Help: Non-combat Party Member

[Beniwa]

I am wondering if I can do this via the vanilla engine or if I need a script for this, and which one, if anyone knows.

So, I am trying to create a Shin Megami Tensaiesque or even Pokemonesque type of game. I will have Actor 1 as my main character

(He/She walks around, interacts with people; basically the main character of the story) but he/she does NOT engage in combat.

I want actor 2 and 4 to be the actors to engage in combat. (Allowing Actor 1 and 3, which are humans) to be main characters, and 

actor 2 and 4 to be monsters (pets/companions) to do the actual fighting in combat. 

There is a video on youtube of someone pulling this off, but no idea how he/she did it.
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=6pJ6ejmospg

Any help would be appreciated! 

(I Swear, when I find how to do this, I am so making a tutorial of it!)

 

[Andar]

If you want to do this without scripts, you basically have to limit yourself to evented battles only, and remove the actors before battle processing, add them after battle processing and keep track of quite a number of details with variables like XP (the actor's outside battle won't get any from the battle, they need to get XP after being added again) or party position (the event command adds new actors at the end, so you would have to remove all actors after battle and add them in correct order again)

Not really difficult, but tedious work until the events (best done as common events called from the enemy map events) are working, and you'll have to keep your eyes on the details until everything fits together.

 

[Beniwa]

Ahhh... Figured that would be the case. Dang, that is a problem because since I give the the player the option to choose Male or Female at the beginning of the game and rename that gendered actor, I wouldn't want them removed from party. (since in chat, I need to pull up \N[p] for names. (there is a scene in which Party member 1 talks in combat.)

Ugh... I wonder if there are any scripts that may help with this situation. I've used a few in the past, but they don't help for this situation.

 

[Andar]

Ahhh... Figured that would be the case. Dang, that is a problem because since I give the the player the option to choose Male or Female at the beginning of the game and rename that gendered actor, I wouldn't want them removed from party.

Those points have nothing to do with each other. A renamed actor stays renamed no matter wether he/she/it is in the party or not.

The event commands display the default actor name to help the developer, but the functions work with the ID, not the name.

 

[Beniwa]

The event commands display the default actor name to help the developer, but the functions work with the ID, not the name.

Oh wow you're right! I can pull up a Actor's name, rather than a party member's name! Thanks, I'll give this a shot and see if I can properly put the player back in party after the fight.

*Edit*

Okay, So this is what I got.

I initiate a combat with a monster. As soon as the fight begins (Before the nameplates in the battle show up), I remove my character from the party. This leaves my minion

alone in the battle, as intended. At the end of the fight I put him/her back into the party... but when I leave the battle and return to the map, my minion is now leading the party... 

Oh man...

*Edit*

Okay, okay... I think I got something to work... but its fairly limited to one monster per battle. That is, that fighting multiple monsters in 1 battle really makes this a pain in the butt.

These are the commands I am using within the Troop's battle events.

The conditional branch female variable just tells the system whether I selected a female or male at

the beginning of the same. 

Now, in order to get the male or female main character to be at the front of the party, I need to remove Demonia (the minion) and add her back in, just in time for her to get EXP.

 

[Andar]

wrong place for the commands.

You should put the commands in the map event representing the monster, before and after the battle processing command that will call the battle.

That should make things a lot easier.

And as I said before, you have to remove your minions after the battle and add all actors in the correct sequence again.

 

[Beniwa]

You should put the commands in the map event representing the monster

I cannot do that. If i do then the player's graphics will change for a split second. I want it to be a smooth transition. 

 

[Andar]

I cannot do that. If i do then the player's graphics will change for a split second. I want it to be a smooth transition. 

Then things will be a lot trickier....

As you already discovered, there is no "battle-end" condition in default, and you had to use the immortal status to enable the HP=0 condition for the last enemy.

There is another way around it using scripts. Tsukihime made a script with additional battle event conditions, one of them specifically to be called after the last enemy dies.

You have to search for it in her blog (linked in her signature) as I don't have my link-list available at the moment, but if you install that script it should solve most of your problems.

Additionally, I suggest you

1) place both the pre-battle and after-battle changes into common events and call them in the troop events - that makes later changes a lot easier.

2) search for one of the scripts that copy events from the first troop to all other troops. That way, you only have to put these commands into one troop and not into every troop.

 

[Beniwa]

Tsukihime made a script with additional battle event conditions, one of them specifically to be called after the last enemy dies.

Additionally, I suggest you

1) place both the pre-battle and after-battle changes into common events and call them in the troop events - that makes later changes a lot easier.

2) search for one of the scripts that copy events from the first troop to all other troops. That way, you only have to put these commands into one troop and not into every troop.

Great Ideas! I've changed the event cmds to Call Common Events, which works beautifully I might add. And I have just tested Tsukihime's script.

Alone, the script works amazing, though it's shame its not compatible with Yanfly's Aftermath. I might need to scrap the ladder just to be able to keep

Tsukihime's script. It's super useful.

The Script was updated to allow compatibility.