Programming a Couple (Player and NPC) Dancing on Dancefloor

[theneonheart]

I have a scene in a bar where the player goes up to a npc who is alone on a dancefloor... and presumably she is dancing there by herself, and they talk and then dance.

There are things I don't know how to do to achieve this, including
1) assigning 'variables'? to the dancefloor area
2) the specific moves for each character so they don't collide, etc
3) the proper way to program it so it flows smoothly

also, I will need a tuxedo and tickets to the prom
j/k

any help will be appreciated

[Acolyte]

1. I'm confused on what you're asking here.

2.You can set the move routes for events with the "Set move route" command.

3. I don't think there's really a "proper" way to event something. There are ways that are more efficient than others, but if you get it to do what you want it to, I don't see a problem.

[theneonheart]

Aren't there something like 'variables' for defining an area in which a character can move, and outside of which the character will not go?

And I guess that will help with the second thing I asked,   ... I have them spinning around a lot, doing full turns left and right... and then doing a few steps in each direction... they were running into each other and it wasn't quite working... just wondering if anyone had programmed dancing before and how it turned out for them

as for the 3rd part, I am still confused on when to use autorun and when to use parallel processing?  If I want the girl to move around dancing by herself automatically when you enter the level, is that autorun or parallel processing? And once you do the event where the player dances with her, would I make a new event page of that same movement as autorun or parallel processing?

[Acolyte]

You mean defining where an NPC can move, or the player?
If you mean NPC, you can set their move route so they won't go outside of the area.

Variables are a little like switches, but instead of turning them on and off, you can set them to a number. If you wanted to define an area where a character couldn't walk using variables, you would need two variables: one for the player's X coordinate, and one for the player's Y coordinate. You would then create an event with a conditional branch that checks if the player's X and Y coordinates are within the range you want them to stay in. If they aren't, set a player move route to move back a step. (Sorry if this is confusing. I'm not the best at explaining things. I could make a sample event and take a screenshot or something, if that would help.)

Autorun will stop everything else until the event is done running. Parallel process will run parallel to everything else and doesn't stop anything. You would have to make the girl a parallel process in order to keep controlling the player character.

For the second page, it would still be a parallel process.