So its been almost one year since I started working (part time) on an RPG engine. So it’s probably a good time to recap everything that I’ve got done so far, and how much work I have yet to do.

You might recognise the graphics in the left screenshot from RPG Maker XP. I’m borrowing art until I can work out a more permanent arrangement. All the rest of the art is horrible temporary programmer art drawn by yours truely. I’ve been trying so get as much done as possible before bringing anybody else onto the project. I’ve seen so many indie-RPG projects crash and burn that I want to make sure I have a stable technology base before I start spending $$$ or promising royalties which won’t eventuate if the programming side of things doesn’t get sorted. That way, I’m not wasting anybody elses time.

So far I’ve implemented the following:
Dialog Trees
NPCs
Scripting using LUA
Mouse driven interface
Pathfinding
Maps with multiple layers
Shadows (Special alpha blended layer in the map)
Party Member Support
Equiping Items
Trading Items amonst party members
Opening Containers
Buying / Selling Items in shops
Using Items with objects on the map

The next big thing that I want to tackle is combat, I’ve been avoiding the issue because combat is one of those things that no matter what type of combat system you put in, somebodys gonna complain. One thing I have definately decided on is that it’s going to be turn based. I do miss turn based combat in RPGs.

One issue that has recently come to my attention, is that my code is sloppy as hell and prone to crashes on windows XP. I’m about to port the game from VC++ 6.0 to VC++ Express Edition. And its looking like this might take me sometime to get the thing done. Apparently VC++ 6.0 allows you to do some pretty ugly things, (largely because VC++ 6.0 was released before the C++ standard was agreed on) this means I will have to re-write large portions of my code which will be time consuming, but necessary, if I want to get the game to actually run on windows XP.

I’m going to try get the code port and refactoring done when I have a week break between summer school and the start of semmester one. The combat engine I’m planning to tackle in the mid-semester break. Which is about three months away.

Other tasks to do include:
- Creating a Spellbook
- Creating a Quest/Log Book
- Day / Night time effects
- World / Travel Map