Requested Object Functionality Thread - RPG in a Box

Here are my suggestions for object functionality:

• Generic / Group / Specific - Each object can be classified as a generic object (meaning it is identified only by it's model name), group (you can give it a specific group name, such as "Torches_Hallway") and/or an unique ID (ex. "Torch004"). This functionality would allow, for example, a character to ignite all of the torches in a hallway at once, to ignite a single torch (because of a spell) or ignite all of the remaining torches in a hallway while leaving those that are already lit.
• Moveable / Not Moveable - An individual object should be designated as moveable or not moveable. "Moveable" simply means that the object can move from coordinate to coordinate (such as pushing or pulling a crate) while not moveable means that the object is fixed and can only be eroded through an animation removing it's voxels.
• Solid / Not Solid - Perhaps useful for third-player mode (although potentially for gameplay reasons as well), this means that a model can be either be solid (like a boulder) or not solid (like a hologram - You can see it but you can pass right through it). This way, models such as signs do not hinder a third-person player.
• Text / Picture / None - When a cursor is placed over an object, it can reveal either a text description ("A clock"), a separate picture (of greater resolution, sort of like the old Sierra adventure games) or even both ("You see a clock that's missing it's hour hand. How strange.") This might help with having low-resolution items in the outside world without having to rely so heavily on containers, as well as give assist to RPG/Adventure puzzles.

If I have more thoughts on this topic, I'll add to the list.

Thanks VoxelSteve, these are some great suggestions!

Generic / Group / Specific - Each object can be classified as a generic object (meaning it is identified only by it's model name), group (you can give it a specific group name, such as "Torches_Hallway") and/or an unique ID (ex. "Torch004"). This functionality would allow, for example, a character to ignite all of the torches in a hallway at once, to ignite a single torch (because of a spell) or ignite all of the remaining torches in a hallway while leaving those that are already lit.

The Generic/Group/Specific features are somewhat in progress at this point. Currently, you can select multiple objects with the control key and select Add to Group from the right-click context menu. There's not much you can do with groups right now, but you'll definitely be able to use them in the future for scenarios like you described! The "unique ID" feature is something I am working on for the next release to go along with some of the new scripting functions I will be adding, such as "play_animation". You'll be able to do things like play a specific animation for an object with a unique ID of "Object123, similar to your description.

Moveable / Not Moveable - An individual object should be designated as moveable or not moveable. "Moveable" simply means that the object can move from coordinate to coordinate (such as pushing or pulling a crate) while not moveable means that the object is fixed and can only be eroded through an animation removing it's voxels.

This is a cool idea and not something I had thought of up until this point. It would definitely open up some interesting possibilities for games. I will add this to my notes!

Solid / Not Solid - Perhaps useful for third-player mode (although potentially for gameplay reasons as well), this means that a model can be either be solid (like a boulder) or not solid (like a hologram - You can see it but you can pass right through it). This way, models such as signs do not hinder a third-person player.

I believe the Solid/Not Solid feature is handled by the "walkable" property in the Voxel Editor. This checkbox basically defines a default behavior. For example, certain objects, like boulders as you mentioned, should for the most part always block the player. This "walkable" property is used by the Map Editor when generating the navigable paths for the player. So if a sign object is defined as not walkable, when you place the sign into the map, the editor will update the navigation to prevent the player from entering the tile that the object is on. These navigable paths can be tweaked in the Map Editor at any time. You can turn on the display of the navigation paths (toolbar button with 4 green arrows), then select two adjacent tiles. On the right-click context menu, you then have the option to toggle the walkability between those two tiles. Hopefully my explanation for this one makes sense!

Text / Picture / None - When a cursor is placed over an object, it can reveal either a text description ("A clock"), a separate picture (of greater resolution, sort of like the old Sierra adventure games) or even both ("You see a clock that's missing it's hour hand. How strange.") This might help with having low-resolution items in the outside world without having to rely so heavily on containers, as well as give assist to RPG/Adventure puzzles.

This is a great suggestion, also! If I understand correctly, you are saying, for example, instead of having a book as an item inside of a container, you would have a model of the book laying somewhere and you would interact directly with it (display text, image, etc. as you mentioned)?

Thanks again for the feedback, I appreciate it!