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In-depth Parallaxing Guide

 

Requested by KevinSSS.

 

Also, THEAQIB posted a very helpful tip on how to get the photoshop grids working here.

 

 

Can anyone point me out to any very basic parallax guide for dummies?

 

I am here to bring:

 

 

 

Warning: This will be a heavily picture heavy tutorial since I wanted this to be a step-by-step guide.

 

Introduction:

Parallaxing is a great way to make your maps detailed and to make it look like your game does not have a grid. This method was very popular with RPG Maker VX due to the limited tile sets. This method is still used for VX Ace and can still be a handy tool to make your maps unique and detailed.

Lets look at the pros and cons of parallax mapping:

PROS

âœDetailed maps

âœOff-Grid looking maps

âœUnlimited tile sets

✠The ability to manipulate the map by hand

 

CONS

âœFile Size will be much larger than using the editor

âœTakes much longer to map than using the editor

✠Chances of errors to occur

✠A higher chance of your maps becoming too cluttered and busy

 

Now, lets get started.

 

The Scripts You Need:

 

Galv's Layer Graphics

Yanfly's Parallax Lock

Hime works Map Screenshot

 

Why are we using Galv's layer graphics instead of the lock pictures event? Well, when you use the lock pictures, it works well, except that if you use the tint screen command, the overlays do not get tinted as well. Due to this, I switched over to Galv's layer graphics, which is a powerful script and it also keeps my picture folder from becoming cluttered.

 

Getting Set Up:

 

The first thing you need to do is make a layers folder. All you have to do is go into the graphics folder and make a new folder and call it Layers. This is where we are going to put all our overlay maps and such.

 

Now, we need to go into the game editor and go to the script editor. You can find it here:

Peellqn.jpg

 

Now, place the scripts above â–¼ Main Process.

 

q5qQqNL.jpg

 

Now, go back to the editor and right click on your map. You should see something called "Map Properties" open up. This is where you can change your tiles and background music. In this case, we are going to just focus on the Note section. We are going to put <tile lock parallax> into the note field.

 

JraiU4w.jpg

 

Now, where did I get that code from? This is from Yanfly's parallax lock script. If you look at the script, there are a few codes you can add, but we just want the tile lock parallax. This is to keep the tiles from scrolling with the player on larger maps. Basically, it makes the parallax act like the editor tiles. You can also use the <full lock parallax> command as well.

 

We are ready to work on our map.

 

Mapping and Outlining:

 

There are two options now. You can either go straight into the image program and make you parallax from scratch, or you can add an outline for your map to get an idea of how you want it to look.

 

We are going to go with outlining since it's the easiest.

 

*NEW* Layer Command Key Guide For Gimp:

Here is a guide to what the buttons mean for the layers tab in gimp:

DfMBKIk.jpg

 

 

CHAPTER 1: Creating a House

 

 

I am starting with a house first because, for me, that has always been the easiest. The first thing you want to do is make an outline of how you want your house to look.

 

71YGQQs.jpg

 

Not that impressive, right? Don't worry, we'll make it look nice in our image program.

 

Now, go to your game.  Click F7. You should see this window pop up:

oO9LRmP.jpg

 

What I like the most about Hime's map screenshot is that you can also take screenshots of events, or you can make it so that the events are not shown.

 

U2CdqB6.jpg

Not only that, but you can change the image from png to jpg if you want. The script is very flexible and has many options you can play around with to get it set to how you want it.

 

The next step is to open up your image program. I personally like to use GIMP. I like it because it can be set up similar to Photoshop, but it doesn't get those little grids when you zoom in really close. This makes pixel art and parallaxing easier for me because I'm not distracted by the grids.

 

After you get your image program up, go to open and go to your game folder. You should see a new folder in there called Mapshots. If you go into your folder, you will see your map that you just exported. Open it up and it should look like it would in the editor.

 

Next, go to Image ---> Configure Grid.

s0Ewl9Z.jpg

To where it says Spacing, change the width and height to 32 pixels. This is the same size as the grid in the map editor. Now, click okay.

6DpWIMK.jpg

 

Now, you need to go to View ---> Show Grid.

 

oYIqzH5.jpg

 

Now you should see a grid show up on your map.

 

MNSdW2R.jpg

 

 

The first thing we need are some tile sets we want to use for our map. You can use anything from the RPG Maker ACE RTP to the custom tile sets that others have created. You can even make your own if you'd like, but that might be a bit challenging at this stage.

Celianna's tile sets are very popular for parallaxing.

 

For my map, I'm thinking maybe a modern loft. The hardest part of parallaxing for me is always trying to think of what tiles I want to use for my map. :P  Sometimes you just have to mess around with different tiles and such until you find something you're happy with.

 

The first thing we're going to focus on is the kitchen area. I chose this to work on first so I can show you the first method of placing down walls and floors.

 

Walls and Floor of the Kitchen

Go to Celianna's tiles and you should see a tool box for gimp. You want to click on the rectangle tool.

 

zvuMqET.jpg

 

Go over and select the wall that you want to use for the kitchen. After you select it, you should see the marching ants around the wall.

zevDJfF.jpg

 

Now, click CTRL + C or Right click and copy. Go over to your map and click CTRL + V or Right Click and paste.

 

You should now see your image on your map and the layer looking something like this:

 

fBLbFtk.jpg

 

What you want to do is click on the kr7r5uf.jpgpaper icon at the bottom.

Your layers should now look like this:

IRhDCfs.jpg

 

Go back to your tool box and click the cross section.

qWHIVT4.jpg

 

Move it to where you need it and make sure it lines up with the grid. I like to use the magnifying glass to zoom in in order to line things up. You can also use your arrow keys to move the image slightly as well.

o8kwhoB.jpg

 

Now, click on the layer and hit the YIZx5Ee.jpgduplicate button. You should now how two copies of the same image.

v4L0G83.jpg

 

Move the newly copied image to line it up with the original image.

0cd1O0X.jpg

 

Now, if you noticed, there is this ugly line. The easiest way to fix that is to chop off the sections where the line is.

XuSiMNp.jpg

 

Now, you are going to move that over to where it lines up with the original pattern.

 

YsvBHuF.jpg

 

Do this for the rest of the wall.

HklGAAF.jpg

 

You will see that there is an overlap. What you do is crop by the grid line.

 

mBWwGHk.jpg

 

Right click on the layer in the Layers menu. You should see something called Merge Down. Click on it on the layers to merge them down, but do not merge them with the original map. If you accidentally do that, just click CTRL + Z.

The walls for our kitchen is now done. ^_^

 

Now it's time to move onto the floors.

Go back to Celianna's tiles and select the floor you want for your kitchen. Copy and paste it over to your map the same way you did with the walls. Click on the kr7r5uf.jpgpaper icon again. Move it over to line it up with the wall and grid.

 

dBn6wBt.jpg

 

 

Click the YIZx5Ee.jpgduplicate button like we did with the walls. Make the copied image line up with the original floor image.

 

mJ75ola.jpg

 

Do the rest of the floor like you did with the walls. Make sure you merge the floor tiles together but do not merge them with the wall layer.

 

You are now done with the flooring of the kitchen.

 

Organizing Your Layers

 

The best thing we can do now is try to keep things organized. If you don't it can get really frustrating later on when you have a lot of items you need to manipulate.

 

The first thing you want to do is click on the Y0GLHva.jpgfolder icon at the bottom of the Layers tab. A new folder should pop up in the Layers tab.

 

8qD0sC7.jpg

Double Click on where it says Layer Group and label it Kitchen then press ENTER. Where our floor layer is, label it Kitchen Floor and for the wall, label it Kitchen Wall.

l3Kr8nY.jpg

Take the Kitchen Floor layer and drag and drop it into the Kitchen folder. Do the same with with the kitchen wall.

U4alKOD.jpg

Inside the Kitchen folder, make another folder and label it Kitchen Objects.

 

uyZKNBF.jpg

Adding the Kitchen Objects

Go to Celianna's tile set and select the refrigerator. Copy and paste it onto your map.

I like to label the object right away. I labeled it Refrigerator so I know what object it is in case I need to move it later.

Note that if you select the group folder and try to paste onto the map, it will not work. Click on your base map instead in order to get the refrigerator layer to show up. Line it up to the grid. You can play around with the position to make it look less grid-like, but to make this chapter easy, I will stick with the grid.

Now, select the counters and do the same thing you did with the refrigerator.

 

tRDUnPo.jpg

 

 

Go ahead and finish your kitchen to where you like it. ^_^

 

Here is my finished version:

TnwWutz.jpg

 

We are finished with the kitchen for now.

 

The Dining Room Floors and Walls

 

We are going to now focus on the open area to the left of the kitchen. This will be our dining room.

 

We are also going to try a bit of a different method of the walls and floors this time. Go to Celianna's tiles and select the dining room wall you like. Select it like you did with the other wall.

 

This is the different part.

Go to file new and make a new document. Make a new transparent layer and delete the background layer. Now, paste your wall onto that document instead of your base image.

 

s33APO3.jpg

 

Now, on the new document, go to Image ---> Autocrop image.

9ghoovO.jpg

 

You should now just have your image and no grey grid anymore.

 

Go to Filter --> Map ---> Tile.

MGwl9Oi.jpg

 

 

 

For the width and height, I made it 400 X 408. If the pattern looks strange, go ahead and use  Make Seamless first and then tile it.

 

Show grid on the new image of the wall. On my base map, the dining room is five squares in width and two squares in height. I then go back to the wall pattern I tiled and select five squares in width and two squares in height.

 

VldJ2tf.jpg

 

You will do the same exact thing for the floor.

 

This is how mine looks when complete:

e10XcdX.jpg

 

So, why did we tile those walls and floors like that instead of doing it one by one? Mainly because I wanted to show you an alternative method so you can find what's most comfortable for you. I like the tile method for larger maps, but I use the copy and paste method for places that are small, like the kitchen or bathroom.  Go ahead and try out both methods and see which one you like the most. ^_^

 

Finishing the Decorating

 

Go ahead and finish decorating. Leave the border though since we will cover that next.

 

Here is my decorated house:

jEWRwaA.jpg

 

Finishing Our House

 

Now we need to add the doors and border. If you like the thick border then you can keep it as is.

If you use a thin border, you will have to modify your walls and make them higher until they touch the edge of the border.

 

a2Ce9lb.jpg

 

If you are using the thin border, go all around the wide wooden border with that one. This is what mine looks completed:

YxgNbpL.jpg

 

Now, for the sides and underneath, we are going to use a black fill in order to make it look nicer. Select the side wood plank and select the black fill as well.

m7bEyHc.jpg

 

Now, paste that onto your map and on the bathroom side.

 

xNftdZO.jpg

 

Now, select part of the border, then go to the flip horizontal tool.

 

Cd3cK28.jpg

 

Press CTRL + C and then CTRL + V. Click on the image to flip it. Put it on a new layer and move it next to the bathroom floor tile.

 

H65WbIK.jpg

 

Do this for all the walls.

 

ympfp9l.jpg

 

Now we need to add the doors. You can either parallax the doors or you can make the doors animated.

For this tutorial, we'll just keep the animated evented doors.

 

I like to add a little black space for where the doors are. I'm sure there's better ways to do this, but it was how I've made doors since I've first started RPG maker and it's hard to break that habit. :P

 

tKqVqqF.jpg

 

And now we are finished with our map. ^_^

 

Making the Overlays

 

This is a bit tricky since it takes looking at the grid and guessing where our character will be behind an objects. On our map, here is what I pointed out as what needs to be an overlay:

 

WNVnKtg.jpg

 

I would recommend that you do highlight what needs to be an overlay on your map like this until you develop an eye for it. It may feel like busy work, but it is very helpful when you are working on maps, like a forest where there are a bunch of trees overlapping one another.

 

Now, select the parts that will be an overlay. Copy and paste them onto a new layer. Make sure you stop at the grid line or the character's feet will pop out underneath the overlay.

 

Fg1REFB.jpg

 

Now, export the map (not the overlay) and save it in the Parallax folder. Name it something like House 01 or whatever will help you remember what map it is.

 

KkBOGqu.jpg

 

 

Now, hide that layer and have just the overlay showing. Export that map and save it to the Layers folder you created earlier. Label is something that you can remember, such as House 01 Overlay.

 

Now it's time to go back to our editor.

Go to map properties again and select parallax background. Select the house and have it show in editor.

DE3jH4s.jpg

 

Erase the map blueprint we did in the editor.

 

Now we need to make things passable. Currently, your character should not be able to move. If you go into your tilesets tab in the database, you'll notice that the interior tile set does not have a  passable tile. How I fix this is I take the Dungeon tile B and have it be the Interior Tile Set D. The top of the tile will be a blank passable tile.

 

bXUfwVM.jpg

 

Go back to your editor and instead of clicking the blank tile in tile set D, click the Green plant next to it. This is so we can see what we are making passable.

 

kybOp3x.jpg

 

If you notice, there is no way to get behind the chairs unless you have a diagonal script. This means we didn't need to make an overlay of the chairs, which sometimes happens with parallaxing. It's better to be safe than sorry. ;)

 

Go back to your tile set tab and select the blank tile set. Select the 79MyfpW.jpgbucket fill tool and go over all the plants. Your map should look like it did before, but now you can walk around.

 

Now we need to add the shadows.

I usually do this in the image program, but for chapter 1, we'll just use the auto shadow. The light is going ---->  so we need to have the shadows hit the left side.

hqEFOeg.jpg

 

Now we need to add the overlay. Go to your i1xToaX.jpg events tab and make a new event that is either a parallel process or an autorun. Depending on how you have your game set up, one will be better over the other.

 

If you use an autorun event, make sure you add a self switch A = on at the end of the event and make another page with the Self Switch A condition turned on.

 

Place in Galv's script code like this:

k7FSzMx.jpg

 

Here is the guide to what all these numbers mean.

 

ecTAWYM.jpg

 

Now, for the layer number, it does not mean it's going in front or behind the player. The layer number is similar to the picture number where you need a different number for each picture to show up on a map. In order to make the image be in front of the player, you need to use the Z level. Galv had his at 200 and it works for here as well, so that is what I'm assuming it should be kept as if you want an overlay image.

 

The scroll speed is for animated layers, which we will cover in a later chapter. ^_^

 

Click OK and test out the overlay. You should be able to go behind the overlay image now.

All you have to do now is add in the doors and transfers and you're done with your map. You can also add a tint to your map since the overlays will be tinted as well.

 

And that is the end of chapter 1 for making a house. ^_^  I'm willing to take suggestions for other parallaxing tips and tutorials that you want for other chapters and such.

 

puXiKrJ.jpg

 

 

 

CHAPTER 2: Creating the Outside of the House

For this chapter, we are going to focus on making an outside of the house. First, create a map and use the paint tool to fill it with grass. Now, go to your game and export that map to your mapshots folder.

 

1XVryp7.jpg

 

Now, open up Gimp and import your map. Set up your grids like you did with your house in chapter 1. Make sure they are 32 X 32 Pixels.

For this, you are going to need the rectangle select and the paint bucket tool.

snXd13g.jpg

Create a new layer and grab the rectangle select tool. What we are going to do is make an outline of the house. Just make your first square and then use the paint bucket tool with the color of your choice to fill it in.

 

VHb3ReB.jpg

 

Now, for if a building will overlap, you can use a different color to indicate that, like so:

 

ETlEnqP.jpg

 

Now, what do you do if you want a different shape?

That is one issue with Gimp; it doesn't have a line or shape tool. However, there is a way to solve this problem.

h7swao8.jpg

This is the free select tool. (Pretend the pen with the line doesn't exist for now. We'll go over that tool in a later chapter.) The free select tool is simple to use. You just click on one point like this:

ESan0ys.jpg

 

Then click to the next point you want to go, like this:

MzVKEHK.jpg

The grid makes this very easy since you can just click to the corners. Go ahead and go all the way around until you connect to the first point. Gimp makes this easy by highlighting when the points are connected.

hq4XT3G.jpg

 

You should now have the marching ants. Now, select the paint bucket tool and fill in the shape. If you're following the shape I made, it should look like this:

 

ifFQC4n.jpg

 

Now, say that you want to make this a two story house? Well, it's very easy! All you have to do is duplicate your layer and move it up until the two shapes connect. You can also change the color of the shapes to make it easier as well.

 

2i0JM98.jpg

 

Now, there are two choices for this. You can either use this method to make the roof, or you can make the walls first and then make the roof.

I like to make the walls first before making the roof since I sometimes change how I want the house to look.

Go ahead and use Celianna's tiles (or tiles that you want to use) and fill place them over the shapes. You can use the copy and paste method or you can use the tile method from chapter 1.

 

TIP:

 

 

One of the best ways to see if two walls will work together, you can place them right next to one another like this:

gcsAcba.jpg

 

 

 

After getting the front section done, you are probably a little confused on how to do this area:

wYvywNc.jpg

 

For this, we are going to need this tool:

 

H19Nqkp.jpg

 

This is called the perspective tool. You can manipulate the tile to make it look like it's on a slant. Before you manipulate your tile though, you want to make sure that interpolation is set to none.

qWOr11d.jpg

 

The reason we want to do this is because if you keep it at the default, then the image will become blurry. This will keep the image crisp so it doesn't look out of place compared to the other tiles. You can also change the Guides number to 1 to see the image better. I sometimes do this if the tile or image is very small and detailed.

 

Make a copy of your tile and place it next to the area it is meant to go in, but do not place it right on top of it.

kufMVVo.jpg

Now, use the perspective tool on the tile.

 

You see that little crosshair reticle in the center?

 

C9KpYrj.jpg

 

Click in the middle of that and you are now able to move the tile over to where the blue slant is.

Why did we move it over to the slant rather than keeping it there in the first place? This is because Gimp keeps the original shape of the tile while you manipulate it.

X1QJHTM.jpg

 

This gets in the way of seeing where you need to line everything up. Moving it over will keep that original shape from getting in the way.

 

Now, grab the squares on the corners of the image and move them over to line up with the corners of the slant.

ASGQkGj.jpg

 

Click the transform button.

 

The tile should now look something like this:

66nQjGg.jpg

 

Now it's time to think about how we want our roof to look.

 

LLIqtBx.jpg

 

This is where you will have to play around with the roofing until you find something you like. You can use the shape outline method again if that will help with getting the roof to how you want.

dNLsoJo.jpg

Ideally, I should have made the roof bigger or make the house smaller.

 

Use the roof tile and go around the outline. Use the perspective tool when you need to.

 

s2yjOB6.jpg

Thankfully, Celianna's roof tiles were able to fix my roofing mistake.

 

Now, I don't really like the first roof where the slant is. Instead, I'm going to take it off and redo the wall.

r9ZOVKG.jpg

 

I like this better, but it needs a little light. The best way to do this is by going to colors ---> Brightness and Contrast. Do not overdo it too much though.

 

lX3fF3f.jpg

 

Go ahead and decorate your house and play around with the shadows. In the next chapter section, we will go over the outer house decorations and hopefully get to the lighting and landscaping. ^_^

 

 

 

CHAPTER 3: Animated Maps

In this chapter, we are going to cover how to make an animated map. What I like to do is use the animated parallax script. Although Galv has his animations for his layers, I really only like to do that for making custom water. Since we are using tile sets, I find I have more control when I use the animated parallax script.

Open up your map in Gimp.

SVwMKdv.jpg

 

Next, you are going to pick the animated water you want. You can make your own or you can make it through a tile set. In this case, we will go with a tile set.

 

LqpCNSq.jpg

 

Most tile sets you see will have three water animation frames. This makes our lives much easier, but can be difficult as well since we need to line up the tiles. This is my favorite method of doing this.

 

Make four new layers. Now, go back to your water tiles and select the water. Since there is a brick pattern underneath, I need to make sure I select the tile in a way that the pattern can be seamless.

HM5GylE.jpg

 

Copy and paste that on a new layer. Now, go back to the water tile set and use your arrow keys to move the box over to the next frame. Copy and paste that one onto the other new layer and do the same thing for the last frame.

For all the layers, go to Image ---> Autocrop image.

Go to Filters ---> Map ---> Tile and make the height and width the same as your map height and width. Do this for all three frames. Then copy and paste them onto your map, making sure they are all on new layers.

 

inQgFjY.jpg

 

Place all the frames behind your map layer.

 

Now we need to make a cut out with where we want our water to be. For those who are a little nervous about cutting the map out, you can use the shape method we did with the outside of our house.

 

2JWCB5o.jpg

 

Select the magic wand tool.

VtX8JDY.jpg

 

Use it on your shape and you should see the marching ants around it. Now, select your map layer and you should still see the marching ants.

 

DMztyLY.jpg

 

Now, hit delete and then remove the shape outline. You should now have something like this:

 

tS7RN0g.jpg

 

Now, export your map and save it in your parallax folder like you would with any map. However, we are going to do this three times for each frame. Make sure they have the same name, but you are going to put a _FrameNumber at the end.

e80jkBB.jpg

dHVoj7F.jpg

RcMXpsG.jpg

 

You are going to place your parallax and do everything we did in chapter one. Except, make sure you place the parallax map with the _1 as the parallax map.

 

8CSt9j8.jpg

 

Click ok and test it out. ^_^  That is all there is to it.

 

This is why I like using the animated parallax script the most. It does the work for you so you don't have to use events or codes.

 

CHAPTER 4: Lighting and Shadows For a Room

First, open up the house you made in chapter 1 in Gimp.

AoK1XRa.jpg

 

I am going to assume that everything is merged together and that you do not have a file with separate layers. If you still have that file, this will make the shadows easier since you do not need to hunt for the tiles again.

 

So, let's take a look at the clock. Go to Celianna's tiles and look for the clock again and paste it in a new layer in GIMP.

uuWC80L.jpg

 

The hardest part is figuring out where the light source is coming from. When you parallax, you can move that light source anywhere, but make sure the shadows follow it.

RPG Maker, by default, has the light source coming from the top left, so we'll keep the position there.

Take the copy of the clock and flip it 90 degrees.

WWENg42.jpg

 

Now, you need to go into your Colors tab and click brightness and contrast. You will take the brightness all the way down and the contrast all the way up.

 

BsrjsRs.jpg

 

Depending on how hard you want your shadow, you will adjust the blur and opacity to what you need it to be. For me, I am going to make the shadow light. In order to do this, go to filters, blur, Gaussian blur. I put mine to about 10.

 

ZEByGeV.jpg

 

I turned the opacity down to about 50% and I moved the layer down a little bit.

 

sK4ceBZ.jpg

 

Now, there are times you will need to go in and crop the shadow so it's not overlapping the object. However, since our clock has a little edge at the top, the shadow is fine as is.

 

Now, lets say that the light and coming from the center. We will use the couch as an example.

Find the couch object and paste it onto a new layer. Flip it vertically.

KHdf95G.jpg

 

Go to Colors ----> Brightness and Contrast and take the brightness all the way down and the contrast all the way up again.

 

TVxrIeR.jpg

 

Now, I'm going to make the shadow a bit harder this time. In the Gaussian blur, I am only going to do it to about 5. Once you do that, move the shadow layer up until the darkest part is touching the edge of the couch again.

 

m5Mo12l.jpg

 

Now, take the opacity down to about 58% or so.

 

IbjaQUp.jpg

 

And this is how I typically make my shadows. ^_^

 

For windows, there are two ways to do this. The first way is like how we did the shadows.

Find the window tile and place it onto a new layer like you did with the clock and couch.

 

zW5Hd8f.jpg

 

select the borders, leaving only the glass.

 

WpucFeE.jpg

 

Go to the color tab and brightness and contrast. Then take the brightness and contrast all the way up.

 

cTAJuiu.jpg

 

I like to make the Gaussian blur very light. I did 1 for this one.

 

tQCnBTl.jpg

 

I reposition it and change the opacity to about 45%

 

YFvy1YP.jpg

 

I then take the paintbrush tool and connect the window to the light square layer I made.

 

H58WclX.jpg

 

Now, go to blur --> Motion blur. For mine, I changed the length to 64 and the angle to 103. Go ahead and position it to where you think it looks good.

 

rltfb12.jpg

 

Now, change the opacity to where you get it to how you like. I do mine to about 60%.

 

1Bb0Qzb.jpg

 

If you do not like the white boxes, you can just use the white streak on it's on instead.

 

Gs3pgRs.jpg

 

 

For lighting, I like to make them overlays. Shadows, I've done it both as an overlay or part of the parallax depending on the object.

 

For the border, pick the rectangle select tool and use the paint bucket to fill it black.

 

50oI0v3.jpg

 

Now, use the Gaussian blur and change it to where you like it. I chose 5 for mine.

 

jOptvms.jpg

 

Now, change the opacity to where you want it. I did mine to about 50%.

 

Y8Z2r80.jpg

 

And that is how you make lighting and shadows in GIMP. ^_^

 

 

CHAPTER 5: Outside Lighting

 

First thing you want to do is open up your outside map. I am going to use the map I made in Chapter 3, but you can use whatever outside map you'd like.

Make a new layer and go to filters ---> Light and Shadow ---> Supernova.

Create the light to however you like it.

sjn1Wvo.jpg

 

Now, go to Filters ----> Blur --- Motion Blur.  To make a sun ray, we are going to need to either have it go straight down or at an angle. For the length on mine, I placed it at 161 and the angle at 223.

 

VxgCWxL.jpg

 

 

You can then duplicate the layers to make multiple and stronger rays.

 

pgOcVew.jpg

 

You can even use the colorize tool to make the lighting look more fantasy-like.

 

Y6tSDRg.jpg

 

You can use the supernova filter again and set it up to have more light as well.

 

 

Yc028uv.jpg

Once you have the light down, export it to your pictures.

 

Back in your editor, make a new event and put it to parallel process.  Go to display/show picture and select your light ray. I placed the picture number to 10 so it will be above other layers.

Take the opacity of it down to about 100.

 

SJCg3J2.jpg

 

Now, grab the wait command it do about 5 frames.

 

Get the move picture event and change the opacity to about 150.

 

1HliURZ.jpg

 

Make another wait command and do 5 frames again. Then, the move picture command and have the opacity at 200 this time. Now, go back to the 150.

Lastly, make another wait 5 frames again.

zpqY53R.jpg

 

Test out your game and see if the light is animating like you want it to.

 

If you want to add a tint, you will add it to the top of the event.

 

44iv0c5.jpg

 

And that is how you make sunrays to the outside of your map. ^_^  Since we are using galv's layers, we do not need to worry about making the tint screen in gimp and can just use the rpg maker one.

 

mSN84zF.jpg

A4y0b5e.jpg

 

Edited by GameCreations
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Thank you so much. ^_^  I am trying to figure out what to cover in chapter 2. I don't want to jump into anything really difficult just yet, but I do want to make sure I make it so there is a variety between each chapter.

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Maybe Lighting?

For grid in Photoshop you need to go to Edit in toolbar, Select the last option, Under the last option Select Guides, Grid and slices. In this set Gridline Every option to grids to 32.

Then go to View and tick Extras and in the same View go to show and select Grid to bring up Grid.

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I will go over lighting in chapter 2 then. ^_^  I plan to make the outside of the house unless someone really wants me to go over a certain layout, then I will either use that layout in chapter 2 or make it an extra if it seems to be on the more advance side.

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Hi GameCreations, I have a small problem, so I picked out a tile I wanted and Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V onto my map, after I clicked on the paper icon, I get this 'brush editor' instead, When I just mouse over the paper icon it says 'Create a new brush'?

post-44473-0-26246100-1404384463_thumb.png

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Hi GameCreations, I have a small problem, so I picked out a tile I wanted and Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V onto my map, after I clicked on the paper icon, I get this 'brush editor' instead, When I just mouse over the paper icon it says 'Create a new brush'?

 

Here is a guide I set up to help you out:

DfMBKIk.jpg

 

I hope this helps. ^_^

 

Chapter 2.1 is up now. :) I paused here since there were a few new tools and I wanted to give people a chance to ask questions if they feel a bit confused on a part.

Edited by GameCreations

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You're welcome! Chapter 2.1 is up for you as well. ^_^  I hope it's not too challenging. I wasn't sure if introducing the persepective tool now was a good idea or not.

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Hi I got another question regarding Galv's script, For the Layer number, it can be any number as long as I don't have another overlay that has the same number right?

Also I ran into another problem regarding the terrain passable section. So after I exported my map and my layers, when I test play my character cannot move so I went did all that green plant thing and bucket tool, but now ALL of my map is passable. How do I fix this?

Edited by KevinSSS

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For Galv's script, yes, as long as they are different numbers it will be fine. :) For the map, you can fix this by using the rectangle or pen tool in the editor and selecting this tile set:

bwOPuYQ.jpg

 

Go over only the places that you do not want the character to pass through. 

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Hi GameCreations I tried that but I think I broke something in the process.

 

the grass are all passable (database has O on it) and below it the black line suppose to be inpassable (database has X on it). After I painted the squares with grass and black and the empty tiles over 2 of each (to show I did paint over them) and after I launch the game i can still walk over everything...

help? :(

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Okay, this is something that happens quite a bit, even to me at times. :P

The first tile in tile set B needs to stay a star or it will break the system like that. I don't really know why that is, but you will have to make a tile set D like in the tutorial to have the empty tile unfortunately.

 

That should fix the issue. ^_^

Edited by GameCreations

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Ah thank you, but wait a new problem has appeared! as you can see, my characters seems to appear in front of the object rather than behind it?

post-44473-0-21950700-1404536280_thumb.png

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I can't really see the screenshot too well. Could you make it a bit bigger? It looks like the character is behind it from the view.

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In my video above you can see there are 3 pots in a clump. I'm actually standing on top of the top pot.

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I see now, sorry about that. :P

You are missing an extra  5 in the opacity.

2FWJjfO.jpg

So, right now, the image is barely showing the image, meaning that you are just seeing the parallax and not the overlay.

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Oh yes it worked! I knew I should've just copy pasted instead of typing it manually >_<;

 

Thank you very much! Also, if I put animated tiles such as water like in your tutorial, will be become animated in game?

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The animated tiles, there are two options to do that. I will go ahead and make Chapter 3 be about animated tiles and get to work on making it. ^_^  I'll try to get that tutorial posted sometime today.

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I just started parallax mapping myself and I also use Gimp and this tutorial is great. I can't wait for the lightning and shadows segment. That adds such a feel to the map if done correctly.

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Thank you! ^_^

I was working on an animated water tutorial but didn't finish it for tonight, so I will make up for it and do two chapters tomorrow. For the lighting, are you wanting me to go over the outside or inside first? I'm fine with either one and I do plan to do both eventually. :)

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Hmm...I'm still familiarising myself with Chapter 1 of your tutorial (yes I'm slow haha). But I guess for lighting inside first? Since when I think of lighting I automatically think of closed environment. 

Can't wait for your water tutorial! (I'm currently thinking of making a waterfall). :D

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I can second that post by @KevinSSS. Lighting on the interior I think would be a wonderful start.

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Well I fuess interiors it is.

I too agree with Kevin and Hale.

I think I too would want to have a comfy/scary room feel. :-P

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