What exactly is "ABS"?

[Monkeysnow55 The Cookie]

Every time I read ABS, though, in my head, I hear "abs."  Like, "I need to install some abs in my game.  It's swimsuit season."

You too? I made a status of that XD

 

[Wavelength]

It stands for "ABdominal muscleS".  As in, "Wavelength has great ABS."

...No?  No?  Alright then.  I tried.

To me, an Action Battle System is any RPG combat where both the user is constantly (or at least consistently) controlling spatial (position) and temporal (time) elements.  Among a few things that I believe are or aren't an ABS:

• Final Fantasy 7 is not an ABS because you do not control spatial elements.
• Skies of Arcadia is not an ABS because you do not control termporal elements.
• Quest 64 is not an ABS because you only control temporal elements at a few specific times throughout any given battle.

• Super Mario 64 is not an ABS because it does not resemble RPG combat (no transparent stats, extremely simple life counters, no ability to customize your character, much higher empasis on mastery of controls and mechanics than battle strategy)
• Goemon's Great Adventure is not an ABS (per the above); it is pure Platformer gameplay within an RPG.
• I'd argue that Legend of Zelda is not an ABS (per most of the above), though I know I'll find people who disagree on this one.
• On the other hand, Grand Chase's combat is an ABS despite not being in an RPG (it has transparent stats, heavy customization, and an emphasis on overall battle strategy, plus you are constantly controlling spacial and temporal elements).

• Final Fantasy 12 is an ABS.
• Dark Cloud is an ABS.
• Dark Souls is an ABS.
• The Elder Scrolls series is an ABS.
• The Star Ocean series is an ABS, despite the fact that battles take place on a separate map/scene.
• The Tales series is an ABS, despite battles on a separate map and in 2 dimensions for earlier entries in the series.

 

[JosephSeraph]

originally, though, the term was coined for games that tried to mimic this




(seiken densetsu/zelda/terranigma/etc)

I suggest investigating rm2k games if you really want to know. Then you can see where does that term come from. Those were goooood times..~

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

@Wave - FF7 was ATB. XD

As in, "Wavelength has great ABS."

Ahhh... me I have one AB

 

[Wavelength]

@Wave - FF7 was ATB. XD

Yep!  I thought it would be good to lay out exactly why, even though it's "active", an ATB is not a type of Action Battle System. =)

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Well, some people do mistake ATB from ABS.. but most of the times, it's because of a misread, not exactly due to the actual system.

 

[_Shadow_]

Work out your abs,

then check the car's ABS,

finally check XAS ABS and Khas ABS (google them) to see what an ABS is. 

 

[Zeriab]

I remember the same situation as JosephSeraph where ABS did indeed primarily mean an on-map active battle system.
ABS can stand for both Action Battle System and Active Battle System have, or least that is the usage I have spotted. Not that there is a whole lot of difference between those two.
Take for example this quote from Blizz-ABS: (a script for RMXP)

Using this script in your game will allow you to carry out battles on the map. Examples on commercial games for an ABS are The Legend of Zelda (various Nintendo consoles), Secret of Mana (SNES), Diablo 2 (PC), etc. Active Battle System also means real-time battle on the map.

Maybe the term has become more diluted and less used?
At least the term is not as bad as "Anti-lag" scripts. It doesn't lie.
 

*hugs*

 - Zeriab

 

[MisterTorgue]

Does anyone have any scripts that would assist in creating an ABS system?

 

[Gothic Lolita]

You can get it here:
http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/8809-falcao-pearl-abs-liquid-v3-update/

But it's pretty hard to use and limited for a one person battle. (\s/)

 

[_Shadow_]

You can get it here:

http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/8809-falcao-pearl-abs-liquid-v3-update/

But it's pretty hard to use and limited for a one person battle. (\s/)

Or maybe he can try the free Sapphire IV demo:

http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/4918-sapphire-action-system-iv/

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

But it's pretty hard to use and limited for a one person battle.

Doesn't Falcao's Pearl support AI party members?

Party system! your followers have a command to start fighting
- Followers are able to heal allies, player etc
- Smart targeting system, followers choose an individual enemy to attack
- Agro system, followers and player have a chance to get the agro of the enemy