to scroll or not to scroll

[jumboorange]

So about 9 days ago I was bored in class and decided to rewrite a RPG I made in September in visual basic. So I went on the look for a new programming language to use (not windows only) and I decided on glbasic http://www.glbasic.com/main.php?lang=en
because it runs on the gp2x http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GP2X. It has begun to take form but there's been one thing on my mind since my first RPG attempt(which was three years ago on the TI-83+ calculator), and that is how to do scrolling maps.
I've done fixed screen maps several times but have never made a scrolling system(that works).
Do you guys think I should invest time in making such a system? Or should I stick with what I know and continue on other parts of the game. I'm not sure scrolling maps will be useful on such a small screen (320 x 240, 3.5 inch)

I don't have much to show off from the game so I put together a quick website (really quick):
http://freedomdown.atspace.com/

[LeonBlade]

So about 9 days ago I was bored in class and decided to rewrite a RPG I made in September in visual basic. So I went on the look for a new programming language to use (not windows only) and I decided on glbasic http://www.glbasic.com/main.php?lang=en
because it runs on the gp2x http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GP2X. It has begun to take form but there's been one thing on my mind since my first RPG attempt(which was three years ago on the TI-83+ calculator), and that is how to do scrolling maps.
I've done fixed screen maps several times but have never made a scrolling system(that works).
Do you guys think I should invest time in making such a system? Or should I stick with what I know and continue on other parts of the game. I'm not sure scrolling maps will be useful on such a small screen (320 x 240, 3.5 inch)

I don't have much to show off from the game so I put together a quick website (really quick):
http://freedomdown.atspace.com/

I think you should definitely not limit your maps to be so small.
If you want a scrolling map, here is some pseudo code you can do...

Code: Select all

if player.X >= screenWidth / 2 or player.X <= mapWidth - screenWidth / 2 
{ 
    // scroll left and right
}
if player.Y >= screenHeight / 2 or player.Y <= mapHeight - screenHeight / 2
{
    // scroll up and down
}

Something along those lines...
The scrolling would basically having the camera center on your player.

[eatcomics]

Why would having a small screen mean having small maps better than large scrolling maps??? That just means you should do scrolling to have more to work with!

[jumboorange]

I got it working, and it does look a lot better on the small screen.
Now I need to work on events cause I can't use the edge of the screen to teleport the player...

[LeonBlade]

I got it working, and it does look a lot better on the small screen.
Now I need to work on events cause I can't use the edge of the screen to teleport the player...

You could... if your player touches the edge within certain constraints...

Like, if player.X >= 60 && player.X <= 40
Something like that... you get the idea...

[MarauderIIC]

Yes, use the end of the map rather than the end of the screen.