Fitting Needs.

There is another Thread about choosing an Authoring program. It is a room.

I believe it was maga that stated creating an RPG like game with I7 is possible but very complicated ‘no matter how you slice it.’ I couldn’t relocate the thread for this statement but it was in one of the seemingly numerous “How do I create stats/RPG [elements]” threads.
After looking at the source from a game like [pardon the reference] Flexible Survival his wisdom is indeed proven.

At another point he stated TADS is likely a better program for authors interested in the number and stat crunching side of things. After looking at TADS it still seems overly complicated for my authoring desires. By that I mean, wtf am I even looking at. <-- newb.

When play begins: 
   now the command prompt is "Is this just how it is if I want to make a game?";
Understand "y" as yes. Understand "n" as no;
  if yes, then display "Suck it up. You want make game, you want learn code.";
  if no then "Insert [%random] suggestion from table [Application Suggestions]";
  reject the player's command;
  move the player to Sandy Beach; 

Cutting to the chase, maga summed my problem up wonderfully stating, “…I see lots of people trying to make combat RPGs in I7, or tree-branching, character-creation-heavy RPG-like things in Varytale, when those platforms aren’t really designed for that kind of thing.”

So, I’m looking for advice.

In this room are questions about choosing a suitable program. Define questions as...

To get this idea for a game out of my head, I only need to accomplish a few things.

  • Character U.I. with inventory, flexible in game stat system, equip-able items and buffs, flexible descriptions and that sort of thing.
  • 1v1 combat system that performs skill checks and adds bonuses to subsequent random dice rolls.
  • Other events that can use stat checks for reference and [0,1] like statements.
  • Discoverable locations with variable random encounters and fast travel hyperlinks for certain locations.
  • ability to move encountered npc’s to other locations, wandering npcs, etc.
  • Crafts, Barter, upgrade persistables and rooms.
  • Portable, preferably just run in offline browser or flash.

You know, all the standard RPG game elements, most of which I found in i7’s recipe book. =.=
Which looks amazing by the way.
All of which Flexible Survival proved I7 could do. (Except the Flash support, as far as I know at least. O.o;)
I just didn’t like the Played Versions layout and Command inputs, even with hyperlink.
Though I do want a large degree of writing and story telling…
I know, I’m needy, and probably lazy…

Being born in the 90’s I missed the era of MUDs, IFs and the other games played on Texas Instruments and in DoS. So I have no idea where to begin or what genre of software I should be looking into.

Would something like Flash Player and it’s action script be a more applicable choice since buttons, a pretty Interface, and ability to use jpegs would be awesome? I’ve already made some educational flash presentations with buttons, basic animation, replay, forward, backward buttons and hyperlinks.
(Can Glulx compare to/surpass this?)
Is there more of a drag and drop, pre-defined shell of a game-maker I should be looking at?
Anyone now what CoC was made with? Please don’t flame me.

I would really appreciate advice. I spent my whole day playing with programs trying to do the footwork to figure this out but I have yet to find the obvious answer. I’ve coded in the past, barely, enough to know I need to see a number of systems before jumping in to one and discovering it was the wrong tool for my desire.
By code I mean picked through Libraries and source, Frankensteining code together in laughably complicated strings and subsequently cursing a ; I missed after three hours.
Elderscrolls 3, Gryphon Heart Items (I enjoyed and played with the most), Terraria items (hated), HTML (started making sense after practice) and other stuff for which the creators already invented their wheel.
I know I7 has enough parts to make a wheel however I want, but I don’t have enough experience to appreciate that much choice yet, let alone need it.

This community has clear experience with a number of systems which is why I’m posting on this forum.
I7’s even more English language was a little strange with how it pre-defined rules. I’m scared someone is going to run off with an elephant or put a cat inside a mouse should I miss not so obvious exploits in beta. I’m kind of a control freak…

Should I just suck it up and learn this code or is there a more applicable software out there for my needs?
I hope this makes sense…

Thanks guys, I aught to sleep now, suns up.

It’s a bit Inform- and TADS-centric here. There are other systems such as Quest (which I wrote) and ADRIFT etc. which have their own forums so you will need to look further to get a balanced view… For what it’s worth it sounds like you may enjoy Quest, as it is easier to get started with than Inform and gives you plenty of number crunching power too - also has on-screen inventory etc…

I feel your pain. It seems like the first thing I do upon discovering a new system is try and bend it in an unexpected direction.

How important is a truly open world? If you just want the illusion of one, a full IF engine might be overkill. Certainly possible to use a js engine (or IF engine) to create a game with some open areas (clickable image map, say) in addition to more scripted NPC interactions.

I don’t know of a js framework that has all your requirements built in (and is still text-based), but you might look at vncanvas, rpgjs (graphical), or vorple (with undum). I am quite enjoying working with undum right now - obviously it was not designed for a sim or rpg but it is quite fun to noodle with and very flexible.

As my dh says, “Pick a system and write a proof of concept.” You’ll find out quick enough what you can adapt and what compromises you can live with.

I think your basic problem is going to be that most RPG-oriented platforms assume that you’re going to be using a lot of graphics. Unless that’s something you’re able and willing to do. You might try looking at things like RPGMaker and RenPy; but those are going to shift your attention heavily over towards the art-production end of things. (I’m sure that you could make text-only games for RenPy, for instance – but I don’t know whether its community would be interested in such a thing.)

You could do a smallish, simple RPG in Undum pretty well, but I’d hesitate to use it for a larger project unless you were already pretty fluent in Javascript. (And learning Undum is, I have discovered, not a very good way to learn Javascript.)

At some point there will be Vorple for I7, which will allow you to use all of I7’s features with web-native layout and button-pressing input if you want it. That still means you’d have to build your own RPG architecture, or learn to use ATTACK. (The idea of bolting Vorple and ATTACK onto I7 would make a braver man than I hesitate, I suspect.) And you’d still have to work around the dynamic-objects thing, or use another extension for that. So that could work but my instinct suggests that it’d be a gigantic looming monstrosity of a thing.

Well, Digital: A Love Story was basically an all-text Ren’Py game that was very well received, but it wasn’t remotely RPGish.

RPGMaker doesn’t produce Mac- or Linux-compatible games, as far as I know, so that would be a strike against it for your criteria.

Definitely check out StoryNexus. It allows stats, equippable items, start checking to determine success, and is text based, producing a browser game similar to Fallen London.