Ideas on how to make a field (harvest moon style)

[Outcast]

I am trying to come up with a method to do the creating of field squares, like in the Harvest Moon games. The idea is that you go around the map and use a tool on the ground to "dig" a patch of dirt, if you watch around 1:15 in this video you will see what I am trying to do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztKUZNqhRAI

It feels like it should not be so hard to do, but so far I have not got it to work right. I tried to have a small invisible active always following the character around and being places by his feet in any direction he is facing and when I do the action to dig a patch appears at the actives position. The problem with this is that there is no pattern to how the patches will be created and that may be a problem when I need to load them in after the player has saved the game. I dont know if this is possible without using an array and divide the play area in squares? Also its hard to make a big field that has even edges if you can place the patches on any pixel. I can imagine the way used in Harvest Moon is to have the field divided in squares. Maybe this is the best idea, but I am a bit unsure on how to make it so the patch is created on the right square. Any ideas on how to do this?

[Popcorn]

What are you asking, actually? I base my answer on what I belive you are asking about.

That game seems to have the player move in a gridlike pattern, and the guy digs the cell / square in front of him. You notice when he moves, he always seems to be positioned in the middle of a square? You will have to find a way to make you character move in a gridlike manner like that in the game. I suggest using a hidden small object for the actual player-position.

So, let's say a square is 32 * 32 pixels. To find out what square the player is standing in, divide its position by 32. If you want to dig in the square at the left of this square, you can find this square's x-position like this: (XPos of Player / 32 *32) - 32. The y-position for this square would be Ypos of Player / 32 * 32.

Using this method, the player doesn't need to be standing pixel-correct on a square, but anywhere inside it.
Example: When we divide the player x-position with 32 we get the cell X position in the grid, for instance 37 / 32 = 1, means that the player is standing on square 1. When we multiply with 32 again we get the exact x-position of the square in the frame (1 * 32 = 32).

[Outcast]

What are you asking, actually? I base my answer on what I belive you are asking about.

That game seems to have the player move in a gridlike pattern, and the guy digs the cell / square in front of him. You notice when he moves, he always seems to be positioned in the middle of a square? You will have to find a way to make you character move in a gridlike manner like that in the game. I suggest using a hidden small object for the actual player-position.

So, let's say a square is 32 * 32 pixels. To find out what square the player is standing in, divide its position by 32. If you want to dig in the square at the left of this square, you can find this square's x-position like this: (XPos of Player / 32 *32) - 32. The y-position for this square would be Ypos of Player / 32 * 32.

Using this method, the player doesn't need to be standing pixel-correct on a square, but anywhere inside it.
Example: When we divide the player x-position with 32 we get the cell X position in the grid, for instance 37 / 32 = 1, means that the player is standing on square 1. When we multiply with 32 again we get the exact x-position of the square in the frame (1 * 32 = 32).

Thanks Popcorn! That works perfect!