Variables organization, workflow

[Tommy Gun]

So far I've just been messing around and learning RM, but I'm about to start a real project. I like to keep things organized -- how do you do it? Is it okay to leave a lot of blank variables? For instance:

1 - 20: dedicate to my farm system, even if I only use 5 of them.

21 - 40: dedicate to the bank system, even if I only use 8.

etc.

I figure an empty variable is simply ignored, and won't use up much (if any) space, so it should be fine. Is that true? Is there any other reason this might be a bad idea? Same question goes for items, common events, etc. I might make a fake item named "*** CATEGORY ***" every 20 items or so.

Is there no other way to access your variables/switches (to rename them, etc.) other than opening an event, and clicking all the way through (4 windows)? I know you can view them while playtesting, but I just mean while editing. It seems odd there's no variables tab in the database.

Any other tips for workflow or organization? If I make a full game, it's going to get pretty complex, so I want to start it the right way.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

yes, there's no other way to access them AFAIK.

 

[Shaz]

If you plan as much out as you can beforehand, you can use a spreadsheet (or anything capable of keeping a list - which includes a notebook) to allocate variables and switches. Then leave a few empty slots for "just in case".


I find this more important with things in the database - items, weapons, skills - where you want related/similar things to be grouped together. With variables and switches, if you have numbers that are a couple of hundred apart but still have to do with the same things, the player isn't going to know it (it might make it a bit harder for you, but it won't reflect in the game).

 

[Tommy Gun]

I find this more important with things in the database - items, weapons, skills - where you want related/similar things to be grouped together. With variables and switches, if you have numbers that are a couple of hundred apart but still have to do with the same things, the player isn't going to know it (it might make it a bit harder for you, but it won't reflect in the game).

Oh, I'm only talking about making it organized for myself. I know it makes no difference how far apart variables are, but if I copy an event, but need to change ALL the variables it uses, it's easier to keep them all grouped together. Or if I just need to find one variable later in the game, it's much easier if I know all the farm variables are grouped. Otherwise I'd be looking through the whole list (and might even get confused with similar variable names, whereas it's easier to pick the right one if they're all together).

 

[Zoltor]

Oh, I'm only talking about making it organized for myself. I know it makes no difference how far apart variables are, but if I copy an event, but need to change ALL the variables it uses, it's easier to keep them all grouped together. Or if I just need to find one variable later in the game, it's much easier if I know all the farm variables are grouped. Otherwise I'd be looking through the whole list (and might even get confused with similar variable names, whereas it's easier to pick the right one if they're all together).

Just name name after the function you give them/the event It's used to control, that's.all.

 

[Shaz]

It's still in development, but you might find this useful.


It's already in a usable format, though you might encounter a bug every now and then (which I'd like to know about, in that thread).

 

[Andar]

A lot of people do this, even in the default new project you can see it in the skills tab of the database.


However, a few points you should keep in mind before starting with this:


Skill #1 (Attack), Skill #2 (Guard) and State #1 (Death) are hard-coded in the engine. you can change their values and effects to adjust them to your game, but you should never change them to a title/group-line.


If you want to change that, you'll need to edit the scripts that call those skills as well.


That form of organisation works better if you do some pre-planning. You will use some of the empty slots during development, and the more preplanning you do, the less additional slots you use up. If you haven't done enough preplanning, you'll need to add more variables than you had empty slots and the next needed variables are scattered to the end of the list, invalidating part of your structure.

 

[mlogan]

This is exactly how I've started organizing variables and items.  I do just as you said with the variables - the first in the group of 20 is a title like "Farm Variables" and then the variables are after that. It just helps me find them more easily.  And items I will do the same. I have an alchemy crafting system so number 20 might be "Plants" and then it is followed by the plant items, 40 may be "Metals" and so on.

The only other tip I can think of right now is to title your events well. It's easy to get going and forget to change it from "Event 001" or whatever the default is, but it will be helpful in the long run.