RMMV City Bling & T3C Ping

As noted, i've lately been buried deep in The Third Colony - my personal game project that i use to keep the ol' brain from rusting up solid. It's time for another peek at some of the ongoings, and another bit of free resource for RPG Maker MV (aka RMMV) users. Let's get to that first.

There's not a great deal of Modern Tilesets running around compared to all the fantasy sets, so i'll go ahead and dump some even though there's not a lot of it.

City Bling is what we're calling the current set, and it's not map tiles today - it's animation tiles. They're combined on a single sheet, so you can either cut and combine with your own bits, or use as-is. Don't fret, even though some read vertically and some read horizontally, the system knows the way to go. As long as you use them in the right places, of course. When using the 'bling' animated tiles, be sure to set the event properly, as shown here...

...Walking and Stepping keep the animation cycling constantly, and Direction Fix makes sure it doesn't change animations if activated by the player. This is for the spot anims only. Don't do that for the doors, switches, or cardboard box. Let the system handle them as normal.

On the left side of the sheet we've got:
Bathroom Doors with binary gender signs.
Switches - smaller than standard with multiple placement options.
Cardboard Box - smaller than standard for easier tucking and hiding.
Wall Light - smaller than standard with high/low placement positions.

At the top center of the sheet, there are 3 rows with Circle / Arc / Circle. That's a Hopper. Place in sequence, left to right, above a sign or entrance and it animates with the circle hopping back and forth.

Below that is the Stripper with a back & forth animation.

Below that, we have the Theatre Marquis with animating lights. In The Third Colony, Admin uses the very generic Video Centre name. I added a couple more options, Movie Rama and Stage House, allowing the halves to be mixed and matched. After i noticed the Stage Centre combo, i had to add a Center Stage option as well. 

While most businesses are too specifically named, i included the generic bar Drink Up! sign and a couple of OPEN signs, and MOM Media Inc i converted to 123 Media Inc.

In the bottom right we've got signs for the Whorehouse/Brothel and the XXX Sinema.

For those of you who use Tall Doors, i didn't forget you. Here they are in tall format:

 Meanwhile, back out on the Fringeworlds, there's been tons of work going on. Some of it even on the front end where we can see progress. Simple things, like there's finally a Player Character Choice screen -

I mentioned recently that we'd passed 100 characters living on PoD9 now. In addition to base character design, that means Walk Sprites (multiples to allow for work and off-duty clothing, plus options) and Portraits for emotive representation in dialogues. That means up to 16 for each (though PCs may get more), with an average of about a dozen. So, LOTS of little work going. As a sample for those who don't indulge in such things, here are a dozen characters, pulled nearly at random. (Obviously, topping the sheet with Kelly was a conscious choice)

Okay - some oddballs don't get as many portrait pics, as we can see from our F-ing Clown at the bottom. 

And, while there are video files used in the game, that's not what one sees if the player watches a 'Vid' in-game. Vids are representative, with just a few pics and text while time passes and buffs or debuffs are applied. Some have story scenes, like we've seen in promos for various shows. Others, like the educational vid Transmats And You, are merely hosted...

Like the 'vid' above, Doc ODD! is a product of SARLAC (Science:Advanced Research Laboratories/Atomic Commission). He was a genetic failure in the laboratories that didn't get flushed. The techs liked him and gave him a labcoat. Eventually, he got promoted from pet to mascot.

It's an Odd world, naturally. 

It's the kind of place where a superhero like the Golden Guardian can decide to open a bank instead...

...where the Registry (the agency supporting and overseeing superheroes) is headed by a figure known as Sister Mother... 

...and where cold refreshments are supplied by 'heroes' like MilkMan... 

Another convenient thing, for me, about T3C is that many of my old projects can be integrated into it. For example, the Rama Vid Club is running a special FringeWorx Film Fest, and has brought in Frag, a character from the series, as a special guest to promote it...

Fringeworx was a web series i did back in the mid-90s. The fleet at the top and the inset in the lower left of the poster above is from the original series, with Frag being played by my eldest son, IV. In game time, it's about 15 years after the show ended (as seen by the older Frag model), and the episode guide for the show has been reworked into a film series that'll run weekly throughout the year.

That would have been a massive amount of work for background texture in the game if the material didn't already exist. Lots of old work can form the media 'enjoyed' by the denizens of PoD9, and parts of old game projects can be reworked into pockets scattered throughout the mining colony. It's kind of like having a few decades of prep work done for the game - most convenient indeed.

BTW - the RVC has another series running, too. In this world, Ellis Chambers didn't disappear - he became a very popular animator whose legacy lives on in current film fests -

As it should be.

stuff by -3- (2020)

One For The Game Makers

Sit back; we gwyne get wordy today. 
Ye Be Warned -

As you may know, i spend some of my time noodling with games, in recent times using the RPG Maker MV engine and creation system. The system has a very mixed reputation. Some absolutely loathe it and any games made with it. Others love it and devote themselves exclusively to it. 

I like it well enough, obviously since i'm using it. But part of what i like is the extensibility of the framework. There are hundreds upon hundreds of plug-ins for RMMV (the shorthand name for the system). And since it all runs on javascript, one can add custom scripts to the game. Frequently when some players complain about the games, they're usually complaining about the default system. And those complaints are often very valid.

Probably one of the loudest - "The games are too small! And they're all the same!"

And, by default, they are hideously small. But plug-ins take them to 1080p and higher. I'm working at 720p simply to reduce resource size and make it more laptop friendly. (I suspect there will be a ridiculous amount of artwork as it grows. Especially since i allow considerably more wardrobe freedom than most games, so many more variant images to multiply the count.)

Many of the complaints are not actually about the system itself. They're more a result of the system. The big problem is that it's so easy to use, and it provides basic default assets. Of course, that's the strength of the system, but the by-product is that Anyone can make games. That's both great and terrifying. And it creates a glut of games with the same look, many with only the most basic 'game' in the game. The signal to noise ratio can be daunting. 

But there is gold in them thar hills.

Let me pause to note how it's amazing that one person can do so much so easily these days. And it's possible to create something so great that other's can't see it, so how does a young creator get their vision out?

Back in early days of computer gaming, one guy created a Whitetail Deer Hunting game. when he brought it around to Interplay, we fairly unanimously thought it was a completely daffy idea. Who wants to play a game about waiting? He kept soldiering on and eventually found another company to publish the game. It was, of course, a monster hit. 
I hope he made a ton of cash off of it for his faith in his own vision.

When trying to achieve your own vision with RMMV (or any system), remember that the defaults are only a starting point. So many things can be modified quite easily, as well as adding your own custom images and sounds.

The map graphics for the system are tilesets contained in simple PNG files. They are easily editable or completely replaceable. They're also scalable, as are nearly all of the art assets.
For example, the default walk sprites* for the game are 48x48 pixels**. For The 3rd Colony i decided to double that to 96x96 for larger figures with more detail. To accomplish this, no elaborate programming is necessary. I just used a larger image file. The system cuts the sprites proportionally, so if you use a bigger picture you get a bigger picture in the game. Stupidly simple.

*(A Sprite is a visual element appearing onscreen on top of the background in a game. Characters, creatures, chests... generally anything that can move or animate)
**(A Pixel is a PICture ELement; the single dots they count to get the screen resolution)
(You probably knew these, but when i'm reading i hate when relevant information isn't included.)

Eileen Sprite - default vs. custom:

(Note that while i doubled the sprite size to 96px, her sprite stands 75px tall. This allows for varying heights among the cast; Eileen is only about 5'9"/1.75m. But you could just as easily use the full frame for larger base figures.)

Plug-ins extend that further. The walk sprites use the most basic possible animation - three frames for each of four directions. (Left leg forward, Legs together, Right leg forward) To make that work, they play in a 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2... yo-yo sequence. It works, but at a bare minimum level. That's by design, not an error - the intent was to make everything as small as possible while allowing potentially unlimited expansion.

There's a  plug-in that lets you decide how many frames are in the walk cycle, and then plays them in a loop sequence instead of yo-yoing the frames. Unfortunately, the system isn't coded to handle a separate standing sprite, so one must plan the sequence carefully when choosing your stop frame. 
There are also plug-ins to allow you to expand to 8-directional movement if desired.

Of course, you don't actually have to use the maps and sprites at all, Nor do you need to use either of the combat systems in the game, nor anything else of the default assets. It can be used as a framework to present whatever you want to show, as long as you can envision it and provide the visuals and the story telling. (Or even as a training/teaching application with no story telling involved)

Okay - you could just do a black screen and text with no visuals, but there's probably a simpler way.

For me, make it old school. I want the map and the sprites and the characters walking around. I like building new tiles for the map system. I would have loved these tools way back in Wasteland and The Lord Of The Rings days. SO much more fun doing the work now.

But the default assets are merely a starting point. As you saw above, when i changed the size of the sprites i decided to change style completely. You can replace them with anything you can imagine and create. Make a game of Binary Wars with nothing but 1s and 0s fighting it out onscreen. Make some VaporWare with the character being a drop of water trying to not evaporate. The beauty of the minimal system design is that you don't need to create (or coax someone to create) a whole lot of resources. That only-3-frames-for-each-walk-direction limitation can suddenly seem real appealing.

I've got an advantage being a veteran on the art & animation front, but do what You can do to avoid just the generic assets. If you're using the basic style sprites, don't use the provided character sheets. Use the built-in generator to create new characters so they don't see the same people they just saw yesterday in another game. And before you do that, look around - find Generator Parts to expand your library so you can create a wider variety of NPCs.

Absolutely do Not use one of the provided title screens. Players have seen them all over and over before. If you can't create a custom title screen, you can use any PNG file you drop into the img/titles1 folder of your game directory. A kid's refrigerator drawing of lizards feasting on the undying corpse of honey booboo is going to go over better with the players than one of those tired default pics.

Look around for Tilesets. Lots of artists make them and offer them up for creators to use, and new ones appear all the time. Try to learn to use a free art program with Layers at least enough to be able to cut and paste parts of different sets together to create what you want. And remember that you can expand the Maximum number of tilesets in the game to as many as you need - separate sets for every map if you want to go crazy. Use that to customize and create your own distinctions. But remember to make sure it fits neatly into your game world. Don't break the flow of the game just for something you like - save it for the right time. (Or the right game if need be. Do it the L&I way and keep a SOG* file. (*Some Other Game))

And definitely, absolutely, visit and browse deep through some plug-in archives. Get an idea of some of the tools that are available while deciding what you want to do and how you want to do it. And then Use them.
Many of my favorites come from Yanfly and from GALV, and here's a collected list of MV plug-ins to start your search.

First and foremost is the Yanfly Core Engine or an equivalent. Something that allows you to override the system default game size and expand your limits. BTW - nearly all of the Yanfly plug-ins have excellent tutorial vids to accompany them, no matter how simple they might be to use. Others offer tutvids, too - i just like the style of Yanfly's. (Especially since i'm half deaf and they exclusively use large subtitles instead of speech to instruct and explain.)

Hmm...
We seem to have segued into Tips from an Old Retired Pro -

One of the first things to remember is that this isn't the old days when people sat waiting desperately for new games. Indy games are everywhere and in constant states of release. The potential player of your game likely gathered it with other titles and will be sampling to see which, if any, they want to play. 

You know how great your game is, but they don't have a clue. And telling them won't help, the most feeble of game makers is out there telling them the same thing. Be wary of long set-ups and introductions to the game world. Get the player into the game as quickly as you can, and fill them in along the way. Don't make it feel like you're teaching a class before they're allowed to play.

This should be a simple and obvious rule, but that's not always the case: Name your file or folder in a way that people can identify the game.  If someone gathers a bunch of games to check out, the one labeled GameData tends to get pushed aside and lost because the player doesn't remember what it is. They know what those others are, so let's go look at them. If you've got a long name, use an identifiable abbreviation or condense it to an acronym.

Cool Features.
Whenever possible, make them optional. A simple example is the typing noise available (and set ON by default) in popular Message plug-ins, like the excellent one from Yanfly. While a large part of your potential audience (perhaps a majority) won't care either way about the feature, the others will be split into two camps - those who love it and those who can't listen to it. If you choose to use such a feature and don't provide a way to disable it, you're telling a fair chunk of your players to Go Away! before they even see how good your game can be.

This can also be very true with visual features. Atmospheric Overlays can be great mood, but use a light hand, and use them sparingly so they have effect. Constant use reduces them to mere distraction which can become aggravation for the player. Ask yourself "Is this useful, does it provide immersion, or is it just a 'look at me! look at me!' feature?" 
Use Transparency/Opacity levels. Drop the strength down to 20% or less and see what it looks like. Does it still convey the desired effect? If not, slowly work it up until the minimum needed. A lighter touch creates less visual confusion, allowing the player to sink deeper into your game. Adding visuals merely for splash and overusing features can cause your game to feeling like the RMMV equivalent of a '90s Blink-Tagged webpage. Flashy and 'kewl', but soon painfully annoying.
Try to not slap the player's eyeballs.

Another related area - Sound & Music.
By default, RMMV provides sound level settings. Some menu set-ups disable that Very Important feature. Some don't allow access until the game is underway. When your amazing theme music starts blasting out at 100% volume, the player starts desperately looking for the sound controls. If they can't find them, they're just as likely to shut down the game and delete it as to mute their system. There's a good chance they downloaded a dozen other games to check out at the same time, and never even looked at yours because the blasting sound drove them off.
If you have introductory screens, production logos, and such opening the game, don't start the music playing until they get to the title screen and options menu.

On Sound - Level your files. Which is to say, when you're adding in custom sound effects, balance them to play at the same sound level. You can do that either by editing the sound files or by setting the volume level at which they're played within RMMV. Too often i've seen things like combat with one gunshot sound effect at triple the volume of the others, or even louder. People have neighbors! And some other poor bastard was wearing earphones when you assaulted him with those shots. Just a few sounds that are unbalanced in that way can break a game and make players abandon it.

Don't leave your player hanging. Sure, that NPC told them what needs doing, but then they had to break for dinner and it's been hours or days later when they can get back to the game. You don't have to use a full quest journal/log (though there's a few available), but give them some way of sorting out what they're supposed to be doing. Sometimes games will give a scroll or token bound to various quests. The player can check their inventory to see what's up.
Or simply having the player character speak up to remind themself what they're doing, or an NPC if the player is leading a party.
Even in a Sandbox game, a sense of direction can be important.

Try not to obscure your map. HUDs, Overlays, Character Figures - they can all be useful and perhaps even necessary to the concept of your game. But when the player is moving around, anything that blocks part of the map from view can quickly become a frustration to the player.  Especially if wandering encounters are present.

The two main ways to avoid this problem are to allow any overlaid graphics to be toggled, or to make a frame for the game so the data sits outside the map. The latter option works much nicer than it used to with widescreen aspect ratios being standard now. The same information presented outside of the map avoids the distraction and annoyance factor, and allows the player to be drawn into the world of the map view while playing.

Of course, all of this applies only if you're looking to share your creation with the world. (And goes especially if you're looking to use it as a demo/resume in seeking a job in the industry) If you're just making something for yourself, then forget all of that unless it suits you. 

The only rule you need is to remember that fap games should be able to be controlled with one hand.

<pause for crowd response>

Well, that what certainly a big drendump of wordage, wasn't it? And only one measly little image?

Yeah, it's not gonna get much better, but here's a few quick shots from the current state of The 3rd Colony.

First, for those who've yet to meet her, here's Kelly's introductory onesheet -

(Yes, i know it was Eileen up above. There are four character choices, including Ben and Gene.)

While the frames are merely placeholders currently, they show you one of the two options i was talking about for presenting information without interfering with the map itself -

As you can see, i'm sticking with the old school conversation format, though tweaking it to fit my screen presentation. Yanfly's Message plug-ins make that easy.

I'm in the process of scrapping that lighting set-up, though i'm sticking with the system. Since the main areas are essentially constructed caverns, they're filled with dark corners. Again - a plug-in makes this easy. (Terrax Lighting)

Of course, i have no problem with partially obscuring the map when the player cannot move around -

If you're working with renders or other art style to present characters to the player, try to go past the basic set-up. Above we have Moon stepping back as Teela leaps onto Kelly. Once you've got your basics, what else can you convey?

In the pics above and below, note that though Kelly is startled she casually absorbs the leap and the weight of someone hanging onto her. While Moon may look more buffed, Kelly has denser tissue and greater inherent strength. If Kelly pumps up those pipecleaners (which she can over time), she can make her preferred ranged weapon an SUV.

Note the look on Moon's face above. She's not startled or concerned as she steps back out of the way. I take advantage of her introductory shot to hint that she is gay and enjoying private thoughts. Every image can always say a little bit extra with body language, expression, or background details. When there's a background.
And as a bonus, you give your characters more life when you move past the "default" pose (to keep the theme going). Even if you don't convey what you're aiming for, the figures will usually seem less stiff.

(Poddie = Podmate / Roomie. Pods are private & communal living areas.)

Moon, by yon by, is a Security Agent and is indeed quite buff for a non-super. Buff enough to take on a pack of zombiedogs with only a plastic practice sword -

(She was headed to a Cave Rave, hence the outfit in that location)

And for those trying to keep count of how many are in the crowd, here's the current edition of the ever-growing & changing title screen -

(No, that's not a deranged Carrottop. Yes, that other guy is a drugged out Alfred E. Neuman. No, that's not Spider-Man. Yes, it is Night Monkey. No, that's not where his hand is. Yes, he is the only one that can see her. It's called Wawa Aba. No, she'll never admit to bleaching it. Yes, he does have a cybernetic hand. Of course not, he works behind the scene. And, of course the Velvet Frog slipped right between one of the greatest heroes and one of the greatest villains for his slot.)

stuff by -3- (2020)

Tagging Your RMMV (nope, not the vehicle)

Rather surprisingly, the posts with material for RPG Maker MV have actually gotten repeated views. Or, perhaps not so surprising since there's a dearth of Modern Tilesets for RMMV, and most are not of the Free Community Assets variety.

Pleasantly surprisingly, there is a KOOBA Cola Facebook group/account/whatever them things are. Nice to see KOOBA is not forgotten.

Today we've got a Modern Tileset with no buildings or structures. It's all purely decorative. Half of the set is simply graffiti and wall art for decorating your city. 

Why half a set?

Because i cleaned out all the game specific graffiti, the taunts to the PC, and the all with foul language beyond tits and ass. Well, i did keep one, but i changed it to read "For A Good Time, Go Love Yourself!"

For the other half, some will be a repeat from earlier sets. We've got an assortment of Business Names, Menu Boards, Drink Machines, Campus Posters, Velvet Ropes, Plaques, and a few odd bits.

(This image, of course, links to a Transparent PNG file for RMMV)

Some of the graffiti images are taken from actual graffiti and contains the work of other artists. For your reference, those are keyed here in red: 

Things Of Which To Be Aware:

Remember that you can stack two tiles on top of the base tile, so graffiti can be layered. You can also add a third layer by making the top layer an event. This can also be used to make the graffiti more dynamic. For example, one gang might mark it's turf with a skull symbol. Using conditional triggers, graffiti can appear or disappear as gangs gain or lose control of an area.
I also use that process to post graffiti with threats or taunts targeted to the Player Character.

Also note that in the lower right corner are 12 pin-up calendar pages. Set these as the images for 12 pages of an event that tracks time, and you've got a calendar that changes every month.

To properly use the Velvet Ropes, use the Passage (4 Dir) button on the Database/Tilesets screen and uncheck left or right on the left and right vertical rope tiles. That makes the ropes un-passable while leaving the tile space open.

And, finally - Note that beneath the KOOBA machines are 3 KOOBA posters (repeated for placement in one or two tiles, as needed). If you're like me, you like to let people be able to look at posters on the wall. These are sized at 720p, since that's the native resolution for my game -

Also note that my world uses Credits as the base currency, so the symbol has been changed. If anyone needs it at a different currency for their game, let me know.

For you KOOBA fans who don't give a dren about any of the rest of it, here's just the KOOBA tiles -

tileset by -3- (2020)

RPG Maker MV Again

While technically featuring nudity and inherent adult situations, it feels rather ridiculous to put this in the Adult Content back room of the blog. 

What we have here is a sprite template sheet for RPG Maker MV aka RMMV. You see, This City that i've been playing with now has a Hellfire Club, and some extra props were needed for background characters. So here we have Male & Female Walk Templates for both Yoked and Cuffed, along with a Ball Gag sprite that can be overlaid to fit either gender. (Contrary to popular opinion, i view gender as biological and completely separate from sexuality and personal identity. So the game world has only 4 genders - Male, Female, Both, Neither. (yeah, there are aliens and cybernetic lifeforms, so it gets broad while being narrow))

Appropriate leather outfits and such haven't been taken past the single frame design stage at this point. If i remember, i'll post outfits at a later point, after completion. For now, you'll just have to drop in what you've got. There are also Hadaka versions, but who uses those, right? (Well, after the Lactacid incident...)

Obviously, the Character Generator will not be able to adapt to the restrained walk frames, so outfits and character heads will need to be overlaid manually.

Meanwhile, for those who are thinking "Hmmm....   Hellfire Club! We need X-Men!"- Fret not.
You can grab them, along with a whole host of other Marvel heroes for your game, from Galactic God's collection. That includes pretty much all of the MCU and the Marvel Netflix shows, as well. And GG makes battlers, too, for those who use the in-game fight systems for RMMV.

crap by -3- for RMMV Users & This City (2019)

Serve KOOBA

We've got a little add-on to the midnight post. This City, as the place i've been piddling with in RMMV is called, has only one soda available to its denizens. We were talking about it early last month - the soda that never existed, KOOBA. This also gives me an excuse to run one of the adverts omitted from the previous post -

The add-on to the tiles from this morning is simply three various coloured Kooba Cola machines:

These were reworked from some tiles for which i have no clue whence they came. I've been digging through old hard drives and folks may have noticed that i'm perhaps not the most organized individual on the planet. Never used to need to be before the internal Editor quit.

Anyway - KOOBA Lives!

It's Greek To Me, Too!

Mind still not cooperating, so let's follow it again to a bit more from the playing around i've been doing with RPG Maker MV. We've got a random collection of tiles here, both indoor and outdoor dumped together on one sheet. Anyone wanting to use them will have to cut them apart and drop them in to their own sets. (A handy grid is provided at bottom for sorting, just drop the transparent .png with the tiles on top of it in your favorite image editor.)

So - what's here? Obviously some artwork for the walls at the upper left, along with and assortment of simple wood frames down at the bottom. Most out there are rather ornate, taking up too much space at times. These are basic Dollar Tree frames. To the right of the paintings, middle sections for the standard 2-tile couch so they may be extended to 3, 4, or more tiles wide. Those two horizontal bars following are fence tops. Set them on top of wall tiles, tag them for overlay (star); be sure place them after placing the ground behind the fence. Nice when you don't want that massive wall top. The vertical bars just beneath are shadows for giving depth to building walls and such where the system doesn't place any. A blue dumpster. Bookcase alterations - the standard, moved up a half register for better placement against walls, and with some variety tiles to mix things up in libraries and such.
Below those, we've got a mix of custom signs and generic wall hangings. A camera on a tripod, some blank signs, vertical stairs down...
There's a ticket window down by the Help Wanted/Now Hiring signs. Ropes & barricades - white for boxing, red for Events.
Those are notices that can be overlaid beneath the corkboard. And down by the business signs, a basic newspaper dispenser for the free daily news. (It says FREE on the top)

And just above the red velvet ropes, you might note that one of the wooden signs is not blank. It sits outside the Sorority House in the game. (Kekko Kamen needs a University to patrol, y'know) The Sorority in question is taken from my old web comic, so let's go there to read the little sign on the tiles -

(Apologies to Mme Theuriau for putting words in her mouth)

(Actually, only a few on the council and the original founders - not the general membership.)

And there's that grid mentioned above. It's the same size as the tile image, just no need to display it larger here.

stuff by -3- from experiMental Theatre and This City (2019)

RMMV Kekko

Brain in useless cycle. Won't go where i want, and it's a struggle to string words in sequence. But trying not to let blog go dark because it's being a frellnik. Again.

So... let's go different odd place today.

Familiar with RPG Maker MV? (AKA RMMV)

It's a simple interface engine for building games. Better than might seem at first, but another more talky time.

Pertinent bit - sometimes play around building a little city to keep mind distracted. Now have superheroes patrolling rooftops.
University District protected by Kekko Kamen.

My game doesn't use built-in RMMV battle mechanics, so i only use basic walk sprites.

But - if anyone wants Kekko Kamen walk sprites to freely use in their games - here ya go:

(Yes, this is a transparent PNG file, ready to use)

It's sized and laid out for RPG Maker MV, but feel free to mod for other versions or systems. No credits necessary, i'm just modding base game art there.

I use manga and anime shots for talk portraits. I like it better that way.

sprites by -3- for RPG Maker MV (2019)