Visual Effects Editor Tip (RPGM2)

[Rodak]

This is probably obvious to all you veterans out there, but a while back I asked if anyone could give a concise explanation of how to adapt a battle effect for use on a map. Specifically I wanted to place the "Water 2" effect on a specific place on a map.

Being a battle effect I just could not find a place that put the effect where I wanted.

Here is how I tweaked it, and if this is too obvious don't criticize me because nobody responded with anything specific!

First copy and paste any effect you have seen in battle that you want to place on a map.

Then open your pasted file and go to the first "element" then move over to the bar with all the frame numbers on it. Press X and select "Edit".

Move the cursor to the first blue mark (where the background changes to orange). Press X and select edit again. You are now on the big map. Use the analog sticks to move to where the effect is and then use the d-pad to highlight the "move" option on the menu window at the bottom. Hold X and use the d-pad to move back to the red X in the center of the map. Press circle and select "Update and Exit".

Repeat for each blue mark in each element!

The splash can now be placed on any event or any map coordinate and it will happen where you put it instead of where the enemy would be if you were in battle!

I chose to delete the first sound from the "fx" bar because it was not being used in battle anymore. You would not have to do that if you like the sound though.

[RPGD]

Re: Visual Effects Editor Tip (RPGM2)

Bah, looks like I was a little late. Ah, well.

Anyway, that's roughly how it can be done. Here's the rest of the skinny which is essential to making effects from scratch;

See the buttons under the "Viewpoint" section of the VFX bar while editing the effects? Notice the white box under Turn? That's one of the more useful parts of the VFX Editor. Highlight it and press X. You should see two more options besides Battle; Map and Area. These automatically switch the camera view to cater to different types of VFX. Battle's for the DBS, Map's for normal map effects, and Area's good for both. There are three other viewpoints that appear while actually tweaking an effect. You can mess around with those for yourself.

Now, when making VFX, as you mentioned. they appear on the red X. For precision and contrast, highlight the Source button in the "Display" section and hit X. A lone NPC dummy of the same type as the battle dummies will appear on the X. It's ideal for making VFX-made accessories/facial expressions for your character or even char models (Char models made in this editor can be a little tricky to make and animate very fluidly, however they usually eat up lots of memory). Hitting the Source button again will remove the X, and one more press will bring it back.

As for the other Display commands, Menu allows you to view the effect in fullscreen, removing the menu bar. Hit X to return to the menu bar. Enemy changes the number of/removes the battle dummies.

Here's the skinny on an advanced function just for the hell of it; The "Line" box is very helpful, especially in conjunction with the Fix buttons. The default option for VFX Line movement is Curve. However, let's say you want something to move straight. How do you make sure it moves without looking crooked? Simple, the Straight movement makes sure your VFX move perfectly straight in your desired direction. Useful for both 2D and 3D VFX. The Fix buttons, though, lock certain coordinates when either moving or changing the shape of the effect. Simply hit either the X, Y or Z coordinate button and it will not increase/decrease/move to that coordinate. Mess around with it and it'll become 2nd nature.

[Rodak]

Re: Visual Effects Editor Tip (RPGM2)

I was "checking in" before I went to lunch and was pleased to see a response! Thanks for the extra info. I figured most of it out over the weekend, but I am always grateful when someone makes an effort to help.

It's a shame you can't change the size of the character model that shows up for reference (either source or enemy) because I rarely use anything at it's default size!

Gotta go! I'm hungry.

Peace