Lua scripters?

[DarKPenguiN]

Hey guys , ive decided to go ahead and take the plunge and attempt to make a game- Ive kind of been kicking this around for quite some time but I think I finally have what I need to really make this a reality.

The thing is, I'm not a programmer and yet I want to actually do most of the work on this game so I had to choose an engine that allows me to do more than be an 'ideas guy'- RPG Maker was perfect and I played around with it for awhile but I was unable to get around the graphics. I even went so far as to try and have some commissioned work done on the characters (I found a way to change the tilesets to photo-realistic on my own) but it was too limited to do what I wanted.

That brought me to game guru, which is essentially a FPS creator with playstation 2 style graphics- Perfect for me except that I want to make a Turn based dungeon crawler and this was made for action games.... Well, that problem has now been solved. I was able to acquire a simple turn based system that allows for parties, stores, equipment, spells etc- But its very basic and the guy who wrote it is expanding on things so hes going to be busy with that and I need other custom work done.

Since I know the type of game I can make is going to be very limited (based on engine and ability) I need to work around my weaknesses- I can do great level design and have tons of assets , can handle customizing the RPG system into something with a little more depth etc- But there are some things I need to have scripted that I cannot do myself, and probably some guidance while changing scripts ive already acquired (although I pretty much understand the basics of Lua scripting now)

What Im looking for is a series of scripts or a script that allow me to have control over randomness in all aspects except for levels (I want handcrafted levels) so for instance, random enemy spawns, random drops, random treasure lists, random teleport locations, etc, etc... To get the fullest from this limited software and make it look good (with lots of detail and object placement) the levels will have to be fairly small and since the game will be a fairly short game I want to try and have lots of replayablity- So I need a system that will give me the ability to have the player enter a room (teleport) and then the game can draw on a list of maybe 10 outcomes or whatever- With each room (teleport) they enter having its own list...Same with areas set for triggers,, a player walks on the area and a random list determines what happens (or if nothing happens) from a list of set possible outcomes- Most of the details and such I can fill in, copy/paste the script when I need it etc- Not wanting all that work done, just the basic system to do these things with clear direction on how to make it all work.

It also has to be compatible with the turn based system im running- so changes may have to be made to that system as well but idk.

I'm not asking for anyone to "come make muh game!!!"- I'm asking for someone here with the ability to Lua script who thinks they can do the above to contact me and give me an idea as to what this will cost to do. I can explain in better detail if anyone does contact me.

I'm not flush with cash, im not trying to crowdfund or anything gay so I dont have much to work with but I dont expect work for free either- I'm also not trying to make the next Wizardy or some AAA game where I make lots of money- At best case scenario I wont even break even for what ive already put into this even if this did go commercial - But I have no delusions of grandeur and I do not expect to get rich- I just want to make a game.

I'm trying to make a small and fairly generic fantasy dungeon crawler for my test game, to make sure everything is working properly and complete the project within a year or so- If I can even do this my next step will be in creating the game I really want to make.

Anyhow thanks for reading- I figured I would come here first because this is where I post the most and I know there are a ton of talented people here.

 

[Severian Silk]

What version of Lua?

list_of_things =
{
    "first thing",
    "second thing",
    "third thing",
    "fourth thing",
    "fifth thing",
}

function get_random_thing(temp_things)
    local number_of_things = table.getn(temp_things)
    local random_integer = math.floor(math.random() * number_of_things + 0.5)
    local random_thing = temp_things[random_integer]
    return random_thing
end

print(get_random_thing(list_of_things))

Untested.

 

[Severian Silk]

I have done several projects in Lua. Could you tell/show more about your game?

 

[Glop_dweller]

Aarklash: Legacy went on sale at GoG the other day—still is I think. It's not a great game, but it's not terrible. What's notable about it, is that most of the game is done in Lua, and the source scripts were actually left loose and uncompiled; they are human readable. It made interesting reading when I was starting to learn Lua. $2 for a large collection of tested examples of professional Lua code; (and a free game).

Severian Silk table.getn() was depreciated in Lua 5.1, and removed in 5.2.

The usual* way to get the length of a table in recent versions, is by placing a hash sign in front of it; like this:

local number_of_things = #temp_things

*(But this doesn't play nice with nils in the table.)

 

[Galdred]

Most of my game is in lua, unfortunately, it is tightly coupled with moai, so I don't think my code would be of much use to you.
It is pretty hard to come up with recommendations without knowing what exactly you already have, because if all you need is customizable random tables that would result in function calls to your existing game interface, it sounds really as easy as Severian Silk makes it sound (we probably should add a weight here, but that's about it).

 

[DarKPenguiN]

I have done several projects in Lua. Could you tell/show more about your game?

Thanks for everything guys, I hooked up with someone who wants to attempt this in unity and I trust their judgement since im a retard =P

I'm working on world building and doing things on pen and paper which they are hopefully going to turn into something playable. After a bunch of taking to people who are far intellectually superior to myself, they like my idea but think its easier to jump to unity and work with me on a one to one level for what (I want, than trying to make a ton of scripts that might not be what I want. If not, it doesnt matter because I will like my game even if people are bullshitting me lol.

The idea of the game was initially going to be a starter game to get the fundamentals correct and was going to be generic fantasy but since I think I have some people now who can actually code what I really want (and what I was working towards) its a turn based zombie/plague style game taking place in Detroit..

Essentially the idea is to escape or secure your place in the city by working with (o using) factions such as local Detroit gangs (Detroit is one of the only major cities that have our own 'gangs' that are not Nationwide and Nationwide gangs are essentially eliminated here including those that are State sponsored like the Russians-I.e. the Disappearance of Russian ambassadors here - which is all things I wish to uncover via lore)

I want to get completely political; The virus was being created for US/Israel Military operations but a scientist on the project was part of ELF ( Earth Liberation Front) and purposefully injected himself and then used his blood to inject other members who traveled the 1-75 corridor , snorting coke to stay cognizant and sleeping with all the hookers- Spreading the infection sexually.

The idea is to have a random world that randomizes on city blocks like a board game when you first load in, along with randomizing objectives (your "win" state") which will be unbeknownst to the player other than his current situation (also randomized) so maybe youre a capa in a gang or maybe a police officer or maybe a civilian. From there your options branch. When society is on the cusp of falling apart, Detroit is already there and I want to explore how that changes depending n who you "are".

I want the world to expand to mid Michigan (where I currently live) and see the liberal take on the chaos and how its handled and I want to try and get as "real" as I can get- I want tons of randomness (there might be one particular square you walk across that has 1/100 to trigger a major series of events that most will never see) and I want tons of choice and consequence.And I dont give a fuck - Im going to try and make tons of options on pen and paper that smart people will make happen in game- I hope lol. Or theyre niggers making a buck- We'll see. =/

But right now I think as long as we can keep gameplay above graphics- And I can just write shit and world build, this could be a fuun game and a way fo rme to express myself.

edit- i'll attempt to not do most shit not as drunk s I am while writing this post =P

I want to get into lore from actual history such as the PPurple gang (only gang Al Corone feared) to 98's, latin counts (not Kings) YBI and 'best friends'- Not the "boods/crips/MS13 that fear Detroit- and the reasons why- Alll while society is collapsing due to a zopmbie ty-pe virus- All with strategic turn based goodness)