Maps and screenshots thread

[Taylor]

I was supposed to be doing more tiles, instead I did a day/time HUD. ... although I'm still debating on left or right aligning the time.

[JayRay]

Still experimenting with mapping styles and I think I got something worth fighting for... This is NOT a full parallax map btw.

Thanks to DerVVulfman, I have unlocked the idea of mini-parallaxes in my game, mini-parallaxes that can be loaded and unloaded with Anti-event lag scripts, for BEAUTIFUL environment immersion. I will be working on the right shade of tree next.

[Miharu]

So I wasn't satisfied with the incredible simplicity of my game's zone maps. Soooo I redid it all! Here's the result befor and after :P

[Kain Nobel]

@Taylor : Maybe there would be a way for the player to set the corner they want for your Daytime HUD, if you've got an Options menu or something. Really enjoy what you've done thus far, the trees are reminiscent of Secret of Mana :)

@JayRay : These are pretty sweet! Compared to the other, the tree with the darker leaves feels flat, like it needs better highlights or something, just a small tweak to make it stand out more. Still, it's a minor nitpick as it does add variety to the scene, taken as a whole it all comes together nicely.

@Miharu : Not bad! Curious if breaking up the symmetry would be beneficial or distracting, trees and mountains don't typically form perfect rectangles in nature.

I'm toying around with VX Ace, just mapping something for the sake of mapping something. If I return to this, I'll probably break down the right side of it more, as if the dungeon has crumbled apart. People were once able to head right, but that path has collapsed.

[Taylor]

@Kain: I believe the trees are from... SD3? I'm not sure.

I don't know if setting the location of the HUD would be feasible. The way the images are set up, as well as the coloured area - it spins to the time of day, are reliant on being in that corner. I could make it use different images/settings depending on the corner, but then it would have to vanish when dialogue is on screen if it's at the bottom.

... alright I probably sound lazy, but at this stage it doesn't seem entirely required. If I end up with any other game options, I'll probably add in the HUD position.

[Kain Nobel]

@Taylor : Just throwing out suggestions, it looks fine in the upper right. If it's not broken don't fix it :)

[Taylor]

Doot doot doot, doing battle animations. And by battle animations I mean using the particle-generated ones that peeps have made in the past. ... Some of these work out, some... not so much.

It comes down to the fact that it's assumed you're using a front-view system. Some of the larger animations have faded edges and it sort of works, but some of them are pretty ugly. ... but until someone makes good equivalents, well... I'm just going to move on to the next thing in the project, much more productive than trying to get all the animations done right. I mean, I haven't bothered with physical skills yet. I'm going to try and work them out when I need to use them in-game.

[JayRay]

@Kain: Yay you're using it, RMVXA for LIFE!!! lol

@Taylor: I get what you're saying, but the fluff on a limited system still works well. I mean, for instance, I'm sure that ELSA system that me and DerVVulfman worked on could easily be ported over to RMVXAce, and that would help increase the ability to fill up maps with as much (or as little ) clutter as one wants. I mean, yeah, autotiles without a full system to work with SUCKS, but something I've been using that works for me, is I'll take an autotile, expand it, and them place all the possible tiles on a RMVXA Character sheet... the full, large sheets, not the small ones, and use that to dress my maps. With a prper anti-lag script you can have tons of events on a map with very little lag, and That, in combination with an always under/Always over script can do what's needed for good maps, at least i think so.

Anyway, now to my offering... map time!




Working on my atlas project can be a daunting task. I'd love to be able to just have the entire 7680x4096 map as one map, but the graphic alone would be HUGE!!! Then of course there's setting passability settings and more! I think that's not necessarily doable. I want to jump outisde the box but found my self limited. SO, what I'm thinking on doing is creating a base satelite image for plains, no mountains, no valleys, very little geographical distinction, to act as a panorama base for the entire HUGE map. With an event anti-lag system, I figure I can have a LOT of events on the map with little lag, and hopefully cutout geographical sections that I like and place them as initial layer 1 tiles. I can then use an existing base - blue 64x64 interlocking tile system to create the outlines of continents, coastlines, rivers and such, in a way that doesn't detract much from the photorealism. Now, while some geographical sections might overlap, it might look distnct enough not to look like a repeating landmass.

Pray for me, I'm about to begin.

[Taylor]

Replaced the area map/minimap screen and system with one that uses images. Has a zoom+centred mode and overall+map-centred mode (as pictured), and the event icons all work the same. The map icons were a bit complicated as I couldn't quite get them to centre right for ages.

The upside to this new system is better control over the map screen so I don't have to worry about ugly maps like what happens with one based on the passability data. The disadvantage is having to make map images for every map, although I can choose not to and it'll resort to a "there's no map for this area" message.

[Kain Nobel]

@JayRay : I'm actually still an XP die hard but the lines will be blurred eventually.

In celebration of Square Enix announcing a Final Fantasy VII remake, a screenshot!



^This is NOT Materia, it is my Spirit Gems system, very much still a work in progress and obviously FF7 inspired. I'm still shaping exactly how the Gems will work, but I want to make it a little different. As such, instead of the Gems leveling up, it is the character's experience with the gems that level up. Keeping that in mind, characters can permanently learn and unlock abilities from a gem, passing it on for others to gain from.

Example: Simultaneous Character & Gem Growth (Fire)

Logan holds on to Fire, learning "Fire" spells 1, 2 and 3. When he learned the spells from this gem, he had to learn them in order, they weren't unlocked until he learned them. Once he passes the gem off to Mack, suddenly Mack can skip to Fire 3 and (optionally) not bother with learning Fire spells 1 and 2 thanks to Logan's grinding from earlier.

Example: Weapon and Gem Influence on the "Fight" Command

To keep this short, the "Fight" command opens up a sub-command menu with many melee and weapon-specific abilities. However, as a little known side effect of learning a linked set of Spirit Gems, such as [Fire] + [Elemental], one may be able to unlock special Fight commands such as "Blazing Punch" or "Flame Sword".

Example: Multiple Linking Effects

Instead of just two Mat- *cough* err, Spirit Gems being linked together, longer combinations can be achieved. As such, one "All" can link to two other gems. Another support gem, dubbed "Association", may combine traits of one gem with the traits of another gem. As such, the following combo...

[Fire] + [Association] + [Lightning]

Would make "Fire" and "Lightning" share elements. As such, casting "Fire" spell would hit for Fire (100)% + Lightning (50%). Visa versa for the "Lightning" spell, Lightning (100%) and Fire (50%), respectively.


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...And that's enough technical rambling for a screen shot thread, sorry lol.


There is other, more complicated matters to think of but hopefully I can integrate some unique characteristics into this system. For people who loved FF7 Materia, this will (hopefully) wind up feeling like Materia on steroids.