General Discussion

[Xela]

If by the one you mean me, then it's not, I'll gladly continue to design as many of them as we need.

It would still make more sense to design same system for items as well. If anyone wants to create a trait and activate that instead of using items system, no problem.

[DarkTl]

One more thing, in many games when you drink a potion with some temporary effect, you can somewhere see this effect and sometimes even how much it will last. It's not a problem with temporary traits, but what about the other, non-traits way?

[Xela]

One more thing, in many games when you drink a potion with some temporary effect, you can somewhere see this effect and sometimes even how much it will last. It's not a problem with temporary traits, but what about the other, non-traits way?

Neither is reported to GUI at the moment anyway... I'll add both later.

[Norb]

Hi everyone,

I've decided to join up and help out with development any way I can. I've already been talking a bit with Xela about who's doing what and where, but I figured anything conceptual I have should be posted here, instead of PM'd to Xela. So...

----Locations and Town Map----

Xela, I saw in one of your more recent posts that you're looking for ideas on location layout and how they should be handed. My idea is much like a hybrid of WM, Otherworld, and the existing system.

-Have an overall 'town map' for navigation through-out PyTFall. We could use a pre-existing image, create our own bird's eye image of a town, or perhaps even use icons on a blank parchment-type page (like the one existing in the gfx folder) to give the map a handmade, authentic map feel. Anything but the pre-alpha picture used now (way too restrictive an image to use).

-Consolidate most shops to a "Market Street", "Market Square", or the pre-existing "Central Plaza" location on town map. Basic shops (clothing, weapons, consumables) along with the slave market (e.g. Otherworld) would be located by icons or buttons on a market-themed sub-location. A couple BGs in the gfx folder would do well for this locale.

-Most other locations would be unique to meet free girls and/or fight baddies. "Forest", "Slums", and "Countryside" all have images corresponding to them in the gfx folder. Not sure how combat will happen (e.g. fighting in town) but with the way finding free girls has been implemented so far, having one main BG and 2-3 BGs for use when paging through present girls shouldn't be too hard to find for each location.

- Locations I've thought we could use:

*Market Street/Square/Central Plaza
*Slums
*Forest
*Countryside
*Red Light District (could be sub-location in slums. Good place to find prostitutes?)
*Docks (Also could be slum sub-location.)
*Temple
*Castle/Stronghold
*Park
*Arena
*Cave/Catacomb/aggro monster area

Also, Dark, I'd like to help out with items, but i don't want to step on toes or waste time creating something already made. Anyway we might be able to collaborate on that? Maybe I could work on a few slots myself to help lighten the work load.

[CherryWood]

I was thinking about main map when I was trying to do dates/girlmeets. These are my 2c.


I believe Pre-existing image should by ok. I would prefer use of simple icons over text, ideally ones that change into text when mouse is moved over them.  But it kind of depends if we want large edgescolling map or a small one.
The game will have a some minor dating locations, but I don't think these should show on main map, unless used as shops/girlmeet places too.


I think the main question is: Do we want main map to be used as a starting place of temporally events and quests?
Because if not, it all just could be static and that should be super-easy.
But the map could maybe also show stuff like one-run events in some places, traveling npcs, known girl locations...  and then we would need a sorting system that would prevent placing these appearing icons over another ones.


I love maps where icons change, expand and adapt their positions accordingly do how many sub-locations and events are there, but I have only vague idea how much complicated it is to set up (because we didn't talked about events in detail either).


Simple solution could be just dedicate some place on map for that. Or maps-on-map for crowded locations.

[Xela]

All depends on resources at hand as far as GUI design goes.

As for events, system I had in mind should allow to start events on any location in the game, not just main city/city square.

Battle: some from of simple exploration engine, maybe just different backgrounds with 'level' text field or some sort of a grid.

- All shops in a single location is not a good idea. Locations like forest/forest outskirts can have a shop called 'witches hut' for example.

Locations also could use NPCs, at least some of them.

[DarkTl]

Anyway we might be able to collaborate on that? Maybe I could work on a few slots myself to help lighten the work load.

Sure, I don't mind. Pick any slots you want to, just let me know about it first.
Oh, and read the first post in this thread to avoid any mistakes.

============
One more thing, I like new traits developed by Cherry. With Xela permission, I'll add them to our main traits file.

[Xela]

Didn't have time for proper replies...

I figured anything conceptual I have should be posted here, instead of PM'd to Xela. So...

Yeap, all concepts should be discussed here or in one of the corresponding threads.

----Locations and Town Map----

Xela, I saw in one of your more recent posts that you're looking for ideas on location layout and how they should be handed. My idea is much like a hybrid of WM, Otherworld, and the existing system.

-Have an overall 'town map' for navigation through-out PyTFall. We could use a pre-existing image, create our own bird's eye image of a town, or perhaps even use icons on a blank parchment-type page (like the one existing in the gfx folder) to give the map a handmade, authentic map feel. Anything but the pre-alpha picture used now (way too restrictive an image to use).

Hybrid would be ok, unique system or even the one we have now will do if it is well designed and filled with decent amount of content.

One thing I absolutely disagree with is 'anything' being better than a city picture. I am not sure if you meant the specific pic I've used or any similar picture but a good picture of a city should top a bad or average picture made with photoshop or cartographer...

-Consolidate most shops to a "Market Street", "Market Square", or the pre-existing "Central Plaza" location on town map. Basic shops (clothing, weapons, consumables) along with the slave market (e.g. Otherworld) would be located by icons or buttons on a market-themed sub-location. A couple BGs in the gfx folder would do well for this locale.

We can do it either way, Otherworld approach never appealed to me but a decent market street with markers might do the trick. Or OW approach but with better icons (if we can find those).

Still, a couple of specialized shops we can put in a different location/s.

-Most other locations would be unique to meet free girls and/or fight baddies. "Forest", "Slums", and "Countryside" all have images corresponding to them in the gfx folder. Not sure how combat will happen (e.g. fighting in town) but with the way finding free girls has been implemented so far, having one main BG and 2-3 BGs for use when paging through present girls shouldn't be too hard to find for each location.

I wanted to add something more than girlsmeets for most locations.

- Locations I've thought we could use:

*Market Street/Square/Central Plaza
*Slums
*Forest
*Countryside
*Red Light District (could be sub-location in slums. Good place to find prostitutes?)
*Docks (Also could be slum sub-location.)
*Temple
*Castle/Stronghold
*Park
*Arena
*Cave/Catacomb/aggro monster area

As good of a list as any.

[Xela]

One more thing, I like new traits developed by Cherry. With Xela permission, I'll add them to our main traits file.

Traits are your thing, knock yourself out

[Xela]

I was thinking about main map when I was trying to do dates/girlmeets. These are my 2c.


I believe Pre-existing image should by ok. I would prefer use of simple icons over text, ideally ones that change into text when mouse is moved over them.  But it kind of depends if we want large edgescolling map or a small one.
The game will have a some minor dating locations, but I don't think these should show on main map, unless used as shops/girlmeet places too.

Doable with the icons, edge-scrolling is doable as well, just a bit harder to code. Agreed about the dating locations but some would look bad on the map as well. Beach for example, you could meet girls in bikini there instead of profile pics with slightly different texts (like greeting text).

Stuff like that has potential I think and is very easy to code once base and some content already been set up. Someone is working on girlsmeets right now.

I think the main question is: Do we want main map to be used as a starting place of temporally events and quests?
Because if not, it all just could be static and that should be super-easy.
But the map could maybe also show stuff like one-run events in some places, traveling npcs, known girl locations...  and then we would need a sorting system that would prevent placing these appearing icons over another ones.

We prolly want more than one starting place for events. traveling npcs could be awesome if well designed, I never considered that...

I love maps where icons change, expand and adapt their positions accordingly do how many sub-locations and events are there, but I have only vague idea how much complicated it is to set up (because we didn't talked about events in detail either).

i am not sure what you mean, but it sounds doable if you want different gui based on amount of events currently available at the location.

Simple solution could be just dedicate some place on map for that. Or maps-on-map for crowded locations.

Better a bunch of buttons that activate different actions, one for girlmeets, another for events and so on.

[DarkTl]

Traveling npcs, huh?
If MC is able to instantly travel between locations, they will be just like random meetings in SM3. In order to give them some meaning we probably should restrict the movement of MC (with the help of action points, I guess).
I mean something like this, where you can't just go from the westernmost point to the easternmost instantly. Well, maybe you can within the city, but not within the continent.

[Xela]

Traveling npcs, huh?
If MC is able to instantly travel between locations, they will be just like random meetings in SM3. In order to give them some meaning we probably should restrict the movement of MC (with the help of action points, I guess).
I mean something like this, where you can't just go from the westernmost point to the easternmost instantly. Well, maybe you can within the city, but not within the continent.

Nah, I despise traveling restriction. Prolly easier to solve by setting a location for a couple of days and chance of meeting that only checks on the first visit to a location.

[CherryWood]

i am not sure what you mean, but it sounds doable if you want different gui based on amount of events currently available at the location.

Sorry, I'm not good at explaining stuff, but I made a Picture! 

[Xela]

Sorry, I'm not good at explaining stuff, but I made a Picture! 

LoL

I freaking love it

But that would require a map like you drew (lineart) at the very least. Cannot really picture that with the current setup.

[DarkTl]

Not necessarily. We could also use scaling, so when you select a district you see its own little map with houses and icons. I think it won't be too hard to find suitable pictures for various districts.