Quick Vore Demo Here

Game: Messing With the Messy - Demo
Status: Reworking
Link:  http://www.mediafire.com/file/p96cvrzfxve195i/VABS%20V2%20-Demo.zip

As I said in my previous post, I am considering to change the design of the ABS game, so I might as well show what I was working on up to this point.  Keep in mind that even though many features have been tested, they have not been activated for this demo.

Edit:  Re-uploaded with "digestion" to make the game a bit more interesting.

Differences between 1st and 2nd Demos as a reminder (for this demo):
-Attacks are linked to MP, so mashing buttons only build up your MP.
-Enemies (and followers) attack based on update.
-Your allies will be lost in the wilds if you leave them behind (or die).  You can free them if you find a "nest".
-The damage part has changed, including damage modification.

A Monkey for Code

For anyone who cares about what code I put in since the last time (or today since I was busy), here's what I got:

- Attack Range is made for the enemy currently.  Using a modified near_the_player method, I am able to attack the party from a distance.  However, making range for the party is slightly different as my current "single target" method is event_xy (which checks all events at that location) and that the player's attack button also helps allies.
-- In addition to trying out new formations, two other things I should experiment with is changing the current code  for a minimum range and map-specific zones (if you played the previous demo, an example was in one of the rooms.)


- Casting animations can accompany some skills.  There are about 4-5 types of casting animations:
1. Cast animation while attacking.
2. Cast animation when possible to attack, such as if the enemy continuously spews gas clouds.
3. Attack after casting (No Interupt)
4. Attack after casting (attacking resets the cast)
5. (In progress) Attack after casting (attacking removes the cast and thus the attack).


- Some minor adjustments:
-- Corpses stay at the bottom.
-- Followers are prepped to have speed mods, their max based on the leader's own speed.
-- Testing out having followers move towards the current target to make battles a bit more interesting.

---

Anyway, it seems that if I want to continue the demo properly, I need to place the exits and give more state sprites.  Hope I don't get distracted from that.

How to Attack

I apologize for making the majority of my recent posts as walls of text, so to make it up, here's a small illustration of my progress.  Read more to see what this means:

Vore ABS Demo right here

Game: V.A.B.S
Status: Very Unpolished Alpha Demo
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/az2s3qkq1n2wx6h/VABS%20demo.zip

Alright, I did not take the effort to polish this, but the vore mechanics is more or less good.

Pretty much monsters can eat you or your party, with a bit of different effects here and there.  No other hidden stuff.  If you played Slime Time, this is the same ABS, but I've built on the vore elements over that.

The Dame of Dakka

Hm, have you ever gotten the desire to create the ultimate sundae when you're just scooping ice cream?  That's how I am with this ABS project, and here are some things I've done and hope to add on.

-No Attack Tag - Enemy cannot attack the player. I'll need to update the event so that attacks can be executed from other places (in case I want a ranged enemy that wouldn't work in melee range)

-Immune Tag -  Player cannot attack Enemy, nice for chasing events.

-Animation Tag - Change the animation based on equipped weapon or enemy tags.

-No Attack Status Effect- Anyone inflicted with this state won't be able to deal damage.  I should also make an immunity version of this state (barriers).

-Extended the damage formula to include elemental multiplier and state attacks.  Should probably modify damage method so I can deal 0 damage (for status-only effects).

-Quicksand Teleportation - Need to test this, but if you sink far enough, you should teleport to a different map.

Want to do:

-Alternate Damage Method and Tag- Not only for status-only attacks, but also for "skills".  Actually, I think I can apply actual skill data here.
-Make ranged arrays - One to extend starting range, then another to start longXwide attacking range.
-Make "explosion" arrays - Detect things to attack within a radius.  I can guess the shape for squares (standard), diamonds (x+y <= range), X (absx=absy) and + (x or y = 0)

-Make reactions to getting hit, ideally turning towards attack or getting knocked back.

-Update Hud to show status effects.

-Shortcut buttons for consumables?

-Make a game out of it.

Now the Lass is an ABS

It's not an Action Battle System unless you can attack something with the push of a button, and pushing a button was easier than I thought.  Since I already have a method for the player to press a button and the event to activate something by walking into it, I put in a "damage" method.  The method will execute if the Event involved is an enemy, and then executes a damage formula to take away the HP.  Of course, the Event can also attack my party.

Interestingly enough, just setting the character's animation_id will start the attack animation, so to limit how fast my characters can attack, I simply make sure the method doesn't run if the animation_id is above 0.

Of course, it would be boring just to have normal attacks, so I will have to see if I can add states into the mix (such as a spider catching my party in its webs) and add notetags to customize attack animations and attack patterns (i.e. if it's just a wall that you can attack that shouldn't fight back).   I may also have to look into making an alive-dead party order at some point.  Hm, it would be interesting to create an ABS that employs States to restrain foes rather than just defeat them (and also need to ensure that some states can remove the ability to attack).  Hm, would have to think up a fancy name for this ABS.

The Lass is for the Lady

If you take a look at this pic, I am leading a party.  The flower is reacting to someone.  That someone is not my party.

I have managed to get an Event to react to another Event, restricted to whether that Event is an Enemy or can trigger events, and also restricted to whatever can be effected by Events.  Also demonstrated, though not easily visible, is that the Event is also affecting whoever touches it, whether it is an Enemy or the Player. (In this case, the flower subtracts some HP, which can "kill" the enemy".)  Also, Events that only trigger but aren't enemies can still trigger the flower but won't get damaged by it, so no crashing here.

Hm...I know the next step for an ABS is to implement some attacks, though at this point, I probably want to create a demo, even if it's just zombies tearing down a wall.  Anyway, I do have to add in some more code for functionality, such as knocking characters back and creating events that can trigger from enemies but not players.

Stepping Stones

Last time, I spoke about having each person in your party activate an event they step over.  By default, only your leader can step over switches and activated them one.  I hoped to have something a bit more dynamic by having said switches activate for each character walking over it.

The Lass Needs To Watch Her Step

Destiny 2...I'm spending too much time on it.

Anyway, what I decided to tinker with the "ABS" this time is making Events trigger other Events.  So for example, a trap can trigger to damage an Event Enemy or for a rock to hold down a pressure-sensitive switch.

So far, I created note tags to mark the events that can be triggered this way (so enemies don't talk to NPCs) and also allow NPCs to activate these Events too.  I also created a method to apply damage to the player and events who step on this Event and will work on them soon.

However, I'm trying to make events trigger with Followers too for a bit of touch (and in case I make flying arrows), though they're not triggering the Events yet.  I also have to try and make these events work for events on the same/normal layer as they're currently like mines at the moment.  I'll surely find my solutions after some rest.

The Lass Needs More Flavors

Last time I posted, I ended up with an issue that would give an Enemy Event only one chance to have a state but not receive it again.  It seems that I have to put in the on_turn_end method that pretty much manages things like states, so multi-dipping is now possible.

While I wouldn't actually need much, part of me wants to see if I can create an "ABS" from this.  Considering some states can damage HP, the next step would be to determine how 0 HP can effect an Event.  So I just spent the night adding a few more notetags:  one tag will change the event's Self-Switches or trigger a regular erase, and the other tag will change Switches or Variables (in case I want to tally points).

...To be honest, I have no idea what I will use the ABS for.  At least it's something to do while gearing up in Destiny 2.

The Other Lass is Half Empty

Nearly everything can sink into the quicksand, and my Player and Followers can get states by sinking into the quicksand.  Therefore, my Events should sink into the quicksand to get those states.  Of course, I could probably call on Self Switches to change pages or behavior...

But I decided to try and give my Events the ability to have States.  Ideally, the Event scans a notetag that will assign an Enemy to an "actor" variable like Game_Player or Game_Follower does with the party.  Through the State Character script, the Actor was the class that changed the character graphics, so one similarly for Enemy ought to work similarly.  In short, the Event should draw the new appearances from whatever is put in the enemy.

So far, I managed to get the states to work on the events, in the sense that the graphics change when stacks of states are added.  However, it should be noted that these Events don't naturally support all the features of states like walking it off or turning around, so I might put those in.  For now, I'm distracted by Destiny 2.

The Lass is Half Full

I use Himework's State Charges back in The Fates We Weave to manage "stacks" of states, such as the Guard Removals and the Webbings.  This is partly because I'm partly afraid of script compatibility if I were to use Hime's Conditional or Progressive states with say CP's Graphic State script.  Yesterday, I began working on modding Himework's State Character so that the graphics will change based on stacks of states rather than just one state.

...State Character isn't on Hime's site because I modded that from her State Face script, though you may have seen this script in effect if you played Stupid Rubber Peril Game.

Anyway, the pic shows no state, 1 Charge of a state, and 2 Charges of a state.  If state is removed by walking, charges drop off one by one, so it kinda "washes off".  I managed to get the script to work with assigning multiple graphics and a "general graphic" so far, and I just transplanted the code to work with faces and battlers.

Oh, and I tested this using a snippet in conjunction with the Quicksand script (which I just tinkered again to account for non-visible Followers)