Card Games with Colstone?

Is it possible to make card games?

Just wondering if Coldstone is able to make cardgames. Things like random card generation and remembering what cards you have picked up and discarded etc. This sounds like it should be easy...any thoughts?

Yes, it's quite possible to make card games with Coldstone. Good luck to you!

To help you a little more, if you wanted to make a game say solitaire, you could make card graphics, make (how many cards are in a deck?) um... i think 54? NPCs, one for each card, and then use NPC control in map events over each graphic, replacing one card with the other. Someone varify that this is right too. It would take a long time, but you could do it.

thanks for the advice, I've actually developed a collectable card game with a friend and I want to make a video game version.

I'd go with main and event locations as well as globals and stamp control instead of maps and NPCs. But that's just me. 52 cards in a deck plus 2 jokers. Good luck to you!

CrazyDiamond, on May 16 2005, 03:34 AM, said:

thanks for the advice, I've actually developed a collectable card game with a friend and I want to make a video game version.
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A collectable card game? That is like those cards with sportsmen on them that all the children collect, right? I doubt coldstone would be very useful for that purpose, since you cannot have multiplayer. You could do it, though. With a few globals and "random actions" to make some cards harder to find in the card packages you buy.

I too have created (a whole freaking too many :laugh: ) collectible card games. One of them I was going to put into coldstone, and I noticed that you don't have to have multiplayer to get it to work. All you need is a fixed/somewhat random deck for annoying NPCs.

However I think mine would be a little different than yours, CrazyDiamond, seeing as I will incorporate real time battling instead of turn-based.

I think that you need 2 global variable for each card in the game, (one for the total #of that card, and one for how many you have left in your deck. ex: You have 3 evil demons of doom total in your collection, yet only 2 in your deck. The gvars would be TEDofD=3 and DEDofD=2. You draw one and then DEDofD=1 and you gain that card in your inventory.) My question is, how could you use the random number generator to do this?

If you're looking to make a networked collectible card game, I may be able to help you there. This is really off-topic, though so email me if you're interested (cha0s@evula.org).

On-topic: Coldstone is actually very well suited to making card games. The main location and events system is definitely the way to go. The two biggest issues in making a card game will be good use of stamp control and globals. The MOST important thing when making a game with complicated set up and rules is to PLAN IT ALL OUT FIRST. If you start making it and then half way in realize that your system sucks, you'll be really unhappy, trust me. If you plan well, though, you shouldn't have a problem.

I've got a question. I want to make a game of solitaire for coldstone, and I was wondering if I am allowed to NOT have a "hero" so I can just control the game with the mouse?

I can help you there. If you go to main and set the players speed to something really fast and leave the her image blank in Game Options> Misc.

now there is one big problem. You have to wait for the update because right now checking the "Player Control" to only mouse will do nothing, so be patient my friend.

Oh well. Loopholes are fun.

Don't use maps! Main locations!!!!!!

We will say it again. Don't use maps. Use main locations. Event locations. Stamp control. Globals.

On the other hand, go ahead and use maps. Don't listen to us. You might like the challenge, however frustrating it would be.

... I used maps for something like this and it took me like 3 minutes to do it...

In that case:
It takes 2 minutes to do it with main locations.

Seriously, it also makes more sense! Card games do not have characters that move, so why have a hero at all? Also, if you use a character, the character has to run across the map to get to the card you want to select. On the way the character could run over a few cards you DON'T want to select. There's also the issue with the mouse-only option not working. Main locations have none of these problems. In addition, this is what they are intended for! I don't mean to put you down or anything, but I have a lot more experience doing this sort of non-character type game, as I had to make Connect 4 using CS. Trust me when I say that it would have been miserable to do via a map instead of a main location. Main locations are meant to be used for point and click type things (menus, card games, board games, etc), so use them!

The problem is it is IMPOSSIBLE to make a animation on a main location. You can create a script that changes the stamp each frame, but it is hard to do and will most likely crash your game.

I've tried that. Doesn't work because of a bug in coldstone, so you might want to wait for the update (you might have planned to do so anyway). If you want animations, it would probably be best to have a map and a blank PC picture. The map has to be as large as your screen (or window), and it should be filled with access tiles. Then add the stamps one by one and make them clickable.

If you want my opinion, it's not worth it. You could make one without animations, since each card would require several animations just to move, and if you want it to spin it would take something like six frames per direction (per card!). This is probably a completely useless post and you might have scrapped your project by now but I'll send it in anyway.

Send!

Card games don't NEED animation (well, shouldn't I'll say...).

Oh, well, if you need animations, then you'll need a map.

I suggest, though, that if you use a map, don't fool with the NPCs to "click" on whatever you want. Don't identify your Player in the options so that the click arrow comes up. Figure out where you want the Player to travel by using straight line access tiles and use map position to make the Player move across the no-access tiles so you'll have control. Just keep in mind, that, even though you don't have a Player icon, he still walks, including walking over any event tiles you've identified in the map. I'd still use stamp control to place your cards. Make sure that your map has the same dimensions as your "game area" on your interface in Options. Otherwise, the map will move when the Player moves. My rat race game is made this way because I had to have animations.

But, yes, card games shouldn't need animations, although I get the cool factor. Main locations would be better because you actually have more options.

Why not try using the player movement to your advantage? It might be neat to have a little Vanna White type of person walk across the screen to the card you clicked on and then flip the card over.