Is RPG Maker 3D possible?

[Power Master]

Title. I know this is something a lot of people (myself included) would like. I picture it running basically the same as the engines have before, just in the obvious 3D setting. I also know that it would take a LOT of work to get done, seeing as it is harder to program polygonal graphics than it is for sprites. What's the possibility of seeing one in the future?

 

[Andar]

No


It has been asked before, with the result that most people don't want it (as soon as they realise the disadvantages of switching to 3D) and because of that and more reasons it has been stated that Degica/Enterbrain have no intention of adding 3D to the RPG Makers.


Because it's not only harder to program, it would also limit the options and prevent the community from creating as many resources as they're now creating, simply because creating 3D models requires much more knowledge as well.

 

[Victor Sant]

Actually it is possible.


But in the end the effort to do it would be FAR higher than using a tool actually built for 3D and the result would be worse. So it's simply not worth it.


Want 3D? Use a tool specialized on 3D.

 

[Iavra]

PIXI is a pure 2d engine, so at most you could fake 3d by skewing 2d sprites. Better grab an engine, that's actually suited for 3d.

 

[Power Master]

I see. I knew the program wouldn't be easy to build, far from it.


I have used Unity before, and I found it very complexing and confusing, so I thought a similar engine built by the RPG Maker team; one that contains ready made renders and scripts; would be plausible.


Regardless, I'd love to see what they come up with in the future.

 

[Andar]

Nope - the problem is that 3D requires that complexity to function. Unity has become an often-used engine because it does a good job for 3D games...


The console makers have been using 3D, if you have a playstation 2 or 3 then you might want to look for a cheap used copy if you want to see the limitations created by a 3D engine that does remove all that modelling and rigging from the developer...

 

[terrorchan]

Honestly getting tired of 3D questions in the RM community. Buddy, people have been asking for so long and the closest we've come to are flying airships views (is it called mode 8?) and a few '''3D''' dungeon explores that are really just 2D 1st person (which were all rather buggy if I remember). RPG Maker is just not meant for 3D, you can do it, of course, but it would be easier to use Unity or some other program. Maybe a few RPG Makers down the line in like 2025 we will have 3D RPG Maker, but the target audience of RPGMaker are lovers of classic JRPGs. 

 

[Victor Sant]

I found it very complexing and confusing,

3D IS complex by nature, there is no easy way around this. RPG Maker is simple because it's 2D. Make it 3D and it will become complex. Unless you remove all customization and use only standard resources.

 

[Power Master]

Maybe a few RPG Makers down the line in like 2025 we will have 3D RPG Maker, but the target audience of RPGMaker are lovers of classic JRPGs. 

I'm aware of this. I was mainly asking if such a thing were possible.

 

[Sharm]

@terrorchan  Actually, that's not entirely true.  There have been a couple of heavy duty scripts out there that have done more with 3D modeling.  The forms themselves are pretty basic but the view rotates smoothly and it has all 3 axises to move in.  They're just not ever used because it's a pain to work with and doesn't necessarily improve anything.  Please, though, try not to be directly antagonistic.  We've heard it a lot, but that's just the cost we pay for having new members from time to time.  It's frustrating but it wasn't an unreasonable question.  Please don't scare off the newbs.


@Power Master  There actually was a 3D based RPG Maker at one point.  The second playstation version.  I think that version is part of the reason we won't see it, they've tried it before, it wasn't worth it.  I never used it myself but my understanding was that it was extremely limited, there were clipping and collision errors, and the whole thing was blocky and muddy looking.  They got more complaints than praise.  There were some people who absolutely loved it, but it wasn't enough to make it worth the effort.  The only way to make a 3D engine simpler would be to limit it in some way, like removing the ability to create your own rigs or only using pre-existing maps or something.  That runs directly contrary to the goals of many people wanting a 3D engine.


On the other hand, 3D scripts for existing engines are entirely possible and do exist for some of them.  They're simple but depending on what you want to do with 3D they could be more what you're looking for.

 

[McSundae]

Better grab Unreal Engine, there you can work with 3D buy existing ressources and work with blueprints only, could send along a 2.5 D Jump'n'run Prototype along that i created with it  without coding  If you feel like Unreal Engine could be to heavy to use and are seeking for something really simple i would recommend something like Game Maker


RPG Maker is made for 2D Games and is really nice if you like to work with javascript or working without any scripting


If you want to get an 2D Engine to work with 3D Ressources you will have no easy UI because that UI will remain for 2D Games. And beside that you will have to exchange the PIXI Engine against something else, i think nobody will make that effort to create a script that doesn't really helps because you can't use the ui to create 3D Maps.


And i hope that the developers stick with 2D Creation, since there are already more than enough other products out there.

 

[Chaos17]

There is one scripter who tried to emulate 3D on Ace :











But the problem is the ressources, 2D ressources are easier to be made than 3D.


It's nice to have dreams but if you can't code and worse can't make your own ressources, forget about 3D.


Too soon for ya.

 

[Power Master]

@McSundae I think my computer is too weak to handle Unreal Engine It can barely run Unity as it is. However, I have been meaning to get back into learning how to use the 3D program.


@Chaos17 I may have a use for this...

 

[McSundae]

@Power Master: Well, i know what you mean  I run it on an iMac with an Intel Iris - good for all my office and casual work as a webdesigner but for something like unreal engine it's kinda hard. Still it can run it kinda good, you just have to work with lower settings in editor and testplay, others can play on high settings 

 

[Chaos17]

@Chaos17 I may have a use for this...

Here's a project that also emulated 3D on Ace but the author did pay  someone to do it and never mentionned who coded it for him (he is planiing to import that project on Mv he said in one of his last video). Not all his game is in 3D since most of his game is in 2D. But he does have that option enabled he wants to do some scene lke in the video (he showed in other video some other map I saw when he had that 3D camera on)

 

[Accendor]

Everytime I hear the argument "just use Unity or Unreal Engine it is much easier" I have to laugh. Such a big part of the rpg maker community is not an actual programmer but a event scripter. Without wanting to insult those people (because you can still create great games this way) but that is simply the same as asking a regular preschooler to explain the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. It is just not feasible.


Of course that is also no reason to work on a 3D maker, there are very valid reasons why this is not done, but this "just use unity" arguments are not helpful at all for most people.

 

[Andar]

But to tell people to try to use Unity is a lot shorter than telling them the reasons why it's a lot more complicated to make a 3D game, especially because they have absolutely no idea what is involved in that.


Because the only people who are even asking for a 3D-RPG-Maker are those that don't have any experience with 3D functions, vectors and mathematics. Pointing them to Unity gives them a free option to see what is involved and then decide for themselves if they want to go there or not (including spending the years needed to learn how to be good in 3D development)

 

[ロリ先輩]

Everytime I hear the argument "just use Unity or Unreal Engine it is much easier" I have to laugh. Such a big part of the rpg maker community is not an actual programmer but a event scripter. Without wanting to insult those people (because you can still create great games this way) but that is simply the same as asking a regular preschooler to explain the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. It is just not feasible.


Of course that is also no reason to work on a 3D maker, there are very valid reasons why this is not done, but this "just use unity" arguments are not helpful at all for most people.

Actually, Unreal Engine includes Blueprint, which lets you 'program' using events/bubbles rather than writing code. It's not as fast as writing in C++, but as long as you don't need to make overhauls to the engine to implement functionality, it works well and has most of the same core functionality as the C++ game logic.

As far as a 3D RPG Maker? Aside from the difficulty in content generation, the price would be extremely prohibitive. Previous RPG Makers released close to or within the 90-150USD range, and that's with 2D assets. 3D assets involve often work on the model, the rigging, the texture, and the skinning- a library of assets close to the versatility of the 2D RPG Maker RTP would probably set you anywhere from 500USD to a over 1000USD, depending on the complexity of the assets, including or excluding the cost of the software itself. What's the problem here? RPG Maker, at least in Glorious Japan, is a niche product. The boxed copies are something you find hidden in a corner of Yodobashi, far from prying eyes. Competent hobbyists that use computers in Japan is a niche- even in University, a lot of people were left clueless when computers were involved, and even my university, a fairly well known one in Kanto (hint, one of the founders was James Hepburn, who set up the form of romanization you see used frequently outside of Japan), still took handwritten papers (the only students who usually typed up papers were the linguistics/English language department's) for submission. That niche of competent hobbyist computer users that enjoy making JRPGs probably aren't going to be willing to pay that much for an engine.

 

[Victor Sant]

Everytime I hear the argument "just use Unity or Unreal Engine it is much easier" I have to laugh. Such a big part of the rpg maker community is not an actual programmer but a event scripter.

But it IS easier than using 3D on rpg maker. It's not the same as saying that both are easy. But that their difficult is FAR lower than doing the same in RPG Maker.


So yes, it is "much easier" to use Unreal or Unity for 3D.

 

[Shaz]

I've moved this thread to General Discussion (this has nothing specifically to do with commercial game dev). Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.


Please search before posting, because there are quite a few similar discussions - as you say, a lot of people want to know, so it's been asked before.