PVGames Resource Pack Tips and Tricks

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Started by BloodletterQ 176 posts Page 1 of 9 View original ↗
  1. Hey everyone, I was wondering if I should create a topic containing general advice on how to use these marvelous resources, whether their sprites or tilesheets, and gather all our knowledge on a topic so that we don't keep asking Jesse and also help each other out on various aspects of how to use this material.

    Aligning Icons and Animations
    • Go to line 1615, Sprite_StateIcon.
    • Set this.anchor.x to 0.
    • Set this.anchor.y to -0.5.
    Crop Busts for Faces ~Idea of @Niten Ichi Ryu
    • Using GIMP, resize face as desired using percentages (I use 65%)
    • Create a 148x148 square with the rectangle tool and place it over the face. Remember its coordinates for a uniform look for all your facesets.
    Hair Recoloring ~ @deilin
    https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/inde...ource-pack-tips-and-tricks.57576/#post-567372
    Recolor Pieces with Multiple Colors
    • Take the item you want to recolor in a separate window
    • Duplicate it
    • Desaturate the original and move back to the copy you just made
    • Go to Mode in the Image Bar, choose Index, and reduce the colors to the amount of colors on the item (most of them will have two if not one like the vest of my protagonist in my avatar)
    • Copy duplicate with reduced colors
    • Set the mode back to RGB
    • Paste the duplicate back into the original image
    • Select a color in the duplicate with the reduced colors
    • Set duplicate layer mode to color or even something else that strikes your fancy
    • Go back to the original item and do whatever recoloring techniques you do
    @Matseb2611 's Tips and Techniques
    https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/inde...pack-tips-and-tricks.57576/page-5#post-654244
    No-loop Victory Animations
    • Go to line 833 in Sprite_Actor.prototype.updateMotionCount
    • Add } else if (this. pattern = 13) {
      this.pattern = (this.pattern + 1) % 4;
      before lines
      } else {
      this.refreshMotion();

      .
    @padr81 's MV Mapping With PV Assets, Yanfly Doodads, and Orange Overlay

    Reset Sprite
    This is more of a utility, but it resets your sprite to idle animations depending on which plugins you use that make them move in place instead of coming to a complete stop:
    Set Movement Route: Player
    Image: JoeSchmoe%(8)(0)
    Script: PATTERN UNLOCK
    Stepping Animation: On
    Replacing JoeSchmoe with whatever the sprite is called for the player character and selecting the idle animation which would be the second 0.
    A common event isn't necessary but makes the events look less cumbersome. Plus you'll have to do it all the time. The script uses Yanfly's Move Route Core which I will cover briefly soon.

    Using Poses W/ Yanfly's Move Route Core
    Set Movement Route: Player
    Stepping Animation: Off
    Script: PATTERN LOCK: 0
    Turn Up
    Image: JoeSchmoe Poses 1 (x)
    Script: PATTERN LOCK: 0
    Wait: 5 Frames
    Script: PATTERN UNLOCK
    Wait: 30 Frames
    Script: PATTERN LOCK: 2
    X is the index of the pose, starting from 0. In my case I used 1 which makes the player kneel. Don't forget to have them turn to the correct direction.

    After this you should call the Reset Sprite common event.
  2. As I've used these edited these assets  for use in  Xp , Vx, Ace  in the past and now  Mv , I'd be happy to help out  with questions on using gimp to edit  and resizing when I can.


                                                                                                                            - Darmok0
  3. BloodletterQ said:
    Hey everyone, I was wondering if I should create a topic containing general advice on how to use these marvelous resources, whether their sprites or tilesheets, and gather all our knowledge on a topic so that we don't keep asking Jesse and also help each other out on various aspects of how to use this material.



    Sounds like a good idea to me! I was also thinking, is there a way we could exchange some stuff we make with these resources? I mainly mean NPC's and such. Would be lost work if everyone makes all their own NPC's. If we all make some and share them it's less work for everyone. But of course it should be done in a way only people who bought the packs can find and download them and it should also comply with the user agreement.


    Random though I had: There are no birds, squirrels, butterflies etc. available right now. I'm gonna try to edit the XP ones a bit and see if they can blend in with this style.


    Also, here's the first map I will be using in my game too. Next one i'll make will be a bit more ambitious with elevation and such:


    Map7.png
  4. @gRaViJa


    Since we have no way of knowing who'd legally have these resources, I wish there was a way to distribute these NPCs. Believe it or not, these resources take up plenty of time to complete a set of sprites even without some recoloring. My guess is at least two character sheets per week on top of reformatting the children and animals to work with whatever plugins are available.


    Also note that I have a tattoo and stubble on my character. The tattoo is an MV monster sprite set to Value in the layer options with me selecting the outside of the base to erase the parts of the tattoo that come off. Play around with the layer options to get stubble as well.
  5. I know for me, some of things I do is:


    Move all trees and rocks to a character sheets. This allows for some depth of field without some of the Z level issues.


    As with the trees, I tend to move any 1x2 or 1x3 items to character sheets.


    With this last set, I made a character sheet 3x3 sections for the furniture with open/close or empty/filled variations (bookshelves, wardrobe, chests) for interaction events.


    With many of the tables not filling full squares, I make character sheets with 1x2 and 2x1 slots to make events to put items on table display.


    With much of this done, I can then re-organize many of the remaining sheets for interior/exterior use.
  6. gRaViJa said:
    Sounds like a good idea to me! I was also thinking, is there a way we could exchange some stuff we make with these resources? I mainly mean NPC's and such. Would be lost work if everyone makes all their own NPC's. If we all make some and share them it's less work for everyone. But of course it should be done in a way only people who bought the packs can find and download them and it should also comply with the user agreement.


    Random though I had: There are no birds, squirrels, butterflies etc. available right now. I'm gonna try to edit the XP ones a bit and see if they can blend in with this style.


    Also, here's the first map I will be using in my game too. Next one i'll make will be a bit more ambitious with elevation and such:


    Map7.png



    I'm actually using some of the old HF stuff in MV, like the elves (since they are supposed to be smaller anyway) and orcs and goblins. I remake the Monster Legacy and Main Party battle sheets into a usable MV SV form.
  7. deilin said:
    I know for me, some of things I do is:


    Move all trees and rocks to a character sheets. This allows for some depth of field without some of the Z level issues.


    As with the trees, I tend to move any 1x2 or 1x3 items to character sheets.


    With this last set, I made a character sheet 3x3 sections for the furniture with open/close or empty/filled variations (bookshelves, wardrobe, chests) for interaction events.


    With many of the tables not filling full squares, I make character sheets with 1x2 and 2x1 slots to make events to put items on table display.


    With much of this done, I can then re-organize many of the remaining sheets for interior/exterior use.

    Do you know the grid coordinates to do so?
  8. MV runs off of 48 x 48 pixel tiles.


    a standard character sheet is 12 slots wide and 8 slots high (576 x 384)


    A small character sheet with a $ in front of the name is 3 x 4 slots (144 x 192)


    Since I use Gimp, it grids out the sheet and snaps to it so I'm not risking being off. Also great for making the characters. Just drag the file over the picture and it applies it and keeps them as layers.

    window.jpg
  9. If I want to make my map in Photoshop but use the water autotiles in MV so they'll animate, do I need to leave a blank space for them on the map with transparency? I am strictly using parallax maps, the only thing done in MV's editor right now is setting the grass layer and exporting it as an image. Cliffs, buildings, textures, etc are all parallax mapped. I find the control over the cliffs in Photoshop much easier but I definitely want to get animated water in when I need it.
  10. When I add animated water via the editor to my parallax maps, I generally have the area filled with grass since the edges of the water also contain grass on the autotiles, it blends in. 
  11. I wonder if anybody has any advice for using higher resolutions as the characters themselves look so tiny.
  12. What is your resolution? I use 1008 x 672 and it feels perfect. I also don't think it's a good idea to much higher because a lot of things start to look ugly then in my opinion.
  13. 1280 x 720


    As an addition, I am looking for a plugin that lets events standing still have an idle animation, yet when they move, they switch to either a walking or running animation. Galv has a plug-in for this, but it's player only.
  14. I've been spending the last couple days fleshing out what I can of the main town on my project.


    After prepping some standing, walking , and idle characters, I decided to start with some sitting characters, which pose some interesting problem. They do take some extra work to use, so I made a large character sheet with character sheet with characters sitting (left/right) in a chair, and floating (for the benches). You will also see quite a few recolors in there.

    Spoiler
    Interrior_H2.png


    Interrior_P2.png


    Interrior_GH2.png
  15. @deilin You're screenshots are inspiring although I'd think that


    Back to moving some tiles to charactersets though, you have any advice for the proper alignment?
  16. This is one area I like Gimp.


    The ability to make, and move, layers up and down, set grids and "snap to grid" when moving, cutting, and pasting.


    For MV, tiles are set in 48 x 48 gridding, while the characters are 128 x 128.

    Spoiler
    Spoiler





    Character_Grid.png





    The layering in this is a lower level, with the rows of chairs, and the upper level is the completed characters. Since this is a standard grid, I don't need to name with a $ in front. I have this named "Sit_01.png". I also have a copy named "!Sit_01.png" to anchor the image without the 8 pixel lift. Depending on how I want to fine tune it from here, I can adjust a whole layer, or just par of each square grid.


    When making the characters, I open the body with Gimp which sets of the image size.


    If a sprite, I then set up the grid to128 x 128.


    I then just drag the image layers onto the image and they auto-place since the layers are all the same size.


    Each layer stays individual layers so I can change parts quickly without ruining all the work. They all merge finally when you export it to an image file. You can save as a .xsf file, which will keep the layers for edits but isn't usable otherwise.


    The following are tile character sheets:

    Spoiler
    Spoiler





    Tile_Grids.png





    The grid is 48 x 48, but the overall image size follows a 12 x 8 (full sheet) or 3 x 4 ($ single character) formats. the 48 x 48 grid allows for proper snap fits when copying images from the tile sheets to the new sheet.


    Not sure if that helps. Easier for me to show, then try and explain.


    Here are some Character sampling I have made for my current project. Yes, they are mostly female for now. Starting on more males soon.

    Spoiler
    Sample_Characters.png


    Again, with .xsf files handy, I can easily adjust, change, recolor specific layers of clothing quickly.
  17. Gimp is very handy when it comes to grids, snap and resizing - plus the fact that you can dock your tools using single windows mode


    really saves on alot of fustration and time - and *GIMP* is free.
  18. The character edits can also be done through Character Hub, if you load all the parts in. I mainly stopped using it for characters because they were updating it so often, it would erase the files. Not sure if CH has a safe place to put them yet, where it wont erase them if they update it again.


    I mainly got into Gimp because of the editing I was doing for clan games, making character, vehicle, and object re-skins for my clans hosted games.
  19. Not meant as a double post, but is a different topic under the heading, so forgive me.


    Is your red head a little too pink, or wondering where the brunette's are? Here is how I correct this issue.


    First off, for any color other then black, or grey, this will work, though you can use this method to get darker greys. once decided on a hair-style, select the blond variation. Doing this gets the best results, as it's more effecting to go darker then it it so go lighter.

    Spoiler
    Coloring_Hair.png




    In this example, the brown hair (left) is the end result, and the blond (right) is how it started.


    With the hair layer selected, I chose the Color > Hue-saturation tool.


    >The Hue bar will adjust the main color along the spectrum, starting with yellow. Left goes towards red and right towards green. Blues are at both extremes.


    >For brown hair, you generally want to stay in yellow or orange spectrum, but going into red/pink, you get the nice auburns.


    >You will more likely move the Lightness bar towards the left to darken the color, and then saturation to do minor adjustments. This brown was -89 Lightness and -68 Saturation.


    The same method works for clothing as well, but not always as well as it does for hair.


    I caution against raising Lightness and Saturation because it can easily get to results that aren't natural, or can look out of place.
  20. I can't use Game Character Hub for Mac purposes although I do wonder what the most efficient way of recoloring select parts of an item would be. I've been using the threshold feature to get my main character's vest as seen in my avatar to be brown rather than black and I also made the red on the princess dress purple. Now if there's multiple colors or decorative pieces...