Broken Staff CRPG v0.4 Has Been Released

Broken Staff CRPG v0.4 Available

After a long wait the next version of the Broken Staff CRPG (v0.4) is now available.

You can download the release here.

This release contains updated .xml data files, an updated System Browser utility and for the first time source code of the System Browser and the RPG system.

What’s Included in the Download?

If you open the zip file you will notice three folders and two files.

The readme file gives and overview of the various parts of the system and how they work together. You should also read the blog series on http://www.brokenstaffstudios.com/ which includes more information about the various system elements.

The next file is the license file. The Broken Staff CRPG system is released under the General Attribution License. The general gist of the license is that you can do whatever you want with the Broken Staff CRPG system including commercial projects as long as you give credit to the Broken Staff CRPG system such as a link to our website. Please read the license for the exact details, it is short and easy to understand.

The Code

The newest addition is a series of C# files for the game system and one for the functionality of the System Browser, which shows how to load and display the data.

Why C#?

  1. Easy to understand
  2. Fairly popular language
  3. Compatible with Unity
  4. Compatible with the game engine we will be using for the first game based on this system
  5. Similar to C, Java and PHP – languages we have a lot of familiarity with

The files you will want to start out with are Form1.cs (hurray for not naming the System Browser form) and GameSystem.cs.

GameSystem.cs is the entry point into the crpg system and Form1.cs shows a very simple implementation of it.

Look forward to some tutorial blog posts on them in the future.

Next is the main part of the system, and the easiest to modify, the data.

The Data

If you have followed the development of the Broken Staff CRPG system you will have looked at the data already.

The files that were in previous versions have seen some improvement but there are four new files that are basically new for this release:

  1. Characters.xml – Lists the default pre-made characters that come with the system
  2. Parties.xml – Lists the default pre-made parties that come with the system
  3. Monsters.xml – Lists some monsters for parties to fight
  4. Encounters.xml – Lists some random encounters based on the arena fighting system that will be in the future Character Creator and Combat Simulator utility

Look for blog posts explaining these new files in the near future.

For those that have a hard time understanding XML code we have once again included a System Browser utility that displays the data in a more human understandable form.

The System Browser

The Windows-compatible System Browser returns. Sorry Mac and Linux users, as a PC gamers we are doing the development in Windows. Perhaps after the development is complete we will look at porting over the system.

The new version of the browser contains a few additions but mostly bug fixes and a few cosmetic improvements.

In version 0.5 of the system more of the System Browser will be completed and released with updated code.

For version 0.6 or 0.7 we are planning on adding more functionality in terms of creating documentation for the system. This will make the utility more useful for people who feel comfortable reading the XML files.

We are hoping now that more of the system has been released that more people will find it and start giving feedback so we can improve it.

What’s Next?

In the short term there will be more blog posts for you that explain the parts of the system that have already been completed.

Tweaks and improvements will be made also for the System Browser utility during v0.5 development.

After that we will continue with the Character Creator utility, which is currently just a character viewer and still needs lots of work.

So how can you help? Please download this release and comment in the thread. Follow Broken Staff Studios on Facebook and Twitter and leave your feedback there as well as introducing yourself. And read the blog so you can learn more about the system.

Thanks for reading and we hope this CRPG system, the only open source one we know of in development, is useful for you.

Broken Staff Studios

Broken Staff Studios is a small independent gaming studio based out of Ontario, Canada. We specialize in computer roleplaying games and are working on the open source Broken Staff CRPG system which we hope to finish by the end of 2022.

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