News

Interested in the progress Casper Gaming has made on the website or the resources provided here? Read the news below to learn more about what has been released and what is planned to be released soon.

Happy Holidays
Plugin roadmap
November 1, 2021

Hi all, looking back at the summer, lots of big plugins were released into alpha such as the Quest System, Dungeon Tools, and Light Effects. Going into the holiday season, I will be working mostly on porting the remaining CSCA scripts over to CGMZ so you can expect gathering, fishing, currency system, drop tables, and treasure maps with maybe a few original plugins mixed in between. I will also be continuing to support the alpha/beta plugins and moving some more of them to either beta from alpha, or fully releasing them from beta.

Besides plugins, I will be working on improving the website and creating some more tutorials and non-plugin resources to help you with your games. One tutorial that I am currently working on is a tutorial over how to use agile and issue tracking software to help you keep track of what you want to implement in your game. This can also help "gamify" your development and make working in a team easier. This should hopefully be ready for release before the end of the month.

Summer Update
Hotter temperatures, hotter plugins?
July 24, 2021

Hi all, there are a lot of great updates to share. CGMZ Dungeon Tools is progressing well and should enter Alpha next in August. Further, there is a poll for Patrons to vote on the order the remaining CSCA scripts get ported to MZ, and due to the success of the poll I will most likely carry on giving patrons the ability to vote on what I work on next!

Unfortunately, July will not be a very active month with only my CGMZ Itch IO Integration plugin entering Alpha. This is due to me moving to a new apartment which has taken up a lot of my time the last few weeks. Do not worry as I still have a lot of motivation to work on CGMZ and after the move is done you can expect me to return to the level of activity you have been used to!

Apart from porting the remaining CSCA plugins to MZ, some new/original plugins which I have in my backlog include plugins enhancing the options scene, a better way to handle input and game controls, a preload plugin, more text codes, and many more enhancement plugins which should hopefully fill in some gaps where the CGMZ engine is lacking as most of my currently available plugins focus on completely new features rather than addressing some basic issues people have with the core RPG Maker MZ engine.

Spring Into More Plugins
March Update
March 21, 2021

Hi all, these past few months have been quite busy, but while I have neglected posting an update I have not neglected working on more plugins! Entering into Alpha are CGMZ Unlimited Event Conditions which allows you to use as many conditions on an event page as you need, CGMZ Event Movement which provides some new movement options for events, and CGMZ Reputations which creates a flexible reputation system in your game.

I have also been busy working on some much-requested updates, including the ability to use text codes in descriptions and other areas throughout my many plugins. This feature is almost ready to be released, though with so many edge cases to test it has taken a while.

The Vehicle Interiors plugin has spent enough time in Beta and will be releasing fully in a few days, and some older Alpha plugins will be moving into Beta as well. This will help balance how many plugins are in the Alpha and Beta state, as there are quite a lot in Alpha but not many in Beta.

Lastly, some longer-term goals of mine. Plugins that are planned to enter Alpha next include a slider puzzle plugin, a port of my CSCA Gathering script, and a port of my CSCA Colosseum script.

Happy Holidays from Casper Gaming
December Update
December 2, 2020

Hi all, I hope all of you have a good holiday season. I figured it has been a while since I posted an update, as I have been very busy working on new plugins, providing support for existing plugins, and working on the MZ Academy tutorial project.

For December, I unfortunately will be very busy throughout the holiday season and as a result you can expect that updates or new plugins will be slower than in the past. That being said, there are still some exciting things I am working on that will likely release throughout December.

Currently, I am working on two new plugins: a difficulty system which you can define your own difficulties with, and a number pad input window to simulate a keypad or old phone number input system. I expect both of these to enter into alpha stages during December. RPG Maker MZ Academy floor 2 is also being worked on, but as it is quite a lot of work to make that may be pushed back to early 2021.

After holidays are over and real life schedule returns back to normal, you can expect me to return back to making things at the previous pace I have been throughout the past few months.

What to Expect from Casper Gaming in MZ
Plugins, Resources, Tutorials
August 31, 2020

It has been a month since the last news post, and in that time a whole new RPG Maker has released, RPG Maker MZ! I have been quite busy porting over my MV plugins to MZ, so that is why I have not had time to make a news post. Anyways, on to the important stuff.

I have gotten most of my MV plugins ported over already, with my achievements and title screen plugins coming soon. After these have been released, I will be looking at making tons of all new plugins (and porting some more from my much larger Ace library over)! These plugins will go through the alpha and beta stages, so patrons will be able to provide feedback and get early access throughout the development process.

I also plan to start making some image resources for MZ. While I am admittedly not the most talented artist, I am able to make some things myself such as icons, recolors, RTP edits, and more. When I am not making plugins, these provide me with a nice break and I think you will really enjoy them too.

On top of all that, I will be making some additional tutorials for people both new and old to the engine. I will be starting on the MZ school project, which will contain hundreds of lessons for users to see how something is done with the editor ranging from very simply to very advanced. I will also be looking at more general game dev tutorials or even tutorials for writing your own plugins when I have some spare time.

Hopefully you are as excited for MZ as I am, and I hope to see you around in my Discord or on the forums. I am always looking for ways to improve my stuff, so feel free to leave feedback. As always, Happy RPG Making!

Upcoming MZ Changes
Plugin release, Demo changes, Patreon implications
August 3, 2020

One plugin for CGMV which has been in beta for quite a while now is finally being released, the CGMV Changelog. This is a short and simple plugin which allows you to add a "changelog" option to the title command window and inform users of changes you've made between releases of your game.

Other plugins which are still in Beta, CGMV Holidays and CGMV Crafting, are being worked on with the goal of getting them complete and ready about a week before MZ releases.

Speaking of the new RPG Maker program, I have decided to change how I do demos for my plugins. Once MZ releases, I will be making individual demos for each plugin that is released in addition to a sample project. These individual demos and the new MZ sample project will be free for all to download from appropriate spots on the website.

This also means that Patreon tiers will be changing since currently the $3 tier is access to the sample project which served as a demo for my MV plugins. As discussed above the demos for MZ will be free, so this is no longer suitable for a Patreon benefit. Instead, the new $3 tier will be for access to Beta plugins which is the same as the $5 tier right now, and the $5 tier will instead allow access to alpha plugins which are plugins that are not feature complete yet as well as having your name included in plugin demos. These changes will happen once MZ releases.

New RPG Maker, New Dev Corner
Changes for RPG Maker MZ
July 10, 2020

There is a new RPG Maker engine coming out soon: RPG Maker MZ. This engine offers numerous improvements, including map layers, a new animation system, and more. However, one problem with any new engine is always the lack of plugins available for it.

I will be porting all of my MV plugins to MZ except for any which have had their functionality added to the base engine, so users of Casper Gaming MV (CGMV) plugins will not need to worry about any of my plugins not making the jump to the new engine. Along with the move to the new engine, all my current MV plugins will be moved to the legacy section of the website and any still in beta at that time will be fully released.

In addition, some improvements to the website are coming as well including this actual home page. More tutorials are being worked on for the Learn section, including how to set up version control using GitHub. A new school-like project will be started for MZ as well.

August 2018
Update
August 8, 2018

August is here, and I'm a bit late posting an update due to taking a vacation in July and August. Unfortunately I was not able to get much work done on vacation as I had planned, so some things I had said in July are no longer on track. The vehicle system and region switch plugins will be releasing soon (out of beta) and some new plugins will be entering beta as well this month.

July 2018 Plans
Vehicle System port, Region Switch port, vacation
July 2, 2018

July is here, and will most likely be a less productive month than others since I have a few vacations coming up which I will be taking and will be unable to work on RPG Maker during them. I plan to finish testing the vehicle system, release the region switch port, and hopefully begin work on another CSCA port. I am also working on a new section for the website with tutorials for the editor, which I plan to later expand on and include tutorials on plugins and more. Unfortunately this also means that a lot of work is going into that but it isn't really something I can show off yet so it may look like not much is being done even though it is - just behind the scenes!

June 2018 Plans
Achievement updates, title and vehicle system ports from CSCA
June 1, 2018

June is here! Late in May I released my Professions plugin, and an obvious second step to take is to make achievements for professions. This is currently being worked on and will be completed in June. I have also been working on continuing to port some scripts from my Ace collection to MV, two of which are the Title System and the Vehicle System. These are expected to both be at least in Beta by the end of June, with the Title System likely being released near mid-June.

If you want access to beta plugins without having to wait (you also get to provide important feedback early on in the development of plugins), please become a Patron.

Monthly Update
Monthly Updates planned every month on the first
May 15, 2018

Updates have been a little sporadic, which is something I'd like to change. I will be providing updates on the first of the month from now on, to keep the schedule of news regular. There may still be other updates between these monthly updates if a plugin launches or something important comes up. The monthly updates will serve to keep you updates on what I am working on. If you'd like to provide feedback on anything, please join the Discord Server.

Developer Corner Update
New Plugins, Website Work
April 17, 2018

Hello all, it has been a while since I last posted an update. Since then, I have released the CGMV Encyclopedia and some other smaller plugins. Putting plugins out there is only half the battle, though. The more plugins that are released, the more bugs will need to be fixed and the more new features for existing plugins will be asked for. I look forward to continuing to improve released plugins and put out new plugins for you all.

I have also been doing some updates to the website. So far, most of you probably will not notice much other than a few advertisements on the side of the page. This was implemented to help pay for the hosting of the website. I am also looking into allowing people to register accounts so that you can more easily track which plugins you've downloaded, and other things related to the developer corner. This is a long ways off yet, but definitely something that I want to do.

Plugin Launch, Beta Plugins
Hard at work on the CGMV Engine
February 24, 2018

The CGMV Engine has finally been made available to people on large RPG Maker forums, including RPG Maker Web Forums and RPG Maker Central, as well as some other locations. So far, the larger plugins have received the most attention as expected. I am always looking to not only create new plugins, but also to improve released CGMV plugins, so please do not hesitate to provide feedback, error reports, or suggestions on these forums where my plugins can be found.

Speaking of new plugins, I have decided to post beta plugins to my website. These can be found intermixed with CGMV plugins, but will be clear that they are in beta with a special beta image for all beta plugins. These are plugins which are far enough along in development that they are working as described (for the most part), but have not undergone extensive bug testing and may be missing minor features. These plugins are only available to Patrons. Putting these plugins in the list of CGMV plugins provides an easy way for patrons to access them, as previously they could only be accessed individually from my Patreon page. I anticipate that most plugins will stay in Beta for 1-2 weeks, but larger ones may take longer. If you just cannot wait to test these plugins out in your game, or if you want to provide feedback during the period that changes are most likely to make it into the final product, please become a patron!

Developer Corner Launch
A new place to find Casper Gaming's RPG Maker Resources
January 20, 2018

Welcome to the new Developer Corner section of Casper Gaming! This is the place where I will be releasing all of the resources I have created for the various RPG Makers. Already available are some plugins for MV and a few miscellaneous resources I have converted from my older VX Ace project to be compatible with the new MV standards. New resources are all planned to be created for the latest iteration of RPG Maker: MV. Resources for older makers such as VX and VX Ace can be found in the Older Resources section, but no new resources will be created for these older makers.

Most of what will be released in the near future are updated CSCA Scripts to Javascript so they can be used in MV. These will become the CGMV engine. I will also be working to update graphics I have made in the past to the new asset specifications of MV. After this process is complete, I will be working on creating entirely new resources for the community.