Post by Kadajah in Kadajah's Battle On Map for RPG Maker MZ comments

Kadajah's Battle On Map for RPG Maker MZ » Comments

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Thanks a lot for your comment, bro, don't worry, you're welcome here.

And by the way, you're the boss, I've never played Darkest Dungeon, I'll watch some gameplay videos to try and understand this task better, but I liked the general concept, I think it could be interesting to develop.

If you could give some more clarifications and examples it would be useful. I have around 4 tools that are in the testing phase to be released, as soon as I finish this batch of work, your suggestion will be at the top of the list, so it should be out in a few weeks or less (few days).

Again, thanks for the comment and support, just let me know if you need anything!

Koa7074 days ago

Thanks for the fast reply.

I’m thrilled to hear the concept caught your interest! Since you’re looking into Darkest Dungeon for inspiration, here are some specific clarifications on how a "Skill Bar" system changes the flow of combat compared to the standard RPG Maker MZ "Command Window."

The General UI "Hotbar" Concept

In Darkest Dungeon [skip to 15:40 in video to see the combat] or Guild Wars, the player doesn't open a "Skill" menu to see a list of text. Instead, the skills are represented by Icons sitting on a permanent bar at the bottom of the screen.

No Sub-menus: Instead of selecting "Magic" -> "Fire," the player just clicks the "Fire" icon directly on the bar.
Visual Communication: The icons should show "Usability" at a glance. For example, if a player doesn't have enough MP, the icon is grayed out. If a skill is on Cooldown, a "clock" overlay or a number shows how many turns are left.

Limited Loadout for Added Tactical Depth

Arguably the the most important part. Even if a character knows 20 skills, the Skill Bar might only have 5 or 6 slots.

Preparation Phase: Before a dungeon or battle, the player opens a menu (similar to RPGMaker MV-era plugin the VCM_SkillBar management scene) to "equip" their active skills.
The Strategy: This forces the player to choose. "Do I bring 5 attack skills? Or 3 attacks, 1 heal, and 1 buff?"
MZ Implementation: It would be amazing if the plugin allowed us to set the "Max Slots" per actor (e.g., a Level 1 hero has 3 slots, a Level 50 hero has 8).

Key Features from the VCM_SkillBar Reference

Because VCM_Skillbar was never ported to MZ and the author does not appear active anymore, here are the features from the VCM version that would be most useful to replicate:

Slot Management: A way for players to drag-and-drop skills into slots outside of battle.
Keyboard Hotkeys: Pressing numbers 1–6 on the keyboard should trigger the corresponding slot.
Cooldown Support: A built-in parameter to define "Turn Cooldowns" so players can't spam the same powerful skill every turn.
Hover Information: When the mouse hovers over an icon, a small window (Tooltip) should appear showing the skill name, cost, and description.

Example Workflow for the Player:

In Menu: The player sees they are entering a Fire-themed dungeon. They swap out their "Fireball" skill for "Ice Lance" on their Skill Bar.
In Battle: The standard "Skill/Magic" command windows are hidden. The player sees the "Ice Lance" icon. (Icons for other menu options like "Item," or "Escape" could optionally be added via plugin parameters).
The Action: They click the icon (or press '2' on the keyboard), select the target, and the action executes.

I hope this helps clarify the vision! I’m really looking forward to seeing what you create once you finish your current batch of tools. Let me know if you’d like me to find some specific screenshots or mockups of the "Skill Management" screens!

Kadajah4 days ago

Bro, that was super informative, thank you so much!

With the descriptions you provided, I think I can create something that suits you. I think it would be awesome if you could press a key on the map and your skill list would appear, and you could drag and drop them into the skill shortcut box.

I've played Guild of Wars, and it's a standard feature in most MMORPGs, so I'm familiar with the general mechanics.

I think it would be interesting if we completely removed the standard RPG Maker menu, including the native Attack, Guard, Item, and Escape functions, creating two shortcut lines, one for native functions and another for skills. This way, the entire HUD would be recreated and would match the new elements.

I can make the two lines independent and allow you to position each one with its own offset, making it possible to customize your HUD in the best way possible.

What do you think?

Thanks again for the suggestion and for all the clarifications! That was amazing!

Koa7073 days ago

Hey Kadajah, thanks for the follow-up. Congratulations on the recent plugin releases by the way.

Regarding the HUD replacement, I think you're spot on. Replacing the native Attack/Guard/Item commands with a shortcut line would make the UI feel much more modern.

I was looking more into an old MV plugin called VCM_SkillBar for inspiration on the 'Equip/Swap' logic. A few things it did that would be amazing in your MZ version:

1. On-the-fly Swapping: It had a "Swap Bar" that appeared when you right-clicked a slot, allowing you to quickly change skills without a deep menu. Having a "Change Skills" toggle to enable or disable this mid-game would be a great way to control player progression.

2. Map vs. Battle: It allowed for different bars on the Map (for healing/utility) and in Battle (for combat). Keeping these as separated entities is huge for flexibility.

3. Dynamic Loadouts (Max Slots): VCM allowed you to limit the number of slots available. It would be incredible if we could set a "Max Skills" parameter—perhaps even via Notetags so a Level 1 hero has 3 slots while a Level 50 hero has 8.

4. Item & Skill Integration: A major feature was allowing Items and Skills to coexist on the same bar. If a player puts a "Potion" on the bar, it shows the item count; if they put a "Fire" skill, it shows the MP cost.

5. Smart Slot Management: * Automatic Placing: An option to automatically add newly learned skills to the first empty slot to save the player time.

Duplicate Prevention: A check to ensure skills aren't repeated; if you move a skill to a new slot, it clears the old one automatically.
Occasion Filtering: Only showing skills on the bar if their "Occasion" (Battle/Always/Menu) matches the current scene.

6. Compatibility: Since many of us use VisuStella Battle Core, it would be incredible if your bar could sit "on top" of the battle scene or optionally hide the VisuStella actor command window entirely.

These are just some "food for thought" items that could be introduced in later updates that would make this the definitive skill bar for MZ battle scenes in a way that differentiates it from similar plugins, such as Hendrix's Hotbar Creator that is exclusively for the map scene.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for being so open to these ideas. I'm always looking forward to whatever you decide to do next for the RPG Maker community!

Kadajah1 day ago

Hey Koa, how are you bro?

So, I just wanted to say that the development of the plugin we were talking about is in full swing!

I already had an icon and hotkey system in my ABS plugin and the NinjaMove plugin, with all the logic for checking cooldown times, mana consumption, and so on, so the part where I had to program more functions was the battle part, but a piece of code I had in the VagrantHit plugin that alters the composition of the battle menu gave me the basis to modify the battle interface.

There are still configuration details, checks, and polishing to be done, and it will be beautiful to see all my work fall apart when I connect the visuStella plugins, but development continues to be fun.

You can follow a little bit here:

By the way, the plugin's name will be KoaSkillBar, I think it sounds good.

See ya!

Koa7071 day ago

Hey Kadajah!

I’m doing great, and even better after seeing that update!

First off, I am honestly blown away that you took the time to develop this plugin based on our conversation. Seeing you put out a working demo that looks that good that quickly is nothing short of incredible.

I just finished watching the demo video, and the progress is impressive. The UI looks incredibly clean, and the logic you’ve implemented for adding and removing skills seems so seamless. (I'll keep our fingers crossed for the VisuStella compatibility because I know how difficult working with their plugins can be. If there's anything I can do to help with that, please let me know.)

I am very honored that you would consider featuring my name in the plugin, but please, keep it as KadajahSkillBar! You have a real talent, and I have a feeling you’re going to be a household name like Galv, Yanfly, Moghunter, or VisuStella soon (if not already); you should get all the credit and searchability for your work. Just a tiny mention of me on the plugin page would be an absolute honor enough.

On a more personal note, I’d love to know if you have a Patreon or a similar platform where I can become a supporter? If not, would you ever consider offering a Itch.io bundle of your add-ons for purchase so I could at least make a well earned donation? You are such a valuable asset to the RPG Maker community. Your responsiveness and the way you support your users is rare, and I’d really like to show my appreciation for your hard work and dedication.

Keep up the amazing work, and I can't wait to see the next update!

Best,
Koa707

Kadajah3 hours ago

I am very grateful for all the support and appreciation for the work I have been doing, I truly appreciate it.

I am happy with the feedback I have received and for the incredible community of creators we are building here. Seriously, so many cool people are doing awesome things and pushing the tool to its limits.

Know that it is a pleasure and an honor to contribute to this community, and one of my main goals is to help people make better and more fun games, and to popularize RPG Maker. Many people truly dream of creating their own game, and I think that's awesome!

Thank you again for your interest. I don't have a Patreon yet; I'm considering creating one if I can dedicate more time to creating plugins and providing support, but at the moment Itch.io is the only place where I am actively working. (I haven't yet announced this on forums and other creator communities)

In a few months, my library of tools and plugins will be more complete with affordable solutions and some free ones with premium quality and support.

I might consider creating a Patreon when this part of the work of bringing the ideas to life is complete. Until then, I'm structuring a Discord channel to have even closer support and allow people to participate, follow, and test the tools more actively. I think cool things can come out of that.

I'm going to create a bundle with plugins that can work together at a special price for people who want to support my work. Thanks for the suggestion!

Regarding the plugin name, I really want to use Kadajah_KoaSkillBar. It seems fair and sounds great. I'll only not use it if it bothers you in any way.

Thanks again, bro. Let me know if you need anything; I'm here to help!

Koa70756 minutes ago

Hey Kadajah! Honestly, I am more than okay with the name Kadajah_KoaSkillBar—in fact, I’m deeply honored and grateful .

I’m really looking forward to that plugin bundle on Itch.io, and please keep me posted on the Patreon or Discord. I definitely want to support the work you’re doing here. I’m also super excited to see your specific take on the skillbar and whatever else you have in the pipeline.

Thanks again for the shout-out and for everything you’re contributing to the community. Let's keep pushing these tools to the limit!

Kadajah17 minutes ago (1 edit)

Hey bro, sorry for the delay in replying, yesterday I spent the whole day focused on development, and I'm happy with how this work is going.

Here's a quick test with the latest modifications I made. Now I believe all that's left is the compatibility part, which I really hope won't be too complicated.

And don't worry, I'll keep you updated on all the news, and I'll continue working on these ideas.

Thanks again for all the support!

Kadajah_KoaSkillBar

This plugin replaces the native battle menus with a modern HUD (Command Bar and Skill Bar). It includes Drag and Drop functionality, Tooltips, and fully customizable visuals.

New Features in this Update:

Map Actor HUD: The leader's Face, HP, MP, and TP are now visible on the map.

Party Leader Rotation: Press 'A' (Customizable) on the map to cycle through your party members. The HUD and Skill Bar will instantly update to that character's specific saved setup.

Smart Cooldowns: On the map, skills use FRAME-based cooldowns. In battle, skills use TURN-based cooldowns.

Dynamic Sync: Gaining items, learning skills, or leveling up automatically updates your available skill lists.

Per-Character Saving: Every actor has their own unique skill bar loadout that saves automatically to your save file.

Main Features:

Customizable Actor HUD: Set the face size, width, height, and toggle the native MZ Gauges (HP, MP, TP, Time/ATB) on or off. You can set separate coordinates for the Map and Battle HUDs.

Map & Battle Separation: The Map Bar only displays healing, menu, and map-related skills. The Battle Bar exclusively displays combat skills.

Anti-Click Movement: Prevents the player character from walking when you click on the HUD or Swap menus.

Setup Scene: Press the Setup Key (Default: B) while on the map to organize your battle skills before getting into a fight.

How to Assign Skills:

SHIFT + Left Click on any slot to open the Skill Menu.

Left Click on an empty slot to open the Skill Menu.

Drag and Drop skills directly from the Menu onto the Skill Bar.

Notetags for Skills & Items:

Place these in the notebox of your skills or items:

<cooldown: X> (Where X is the number of turns. Used in BATTLE).

<cooldownFrames: X> (Where X is the number of frames. Used on the MAP. Note: 60 frames = 1 second).

Notetags for Actors & Classes:

Actors or Classes can override the default slot limits by using these notetags:

<Max Map Slots: X> (Sets the maximum amount of equippable slots on the map).

<Max Battle Slots: X> (Sets the maximum amount of equippable slots in battle).

Any suggestions or modifications you think would be good to make, just let me know. I'm very grateful for the suggestion and for all the detailed information provided for the development of this plugin.