Issue with Huge Tilesets

[Juan J. Sánchez]

As it turns out, I've been ripping graphics from Ragnarok Online MMORPG. The main issue with this is how awfully big tilesets are, various MB in size.

Is there an alternative? Could I use images as panoramas and pictures as layers? Has anyone tried this out before?

I would really like some insight into this matter. Thanks.

 

[gRaViJa]

You could try paralax mapping indeed (making the map in photoshop and import it as a panorama). But can't you try to lower the file size too? PNG-8 instead of PNG-24, or .gif?

 

[RavenTDA]

Yeah you can change the maps into pictures pretty easy. It's easier in XP verses VX (if I remember right), although more people use it in VX because most of the mapping looks really bad. You could also try using a png crush to either the picture map or the tileset.

On the how to paralax map most people put the bottom layer as the panorama and then the top layers as a fog. I've also scene it done with events as a show picture for the top layer as well. There's a whole mess of scripts and how-to's for it for VX.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

Any decent tutorials on parallax mapping? I've seen great games made with this technique, the best two being Sunset Over Imdahl and Aedemphia.

 

[gRaViJa]

This one is the ebst i could find:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dar-lhIN ... re=related

I found it intresting that almost all parallax mapping info is about vx.

 

[GameBoy]

^In VX you can see a panorama in editor, that's why, I think.

BTW I don't really understand why you want swap tilesets (one tile can be used many times and it take for example only 1kb of space) for pictures (same tile is used many times again, but it now take n*1kb, where n is number of tiles used in map) just because tilesets have many MBs.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

The fact that you can't see a panorama in editor is a real nuissance. That being said, there are two main reasons why I'd like to do parallax mapping. The first reason is because parallax mapping opens a gamma of possibilities, including additional layers, photoshop effects, and not having to limit yourself to a single tileset. The second reason has to do with the fact that bigger tilesets (and we're talking big) take more time to load. Although, I'm not really quite sure about this, I'm just assuming.

 

[Kiriashi]

I believe you can see parallaxes in RMVX. It should be in the map properties.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

Yes, that is true. However, I'm using RPG Maker XP. I've always thought it's much better than it's succesor.

 

[RavenTDA]

Well if you want effects like the second image you go there. What they do is copy and paste the tiles wherever looks nice and then they normally add an additional fog layer on top (other than the items that go over the characters). It's a transparent layer and all ^^. But you can usually make nicer lighting effects with some kind of blending mode in photoshop but you can't do that in parallax mapping because the layers have to be separate because objects are moving around. Parallax mapping isn't faster at all but it does look nice if you want to layer a bunch of stuff on top. It also helps a lot of headaches when trying to map a forest, because then you're just shoving a bunch of trees on top of each other and you don't have to worry about working with so little layers.

Oh yeah and to make it walkable you gotta make the whole map UNwalkable and then add in a blank tile you use to make walkable places. When you do it this way, you have less mapping errors because if you forget to add a place you can't walk it's easier to catch than areas you can't walk in normally but do by mistake. BTW make sure you use show grid when making your maps so you always have an idea of movement for the player... although you'd probably have less of a problem with this in XP since the priorities make more sense. In VX it only considers the WHOLE tile walkable or not instead of parts like you can do in XP.

 

[Atoa]

You could try using the "Edit and Play" Script.

Then you can real-time edit the passability, by using an dummy tileset with visible blocked tile. After you finish, replace this dummy tile with a transparent tile

Here is the "Edit and Play" (use google translator for the instructions)
http://www.santuariorpgmaker.com/forum/ ... topic=3351

 

[Echo Magnum]

Parallax mapping is a lot easier with VX, but good luck. I see how editing passage settings/priority can be bothersome in XP but if your patient enough either way it could work out.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

Atoa, thank you so much. This is going to make things a handful easier.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

CRITICAL SITUATION:

Is there a size limit (file size and/or dimensions) to parallax images in RPG Maker XP?

 

[Gubid]

There should be no size limit that I am aware of. I have loaded all sorts of them with varying sizes.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

Thanks. I finally got it working. I'm using parallaxes as backgrounds and fogs as foregrounds. It's working perfectly. Now I just need a mapper.