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THE MANA WORLD INVENTORY SYSTEM
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1. INTRODUCTION
2. DATABASE
3. INVENTORY
4. EQUIPMENT
5. IMPLEMENTATION
6. SPECIAL ITEMS
7. PROTOCOL
An item will have the following properties:
C means info is used only by the client
S means info is used only by the server
C&S means info is used by both
- id (C&S) -> unsigned int
a positive integer uniquely identifying an item.
- image (C) -> unsigned int
used if same images are used for different items.
Maybe we need more image ids to tell which image (bigger one) to show in
equipment window or when equipping items in weapon slot.
- name (C) -> char[30]
to be shown in inventory.
- description (C) -> char[100]
a brief description shown in shops, or in the inventory
- type (S) -> unsigned char
server uses it to check if is an item or an equipment and send the
appropriate packet.
* USABLE_ITEM (food, potions, ...)
* EQUIPMENT_ITEM (weapons, armors, ...)
* SLOT_ITEM (cards, materias, summoned beings, ...)
* SLOTTED_ITEM (bags, small chests, ...)
- identify (S) -> unsigned char
The server will check this flag if the items can be identified by the
player.
* IDENTIFIED no need to identify the item
* IDENTIFY_ITEM you can identify it by using a special item
* IDENTIFY_MAGIC you can identify it by using a particular spell
* BLACKSMITH needs a blacksmith to be identified
* WIZARD needs a wizard to be identified (enchanted items)
* ANCIENT_BLACKSMITH
* ANCIENT_WIZARD
* NOT_IDENTIFIABLE reserved for future use
- weight (C&S) -> unsigned short
Used by server to calculate if the being can carry more items. The client
uses it to display the information to the player.
- # of slots (C&S) -> unsigned char
If this field is greater than 0 it means this one is a slotted item.
(Probably we can remove SLOTTED_ITEM from the type enumeration)
For example a bag will have 4 slots, while a chest about 10.
- script (S) -> probably a file name to reference the script file
or class or name of class object
Script to be executed when item is used/equipped. Events include:
onPickup(Being b) The item is picked up by being b
onDrop(Being b) The item is dropped by being b
onUse(Being b) The item is used by being b
onUseWith(Being b, Object o) The item is used with object o by being b
onEquip(Being b) The item is equipped by being b
3. INVENTORY
Inventory will contain any kind of weapons including non equipped items and
slotted items. Every being will have a variable number of slots to store items.
For example a maggot won't have any slot, while players could have a number of
slots depending on his strength. A pet could have one slot used to add a bag and
help the player carrying items.
Hammerbear says: I think here we should go all the way with weight approach and
not have a slot limit. The same could be used for container items, that simply
have a contents that can hold a certain total weight. Places where slots are
then used is for equipment, where each slot maps onto a certain body part, and
possibly certain slotted items that have slots that can only hold a certain
type of item.
4. EQUIPMENT
Every being will have a variable number of slots to equip items. For a human
player we will have the following slots:
* 0 body
* 1 hair
2 head (hat, helmet, etc.)
3 neck (necklace)
4 torso (body armour)
5 right hand (weapons)
6 left hand (shield, only available with no or one-handed weapon)
(ammunition, only available with certain weapons)
7 left ring finger
8 right ring finger
9 legs (pants)
10 feet (shoes)
These slots will composite to form the character graphic. The order of the
composition is not the same in each direction and some slots do not contribute
to the final graphic. Draw order for each direction:
left 0, 1, 2, 10, 9, 5, 4, 6
right 0, 1, 2, 10, 9, 6, 4, 5
up 0, 1, 2, 10, 9, 5, 6, 4
down 0, 1, 2, 10, 9, 4, 6, 5
*) These slots are not under player control, but are merely used by the engine
so be able to change this as part of the same system.
5. IMPLEMENTATION
Since both client and server will only need to store item ids, inventory and
equipment can be easily coded as unsigned int arrays. The only problem is
about slotted items. They for sure can't store another slotted item, but it's
hard to represent them as an int. Probably a more complex structure is needed.
struct ITEM_HOLDER {
int id;
int quantity;
ITEM_HOLDER *item;
}
ITEM_HOLDER inventory[number_of_slots];
ITEM_HOLDER equipment[number_of_slots];
If item is not NULL it will reference an array of items stored in the slotted
item.
How to limit the quantity of items? We could have a fixed number of slots in the
inventory. In one slot you can store only items with the same id (except slotted
items which need separate slots). When you pick up/receive a new item, total
weigth you can carry is checked if the item can be stored.
6. SPECIAL ITEMS
A special case is represented by arrow holder. Possible solutions:
- Equipment will have a special slot where you can equip only arrows
(or stones)
- Item with one slot
- Arrows can be simply stored in inventory
- Arrow holder has special slot for items of type "arrow" that can hold up
to a certain maximum number of arrows.
Weapons can store a limited number of items in their slots. In this kind of
slots you can store materia, demons or arrows. Some examples, with XML test
cases based on 4th solution above.
* Arrow holder = max 100 arrows (1 slot)
-
* Sword of chaos = max 1 materia + 2 demons (2 slot)
-
* Bag that can hold 5 kg of arbitrary stuff (container).