Bypassing the 2GB limit on project compression...

[Ruin]

Hey guys!

I've recently been made aware that the 'Compress Game Data' function in RPG Maker VX Ace (found in the File dropdown menu) only supports projects up to 2GB in size.  Unfortunately I'm working on a project that when complete will have graphics data beyond 2GB.  I was wondering if anyone could provide suggestions for finding a way around this issue (aside from using lower quality graphics assets, which I'd like to avoid).  Are there other ways to compress the game data into an executable?  Or is there by chance a way to store graphics data in a .rvdata2 archive without compromising game performance (as far as I'm aware RPG Maker only stores the database information in these)?

Thanks for any suggestions you can provide!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

AFAIK, you cannot put the images inside the rvdata2 file coz you cannot marshal an image I've already tried that before as a possible means of encrypting image. You could try to learn how the game creates the encrypted archive though and possibly apply it outside of RM. I'm not sure of a legal way to do that though as fiddling with the game files aren't allowed.


You can use installer creators like Inno Setup to make custom installers, though you would probably be creating a package using the unencrypted project if you do this.


The thing here is that it's easy to make an alternate compression, the real question is how would you make the game read it.


PS: I think there was a program here somewhere that could compress beyond 2GB.

 

[TheoAllen]

Using http://tinypng.com won't hurt so much

It wont lower quality. I can promise

 

[Ruin]

AFAIK, you cannot put the images inside the rvdata2 file coz you cannot marshal an image I've already tried that before as a possible means of encrypting image. You could try to learn how the game creates the encrypted archive though and possibly apply it outside of RM. I'm not sure of a legal way to do that though as fiddling with the game files aren't allowed.

You can use installer creators like Inno Setup to make custom installers, though you would probably be creating a package using the unencrypted project if you do this.

The thing here is that it's easy to make an alternate compression, the real question is how would you make the game read it.

PS: I think there was a program here somewhere that could compress beyond 2GB.

Thanks for the advice!  I'll search around for the program.  Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction as to what it might be called.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I'm just not sure if it's for Ace though.

 

[Ruin]

So, after some more hunting around I did stumble upon this... it converts audio and graphics data into rvdata2 files and claims to not slow the performance of the game down: http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/28990-est-encrypter/

I'm now wondering if I could use that in combination with Jet's RVDATA2 compressor (found here: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/214-rvdata2-compression/)  to get the desired result... any experience with these scripts Engr.Adiktuzmiko?

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Nah, never used those (not a fan of using other people's scripts, I simply study them when somebody needs help). That script by estriole seems nice though.


On a side note, if the resulting files would still go more than 3GB (According to Archeia, it was 3G, then you still have the original problem.

 

[Ruin]

Nah, never used those. That script by estriole seems nice though.

Well, after a test run it seems it won't work out for my project (it may still work for audio and videos), since from the compatibility notes it states "Should work with most scripts. unless that scripts use Bitmap.new(path) directly (as far as i know no scripts use that approach yet)", and I use Bitmap.new all over the place for building up custom sprites.  Guess my search continues!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

You could always modify the Bitmap.new to Cache.whatever(filename), making new bitmaps all the time consumes lots of power anyway. So unless you really need new bitmaps, I'd suggest just calling them from the Cache

 

[Ruin]

You could always modify the Bitmap.new to Cache.whatever(filename), making new bitmaps all the time consumes lots of power anyway. So unless you really need new bitmaps, I'd suggest just calling them from the Cache

That's true, and is something I should investigate.  What's the deal with the 3GB cap that you mentioned in the previous post?

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

You said the cap was 2GB, on another thread, Archeia said the limit for Ace's encryption was 3GB...

 

[Ruin]

You said the cap was 2GB, on another thread, Archeia said the limit for Ace's encryption was 3GB...

Ah I see.  I tested it at 2.1 and it failed compression (but succeeded at about 1.7).   

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

It's really huge though, ur using high resolution images?

 

[Celianna]

A temporary and messy solution would be to remove all music from your project when you compress it, and have users manually add them in because audio files remain unprotected. Zip/rar the music up in a different folder, and bundle it together with your compressed project. Tell users to extract the music in the separate folder to the correct folder (Audio) when the game has been installed.


Music is always the biggest size-hogger.


Also, obviously, don't include RTP (tell people to download it from RPG Maker's main website).