Hi, david, do u have a plan upgrading scenario?? i know it's complete, do u want to stay scenario's battle sequence just only one character?? why not make 3 or 4 characters??

HI, Jed here, to let you know that this board is still active.
In the events that David isn't here to answer, there's me at least :P

If you check the main website, geocities.com/dw817 you'll discover the bulletin that reveals the most recent of David's thoughts on Scenario, drop him a line with your ideas.
But I do recall that multiple characters was a consideration for a future scenario, based on a party of people with different skills.

The concept of this is a very powerful tool for playing rpgs, and brings about a depth of strategy as you have the different style among your party: white mage(healer), red mage(attacking magic), warrior-type, blue mage(status??), summoner, thief etc. These are regulars in the final fantasy series at any rate.

Aww, that's good ol' Jed for ya! always takin up the admin's slack in our absence.

Hi Guys:

* I'll let you know what's happening here.

First off, Basic4GL has proven itself to be way too unwieldy to do all the data and complex work of Scenario. This is what I am working on NOW.

There will be 3 EXEs.

1. Scen3.exe - the main engine (I've been working on this for a week now)
2. Scenplay.exe - specifically the Testplay engine (not yet written)
3. ScenGL.exe - what you VIEW all the time (nearly complete !)

How it works is you run Scen3.EXE, it in turn asks if ScenPlay.EXE is ready by IXTOing it. If it's not ready, it loads it up and asks again if it's ready.

The same is done with ScenGL.EXE. If both are ready then you can start Worldbuilding.

The ScenGL.EXE does ALL the graphic work, smooth animations, sprites, etc.
It will have routines both Scen3.EXE and Scenplay.EXE can call such as:

map map,x,y (scrollmap liquid smooth)
fx scriptno (special FX)
playogg music.ogg (public-domain better compression than Mp3 music)
playmod music.mod, *.xm, *.it, etc. (familiar music format better than MIDI)

etc.

The reason is clear.
Basic4GL is a WONDER at high speed graphics and with liquid smooth scrolling maps and the ability to control over 1000 sprites independently with alpha transparency effects and full rotation with no slow down is WAY too tasty to pass up. Also for the fact it can play OGGs, MODs, and all variants.

Scen3.EXE will do all the headwork. It has NO real graphics in itself except for a simple status window. When a graphic text window is needed, a selection from a menu, scrolling map, swirl to combat, etc. then it calls on ScenGL.EXE

The Scenplay.EXE I am going to try something experimental.

First off, you need to know NO window or program needs to be in focus in order for it to work.

Therefore when you enter Testplay, you are actually still viewing the Scen3GL.EXE window, a command is sent to scen3.EXE to wait until Scenplay.EXE calls it that it is back in command, and then a message is sent to Scenplay.exe to no longer ignore messages but listen to ScenGL.EXE as we have entered Testplay mode.
And additionally all new messages to ScenGL.EXE are now coming from the Testplay module.

Phew ! Is that enough on my dinner plate ?

But once you do it is immediately recognized as the active window and "catches up" rather quickly to what you've done in the map editor (actually it trails along in it's head internally until it's window is in focus so it really will be fast Testplaying indeed).

Because Scenplay.exe is completely separate from Scen3.exe, compiling a world file to a single .EXE will use EXACTLY the same engine as Scenplay.exe, so no surprises from debugging and testplaying world files. It will run EXACTLY the same as Testplay from the map editor since it is exactly the same program. :)

Think that's about it !

Hope This Helps !

David

Hey David! :D

I've got a question however!

A) will this be compatiable with old Scen2 world files?

B) Will it be able to play Midi files? (My sister is a musician and she writes midi music for me! I have no OGG Vorbis player!)

That's all!

[keeps cheering on David in the Scen Development department!] B)

P.S. Come up for air sometime from Programming Land, okay? :P

Hello Worldbuilders:

* It has been - some time since I wrote in here.

Spinner, I don't think there will be much compatibility, especially since there are only 64 tiles.

Nearly everything in a project gets rewritten the 2nd time around. ~.^

I am going to just finish my RPGMaker for GBA, period.
There is a RPGMaker for WinXP written by ASCII/AgeTec and, although it is complicated as all hell, quite a few people are Worldbuilding in it, and I tried out one very well written RPG in it and am impressed; it would be difficult to match the scope of their system.

GBA Scenario progresses.
What is in the package and what can be changed by the Worldbuilder within 64k SRAM limited space ?

1344 Script-lines & variables for world definition

fully customizeable 16-color palette

R/G/B tint adjust without affecting colors (to make orange more flesh tone)

16 maps each 25x25 with placement of Tiles, Sprites, and script definitions
to each and an 8-char. reference name to each map for linked switch ability

64 16x16 pixel tiles with animated water, and ability to place tiles INSIDE a
structure so you have two views, normal, and when you are inside and can
see past the ceiling covering a structure, but then not outside the structure.

16 16x16 pixel Sprites with face direction UDLR and animationx2 step
yielding 8 images to each of the 16 sprites

16 16x16 pixel Critters, single image per critter, they will bounce a bit while
waiting for attacks. Combat will be ON the map directly, no combat backdrops.

21 customizeable 8x8 pixel icons for use in scripting (building your own custom Sprite Messenger commands) or to denote item types in gameplay

Customizeable border for game windows, 8 tile pieces each 8x8 pixels

Customizeable 16x16 pixel game cursor

Customizeable 96-char. 8x8 pixel font (includes both UPPERCASE and lowercase)

There will be MUSIC and SOUND to play as well during Testplay and map editing, but I am PROBABLY going to include this last.

The ENTIRE world file is stored in a single 64k SRAM file

There is no room in the 64k SRAM for:
- Combat Backdrops
- Anime Portraits
- Storyboards
- Custom clouds
- Custom Music
- Custom Sound Effects
- (quite possibly transports, this is still in the air)

Some unique features outside current Scenario include ability to record map names when entering them for the first time to line them up for ability to cast or use an item for WARP to a city just outside the gates like:

@Map Definition
[MapAddWarp]Joaxchim

Done !

So once you enter a map that has this part of the map definition, the step PRIOR
to warping (entering) here will be recorded with that warp name. So when you warp to Joaxchim, you will appear exactly one space BEFORE you appeared here, effectively, one space away from the city icon before you touched it and warped to a new map.

Warping to cities are done through custom items and spells.
There will be 6 classes of players and up to 4-players in the game party (including in combat) at one time designed by the Worldbuilder through a
123 132 213 231 312 321 format

I will make a tool in GFABasic to let you inject, view, and remove, world files from your 64k SRAM for GBA. While a great many of you wanted me to make a RPGMaker that builds solely a single RPG playable in GBA, I am going ahead with my technique to let you Worldbuild directly on the GBA unit itself.

To my knowledge, there isn't much competition :) for writing RPGMakers in GBA so I feel confident this will be a big and rare hit when finished, so you can either plug it in your flashcard or you can use and build in it directly in a Gameboy Emulator like VirtualGameboy.

My Dad is categorized with both Parkinson's and now Alzheimer's .. I anticipate greater lengths of time I will be away from home at hospice with Dad so this RPGMaker will be perfect for me to work in while I am away from the computer.

David

I always read every comment with great interest.
I wish I could have gotten my actions together, then I could offer more support.
IN any case, it's great to hear the continuation of any future of Scenario.

I like this place.

I also am continued in being spurred on to develop my programming skills.
Your work, David, has always been great, a real solid fine art in your technique and procedure handling. Your coding style is not scrappy, it has purpose.
I hope there is a way to continue, whatever path that may be.

But naturally, what is real around you, is what needs attention. I believe that your own time is the best gift you can give to someone. Whether that's a friend, a parent, a neighbour, anyone.
I hope there is support in abundance.

Hi Jed:

* Apologies for taking so long to answer this.
I got the programming-bug in me and I've been plugging away at it pretty hard now for the GBA Scenario3 RPGMaker. I'll post my work-in-progress this Monday.

Thanks for the compliments. :)
While some of my work may be solid I really went out in left-field when I plugged out that natty active-meter in combat for Scenario2. It wasn't needed and I much prefer time-oriented events instead.

Regarding my Dad, well, at least it's not in the unknown anymore.
He is and will in the future have difficulties for simple things we take for granted so I am glad that both me and Dottie are there for him.

Regarding Scenario, I will most definitely continue and plan (hopefully) in the future to make a version that does not use SRAM for images so you can have very large images indeed including side-view combat with bigger sprites, and pre-formed rooms of great detail (provided I could find an artist who would doodle me 256 rooms - each with 8 switches <a byte> so you can change aspects of the room, like Fireplace lit or not, doors open or closed, etc.), much like Saga Frontier for the Sony Playstation.