Interested in RMMV - Making a game with really large assets

[Cerileyn]

Hi guys! First of all, if this is in the wrong place, I apologize.  I posted without thinking about where it belongs >.<


I have been looking to create a game inspired by a series of comics I once made for an MMO I used to play.  As a result, I decided to make a game based on the story for the comics, using the assets from the MMO.


I began working on this idea a few years ago, using Clickteam Fusion and ran into a lot of performace issues and limitations the platform simply could not handle for my mapping.  Originally, I tried hand making maps from a photoshop program, pasting them into the editor, and then going from there.  That took up a lot of memory just having the image open.  Then I tried making a level editor using the platform and that worked much better but loading maps killed the frame rate.  Then I found TileD and found out that you could edit maps from it and, via plugins, load them into a compatible game editor.  I figured I would try Game maker next, since I could get it free on steam.  it's too code heavy and while I was able to recreate a level generator with it using videos I found on youtube, I haven't a clue on how to use game maker for the rest of the game I am trying to build.  Then after seeing all of Yanfly's plugins (I am still not finished browsing his channel to see what all he has to offer), and after learning of MV, I thought I would come back to RPG Maker and see what I could do with it.  However, I am not convinced yet.  I plan to download the trial and give it a go, but $80 is a big investment for someone without a lot of cash xD


Needless to say I am very interested so far.  There are some hurdles however, and I am looking to have a few questions answered if possible


1. I am going for 2D graphics in an isometric fashion (this means, for those wondering, I am not using 3D models, and no fancy camera angles--just sprites drawn in isometric angles).  I have seen that there is a plugin for isometric mapping currently being worked on, and (if it is successful) am willing to wait.  The issue though is that the tiles are really large:


A single floor tile weighs in at 360 x 180 pixels


Wall tiles depend on their height, but will not exceed 360 x 480


Characters (including enemies) are all 128 x 128 or 256 x 256 depending on default sizes.


Battlebacks will be custom made for the game, since they are flat images and I can put as much detail in them as I want.


I included samples of the tiles and characters for reference.























As you can see the graphics are really large.  Much of the guess work is removed for me if I use RPG Maker MV with all of Yanfly's plugins, and I'm sure there are a lot more plugins aside from his that would be most helpful for things I am considering.  I chose the art style mostly because it looks pretty good in my opinion.  Just a disclaimer: I am not planning to commercialize this game.  It is merely a hobby and strictly for fandom nothing more.


My questions are:


(aside from the tiles themselves) is it possible that I can use these sprites as actors, given their sizes?


(related to the first question) Can the battlers use these larger sprites as well? I know that the enemies can since I have seen some of them exceed dimensions of these sprites.


This probably sounds like a really tall order, but I am wondering is RPG Maker can even handle any if not all of this.


I am not asking these questions out of ignorance.  In fact I am taking this seriously.  Serious enough that, over the years, I have spent almost $300 in different game engine software just to try and bring this project to life, and possibly another $80 if I purchase MV.

 

[Shaz]

MV Resources is where to go if you have created your own resources to share.


Resource Requests is where to go if you are asking for a small number of resources to be made (if you're after a large number - 10+ - you'd go to Project Recruitment).


Since you seem to be just concerned about whether MV can handle resources that size or not, I think this is more suited to the MV Support forum, so I'll move your thread there.


It's a bit difficult to see how large those graphics are - are they showing full-size in your post, and is that a single tile?  The PV Games resource packs are known for having larger-than-normal character sprites, though the tiles still fit within the 32x32 for Ace (and I think there are some packs that are 48x48 for MV).  You might find some issues with larger sprites in the way layering is handled (if you are standing below/in front of a tile with a star passage setting, which by default will be shown in front of the player).


There is a plugin that allows you to set your own tile size so you're not restricted to the 48x48 at all - that comes standard with MV.  But an isometric plugin may not be compatible with that, or it might have its own resizing abilities.  You'd really have to watch how that one progresses to see if IT can handle tiles and sprites the size you're interested in.

 

[Andar]

As Shaz has explained, there is no problem with sprite size other than the fact that the collision box still needs to fit the grid. In the case of the PVG resources that works because they're only changed in height and use the feet/lower body) to determine where the actor stands - which works perfectly in the perspective choosen.


However, the bigger problem would be the isometric view - all makers use a non-isometric view and movement.


That can be changed by a combination of parallax mapping and 8-directional-move-plugins, but it is more work as you can't use the editor by default for mapping.

 

[Cerileyn]

I'm actually fine with using another map editor if necessary.  I already had intended on using TileD because it can handle isometric tiles and I can make use of layers as well.  The tiles and sprites I uploaded are the correct size on my end.  The character and enemy sprites are in 256 x 256.  The reason the white tiger looks so small in comparison to the image is because by default, most monsters in the MMO I am getting the assets from are placed within a 256 sized box, like bosses (which get upscaled by 200%), and all animations are single images (which I planned to place in a sprite sheet for convenience).  The characters' original size is 128, but their boxes were resized to 256 because in the MMO they come from they have visually different armor that can be changed.  Weapons range as well between 128 and 256 because some weapons are small, like daggers, knives and handguns, which are small enough to fit within a 128 sized box, while others are larger like spears, tridents, staves, and Long-handled battleaxes, that fit inside a 256 sized box..


I am hopeful that the isometric plugin will be what I need, and yeah as I said I have no problem waiting.  It looks very promising so far <3


Thanks a lot for the information, and for not turning me away as if I were some stupid noob :3 I have been working on ways to bring this project into some form of production for several years now, and working solo on a major project like this is not easy especially when all your previous attempts in other editors have failed or discouraged you.  I can't begin to tell you how many times this project has been 'backburned' and restarted, sometimes from scratch....it's very frustrating and having support and encouragement really makes a world of difference.  To be fair though, not all of the game will be in isometric.  My world map will be top-down, and I would like to have a mode7 mechanic for the "airship" (let's just call it that for now) xD.  I do want to know if there is a tileset that I can use for the world map that isn't so......"blocky" >.< I mean don't take this the wrong way but.....I have always hated that about the world map tilesets in RPG maker.....the other tilesets look very good and absolutely wonderful.....but the world map in my opinion, just does not seem to fit with the rest of the tilesets and feels extremely out of place and unnatural.