Ehh... new here... some pointers please?

[krazykikikat]

Okay so... I'd heard of RPG Maker but was never really interested in making my own games, I'm primarily a writer... well a few days ago an idea for a game came to me.  I was at first just thinking I would want to play it, but I don't think it exists, so then I thought, why not make it, or at least make a demo and sell it?
Anyway... the program sounds super confusing to me, and I'm sure you don't all have time to explain it, but I'd appreciate it if I could get some links to good threads or tutorials for beginners...
Anyway, if you don't have time, that's all I'll ask of you, but if you're bored and interested in helping me, I'll tell you my main idea...

Basically, the framework will be sort of like a cross between Sims and Harvest Moon.  I mean, I don't expect to be able to make games of that complexity easily, but I've heard RPGM can come pretty close, if you learn the scripts...  Well, the story though will be about geisha.  Sort of like Harvest Moon, in that you develop relationships with people, but obviously very different in that you don't farm (duh) and you won't be looking for a husband.  Also I want to add a skill system something like the Sims one, where doing certain activities increases your character's skill in it, but the skills will not be used in battle.  From what a friend has told me, to make a game with RPGM that doesn't involve battling and does involve cumulative relationships and events triggered by such cumulative variables, I will have to fiddle with the engine or database or whatever...  I don't know, but I'm a COMPLETE beginner here.  :huh:  The only coding I know is HTML and CSS, I've never tried programming a game.
So if you could just give me some pointers, let me know if my idea is possible, and maybe link me to some stuff that can tell me how to achieve a primarily relationship-based game, that would be great.
Thanks!

 

[UnknownFox]

If your looking to change the battle system and all, I cant really help there but as far as helping learn the basics I can gladly show you a set of videos I used when I first started.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=S2Y_W7kD8LU& ... 5B&index=2

For more of his videos, just click his youtube username (incase you didnt know)

 

[krazykikikat]

If your looking to change the battle system and all, I cant really help there but as far as helping learn the basics I can gladly show you a set of videos I used when I first started.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=S2Y_W7kD8LU& ... 5B&index=2

For more of his videos, just click his youtube username (incase you didnt know)

Okay, thanks. ^_^
I guess the best way is to make a game using all the basic features first, so I can better understand how to change them.  I assume the videos will help with that.
Except I can't get the video to play. >_<  I'm not technologically challenged, really!  I had been watching a tutorial by a British kid that kept mumbling, this one looks better...  But on the first load I paused it, and now when I push play after that, it won't play more than a few seconds, even though the bar says it's loaded. Grr.  Yeah, it's Youtube.  Why NOW of all times?? No video will play. WTF.

 

[UnknownFox]

I know, its been giving me troubles lately. All I can say is if you wish to pause a video, let it play the first 3seconds or so. Only way I have found to get youtube to work again is just restart or try again later. His videos are pretty well made and of course the best way to start is the basics

 

[Brewmeister]

This is still one of the best beginner tutorials I've seen...

http://www.pcis-studios.com/ccoa/Chance/

It will introduce you to pretty much all of the 'beginner' concepts, and get you going in a short amount of time.

Be Well

 

[krazykikikat]

This is still one of the best beginner tutorials I've seen...

http://www.pcis-studios.com/ccoa/Chance/

It will introduce you to pretty much all of the 'beginner' concepts, and get you going in a short amount of time.

Be Well

Okie dokie!  I watched the tutorials Fox told me about, just got done with those, and now I think I'll try the one you linked me to.
So far I have a few questions though...

1. Can you make variables or switches that will trigger an event after MULTIPLE things have happened?  For example... in Harvest Moon More Friends of Mineral Town, you can give cucumbers to the Kappa.  To do this you walk up with a cucumber in your hands to the pond and press the action button, and it triggers the event of him saying "...Don't come back." Or something like that.  BUT, after you do that same action for ten days I believe, it triggers a DIFFERENT event, in which he gives you something.  Would you use variables for this?  Like the first time you do it it makes "givecucumber == 1" and so on?
In actuality what I want to use this for will be a lot more complicated... the variable needs to change my relationship with a person.  So perhaps... when "relationship == 1" and I talk to them, they say "Oh... hi."  But when "relationship == 5" they say "It's nice to see you!" and to increase the variable, I have to give them a gift or something of the sort..  Would that work?

2.  Branching off of that, in HM you can only do that once a day.  Is there a way to make time pass in these games?  I assume like... put a timer for however long you want a day to be.. and when it runs out you appear in an inn or by your bed, OR you can go to the next day by an event with your bed... I don't know. 

3.  Can you make battles happen randomly, like in Final Fantasy, or are you ALWAYS going to have to talk to them, or walk over a specific square?  I suppose it wouldn't be too bad, since to level up you have to battle, so I don't anticipate a player just choosing not to walk over a square or talk to the monster or whatever...

Anyway, I'll do some experiments, but let me know if there's anything important I should know about these...



[Edit]
Okay I figured out one thing... I get how I would make relationship status go up.  I make a girl ask me for gold, if I give it to her, I get one point in friendship.  Then on a second event page, I made it so that, if the relationship variable is 5 or higher, she says to me, "I like you!"  That's a step in the right direction.  But after that, I need to still be able to give her stuff and make her like me more.  I guess that won't be too hard, just make her say "I like you" and then "Can I have some more gold?"  and so on.  So I get the principle of increasing her liking of me.  But now, what else can I do with that variable?  My game will be mostly relationship-based, so if a girl likes me a lot, I want her to do more than say "I like you!"  I want perhaps, the option to marry her or something.  So that goes back to my time question...  does this program have the capability to do what Harvest Moon does... after you get to a certain point with a person, you can ask them to marry you, get a cut scene, and from that time on, they appear in your house!  Can I do that?  Can I make days pass, in which a new day will reset some variables and switches but not others?
I assume there is a way... but will I have to script to do these things?

OH! and I ran into a little hiccough... Even if I don't HAVE any gold, but I say yes to her, she likes me. >_<  How do I make it so the relationship variable ONLY goes up if I actually have gold to give her, and perhaps make an alternate response for if I can't, like "Hey, you don't have any gold!"


Also... how do I make a map (the inside of a building, specifically) smaller?  I tried just whiting out parts I don't want, but my character can still walk outside of it... lol.

 

[regi]

1 You can use Conditional Branches to check if the player has gold or whatever, i.e.:

@>Conditional Branch: Gold 10 or Higher
   @>Change Gold: -10
   @>Show Text: Thanks!
   @>Control Variables: [Relationship] +=1
 : Else
   @>Show Text: You don't have enough gold!

2. For time, you can use eventing or scripting for it. Searching a script that lets time run would probably be the easiest, you can find them in the Submitted Scripts section.

3. For a random battle, right-click the map on the left and press "Map Properties." In the "Encounters" area, you can define random enemies.

4. Rather than using the white tile for the ceiling, use the roof autotile that comes with the tileset (usually the tile to the right of the top-left).

Good luck.