(Action RPG) Game Play
Entry posted by Mord
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One of the things I've been wrestling with as I write the basic engines for Action RPG is exactly how the player will be able to move about and interact in the game. As I make more and more progress it's getting harder to put off these decisions! So on the way to work yesterday I started writing down more notes and thought them over.
I intend on the player having access to a limited inventory screen to store various usable items, this may include some types of keys.
Of those items, one will be considered "equipped". In the rom, the equipped item would appear on the right side of the status bar, where I'm currently using an ugly looking trophy thing as a place holder. If an object can go into inventory, it will immediately disappear and go there when the player touches it. How the object will react if the inventory is full I'm not sure of yet. Something to decide later.
Additionally, there are some objects that can not go into inventory. Instead their effects take place as soon as the object is touched. The hearts in the current rom are an example of these.
Finally (for now) there are holdable objects. These objects don't go into inventory, nor do they take effect as soon as they're touched. Instead you pick them up and carry them around with you. You will be able to hold only one object at a time in this manner. Picking up a different object while holding another one will cause the first one to be dropped. (Much like in Adventure.) The black key in the rom is not a complete hold object. It's just a hack job to get something like that working temporarily. This next version of the rom however should have the key updated to be pretty much how holdable objects will work.
At any rate, I was having trouble thinking of how to get using the equipped object and dropping held objects with just the fire button until yesterday. Instead of looking for the button to be pressed, I'll wait for the button to be released. So:
To use equipped objects (something that may be needed to be done quickly) you would press the button and release it relatively quickly. Every frame a counter would increase from zero topping off at FF on any frame where the button was found to be pressed. If the button is found to be not pressed, it would check the counter. If it's zero, do nothing. (Wasn't pressed since last frame) If 1-SomeNumber, likely 50-60, then Do_Equiped_Object_Effects. Otherwise, drop item. (keeping in mind that it wouldn't see the zero case in that "otherwise". 
) In both DoEquipedObjectEffects and DropItem, the counter will be zeroed as well.
Some people may want the DoEquipedObjectEffects to happen as soon as the button is pressed however - the delay can throw off someone's concentration/aim/etc. So I've been thinking of reserving one of the difficulty switches to switch between the "modes". That way they can just reach down to the console and flip it as needed. Hm. Maybe the BW/Color switch would be a better candidate...
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