Theoretical Semi 3D parallax mapping.

[Terozu]

I was wondering, in theory I think it's possible to create a map with such an aesthetic as Final Fantasy 9 maps.
Such as Dali Village:

By using specific SpriteSheets.

My idea is that, by making sprites that have been scaled properly, and position on the sheets in specific ways, you could give the effect of the character going into the back ground of an image, with a smaller sprite to make it seem like they're further away.

I got the idea, obviously, while playing FF9 and coming to the realization that, since the majority of the game takes place on a 3D map with 2D background that switch with the camera angle, it might be possible to emulate this in the MV engine. It might even be possible to use Sprite Scaling Plugins to handle the sprites.

Has anyone tried this before? I'm thinking it would probably take a lot of effort, and you'd have to draw all your maps from scratch and set up proper events and barricades to do so.

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

It's definitely doable. I made a map like this, jusy for testing. However the amount of effort given into these kinds of maps is huge so I dropped the idea.

Yes, all resources have to be made from scratch as there are none in this style. It's best if you get 3d models from the internet. There are plenty of free to use models out there. Then make a scene and render each model into a seperate layer.
Next, you can use Yanfly's Gridfree doodads ( https://yanflyengineplugins.itch.io/grid-free-doodads)
to set them up in the game in different layers. But doodads don't have their own collision boxes. I suggest you use QM+ Collision Map. (https://quxios.github.io/plugins/QM+CollisionMap)
It's a plugin that can make colliders from pictures. You can use QMovement to set up custom colliders too players can interact with objects better. It also add ability for pixel movement.
(https://quxios.github.io/plugins/QMovement)

So, in conclusion, yes it's very possible. But very time consuming. If you're not making a commercial game and have plenty of time in your hands, then go ahead and try it! Doing new things is fun ^^

 

[Terozu]

Do you happen to have a picture of how it looked?
I was thinking I would draw my maps by hand, then ink them, using grid paper to get proper scaling.

Although I have to figure out how scaling works for real for this. How far away does something have to be to look half as big? Why isn't google helping me!?

Oh, and I'm a teenager(19) saving for college with part time jobs,(loans scare me so im not doing that and no one can make me) so yeah I do, in fact, have a lot of time on my hands, and this is a far more productive way to deal with my boredom.

I'll check out Doodads, it's possible it'll help me not have to create a ton of weird sprites. I was thinking just displacing them on the actual sprite sheet.

As for the QMovement, holy saints I love you. I've been looking for an MV equivalent to Hime's pixel collision script!

Would you happen to know of any Sprite Scaling plugins that allow for scaling with region? I was thinking that would be the best way to handle it, to possibly allow followers?

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

Unfortunately I don't have it anymore It looked horrible to me lol. It was 3D looking but not really the cartoony look I was going for... it was so much realistic (I didn't know I could use shaders back then so the models looked... icky) So I deleted the project. I suggested you use 3d models to save you time. But if you want to draw by hand, then that's better if you're going for that kind of style.

@Terozu Sprite scaling plugin? I don't quite understand. Are you talking abiut when the player gets smaller as they go far away?
You can use QYscale (I think that's what it's called) Idk suddenly his plugin page isn't loading for me. So you have to find it. It's in the samewebpage as those plugins I told you about before.
Edit: Nevermind. It loaded. Here you go: https://quxios.github.io/plugins/QYScale

 

[Terozu]

Yeah that's exactly what I meant!
It seems like Quxios has a lot of what I'd need for this project, lol.
In fact, it looks like the plugin's configuration settings are exactly what I would need for this. My idea was to use a properly scaled image made to line up with the in game 17/13 grid, and figure out how many squares would be needed to portray distance proportionately.

For instance, the first map I'm drawing to experiment with this has a floor that's a trapezoid that's 34/51 with a height of 16, each square on the back wall is 8.4 inches in scale, and squares at the front are 5.6 inches, so sprites in the front will be normal size, while at the back they should appear at 67% scale. Using this I'll be able to drop the sprite's scale by 1.94% per square from the bottom to the top allowing for the effect I want. Only thing I need now is some way to displace the sprites that won't require thousands of additional sprite sheets per character.

Thanks for your help! I can't wait to mess around with this!

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

Good luck, have fun! I'd love to see your map once it's done ^^