Do all RPGMakers have a map limit?

[puubutt]

I've been looking around for an RPG Maker to buy and the ones I did use in the past had a 100 map limit (or lower). I've been wanting to make a fairly large game and I'm scared a 100 map limit isnt going to cut it. Which RPG maker is the most flexible in terms of maps? (Making maps larger, having more than 100 maps, ect.)
I know that there are plug-ins to make there be more maps, but I've heard that it's considered illegal so I'm not risking it.



(sorry if this isnt the right forum, I wasnt sure where this question would go)

 

[TheoAllen]

the ones I did use in the past had a 100 map limit (or lower)

You're probably talking about VXAce lite, which it's far lower than 100.

Anyway, RPG Maker, any type from XP (idk the previous version of RM) to MV has map limit more than just 100, it's probably around 999 or even 4 digits number, but I never hit map limit yet. You're going to be fine.

 

[puubutt]

You're probably talking about VXAce lite, which it's far lower than 100.

Anyway, RPG Maker, any type from XP (idk the previous version of RM) to MV has map limit more than just 100, it's probably around 999 or even 4 digits number, but I never hit map limit yet. You're going to be fine.

That's actually strange. Thank you for the information though. I swear one of the newer versions had a limit of 100, (and so did the 2k3 version) which is why I was asking. Thank you!!

 

[Andar]

the limit is and ever was 999 for Ace and MV, and for the Ace lite version (which is basically a free demo without time limits) it was reduced to 10 maps, not 100.

 

[puubutt]

the limit is and ever was 999 for Ace and MV, and for the Ace lite version (which is basically a free demo without time limits) it was reduced to 10 maps, not 100.

I was talking to far older versions like 2k3 when I said 100 ^^

 

[Andar]

I was talking to far older versions like 2k3 when I said 100 ^^

you remembered wrong - I just installed both RM2K and RM2K3 because I couldn't believe such a low limit for game making, and both 2K and 2K3 had a four-digit-map number, which means they could each handle 9999 maps.

It might be that you originally had a damaged pirated version that could only handle 100 maps, because those old makers were pirated on mass and became only officially licenced in 2015.

 

[puubutt]

you remembered wrong - I just installed both RM2K and RM2K3 because I couldn't believe such a low limit for game making, and both 2K and 2K3 had a four-digit-map number, which means they could each handle 9999 maps.

It might be that you originally had a damaged pirated version that could only handle 100 maps, because those old makers were pirated on mass and became only officially licenced in 2015.

I used 2k3 over 5 years ago so that might be it? I'm not sure. It's good to know that they (for the most part) handle so much. In your opinion is RPG Maker MV the best one currently? I'm trying to buy with the big discount on it currently.

 

[Heirukichi]

I own both VX Ace and MV; each has its own advantages and disadvantages:

1. MV has no hidden classes while VX Ace does, this means that in MV you can edit anything you want with a lot of freedom, in VX Ace you have to overwrite documented methods and you are not allowed to edit exactly everything;
2. Now that RGD came out both engines can handle almost anything you want when it comes to graphics (RGD adds DirectX compatibility to VX Ace);
3. MV engine is much slower than VX Ace engine (not the game itself, just the engine);
4. MV uses a larger grid with 48x48 squares while VX Ace uses a grid with 32x32 squares;
5. The maximum number of squares allowed in a single map is slightly different from MV to VX Ace, this makes VX Ace maps potentially bigger than MV maps even considering that MV squares are bigger (although I am quite sure you can handle everything with smaller maps);
6. MV already has built-in functionalities to export to Android and MacOS (VX Ace does not);
7. MV uses Javascript while VX Ace uses ruby.

There are other differences, but almost anything else can be modified with scripts/plug-ins to add missing functionalities. In the end I decided to stick to VX Ace even after buying MV. The main reason is the 3rd one: I prefer if my engine runs smoothly. If you consider how laggy RM games are on mobiles (I have read of many people having issues with maps with 10 or more events), I think deploying on PC is still the best option, and that is why I do not need the built-in export functionality that MV has to offer, but that only applies to me.

Besides those things (and some I might have missed) the two engines behave almost in the same way. It is up to you to decide which one you want, but, just in case you do not know, remember that VX Ace is considered legacy and is no longer receiving any support from the company. The only support you can get for VX Ace is from users on the various forums. Keep this in mind when deciding which engine you have to pick.

Truth be told, even RMXP is a good engine. It allows you to customize everything freely and many people already wrote a lot of scripts for it. It uses the same language as VX Ace with a slightly more limited engine. In the end I recommend trying them out and seeing for yourself which one you like the most.

 

[puubutt]

I own both VX Ace and MV; each has its own advantages and disadvantages:

1. MV has no hidden classes while VX Ace does, this means that in MV you can edit anything you want with a lot of freedom, in VX Ace you have to overwrite documented methods and you are not allowed to edit exactly everything;
2. Now that RGD came out both engines can handle almost anything you want when it comes to graphics (RGD adds DirectX compatibility to VX Ace);
3. MV engine is much slower than VX Ace engine (not the game itself, just the engine);
4. MV uses a larger grid with 48x48 squares while VX Ace uses a grid with 32x32 squares;
5. The maximum number of squares allowed in a single map is slightly different from MV to VX Ace, this makes VX Ace maps potentially bigger than MV maps even considering that MV squares are bigger (although I am quite sure you can handle everything with smaller maps);
6. MV already has built-in functionalities to export to Android and MacOS (VX Ace does not);
7. MV uses Javascript while VX Ace uses ruby.

There are other differences, but almost anything else can be modified with scripts/plug-ins to add missing functionalities. In the end I decided to stick to VX Ace even after buying MV. The main reason is the 3rd one: I prefer if my engine runs smoothly. If you consider how laggy RM games are on mobiles (I have read of many people having issues with maps with 10 or more events), I think deploying on PC is still the best option, and that is why I do not need the built-in export functionality that MV has to offer, but that only applies to me.

Besides those things (and some I might have missed) the two engines behave almost in the same way. It is up to you to decide which one you want, but, just in case you do not know, remember that VX Ace is considered legacy and is no longer receiving any support from the company. The only support you can get for VX Ace is from users on the various forums. Keep this in mind when deciding which engine you have to pick.

Truth be told, even RMXP is a good engine. It allows you to customize everything freely and many people already wrote a lot of scripts for it. It uses the same language as VX Ace with a slightly more limited engine. In the end I recommend trying them out and seeing for yourself which one you like the most.

Thank you for the long reply ;; Im a newbie to RPG maker so this actually helped a LOT. I'm ultimately going with MV because of the reasons you stated and I know Javascript and not ruby. The in-length and depth response really helped. If I don't like MV I'll certainly try VX Ace. Thank you so much!

 

[Kes]

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

 

[Bex]

to 3: I cant realy believe that MV is slower than Ace, its more like the oposite in my expirience. Normal user should expirience no difference anyways.

I would prefer MV because some of its functionality is way better than in VX-Ace.
- Extra Maplayer
- Better readable Editor Interfaces
- Much better sprite Generator
- Games not only for Windows
- More Resolution settings than Ace and bigger Resolution in general.
- More Database Ids, like 2000 Items possible instead of 999 in Ace.
- And much more smal things ....

 

[Andar]

I cant realy believe that MV is slower than Ace

yes and no - it really depends on what you're doing.

MV has more problems caching data, because the HTML5-base requires files to be completely loaded before they can be used in the website that MV creates, and a few more data problems that were caused by the underlying assumption that all data is transferred through the internet.
And the higher resolution of 48 pixel per tile requires more data to be stored in RAM.

That are things that may make an MV game slower than an Ace game if they come into play - if they aren't used excessively then MV is usually faster due to the improvements on the engine.

On the other hand if someone goes into the scripts and optimizes them in Ace, then it can be faster than MV - there have been several cases where it was found that part of Ace' slowdown is due to some less than optimal programming. And Heirukichi sounds as if he has the programming knowledge required to do that for his games.

 

[ShadowDragon]

so far i know, VX Ace scripts need to be edits inside to add functionalities like crafting, teleportations etc
in MV, some can do that in the Params for faster access or through Notetags or plugin command
which is also more effecient and easier to use.

 

[Andar]

@ShadowDragon the difference between Ace Scripts and MV Plugins is purely formal, with MV having added a formal layer that makes configuring the plugins easier. There is no difference (other than the language) from the programming point of view.
That also means no direct speed difference between plugins and scripts, although the way how someone programs can speed up or slow down processing the code. But that is again independent of Ace or MV.

 

[Heirukichi]

More Resolution settings than Ace and bigger Resolution in general.

That is not true with RGD - as I mentioned in my previous post. It even adds a bunch of useful built-in graphics-related classes and methods you can use, not just higher resolution.

The vast majority of issues with VX Ace is due to inefficient algorithms within the Game_Map scene and RGSS being slow at handling Bitmap operations, but editing the scripts solves those issues.

Furthermore, since ruby supports Win32API (Javascript does not), you can load C/C++ code in it, speeding up a LOT of things. Of course, this goes under the assumption that you have a certain degree of programming knowledge in those languages as well.

Everything else has already been said by Andar and I have nothing more to add to what he said.

VX Ace scripts need to be edits inside

Spoiler: EDIT: Ninjed by Andar

I forgot this, but thank you for mentioning it. It is a matter of personal tastes if you prefer editing the script itself or if you simply want to change parameters inside the engine, it makes no difference when writing the code, but even so, knowing that the two engines are different from this point of view is relevant when picking one of the other (especially if you are not a programmer and do not find yourself comfortable with editing the code itself).

Anyway the OP said he knows Javascript, if that is the case, picking MV might prove to be the best option as there is already some theoretical basis to start from. Knowing the programming language itself is very beneficial when designing the game; it allows you to skip many parts of the learning process because many of them are basically how structured programming works.

On top of it, knowing the programming language allows the designer to surpass the limits of the engine itself, which is something extremely valuable. So, while my personal preference for VX Ace is clear, the OP going for MV looks like a very solid choice.