How to start Basic RPG?

[magus57]

I'm thinking of creating a RPG using Basic programming, but I don't know where to begin. So far, I've got a program to reconfigure the screen size. I also made a pic (title screen), but I don't know how to make it so that it will go to the next command by pressing enter.

Basically, I need help with the following things:
-Battle Menu (and any other types of menus)
-Learn which button corresponds to what (I only need 2nd, Mode, Delete, and Math buttons along with arrow keys) and how to program them
-Learn how to randomize (and create) enemies/enemy battles
-Learn how to creat game map
-Learn how to do level up/attack/defense/health system
-Learn how to create towns


I need to know all of this because I want to recreate the old game for Sega Master System, Miracle Warriors, onto my calc.

BTW, I have a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition.

I also would like to know if it is possible to use grayscale on a Basic program, since I know it's possible with assembly programs.

[Vinthian]

you should try to download the basic rpg games (simpler ones) on ticalc.org or here. look at the source code and see if you can understand and then try to make a game. it's better to work off examples, and if you need help then, this is a good place to ask for it.

no, you can't use grayscale in basic, maybe with xlib, but it's just not fast enough.

[alexrudd]

[Sage Orator]

Whew, it's going to be tough to explain all of that. Just take the advise of the folks above (who beat me to it) and don't be afraid to ask for help along the way. To set it up so that it will continue by pressing enter just set up a pause or if you want just set it up so that it does getkey until the key you want them to press to continue is pressed.

Maybe you should do, to get you started after taking shortround's advice, is to write down all of what you need to have in the program or what you already have. Helps me when I'm writing one so I know what I have done or still need to do.

Hope that helped and I didn't give any taboo advice.

[tifreak8x]

[tr1p1ea]

Wouldnt a Pause be better if you only want to halt until Enter is pressed?

Also, i suggest that you take things 1 step at a time. Initially you should be concerntrating on getting some of the key elements working independantly. A good idea would be to make a series of small programs that do such things as:

Detect a keypress and take action
Draw a sprite with movement
Draw a map on the screen (possibility of scrolling)
Display a string
Have more than 1 thing happen per loop

Those kinds of things are essential to game creation imo. Once you have those down you can start to piece them together.

You must be careful not to dive into the deep end, especially if you are just starting out. That only leads to frustration.

[Lyricalwolf]

I argree with Tr1p1ea. It sounds as though you are relatively new to BASIC programming, so you should start out by making small programs that do simple things first.

[negativezero48]

uuuummmmmm....

if you are not sure how to make the program wait for the user to press a key, no offense, it sounds like you are not quite ready to begin making RPG's. I would advise practicing making some simpler programs first.

[WikiGuru]

I would agree. Try to make a game where you try and guess a random number (I know, there are a billion of these. But it's a good way to get started)

Another thing you could do is to give the above suggestion a twist :roll:

Edit: how about a Quadrillion ?

[Sage Orator]

[quote name='Ti-Ho' date='May 23 2006, 07:42 PM']I would agree. Try to make a game where you try and guess a random number (I know, there are a billion of these. But it's a good way to get started)

Another thing you could do is to give the above suggestion a twist 
[post="80294"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/quote]
A billion is probably an understatement! I made one the first day I got a calc. This person, unless completly new to programming, probably has done that already.

There's a couple other ratherr easy one's to try. Draw, Snake, etc.

[WikiGuru]

No offence, but judging by the way this topic is going it could do him the ever so slightest bit of good .

Off topic (sort of):
In ti-basic, how can you make the snake a specific length (like the ASM snake) without using a list (or matrix)? is it possible?
I've made a snake, but for the sake of speed removed that part. You just keep getting longer :biggrin:

[Sage Orator]

Without a list or matrix? I'm not sure but you could probably set it so it turns a point off using the same system as you do for movement. I'm not positive...an interesting idea I'll mess with.

[programmer_to_be]

[quote name='Ti-Ho' date='May 28 2006, 11:34 AM']No offence, but judging by the way this topic is going it could do him the ever so slightest bit of good .

Off topic (sort of):
In ti-basic, how can you make the snake a specific length (like the ASM snake) without using a list (or matrix)? is it possible?
I've made a snake, but for the sake of speed removed that part. You just keep getting longer :biggrin:
[post="80862"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/quote]

You could make like A,B the coordinates of the head of the snake and then do this:
[font="courier"]
Pxl-On(B-1,A
Pxl-On(B-2,A
Pxl-On(B-3,A

[Super Speler]

That will not work at all P2B. It makes the snake continuously linear. Plus that would take forever to turn on each individual pixle one at a time.

[Sage Orator]

Yeah that's what I had been thinking but realized what you said. Haven't had time to work on it, will do now. I'll report back.

[Edit 1] Is there any particular program you want this for or is it just to see what you can do? I think I found a way, will include details later.

[Edit 2] I have figured out one way though it is really slow and bad looking, also doesn't work perfectly but works a little bit. Anyway, here it is. I may give the full code in a game, sort of hard to use it out of context.

Delvar C
While C!=L+1 While C doesn't equal what length you want...
C+1->C
End
Pt-On(F,G,2
Delvar C
...
A->F:B->G Put this directly after your movement loop.

[WikiGuru]

But how will you erase the points at the end? (keeping in mind that there is no reference to the location in a list/matrix)

[Sage Orator]

Yeah it gets kind of confusing without seeing the whole program. This is with my game where the whole screen is black. The program already turned the point off immediatly before. That is the turning "off" of the point. I could give more details if needed.

[WikiGuru]

You could just show the code that erases the last dot of the snake (snake is a line moving around by turning pixels on in the direction inputed or already heading), then try to do the same thing without a list or matrix

[Sage Orator]

...We're having problems communicating. I'll just give the whole program. I basically did it and showed you. What I did was I didn't use lists or matrices at all. I just used what was being stored into the lists, the coordinates, and then instead stored them into F and G. It works, basically, they same though I'm still trying to make it actually grow, but the code turns the point off. Goes slowly after a while.

[WikiGuru]

Fairly decent program (really)...

question: With a list (gasp!), what if you just stored the directions, then the last point into 2 variables (or another list)? Then you would only have half the list size.