- Joined
- Oct 8, 2013
- Messages
- 128
- Reaction score
- 48
- First Language
- English
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Note this post is not limited to MV users, it includes VX Ace, VX and possibly XP too.
So I'm a programmer not a map editor. My skills are in building systems and scripts, but without a rich map to fill with events my work goes to waste. Unfortunately the existing dungeon generator leaves a lot to be desired... I mean what happens when you don't want rectangular rooms or mazes?
So I hatched a crazy idea and decided to start building my own dungeon generator! Now this tool is still just a proof of concept at the moment, but here's what I've managed so far:
Ok so all you can see are a mess of squares, that's not very interesting... But that's because I've only written the painting side of the program (I just told it to paint random squares with walls). The generator part of the program hasn't even been written yet. Now a dungeon generator is useless if you can't configure how it generates rooms, paths, scenery etc. so this is what I have in mind: For most users, a config panel with lots of options; for someone with scripting skills, the ability to tinker with the generation code itself (in JavaScript).
I hear you ask, "so how does this generator work?". Well... using mouse hooks. What it does is the same thing you do, clicks the mouse to paint tiles on the map, only super fast! Admittedly the painting process is slower than the in-built dungeon generator, there's a limit to how fast you can paint across the screen before rpg maker stops registering clicks, but that's pretty much how it works.
So here's the bottom line... This is likely to become a big project for me, and I'm really not sure if there's anyone besides myself who'd be interested in this. So that's what this post is about, I want to see if there's actually demand for this tool. So far this has only taken me a few hours so I haven't wasted my time if not. But I'd like to know if you guys think it's interesting or would like to see a proper dungeon generator out of it. Finally some points worth mentioning:
So I'm a programmer not a map editor. My skills are in building systems and scripts, but without a rich map to fill with events my work goes to waste. Unfortunately the existing dungeon generator leaves a lot to be desired... I mean what happens when you don't want rectangular rooms or mazes?
So I hatched a crazy idea and decided to start building my own dungeon generator! Now this tool is still just a proof of concept at the moment, but here's what I've managed so far:

Ok so all you can see are a mess of squares, that's not very interesting... But that's because I've only written the painting side of the program (I just told it to paint random squares with walls). The generator part of the program hasn't even been written yet. Now a dungeon generator is useless if you can't configure how it generates rooms, paths, scenery etc. so this is what I have in mind: For most users, a config panel with lots of options; for someone with scripting skills, the ability to tinker with the generation code itself (in JavaScript).
I hear you ask, "so how does this generator work?". Well... using mouse hooks. What it does is the same thing you do, clicks the mouse to paint tiles on the map, only super fast! Admittedly the painting process is slower than the in-built dungeon generator, there's a limit to how fast you can paint across the screen before rpg maker stops registering clicks, but that's pretty much how it works.
So here's the bottom line... This is likely to become a big project for me, and I'm really not sure if there's anyone besides myself who'd be interested in this. So that's what this post is about, I want to see if there's actually demand for this tool. So far this has only taken me a few hours so I haven't wasted my time if not. But I'd like to know if you guys think it's interesting or would like to see a proper dungeon generator out of it. Finally some points worth mentioning:
- This will work with any version of RPG Maker and any tool with a similar map editor; anything as long as the painting tool works more or less the same.
- Unlimited potential. Since it paints maps the same way you do, it can in theory achieve anything you can. That includes using more than just the first tileset.
- Painting is kinda slow, but I can at least improve productivity by providing a graphical example of the map that'll be painted before it actually paints it to RPG Maker.
- Requires Java to run. Java is great for quickly building tools, I'm sorry if you don't like Java, but it should also be cross-platform.