Game Character Hub (Powerful chara maker for RPG Maker XP / VX (Ace))

[Laugilus]

Introduction

Hello everybody! I'm posting to introduce a brand new utility I have designed: Game Character Hub!

Game Character Hub provides additional tools for RPG Maker or game design in general. It is a powerful character maker, for RPG Maker XP, VX (Ace), and even more! This utility is still under development, even though the beta version is available for free. (download link below)

Game Character Hub is the second version I designed. The former release is known among the English community (I am French and only released the first version in French). Its former release, called Fusion Maker, has known a huge success among the French community (hundreds of downloads!).

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Game Character Hub Beta in use

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Key features

Create characters

With Game Character Hub, you can create characters for both RPG Maker XP and RPG Maker VX, and even for any other program like.

You must create them from single graphics items picked up from an item library, provided with Game Character Hub. You may also run some functions on them (such as changing the color of an item).

For instance if you intend to create a knight, all you have to do is pick up a nude body, an armor, a pair of eyes, a hair... you may change the hair color if you like. Then the character is made and ready to be implemented in a video game.

A RMXP Character made with Game Character Hub

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Save them in different copies

With Game Character Hub you may save your character in different copies, by shifting the color of some items, such as hair. This is useful when in a game, you may need to have hundreds of different characters.

Several copies of a character generated by Game Character Hub

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Concatenate tilesets

In RPG Maker XP, tilesets are used in order to create a map in the game. A tileset is an image made of 32*32-pixel-sized tiles. Each tile represents an item or a part of it, like a barrel, a door, or the roots of a tree.

RPG Maker XP allows you to use only one tileset a map. So if you want to have a map with tiles from two different tilesets (or more) you must create a bigger tileset which contains all of them, which you can do with Game Character Hub!

Convert characters

There are several versions of RPG Maker, and every version has its own way to store characters. Game Character Hub allows you to convert a character from a version to another. This includes RPG Maker 2003, XP and VX.

Visuals

Video

You will find here a short video introducing Game Character Hub, and explaining how to use it.

Screenshots

Click to enlarge!

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Additional information

About the beta version

Some functions (drawing tools) have not been implemented yet in the beta version. They will be in the final release. The beta version is available for free, however the final release will be available at a very low price (< $10).

Thus one can use the beta version until the final version is released. After this moment the beta version won't start anymore. An internet connection is also required to run the beta version. (not permanent, just to launch the program).

Links

Thank you for reading!

Here is the official website of Game Character Hub.

You can download the beta version here.

Hope you'll enjoy it! I wait for your comments!

 

[Emzie]

Hmmm.....a software for making characterset? well it's a useful software, and easy-to-use huh.

 

[Archeia]

EDIT: Actually I think I get what this is. It's pretty cool for what it is :>

 

[TheNewTeddy]

If I generate 100 characters with the beta and save them, can I use them in commercial projects after the non-beta is released? (extreme example)

 

[StarkinGyra]

This does sound pretty cool. I will have to download the beta it when I get the chance. When do you expect the final version to be released?

 

[ディーノス]

can u add some kaduki template and kaduki elements?

it would be great,,,

 

[Cozzer]

I'm trying it right now, and it's very good! For now I use other programs for the "final touches", but when the final version (with drawing tools) is out I think this will be the best editor for characters out there.

 

[Laugilus]

Hello everyone!

Thanks for your comments!

@TheNewTeddy: The legislation part has not been done yet but there shouldn't be any problem.

@StarkinGyra: Thanks! I unfortunately have no idea when it is released. Keep in mind I have been coding the program on my own , so the release date depends on how much time I can spend on it.

@Deenos: Could you be more precise? I have personally never heard of that :/, but I am very interested if it can add more resources to GCH.

@Cozzer: Thanks! That's an interesting thought, I have always considered drawing tools as a convenience, and not as a must have. What kind of "final touches" do you use? The drawing tools GCH will offer are just basics tools: eraser, pen, bucket (already in the beta version), and rect and circle. Even though you can fill those shapes with gradient and stuff.

 

[TheNewTeddy]

When the licence agreement is complete, will you post the information here?

My first game will be free, but I only want resources for which I have a commercial licence so I don't have to keep track and cherry pick when/if I do decide to go commercial.

 

[Archeia]

Looking at this now, are you planning to pack the VX(Ace) and XP graphics to the the final version that you're going to sell?

 

[Cozzer]

@Cozzer: Thanks! That's an interesting thought, I have always considered drawing tools as a convenience, and not as a must have. What kind of "final touches" do you use? The drawing tools GCH will offer are just basics tools: eraser, pen, bucket (already in the beta version), and rect and circle. Even though you can fill those shapes with gradient and stuff.

For example, I had an outfit I liked for a character, but I wanted to change the color of his mantle.

So, I emported the entire outfit and put it on the character.

Then I opened the .png with another program and erased everything but the mantle; then I imported the mantle in Hub and put it on another layer, over the entire outfit. Then I used the Hue/Saturation modifier on the second layer to change its color.

With drawing tools, I could have done all of this directly in the Hub editor.

Or deciding that a character should be a little taller and adding a row of pixel to his legs... Things like these.

 

[Laugilus]

@TheNewTeddy: Why not.

@Archeia_Nessiah: For what I remember, I haven't seen anything new for characters in the Ace RTP. I may be wrong. Anyway RMXP items are already included.

@Cozzer: You could have done that with GCH, even in the beta version. If the whole mantle is in a layer, then select the layer and change its hue. If not (then let's say there are other parts of the outfit in the layer), then you can select the mantle pixels and change their hue.

 

[ディーノス]

@Laugilus

i mean like this....

Here's the template

Spoiler

Walking Sprite

Kaduki Sprites(_1)

Kaduki Sprites(_2)

Kaduki Sprites(_3)

Diagonal Sprites(_5)

Credit goes to LoMasterful of RPGRevoulution

if you could make some part of this sprite it would be thanked....

 

[Archeia]

@Archeia_Nessiah: For what I remember, I haven't seen anything you for characters in the Ace RTP. I may be wrong. Anyway RMXP items are already included.

Let me rephrase....

When the final version is finished, will the RTP materials be included and be sold with the program?

 

[ShinGamix]

Whoa awesome!!

Is there any way to add say a sword to the character set for my XAS Characters?

and can I use it to create monsters like XAS has in it?

and I hope it can make the downed characters @ Deenos post.

So the final version of this program is a sale item?

and RTP materials and sale? I don't think that goes without a special licence right?

When you merge Tilesets, How do you change from XP to VX/Ace style on the sets?

and how can you differ between 1,2,3,4,5,A,B,C,D,and E?

 

[Laugilus]

Thanks for your comments!

@Deenos: That sounds very interesting! I'll seriously consider it. Maybe in the final release. However the current version can handle them just fine, if you provide the template and the items to the program. (Go to File > Add items to library, or just drag the items in elements_en/VX/ in the setup folder.)

@Archeia_Nessiah: To be honest I seriously don't know about licences. I am just an indie developer and don't know much about that matter. That's why as I said before the legislation part hasn't been done yet. However I do not intend to commit any infringement. What I was thinking is sell the program alone, and supplying items (RTP materials for most) for convenience. Then the responsibility is up to the user (whether he owns a copy of RPG Maker for instance, he will have rights to use them commercially). But I have no idea if that's possible. If anyone has any idea where I can find more information..

@ShinGamix: Thanks for your support! I'm afraid GCH doesn't support XAS characters...

Merging tilesets was only made for RMXP tilesets, because at that time VX Ace wasn't released, and merging tileset for RMVX made no sense.

But I'll look deeper into it, and may include that in the final release. Thx for the suggestion!

BTW the first has been edited, I added some screenshots and a video.

 

[Archeia]

@Archeia_Nessiah: To be honest I seriously don't know about licences. I am just an indie developer and don't know much about that matter. That's why as I said before the legislation part hasn't been done yet. However I do not intend to commit any infringement. What I was thinking is sell the program alone, and supplying items (RTP materials for most) for convenience. Then the responsibility is up to the user (whether he owns a copy of RPG Maker for instance, he will have rights to use them commercially). But I have no idea if that's possible. If anyone has any idea where I can find more information..

Oh no, don't worry about it. It's something that I had to ask just to be sure

 

[ディーノス]

@Deenos: That sounds very interesting! I'll seriously consider it. Maybe in the final release. However the current version can handle them just fine, if you provide the template and the items to the program. (Go to File > Add items to library, or just drag the items in elements_en/VX/ in the setup folder.)

can i get the final version for free then???

coz i don't have bank account and i'm 15 years old

 

[Celianna]

@Deenos: don't beg, just don't.

@OP: to expand on what Archeia said; you cannot include the RTP of any maker bundled with your software if you're selling it. So sell the software alone, and provide a link to download the RTP from our official website instead

 

[Laugilus]

@Deenos: I'm sorry :/ but I guarantee it will be very affordable^^.

@Celianna: I think the problem is more complex than that, since GCH uses some parts of the RTP materials (hat extracted from a character for instance) and the RTP directly. Besides GCH doesn't store items in png files, but in its own format (which saves both space and computation time, and allows me to store other stuff like authors and the licence). But I want to do it the right way, I'm sure the two of us can work together and find a way to figure that out, since we will both benefit. Is there anyone I may contact for that particular matter (to find a workaround about the RTP)?

Thank you for your comments!