Window Skin & Title Font

[Gatene]

Hey all,

I am not sure if this is in the right place or not, but I changed my window skin in Window_Base.prototype.loadWindowskin. When I did this, it changed the font color and the font outline color only on the Title Screen. Everywhere else is fine. I have fooled around with the window skin, changing various colors around, and nothing seems to fix the problem. I'll post the skin I am using.

Thank you for your help,

Gatene

 

[LTN Games]

I don't quite understand the problem here, maybe provide a screenshot to show us what it happening. You should not change the windowskin inside Window_Base, it should have been just as easy to replace the default windowskin in the img/System folder in your project.

 

[Gatene]

I will post the image when I get off from work, but it is exactly as I stated, the font color and font outline are changed; the font is black, and the outline is less opaque. Also, I need 3 different window skins in my project, and the default is one of them. I could rename the more frequently used one as to Window.png, butI do not foresee that helping matters.

Gatene

I don't quite understand the problem here, maybe provide a screenshot to show us what it happening. You should not change the windowskin inside Window_Base, it should have been just as easy to replace the default windowskin in the img/System folder in your project.

[doublepost=1459208316,1459179224][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1459208532][/doublepost]Okay, here is the image as posted. As demonstrated, the text is black, with a lesser opaque black outline. Every other text is the way it is supposed to be, white text, with a black outline.

Gatene

[doublepost=1459223876][/doublepost]Hey all,

I think I just figured out the solution. I applied the 3 skins, and chose the same skin as above for Scene_Equip, and it behaved the same way (black font with a less opaque outline) until each window was activated. I still do not know what portion of the window skin makes it behave that way since the 32 color pallet (the color pallet at the bottom-right of the window skins) is the same as the default window skin. Any suggestions?

Gatene

 

[Companion Wulf]

You could try my Windowskins Tool Plugin (in Resources). It addresses this problem by changing the text color to normal for new windowskins. In fact, it was partly created for this same reason. You can also change/reset windowskins via plugin commands. It may or may not help you. Been looking into this on and off and will post an update soon.

 

[Gatene]

Thanks Companion Wulf, I will definitely give that a shot. It's weird how that happens about the text color.

Gatene

 

[Companion Wulf]

It's weird how that happens about the text color.

It sure is. It may be because MV uses a "blank canvas", so to speak, then paints on top of it. And because it's set up where you change the windowskin colour in the Database, there's no "normal" font colour per se on the window skin, that kinda confuses it.

VXA had a similar issue. I wrote a similar script to address this too.

I'm not at home right now (using my phone), but when I am I'll look into this. You have me curious now LOL.

 

[Gatene]

Hmm, if I understand you correctly, then why have the 32 color pallet at all? basically, just have a "normal" color set until it is changed with scripting. Oh well, I was used to that with XP, all my scripts set the colors, font faces, and window skins. Not sure if I had to, but I knew nothing of Ruby, so I just covered all bases lol.

I believe that a pixel is referenced on the window skin as the font color. I looked over and over it, and the only black -- that wasn't a part of the 32 color pallet -- is in my window border, and my border isn't conventional, it "colors" outside the lines similar to an ink line (which is what my initial purpose was).

Hope that gives you some ideas,

Gatene

 

[Companion Wulf]

Very interesting.

then why have the 32 color pallet at all?

This may in part be due to backwards compatibility VX/VXA. Most of the graphics are essentially ported over and upscaled to MV's specifications. And so, since MV is built around the HTML5 / JS platform for cross-device compatibility, colours can be web format. You could say that the windowskin colours themselves are kinda redundant as well. I'll check into this further when I'm back at home.

 

[Gatene]

I didn't know that, but it would explain why I was able to use my old window skin from my old VX Ace project by simply making it bigger.

 

[Companion Wulf]

I discovered this fact completely by accident LOL. (This subject could be the topic for a new blog post. Will have to think on this.)

 

[LTN Games]

This is the first I ever heard of this issue, it's surprising this has not come up before. I'm curious of the actual issue, is it MV scripting related, Is the default code reading it incorrectly? How can I reproduce this problem? I'd like to take a look at it, I'm intrigued lol.

 

[Gatene]

Wow, now that I am finally home I was able to do some tests, and noticed 3 things:

1..I took my window skin and broke it apart into many layers with Photoshop, and nothing helped the problem; the text was still black.

2..When I was through with #1 and removed all layers it still did not work; the text was still black. I took a look at the thumbnail of the window skin
in Windows Explorer, and the thumbnail was all black...I am not sure if Windows senses it is a blank canvas and colors it black to illustrate
something other than a blank thumbnail or what. It still makes me wonder though.

3..I took my window skin, and renamed it to Window.png, changed the line in rpg_windows.js back to the original
this.windowskin = ImageManager.loadSystem('Window'); , played the game, and it worked perfectly. White text, black outline, everything perfect.
So, the program does not like non-default window skins, unless something is up with #2. Hmm, if that were the case, then simply renaming it to
Window.png wouldn't help at all.

The only thing that makes sense is that MV doesn't like other-than-default window skins. Your plugin Companion Wulf, makes the world of difference. The window skin does its job without recoloring the text, but I will need to use different window skins in the same scene, so I won't be able to use the plugin.

Gatene

 

[Companion Wulf]

I've had a chance to properly look into this (now that I'm home and have had a "long nap".

This is the first I ever heard of this issue, it's surprising this has not come up before. I've no I'm curious of the actual issue, is it MV scripting related, Is the default code reading it incorrectly? How can I reproduce this problem?

I've not seen this elsewhere either. However, it's not really MV related as such. VX/VXA has 32 default colours on the windowskin they use for text colours. By default, MV uses (120,120) as the XY pixel position for its default text colour, which, as @Gatene mentioned about previously is "outside" the range of windowskin colours, i.e. black. And logically, since MV uses larger windowskin sizes, a VX/VXA port-over of a windowskin will not render the colours properly or in the same way because the VX/VXA palette is smaller.

I DO have a working solution in progress, but I'm going to look into this further. And also using Script Commands to change/reset the windowskins in the code itself to resolve @Gatene 's dilemma as well.

(Methinks, this subject merits a blog entry after all!)

 

[Gatene]

You know Companion Wulf, I decided to try and rename the default MV window skin as Window2.png and there was no problem. Perhaps it was resizing the window skin after all. I had never thought about that until your research. I guess I will have to make the image over again. Sorry you had to go through all that research for such a simple fix. I firmly believe that resizing the the VXA image causes something to go wrong. If I am correct, then that is something else to include in your blog entry, but I won't officially know until I remake the window skin. I'll append a post here once I do it; it's too late tonight.

Gatene

 

[Companion Wulf]

Sorry you had to go through all that research for such a simple fix.

Well, actually it benefited me too so it was worth it in the end!

As an addendum to the above, it does have to do with resizing. VX/VXA's colours are just slightly out. MV still uses the colour palette, however, for \C[ ] command in window messages, which work as you'd expect; just not quite in the same way with a VX/VXA upscale.

UPDATE:
The actual colours on the MV windowskin are the same size as those on the VX/VXA windowskin. Since "Normal Color" is set to zero by default, which is usually white. I'll look into the revisit the black font issue later (after I've finished more work on my own game's plugins).

 

[LTN Games]

I'm closing thread due to being solved, if for any reason you'd like it re-opened please report this post. Thank you !