Pokemon Protectors

haha whats wrong with the storyline, it's interesting.

So, just taught it was about time to show off more of this feature I've talked about.
As you know, I've added a day/night system.
But this isn't static. It's very dynamic.
The events change depending on the time of day- or even the day itself....
And the NPC (Non Playable Characters) even go on about their lives.
They do different things depending on the time.

One of these ideas thats developed is the "Home Getter" feature.
This was an idea I picked up off some tutorial website, but really liked it, so decided to go deeper then what the tutorial was explaining.

The NPCs acutally walk home at night time (well at a time I set), or go places depending on the time.

Here is a great example from Nutleaf Town (the starting town in Protectors).

*In the form of screenshots of course :) *


Here is Mr. Burke watching some swimmers in the lake during the day.


At around 7 P.M he decides to move on.
Where does he go?


Well, home :P


If you go back down to the lake at night, you will notice that Mr. Burke is still in his house in bed.
You will also notice- most of the swimmers have gone home. There is only one left!


Whats great then is, Mr. Burke will come back out around 7A.M.
The swimmers will also come back around different times to each other- and leave at different times!

Really neat feature. And fun to watch in the gameworld.
What do you all think?

Hi, do you want give in game only first pokemon generation or all 4? You want use D/P movesets and moves mechanism from D/P <Physical/Special/Other> ?

Its a very funny system, i like it very much. Good job Neo-dragon!

i think i have seen many projects that you used to do, back in 2005. but anyway i like the custom tiles, very impressive. looking forward to this one. keep it up Neo!

Whoa! Its an AWESOME idea!
It is quite reality and it reminds me HARVEST MOON that at certain time, you'll see certain people going back home. Good!!
Keep it up!

Just wondering do you plan on using tile sets or did you make custom buildings?

Hey everyone, I was just reading over the thread and just taught I'd answer peoples questions.
Hopefully, I will be able to answer most of them :).

@TrueEvil: I'm not 100% sure on what your asking me? What do you mean tilesets? As in a complete FR tileset for example?- I decided to go with a mix of Kyledoves tiles and some editing Fr/Lg tiles I just re-did myself.
There are custom buildings in the game- like each teams headquarters has its own custom building- but thats about it really.

@MarineAngemon: Yea, that was probably Silk2. You can find a demo of it in DarkPegasus' "Game Development Archive" thread.

@Skele: No, the attacks are based on the stats from the FireRed/Lg games. Sorry to disappoint.

Someone also asked what am I do for lighting effects in regards to the day and night system.... I'm guessing they mean will houses have lights go on and stuff.
At the moment no. But it is do-able. I could probable use a picture to achieve it. But again- right now- no there is nothing in place.

Em.... Not sure what other questions there were.

Well feel free to ask away now and I'll answer them.
As always, thanks for the great comments so far.
Hope to keep hearing from you all, and please- if you have any suggestions (or again- questions) feel free to post them!

What system is it avablible for (Computer or Gamboy)

Game not hack. Its the game showcase cause its fangame for the pc. Not for game-boy there is a difference. I was reading the lost word thread and saw the same question. If that was answered tha its for pc why wouldn't this be?

FINALLY! A game NOT made in XP! My comp is too old & slow (I often call it 'dinosaur') to run those, but not this one!!! WOOT!

Interesting battle layout; it makes it feel more like you're actually battling right where the trainer stops you. And the 'choose your destiny' thing is something I've seen other people want GF to implement for god-knows-how-long; why has GF never done this?

*EDIT* Great idea on the night/day thing; it makes the people seem real.

this game looks amazing!
i love the graphics and that "home getter" feature.
it's really impressive.
keep on workin on it, its really good =)

how will you show the swimmers getting i the water though?

It goes without saying that this game's one of the best over here. A lot of games are started every single day (and a lot die everyday too), but just a few manage to get where Pokémon Protectors is. It's incredible to see someone work so hard on this without giving up, specially when working on a so-said "low-level" RPG Maker version like 2003.

Also, I think it's nice to point out that this game goes in the opposite direction of most games, since it's unique in pretty much everything. While all good games I've seen here over these years try to copy the GBA Pokémon games in every aspect (what is not necessarily a bad thing, since they do it almost perfectly), Protectors has the creativity as it's main aspect, with graphics, storyline and systems that avoid the GBA-style when possible.

Just to give you, Neo-Dragon, a head's up and, of course, to say "hello" after a few months of retirement. Be sure that you inspire us -- game makers -- to continue our works even when we're tired, specially because of your patience and determination.

~Azura.

This is definitely an amazing game. I love all the features, and Kyledove's tiles look pretty good as well. The "home-getter" feature seems to be pretty nice. And yes, it's definitely an original idea as I've not seen it being used in other games. The only thing that I can say is that your maps are kinda bare. Try innovating with grass and water. I do realize that using RPG Maker 2003 is difficult, and that you're limited to a certain amount of tiles, but try playing around.

Also, I hate to seem desperate, but do you have any idea as to when the demo will be out? I hope it doesn't lag, because having so many systems might make it. At any rate, keep up the awesome work. ;)

Thanks guys (and one gal) for the great comments.
It really is great reading the comments as it's keeping me motivated. Alot of people forget we do this in our spare time, not as a job so updates are slow, and with a game of this size it's not always easy to stay focused. Ha.
Eh,
@AtomicReactor:
The swimmers, come from the far end of the water- so until you get surf, you can only see them swim up the water at the begining of the game- then swim south to go home.

@Bulletangel:
Thanks for the PM, I've replied to you.

@Azura:
Haven't seen you around in awhile ha.
You still working on your game?
Anyways- it's great to see you put "low level" in quotation marks. I think thats a huge stigma of RM2k3.
While I admit I'm a pure fan boy of this maker, I think I have a right to defend it. YES, I did just admit I love RM2k3, BUT, I think I can do nearly anything I plan on programing in it (see my update at the end of this post for example lol). People shouldn't always put it down because it's out of date.
It's good- I mean -GREAT - to see you love the creativity of this project, because I think that's it's(the game) biggest draw.
When you see this game play out- with all the systems in place it truely is great.
I remember reading a professional game developer say "the key to good design is having fewer game mechanics".
I agree- but disagree. I think if you can make all the game mechanics seemless, and flow with gameplay- thats good design.
And thats my thinking behind protectors!
A feature like home getter is not really a feature per say- when you are playing this game, you will not notice it. But if you do, you will say- "heh- that guy just went home- neat touch." lol.

I recently let 2 of my friends play through the start of the game up until where I've finished programing the story to.
They both played it differently and had a great time. They said they loved the choice feature.
One of them- decided to- during the opening interview with the police- not tell them about Team Magma (which made his REP with Team Magma go up and other teams go down),
then went into a mart in the second town- stole from it, got barred from the store-had a battle with Team Rocket (which made his REP with them go down even futher) and just caried on what he was doing.
These systems all linked together and thats what he told me he loved. He had this freedom to shape this game.
It was a great feeling- and when the Release Candidate comes out- hopefully people will be telling me all sorts of stories on their gameplay experiences.


@Archayos:
I do agree with the maps looking really bare. My mapping is an area I'm never happy with. Let me explain.
I plan out everything in this game. I have 3 word documents called my "Dev sheets." I detail every thing I develop in these, from planing stages- to the variables I use when coding.
It's a great way to keep track of things (like lets say, I want to change a picture in the battle system- the HP bar or something- well, instead of routing through the code- I just look at where I wrote it down and see- "Oh, HPbar= Pic13" or something like that.
So whats this got to do with mapping?
Well the region is really really planned out. I've decided to even go as deep to giving the region it's own folklore (something EVERY official game has, but NO fan game has).
I don't really want to type this- but - I've even got 3 regions fully detailed (that saying- remember, I'm doing the "Release Candidate" system- where when you download the game- thats it- but you can download updates for the game to keep the experience going- and that includes new regions ha).
I totally regret saying I've more then one region planned HA.

Anyways- so in order to bring these really planned regions to life- you need great NPC dialog (tell the player eveything in game- no point explaining something in your opening post of the game- then in-game leaving it bare- but you need good mapping.
Mapping is the foundation of the game in general.
I've revamped- or redid EVERY outdoor map in the game at LEAST once, and I'm still unhappy with some.
The maps later in the game are better- but because I mapped the earlier maps first (up to around the 3rd Town/City- I'm never happy with them.
So these might always change right up until i release the game. lol.
I will try and work on them.

In regard to lag, I really don't know. Durning the Beta testing I will find out I guess. I've got a Dell XPS laptop- which is a high-end laptop- which means I experience no lad whatso ever.
Hopefully, I'll be ok, and noone will have any problems- there are hardly any events running along side another event, but things such as the time of day running while a battle is in place (since battles happen on the map in the window) might take it's toll on old PCs.
And a demo- is not coming out per say. I wrote about this before- and even in this post- I have something that I'm dubbing "Release Candidates"
What this means is- when I release the game- thats it, thats the game, but I can release updates- that the player just drags into the game folder- updates any files- and can play the game with their save file still working.
It's a great idea- so in theory, I could release the game with only one town- then in an update- have more maps. Drag the maps into the game folder- then start your game- with your saved data and the maps will be there.
Again- it's really neat.


Small Update
Ok, thats a huge post- but hopefully it answers questions. I love hearing what people have to say- then responding to it (in detail clearly by this post :P), so feel free to keep posting and asking and whatever. lol.
But-
I don't think I said this on this forum (I said it on my own), but I've started to revamp the entire battle system! Well not the look- just the coding.
I've coded in EVs and IVs now! The official battle damage maths (I always had that- but now includes the EVs and IVs in it's maths)-
a detailed formula for how Minerals are dealt out after battle (remember Minerals are the new way to leveling up Pokemon in this game).
I've fully coded in wild battles- with enemys using attacks and at different levels- using different attacks.
I've coded in the official formula for working out a Pokemons stats at ANY level.
This is great for the battling.
And I've also finished coding trainer battles!
The battle background changes depending on the battle (like wild- trainer- gym) and also has different tones depending on the time of day!

Remember- I'm trying to do this official, and thinking long term- so while many games promise it- in time I plan on having as much Pokemon as Rm2k3 will let me.
So the way the coding is working- I've started with Kanto Pokemon (for the varibles- 1 =Bulbasaur - 2=Ivysaur and so on).
This is coding just like the national dex numbers. So it's easier on me.
Mewtwo is the main focal point of the story arc of any Team you join in the game- so that means- the way I'm coding- I should hopefully at least do all the first 151 Pokemon.
But as of right now- only the starter pokemon and their evos are FULLY coded. While base stats of the first 20 national dex numbered Pokemon are in the game.

I'll have some screenshots to show off if I get some more replys.....


Well that took a really long time to write- so please write back on anything I've said here ha!

Yeah, Metropolis had a hard time on 2007 because of the lack of constant updates, and the thread was locked also, but I'm getting the hang of it again. Like you said, people must understand that a fan game is something to be made on free time, so...

Come'on Neo-Dragon!
We are waiting for screenies!

@Archayos:
I do agree with the maps looking really bare. My mapping is an area I'm never happy with. Let me explain.
I plan out everything in this game. I have 3 word documents called my "Dev sheets." I detail every thing I develop in these, from planing stages- to the variables I use when coding.
It's a great way to keep track of things (like lets say, I want to change a picture in the battle system- the HP bar or something- well, instead of routing through the code- I just look at where I wrote it down and see- "Oh, HPbar= Pic13" or something like that.
So whats this got to do with mapping?
Well the region is really really planned out. I've decided to even go as deep to giving the region it's own folklore (something EVERY official game has, but NO fan game has).
I don't really want to type this- but - I've even got 3 regions fully detailed (that saying- remember, I'm doing the "Release Candidate" system- where when you download the game- thats it- but you can download updates for the game to keep the experience going- and that includes new regions ha).
I totally regret saying I've more then one region planned HA.

Anyways- so in order to bring these really planned regions to life- you need great NPC dialog (tell the player eveything in game- no point explaining something in your opening post of the game- then in-game leaving it bare- but you need good mapping.
Mapping is the foundation of the game in general.
I've revamped- or redid EVERY outdoor map in the game at LEAST once, and I'm still unhappy with some.
The maps later in the game are better- but because I mapped the earlier maps first (up to around the 3rd Town/City- I'm never happy with them.
So these might always change right up until i release the game. lol.
I will try and work on them.

In regard to lag, I really don't know. Durning the Beta testing I will find out I guess. I've got a Dell XPS laptop- which is a high-end laptop- which means I experience no lad whatso ever.
Hopefully, I'll be ok, and noone will have any problems- there are hardly any events running along side another event, but things such as the time of day running while a battle is in place (since battles happen on the map in the window) might take it's toll on old PCs.
And a demo- is not coming out per say. I wrote about this before- and even in this post- I have something that I'm dubbing "Release Candidates"
What this means is- when I release the game- thats it, thats the game, but I can release updates- that the player just drags into the game folder- updates any files- and can play the game with their save file still working.
It's a great idea- so in theory, I could release the game with only one town- then in an update- have more maps. Drag the maps into the game folder- then start your game- with your saved data and the maps will be there.
Again- it's really neat.

Click to expand...

Ah. Thanks for that detailed reply. It really helped clear some stuff up. But your maps REALLY have to look a bit more "busier" if you get what I mean. As I've noticed, your tall grass is barely visible. I'd suggest using a simple recolor of the normal Pokémon grass. Edit it as much as you like, but try keeping the same shape. It just... looks good. Here, I found this. Perhaps this'll come in handy?
Damn, I can't post links until I have 15 posts. I'll edit this post later.

Now coming to your grass recolors, you've really inspired me to make one for my upcoming Pokemon fangame. I can't help but say that I love them. Kyledove's tiles are a bit duller than this, I think, but I'm not sure. Either way, it really looks good. If I'm not mistaken, long ago, were the message boxes about... let's say, 50% transparent? They looked really good back then, so I think you should keep them like that. The same goes for the menu.

Next comes your story. I liked the part about the crash, and how you get to choose what your destiny will be, but the "omg, teams looking for another legendary pokemon like usual" is somewhat of a turn off. And as you can see, this part is the core of your storyline; the part where it crawls near the generic pile the most. Invoking some kind of a twist in that area might be a good idea.

That's about it from me. I'll be looking at this game often.

No prob.
Glad I could clear some stuff up for you.
You don't like the tall grass? You mean this tile ye?

I might make it a shade darker to help it stand out more.
Also the maps haven't been detailed in terms of the people who live in the towns yet- so thats why all the maps look bare, noone lives in them.
I think that when I get around to doing it, they will look alot more intresting.
Well hopefully ha.

The menus and message boxes' still are transparent. It's up to the player to set them. You set them transparent in the in-game menu. So don't worry :)

The story will get twists, the crash is something that was just an excuse to introduce the player to the story, and then it will go deeper. But like every feature in this game- unless I've actually coded it, I'm not going to post about it in detail if you get me.... But I will when it's done.