How do I do a good CBS?

[just1question]

This is my first game, but I don't think there's a such thing as being overly ambitious
After the failed attempt at my last game, I'm going to spend a lot more time in the planning stages on this one, especially since the story is going to be better (although it's still a little sketchy right now).
Anyways, I would really like to have a CBS in my game, but for the life of me I can't find a decent tut on CBSs, probably because they're so customizable.  Take into consideration the fact that I'm not the best at programming, but as long as I get some guidelines I can do this.  My original plan was to have something along the lines of a Lunar CBS, but I was told by people in another forum that it's too much hassle, and come to think of it they're probably right.  So, instead, I'd probably like to make it a little simpler.
I'd like to have the battle take place on a map-terrain-style setting, rather than against a backdrop (everyone knows what I mean there).  I would also like to have a CMS in battle.  I've also had troubles coming across a good tut on CMSs.
Sorry if this is asking a bit much.  If anyone has any advice or can direct me towards a good tut on either of these, I'd really appreciate it.  Even better, if there's anyone who would be willing to help me along with this and we could stay in touch, I'd be forever grateful.  If you've got any questions as to what I want to have, just let me know and I'd be more than happy to give them.
And if you are interested at all in the details of my game I'd be happy to give whatever I've got.  If I can pull this off I'm hoping to make it as good as I possibly can get it to be.

EDIT: Oh, and this is using RM2K3.  That's important I'm sure.

[Carnosa]

Well if you want the battle to take place on what you call a map-terrain-setting, just make your hero's walking GFX blank and start him on the map where you want the battle to take place, and take a screenshot. Make the screenshot you took into a backdrop and save it as 256-Color Bitmap.

That should work for that. And if you want me to program anything for your game tell me and Ill see what i can do.

[just1question]

Awesome.
I'd like for a CMS in battle to start off.  This might sound a little nooby, but how do I make my own CMS/system in battle?  That's the basic jist of what I want the most.
I have other ideas, like especially the Lunar-style battle system, but I've been told that's too much of a hassle and that everyone who has tried to do it has ended up wanting to throw their computer out the window programming it.  I just want three things different from the DBS: a move command that allows your character to move on the screen, rather than staying in one fixed formations.  Another thing I wanted was spells with a blast radius.  The last thing is attack range (sword attacks can only be used at a close range, while spells and ranged attacks can be used anywhere).  These were three things I was told would be a royal pain, and I believe them, but if you think that it might not be as much of a pain as they say, I'd really like to have something like that.
Other than that, I'm just going for aesthetics.  I'd like to make a better looking menu and battle scene.
Also, would the CBS be using battlechars and all the basic menus from the database, or would I have to just incorporate all that stuff into common events?
If the hard stuff is going to be too hard, that's OK.  I can live with just sprucing it all up with a CMS.  Besides, I would like HP, MP, and Trance bars.
Thanks a ton!

[DragonBlaze]

 

a move command that allows your character to move on the screen, rather than staying in one fixed formations. Another thing I wanted was spells with a blast radius. The last thing is attack range (sword attacks can only be used at a close range, while spells and ranged attacks can be used anywhere).

You're in for a bumpy road, scripting something like that is vary complicated, especially if there are numerous heros fighting at once. Since the "hero" sprites aren't actually the hero, you can't make an event where the monster moves twored the hero, or where you move tworeds the monster by the "step twored hero" command. You're gonna have to use a lot of variables for the hero positions and monster positions. You'll have to set two variables equal to the sprites x and y cooridents for every sprite on the field. Now lets say you want hero 1 to attack monster 1, you would have to script it so that if hero 1's x is greater than monster 1's x, hero 1 moves [insert direction]. When there x's are 1 apart you stop moving in that dirrection. Then you also would have to take in consideration of their y coorinates.

For attacking, you have to set if hero 1's x and hero1's y are close to monster 1's x and y, then he will be able to use the attack command.

For a menu: Desplay a picture of the background (or use tilesets) and desplay a picture of the curser. Start off with the curser on the top option. Make a parrallel process event with a key imput process with up and down as the inputs. Make a fork condition for both up and down. If its down, branch it so that the curser pic moves to the second option, if its up, move the curser to the bottom option. Now lets say you move it down, set a variable to 1. On a differant page of that event make another page where if that variable is one, it takes place. Make this page the same as the first, exept if you push up, the curser moves to the top space and the variable is set to 0, and if you push down, the curser moves down and the variable is set to 2. Make a new page for every option.

Now you gotta make a new input on each page for the decision key, and a fork for when you push that key. In that fork you make what you want to happen if the button is pushed on that page.


Another thing you will need is algerithms. Algerithms are common events that determain stuff like battle damage by taking variables (set by stats) of the heros attack, level, ect. and the monsters attack, level, ect. and turning them into a value usable for battle damage and stuff. Some good tutorials on how to make algerithms are at blade2k.net


Hope that helped a little  

[wildguy3922]

There's more than one way to do it, but I think DragonBlaze's would work the best for anyone.

[Carnosa]

well i asked to help not to re program the database...

but anyways im pretty busy rght now and im sorry for getting your hopes up man.

[just1question]

No problem.  I think I'm just going to stick with a DBS with a CMS.  Or I might just skip the CMS if I can't make it right.