Scenario RPGMaker Questions & Answers 111-120

( Millen )

Q111: Greetings Topaz!
i just wanna say that i LOVE scenario!! i haven't tried any other program before, but i will always use scenario because it makes sweet ass old school rpg's thanks.
I do have a question, could you put links to your resource sites? cause i can't draw worth crap and i would like a bit more variety to my rpg's. And also, is there any way to have more sprites, tiles, etc. on the current scenario without replacing the default ones? Thats all i want in the next version, an infinite amount of sprites and tiles and stuff like that. well later.

( Topaz )
A111: Greets Millen:

Hey ! Thanks for the compliment and very GLAD you like

! I'm gonna be getting a Gameboy Color from my Aunt pretty soon and she asked did I want that or a Gameboy Advance ? I've seen a lot of games for the Advance and they are 1st person perspective. Top-view (old school) RPGs have always been my favorite and always will be, so, I choose Gameboy Color over Advance. My favorite RPG for Gameboy is "Great Greed." Stupid name but outstanding RPG !
It's nice to find someone that enjoys top-view tile RPGs too !

Many of the sites I have gotten my Tiles, Sprites, and Critters from have been shut down !
I'm glad I snatched as much as I could years ago so I can share them today.
Click HERE to enter my Add-Ons page which has a little over 130+ images you can import directly into

, including Storyboards and new Music !

I have enough put away for at least a year of Add-Ons to

, but I'll want to do some extra digging around on the internet to get more for later.

Hope This Helps !

(Also, I've been asked in Email a few times now, why am I limiting distribution of future Scenario if it's 100% Freeware, why am I being so mean?) - Well, it's not that.. I talked with my Dad about it and he said he thinks it's a good idea what I'm doing and explained it to me.

My Dad is a Mensan and said MENSA is a group of people that believe they are the upper 2% of the population's intelligence. You cannot be in MENSA until you pass an I.Q. test.
If you don't pass the I.Q. test to Mensan standards, then you can't join MENSA, period.

Well, my test is simple. If you send me a world and I post it, then it shows you are indeed a very creative and highly intelligent person and worth the effort for me to help you as much as I can, including to personally send you new versions of Scenario bypassing my site when it is busy and locked bandwidth with other browsers and newcomers..

All posts I have made for send a world which have thoroughly cluttered up Scenario's webpages will be removed soon, and it is up to Newcomers to read this bit of message to see where I stand on issues.

That is all..

( Mahima Mekigido )

Q112: Hey Topaz, long time no me bother you huh?
Although I'm sure that Wren is about tired of the only person he needed to help ) anyways...I was just wondering. Is it easier to build a game, or build a game-maker and have it create the game for you.
I was just toying with the idea of making an RPG maker in C++ (although I would stick with scenario, as it rewlz...and when I to with ideas I usually drop them.).

( Topaz )
A112: Greets Mahima Mekigido:

Programming in C++ is no picnic ! I'm not even programming in that, nor would I want to. I wrote

in a prototype programming language that was originally for German Business Software. Aside from learning how to plot pixels on the screen, read the keyboard, read back pixels, and lock them on the screen so if another window covers them, it remembers what was underneath, the rest of

is my own programming. It is a dirt simple programming language requiring you to write your own graphic libraries, routines, and files, which I've done. GFABasic also have 3.7megs of variable space, the main reason I am using it. GFABasic cost me approx. $125 to get the registered version of the compiler imported from Germany. It has a very poor debugger, and was also originally designed for Windows 3.1 !

Writing the game itself will always be easier then writing an engine that creates games..
But when you finally do write an engine that makes games or RPGs, it is that much more valuable and powerful, and allows complete non-programmers to build games in your environ. Very satisfying feeling that..

Current GFABasic is 32-bit but in the German language only. It also did away with a lot of neat short-cuts I take advantage of in current 16-bit GFABasic.

If you are serious about writing games and/or Gamemakers, you should start in QBasic. There are a LARGE number of people out on the internet writing games and gamemakers in that programming language and you have excellent support from gamewriters worldwide.

GFABasic, I have about 2 people I talk with who speak English who taught me the plotting pixels and stuff (and that was 6-7 months ago - now there is no-one and GFA seems to be closing shop since Dale, one of the founders died a few weeks ago).

Current

(which I am going to post tomorrow) v0.092h fixes a lot of errors still in the system, and cleans up a lot of nuisance bits that some of you may be having to work around. Also Suzi's Quest is very refreshed, lots of tidbits added all over the place. You'll just have to see.. Also it now locks the Shadow and custom-music status with a saved game, and I have put back in critter-regeneration upon warping to a new map. CTRL-R to reset to Home position these variables.

Finishing up a merchant gives the Sprite (if beneath the player) another chance to run..
You can carry one Sprite Message from an entire different map now and then run the one beneath the player (where they warped to) once that prior Sprite Message is complete. This opens up lots of possibilities including being able to kibitz messages between attack rounds in combat. I have updated Suzi's Quest whack-the-thirteen-Slimes to show how to do this.

The player can now cross freely over SPACE and Stars/Moon. Clean-up on the run-the-next-Sprite beneath the player when the players controls were taken over by a different Sprite Message. This now works correctly with no errors and no way to bypass it by holding a key. Inside a Sprite Message,

has control of the arrow keys until it releases them.

I have also made a very workable version of the transforming a Sprite into a Critter without using a secondary map for the "Answers" world. I'll also post that tomorrow as well.

I'm starting to clean up Suzi's Quest to be a full workable game from beginning to end
so there will be a true quest involved and it will be not only a good series of examples but a story to show how to interlink all of these elements together.

Hope This Helps !

( Millen )

Q113: Hello again topaz, You are awsome man! you answer questions so quikly, thanx alot. (You betcha!)
anyway i gotta problem with the sprite manager. Here's the situation, my character needs to leave a village, but only after talking to the mayor, how do i make the village unlock by talking to the mayor? if i could get a nice detailed description on how to do it that would be rad Scenario rocks!!!!

( Topaz )
A113: Greets Millen:

You can download that by clicking HERE.

Remember that you use LitBulb

and NotLitBulbs

to make Inquiries and to change switches and flags.

Remember that ALL Sprite Messenger commands must be left-justified, that is, they are the first character on any of the 5-lines for that single Sprite Messenger Page.

You would set a flag after talking to the Mayor like so:

Remember that all flag references are caps-blind, that is, you can type them either lowercase or uppercase anywhere and they are always interpreted by

as lowercase.

Save off that Sprite message with the Mayor and go to the Guard blocking the entrance.
For him, you are going to check one flag and set a different flag:

For the Inquiry, it would simply be, just like you set the flag:

And for the GOTO, give it something easy to remember like:

You need to use the Terminate Icon

just PRIOR to hitting the page with your

label. Remember that Terminate tells

to EXIT after everything has been done on that page and not continue further.

Once the Gate Guard is satisfied that you have indeed talked to the Mayor, he bops on outta the way and lets you, Keiko, on your merry way !

This is making use of the seldom used Rotate Left

and Rotate Right

commands.
I am going to start trying to remember to use these more often in my examples and SuziQ.
Because we are using these instead of force-direction with the

facing either the
Player

, The Camera

, or the NPC

, then we can have them do the exact same thing and move sideways and back facing any direction because they are just rotating based on the direction they are already facing ! This is important to know. Here is a copy of the side-stepper below:

If you others want to use this code above for your Worlds, you are very welcome to do so !
The

following the

Pause Icon means to pause up to 3 steps.. It's the same as:

. You can apply any digits after commands like these, including arrows, Twists,
and Turns, movements, and backwards.

I will be using this side-stepping motion for the Gate Fairies when you purchase A Warper's Guild Membership card for

in new Suzi's Quest with next

release.

Remember that you are limited to 8 characters for your flag name. You can include special characters with it, but it is not suggested as it could get confusing later. It is better to just use all lower-case letters for flag-names, with the exception of that flag you want to appear inside the player's inventory. At this point, you must make the first character

used
for the player. (For those of you curious, her name is Tika and she's a Cutie !)

Also, if you are setting a flag that causes the map display to change, you must use the
MagicWand Icon

to tell

to fuzzle in the new map display once everything else has been run on this page.

You won't need the

anywhere in this example though because all of the Sprites either do not move or return back to their original position once their Sprite Message is finished.

(For more details, download the world file "answers" listed above or click HERE and press [Enter] on any of the Sprites in there to see how I did this.

Watch out for the Moat Monster,
and don't let the Mr. Mayor catch you walking on his roof!)

Hope This Helps !

( Millen )

Q114: Hello Topaz!! I am currently in the process of remaking Final Fantasy 7 (best game ever) for scenario.
I am looking for sprites of all the characters in the game, i can't find any on the net, i've tried drawing them myself but that is just a nightmare!!!
Do you know of any sites that would have sprites from final fantasy? or if not, how bout a sprite editor that is artisticly redarded proof. thanx again for the quik reply
So Long

( Topaz )
A114: Greets Millen:

First off, you should know there were no sprites used to make Final Fantasy VII for the characters.

It was all done with ray-tracing and polygons. If you are referring to Final Fantasy 2 Sprites, those are 16x16 in size. I don't have them. If someone would like to contribute them in .GIF 256 colors, I will clean them up, round the edges, and smooth the corners so they fit and look comfortably in Scenario's 32x32 Sprite size.

Final Fantasy 3 Sprites I believe are 16x24 so they are longer tall then wide across, which I could use, but I would need to pad out the left and right edges with space, and, once again, I do not have any of these Sprites either.

Regarding you re-doing Final Fantasy 7. Why re-do one of the best RPGs ever (and quite possibly get in trouble with Squaresoft)

and instead make a custom RPG of your own ?
It doesn't need to be very big.

Toulouse's game, Scenario Quest, is a good example of a small but complete RPG, and if you haven't played it from beginning to end, you should, it is well-designed and a merit to the

project.

Regarding a Sprite Editor. I have one planned for

that will be very close to the one I doodle my own pictures in. You will just have to be patient until I get there..

In the meantime, I recommend you either use the ones provided in my Add-Ons area. You can go there by clicking HERE. Or search the internet for other Sprites.

Hope This Helps !

( F.I.A )
Greetings,Topaz!
Still working on the world.
Hope the boss mode will be finished soon(Wished to see my boss working).
Also hoped that you like the snap pictures I sent to you!

( Topaz )
Hi F.I.A:

Boss Mode is getting finished up ! I should have it done before the 14th.

Also, the pictures you sent were fine but please send me some pictures of the work you are doing in Scenario instead !

( Wolfette )

Q115: How do I make critters come back to life again when re-entering an area where they have been killed?

Q116: How do I make a critter drop something when it's killed? Like a new sword?

*LOVE* Scenario! Only started working with it a couple of days ago, and I must say that I'm having a ball and can't wait to get this game finished

lol!! it's going to be a biggy, so I'll email it to you when it's finished

( Topaz )
A115: Greets Wolfette:

Critters automatically come back to life after you have left their lair (map) and returned later. Make sure you are using

v0.092h. Their return is based upon the player's level. If the level is really low then ALL critters will be returned once defeated. Later in the game, Slimes will never return but all other critters will.
Eventually the player becomes strong enough so the first 6 or so Critters in the list will not return and then the player can focus on the more difficult ones.

A116:

You can download the newly updated "Answers" world by clicking HERE.

Look to Suzi's Quest at: 00/52/07 (that is the first map, Outside). Notice there is a Shazy cel with the switch, "Sandy." When you defeat "Sandy" the Salamander (who also has the switch of "Sandy,") then the switch will be activated. Because the player is sitting on top of a matching switch, it will then and only then be activated after Sandy is defeated.

Therefore, if for instance, you wanted Sandy to give you a present after being defeated, you would just add to the Sprite Messenger the player is sitting on when she is defeated:

For instance, to give the player a 7th level Weapon.

If you reversed the Shazy to non-hidden by hitting "H", the Sprite Message would be run before combat began since the switch for Sandy will initially be OFF.
It is important to remember this. Because for your example, you want the Sprite Message to run after (where the switch "Sandy" is getting set only after she is defeated), then you need to have that cel Hidden with the "H" key, (where it looks shazy) which means the Sprite Messenger will run if the flag is Lit

and will not run if it is not lit

.
I have included two examples in your "Answers" room.

Apologies for not posting your message entirely, I must've missed it ?
I really do appreciate your compliments on my work ! It means a great deal to me and I will definitely do what I can to make a good system for you to build a good RPG in !

As for sending the world, sounds great ! If you like, I'll post it too. I'm not so much looking for polished and packages and instead am looking for enthusiasm and interest which will fuel the development of a RPG long after I look at the humble beginnings of it, and further my knowledge on what next to add for a good system for everyone to enjoy and make good use of.

Hope This Helps !

( Millen )

Q117: Hello topaz, I am giving up on the final fantasy idea as i could not find any sprites of the characters, but i have another game in the works called "Millen" I have very high hopes for this game and there will probably be a bunch of sequals for it as i probably will not be able to fit it in one wrl. file.

But i have one problem, I need more room for characters!!! i have only built 2 towns already and i don't wanna just have the same character for everything (e.g. house husband for every single weapon shop, house wife for every inn) It would be really cool if the importing of
sprites would involve the sprite menu (the place where you pick your characters sprite) adding your imported sprite as well as keeping all the original sprites.

This way you could add unlimited (or limited to like 100) sprites to the game, which i really really need.

Keep up the good work my friend.

( Topaz )
A117: Greets Millen:

This is a common complaint and one I can fix pretty easily. I will allow room for up to 28 sprites although with the arrow keystrokes, you still just initially choose the 12. Hit the "#" (pound sign) key - it will have a line of help at the bottom, and enter in a number from 0 - 27 ! You can also select the earlier non-selectable Boat & Airship, this way.

This will only be a patch until I make a nice set-up where you can have the infinite amount through an updated Filebox for future

. Look for this patch in next posted update (hopefully boss combat will be active by then!)

To insert Sprites beyond the usual #00 - #13, insert a bitmap file the same arrangement as normal Sprites, you can go to that webpage for selections and arrangement by clicking
HERE. Instead of the limit to spr13.bmp, you can go to spr27.bmp to access the 28th Sprite and add it as an Add-On. This will only be a temporary fix until I get future

ready for an infinite # of Sprites by having it's own internal importer to convert bitmaps to "*.SPR" files, a format unique and native only to

with the filename being not digits, but the name of the Sprite itself.

I will add this extension to Critters as well.. Now as for Tiles, I can only extend them to 100 which may not be the very best thing..

Tiles - #00 - #99 - Tiles after #70 have NO definition and are treated much like any default FLOOR or WALL. The Boat can never cross them, and the Airship will always be able to travel through them.
Sprites #101 - #128 - Sprites after #14 do not have any special properties and animate the same speed as Little Boy/Girl/Hero/Heroine.
Critters - because Boss or Special-Critter Combat is being added to

, there will be no change here, which is just as well as I would have to somehow have definitions for beyond 24 Critters and that would thoroughly require changing all my tables referring to their elemental strengths, weaknesses, hits, experience points to gain, and gold gained.

Look for all of these changes with next posted update of

Hope This Helps !

( Topaz )
Thank you, F.I.A !

For your two earlier submissions of a new Critter and Boss for Scenario's Add-Ons !
I will list you and include them in the next update for Add-On's in Scenario !

( Wolfette )

WOW!!!! Thank you very much Topaz

lol!! This idea for a game of mine just keeps growing and growing! hehehehe!! my hubby told me last night that he's not going to buy me any more software cause I keep getting so involved in stuff

Well, I think he's going to pleased with this effort once it's finished... I'll have a small version to you, Topaz, soon... it's getting to big in my head right now! lol! what I'm doing now is learning how to make sprites, critters, and tiles for the *BIG* one!
Even our son and his wife can't wait to see what I'm dreaming up... but like all good things it's going to take time!
Once again...
*THANK YOU* very much! for the most perfect thing I've downloaded either paid or free

( Topaz )

This is very kind of you, Wolfette ! Thank You !

I think this is the most complimentary message I have received to date !
It certainly does very well for me and inside my head and shows me that maybe I did write a pretty good program after all !

That's - very good.. If you have any suggestions on what you would like in the system, especially to assist you in your Worldbuilding endeavors, just let me know. This is an open project and can travel in many different directions; some all at once.

I am very - pleased, that you are enjoying my program so much and it is for people like you that I especially want my system to grow and gain in mastery and ability..

You are very welcome, Wolfette. I am glad to to be able to design such a good program for you, your family, your friends, and for all of you !

( Goth Child )

Q118: How do you make warps between maps and how do you make warps go between worlds for an extremely big rpgs

( Topaz )
A118: Greets Goth Child:

If you just want the player to warp to a new map by touching a new cel, like a door or City/Castle Tile, just hit [Enter], select Warp, Invisible, and Location.

From there, put the cursor where you want the warp to go to ! Remember to use the square bracket keys of "[" and "]" to change between the 16 maps and the arrow keys to move to the desired location on that map.

When you are satisfied with the location press [Enter] and a new question will pop up asking if you want to make a return warp. Usually you would say No as it would copy the contents of the tile it warped From to paste in your new location.
You'll get the notice Warp Entry Complete, and you're done !

If you want to warp to a new map from inside the Sprite Messenger, then you need to look to the example I have written in the Answers world for Wren Pheonix at location:
01:05/21 . Ultimately you cannot warp to a new map from inside the Sprite Messenger so you must Warp Surf into an existing warp, and usually that warp is outside of reach where the player cannot touch it without the Warp Arrow.

You cannot warp between .WRL files. When they are in a .WRL format, they are compressed and cannot be accessed unless the world you are working on is closed and that new one is opened. Future

will allow for 100 maps which will be better then the current 16 limit so you will not feel the need to try to expand your Worldbuilding into multiple .WRL files.

Hope This Helps !

( Mahima Mekigido )

Q119: now I'm sure this has been gone over before...or something like that...but I ran into a problem.
I need to do something like you read a book (touch the sprite that looks like a book) but just as it gets interesting another sprite comes walking in.
So you click on the book, and you read a few pages, but just then someone walks in and you stop. are you confused yet?

( Topaz )
A119: Greets Mahima Mekigido:

No, this is not too difficult.. I won't call it too good a question though since it's for a very specific and unusual case..

However, I have posted it as a new example in the "Answers" world file. You can download the latest version of that by clicking HERE.

Briefly remember that if you use the Timeout Icon

that the Sprite Messenger will wait for one second and set a flag inside the Sprite Messenger for that single page so the player
will not need to press a key to continue to the next page, it will be entered automatically.

Using this Timeout, you can synchronize events of the Sprite Messenger Text Appearing, movements from the Camera, the Player, and the NPC.

It should also be noted that if you want to reset all of the events for the "Answers" world, you should hit [Tab] to enter Testplay, [Esc], File, Load Game, and then select a
New Game. This will reset all of the flags, player's inventory, and status, so you can see each Answer before any flags are changed.

Hope This Helps !

( Tony A.)

Q119: question that has to be on everyone's mind.
If I am currently building a world, and I update to .0092i will I have to redoe my whole thing?

( Topaz )
A120: Greets Tony A.:

* Not at all..
My Suzi's Quest is very important to me as a teaching tool and it will always be
upwards compatible and is compatible with v0.092i; the same as any of the worlds you have built or plan to build in the future.

I also did have a nervous breakdown .. I was hospitalized for a few days. (had to eat yucky Hospital Food - Blech ! ) But I'm better now.

I am going to slow down the updates (and get outside more often!) and only major Webpage and .EXE updates to Scenario once a month. I am still just one person and sometimes maintaining this website and/or updating Scenario with new features wears me out a bit ..

Hope This Helps !

( If you would like to link me, please use this picture, it's just under 10k )