August 7, 2020
We’ve talked a little bit about RPG Maker MZ's Time Progress Battle System, which has some similarities to the popular ATB system that was used in a certain, very popular game series, but today, let’s take a closer look at it.
Specifically, we’re gonna ask the burning question: What is a Turn in the TPBS?
First, let’s look at what the game looks at to determine how fast the bars should fill. Every Character (Actor and Enemy) has a TPB Speed. The TPB Speed of a character is based on the square root of the character’s Agility.
The character in a fight that has the highest TPB Speed, is given a Charge Time of 4 seconds. This will be the fastest any character will charge in the fight. Every other character in the fight has their bar fill at a rate that is relative to the highest TPB Speed based on their own TPB Speed.
So, how does the game determine turns? The answer is: It depends. There are two types of turn counts, and they are used in different cases:
This is a turn count that is individual to each character in the battle. It is pretty straightforward: How many turns has this character taken.
If you have taken 3 turns and you are just starting a new one, it is your 4th turn.
This turn count is used for most processes, such as status effect durations and enemy action patterns.
This is the turn count for the battle itself. It is handled a little differently.
The Battle Turn count is equal to the Individual Turn Count of the enemy who has taken the most turns.
This turn count is used for Battle Events.
So that answers the most common question, but let’s look at a few more commonly asked questions!
How is the amount of charge in the bar at the beginning of battle determined?
During a normal battle start, each character is given a random amount of their bar between 0 and 50%. In the case of surprise and ambush, the side with advantage starts with 100% in their bars.
Can you switch characters if multiple characters’ turns are up?
Yes, you can switch actors using the cancel button.
Can you set a “Casting Time” for skills?
Yes, skills can be set to have a delay between being selected and going off. The Casting Time you put in for the skill or item is used in combination with the character’s TPB Speed to determine how long the delay is.
We’ve gone ahead and set the API documentation live on the RPGMakerWeb site. You can find it here!
Does the TPBS have you excited! Then be sure to preorder today, through the RPG Maker Web Store or on Steam, 10% off, plus an extra 10% if you own MV, two free resource packs, and a free copy of MV, and you can get started on your own game using the TPBS from day 1!
