FrameMaster MZ v2.3.0
Unlimited Frame-by-Frame Animation for RPG Maker MZ
Break the 3-frame limit forever. Godot-style frame-by-frame animation on characters, battlers, and pictures. Integrated visual editor, unlimited frames, equipment layers, a full battle director — free, even for commercial games.
This plugin will be updated until it’s perfect.
Every update pushes the boundaries further. Found a bug? Want a feature? Tell us — we’ll build it. FrameMaster grows with the community.
Features
- Unlimited Frames — No 3-frame limit. Animate anything with any number of frames
- Integrated Visual Editor — Drag-and-drop timeline, live preview, per-frame duration + events
- Sprite Sheets & Single PNGs — Both supported, grid slicing included
- 8-Direction Auto-Pilot — Idle / walk / dash + diagonal movement, Godot-style
- Equipment Layers — Visual equipment that follows animations (weapons, armor, capes)
- Fixed Layers — Halo, aura, VFX overlays that play independently
- Battler Animation — Side + front view, actors & enemies, unlimited frames in battle
- Battle Director — Godot-style state machine: idle, attack1-3, skill, hit, evade, die, victory + HP phases
- Picture Animation — Animate any map picture (Show Picture first), transforms preserved
- Frame Events — Play SE, trigger Common Events, set Switches, run Script on any frame
- Loop Modes — Normal, ping-pong, and random frame cycling
- PlayOnce System — Independent one-shot actions that auto-resume auto-pilot
- Crossfade Blends — Smooth FM → FM transitions with configurable ms
- .webp Support — 60-80% smaller than PNG, same quality
- Proximity Preload — Smart LRU caching, only loads what’s near the player
- Anti-Freeze Watchdog — Battlers auto-recover from interrupted animations
- Compatibility Hook API — Other plugins can inject layers without touching saves
- Zero Dependencies — No plugins required, works standalone
Comparison vs Paid Competitors
AnimaX (KageDesu) — Free / PRO $28
- ✓ Unlimited frames
- ✓ Auto-pilot idle / walk / dash
8-direction diagonals (PRO only)- Equipment layers (PRO only)
- ✓ PlayOnce actions
- ✓ .webp support
- ✗ Integrated visual editor (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Battler animation (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Battle Director (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Picture animation (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Frame events (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Loop modes (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Crossfade blends (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Compatibility hook API (FrameMaster wins)
Sang Hendrix Animation Solution — $15
- ✓ Unlimited frames
- ✓ Auto-pilot idle / walk / dash
- ✓ 8-direction diagonals
- Visual editor (VFX only, not characters)
- Battler animation (map only)
- ✗ Equipment layers (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Battle Director (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Picture animation (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Frame events (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Loop modes (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ PlayOnce (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Crossfade blends (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ .webp support (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Compatibility hook API (FrameMaster wins)
Advanced Character Graphics (ayatam) — $9
- ✓ Unlimited frames
- ✓ Auto-pilot idle / walk / dash
- ✓ 8-direction diagonals
- ✓ Equipment layers
- ✓ Battler animation
- ✗ Integrated visual editor (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Battle Director (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Picture animation (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Frame events (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Loop modes (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ PlayOnce (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Crossfade blends (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ .webp support (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Compatibility hook API (FrameMaster wins)
VisuStella (full suite) — $100
- ✗ Unlimited frames (3-frame limit — FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Integrated visual editor (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Auto-pilot idle / walk / dash (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ 8-direction diagonals (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Equipment layers (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Battler animation (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Battle Director (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Picture animation (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Frame events (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Loop modes (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ PlayOnce (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Crossfade blends (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ .webp support (FrameMaster wins)
- ✗ Compatibility hook API (FrameMaster wins)
The difference: AnimaX, Sang Hendrix, Ayatam and VisuStella let you animate map characters. FrameMaster lets you animate everything — map, battle, and screen — with an integrated editor, a battle state machine, and a compatibility API. All free for commercial use.
Quick Start
- Copy FrameMaster.js to js/plugins/ and enable it
- Put frame PNGs in img/framemaster/ (or one sprite sheet)
- Open tools/framemaster_editor.html and build animations visually
- Use Plugin Commands: Play, AutoPlay, BattleSetup
- Press F8 during playtest to preview every animation live
Plugin Commands
Play Stop TransitionTo AutoPlay AutoStop PlayBattler PlayPicture BattleSetup LayerSet LayerClear PlayOnce OpenPreview
Script API
$gameFrameMaster.play(ch, id, opts) $gameFrameMaster.playOnce(ch, id) $gameFrameMaster.setAuto(ch, map) $gameFrameMaster.playBattler(b, id) $gameFrameMaster.playPicture(id, anim) FrameMaster.registerLayerProvider(id, fn)
Compatibility
RPG Maker MZ 1.8.0–1.10.0 — Alias-only, no overwrites- Altimit Movement / QMovement — Diagonal auto-pilot via vector detection
- Other visual plugins — Place below, hooks are alias-chained
- Save/Load safe — Animation state persists mid-playback
- Steam & Web builds — No Node.js required
License & Terms of Use
- Commercial Use Allowed — The game is yours, do whatever you want
- Modification Allowed — Adapt it to your needs
- Redistribution Allowed — FREE only, cannot be sold
Credit Not Required — Not mandatory- Keep the Copyright Notice — License header must remain intact
No Warranty — Provided “as is”. Test before shipping
TL;DR: Use it, ship it, sell your game. Don’t sell the plugin. Keep the header. Test your game. Done.
The Road to Perfection
FrameMaster will be updated until it’s perfect. We’re not just shipping a plugin — we’re building the definitive animation system for RPG Maker MZ.
Have an idea? A bug? A feature you wish existed? Tell us. Every piece of feedback shapes the next update. This plugin grows with the community — and it’s free forever, even for commercial games.
Download + demo: https://r-px.itch.io/framemaster-mz
GitHub: https://github.com/Rp-ics/RMMZ_Frame_Master_Plugin
Made with 
by Rpx & Just Dev — https://rpxgames.win/