Is Magic Really Real? Cartoon

This is something I did a while ago just for fun. While it's not directly related to RPG Maker, it still has fantasy elements to it, so I thought I'd post it. If it takes too long to load or doesn't load at all (most likely it won't), you can view it here.

You can create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Updates Soon

Updates and projects have been deferred. I came down with the flu, which has led to an upper respiratory infection. As soon as things settle down I'll be focusing again on the blog, starting with an events banking system (from the results of October's Poll).

Things will hopefully return to "normal" soon.

Borrowed from Fantasy Faction

Press Any Key Script (RMXP/VX/VXA)

Download Script

You know how some games have a "Press Any Key" on the title screen in place of or before the main menu? Now, I've been wanting to write a script like this for a while. In fact, I started writing one for the Q-Engine.

Here's a script that does just that. And the best thing it works with RMXP, RMVX and RMVXA.

Happy Halloween 2012

Just a quick note to wish all my visitors, past and present, old and new, and frequent and infrequent a Happy Halloween.

Image borrowed from Aldiko

Despite the recent events in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, life must go on. It has to! Mother Nature will always show us who's really boss and will happily demonstrate her power to us should we underestimate or abuse her. We have a lot to learn from her. So, hopefully, as with 9/11, where we go from here will lead us into a better world, where we can work together in peace and harmony to build that better world for our children and grandchildren. It gives that glimmer of hope out of tragedy, however small or insignificant it might seem.

The Deep - High Quality Resource Pack

Here's another awesome resource pack, purchasable for $5.49. This pack, entitled The Deep is ideal for those dungeon-delving adventurers to explore. When I say these resources are high quality, I mean they are high quality and I'm totally enamoured of them!

You can buy The Deep resource pack at RPG Maker Web website.

This showcases the Battle Scene using some of the high quality battlers available in the resource pack.

Image borrowed from RPG Maker Web.

Three Spam Sandwiches, Please!

Due to an increasing amount of spammy comments, the CAPTCHA has been turned on (again!) and all comments now need to be modified. Unfortunately, Blogger has no facility to modify the comments and delete offending content.

That's why I prefer Wordpress. I was considering migrating RPG Maker Times to Wordpress, but that probably wouldn't be viable given the blog's size.

In the meantime, however, I'll be scrutinising comments and if they contain any of the following they will be trashed:

• Contents irrelevant to the blog,
• Website or HTML related contents,
• Contents relating to software downloads (unless RPG Maker related), and
• User names and URLs contain irrelevant content, including pornographic references.

Also, I'm forced to disable "Anonymous" users from commenting. Commenters must have a registered account (OpenID) to be able to comment. I didn't want to do this, but fifteen spammy emails in a short amount of time is enough and it's difficult to sift the legitimate posts from the spammy ones.

For now, this is a semi-permanent measure, but at this point I feel it's a necessary one.

RPG Maker Lite - Free For All

RPG Maker VX Ace Lite has been released.

This is basically a dumbed down version of RMVXA itself. Quintessentially, it's the same as the Trial version, but without the 30-day limit and with the following additional limitations:

• 10 heroes
• 10 classes
• 126 skills
• 16 items
• 60 weapons
• 60 armours
• 30 enemies
• 30 troops
• 25 states
• 110 animations
• 10 common events
• 6 Tilesets
• 15 events per map
• Maximum of 20 maps

Furthermore, there is no call script because, like the Trial version, the Script Editor has been disabled. The Character Generator also does not contain all of the available materials, the same as the Trial version.

This is very useful as an introduction to RMVXA proper and for anyone wanting to learn the ropes before moving onto RMVXA itself. Ultimately, however, it's still a trial version of the program because of the limitations. It's "tryware" because the 30-day limit has been removed (unlike the trial version, where the countdown began from the moment you installed it, regardless if you used it or not). It's also "nagware" because every time RMVXA Lite is loaded it prompts you to continue with the trial or purchase the full product.

I think it's a very good idea that this has been made available because one of my major frustrations when experimenting with the Trial version wasn't the fact that scripts couldn't be edited (they can easily be created in RMVX and ported over into RMVXA), but the fact that I don't have the time to sit for 30 days straight and experiment. 12-hour days usually does that.

So, in conclusion, it's a worthy addition to the ever-increasing RPG Maker family to see how things fit together, even if it is really shareware masquerading as a free "Lite" version!

Finally A New Nav Menu

RPG Maker Times has finally had a long needed, often deferred facelift. Regular visitors will notice that the top navigation menu has changed from its old incarnation. It's much simpler now, but is easier to update should the need arise to add items to the menu.

After careful consideration, and much experimentation, I opted for this format because, with the advent of RPG Maker Times Companion, the need to have the dropdown subsections is greatly reduced.

Most of the links are tag-based, so if you're looking for specific engines you can easily skim through all of its related articles. Furthermore, many links go to the various index pages of RPG Maker Times Companion, which lists the articles clearly.

Note: The "Windowskins" portion of the menu is NOT implemented yet. All Windowskins are still available on the Companion site.

RPG Maker Times and Companion are cross-referenced, so I'll be going through each of the articles on this blog and deciding if and how they'll be linked. This process might take a while, but I'm determined to make progress on it this month, although it probably won't be all the way complete.

I'll also begin trying out some of the other RPG Makers, which is reflected in the menu, but that most likely won't be this month. Guest bloggers are welcome to submit articles relating to these other RPG Makers, as at the moment I know next to nothing about them.

Animated Title Screen Redux RMVX

The Animated Title Screen Redux RMVX 1.6 is an experiment with sprites and layers.

Although it started out as an experiment purely with sprites (showcased in a previous video), it developed into a simple title animation and then into something more complex, with the addition of a message or credits on the Title Screen. It may or may not be integrated into the Q-Engine in the future.

The title itself, "The Chronicles of Yrth", is taken from a novella I wrote in the early '90s, which was completed but never published. This will be a future project, based loosely on that novella.

The background music is Living Voyage by Kevin MacLeod.

Navigation Menu Changes

The next big project for RPG Maker Times is its top navigation menu. The current one is way too out-of-date now and there's no question that it needs updating. Because this blog is quite large, spanning four years worth of updates, it's a mammoth undertaking.

Now, I'm not entirely sure how this should be done. I've been thinking about it for a while and experimenting with the different ways of updating the menu to reflect the evolution of the blog and RPG Maker Times Companion.

Here are some ideas I've considered:

• Simple Menu - A menu displaying only the main areas of the blog, such as Resources or Tools & Utilities. These in turn lead to complete index pages listing their respective sub-pages. This, however, may lead to duplicate entries.
• Same Format Menu - Keeping the same format menu as the one currently in place, but updating the main categories to reflect the new changes. This includes additions to RPG Maker Times Companion.
• Keyword/Tag Menu - A menu based on keywords and tags. This utilises posts' categories and tags (rather like Wordpress's parent-child system).
• Sliding Menu - A hidden menu that, when clicked on, slides out to reveal the main categories and subcategories of the blog and RPG Maker Times Companion.

Further suggestions are welcomed, of course. I'd like to make it easier for my visitors to navigate throughout the site with only a few clicks. I have all the software I need to create some dynamic menus so, regardless, will be experimenting with a few styles and perhaps later will put them to the vote.

Feel free to make suggestions in the comments box below.