Noobs Questions: Game, Platforms, Coding and Maps

[wickedsunny]

Hi I am new here.

My name is Sunny. I am a game designer and writer from India.

I found this tool today and I have some basic questions, hope all of you can help me with these.

1) We can create role playing games with this tool? is it interactive like rpgmakerxp or you roll the dice and player moves automatically?

2) Which platforms we can publish it using Java? PDF, exe? What about android and IOS?

3) I am not a programmer. how much scripting is required to make the game? Not looking to make a very big game, just a small game for starters.

4) Maps needs to be tile based or we can use single big maps?

5) What is the commercial outcome of such games? do they sell?

6) Also is there any tool which cuts a large map into tiny tile sets to be used to create such tile maps? I was looking for such a tool and bumped onto this site. I do not want to go Photoshop route of manually cropping each tile.

7) I am a 3d designer and I am looking to make some high quality game maps for my game. I want to be sure which format to use, so that there is no memory problem. how many kbs or mbs or what resolution like 640 x 480 or higher is optimal?


Also if any one requires custom maps to be created, I can create them.
Any one can contact me through my site
http://www.wickedsunny.com
http://www.learndesignanimate.com

[aliasmask]

I recommend watching the tutorials. It will give you an idea of what you can do.

Maptool is open sourced, so you could develop your own commercial product with it. I only know of only one product used as a phone app and I believe the code used was a port. I don't know if the app is still being supported or if it the users like it though, but I do recall it still needed an instance of MapTool to run. The app ran as a client.

Most of the macro script code developed for MapTool has been shared in our user creations thread to be used by anyone. We have a very active board and supportive members to help newbees along in their coding.

MapTool is not a paint program and only has some limited features in that area. I can not split an image in to smaller chunks, but does allow for multiple maps.

[wickedsunny]

Thanks Man.

I am going through the wiki right now.

If only it starts, because my java is not starting only. I have installed new java version, a cmd box is opening and closing instantly. Unless Java doesn't start I cannot use this tool.

[aliasmask]

Be sure to use java 6_30. Java 7 is unsupported, I believe. But I think the new update pending will support it.. I don't recall. That, or it's still a WIP to get it to work.

[wickedsunny]

Found the solution on another thread.

Its because I was making max mem to 2000 when starting, had to make it 500 mb. I have 12 GB ram on my workstation, yet it cannot use 2GB ram?

What is the max mem I can use?

[aliasmask]

Well, if you had the 64 bit java you could use more, but the max is actually around 1500+, but I usually just put 1500 or 1400. (my system sucks, and I use 1400). 500 is way too little.

[wickedsunny]

even 1000 was not working so I had to use 500 to atleast make it start.

I am sure I downloaded the 64 bit version for Java.

[aliasmask]

You have to have the 64bit OS for that to work. Before opening MapTool, in a windows enviroment, I hit ctrl-alt-del and look at performance | physical memory - available. This will give you an idea of what you can use.

Since you said you have 16gb of ram, you have a 64bit OS. Sometime you need to delete any previous installations of java to get things to work too. Are you using the MapToolLauncher.exe?

[wickedsunny]

yes using .exe one to launch. I have Win 7 ultimate x 64

[wolph42]

To use the 64 edition you need to change the path in in the .cfg file so that it points to that version. Per default it will long to the x86 version. if I recall correctly there is a line 'javaw' and you need to put in front of that c:\program files\java\bin\ (search the forum cause im not sure its entirely correct and im mobile so i cant check). of course you need to install the 64 edition first.

edit: the correct line and path is: JVM=C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\java

[Rumble]

Hi I am new here.

My name is Sunny. I am a game designer and writer from India.

I found this tool today and I have some basic questions, hope all of you can help me with these.

1) We can create role playing games with this tool? is it interactive like rpgmakerxp or you roll the dice and player moves automatically?

Note that it is not, specifically, an RPG maker - the point of MapTool is for a group of people, remotely located from each other can share a single map (in some ways, it's like a shared whiteboard). There is some scripting available, but it is not designed to create a computer game like, say, Final Fantasy or anything like that. It is designed to support people who play tabletop roleplaying games (such as Dungeons & Dragons).

3) I am not a programmer. how much scripting is required to make the game? Not looking to make a very big game, just a small game for starters.

The scripting is not used to create a game, as such. Instead, it can be used to automate certain tasks that are common to tabletop roleplaying games - for instance, if a player needs to roll dice to determine an outcome, this can be scripted so that the player need only hit a button for the results to be generated.

5) What is the commercial outcome of such games? do they sell?

As mentioned, it's not designed to create games for distribution, so basically there is no commercial outcome.

[groveborn]

It's an interactive map program. It's like having a map in front of you, for your friends to play role-playing games. This is designed to allow people who are not near each other to use the internet to play, although you can also use it in a normal game session where everyone is located in the same place.

The drawing tools are fairly good, but are designed to be fast, so they're missing some useful features. The tokens are used to represent anything from monsters and tables to characters and doors.

The scripting is only to make commonly done tasks, such as rolling of dice, automatic. It's not needed for use of the program. You can use the script commands in the chat box if you wanted to, rather than making a full script (such as "/roll d20"). It's just nice to make a button that does the same thing.

You can play other games, or use it as a chat program, if you really wanted to (hey...idea...why not add in libpurple!) but that's not at all the primary use. It does make some rather pretty maps, so you can even use it for that alone...but again, that's not the design.

I made a chess board and monopoly set using it. I made macros for the cards. None of that took very long.

[wickedsunny]

Thanks everyone for replying.

How many players can connect together online is there any limit? I am not expecting it to be MMORPG but can someone give me some figures. Can it be made a MMORPG with a limit of only 10-20 people playing in one game?

Can it be setup online on any server, so that I do not have to keep my computer switched on as a server to start the game? Just like any MMORPG?

I can understand nothing big can be done but that is the whole point, I do not like scripting and if with simple scripting even if I can make a dice rolling RPG, even that will be great.

BTW, I am not being able to set the Max Mem above 800. I am using Win7 64 bit as well as Java 64 bit.

Also when I import a map which is not seamless, it tiles it all across the map, looks bad when I zoom out, is there a way to control the zooming out or to make the background as plain texture instead of tiling?

[wickedsunny]

To use the 64 edition you need to change the path in in the .cfg file so that it points to that version. Per default it will long to the x86 version. if I recall correctly there is a line 'javaw' and you need to put in front of that c:\program files\java\bin\ (search the forum cause im not sure its entirely correct and im mobile so i cant check). of course you need to install the 64 edition first.

edit: the correct line and path is: JVM=C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\java

Where will I find the cfg file?

edit: Thanks Now I cna open with max mem of 2GB.

[aliasmask]

How many players can connect together online is there any limit?

Interesting question. The most I've been in a game with was 10. I suppose there will be a lag issue depending your graphics and interactions, but using a fairly robust framework, 10 people didn't seem to be an issue.

The mt.cfg file is in the directory or your MapTool install. I would also recommend using 1500 for maxmem and a stack of 3 to start with.

I'm not sure what you mean by "can't set mem above 800".