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Diagonal movement

Hyatt

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I've noticed that the member Dogasu thinks that the main Pokemon games should become more like the Pokemon Ranger games where not only are there diagonal graphics, but you can walk diagonal.

The main Pokemon games have had your movement limited to either vertical or horizontal paths, with no way of moving diagonally.

Do you think Pokemon should drop the rigid grid and expand on movement or does it work better with some of the gameplay, especially involving trainer-dodging?
 
diagonal... hmm...

Well, why not? It would certaintly give Pokemon every reason to upgrade to full 3D. Not quite certain how the controls would work, but it's possible.
 
YESSSS!!! i have thought we needed this since i started playing pokemon with Ruby. However then they might have to change the amount of steps it counts as, otherwise it could mess up the pal park, the safari zone, and the egg hatching and such, because normally, to go diagonally, you would have to take two steps.
 
They'd have to completely rework how everything based on steps and grids works, including egg-hatching, random encounters, and the PokéRadar (assuming it stays). They could do it, but it would take a hell of a lot of work. A lot of it depends on which control scheme they go with: if they move to stylus controls, there will be free movement (to feel natural); if they stay with the D Pad, it will stay grid-locked (because diagonal D Pad motion is really difficult).
 
Really? I'd think they could keep the step count and whatnot the same. Take a step. that's one step. Really not that hard.
 
Lol...Wow, I wasn't aware being able to walk diagonally is so popular. Basically, you'll get 2 additional sprites for the character. Walking diagonally upwards or downwards. Is that really going to increase gameplay experience?

It's like you have a choice of becoming a doctor but you chose to be a doctor's assistance! Aim higher!
 
Really? I'd think they could keep the step count and whatnot the same. Take a step. that's one step. Really not that hard.

Not all the issues come up with every solution. If they have free movement without a grid, then yes, a step is still just a step. But then they have to deal with figuring out how to change any mechanics that are reliant on the tileset. I'm sure they can if they want to, but they may also want to focus their efforts elsewhere.
 
I don't see the point of being able to walk diagonal, it won't improve the game at all. But if they do it just make a step a step, it's not like anybody would care if you go 1,5 step for every diagonal step you walk.
 
This is just a ridiculous idea. Sure, it would be great if the game's a 3-d RPG like Super Mario 64 or something, moving diagonally with the D-pad would be difficult and requires the joystick to move diagonally.

Besides, this is Pokémon, why on earth would you want to walk Diagonally in Pokémon?
 
This is just a ridiculous idea. Sure, it would be great if the game's a 3-d RPG like Super Mario 64 or something, moving diagonally with the D-pad would be difficult and requires the joystick to move diagonally.

Yeah, I agree. I sometimes press the up and right buttons together to see how it would work, but it's a pain trying to press them both at the same time.
 
Sure, it would be great if the game's a 3-d RPG like Super Mario 64 or something, moving diagonally with the D-pad would be difficult and requires the joystick to move diagonally.

Yeah, I agree. I sometimes press the up and right buttons together to see how it would work, but it's a pain trying to press them both at the same time.

Diagonal movement works just fine in the Zelda series (the GBA games specifically).

There's really nothing wrong with the idea, but I don't feel it's necessary. I don't think would enhance or detract from gameplay, but it would overcomplicate the game mechanics, as many of the games' features require grid-based movement.

They could do it I'm sure, but why fix what isn't broke?
 
I'm waiting for a movement system on the bottom screen. You touch a spot in the visible area, and the character walks there. Of course the diagonal buttons would serve as a way to move too, and diagonal movement wouldn't be a bad idea there.
 
Sure, but then they should make it look more like the ranger games. I mean those small people walking diagonally would just look weird imo.
 
Lol...Wow, I wasn't aware being able to walk diagonally is so popular. Basically, you'll get 2 additional sprites for the character. Walking diagonally upwards or downwards. Is that really going to increase gameplay experience?
It's actually four, since normally there are is already 4 sprites, adding diagonal give the player 8 options to move in thus there needs to be 4 more sprites.

Not all the issues come up with every solution. If they have free movement without a grid
I don't remember any game being that fluid, even Warcraft 3, a 3-d game that has a grid based format (if world editor is any indication) and can move diagonally.

Consider the following slashes to be covered by boxes, the P represents the player.

\ | /
- P -
/ | \

Sorry about the small horizontal slashes, but it a grid system (or rather the step system) is based on 8 squares around the player, then I don't see how it can't easily be incorporated that a diagonal step is one step.

General Question said:
What would the point of diagonal movement
Makes it more realistic, a person in real life can move diagonally as well. Only being able the option to move up, down, left, or right, seems kind of forced.

General Question said:
How can it work with the current control pad
Hmm, it depends on if you would like some freedom on how you mash your control pad, because the Control pad itself can move in 8 direction (at least technically I think). So holding the left and up button should let you move diagonally.

If it can't work because of the way the DS is set up then I guess the only way would be a ranger type format. I thought of a button and the control pad, but thinking about it I saw a flaw in it, and the only thing that would work are L and R buttons in combination of the up and down control pad (like the L button and the up button moves you diagonally Northwest), but isn't at least one of them being used for something?

Do I really care if there are 4 more options my player can move in? Not really, it would be interesting but not necessary. Any Pokemon RPG's on the "DS2" however should incorporate diagonal movement. Especially if the graphics could be like Gamecube graphics, so similar to Colosseum and XD gale of darkness but with gyms and stuff.
 
I don't remember any game being that fluid, even Warcraft 3, a 3-d game that has a grid based format (if world editor is any indication) and can move diagonally.

Consider the following slashes to be covered by boxes, the P represents the player.

\ | /
- P -
/ | \

Sorry about the small horizontal slashes, but it a grid system (or rather the step system) is based on 8 squares around the player, then I don't see how it can't easily be incorporated that a diagonal step is one step.

I was talking about games that don't lock your movement to a grid, and allow you to move and turn freely. Whether the map is built on a grid or not makes no difference.

And diagonal movement would not work on a grid system because A) as I already pointed out, it's difficult and uncomfortable to press two directions on the D Pad, and B) each diagonal "step" would be significantly larger than each horizontal or vertical one, which would make the animation look incredibly awkward, and could also mess up some of the functions based on step-counting by allowing players to move one "step" in what would normally take two (I'm not sure how all of them are calculated, so I could be wrong - but it would certainly make things more complicated that Game Freak may just want to leave simple).
 
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