Remex Version 0.2

Author: Rastagong Librato (rastagong.net)

Licensed under the Expat License (the "MIT license"). Refer to License.txt.

1 About Remex

Remex is a set of tools which facilitate the use of RPG Maker-compatible autotiles outside RPG Maker, in your own game engine. Remex works with the automapping feature from Tiled map editor too (http://mapeditor.org).

It features:

• An autotile expander. It turns the compact autotiles from RPG Maker into readily-usable grids of 48 tiles with all the possible tile configurations.
• A script which generates a Tileset for Tiled using an expanded autotile.
• A script which generates an automapping rule for Tiled using the expanded the corresponding tileset. It enables you to use the automapping feature of Tiled without having to setup anything.

Note #1: Remex works only with autotiles made for RPG Maker VX and VX Ace.

2 Legal issues

Please ensure that you have the legal rights to modify the resources you want to use with the software. The author shall not be held responsible for the consequences of your usage of the resources.

Pro-tip if you care about law and stuff like that:

Don't use the autotiles from the RTP shipped with RPG Maker VX/VX Ace. The End-User License Agreement (EULA) states that they are meant to be used "only for the purpose to play the game created and distributed with RPG Maker". It also states that "Licensee shall not reverse engineer, de-compile, or disassemble the Software. Further, Licensee shall not sell, assign, lease, sublicense, encumber, or otherwise transfer the Software without the written consent of ENTERBRAIN."

Use free resources that you have the right to use instead. You may also buy resources packs from Enterbrain for a non-RM usage. Refer to http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/product/modern-day-tiles.

3 General instructions

Remex can be used either through the command-line, either through a GUI. The command-line version features a few more advanced options. It may be useful if you want to include Remex in your own scripts too.

To use the GUI, launch gui.exe. To use the command-line version, launch main.exe in a terminal.

Please refer to the following sections for more detailed instructions:

1. Instructions for the GUI
2. Instructions for the command-line
3. Instructions for the integration usage in Tiled

4 Instructions for the GUI

On the main menu, you can choose between the autotile expander, the tileset generator and the rule maker.

###Autotile expander

1. Choose an autotile to expand. PNG only, 64 per 96 pixels. It must use the TileA2 format from VX / VX Ace.
2. Expand your tileset with "Expand the tileset!".
3. Save your tileset with "Save as".

###Tileset generator

1. Choose an expanded autotile to make a tileset with. PNG only, 256 per 192 pixels. You can expand an autotile from RPG Maker VX / VX Ace with this software (Main menu > Expand an autotile).
2. Make your tileset with "Make your tileset!"
3. Save your tileset with "Save as".

###Rule maker

1. Choose a Tileset for Tiled to make an automapping rule with.It must be a .tsx file referring to an expanded autotile. You can make a tileset with Remex (Main menu > Generate a tileset).
2. Choose the map layer which will be considered by Tiled during the automapping. By default, its "Tile Layer 1". You can only choose a layer per rule, so you need to make another rule if you want another layer to be considered too.
3. Make sure that the correct version of Tiled is chosen. Remex can make tilesets for both Tiled 0.9 and 0.8.
4. Make an automapping rule by with "Make an automapping rule!". It may take a few seconds.
5. Save your rule with "Save as". Please note that the code which is shown is not the final code, so you shouldn't copy it. Note: The rule maker will an image named "automappingRegions.png" in the folder in which you saved the rule. Both work together.

5 Instructions for the command-line

###General usage

• Usage: main.exe [-h] {expand,maketileset,makerule} ...

• optional arguments:

  • -h, --help show this help message and exit

• Commands:

  {expand,maketileset,makerule}

  • expand

    Autotile Expander. Expands an autotile from RPG Maker VX or VX Ace into a grid containing all the possible cases.

  • maketileset

    Tileset Generator. Generates a tileset for Tiled map editor with an expanded autotile. You can use it directly (but manually) in your maps, or use it with the Rule Maker to make an automatic automapping rule.

  • makerule

    Rule Maker. Generates an automapping rule for Tiled map editor using a tileset of an expanded autotile. It enables you to map autotiles automatically, without worrying about the precise case to use.

###Expand command

• usage: main.exe expand [-h] [-o outputAutotile] [-f] [-v] inputAutotile

• positional arguments:

  • inputAutotile
    The autotile to expand. It must follow a few rules. It must be a PNG image, 64 * 96 wide. It must use RPG Maker VX or VX Ace's TileA2 formatting.

• optional arguments:

  • -h, --help show this help message and exit

  • -o outputAutotile, --output outputAutotile

    The output file (the expanded autotile). By default, it is "expandedAutotile.png", located in the directoryin which you launch the script. The script will ask you whether it should overwrite the file if it already exists, unless you used the force option.

  • -f, --force

    Forces the script to be executed without asking you anything. The script will overwrite the output file without warning you if it already exists. Furthermore, it won't ask add an extension to the output file if it lacks.

  • -v, --verbose

    Starts the program in verbose mode: it prints detailed information on the process.

###Maketileset command

• usage: main.exe maketileset [-h] [-o outputTileset] [-f] [-r] [-v] inputExpandedAutotile

• positional arguments:

  • inputExpandedAutotile

    The expanded autotile to make a tileset with. It must be a PNG image, 256 * 192 wide. To get this expanded autotile, use the autotile expander featured with Remex (with the command "expand").

• optional arguments:

  • -h, --help show this help message and exit

  • -o outputTileset, --output outputTileset

    The output file (the tileset). By default, it is "expandedAutotileTileset.tsx", located in the directory in which you launch the script. The scriptwill ask you whether it should overwrite the file if it already exists, unless you used the force option.

  • -f, --force

    Forces the script to be executed without asking you anything. The script will overwrite the output file without warning you if it already exists. Furthermore, it won't ask add an extension to the output file if it lacks.

  • -r, --relative

    In the tileset file, use a relative path to the image itself. Warning: the same relative path will be used in the rulemap if you generate one with this tileset. To avoid any problem regarding paths, you should put your tilesets, maps and images in the same folder.

  • -v, --verbose

    Starts the program in verbose mode: it prints detailed information on the process.

###Makerule command

• usage: main.exe makerule [-h] [-o outputRule] [-l mapLayer] [-r regionsLocation] [-8] [-f] [-v] inputTileset

• positional arguments:

  • inputTileset

    The tileset for Tiled to make an automapping rule with. It must be a tsx file referring to an expanded autotile. To get the expanded autotile, use the autotile expander featured with Remex (with the command "expand"). To get the tileset, use the tileset maker featured with Remex (with the command "maketileset").

• optional arguments:

  • -h, --help

    show this help message and exit

  • -o outputRule, --output outputRule

    The output file (the automapping rule). By default, it is "automappingrule.tmx", located in the directory in which you launch the script. The script will ask you whether it should overwrite the file if it already exists, unless you used the force option.

  • -l mapLayer, --layer mapLayer

    The name of the map layer to consider during the automapping. By default, it is "Tile Layer 1". You can only choose a layer per rule, so you need to make another rule if you want another layer to be considered too.

  • -r regionsLocation, --regions regionsLocation

    The rulemap requires an additional image to work properly. By default, the image is always created in the folder of the rulemap. But if you want to, you can set another location.

  • -8, --v08

    Formats the rulemap for the 0.8 version of Tiled. By default, the rulemaker formats the rule for the 0.9 version.

  • -f, --force

    Forces the script to be executed without asking you anything. The script will overwrite the output file without warning you if it already exists. Furthermore, it won't ask add an extension to the output file if it lacks.

  • -v, --verbose Starts the program in verbose mode: it prints detailed information on the process.

6 Instructions for the integration in Tiled

Using automapping in Tiled is very easy with Remex:

1. Grab an autotile from RPG Maker VX / VX Ace and expand it with Remex.
2. With Remex, make a tileset from this expanded autotile.
3. Still with Remex, make an automapping rule with this tileset.
4. In the same folder, create a file named "rules.txt". Open it and write the name of your tileset (for instance "automappingRule.tmx"). Save it and close it.
5. In Tiled, create a new map (save it in the same folder as well).
6. Click on the menu Map > Add an external tileset. Choose the tileset that you have created from an expanded autotile.
7. Start mapping! Add any other tileset that you need. When you use the tileset created with Remex, you don't have to choose the tile with the correct shape: just design your map with a single tile. For instance, if you've expanded a grass autotile, design the fields without worrying about the corners, the borders, etc. You can draw some big green blocks.
8. When you are done and want the autotiles to shape properly, press A (or click on Map > AutoMap).
9. ???
10. Profit!