On Death Options

[Anruth]

First off, I'd like to say this is my first post and I have only had RPG Maker Ace since Christmas. 

It is one of the best gifts I have ever recieved. I am very excited about the possibilities.

I started a dungeon crawler  just to help me learn the database, eventing, etc, etc, ..... basicly learn everything.

One of the things I'd like to eventually place in my game is an option for how the game handles the players death.

I was thinking of having an Options menu off the Start menu with the following choses:

PermaDeath: No saves, You die you start from square one. Basicly like the Roquelike games.

Normal : After death you Load up your last save and continue on. Basicly the RPGMaker default system.

Penalty System: Player loses a X amount of Exp, Gold, etc and is transfered back to town/start point/ wherever. With saving   games possible.

I'm thinking this shouldn't be to hard to do. Choosing the option sets a flag that is referenced at the time of the players death. Then the game executes the needed script. 

What do you guys think? (About the idea, the death choses, the difficulty of getting it done) 

 

[Kes]

Thinking realistically - how many players are going to actively choose to be penalized?

 

[Zoltor]

I suggest Perma death should allow saving, just if you die, your save file is deleted(as far as I can see, there no command option to tamper with the actual save files, however I'm sure someone has a simple script that can delete the save file) as we all know, not being allowed to save in a RPG, is very bad.

Well It's fairly easy to do, but It's more involved then you think.

Having options turn on a switch is correct, but unless you want to deal with a custom scripts(pretty complex one will be needed to define all three options, as well as carrying all that out), you'll need 3 copies of every enemy troop in your game, as well as thre sets of each non town map in your game. You see since your dealing with char deaths, which occur in battle, you need to the enemy troops dictate what happens when you die if you want to do anything other then the default(unless you use a script).

Basically you are literally creating 3 versions of the same game, everything is an exact duplicate with the exception of the troops(which will proc upon your char death/HP hits 0).

To ksjp: Considering It's a Dungeon Crawler/RPG, a lot(people play such specifically for the difficulty, and danger).

 

[Anruth]

Thanks for the responses.

kspg: I thought of doing the different On Death options because in my peer group, I know people that would prefer one over the other.

I myself would and do prefer a penalty system. (I don't really like permadeath. It would have me weeping in my pillow.) 

I want to really think about the moves and choices I make and have consequences for bad choices.

As Zoltar noted it adds to the tension and sense of danger.  

"One does not simply walk into Mordor." - Boromir"

Zoltar: Thanks for pointing out that the permadeath option would require saving games. I wasn't thinking it through enough. I probably would have realized it after starting implementation. Very few of us can play straight though a dungeon crawler without saving. Erasing the save file on death is the way to go. This adds the questions: What if a "clever" player saves twice and we only erase the last save? How do we prevent erasing games using other characters?

"Oh what a tangle web we weave, when our goal is to create an awesome rpg!" - Me

I was thinking four scripts for the back end: The first Would check the Flag and call one of the 3 on death scripts. In the game I been working on now I don't have randon encounters, but sprites that trigger the battle. I have it so that if you are defeated in battle you lose gold and exp and are transfered to the graveyard. This is done by calling a common event.

I've been poking around the scripts adding a simple change here and there, nothing major. But, yes scripting would be the best way to handle this. Not sure if a common event would be able to do what is required for the Permadeath option. The other 2, I think could be easily handled with common events, because one is pretty much just the default handling and the other I have working in my current project.

 

[Zoltor]

Thanks for the responses.

kspg: I thought of doing the different On Death options because in my peer group, I know people that would prefer one over the other.

I myself would and do prefer a penalty system. (I don't really like permadeath. It would have me weeping in my pillow.) 

I want to really think about the moves and choices I make and have consequences for bad choices.

As Zoltar noted it adds to the tension and sense of danger.  

"One does not simply walk into Mordor." - Boromir"

Zoltar: Thanks for pointing out that the permadeath option would require saving games. I wasn't thinking it through enough. I probably would have realized it after starting implementation. Very few of us can play straight though a dungeon crawler without saving. Erasing the save file on death is the way to go. This adds the questions: What if a "clever" player saves twice and we only erase the last save? How do we prevent erasing games using other characters?

"Oh what a tangle web we weave, when our goal is to create an awesome rpg!" - Me

I was thinking four scripts for the back end: The first Would check the Flag and call one of the 3 on death scripts. In the game I been working on now I don't have randon encounters, but sprites that trigger the battle. I have it so that if you are defeated in battle you lose gold and exp and are transfered to the graveyard. This is done by calling a common event.

I've been poking around the scripts adding a simple change here and there, nothing major. But, yes scripting would be the best way to handle this. Not sure if a common event would be able to do what is required for the Permadeath option. The other 2, I think could be easily handled with common events, because one is pretty much just the default handling and the other I have working in my current project.

Yea, there are in theory ways to cheat, and in such a case, there's a couple ways you can handle it, make it so there's only one save file, make it so you can only save on the initial save file you used at the start of the game or allow no manual saving at all(aka have a auto save feature in the game).The first two options would require some kind of script to override the layout of the save feature, when it is procced, while the third option would require a script to def the Auto Save proc, as well as having system checks based on the actions the player may make(generally everytime a player takes a step or the less strict option, every time player returns to town).

 

Just so you know, you don't have to create a event on a map to control that(Just go to database-Troop, under the troop format/enemy graphics section is a event box, add your commands, conditions, and what happens after you die there. Then you use the region setting on the map editor to add the troops you created whom have all the commands you just added, to that region on the map.

 

Loss of Gold/XP shouldn't even need a common event, just use the change Gold/XP commands, as well as the move to map ID Graveyard in the troop's event box(which is conditioned to go off when a char dies/hp reaches 0)

 

[Anruth]

Zoltar: I'm thinking one save for the permadeath option, that is erased on death. Never was much of a fan of auto saves. Auto saving every step! Yikes. 

Wouldn't that slow the game down a bit?

I do like the save on the return to town idea. This would give the town a heightened sense of safety.

Thanks for pointing out the Troop Eventing Box. Seen it while poking around, but it never register in my brain on using it. I'll be using now. This will be great. I did want to have some random encounters, if I eventually had an overland map.

Side note: I just signed up for a Ruby course on Udemy and found DiamondandPlatinum3's videos on youtube. So, hopfully scripting more complex things won't be a problem for long.

 

[Zoltor]

Zoltar: I'm thinking one save for the permadeath option, that is erased on death. Never was much of a fan of auto saves. Auto saving every step! Yikes. 

Wouldn't that slow the game down a bit?

I do like the save on the return to town idea. This would give the town a heightened sense of safety.

Thanks for pointing out the Troop Eventing Box. Seen it while poking around, but it never register in my brain on using it. I'll be using now. This will be great. I did want to have some random encounters, if I eventually had an overland map.

Side note: I just signed up for a Ruby course on Udemy and found DiamondandPlatinum3's videos on youtube. So, hopfully scripting more complex things won't be a problem for long.

If NES games can do it, I'm sure the RPG Maker's engine can do it(it would automatically save behind the scenes, it wouldn't proc a save menu or anything, nor should there be any lag at all)

Yea np.