More Windowskins VX #5

View More Windowskins

Here are some more RMVX windowskins, some of which I created from scratch and some of which were created with the Windowskin Generator. I can't remember which belongs to where, but it doesn't really matter. As usual, these are also placed on the sister blog, RPG Maker Times Companion, where you can view examples of these (and all the other) RMVX and RMXP windowskins. Right-click and save the image to your hard drive.

Torn Parchment	Roman Gothic	Writer's Papyrus
Final Fantasy IX #1	Final Fantasy IX #2

Notes:

• The Roman Gothic windowskin was originally designed for The Gladiator Project, but I created a different one instead.
• The Final Fantasy IX ones took ages to get the boxes "just right", but they turned out in the end.

AnimGet

Direct Download The primary purpose of AnimGet (or Animation Get) is to extract animation frames for use in RPG Maker (or other animation programs). When activated, it will work in the background, taking snapshots every 10 milliseconds, which can then be rendered in a suitable graphics program, such as Paint Shop Pro.

In the beginning, AnimGet was used in conjunction with various emulators, particularly the NES or SNES ones, to capture sprite or battle animations. These could then be rendered and ported into RM2K/3 for use in games. Copyrights were flouted in those days, but that didn't stop the mass productions of RM2K/3 made Final Fantasy or Zelda fan games!

A much more up-to-date (and perhaps ethical) use for AnimGet is to create still-frame images for animations for tutorials or mini movie clips. But, since the program runs in the background, snapshotting every 10 milliseconds, whatever you do while it is active will be logged.

RM Recker

Direct Download RMRecker, created by AnomyWare, is specifically designed for "editing resources, such as splash screens, icons, and glyphs, in your RPG Maker games quick and easy".

With it, you can change any of the three logos, the glyphs and icons used in the game with your own, then save them. The way that RMRecker does this is it patches the EXEcutable RPG_RT file, overwriting the "defaults". It certainly is a quick and easy process and, although it was created with RM2K/3 in mind, it can be used with other EXE files as well.

There are some limitations:

• You can only use 8-bit images. It won't accept 24-bit high color images unless you decrease the color depth first.
  
  
• While glyphs can be BMP, PNG or the proprietary XYZ formats, logos can only be PNG or XYZ formats.

The current version is v1.0 Beta 2, but there have been no apparent updates since 2003; it is still a useful utility nevertheless.

ResHack

Direct Download ResHack (short for Resource Hack is a great utility that allows modification of games or RM2K/3 settings. Game icons, logos, text, individual settings, etc. can be modified to suit individual needs.

For the most part, ResHack is used primarily to alter the "default" icons and in-game graphics, as well as some information about the game. Other icon files can be used for this purpose and then the EXE file is re-compiled accordingly.

Note: It is against Enterbrain's Terms & Conditions to directly modify the RPG Maker program, Runtime Package (RTP), and resources, but the English versions of RM2K/3 were never "legal" or endorsed by Ascii/Enterbrain. This utility is included here only because of its usefulness and perhaps for posterity.

Dan's RMXP Tool

RPG Palace Dan's RMXP Tool is a useful utility for inspiration, which allows you to create names for characters, game titles, and a plethora of other things. The title is something of a misnomer because it can be used for all of the RPG Makers and other game makers also. (I have, on occasion, even used it for inspiration for titles for short stories!)

The screenshot below shows an example of what it can do. (The skill it chose, "Cruel Skill", conjures up quite a few visuals, some of which are just cruel.)

• Random Title Generator: Generates game titles, examples of which are Old Birthright or Deep Spirit. Some humorous ones are Comfortable Tormentor or Shallow Parasite.
• Random Character: Generates names for characters, male and female. There is also an option to choose the character's nationality, which reflects the nature of the name - English, Greek, Japanese, Gaelic and Demon.
• Random Item Name: Generates dynamic names for items. Examples are Crooked Root and Divine Water, with some humorous ones being Nervous Nut or Flat Chance.
• Random Equipment: Generates names for equipment (weapons, armor, etc.). The first few tries yielded the following results: something down-to-earth, Massive Sword; something dynamic, Ghost Shoulder Pad; and something humorous, Ill Shield and Upset Plate.
• Random Skill Name: Generates random skill names, such as Giant Blow, High Rain or Flaky Nebula.

In addition to all this, under "Select Generate Mode" is an NPC Stats Generator, which randomizes the stats for non-player characters, including providing a name. You can also choose the level of difficulty for the NPC.

While this certainly is a nifty utility, sometimes it takes ages to get the "right" name for something, especially items, since it draws from separate data files for adjectives and nouns or first names and last names. That said, it is still a useful utility nevertheless.