HVAC Core: Heating & Cooling Minigames for RPG Maker MZ

Heating and cooling, made playable. HVAC Core adds a Workshop to your RPG Maker MZ game with six HVAC minigames, a Field Manual that players unlock as they earn stars, and quizzes and exams you can put anywhere in your story. Every round ends with a short “why” that works the answer through with that round’s own numbers, so players learn from every mistake.

Part of the MZ Minigame Collection. This plugin is one of a growing library of themed minigames for RPG Maker MZ, from board games and puzzles to sports, casino and crafting. Mix and match to fill your world with things to do.

👉 See them all: https://itch.io/c/8090415/mz-minigame-collection

It’s one plugin file. There’s nothing to import: every house, coil, duct and thermostat is drawn by the plugin itself. Units are the ones the trade uses: °F, BTU/h, CFM and FPM.

Three learner levels in one plugin

• Junior (ages 8 and up): ideas and pictures. Which way does heat flow? Which machine dries the air?
• Technician: real formulas with clean numbers, like Q = A × ΔT ÷ R, CFM = FPM × area and 1 ton = 12,000 BTU/h.
• Journeyman: superheat and subcooling, wall assemblies, trunk sizing, load totals and heat pump wiring.

Players pick their level on the first visit and can switch any time. You can also set it from an event, or lock it. Stars and best scores are kept for each level.

The minigames

Minigame	How you play	What it teaches
Heat Leak	Find the leaks, then insulate the house	Heat flow, R-value, U-factor, Q = U × A × ΔT
Refrigerant Loop	Build the cycle part by part, then run it	The four parts, refrigerant states, superheat and subcooling
Duct Run	Slide the duct size, then blow air through it	CFM, FPM, branch and trunk sizing
Comfort Dial	Pick a machine and watch the room move on a comfort chart	Relative humidity, dew point, condensation
Size the Unit	Pick a unit, then watch a hot afternoon play out	Tons and BTU/h, short-cycling, sensible heat
Thermostat Wiring	Energize the terminals, then test the call	R, W, Y, G, C, heat pumps and the reversing valve

Each game has an intro card, a timer with a speed bonus, a pause menu and a results screen with 0 to 3 stars. Puzzles are generated fresh every round. Oversized ducts and units score half marks, because “bigger” isn’t the same as “right”.

Field Manual, quizzes and exams

• Field Manual: 18 illustrated entries, three per minigame, each written for all three levels. They unlock as players earn stars.
• Pop Quiz: a plugin command with a topic, a number of questions, a pass mark and a pass switch. “Answer three questions about airflow and you can start on the job.”
• Certification Exam: one per level, covering all six topics. Passing it awards a certificate made out to the party leader, and turns on a switch you choose.
• Your own questions: add them in the Plugin Manager, with an explanation for each.

Built to drop into your project

• No assets needed. Everything is drawn in code, and the sounds come from your database’s system sounds. Pick your own BGM if you like.
• Results go where you need them. Win switch, score and star variables, a level variable, a total-stars variable and certificate switches.
• Event-friendly. The event waits while a minigame or quiz is open, so you can branch on the result in the very next command.
• Keyboard, gamepad, mouse and touch everywhere. The layout scales to your game’s resolution.
• Runs alongside Engineering Core. Separate names and save data, so you can use both in one game.
• Saves with the game. One file, no dependencies, and no core scripts edited.

Setup

1. Put EDU_HVACCore.js in your project’s js/plugins/ folder.
2. Turn it on in the Plugin Manager.
3. Add the plugin command Open Workshop to an event.

Plugin commands

Open Workshop · Play Minigame · Open Field Manual · Pop Quiz · Take Exam · Set Level · Ask Level · Get Level · Unlock Minigame · Lock Minigame · Unlock Manual Entry · Get Stars · Reset Progress

Script calls

HVACCore.tier()                 // current level, 0-2
HVACCore.stars("duct", 1)       // Duct Run stars at Technician
HVACCore.hasCert(2)             // Journeyman certificate earned?
HVACCore.lastResult.win         // last minigame won?

You can also add your own minigames: write one scene class and register it, and it appears in the Workshop. The plugin’s help has a full example.

A note on the content

The teaching follows standard US residential practice and names ACCA Manual J, S and D where they apply. Simplified rules (the 400 CFM per ton rule, the game’s comfort box) are labeled as simplifications. No refrigerant names or pressure charts are used, so the content doesn’t date as refrigerant rules change.

Requirements

RPG Maker MZ. Tested against the MZ 1.7.0 core scripts. It does not work in RPG Maker MV.

Terms of use

Free to use in commercial and non-commercial RPG Maker MZ games. Credit is appreciated. Please don’t resell or redistribute the plugin file by itself.

Version history

1.0.0: First release.