Making sprites work...

#1 A little more info, i was going for a more "classic" feel for an rpg. like those old games you fell in love with that weren't all 3d (for me it was star ocean 2 ^^). anyways, the monsters and chars wouled be 2d, insides of towns and houses, ect 2d, although some items and buildings appear to be 3d because of angles, and the entire overworld 3d. anyone have any idea? cause i dont even know where to start.

#2 Isometric projection?

#3 Torque Game Builder -> TGB Adventure Kit

#4 The terms to search for is "billboard" or "billboard texture".

Billboards are textured polies that always face the camera and are what you use for "sprites" in 3D.

That should give you a start.

#5 From what i have heard and red, TGB cant do 3d very well. if it can please let me know ill go get it.
Isometric projection isnt exactly what im looking for, because im not going to create the chars or monsters in 3d, otherwise it would be perfect. And if im wrong please tell me, but if its a billboard ill always have to view either the back or front of the character i control, and npcs would always have to face the screen even when theyre walking right? i want to be able to rotate on the overworld, but chars still 2d, meaning i could rotate around the char as well, viewing all sides of the sprite as it rotates, respectively, but not always have the back of the char face me. will billboards allow that to happen? as far as i know billboards are the stick people you see in the background of car games xD.
I may plan to do an mmorpg this way too, can tgb handle a mmo? I'd really rather not have to purchase tgb thought since i have tge if possible to do all this on tge.

i do appreciate all the responses so far, im just looking for the best way to go.

#6 Ok, so i guess my questions are, does tgb support mmo's? can it handle having a massive amount of players on it at all? Can i have a 3rd world that is completely 3d besides the character, and even allow you to rotate the camera?
Also,
billboards, can you actually set them as sprites for a controllable character? because billboards usually just show one spot, like the crowds on race car games.
Please help, someone.
Thanks.

#7 Does anyone know at all?

#8 Ok, i figured out tgb can be modified to support mmo's (duh?! lol) but isnt technically "supported". So, tge is my only option. Now anyone who may have even the slightest idea...
with billboards, can you actually set them as sprites for a controllable character like the original question i had asked. (not trying to be rude here either i appreciate all responses). billboards and just pieces of paper stuck in a 3d world usually, and there are at least 4, or 8 sides of a character if youre doing complex sprites.
anyone, please help me out here, i am completely not knowledgable about billboards at all besides what they are, but i dont know anything about sprites in tge either or what it's capable of. Im sure with lots of modding it could happen, but i know no way to approach this at all.

#9 Maybe use a flat .dts object with an animated image file list (ifl)?

#10 Would you happen to know of a program that does ifl?
and with a flat dts im guessing i could just import a pic and output it as a .dts with the ifl?
sorry, ive never done this, never even heard of it.

#11 Or is there not such a program it seems?

#12 If memory serves, an IFL is a text file that contains the file names of each image file that are included in the list.

Ah, yeah... it's in the FAQ here.

Cheers!

#13 Just so you know, you can make an MMO with TGE. Find the MMOKit for torque... mydreamrpg.com, I think.

#14 You can't buy the MMOKIT from mydreamrpg any more

#15 EDIT: That's horrible. =\

Well... I guess you can wait for Prairie Games' MMO kit. >.<

#16 I played around with the dreamrpg mmokit demo, and honestly, its not to the style i was looking for. i know i could go through an edit it all, but, id rather start from scratch and create up exactly how i want. :)
thanks for all the advise though guys. :P

BUT
i still have more annoying questions.
ok, so an ifl will make the character appear to be walking. i can load up everything to make a few images for the steps and all.
now...how do i replace the nice little orc to my flat animation? im sorry, these are beginner questions, but i have no clue how to replace this at all. I slightly know my way around doing things with torque, but nothing like this.
also, if i use ifl, ill have to still have at least, at min, 4 directions, now with 3d its all in there, but as a sprite i have to make every direction have a ifl, how would i go about replacing the orc, then setting the left arrow to actually show the character turn left?, or right to turn right, ect.

#17 Or if i was to use isometrics, is it possible to do that and replace the player with a sprite?