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Thanks for the fast reply.

I’m thrilled to hear the concept caught your interest! Since you’re looking into Darkest Dungeon for inspiration, here are some specific clarifications on how a "Skill Bar" system changes the flow of combat compared to the standard RPG Maker MZ "Command Window."

The General UI "Hotbar" Concept

In Darkest Dungeon [skip to 15:40 in video to see the combat] or Guild Wars, the player doesn't open a "Skill" menu to see a list of text. Instead, the skills are represented by Icons sitting on a permanent bar at the bottom of the screen.

• No Sub-menus: Instead of selecting "Magic" -> "Fire," the player just clicks the "Fire" icon directly on the bar.
• Visual Communication: The icons should show "Usability" at a glance. For example, if a player doesn't have enough MP, the icon is grayed out. If a skill is on Cooldown, a "clock" overlay or a number shows how many turns are left.

Limited Loadout for Added Tactical Depth

Arguably the the most important part. Even if a character knows 20 skills, the Skill Bar might only have 5 or 6 slots.

• Preparation Phase: Before a dungeon or battle, the player opens a menu (similar to RPGMaker MV-era plugin the VCM_SkillBar management scene) to "equip" their active skills.
• The Strategy: This forces the player to choose. "Do I bring 5 attack skills? Or 3 attacks, 1 heal, and 1 buff?"
• MZ Implementation: It would be amazing if the plugin allowed us to set the "Max Slots" per actor (e.g., a Level 1 hero has 3 slots, a Level 50 hero has 8).

Key Features from the VCM_SkillBar Reference

Because VCM_Skillbar was never ported to MZ and the author does not appear active anymore, here are the features from the VCM version that would be most useful to replicate:

• Slot Management: A way for players to drag-and-drop skills into slots outside of battle.
• Keyboard Hotkeys: Pressing numbers 1–6 on the keyboard should trigger the corresponding slot.
• Cooldown Support: A built-in parameter to define "Turn Cooldowns" so players can't spam the same powerful skill every turn.
• Hover Information: When the mouse hovers over an icon, a small window (Tooltip) should appear showing the skill name, cost, and description.

Example Workflow for the Player:

1. In Menu: The player sees they are entering a Fire-themed dungeon. They swap out their "Fireball" skill for "Ice Lance" on their Skill Bar.
2. In Battle: The standard "Skill/Magic" command windows are hidden. The player sees the "Ice Lance" icon. (Icons for other menu options like "Item," or "Escape" could optionally be added via plugin parameters).
3. The Action: They click the icon (or press '2' on the keyboard), select the target, and the action executes.

I hope this helps clarify the vision! I’m really looking forward to seeing what you create once you finish your current batch of tools. Let me know if you’d like me to find some specific screenshots or mockups of the "Skill Management" screens!