In this tutorial we’ll set up the turn based battle system.
Learn more about turn based battles and the other available battle systems in this documentation.
Turn Based Setup #
Navigate to Battles > Battle System – you’ll notice that there are already all 4 battle system types set up. You can actually set up as many battle systems as you want, e.g. to test different variations of a system.
We’ll just change the settings of the already added Turn Based battle system setup. Select the Turn Based system from the list (i.e. not changing the General Settings).
Base Settings #
The base settings handle the battle system type (which is already correct here), control blocks and battle start/end schematics. You can also optionally use a different battle menu for the battle system.
The settings are the same for all battle system types.
We only need to change the Control Block Settings and set up the Battle Start/End Schematics we’re using.
Control Block Settings #
The Player Control Block settings handle blocking the player control. We can already use the default setup for this, but let’s take look at some settings.
- Block Player Control
Select Battle.
The controls are blocked during the whole battle. - Allow In Turn
Select None.
When blocking the controls during the whole battle, you can optionally enable controls during the player’s turn, e.g. to allow running around. - Block in Battle Menu
This doesn’t really matter when blocking during the whole battle and not allowing controls in turn.
This’d block the controls while the battle menu is open. - Transfer Player Control
This’ll transfer player controls to the player combatant that’s currently selecting actions – not needed when we block controls.
The Camera Control Block settings handle blocking the camera control. We’ll allow controlling the camera during battle, so we’ll make some changes.
- Block Camera Control
Select None. - Block in Battle Menu
Disable this setting.
Battle Start/End Schematics #
We’ll use the schematics we’ve set up.
- Start Schematic
Select the BattleStart schematic. - Victory Schematic
Select the BattleEndVictory schematic. - Escape Schematic
Select the BattleEndEscape schematic. - Defeat Schematic
Select the BattleEndDefeat schematic.
Turn Based Settings #
These settings handle the majority of the turn based related system.
Battle Mode #
Turn based battles can operate in 3 different modes – we’ll use the Active mode, selecting and performing actions one combatant at a time. See the battle system documentation for more details on all available modes.
- Turn Based Mode
Select Active. - Auto Start Turn
Enable this setting.
All combatants start their new turn at the start of the battle turn instead of when they have their own turn in the battle order.
E.g. poison or regeneration effects will happen at the start of a combatant’s turn. - Auto End Turn
Enable this setting.
A combatant’s turn will automatically end under defined conditions.
The default setup will check if the combatant can still use their base attack, any ability or item. The turn will also end if the remaining actions per turn (see below) reached 0.
We’ll stick with this default setup.
Turn Order Settings #
We’ll directly use the status values of a combatant. The turn order will be based on the agility of the combatants. If two combatants have the same agility, a secondary check will compare their dexterity.
You can make this more complex by using a formula instead of a combatant’s status value (or other defined values).
- Turn Calculation
Select Combatant > Status Value. - Status Value (Turn Calculation)
Select Agility. - Use Secondary Check
Enable this setting. - Secondary Calculation
Select Combatant > Status Value. - Status Value (Secondary Calculation)
Select Dexterity.
The rest of the turn based settings can be left to their default setup for our game.
However, notice that you can disable automatically showing the battle menu in the Battle Menu Call settings. E.g. if you don’t want to use a battle menu (or only call it when using an input key) and input actions via control maps or other means, that’s where you can disable the battle menu.
Action Settings #
Turn based battles allow to use multiple actions per turn – we’ll stick with 1 action per turn, but we want switching members to not take up a turn. Instead, the switched in combatant should have their turn immediately instead of the one leaving battle.
For this, we’ll set it’s action cost to 0.
Actions Per Turn #
- Own Change Cost
Enable this setting.
This’ll show the Change Member Cost settings.
- Action Cost
Select Value > Value.
Set the value to 0.
Action Time Settings #
Want to put a bit more pressure on the player? You can optionally limit the time available to select actions during a combatant’s turn using the Action Time settings.
We’re not using it, though. But you can, if you want. You can display a combatant’s action time via HUDs, e.g. as a value bar or text.
Battle System Settings #
These settings handle overall battle system handling when using this battle system – they’re the same for all battle system types.
Battle Options #
The battle options handle some general things like allowing counter attacks or prioritizing some actions (which doesn’t do that much since we’re using Active mode).
- Can Counter
Enable this setting.
Counter attacks are available in this battle system. - Death Immediately
Handles if a combatant’s death schematic is used immediately upon receiving (deadly) damage, or if the death action is queued to start after the current action finishes.
You can enable or disable this setting based on your preference.
I’ll keep it disabled for the dramatic effect of not knowing if the combatant was killed until after the attack animation finished.
That’s pretty much all we need to do for the turn based battle system.
Selecting the System #
We’ll make sure we actually use the battle system we set up. This is done in the general settings for battle systems.
Navigate to Battles > Battle System > General Settings and change the following setting.
Base Settings #
- Default Battle System
Select the Turn Based system you just set up/edited.
Save Changes #
And that’s it for the turn based battle system setup!
Don’t forget to save your changes by clicking on Save Settings at the bottom of the editor.
Next, we’ll set up a turn order HUD.
