New Domain Names Implemented

The domain name, http://blog.rpgmakertimes.info, for RPG Maker Times Collective (now officially renamed Companion) is up. Although it's still under heavy construction, there's still a lot of content available. I'll be doing more work to the blogsite over the next few months and by the end of June it should be up and running proper.

Furthermore, you can also use http://rpgmakertimes.co.cc/blog to load RPG Maker Times. The current address works as well, since this is simply a URL referrer. So, whichever one you prefer you can use as easily. (No longer active.)

All of the tutorials, present and future, will also be implemented on the blogsite. And I'm hoping to have a few more tutorials as time goes by.

Finally, as a result of the consolidation process, the following blogs/sites will be deleted:

• RPG Maker Times Companion - This will not be deleted per se and will remain as is. There will be fewer, if any, updates to it.
• RPG Maker Times Cartoon Strip - All of the cartoon entries will be transferred and eventually the blog will be deleted.
• RPG Maker Times Windowskins - Once all of the windowskins have been ported over, this blog will also be deleted, making provision for more windowskins, which I'll attempt on creating from scratch in Paint.NET and Gimp.
• RPG Maker 2K3 Master - Although I mentioned a while back that this blog was scheduled for deletion, I've kept it going for a while longer. After the Companion blogsite is all the way complete, 2K3 Master will finally be deleted.

Bear with me as the transition takes place. There's a long way to go yet, but steady progress is taking place. If you'd like to contribute in any way, comment below or through Facebook. Thanks in advance!

RPG Maker Magazine

RPG Maker Magazine is an online magazine dedicated to "console RPG Maker games", especially RPG Makers 2 and 3 for the PS2.

Not only that, they do have an active forum, which also contains some (though not much) content on the PC version RPG Makers.

There are some interesting articles in its online magazines as well, although this part of the site doesn't appear to have been updated in a while. Notwithstanding, it's still worth reading through them.

The list of games in the "Game Vault" is quite comprehensive, including RMXP and RMVX projects. And, of course, there's the inevitable guides and tutorials, including the game manual.

Overall, the site doesn't have much in the way of active content or updates - for all intents and purposes it's inactive - but it's still worth a mention solely based on its content and list of games. (I spent at least 90 minutes browsing through.)

The Gladiator Project Development Commencement

Development on The Gladiator Project has recommenced. Progress has also been made on gameplay as well as additional scripts. For progress updates, click on the TGP Updates tab on the right.

For those of you who have been following RPG Maker Times on Facebook will already be aware of the new Status Menu theme. Well, I'll be doing something a little different.

I'll be encouraging viewers both from RPG Maker Times and Facebook to vote on a few aspects of the game, so will be conducting regular polls. At the moment, these include:

• Which animated title screen looks best
• Which music/score goes best with the title
• Which Status Window layout looks best

And there will probably be more as development continues.

Each poll will last for a month, posted both here and on Facebook, along with images and videos as necessary. The results will then be collated and those with the highest scores will be implemented in the game.

(The Gladiator Project website has not been updated, but it will be soon.)

New Domain For RPG Maker Times Collection

The RPG Maker Times Collection RPG Maker Times Companion website is in the process of transferring to a new host, along with its own domain name. This'll make it much easier long term.

Not only that, it'll be has officially been renamed from Collection to Companion - not to be confused with the blog of the same name, but that'll eventually be renamed to something else and may eventually be removed altogether. The new website can be found at its domain-hosted site, although it's undergoing heavy construction.

The current template will not be the actual template. For the most part, it'll be Wordpress-ised for easier organisation and to make it more search-friendly, but it'll also combine website elements as well.

Construction will begin this month and by the end of the month the transfer from the old web host to this one will be complete.

Animated Title (RMVX) - The Chronicles of Yrd

This started out as an experiment with sprites, but developed into a simple title animation. The title itself, "The Chronicles of Yrth", is taken from a novella I wrote in the early '90s but which was never published. This will be a future project, based loosely on that novella.

The script may or may not eventually be shared on RPG Maker Times Companion. It depends what happens between now and then, and if the project actually goes ahead as a planned collaboration.

RPG Maker 3 (PS2) Inclusion

As a followup to the post on May 3, I've been playing around quite extensively with RPG Maker 3 for the PS2 and I must admit I'm still in two minds about it. I will include some articles on it on this blog, but it probably won't be regular. Instead, the focus will still be on RMVX and later I might reinstall RMXP.

I have a long to do list, including other RPG Makers, which I'm hoping to go through once and for all, rather than just defer it because it's so long. The main focus right now has been and still is on the completion of the RPG Maker Times Collection RPG Maker Times Companion site. Progress is slow but steady.

Additionally, I'll be delving back into the paranormal and spiritual realms. This is prompted partly by my being commissioned to co-develop a website, Flowermint Psychic Services, which encompasses diabetes, herbology, and paranormal and spiritual information. The other part is that I recently watched a few episodes of Paranormal Witness.

RPG Maker 3 (PS2)

I recently acquired a PS2 with a few games, including Agetec's RPG Maker 3. I've heard and read mixed reviews about this RPG Maker, especially about its limitations, its steep learning curve and hardcore menu-driven creation tools. And, although I've yet to actually play it, in a sense I'm looking forward to it. I don't know whether RM3 will appear on RPG Maker Times yet, so we'll see how it goes.

I did download a PS2 emulator so that I can play RM3 from the CD directly from my PC (that is, if it works). And, if I do decide to record anything, such as tutorials or screenshots, it'll be easier to take snapshots and record videos.

It'll be just a matter of time before I decide whether or not to include RM3 on this blog, but most likely I will, as it's still part of the RPG Maker series.

Music Box (RMVXA)

This fantabulous script from the one-and-only Moghunter (who brought you various Animated Titles, among many other things). It's a Music Box, which is a feature I've wanted in my games since RM2K3, where every time you hear new music it's playable in the music player.

New Utilities On RMT Collection Update

During May, there will be a plethora of RPG Maker tools and utilities uploaded to the RPG Maker Times Collection RPG Maker Times Companion website.

I know that some of the download links on this blog and Companion aren't working, particlularly Character Creator Studio VX, which can now be downloaded from its new home. It's hosted on Collection for convenience for those who tried downloading it from Megaupload and were redirected to that scary-looking FBI closure notice.

Most of the utilities on the site go directly to the authors' sites or appropriate forum pages, but for those rare utilities that are no longer available for mainstream downloading, they too will be hosted on the site, in particular RM2K/3 utilities, for anyone who still wants them.

I will be reviewing them, showcasing some of their functions, highlights and bugs also as I start testing (or re-testing) them. Companion will eventually no longer be updated (although it will remain online for a while yet) in favour of RMT Collection, which will be regularly maintained and updated. I'm also planning on migrating the site to another web host, as this one displays annoying advertisements at the bottom. (In the beginning, there was a simple bar there, but now they've placed distracting flashing boxes and animated promos there; wouldn't be bad if they were static). And that will probably happen some time in June or July.

Longer term, it may or may not include its own mini-forum, chatroom, social network, product advertising board, and a few other bits and pieces. It depends on a lot of different factors over the next few months or so. More updates will appear as and when they're available.

Faceset Generator List (RMVX/XP) - Part #1

While going through my bookmarks, I came across a few Faceset Generators, which I thought I'd share.

• RMVX/RMXP Faceset Generator - I haven't really investigated this program thoroughly yet (expect me too soon though), but from what I can gather it's a really good utility. In addition to creating your own unique facesets with a plethora of resources, including randomization, you can also modify the colors. From what I've seen so far, this is a winner and a definite addition to your RPG Maker utilities library.
• Celianna's Faceset Generator - Again, I've not tried this yet, but it looks good. The only reason I've not investigated this is because it's not an actual installable utility, it's a .PSD file, which for those unfamiliar with the extension is a Photoshop Document file. Most modern graphic editors, such as Photoshop (of course), GIMP and Paint.net, can handle using .PSD files. Each component becomes a "layer", which can be dragged and dropped onto one another to create some awesome facesets. Again, this is something I'll be looking into further when I have the time (I've literally just finished installing GIMP and am still finding my way around it proper).
• Faceset Laboratory - This is an online generator with a lot of different options. The link is in Chinese because the Google-translated site doesn't display the images properly, if at all. The English version can still be viewed for reference for those who can't speak Chinese. On a side-note, it appears there are no options to create male characters per se, only female characters, although at a push male-looking characters can still be created.
• Character Generation System - This is the original, and best in my opinion, generator for RMVX facesets. Primarily, it's a sprite generator but includes a matching faceset, based loosely on the RTP graphics. Most of the characters I've created for RMVX projects have used this website. (The link goes to the Google-translated version.)
• Anime Face Maker - As the title suggests, this Flash generator is designed to make cutesy Anime-style faces, which can then be used as facesets. I like this generator, even though I'd have no real cause to utilize it fully, and spent a while playing around with it, creating a cool-looking "bearded lady"!

There are several other noteworthy face makers, which I'll list in another post. In the meantime, have fun designing and generating!