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ShiningSource.org => General Programming Forum => Topic started by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 16, 2009, 01:53:15 am



Title: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 16, 2009, 01:53:15 am
Im sorry if im an ignorant idiot to suggest this, but i have no idea how to creat a shining game. But anyone who wants to should use my idea. I shining gamplay with marvel superheros. 


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: Ty on June 16, 2009, 03:24:30 pm
Creating games is definitely a bit of a challenge ;)

If you're not sure how to go about things, you can always start small on some non-programming tasks. Write out a story, design towns and battles or draw some sprites related to your idea. Once you've some of those ideas down, you could give BABS (http://www.shiningsource.net/downloads/babs-version25/) a go (it's a tool for creating Shining Force style games).


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 16, 2009, 05:48:36 pm
Is it complicated? and do i need a certain program to use it?


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: Ty on June 19, 2009, 03:40:42 pm
It can be a little tough to get started with BABS if you're new to game development. Most of the work involves editing text files and making maps with SMEE. Like I said, it's probably best to start work on the big parts, and then play around with getting your characters walking around in BABS or something :)


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 19, 2009, 07:42:28 pm
And the big parts would include....


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: Ty on June 20, 2009, 02:01:49 pm
Things like: Maps, characters, enemies, battles, items, the story etc. For example, who would be the force leader? Would characters have magic in the traditional Shining sense (Blaze, Spark etc) or would you rework it for the Marvel universe? What kind of equipment would people use instead of swords, spears and axes? What would the enemies be like? There's loads of questions like that, although I do tend to do more thinking than programming :(

I find it's best to get these things down on paper before trying to get it on screen. You don't have to plan the entire game, but I'd recommend having a solid idea of how you'd like the finished game to work. It doesn't mean you can't play around with things, but it'll save you time in the long run :)


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 20, 2009, 09:07:38 pm
Well i was thinking just trying to figure out how to use it, and makeing like a preview game, to get the hang of it. Because right now i can't make heads or tails of it...


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: Ty on June 20, 2009, 09:24:31 pm
Yeah, it's a little tough to wrap your head around at first ;) I'm not really an expert at it, but I'll take a look this week and see if I can make an example for you :)


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 20, 2009, 09:57:50 pm
Well thank you that would be great. Is there anything specific i need to run the game, or any program i need to open some of the files in the folder i downloaded, because some files won't open because it doesn't know what to open them as.


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: Ty on June 20, 2009, 10:16:18 pm
Java needs to be installed, and other than that you need a text editor. All the files in the "gamefiles" directory can be edited, as well as the entityfile and scriptfile ones in the "maps" directory. Character graphics are in "sprites", and there are all kinds of neat things in "images".

To run the Shiny Sword demo that comes with BABS, just run the Shiny_Sword.bat. To edit maps, run Smee.bat, and load a map from the "maps" folder. "start.smf" is probably the best one to try, as it's the first level of Shiny Sword, so you can see your changes easily.

Hope that helps a little :)


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 20, 2009, 10:31:15 pm
Yes that does help a little bit. But i would like ot know more about the text editor


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: Ty on June 20, 2009, 11:13:52 pm
Okey doke, I'll try my best. Download "Programmer's Notepad (http://www.pnotepad.org/)" and install it. It's like regular Windows notepad, but much, much nicer. After that, open it up and start looking at some of the files that come with BABS. Start with the ones in "gamefiles" to see how characters are set up. "partyfile" defines all the playable characters in the game.

To make things easier, set the view mode to "properties" once your file is open (It's under "View -> Change Scheme", or you can use the dropdown in the screenshot below). When you're looking at the files, lines that start with "#" will be ignored by the game. They show up as green in Programmer's Notepad, so they're easier to see. It might look a little scary, but once you figure out how it works you'll be fine :)


Title: Re: Marvel Shining Force
Post by: YippeeKiYay23JD on June 21, 2009, 05:15:35 am
Well thanks, you have been a great help. Its hard to find helpfull people anymore, you know...