How to start

[Khangolian17]

Hi - I want to make a beat em up that uses custom character sprites and names with custom names for the enemies. Other than that it can be vanilla. I would like to target Streets of Rage or River City Ransom as the base but I am not sure how to start. Is there anyone willing to mentor me towards my goals per chance please? Let me know when time permits, thanks!

 

[DCurrent]

Welcome to the community @Khangolian17!

First advice: You need to be a bit more specific than "How do I make a beat em up...". That's "idea guy" territory, and won't get you much useful info other than equally generic answers from other idea guys. Besides, you already answered that question yourself - go to the home community of the best tool the job. Now it's time to get your hands dirty.

Start by reading over the manual, keeping in mind the behaviors you see are all defaults and there's a way to change anything you want to act any way you want. Then peruse the Samples and Guides area. Crack open an existing game and tinker around with it a bit.

At the same time, be thinking about a more nuanced plan. How many characters? What sprites will you use? What basic mechanics do you want. Be reasonable. We've taken care of the first 99% by building this engine, but that last 1% is still a huge undertaking. Anything more than 2-3 players and the base line fighting mechanics are beyond you right now. Think of it as a learning project, because that's what it is.

Along the way, don't be afraid to ask questions if something confuses you. Those are the sorts of things we can actually answer, and will be glad to help with.

DC

 

[Khangolian17]

Hi! I appreciate the detail provided, thank you.

I was unaware of a manual or any other source material as I only recently found this site. I usually gain more initially by interfacing with someone to confirm my understanding - sorry if that led to a broad post!

That said, my scope is pretty much defined at a high-to-semi-detailed level depending on the tech/legal allowance of the design idea.

The project is purely a passion project for my friends and I.

I want to make a 2-4 player beat em up with custom characters. The characters are desired to be of myself and my 2-3 friends. The intent is to progress through a standard (possibly mostly vanilla) beat em up with the regular spawns, enemy sprites, attacks, weapons, level layouts, etc. - the only exception/additional target would be to change the name of the enemies, bosses, level names, credits, intro, title screen, and lore screens to tell a story of my own choosing. I want to name the enemies individually like in streets of rage but really prefer River City Ransom for look/feel.

If I rephrase my questions to be more specific (take in mind I have not opened the manual at the time of writing this)...

1. Can I take a default rom like River City Ransom and manipulate it with openBOR to make a new rom hack?
2. Can I make custom characters in my likeness?
3. Can I rename enemies, level names, and bosses?
4. Can I modify the UI and functionality? For example to support more than 2 players if the game is limited to that?

My assumption to all of those questions is YES - but as deducible as that may be, I still feel value in the excessive confirmation.

Thank you for your time, please let me know what you can when time permits!

 

[DCurrent]

Hi! I appreciate the detail provided, thank you.

I was unaware of a manual or any other source material as I only recently found this site. I usually gain more initially by interfacing with someone to confirm my understanding - sorry if that led to a broad post!

That said, my scope is pretty much defined at a high-to-semi-detailed level depending on the tech/legal allowance of the design idea.

The project is purely a passion project for my friends and I.

I want to make a 2-4 player beat em up with custom characters. The characters are desired to be of myself and my 2-3 friends. The intent is to progress through a standard (possibly mostly vanilla) beat em up with the regular spawns, enemy sprites, attacks, weapons, level layouts, etc. - the only exception/additional target would be to change the name of the enemies, bosses, level names, credits, intro, title screen, and lore screens to tell a story of my own choosing. I want to name the enemies individually like in streets of rage but really prefer River City Ransom for look/feel.

If I rephrase my questions to be more specific (take in mind I have not opened the manual at the time of writing this)...

1. Can I take a default rom like River City Ransom and manipulate it with openBOR to make a new rom hack?
2. Can I make custom characters in my likeness?
3. Can I rename enemies, level names, and bosses?
4. Can I modify the UI and functionality? For example to support more than 2 players if the game is limited to that?

My assumption to all of those questions is YES - but as deducible as that may be, I still feel value in the excessive confirmation.

Thank you for your time, please let me know what you can when time permits!

Alright, the bad news is I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what OpenBOR is and does. That's OK, we can still get you going. Let's take these piecemeal:

1. Can I take a default rom like River City Ransom and manipulate it with openBOR to make a new rom hack?

No. OpenBOR is not a ROM hacking tool or an emulator. We don't even allow that stuff here. OpenBOR is a fully self contained game engine. What you can do is use resources from other games (i.e. the sprites and sounds) to build a game powered by OpenBOR. While that's technically a copyright violation, most companies don't give a flip about their sprites and sound effects. It's the source code and IP they care about. That's no worry since we own the OpenBOR engine code and you would own the code that makes the game.

2. Can I make custom characters in my likeness?

See also - OpenBOR is a game engine. You can use whatever assets you like, including digitized photos. Why would a machine care?
That said, you do need to know your way around image editing and palettes. Each OpenBOR sprite is 8-bit color (255 colors + one transparent) with an unlimited number of alternate palettes and total colors on screen. To put this in perspective, Mortal Kombat sprites are 6-bit (63 + transparent). Neo-Geo, Sega Genesis, and Super NES sprites are all 4-bit (15 + transparent), and the good ole' NES is 2-bit (3 + transparent).

3. Can I rename enemies, level names, and bosses?

Again, it's a game engine, not a ROM tool. OpenBOR doesn't care what you name something. That's all up to you.

4. Can I modify the UI and functionality? For example to support more than 2 players if the game is limited to that?

OpenBOR supports up to four players out of the box, and it's as simple as a one line parameter maxplayers <int>. The UI is a different story. Technically you can do it, but right now that's going to be well beyond your skill level until you become more familiar with the engine. Until then, there's a series of default menus and HUD elements that are kind of plain looking, but will work for pretty much any game.

HTH,
DC

 

[Khangolian17]

Hey! Thank you! I did fundamentally misunderstand. It sounds like its going to be more work than I oversimplified it as. I will dive in and figure it all out!
Just need to learn how to explode a pak of River City Ransom for the sprites and levels I assume. Then I can start designing and updating the assets for use within the openBOR platform.
I appreciate you clarifying it for me!

 

[DCurrent]

Hey! Thank you! I did fundamentally misunderstand. It sounds like its going to be more work than I oversimplified it as. I will dive in and figure it all out!
Just need to learn how to explode a pak of River City Ransom for the sprites and levels I assume. Then I can start designing and updating the assets for use within the openBOR platform.
I appreciate you clarifying it for me!

No problem. As you go along, please come to us with any questions. Aside from my knowledge of the engine, there's a ton of talented people here with a huge range of skills. Coding, sprite work, audio effects, even just hunting for stuff, whatever it is we can help you out.

DC