Final Fantasy VI SDK - Going Social!

[Dargor]

Don't worry, I'm not looking for competition.
As I have said, I've dropped this idea and I'm sticking to FF6 only, nothing more.

I'm at a point where a couple of things in the Editor, such as the map or animation editor, are just not good enough to work with and changing them requires to move on
to a programming language more powerful and more flexible. But still, the focus remains on the SDK.

- Dargor

 

[MagitekElite]

I'm at a point where a couple of things in the Editor, such as the map or animation editor, are just not good enough to work with and changing them requires to move on to a programming language more powerful and more flexible. But still, the focus remains on the SDK.

That's great to hear, Dargor! I wish you massive amounts of luck and good fortune for this project of yours. :biggrin:

Something in which I see an enormous amount of potential which would imply a drastic change for the SDK, but it would be for the best.

I wonder what it could be... :grin:

Thanks for taking the time to share your decision with us, Dargor! I can't wait for any updates, they will be much anticipated and awesome xD

 

[Mookie1171]

This whole thing sounds great. I want to make a Final Fantasy VI Prequel game. I don't really want to wait for this to be finished though. It sounds like its going to take another couple years at least and I want to make my game now so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it in Rpgmaker xp or maybe VX.

Anyway though does anyone know where to get the FFVI character sprites in a format that can be imported into rpgmaker? I found the sprites for the game but I'm having trouble getting them into the right format to import into rpgmaker. I tried downloading the beta 3.0 of the SDK here but it was just a demo and I'm not sure how to take out the sprites from that. I was also trying to get some of the tile sets.

Thanks

 

[SDeluxe]

This whole thing sounds great. I want to make a Final Fantasy VI Prequel game. I don't really want to wait for this to be finished though. It sounds like its going to take another couple years at least and I want to make my game now so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it in Rpgmaker xp or maybe VX.

Anyway though does anyone know where to get the FFVI character sprites in a format that can be imported into rpgmaker? I found the sprites for the game but I'm having trouble getting them into the right format to import into rpgmaker. I tried downloading the beta 3.0 of the SDK here but it was just a demo and I'm not sure how to take out the sprites from that. I was also trying to get some of the tile sets.

Thanks

Not exactly the right place to be asking, if you join any of the support forums there are a lot of helpful people who will go over the most basic academics of RPG Maker XP/VX with you. Since XP and VX both use different formats for sprites, it's best to explore both versions and see which one better suits your needs. A lot of scripts for XP are often not compatible with VX, and vice versa.

 

[SDeluxe]

Any new updates Dargor?

 

[Dargor]

Yes indeed, it's time for an update!

I'm basically going back to what I was doing on RPG Maker XP. The SDK is not "mature" enough (if I can say so) for it to have it's own editor right now. I'm also having a lot of frame rate issues with everything that is graphics related in my own editor (map editor, animation editor, etc.) and it costs me a lot of previous time not spent on the SDK itself. RPG Maker XP works fine for almost everything.

Of course there is still a couple of things that would be very tedious to do without an editor. That's why I will still keep a part of the editor for things such as Espers, Battle Terrains and other extra properties of various RPGXP data. The Idea would be to have a very small editor that let you convert and "append" new FF6 properties to the data created in RPGXP.

But right now, I'll start by making sure that all the features are properly coded, integrated and usable in RPG Maker XP.
So no more shiny stand alone editor for the moment, but things should go a lot faster that way and the SDK would at least be usable.
I guess I could say I'm going back to the source.

I'll post more about it soon.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

Update part 2

Something in which I see an enormous amount of potential which would imply a drastic change for the SDK, but it would be for the best.

Let me explain what was the intention here:

Two or three months ago I started learning C# using XNA 4 and saw a lot of potential in it.
I'm starting to be relatively comfortable with it but all the work that is involved in learning C# and XNA, rewritting the game scripts and coding a new editor is a huge waste of time considering what I have already accomplished in the past with Ruby. So for now, I'll stick to Ruby and code extra bitmap functions in C++ instead.

Maybe someday I will make my own 2D game engine with XNA and convert the SDK to work with it, but I have dropped this idea to focus on having something that works, as fast as possible.

- Dargor

 

[rey meustrus]

If you like C# (and who wouldn't? It's a nice language) you can try Unity 3d, which uses Mono.

 

[Dargor]

I should give it a try one day. Thanks for the tip

More updates!

I've been working very hard on the SDK lately and did A LOT of code cleaning.
First, I have created a new RMXP project, using the default scripts as base script library and rewriting the default classes and methods, instead of "appending" (or aliasing for programmers ).

By doing this, I have reduces the numbers of scripts and code lines by hundreds and maybe more. It looks a lot cleaner and is more readable, but it also means that RPGXP scripts will not be compatible with the FF6 SDK. At this point, I really don't care since the goal is to be an FF6 engine, not RPGXP .

So basically, I'm porting v3.0 of the SDK to what you could call v4.0 in a blank and new RPGXP project.

Next, I have implemented new Base classes (Sprite_Base, Spriteset_Base and Scene_Base, this one is from the RMXP SDK).
These base classes are taking care of automatically updating and disposing ruby objects. It also reduces the number of lines required to create a child class of one of these base classes. If you wish to manually update or dispose an object, you can set its #disable_update or #disable_dispose flags to true and then call the #update or #dispose methods wherever you want. This is also a feature taken from the RMXP SDK.

A new implementation is the Game_Message class from RPGVX which makes it a lot easier to work with messages in the map or during battles.
A couple of features have been added to this class to make it feel more FF6.

Talking about the message system, I have noticed a couple of alignment issues with the FF6_Menu and FF6_Dialogue fonts, the font settings and glyph properties were wrong, resulting in blurry fonts in size higher than 8 and spacing problems with some characters. I am currently redoing these 2 fonts to be "pixel precise".

New features for maps!
It is now possible to define the map #bounding_rect to limit the view and scrolling within a given rectangle.
I have also added a #scroll_focus feature that let you change the scroll focus character in a map using the following script:
"$game_map.scroll_focus = $game_map.events[event_id]"

You can, for example, focus on an event to make the map scroll.
This event would indeed make the map scroll as if it was a player. The focus can go back on the player by calling the following script:
"$game_map.scroll_focus = $game_player"

I guess that's all for now, I'll keep you updated!
- Dargor

 

[LaDestitute]

Your work so far looks amazing. I'm surprised to see this project still kicking after five years or so.

 

[Dargor]

Thank you LaDestitute

More updates!

While keeping on fixing the 2 fonts (the small font characters are aligning perfectly well!) I am also reworking the whole Window_Selectable class.
I will probably get rid of this class and move all the basic cursor and list item functionality in the Window_Base class.

I am also creating a new List system to help customize lists in windows.
This class contains values such as:
- Items: an array of strings or objects with a name attribute.
- Vertical Spacing: an integer representing the vertical spacing in pixels between each items
- Horizontal Spacing: Same as above but horizontally
- Columns: an integer representing the number of columns to display
...and more...

I will also add support for item icons and and extra text to append after the item's name.

That's all for today!
- Dargor

 

[rey meustrus]

Would you be interested in my Window_Selectable and Window_Command stuff? I've got a modified Window_Selectable that handles cursor rects with Rect objects, which mainly unifies its capabilities with the mouse input system that's integrated into the modification. The mouse integration works with any other existing windows that don't mess with update_cursor_rect to change the cursor positions. As for my Window_Command, it's just got capabilities for an arbitrary number of columns and lots of extra methods to get and change individual commands by index or command name.

 

[Dargor]

I have already got rid of Window_Selectable and Window_Class, but I would still like to see what you did

 

[Dargor]

More update!

The Game_Interpreter class has been updated to allow quicker access to map events.
In a script event command:
- "self.event" returns the event object in which you are working
- "self.events[ID]" returns event #ID from the current map

More methods have been added to act like event commands using script event command, such as:
- "self.local_switch_oparation(mapID, eventID, switchSTR)", this method allows you to control any local switch of any events of any maps at any time.
The default Local Switch Operation only allows you to control the local switches of the event in which you are working.

The list feature is now fully integrated. It is now really easy to create a window with a;ist by only creating an instance of a list class, setup it's properties and pass this list as an argument to the window when creating it. Methods and variables of Window_Selectable and Window_Command have been moved to window base. That means that any windows can have a list, whatever it's type.

I have also updated the event and character classes. Characters can have a size (in tiles) and a visual offset. Touch and Input triggers have been modified to take this size into consideration. Events now have the capability to be "stairs". Combined with the character size feature, it's now possible to create a sideways stairs using only 1 event and 2 lines of code. Here's how it works:

- Create an event in the upper-left corner of the stairs (the direction of the stairs doesn't matter)
- In an event (usually an events that automatically runs when the map loads), add the following script lines:
> self.event.set_stair("left") or "right" depending on the case
> self.event.resize(width, height) this is the size of the stairs area

When stepping into a stair area, the code will automatically detect it and change the walk directions and inputs accordingly.

EDIT!!
I have also implemented a data patcher.
This tool makes it easy to modify and save new data that you can't edit in RPGXP.
All you need to do is add the property you want to the RPG class you want, assign a value to this property in the FF6 module in the right method and the script will do the rest.

For example, the RPG::Actor class has a new @face_name attribute that cannot be edited.
All you need to do is go in the method "self.patch_actors" in the FF6 module, and in this method add some lines like "actors[ID].face_name = a_string"
When you press the play button to test your game, the script will automatically load the data, patch it, save it and finally reload the patched data.

I guess that's all for now!
- Dargor

 

[Imzogelmo]

Sounds like a good bit of progress there, Dargor. Keep up the good work!

 

[Dargor]

I'm not updating this thread a lot lately but I'm still working alot on the project
Things are doing great right now. The code has never been that clean, there is no lag anywhere in the game, I'm re implementing a lot of features that are working very well.

Last thing I did was rewriting the code for the main menu and the item menu.
At the same time, I'm completing the data structure by adding the necessary properties to the original RPG Objects from RPGXP.
I am expending them to fit the needs of the FF6 SDK and I am also creating new data classes exclusive to the FF6 SDK.
So when the time comes for me to start working on an editor again, I will have most of the data structure ready and working with the game scripts.

I am also preparing the code for an enhanced Mode7 script. I spoke to the author if the Mode7 script I had a couple of years ago and he helped me with that.
I am still at the stage where I need to write some code in C++ so I won't be having Mode7 completely ready anytime soon, it's at the bottom of my list, but at least I have everything I need to work on that.

Things are working a lot better now.
Most of the map features such as camera control, message system, party management, etc are done but there is still some features to add.
Next step is to re-implement all windows and menus with the new code and data structure.
Then, I'll rework the battle system.

Once these 3 big steps are done, I'll jump on more minor features that are not really required in order to make a game.
Things such as Mode7, special bitmap effects, more battle animation events, etc. will be added later once the rest of the SDK is ready to be used.

I'll keep you updated.
- Dargor

 

[Petros]

I'd just like to state for the record this is one of the best things around these days with the Final Fantasy name attached to it. I love it when I see passion of fans like Dargor who are willing to go so far out of their way, not for money, glory or fame, but to help others, fan-game developers at that. Sometimes we're a bit of an annoying breed of RPG Maker develops us Final Fantasy fan-game makers but you've taken that in your stride Dargor and created a system that helps those in need out. From the bottom of my heart, thank you from all of us and from the community at large. I have a massive amount of respect for you.

 

[Dargor]

Thank you very much Petros, this is greatly appreciated
I'd like to mention that I am working on this SDK each and every weekends and it's coming along very well.
I should have something solid sooner than I first imagined!

Take care,
- Dargor

 

[MagitekElite]

I haven't posted in a while! Sorry about that. >.>

Its awesome to see all the updates, Dargor!

A new implementation is the Game_Message class from RPGVX which makes it a lot easier to work with messages in the map or during battles.A couple of features have been added to this class to make it feel more FF6.

New features for maps!
It is now possible to define the map #bounding_rect to limit the view and scrolling within a given rectangle.
I have also added a #scroll_focus feature that let you change the scroll focus character in a map using the following script:
"$game_map.scroll_focus = $game_map.events[event_id]"

You can, for example, focus on an event to make the map scroll.
This event would indeed make the map scroll as if it was a player. The focus can go back on the player by calling the following script:
"$game_map.scroll_focus = $game_player"

Awesomesauce! :shades: I really love the sound of that!

Brilliant work, Dargor! These are definitely great additions/updates! I have a question though, if I may ask it? Do you mean by "scrolling within a given rectangle" you can select a piece of the map by running/dragging (not sure how I would describe it) a rectangle over the spot in question? A small question that probably shouldn't have been asked, but I became curious. :cute:

I'm still reading the rest of the posts since I left, but great job Dargor! Keep up the fantastic work! :thumb:

And I concur to Petros' post! :grin:

 

[Dargor]

I must admit it is a bit hard to explain :P
But basically, if you have a map that is 20x20, you can see everything from (0,0) to (20,20). But if you specify a rectangle of (5,5,15,15) you will be able to see only within (5,5) to (15,15). I'm trying to explain it with my amazing ASCII art skills below :D

Fig. 1
++++++++++++++++++++
+++++------------+++++
+++++------------+++++
+++++------------+++++
+++++------------+++++
+++++------------+++++
++++++++++++++++++++

Fig. 2
----------++++++++++
----------++++++++++
----------++++++++++
----------++++++++++
----------++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++

Every tiles marked as (-) are visibly while the ones marked as (+) will not be visible. It's a bit like a canvas.
It's really hard to explain with words but I hope you will be able to test this feature soon!

Take care,
- Dargor