New Poster: Questions

[PeeWee]

Hi,

I've been spending time in the BGII forum and decided to check out the other rpg areas. In coming here, I've read stuff at the DC home site as well as look over information briefly at the IW site along with skimming threads here.

I'm impressed with the great work that's been going on right under my nose. I haven't downloaded the DC program since it's beyond my general understanding....for now. I do have a few questions since I couldn't find much information - I've spent well over an hour looking/reading over "stuff" pertaining to the game.

My first questions: Is there a FAQ somewhere covering DC? I didn't find one but maybe am overlooking the obvious. If there isn't one, is there one going to be made some time soon? I'm interested to learn more about this program - it's history, function, the simple starters, and anything else normally included in FAQ's.

My history: I've played a handful of cardboard games about 12 years ago. I have played old console games and I have to mention that the renderings of Dan from the Eye of the Beholder are great pieces. Brings back major nostalgia. I've played many console rpgs as well as others ranging from : Eye of the Beholder, Ultima, Betrayal at Krondor, Wake of the Ravager(one of my personal favorites), EverQuest, Zelda, Willow, and many others - some like Zelda are considered to me to be semi- adventure/rpg'ish.( Now I'm finally having the late chance of playing BGII)

I am not familiar with FRUA but from playing some of the games mentioned above I should have a general idea of how it works. Maybe I should have downloaded and tried the program out to have more questions and to find answers there, but I'd rather know ahead of time what to expect so I won't "screw" up too much of the program's functions.

Second question: Once I run the program, is there a defaults settings that allows me to clear up or reset the program to what it was in case I made major "noobie" mistakes?

Also, is downloading and just jumping into using the program the best way for me to learn? I don't know if the editor is set up in a map overlay view such as showing boxed sections like a grid. Is it a simple program where I can freely set triggers, events, conditions, items, npcs, and the likes into one of the grid areas?

I'm sure if I downloaded the program and ran it I wouldn't be asking this, but then I probably would be asking a whole new set of questions which could be answered in a FAQ if there is one.

Also, is there any information given on usage of sprites or any animated npcs? Take for example, I've remembered the drow sections of the Eye of the Beholder and there I remember coming across drow who moved at a certain speed. You would have one in the foreground and normally two behind him in the background. In attacking, there is mild animation. Does DC allow this kind of capability?

And what of setting AI for npcs? Take those two drow in the background for this example. Would they be allowed -with following 2nd edition rules-- to use ranged weapons upon my party through this program? Do I have to set it up for this to happen and would it be complicated for a beginner to do so?

Any feedback is welcomed and explaining it as if you were looking at this thru the eyes of of a "newbie" such as myself would be even more appreciated. Even relating it to the games mentioned with similarities above would make my undertanding a bit simpler.

I too would like to try my hand at creating a "3d" rpg environment and any before-hand knowledge would make that fun task easier provided DC has the capabilities.

One more thing, I read the foody thread where he was wanting to upload 80megs for others to have access to his game design. In my opinion, 80megs in one zip is still HUGE. Will there be ways to condense that? Perhaps break it down into smaller, friendlier downloadable zips?

Thanks for reading, I know it's long winded. And, great work.

[CocoaSpud]

No FAQ yet. I suppose I should be collecting user questions and putting them into one though. Perhaps I can throw one up there this week sometime.

Excluding bugs in the program which may interfere with normal operation, you can reset to design defaults by clearing the current design or by restarting the editor.

The maps are displayed as a grid and also with a view from the player's perspective. Events, zones, walls, and backdrops are placed by clicking on a map square. Items, monsters, NPC's, and spells are created and then manipulated using events. That is, create an item and then give the item to the party using an event, or give the item to a monster and have the monster attack the party using an event.

Some pics can be animated using multiple frames. The combat icons are not currently animated and have only the two poses - ready and attack. There is an example pic for all image types included in the installation.

The current combat AI is very simplistic and not adjustable. Combat is still under construction as we try to add spell casting into it. For now, the monsters will find the quickest route to the party and slug it out.

DC is currently a 2d environment, similar to the original FRUA. If I ever get to the point where all else is done, I might try to create a 3d version just for the point of learning it.

So far the largest design I have seen uses around 60MB, and it was separated into several small zips for download. All design files go into the same folder so it's easy to extract them. Most of the size comes from numerous art and sound files.

Since you have not used FRUA, I would recommend two things. Download a DC design and try it out to see if you like the sort of environment this program creates. If so, take a look at the tutorial in the help file to learn some basics. You can also open the design you downloaded in the editor to see how things work. The only design available right now is in a Sci-Fi setting with no combat, and it can be found here

http://frua.dns2go.com/DC/modules/Days1.zip
http://frua.dns2go.com/DC/modules/Days2.zip

Just unzip both of those into a single folder and give the folder a name that ends with '.dsn', as in 'Days.dsn'.

You should probably use the latest engine executable to play this design and you can get that here

http://uaf.sourceforge.net/bin/UAFWin_latest.zip

Unzip it into the same design folder and double-click it to start playing.

[PeeWee]

All very helpful information. I just now downloaded DC and will give it a go after I familiarize myself with the designs.

I have to say that the reply answered all the questions I had. Thank you for taking the time to do so and for making the basics understandable. I'll be having tons of fun things to do now.

Thanks again.