How do you Feel About Heavy Use of RTP?

[Maidlyn]

I would like some of the community' opinions of heavy RTP. Maybe the maker adds a few other things in, but it's mainly RTP. How do you feel about that?

 

[Amarok]

being an artist myself i would never use the default stuff of the rtp but i can understand why some people might want to use it. I think its perfectly fine for amateur/hobby games but i also wouldnt buy a game that uses only rtp graphics. 


Im aware some people value game mechanics and story above all, but i think presentation is essential aswell. 

 

[Diretooth]

It would depend on the person's skill. You can make some amazing things with just the default RTP.

 

[mlogan]

I'm not trying to sound snippy, so forgive me if I do, but there are SOOO many topics covering this exact same discussion. I strongly, strongly encourage you to search for those and see what's been said.

 

[Kyoku]

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if people use default or not in their games. As long as you have good mechanics or a good story and you've put a lot of effort into those things then the game will be amazing. And I feel that the defaults aren't bad at all, I actually think that the defaults that MV has are very colorful, but that's just me.

 

[Andar]

You can make good maps with RTP - if you know how to design a map instead of just pushing ahead.


Same goes for anything else - it is how you use it, not what you use.


Most case where I heard or read that a specific game is bad because it uses only RTP, a quick check showed that the game was bad because it was badly developed, not because it uses RTP.


And there are quite a few cases where non-RTP art was used to hide the fact that the game was bad from the content.


There are cases where a good game was made and people never even realised that it was almost completely RTP.


That is a rare case admittedly - but it is rare because good games are rare, and not because it is more difficult to create a good game with RTP than with other resources.


Yes, it would help to get a few things that the RTP is missing based on the game setting, but that would be the case no matter which resource set you use (unless it is specifically made for that game)

 

[Reapergurl]

I believe it is there for a reason. To be used.


On the other hand, what amount of 'A' a creator uses, as in contrast to 'B', I don't think matters all too much.


I mean, as long as it looks good. If it looks like a five minute made game then...

 

[Ms Littlefish]

A lot can be done with the RTP to give it a nice spit shine. Edits, clumping, parallax, lighting, stuff I'm not even thinking about. The amount of community additions is an appealing thing to consider as well. I think it's good to understand that any set of graphics will have strengths and weaknesses, and no matter what you use there is the possibility to use the assets creatively and in a way that is a little more personal. I think if an effort is used, it will show. Custom tiles still need effort in how they are used.

 

[Lihinel]

The (XP) RTP (and the fact that I already got a lot of code done) is pretty much the main reason I even bother with using RPGmaker nowadays. (Not much of an artist, so having a lot ot Tiles free for use is what made the deal for me)


I also think that RTP can look really good, if you know how to use it.

 

[Kes]

This has to be one of the most well trodden discussion paths on the whole site and frankly no one has come up with a new argument on this for a long time.  On this issue, search is your friend.


As there are so very, very, very, very many threads dealing with this, I personally see no point in going round the mulberry bush one more time on this.

 

[mogwai]

You got to get your money's worth. Why buy all these DLCs and things if it's stereotypically bad to use them?


I myself can't make music. My graphics aren't very good too.


The RTP is what sets this RPG Maker apart from other game maker apps I believe.


The only game I uploaded so far is an RTP game, but when all is said and done I think will people avoid downloading RTP games anyway just because it's so common.

 

[BloodletterQ]

Would you count resources made with the generator as RTP?

Anyways, it's good for one thing- challenging yourself in the prospect of making a starter game. If you want to go big, then RTP will be a detractor. It's best left for beginners or those who are really good but have to compensate for a lack of artistic skill.


I stand firm that working with the RTP should be a stepping stone if you're serious about RMing or hoping to go commercial in the future. As an aspiring novelist too this forces me to limit what I work with. To make an excellent game with RTP is quite the accomplishment as a game can look beautiful or have epic music, but fail as an actual game.


How about considering the default scripts?

 

[LxCharon]

Like @mlogan and @Kes said, for as long as I've used RPGMaker (back in the days of 2000 when it was only in english illegally by that russian guy) This question has been debated back and forth. I enjoy the RTP and have made a couple short games using mostly RTP, but if you're looking at commercial games, I normally avoid a game that has mostly RTP being used. You can definitely make it look fantastic through a number of tricks, and a good game is a good game irrelevant of the assets used. I think a really good example of this is Indrah's games, almost always entirely RTP or RTP edits but her games are often so interesting/humorous/well crafted that the RTP look of them is the last thing I worry about. 


A good game is a good game, RTP or not.


(Sorry if this doesn't make sense or seems stream of consciousness.)

 

[Milennin]

I really like seeing the RTP used in RPG Maker games because it's pretty limited, so it's interesting to see what kinds of things people come up with using it.

 

[Arisa]

Well, it varies for me. If it's in a beginner/amateur game, I don't mind it since it's not supposed (Closer to shouldn't be trying to be) to be a professional game (Well there's the mistake in the first place.)


Now in a professional game, I wouldn't pay for it, it just feels tacky to me (No offense to RTP users)

 

[Tai_MT]

I think I've posted a reply in three of four of these similar topics before, but I think the issue comes up enough that it does merit repeating from time to time.


It isn't so much that "The RTP sucks and you're lazy for using it!" that makes a game good or bad.  You will run into that opinion, most certainly, but it isn't really all that true.  On Steam, however, that attitude is the norm because there are a lot of actually lazy people who just slap something together in five minutes, push it through greenlight, and try to earn a quick buck with it.  So, the norm of "it looks like default RTP, so it sucks" is a little warranted.  But, you can blame the "bad apples" for that.


As for whether or not it sucks...  I tend to like the art style of the RTP in most cases.  I'm just kind of a sucker for that.  So, I enjoy using it, or using assets that look like it, quite a lot.  You can do some pretty amazing things with it, too, if you're clever with map design.  Not that I'm any sort of expert on graphic design or artistic flair in the visual medium, mind you, but I've made some pretty cool looking things with it in my opinion.  I spent a fair amount of time, once, making a combination "bar/inn" with a stage with dancers on it and a staircase that actually went to the "top level" without using the single tile "staircase icon".  Took me a while to make it look good and to get it right so that it didn't look like garbage...  But, what came out, I was very satisfied with.  I've also made some pretty nice house interiors with it as well.  At least, I think they're nice.


But, all in all, I don't think it matters WHAT you use, so long as what you use is CONSISTANT.  I've run into a fair amount of games that have "all custom content" and some of it is so horribly mixed and matched that there's no real defining art style and it loses depth and cohesion when your sprites don't match the surrounding terrain (think the weird chibi sprites from FF7 compared to the matte paintings they were walking on... that's not so much an art style as it is immersion breaking to look at).

All you really need to do is make what you have consistent.  Make what you have look good and not lazy.  Make buildings look used and lived in.  Are there beds?  A bathroom?  A kitchen?  Enough beds for everyone to sleep in?  Enough chairs?  What about outside?  How well traveled is your path?  It is spotty earth in places, or hard packed dirt?  Are areas overgrown?  How about weeds?  Too many weeds to see flowers blooming?  Or, is the place in town and there are flowers growing in a garden?  Then, all you really have to do, is just make sure your objects and sprites sort of look like they go with your terrain.

The power of the editors is really staggering when you start exploring what they can do.  Even without scripts.  You can do some really neat things even with just animations for attacks and skills.

 

[bgillisp]

Personally I have no objection to the RTP. It's there for a reason, to be used. The problem is most people don't bother learning how to use it well. You'd be amazed what a well placed fog and tint and a couple lighting effects can do to an RTP scene. For example, this is all RTP (except for the sprite), tinted and edited to appear to be an underwater dungeon:

Spoiler

Also, honestly, I think we're going to see more RTP games, not less in the future, and the reason is steam is so glutted right now many games are averaging very low sales, even the well done games. That means developers are going to plan on making less per game now, which means they can't afford a new tileset (especially as a well done tileset to replace the RTP is $18000 or more, which has been brought up in many a post), at least unless they don't care if the game doesn't turn up a profit.


So, I'd suggest we honestly start thinking about how to use the RTP well (either with good edits, clumping, or lighting/tinting), and not worry about not using it at all, as most that focus so hard on not using it either 1) Never finish their game (I've lost track of how many games promising fancy graphics and such are still awaiting being finished), or 2) Not make enough to recover the cost of getting those graphics in the first place.

 

[Stanley]

Oh hell, for Heaven's sake, if it's gunna be all RTP, the game better be damn good, the story and mechanic gameplay everything. Otherwise, it's a no no. But yes echoing others above, if you know how to use RTP well, it's fine.


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I guess. *shrugs*


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[Frozen_Phoenix]

Another RTP topic. I don't really care, your mapping matter a lot more than the tilesets used and the characters more than their graphics. Also making good custom graphics is very hard and time consuming, so it's understandable to use the default or public ones.

 

[HexMozart88]

My feelings about games with RTP graphics:

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnkuKddg1YU

All kidding aside, I'm perfectly fine with it, because I've made good use of it in the past, it's just that most of the games I've seen with RTP assets that actually got finished were basically five minute efforts, or first games that for some reason, people decided to publish. I'm not saying that for all RM games, but that's what I and probably a lot of other players have seen in most RM games.