Potions, quest items, learning scrolls or crafting ingredients, items cover them all.
Items #
Items are set up in Inventory > Items.
There are two types of items:
- Useable items
They are used on a target combatant and change their status (e.g. a potion recovering health or a learning scroll adding a new ability). - Unusable items
They can’t be used and are mainly used for quest/key items.
This is determined by the Useable In setting found in the item’s Use Settings – None makes it an unusable item.
Useable Items #
A useable item works similar to an ability, i.e. it can have hit/critical chance, use cost, user/target changes, etc.
They are used to set up things like potions, learning scrolls to teach new abilities but can also be used to create readable books and other mechanics.
Useable items can either be used in the field, in battles, or in both. If the item can be used can also be decided by certain status conditions (like having a special stance in form of a status effect that must be applied to the user).
If the item will hit a target can optionally epend on a hit chance – an optional critical hit chance with other status changes is available as well.
An item can optionally be set up as a priority action, i.e. it’ll be used before other actions.
An item can optionally be cancelable, i.e. if the user is hit by another ability or item that is set up to cancel actions while using the item, the use is canceled. When the item is animated using schematics, only nodes that have Execute On Stop enabled will be used.
Target Selection #
The item is used on a target combatant. The target can be the user itself, an ally or enemy – or just any combatant. It can target a single combatant, the whole group or be used as an AoE (area of effect) item.
The Use Range of the item defines how far away a target can be from the user. Grid battles can also use complex grid shapes for this. Combatants that are nearby a target can be affected using the Affect Range of the item.
You can use Battle Range Templates to create reusable range settings in Templates > Battle Range Templates.
If a target is available can also depend on certain conditions, e.g. a status condition or physical orientation (e.g. only available when at the back of a target).
Use Costs #
An item can optionally require costs to use it – the item can only be used if the costs are covered.
The use costs also define if the item itself will be consumed when it’s used.
The following use costs are available.
- Status Changes
The use costs can perform status changes, e.g. subtract MP.
See below for details on status changes. - Consume Items
Using the item will consume defined (other) items.
Status Changes #
Status changes are used by use costs, user and target changes.
User changes (normal and critical) use the user of the item as both user and target in any calculation and are used once.
Target changes (normal and critical) use the user of the item as user, and each individual target as target – they’re used for each user/target combination. E.g. an item targeting multiple combatants will have a calculation for each target.
The following status changes are available.
- Status Value
Uses a defined status value change, e.g. dealing damage, healing, etc.
This can change any status value and optionally consider attack/defence modifiers for the outcome. - Status Effect
Uses a defined status effect change, e.g. adding poison.
You can use status effects or status effect types, e.g. removing all negative status effects via a type.
Learn more about status effects in this documentation. - Schematics
Uses a defined schematic.
The user is the Machine Object, the target the Starting Object.
The item is available as local selected data via the selected key action.
You can extend the available status changes with custom classes by deriving from the BaseStatusChangeType class.
Animating an item’s use #
Using an item can be animated using schematics.
This can e.g. be used to let the user play a use animation and spawn a prefab on the target – the full potential of the schematic system can be used and also extended with custom code.
The schematics can also be used to greatly increase the functionality of an item, e.g. capturing an enemy by adding it to the player group, cause damage multiple times and many other things.
Items can also use default schematics before and after their own schematics. The Item Start Animation and Item End Animation schematics are set up in Combatants > Combatants > General Settings in Battle Settings > Default Battle Animations.
Unuseable Items #
Unuseable items are mainly used to serve as quest/key items or as ingredients for crafting recipes, i.e. simply having them in the inventory is their purpose.
You can check for items being in an inventory in status conditions, e.g. the Check Status node in schematics, formulas and battle AI.
Unusable items can also use custom schematics and item variables (see below).
Price #
Items define their purchase price in the default currency (i.e. the first currency in the editor list, index 0).
Optionally, items can also be sold back to shops – the price settings also define how much they’re sold for, as well as if that is in percent (e.g. 50% of the buy price) or an defined value (e.g. 1 gold).
Shops can also override item prices.
UI #
Define UI related settings for the item.
Shortcut UI #
Items are shortcuts and use the Shortcut UI settings to control how they’re displayed in menu screens and shortcut HUDs.
Learn more in this HUD documentation.
Portraits #
Add portraits to items and display them in menu screens or HUDs.
Items can also use prefab view potraits to display the prefab of the item as a portrait. This uses render textures and a camera.
Information Overrides #
Items can override default number formatting, battle info, notifications and console texts.
Custom Schematics #
Custom schematics can be used on an instance of an item in other schematics using a Custom Selected Data Schematic node. The item is available as (local) selected data via the key action.
They can be used to create custom systems, e.g. a custom item upgrade system.
Item Variables #
Both useable and unusable items can use custom variables that are attached to their individual instances. These variables can be accessed in schematics via items stored in selected data.
This allows adding custom systems and functionality to items. The item is available as selected data via the selected key action in all of it’s formula calculations, as well as all schematics used by it (e.g. for animating or in status changes).
Setup Examples #
Here are some examples for setting up different kinds of items.
These examples will only focus on the item setup, i.e. it’ll not cover setting up a used formula or animating via schematics.
Healing Potion #
A potion recovering health and available both in battle and the field.
Use Settings #
- Useable In
Select Both.
Target Selection Settings #
- Target Type
Select Ally. - Target Range
Select Single.
User Settings > Use Cost #
- Consume
Enable this setting.
Target Settings > Target Changes #
Click on Add Target Changes.
Click on Add Status Change.
- Change Type
Select Status Value. - Status Value
Select HP (or however your health consumable status value is named). - Operator
Select Add. - Change Value
Select Value > Value.
Set the value to 150.
Or use whatever other value/formula you want for the recovery. - Use Change Modifiers
Disable this setting.
Health recovery is usually not influenced by modifiers.
Learning Scroll #
A scroll learning a new ability to the target, only available in the field.
Use Settings #
- Useable In
Select Field.
Use Settings > Ability Settings #
- Item Ability
Select Learn. - Ability
Select the ability you want to learn. - Ability Level
Define the ability level you want to learn (e.g. 1)
User Settings > Use Cost #
- Consume
Enable this setting.
Curative Potion #
A potion removing a negative status effect.
Use Settings #
- Useable In
Select Both.
Target Selection Settings #
- Target Type
Select Ally. - Target Range
Select Single.
User Settings > Use Cost #
- Consume
Enable this setting.
Target Settings > Target Changes #
Click on Add Target Changes.
Click on Add Status Change.
- Change Type
Select Status Effect. - Change
Select Remove. - Use Effect Type
Enable this setting.
We remove based on status effect types. - Status Effect Type
Select a negative effect type. - Remove Type
Select Last.
This’ll remove the last (newest) effect of the type.
