Is this screenshot a picture of when you hover over the enemy or select them during your turn or something?

This would probably appear both when the enemy takes its turn, and when you hover over the enemy tile during your turn.

There is one thing I could use help with... I am debating on how display a character or enemy's actual movement range. (i.e., some kind of flashing tiles imposed on areas they can move to) There won't be any masking in the game, so I can't impose symbols on top of land squares without fully covering them. I thought maybe I could impose flashing, black semi-squares. (they would just pop-in over each tile, disappear, rinse and repeat)

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I also wanted to share more details about enemies. I wanted to base them even more on elements of D&D this time, so I've borrowed some of the more vicious qualities from the Monster Manuals.

Some enemies will be able to destroy your equipped weapon or armor. Any generic equipment type (anything that can be purchased) is destructible, while rarer equipment is not. An example of this mechanic is with the Ochre Jelly enemies. Their constitution is highly acidic. If you're successfully attacked by one, your (destructible) armor will instantly dissolve. if you successfully hit one with a destructible sword, then your sword will dissolve.

Next, we have undead enemies. When an undead creature successfully scores an attack against you, you lose one experience level. This removes any HP, MP, ATT / DEF bonuses or skills you learned by advancing to that level, and resets your current experience. This effect is not cumulative. It's considered a negative status that can be reversed by casting Greater Restoration. (however, your current experience cannot be restored) While this effect is in play, the character will not gain any experience at all.

Lastly, we have the mighty dragon. Dragons are incredibly rare, and are a bane upon both enemies and allies in the field of battle. When a dragon appears, it ravages everything in sight without any prejudice. Dragons are so substantially powerful that a player will likely never confront and defeat one throughout the course of the game, unless by extreme luck. Enemies will automatically attempt to steer-clear of any dragon encounters on the map. In some way, it can be considered a mixed-blessing, as the dragon might vanquish most (or all) of your enemies for you.

There are two types of dragons so far: Original, fire-breathing Dragon, and Zombie Dragon. The fire-breathing dragon continuously unleashes an incindiery breath upon anything in its range of sight. This breath attack can target any creature within 6 tiles, making it difficult to escape. The Zombie Dragon has a vitriolic breath, which inflicts similar damage, but also destroys the target's armor, causes poison status, and results in instant death in 1/3 cases where the target would normally survive.

wow nice. Would it be possible to take the treasure before all enemies dies, tho? That might slow things down a bit for collision detection, altough that could be tweaked a little

If you don't grab the treasure before clearing the objective of the battle, then you won't be able to claim it. You just move over top of a treasure chest and "Check" it to grab the contents.

Else, to cheat purposely to speed things up, maybe the last enemy to die would give the key which opens the chest?

I didn't plan to lock them. Chests containing rare items will either be hidden out of sight, or those items will automatically be dropped by enemies. (such as bosses) The player can also find items by checking suspicious spots on the ground. (those will be fairly obviously marked, but probably still hidden out of sight)

Very cool graphics btw. Did you made all of them yourself?

Modified sprite-rips. I think I made a few of them. I borrowed a few from (very) old assets from Lost Legends, and modified them.

Nice stuff. About how many unique or different maps will there be? Also, will there be any bonuses for terrain (like +1 Def if on a mountain?)

I'm not sure how many unique maps there will be. Probably a lot, since you go into battle fairly often. There will be some generic maps that are recycled for random encounters.

There won't be terrain bonuses, but terrain affects your movement. You can't normally move over mountains, trees, walls, rivers, or anything else that obstructs your path. Flying enemies have the advantage of ignoring terrain types altogether. There aren't really any types that would merit any kind of bonuses to your abilities. Dry land is basically just dry land. It's all you can really walk on. Your movement might obviously be hindered in small quarters, though. If you were battling inside a castle, a set of ruins, a cave or a village, it would be difficult to navigate in and out of buildings. (or through hallways and passages)

I have been working on arranging the status screen, but it's not entirely complete:



Changing equipment would be done in another screen. This just displays what you're currently holding, and what your statistics are.

ooh ok you can move inside battles, I assume the movement would be quite limited, though, right? (seeing how large are the sprites)

Those aren't your map sprites. Those only appear in action sequences. (when you actually attack) Map sprites are 16x16 sprites. Your movement range depends mostly on your character level, and what you have equipped. Your base movement range (around 3-5 tiles, on average) will be hindered by wearing heavy armor, or boosted by wearing equipment that's especially lightweight, or magically-enchanted to increase agility.

Map sprites and maps are the same size as they are in Shadow over Ragnoth: 16x16 tiles. The mock-ups in this thread only show special action sequences that take place when you use an ability, or attack an enemy.

darn awesome!

I think when he opens his mouth, it should only take half a second before fire appears, though

This isn't technically accurate of what might appear in the game, by the way. I had to piece this together in Animation Shop. It was kind of tedious to measure all the timing, since I was throwing things together frame-by-frame.

(I'm hoping the animations can be more robust in the actual game, though.)

I've been working on some ideas for player spells, and I wanted to create something more fun; and less restrictive than what I used in Shadow over Ragnoth. Here are some of the spells I've decided on so far: (names are subject to change)

Augury - Reveals the current / max HP of the target enemy, as well as its weakness. (if applicable) Use of this spell does not conclude the player's turn.

Neutralise Poison - Removes poisons from the player. This spell does not conclude the player's turn.

Sanctuary - Lifts the player from the field of battle, returning them to the safe harbour of a nearby village.

Lesser Restoration - Restores 12..24 HP to the player.

Blight - Smites an undead creature, instantly destroying it without any chance of failure.

Inferno - Renders a volcanic fount beneath the target enemy, inflicting {cvlv/2} damage. (fire damage)

Chain Lightning - Strikes a target enemy with a bolt of lightning that inflicts {clvl/3} damage, has a 50% chance of striking twice. (lightning damage)

Valour - Bolsters the courage of the player, increasing ATT by 4..8 points. (up to 4 rounds)

Firebrand - Enchants the player's weapon with the essence of fire, allowing it to unleash an inferno each time an attack is dealt. (up to 4 rounds)

Silver Fleece - Enshrouds the player in a silver mesh, increasing DEF by 2..6 points. (up to 4 rounds)

Alacrity - The player's initiative becomes critical, and their movement range is increased by 1 sq. (up to 4 rounds)

Palisade's Fire - Unleashes an inferno that burns a target enemy, then leaves a continuing blaze in the map area. Any creature that crosses this area (including the player) is damaged by the blaze. (up to 12 rounds)

Greater Restoration - Restores the player to full HP.

Meteor Shower - Summons a swarm of meteors to crush and incinerate a target enemy. (fire damage) Each swarm generates 3..6 meteorites, which inflict {clvl/4} damage.

Renascence - Breathes life back into the player, (with 1 HP) should they fall in combat; however, all remaining MP is drained.

Whisper Wind - Restores 6..12 HP to the player at the end of each round. (up to 12 rounds)

Dragon's Bane - Negates damage from dragon's breath attacks. (up to 4 rounds)

Cloak of Shadows - Renders the player invisible to enemy sight. (up to 4 rounds)

Griffon's Flight - Allows the player to move over any terrain that would normally obstruct their path, but renders them weak against lightning attacks.

Apportation - Allows the player to jump, instantaneously, to any location on the map; but the player sacrifices their next turn.

by moving around do you mean like Zelda II: Adventure Of Link? You would have to only display about 2-3 at once and if it's 2 or higher, have enemies be able to go through walls. Maybe have them look like some spirits or ghosts outside battle, like evil forces pursuing you (or almost), else, if you have more than one enemy moving at once on the map where you walk around in a screen, good luck getting a framerate higher than 1.5 frames per seconds

It's more like Shining Force, or Fire Emblem; or Final Fantasy Tactics. You, and several enemy units, appear on a battle map. You each take turns moving around the map. Entirely turn-based movement. When you are near an enemy, you can choose to attack them upon your turn. This transfers you to an action scene (in the mock-ups) where you view a short animation of your attack, and whatever text corresponds to the resulting effect. (how much damage was inflicted, whether or not you gained a level, etc.) After your attack is completed, you're transfered back to the battle map. It's not a one-on-one constant battle -- you only transition to the action screen when you register an attack command against an enemy unit. Example.

I finished defining some rules for the status progression system. The main difference from other RPGs is that experience is not a large pool that constantly accumulates. You will be given a small requirement for reaching the next level, which resets upon leveling-up, or slightly increases the required value for the next level.

I'm still working on a statistic to define turn initiative and movement range; and critical rate.

The character's primary statistics are HP, MP, ATT, DEF and base evasion. The accuracy of physical attacks merely check the evasion of the target being attacked. Each target has its own base chance of evading an attack. The player character may slightly improve his evasion by equipping shields.

ATT and DEF represent damage and damage reduction, respectively. Each represents a formula where the damage is slightly dynamic:

DEF/4..total DEF (round up) - generate a random number between these values to determine damage reduction from a single enemy attack

ATT/2..total ATT (round up) - generate a random number between these values - subtract damage reduction to determine damage output against a single enemy

If 0, credit 1 point. If critical, multiply by 1.5. If targetting weakness, ignore target DEF.

Enemies give small amounts of exp., ranging from 1-10 points. Bosses automatically increase the player level by 1. Each level gives a small HP and MP bonus, and very rarely, a natural improvement in ATT and DEF or combative skills.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| LV | HP | MP | Evade | Other                                            | EX.|
|----+----+----+-------+--------------------------------------------------+----|
| 01 | 12 | 08 |  n/a  |  ...                                             | 20 |
| 02 | 14 | 09 |  n/a  | ATT +1                                           | 30 |
| 03 | 16 | 10 |  n/a  |  ...                                             | 30 |
| 04 | 18 | 11 | 01/48 |                                                  | 30 |
| 05 | 20 | 13 | 01/48 | ATT +1; DEF +1; 01/60 chance to counterattack    | 40 |
| 06 | 22 | 14 | 01/48 |  ...                                             | 40 |
| 07 | 24 | 15 | 01/48 |                                                  | 40 |
| 08 | 26 | 16 | 01/48 | ocassionally resist poison (1/2)                 | 40 |
| 09 | 28 | 17 | 01/48 |  ...                                             | 50 |
| 10 | 30 | 19 | 01/48 | DEF +1; 01/40 chance to attack twice             | 50 |
| 11 | 32 | 20 | 01/48 |  ...                                             | 50 |
| 12 | 34 | 21 | 01/40 |  ...                                             | 50 |
| 13 | 36 | 22 | 01/40 |  ...                                             | 50 |
| 14 | 38 | 23 | 01/40 |                                                  | 60 |
| 15 | 40 | 25 | 01/40 | ATT +1; 01/40 chance to counterattack            | 60 |
| 16 | 42 | 26 | 01/40 | ocassionally resist paralysis (1/2)              | 60 |
| 17 | 44 | 27 | 01/40 |  ...                                             | 60 |
| 18 | 48 | 28 | 01/40 |  ...                                             | 60 |
| 19 | 50 | 29 | 01/40 |  ...                                             | 60 |
| 20 | 52 | 32 | 01/32 | ATT +1; DEF +1; 01/20 chance to attack twice     | 70 |
| 21 | 56 | 34 | 01/32 |  ...                                             | 70 |
| 22 | 60 | 36 | 01/32 |  ...                                             | 70 |
| 23 | 64 | 38 | 01/32 |  ...                                             | 70 |
| 24 | 68 | 40 | 01/32 |  ...                                             | 70 |
| 25 | 72 | 43 | 01/32 | DEF +1; 01/20 chance to counterattack            | 70 |
| 26 | 76 | 45 | 01/32 |  ...                                             | 70 |
| 27 | 80 | 47 | 01/32 |  ...                                             | 80 |
| 28 | 84 | 49 | 01/24 |  ...                                             | 80 |
| 29 | 88 | 51 | 01/24 |  ...                                             | 80 |
| 30 | 92 | 54 | 01/24 | ATT +1; DEF +1                                   | 80 |
| 30+| +1 | +1 | 01/24 |  ...                                             | 99 |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 The player may progress as high as level 30. After that, a dagger appears next to the level, and exp. required is set to 99. Further levels are not indicated, and only increase HP and MP by 1. (essentially, the player may level-up indefinitely)
 
 Although not displayed beyond 99, HP and MP can be raised as high as 255.
 
 If counterattack or double-attack feats are gained, these are reported as "combat skills improved."

I'm not sure about that. In order to maintain spacing in the font, there is actually a separate font that blends in with the window border. I may need to redo this, as it seems like too much extra technical work.

Also -- penises and nipples.

I see your point. I was looking at the technical specs and thought it was kind of interesting as a platform, but I didn't realize how unpopular it also is. On the other hand, everything I've been working on so far is easily adaptable to a 96x64 resolution:



I want to go ahead and post a bit more info about the setting and storyline, to set things up:

Chapter 1: The Hand of Fate

Anaximander begins training in Osgoth's Lyceum with other knights from his brigade. During this time, the player is given a tutorial as to how to function in combat.

Night falls, and Anaximander is approached in his quarters by his comrade and best friend, Heraclitus, who informs him that Lord Democritus has requested an audience with his most trusted men. By Heraclitus' recommendation alone, Lord Democritus has agreed to include Anaximander as part of a secret order. This order is tasked with the eradication of an underground faction said to be plotting a coup against the royal family.

Hoping to earn the Lord's trust and further his rank, Anaximander accompanies Heraclitus' brigade to the remote region of Wynn. A gathering of mages, and their families, are spotted in a small encampment within the forests. The males are put to slaughter, believed to be insurgents; but Anaximander begins to question his orders when Heraclitus calls for the murder of both women and children. Heraclitus demonstrates the slaughter of a young girl, claiming the seeds of their people should be wiped from the earth. Anaximander, in indignation, relinquishes his rank, and stands his ground against Heraclitus and the remaining forces of the brigade. Anaximander is inevitably overpowered and left for dead...

Dispassioned over the actions of his former comrade, Anaximander sets out on his journey to uncover the truth behind this new order, and the underlying intentions of Lord Democritus.