Assistance with imported pictures?

[Nekomatic]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I think it's right...

I am currently in the process of making a [hopefully, soon to be playable] sexy H game using rpgmaker vx ace.
I have run into quite the annoying problem...So, I came to ask for some help concerning a very important issue: The quality of my imported pictures...

I noticed a huge difference in quality when testing my drawings in-game as images...

--The 2nd image below is how my picture looks by itself, shrunken down to fit into the game and everything.
--...And the top one is what I got when it loaded in the program.

I have tried resizing the image various ways to preserve the image quality: Photoshop, paint tool sai, GIMP...
I have no idea why it is wrecking the image when I load it in my game test.
I viewed it in the picture files for the program, and it still looks good...
It is only when I load it up in the game that it turns to shit.

I am importing them into the Graphics/Pictures destination if that helps.
Does anybody know why it is doing this or how I could fix this?

[Zeus Kabob]

Cute picture!

This issue is called "aliasing". I couldn't give you any specific advice as I don't know precisely what you're doing, but Photoshop and GIMP are capable of anti-aliasing.

Hope you have luck! If you have any more specific questions I might be able to help more.

[VladimirDrago]

Thanks for the advice Zeus.
I'm the game's co-creator so I thought I'd just drop in and give me thanks for assisting us in the matter.
So again, thank you! ^_^

Also it IS a cute picture isn't it? X3

[Nekomatic]

From what I gathered via tutorials and how-to videos, it looks like the anti aliasing feature would only apply to pictures being currently drawn in the program.
I couldn't find any method of anti aliasing an already drawn image...Or maybe I just need to lurk some more. Either way, my problem still persists.

Alright. In that case, I will have to explain in full detail what I am doing with the image.

Starting after it has been drawn, colored, and had effects added to it in a program that isn't GIMP or photoshop, I re-size the image to fit into the game [Around 620x620, varies for some images, but never exceeds 620 pixels on either height or width] with either GIMP or Photoshop. I look over the image to determine the quality, and it usually is still intact with only slightly more blur around the lines. So, there doesn't seem to be a problem there. Then I open rpgmaker vx ace and open my game file. From there I select the resource manager in the tools tab, and import the drawings into the pictures folder. It asks me to select which color will be transparent or translucent, I select none. From there, I go to the same folder and preview the imported drawing. Again, the preview looks fine, little or no quality loss.

This is where I start pulling my hair out...I go to the event that the picture is for, and edit the contents. Insert > Show picture > [The picture file]. I start the play test and activate the event...and the mauled version of the image pops up. My guess that the problem has something to do with how the program handles the images, but maybe it's the drawing itself that needs work...

Basically, what I am trying to do is make a picture pop up behind the message box during game scenes, kind of like a visual novel effect.

[Zeus Kabob]

Gah. If it's not being scaled I don't know why it would get mauled like that. If it is being scaled, I wouldn't know why.

Hmmmmm. Maybe a tutorial section post? Maybe a post to an RPGMaker forum? I hope you can figure it out.

[Darthan]

Something you might want to try, though not sure that it will have any effect, is to compile the game and then run the compiled game to test. RPGMaker is pretty notorious for doing stupid crap when you run a playtest through the creator that does not actually occur when you play the compiled game.

Also, what file format are the images you are using?

[Nekomatic]

@Zeus Kabob: Thanks a bunch for trying to help me XD
I should find a way to get these to work somehow...If not, I guess I can figure something else out.
Might consider posting to an RPGmaker forum if all else fails...


@Darthan: I actually haven't tried that...Seems worth a shot.
Also, my pictures are in .png format.

[Adravia]

Try scaling the image down further. RPG Maker's default resolution is 544x416, IIRC. This resolution can be increased to 640x480 with an API call, but in either case your image is still taller than the maximum height. Since it is bigger than the screen, RPG Maker is probably auto scaling the image down, resulting in the terrible aliasing seen.

[Nekomatic]

@Darthan:...Ok, I compiled the game and ran it as the full game outside of the maker, activated the picture event....And it still looks destroyed...

I did make a note of that tip though in case of other 'surprises' the program tosses my way.

This is a bit troubling, concerning that the sexier parts of the game are based on the pictures...Anyway, thank you for all the help!
I will toy around with some methods and tips I try to search up and hope they at least improve things a little...

[Darthan]

Ok, now I am really confused. I downloaded you image, created an event to display the picture, and ran a test. The picture displayed perfectly aside from the cropping do to the picture being bigger than ACE's display. This makes no sense.

I would really like to help if I can, but is a bit odd that it is working fine for me.

[Nekomatic]

I figured out why it was doing this...

I happened to notice that the image was zoomed into 70% on both width and height in the event...
I changed them both to 100%, and it showed the image perfectly...
Why or how it was set at 70%? No idea.
The good thing is that it's working now. Sorry for bothering anybody with this issue, and thank you all for pitching in the help.
Again, sorry for the rookie mistake.

Anyways, now we can hopefully expect an alpha release soon!

[Darthan]

I was starting to wonder if that was the problem. Glad you got it figured out.

I doubt you were bothering anyone and I will be glad to offer any help that I can.

There is no need to apologize, just be glad you figured out what the problem was. Trust me, allot of the problems you will run into when making a game in RPGMaker will make you feel silly when you finally figure out what was causing it.