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Newcomers DBPro Corner / info for newbs

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Newcomers Corner
21
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Joined: 14th Aug 2003
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Posted: 15th Aug 2003 07:47
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My daughter is wanting to build a rpg game but i want to make sure that i get the right prog for a newb.She has some really good ideas and it seems this will get into advanced stuff as we go along.But i dont have a clue were to start or how so this will be a big learning process for me also.Any info on what progs to buy were and how much would be a great help.
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ChrisS
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Joined: 24th Apr 2003
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Posted: 15th Aug 2003 20:36
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Hi

Sounds like she doesnt really have much programming experience, in which case Dark Basic is about as good as any other language for learning the fundamentals of programming (especially for the casual home user).

However before thinking about writing any sort of game she will have to get to gribs with the basic constructs of Dark Basic such as loops, variables etc (which are part of most languages)

But dont be put off by this as there are plenty of examples to help the new programmer available from this website as well as advice.

Hope this helps

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Kanzure
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Posted: 15th Aug 2003 20:50 Edited at: 15th Aug 2003 20:51
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Uh oh, you may get a ride here...You and your daughter will probably be very disapointed.

Making an RPG is very very, very hard. No, I'm not talking about time wise - I'm talking about all the parts. Let me go through and list the parts you will need.

(assuming its a 3D game)

Models
Models for everything. Houses, trees, people, birds, clouds (well, whatever), grass, etc! To make a good human model it takes a good 3 hours. Can she sit down that long and learn how to use a 3D Modeling program?

Tile Engine
You must also have a tile engine to store map data. The tile engine will store EVERY single tile, and where to place the tile. In this case, it will probably be a 3D Tile Engine - which you will have to make a unique engine (if you don't wanna go with a 2D array)

Event System
What if you want events? Such as when you talk to somebody? Go into a room? You will need a major event system so you can add dialog and other things. I can't stress how hard one of these things are. Trust me, after trying to make a 2D RPG in C++..this..ughhhh..I don't wanna go back to making RPGs Hard. Very very hard.


Map Editor
Map Editor's aren't too hard, but hell making one for a 3D game is. You will have to make the map editor be able to interact with the event system and tile engine.

and then there are many more things you must do, just to make it run properly. Are you sure your able to take on a project like this? It will most likely turn out YOU will be doing most of the programming, unless your daughter is over 12 years old

I say that this will be a very hard thingy to accomplish, and maybe you should try making smaller games first.

Do not make the mistake I did when I tried making a small RPG demo in DarkBASIC - by just putting down objects and saying "there! The player can't walk over those things!"..No. You must use the map system - that way everything is organized, and you can modify it with a map editor.


~Good luck

~Morph/Kanzure
CodeNation
DragonBall V Network (DragonBall: The Prequal RPG)
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Renegade
21
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Joined: 29th Jul 2003
Location: Israel
Posted: 15th Aug 2003 21:44
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perhaps making RPG games is hard but every game is hard
especially for beginers.

I will love to get an explenation on
what is the difference between making a space simulation
game between an RPG game.

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lcfcfan
21
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Joined: 19th Feb 2003
Location: North East, UK
Posted: 15th Aug 2003 21:51
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unless you want to spend about a year learning a programming language i reccomend you buy the 3d game creator, i'm not saying learning a programming language is bad but i'm 20 and been coding dbp for a few months now and i get really confused a lot of the time maybe i'm just not patient or don't practise enough but it is hard although if you do learn to programme dbp the sky is the limit with what you can do just takes time and hard work.

Like i said though try the 3d game creator it is a click and drag type of game creator and would be much easier and probably more fun for your daughter!

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Shock
AGK Developer
21
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Joined: 24th Oct 2002
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 16th Aug 2003 00:10
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but also remember the 3d gamemaker will not allow you to makes rpg's.

if you do go down the route of "game makers", i'd recommend RPG Maker. it's not 3D, but it should only take about half an hour to get to grips with. it's also free. if your daughter enjoys it, she might decide to go onto programming.

i started out making my first ever game with RPG Maker '95, then i went straight into c++. then i ended up here, and sort of stayed and stuck with DB.

another question would be:
is your daughter computer literate?
this could be anything in between writing stuff in word, making new directory's, making websites etc. if we had this information we could easily make a suggestion of which we think would be suitable. also, as kanzure pointed out, age also matters. i would say his ">12" idea would be fairly accurate.

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
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indi
22
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Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Earth, Brisbane, Australia
Posted: 16th Aug 2003 05:24
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this site will explain a lot of what you are looking for


http://www.hufsoft.com/darkbasic/

http://www.lunarpixel.com
http://www.lunarpixel.com/dt/
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Kanzure
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Posted: 16th Aug 2003 17:25
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Don't go down the path of RPG Maker if you wish to sell games later on, I have a friend that uses RPG Maker all the time and he now can do almost no programming He thinks everything is as simple as click and change 1 setting..

~Morph/Kanzure
CodeNation
DragonBall V Network (DragonBall: The Prequal RPG)
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UnderLord
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Posted: 16th Aug 2003 18:31
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argh rpg maker used that when i was like 13 that isent something you'd really want to use its good for newb's but the grapic quaility is almost none and making sellable games on that thing is almost impossible....the 3d game creator however might be worth it.

http://www.freewebs.com/ingamers
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Oscar
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Posted: 19th Aug 2003 10:29 Edited at: 19th Aug 2003 10:30
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if its gonna be 2D you should use Game maker thats a really good prog for newbs.look for game maker on google.

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John H
Retired Moderator
21
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Joined: 14th Oct 2002
Location: Burlington, VT
Posted: 19th Aug 2003 19:38
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DB Is definitaly the way to go. It has the power to create nearly anything. Plus, you have one endless instruction manual, this community!

RPGs are VERY hard to do, but my team is working on one right now, and Indi is as well. There HAS been one done before. Check out the Equilibrium section of

http://www.mojo-magic.co.uk

Great game. They posted the battle source and menu source, so there are two great things to learn with (the code is very complicated, so you might want to take a look a bit later or else you will lose hope )

As all have said, RPGs are long, complicated, and hard to do. They also require a lot of planning. They are also really fun to do! Its a lot of fun seeing your own creations come to life in front of you, and lean back saying "Yep, I made that happen"

I say, "Go for it." If she needs any help, just tell her to stop in here, and we'll all do the best we can to help her out.

Make sure she doesnt jump right into an RPG, because it will just get all devastating, with all the "I'll never be able to do this" and what not.

Start small, Indi posted a nice site to get started. Read through the tutorial codes that come with DB(P/C?) and try to learn as much code as possible. Then try and start out with a smaller game, like Pong or Space Invaders.

A full documentation with a few tutorials and all the commands come with both the boxed versions of DBP and DBC. This also comes with the program. In the help menu of both programs, you can see a full working example of EACH AND EVERY COMMAND that comes with DB! This way, if you are ever confussed about a command, just go into the help menu and you can see a full working example for you to learn from.

I use the command database all the time, if I ever get stuck, I go right into my manual and look thru the commands to see if there is one I have overlooked that may help me in this certain situation. If I dont know the command very well, I go right into the electronic documentation and learn about the command, how it is used, and then try it out myself in a different piece of code.

Best wishes for your daughter.

RPGamer

Current Project: Eternal Destiny
Porting all files to my new computer
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Newbie Brogo
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Joined: 10th Jul 2003
Location: In a Pool of Cats
Posted: 20th Aug 2003 00:56
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definintly DBC, i dont really like DBP, but i've never tried it out, i've been making small little addicting games for awhile now, i still havent even thought of an RPG, its fun and all to make small fun short things, but an RPG... never tried it, probably never will..

You did what? For who?! For how many jellybeans?!?
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