Feb 29, 2012

Balloon Messages updated!

I thought it would be nice to have framed faces displayed along with balloons, so I scripted that and decided to include it into my Balloon Messages project, although it is actually independant (please try and use it without the Balloon Messages script if you'd like and tell me if it fully works alright). Again, it's fully interfaced with RMXP's eventing system. The following screenshot was obtained by simply calling a Show Picture event command just before displaying the message - the frame and the picture's position are automatically managed by the script.

Feb 26, 2012

Balloon Messages

While looking around for balloon messages sytemes, I noticed two things - first, the  balloons are often ugly and second, they are often part of a broader custom messages system, which forces you to use that system. So I wondered if there was possible to make a  balloon system that would be independant of any custom messages system, and how to make visually appealing graphics for  balloons. And here's the result.



Features



  • Fully customizable font type and size - see the balloon adapt dynamically around your constraints.
  • Fully interfaced with RMXP's eventing system - no script call or any funny stuff like that ever.
  • Fully emulates RMXP's standard messaging functions, including color change and actor name substitution.
  • Customizable, full-color graphics for  balloons using a unique Balloonskin module - which works pretty much like Windowskins. Three Balloonskins (normal, thinking, angry) featured by default.
  • Multiple  balloons may be displayed simultaneously.
  • Theoretically compatible with other custom messages systems.



Screenshots


Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image






Download



The following link provides a script bundle meant to be used along with the Script Manager. Terms of use and instructions are provided within. Please credit me if you use it in your own project. A nice comment is always appreciated.


The following links provide demos for said script. Please install the script bundle beforehand to have it run properly.

Download Balloon Messages v1.01 Demo (223 KB)



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Feb 24, 2012

Biography Menu


This is menu which allows you to display a bio for each actor, which is entirely customizable. It was already available as part of the Animated Custom Menu System, but now I'm releasing it as a stand-alone for those of you who would like to use with your own menu system.



Features



  • Very flexible and easily customizable system, allowing you to display any pair of feature/data in the order you like
  • Long descriptions are automatically broken into several lines
  • You may hide some data from an actor's bio in case it contains spoilers, and reveal it only later in the game



Screenshots


Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image





Download



Click the following link to download this script. Terms of use and instructions are provided within. Please credit me if you use it in your own project. A nice comment is always appreciated. 

Verbal Interaction System


Verbal Interaction takes the Keywords system one step further. It's still about using keywords, but now actions are also keywords - meaning you'll have to specify whether you want to examine, open, pick up objects, just like in good ol' Lucas Arts. This is perfect for puzzles because the player is forced to give a little thinking to what he does, clicking anywhere like crazy doesn't accomplish anything, unlike in your everyday RPG.



Features



  • Programming responses to actions with the eventing system is as easy as: if selected action is PICK UP, then change items ("Potion" +1)
  • Cycle through known actions using the HUD
  • Each object is assigned a default action with a specific button as shortcut
  • You may also eaasily combine items from your inventory with objects



Screenshots


Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image





Download



Click the following link to download this script. Terms of use and instructions are provided within. Please credit me if you use it in your own project. A nice comment is always appreciated. 

Download Verbal Interaction System v1.00 (247 KB)



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Feb 23, 2012

RGSS Charset Maker

Ever tried using a character maker? I have, and have found out that most makers have too few materials, or lack essential features, or can't be used with custom images, or use graphics which clash with RMXP's style, or which are otherwise ugly... and sometimes all of that. Making my own was an option I had been considering for a long time, so when a pal at rmxpunlimited.net asked whether someone would come up with a complete and handy maker, I felt it was the right moment for me to show off. :p That's how, within a few days, I'd completed this utility I'm pretty proud of.



Features



  • Edit the hue, brightness and position of each feature individually, or edit all features at once
  • Preview changes before applying them
  • See your character animated while editing it
  • Change the superposition order at will
  • Render your characters as .PNG images or assign them to the player to test them live
  • Save your characters as presets and reload them later to make new variations rather than start again from scratch
  • Expand the libraries with your own custom graphics by simply adding files to the image folders, the program autodetects them
  • Growing and collaborative materials database, updated regularily with new resources



Screenshots


Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image

Hebergeur d'image




Download



Click the following link to download this script. Terms of use and instructions are provided within. Please credit me if you use it in your own project. A nice comment is always appreciated. 


Only a few graphics are included in this package as a preview. Download JonBon's materials database to get the most of Charset Maker. The database is still expanding, so please check for updates.

Download RMXP RTP Charset (permanent link)




Credits



This program uses Zeus81's Bitmap Export - thanks to him for enabling this core feature.
The materials database is provided and maintained by JonBon.




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Feb 11, 2012

Yet A New Theme For ACMS

As to further test the customization possibilites of my Animated Custom Menu System, I made a third theme. It took me little more than one hour to fully complete it. I also corrected some minor issues in the script, so please download v1.11 before trying and install it. Only the Constants, Common and Scene_Menu entries were modified.

Here is how the newcomer looks:


Animated CMS Frequently Asked Questions


IMPORTANT

This  FAQ only covers issues specific to the Animated Custom Menu System. For more general issues, please refer to the general FAQ.



Customization issues


Can I develop my own theme for ACMS? How difficult is it?

Abolutely, that's its very purpose - I didn't make it so that so many customization options are available for nothing. Making your own custom theme is as difficult as making your own graphics and putting them in the appropriate folders instead of the ones that come with the download package. You might also want to edit the Animations using the database editor - so there's nothing out of the ordinary there. Finally, you'd have to edit a few constants in the script editor, but it's nothing too big, besides all options are documented individually so you know exactly what you're doing.


Need my custom pictures be the exact same size as the original ones to be positioned properly?
Absolutely not. The script takes in account the size of your pictures to determine where to place them on the screen. Possible limites are purely aesthetical (for example, if you make pictures too big, the sprites may overlap/not fit in the screen). Also, if changing a picture's size makes things funny, check whether there's an option set for this very purpose (for example actor portraits' left padding on status sprites).


I don't like the windows layout/party member's info layout/type of info displayed at the bottom of the main menu, can this be changed?
Of course. This only requires basic scripting skills, so I won't cover those issues personally. If you really can't do it by yourself, there are many communities around with member who will be glad to help you on this. Please understand that I can't keep on rewriting my scripts to fit everyone's whims, especially provided I'm always working very hard to maximize the customization options.



Functional issues

About the Party selection feature - can I disable the menu to restrict the player from choosing unavailable actors?
You cannot disable the Party menu as such, however you can make actors unavailable for selection by simply using the "Remove actor from party" event command. Likewise, adding a party member this way also makes it available for selection, even if the party is full at the moment.


About the Biography feature - can I display other information than the basic age/sex/race?
Absolutely. Try and edit the bio setup, it's like a blank sheet of paper. Actors need event not have the exact same features, or they may be listed in a different order.



Compatibility issues


I use my own custom title screen. Can I use ACMS's menus, but not its title screen, to retain mine?
Yes. Just ignore ACMS's Scene_Title entry while copying the script to your project. Same goes for any other unwanted scenes, by the way, since they're all independant from each other.


I've tried to use another script which modified the behavior of a menu scene along with ACMS - the scene works fine, but there's a black screen fade-in/out, and the background graphics don't appear. How can I fix that?
First off, you have to convert your scene to a Scene_Base subclass if it isn't already the case (see there). Then, you have to make your scene recognized as a specific ACMS-menu. In order to do this, just write the following line right after the declaration of the class (class Your_Scene < Scene_Base):
  Scene_Base.type_menu << self
Right after, put that another line to include ACMS specific commands to your scene:
  include Scene_Menu_Base
Then you have to call Scene_Menu_Base's menubase_setup from your scene's setup method, right before anything else:
  def setup
    super
    menubase_setup
    ... (original code)
  end
As a final edit, call Scene_Menu_Base's menubase_update from your scene's update methode, also at the beginning. The "return unless" part makes your scene wait for fade-in/fade-out to terminate before doing anything else.
  def update
    super
    return unless menubase_update
    ... (original code)
  end
Then, you might want to read the following topic.


I've tried to use another script which modified the behavior of a menu scene along with ACMS - the scene works fine, but it appears bluntly without windows moving in. How can I fix that?
First, you need to convert your scene to ACMS's specific architecture using the previous topic. Once this is done, you have to set each window's movement. At the end of the scene's setup method, write a line like the following for each of window:
  @window_variable.set_move_from(start_x, start_y)
Replace @window_variable with the appropriate variable name, and start_x/start_y with the window's desired postion before transition.



Graphical issues

Battle-specific options (Attack/Defend) are still written in plain font, while Items/Skills have a picture. Can I also make a picture for those options?
Of course. You can do a picture for virtually any text, wherever it may appear in the game. Just make a picture you name "Attack.png" and put it in the Graphics/ACMS/Texts folder.


There are no numbers beside HP/SP bars in battle scenes, can this be modified?
Yes. Numbers display was disabled by default for mere space issues. If you want number display enabled by default, search the script's Window_Base entry for the following (line 52):
  def draw_actor_hp(actor, x, y, width = 144, text = false)
Replace text = false with text = true. Do the same with (line 83):
  def draw_actor_sp(actor, x, y, width = 144, text = false)
And you're all set.