"MAPPING IN RMVX" OR "I HOPE YOU LIKE SQUARES!"

Now, I am well aware that the map editor and the issues surrounding it are a little firebrand in the RM community so I harbour no illusions that this will not spillover here, but try to keep it to a minimum! Without even opening RMVX I can tell you that the biggest complaints about the editor is the limitation of a single tileset for the entire game. Oh why would you do this Enterbrain? Especially when (so I here) RMXP's map editor was so robust. I'm sure there was a sound decision for going in this direction, but I cannot fathom what it could be.

But enough with the lamenting. Onward with...

RMVX ::..
Using the Map Editor



I have to admit that it is quite a feat for Enterbrain to pull off - the ability to have a mapping engine and chipset built in 2007 somehow appear less organic than a chipset made in 1990 for the NES.

Auto-tiles are the key word here when working with RMVX. Practically everything in layer A is auto-tiling! This does help speed up production with the process of mapping, but in my experience the time spent making a map wasn't so much on the actual laying of tiles as it was designing it in the first place.

SHIFT ::..

Handy Shift Tip!
Luckily the Shift key maintained it functionality in mapping in the upgrade to RMVX. Hold shift while applying a tile to prevent triggering auto-tiling logic. Hold shift while selecting on-map tiles to "memorize" that section's auto-tiling setting and then continue to hold shilt to paste that tiling exactly.

The shift key takes on extra significance when nearly every tile is an auto-tile. (Note that this shift key magic also works in RM2k3, for those of you who care and don't know that yet). Hmm, and it appears that shadow-logic is independent of mapping, too. Another thing to investigate!

LAYERS ::..
Now, one might notice the increased number of layers available to you in RMVX. I for one noticed, anyway. Layer A typically contains "foundation" tiles like grasses and stonework and what-have-you, while layers B, C and D contain "upper layer" items like windows, towns, trees, rocks and castles. Layer E is a MYSTERY LAYER (there is nothing in it)(presumably it is there to give you a quick place to dump new tileset graphics).

Mapping controls remain the same. Left-click on the palette to select a tile-type, and left-click on the map to place it. Right-clicking on the map copies the tile(s) underneath for a quick palette shortcut.

Note about Right-click
It copies ALL of the layers at once. Unlike in RM2k3 where there was a clear distinction between upper and lower layers, and the right-click behavior only applied to one layer at a time, in RMVX right-clicking copies all the layers at once to the active palette. This can both hinder and speed up mapping for the seasoned RM2k3 mapper. (I found that I was taking more steps selecting palettes than I was used to in RM2k3 since I wanted a treetop tile, not a treetop-with-long-grass-underneath tile).

PASSABILITY ::..
Remember wayyy back when I wrote my blog on the RMVX database? Well, in there I noticed that there was no way to control tileset passability settings from in there (like before). Craze (the goober) pointed out that the little yellow Scooching Man toggles that ability!

Problem solved!

TILESET ::..
The tileset itself seems to contain most everything you'd need to make a standard-fare fantasy RPG. One glaring ommission I noticed was the lack of hills and tall grass to go along with the plains, forest and mountains of the worldmap tiles. :( I will definitely have to address that sometime in the future!

So that's about all I have to say on mapping in RMVX at this time. Perhaps in the future I will explore Layer E, editing the tileset, and scripts that handle multiple tilesets. For now I will leave you with these words of wisdom:

The Holy Church of Rmn
"The Path"

In Rmnism, the Three Tile Rule both precedes and encompasses the universe. All the observable objects in the world - referred to as 'the chapset' or 'the ten thousand events' - are considered to be manifestations of the Three Tile Rule, and can only operate within the boundaries of the Three Tile Rule.

While the Three Tile Rule cannot be expressed, its adherents hold that it can be known, and its principles can be followed. Much of Three Tile Rule theory focuses on the value of following the Three Tile Rule - called Tttr (virtue) - and of the ultimate uselessness of trying to understand or control the Three Tile Rule outright. This is often expressed through chip and chap arguments, where every action creates a counter-action as a natural, unavoidable movement within manifestations of the Three Tile Rule.

The Three Tile Rule is often compared to water: clear, colorless, unremarkable, yet all beings depend on it for life, and even the hardest stone cannot stand in its way forever.

Aremen.