Is a Harvest Moon-like romance system implementable?

[deinarious]

I am wondering about this above topic - a Harvest Moon-like system for romance and such. Basically, the main character could give gifts to the girls, but they'd only accept gifts they like. Also, there would be several (read : 10) events similar to heart events, triggered by being in the right place at the right time, taht would increase or decrease love points if the player was successful. And finally, on specific dates, the player could ask a girl out to go to a festival, and that would be an event in itself.

I have a feeling something like this is very possible, but I would like confirmation and an example of heart events, maximum limits on variables, and something like the festival event. Please keep it as simple as possible and explain it all in terms someone who has been getting very little sleep can understand.

Goddamn tegretol...

Thank you for your help either way. I have a feeling that this will involve if statements, something I recently learned how to properly make, thanks to someone here ^_^.

-edit- I also have a feeling a time system is needed. Perhaps one that is like, 5 minutes = one IG hour? Or five backgrounds = 1 IG hour? Something along these lines is probably needed.

[Gau_Veldt]

If the goal is to have things the player can do over the course of their day (and choose again on subsequent days) look into the Dating Sim engine. Alas I can't find any documentation on the site or I'd give a link to it. The DSE comes as part of Ren'Py when you downloaded it.

[Jake]

Alas I can't find any documentation on the site or I'd give a link to it. The DSE comes as part of Ren'Py when you downloaded it.

Does it? I had the vague idea it got moved out of the main distribution a while back, and stuck on the Frameworks page. Which I think is as much as there is on the DSE on the wiki.

[deinarious]

Did PyTom make it? If so, he could possibly give a link, or a PM, with the documentation...

Just a thought.

And thanks for the info ^_^ cookies for everyone!

-edit- PyTom did indeed make DSE. Now, all I need to know is how to implement it and how to edit it. So, how do I add it to the main script, and how do I configure the events? Do I need to use Pygame to do this?

[JQuartz]

Do I need to use Pygame to do this?

No, you don't.

[Jake]

-edit- PyTom did indeed make DSE. Now, all I need to know is how to implement it and how to edit it. So, how do I add it to the main script, and how do I configure the events? Do I need to use Pygame to do this?

As JQuartz said, you don't need PyGame. The first step is simply to look at the comments in the DSE code itseld - I seem to recall it's fairly well-documented in those comments.

[deinarious]

Yeah, but how do I open it? It's in .rpy format, and I cannot seem to open that >.>

Do I need to make a connection to it with IDLE through a Windows configuration (Read: Folder Options) so it will open that way?

Also, what things would DSE be capable of? I would like an exact list.

[Jake]

Yeah, but how do I open it? It's in .rpy format, and I cannot seem to open that >.>

.rpy is a Ren'Py script file - it's a text file, you'll want to open it with whatever editor you usually use for Ren'Py scripts.

Also, what things would DSE be capable of? I would like an exact list.

Uh... it's a programming framework, so the 'exact list' is "more or less anything, really", since you can extend the code if you want to.

I seem to recall the comments in the script files explain what the code in those script files does; have a look at them and see. I'm at work at the moment, so I can't, really.



Bear in mind, though, that it is a programming framework, and both of those words are important. On one hand, while it's not incredibly difficult to set up, it does require a bit of coding work. On the other hand, it's not so simple as writing a couple of things and setting a couple of image files and all of a sudden having a fully-fledged True Love clone; the structure stuff is done for you, but you'll have to supply all of the content.

[deinarious]

I figured it wouldn't be simple, but hey, I love complicated things.

Also, despite my mind only being 15% analytical and the rest creative, I can figure these things out pretty well. I just need a "gentle nudge" in the right (or left) direction.

For example... With Gau_Veldt's help, I wrote the master spell list for my game in a separate script and had no errors the first time saving it!

Plus, I enjoy a challenge. That's why I want to make computer games, besides it being really fun so far ^_^. When I go back to college, I will major in 3D art to get an AS degree, then get my bachelor's in Computer Science, something I would have never dreamed of doing the first time around, which was in 2006. I've matured quite a bit in two years, so I have more discipline with this sort of thing, and more patience.

[Gau_Veldt]

I figured it wouldn't be simple, but hey, I love complicated things.

Also, despite my mind only being 15% analytical and the rest creative, I can figure these things out pretty well. I just need a "gentle nudge" in the right (or left) direction.

For example... With Gau_Veldt's help, I wrote the master spell list for my game in a separate script and had no errors the first time saving it!

Plus, I enjoy a challenge. That's why I want to make computer games, besides it being really fun so far ^_^. When I go back to college, I will major in 3D art to get an AS degree, then get my bachelor's in Computer Science, something I would have never dreamed of doing the first time around, which was in 2006. I've matured quite a bit in two years, so I have more discipline with this sort of thing, and more patience.

One really general overview of DSE with much detail left out, IIRC, is that it lets you plan days and make events in the story possible, with the DSE then calling parts of your script for the activities and events as you had specified to the DSE. Further events may be added by the script along the way. So if you had regular hanlders for studying but wanted studying on a tuesday evening to have you see a certain girl who then gives you an embarrasing note the next monday you'd have the study handler add an event for the next monday during class for the "embarrassing note" if it's tuesday evening.

[ShiraiJunichi]

Not sure it's still up to date, but I did write a tutorial a long time ago which rio has kindly hosted for me-
http://www.renaigames.net/?p=30

[azureXtwilight]

I've downloaded it.
But, if my brain memory parts still working good, there's no "gift" thingy that is mentioned by deinarious at the first post in this thread...

[Jake]

But, if my brain memory parts still working good, there's no "gift" thingy that is mentioned by deinarious at the first post in this thread...

This is true. But Deinarious didn't ask "is there an entire Harvest Moon clone engine I can use to make my game exactly like Harvest Moon", he asked if it was possible to write one. And sure, it's possible to write one; the DSE may be a good starting point. It doesn't do everything for you already, because it's a generic Dating-Sim framework, not a Harvest Moon clone. Some coding will be required.