[XP] Version 2.8! CTB by Charlie Lee (v2.8) - aka a FFX like Battle System

[Bascha]

Great job on the battle system Charlie, I really like the improvements in 2.5.

I just have one major gribe with the system at the moment.

I was wondering if there was a way to change the # of turns shown ahead. It looks fine when theres 4 people in your party, but when you have just a single person it looks kind of silly.

If thats possible, I was also wondering if there was a way to change it during the course of the game. For example, if you gained a party member, your party of 1, which showed 3 turns ahead, is increased by 2, and now shows 5 turns ahead in battle.

Thanks, keep up the good work!

 

[Charlie Fleed]

@AmberRei
Actually this is a question about the Skill Learning System. I will try something similar to Venetia's case and let you know (you can try it too, I'm not offended by that :D)

@Basha
There's an option in the configuration for the size of the turns queue, but it's static as of now, cannot be changed at runtime.

 

[Venetia]

I knew I would have heard from you very soon...
I'm already considering the idea of making the changes in the main menu kinda "optional".

However in the WIP code, for example, one could:
1) change my "class Window_Skill" definition to "class Window_Skill_Charlie" (no need to change Window_Selectable_Plus).
2) change all the occurrences of "Window_Skill", in my scripts only, in "Window_Skill_Charlie" (I have counted only one of it in CTB by Charlie - Scene_Battle).
3) comment the Scene_Skill code in my Windows Skill Technique Item.

I have just tried this and it seems to work...

Thanks, Charlie. I'll try this out as soon as I get a chance tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

I appreciate how helpful you are about answering my questions!

 

[AmberRei]

Thanks XD Alright, I'll try that out. You're right, I posted in the wrong thread somehow =/

 

[Venetia]

Okay, after much playtesting, I got 2.5 to work. I realize it's still a WIP, so this is what I did to make it work with MogHunter's CMS (for your "lite" version, in case you want to make one, or atleast just for other people in my same boat):

1. Copy over all the scripts into your game (duh :P). DON'T forget to copy over the Common Events, States, and Elements! If you're unsure what to copy over, just transfer your game into Charlie's demo.

2. In the Scripts window of RMXP, press [Ctrl + H], then have it find/replace all instances of "draw_actor_parameter2", and change it to "draw_actor_parameterCH" in the scripts: "Window_Base Add On 2.1" & "CTB by Charlie Lee - Windows". (Moghunter used that method, so your Scene_Equip won't work without changing this).

3. Press [Ctrl + H], then find/replace all instances of "Window_Skill" with "Window_Skill_Charlie", in "Windows Skill Technique Item" & "CTB by Charlie - Scene_Battle". (This will remove conflicts with the Skill Window.)

4. Go to Line 288 in "Windows Skill Technique Item", which should put you under the code:

###############################
# Support for the Tech Window #
###############################

Then press [Enter], and type "=begin".

5. Go to Line 413 (the very very end of the script), and type "=end". (This will comment out that whole chunk.).

6. Scroll all the way up to the top of "Windows Skill Technique Item", and comment out lines 16-28, making them look like this, I guess:

#    else
      # SUPPORT FOR SCENE SKILL 
#      if $scene.is_a? Scene_Skill
#        actor.refresh_commands
#        if actor.individual_commands.size > 0
#          @skill_command_element_id = $data_system.elements.
#            index("COMMAND " + actor.individual_commands[0])
#        else
#          @skill_command_element_id = -1
#        end
#      else
#        @skill_command_element_id = -1
#      end

Voila! It should work now!

Note: If you do all this properly, there will be no alterations to the main menu!!!

 

[Charlie Fleed]

Correct me if I am wrong Ven:
2) It should be "Moghunter used that method", right?
3) Window_Skill does not appear in "CTB by Charlie Lee - Windows", so there's nothing to replace there.
6) Since you are changing my Window_Skill into Window_Skill_Charlie or whatever, that code is never executed because Scene Skill still calls Window Skill and not Window_Skill_Charlie. So "if $scene.is_a? Scene_Skill" is never true and 6) is unnecessary. Instead, you should comment the code belonging to "class Scene_Skill" in the same script.

If you agree with my annotations, may I suggest to edit your post, so that others may benefit from it at best.
And thank you so much for your effort.

Besides, that part about the tech window will disappear in v2.5, and I'll change that draw_actor_parameter2 for better compatibility (thanks for pointing out that).
About point 1, I'm trying to progressively change the elements and states recognition from id based to name based, but there's still some id around so... yes, copying the exact sequences for both is safer.

 

[Gat_Man]

Just downloaded and played the updated version...I must say, you're in a league of your own^^
I gotta start over with my game now, need to include the updates...

 

[Venetia]

Correct me if I am wrong Ven:
2) It should be "Moghunter used that method", right?

Oops! Right!

3) Window_Skill does not appear in "CTB by Charlie Lee - Windows", so there's nothing to replace there.

Right again! I meant "CTB by Charlie - Scene_Battle". I copied and pasted the wrong name 

6) Since you are changing my Window_Skill into Window_Skill_Charlie or whatever, that code is never executed because Scene Skill still calls Window Skill and not Window_Skill_Charlie. So "if $scene.is_a? Scene_Skill" is never true and 6) is unnecessary. Instead, you should comment the code belonging to "class Scene_Skill" in the same script.

Well actually, in #'s 4, 5, and 6, all instances of class Scene_Skill is commented out, so it really doesn't call anything. Also, if you do a Find/Replace All for every instance of Window_Skill, then none of the code'll ever call from it.

If you agree with my annotations, may I suggest to edit your post, so that others may benefit from it at best.
And thank you so much for your effort.

I did  . And no, thank you!

Besides, that part about the tech window will disappear in v2.5, and I'll change that draw_actor_parameter2 for better compatibility (thanks for pointing out that).

That'd be fantastic!  ;D

About point 1, I'm trying to progressively change the elements and states recognition from id based to name based, but there's still some id around so... yes, copying the exact sequences for both is safer.

Name based instead of ID-based? That'd be perfect!

Thanks again, Charlie!

 

[Charlie Fleed]

Yes, name-based. And it's almost done.
In the configuration you see:

#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# NAMES                                                                       #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# STATE TAG NAMES
# The following names must reflect the configured names in your database
REFLECT_NAME="Reflect"
RIGENE_NAME="Rigene"
EXPx2_NAME="EXP*2"
REACTION_NAME="Reaction"
PRIORITY_NAME="Priority"
AUTO_PHOENIX_NAME="Auto Phoenix"

# ELEMENT TAG NAMES
# The following names must reflect the configured names in your database
TECHNIQUE_NAME="Technique"
ANY_SCOPE_NAME="Any scope"
SINGLE_ALL_NAME="Single/All"

The system looks for these names in the database and finds the correct ids.
The same goes for individual battle commands, you put "COMMAND splash" anywhere and the system understands it's a category (from the COMMAND prefix) and creates a splash option in tha actor command window (only if the actor has skills in that category... oh, I love it ).

I'm almost done with the new release, that will have two kind of summons, those that remove the party and those that don't... Actually the summon part will not be complete, because there's no Aeons management (skills,experience) and a bit of other things (you still can use items on summons...).
Stay tuned.

P.S. Me likes your new avatar. :D

 

[Bascha]

Hey thanks for replying Charlie. I another couple of questions about the turns script.

1. Can the truncated version of the character pictures (The squished ones) be replaced by another image until it is their turn?

2. Can monsters be assigned face graphics instead of just having their name in the box?

 

[Charlie Fleed]

1) What you call truncated versions are actually totally independent pictures, you can put any picture as long as it's named as the character. Look in the turns subfolder of graphics.
2) Currently not, it's simple to implement it, but i thought it would make the screen too confused... anyway if a considerable number of people ask for it, I'll add an option for it.

 

[Venetia]

The same goes for individual battle commands, you put "COMMAND splash" anywhere and the system understands it's a category (from the COMMAND prefix) and creates a splash option in tha actor command window (only if the actor has skills in that category... oh, I love it ).

Yes, I was playing with the command names yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised that actors with no skills don't have the categories at all! I LOVE that. So much more organized.

Three cheers to Charlie! He's the best! :D

 

[Charlie Fleed]

How the new battle status window could look like
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5629/57587138uk5.gif[/img]
It's for the support of 8 party members, with all the info displayed simultaneously... still have to find the space to put the status in...

 

[Venetia]

I like it!

It sounds like you're fishing for suggestions (or atleast maybe that's selective reading on my part!), so here are a few:

This would probably be an endlessly tiring task, but what if you moved down that bottom row of player characters a little lower, and the status effects showed up as mini-icons? (i.e. a green 3x3/2x2 dot for poison, a yellow one for Confusion, etc). Chrono Cross did it; it would save space, and allow the player to see multiple status effects at once at a glance (after memorizing the colors, of course).

This is just a design perspective talking, but I think changing up the font for the names, or atleast just bolding them, would look great, and better delineated. I know how to do this on my own, but it'd be great to just have the option there when updates hit :P

Will the character slots move down when there are 4 party members or less? Because there probably won't be more than 4 party members on a regular basis for most people

Lastly, this also would require a heap of work probably, but I'd like to see bars below the numerical HP/SP values. It's a better visual aid, and more appealing to the eye. Just a personal opinion, though :P

Go Charlie! Wooo!

 

[Bascha]

Oh I see! So how does the script actually change the size of the picture? Does it simply crop a part of the picture?

It may just be my eyes but the, but are the "turns" pictures a little squished out of proportion?

Thanks again Charlie!

EDIT: I really like the idea of having HP and MP bars... but theres little room... Perhaps you could place the bar behind the hp and mp numbers?

 

[Venetia]

Yes, that's what I meant; if you used somewhat darker-colored bars, the text'd still be visible. It might look a little too "smooshed" though.

 

[Charlie Fleed]

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1712/75461089zb8.gif[/img]

 

[rotimikid]

hey carlie lee,

first off, that looks pretty good, but i don't like the way the battle status window is stacked up, because not everyone is going to use more than four party members. my game has a 3 party member limit for example. also, i have looked into the code, and i can't seem to find where the window for the faceset is. i would like to get rid of the faces as my game doesn't use them (partly due to a lack of artist). i would like to do that so that i can then position the turn bars higher up to have more room to show more bars and turns.

 

[Charlie Fleed]

Yours is a good point.
I'll add a configuration option to hide the face window and put the turns in higher position.
Finally if you don't have graphics for the turn you can show the names, there's a configuration option for that already.

stacked up? are you talking about the last screen or the previous one?

 

[rotimikid]

i know. i was talking about the face window that shows the active battler. previous screen. sorry, i didn't pay attention to the last one. the last one looks better. i think you should also add color changing health bars to make it so that they change colors based on your health to let you know how critical your health is.