What's up, RMers?

[Ahzoh]

I have been "shopping" for spatial gif backgrounds and found a good many. Unfortunately, the largest gifs are either 500x500 or 500x700 and all the image resizes on the internet never make the images bigger.
I dunno, maybe 500x500/700 is sufficient for rpgmaker XP as a background?
I need a script for playing gif backgrounds, and maybe for enlarging gif images.

Think of a boss battle with this background:


Whatever this will be for:

[DerVVulfman]

RPGMaker loads .png format. Gifs... no. The only animated gif script written is really a .png script that shows numbered pngs in sequential order.

Wow. Second one is... damn!

[Mel]

Hmm, the last days I only typed Skill IDs into arrays. What a bunch of work... 6 Element categories each with 120 skills. But it has to be done just like everything else. :)

[Ahzoh]

RPGMaker loads .png format.  Gifs... no.  The only animated gif script written is really a .png script that shows numbered pngs in sequential order.

Wow.  Second one is... damn!

That will do, I can just use a program to divide the gif into a series of png images. But... where is the script?

[DerVVulfman]

I have two. One is a battleback changer that includes an animated battleback system. The other is suited towards having 'faux' animated gifs presented here... there... anywhere. But usually overtop things. Dinna forget, we have that forum script listings. These were in the 'Visual Enhancements' spoiler.

Geez... I worked on that almost 10 years ago?

Mimi's Battleback Changer
by DerVVulfman (August 8, 2006)

This script is able to change the battle background using events and scripted values.

Quick Animations - Repaired
DerVVulfman (January 24, 2013)

The original Quick Animations by SephirothSpawn answered a call placed by people wondering if it would be possible to show cell animations of a sort in RPGMaker XP, similar to the animations performed by an Animated Gif. His method made use of assigning a folder that had a series of .png files numbered from 1.png on up, and playing them in sequence. The drawback, however, was that the folder was not specified as one of the Cache files in the Graphics folder, and was not saved/stored or accessible withing the encrypted .rgssad folder. This rewrite of his system lets you create folders within the Graphics\Pictures folder which will be encrytped and playable from your final product.

[Ahzoh]

My lack of desired resources and my inability to make my own once again hinders my motivation for working on my game.
The RTP cannot do what I want it to do and look like what I want it to.

I need people for all this. The music. The sprites. The tiles. I can do eventing, though.
Thus, I think if I make a script, like they do for movies, for how I want the whole thing to be done, this might convince people to sign onto the project and that I intend to finish it.
I dont sell this game, but if must pay people, then any sale I get for it will only go to those people. None of the money will go to me. I don't intend to make money.

[DerVVulfman]

Just remember. Game scripts are not just written in Studio Format, as other plays, tele-plays and movies, but are accompanied by flowcharts if the game is open-ended or have branches such as the whole multiple-ending feature.

Oh. It is normally expected that each page of a script is to last 1 minute of movie-time, and is normally not TOO visual. The director is usually given some latitude to add extra touches of his own (without much deviation), even though 'YOU' are the director in this instance. Hrm, you may wanna add a couple storyboards just to show what you visually want.

[Mel]

My lack of desired resources and my inability to make my own once again hinders my motivation for working on my game.
The RTP cannot do what I want it to do and look like what I want it to.

I feel the same sometimes and can understand you totally in that point.

Sometimes it's really annoying to have so limited skills when it comes to graphics and music.
You have an imagination of something in your mind but you can't realize it like you want to because there are no ressources at all to do that.

It can be very frustrating, yes.

[Ahzoh]

Just remember.  Game scripts are not just written in Studio Format, as other plays, tele-plays and movies, but are accompanied by flowcharts if the game is open-ended or have branches such as the whole multiple-ending feature.

Oh.  It is normally expected that each page of a script is to last 1 minute of movie-time, and is normally not TOO visual.  The director is usually given some latitude to add extra touches of his own (without much deviation), even though 'YOU' are the director in this instance.  Hrm, you may wanna add a couple storyboards just to show what you visually want.

It looks like I would be almost writing a novel... and what you mean open-ended?
Yea, my game will have a major ending, but probably multiple minor ending if you do something wrong.
Yes, studio format script, and a storyboard.
Don't know what you mean by "branches" or how I'd display that.

[DerVVulfman]

Well, open-ended may be where your game may have a main quest, but the player has the options to perform mini-quests here and there that have nothing to do with the actual game. Fine for those that want to power-game and do some crunching. Your typical 'Go to the Hunting lodge after bagging 15 rabbit pelts' thing. Hehehe. I've known some guys to just go fishing in minecraft.

As to flowcharting, it is something I learned in middleschool for computer programming. A cheap version looks like this:

Goofy Flowchart

Simplistic version, I grant you. But if you have multiple endings, you would show in your game's flowchart.....

Ascii Flowchart

Code:

+--------------+
| GAME CONTENT |
+--------------+
       |
       |
      / \
    /     \                +----------------+
  / Killed  \__Yes_________| Redemption Arc |
  \ Fred ?  /              +----------------+
    \     /                        |
      \ /                          |
       | No                       / \
       |                        /     \             +----------------+
+---------------+             /  Found  \___Yes_____| Member added:  |
| Disable end 4 |             \ Lisa ?  /           | Lisa           |
| Member added: |               \     /             | Use Ending 4   |
| Fred          |                 \ /               +----------------+
| Miniquest Sw: |                  | No                     |
| 16: Artichoke |                  |                        |
+---------------+          +--------------+                 |
       |                   | Lose House.  |                 |
       |                   | Disable ends |                 |
       |                   | (1,4,6,8)    |                 |
       |                   +--------------+                 |
       + -----------------------> | <-----------------------+
                           +--------------+
                           | GAME CONTENT |
                           +--------------+
                                  |
                                  |

With this example, I show how you branch off to one mini-story if you kill off a guy named Fred. If you do, you branch to a story called the 'Redemption Arc' where you either find an attorney named Lisa who joins your party and unlocks ending #4, or you don't and not be able to achieve endings 1,4,6 and 8. But if you do not kill Fred, Fred joins your party and a miniquest gets unlocked. And a flowchart such as this would likely be in the back pages as an appendix of sorts.

Your main quest will be one continuous script. But you will likely have separate chapters just to cover mini-quests like this... Not long, probably two or three pages max. UNLESS... you go whole hog on some things. For example, they must have written a few dozen pages just to find Wutai Village for the hidden Yuffie character in Final Fantasy VII, and unlocked a Yuffie ending. Mebby not so much for finding Vincent. But the rest of Final Fantasy VII didn't deviate that much. Do NOT level Aeris!!!!!