulation I want.

What will I implement next? Maybe treasure chests, and then the lifting/carrying/tossing system.

[recme]

i think when you are using colored text, you should just leave the whole thing as one color. having lighting on text is rather odd since you want it to be readable.

[Koh]

Took your advice and made it a solid color. Perhaps the highlight will work on the hi-res sprites, when that happens.
I just implemented treasure chests. At least, the money based ones. The inventory system isn't setup yet.

[Kelvin]

The new colored text looks better. I wonder, will every item have a tiny icon for text boxes, like in Link's Awakening?

[Koh]

Not just items, but any sort of icon I want. Directional arrows can be a thing too with my system.

Here's the progress made today...

[Pik]

Those arrow movements are pretty slick for what they are. I like it!

[Neweegee]

The only problem I see here is the text. It's not the size, but the way the letters look: like the L which seems to be hook shaped, and the I with unnecessary lines coming out, making it a bit hard to identify along with some other letters. It's not a massive problem, but you should fix it if you can.

[recme]

idk how to explain it, but the chest sprite looks very dull. maybe it should be brighter at the top and darker near the bottom?

[Kelvin]

I don't think it was brought up, but what language are you making this in?

[Koh]

I edited the l character, but I do like the i character. It, along with other characters, are based off of Courier New, which is my favorite mono-spaced font.


Anywho, updated the main display. It will be of the appropriate size according to your number of party members.

Yes, the portraits do blink.

If I haven't said so already, the game's name is decided to be Elludian Prophecy. It is being developed in my development tool of choice, Game Maker 8.1 Standard.

[Koh]

Just a little small update and info for you guys before finals week.

So, just like the other projects we're doing, Elludian Prophecy will sport a resolution switch option for the graphics in the options menu, that can be switched between at any time. It will ask you for your preference when you initially start the game, naturally. Hi-Res sprites are double the size of Lo-Res sprites, and will sport double the frames of Lo-Res sprites (for sprites that have more than a single frame) for smoother animation. Rather than just adding tweening frames, the additional frames will also be physics based, to show the motions more fluidly. For example, the cursor is done below, with Lo-Res on the left and Hi-Res on the right.



As stated above, you'll be able to play with your preference, and can switch between them anytime. The graphics will also be external like the music, so the game will just load in the appropriate files upon switching. Hi-Res sprites will follow the same color limitations of 4 colors per 8x8 tile (with one transparent if necessary). Hold on! I said per 8x8 tile, didn't I? Shouldn't it be 16x16, since Hi-Res is doubled in dimension? No! That's exactly the point. This could potentially allow the use of more colors on some sprites in certain areas. Just imagine if there existed a Gameboy Color HD. What'd happen is, all the regular GBC and GB sprites would just scale their graphics up x2 to fit the doubled graphics space. This is exactly what happens with Lo-Res sprites in this engine. Now, the GBCHD would also continue to store the graphics in 8x8 minitiles, while still having the same color limit of 4 colors per 8x8 minitile. And that's where Hi-Res comes in with this engine.

Well, that's enough exposition for today, until next time~