Screenshot Thread (PVGames)

toasttoasttoast · 2016-10-30T12:46:37+0900

I realize there's already a huge thread for map screenshots in General Discussion, but that's precisely the problem; there's so many posts with(excellent) work involving so many different tilesets, the few PVGames resource users get drowned out. The style is also far less popular around here, and it would be great to have our own thread here to showcase what those of us that use these excellent assets have done with them. I hope the mods are okay with a thread like this being here. I've been learning to parallax map in GIMP as of late. I had some minor trials with Photoshop but eventually I grew weary of my outdated toolset(it was CS4) coupled with the lack of decent brushes for painting terrain. I know there's plenty to download out there, but GIMP actually has the acrylic brushes built in, which make painting and blending terrain a breeze. Here are my first two attempts at it. Note that these are just practice maps, nothing I'll be using in an actual project, so any errors or a general lack of purpose for the map may be apparent. Spoiler First attempt at some cliff stairs. I realize there's some repeating vegetation on them that I didn't address, and the shadow painting is pretty shoddy. Spoiler

● ARCHIVED · READ-ONLY

Started by toasttoasttoast Oct 30, 2016, 03:46 AM 240 posts Page 8 of 12 View original ↗

Jesse - PVGames

#141 Apr 17, 2018, 01:54 PM Source

I used Galv's layers plug-in, you can find it HERE.

When I used it for animating water, it added no lag whatsoever. You can also stack up map layers on top of one another for some interesting effects (and have layers both below and above the player layer).
The Stranger

#142 Aug 19, 2018, 08:47 PM Source

Just finished another map. I just love creating little scenes and mini-stories using these resources. :D

Spoiler

I think I made the fog a tad too thick, and the lighting effects are kinda crappy. Ah well.

Here's another version without the fog effect:

Spoiler
Jesse - PVGames

#143 Aug 20, 2018, 10:08 AM Source

That is really fantastic work! I love your mapping here, you capture the atmosphere quite well! The fog does appear a bit thick in the top image, but I imagine it looks pretty great in-game when moving (moving fog always looks better than static fog). As for lighting effects, how did you make them? Maybe I can give some advice on that.
The Stranger

#144 Aug 20, 2018, 10:23 AM Source

@Jesse - PVGames Thanks! I can spend hours creating random scenes using your resources. Being able to use your side-view battlers for additional sprite poses allows me to really create some cool looking scenes. Still need to get working on my main project, though.

I just applied coloured circles to the flames and lamps. I think I had three lighting layers in the end: a small light that is set to addition, a larger one that is set to overlay, and another I've forgotten the setting for. I was thinking that the lighting looks odd because the area it illuminates is too small, but I really have no idea.

Any advice would be fantastic! :)
Jesse - PVGames

#145 Aug 20, 2018, 04:56 PM Source

Well, it sounds like you already know the technical part of it, using the Overlay layer option for light and shadow (which is fantastic).

Overall I would agree with you that the lighting area is too small, and maybe a bit too dim? Though in the end it is all about what sort of atmosphere YOU want to project. If it is supposed to be dimly light and dark, then that is the way to make it.

I took your above image (sans fog) and sort of over-embellished what I would add to it personally (feel free to take my advice with a grain of salt here, it is just what I personally enjoy doing). I used a yellow-ish white color and made a soft-edge circle of 200 pixels, then under that made a 400 pixel circle that was orange in color, then blended the two together (just using the Blend filter), then set it to Overlay. I thought the light effect came out nice, giving a yellow and orange glow to the fires and lamps. In a final draft of this, I would tone down the opacity of the lighting a bit, as I think it is ab it extreme here, maybe drop it down 20-30%. I added dark areas around the edges of the image to help keep the focus more towards the middle where the action is as well as add a bit of extra dark atmosphere (which helps add more contrast with the light). I like to do this in my game maps too often times. I also took that yellowish-white color and sort of highlighted areas of interest in the picture (well, areas I thought were interesting, at any rate) like the bridge, the sewer grate/opening, and the area surrounding the zombies, and ran that through the ol' Blend filter and set it to Overlay at like...40% or so? I forget. You just gotta eyeball it usually and adjust it to your liking :)

Though overall I don't think you really need advice other than go with your gut instinct. Your gut told you the lights were too small/dim in your original image, and in my humble opinion it was correct.
The Stranger

#146 Aug 20, 2018, 05:11 PM Source

@Jesse - PVGames Thank you so much for your advice. :) I really like what you've done with the map.

I originally created a night time overlay, but, not being happy with the lighting, decided to remove it. I struggle with knowing how far the light should travel, which things I should conceal in shadow, etc. So, thank you for giving me tips on that. I love using lighting in my projects, I think it can really help bring a map to life.
Archeia

#147 Sep 16, 2018, 10:55 AM Source

I just noticed this wasn't stickied yet so I did the thing 'v')b
Jesse - PVGames

#148 Sep 16, 2018, 11:15 AM Source

Thanks Archeia!
Gustavo_Br

#149 Oct 6, 2018, 03:15 PM Source

(Art inspired on PV Games Character)

Artwork from Angon - The Grim Age.
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/angon-the-grim-age.100393/
https://www.indiedb.com/games/angon-the-grim-age
Jesse - PVGames

#150 Oct 6, 2018, 05:44 PM Source

Wow, that is awesome! Fantastic work!
Gustavo_Br

#151 Oct 6, 2018, 07:13 PM Source

Jesse - PVGames said:
Wow, that is awesome! Fantastic work!

Thanks! Soon I'll post here more artworks inspired on your resources!
All credits for our team artist, who is working hard on it!
The Stranger

#152 Mar 24, 2019, 08:53 PM Source

Wanted to play around with the new Mythos resources, so I created this spoopy scene:

Spoiler

I think the lighting is a bit too much, and I could perhaps populate the area with more shrubs and stuff (though I wanted to give it a sparse look), but I had a lot of fun creating this scene. :)
Jesse - PVGames

#153 Mar 24, 2019, 09:07 PM Source

I really like what you did! Loving the silhouette cast by the headlights. I think you did great~!
The Stranger

#154 Mar 24, 2019, 09:16 PM Source

@Jesse - PVGames Thanks! The silhouette is just the sprite turned black, stretched and rotated, and then blurred slightly. Glad you like it. :)
Zyphli

#155 May 17, 2019, 01:17 PM Source

Finally finished a fully playable version of my first test map with the new 2.5D graphics. This new style is a little more work, but I believe the final results are worth the effort.

I want to thank @Jesse - PVGames for these great resources that he creates.

Screenshots
Outside the House - don't judge me for my "pet"

After you open the door and go inside

In-Game Layer Swapping
To make the game work, I ended up with several layers that had to be swapped as the character moves around the map.

Layer 1: Trees & Shadows outside the house (always on)
Layer 2: Roof & Shadows over roof (on when entering the map and after leaving the house
Layer 3: Front walls of main room (replaces roof layer when entering the house or leaving the bedroom)
Layer 4: Front walls of Bedroom (replaces roof/main layer when moving into the bedroom)
Layer 5: Nope - I decided to set passability so I didn't have to do more layers to make the fences work from both sides...
I should go back and add lighting effects to the two inside-house layers, but for now, I'm just calling this test done.
Jesse - PVGames

#156 May 17, 2019, 02:24 PM Source

Wow @Zyphli - Incredibly impressive work! Might I ask what plugins/methods you used to achieve the effect in your gif? It looks wonderful and I am sure many people would love to know!
toasttoasttoast

#157 May 17, 2019, 02:29 PM Source

I definitely would because I may not be able to switch engines to use these after all >.< looks fantastic friend
Zyphli

#158 May 17, 2019, 02:48 PM Source

Here's how I set up the Farmhouse map shown previously.
I'm good at knowing what I'm thinking, but not writing it clearly, so feel free to let me know if anything needs to be clarified.

This was all set up using RPG Maker MV.

Plugins
Plugins
YEP_CoreEngine
YEP_RegionRestrictions
ChangeTileSize (I believe this came with MV)
GALV_CharacterFrames
GALV_DiagonalMovement
GALV_CharacterAnimations
GALV_LayerGraphics

Folders
To make use of these addons, you will also have to add the following folders to your Project's img folder
Layers
Tilesets32
Parallaxes32

Settings
Then make the following changes to the above listed plugins.

Bonus - Parallaxing Tileset
Parallaxing Tileset
For Parallaxing, I create a "Parallax" tileset to use on all maps, with the below A5 tileset graphic.

Parallax_A5
Place this one in your img/tilesets folder, then make a new Tileset in the Database
using only this A5 image. Set the Passability or Ladder Attributes to match the images.
This will let you set more advance passabilities that can't be done with Yanfly's Region Restrictions.

Parallax_A5 (Size 32)
Place this tileset in the img/tilesets32 folder. This is what will be used while playing.
Make sure it is named exactly the same as the one downloaded above.

Base Parallax Layer
Base Parallax Layer
You have to create two base copies of your base Parallax Here.
The first has to be up-scaled to the size it would be if you were using a 48 tile size grid with the same number of tiles as your 32 tile map.
In my case, my 832x640 map is 26x20 tiles, so 1248x960. Yes, it will be blurry/ugly, but never shows up in-game.

Export this image to your img/parallaxes folder, where it will be attached to the Map.
I kept the trees in this copy to help with setting the up region restrictions.
This is the Parallax layer when you create your map in the editor.

Next, create the Real Parallax base for your map and export this image to the img/parallaxes32 folder, making sure to use the same filename as you used above.
This is the Parallax base layer that will actually be displayed while playing.

Overlay Layers
Overlay Layers
Next you have to build your overlay layers that will be displayed by the Layers Plugin.
You don't have to make oversized copies of these, and they should all be saved in the Layers folder created above.

For this map, I ended up creating several layers

1: The Tree/Fog Layer: Farmhouse_Overlay
Since I didn't want the cloud shadow overlay inside the house, I cropped the house interior out of the overlay, to use separately with the roof layer later.
Of course this tied me to having a static shadow overlay and not being able to animate it.

2: The Main Room Layer: Farmhouse_Main
This layer is basically just the front walls of the main room of the house, and anything that overlays the walls (so it doesn't get covered up when the wall overlay is displayed).
A key point in this is I had to clip off the lower part of the barrel and boxes where there were shadows, or the overlay + base doubled the shadows, making them darker, which was very noticable and drew the eye when playing the map.

3: The Bedroom Layer
This works the same as the the Main Room layer image.
In future maps, I'm hoping to figure out how to plan my layers in GIMP later, instead of having to export all visible layers I wanted, then butchering them to make the overlays.

4: Finally the Roof.
This is basically just the roof, and the cropped out shadow overlay area that wasn't used with the trees layer.

5: I also made a character set with the closed front door.
(No Image)

Eventing the Layers
Preloading At Game Start
The best way to use Galv's Layers is to have a loading screen where you can pre-load each map's layer settings before ever moving onto a map (otherwise you see the layers being built).

I normally set this up with an Auto-Run event on a black screen with the player set to transparent; then transfer to the first map with the layers already prepared.
This just has the layers used at the start of this test map, you can pre-load layers for as many maps as you have.

Event Map

The Door (Event 1) starts as an Action Button event with the door closed, then once opened becomes a player touch event.

After that, it's a simple matter of changing out the Farmhouse layer whenever the player touches one of the events.
Event 2: Changes to Farmhouse_Roof
Event 3: Changes to Farmhouse Main
Event 4: Changes to Farmhouse Bedroom

And if anyone looks at this and says "he's crazy, there's an easier way", please share. This is just what came out of my crazy mindedness.
toasttoasttoast

#159 May 22, 2019, 01:51 AM Source

https://i.imgur.com/rInMgiJ.jpg

Work in progress, just a test, mostly for practicing blending ground decals together. I use acrylic brushes instead of the place and erase method Jesse has made tutorials on in the past.
Zyphli

#160 Jun 6, 2019, 04:18 AM Source

The Peeper Dragon inspired me to see what I could do with making ruins out of the new building parts. Overall I think it worked out pretty well for a quickie. If I ever use this for real, I'll cut out some individual bricks to have laying around the ground.

Peeper Dragon Lair

Will have to work on a better way of "petrifying" my NPC's another night.