New Companion Site & Updates

New Companion Site

RPG Maker Times will see a few changes in March. I've been working on a new website, RPG Maker Times Collection, which will become a repository for some of the main pages on the RPG Maker Times sites.

The main aim of the site is to (finally) place all of the scripts and resources (such as windowskins) all in one place, thereby reducing the need for additional blogs outside of RPG Maker Times and RPG Maker Times Companion. A single site will make it easier to update them more regularly.

The Gladiator Project

In March, I'm determined to get a demo out. Work will resume in March and I'll continue with the project in earnest. The bugbear at the moment is the body model for the MMO Style 3D Model script for the Status and Equipment screens, but I'm so close to cracking it. Incidentally, this script was first implemented on Ars Mechanicum Genesis, which was also integrated with KGC's Advanced Equip script, and which has since undergone a major overhaul.

The Extra Stats script has also been modified to integrate with the TGP system, including Reputation, Favor/Disfavor and Arena Stats. I'm also attempting on redesigning some game-specific icons for the Extra Stats mini-window on the Status Menu.

The first few maps are almost done, with only a few minor tweaks necessary. The cutscenes and event-based fillers are the only things not done. That said, the battle system has yet to be decided.

Engine 001

I'm also getting ready to try and install Engine 001 again. If I can get it to work I'll spend a little time experimenting with it. Maybe I can produce a few tutorials or how-to's on it as well. This might take some time, as I've never really played with it.

Small Island Town Map Tutorial (RMVX)

If you're like me and never really been too good at mapping, especially towns, then this video might inspire you. I thought it was a really neat way of doing it, so thought I'd share.

What I like about this video tutorial is that it's such a simple design, yet it works quite adequately for the purposes of an island town. And it's easy enough to design something similar for your own games.

RMVX Ace Release Date Announced

It's official! RMVXA's release date was announced yesterday on RPG Maker Web.

RPG Maker VX Ace
Release Date
March 15, 2012

Preorders will be allowed from March 1, 2012, with additional discounts for existing owners of RMVX. Plus there are special offers and other announcements via email subscription or on their Facebook and Twitter.

As I've already mentioned, I won't be able to purchase RMVXA right away, though I will be working on it. This is even with any discounts. For right now I'll continue using the trial version, as limited as it is, and working with RMVX.

RMVXA Price Set

Apparently the price has been set for the new RMVXA. According to RPG Maker Web on Facebook (in a comment):

$90, with a discount to current VX owners. (We will also have discount codes on the blog, facebook and twitter, so keep your eyes open).

Although I definitely will be buying RMVXA, I definitely will not be buying it right away. The two primary reasons are: (1) I can't afford it, even with the promised discounts, and (2) most of my moneys are now going towards my planned wedding costs.

I missed out on the two previous competitions to win a pre-release copy of RMVXA, but my heartfelt congrads to the lucky winners who did get it. "Gotta be in it to win it", so when time is a factor against you "ain't in it"! Haha!

Just as a side-note, RMVXA (or at least the trial version) will run more adequately than RMVX on a computer with the following specs: 800MHz CPU, 512Mb RAM, an SiS 630/730 onboard graphics card and an SiS 7018 onboard sound card. And, no, this isn't quite the setup of my computer, it's the computer I used to benchmark the lowest runnable specs for RMVXA.

Oh, and as an additional side-note (completely unrelated in fact) I tried the trial version of IG Maker, but it wouldn't run on my hamster-driven computer, so I'm not planning on pursuing into that at present.

Extra Stats Script - VXA

Download Script

This is my first actual script for RMVXA and my first properly released (full) script.

This is the same as the Extra Stats Window Script for RMVX, but with a lot of additions and improvements.

To be honest, I only did this to see if I could do it. As a result there are inevitably areas for improvement. It was made doubly more difficult by the fact that, since I've been using the trial version of RMVXA, writing the scripts directly in its editor isn't possible. Instead, I used a combination of Notepad and the "RMVX workaround" to produce a working script.

This is actually a big deal for me because it's a measure of my scripting progress (which a lot of die-hard scripters take for granted!), so if you do use the script, please be sure to read the Terms of Use and credit me accordingly. Thanks!

Time For Some Reorganisation

It's time to reorganise RPG Maker Times and its Companion. This is a priority before anything else, especially given that the latter has been neglected.

While the layout on this blog will remain the same, Companion will have an overhaul. I'm thinking about changing the entire template, perhaps to one of Blogger's dynamic layouts to better reflect its content. And this is also especially true with the apparently imminent release of RMVXA and preparation to include guestblogging and some of the other RPG Makers out there. So things might be a little messed up for a while, especially on the Companion blog.

This includes the top navigation menu, definitely out-of-date by now, which I've been wanting to do for awhile. This whole reorganisation thing will probably take some time, but I'll still be able to provide regular updates and tutorials provided that my time management skills are up to par.

I'm also transferring some of the pages I have on both RPG Maker Times and Companion on a completely separate website for convenience and better layout, which also means that I can add more dynamic pages to the blogs.

A Few More Updates

CW's Scripts Compendium

There will be a downloadable demo of this, such as it is, soon. I'm just finalising the inter-script compatibility and making some last minute tweaks to it, as well as adding some additional scripts/scriptlets. The final version will probably be updated here, as well as any subsequent versions.

Mu's Misadventures Conceptual Cartoon Strip

I briefly mentioned in a previous post, RPG Maker Times Comic Strip, about creating a kind of "live" cartoon in RMVX. I've already started this project, but it's more of an experiment at this point. It's almost entirely event-driven for the purposes of the animation, since it runs like a conceptual movie, split into several chapters. The idea behind it is to make a video of each chapter and upload it to my Youtube Videos account. The most challenging part is creating some of the custom graphics it requires, including sprites/charsets and pictures.

Spriting/Charsets

As mentioned above, I've been trying my hand at spriting. I'm still not very good at it, but at least I'm having fun. Since the RMVX tileset is very limited (and limiting), and with few specific resources online, Mu's Misadventures required something a little more dynamic, including a sunken ship charset and custom-made characters. Well, we'll have to see how it goes. Good practice anyway.

CW's Scripts Compendium - Forthcoming

I decided to compile some of the scripts I've written into a single compendium. Many of them were scattered throughout various projects I'd done, hence the decision to place them all in one place, making it much easier to access and reference.

I've shared some of these scripts on RPG Maker Times, but they've since been updated. None of them have links yet, as I'm still compiling the scripts. They're here more for reference, but when the compilations are complete I'll upload the demos for downloading.

RMVX Scripts Compendium

• Battle Announcement Image v1.0 - Display an image announcing the commencement of a battle.
• Critical Hit Flash Screen v1.0 - Flash the screen (red) when a critical hit is inflicted on monsters.
• Extra Stats Window v1.2 - Display additional stats, such as number of steps, number of battles/escapes, etc.
• Game Progress Window v1.6 - Display the game progress as a percentage in the Status Menu.
• Location Window v1.6 - Display the current location in the Status Menu.
• MMO Styled Body Status v1.5 - Display a 3D model on the Status Screen in a similar vein to many MMOs, updated according to what's equipped/unequipped on the Equipment Screen.
• Parameter Equip +/- Icons v1.0 - Display an increase/decrease icon on the Equipment screen according to how equipping/unequipping weapons and armour affects stats.
• Victory Announcement Image v0.1 - Display an image announcing victory after a successful battle.

RMVXA Scripts Compendium

• Extra Stats Window v1.0 - As with the RMVX version.
• MMO Styled Body Status v0.5 - As with the RMVX version.

I don't know what happened to my RMXP scripts yet. Most likely they're on one of the backup CDs, except I've not found them yet.

RPG Maker Times Comic Strip

In case you haven't noticed (as if you couldn't) I've started on a few cartoons. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but somehow just never got round to doing it. I guess the inspiration ultimately came from a previous post, RPG Maker Comic Book.

I don't know how regularly I'll produce the cartoons, but updated cartoons will appear on the RPG Maker Times Cartoon Strip.

Alternatively, you can view my Toondoo profile.

I don't know how viable it would be to create cartoony video adventures with RMVX, but maybe I'll try it and see, but time will tell.