[RMVXAce] How to add 2 or more background parallaxes

[GargoyleMongrel]

I have been lurking this forum for a while and as long as I find a solution I don't usually post (mostly because it would be deemed as necropost), but since two days ago I have been stuck with a problem and I couldn't manage to find the solution anywhere (or to match my question with a close answer). I'm not RUBY savvy, please excuse my ignorance. I have acquired RPG Maker VX Ace some weeks ago so I'm still fairly new to it.

The setting of my new game project is in space. I have made a tiled seamless background parallax I set to scroll 1,1 at the map properties that are the stars and deep space in general. My next step was to add a Solar System (in a non Orrery fashion) with lots of accurate astral bodies, comets, moons and planetoids that the player will eventually visit and explore and see real photos of such astral bodies after activating events (want to commemorate the arriving of Dawn at Ceres this 6 of March and the New Horizons to Pluto this 5 of May). I made this Solar System to fit a big PNG of 800x600 (most of it is transparent pixels and it weights less than 75kb), imported it into RPG Maker and I found I could not seem to make it into my game the way I want it.

-As a character sprite that doesn't move at all (no movement frames), I end with the tiny 32x32 square thingie that prevents me to set up events on each astral body for the player to visit. Not a solution.

-If I merge it with the star background parallax, I'll need to sacrifice the neat scrolling of stars that was meant for a soothing voyage and to allow the player to spot the planets and tiny comets more easily.

-As a tileset the sprite ends chopped into tiny random bits and only 2 rows are shown and the rest of the map is deleted.

-The script for calling an image only puts images on top of the player and moves with the player. You can see this happening here:

So I have pondered all of those solutions myself but to no avail. I have seen the use of this last script for overlapping images more suitable for clouds and such things that pass on top of the player, but I do need the Solar System to stay put, beneath the player AND to be visible on my editor so that I can add the events on each planet to call for "dungeon entrances". Is there any way to achieve this simple task? Thanks in advance and have a good day.

 

[Archeia]

Have you tried using this? 

Spoiler

#===============================================================# ● [VX/A] ◦ Pictures under Characters ◦ □# * Show pictures under characters on map but above map tiles *#--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ by Woratana [woratana@hotmail.com]# ◦ Thaiware RPG Maker Community# ◦ Released on: 22/02/2009# ◦ Version: 1.0# Converted to Ace by Yami# This works but not compatible with the other scripts##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ Update:#--------------------------------------------------------------# □ Version 1.0 (22/02/2009)# - Unlimited numbers of picture under characters##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ Compatibility:#--------------------------------------------------------------# □ This script will rewrite 0 method(s):### □ This script will alias 2 method(s):#     Spriteset_Map.create_pictures#     Sprite_Picture.update## □ This script should work with most scripts##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ Installation:#--------------------------------------------------------------# 1) This script should be placed JUST AFTER ▼ Materials.## □ Like this:# ▼ Materials# *Pictures under Characters# ...# ...# ▼ Main Process# Main## 2) Setup this script in Setup Part below.##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ How to use:#--------------------------------------------------------------# □ Place this script and setup in the setup part.##================================================================= class Spriteset_Map   #=================================================================  # ++ Setup Part  #-----------------------------------------------------------------  FIRST_PICBELOW_ID = 15 # First ID of picture that will show below characters  LAST_PICBELOW_ID = 20 # Last ID of picture that will show below characters   #   For example, if you set FIRST to 10 and LAST to 15, picture ID 10-15  # will show below characters on map.  #=================================================================   alias wora_picbelow_sprsetmap_crepic create_pictures   #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  # * Create Picture Sprite  #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  def update_pictures    $game_map.screen.pictures.each do |pic|      case pic.number      when FIRST_PICBELOW_ID..LAST_PICBELOW_ID        #puts 'below'        @picture_sprites[pic.number] ||= Sprite_Picture.new(@viewport1, pic)      else        @picture_sprites[pic.number] ||= Sprite_Picture.new(@viewport2, pic)      end      @picture_sprites[pic.number].update      ## Mithran's pic fix code ~Kread      if pic.name == ""        $game_map.screen.pictures.remove(pic.number)        @picture_sprites[pic.number].dispose        @picture_sprites[pic.number] = nil      end    end  endend class Sprite_Picture < Sprite  alias wora_picbelow_sprpic_upd update   #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  # * Frame Update  #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  def update(*args)    wora_picbelow_sprpic_upd(*args)    ## Override's Mithran Picture Fix ~Kread    if @picture.number.between?(Spriteset_Map::FIRST_PICBELOW_ID,    Spriteset_Map::LAST_PICBELOW_ID)      self.viewport = MA_FixPicture.send(:"spriteset_vp#{1}")      self.z = 50    end  endend

 

[_Shadow_]

Terms?

This is FREAKING amazing!

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

Have you tried using this? 

Spoiler

#===============================================================# ● [VX/A] ◦ Pictures under Characters ◦ □# * Show pictures under characters on map but above map tiles *#--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ by Woratana [woratana@hotmail.com]# ◦ Thaiware RPG Maker Community# ◦ Released on: 22/02/2009# ◦ Version: 1.0# Converted to Ace by Yami# This works but not compatible with the other scripts##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ Update:#--------------------------------------------------------------# □ Version 1.0 (22/02/2009)# - Unlimited numbers of picture under characters##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ Compatibility:#--------------------------------------------------------------# □ This script will rewrite 0 method(s):### □ This script will alias 2 method(s):#     Spriteset_Map.create_pictures#     Sprite_Picture.update## □ This script should work with most scripts##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ Installation:#--------------------------------------------------------------# 1) This script should be placed JUST AFTER ▼ Materials.## □ Like this:# ▼ Materials# *Pictures under Characters# ...# ...# ▼ Main Process# Main## 2) Setup this script in Setup Part below.##--------------------------------------------------------------# ◦ How to use:#--------------------------------------------------------------# □ Place this script and setup in the setup part.##================================================================= class Spriteset_Map   #=================================================================  # ++ Setup Part  #-----------------------------------------------------------------  FIRST_PICBELOW_ID = 15 # First ID of picture that will show below characters  LAST_PICBELOW_ID = 20 # Last ID of picture that will show below characters   #   For example, if you set FIRST to 10 and LAST to 15, picture ID 10-15  # will show below characters on map.  #=================================================================   alias wora_picbelow_sprsetmap_crepic create_pictures   #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  # * Create Picture Sprite  #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  def update_pictures    $game_map.screen.pictures.each do |pic|      case pic.number      when FIRST_PICBELOW_ID..LAST_PICBELOW_ID        #puts 'below'        @picture_sprites[pic.number] ||= Sprite_Picture.new(@viewport1, pic)      else        @picture_sprites[pic.number] ||= Sprite_Picture.new(@viewport2, pic)      end      @picture_sprites[pic.number].update      ## Mithran's pic fix code ~Kread      if pic.name == ""        $game_map.screen.pictures.remove(pic.number)        @picture_sprites[pic.number].dispose        @picture_sprites[pic.number] = nil      end    end  endend class Sprite_Picture < Sprite  alias wora_picbelow_sprpic_upd update   #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  # * Frame Update  #--------------------------------------------------------------------------  def update(*args)    wora_picbelow_sprpic_upd(*args)    ## Override's Mithran Picture Fix ~Kread    if @picture.number.between?(Spriteset_Map::FIRST_PICBELOW_ID,    Spriteset_Map::LAST_PICBELOW_ID)      self.viewport = MA_FixPicture.send"spriteset_vp#{1}")      self.z = 50    end  endend

Thanks. That looks like a script that will solve my problem, even adding multiple images that I want under my characters. However I don't understand a couple of things:

1. I read that I need to put my images in "Spriteset_map". What folder matches this? (Parallaxes, Titles, Tilesets, Pictures, System...)
2. It says I need to know the "id" of my pictures after putting them inside the correct folder. How do I know this or how can I make my ids to match one after another to avoid to place the wrong picture under the characters by accident?

Also, as Dreadshadow mentioned, what kind of CC is this one? There are like 4 people to credit there.

 

[Archeia]

Er, spriteset map is a class in RM. That's nothing. It's pictures as stated there.

After that the ID of the pictures you want to be below characters all the time in the setting. E.g. Pictures ID #1 ~ #15. That's it.

Just credit woratana and Yami.

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

Er, spriteset map is a class in RM. That's nothing. It's pictures as stated there.

After that the ID of the pictures you want to be below characters all the time in the setting. E.g. Pictures ID #1 ~ #15. That's it.

Just credit woratana and Yami.

Alright, sorry if I must squint a bit to spot the details. If I understood well, you mean the names must be like this or with underscores?



I added them to pictures:



And assigned the ids:

class Spriteset_Map #================================================================= # ++ Setup Part #----------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST_PICBELOW_ID = 001 # First ID of picture that will show below characters LAST_PICBELOW_ID = 005 # Last ID of picture that will show below characters # For example, if you set FIRST to 10 and LAST to 15, picture ID 10-15 # will show below characters on map. #================================================================= alias wora_picbelow_sprsetmap_crepic create_picturesAnd so far, my knowledge of how to apply this ends there. If I run it as it is it drops me a predictable error (I never expect everything to work on the first run when I attempt to code haha):



And when I check that line 100:

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------- # * Frame Update #-------------------------------------------------------------------------- def update(*args) wora_picbelow_sprpic_upd(*args) ## Override's Mithran Picture Fix ~Kread if @picture.number.between?(Spriteset_Map::FIRST_PICBELOW_ID, Spriteset_Map::LAST_PICBELOW_ID) self.viewport = MA_FixPicture.send"spriteset_vp#{1}") self.z = 50 end endendCopied the full chunk but I underlined line 100. I'm not sure but I do believe I need to edit and/or add something to my current map events to call the current picture I want to use. I'm going to change the spaces with underscores just in case but I'm not positive that will fix my current problem. Thanks in advance for helping me with this issue.

 

[Archeia]

nooo you're doing it wrong. D:

#1 do NOT put 00x or whatever. Just the normal numbers like what I initially provided you.

It's the show picture command ID, your filename doesn't have to be changed.

And it will appear like this:

It's just that simple don't overcomplicate it

The reason there's an id setting means pictures number/ID from 1~15 for example will always be below characters, so remember that just in case you want to display a picture on top of player. It means 15+ will be default settings.

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

Err... I must be terrible following instructions because I still get the same error when I run the game:

I tried all these name variations with my pictures:

Sistema Solar N2 ID #2

Sistema Solar N2 ID 2

ID #2

ID 2

#2

2

But that command at line 100 is still grouchy about it. I'm like to chop just that fix of fix to see if it runs - I still don't know what it is supposed to fix but it is killing the flow of all of it.

Update: That didn't go well, if I delete that chunk of code, the image follows the player like how it is displayed on the first post :c

 

[Archeia]

Make a new project with just this script and MA's fixed picture. See if it still happens.

 

[Shaz]

I've moved this thread to RGSSx Script Support. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

Is there any reason why RPG Maker stops working for 1 minute or 3 whenever I click that cogwheel icon next to the play/run icon? Sometimes I accidentally hit it instead of the scripts icon and it is a tad annoying to see the program freeze for such long period of time before returning back to its senses (just in case I bought the program from Steam and I run it on W7 64 bits).

@Archeia, I tried on a new test project as you said, using the same set of pictures and same setup configuration I had (plain copy paste). The error was gone but, the picture still follows the player like if the MA_FixPicture wasn't working properly. Also it looks like the picture isn't below the character as the script should be doing.







@Shaz, I didn't ask for a full script but just some pointers to achieve what I wanted after all the little experiments that I have done. I didn't know it required a full script to circumvent this big-pictures below character limitation, I thought it was an option I could just spot, click and setup accordingly. My apologies!

 

[Archeia]

that's because you forgot the [FIXED] tag on the filename.

Did you also set ID #2 in the script?

 

[Sixth]

Am I the only one who can't see any class/module named MA_FixPicture in that little script Archeia posted?


Shouldn't that be somewhere in the code? Or maybe this script requires another one? In that case, you forgot to mention that, Archeia.

 

[Archeia]

You don't need MA's Fixed Pictures script or Mithran's Fix to use it . That's a compatibility line. That's why I didn't mention it.

I've been using this script for 3 years now on separate games.

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

I might sound like a broken record but, it still pops the same error on that dreaded line 100. I added the [FIXED] prefix to the pictures and imported accordingly.



As for the game test which only has this script enabled, it loads the New Game but like if it wasn't working at all, same as my previous post; the picture displays on top of the player and follows the player everywhere.

What is going wrong with it? I might understand that maybe it is conflicting with one of the bunches of Yanifly's scripts that are working perfectly in my Space Game, but, to see it not working on the game-test as its only script, it makes me wonder :/

 

[Archeia]

I seriously have no idea why you find this hard to use :U

Here's a demo. Try walking on top of the blue ball of light and then move down to make it go off camera.

Anyway, by default that script doesn't FIX pictures to the map, it just make it appear below characters. I figured you were already using Modern Algebra's Fixed Picture Script since he's the only one with the script that does that to my knowledge. But anyway, there you go.

If you are using any of these, then you might want to disable them in MA's script itself.

module MA_FixPicture	  #\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\	  #  Editable Region	  #||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||	  #  SWITCH_ID - set this to the ID of the in-game switch that you want to 	  # use to control whether pictures should be fixed. 	  SWITCH_ID = 2 	  #  COORDINATES_SWITCH_ID - Set this to the ID of the in-game switch that you 	  # want to use to control how coordinates are set. If this switch is ON, then	  # for fixed pictures, you can just use the grid x and y coordinates (ie: you	  # would set (1, 4) instead of (32, 128). If you always want this feature to 	  # be on when the FPM Switch is on, you can set it to have the same ID.	  COORDINATES_SWITCH_ID = 2	  #  Z_VARIABLE_ID - set this to the ID of the in-game variable that you 	  # want to use to control the z-value priority of the picture.	  Z_VARIABLE_ID = 3	  #||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||	  #  End Editable Region	  #////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

Excuse me, it's been an hectic weekend for me. Just tell me this is not an issue of the Steam version *covers eyes*

Well, you could have asked first. I'll tell you all the scripts I have in my project. I don't want to look rude and disinformative:

-Font Changer with a Fix BR to prevent weird characters to appear on break of lines. (Font By サーベル ★Heca II★)

-Replacing Shutdown with a Options System menu (Yanfly Engine Ace - System Options v1.00)

-Enhanced Party Menu (Yanfly Engine Ace - Party Sized Menu v1.00)

-Change of Class (Yanfly Engine Ace - Class System v1.10) - just experimenting with it, I might remove it

-Enhanced Shop (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Shop Options v1.01)

-Enhanced Skills (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Skill Menu v1.01)

-Skill Learning (Yanfly Engine Ace - Learn Skill Engine v1.00)

-TP Manager (Yanfly Engine Ace - TP Manager v1.04) - just testing it

-Enhanced Status (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Status Menu v1.02)

-Enhanced Inventory (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Item Menu v1.02)

-Enhanced Save Slots (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Save Engine v1.03)

-Buff and Status Manager (Yanfly Engine Ace - Buff & State Manager v1.07)

-Enhanced Battles (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Battle Engine v1.22) - experimenting with it

-Enhanced Messages (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Message System v1.05)

-Enhanced Limits (Yanfly Engine Ace - Adjust Limits v1.00)

-Party Increment (Yanfly Engine Ace - Party System v1.08)

-Enhanced Victory Screen (Yanfly Engine Ace - Victory Aftermath v1.04)

-Resolution Changer (Yanfly Engine Ace - Ace Core Engine v1.09)

-Parallax Locker (Yanfly Engine Ace - Parallax Lock v1.00) - from my tries at trying to add background images and making them to stay put (not sure if it is the one conflicting with the new one)

-Pictures Under Characters ( Pictures under Characters ◦ □ # * Show pictures under characters on map but above map tiles *) - yours

I'm going to delete the Parallax Locker just in case, because it is the only one that looks like related to my problem. Going to test your demo too to see what it is about. I just hope for that telephone to stop ringing for the next 6 hours so I can focus on advancing through this problem.

EDIT: All right. Looks like I needed that Algebra's script thing to make your script to work. I copied it and pasted it from the demo you shared and now it works like a charm. The picture is below the characters, and it is staying put. 



Now I just need to ideally move it a tad to the center of the map and to place the events on it.... and that's quite the problem. You see, my first post asked about how to add the picture in a way I can see it on the Editor so that I can arrange the events accordingly to where the planets are, I even spaced them so in Photoshop to make them to occupy a 32x32 square of the grid to make the event to pop up upon reaching the planet, but it looks like I'm going to need to add it to the background parallax temporally so that I can arrange them well, unless you have a different solution to this problem, I'm willing to hear it.

So yeah, the topic is "partly solved", unless the display on the editor is impossible unless I do it like I said above. Any ideas?

 

[Archeia]

Display on editor is impossible. Just change the parallax on the meantime with those two merged, rearrange them, and just return them back to normal.

 

[GargoyleMongrel]

Display on editor is impossible. Just change the parallax on the meantime with those two merged, rearrange them, and just return them back to normal.

All good then. Thanks a lot for the input everyone, and for the nice script. I can now advance on this tiny game for my kids Flagging topic as solved.

 

[Marquise*]

I found this by accident... But I wish I could soon do that WITHOUT accidents.