Tileset resolution

[Cub1C]

So today I finally decided to move from RMXP to RMMZ, and I just can't understand tilesets in this version. I don't get what I'm supposed to put where, so I tried to put in my RMXP tileset I made into A5 (Normal), but a huge chunk of the bottom gets cut out (and yes i scaled it up to fit 48x format after noticing that they made it 48x instead of 32x for some reason). After looking it up apparently tilesets have a set resolution they need to be or else they just become unusable and/or have parts cut out, but why is that such a small resolution? is 128 tiles really all the tiles I'm limited to? There has to be some way to use more tiles, and it's necessary for my game. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Shaz]

Take a look at the help file. XP is the only engine that has tilesets in that format.

In all later engines, you have a tileset that consists of different types of tiles, and each type has a set number of tiles in a specific format. VX only allowed one tileset, but all later engines let you have many tilesets, but you can only use one tileset per map. You can have way more than 128 tiles.

 

[Cub1C]

Take a look at the help file. XP is the only engine that has tilesets in that format.

In all later engines, you have a tileset that consists of different types of tiles, and each type has a set number of tiles in a specific format. VX only allowed one tileset, but all later engines let you have many tilesets, but you can only use one tileset per map. You can have way more than 128 tiles.

only one tileset per map is the problem yes. I kinda need more for a single room since I have a train that takes up a lot of tiles. Well, whatever, thanks for your help.

 

[Shaz]

You can have more than 1024 tiles per map. 1024 just covers the B-E tiles that go on the top layer. The bottom layer has 4 slots for autotiles and slot A5 gives you 128 non-autotile ground layer items.

 

[Andar]

@Cub1C
The unlimited tilesets of RMXP were removed exactly because of the problem they caused - larger tilesets slowed down both editor and game due to excessive RAM requirements.

So instead of a single unlimited tileset you get a large number of limited tilesets and are supposed to different tilesets for different maps. After all, you don't need library tiles in a deep forest or desert tiles in a watercastle and so on.

and as Shaz said above - the number of tiles in the nine tilesheets that combine to a tileset is large, I can't think of any way that is not artificially construed that would require more tiles on a single map.

 

[Cub1C]

@Cub1C
The unlimited tilesets of RMXP were removed exactly because of the problem they caused - larger tilesets slowed down both editor and game due to excessive RAM requirements.

So instead of a single unlimited tileset you get a large number of limited tilesets and are supposed to different tilesets for different maps. After all, you don't need library tiles in a deep forest or desert tiles in a watercastle and so on.

and as Shaz said above - the number of tiles in the nine tilesheets that combine to a tileset is large, I can't think of any way that is not artificially construed that would require more tiles on a single map.

I see, knew there had to be a way to use more than 128 per map. I'll look into the different tilesheets more then, but they confused me 'cause of their labels. If I recall correctly the B sheet removed the upper left tile (which I've seen is the case in gamemaker), but I couldn't understand why only that specific sheet would do it, so I thought they must all have unique purposes. Thanks for the help both of you tho.

 

[GmOcean]

I see, knew there had to be a way to use more than 128 per map. I'll look into the different tilesheets more then, but they confused me 'cause of their labels. If I recall correctly the B sheet removed the upper left tile (which I've seen is the case in gamemaker), but I couldn't understand why only that specific sheet would do it, so I thought they must all have unique purposes. Thanks for the help both of you tho.

The reason for the single tile being removed in the B Sheet, is to act like an eraser. It's set for *(Star) passable, so that you can erase/replace B-E tiles with it, and still let your player walk over on that tile. There's no need for all your B-E tile sheets to have that tile missing, since just 1 will do the task.

 

[ATT_Turan]

If I recall correctly the B sheet removed the upper left tile...but I couldn't understand why

GmOcean is correct. Additionally, this is described in your help documentation that Shaz directed you to in post #2. Everything about the tileset formats is explained there.

 

[Bex]

In RPG Maker MZ Editor you can go to the Database and Select another Tilesize for the Editor:
16x16 ; 24x24 ; 32x32 ; 48x48

That means you could convert most of your XP Tilesets 1 to 1 to MZ when pasted on the correct tilesheet size.
The Autotiles need heavier Editing and some will not be possible, that is because
MZ got 2x2 autotiles and rmxp 3x3.
But thisway you do not need to upscale them.

 

[Cub1C]

In RPG Maker MZ Editor you can go to the Database and Select another Tilesize for the Editor:
16x16 ; 24x24 ; 32x32 ; 48x48

That means you could convert most of your XP Tilesets 1 to 1 to MZ when pasted on the correct tilesheet size.
The Autotiles need heavier Editing and some will not be possible, that is because
MZ got 2x2 autotiles and rmxp 3x3.
But thisway you do not need to upscale them.

well ive already upscaled them all haha but thanks anyway, I didn't know that. While I'm here could you maybe explain how animated tiles work if I wanna add my own (that aren't events). The A1 tileset seems to be for animation, but how does it work?

 

[GmOcean]

If you open your A1 tileset image files, you'll see that it looks like the same tile is copy and pasted 3 times. Each of those is 1 frame of the animated tile. The engine simply displays 1 frame after the other with a built in delay.

So, so long as you replace the tiles as they have it shown with your own, it'll work. Keep in mind those are all auto-tiles too, so if you were going to 'make' your own like from scratch via pixel art, that's an entirely different beast, I can't do it cuz I suck at pixel art, but good luck.

 

[Cub1C]

If you open your A1 tileset image files, you'll see that it looks like the same tile is copy and pasted 3 times. Each of those is 1 frame of the animated tile. The engine simply displays 1 frame after the other with a built in delay.

So, so long as you replace the tiles as they have it shown with your own, it'll work. Keep in mind those are all auto-tiles too, so if you were going to 'make' your own like from scratch via pixel art, that's an entirely different beast, I can't do it cuz I suck at pixel art, but good luck.

Let's say I wanted to add this tree i made and have it animated, what would I have to do? I have each individual frame saved separately, and theyre all transparent of course.

 

[GmOcean]

For something like this, you would be able to make a sprite out of this tree. To do that you'll need to make a '.png' file that has these dimensions: width = 3 * the Tree | height = 4 * the Tree.

You'll want to put all 3 frames of your tree on the top row evenly spaced apart, going Frame 1 -> Frame 2 -> Frame 3. This should be easy enough to do, since each frame is the same size as eachother. Afterwards name the image as: $NameHere and save it in your project/img/characters folder. The $ is important, this tells the engine it's a single sprite sheet and not a bundle of sheets on a single image.

Then all you have to do is make an Event, and choose the first frame of the Tree as your event's sprite image. Make sure the 'Stepping' Box is checked and 'Direction Fix' Box is also checked. When you play test, it'll show up as the full tree, and animate through the frames.

The best part of this is, if you make other trees with the same size as the existing tree, meaning the width and height of each frame is the same, you can just put those beneath the other ones in the sprite sheet. So that 1 file can hold up to 4 different animated trees, so long as the width and height of each frame are the same. For examples, look at the $BigMonster1 and $BigMonster2 files. In your case, the Tree would be the top 3 slots, and other trees would take up the other slots. Just remember to adhere to the image dimensions.

 

[Cub1C]

For something like this, you would be able to make a sprite out of this tree. To do that you'll need to make a '.png' file that has these dimensions: width = 3 * the Tree | height = 4 * the Tree.

You'll want to put all 3 frames of your tree on the top row evenly spaced apart, going Frame 1 -> Frame 2 -> Frame 3. This should be easy enough to do, since each frame is the same size as eachother. Afterwards name the image as: $NameHere and save it in your project/img/characters folder. The $ is important, this tells the engine it's a single sprite sheet and not a bundle of sheets on a single image.

Then all you have to do is make an Event, and choose the first frame of the Tree as your event's sprite image. Make sure the 'Stepping' Box is checked and 'Direction Fix' Box is also checked. When you play test, it'll show up as the full tree, and animate through the frames.

The best part of this is, if you make other trees with the same size as the existing tree, meaning the width and height of each frame is the same, you can just put those beneath the other ones in the sprite sheet. So that 1 file can hold up to 4 different animated trees, so long as the width and height of each frame are the same. For examples, look at the $BigMonster1 and $BigMonster2 files. In your case, the Tree would be the top 3 slots, and other trees would take up the other slots. Just remember to adhere to the image dimensions.

Is it limited to 3 frames only?

 

[GmOcean]

Is it limited to 3 frames only?

Yes and No.
For the simple method it will only support 3 frames.

For the complicated method, there are probably 2-3 ways to do it without plugins. Of those, the easiest way I can think of is by using a custom movement route for the event.
Now for the setup:

Spoiler: Complicated Method

Using the same image file as before, it has 12 slots, so your animated tree will have 12 Frames. You'll place them in order from Left to Right, Top to Bottom.
So like this:
1->2->3
4->5->6
7->8->9
10->11->12

Now to setup the event:
1. Pick the top-left frame as the events start image.
2. Turn OFF all of these options.
3. Next you'll want to set the event Autonomous movement section to custom:
4. Then for the movement route itself use this:

：◇Turn Down
：◇Stepping Animation ON
：◇Turn Left
：◇Turn Right
：◇Turn Up

5. Last but not least, set the event to: Same as Character & Parallel.

This should make the event go through all 12 frames. The problem though, is this is finnicky. If the image file is too big, like giant massive trees, this may result in flickering. Also if there is enough lag during gameplay, this will also result in flickering.

Now, if you want the SUPER EASY Method, it comes with a price of ~$15.

Spoiler: SUPER EASY METHOD - ~$15

You'll want to purchase this plugin: Grid-Free Doodads by VisuStella. Using this plugin will also require you to grab the 'Core' Plugins from their Demo-Project (These are Free). The Grid-Free Doodad plugin is also part of this bundle: VisuStella Wave-3 Bundle, so look through that to see if those 'other' plugins fit the scope of your project so that you can save money in the long run if they are, if not, just get the 1 plugin.

Read through the wiki-page first! I cannot stress this enough, read through it, make sure it is what you want and you're willing to purchase it. I can say that it will do what you want, quicker and easier than any other method I can think of. Additionally watch the YouTube Video on that Page. It doesn't 'show' animated stuff, but the plugin has that option available (you'll see how if you read the page).

 

[Cub1C]

Yes and No.
For the simple method it will only support 3 frames.

For the complicated method, there are probably 2-3 ways to do it without plugins. Of those, the easiest way I can think of is by using a custom movement route for the event.
Now for the setup:

Spoiler: Complicated Method

Using the same image file as before, it has 12 slots, so your animated tree will have 12 Frames. You'll place them in order from Left to Right, Top to Bottom.
So like this:
1->2->3
4->5->6
7->8->9
10->11->12

Now to setup the event:
1. Pick the top-left frame as the events start image.
2. Turn OFF View attachment 252478 all of these options.
3. Next you'll want to set the event Autonomous movement section to custom: View attachment 252479
4. Then for the movement route itself use this:

：◇Turn Down
：◇Stepping Animation ON
：◇Turn Left
：◇Turn Right
：◇Turn Up

5. Last but not least, set the event to: Same as Character & Parallel.

This should make the event go through all 12 frames. The problem though, is this is finnicky. If the image file is too big, like giant massive trees, this may result in flickering. Also if there is enough lag during gameplay, this will also result in flickering.

Now, if you want the SUPER EASY Method, it comes with a price of ~$15.

Spoiler: SUPER EASY METHOD - ~$15

You'll want to purchase this plugin: Grid-Free Doodads by VisuStella. Using this plugin will also require you to grab the 'Core' Plugins from their Demo-Project (These are Free). The Grid-Free Doodad plugin is also part of this bundle: VisuStella Wave-3 Bundle, so look through that to see if those 'other' plugins fit the scope of your project so that you can save money in the long run if they are, if not, just get the 1 plugin.

Read through the wiki-page first! I cannot stress this enough, read through it, make sure it is what you want and you're willing to purchase it. I can say that it will do what you want, quicker and easier than any other method I can think of. Additionally watch the YouTube Video on that Page. It doesn't 'show' animated stuff, but the plugin has that option available (you'll see how if you read the page).

That complicated method doesn't seem so bad at all, it's actually an idea I had in mind, but the problem happens to be that my tree has 13 frames; exactly one over the limit haha. Oh well I'm sure I can delete a frame somewhere, thanks for your help.

Also, unrelated, but you said you were trash at pixel art earlier right? I'd really recommend starting with making an 8-bit game like I'm doing then, pixel art is actually super beginner friendly unlike other forms of drawing. Sure you can use premade ones but it's 100x cooler when you've made it yourself. Just a tip.

 

[Bex]

How about using an Event with 13 Eventpages for this.

 

[GmOcean]

How about using an Event with 13 Eventpages for this.

Oh, good idea. I never thought of that lol.
Yeah that would work. If you make each page check for a switch then you'd be able to do this and even use up to 20 pages for the event. All while managing them from a single common event.

You'd unfortunately have to use 13 dedicated switches (1 for each page), but it's worth it since you can use the same switches for all events that are 'animated' this way regardless of the sprite.

 

[Bex]

Not Switches!
But 1 Variable that you count up.

You could use 1 Parallel Event to count up 1 Variable which is used by every Animated Event on that Map as Page Conditions. Highest Page Number fulfilling its Condition is getting displayed.

You could also use Autonomous Moveroute, and use the Scriptline in there to count up a Variable.

 

[GmOcean]

Not Switches!
But 1 Variable that you count up.

You could use 1 Parallel Event to count up 1 Variable which is used by every Animated Event on that Map as Page Conditions. Highest Page Number fulfilling its Condition is getting displayed.

You could also use Autonomous Moveroute, and use the Scriptline in there to count up a Variable.

Ahh right. I forgot it does that. I keep forgetting simply because the variable check is always >= and I try to avoid using it in favor of Self-switches when able. Good catch. 1 Variable.