What's up, RMers?

[DerVVulfman]

If you are having problems reading the help file (typical instructions when reading help file used outside of a program):

1. Right-Click the help file .chm
2. Select Properties
3. Click the Unblock button at the bottom of the Properties dialog (above the OK and Cancel buttons)
4. You should now be able to read the CHM file.

[Ahzoh]

Ah, thank you, now I can read it.


I've come across the important decision of whether I'll make a city have 120,000 x 90,000 squares of area to match the size of the city on my map (the one in the link in my above post called "Uzer").
It's a pretty important city, being the capital, but I'll have to figure out what to do with content, and of course it will be divided into several maps.

[Bounty Hunter Lani]

I will get into copyright in a post within the next few days. Things are ridiculous, so I think it's time it got mentioned.

Nintendo forced an RMXP fangame called Pokemon Uranium to take their game down.
The people claim they took it down themselves, but they had been receiving takedown notices from Nintendo's lawyers, and Nintendo is known for bullying small people with lawyers for using a single resource, or more than a single resource, on stuff that does not even make money. They take down videos unless they make 60% of the money on the video, and even if the video doesn't make money at all, they FORCE monetization on them.

Be VERY careful with what resources you use, because you don't want this to happen to your game(s) either.

---

Ahh, but what am I up to, I wonder?

Well, recording should begin in a day or two, and then I'll upload the video itself.   

Should be good... hope you'll all enjoy it! I do have questions about credit for it, though.
Do I need to credit in the demonstration video at any point? I feel like I should, at least in the description or something. Any thoughts? 

[DerVVulfman]

Quickie and cool credits If the battlesystem comes into view, have something animated slide in "Battlesystem by Charlie Fleed" If the music begins a triumphant fanfare, have "Original Score by Roy Khan and Alissa White-Gluz" zoom into view.... Be creative.

[Ahzoh]

So I managed to get enemies to go at a more.. satisfying frequency and speed although they don't behave quite as I'd expect them to. They move towards the player character but then they randomly move away and then come back again instead of focusing on attacking my character.

[Bounty Hunter Lani]

It seems that the demonstration video will take a bit longer, since I'll have to do some creative edits for the credits, but at least it'll be worth it   
Crediting is very important, friends. 

Also, it cannot be stressed enough that if you are not sure of a resource's permissions, or if you're allowed to make a fangame at all, ASK THE CREATORS.
There are quite a few Tales of Phantasia animated battlers about, and Bandai Namco is a stickler for copyright. However, if you're not making money from it, I believe they'll let you get away with using those battlers like they do with Youtube videos containing their product.
The problem is, I NEVER ASKED. Do not take my word for it!

But Lani! What do you do if you don't know the permissions for something?
Be careful, and ask before releasing! Normally it takes a bit of time for a company to reply on something like this, but in reality, it's easier than getting a team of lawyers on your butt after you released a demo or the full game!   

I had to ask Bandai Namco about the permissions for my Tales of Phantasia playthrough, and I found out their policy on the subject of Youtube in 2 days!
THAT'S NOT A VERY LONG WAIT!!!

Even if someone claims you have permission to use the resource of something from a game, do a check anyway. You do NOT want to end up another person in internet hiding after a company's lawyers take down your game or piece. Caution is a very good thing, and so is permission. (Or lack of condemnation, in some cases)

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go ask for permission to use some Tales of Phantasia battlers 

[Ahzoh]

I think I might try out the Blizz ABS, see if it can fulfill my purposes. There are even tutorials on it. Ah, but the system seems so old that I do not know if it receives current support for any problems I might encounter.

[DerVVulfman]

Pity.  As I labor on a few tasks, I have another idea or two for Lycan (and that includes splitting Diagonal Actions from Diagonal Movement).  One idea...  strafing control.



Okay, the graphics are about done with the Quest system. Not only will the scroll graphic backgrounds have an opacity/transparency setting you can adjust, but so too will the animated background. Of course, you can adjust how the background scrolls. Yep, Steel Beast 6Beets, the background is the checkered one from Moggy's systems.

I have a few more tweaks to add to the actual quest system graphics before cleanup of the rendering code. After that, I get into simplifying the code that adds, closes and removes the quests.

---

EDIT: Why didn't someone tell me that I had a bug with the Lycan ABS's paperdoll system!!!!!

DerVVulfman: Aaaaarrrrgh!
DerVVulfman: .................... one ...... word.... was all it was
DerVVulfman: ONE EFFIN WORD
BountyHunterLani:
Korekame: Oh, DerVVulfman, the Paperdoll system has a bug when used with the Lycan system.
DerVVulfman: funny

Just so you know, it is a single word in each method within my RPG::Cache code beginning around line 460 of the paperdoll script (be it the Story 1 or Story 2 demo you choose)

While the code reads

Code:

def self.equipment(filename, hue=0)
  begin
    self.load_bitmap("Graphics/"+Paperdoll::CACHE_DIRECTORY+"/", filename, hue)
  else
    self.load_bitmap("Graphics/"+Paperdoll::CACHE_DIRECTORY+"/", "", hue)
  end
end

replace the 'else' statement with the word 'rescue' to look like this...

Code:

def self.equipment(filename, hue=0)
  begin
    self.load_bitmap("Graphics/"+Paperdoll::CACHE_DIRECTORY+"/", filename, hue)
  rescue
    self.load_bitmap("Graphics/"+Paperdoll::CACHE_DIRECTORY+"/", "", hue)
  end
end

And do the same for the method below. I'm going to fix this in a replacement upgrade soon. But I'll post this in the meantime. (lousy reason for a bump).



  Untitled.png (Size: 119.12 KB / Downloads: 56)

[Ahzoh]

Strafing would be pretty neat.

[Ahzoh]

I learned that one of my cities is mathematically too large for RPG maker, since it is 130km x 75km in area and that would amount to 39,000 maps to cover it all.