JPSs' Questions Thread

[JPS]

Well I'm going to start using RPGM2, I figured I paid the money for it and everyone raves on how fun it is to use, so I'll dip in the fun!

Knowing what you all know now about RPGM2, what would you say is the easiest way of going about learning how everything works? I know I could go in and look at everything, but that doesn't really do anything for me, I'm more of a "hands-on" person, what I'm asking is what is the easiest thing for me to start modifying to start learning the way the UI is set up....or where should I start looking at things?

Last time I popped it in I was overwhelmed, it was like looking at a huge picture broken into tons of little pieces, and I was too intimidated, and frustrated after a while, to continue trying to learn anything about it.

So besides that question, is everything like already pre-made for you? I noticed even in beginner theres presets for everything and theres basically already a story made out....how do you wipe the slate and start fresh? Are all the pre-made stuff mixed in with your party characters and places?

[DYRE]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Buy the guide. It's very helpful. Way more so than the manual.

[JPS]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Yeah RD posted a few pages and I decided to go ahead and buy it after I had already made this thread

[neobi]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Truth is experimentation. Best way to learn. I could tell you how to do this and that and make an active battle system but truthfully it's better off to experiment and learn on your own. The start button gives in-game info about most all options so use it often. Look at sample scripts too and what they do.

[Red Dragon]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Yeah RD posted a few pages and I decided to go ahead and buy it after I had already made this thread

You coulda bought the rest of the E-Guide there, granted it is $10 but it's digital so you don't have to pay shipping.

[JPS]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Yea but I'd spend another $50 on ink printing it out because my TV is 2 rooms away from my comp

I was debating on buying the eguide but decided to go ahead and have something in a nice little book I can reference without having to move too much

[Rodak]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Don't miss Dungeon Warden's Advanced FAQ and Crimson Knight's Scripting Guide!

Oh yeah... somebody here half finished a VFX Editor Guide and made a website for it full of nifty pictures!

I forget who, but they have a link to it in their signature!

Those are all good references and free too.

Good Luck.

Peace.

[JPS]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

I wonder who it could be....hmmm

[DYRE]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Also, you might want to ask some people over at Doan's. They're all about RM2, so you might get better help from them.

[Manji]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

to really make your own game, i recommend staring on hard. if you need to, use beginner and normal mode to see how something is done.

scripts and events are the lifeblood of rpg maker 2. learn the difference between action and content scripts. go through some of the pre-made scripts and see how the line scripting works, what each script command can do(a lot you might not even use), the functions of script branch conditions, how to set them up, learn how to work with variables(do some basic adding and subtracting, like keeping count of treasures found).

the map editor mode is a little hard to get into at first, but keeping working with it to get the type of land layouts you want. you can blend and fade textures together and layer them to get a better sense of... well, texture.

for cutscenes, turn your party invisible, switch between camera shots seamlessly by turning the screen black for a second, make the necessary camera adjustments and then go back to default coloring. also with the camera, use the 'apply together' script command before camera commands to simultaneously zoom and move camera directions. you can make things very cinematic.

everything is contained within the world organization! you must make event sets and object sets for each dungeon or map and register them in the world organization before they'll work. dont overlook the enter and exit map in WO. change events into "system" events to get them to work in the enter/exit map lines in WO.

this is only a touch of what you'll have to learn in rpg maker 2. doan's is a good place. better than any guide or faq is a rare human quality called "patience". its probably the most important thing you'll need when working with rpgm2.

[JPS]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

Thanks for all that

[Red Dragon]

Re: JPSs' Questions Thread

to really make your own game, i recommend staring on hard. if you need to, use beginner and normal mode to see how something is done.

Thing about that is that it doesn't have any battle scripting or anything at all. Unless you know exactly what you want and how to do it, starting on Normal or Beginner is way better because they have all the scripts you need.