[QUESTIONS] Real-time first person with multiple-party

Kaemalux

Hello!

While pausing from the project due to work, i am brainstorming about making a system like Might and Magic. If you haven't any clue about that game series, here is a picture of the GUI that is self-explanatory

As you can see, the camera is first person and you have 4 characters in the group: every character has its HP MP and class settings (with settings, inventory...). In ORK, making a character like that is not a problem, but i have some questions regarding the first person view and the multiple party:

1) Is it possible to make one character prefab be used for every character? In details, in MM system, you move the four characters together, like one hero in four. Is it possible to make this in ORK? I tried some test to spawn other combatants in scenes but they simply stay in that point, or at least they are different prefabs (i didn't set up move AI but i would simply one entity).

2) Is it possible to make character attack in sequential order clicking the same gui button? I can set up a shortcut button for attack or basic ability, but they are different for each combatant. I would like to have one button only that first let attack char 1, then char 2... after char 4 it restarts again

3) Still considering one character active (while attacking) per time, is it possible to make it active for damage also? Like char 1 is active, can receive damage for melee combat, other 3 characters can be hit only by AoE spells/ability

Basically the system let you controls 4 characters in one (while moving-jumping-interacting), they attack/cast spell in sequence (like turns insides real-time battle, as enemies are still attacking without caring about player group....) and they receive damage depending wether or not they are active character.

Do you think is it doable a system like this with ORK (maybe with some Makinom integration? But i would need big help there :D ) or is it impossible to set?

Thanks. :)

gamingislove

1) You could mount them to the player game object :) E.g. just using empty prefabs for your other combatants, with an autostart event to mount them on the player when spawned.

2) Hm, maybe using a global event that's using the player and group members as actors, firing the attack actions (which is possible in game events since ORK 2.5.1).

3) In that case it's probably best to just change the player, having only the player spawned.

Kaemalux

That's a good idea, actually only the player seems a nice option. :)

I have some doubts related to this thou:

4) is it possible to apply a damage to each combatant even if the player is not spawned? (Like experience i think, i noticed an option where all combatntas, even not fighitng, can receive exp... Can this be appllied to status value modifications also?) I would need this for AOE attacks from monsters or traps damage.

5) How can i setup hotkeys to be fast responsive even switching player. At the moment i have 2 keys, attack + ability, set on alpha1 and alpha2 like tutorial: i need to click 2 times on shortcut (even if the HUD is set to clicking - 1) and sometimes it even doesn't shot any attack... Related to this, if i change player, the shortcut for ability isn't changed (but my alternative character got another skills), any tip about this?

keyboardcowboy

I'm working on a game which is heavily influenced by MM6. I have first person control with my party setup (1 Prefab for the party) while walking around and interacting with the world. I'm not using the MM6 interface as you described for combat since I went with pure turn based. For that, I had to spawn a dummy prefab for each of the "supporting" characters. The first character is the player character. The other 3 are just joined to the group at the beginning of the game. The real pain is events. I have to setup any special events such as training since I only have the player prefab in the game.

gamingislove

4) Depends - when using damage dealers/zones, no, you'll need spawned prefabs with the damage zones for them. When using the Calculate step, it should be possible without having real game objects.

5) You can work with control maps and Control type HUDs. If the shortcut's aren't changed, you're either using group shortcuts or don't change the player :)

Kaemalux

Thanks. Shortcuts now work pretty well, i have just one question related: how can i set the "positive" answer when i set the shortcut in ability menu (assign shortcut options)? I can set the question and i have back button to cancel, but no positive answer to confirm, where to set it? Is it the normal setting in menu setting?

About 4) i noticed both use calculation ability either the simply change status value step, but i cannot change not-spawned combatant. Any tip about this? Which is the best way to change combatant HP of non spawn member? ^^

gamingislove

There's nothing like that when assigning shortcuts.

4) In game events, you can add them as actors even if they're not spawned. Battle events only have the user and target(s) of the action (which where selected before firing the action).

Kaemalux

I managed to sort chanign player during battle event, and works fine. But the problem is that it blocks attack ability and not specific abilities... Let me explain: i have fire ability that shots a fireball and then, with a second animate event, it changes the player. Everything goes well. If i use this setting (2 animations, one for attack and one for changing member) the attack is fired only once, other times it simply change the player totally forgetting first animation (it is a simple spawn/destroy weapon prefab..)

Any tip?

besides that, is it possible to block totally shortcut switch? i have some problems because sometimes it swaps them and i cannot go on... ^^

gamingislove

Changing the player during an action might be problematic and result in unexpected behaviour.

You can use variable conditions in control maps and HUDs to not use/show shortcuts.

Kaemalux

When i use the ability changing player makes no problems. It is just with attack, but the strange thing is that the animation is consequential, and attack animation happens before the chanign one.. With the ability everything is performed correctly, with attack only the change is made (except the first time, when the attack is performed but without changes...). Need a test project? ^^

gamingislove

Not yet :) Does the new player even know the ability you want to use?

Kaemalux

Yes, they are the copy of each other, they have just different "special" abilities but same basic attack: the attack is simply not performed (first animation event) but the player changes works correctly. :)

About shortcuts, i need them (and i set second ability by selecting it on menu), they work fine, but sometimes one of them overwrite the other one, and i cannot prevent it (both shortcuts become the same). :)

gamingislove

So, you're using an ability that also changes the player? How are you changing the player?

Catacomber

Are you using drag and drop? Sometimes the player can shift the shortcut icon so it duplicates itself. I don't use drag and drop for that reason.

Kaemalux

It is a battle event that is started after the attack/ability one: it is a simple check variable fork, if 0 set player 1 and change variable to 1, if 1 set player 0 and change variable 0. It works properly, my problem is the attack ability animation (that perform the "weapon") spawn that is not performed. ^_^

gamingislove

Yeah, but like I said - changing the player (which is the user of the ability) in the ability can result in unexpected stuff ... Try changing the player using the group member keys (Base/Control > Game Controls) and see if you can use the ability correctly.

Kaemalux

If i use only the attack animation in attack and i keep the changing event in ability, they both works fine, except for the shortcut problem. :) Of course in this way the player is not changed after the attack, only after the ability, but maybe i could try with a global event or some extra key. ^^

gamingislove

You'd somehow need to delay changing the player until the attack is over.

What's the shortcut problem again?

Kaemalux

I created again attack event starting from ability one and now seems fine. :) ~~The problem is with first-second time i perform them, it seems like there is a block on changing the player, but it happens only first one-two attacks..~~ Now it is perfect, i forgot to switch combatant on changing event. :)

About shortcuts if i use multiple ones sometimes one overwrites the pther, resulting in two equal shortcuts. I tried to change all shortcut settings (Keep-Remove-None-Swap..) but i had no luck. Is it possible to a totally block the shortcut in the HUD, and change them only through ability menu screen?

Thanks :)

gamingislove

Inner Assign set to None will prevent assigning stuff from within the shortcut HUD.