A quick question for a beginner.

[Praise the Logarius Wheel]

Hi! Good day to everyone! 

I would love to try this software out! But I need to know what version should I buy? VX, ace or the others? Especially for a beginner like me? Other than that.. I don't have the slightest knowledge with software programs..such as java and likes... Do you have any tips for me what should I learn first to use this software to maximize its potential? Thank you!

 

[Idril]

Oh, gosh, what version to buy is such a hard question! A quick rundown from someone who's only used Ace and VX -


XP is older but many people still swear by it. Same with 2003. VX Ace is basically the same as VX but with more features/stuff. I would say that VX Ace is better than VX so if you are going for one of those get Ace. MV is the newest, with multiplatform exporting, and it runs on Mac OSX, where the others do not. VXAce has a ton of resources and has been around a long time, so it has a ton of tutorials, scripts, etc for it.


I'd say download all the trials and test 'em out for yourself. They go for 30 days as far as I know, plenty of time to play around.


No need to learn scripting for Ace, but it is handy. It uses Ruby scripting. MV uses Java, and I'm not sure how essential it is to know, as I've not used MV.


All makers are pretty user-friendly as far as I know. Scripting isn't usually necessary. Really it's all up to what you want to do!

 

[EternalShadow]

JavaScript, not Java. Had to throw that in there.

 

[LaFlibuste]

I used to dabble with RPGMaker 2000 and RPGMaker 2003 in my teens, dropped it for a while and got back at RPGMaker VX Ace earlier this year. I'll likely acquire MV sooner or later (especially since I'm on mac and tired of running parallels desktop), but it is not a thing yet.

So as far as "beginner" goes, I'd say pretty much all versions are very beginner-friendly. It's the whole point of the software, it's easy to use and you don't need to know anything about programming.

As far as "maximizing the potential", I'd say pick RPGMaker XP or another later version. These versions introduced programming in and it really expends the possibilities. Although you yourself don't have to know it, there are plenty of scripts available on the web. In that regard (and I'm not sure as I've not seen it myself), I think MV is easier to use for a non-programmer / someone with little to no prior knowledge with the whole plugin thing.

Aside from that, there are a few other considerations to be had:


- MV is relatively recent, they are still working on stuff and it gets updates from time to time, this means it might not be at its peak functionality yet.


- Since they changed both the programming language and the art assets requirements, it also means there's much less material available for you to use right now. But people are actively working on it, it's only a matter of time.


- I'm not sure which maker it started with, but VX Ace and MV have built-in character generators, which can be a plus. 2k and 2k3 didn't, dunno about XP.

- You can use other assets/styles, of course, but something to consider could also be the default graphical style of each maker. They change styles, maybe there's one that's insufferable for you. XP ones were tall and shapeless, VX and VX Ace used chibis, MV still uses chibis but they're a bit bulkier and have a different color palette. It can be a consideration...


- As other people have mentioned, MV can run both on PC and Mac and export to both these platforms in addition to web and mobile, which previous makers couldn't (they were PC only).


- Since its the newest, MV's also the most expensive. Other makers are often on sale, and MV is not. Don't know if it's an issue for you.

Prior knowledge, I don't really know... There's nothing that's required, but if you want to go there I guess following a few programming tutorials for beginners just to get a grasp of how variables generally work and can be used, how conditional clauses work, what are booleans, how loops and iterators work, general things like that could be useful. But it's not mandatory. If you do decide to do this, I'd say pick what maker you are going to go with and get a basic tutorial for that language (Javascript for MV, Ruby for others).

 

[Praise the Logarius Wheel]

Thanks! Any more I need to know before I purchase one of them? So, basically people really love using XP and 2003? But VX Ace is the newest and has the largest number of functions?

 

[Praise the Logarius Wheel]

I used to dabble with RPGMaker 2000 and RPGMaker 2003 in my teens, dropped it for a while and got back at RPGMaker VX Ace earlier this year. I'll likely acquire MV sooner or later (especially since I'm on mac and tired of running parallels desktop), but it is not a thing yet.

So as far as "beginner" goes, I'd say pretty much all versions are very beginner-friendly. It's the whole point of the software, it's easy to use and you don't need to know anything about programming.

As far as "maximizing the potential", I'd say pick RPGMaker XP or another later version. These versions introduced programming in and it really expends the possibilities. Although you yourself don't have to know it, there are plenty of scripts available on the web. In that regard (and I'm not sure as I've not seen it myself), I think MV is easier to use for a non-programmer / someone with little to no prior knowledge with the whole plugin thing.

Aside from that, there are a few other considerations to be had:


- MV is relatively recent, they are still working on stuff and it gets updates from time to time, this means it might not be at its peak functionality yet.


- Since they changed both the programming language and the art assets requirements, it also means there's much less material available for you to use right now. But people are actively working on it, it's only a matter of time.


- I'm not sure which maker it started with, but VX Ace and MV have built-in character generators, which can be a plus. 2k and 2k3 didn't, dunno about XP.

- You can use other assets/styles, of course, but something to consider could also be the default graphical style of each maker. They change styles, maybe there's one that's insufferable for you. XP ones were tall and shapeless, VX and VX Ace used chibis, MV still uses chibis but they're a bit bulkier and have a different color palette. It can be a consideration...


- As other people have mentioned, MV can run both on PC and Mac and export to both these platforms in addition to web and mobile, which previous makers couldn't (they were PC only).


- Since its the newest, MV's also the most expensive. Other makers are often on sale, and MV is not. Don't know if it's an issue for you.

Prior knowledge, I don't really know... There's nothing that's required, but if you want to go there I guess following a few programming tutorials for beginners just to get a grasp of how variables generally work and can be used, how conditional clauses work, what are booleans, how loops and iterators work, general things like that could be useful. But it's not mandatory. If you do decide to do this, I'd say pick what maker you are going to go with and get a basic tutorial for that language (Javascript for MV, Ruby for others).

From your reply, I'm really tilting to purchasing MV. Aside from the early development of these products, said that there will be more in its functionality over time right? Then this means MV can still have more... uhhhhh... like more tiles, effects, sounds, etc.?

 

[Lantiz]

You can use RPG Maker VX Ace Lite for free, and get to know the software first.

 

[LaFlibuste]

So, basically people really love using XP and 2003? But VX Ace is the newest and has the largest number of functions?

Nope, all wrong. But we replied more or less at the same time, so I guess you haven't read my other reply

In release order, from oldest to newest, it goes: 2000, 2003, XP, Ace, VX Ace, MV.

2000 and 2003 are rather old and outdated, I wouldn't recommend them. They're also less flexible since they do not have programming. Back in the days, I used them because  it was what was available, XP did not exist yet.

Some people prefer using XP because of some functions that have been removed or modified in later makers. But it's more limited in other regards (I couldn't really tell, I never used it).

The newest (and possibly the most powerful?) is MV.

Although VX Ace is still very powerful and there's a lot of assets for it.

Aside from the early development of these products, said that there will be more in its functionality over time right? Then this means MV can still have more... uhhhhh... like more tiles, effects, sounds, etc.?

Don't get me wrong, MV is fully functional. They are still working on adding some stuff in (I couldn't tell you exactly what, I suppose there's a changelog or roadmap available somewhere?), but you are not going to have a buggy beta software if you buy it.

As far as assets go, what you have to understand is that a lot is made and shared by the community. VX Ace and previous softwares have been around for years, so a lot has been created. Also, they used the same resolution for graphical assets, so stuff created for XP could be used in VX Ace. MV changed the resolution, so everything as to be rebuilt from the ground up. It's less noticeable with scripts, maybe since those are version exclusive, but MV is still the newer addition and less material has been made for it yet. But people are working on it, there's more with every passing week. And by assets, I mostly mean tiles, sprites and scripts. Sound and music too, of course, but I think those are more universal and could be used regardless of the maker's version. Required file types might vary, I don't know, but that's manageable.



So personally, I'd recommend either VX Ace or MV, but I guess XP is also a viable option. I'd say get the demos for these three, see what they look like, test them out a bit.



Also worth noting, game projects cannot really be transferred between makers. If you start something on XP, don't expect to be able to convert it to VX Ace or MV. But don't let that stop you from really trying all three makers, as a beginner you'll likely start over a lot as you discover new functionalities and become better anyway.

 

[Fermmoylle]

From your reply, I'm really tilting to purchasing MV. Aside from the early development of these products, said that there will be more in its functionality over time right? Then this means MV can still have more... uhhhhh... like more tiles, effects, sounds, etc.?

Considering MV is the newest title, you can expect people providing more support to it--scripts, tiles, everything else.--However, it may take some time.


The learning curve is low and you can do much using the software as is, so even if takes some time to have those external features you won't be dissatisfied.


If you ask me my opinion, purchase MV, however...


...if you think you won't need more than the default engine, and you like old school graphics (or you intend to create your own), I recommend RPG Maker 2003. It's a lot cheaper, it is a robust engine and have many nifty things. You'll miss scripts (if you really need them), but if you haven't tried the new engines you won't miss a thing. ^_^


The advantage of default MV over default 2003 is allowing you to release your game as a web browser game or even an Android game. For me, this is a BIG plus.

 

[Praise the Logarius Wheel]

Thank you very much for you replies guys! I guess i'll download the trials first and see what fits me. Especially I love games from FF, Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre and etc.... I just wanted to create my own world of rpg... I'll start asking questions again if they rise up. Could I count on you guys, again? Thanks!

 

[Candacis]

I would stick to MV. It is the newest and will stay relevant for the next years. You will get tons of support for it in this forum. But a trial version is always benefitital or just watch some introduction videos on youtube.

 

[sabao]

Thank you very much for you replies guys! I guess i'll download the trials first and see what fits me. Especially I love games from FF, Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre and etc.... I just wanted to create my own world of rpg... I'll start asking questions again if they rise up. Could I count on you guys, again? Thanks!

Based on this, I'd recommend VX or VX Ace. GubiD made a script you can build tactics-style games with, but this may require a little more experience (or a lot of reading through the thread and documentation, really) to handle properly. A lot of users still prefer either versions because of the large amount of user created content already available for them.


For beginning hobbyists, I strongly recommend the 2k/2k3 series. It features most of the core functions later editions feature minus the script/plugin support. I think this is important: the greater versatility of versions XP onward offer a variety of ways to build your game and sometimes that freedom paralyzes beginners and veterans alike. Keeping the tools simple offers you the opportunity to focus on understanding the fundamentals of RPG Maker, for half the price of later editions.


Personally, I've been around for a while so I've put good time into all the older versions and have put a little time into MV. I like MV. I've always believed traditional RM games would work great on mobile so support for these platforms is greatly appreciated. JavaScript is used by a lot of people in a lot of other applications as well, so I figure changing to that was a good move, although I'm no programmer.

 

[lawina]

I would stick to MV. It is the newest and will stay relevant for the next years. You will get tons of support for it in this forum. But a trial version is always benefitital or just watch some introduction videos on youtube.

This. While VX Ace has more plugins at the moment, the main software is still inferior compared to MV.

 

[watermark]

@Praise the Logarius Wheel Well if you're looking to build a Fire Emblem or Tactics Ogre like game. Someone did mention some other engine a while back. Off the top of my head, I think it's called SRPG Studios, but it's in Japanese.

 

[Frogboy]

I just picked up MV but I can't really comment on the others because I haven't used them.  I like it a lot, though, and it's currently on sale along with all of the other versions.  One of the big selling points for me was that it uses JavaScript which is a language that I know so I feel like I can pretty much customize the game however I want.  There's already a lot of good plugins out there that allow you to do most of the RPG staples.  It also has side-view battling built in so if that's what you plan to use, it might be your best bet.