The key factor here is line of sight (LOS). LOS is very important when it comes to a game and gameplay. When a character is hidden from view, they''re out of your LOS. When you see them as a character in game, you should be able to see them as a player playing the game. This is a key element a lot of games lack.
Especially with an RPG.. you should incorporate some sort of "perception" skill or something else that fits into the world better. What this is.. a rating of your character''s ability to notice things. A more perceptive person can pick out shadows better. They can "see" things others can''t. This means that walking around and noticing someone''s foot sticking out around the corner of a building, will clue you that they''re there. Now, if you see them as a character.. you should have some way of alerting the player. Perhaps you''ll go ahead and have the character "uncovered" and the player can see them. Or perhaps you''ll just highlight the part of the character which is visible. A little red box or something. This tips the player off that something is there, but they''re not sure what. This can add a deep mystery to the game as well as providing pulse-pounding suspense
Do you run around the corner shooting? or perhaps it''s a friend.. hehe
Either way.. you need to tackle this very real problem.
What i think you should do is just allow the player to be seen through the object.. or move the camera past the object that''s in the way. It depends on how you plan on doing the layout of the game. Also, if your character sees things back there, let the player see them as well, open up holes to let them see
I think from a programming aspect, moving the camera past the object is easier. Making a hole in a building requires making a transparent spot over the character, which moves with the character. If you remove only a tile, it''ll look artifical
It''d hafta be done right.. and that''d be hard. lol
You should prolly ask this ina programming board, as mostly here is design issues.. and you''ve got a programming issue
He''s been told.. so no one flame him ;p
Design issues are about the theories behind the games, and how you should work some aspect of the game, like the highlighting or showing hidden things based on the character''s perception skill. As far as which is easiest to program or design for.. that''s not our field.. hehe
J
- i''m not sure on how to draw the tiles, any tips?
Obviously, i''ve got a lot more questions, and there are LOTS of ways of solving this. I''m looking for the easiest, nicest and most painless way of figureing this out.
- I dont really want to have to resort to "rotating" the screen, because i just dont have the resources to draw so many tiles.
- Should i consider making this a 3d app? With textured boxes representing the buildings?
Anyways, let me know what would work. 
