Effects of Large Maps/Games

[TMS]

Well, I'm back, sort of (though I'm sure no one had any idea I was gone). Months ago my laptop stopped working and in the process of getting a new one I lost RPG Maker VX Ace and all of my links to RPG Maker-related pages, so I gave up on keeping up with forum updates. However, sometime in the foreseeable future I'm hoping to start on my first RPG Maker project.

I've had a lot of time to think about the sort of game I'd like to make (eventually if not on my first attempt), and one of the things I've been wondering about is how big a game and individual maps in a game can generally get before they start causing issues such as lag, and if people have noticed any factors that might affect stuff like that. I'd like to give players a sense of exploration, but I don't want to sacrifice gameplay quality simply in order to give the sense of a vast, open world.

Is there anyone who has had experience with that type of thing, or can give me some general rules of thumb?

 

[bgillisp]

Well, my largest map at the moment is 160 x 150, with 362 events, and I have no lag. However, others have complained that the same map lags on their computer, so really old computers will lag at that point. Though, Yami has an anti-lag script that will help reduce that until the maps get ginormous.

 

[iMaple]

As stated above, lag depends on the rig. In the editor you might get lags but that does not necessarily mean the player would also get it.

But, in my humble opinion, you should only worry about lag and performance after your "vast, open world" map is actually fun to explore and filled with content, which is the hard part. I've seen too many

maps just needlessly large without the details to make it work, so the player just ends up having to walk ages without any meaningful content.

Maybe I'm too pessimistic, but making a 200*200 castle town took me longer than completing my most recent game. (Maybe I just suck at mapping, lol)

 

[bgillisp]

Maybe I'm too pessimistic, but making a 200*200 castle town took me longer than completing my most recent game. (Maybe I just suck at mapping, lol)

200 x 200???? My largest town is 90 x 90, and that proved too big once I made it, so I filled in the edges with water to shrink it some. That took me forever too, so I can't imagine how you did it.

My 160 x 150 map was only because I put 5 floors of a tower on the same map, otherwise it would have been 5 160 x 30 maps (it's supposed to be a school of magic, so most of the map is dorm rooms and classrooms).

 

[iMaple]

It is incredibly big and burnt me out while making it. That's why the project containing it is currently on ice^^

 

[TMS]

Thanks for the responses.

I've heard that my own computer is great for gaming, so my concern about lag isn't so much on my own account as for those who download the game. Since everyone's computer will be different it can't be an exact science, but I'm just trying to figure out what generally counts as pushing the envelope.

I agree with you, iMaple, that there's no point in creating a huge map if you can't also infuse it with interest. If I can't make a map interesting, I'll be sure to shrink it down. Part of my reason for considering huge maps is to give the game world a sense of realism. You could hardly call a place a city, for example, if it only has ten buildings, which seems to happen in a lot in RPGs. A city of realistic size would probably be huge enough to serve as the setting for an entire game, but at some point I'll have to flub things with tricks like perpetually locked doors and perpetually blocked streets. That city of yours sounds very impressive.

Does anyone have an idea how big a whole game can get before it starts to put a strain on things? On a related note, could someone tell me how many events you can put in a VX Ace game? As I said, I no longer have mine, and I'm having trouble tracking down my receipt so I'll probably have to buy it again.

 

[bgillisp]

Its 999 maps and 999 events per map. I've been putting multiple 'maps' on the same map though to make sure I don't run out, though I'm thinking I should stop worrying about that as I'm at the end of chapter 2 (of 9) and only on map 42.

As for strain on things, I understand it is only the size of that one map and the number of events that put a strain on things. Though, I really would like to meet the guy who could make a good 500 x 500 map (I think that's the limit on map size) with 999 events on the map.

 

[TMS]

Oh. Well that shouldn't be a problem, then. I was afraid a game was limited to like 999 events total. Thanks.

 

[bgillisp]

I think you do have a limit of 999 to anything in the database (so 999 actors, 999 enemies, 999 weapons, 999 armors, 999 skills, etc), but that should not be a problem.

 

[ArcaneEli]

I prefer smaller maps like 30x-40x or at max 60x-60x so you can pour alot of time and detail into each individual map and give each one their own charm rather then have one big one and do little portions at a time. Also without good guidance some people might get lost or confused in bigger maps.