Pause while speaking?

[DigiTan]

I put the game on my calc for the first time yesterday and so far it's looking pretty sharp. The Oceanside maps are done so now it's time to add character dialogs. A while ago, I found a way to print dialogs on-screen without dropping the frame rate. This was mostly a tool to allow tile animation to continue and possibly allow some in-game cinematics.

Now that text works, I need to decide if physics should continue running if your character enters a dialog. Note stopping the physics engine wouldn't stop tile animation or the ability to scroll. But everything else: the character, badniks, warheads, and shadows would be paused. As usual there are pros & cons to keeping things real-time. I probably won't do beta testing on this, so I'm here to get input from everyone before I code the rest of that part. So here are some of the effects of continuing physics during character dialogs:

YAY! The dialog is king! Nuts to the physics!
* No Visibility Problems - You won't have to battle in a tiny screen space. Can't get caught with pants down while dialogging.
* No D-Pad Conflict - Who would want to battle and navigate menus simultaneously?
* No Infomation Overload - You're never forced to read and battle at the same time
* No Attention Split - You're most likely to remember what was said if you're not dodging warheads
* No Event conflicts - Some dialogs trigger events (eg: locking/unlocking of doors) that would cause problems if you're running who-knows-where.

NO WAI! Let the physics continute!
* More realism - Real conversations don't occour in bullet-time
* More tension - Enemies can still attack. Better to clear an area out before yapping away
* Better flow - Frozen enemies on un-frozen sceanery look weird
* Requires focus - A character dialog is no longer a 'pause screen.' Have to stay alert
* No missed powerups - Can still catch coins and other powerups that appear

[edit]
Stuff rephrased for de-yay/nay mixupification.

[elfprince13]

dude, I love this idea, WAI

[alexrudd]

yay. It adds a challenge, and trudging through text boxes is the most boring part of most RPG's. If it's too difficult maybe give the player a defensive advantage while speaking or something to balance it a little.

EDIT: My "yes" vote is for NOT pausing. Should that be a no?

[Weregoose]

Given the poll question, voting for "Yes" means that you want the bad guys to freeze.

If you want to correct your vote, reply or send me a PM stating:
"I do want physics to stop!" or "I do not want physics to stop!"

[DigiTan]

D'oh! I guess I butchered my post. The post should read: Yay for stopping physics and NO WAI for it to keep going.

[alexrudd]

ok, make that a no wai then. I'll change my poll vote.

[DigiTan]

Okay, I'll just reset the polls now that everythings corrected. I've got to quit drinking steak sause.

[chipmaster]

Definitely allow the physics engine to continue. Most people just smash the buttons when they get stuck at a dialog screen and become frustrated. Now you can give them something productive to do.

[elfprince13]

do you have any screenshots of this feature in action?

[chipmaster]

[threefingeredguy]

Keep the stuff going.

[DigiTan]

Okay, I'll post up the dialogging screen after I finish the shop/inn codes. Currently, I have it where you have unrestricted movement in a dialog (so does the guy you're talking to) so conversations keep going even if you leave the region.

For menus, I was thinking I should cap the character's speed to 0 during a dialog. That way, you can still point him in directions to lauch counterattacks, but you wouldn't walk out of the area. Most citizens are free-roaming, so they need the speed limit also. Jump still works with [2ND], and attacking with [ALPHA] stops the dialog for when you get ambushed.

[DigiTan]

Okay, I found a neat solution to all of it.
Monologs:
To talk to somebody, bump into them (sometimes they come to you). Everything keeps running like normal while the monolog is showing.

To stop talking, you simply walk away a few tiles. [Alpha] has the same effect.

If it's a long monolog, advance to the next sentence using [2nd] (it still makes you jump, also).

Dialogs:
If someone gives you a YES/NO option, do [2nd] for yes, and [Alpha] or walk away to decline.

Interfaces:
Shopping is similar, but you only have left and right movement. The up/down keys cycle through the store's inventory. [2nd] purchases. Walking away or [Alpha] quits.
---------
Anyway, that's simplest method I could come up with. The drop in game speed is unnoticeable. Short monologs are already supported and I'll try to get the shop working by Wednesday.

[elfprince13]

/me begs for screeny.

[DigiTan]

Yep, I got nice screenshot today of a dialog, the shop interface, and the stats screen. (Will probably go for a shorter one tomorrow). Buying items is really fast now: run to the shopkeep, push 2nd, run out.

[DigiTan]

New screen with non-pausing monologs posted today. The next trailer will be ready Nov 18th.

[elfprince13]

HOLY CRAP DUDE!!!!!! THAT IS INSANE!!!!

[Fallen Ghost]

zOMG This is so nice!!!!!

*pokes myself back to work

[DigiTan]

Level 2 will have even crazier enemies than Oceanside! I've got a trailer soundtrack picked out (courtesy of ParagonX9 from Newgrounds.com). Just need to get more battle footage recorded.