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RPG in a Box News

Community Game Showcase (Oct. 2021)

Presenting the Community Game Showcase for October 2021! Thanks so much to those who contributed and to everyone creating a game with RPG in a Box! Your support and encouragement really means a lot. You can view the full-size image here: https://i.imgur.com/uLPzSN2.jpg



This will be an ongoing gallery that I plan to update each month, so if you missed this one there's always next time! Keep an eye out for information about the November showcase. If you're interested in having your game included, please note that screenshots should have a 16:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of at least 1280x720.

Release Notes for v0.7.1.0

New Features/Changes:
  • Added new tool item setting in the Item Editor allowing a global script to be assigned to the tool (instead of the default behavior that uses the target entity's script)
  • Added ability to drag and drop existing nodes (without children) in the Dialogue Editor to move them to a different position within the dialogue
  • Added new "compact mode" for nodes in the Dialogue Editor that can be toggled on and off via a button on the node's titlebar
  • Added support for new "Offset" portrait position to the Theme Editor and related dialogue functionality (image is displayed outside of the dialogue box along the side)
  • Added ability to specify which side a character's portrait should be displayed on (i.e. left vs. right) to the "Player" and "NPC" node types in the Dialogue Editor
  • Added ability to specify that a character's portrait should be flipped horizontally to the "Player" and "NPC" node types in the Dialogue Editor
  • Added option to the Dialogue Editor section of the Editor Settings dialog for customizing the color of connection lines
  • Added option to the Dialogue Editor section of the Editor Settings dialog for customizing the color of the pending placement indicator/highlight
  • Added option to the Dialogue Editor section of the Editor Settings dialog for enabling the "compact mode" setting on the Dialogue Tools panel by default
  • Added option to the General section of the Editor Settings dialog specifying the default model filter (i.e. filter by name vs. filter by tag)
  • Added ability to set the sun's latitude and longitude (i.e. height and direction) from the Procedural Sky Settings dialog in the Map Editor
  • Added ability to rotate the preview camera on the Procedural Sky Settings dialog (with direction indicator and buttons to reset the camera and invert the mouse y-axis)
  • Added ability to set the default initial frame for a model in the Voxel Editor which will determine the frame that is shown by default when added to a map
  • Added option to the "Preview Attached Objects" dialog in the Voxel Editor to allow selection from any available attach points on the object being attached
  • Added button to the Voxel Editor toolbar for hiding/showing the indicators (i.e. boxes with link icons) shown at the model's attach point locations
  • Added ability to save camera positions in the Voxel Editor via the camera view panel in the lower right hand corner of the viewport
  • Added Global Event Script option for "Character Enters a Tile" (in the script, "self" will reference the tile and "initiator" will reference the character)
  • Added Global Event Script option for "Character Stops on a Tile" (in the script, "self" will reference the tile and "initiator" will reference the character)
  • Added Global Event Script option for "Character Exits a Tile" (in the script, "self" will reference the tile and "initiator" will reference the character)
  • Added Global Event Script option for "Character's Health Changes" (in the script, "self" will reference the character and the variable "$amount" will reference the amount their health changed by)
  • Added option to the Map Editor for saving lighting settings into presets which can then be applied within the editor or in-game via the new "Apply Lighting Preset" function
  • Added new scripting function "Change Camera" for switching the camera between Standard and First-Person
  • Added new scripting function "Apply Lighting Preset" to apply a lighting preset to a map over a duration of time or instantly
  • Added new scripting function "Set Ambient Light Intensity" to change the intensity of the map's ambient light (instantly or over time)
  • Added new scripting function "Set Directional Light Intensity" to change the intensity of the map's directional light (instantly or over time)
  • Added visual script nodes to the Script Editor for the "Apply Lighting Preset", "Set Ambient Light Intensity", and "Set Directional Light Intensity" functions
  • Added constants for entity types (TILE, OBJECT, CHARACTER) to the Bauxite language (equivalent to the strings "tile", "object", and "character")
  • Added new built-in entity properties for getting various string type values: ".model" (name of model, e.g. "grass"), ".type" (constant value: TILE, OBJECT, or CHARACTER) and ".terrain_type"
  • Added new built-in entity properties for getting various array type values: ".animations", ".attach_points", and ".waypoints"
  • Added new built-in entity property ".frame" for getting or setting an entity's current animation frame (e.g. self.frame = 2)
  • Added initial support for emissive colors to the Voxel Editor (for use along with the "Global Illumination" and "Glow" map lighting options)
  • Added initial support for glow lighting effect to the Map Editor (for use along with the "Global Illumination" option and emissive colors)
  • Added ability to disable all visual indicators in the Map Editor by pressing Shift + ~/` (previously the only option was to hide them temporarily by holding the ~/` key)
  • Added "Hide Invalid Tiles" option to the Editor Settings dialog for hiding tiles on the resource panel that don't match the currently active map's tile width
  • Added initial support for random encounters to the Combat Editor (with option to define a list of possible battles and the chance that each can occur)
  • Added ability to take screenshots by pressing F12 in-game (images are saved into the user's pictures folder within a subfolder for the game)
  • Added icon for the enemy count setting shown when an enemy is selected in the Combat Editor's "Battles" section
  • Updated Script Editor to disable the visual graph when editing the source code of a script to prevent changes to the visual nodes
  • Updated script, item container, platform, and vehicle sections of the Entity Properties panel in the Map Editor to scroll as much into view as possible when expanded
  • Updated Voxel Editor and related model functionality to support odd voxel grid dimensions for models (previously limited to only even dimensions)
  • Updated calculations for vertical positioning of characters to consider height of voxels on both sides of the center line (for tiles with even dimensions)
  • Changed default angle of the directional light in newly created maps to be pointing straight down (i.e. high noon)
  • Changed filter box along top of the tile/object/character panels to filter by name as the default option (instead of by tag)
  • Changed some of the sections in the Combat Editor to be collapsed initially (those other than the General, Battles, and Enemies sections)
  • Updated icon for the "Battles" header in the Combat Editor to a new crossed swords icon in place of the original single sword icon
  • Updated hover highlighting for placeholder dialogue nodes in the Dialogue Editor to match the pending placement color (customizable from the Editor Settings dialog)
  • Changed label wording on the Map Properties panel to use "Intensity" instead of "Energy" to match the scripting functions for lighting
  • Removed OBJ option from the Voxel Editor's "Export to External Format" dialog until the functionality has been fixed for a future update
Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed issue where using a duration of zero for the "Set Ambient/Directional Light Color" and "Set Entity/Group Light Color" functions would cause them to fail
  • Fixed issue where using a duration of zero for the "Set Entity Light Intensity/Diameter/Attenuation" functions would cause them to fail
  • Fixed issue with "Add Character" scripting function not considering the passability of characters on the target tile
  • Fixed issue where double-clicking a function in the script function list added it to the visual graph instead of the source code when editing the script's source code
  • Fixed issue with sound dropdown on the "Play Sound" visual script node not clipping sound names that were longer than the width of the dropdown
  • Fixed issue with player character's "direction" property not being correct in some cases when climbing a climbable tile and accessing the property via script
  • Fixed issue where using "player.direction" to set the player character's direction in first-person mode wasn't updating the camera's direction
  • Fixed issue where a vehicle's model wasn't rotating when the player turned while operating the vehicle in first-person mode
  • Fixed issue with climbing functionality not working in first-person mode (pressing "C" to climb will now properly cause the player to start climbing)
  • Fixed issue with attaching an object to a model in the Voxel Editor when the current frame didn't have an attach point with the ID being assigned
  • Fixed issue with the "Remove surfaces along grid boundaries" transparency setting in the Voxel Editor no longer working properly
  • Fixed issue where platform-related properties weren't being carried over to the new tile when replacing an existing tile in the Map Editor
  • Fixed errors that could occur when using box mode to place tiles in the Map Editor and adjusting the dimensions of the pending area
  • Fixed issue where the Map Editor crosshair was not being hidden when holding down the ~/` key to hide extras
  • Fixed issue where part of the Map Editor crosshair graphic would sometimes incorrectly display after releasing the ~/` key to hide/show extras
  • Fixed issue where newly created maps that hadn't been edited/saved would be marked as having changes the first time being opened in the Map Editor each session
  • Fixed issue with initial angle of a newly created map's directional light not being consistent with the horizontal/vertical values displayed on the Map Properties panel
  • Fixed issue where models created using the "Save As" feature weren't displayed in the recent file list until the application was restarted
  • Fixed errors that would occur when disabling the "Light Source" setting for a model and then opening a map using that model in the Map Editor
  • Fixed issue where the camera could sometimes not be zoomed in or out during menu-driven combat
  • Fixed issue with the portrait preview image sometimes displaying incorrectly after changing its position in the Theme Editor
  • Fixed issue where dragging a function onto a blank line in the source code area of the Script Editor created an extra semicolon on its own line
  • Fixed issue with incorrect vertical scrollbar colors in the Dialogue Editor when using the Obsidian theme
  • Fixed typo in description of the "Reset Map" function in the list of scripting functions in the Script Editor

Community Game Showcase (Sept. 2021)

Presenting the Community Game Showcase for September 2021! Thanks so much to those who contributed and to everyone creating a game with RPG in a Box! Your support and encouragement really means a lot. You can view the full-size image here: https://i.imgur.com/diGFHct.jpg



This will be an ongoing gallery that I plan to update each month, so if you missed this one there's always next time! Keep an eye out for information about the October showcase. If you're interested in having your game included, please note that screenshots should have a 16:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of at least 1280x720.

Thank You For Your Support!

Four years ago today, I left my full-time job to focus solely on RPG in a Box. For close to three years before that I had devoted most of my spare time to its development. RPG in a Box is a dream, a vision, an extension of who I am.

Through it I want to give people the ability to bring their own ideas, stories, and worlds to life. I hope it brings joy, fulfillment, and positivity to the lives of as many people as possible, providing a way to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.

Thank you to everyone that has supported RPG in a Box in any way, whether through words of encouragement, a purchase, a review, a donation, helping spread the word to others, or creating games and sharing about them. It all means so much!

September Showcase Submissions

Hey everyone! If you'd like to have screenshots of your game included in the September showcase (or would like to replace any that are currently included), please have them submitted by September 23rd. I'd love to include as many of your projects as possible, whether they're currently in development or past projects. Feel free to submit 2-3 images for each game that you're working on! These should be a PNG or high-quality JPEG with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a size of at least 1280x720. You can send them via Twitter, Discord, or e-mail: justin (at) rpginabox.com.

Thank you so much, I look forward to seeing more of what the community is creating!