TURBU

I’ll try to have another release on Saturday.  Here’s the features I’m going to shoot for.

1. Finish all the event commands for page 1.
2. Get system sound effects working.
3. Get hero translucency working.
4. Complete the Inn routine.
5. Implement the menu system
6. Implement the shop system.

Kind of a lot on my plate here, but I think I’ll be able to get it all working by the end of the week.

I’m not sure yet if this will become a regular thing, but I’ll have a new release ready this Saturday.  I’m ironing out a few details at the moment, but the main change will be to ensure that all RM2K events will compile properly.  There are a few event commands right now–most noticeably the fork (if) command–that cause the script compiler to bail out.  This is because they aren’t implemented yet, so no code for them gets inserted, but the “end” opcode that RPG Maker puts at the end of the “if” block is the same that it puts at the end of each script, so the compiler thinks that the script’s over before it should be.  I’m implementing those commands now, so that they will work properly and not confuse the compiler any more.

I’ll also release the latest version of the Map Evaluator.  Much as the Map Viewer currently in the downloads page is the game engine in embryo, the Evaluator is a tool I use that forms the core of what will eventually become the game editor.  It will allow users to see information about RPG Maker maps, including viewing events and seeing how they translate into RPG Script.  I hope you all enjoy it!

This is a version release I’ve really been looking forward to. It was so big, in fact, that I went and set up a website for it! This release is where I introduce TURBU users to what will be the core of their game: RPG Script. For a few months now, the map viewer has been taking Events from maps it evaluates and translating them to RPG Script code on the fly, behind the scenes. But now, with the inclusion of a Debug Console feature in the map viewer, the users can start learning to use RPG Script for themselves. I’ve included a bunch of information on what RPG Script is and how it works in the helpfile I wrote for this release.

Now back to the event translating. I’m about a third of the way done. Once I finish translating the event codes, all I’ll have to do is:

1. write the battle system,
2. code support for multiple maps,
3. create a save-game system,
4. separate the TURBU game engine code from the RPG Maker project import code (the two are sort of lumped together right now)
5. finish the editor, which I’m writing in parallel with the game engine,
6. completely rewrite the map engine in SDL, to make it cross-platform compatible
7. add in support for RPG Maker 2003 importing and RM2k3-specific features, especially the different battle engine, and…
8. figure out what to put in next!

When the first 4 are done, TURBU will be at version 1.0. I can’t wait!

Mason

Progress information will be posted here as I continue to make progress on the game engine and the editor.