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(Finished) Ability Grid

I know there is little chance that someone will make this for me, but I figured I'd try.  The spoiler below contains data on what the sphere grid is if you're unfamiliar with it.

This is taken directly from the official walkthrough with pieces edited and removed.

Abilities & The Sphere Grid
Final Fantasy X employs a unique new system for advancing your characters.  When a character achieves new sphere levels, access the Sphere Grid and move the character's makers across the nodes.  Use spheres of various types to raise a character's attributes and learn new abilities.  Any character can learn any ability and raise any attribute.  By acquiring enough spheres, you can eventually have a party of characters who have every ability and maximized attributes.

Sphere Grid Basics
The Sphere Grid becomes accessible after Rikku explains how to use it in a short tutorial.  Each character who joins the party has a pre-designated starting point on the grid.  While each of the characters has his or her own section, you can remove the locks between the different sections by using the appropriate key spheres.  Thus, character advancement is limitless.

Ability Points and Sphere Levels
As the party defeats enemies, everyone involved in the battle receives Ability Points, or AP.  When enough AP is collected, the character achieves a Sphere Level.

Now, if your still reading, your either familiar with this system and skipped the spoiler or you're interested in it.  Before I go into details of what I'd like to see in this script, I'll tell you a little bit about myself.

My scripting experience: None.  I have no idea how to script.  However, I'm hoping to learn it later on (I'm currently a Junior in High School).  Because of this inexperience, I don't know how to place scripts very well, so if you make it, I'll need detailed instructions about how to insert it and use it.

Why I want this script: I love how the player has the ability to choose which abilities a character will learn and how they'll develop.  I think this is and will always be the best advancement system in any Final Fantasy game.  The license system in FFXII is a cheap imitation of it.

What I want to do with my life: I really am not sure yet.  I love creating stories, and I'm currently working on a book.  I like making games because it allows me to make my stories visually interesting as well as storyline interesting.  I'm hoping to become a video game designer, but I'll see.

My experience with RPG Maker: I originally found RPG Maker 2 for Playstation 2.  It amazed me how I could create something so . . . almost easily.  I liked everything except the battle system.  I would still use it, but the experience system wouldn't work for me.  No matter how hard I tried, even by using events to give characters experience, it wouldn't give it to them.  Then I got RPG Maker 3, which has really good graphics, but it's so restricting.  Recently, I found RPG Maker XP, and I quickly . . . sort of . . . bought it with my money (at $1 a day for chores . . . well, you get the idea - it took a while).  I've been immersing myself in that until RPG Maker VX came out a few days ago.  I have a decent game on XP started, which I may finish after my fascination with VX wears off.  I joined an RPG Maker guild on a site called Gaiaonline.  We're going to start a project soon, but I'm pretty much the only one working on it at the moment.

If you skipped that, then you should read it.  It contains a lot of information about what I want.  Anyway, this is my request:

1. The sphere grid system, including spheres, locks, and nodes.
2. I'm not sure about graphics.  It may be hard to achieve a grid like in Final Fantasy X.  Perhaps a list-type system would work, but I'd really like something like in FFX.
3. Customization of the grid.  I'm not sure if this would have to be integrated into the scripting or not.  If you need to put it in with the scripts, tell me so I can work on a list of skills, nodes, characters, etc.

I know I'm asking an awful lot of you.  I thank you for just reading through all that (if you did).  I can't offer any money, but I will include your name in any game I make with the system.  I'll probably end up making this system myself three or four years from now, since I doubt anyone would want to use their time making such an extensive script.  *Sigh*  Anyway, if you're interested, you can post here.  I appreciate any comments or such about this idea, even if you can't/won't make this for me.

[P.S. - I searched through the threads for this request, but I didn't find anything (by the way, the search index for scripts isn't working).  I'm sorry if I created a repeat thread or something.  I think this is a pretty original and long explanation, though.  Please don't move/delete this without messaging me first.  I really don't like that because it's like promising someone an opportunity to perform in a movie, then telling them they can't do it without an explanation.  Ugh, I'm going on forever again.  End thread.]

http://www.rpgdreamer.com/wall/ffx/demus-6-1.jpg[/img]
 
I thought of a way to implement customization of the grid.  Label each node as a number, then have the script so I can put what I want in each number.  I'd need basic scripts for increasing stats and adding abilities, but I think it's a pretty good way to go about customization.
 
I think it would be better if just I bumped.  We're only supposed to bump something every three days.  I thank you for the enthusiasm, but I don't want to get the moderators angry at us.

~Guardian1239
 
I'll suggest another option....

Event!
You can like just add a map that will show the skills
but you need a new tile set for this to look good.
Just make the game check on switches (conditional branch can be your best friend)
so like every time the cursor(character) moves to another node that he hasn't learnt
you can ask him if you want to upgrade it.

Although it can take a lot of work....
I can Event-Proof your work if you want?
 
OK.  I've been going through events and I have concluded that I will be able to do this with events . . . mostly.  I will, however, need a couple of scripts for it.  I'll just use this thread since it was already created.  I don't want to waste space.

1. A script that adds the Ability command to the main menu, lets the player select a party member, then transports the player to their respective map, changing the graphic beforehand.  I can do everything except the ability command in the main menu with conditional branches and such, but I'm not really sure how I'd merge them.  Perhaps by activating a common event?

2. Making AP increase with each level.  I'm using a variable for AP, so making a script that increases a variable with each level is sufficient.
 
Or other than making the AP script, you make things harder globally. So lets say that old slime that got beat up and you got an AP from it, you could make all slimes harder.

I dunno, I felt that might also cause an imbalance. AHHHHHH BIG BAD SLIME BOSS!!!!
 
kimpoy2006":1b6pmnr2 said:
Or other than making the AP script, you make things harder globally. So lets say that old slime that got beat up and you got an AP from it, you could make all slimes harder.

I dunno, I felt that might also cause an imbalance. AHHHHHH BIG BAD SLIME BOSS!!!!
Hm, yes.  Getting AP from certain monsters.  This would obviously occur with the harder ones.  I see there are more people enthusiastic about it than I thought.  I'll post a demo when I finish working on it so you can all see how I did it.

~Guardian1239
 
Guardian1239":25s8151z said:
OK, everyone.  I've made a semi-quick demo to show what I've managed to do.  I want to know what everyone thinks before I "release" the system.

Ability Grid

Wow this is pretty good not sure why you had to include the rtp and encript it tho

but someone should put this in a script so its accessable from the menu which just moves the player to the map
 
Yes, that is what I'm hoping someone will do.  It would also have to remember where the player teleported from so it can send them back.  I was planning on releasing an un-encriptyed version after I get some feedback and hopefully the menu script.

~Guardian1239
 
This is much easier than that, I assure you.  The hardest and longest part was making the tiles, which I will provide.  After creating one event for increasing something, you can just copy, paste, and edit for the rest.

~Guardian1239
 

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