Final Fantasy VI SDK - Going Social!

[KiddUniverse]

I'm not sure if youve noticed this or not yet Dargor. When you're running through the Opera scenario in the WoB, and time starts counting down for you to stop Ultros from pushing the weight on Celes, the victory celebration at the end of the battles is deactivated. It would be sweet if we could deactivate it at will like that for dramatic effect. At this same point, the bgm also is all on one steady loop that does not get reset upon a battle ending, would that be possible to achieve as well?

I'm gonna play through again soon, and see if theres any other seemingly missable commands.

 

[Dargor]

@MagitekElite & Rey Meustrus
That's funny because last night I added Self Switch operations. :P These feature have already been implemented.
In fact, self switches are string based (in the game scripts at least), so it is possible to have an unlimited amount of self switches per event but also to have custom names for these switches, like DoorOpen instead of A. So when operating self switches, you can add as many as you want simply by typing the self switch name add add it to the list.

Besides that, the Self Switch Operation command allow to target another event than "self". Having this feature was a must, I realized that when making a demo (the one I canceled :P). It will be possible to operate any events in any maps with this command.

I'm also adding Self Variables, they will work like self switches, but for variables. :P

@KiddUniverse
You're right. I already have this covered. The Monster Formation editor is not done yet but I already added a checkbox in the option list to disable the victory ME and let the battle theme continue. Thanks for the reminder!

Keep on posting this like that. It's very useful!
- Dargor

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

@KiddUniverse
You're right. I already have this covered. The Monster Formation editor is not done yet but I already added a checkbox in the option list to disable the victory ME and let the battle theme continue.

Just to clarify, there are two different things that happen in that scene. The victory music is disabled as you say you've already implemented. However, if I understand things correctly, the music played during the "rats" section begins OUTSIDE of battle. This also happens while fighting Kefka's troops in Narshe, while fighting troops in the Imperial Base when Cyan first enters your party, while on the Serpent Trench, and while escaping the Floating Continent. Ergo, it also requires a switch that when certain battles are activated, the battle music is also disabled so that the original music plays through both battle and victory without stopping.

Something else worth noting: all of the battles in many of the above listed sections are planned. I can't remember if it's the same for the Floating Continent or not (perhaps that switch is turned off for the whole escape section since you only travel it once). Either way, it would be nice to be able to disable battle AND victory musics for random battles as well as planned ones occurring within a certain area, or having it even more specifically controllable based on events. For example, when fighting Kefka's troops in Narshe, the background music continues until you face Kefka, the boss music chimes in, and all returns to normal music-wise.

 

[Dargor]

There is also an option to disable the battle music and let the previous one play.

Each monster formations can have custom settings like that. Among these settings are:
- Skip Victory Pose (actors will not perform the victory dance)
- Skip Victory BGM (victory music will not play)
- Hide Start Message (will not display "Preemptive Strike", "Back Attack", etc.)
- Disable attack type (Normal, Back, Pincer Side, Preemptive)
- Some more, options found in FF3usME will be implemented

These options will apply for random encounters, but when triggered using events, it will be possible to overwrite some of these options for this specific battle.
Also, note that I will not impose a limit on the Magic Points. You gain go way beyond 10. :P

 

[Imzogelmo]

While on that subject, there are some options not yet included in FF3usME pertaining to battle formations. It is possible to disable the R+L button running (though strangely this doesn't affect warp stones). Lord J has been informed of the data and will surely include it in a future release, however.

The battle scripting is a really powerful (and underrated) feature of FF3. It's possible not only to move characters at will, but you can even start a BGM at specific points in the battle. Just look at the intro battle with Tritoch-- "Another World of Beasts" starts, right there from a battle script.

The game will have to keep track of the method of battle ending; whether it is victory, defeat, running, being sneezed, etc. I suggest also tracking suicides, as that could be useful data to track in events.

I had some other thoughts, but they've since escaped me.

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

Another point to consider that Imzogelmo's post reminded me of. There needs to be a battle setting which allows you to "die" (e.g. be sucked into a ZoneEater, etc.) without resulting in a game over screen.

The obvious easy way to do it is script the ZoneEater battle so that "sucking in" (like sneezing) simply doesn't count as dying. However, the non-game-over option must be implemented to recreate FFVI in totality. In addition, events must also be tied to "non-game-over battle ends" so that the following scenes can happen:
-- Sabin appearing after Vargas blows everyone off-screen (yes, this is probably done with events triggered upon beating Vargas, but it would be cool if it was possible to integrate this into the battle)
-- The battle with Phunbaba where you die and (iirc) Terra takes over to defeat him.
-- The battle with Chupon where you are sneezed off the airship and the events continue once the battle "ends."

It might be interesting if Dargor implemented the ability to have a certain battle and two different events could be tied to it: one if you win, and one if you lose. This could be very very very useful for SDK users. :-D

Keep up the good work, Dargor! I can't wait!

-- CB

 

[Dargor]

I forgot to mention that there is also an option to disable L+R or anything that makes an actor or all the party leave the battle.

Battle scripting will work exactly as event scripting in a map, with the addition of more commands that applies only to battles.
So triggering a BGM when a monster dies, forcing an actor to do an action, display a message, special FX, etc. will all be available through battle events. RPG Maker had that features but it was lacking flexibility.

Also, when triggering a battle through map events, it will be possible to specify what to do "OnVictory" "OnEscaped" and "OnDefeated".
I could also add an "OnSuicide" but I'm not entirely sure how to monitor that yet.

I will also add a battle state for cases like Sneeze or Engulf which will be similar to "OnDefeated" with the exception that the actors will not be dead in this case but only missing from battle. Spells will have an option checkbox for that.

So basically, battle end will handle Victory, Defeat, Escape, Missing and maybe Suicide.

Also, note that it will be possible to trigger a battle within a battle. This is a complex thing to code and to think about though.
The idea is to transfer from Battle1 to Battle2 with a seamless transition by either merging both enemy formations or skipping the victory step and trigger battle2 instead. I'm not entirely sure how it will be done or what features will be available, etc.

And about the events you mentioned clockworkbutterfly, the first one will be done using battle events by tracking variables such as Vargas health. Then when the condition is met, a combination of Character Action, FX and Message should do the trick

For the 2 other cases, as I have mentioned above, it will be possible to trigger different events depending on the battle end.

Thanks a lot for all the input!
- Dargor

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

The idea is to transfer from Battle1 to Battle2 with a seamless transition by either merging both enemy formations or skipping the victory step and trigger battle2 instead. I'm not entirely sure how it will be done or what features will be available, etc.

Actually, this will have to be done for the Piranha battle. It'd be nice if (based on what you just said) we could re-code the battle so that the Rizopas gets "boss music" when it appears. After all, it dies like a boss.

Speaking of which, I assume that "boss death animation" is hard-coded somehow so you can decide which enemies die "regularly" and which die like bosses. Will there be a way to add new types of death animations?

Trying to think of everything I can to help you out, Dargor. ;-)

-- CB

 

[Dargor]

Speaking of which, I assume that "boss death animation" is hard-coded somehow so you can decide which enemies die "regularly" and which die like bosses. Will there be a way to add new types of death animations?

Regular and Boss death animations are hard coded but could be done using FX. In fact, I could make it so it is not hard coded and let the user customize the animation/FX!
Yeah, I'm doing that for sure.

The FX system will let you alter sprite properties (color, tone, scale, angle, etc.) but will also let you play sounds and do things on the screen (flash, shake, etc.).
It will do a lot more than that, but with the above features, it would be rather easy to create a custom death animation.

Thanks, this is giving me lots of nice ideas! :D

 

[Imzogelmo]

For battle endings, FF6 keeps track of Engulfed as a separate type; in fact, it tracks several types:
1. Victory
2. Annihilation
3. Time ran out (think of timered sequences)
4. Characters ran away/Smoke Bombed
5. Warp Stone/Warp spell (there are two separate flags, can't run and can't escape)
6. Monsters ran away
7. All characters engulfed (has to be all of them for this to trigger)
8. Bababreath (scripted ending via monster AI)
9. Sneeze (actually, I think this is like a forced #4)
10. Returning Gau battle end (a distinct ending from #8, but virtually the same)

Speaking of timed sequences, FF3's event engine is flexible enough to have timers that either pause or continue running during fights, display or do not display during fights, pause or run while viewing the menu, and display or do not display while on the map. Also (interestingly), it is possible to have up to 4 different timers running simultaneously (although only the first one is displayed, obviously). The benefits of this should be obvious; that is, it allows events to fire off at intervals that are independently controlled (and either in battle or outside of it). I think this is an important feature to incorporate to the SDK, although having more than 4 would be fine (the original game never uses more than 2 at once, though). :D

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

Regular and Boss death animations are hard coded but could be done using FX. In fact, I could make it so it is not hard coded and let the user customize the animation/FX!
Yeah, I'm doing that for sure.

Sounds great! I'd include the ones used in FF6 so that the SDK user won't have to recreate them on their own.

Actually, what would be really cool is if once the SDK is done, the SDK website could host downloadable add-ons from other users. For example, I might be able to download someone else's monster death-animation or a script someone else wrote or something to that effect.

 

[MagitekElite]

Regular and Boss death animations are hard coded but could be done using FX. In fact, I could make it so it is not hard coded and let the user customize the animation/FX!
Yeah, I'm doing that for sure.

The FX system will let you alter sprite properties (color, tone, scale, angle, etc.) but will also let you play sounds and do things on the screen (flash, shake, etc.).
It will do a lot more than that, but with the above features, it would be rather easy to create a custom death animation.

Thanks, this is giving me lots of nice ideas! :D

Ah that sounds awesome, Dargor!

It would definitely help the users of this (especially me xD). The color and scale will help add variation to the sprites, which will make things a lot better! :thumb:

 

[Dargor]

@Imzogelmo
Wow, there's a lot more ending types that what I thought! Nothing I can't do though.
As for the timers, I had a pretty basic timer system that would run on map and during battles too but the game seems to have a much more advanced timer system.

I could make it so the user can trigger as many timers as he wants and incorporate the features you mentioned. It would be interesting to see what people could do with that feature.

@clockworkbutterfly
Having an online feature would be a nice touch. I could have a Main Page added to the editor to display the FF6SDK website.
I could also eventually change for another webhost and have a little database community that shares projects, resources, etc.
This could be the welcome page in the editor.

I'll keep that in mind!

 

[Dargor]

Back to the battle endings, I could also make it so the battle events (in-battle) can handle these.
So if all characters gets killed or all enemies ha escaped, etc. it would be possible to do things like playing a scripted event, dhowing a message, etc. before going back to the map. The "Start Battle" event command would obviously handle these too.

Even better that that, in the system settings of the game I could add a more general battle ending handler to trigger a custom game over screen (the character kneeling down and loading the last saved game) or something like that.

Hmmm I still have a lot to think about! :P

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

Back to the battle endings, I could also make it so the battle events (in-battle) can handle these.
So if all characters gets killed or all enemies ha escaped, etc. it would be possible to do things like playing a scripted event, dhowing a message, etc. before going back to the map. The "Start Battle" event command would obviously handle these too.

Even better that that, in the system settings of the game I could add a more general battle ending handler to trigger a custom game over screen (the character kneeling down and loading the last saved game) or something like that.

Hmmm I still have a lot to think about! :P

Sounds beautiful. If this is for each individual battle, then we can indeed branch the storyline in two different directions depending on whether you win or lose a battle.

You rock, Dargor!

 

[MagitekElite]

Back to the battle endings, I could also make it so the battle events (in-battle) can handle these.
So if all characters gets killed or all enemies ha escaped, etc. it would be possible to do things like playing a scripted event, dhowing a message, etc. before going back to the map. The "Start Battle" event command would obviously handle these too.

Even better that that, in the system settings of the game I could add a more general battle ending handler to trigger a custom game over screen (the character kneeling down and loading the last saved game) or something like that.

Hmmm I still have a lot to think about! :P

That sounds amazing, Dargor!

As Clockwork said, if its for individual battles, it will lead the story into different directions. It would allow the makers to have more room, in case they need to lose or something. :thumb:

This might be a waste of a question, but I was wondering about battle backs. How will you go about setting that up? On the world map for different sections of the map, a different battle background? I can't seem to find a way to do this in XP without having to event it....

But this is probably a stupid question xD

 

[Dargor]

Not a stupid question at all! :P

Battle backgrounds will have their own section dedicated to them called the Terrain Editor.
This editor will let you create battle backgrounds and modify various settings like how the background is animated, how it scroll, etc.
You can also have up to 3 layers. Background, Middle Ground and Foreground.

The Background Layer is the deepest sprite in the battle background.
The Middle Ground Layer is between the characters and the background. It will be used for things like the roof of the train, the cart, etc.
The Foreground Layer is between the characters and the windows. I don't think there is such a thing in FF6 but I think it could be nice if someone wants to add clouds, fog or whatever during a battle.

Terrains can be associated to tiles in the Tileset Editor, so if a random battle is triggered, it will check the tile the player is on and get the terrain associated to it and use it as battle background. You can also make it so a terrain deals damage and play an SFX when stepped on.

I might also add a feature that let the user modify the actors alignment on the backgrounds. Right now it's hard coded but I could add something similar to what they had in RM 2003 (for those who have used it). This would also allow to have specific actor location for specific battles, like Cyan when he's fighting with you in the imperial camp.

Anything more you'd like to know about battle backgrounds?? :P

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

Anything more you'd like to know about battle backgrounds?? :P

Yes. Have you thought about being able to alter them during battle? This will be extremely important when using a moogle dance.

I'm glad you're talking about different layers in a background. It would be nice to have the background be only slightly modified in some cases when Mog dances. For example, if using Snowman Jazz while fighting on but outside the Phantom Train, the train would not vanish and will simply be snow-covered.

-- CB

 

[MagitekElite]

@Dargor:
Nope, no more about questions! :33 I didn't have any more questions about the battle backgrounds, you answered them all! Thank you, Dagor! :P
(Especially since my mind has been lost lately and I most likely type my posts like a crazy person xD)

Although Clockwork's question is interesting. I completely forgot about Moogle dancing. It would be a nifty way of handling the dance moves, but I have a feeling that would require spriting...?

 

[Dargor]

@clockworkbutterfly
Spells, Special FX and Event Commands will allow you to change battle backgrounds. Well, in fact, Spells will launch an FX and this FX can modify the battle background.

So yes, having another layer of snow added to the train roof would be possible! But since it would be different for each battle backgrounds, it would require new sprites and a bit of scripting in the way the background changes. You would need to add conditions to check on which background you're fighting and change the snow layer accordingly.

@MagitekElite
So yes, it would require more spriting, but if someone has the will and talent to do it, it would be super cool!