The polygon tool for custom shadows is a nice touch, since most lighting plugins stop at circles. Where does the editor store the effects you place? If a map is edited in RPG Maker afterwards, say resized or with tiles moved, do the lights and shadows stay where they were?
Viewing post in RMMZ/MV Map Effect Editor comments
Here is the English translation:
All data will be saved in an extra color folder within the project, which contains a standalone JSON file.
When you adjust the map, the result depends on whether the effect is bound to the map or to an event—if it's bound to the map, it will stay at the coordinates you set.
However, since you can drag and edit it directly on the game screen, making quick adjustments after modifying the map should be super fast! :)
Thanks, that answers it. A standalone JSON outside the map files is the part I was hoping for. It means saving a map again in the editor cannot silently drop the lighting, and the file diffs cleanly if the project is in version control.
The split between map bound and event bound effects is the right call too. Keeping the map bound ones on fixed coordinates is predictable, and anything that has to move with a character belongs on the event anyway.