Windowskins Integrating With The Blog

The Windowskins subdomain is migrating to RPG Maker Times & Companion. The old site will remain but it won't be updated.

This is part of the integration process to make it easier to update. I do have a few more windowskins to update and convert, so once the migration is complete the new windowskins will be added. This also includes the windowskins tutorials, both old and new.

I'll be using the Windowskin Generator and adding my own graphics to create new ones on a more regular basis as well.

Scripts and Site Updates

Several scripts, tutorials and demos have been updated. They will also be updated on RPG Maker Times Companion shortly.

Scripts Updates

The following scripts have updates:

• Extra Stats Window v3.0 - Released very soon, pending a few tweaks and bug fixes.
• Q-Engine v2.0 Release Candidate - This has been undergoing a rewrite to make things easier and to address a number of additional conflicts.
• Q-Engine Message System (QeMS) v1.0 - This is a very basic but functional message system, with more added to it as time goes on. (Personal Note: This is more of a personal experiment to apply what I've learnt - am learning - about Regular Expressions; it probably won't be released for awhile in favour of the others.)
• Other Scripts - All other scripts I've written for RMXP and RMVX are being brought up-to-date and will eventually be migrated to RPG Maker Times Companion.

Tutorials/Demos Updates

A number of tutorials are being brought up-to-date as well, including the Complete Chests Tutorial (which has its own section on RPG Maker Times Companion). I'm hoping to concurrently release additional demos for all RPG Makers after the "original" is done. Most of the other demos attached to some of the tutorials will also be brought up-to-date.

Site Updates

All of the windowskins are being migrated to RPG Maker Times Companion. This includes all of the windowskin utilities and the windowskins on this blog, as well as its predecessor Wordpress website. You can find them at the Windowskins RMTC subdomain. They are neatly laid out for ease of use and convenience and on the index page you can preview them before deciding to download them.

RMXP/VX Windowskins #1

View More Windowskins

After having discovered the peerless Hiper WindowSkin Maker, windowskins for both RMXP and RMVX will now be placed in a single entry. There's no need for separate entries, but as usual all new windowskins will be easily accessible either from the RMXP Windowskins or RMVX Windowskins index pages.

Let's get the ball rolling and deliver some more windowskins.

RMXP

Dragonis	Gothic Horror
Futuristic #1	Futuristic #2

RMVX

Dragonis	Gothic Horror
Futuristic #1	Futuristic #2

Hiper RMXP/RMVX Windowskin Maker

DownloadI'm sure that RPG Maker enthusiasts and visitors to RPG Maker Times alike are aware of the Windowskin Generator VX and the Windowskin Maker XP by now. These are two separate programs: the VX one loads via RMVX or separately and the XP one is a standalone program.

Wouldn't it be cool if both windowskin creators were combined, where instead of having to create RMXP and RMVX windowskins separately, you could use a single program to create both simultaneously? If such a program existed, it would certainly make life much easier!

Well, such a program DOES exist, thanks to the superlative talents of one Narvelan, a nonpareil Brazilian programmer, who has created the peerless Hiper WindowSkin Maker (version 1.0 BETA). I tell you, this utility is THE DEFINITIVE windowskin creator! I can't laud this program enough, so I'll outline its rich features instead.

It is in Portugese, but is fairly straightforward and easy to use, although here's a quick rundown nevertheless.

Create the windowskins

When first opening the program, the first place to go is Estilo (Styles). This is where the different graphics parts are stored, with seven style categories to choose from - including my favorite, Medieval - but you can create your own. From there, you can choose the different components from the tabs to create the windowskins. As you add the components, they will be added realtime to both RPG Maker templates.

All graphics are dependant on the styles. The Background (Fundo) is the message window background. The Layouts (1, 2 and 3) insert the message window frame, directional arrows and flashing cursor respectively. Sets (Seta) 1 and 2 are RMXP only for the battle cursors. Set 3 is the animated arrows to forward messages. And the Extra tab I have no idea what that's for.

You also have the options to choose a colour (Escholer Cor) for the background transparency or revert to normal transparency (Transparente). You can even overlay templates or create blank templates from the Show Template (Monstrar Template) options.

Once you've created your masterpiece, you can save (salvar) each windowskin in either format, or both. They can then be imported and used in games.

Importing windowskins

The final very useful feature this utility has is the ability to import RMXP windowskins and split them up so you can use them in RMVX windowskins!

It's under Arquivo (File) then Importar (Import). There you will see one option: Windowskin XP (.png), which you can use to import RMXP only windowskins.

Caveat: Do NOT attempt to import RMVX windowskins (either by accident or by design). It will not work and the program will invariably crash.

Conclusion

Now there's absolutely NO excuse not to create more RMXP windowskins. In fact, I will be creating the same versions of both, since the commonest search term is windowskins.

Narvelan, Tiramos o chapéu para você, mano! (Uh...Google-translated since I'm not bi-lingual.)