Blitzball

[etclewis]

The premise

What I'm looking for is a script or (if possible) a way to use events to recreate the minigame, Blitzball from Final Fantasy X. Blitzball is basically a sport where teams of six play in a water like sphere arena. The players on each team have to swim with a ball and shoot it to the opposing teams goals. Players can also pass the ball to their team mates or continue dribbling the ball until they're close to their goal. They must also deal with their opponents that try to tackle and steal the ball back. The game lasts for two five minutes rounds, and the team who scores the most points wins the game. Players can set up formations before the game starts or during mid-game. And chances of shoots, passes, or endurance to tackles, etc. are determined by the player's stats. Different players can also be recruited into the team, and can learn different techniques that can help turn the tides of the game around.

Features and Rules

* Three game modes: Tournament, Season, and Exhibition.
* Teams making up 6 players: 3 fielders, 2 defenders, one goal keeper.
* One main team controlled by player as well as computer opponents.
* Two rounds. Each in five minutes. Game ends in tie if both score the same, but goes into overtime in the tournament. Overtime consists of continuous five minutes rounds in golden goal format.
* Players learn an opponent's techniques, as well as have specific key techniques defined to help gain an advantage.
* Status effects that can help or hurt the team.
* Make moves and strategies based on decisions made in a menu.
* Many different player formations
* Stats: Ranging from stamina (HP) to speed (SP), endurance, pass, etc.

Final Fantasy fans should definitely recognize this. I request this desperately for my fangame, and this minigame is a must. If you need anymore help figuring out what I need. Check these out.

Sources

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Blitzball
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Blitzball_Techniques
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Blitzball_teams

 

[BlueScope]

What I'm looking for is a script or (if possible) a way to use events to (...)

Are you seriously asking just for a scripted solution if eventing it is not possible? I seriously hope I got that wrong, otherwise .org got way more wasted than I assumed... either way, Script Requests is not the place to request useless event stuff.

Either way, as for your request... you're lacking quite a bit of detail on it, for example your character movement. You say it's fine if it's evented, which leads to the assumption you're fine with tile-based movement. I can out of my head imagine an assload of situations where you'd confront the player with a situation they can't do anything about; and due to the relatively movement-based approach of the game, that'd seriously decrease the positiove amount of experience.
You'll have a similar problem implementing pixel movement with this. Basically, same difference but more poisitions per tile. You'd have to implement 8-way movement, which'd still be insufficient for "natural" movement or certain moves that you might want to pull off as a player, as well as limits your ability to recreate the system of the original game accurately, as turning movements are a relatively important part of it. Note that we're way beyond event capabilities here already.

Last but not least, recreating a system that already existed just for the sake of doing it, facing problems such as you'll not be able to recreate the camera perspective that the PS2 original had, isn't really worth it in my opinion. Because of the stuff I mentioned (that I wrote down in 6mins, playing FFX for the last time maybe a year or more ago), I assume you haven't put much thought into it yourself (feel free to correct me at any time). It's good to know what you want in detail, however the base of it is still a thrown-out request that wastes everyone's time.

Good luck on eventing this yourself now.

 

[Kingdom Ablaze]

i always love blues rants on eventing <3 but anyways i wanted to give you a quick history of this request, ive seen it at least 20 times and its never gotten done, why? because blitz ball is based in 3d and looks bad in 2d, besides the fact that it plays bad as well(i say this because ive played 3 attempts at recreating blitzball before) but if you really really wanna attempt this i suggest you go to recruitment and classified and have ether a really really good project to put it into(if you wanna attempt to not pay) or pay a good price. dont think im being mean, just letting you know the facts ive been here since 2006, active on more then one account.

 

[etclewis]

Hmmm, well shucks. If it's truly impossible even with scripts as you say, I guess Blitzball will only have a more storyline appearance.... I'm sorry.

 

[BlueScope]

I didn't say it'd be impossible... you could for example use a joystick script to support 360 degree directional input, which'd allow for a precise enough movement... the problem is, though, that your outcome will always reflect that it's a conversion, not a native concept, meaning you'll have to compensate some features with others. I'd strongly advise ya to put the effort - may it be your own or another scripter - in an original concept, cut in shape on the engine you're using, and you'll get a much better result.

 

[sherper1]

Not saying anyones wrong or right just putting my two cents in :P ..

Now I'm no scripter or a skilled eventer but in my mind this could have a chance of being done.. The main difficult point would be the AI

Because Blitzball isn't actualy in 3D movement, they move in 2D fashion but with 3D camera angles, you could make a map with just water (tilesets or panoramas) and evryone has swimming character sets. The 2 goals have events near them where if you press a button on them you shoot, and depending on where you are (closer the event the more percentage chance you have) you either get a goal or miss.

The camera would follow the person with the ball (I'm not sure how you would do that) and you press a button to change who you control when you are in defense.

When an event touches you and you have the ball a menu comes up and you choose whether to pass, shoot etc. and each option has a percentage chance. And eight directional movement would give a better flow to the movement.

I have no idea how difficult the AI would be to do but I'm assuming extremely difficult. And also things that control how good your chances would be at passing and getting a goal such as skill, power and them stats I would imagine would be very difficult.

You could probably never get the systems exactly alike or look the same but I think you might be able to get a dumbed down version possibly. Even if you settled for one where events just randomly moved and if you touched one its like they are trying to tackle you. Who knows maybe if someone made that then someone would get ideas off it and make it better?

But I don't have too much technical knowledge so I really don't have much of an idea if you could. Just throwing my thoughts out there

 

[Kingdom Ablaze]

now that you have cleared it up im sure one of us will do it

^^i didnt mean that in a mean way, i just thought it was funny with how old this subject(not post) is.

 

[sherper1]

Oh wow :P my bad I didn't even look at that . I take it that it never got done then ah well lol

 

[BlueScope]

I thought I explained that the problem is not impossibility, but visibility of adjustment. If I'm not mistaken (and I'm not, because it's a darn qoute!), I said something like this:

I didn't say it'd be impossible [...] the problem is, though, that your outcome will always reflect that it's a conversion, not a native concept, meaning you'll have to compensate some features with others. I'd strongly advise ya to put the effort [...] in an original concept, cut in shape on the engine you're using, and you'll get a much better result.

Now sherper, you basically said the same stuff the OP said, even using the same event-based approach. You did put more thought into it, but I don't see how thinking about it harder without getting to a new conclusion makes the concept suddenly working. A "dumbed down version" is something you don't want as a game designer, for a multitude of reasons:

• it's already not your own concept, so if you steal it, you better make sure it's improved in some way compared to the original
• you're putting additional effort into concepting a system you know will be inferior to what you were looking at from the start, therefore working inefficient
• you normally don't want to advertise your game with "dumbed down" content ('normally' because the RM community is radically different here)
• you normally want to design games, not put stuff together that you copied elsewhere (again, RM community's not too harsh on that one either)

And yes, I know it's basically working on a 2D plane. I also know that you could use 5 billion workarounds to create somewhat of a resembling system that people could remotely tell from I mean to imitate Blitzball even if it isn't written somewhere in big huge letters. That doesn't mean they'll like the minigame then.


Seriously, I'm eagerly waiting for the next person to post in here, saying it's possible. I wonder how many people can do that before it gets too obvious...

People should fucking copy Triple Triad, not this.



Goddammit.

 

[sherper1]

haha righteo buddy calm down a little there yeah ?

it's already not your own concept, so if you steal it, you better make sure it's improved in some way compared to the original

Umm that is entirely your own opinion?.. And have you noticed how half the battle systems and menu systems and crafting systems and pretty much any set of scripts are based on systems from games like final fantasy and breath of fire and pretty much every different type of system in commercial games ? And none of them compare to the ones made in commercial games.

you're putting additional effort into concepting a system you know will be inferior to what you were looking at from the start, therefore working inefficient

Again, no. Basically your saying if you no its not going to be as good as the one in a commercial game then your waisting your time. If everyone listened to this half the scripts made would never have been invented.

you normally don't want to advertise your game with "dumbed down" content ('normally' because the RM community is radically different here)

Obviously you wouldn't advertise your game with dumbed down content. Thats just stupid. And I never said that I said that it would basically be a dumbed down version. Not that you would advertise your game with dumb-downed content.

you normally want to design games, not put stuff together that you copied elsewhere (again, RM community's not too harsh on that one either)

Thats YOUR opinion, it's fine if that's what YOU want to do. A lot of people who use rpg maker (mainly people just playing around with it or noobs) just put scripts together and make a game, even just remaking a game. Because that's what they want to do.

I also know that you could use 5 billion workarounds to create somewhat of a resembling system that people could remotely tell from I mean to imitate Blitzball even if it isn't written somewhere in big huge letters. That doesn't mean they'll like the minigame then.

He didn't ask if you think people would like it, he asked if it was possible to make. He's completely entitled to asking without getting a mean hearted reply, as subtle as it was made.

People should fucking copy Triple Triad, not this

With this, you are being a hypocrit. I show you what you said -

it's already not your own concept, so if you steal it, you better make sure it's improved in some way compared to the original

The best triple triad recreation I've seen on rmxp failssss in comparison to the original. Yet it was made and yes it is fun to add into your game even though it's not as good.

Sorry if I miscomprehended what you were saying, all I was doing was adding my thoughts no need to go abusing.
Before you start overheating your body with all that anger, take a deep breath and think, not everyone is as skilled as I am in using rpg maker.

 

[BlueScope]

You're missing the point of what I'm saying if only slightly. And I'm not in anger really, just wondering why you do.

To the first half of your post: Yes, there are people just putting scripts together, and there are people scripting systems based on concepts of commercial games released before. That makes them operators, not game designers. Designing means figuring out a system, trying to get the most useability out of it in balance with the requirements you have to meet, and ultimately make something you think others might enjoy. Taking a concept that already exists is not designing, and you're cheating because you already know people like it. You will rightfully be looked down upon by each and every one of your players because they know what the original feels like, and your version is just inferior.
And yes, some of those are my opinion, and that only. I wonder where the problem is in communicating it.

As for the mean-hearted reply... that's probably where you got me wrong the most. It's like saying it's mean-hearted when I want to keep someone from jumping in front of a train. All I'm trying to do is get people to think themselves, not operate or copy. I know the vast majority doesn't do that, but game design is not a democracy, it's an art and a business alike - and both don't like rip-offs too much.


The reason I mentioned Triple Triad is because it's...
a) likely to be known by people who know Blitzball
b) unlike Blitzball NOT impossible to recreate with the same playability and therefore accessability
c) less tight tied specifically to a game (to some people, it will be "a card game", while Blitzball is "FFX's minigame")

Just because noone did it perfectly yet doesn't mean it's not possible. Blitzball in RM, however, is like trying to draw a 1dimensional character: Very possible, but also never going to satisfy what you wanted to get.


Last but not least, I wouldn't say I'm too skilled at RM too much, considering I haven't used it for a few years now really... but apparently, a basic understanding of game design helps me even though I'm not too tight with the engine anymore.

 

[sherper1]

Fair enough, fair enough

No it's not like saying your mean hearted if you want to keep someone from jumping in front of a train. There were 100 other ways to say it wasn't a good idea or basically no point in trying it. It's not what you are telling him, it's the way you are saying it.

And with the triple triad, I wasnt saying anything about the actual system. You said if it wasnt going to be as good as the original, then there was no point in doing it. I was just commenting on what you had said.
Yes the triple triad that has been recreated is good and now maybe someone with greater scripting knowledge will take a look at it and make it better that's how it works. Maybe someone will make this and it sucks bad but then another person looks at it and makes it a little better and so on.

Yeah it's good to be original and make your own things and this and that. But Rpg Maker isn't realy meant to make the next big game and so the majority of the people who use it aren't too serious and just want to do something they enjoy.

Even some great scripters are just recreating systems off games to increase there skill. Practice makes perfect. And there just seeing what they can do you know have a crack at it, and they get better. It's like saying if it's not going to work in theory, then it isn't going to work. Which is completely wrong.

With the thing about how many people have asked for this system, so what if 50 more ask for it ? If a talented scripter asks for it then yes feel free to reply in the way you have. But just remember alot of the newer people haven't scowered over each and every forum looking for what they have requested, and that's completely reasonable. Yeah it mite annoy people like you, but not everyone reads every single topic. It's like if you get asked by a 5 year old how something works, and then another 5 year old asks you the same thing and then another. Yeah it's annoying but not every 5 year old has found the information on how to ride a bike.

But whatever, this subjects gettin off topic so i'm out, next time i'll think twice before putting in my opinion ay