Blizz-ABS action sprite troubles

[Joe Rockhead]

RPGXP Version 1.02a
Ruby Version 1.8.1
Scintilla Version 1.58
libogg/libvorbis Version 1.0
Blizz-ABS Version 1.95

This is a question for anyone who is familiar with the active or action battle system for RMXP by Blizzard. I set it up and can use all the features mentioned in the script documentation commented in the first script.

I had already been asking a similar question to this on other RMXP Forums but now I've figured out one thing I was doing wrong before. I couldn't get enemy action sprites to be used by Blizz though my hero sprites were all working fine. I just found from looking over the ABS script that all the enemy action sprite use settings were set to false! I don't know how I could have mistakenly set the actor's action spriting to on and set the enemys to off but I guess I did somehow.

While I haven't experimented with it yet now that I know what I did wrong I am still left wondering about the documentation which seems to suggest that BABS offers built in support for a complete range of action sprites while it would seem from how it is explained in the comments that critters and enemies do not get the same support. Like separate sprites for different weapons for example. So I am wondering just what can or cannot critters and enemies do at this point? I just don't want to put a whole lot of pixeling work into extra sprite sets if I won't be able to use them.

For each hero, NPC, critter and enemy I have planned/in the works/or already done a sprite set for when it is idle, when it is walking, when it is running/fleeing, when it is attacking, when it is defending, and last but not at all least I have the all important death sprites.

To me the death sprites are the most important of all. Problem is that either Blizz or RMXP one has a nasty habit of assuming I want my enemies [and my heroes for that matter] to disappear when they are dead. Seeing enemies [or the heroes for that matter] just disappear everytime without leaving a corpse the hero can search and loot is just unacceptable. And not nearly as satisfying as actually seeing the enemy knocked clean off its feet and hitting the ground like a wet sack of potatoes or blown apart like a blood sausage.

I tried using the self-switch method to leave a death sprite behind and that almost does it. I can see the death sprite for about a fraction of a second before it fades into nothingness. So I guess what I need to know is how to stop the default fade to transparency behaviour. Thanks in advance for any input I can get.

[winkio]

I think I can answer your questions:

1:

what can or cannot critters and enemies do at this point

answer:  enemies can use skills, attack, defend,coordinate efforts, and a lot more.  Look at sections 3 and 4 of BlizzABBS Manual.  Critters are exactly the same as enemies only critters can attack both the player AND enemies.  this is also in the manual.

2:

how to stop the default fade to transparency behaviour

answer: go to line 3735(or somewhere around there) in Part 3 of Blizz-ABS script where the code looks like this:

  #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  # update_fade_out
  #  Processes a 5-frame fading out animation.
  #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  def update_fade_out
    # if still fading out
    if @character.opacity > 0
      # decrease opacity
      @character.opacity -= 64
    else
      # reset fade_out flag
      @character.fade_out = false
    end
  end

change it to this:

  #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  # update_fade_out
  #  Processes a 5-frame fading out animation.
  #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  def update_fade_out
      # reset fade_out flag
      @character.fade_out = false
  end

that should keep it from fading out.  In terms of keeping it on the map to be looted, you would have to use another event, or so I understand.

[Blizzard]

Interesting... I usually used an item icon to display dropped loot. I should be easily enhanced that a "dead enemy" sprite stays there instead. I'll see if I can add that in Blizz-ABS v2.0.

About enemies and crittters... If I understood your question right, you asked if enemies and critters have the same support for sprite animation, am I right? The support is identical except for the weapon sprite support. Enemies and critters don't have it, because they use only 1 attack by default, the rest are skills.

Implementing the additional sprite support for idle characters is a pain in the normal RMXP, not to talk about in Blizz-ABS, but I'll see what I can do. I might be able to easily integrate it into the already existing system. Is the idle spriteset animated?

BTW, if you want a special dying animation, that's what the destruction engine emulator is for. It's true that it can make a lost of work, I'll see if I can add dying sprite animation instead as alternative.

The last thing that I can add is that the most recent version is 1.98 SE which you should download. xD

@winkio: This will only disable the fading animation, the enemies will disappear anyway just without the fading animation.
BTW

[Joe Rockhead]

@Wink Even though I already read what Blizz said about your answer it was still more than I could come up with so thanks for pointing that out to me, I still learned something that will probably come in handy some time.

@Blizz You can disregard my new post in the [RMXP]Blizz-ABS update thread since you covered it all in that last post in this thread. Thanks a lot, I would be so grateful if you would add that in v2.0 I don't know about anybody else but that is a feature I would use in all my games, I can't imagine doing it any other way. I'm referring to the death sprite or "icon" in case that wasn't clear.

[Joe Rockhead]

@Blizz Sorry I missed one of your questions before. Well I tried have animated idle sprites to show enemies either like they are listening to music and kind of doin a little dance in place while they wait for innocent victims to happen by [kind of thinking of death wish and stuff like that in this case] or having an enemy or hero smokin a cigarette while they wait. But I think four frames is just too short for that it ends up to quick and repetative for those kinds of motions. I would need atleast 8 frames to really make that look good with dramatic pauses for effect and everything. So no you can leave idle animation out - just so they can look like they are standing in an idle position like some I have their arms crossed. If I could delay animations with a timer or something then I think I might be able to use the 4-frame animation for idle characters, it would be a real subtle touch but I think it could really bring a game to life.

[Blizzard]

Then I think this might be a better subject for a special plugin instead of integrating it into Blizz-ABS directly since the possibilities of combining frames and delay time between them are practically countless. #_#