Best Value for Money Starting Place?

[deadtuning]

Hey guys,


So, I'm low on funds but I really want to start making games, learning how to do things etc etc. I've been using VX Ace Lite, but the restrictions, and I've tried MV. I want to buy a license for one of the programs, but as I'm low on funds, which is my best value for money starting point?


2003 and XP are obviously a lot cheaper than VX Ace and MV (think on Steam they were like, £40-45ish cheaper), but is it worth just waiting and saving up? I loved MV and I do want to get a license for it eventually, but if I got, say, 2003, are the things I'll learn mostly transferable to the newer programs? I don't have the money to shell out on an older version to completely relearn when I finally get enough for MV, and the limits of Lite are really starting to bug me.


tl;dr: what is the best value for money? Get an older version sooner, or wait and save up for MV?


Cheers, guys.

 

[mlogan]

Honestly, I would keep an eye out for a really good deal on Ace in your shoes. Summer's practically here and Steam usually has a big summer sale; in the past, there have been bundles with Ace in it for insanely cheap. And getting Ace will be the easiest transition to MV, as well as there are much more resources and scripts available for Ace than say 2k3.


Obviously, I can't guarantee the discounts, but I would be surprised if there's not something in the next couple of months.

 

[GreyStone84]

Just checked and wow! Can't believe VXAce is $70! I think I got mine on sale around a year ago. Keep your eyes open for sales on Steam for RPG maker products.


Anyways, I can't tell about the 2003 or the XP, but VXAce has had a big following and has been out for sometime, so there are a ton of resources made already. A lot of support here on the forums from knowledgeable people. A lot of Scripts that already have their kinks worked out. I'm sure XP and 2003 have similar things going on. MV is still fairly new, but there already seems to be a lot of resources and help already. Some script work too (those geniuses got off to a fast start!). Guaranteed that MV won't slow down anytime soon either, a lot of people have been waiting for it and scooped it up first day.


As for compatibility, VXAce scripts will not work with MV since they are different languages, but as mentioned, many of the genius script writers have already been hard at work. I'm not 100% but from what I've briefly seen, it seems that some of the graphic artists have been making VXAce graphics/icons compatible with MV. This probably doesn't help you too much with your decision, but I hope it helps a little! 

 

[mlogan]

XP has a fairly decent amount of graphic resources available, and I believe scripts as well. I *think* one issue with XP is that because it's older many of the sites the resources were on have lapsed, so they can be a bit harder to find now. I would be surprised to see much in way of graphical/coding support for 2k3 out there.


And the community has done an amazing job of getting our resources and particularly plugins for MV.

 

[wintyrbarnes]

Personally, I'd stay away from 2k3 unless you're doing something very simple or really enjoy punishing yourself. It's really, really difficult to find 2k3 tilesets without rips, and XP was the first RPG Maker to have scripting support--so the only out-of-engine customization you can do with 2k3 is limited to how creative you can get with eventing. It's structured very differently than Ace or MV, too--especially graphics, which are limited to 8-bit PNGs/BMPs. 


XP has a lot more options graphics-wise and customization-wise, but a lot of it is considerably different than VXA or MV (especially the use of autotiles and priority settings) and if you learned tileset-based mapping in VXA or MV, it will be a huge headache. Another big problem is, like mlogan said, some of the previously-available resources have disappeared due to age. Even on here, XP scripts are hard to use because code in spoilers broke with the forum upgrade and I don't think there's much interest for people to go back and fix the code formatting for scripts that are three engines back. 


I think VXA would be your best bet until MV starts going on deeper sales, which probably won't be for a little while. I know both the RMW store and Steam pretty frequently have sales for it, and I was able to get VXA for around $13 last year (and a heckton of resources) when the Indie Game Making Bundle rolled around. That should be in late June or July, I think, and if they include VXA again, it's more than worth getting. 

 

[deadtuning]

Thank you, guys! That's really helpful information!


I've added, I think, all the makers to my steam wishlist so I get an e-mail if it goes on sale haha. Hopefully VX Ace or MV pops up in the summer sale (and my daddy's feeling nice enough to lend me some money if I haven't saved up enough by then haha! fortunately he's probably more excited than me about it as he used to do programming).


I think I'll stick with Lite for now and keep practising. The resources for VX Ace are amazing, and I'd seen some great stuff for the older programs but as you said a lot of the sites/uploads kind of seem to be dead. And as you said, although the languages differ from VX Ace to MV (am I right in thinking Ruby to Javascript?), I'm still a complete beginner when it comes to scripting (and I believe I can't in Lite anyway) so that's not a big deal right now. I'll learn the language required when I get the program, I guess.


Thanks so much for your advice, guys!


EDIT: @wintyrbarnes $13 for VXA?! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out in the sales! Thanks as well for your advice. I think you guys are right in sticking with VXA, then going for MV when there's a good sale on. I do like MV from the trial, but other than the char. gen I wasn't like "oh wow this is such a major improvement to the general UI, eventing, mapping, etc all the basics a n00b like me is learning and failing at"  And although it's been probably ten years since I did any kind of spriting I imagine I could pick up some basics fairly easily to make up for the char. gen, plus the butt ton of resources available on here.  

 

[Shaz]

Isn't MV 50% off right now?  Or is that over?


I've moved this thread to General Discussion. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.

 

[Andar]

@deadtuning IsThereAnyDeal.com

 

[deadtuning]

Ooops, sorry @Shaz! I'll make sure to read the rules more carefully next time!


I haven't seen a 50% off sale. I read something about it being on Steam but it's full price when I go on.


Buuut thanks to @Andar I may be able to get it a little cheaper! Thank you so much for that link, that site is amazing

 

[slimmmeiske2]

@deadtuning That's 'cause you missed it. It was a one day sale on Steam last Monday.

 

[deadtuning]

@slimmmeiske2 Ah that makes sense! Thank you


Good news, guys, thanks to your help and a lot of thinking and agreeing to wash the car, my dad has agreed to give me a short term loan so I can get MV! I am so excited it's unreal, and I can't wait to share my creations with the forum.  

 

[Sausage_Boi]

Heck yeah! MV is really cool. There were some lag issues, but I think they may have patched those out by now, correct me if I am wrong. I have used it a little bit, but I am working on games in Ace currently. Good luck with the program, and always ask questions. Someone is bound to answer at some point!


And IsThereAnyDeal is a really cool site. I have it bookmarked, lol.

 

[Wolfemann]

Edit to previous submission: I found the beginners stuff. There seems to be quite a bit here. Wonderful!


I'm not sure why, but Google search worked better for me in finding what I was looking for than the internal search.


Maybe I'm just strange.


Still, the rest of my question stands.

 

[Sausage_Boi]

How are you liking the software? Have a demo yet?

 

[Wolfemann]

How are you liking the software? Have a demo yet?

Well, um... It looks like my first post didn't get posted, so that one doesn't make quite as much sense as it should.


I'll try to redo it. I hope this is still a good/correct thread to post this on.


(…and no, I don't have a demo yet, but as soon as I do I'll be posting it. I love [constructive] criticism of my work.)


Greetings and felicitations!


First off, I would like to apologiz(s)e for my poor English skills. I am an American. (Shout out to the Belgie! I lived there for 6 years and loved every minute. You have a great country.)


I am absolutely brand new to game making, and to most of what goes into making one. I'm a graphic/web designer (note: not a dev, unless you can count editing preexisting code while creating websites using Joomla). Regardless, I have stories to tell and I believe games could be a good (and fun) medium. I recently purchased a games making bundle ($40 - fulfillment on Steam. So yes, watch for those specials.) that included; App Game Kit, AGFPRO 3.0, GameGuru, RPG Maker XP, RM VX Ace, and RM MV, as well as a score of support programs. Needless to say, I am rather overwhelmed.


RPG Maker seemed like a good place to start (although I really like the looks of AGFPRO's 2.5D system).


My question is: Given my lack of experience, and the availability of all these options, should I start using RM MV (as the general consensus seems to be that it is easier for beginners than VX), or should I start with VX Ace (as it has a couple of thousand resources on the Steam Workshop compared to MV which has 44 if I remember correctly)?


Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated, and incidentally, any "do not make the mistake of…" type advice would be appreciated as well.


Cheers!

 

[deadtuning]

The only thing that frustrates me about MV is the lack of resources because I'm not talented enough to create my own BUT you gotta keep reminding yourself that VX Ace has been out waaay longer. If you have both you're maybe better starting with VX Ace for the convenience of having more resources available, as the fundamentals are the same, maybe with slightly different terminology in some places? Other than that the main difference is MV changes to javascript but if you're not looking at the in depth coding right now I don't think that's something to concern yourself with.


Me personally, I had to pick one. I picked MV because I liked the UI and I was already planning to learn javascript, plus the whole being able to turn your games into android/iOS apps and stuff was a big seller for me.


So from one newbie to another, VX Ace or MV are both great starting places. VX Ace if you need more resources available now, but otherwise you can't go wrong starting your journey with either from my impressions. Both will hold your hand enough while you learn core concepts (I'm doing a programming course alongside, but I was essentially doing the practical in MV, then the theory in the coursework the following week haha) and both will give you transferable skills. I'll be getting VX Ace in a sale at some point I reckon.  


But my impressions are based solely on VX Ace Lite compared to MV. I believe Lite only limits things like the number of events per map etc, but not the actual functionality otherwise.


Oh, and last thing, VX Ace tutorials can totally be used with MV. Some terminology and locations of things in the database are different etc, but the core concepts are the same. I'd suggest spending some time with each program and seeing what feels comfortable for you.

 

[Sausage_Boi]

Just to clarify, lite will also prevent you from using scripts for vx ace.


I dont know which would be bettter to start with. I had ace to start nearly 2 years ago, now i have mv also but rarely use it.

 

[Wolfemann]

Thank you everyone for the feedback.


I think I should start with VX Ace (based on what I've heard here, and what I saw when playing with the software). MV looks like it would be easier for me to learn to use, but I'm really going to be reliant on available resources while I'm learning.


Hopefully, I'll be able to use some of what I do in VX Ace in MV.


Cheers!

 

[Kes]

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