Blizz-ABS Bug and Suggestion Compilation

[winkio]

Blizz-ABS Bug and Suggestion Compilation

This is the script development thread.  Please post general bugs/questions in the Blizz-ABS script topic:
http://forum.chaos-project.com/index.php/topic,106.0.html

Color Key:  
Default - not started,
Red - early development,
Blue- late development,
Green - completed
Release Key:
* - released
*N* - new in latest release  
Size Key:
Small - small, specialized bug/feature
Medium - medium bug/feature limited to a particular system or set of systems within the ABS
Large - large bug/feature that will affect the entire ABS

Bugs

Spoiler: ShowHide

Animation

• animation frame setup doesn't work right


• Renaming an enemy causes the fading flags in the sprite to get messed up and disrupts the fading animation upon death


• player sprite change doesn't work (on $game_player using Set Move Route command), it gets reset by Blizz-ABS internal actor sprite handler *

Battlers

• when an enemy gets removed by an erase command at the start of the map, the HP bar stays


• forced_action doesn't work on the player *


• enemies can walk on no-enemy terrain tags


• enemies without precondition can still be targeted


• charges not working for enemies/allies


• enemies with custom movement routes can face the player which they shouldn't be able to do


• custom movement routes in general are buggy?


• fix enemy's try_execute and affection area calculation (get enemies to used ranged attacks/skills more effectively)


• autorun enemies run auto!


• pathfinding bugs when party is separated by jump-able gap

Miscellaneous

• jumping diagonally doesn't check collisions correctly *


• "wait for move completion" freezes the game - due to ABSEAL not updating events *N*


• you can jump on top of events *


• fix step counter


• when shot at the left edge of the screen, item drops appear on the other side *


• sometimes you are unable to pickup items *


• events set to action button go off on event touch *


• Move towards and away from player event commands don't work

Compatibility

• -

Planned Features

Spoiler: ShowHide

Animation

• allow manual looping animations for characters (using Character#loop_animation_id)


• death animations (not just destruction engine emulator via RMXP's animations)


• change beam sprites to work the same as all other spritesets


• all skills / items support spritesets like weapons (already in Dissipate)


• custom number of walking frames


• 8-direction sprites (plugin?)


• _hit sprites

Battlers

• allow enemies to summon (permanently) other enemies using the manual event creation


• multi-event enemy body plugin *

• last_hit_by accessor for enemy events (requires storing of last attacker) *


• add "battler trigger that triggered this event" for custom event triggers (makes use of last_hit_by)


• make triggers work independent without pages or allow multiple checking of triggers?

Miscellaneous

• jump, hit-the-ground, walking, running, sneaking, and swimming sounds


• walk while defending option


• cluster damage (more than 1 damage text upon on single action) for weapons, skills, items and enemies


• manual creation of events on the map (with event names) *


• add optional copying common event codes to events upon event creation


• pick up and throw stuff (Zelda like); thrown stuff turns into projectiles


• make events able to make use of the pathfinder *


• event / enemy size on the map making use of the pixel_movement_rate option(i.e. event size of 3x3 squares that are each 16x16 pixels) *


• help window plugin (similar to Secret of Mana)


• user-controlled projectiles?


• defined knockback for each weapon/skill/item/enemy


• combo system *

Compatibility

• make AAS work with Blizz-ABS over help window plugin


• DREAM doesn't work with Blizz-ABS because of double back reference of objects, add variable that tells you if the object was encrypted or not


• change CP debugger PLUGIN to work with Blizz-ABS

Suggested Features

Spoiler: ShowHide

Animation

• animation should play to the end when dying


• using traps should not trigger user animations and instead it should let the traps use the animations


• make special sprites optional (if Blizz-ABS does not find a sprite it needs (like an attack sprite), it just displays the default sprite)

Battlers

• add actor/enemy jump ranges


• updated AI

Miscellaneous

• option per-item for animated(charset) vs. static(icon) drops *


• make pathfinding account for the ability to jump


• gravity plugin


• DROP_AMMO option independent for each item


• make ammo system less awkward


• 8-way projectile shooting (option)


• projectiles that explode at the end of their range *


• projectiles that collide with terrain features (using tags) *N*


• defend against projectiles *N*


• diagonal passability option

Compatibility

• -

The Manual

Spoiler: ShowHide

• explain how the sprite animation system works


• go into more detail on custom move routes and commands


• visual and organizational overhaul *

This is the script development thread.  Please post general bugs/questions in the Blizz-ABS script topic:
http://forum.chaos-project.com/index.php/topic,106.0.html

Above is the current collection of bugs and features related to Blizz-ABS which I will be addressing in development.  If there is a bug that I am missing, or something is incorrect, let me know, or else it won't be fixed.  Also, feel free to post any features that you want to see.[/list]

Rewrite Progress

Spoiler: ShowHide

Currently Rewriting

• Character Graphics


• Caterpillar

Finished Rewriting

• AI Triggers


• Controls


• Event Tags


• Sprite Frame Data


• Pathfinder


• Minimap and Passability


• Cached Graphics

[G_G]

Can I suggest the option to choose whether to have animated item drops for certain items? For some items I dont mind making a character set for it its going to be animated.

Where a potion or throwing star doesn't need to be animated when its on the ground. Just something me and a few other people would like.

[WhiteRose]

I haven't used Blizz-ABS for a month or so, but I do recall an error when you would jump over a pit or something (for example, from one stepping stone to another,) and you had allies in the party, if you switched to them they would be unable to move. I would guess it's some sort of path-finding bug. Has this issue been addressed yet?

[winkio]

@g_g: yeah, I'll definitely put that in there.

@whiterose: Okay, I'd bet it is something with pathfinding.  In addition to fixing it, I'll also make pathfinding recognize jump-able gaps for players.  Maybe even give enemies jump distances and pathfinding as well?

[WhiteRose]

@whiterose: Okay, I'd bet it is something with pathfinding.  In addition to fixing it, I'll also make pathfinding recognize jump-able gaps for players.  Maybe even give enemies jump distances and pathfinding as well?

Excellent. This should make it easier for developers to avoid situations where players can sit on the other side of a gap and shoot enemies to death with them unable to do anything unless they have spells.

[Aqua]

I thought there was already projectile speeds implemented... o.o

[Blizzard]

Don't forget to add yourself to the credits, winkio. xD

[legacyblade]

A gravity system would be nice. Blizz had originally planned to make it. In the current top down perspective, it could be make to allow jumping down a ledge but not up it (if said ledge were high enough anyways). But this could also be used to make a side scrolling RPG, which would be a really cool feature. Hope that's not too tough of a feature to add x.x

[Blizzard]

I still say that should be a plugin and in no way part of the native system.

[Valdred]

How about a more dynamic system for melee weapons.
Fast/weak attack, medium/moderate attack and slow/Heavy attack. Something like that.

[Blizzard]

Use different weapons?

[Valdred]

I'll explain.
If you are wielding a sword for example. The player will be able to switch between modes:
- Slow and heavy, More damage,  easy to dodge
- moderate, medium damage, medium accuracy
- Quick but light, Deal smaller damage, but hits more often.

[G_G]

I think he means the speed of the weapon swing. If you can add that then you can just create different weapons with different power.

[Valdred]

No, Have you never played runescape? 

Player has equiped a sword that usually deals around 100 damage and has a 80% chance to hit.

Now, from some menu, the player can easily switch between modes:

-Moderate attacks: power, +atk, evade and all other weapon stats remains unchanged.

- Heavy blows: The damage is raised by 20% (If the player's weapon usually deals around 100 damage, with heavy blows selected, it will deal around 120 instead) or something, while the chance of hitting gets a bit smaller. (if the player's weapon got a 80% chance of hitting, with heavy blows selected he will have more like 65%)

- Quick strikes: Damage is a bit lower, but chance of hitting is higher.

It's probably a useless idea, I dunno.


=)

[Subsonic_Noise]

This could be a bit difficult, but how about pixel perfect collision, and, combined with that, pixel perfect battler sizes? It always bothered me that I had to hit that helicopter on a certain place to do any damage at all.

[legacyblade]

You already CAN change the speed of weapons. Just change the delay time and how long the sprite takes to animate o.O And I'm pretty sure what you mentioned can be achieved by switching the weapon's stats in the database Valdred.

[winkio]

How about a more dynamic system for melee weapons.
Fast/weak attack, medium/moderate attack and slow/Heavy attack. Something like that.

Perhaps this will be able to be achieved by the combo system.  As in, there would be different timing for different strength/speed combos.

This could be a bit difficult, but how about pixel perfect collision, and, combined with that, pixel perfect battler sizes? It always bothered me that I had to hit that helicopter on a certain place to do any damage at all.

Not pixel perfect, but perhaps we could make use of the pixel_rate option for the enemy/event size to be slightly more precise.

[Subsonic_Noise]

This could be a bit difficult, but how about pixel perfect collision, and, combined with that, pixel perfect battler sizes? It always bothered me that I had to hit that helicopter on a certain place to do any damage at all.

Not pixel perfect, but perhaps we could make use of the pixel_rate option for the enemy/event size to be slightly more precise.

That could work. The main point was that I don't want the weapon to do damage when hitting a blank spot, like in my boss battle, where I fought a helicopter, I had to hit the helicopters shadow to do damage, and that even happened when the bullet obviously missed. (since it's handled like it's exactly 32x32 big.)

[Blizzard]

I think he means the speed of the weapon swing. If you can add that then you can just create different weapons with different power.

*points to animation frames*

[Subsonic_Noise]

I just remembered, there already was a script that enabled pixel perfect collision, which was free to use. Maybe you could integrate it into BlizzABS?
I'll try to find it anyways. xD