[resolved] Parallax/Panoramic Improvement

<Parallax aka Panoramic Map Improvement>
7-28-08

Short Summary

Draw a parallax with a variable movement rate and direction dependent on the game characters movement rate and direction. Current rates are fixed.

Longer Explanation

I'd like a parallax background to loop and to move at a variable rate equal to a fraction/multiple of character movement. As it is a parallax background will move at 1/4th of the character speed if map looping is turned on. And it moves at 1:1 with map looping turned off.  Note: this setting is in map properties > general settings > scroll type in the editor and is not to be confused with map properties > parallax background > horizontal/vertical loop switches.

     Example of use: I want to make a world map using the 'Panoramic Map Tutorial' and my world is not flat.

Additional Features Desired

I originally had an idea for a separate script request that was similar but in testing the current ability of the VX program i discovered that this more basic function was not already a part of the program... *:-(   Here is the original:

What would this script do?

     Draw parallax one with a variable movement rate and direction dependent on the game characters
     movement rate and direction.  And draw parallax two with the same variables over the top of
     parallax one.

     This is more for you the scripter to chew on if you'd like to...  It would make the game maker cooler and if
     a person plans to use panoramic maps like I do they wouldn't loose the ability to use a parallax
     background along with it.

     For the example lets say you have 2 parallax 'backgrounds' you wish to use. The 1st parallax would be
     your actual background, lets say this is a underworld 'map', and it moves at 1/4 the rate of the character,
     of course anything on the underworld map would also be drawn twice as small (via paint program). And
     the 2nd would be the map your character is on/interacting with. ((this was done once in Final Fantasy II
     (IV jap) in the world of monsters.))

Quick Links
Panoramic Map Tutorial by Marcus
     http://anonym.to/?http://anonym.to/?http://www.hbgames.org/forums/index.php?topic=42711.0
Pro Mapping Tutorial by Busbuzz
     http://anonym.to/?http://anonym.to/?http://www.hbgames.org/forums/index.php?topic=44338.msg452897#msg452897
Alternative Mapping for VX by Busbuzz
     http://rmrk.net/index.php/topic,26500.0.html


Where did you search?

• This Site
• RMVX site see links above

I spent alot of time looking though the support for Pro/Alt/Pano Mapping and nada... I don't remember seeing this request/resource anywhere and believe me i've looked at tons of scripts.  If you scroll to the end of marcus's first post on his site it looks like he is asking for help with this same thing? Not quite sure if this is what he's getting at.

Attachments Are

Old/Deleted [[ Looping/Project1 = New project with a map that uses default tileset A for a Panoramic Map and default tileset E for passable tiles. Note i believe i skewed it by one or two pixels... but for quick testing this didn't matter. ]] Old/Deleted

A copy of the demo from Marcus's Panoramic Map Tut. It works as is, set the looping to 'both' and it no longer works.

Project 1: Same as the old one above but the panoramic map got editted to fix to the pixel and a transparent area was added. (anywhere thats not land tile)

Wow. That's one of the best ways I've seen ANYONE ever request around here. Even though I can't do a thing about scripting, I thought I'd just let you know that I think this sounds incredible and I love your idea of the world map. You're really thinking outside of the box here, it's cool.

I'm thinking about ways to do it. From what I understand, you want the parallax to move in the opposite direction at some percentage of the speed?

I think he means that both parallaxes will be moving in the same direction, however the lowest one will be moving slower than the top one.
If you move up the parallax is moving down at the same speed, then the parallax below that is also moving down but at maybe 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 speed. It gives the illusion of depth. Something farther away appears to be moving slower.

Just as an example, the top parallax would be normal ground, then the one lower than it could be lava or something. Like if your area is burnt earth and there are holes in the ground, if the parallax for the lava moves slower than the top one it would appear as though it isn't at the same height as the ground you are walking on and rather it is below it in a hole. Then with a few shadow effects on the top parallax around the transparent holes [where the second parallax would show through] it would look like it is actually down a hole.

AH, I see. Well, for now I am only working on request A, without the additional features (It's going well). What I meant by my question was whether the parallax should move in the opposite direction of the player. So, if the player moves up, it moves down. If the player moves right the parallax moves left, etc...

Well. I'm sitting here, really trying to think of what that would look like if the parallax's moved the same direction as the player but at a slower rate. Especially for a globe that Arclight is going for. I mean, in game it will appear that the parallax's are moving the opposite direction the player is because you'd want to have the illusion of walking along. However, if the parallax were to move at a slower rate than the player but also the same direction, it would still appear that way, but I'm not sure if it would appear slower or give it a 'rolling' feel rather than a 'scrolling' feel. Damn, I'm sitting here with my hands over each other slowly moving one over the other and trying to picture this madness. This will truly be very amazing when it's finished.

More infos

ROFL... yeah... um what i meant is parallax would move contrary to the direction the actor is moving in. Grafikal is correct in his explanation, giving illusion of depth is what i'm going for.

I'm trying to do two things. Get totally away from using tilesets at all, except where i have to use them for water animation, And not loose the benefits of having a parallax background. So... the idea of having two parallaxes. One would be "normal" and the other would be a replacement for the tileset maps.

Rant&Rave

Then instead of spending hours making tilesets that are usable and look professional via the VX map editter i can make maps via copy/paste in a paint program. Its faster, easier, and without the limitations that VX has with the tilesets.

Try doing your own trees in an autotile, omg, that was a pain in the butt. Once was enough of that!

And when did you last see a forest that was all 90 degree angles with each tree spaced the same distance from every tree around it... that was ok for Final Fantasy II / III but Enterbrain needs to wake up and smell the year 2000 here. I like Final Fantasy III too but give me a real paint program! Not a wanabe.

Check out Moghunter's Animated Title Screen VX script, it uses multiple paralaxes moving at different speeds to animate to create an illusion of depth and perspective.

I'm not much of a scripter but I hope this has something to do with it.
http://www.atelier-rgss.com/RGSS/Demos/VX_MOG_Title_Miria.exe

I only took on the first request, so it does not support multiple parallaxes, but maybe when I am less busy I will expand the request. Anyway:

http://rmrk.net/index.php/topic,28724.0.html

@Lynx - that doesn't look like what he is looking for. It is a title screen. What he wants is a parallax that scrolls only when the player is moving at something relative to the player's speed.

Thanks algebra.  :-)   No hurry, my project is on pause right now anyway as i teach myself ruby.  However, its nice to have that script. I'm sure anyone who has read the mapping tut will love ya for it.