General Plugin Question & Best Plugin Series Opinion for MZ

[ZombieKidzRule]

Hi, everyone. I have an opinion based question about what series of plugins (a bunch of plugins made by the same source/author) is the best. By "best" I am thinking of factors like comprehensiveness of available plugins, stability, updating when MZ is updated, ease of use, plays well with others, etc.

I did search for a similar topic both here and in other places, but I didn't find anything directly on point.

I know almost nothing about plugins right now, but I am assuming they are somewhat similar to "mods" for other games. I have already saved a bunch of sites that I need to circle back to for more research.

Is it generally better to stick with plugins made by the same source/author instead of mixing and matching? Does mixing and matching tend to cause more trouble with compatibility among plugins? I would tend to think so, but maybe that isn't the case.

If mixing and matching isn't really an issue, then my question about plugin series is less important.

But I am still curious about plugin series that people prefer. I have been researching available resources and I have found some plugin sources that have a bunch of plugins available and some that have only a few.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your opinion and for helping me understand the different considerations around mixing and matching plugins.

If you do prefer a particular source for a plugin series, it would be awesome if you could provide just a few things about why you have that preference.

Thanks!

 

[Htlaets]

Plug-ins allow for easy addition of functionality not available in the base engine of RPG Maker MZ. Mixing and matching is... possible depending on the plug-ins. Generally, plug-ins that don't use the same functions as one another can be used together. Even if they do, if you have a little javascript knowledge, you can sometimes edit them to work (of course, check if the terms of the plugin in question allows for edits).

Thaaatttt being said, I've mostly just been using MZ as a somewhat less annoying/random crashy/clunky editor, but my projects are in MV, which means my experience with MZ native plug-ins is nonexistent.

In terms of which plug-ins are most universal? Yanfly was for MV, but he went paid for all but a handful of his plug-ins, Visutella is the successor to those plug-ins for MZ, with, again, a few free plugins but mostly paid. They also don't have all the functionality of yanfly plug-ins did for MV yet, but there's a lot of general purpose stuff that's useful (quest log, region restrictions to block off areas without putting tons of events, move route stuff, battle animation stuff, etc.).

Beyond that SRD made good plug-ins for MV (HUD-editing, character creation, a really really nice debug menu) and he's started making some for MZ. Moghunter has good stuff, too. Galv has a lot of plug-ins for both MV and MZ you can use for general purposes, and they're free.

Basically, get what you need, though it's best to get everything you think you'll need early on.

 

[caethyril]

As mentioned, design first. Only get a plugin if you need it to meet the design.

There's a 2-part tutorial introducing plugins on the official blog:

Beginner's Guide to Plugins (Part 1 / 2) | The Official RPG Maker Blog

A beginner's guide to understanding how plugins work in RPG Maker MV / MZ. Part 1 will include how to download and install a plugin, and how to use plugin parameters!

www.rpgmakerweb.com

At the end of part 1 there are links to suggested plugin authors/sources.

Cross-compatibility varies depending on how the plugin, as well as the corresponding part of the core scripts, is written. For example, some plugins may allow switching each of their features on/off independently. If two plugins try to change the same thing, this will sometimes result in a conflict, depending on how the plugin tries to apply the change (extend or override). Load order can also have an impact.

Certain plugin combinations may require specific compatibility patches, no matter how well-written the plugins are, e.g. if multiple plugins need to override the same thing. Such patches tend to be rare: they have to be written by someone who understands both how to write a plugin and how each of the conflicting plugins are structured in order to cleanly resolve the conflict. Also, for some libraries, 3rd-party patches are not really feasible due to obfuscation (e.g. VisuStella MZ).

 

[ZombieKidzRule]

Thanks for both of your responses above! I have bookmarked that tutorial and I will check it out today.

I also started checking out some of the authors listed and that helped me find some things I hadn't come across before.

In other games, I have mixed and matched lots of "mods" from various authors, just testing each for compatibility issues. But for some reason, the plugins seem a bit more daunting to me.

Thanks for helping! The more tutorials I can watch the better!

 

[Eliaquim]

Hi there!
I believe there are no such things as "best plugin series".
Plugins are tools for the developer. If you need one, you pick one.

 

[ZombieKidzRule]

Hi there!
I believe there are no such things as "best plugin series".
Plugins are tools for the developer. If you need one, you pick one.

Thanks for your reply! I think I had already discovered and bookmarked your plugins and was following your page, but if not, I am now.