ZUD Plugin [Essentials v19.1]

[Illuminator]

ok that makes sense and actually seeing a decision tree does make my options clear.

I did have correct size sprites with just gen8.
I tried again installing zud over the game with just gen8 and again got small sprites, and i do really want to use ZUD.
So i suppose that puts me at either figuring out the conflict between some script related to bitmaps and the ebdx wrapper or waiting for v20. this answers my question of where should i proceed or which scripts should i look at.
This was actually the step i was currently at, but my programming and game development knowledge is very limited. This game is my first real attempt and i got surpisingly far considering my only prior knowledge was html/css and photoshop.
So i will keep at it, but truth be told the bitmap related scripts are slightly beyond me at this point. I may have to just wait for V20.

I understand as someone who actually understands this stuff my question & attitude about giving up may seem frustrating, but after several hours of going through these bitmap and ebdx scripts it just seems to be totally impossible for me to figure out.
I just have no clue when v20 will come out and if i have to skills to transfer my work succesfully, so for all i know this may very well be as far as i am able to get without assistance from someone more knowledgable.

But the workaround of doubling my actual sprites could potentially work. i do have the photoshop skills to do this in batch for all the images. I just pray i do not have to also change values in scripts for this to work... And it would make for a much laggier game with a much larger filesize so that would really have to be an absolute last resort... I will have to keep trying to figure out how these bitmap scaling scripts really work and where the conflict is.

Thanks anyway for the effort it took to guide me this far, sorry for annoying you with rookie questions.

EDIT: the only place in scripts i keep coming back to, where i think the fix could be is in Pokemon_Sprites:
def pokemon=(value)
@pokemon = value
@animBitmap.dispose if @animBitmap
@animBitmap = nil
if !@pokemon
self.bitmap = nil
@currentFrame = 0
@counter = 0
return
end
@animBitmap = AnimatedBitmap.new(GameData::Species.icon_filename_from_pokemon(value))
self.bitmap = @animBitmap.bitmap
self.src_rect.width = @animBitmap.height
self.src_rect.height = @animBitmap.height
@numFrames = @animBitmap.width/@animBitmap.height
@currentFrame = 0 if @currentFrame>=@numFrames
changeOrigin
end

I am very hesitant to mess with this, afraid to break the whole game. The edit i would attempt would be to replace @animBitmap.height with a set number and see if that works. Again this could be a total idiot move, but i am trying to fix a bit of coding i do not understand...
One reason i think the problem may be related to this, is because right above that bit of code is the code for the "jumping animation"
That bit does execute, my pokemon backsprite goes up and down in battle. So maybe setting hard values for height and width there could bypass the whole scaling?

EDIT2: after making several more alterations to EBDX_wrapper and never seeing any changes, i have concluded that most likely the entire thing is never executed... now i am even more confused

EDIT3: next i tried altering EBDX Sprites.rb in 000Zud Compat / EBDX Compat / patches / battlecore. this also seemed to change nothing no matter what i changed in there.

 

[Lucidious89]

I did have correct size sprites with just gen8.

Ok, so then I guess it really is a ZUD issue. Or rather, the latest version of Gen 8 has changed something that now makes ZUD incompatible.

EDIT: the only place in scripts i keep coming back to, where i think the fix could be is in Pokemon_Sprites:

If you've already established that ZUD is the issue, why would changing anything in the Gen 8 scripts fix anything? The issue is obviously in the ZUD Plugin.

EDIT2: after making several more alterations to EBDX_wrapper and never seeing any changes, i have concluded that most likely the entire thing is never executed... now i am even more confused

Obviously nothing changed in the Gen 8 scripts regarding sprites will produce any changes, since the ZUD Plugin will be overwriting any edits you're making.

EDIT3: next i tried altering EBDX Sprites.rb in 000Zud Compat / EBDX Compat / patches / battlecore. this also seemed to change nothing no matter what i changed in there.

Why would changing EBDX compatibility patches have anything to do with this? I presume you aren't using EBDX, correct? As far as I know, you're only using Gen 8 + ZUD.

I've already told you what specific file you should be looking in to triangulate where the issue is.

 

[Illuminator]

You told me to look in "the file related to pokemon bitmap"
i thought EBDX_Sprites.rb was this file

If you mean the file Pokemon Bitmaps & Icons.rb, i do not see one instance of the word "scale" in there so i would not know what to change.

Oh and to answer your question no i do not use EBDX. only the compatibility that comes with gen8

 

[Lucidious89]

You told me to look in "the file related to pokemon bitmap"
i thought EBDX_Sprites.rb was this file

Yes, but in the ZUD Plugin itself. Not the compatibility patches. The EBDX scripts there are SPECIFICALLY for compatibility with EBDX.
You want to look at the Pokemon Bitmaps file. If nothing there looks relevant, then the only other place would probably be the Species Data file. Those are the only two locations that have anything to do at all with Pokemon sprites.

Come to think of it, I would probably focus on the Species Data file first. If memory serves, I literally had to make reference to the EBDXBitmapWrapper there to retain compatibility with the Gen 8 Project, because the Gen 8 Project repurposes this EBDX tool to display its sprites. This is the entire reason why there's compatibility issues in the first place, because the Gen 8 Project doesn't display sprites in the normal way that vanilla Essentials does. It uses the EBDX method. So I had to account for that with ZUD. Clearly, something about this was changed when the Gen 8 Project was updated to v1.1.2.

 

[Illuminator]

ok i may have found something promising...
i was comparing scripts from gen8 1.1.1 to gen8 1.1.2
and i noticed this in 010_Data/002_PBS data/008_Species.rb:
attr_accessor :back_sprite_scale
and
attr_accessor :front_sprite_scale
Both were part of the script in 1.1.1 but not in 1.1.2
adding the 2 lines did not solve the issue though.


EDIT: they also have this bit:
"BackSpriteScale" => [0, "i"],
within the function of:
def self.schema(compiling_forms = false)
ret = {
in the old script, but not in the new one. in fact the entire word "scale" is missing from the 1.1.2 version of this script
in fact there is a third time the scales come up in the old version of the script. but adding all these to the new version still does not solve it.


even pasting the entire old script over the new did not solve it.
Now i do know your species_data script has calls to this. They seem to have removed it from their species data and i see nothing they have replaced it with.

 

[Lucidious89]

ok i may have found something promising...
i was comparing scripts from gen8 1.1.1 to gen8 1.1.2
and i noticed this in 010_Data/002_PBS data/008_Species.rb:
attr_accessor :back_sprite_scale
and
attr_accessor :front_sprite_scale
Both were part of the script in 1.1.1 but not in 1.1.2
adding the 2 lines did not solve the issue though.


EDIT: they also have this bit:
"BackSpriteScale" => [0, "i"],
within the function of:
def self.schema(compiling_forms = false)
ret = {
in the old script, but not in the new one. in fact the entire word "scale" is missing from the 1.1.2 version of this script
in fact there is a third time the scales come up in the old version of the script. but adding all these to the new version still does not solve it.


even pasting the entire old script over the new did not solve it.

Are you using the Github version of the Gen 8 Project? If not, then nothing in those scripts matter, and they should have already been deleted (as per the Gen 8 Plugin instructions). If you're using the normal version of the Project/Essentials, then what matters is what appears in the game script. And from what I can tell, all of those things are included in v1.1.2.

 

[Illuminator]

I am not using the Github version no, those files were originally deleted but i have been trying everything to find a solution. Including not deleting files in the new installation process. this seemed to make no difference. But now i see it did cause me to spend a lot of my time/effort in the wrong place.

Ok so looking at the scripts within the game i am now back to not knowing where to proceed or what scripts to look at.
I looked at species, species_files and ebdx_wrapper but those are unchanged from 1.1.1
i looked at Pokebattle_Battler, Battler_Initialize, Battler_ChangeSelf, Pokebattle_Battle, Pokebattle_BattleCommon, Pokebattle_Animation, Pokemon_Sprites, RPG_Sprite, FileMixins, Sprite_Picture and Sprite_AnimationSprite but none of those show any obvious links to scaling or contain the word scale at all.

I am totally lost again....




EDIT: actually, could the issue be this? That they moved the scripts from files to inside the game script, and the reference you had to add in your species_data has not accounted for this change?

 

[Lucidious89]

Ok so looking at the scripts within the game i am now back to not knowing where to proceed or what scripts to look at.
I looked at species, species_files and ebdx_wrapper but those are unchanged from 1.1.1
i looked at Pokebattle_Battler, Battler_Initialize, Battler_ChangeSelf, Pokebattle_Battle, Pokebattle_BattleCommon, Pokebattle_Animation, Pokemon_Sprites, RPG_Sprite, FileMixins, Sprite_Picture and Sprite_AnimationSprite but none of those show any obvious links to scaling or contain the word scale at all.

I am totally lost again....

Well, Species_Files and EBDX Wrapper Compatibility are the only places that would be relevant to this issue. I assume that the sprites are the incorrect size even in the Summary/Pokedex/PC/etc, correct? If so, this isn't a battle-related issue, so none of the battle classes are relevant.

EDIT: actually, could the issue be this? That they moved the scripts from files to inside the game script, and the reference you had to add in your species_data has not accounted for this change?

You need to be more specific, I don't really know what you're talking about here.

 

[Illuminator]

Yes, sprites are also small in the pokedex etc.

and what i mean is the scripts you said could be deleted (as per gen8 install instructions)
I am assuming this deleting scripts step was perhaps added in gen8 1.1.2, and maybe thats the issue. But seeing as you did not know what i was talking about right away i must be wrong


Also i do not have Pokemon_Spritescaler only Pokemon_Sprites, but i see you edited that to ebdx_wrapper compat...


Well as far as those 2 files go, and comparing those to your species_data. I have looked at them about as much as possible and if the solution really is here it is beyond me

 

[Lucidious89]

Yes, sprites are also small in the pokedex etc.

and what i mean is the scripts you said could be deleted (as per gen8 install instructions)
I am assuming this deleting scripts step was perhaps added in gen8 1.1.2, and maybe thats the issue. But seeing as you did not know what i was talking about right away i must be wrong

Deleting those scripts was always part of the installation instructions. It's only there for Github users, it doesn't affect anything else at all. That's why you're instructed to delete it if you aren't using Github. It's a waste of space to keep it.

 

[Illuminator]

Right, well i went through pretty much all scripts in the game by now. Especially species, species_files and ebdx_wrapper_compatibility. and your species_data file.

I am pretty sure i will not be able to fix this myself. I suppose i just have to give up and wait for V20, then pray i am able to transfer my game to V20 succesfully without breaking anything...
Sucks because i was really getting into developing this game and i really wanted to keep going now

 

[Lucidious89]

Right, well i went through pretty much all scripts in the game by now. Especially species, species_files and ebdx_wrapper_compatibility. and your species_data file.

I am pretty sure i will not be able to fix this myself. I suppose i just have to give up and wait for V20, then pray i am able to transfer my game to V20 succesfully without breaking anything...
Sucks because i was really getting into developing this game and i really wanted to keep going now

Well, just to make sure I'm not crazy, I re-downloaded the latest version of the Gen 8 Project and installed it into a v19.1 project containing the ZUD Plugin, and the sprites are displayed perfectly fine. So I really don't know what to tell you, or anybody else who's been having this issue. If I can't replicate the problem, then I can't really provide any pointers on what the problem may even be. Once again, I'm going to have to assume user error is to blame on some level.

 

[Illuminator]

To be sure, this project you tested it on, did it include hotfixes aswell?
And did it include other plugins, such as EBDX? (which i dont have)
Does the order in which i install gen8 and ZUD potentially matter? does it matter if i have my project open during this process? I am just trying to diagnose what i may have done different....

And heres a final idea: would it be at all possible for me to download, say, a wetransfer link or whatever, of your working project with both the plugins working?
I could in theory add my maps and custom sprites/pokemon there so i don't have to completely start over. And it would avoid me making whatever user error i apparantly already made twice a third time.

But if you are unwilling to go through the whole uploading/linksharing i would understand ofcourse, just an idea.


EDIT: i have since gone through the whole painstaking process of installing both plugins fresh a third time, and again i get small sprites, and again the scale values in settings do nothing.... whatever i am doing wrong i cant seem to do it right no matter how slowly and carefully i try to do the process.

 

[Lucidious89]

To be sure, this project you tested it on, did it include hotfixes aswell?
And did it include other plugins, such as EBDX? (which i dont have)
Does the order in which i install gen8 and ZUD potentially matter? does it matter if i have my project open during this process? I am just trying to diagnose what i may have done different....

I do have other plugins and the Hotfixes installed, but they shouldn't matter.

However, since this has now captured my attention a bit, I decided to TRIPLE check my own sanity, and install everything from scratch to ensure that I'm not the one who's messing up here. So this is EXACTLY what I did:

1. Downloaded a fresh copy of Pokemon Essentials v19.1, and extracted its contents to my desktop.
2. Downloaded the latest version of the Generation 8 Project, and followed the installation instructions.
   • Deleted the appropriate folders, as stated in Step 2.
   • Extracted all of its contents into my project's root folder, as stated in Step 3.
   • Deleted the Scripts folder, as stated in Step 4.
   • Deleted the EBDX folder, as stated in Step 5.
   • Ran the game in Debug mode and compiled, as stated in Step 6.
   • Started a new game, as stated in Step 7.
3. After installing the Gen 8 Project and starting a new game, I checked the Summary of my Pokemon and entered a battle to ensure the sprites displayed correctly. They did.
4. Next, I downloaded the latest version of the ZUD Plugin, and followed the installation instructions.
   • As stated in Step 1...
     • I opened the folder labeled "Primary Installation".
     • I extracted all of the contents found in this folder into my project's root folder.
   • As stated in Step 2...
     • I opened the folder labeled "Secondary Installation".
     • As stated in Step 2.B, I opened the folder labeled "Gen 8 Project", and extracted its contents into my project's root folder.
     • As stated in Step 2.C, I opened the ZUD Settings and set GMAX_XL_ICONS to "false".
     • As stated in Step 2.E, I opened my "items" PBS file, and added the necessary items.
     • As stated in Step 2.F, I opened my "moves" PBS file, and added the necessary moves.
   • I ignored Step 3 of the ZUD Installation, because the latest version of the Generation 8 Project already includes all of these script changes by default (as stated in the FAQ and Change Log of the Generation 8 Project).
5. I opted not to install the v19.1 Hotfixes (simply to speed up the process), since the Gen 8 Project has these fixes hard-coded into its scripts by default. Instead, I just removed the line from the ZUD Plugin meta.txt file that lists the Hotfixes as a requirement. (Although installing the Hotfixes normally shouldn't make any difference).
6. I ran the game in Debug mode once again, allowing the game to compile all the ZUD Plugin content.
7. I started yet another new game, just in case.
8. Once again, I checked the Summary of my Pokemon and entered a battle to ensure the sprites displayed correctly. They did.
9. I gave myself a Dynamax Band and entered a trainer battle in Brock's Gym. Dynamax was available, and everything functioned as it should (including sprite re-sizing during Dynamax).

Excluding download/extraction wait times, this whole process took no more than 10 minutes.

So I have now tested this three times. First, back when the Gen 8 Project was first updated to 1.1.2. Second, last night when I reinstalled the Gen 8 Project on an existing game that had ZUD already installed, along with the Hotfixes and other plugins such as EBDX. And now today, when I downloaded a FRESH copy of Essentials, installed v1.1.2 of the Gen 8 Project, and then installed ZUD Plugin WITHOUT the Hotfixes, or any other plugins.

In all three cases, the sprites functioned exactly as they should. So I can now attest to the fact that this sprite issue must be 100% user error, and is not an issue of either the Gen 8 Project OR the ZUD Plugin. So I'm considering this matter settled from now on, if anyone else brings it up again in the future.

 

[Illuminator]

ok i believe you, i know it is something i do wrong. however i have now done this process 4 times and whatever i do wrong, i keep doing wrong.
There must be something worded in a way, or done in a way, that i interpret/execute slightly differently, and i have no idea what. I can start the whole process over 500 more times but i would just end up with 500 more games with broken sprites.
This 4th time following your last post i made extra extra sure i read every step twice before doing it. I just cant figure out where my mistake is.

Could you please send me your working project with both plugins conflict-free? I am willing to pay you for it, and it should just be a matter of sending something you already created during testing.
It is just that i am apparantly unable to not make some weird specific mistake in the plugin install process, and i feel like i have reached a dead end with fixing this myself.
For me this would be the difference of: Can i continue trying to make a game for my daughter yes or no? Because without your help this is the end of the road for me and my game.

 

[Lucidious89]

ok i believe you, i know it is something i do wrong. however i have now done this process 4 times and whatever i do wrong, i keep doing wrong.
There must be something worded in a way, or done in a way, that i interpret/execute slightly differently, and i have no idea what. I can start the whole process over 500 more times but i would just end up with 500 more games with broken sprites.
This 4th time following your last post i made extra extra sure i read every step twice before doing it. I just cant figure out where my mistake is.

Could you please send me your working project with both plugins conflict-free? I am willing to pay you for it, and it should just be a matter of sending something you already created during testing.
It is just that i am apparantly unable to not make some weird specific mistake in the plugin install process, and i feel like i have reached a dead end with fixing this myself.
For me this would be the difference of: Can i continue trying to make a game for my daughter yes or no? Because without your help this is the end of the road for me and my game.

On principal, I think that these sorts of things should be dealt with yourself. This topic has already gone beyond the scope of this thread - the ZUD Plugin - because we have now established whatever this error stems from isn't ZUD related. So as far as I'm concerned, this no longer concerns me. And whatever error you seem to be facing must be something extremely basic that you're overlooking if I've tried three times now and wasn't able to replicate it. So I would encourage you to figure this out on your own.

However, since I have gone through the trouble of setting a fresh copy up to test, I suppose it wouldn't be THAT much trouble to upload the project. I won't be on my computer again until later tonight however, so try DMing me later about this. There's no longer any need to discuss this in this thread, since it's no longer a ZUD problem.

 

[Illuminator]

Shame you pretended in public like you were going to help me and share this project over PM.
But then in PM you tell weak lies, pretend your internet is too flaky to upload, then when i ask again you avoid the question and eventually just stop responding.

Well those strong principals of yours mean i can now give up on the game i was making for my daughter, congrats on making a 5 year old girl cry.
Wouldve taken you 20 seconds to share.

Sad, just sad.

 

[curryofthepast]

Pokemon Essentials github-dev? It's not a ZUD issue. On default install with EBDX trainers looked big, but reducing trainer scale by half fixed it. I've never had sprite issues with the full vanilla Essentials, Gen 8 + ZUD stack or EBDX with them.

Why do I suggest github-dev version (or maybe specifically Gen8 project not working with altered game versions)? Because Essentials github dev + Gen8 project is how I replicated the very same problem on an experimental project and can't wrap my head around fixing it. This has something to do with the EBDX bitwrapper script included. I have some coding knowledge and tried to merge all the compatible bits to the best of my knowledge, even using the newly formatted PBS files and metrics. No dice, pea-sized sprites persist everywhere. There are more likely culprits to investigate, and the pea-sized sprites bug can be replicated with only Gen8 project improperly installed and no ZUD. Considering it happens even if I use only the sprites and none of the Gen8 scripts, the issue might be that simple. Picture related, it's github essentials + trying to merge Gen8, same results no matter how I do it.

EDIT: Expanding on the sprite issue of Gen8 project if Lucidi needs to point people here again. The small sprites are usually (not always!) a failed Gen8 project install problem. RPG Maker XP uses 32-bit sprites, while the handheld Pokemon games used 16-bit. Most of the vanilla essentials resource sprites are already scaled up properly. EBDX and Gen8 Project chose to use a custom bitwrapper instead, which does have benefits for creating fancy scenes. The sprites for the bitwrapper are 96x96px. If EBDX or the bitwrapper for Gen8 isn't installed properly, the result is small sprites. If you're not using the aforementioned projects, you need sprites for vanilla Essentials. Their size can range from 120px to 200px in both directions without issue due to how RPG Maker XP handles sprite centring. So to be fair here, using sprites that are too small with a vanilla installation will cause sizing issues, no matter where they were sourced from. Vanilla sprite resources can be found in Relic Castle under the title "v17.2 Gen 6-8 PBS Files and Sprites". The PBS might be out of date, but people reading this are after the sprites, which the resource provides all the way to national dex 898 with all forms.

 

[Lucidious89]

Pokemon Essentials github-dev? It's not a ZUD issue. On default install with EBDX trainers looked big, but reducing trainer scale by half fixed it. I've never had sprite issues with the full vanilla Essentials, Gen 8 + ZUD stack or EBDX with them.

Why do I suggest github-dev version (or maybe specifically Gen8 project not working with altered game versions)? Because Essentials github dev + Gen8 project is how I replicated the very same problem on an experimental project and can't wrap my head around fixing it. This has something to do with the EBDX bitwrapper script included. I have some coding knowledge and tried to merge all the compatible bits to the best of my knowledge, even using the newly formatted PBS files and metrics. No dice, pea-sized sprites persist everywhere. There are more likely culprits to investigate, and the pea-sized sprites bug can be replicated with only Gen8 project improperly installed and no ZUD. Considering it happens even if I use only the sprites and none of the Gen8 scripts, the issue might be that simple. Picture related, it's github essentials + trying to merge Gen8, same results no matter how I do it.

Thank you for your investigation into this issue. So essentially, this is a compatibility issue with the Github Essentials dev branch, and the EBDX Bitwrapper in particular, and not necessarily a Gen 8 Project bug. Nor is ZUD even related to this at all (though it is peculiar that ZUD installation seems to "awaken" the bug that is already there for some people).

Considering I have never used Github, or really even understand how it even works, I have nothing to really contribute to this. I only create plugins for the default release version of Essentials, so that's what I do all my work and testing on. So this explains why I would never be able to replicate this bug, no matter how many times i tried.

Anyway, this should be helpful to know for those who have this issue. Perhaps Github is related to other errors that people have been reporting that ive never been able to replicate? In any case, its good to know.

Hopefully Illuminator sees this new development after he cools down from his last outburst.

 

[Illuminator]

I had since fixed the issue on my own thank you very much. And there was nothing to cool down from, no outburst.
You acted one way in public (somewhat helpful), then outright unhelpful and rude over PM. I figure if you put up an act here, i will post here about your unhelpfulness.

Although anyone reading through these posts or your FAQ, people should already be aware of your general attitude.
Get help

-added to ignore list-