The BIG Parallaxing Guide for Dummies
Part 1: The First Step
Part 1: The First Step
Disclaimer: I don't think that any of you are dumb for using this tutorial, it is just for the sake of the Title, I wanted a catchy title, and I like it
Welcome, I am going to be doing a number of different tutorials on how I utilize Photoshop to create the newest craze in RPG Maker VX: Parallax Maps.
For this Tutorial you will NOT need:
- Knowledge of Photoshop: I will go into the nitty gritty of how to utilise Photoshop for Parallaxing, whereas other tutorials expect you to know something about it, I will act as if you have NEVER opened up Photoshop
- Knowledge of RPG Maker VX: I will also show you what you need to know about RPG Maker VX to use this tutorial...
This tutorial will be VERY LONG, and will probably be split up into different threads, purely because of the amount of pictures I will use, and the detail I will be going into...
Parallaxing can be tricky at times, frustrating and irritating, however stick with it, because the maps you can create with, are amazing!
In this tutorial we will learn:
- What are Parallaxes?
- How to change the passibility settings.
- How to change your tileset
- Making a "base" map, that is used to create your Parallax
- How to use the script Editor
- Inputting Scripts
- Using the Script Command
- Creating a new Event Page
- Exporting your map as a PNG
The First Steps >>What Are Parallax Maps?
Before the times of Parallax mapping you used Parallaxes as a background to a map that has been created using the editor...
Parallaxes are simply images, which are shown in the background, these images where used for scenery and backdrops, these images aren't meant to be walked on, I mean can you walk in the air?
Parallax...The old way!
Well...some smart cookie decided to change all that, they realised that if they changed the passability settings of the Parallax Tile (show below):
The Parallax Tile
They can create maps made completely from a Parallax Image.
Now, the maps of old are phasing out; the days of RTP maps and square villages are dying. The best and greatest ways to create a game that impresses the critics is to Parallax.
Parallax maps open up new possibilities, the fact that you were restricted to square maps, with little room for change was kinda suckish, now you can create more realistic maps, going back to the days of RPG Maker XP, where you had lots of layers, where you can layer upon layer upon layer...and so on, RPG Maker VX kept you with just two.
Probably the best thing about Parallax mapping, is the infinite amount of layers you can use, I can use around 50/100 layers for a small map, and there is no problems! Parallax Mapping is the way of the future!
Anyway...enough about that let's get on with actually making your first Parallax map...
The First Steps >>Inside Mapping>>>Creating the Base
So the first step to creating a parallax map is to create your Parallax:
So to start up with open up RPG Maker VX:
Opening Of RPG Maker VX(Yes I am going to show EVERYTHING)
Now it is best to start from the floor and work up when creating your map, there are two different techniques in creating the walls and floors. The easiest and most time effective way is to use the editor, to create your base, this means that you flooring and your walls (which is the hardest thing to create in parallax map) are already made; this means then you can get on with customising your "home".
Now NO map should be 100 by 100, that is just cruel and horrible to parallax and makes the players like seriously difficult, So time to resize it to a more negotiable size, let's say 20 by 17, it is just abit bigger than the default, and this will be shrunk even further when creating the map! So click on the map named: "Map 001" and press enter, this will open up the following window, set the window to look like below:
Prime Window Setup for an inside Map
Once you have done this press enter, and now your HUGE map will shrink to a more manageable size, now it is time to create a basic outline, using RTP and Mack(In the more advanced sections of this tutorial, I will show you how to utilize the Swap XT Software and script and swapping in better and less RTP flooring and maps
To start off with create your ceiling outline like shown:
Ceiling Outline
Now add in the floor and the walls:
Walls and Floor:
So you have created the "base" for your home, however for a parallax map; we need to edit it in a Graphics program...
First Steps >> Inside Mapping >> Exporting it as a PNG picture file
The quickest and easiest way of getting your map out of RPG Maker VX and getting it into Photoshop/GIMP is to use a Map Saver script:
Omegas7's Map Saver Script
To do this the best way is to copy the script above and paste it into the Script Editor:
Press F11 and this window will pop up:
Script Editor Window
Scroll down to the bottom of the script editor to where it says "Materials". Copy the script from above using CTRL+ C and then click in the blank space below "Materials" and then on the white space next to it and press CTRL + P, which will paste the script into the editor. Now all you need to do is to name the Script: "Map Saver", ensure that it looks like the screen below before continuing:
After the Paste:
So, now you have copied and pasted the script, you are now all set up ready to get your map out of VX and into your graphics program!
Now, reading the instructions that are positioned at the top of the script you discover that you need to create a blank PNG file. So let us do that now
First Steps >> Inside Mapping >> Exporting it as a PNG picture file >> Creating the Blank Image
In RPG Maker the characters walk every 32px squares you can see this when you open up the editor and switch to the Event Layer:
32px Squares
So we need to mimic this in our graphics program to ensure that we make our life as easy as possible, and our character can move properly. So open up your Graphic Editing software:
Photoshop CS5 (GIMP IMAGE WILL BE DONE SOON)
So now we need to create a new blank image which the script will use to paste the current map onto it; however we need to make sure it is the right size.
If you have copied the tutorial the current size of your map should be: 20 by 17.
What you now need to do I time each of these numbers by 32, this is because our graphics program works in pixels, so open up Windows Calculator and type in the following calculations:
20(width of your map) * 32(pixel amount)
17(height of map) * 32(pixel amount)
Now you have the size of your map in Pixels, you can now create yourself a new picture
Set it up like shown below:
Photoshop setup(GIMP TO FOLLOW)
REMEMBER: If you are using a different size map, to what I created...you MUST change the above picture to show the size of YOUR map. Using the following equation:
Width (of map) *32 =Width
Length (of map)*32 =Length
So once you have done this immediately save it as a .PNG into "Graphics >> System" in your project folder under the name "Blank" (without the quotation marks)
Save it in Picture>>System folder of your Game Folder
First Steps >> Inside Mapping >> Exporting it as a PNG picture file >> Event Setup >> Creating Event Page 1
Now, we need to setup the event for the script to work, so let's go back into the script to see what we have to do:
Script Instructions
Let's get started:
First let's set the players position in the left hand corner of map,
So, now you need to right click on the bottom left hand side of the map and select set position
Setting the Position
Once you have done that it is time to create the event:
Looking back at our script instructions we find that it asks us to call too script Event commands so let's do that!
Our first script command we need is:
CODE
$saver = Map_Saver.new
Making sure you are still on the event layer double click on one of the blank squares around your map to open up the Event editor and firstly set the trigger to Autorun:
Autorun Trigger On
So once you have done that we need to go to the third page of the Event commands window:
The script Page...
So, now we see the script window, copy this code and paste it into the window that is now opened:
Look above for code ^
now press enter It also tells us to activate a self switch so let's do that, so once again bring up the Event Command Window and click on Self Switch
Event Command Window:
Now select the ON radial button as shown below:
Self Switch Window:
Now your screen should look like this:
Completed event page:
Time for the next step...
First Steps >> Inside Mapping >> Exporting it as a PNG picture file >> Event Setup >> Creating Event Page 2
Now it is time for the second page of the event. To do this press the New Page button, at the top of the screen:
New Event Page Button!
Now we have two Event pages it is time to create the second part of the Event
Firstly we need to set up some conditions. If you remember on the previous page of this Event we turned on: "Self Switch A" this was so that we can activate THIS page so now on the conditions section of the Event window we need to tick the Self Switch box and make sure it is set to A:
Setting Condition:
Now that we have set the conditions we also need to change the Trigger to "Autorun"
Now it is time to call the second switch command:
CODE
$saver.update
Now do exactly what you did on page one however, this time input the above script snippet, once done it should look like this:
The Completed Event:
Now we are done....with the eventing for the script... Now all we need to do is run the game and this will happen
What should happen
Once this is done all you need to do is go into your Project folder and image will be there:
Ready to parallax
And that concludes the first part of the tutorial, I know parallaxing didn't really get started...but this part of the setup is VERY important!
This Tutorial is currently for RRR/R3 only, DO NOT DISTRIBUTE ON ANY OTHER SITES...FULL STOP! If you wanna show on other sites, a link to this thread is allowed


