RPG Maker Forums

               Okay, so, just a warning: I'm the type of user who doesn't like having to deal with really big numbers, doesn't know programming jargon, and at the moment has very little interest in scripts. I use RMVX Ace since just after Xmas, '13, and so far I haven't coded a single thing into scripting since I have NO IDEA what ANYTHING does in the script.

               Also, I'm going on a bit of a rant here. I've marked its beginning and end, so feel free to skip it. On that note, if you do read it, you don't have to like my opinion, but you didn't have to read it in the first place. 

               That said, I do believe that I could learn programming language given enough time, but I'm planning on pitching a commercial idea for a game VERY soon, and I just don't have time to learn it in order to do something that I think should be very simple.

               The game I'm making does use the combat system, and while I have my own personal gripes with the artistic style of the default battlers, the concept of a completely first-person battle screen in a largely menu-based RPG, and the lack of character portraits for the party and pointers for targets, most of those issues I can probably set aside for now in order to deal with the big one.

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               See, the combat system is quite adequate for most RPGs, but there's one thing that's just unforgivable for several reasons: everything happens too fast for you to comprehend what's going on!

Reasons for Unforgivability: (in order of most forgivable first, to least forgivable last)

1: The numbers that the combat system deals in by default are very, VERY big numbers. It is impossible to watch the skill/item animation, and read the usage message to determine who's doing what, and read the number to notice what's happened, and interpret the number as a sentimental value; i.e. 100 damage = 'Well that was weak' and 2,500 damage = 'ZOMG critical hit!' Obviously you can work around this by just starting from scratch and manually changing all of the numbers for A) Character Stats, Enemy Stats, C) Stat Boosts from Weapons and Apparel, and D) Effects of Usable Items, to be much lower, like a tabletop game; i.e. 1 damage = 'Well that was weak' and 25 damage = 'ZOMG critical hit!' So I'm not quite as miffed about that as I could be, but that process is still pretty annoying, especially if your basic arithmetic skill isn't so good (like mine).

2: A Turn-Based RPG is NOT fast-paced! One of the main reasons people still play turn-based games (outside of the nostalgia crowd) is that they want something that's slow and decisive, not quick and flashy. I sympathize with these people and want the same thing. I want the fighting to be tense, a bit scary, and strategic without being too mathematical. Whoever decided that the text crawl should go by so damn fast obviously didn't think the whole thing through. They just thought, "Kids these days like things to be quick and hard to comprehend, right? We're being so hip and modern here! " -_- I know the ADD crowd is highly profitable, but RPGs are not made for people with short attention spans.

3: I can see no way of slowing it down without scripts. That's kind of a problem in the creation tool that people get because they want to make something in their own unique way. Why is there not just some option in the database menus to determine how quickly everything goes in battle? Why do I have to make a special request to the community in order to fix such a seemingly simple, yet principle issue?

Whooo. Okay, I really needed to get that out of my system. And before you send me those angry comments about how I'm a hater and just here to rage against something that's a great service to us lowly mortals and is totally flawless in every conceivable way and how I should be so grateful and blah blah blah, just let me say: No. I don't hate RM. I love the very notion of RM's existence. But it (or at least RMVX Ace) isn't exactly perfect, and yes, there are some deliberate choices in the design of the system which I do believe counteract the intention of the program, directly or otherwise. Such as the incredibly small screen sizes that you can have, among what's mentioned above.

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               Okay, so you might have figured out from ^^^^^ exactly what my problem is, but just in case you didn't read it, or want a specific instruction, basically I want there to be some dead space between one combat action and the next, so that the player can actually both watch the animation, and read the text crawl, as opposed to having everything flash by the screen so quickly that you can't even chose whether to watch the flashy animation or read what's supposedly happening.

               As stated before, I have absolutely no experience in scripting, and don't really have time to learn it either, so please don't just post a code all on its own with nothing else, or tell me technical jargon I won't even understand. I've only gotten a look at the script menu before chickening out, and need to know exactly where to put a code if you post an edited script or what to edit if you're just telling me to go find a number and change it. Also, I've already tried just putting the dead space in the animations themselves, and am dissatisfied with the results, so please don't waste typing time just to treat me like an idiot. Of course altering the animation had already occurred to me. Doing that just leaves an awkward pause between a hit animation and the damage effect, if you must know.

               The most important part of my request is that I'd like to know how to change the combat speed myself, whether that's by giving me code to copy & paste, or fool-proof instructions on what to change in the script, I need to know how to find it, because in the copypasta case, your interpretation of 'comprehensible' is probably different from mine, especially with my custom text crawl messages.

               Now, I really don't want to clutter the forums with my topic, so as soon as my issue is resolved, I'd like for this topic to be open for discussion about whatever the community sees fit. As long as it somehow traces back to Combat Text Crawl, I guess. Point being, as soon as I get my slower combat, you guys can do whatever you want with this topic.

                                                               Thank you for your time,

                                                                                           -- Maddock

               AND FOR THE TL;DR-ERS:

                                   Screw you. You're not fit to help someone if you don't even have the patience to hear out their problems.