Dev Log #1

Hi everyone!

So today, I’ll be talking about my mapping and tilesets. For those who are unaware, tilesets from the backbone of RPG Maker MV‘s mapping system. Each tileset is comprised of up to nine component tileset pieces, as follows:

• A1 – Animated Water
• A2 – Ground
• A3 – Buildings
• A4 – Walls
• A5 – Normal
• B – Normal
• C – Normal
• D – Normal
• E – Normal

Now, you may notice that five of the nine tileset components start with the letter “A”. These denote “Autotiles”. When the engine draws Autotiles, it draws them as a continuous area, as opposed to as individual objects. This is particularly helpful when creating stretches of contiguous terrian. Sections A5, B, C, D, and E create individual objects.

Now for my tileset plan. I created an Excel document that details what tileset pieces I intend to use for each tileset:

Now, I created a section of my starting area using the Forest and Village tilesets, as detailed in the plan. I used my test shots (https://sldesignfmp.game.blog/2019/05/07/mapping-test-shots/) as the basis for the layout as well:

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If you’d like to know where I got the inspiration from, it’s simple. I based the interior maps on early Final Fantasy maps, and the village came from an area near where I live. In order to preserve a sense of scale, I measure my interior maps as 2x the size as the exterior building in tiles. This gives me room for the characters to move, but at the same time preserves some measure of consistency.

I’ve still got to create the “dungeon”-style maps that the player will adventure through. Luckily, I decided that the first dungeon area will be a forest, so I don’t have to create a new tileset to make it.

So that’s it from me for now. I’ll be back in a bit with some more development!