I would most likely do something like this
*label ship4
*temp engines 80
*temp main_hall 75
*temp main_guns 30
*temp shields 15
So and so forth. Just depends on how detailed you want to get.
Awesome, and even though it’s a temp variable, I would need to name it differently from the players own ship stats, right? Like if the players ship has a stat like “engine 20” I would need to name the one for the enemies temp stat something like “enemy_fighter_engines 20”.
Yes but myself I try to keep it simple
\*label ship4
\*temp hull_4 30
\*temp laser_4 50
\*label ship2
\*temp hull_2 75
\*temo laser_2 45Ok, I’m having what it probably a simple problem, but I can’t figure out what it’s deal is. I’m trying to set up a choice and I keep getting this error:
line 28: invalid choice group name: leader?
And then there's the smallest vessels in the battle, the small dart-like fighters.
*choice How would you describe your own role as a fighter flight leader?
#This is merely a stepping stone in my climb up the ranks
*set Loyalty - 5
*set Ambition + 5
*goto fighter_loyalty1
Can you include your line code # as well. Right now nor seeing the problem.
That descriptive text shouldn’t be on the same line as the *choice command, but above it.
Oh man, how did I miss that? I don’t know how many times I looked at this section.
Don’t feel bad I missed it as well lol.
Every once in a while in my game it is going to do a stat check to see if a certain stat is high enough to trigger certain paths. Do you guys think it is best to inform the player of these checks or is it better to keep such things invisible in the background?
I’m having an issue that seems like it should be simple but I can’t figure it out. I’m trying to create stats with multiple words like “Rear Shield” and such but it just give me an error if I try to insert a space between the words.
Also, is there a way to display temp variables in the stat screen, or failing that just in the game?
*create rear_shield 100
or
*temp rear_shield 100
To display (in either case, and both on stats screen and within normal narrative):
${rear_shield}
The above will display: 100 (or whatever the current value) so you would do it something like:
Rear Shield Strength: ${rear_shield}
Edit: regarding your previous post, generally speaking the reader is rarely informed about such checks, as it breaks the flow of the narrative. The mechanics of the game should be largely invisible to the player, unless they actually choose to think about it (“hmm, that option sounds like it relies on my skill as a Leader” etc).
@Vendetta Thanks for your help. My issue at the moment is getting the stat screen to display the name of a variable with multiple words and then the value. I’ll *create front_shield 100 in startup, but haven’t figured a way to get it to display properly in the stat screen.
@fantom Once you’ve *created the variable in startup.txt, you can display the current value anywhere in your game. A *temp variable however can be displayed only during the scene in which it is created (and for this purpose, the stats screen counts as a ‘scene’ so only *temps created in choicescript_stats.txt itself can be displayed on that screen).
Don’t confuse the name of a variable (either type) with how it is displayed. What you choose to call the variable (e.g. rear_shield, since no spaces are allowed) is completely irrevelent to how you refer to it when displayed so far as what the player sees is concerned. You could name them all var1, var2, var3 etc. if you wanted, just so long as you know what each one is supposed to be. In effect the NAME itself is never displayed as such, only the value it contains (whether numeric, “some text” or true / false). Hence:
Rear Shield Strength: ${var6}
will also display 100, or whatever the current value is of that variable name. We use descriptive variable names only because it’s easier for us to remember what each is supposed to be, and has nothing to do with actually displaying them for the player.
If your stat screen problem is specifically to do with displaying a 0-100 value as a percentile bar, that uses a different syntax, e.g.
*stat_chart
percent rear_shield Rear Shield Strength
Note that the variable name (rear_shield) goes in the middle, your displayed text description for it (Rear Shield Strength) at the end.
@ Vendetta Ah, that worked. Thanks again!
*stat_chart
text r_shield Rear Shield
Would also work.
I’m wanting your guys opinion on space battles, specifically their length. Some games, such as Apex Patrol, I felt the space battles were much too short, though I enjoyed the game in general. I realize that since the game as a whole was fairly short that limits the length of any one engagement, but since I’m hoping my game will be longer I can devote a good deal more time into key battles.
Honestly it depends on the battle mechanics, if it’s still story-esque but the scene is a combat one, I don’t really have any issue or preference as to the length. But if you’re planning hitpoints, critical hits and shield restore abilities etc. I likely wouldn’t want them to drag on quite so long.
Is there a way to have a stat in the stat screen hidden, and then revealed later?
@fantom I’d probably just set it according to a boolean, default false so it won’t reveal until you set it true.
*if var
*stat_chart
etc.
On the main issue, I’m 100% in agreement with @CJW, although would suggest trying for a middle ground, being both a mixture of combat stats and varied (even if not entirely story-esque) narrative. That would allow for longer, more detailed battles without having to be completely story / *choice driven.
@Vendetta Thanks for the stat screen help. This give me so many ideas now that I know it’s actually possible.