Daibouken: Floor 1 of Arben Temple

It's certainly been a while since the last Zelda video, but here it is. I decided to play my game again, hoping to finally figure out an answer to my question. That question was whether the battle system was worth the extra effort. Well, after playing through it, although the Neo BBS is not perfect, I realized that it was enjoyable and simple. I want to pay more attention to puzzle solving, so the battle system isn't any more complex than it needs to be.

Watch the video if you're interested.

Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers Breeding

(This is an excpert from a post I made on GamingW forums concerning improvements to my project. I'm no longer using the alchemy system, and instead, I've developed a breeding system akin to the Dragon Quest Mosnters games from which Monster Tamers is inspired)

Dragon Quest Monsters: Monster Recruiting/Breeding Script Project

U Division Style

Features:
*Recruit Monsters that you fight
*Add those Monsters to your team
*Breed those Monsters to make new ones
*Monster Genders (+ and -)
*Nicknames for monsters

Not Implemented:
*Wildness/Tameness Stat (I haven't figured out how this would help.)

Background:

This is something I'm working on for, what is essentially, a Dragon Quest Monsters (or Dragon Warrior Monsters) remake. Initially, I had no clue how to make such a thing so I used a different method of getting monsters. However, after learning of the powers of Arrays and the ".push" function (yes, laugh at my mishmash scripting knowledge) I realized I had a chance at doing this. Maybe because of years of RM2k/3, I've been taught to jump of the hurdle of insufficient knowledge by trying what you know, I've been able to produce a system that ignores my scripting inexperience. A prime example of this inexperience is that of which was mentioned before, and in addition some of the programming (mostly of the Battle Scene) is actually eventing using the "Call Script" command.

Despite all of this, I've come up with a product imitates the famed Mosnter System from the DQM series as much as I could. There are differences (mostly out of my own lack of knowhow and few for personal taste) and they do change things up a bit. Eventually, I would like to release this, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing it. Some of this is eventing, and others of it scripting, but none of it was created with the initial intention of making it public. Common Events are used, Game Switches, and lots of Global Variables show that I'm still new at this. At the least, I'll produce a demo of the game for which it is crafted but a standalone release of the script is still up in the air.

How Offspring Is Decided:

Ped1 = "First Monster's Name"
Ped2 = "Second Monster's Name"
Fam1 = "First Monster's Family"
Fam2 = "Second Monster's Family"

The game checks a predetermined array of monster combinations for a key that matches any of the following, and in the following order.

*Ped1, Ped2 (As specific as it gets. The unique result of two monsters)
*Fam1, Ped2 (Less specific. The result of the pedigree and the mate)
*Ped1, Fam2 (Reverse of previous. Specific monster with general family)
*Fam1, Fam2 (The least specific. The result of any monster from either family.)

I'm not sure if this is the best way I should set up the priorities, but it does follow the rules of breeding that the series put in place.

Walk Through: (Click pics for full size)


First you use the "Recruit" Skill during battle. The ease in which you recruit a Monster is based on your "Tamer Level" and their current HP. Much like Pokemon, whittling down an opponent's HP is to your advantage. Unlike DQM, you can't use an item to make your enemies like you more, but this is still a suitable substitute.

If luck is on your side, then monsters will join your party after battle. Unlike DQM, more than one monster can join you.

In the Monster Farm you can change your party, adding up to three monsters to your team. You do fight with your monsters, FYI.

And best of all, their is the Starry Shrine thing. The place where you can breed your monsters. Choose any two monsters (the first being a pedigree and the second the mate.) to breed from your farm and party. The parents of the monsters will run away, but the child will be at the level of the pedigree and will know both parents skills. This is a sizable change from the original games. Partly to get rid of having to grind a level one monster up later in the game, and partly because your loosing two monsters to gain one.

The way I've scripted breeding is as close to the DQM as it can be. It does matter who the pedigree is and who the mate is, because reversing the order will produce a different monster. For every combination of monster, there is an offspring. The only exception being monsters from the Boss Family. They will be a little more selective in that area.

And finally, you have your offspring. There will be no eggs to pay to hatch, you simply receive the monster and are ready to go. All new monsters are sent to the farm first, so you'll have to pick them up there.

Now you can fight with your new monsters.

If you have any questions or comments about this, please respond. If you'd like me to go into detail on any part of this, I'd be glad to do it.

Working Hard or Hardly Working? (PS: It's the former.)

Despite the complete absence of updates on the site, U Division has been hard at work on a new project. Well, new in the sense that information about it has not been released to the general public yet. I'd like to be able to tell you about it, but the very nature of the project won't benefit from that. In other words, I can't tell you about the game until it's finished. I know that the point of a blog with updates is just opposite of that, but I've decided to go against that. First off, you already know a lot about most of my projects. There's no point in getting your hopes up for another one. Secondly, the way the game is, demos will not work. This project undergoes drastic changes frequently, and it's the kind of game you want to play all the way through.