OcRam - Layers plugin (for MV)

[Tw1tchy3y3]

@OcRam I'm really hoping that modifying the Z index is a possible thing. While I can get by with other workarounds, it would be a really elegant solution if 90% of my map work came from your plugin.

As it stands now I think I would be able to accomplish what I want by using 2x tall sprites and just making them an event that's "same as character", but that would require me using a tileset, which wouldn't allow me to disable tileset loading to free up more resources for the parallax maps. (unless I'm understanding it wrong.)

So far your parallax plugin is the most in depth I've seen, so, props for that! I look forward to hopefully getting to use it even more in the future.

 

[OcRam]

@OcRam I'm really hoping that modifying the Z index is a possible thing. While I can get by with other workarounds, it would be a really elegant solution if 90% of my map work came from your plugin.

As it stands now I think I would be able to accomplish what I want by using 2x tall sprites and just making them an event that's "same as character", but that would require me using a tileset, which wouldn't allow me to disable tileset loading to free up more resources for the parallax maps. (unless I'm understanding it wrong.)

So far your parallax plugin is the most in depth I've seen, so, props for that! I look forward to hopefully getting to use it even more in the future.

Thank you for the message,

I'll let you know if I can figure some work around for Z index.

 

[yeahchris]

So... been trying to figure this out for a day or so, but I can't seem to figure out how to adjust the relative z position of different images I show via the plugin commands for the purposes of parallax mapping using any of the existing documentation.

I've got my terrain set as a parallax in the map properties and I have my foreground objects being shown via a plugin command. That all works great

But if I want to have the plugin show another parallax below the terrain parallax, for animated water for instance, how do I do that?

 

[OcRam]

So... been trying to figure this out for a day or so, but I can't seem to figure out how to adjust the relative z position of different images I show via the plugin commands for the purposes of parallax mapping using any of the existing documentation.

I've got my terrain set as a parallax in the map properties and I have my foreground objects being shown via a plugin command. That all works great

But if I want to have the plugin show another parallax below the terrain parallax, for animated water for instance, how do I do that?

Thank you for the message,

To show specific layer below parallax map set desired layer zIndex to "Behind parallax" in plugin parameters.

 

[yeahchris]

I'm an idiot, thanks. The numerical zIndex ID value was throwing me off. Should have double clicked to see if I got a description.

 

[yeahchris]

Hello. After an initial learning hurdle I am now using your plugin to do everything with regards to parallax mapping. Way better than previous plugins. Even managed to get LETBS battlers to display properly in front of/behind parallax map terrain using your plugin. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

 

[yeahchris]

Hello... it's me again.
Sorry, quarantine is a hell of a thing.

Anyway, I found a weird issue when saving/loading games. Rather than just try to explain it, I figured I'd show you.

For context, layers are being added to the map by a parallel event which sets a switch to disable itself after it has run. Layers are being cleared by the area exits (which also unsets the switch for the parallel event allowing it to run again the next time the area is entered).


In case you missed it, prior to save load:

-"water" layer behind the semi-transparent riverbed was scrolling down and to the right, after save load it was creeping reaaaaallly slowly up.
-Foreground layer (trees, bushes, etc) prior to save load had its opacity at 80%, after save load it was fully opaque.
-Area transition plugin command to clear the layers was severely delayed after save/load. If I area transitioned without saving that would all happen instantaneously.

I'm gonna experiment with resolving some of these issues by running some commands from a common event whenever a save is loaded.

Please tell me if I'm doing it wrong.

Edit: Ended up changing the save menu option to instead run a common event that saves player location (MapID, X,Y) to variable memory, clears all of the layers, resets the 'area loaded' switch, teleports me to a new area, saves, and then teleports me back. This has effectively resolved the issue for me.

 

[yeahchris]

Hello! Still loving the plugin. Was just wondering if there's any way to use the set_layer command to change the zIndex of a layer.

If not, it'd be really nice to have an additional layer to work with.

My issue is that on one map I have to display a few different things:

A fog later (above everything)
A slow panning background (below everything)
A fast panning background (below tileset)

However, I'm already using layer 1 as above characters for a different map (for treetops and such), so I can't do all three using the plugin. My thought was to do the slow panning background using the normal parallax selection for the map, which works, but causes issues with the battle plugin I am using.

If I do it using your plugin it works GREAT... I'm just out of slots. So can't show it on the correct zIndex.

What I'm going for (WIP):

 

[OcRam]

Hello! Still loving the plugin. Was just wondering if there's any way to use the set_layer command to change the zIndex of a layer.

If not, it'd be really nice to have an additional layer to work with.

My issue is that on one map I have to display a few different things:

A fog later (above everything)
A slow panning background (below everything)
A fast panning background (below tileset)

However, I'm already using layer 1 as above characters for a different map (for treetops and such), so I can't do all three using the plugin. My thought was to do the slow panning background using the normal parallax selection for the map, which works, but causes issues with the battle plugin I am using.

If I do it using your plugin it works GREAT... I'm just out of slots. So can't show it on the correct zIndex.

What I'm going for (WIP):

Thank you for the message,

I'll try to find solution to this issue. Most likely it's going to be zIndex binding in map notetags/metatags. This way done it won't have impact to performance of this plugin.

 

[yeahchris]

Thank you for the message,

I'll try to find solution to this issue. Most likely it's going to be zIndex binding in map notetags/metatags. This way done it won't have impact to performance of this plugin.

Thank you! Having it be determined by a map notetag would be great solution. I wish you luck.

 

[OcRam]

Thank you! Having it be determined by a map notetag would be great solution. I wish you luck.

Hello @Akone , @Tw1tchy3y3 and @yeahchris ,

I have now figured how to swap z-index of any layer in mid-game! I'm planning to release new version of this plugin in next few weeks.

 

[OcRam]

Hello all!

This is must have patch for all who use OcRam_Layers! Make sure that plugin name is OcRam_Layers.js when it's copied to plugin directory.

Latest version - v2.02 (released 2020/05/25)

• Dynamic layer zIndex (JS call / Plugin command)!
  (Credits to @Akone , @Tw1tchy3y3 & @yeahchris )
  
  
• "Same as character" z-index will sort sprites by y-axis!
  
  
• New parameters to layer commands "Offset X/Y"
  (Credits to @deadyfinger )
  
  
• Fixed some layer and sprite related bugs when loading a saved game.
  NOTE: All old save files will still have invalid data. New save files will be validated.
  
  
• Fixed bug in layer looping when map "Scroll Type" was set to "Loop Horizontally"
  (Credits to yeahchris)
  
  
• New PICTURE plugin commands (you may add sunrays etc. on screen with plugin commands!)
  CAN FREE UP ALL STATIC BOUND TO SCREEN LAYERS FOR BETTER USE!
  TIP: Also OcRam_Weather_EX can utilize pictures with these new picture plugin commands!

 

[OcRam]

Latest version - v2.03 (released 2020/05/27)

• Fixed more bugs in layer looping. Example loop:0,0 won't loop anymore
  (Credits to @yeahchris )
  
  
• If clear_layer fade time is omitted, fade will default to 255 (instant clear)
  (Credits to @spitzfire1985 )

 

[jjraymonds]

This may be a dumb question, but when ever I try to run a small part of an event using the "Test" command, I run into this error immediately:



Everything works fine if I choose "Playtest" though- am I missing something here? Currently if I ever just want to test a cut scene, or see how some dialogue plays out I have to turn off the plug-in.

 

[OcRam]

This may be a dumb question, but when ever I try to run a small part of an event using the "Test" command, I run into this error immediately:

View attachment 145491

Everything works fine if I choose "Playtest" though- am I missing something here? Currently if I ever just want to test a cut scene, or see how some dialogue plays out I have to turn off the plug-in.

Thank you for the report,

I will check this ASAP

EDIT: @jjraymonds ok I can confirm this. I didn't even know there was "Test event" command in RMMV

Almost all of my plugins had this bug and I had to raise even OcRam_Core version to v1.5 because of this. So thank you for the info! I will try to push updates in next few weeks to fix this. I still need to run wide tests on every plugin this was effected (OcRam_Time_System, OcRam_Weather_EX, OcRam_Passages, OcRam_Audio_EX, OcRam_Lights and OcRam_Layers).

 

[jjraymonds]

Thank you for the report,

I will check this ASAP

EDIT: @jjraymonds ok I can confirm this. I didn't even know there was "Test event" command in RMMV

Almost all of my plugins had this bug and I had to raise even OcRam_Core version to v1.5 because of this. So thank you for the info! I will try to push updates in next few weeks to fix this. I still need to run wide tests on every plugin this was effected (OcRam_Time_System, OcRam_Weather_EX, OcRam_Passages, OcRam_Audio_EX, OcRam_Lights and OcRam_Layers).

Awesome! Yeah that "Test Event" feature is a life saver for me thank you so much for all the hard work!!

 

[deadyfinger]

You are a Rockstar @OcRam. Thanks for the addition

 

[PresaDePrata]

@OcRam

Is it possible to apply a layer to specific portion of the map? I mean, withou deleting the tile and setting the layer on these empty spaces.

Also, is it possible to create "clear area" within the layer? Let's say, i created a room filled with toxic gas and used a layer to define the gas. Then in some areas the gas will go away for a time - like a vent - then return after a while.

EDIT: Also, i think i got a bug. I tried to change only the opacity of a layer after a time but it's not updating. Opacity remains the same

The inicialize plugin command: layer 1 MiasmaAzul 0.3 -0.2 0.3 false 3 loop:1,1 offset:0,0
the update opacity plugin command: set_layer 1 opacity=0.4

I'm using version 2.03

 

[OcRam]

@OcRam

Is it possible to apply a layer to specific portion of the map? I mean, withou deleting the tile and setting the layer on these empty spaces.

Also, is it possible to create "clear area" within the layer? Let's say, i created a room filled with toxic gas and used a layer to define the gas. Then in some areas the gas will go away for a time - like a vent - then return after a while.

EDIT: Also, i think i got a bug. I tried to change only the opacity of a layer after a time but it's not updating. Opacity remains the same

The inicialize plugin command: layer 1 MiasmaAzul 0.3 -0.2 0.3 false 3 loop:1,1 offset:0,0
the update opacity plugin command: set_layer 1 opacity=0.4

I'm using version 2.03

Thank you for the message,

Layers are always set on whole screen/map. But what you can do is alter any layer for example when leaving room/turning valve etc...

Seems like opacity in set_layer command should be value between 1-255 - I will fix this to float (will notify you when this is done)

And to be more backward compatible I will allow float AND integers (if value > 1 then use as integer value).

 

[PresaDePrata]

Hi,

since you wrote that changin to an integer would do the trick, i tried. Unfortunately, i ended up having the same results as before, which is the opacity doesn't change. Here's an image of a test a made.



About the layer area, i figured it wouldn't be possible but decided to ask anyway. I guess i'll have to create some sort of fog charset. But thanks for answering.