Chapter 8: Items by Level (Hero Level) - The Complete Chests Tutorial

Chests can contain higher-level items, such as weapons, which are only accessible when a character reaches a certain level. If the character is the required level, they can open the chest, otherwise it remains closed. This is easy to do, thus:

Set up the basic chest (from Part 1), setting the chest name to "Chest 8" and the switch precondition on Page 2 to "Chest 8 Opened" also.

In the Events Commands, we need to set up a Branch Condition to check the Hero's level. If it's the required level, the chest is opened as usual. If not, a message is displayed stating the you are not a high enough level to receive the item.

The complete code is:

<>Branch if Zack Level is 2 or more
  <>Play Sound: open1
  <>Move Event: This Event, Face Right
  <>Wait: 0.2 Sec
  <>Move Event: This Event, Face Up
  <>Wait: 0.2 Sec
  <>Move Event: This Event, Face Left
  <>Wait: 0.2 Sec
  <>Change Items: Potion 1 Add
  <>Message: Potion received.
  <>Switch Operation: [0009:Chest 8 Opened] ON
  <>
: Else Handler
  <>Message: You are not a high enough level to
  :               receive the item.
: End
<>

To increase the level required, simply change the value in the Branch Condition, and the item accordingly. Additional Branch Conditions and items can be added (in the Else Handlers) for additional levels.

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.

Chapter 7: Monster-In-A-Box - The Complete Chests Tutorial

Those who have played Final Fantasy (and several other RPGs) will recognize the Monster-In-A-Box scenario, where a monster pops out and attacks as soon as the chest is opened. It's easy to emulate this in RM2K3.

Set up the chest, "Chest 7" as normal (from Part 1), including the switch on Page 2 set to "Chest 7 Opened".

Immediately under the third Wait command in the Event Commands, we will need to call an enemy encounter (predefined in Monster Groups in the Database). For the purposes of the demo I've created one called "Cave Monster", which is a single Orc.

So, the Event Command we need is "Enemy Encounter" (the very first one on Tab 2). Set the "Specific Monster Group" to "Cave Monster" or whatever predefined monster you want. Set the "Defeat Handler" to "Execute Custom Handler", which gives additional control over winning or losing the battle. And finally, "Disallow Escape" in the "Escape Handler" unless you want to have a specific set of commands for attempting to flee.

The completed routine should look like this (not including the basic chest opening commands from Part 1):

<>Enemy Encounter: Normal, Cave Monster
: Victory Handler
  <>Message: Congratulations!
  :               You beat the Monster-In-A-Box!
  <>Call Event: Random Contents
  <>Switch Operation: [0008:Chest 7 Opened] ON
  <>
: Defeat Handler
  <>Game Over
: End

And it's as simple as that.

Chapter 6: Picking Locks - The Complete Chests Tutorial

Continuing with the Chest Tutorials, we will now create a locked chest that can be opened with a lockpick. Of course, factored into the equation is that there is the possibility the lockpick will break, but if the lock is successfully "picked" then the chest will open.

The first thing we need to do is create the lockpick. In the Items tab of the Database, make the lockpick a Common Item. This will be the "key" for the chest.

Next we need to create the chest itself, "Chest 6", using the basic chest template (from Part 1). However, we have to check whether the Hero has a lockpick first, otherwise the chest will remain locked.

This is created with a Branch Condition, thus:

<>Branch if lockpick Possessed
  <>
: Else Handler
  <>Message: The chest is locked!
  :         You don't have a lockpick!
  <>
: End

This will check to see if the Hero possesses a lockpick. If not, a message will pop up stating that fact.

Next, we'll set up the "Randomizer" variable to determine success or failure. In this case, set it to a random number between 1 and 3, creating additional Branch Conditions based on the random result.

If Randomizer is 1, this is where the chest opens and the event commands are placed here, calling the Random Contents Common Event and turning the "Chest 6" switch on. If Randomizer is 2, you fail to pick the lock. And if Randomizer is 3, the lockpick breaks, not forgetting to remove the lockpick from the inventory.

The completed routine is:

<>Branch if lockpick Possessed
  <>Variable Oper: [0001:Randomizer] Set, Rnd [1-3]
  <>Branch if Var [0001:Randomizer] is 1
    <>Play Sound: open1
    <>Message: You pick the lock and the chest opens!
    <>Move Event: This Event, Face Right
    <>Wait: 0.2 Sec
    <>Move Event: This Event, Face Up
    <>Wait: 0.2 Sec
    <>Move Event: This Event, Face Left
    <>Wait: 0.2 Sec
    <>Call Event: Random Contents
    <>Switch Operation: [0007:Chest 6 Opened] ON
    <>
  : End
  <>Branch if Var [0001:Randomizer] is 2
    <>Message: You fail to pick the lock!
    <>
  : End
  <>Branch if Var [0001:Randomizer] is 3
    <>Message: The lockpick breaks!
    <>Change Items: lockpick 1 Remove
    <>
  : End
: Else Handler
  <>Message: The chest is locked!
  :               You don't have a lockpick!
  <>
: End

Don't forget to set the Preconditions switch to "Chest 6 ON" on Page 2.

Next, of course, we need to create an NPC that will give you the lockpick. You can either place it in a shop or have the NPC gift it to you. For the purposes of this demo, we'll choose the latter, so set up the NPC event and in the Event Commands, check if a lockpick is already possessed. If so, he won't give another; if not, he'll give you another one.

<>Branch if lockpick Possessed
  <>Message: You already have a lockpick!
  <>
: Else Handler
  <>Message: Have a lockpick!
  <>
: End

Move Event

Direct Download It can be very time-consuming trying to figure out specific character movements, often meaning that you have to playtest and tweak until you have it just right. I've had many frustrating moments where the characters have moved slightly too far, putting the rest of the "scene" out of sync. Or where the cut scene has frozen because characters are trying to move but are walking into walls.

With this utility, which can be downloaded here, it takes some of the pain away. What it does is allow you to record the keystrokes from the directional keys, then either preview it as a graphical representation or as a "live" demonstration (playing back the recorded keystrokes) in RMXP itself.

As you can see from the snapshot above, you can also save the current movement commands and load them later for additional tweaking and testing.

Since using this utility, the amount of time taken for cutscenes where a lot of character and NPC movement is required has been slashed in half. It's very useful to be able to test that out before actually implementing it in the Command Events and then having to go back in to edit them manually.

If you're like me and have a lot of movement in your games, then this utility will assuredly help. It's one of those rare gems you stumble across that certainly help you out and you don't want to get rid of - even after there are no further updates.

Character Maker XP

Direct Download When it comes to designing character sets from scratch, I am stuck so rely on these kinds of utilities to help me out. Character Maker XP makes life much easier, as it will create character sets and sprites for you.

Although it is limited as far as the number of resources, you can still create some reasonably good custom character sets for RMXP, even with a small set of graphics available.

As you can see from the snapshot above, characters are highly customizable, with a virtual mannequin to model the clothes and extras to work with. You can then export your finished product to RMXP character sets and import them into your games. It also has a feature to edit the resources, but use with caution since it directly modifies the program's default graphics, with no way to undo the changes, except to reinstall it.

Its ease of use makes it a worthy addition to your games creation software, but there are slightly better ones out there, including online web editors.

Edit (18-Feb-2012): Previously downloadable from Megaupload and we all know what happened to them. Thanks to "Anonymous" for pointing this out. Anyway, download should be working now.