CharGen Extended

[DerVVulfman]

BUMP TO
SUPER NEW
VERSION 2!

This version has plenty rewritten.  It no longer requires any .DLL files other than those that belong with an RPGMaker XP standalone game.  It no longer relies upon the Resolution.DLL by Selwyn which I discovered can cause issues with some versions of Windows when connected online.  And it no longer relies upon the classic Screenshot.dll which only captured a defined area within the visible gaming/editor screen.

Instead, this new system utilizes the Zlib PNG system to create .png files. And due to this upgrade, the product that is created by this tool will now include alpha-channel transparencies.  For non-geeks, that means you don't have to cut out the colored area behind your sprite.  And I expect that many who wished to have true semi-transparent characters with this tool will be overjoyed.

Yes, there is still OPACITY settings in the editor.   You did know that, right?

Meanwhile, the same ZLib PNG system allows me to acquire and generate the Charactersets without needing the sprites to fit within the visible window.  The drawing window is fine in size. But if someone created a Template set where the sprite had eight directional poses, that would have caused a problem as some frames would not have been visible and usable.  However, the use of the ZLib PNG system fixes that.  As a test, I had even used an 11-pose Minkoff Battler for a test drive.  Sure, the drawing window only allowed me to see three rows of the sprite, but the actual saved product did contain all eleven poses.

Of subtle nuances, the Zoom feature is working better than before.  This zoom feature is where you can isolate the standing (or 1st frame) of a characterset and increase its size in the drawing window for better manipulation.  And now, the zoomed graphics are properly tied into the Positioner option where you can move individual pieces up/down/left/right to fit your needs. This may be handy if a template has multiple body styles of different sizes.

The Game.Exe and all related files are now under the name CharGenEx.exe and the like.  There is no Game.rxproj file anymore as it is not a project to load, nor even a Game.Ini as the actual system runs as CharGenEx instead. The Win7 crash bug detected by Tzuridis and his subsequent fix should still work.  You just have to consider that the fix applies to CharGenEx.exe instead.

The .PDF help file has now been replaced with a .CHM help file.  This because of some issues with certain PDF readers.  And there are some better explanations within on what makes a Template Set.

Still, a reminder.  The CharGen Extended tool is merely just the tool itself.  Installing the tool does nothing but installs a selection of files within your \RM Tool folder (or whatever folder you name it). In order to make it function, you need to install (or create) a Template Resource folder such as those found on the 2nd post of this topic.  And these resources are to be installed in the SAME folder as this tool.