The Weekly Gazette 10-13-2024

[DerVVulfman]

(October 7 to October 13, 2024)

Welcome dear readers to the latest issue of the Weekly Gazette!  Here in the Gazette, we give you the news in brief of what occurred in the past week as well as provide any news happening in Save-Point itself

Official Area

  Announcements and Updates

This week, DerVVulfman announced that there were indeed some Happenings with the Forum Update, sadly noting that the substitute for the now-lost Forum Stats window isn't compatible, and had temporarily crashed the server itself. Fortunately, Kirito was on hand to take care of the issue, relaying part of the cause and rebooting the server. But on a happier note, DerVVulfman also announced that the number of scripts restored and uploaded to the RPG Maker Central Archives well over 900 scripts and could around 60% done.

  Occasions

This week, Solitaire came by to join. But yet, there was no solitary visitor to the thread, but many. DerVVulfman whom has some experience with the battle system that Solitare is interested, kyonides whom begun some continuous levity involving chicken soup of all things, AmbiguouslyAnonymous whom offered hearty greetings, and Remi-chan who suggeted to bring forth the chaos.  Solitaire felt very much at home.

  General Chat

If anyone thought the Google Search Algorithm SUCKS, you are not alone. Solitaire created a rant thread to express frustration over the search engine that appears to be getting worse.  DerVVulfman relayed his issues with the search engine, pointing to how sees to auto-correct what is being searched, and Remi-chan needing additional add-ons to blacklist sites instead of relying upon the engine to screen out AI generated content.

Monster boss fights appeared to be the thing if you asked Remi-chan and kyonides What are Youtubing?  First, Remi-chan found that a streamer named Pint chose to make an early appearance and took on the challenge to beat the enemis of Elden Ring in alphabetic order, despite never beating the game ever. And after that, kyondes aired the appearance and fate of Alucard within Symphony of the Night itself.

The middle east still hit the News of the World with President Biden first offering Israel compensation not to strike Iranian targets after the ballistic missile barrage from last week. However, that may now be off the table as the U.S began sending its THAAD missile system and troops to aid Israel's defence. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is getting costly, Ukraine striking major oil terminals while Russian casualties build.Human trafficking and illegal immigration hit the news, The UK revealing that foreigners are twice as likely to be arrested, Hungarian's Prime Minister suggested stronger immigration control policies caused outcry among globalists of the European Union, and whistleblowers are stepping up against the Biden/Harris administration as they bring new evidence it is violating federal immigration laws. The video of gunmen beheading the mayor of Mexico's city of Guerrero going viral, the Afghan man whom was vetted by the Biden Administration after the Afghan withdrawl plotting an Election Day massacre, Hezbollah using environmental NGOs like "Green Without Borders" as terror fronts, an Ohio Professor suggesting to shoot anyone who votes for Trump while former Dallas Cowboys's football star Herschel Walker blasts Obama over race-based identity politics, correcting the record on the FEMA $750 immediate action fund, the final end to Daylight savings and more hit this week's news.
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  Tech Talk

Chinese Hackers are a re-occuring blight, with the NSA now tracking them after hacking major US telecomminucation companies.

More issues with Artificial Intelligence appears within the News of the Cyber World as North Korea is using it to generate fake IDs and passports while criminals are still cloning voices. Tech companies are now feeling the pinch, the US DOJ asking Google and its monopoly to be broken up, Disney facing lawsuits over a massive databreach, and numerous states are filing lawsuits against TikTok over mental health issues. This week, Elon Musk had ups and downs, first finding California rejecting SpaceX launches for his support for former President Trump, but then a heralded achievement of SpaceX's re-usable rocket booster guiding itself back to its launchpad. The Fiskar corporation's chapter 11 bankrupcy difficulties and its ties to President Biden, Ben Affleck and his son stranded after his EV dies on the highway, and much more hit this week's cybernews.

Games Development

  Development Discussion

Despite having lengthy instructions and all the typing he apparently does, his distain for writing isntructions was What's Up with him as an RMer, choosing to instead enhance an old script that plays video footage within the RPGMaker XP display. After perusing the newly crafted RPG Central archive, kyonides was inspired to work on a massive protective barrier feature for enemy troops, a discussion that went back and forth between he and DerVVulfman who had ideas how such a feature could be expanded. However, kyondes had a different mechanic. After that, Remi-chan revealed that some character profile screens in her game will also prove  vocal clips, this and some new character sprites

  Code Support

After some time, DerVVulfman posted a complete script that fulfilled Bennerdeben's request for A Skill that throws enemies?.

When Solitaire asked for help over an Error in Atoa's Equipment Set Add-on for his ACBS, it was met with discussions and numerous variations provided by both DerVVulfman and kyonides. Fix after fix and examinations into the causes, a lasting fix was found that pleased Solitaire for seeing so much heart going into the work.

It appears that the GW Animated Battlebacks script that Solitaire is looking for is no longer available, a script desired to work with the Atoa ACBS by Victor Sant. While a URL was supplied by the ATOA battle system itself, the site did not produce the desired file. DerVVulfman said it could be possible to find once the Internet Archive returns since it is currently down, the use of the archive not even dawning on Solitaire at the time.

Material Development

  Tools

After some months, a new version of the HiddenChest RGSS Player Executable by kyondes was released, widening the error display screen, repaired issues governing window height variables, BGM playback tests for those using RPGMaker XP and VXAce, and much more.

  Scripts Database

  RPGMaker XP (RGSS) Engine

For those wanting to keep track of the times a choice was made in their game, the ReKordChoices script for RPGMaker XP allows you to do so.

Based upon a requst by Bennerdeben, the Collateral Attacks system allows the game developer to create weapons, skills, items and even actors or enemies to deliver a second attack, one that can attack a variety of custom targets.

Finding that there was a fault within one of the addons created by Victor Sant, kyonides created the ATOA CBS: Equipment Set Variables Patch. This simple fix takes care of a critical error within the Equipment Set addon that comes with the ACBS by Atoa.

  RPGMaker VX/VXAce (RGSS2/3) Engines

For those wanting to keep track of the times a choice was made in their game, the ReKordChoices scripts for RPGMaker VX and VXAce allow you to do so.

Based upon the RPGMaker XP script of the same name, KEnemySwitch for RPGMaker VX allows the game developer to switch out the enemy troops the party if facing in the middle of battle and determine how many troops must be beaten before the battle is over.

Just as the version created for RPGMaker XP, kyonides' TurnOrder VX + ACE allows the game developer to graphically show what actors or enemies are scheduled to attack.

  Resources Database

  Resource Requests

After making a surprise return to the forum, AmbiguouslyAnonymous wondered if anyone had sources of Non-XP RTP Actors in XP Style, particularly npc sprites of characters from other Enterbrain engines redesigned and recrafted in the 48px tall RPGMaker XP style. While kyonides recalled a resource within GDUnilited, Remi-chan instead chose to suggest MV/MZ styled graphics. Yet, Mel provided a couple more sprites and felt she may have more resources within her collection.

  The Trader's Workshoppe

For those who wish to have the feel for old-school pixel rendered games, you will be pleased to find that HGS has offers for you.  His Epic Pixel Art Backgrounds Sale! began last week with a 70% discount that ends this Monday on the 14th. All the resources crafted with a classic 24-bit pixel style. But he wasn't done yet, his DEMO Epic backgrounds is a free collection of pixel-rendered backgrounds, landscapes of every time of the day.

Creativity Section

  Music and Audio

For those working on any game that takes place in a future and has need of 90s synth-pop styled tracks, be sure to check out the Original Music and Sound FX of Eric Matyas. This week, he released a new light-hearted melody entitled "Cities in Orbit", a piece with quick and light snare work and fast-paced rises and dips. And while his music is free, the costs of his website are not, so he is reminding visitors that donations are appreciated.

  Art and Design

It has been years since Eric Matyas added some metal textures to his Massive Library of Free Images, but he has now added a pair of pot-marked tileable plates to the collection. However, he has other things in mind, glass textures for which he hopes will aid others in making gems, stained glass windows, and the like.

There are things worse than nightmares, and those things are held within Remi-chan's Neato Arty thread thing! In the season of Halloween, Remi-chan rose against her initial desire to paint an artwork of a mischievious and yet caustically ruthless sprite and produced a labor of evil incarnate. The eldrich horror in orchid appears before all, a cup of tea in her grasp and grin on her malevolent face. Of course, Remi-chan now has her one-hundred and fifty second speed draw, this time of the Eldrich Mortician herself.

Well, that's it for this week.

"I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians." Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)

PROSPECTIVE GAZETEERS!

If you are the creator of a thread in Save-Point, you have the option of sending/writing your own entry into the Gazette.  The Gazette accepts write-in announcements (which will be doublechecked).  Likewise, the Gazette would welcome other content such as a comic-strip series, ongoing story arc, or the like. 

Just PM DerVVulfman with the submissions. Submissions must be in by 10pm EST.

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