This document copyright to The Muu Muu Master 25/01/01
[email protected]
V 1.0
A Basic Guide on How to Create a Q.T.E fight sequence (Quick Time Event)
using Dreamstudio
Ok...Dreamstudio is a Game Development tool for dreamcast, it enables the
user to create an RPG style game themselves, unfortunately it doesn't look as
though this game will be released outside of Japan. Although this is a shame,
the Japanese game is not too difficult to understand, it can be a bit
daunting at first, but with a bit of practice (and using the other
dreamstudio translation faq, on this site!) the language does not become a
problem at all.
This is not a translation guide, and whilst writing it, I am presuming that
anyone using it already has a basic understanding of dreamstudio. This is a
short guide on how to create a quick time fight sequence.....it is just the
basic sheet structure for the QTE, when finished you will then need to put
the 'storyline' into the event, for example, using this guide will give you
an event where you walk up to a character, press a button, text will flash on
screen telling you to 'press A' (or B,X,Y) and you will have to press that
button in the time allotted, if you don't press in time a message will say
'you lose' and if you do a message will tell you 'you win' obviously in your
Game you will need to add interaction between the characters, movements,
sound effects, etc, (it'd be a pretty tedious game if you don't!)
But that comes after you have the basic structure in place.
|||| In the world editor mode, choose a character that you want to fight and
place them on the map,...choose a nasty looking goblin or something.
|||| Next go into the script editor mode, and create a sheet, leave the spark
control as normal and set the condition to object hit and button, set the
object as the character your going to fight, and your choice of button, A
button is as good as any!
|||| Now add another sheet below it, and link it to the sheet above, using
the bottom left output to the top left input. Leave the spark control as
normal and condition as system trigger (default) now on the script editor you
need to add a message (top option) and on the next menu, choose probability
(bottom option) now set each output to 25(this means that the spark has a 25%
chance of going down each output 1-4)..This makes the QTE Button pattern
random (otherwise the player would soon remember which button was next)
|||| You now need to create 4 sheets under this one, now from the sheet above
the 4 new sheets create 1 link from each of the 4 outputs to the top left of
each of the 4 new sheets, its not as complicated as it sounds, basically
there is 1 link from the bottom left of all four sheets, and each one is
connected to its own sheet underneath, and each of these 4 have a 25% equal
chance of firing.
|||| As you have probably worked out each of these 4 sheets corresponds to a
different button press scenario, A, B, X, Y,........so you now need to set
them up.Start with the sheet on the left, this sheet will be the 'press A'
sheet. Leave the spark control as default and the condition as system
trigger, which is also, default,..so straight to the script editor...first of
all you need text to appear on screen telling you to 'press A' so insert
special text saying just that!.now you need to insert a timed button event,
so choose message (top option) then timed button (second to bottom option)
now set output 1 to A button, 2 to B Button, 3 to X Button and 4 to Y Button,
then the bottom option (timeout) to 4. This means that pressing A will send
the spark down output 1, B sends spark to output 2, X sends spark to output
3, and Y sends the spark to output 4, and if no button is pressed in time the
spark will pass down output 4. On the timescale you can drag the timed button
bar as short or as long as you wish, the longer the bar the more time you
have to press the button before the timeout triggers, don't make it too short
though or your quicktime event will be virtually impossible, making a very
frustrating game. The default size of the bar seems to be quite good, you get
roughly just over a second to press your button.
|||| You now need to repeat this process on the other 3 sheets only this time
you need to
have 'press B', 'Press X' and 'Press Y' as your special text. You also need
to change your timed button settings, so for example if you have 'Press X' as
your special text, you will need X button as the output 1 trigger.
|||| Now you need to create 2 sheets, one with a simple 'you win' message,
the other with a 'you lose' message, now, connect the output 1 from the 4
'timed button' sheets to the top left input of the 'you win' sheet, now if
the button is pressed within the allotted time, 'you win' will be displayed.
now, outputs 2,3 & 4 from the 4 sheets need to be connected to the top left
input of the 'you lose' sheet, meaning that if a wrong button is pressed or a
timeout occurs 'you lose!'
|||| to finish connect the bottom left of the 'you win' sheet to the first
sheet that you made, the object hit + button sheet, this will enable the QTE
to retrigger over an over again, repeat this process with the 'you lose'
sheet.
|||| That's it, save the game, and try it out....
That's the tedious part out of the way, you can now add effects etc to your
QTE.
Here are some ideas:-
|||| Pressing the incorrect button triggers an object action (the character
you're fighting hits you with a sword)
|||| Pressing the correct button triggers a hero action (you hit character
with sword!)
|||| If you press the correct button you get a 'correct' sound effect, whilst
a wrong button or timeout triggers an 'incorrect' style sound effect.
|||| You don't have to have just one button press, you can put a whole string
together, so if you press the button in time, the output triggers another
sheet, which in turn triggers another QTE, before you know it your RPG has
turned into dance, dance revolution!!
|||| Using a map hit area, perhaps you walk into a certain area, the camera
pans to show a dragon running towards you, then on the screen you see 'press
A' you now have to press the button quickly in order to dodge the charging
dragon and then........sorry getting carried away!!!
|||| The special text telling you which button to press could be colour
coded,'press A' would be red etc.
Here's a diagram of how your script should look:- (sort of, cause if it
looked like this you've got problems with your dreamcast!)
---------
| | object hit + button
| |
|1 |
---------
|
---------
| | Probability 25% per output
| |
|2 |
---------
| |_|_|______________________________
| | | |
--------- --------- --------- ---------
|Press A| |Press B| |Press X| |Press Y|
| | | | | | | |
|3 | |4 | |5 | |6 |
--------- --------- --------- ---------
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------
|___________|___________|___________| |
| |
--------- ---------
|You Win| |You Lose
| | | |
|7 | |8 |
--------- ---------
Key,......
|||| 1)CONDITION Object hit and area
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR None
|||| 2)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > Probability > 25% per Output
|||| 3)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > Timed Button > 1 - A
2 – B
3 - X
4 - Y
Timeout – 4
Special text > 'Press A'
|||| 4)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > Timed Button > 1 - B
2 - A
3 - X
4 - Y
Timeout - 4
Special text > 'Press B'
|||| 5)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > Timed Button > 1 - X
2 - A
3 - B
4 - Y
Timeout - 4
Special text > 'Press X'
|||| 6)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > Timed Button > 1 - Y
2 – A
3 - B
4 - X
Timeout - 4
Special text > 'Press Y'
|||| 7)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > 'You Win'
|||| 8)CONDITION System Trigger
SPARK CONTROL Any Spark, Multiple
SCRIPT EDITOR Message > 'You Lose'
Using this diagram, you cant really go wrong in creating your QTE.
That's about all for now, I hope to produce more guides to various aspects of
dreamstudio in the near future, maybe a guide to menu driven battles.
I hope that this has been useful to someone
