[YEP] Yanfly Engine Plugins

@Yanfly I'm not sure if this is considered a bug, but the Absorption Barrier plugin has the option of resetting the Barriers at the beginning and the end of battle... Which I assume means that shields shouldn't generate outside battle. However, they still are. And they are visible in the Menu Status. Which can be awfully confusing, considering that a barrier that appears full before battle, is suddenly starting from scratch when battle starts.


So, I would like to suggest this fix. :)


Game_Battler.prototype.regenerateAll = function() {
Yanfly.ABR.Game_Battler_regenerateAll.call(this);
if (this.isAlive() && ($gameParty.inBattle() || !Yanfly.Param.ABRClear)) {
this.updateBarrierTurns();
this.regenBarriers();
}
};


If it's not a bug, then I suppose anyone that wishes to prevent it can use it by simply replacing that function.


Or creating their own plugin and placing it under your YEP_AbsorptionBarrier plugin. ;)


Thanks for all your work!

I am reporting this so you can fix it for your other users:


Plugin: YEP_StaticTilesOption.js


Up to date, parameter changes are irrelevant.


The plugin's name checked when getting parameters is wrong, causing parameters to be "undefined" in game.


//=============================================================================
// Parameter Variables
//=============================================================================


Yanfly.Parameters = PluginManager.parameters('YEP_AnimateTilesOption');


Change Animate to Static as per the file's name.

Uh.
The file itself may say it is YEP_StaticTilesOption on it's comment box, but the file itself is called YEP_AnimateTilesOption.js, so unless you thought it was wrong and "fixed" it by renaming there shouldn't be an error...
I mean, I'm using it and got no error myself

@Lasselen @Waterguy In the Yanfly Zip file I downloaded 1-9-2017, I can indeed confirm that there is a file called "YEP_AnimateTilesOption.js" that says, on line 3 in a comment, that it should be named "YEP_StaticTilesOption.js" but that looks for its parameters as "YEP_AnimateTilesOption".

This means that dropping the YEP_AnimateTilesOption.js file into your plugins folder works as expected, but downloading the source code and dropping it into a blank text file which is then saved it as "YEP_StaticTilesOption.js" (as suggested by line 3) does not work. Line 3 of the comments should indeed be amended to state the correct plugin name to avoid user confusion.

I'm guessing Yanfly changed the name of the plugin while it was in development and just forgot to update to the name in the header. No biggie.

I have to say that I severely disagree in shutting down the Tips and Tricks Suggestion Box on Patreon. Why? Because not everything needs to be a plugin, but Tips and Tricks is/was VERY useful in that it can show you "Hey, look what you can do with this plugin!" and you can get ideas for new skills, states, and general tips on how to make your game better.


Say for example, that Tips and Tricks video you did on environmental effects in battle. Say you never got around to showing us how to do that, and the knowledge was either unknown or what we did know was very complicated while with yours, you managed to streamline it, and you made a plugin about that. What would be the point? This is just programming, variables, and such, not something that needs to be a plugin all on it's own. A lot of the stuff you made for Tips and Tricks doesn't NEED to be a plugin, just be shown as an expansion of plugins we already have, as a way to use them to our advantage and create something new that we never would have thought to use or try or even knew how to do if we did want to do that.


To take that away, just... irks me, because I'm being deprived of ideas for new states, new skills and stuff, which is going to make game development suffer when I start running out of them and it starts going stagnant and boring, very suddenly too.


Having a Plugin Suggestion Box IS a cool idea! BUT, it shouldn't come at the cost of such a valuable resource such as these Tips and Tricks. Without your stuff, I wouldn't be going anywhere in my project, and while most of the time I agree wholeheartedly with whatever you say and do, this time I don't.


Besides, how will you do your "Harold" plotline now? ;) That started in Tips and Tricks after all, and it'd probably be a bit jarring for some people if you suddenly started doing it in your plugin videos instead if they don't follow the Tips and Tricks videos as well. Granted, this is coming from someone who acually enjoyed the skits in earlier videos that demonstrated and set up the plugins (such as Gab Window or Item Synthesis) rather than the method of "This is a new plugin! Let's install it and I'll show you how it works!" with no buildup, so what do I know?

@Little Adventurer: I think that making the Tips & Tricks suggestions available as low-level Patreon perk isn't a bad idea. It probably helps in filtering out the ideas and reducing their quantity a bit (and hopefully takes off some pressure from Yanfly as a result), and given how we get new videos every week, it doesn't seem likely that we would run out of Tips and Tricks, either.


I wouldn't be surprised if some of the patrons actually took a look at the suggestions people leave on the comments section in YouTube etc. and forward those ideas to Yanfly via Patreon suggestion box if they consider them interesting and feasible. That's what I might do if I could afford a monthly donation with my current budget, heh.


//Edit: After reading Yanfly's response I realised that I had misread your post. >>' Sorry. Nevermind me.

I downloaded from the same link and have the same problem.


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I'll take a look into this.


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Thanks for the catch! I'll get it fixed.


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Thanks for the catch. I'll get this fixed.


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Seems to work fine for me...


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...from the help file...


 *   <Synthesis Ingredients>
 *     item id
 *     item id: x
 *     weapon id
 *     weapon id: x
 *     armor id
 *     armor id: x
 *     gold: x
 *     named item
 *     named item: x
 *   </Synthesis Ingredients>
 *   Using the above tag in an item will set those items as the ingredients
 *   required for the player to synthesize. Replace "id" with the proper item,
 *   weapon, or armor ID's. If no ":x" is used, the database will register that
 *   as only needing 1 of that item as an ingredient. If "gold: x" is used,
 *   that will be the cost required to synthesize the item.
 *
 *   If you are using named entries, priority will be given to the highest ID
 *   in the order of items, weapons, then armors.
 *
 *   * Note: If you are using Item Core, Independent Items cannot become an
 *   ingredient for a recipe and will therefore be automatically omitted.
 *
 *   <Mask Name: x>


Please read through all the instructions in the help file.


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Unfortunately, this is one of the limitations of the Dynamic Actions system. Actions are decided upon once the enemy gets their turn, instead of at the start of the turn. Which means once the enemy gets to their turn, the speed bonus wouldn't matter like you said. I'm afraid there's no real work around for this. :/ My apologies.


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Thanks for the catch! I'll get it fixed!


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Ah, the filename is supposed to be YEP_AnimateTilesOption. The Static version was something I left in there by accident. My apologies. I'll get it updated and fixed to remove confusion.

The Tips & Tricks Suggestion Box was closed down in favor of opening up a Plugin Suggestion Box for various reasons I've already stated in the Patreon post regarding its shutting down. To which, I'll summarize again:


9 times out of 10, when a suggestion made there is something that's already been done, as a slight alteration or remake with minor adjustments. If it isn't something that has already been done, it's a suggestion for something that simply can't be accomplished with Lunatic Mode alone, requiring the need of plugins.


So what does any of that mean? I'll explain:


What does it mean to patrons: Patrons using the suggestion box for Tips & Tricks only will get either a repeated suggestion and/or idea that has already been answered before. Or they get a response saying it isn't possible due to Lunatic Mode restrictions. This means patrons get either a repeat "solution" or no solution made, unfair to the patron. And as the person in charge of the Tips & Tricks Suggestion Box back then, I'll go ahead and say that it really felt bad to say some of their great ideas weren't possible to be made without the aid of other plugins.


What does it mean to general users: General users, or viewers in the case of Youtube, will also receive nothing but Tips & Tricks that don't innovate much. The recent string of Tips & Tricks have been getting rather lackluster, to which, I've noticed. As evidence, there's a very heavy downward spiral in the number of views and comments made per Tips & Tricks video compared to months before. This doesn't mean that people aren't watching the channel, but just not as many people watching the Tips & Tricks videos. The plugin videos are still thriving and kicking with views and comments, a huge contrast in comparison to Tips & Tricks videos. Without a doubt, there's very heavy oversaturation on them because they do end up being super repetitive. This is unfair to the general user/viewer, too, as nobody likes to watch reruns over and over.


So what's the viable solution if people can't get the majority of their Tips & Tricks ideas made because they're inhibited by Lunatic Mode's limitations? A plugin suggestion box. Now, you're probably wondering why a Tips & Tricks suggestion box and plugin suggestion box can't exist simultaneously. They definitely can. However, it won't be very effective. Why is this? Because Tips & Tricks videos require resources in the form of both money and time. The same goes for plugins. Unfortunately, there's only a limited amount of resources. Having them both open at the same time will end up with a result of half-hearted made plugins and half-hearted Tips & Tricks videos. This is especially the case for the Tips & Tricks suggestion box as its lived well past its useful life expectancy. By pulling the Tips & Tricks box and opening up the plugin box, more meaningful content will come out which will end up benefiting both patrons and general users alike. Furthermore, with how the plugin box is set up, this will also benefit some of the smaller plugin creators, too, as they'll be getting exposure, funding, as well as a way to get integrated with the YEP Library, helping everybody's games out more.


And this wasn't done without asking the opinions of the patrons, aka the ones fueling the resources out of their own kindness. Almost everybody was in huge favor of the plugin suggestion box over the Tips & Tricks box. Yes, some were sad that it has to go, but the very large majority voted for the plugin suggestion box. I'm sorry that you don't agree with this, but I was prepared for some backlash on it. The plans for the plugin suggestion box set in motion are there to benefit the overall community as a whole, and keeping the Tips & Tricks suggestion box will only benefit a small minority. But believe me, if I could, I'd try to make as many people smile as possible.

So no more Tips and Tricks then. That means I won't get any new ideas from you, because they were used as a way to show off HOW plugins can be used to create something new. I don't know how to program all that well, and I used those to figure out what stuff meant in Lunatic Mode. Without Tips and Tricks, I have no ideas for stuff, meaning things are potentially going to grind to a halt. I relied on that.


So now what? You're leaving us in the dust here. I don't want to go stagnant. I don't want to be thrust into a new cool plugin completely blind to it's potential uses, because otherwise I might as well not use them at all, because I'm just going barebones and shallow with it, when with Tips and Tricks, I got introduced to ways to pull stuff off that I would have thought impossible. 


It made it really convenient and easy for us to have stuff that we want in our games, without having to resort to asking a bombardment of questions on how to do them on here, which likely wouldn't get many answers.


What if we have an idea for a new skill but don't know how to pull it off? Plugins are useful, but very generalized to certain things, whereas Tips and Tricks were more specific. But now that that's being shut down... where do we go from here? I wouldn't know what to do on my own, and probably a lot of other beginner developers won't either. 


The reason why I enjoy your content is because you're quick, concise, and you have a lot of knowledge and skill in what you do, showing us how to do stuff very easily with Tips and Tricks and Lunatic Mode. I am amazed over how you event your Boss Battles with Harold, as well as your skits in the early days, and I've always wanted to do something dynamic like that for myself. But I can't exactly do that without you showing me what I can do with your stuff beyond the introduction video to the plugin, can I?


So what do I do now? How do I get new ideas and implement them properly? You explained why you're getting rid of it, but not what happens next for people who DID use it as a guideline to help them figure out how to do stuff. 


What's the point of creating plugins if you're not going to show us how to use them in different ways beyond the vanilla content? Would anyone else have figured out, say, how to do Doom or Giant Slayer effectively/easily if at all, if these Tips and Tricks weren't there to show us? We're not all pros at this engine after all.


TL;DR- *unsatified grumbling* So, now what do I do without that?!


Also, I feel like an idiot, because you just released a Move Route plugin and I ended up using the standard stuff anyway in a cutscene test I made, because I didn't think about using the plugin which naturally makes things easier. *facepalm*

@Little Adventurer: The thing to remember is Yanfly's time is limited. So if Yanfly wants to focus on plugins for a while, let them. Chances are after a few weeks (or months) Yanfly will reopen the tips and tricks. Many developers rotate around tasks like this, both to keep themselves fresh and to try to please the groups not getting serviced.


As for your comment about skill ideas, maybe the thing to do is focus on what skills can you make with what is out there now. A game doesn't need every cool skill under the sun. In fact, trying to do that is how games either 1) never get finished or 2) if they are finished, the skills and combos are too confusing to the average player to understand. In fact, the way I got my skills done in my game was I looked at what is already out there, what can I do with this, and who has it. Once that was done, those were my skills. Sure, I've seen some that are good ideas to add since then, but adding them in would break my current balance, so they are tabled for future games.


In summary, there are always going to be cool skills and ideas to add to a game. At some point, you will have to say enough and run with what you currently have.

Some of us have been around with Yanfly since the VX days with Yanfly Engine Melody. There were no tips and tricks in those days. We got used to doing our own stuff. The tips and tricks were cool when they came out because they sped development by giving us example code, but we've got enough tips and tricks to give us about as much example code as we need. We'd rather the tips and tricks were reduced in frequency so other projects could be developed instead.

And as for ideas: Do the same thing Yanfly did. Steal ideas from your favorite games and modify them.

You'll have to do your own coding either way, anyways. I mean, lets face it: If you had something exactly like (for instance) the Statikk Shiv in your game, it'd be a pretty blantant ripoff. You're modifying the code shown in the tips and tricks to make your stuff unique anyway... aren't you?


In the YEM days, I created a skill that burnt the user's health in a giant multi-attack blast, inflicting one hit (each on a random foe) for every 1000 HP the user had and eventually leaving the user unconscious. It was neat because you could see the users HP drain as the blasts went off, until eventually the user epically collapsed with the final explosion. That's at least as complex as the tips and tricks presented here, and I didn't have any samples besides that which was in the help description at the time. So yes, we can totally do those things.

Let Yanfly do what Yanfly does. I'm excited to see how the extra time is used. Not everybody values the tips and tricks as highly as you seem to have.

And if the new content Yanfly creates isn't worth losing tips and tricks, bring it up on the patreon a few months from now. Yanfly might switch back. Yanfly's good about interacting with the community via patreon, from what I understand. If these are really a huge loss and the community would prefer for the time to be spent elsewhere, you might have more traction later after other people come to the same conclusion.

Fair enough. I'm sorry.

No prob. I understand that coding is kind of intimidating if you're new. Mess around. Don't be afraid to fail a bunch of times. Each new skill or item you make will come quicker and more easily than the last. You'll start to get the hang of it. And you have like 20 times the example code I had when I first started messing around with RPGMaker six years ago or so, so that's a big help. Best of luck! 

In the future make sure to read Yanfly's posts. He EXPLAINED and there's no reason for you to sound* entitled for his time -- even if this wasn't your goal or intentional. If you want to be a game developer, problem solving is part of it. You don't need to be hand held all the time.

I  mean we ask for similar things on these boards the whole time. I'm sure we can ask in the appropriate forums. We just won't get any videos or whatever. 

I think there is a problem with certain commands, brand new project and having an event follow an UPPER RIGHT X command ignores the upper part and just moves right.

I predict that the next Boss Battle is going to be on, or close to, Valentine's Day! Because there seems to be a pattern developing where it/he attacks on holidays lately.

As others have said, its the responsibility as a developer and coder to figure out our own potential. Coders are modern day philosophers in a way. We take bits of arcane code and see what we can make of it and even push it to its limits. Yanfly did us a big favor in giving us tips and tricks and other possible uses. He didn't have to do that. That's never been expected of addon/plugin creators in the past.


With that said, there's NOTHING saying -We- as in the community can't make a thread to give plugin usage suggestions. Check out this thread for an example:




There you can post action sequence ideas and even request help in figuring out how to use them. The more people use it, the more it helps everyone. I wouldn't mind seeing other threads pop up for the use of Lunatic Mode and other stuff. In the end it may even help Yanfly in future plugins to see how existing ones are being used.

Good point!


Why hasn't someone done that before?


Oh man, I haven't thought about Action Sequences in AGES.


Also, out of curiosity, what's the cutoff point for Tips and Tricks?

I have a major problem after downloading/updating nearly the full library of YEP plugins.


When I playtest a game, I am completely unable to control anything with the keyboard. I can't navigate the main menu that says "New Game, Continue," etc. The arrows and Enter key simply do nothing. I figured this might be due to the Keyboard Config or Button Common Events Plugins, but disabling them has no effect. Turning off the FPS Sycnh Option plugin fixes the issue, but I'm not sure what caused it to begin with. My PC is running Windows 8 with a 64-bit processor, if that helps.


I hope this info helps fix a bug or something! :D  Thanks for reading!