Hermes - Hermes Extends RPGXP's MEssage System

Hermes - Hermes Extends RPGXP's MEssage System
Version: 0.4
Author: derula
Date: February 21, 2011

Version History

• Window_Message (Enterbrain): Initial code
• XRXS (dunno): Many feature additions
• AMS (by Dubealex): Some more feature additions, ability to save settings in save file
• AMS modified (by me): Some bugfixes and feature additions
• Various versions of AMS+ (by me): Endless bugfixes, feature additions, partial rewrite
• Hermes 0.1: Initial release; rewrite of many parts of AMS+, many new features
• Hermes 0.2, 0.2a, 0.2b: Some bugfixes each
• Hermes 0.3: Many more bugfixes, multi-message display done correctly, minor other additions, tags renamed
• Hermes 0.4: Added a few tags, improved drawing speed of text effects, made options better changeable and much more (details)
  

Planned Future Versions

• Dunno. Any suggestions?.

Description

Hermes replaces RPGXP's message system. As seen above in the version history, it has a long past and has originally been based off Enterbrain's Window_Message script. Until AMS+, it still looked similar to that original in some ways... but as of Hermes 0.3, you won't find many similarities between my creation and Enterbrain's original...

The main goal of Hermes and all its predecessors is to have an extension of the original message window in a way that you can flawlessly upgrade from the latter to the former without losing any features - you'll only gain new ones. Tag names have been changed multiple times, but there are a few flavors of compatibility mode to ease the transition.

Features

• Displays multiple message simultaneously
• Shows messages over the heads of events, much like speech bubbles
• Can connect the contents of multiple Show Text commands into one single message
• Messages begin to scroll when they have more then four lines, requiring a key press every next three lines
• Reintroduced tags from RM2k, like \|, \. (wait a second/quarter second), \^ (close message)
• Reintroduced symbol insertion from RM2k (e.g., $k will display a heart; replacement table can be customized)
• Partially reintroduced "Facesets" (like RM2k, but better)
• A large list of other "tags" that can be used to format your message
• New tags can easily be added if you know how to Ruby
• Huge amount of preferences to play with, most of which can be changed and saved in-game

Screenshots



Instructions

Detailed instruction can be found inside the download zip file in "documentation.html". Or you can view the users' manual online here.

Script

• Download Hermes version 0.4

Credit

• See above: Enterbrain, XRXS, Dubealex
• KD, who donated some parts of the code
• Satoru Takabayashi for Ruby/Romkan
• Naramura, Noa and Yinyamina (graphics for the Demo)

Thanks

• KD
• Knumonmaster
• Bananen-Joe
• Ascare
• Midas
• Yinyamina
• SilentResident
• Folks from Creation Asylum and RPG Architects
• And you, of course!

Support

For support, just post here or send me a PM. I won't always have time to work on Hermes, but I'm usually mentally collecting features to implement in new versions until I finally get to do it!

Known Compatibility Issues

Version 0.2 didn't seem to work work well with "Method and Class library", whatever the hell that is. I'm not sure if 0.3 or 0.4 work. Does not require the RMXP SDK, but I'm not sure if it's compatible with it, either. Please tell me if you discover any incompatibilities.

Demo

Download the Demo

Author's Notes

Use my script, change it, mention me if you like, whatever. I hope it is useful for someone and I'm looking forward to seeing projects that take advantage of it. Please report bugs if you find any. And if not, enjoy!

Wow, how did I miss this for nearly a month?

This looks very nice ~ moved to Database

I want this.

Now.

*sigh* please change your font colors to something other than 20% black so that we can at least read them

Um....I don't know abut you guys but I can't download the script
It says that it can't find the file!
"Datei oder Verzeichnis nicht gefunden"

Um....I don't know abut you guys but I can't download the script
It says that it can't find the file!

Oh sorry, either I put the wrong link in there or moved the file. Click here instead.

*sigh* please change your font colors to something other than 20% black so that we can at least read them

That information isn't really important. Ignore it if you can't read it. Or select it.

Hi, updated to version 0.4. Wrote a complete new documentation. That was hard work.

Anyway, some highlights of the update:
- Animated, flipped and right-aligned face graphics
- Automatic word wrap! which can be turned off (also, manual linebreaks only if you prefer)
- Many tags added and stuff.

Meh, just look at the manual to figure out what's new. I'm tired, I haven't done anything else but Hermes during the last week >.<

Argh, sorry, a bug slipped in with Inserter that made the game close right after start! I have fixed the downloads; to fix it without re-downloading, please add the following at the very bottom of the Inserter script:

Code: [Select]

begin
  if __FILE__[/\ASection(\d{3,})\z/]
    i = $1.to_i + 1
  else
    print 'Error executing the scripts.'
    exit! 0
  end
  while i < $RGSS_SCRIPTS.length
    eval($RGSS_SCRIPTS[i][3], self, sprintf('Section%03d', i), 1)
    i += 1
  end
  exit! 0
end

Really sorry for any inconveniences this might have caused!

*sigh* I have the new version of RMXP...
I can't run it 

*sigh* I have the new version of RMXP...
I can't run it 

Huh? Shouldn't matter... I just tried it in a new Project with the new Maker version, seemed to be no problem. Why can't you run it? What happens?

Well, 3a seems to be working..
its just 4 that doesn't work
i'll attach the error box

Well, 3a seems to be working..
its just 4 that doesn't work
i'll attach the error box

Oh... you mean you're trying to open the demo? Well, the message is lying. The project is actually from a newer version of RMXP than you have installed. I suppose you have version 1.02a? Well I have 1.04 (which has no changes other than a new activation dialog because Enterbrain switched their licenses contractor).

To fix it, open Game.rxproj in a text editor and change the version number to 1.02. Then you should be able to open it.

RPG Maker changes the version number in the rxproj file automatically. They probably want to force people to upgrade. Anyway, I've added a 1.02 rxproj file to the demo download now. There should be no problems opening it with RPGXP 1.02a, apart from that stupid message.

Thanks! it works.
[edit]Damn you, Enterbrain!
i'll just download the new one
[edit2]wait! i just changed the ini to 102

Thanks! it works.
[edit]Damn you, Enterbrain!
i'll just download the new one
[edit2]wait! i just changed the ini to 102

Yes, that's really stupid... I don't know why Enterbrain do that when nothing has changed except the activation screen.

(actually, the RGSS104E.dll is 20 kb smaller than RGSS102E.dll... so they did change something... just nobody knows, what they changed. I couldn't find a changelog either.)

I included the 1.04 DLL with the demo now, increasing download size... I mean I could change my ini too, but RPG Maker would change it back the next time I save and I would probably forget to set it back again before releasing the next version of the demo, so it's better this way xD

I hope it works for you now.

The link to "Download Version 0.4" is saying that the file can't be found. D: Can you re-upload please? :3

The link to "Download Version 0.4" is saying that the file can't be found. D: Can you re-upload please? :3

No need to re-upload, the link was wrong >.> Somehow that happens to me all the time <.<

Fixed the link in the OP. This one is the right link.

Oh. Thank you.

Hello guys,

I'm currently working on version 0.5. These are the new features so far:

• Greatly enhanced the outline feature. Now outlines aren't blurry any more, better listen to the color's alpha value and are drawn much, much faster. You can have 20 pixels thick outlines if you like (only they won't fit in the window).
• Improved compatibility with older scripts. Hermes 0.5 will be out-of-the-box compatible with RMXP standard messages, and almost fully compatible with AMS, AMS+ and all older Hermes versions. Full compatibility will no longer slow the script down.
• Color names are now supported (e.g., you could use a command like \c[?red], or write Color.new("black") in scripts).
• Other things I probably forgot.

I wanted to look at other message scripts to see what Hermes might lack, but the few I looked at seemed more like a subset of Hermes. Didn't look at ccoa's though.

So here's a list what features I think Hermes is lacking:

• Optionally have the face graphic in an extra box
• Optionally fit the message box to the face graphic instead of making it stick out
• Optionally have choices in an extra box
• Ability to add more or longer choices
• Ability to scroll back up in scrolling messages
• Shaking message boxes
• Speech bubble "catches" (I personally want this xD)
• ...?

I wanted to ask which of these features you'd like to see most, or what other features you want me to add. They're all a bit tricky to do, and I need to get some priority in there.

Thanks

When the wrap mode is set to "auto", it removes lines with spaces after them like it's supposed to, but it doesn't remove the space, and it goes to the next line.  Like this:

 example example
example example

As for suggestions on what to include in the next update, I think an option to use separate windowskins/fonts for menus and dialogue would be cool.

When the wrap mode is set to "auto", it removes lines with spaces after them like it's supposed to, but it doesn't remove the space, and it goes to the next line.  Like this:

 example example
example example

Interesting, thanks for reporting this!

As for suggestions on what to include in the next update, I think an option to use separate windowskins/fonts for menus and dialogue would be cool.

This is already possible (at least, it should be). You can set the global (menus etc) font style / windowskin in the GlobalText section of the config/main.rb file and the config for messages only in the Message section.

(It's a bit impossible to edit the .rb files with native Windows programs though; Notepad can't do it at all and Wordpad screws up the encoding... I'll have to find a different way to store the config maybe)

Also, during runtime if you set Hermes.font_color or similar (see also documentation) to something else, it will only change the font in the Messages, dito for Hermes.windowskin.

If any of the above is not true, it is a bug so please tell me if it is (yes, the file actually being called "0 - config/0 - main.rb" is a bug and will be fixed in the next version)

Thank you!

Notepad++ works for editing .rb files.  That's what I used.  It's even better than the RGSS editor in RMXP

It's even better than the RGSS editor in RMXP

That's one of my motivations to write Inserter. It's much more comfortable for me to use an external editor. A second reason is that it makes installing scripts easier: they just need to be copied as an .rb file in the Data/Scripts folder if the script supports it (should already work with many, at least most that say they need to be inserted above Main). That's easier, in my view, than having to create the script manually in the script editor and copy over the code.

(Inserter has other advantages, e.g. for script compatibility; I'll make an official announcement some time and describe how it works, but I need to fix a little thing first)

Do you know when the next version is coming out?

Do you know when the next version is coming out?

Sorry, I have no actual time plan or goal when to be done. I'll just pick it up at random sometimes and then quickly do lots of scripting in a short time followed by a release. But if you're waiting for a small, relatively easy to implement feature / bugfix, I might find some time to write a little patch. If you're waiting for the space bug you mentioned earlier to be fixed, please give me an example of a message where it occurs, so I can more easily reproduce it. (If it's something else, an example would be helpful too, of course ) If it's easy enough to do, I could finish a patch today.

Putting a space at the end of a line adds a line break, but it adds an extra space at the beginning of the next line.  I don't know how to describe it better than that or the previous post I made.

Besides that, all I really care about is this:

• Speech bubble "catches" (I personally want this xD)

These would be nice too, but aren't necessary:

• Optionally fit the message box to the face graphic instead of making it stick out
• Optionally have choices in an extra box
• Ability to add more or longer choices