Use Torque for single player RPG
by John Eric Miller · in Torque Game Engine · 04/12/2003 (1:42 pm) · 5 replies
How would I go about making the Torque engine into a single player RPG engine? Has anyone else out there done this that could give me some insight? I know there is alot to this but any helpful hints would be helpful. Do I need to keep the client/server aspect to the engine? Basically I want missions to be areas in the RPG world that load as the player moves from one area to the next. Woud this be difficult to pull off?
Thanks,
Eric
Thanks,
Eric
#2
Concerning the mission loading when the player moves from one area to the other: I think this can be achieved by script using triggers, the mission area (using the onLeave... (or something like that) function) or maybe event the TerrainManager.
04/13/2003 (3:04 am)
As far as the client/server architecture is concerned: I think you can just ignore it/use it like it is. I implemented a diablo-style inventory which wouldn't work in a network/multiplayer setting. I wrote it when I just started working with the engine, so this problem came from not being familiar with the engine. Nevertheless it works in a single player setting. I wouldn't recomend ripping the server/client stuff out since this would involve a lot of work for just a small speed increase (there have been many discussions about that in the forums). Concerning the mission loading when the player moves from one area to the other: I think this can be achieved by script using triggers, the mission area (using the onLeave... (or something like that) function) or maybe event the TerrainManager.
#3
03/06/2004 (4:43 am)
So if I leave the client server code in should I basically control everything on the server side of the script/code like map loading and saving of game data, etc? Which demo should I start from? I am looking to create a simple adventure game for kids 8- 10 years old with cartoony graphics with a simple good vs evil plot line where the player is put into situation for making morale decisions inorder to win the game. Something like Secret of Mana or Zelda would be good examples of the simplicity.
#4
So you just take out the stuff about "choosing missions" and "joining servers" and have a normal "game start" button instead that launches the appropriate level, and you're all set. You can also be lazy when writing game code, since the client has access to server state and vice versa. This has the added benefit of making it extremely hard for people to break the halves apart (ie, modding it to do multiplayer).
03/07/2004 (12:20 pm)
Basically what happens is that Torque runs the client and server stuff in the same process when you're doing single player.So you just take out the stuff about "choosing missions" and "joining servers" and have a normal "game start" button instead that launches the appropriate level, and you're all set. You can also be lazy when writing game code, since the client has access to server state and vice versa. This has the added benefit of making it extremely hard for people to break the halves apart (ie, modding it to do multiplayer).
#5
Also, you could make the traversing this map a larger scale relative to the world. When you go into a town it goes to a normal FPS map for just that town. If you look at the Dragon Warrior series of games (1,2,3, and 4 for the NES) they do this. The guy travels around a big map and then when fighting or going into a town changes to a more reasonable scale for interaction.
I started writing a Dragon Warrior clone using SDL and OpenGL and realized the monumental task ahead of me just for the map code under OpenGL! The Torque engine literally put me years ahead in development. Eventually I will write a simple RPG using Torque. :)
Frank
03/26/2004 (8:21 pm)
Also, you can consider shrinking the scale of the objects in the game for bigger maps. I am thinking about doing this by changing all the object sizes to 1/4 what they are in the regular FPS. This will make the effective map much bigger. It may be big enough to handle an entire world for an RPG. Also, you could make the traversing this map a larger scale relative to the world. When you go into a town it goes to a normal FPS map for just that town. If you look at the Dragon Warrior series of games (1,2,3, and 4 for the NES) they do this. The guy travels around a big map and then when fighting or going into a town changes to a more reasonable scale for interaction.
I started writing a Dragon Warrior clone using SDL and OpenGL and realized the monumental task ahead of me just for the map code under OpenGL! The Torque engine literally put me years ahead in development. Eventually I will write a simple RPG using Torque. :)
Frank
Torque Owner Fredrik Svensson