Request Simple Visual Novel / Galge Character Bust for Yanfly Message Core

I'm sure more people than me are interested in this for MV. In VX Ace I was using a script that Saba Kahn wrote but it didn't work with Yanfly's YEA Message system, so that was a bummer.

For people who aren't familiar with this kind of storytelling, or who maybe just don't recognize it, you can see an example of it here: Ateleier Rorona Cutscenes, Disgaea Cutscenes

Here are the details.

• Visual novel style display of 2/3 body sprites in three positions on the screen: left, center, and right. These should be on a layer below the message box and name box. Positions should be defined in percentages, preferably, to make it flexible with different resolutions.
• Optional background layer behind the character images.
• Simple dissolve effect for the appearance / disappearance of characters.
• Ability to display up to three images at once, one in each of the three positions. That means a maximum of three characters on the screen at once.
• Persistence of images until they are cleared or replaced. For instance: two characters in positions L and R are having a conversation. L and R speak alternately, but their images remain in their positions until the conversation is over. When L is speaking, R is still visible. Having the characters pop up and down as they alternate speaking is very choppy and doesn't lead to good storytelling. It's easiest to simply have a function to clear the screen when the scene is over.
• A naming convention that makes it easy to group certain sprites together, to represent different emotions or states, like Actor_1_1, Actor_1_2, etc.
• Optional, but fun, is popping emote bubbles above the heads of the sprites, at some specifically defined location. Shin Totomono does this in its cutscenes.
• Simple integration into the MV messaging system. I know all of this can be done with show images, but it would save a lot of time and pain if I could just pop in a line to start this kind of conversation event, and easily control the images as I wrote the dialogue.
• Compatible with YEP Message Core
• Animation / mouthflaps / whatever is definitely not needed. Just the swapping out of flat, still images.

I've included some cheap-as-free screenshots below to show what I mean for people not familiar with what I'm talking about. I do still want to use the basic message system as well, for most other interactions that are not story events.

Seconding the request for a plugin like this!

My favorite aspect of the original was how seamlessly it integrated into the Show Text command. Facesets corresponded to appropriately named pictures and on screen positions were linked to the window positions. It all felt completely natural and you never lost sight of how a scene would look!

The animated mouth flaps on images would be super useful!

Might I suggest it being compatible with PlayMsgWndCharSE as well? I feel like those two could work together nicely. :)

Exactly what I need, hope this gets done!

I would be interested to see something like this too!

This is definitely something that I would love. A visual novel aesthetic in an RPG is always something that makes it feel that little bit more immersive in the interactions aspect.

Oh! I'd love to see this happen too. 

i like the idea

The reason I didn't ask for animated mouthflaps is because I'm not exactly sure how they'd be implimented that wouldn't either be somewhat difficult to configure (given the variable sizes of character images) or system intensive (if you were swapping out whole images just for mouthflaps). Most of the game styles I'm interested in mimicing don't use mouthflaps for full body sprites anyway, if they do at all, although I can understand why you might want them for your own project.

Basically I wanted to keep this request relatively simple in hopes someone would pick it up. I think there are a number of people who would use it, particularly if it were compatible with Yanfly message, which I'd very much like it to be. With this style of character display you can tell the story with the character images themselves, as well as additional CGs if you like (easy to do by just using the BG layer I requested) rather than have a lot of really complex sprite animations. Sprite animations are cool, but I really like the kind of story you can tell with big character images. It's also easier for the developer, in my opinion, but I guess that just depends on what kind of art resources you're personally best at producing.

Here's a nice little bump back into relevancy.  If there is somebody willing to work on this with the features I've asked for, I would be happy to do a resource trade with them (I'm guessing art resources for this very same system, or something similar).

I'm not in a terrible hurry as I have to delay my own development for a while, so I am perfectly willing to wait, just looking for some interest.

I'm also really interested in this! 

Giving this another bump up.

Up we go again.

Up again~

Well, what about this?

Thanks for the suggestion, but Galv's script doesn't offer the features that a game with a lot of VN style storytelling requires. I actually talked to him about it back in the VXAce era (before I was aware of Saba Kan's script), but it's not easy to add the features that I want to his script, so it's actually easier for another script to be written to do these things.

For instance, it's important that the character images appear behind the message box, because the box has to have a lot of text in it, and I can't cut down on its real estate to put a bust there.

Additionally, it's important to be able to show at least two busts at once, and preferably three, for when scenes are playing out. The Totomono series (Class of Heroes in the US) manages with only two busts at a time, but three would be best for my purposes. I've worked with the one bust at a time system, and it doesn't really create the effect I'd like. It just seems too choppy. I've got nice resources for 2/3 body busts and I'd like to use them effectively. A lot of the kind of visual storytelling a VN can do is dependent on showing multiple characters on screen at once (and moving them, or fading them, or flashing them, but that's beyond what I need for this plugin).

Also, I would very much like an easy background layer, that appears behind the busts and that can be used for CGs or background images. I know that just means messing with the priority of a show image, but I don't know how to do this off the top of my head, so would therefore like a straightforward script or plugin call to do this.

So Galv's script is really nice, but isn't what I need. Thanks though!

I edited the first post to link some videos of popular commercial series that use VN style storytelling, so people who are unfamiliar can get a better idea of what I mean.

I'm not sure how to solve it but I really want it! That would be so awesome, I see why you would want this plugin!

I've been doing this with just events and show picture.

So much work just for a simple conversation though..

I wish there is a plugin for this instead with all the troubles..

I'm still hoping a plugin for this will come out at some point.

Saba kan, who created the original script this thread references, went on 'break' for scripting over a year ago so it's highly unlikely they will remake their script for MV... 

Hime has hinted at making one as seen HERE!