Creating An Integrated Developer

[Kino]

Often times, a lot of engines come integrated with their programming language to accomplish specific goals for a game.

And with that, they usually create a scripting API to accomplish those tasks. In a sense, we have a scripting API and can create our own API on top of the default engine code.

One thing I see a lot is people not being interested in learning how to script for RMMV. My question is can we bridge the gap with an API that puts more power in the developers hand to accomplish certain tasks by scripting?

What I'm considering here is making a documented API which lives on top of the base scripts as a plugin to become a learning material for devs who are apprehensive to coding themselves, and want to do more within their events and common events.

Then providing tutorials on understanding the base engine and the scripting API plus referencing other resources in a centralized place.

I want opinions on this if it's even worth attempting and if people would want something like that anyway within the core engine.

 

[Andar]

not really - it has been discussed before, and the problem is that the programming/scripting in the rpg-makers is already as easy as possible (if you don't want to loose flexibility that is) and the problem a lot of users have is that it takes time to learn how to program, you can't start scripting without putting in weeks or months to learn how to program.
And there already is a lot of documentation on this, it just requires you to search for it and put in time to really read the code.

Here is a link to the old discussion on this:
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/can-the-scripting-system-be-easier.31354/

EDIT:
and don't forget: the target of the RM is to keep things simple, there are a lot of users who never even touch scripting but make their entire games on the event level.

 

[mistFAWKES]

for what it's worth, i've learned everything from BASIC to c#, and i don't bother to learn rpgm's proprietary systems because the documentation is dogsh*t.

 

[mistFAWKES]

note: i'm not referring the end-user's(your) attempts to cobble together a usable codex, i'm talking about KADOKAWA/Enterbrain's inability to pay a professional to write legitimate technical documentation. even Visual Basic 4.0 came with a 600-page manual(and 2 500-page appendices). the company makes it's money by exploiting their worker-base in the Philippines.

but fair enough, ya know? capitalism, baby. buy it or don't

 

[Kino]

See, I get what you mean when it comes to flexibility, which a thin API could hinder. I know a lot of things can be done with eventing, but I was also thinking when it comes to adding script calls to events or other places where you can insert script information into the game, using script calls can be kind of cumbersome when it comes to the default ones. I was thinking it might be cool to also add documentation for those script calls with examples of how to use them and details on what they do.

 

[Andar]

@Kino Some of that documentation already exists, it's just posted here on the forum instead of in the help file.

 

[SamJones]

for what it's worth, i've learned everything from BASIC to c#, and i don't bother to learn rpgm's proprietary systems because the documentation is dogsh*t.

The proprietary system that is one of the most wide-spread scripting languages on the planet, with millions of pages of documentations to it? That proprietary system?

 

[mistFAWKES]

The proprietary system that is one of the most wide-spread scripting languages on the planet, with millions of pages of documentations to it? That proprietary system?

cute walk with y'ffre, love

 

[SamJones]

cute walk with y'ffre, love

If that was supposed to be an insult then it would work a lot better if you were speaking English instead of gibberish.

 

[Eviticous]

for what it's worth, i've learned everything from BASIC to c#, and i don't bother to learn rpgm's proprietary systems because the documentation is dogsh*t.

You realize rpg maker mv is the first prog maker that has integrated with one of the most loved (and hated) languages right? Like javascript is every where and its incredibly easy to do what you want here as opposed to earlier versions where the version of ruby or the libraries of ruby included were minimal at most.

With node js as the core foundation, I can use build tools out side of Rpg maker to build my scripts to include third party libraries, to write in a more standard for of JS and to even use some really fancy techniques and tricks if I please, which I have done for a couple of my Lucid Scripts.

So your argument fails. You could say that Rpg Maker MV's core library is poorly documented, and I can some what attest to that, but because we have a console, I can figure out what object has what methods and from there go about my day. Rpg Maker MV has become the simplest platform to develop for, scripting wise.

 

[Fornoreason1000]

oh damn those old RUBY libraries. pretty sure they were written in C++. to this day i have no clue how the script programmers of those days ever went about extending those "Core" classes (in Ruby there are classes). the Core classes were locked away in a DLL file. which means finding out what's inside it is technically against TOS. but im pretty there was a bug in one of them.


MV is lucky that we have those in rpg_core.js and even PIXI.js if we want to go further up. but even VXAce had the core classes in a compiled DLL making them very bad to play around with. The vague (far worse than MV's mind you!) documentation was all you had , and it of course only showed the public methods. not even sure if it were all of them.

As for speed Node.js pretty good when compared to ruby(which is alot slower). javascript, in my opinion is the easiest and hardest language to use.

 

[Chaos17]

I never understood why there isn't a plugin editor that let you do this

For small edit plugin or making from scratch I think it would help everyone to have something like in this tied directly with Rpg maker Mv (kind of tool) instead of always have to rely on a external third editor program.
Source: http://rsakane.net/gamedev/?p=383

 

[Kino]

That would be nice, although I don't know how much work building auto completion would be.

My thing is, there is a lot you can do with events and the base engine without touching coding at all, but I do think even things like script calls, plugin commands, and the underlying structure could be broken down and given to the dev to work with/see more clearly.

It only pushes development ideas further and what's possible to make, and maybe shortens their development time.

Right now we have a lot of libraries from a lot of different plugin makers, so I think it'd be cool to bridge the gap so both the plugin makers and the game creators really have an easier time with getting libraries across, and understanding the whole engine.