Lethal and non-lethal alternatives

[darkmooninc]

I'm looking to implement a way where the player has two methods of removing enemies from battle. Lethal and non lethal. Similar to Undertale, but without the ACT system.

Enemies who are dispatched by non-lethal method can return again and again in an area for grinding small amounts of EXP, but killing an enemy removes all together at a bonus of larger EXP. Then at the final dungeon near the end of the game (in the underworld), the spawn list is filled with enemies who have been killed through lethal means. Presenting a repercussion to murder.

I wanted to repurpose MP as a Nonlethal health bar but that seems fraught with stress. My working theory is to check enemy death against a trigger that is only flipped by lethal skills, but that's been a dead end too (no puns).

Any idea on what method would work?

 

[HotfireLegend]

How would you implemement the usage of a non-lethal skill? Turn a switch on until the next turn if that skill is used (the skill calls a common event to do so)?

 

[sodajerk]

@darkmooninc

A quick question: Does your project use randomly generated enemy encounters, or discrete enemy events on the map that you have to interact with?
If they are evented encounters, then it is as simple as throwing a switch upon enemy death that removes the enemy from the map and places an identical (or more powerful) version) in the end-level dungeon, similar to the mechanic used for boss fights in many games.

If not, does HP and non-lethal damage have to be separated for mechanic purposes? Or could you fight an enemy to the brink of death, and then use a nonlethal-style attack to knock them out? If you only used HP, then you could use a skill that only works under a certain enemy HP, and throws a switch that ends the battle without killing the enemy.

If they need to be separated, a bit of theory: Upon enemy HP reaching zero, the default engine applies the knockout state. A simple plugin could be written to apply the knockout state upon MP = 0, and upon HP = 0, it could apply the knockout state and throws a switch specific to that battler that removes the enemy battler from the spawn list.

Thoughts?

 

[Demonboy75]

I definitely appreciate your attempt to do something like Undertale, and I think I might have an idea of how I can help.
Set up an event in every troop that will trigger a switch for a specific foe if StateDeath (or whatever you call StateDeath/State1 in your game) is applied to that foe. Then, for this final area of your game, you will need to create a long common event that will take you to different versions of the same area with every configuration possible based on which switches were activated and which switches weren't (that will be represented by a new map on the map list for each one). This will no doubt take determination, as the total number of enemies in your game will likely be high by the end. However, keep in mind, Toby Fox supposedly took 3 years to make Undertale, so trying to implement a morality system into your game will no doubt take about as long, if not longer.
To do this, you may want to look up some plugins that increase the total maps and switches you can make, if such a plugin even exists. If it doesn't exist, either request one of the talented people here on the forums to try and make a plugin like that for you, create your own plugin if you have the skills to do so, or try and limit the number of enemies you create for your game to the number of map versions you will have space for by the time you finish the game.
Understand, I said I had an idea of how I could help, and that this process will likely be long, grueling work. However, if you successfully pull this off, with or without my suggestion of how to do stuff, I would love to give your game a try. Will it be freeware or commercial? The reason I ask is that I want to have the proper funds saved up to buy whatever this is when you finish.

 

[Micro]

Now, I'm not one to get into long explanations about events and stuff, so I'll just offer a simple idea.

rather than having skills that are lethal and non-lethal, why don't you simply add some sort of choice at the end of a battle asking if you wish to vanquish the enemies you just fought, or spare them? you could earn karma points depending on your actions, and these karma points affect things in the game.

you'd have to balance it somehow though, so people couldn't farm (good) karma points--maybe the more you spare a certain type of enemy, the less karma points they are worth?

OR, you could just make it a mode that you pick at the beginning of the game, a setting you can change at any time: Lethal or Non-Lethal mode? or you could make it permanent? I'm not sure what would be easiest to do since I'm just telling you an idea off the top of my head without really thinking about it too much.

anyway, good luck!