Is using custom content a must?

[Kes]

Nope, parallax mapping is not a must either.  As the first screen shot posted by Source shows, it is possible to have excellent maps, full of atmosphere without parallaxing.  If you go down that route too soon, you will probably never really master how to use the editor to its full potential.  It is capable of a great deal more than some people think.  

 

[mlogan]

@nasgath - As far as parallaxing goes, I would say not necessarily. If you want to do it, then great. It can be fun to play around with. But it's very time consuming and with good tilesets, it's not needed.

I hope it's okay to post this here, but these are some maps I did for the Super Awesome Face Contest using PandaMaru's lovely tiles. None of it was parallaxed.

Spoiler

(There was eventually water in that empty space, lol.)

 

[whitesphere]

I think the most important thing is you have a great storyline.  Let the storyline dictate what you do for resources, rather than taking a hard line "I must use custom resources" or "I must use the RTP" 

The RTP is a workhorse, fairly flexible and as others have noted, you can get a lot of mileage from it, sometimes by doing very small edits that make a huge difference in the appearance.  Some things can dramatically liven up an RTP map:

• Tinting.  This can make an unbelievable impact on your map.  Far from just "day and night," you can do underwater, dank swamp, boiling lava, deep forests.  In one game, I slowly shifted the Tint back and forth to create a really nifty "steamy desert" look.  Open up the powerful Tint Control and play with it to see the dramatic impact it has on your map.
• Lighting Scripts.  KHAS has a superb lighting script, when combined with creative Tinting, you create much more visually interesting night or fog scenes
• Shift-Click mapping.  This takes practice, but basically it allows you to make custom shapes with the autotiles (most of the A set are autotiles)
• Overlays.  At their simplest, these look like faint clouds or shadows, giving a map a different feel --- imagine a dark night with faint clouds slowly going by overhead.    These are just Pictures positioned on the map, set with some Transparency.
• Music.  NEVER underestimate how crucial music is for setting the mood in a map.  This can also give the player key hints, such as a pleasant-looking down with very odd music which prepares the player for weirdness.  The "Soundscapes" in the Store technically aren't Music but good for setting the mood.
• Ambient Sound Effects.  These also add wonderfully to the mood --- wind whistling, ocean waves, a ship's subtle background engine hum.  It's a great way to boost tension --- especially by abruptly cutting it off before something happens.
• Scripts.  There are literally thousands of scripts for VX Ace, some of which do very interesting things on the map.  Using these can get tricky though.
• Parallax Mapping.  This takes a lot of effort to do properly but can look fantastic.  But you can get a TON of mileage from the RTP by using all of the many things I listed above, which are a LOT easier than this step.

Also, some people have found VERY minor edits to the RTP tiles can make a nice custom feel.  Even as simple as changing the color of some flowers or grass can subtly hint to the player that this is different.

Let your game dictate the resources you use, rather than having the resources you use dictate your game.  Don't ever add something just because it sounds cool.  Add something because your game's plot or world NEEDS it. 

The only caveat with the RTP is it's heavily geared towards making Medieval fantasy RPGs.  So if you want to make a Modern, Sci-Fi or Horror themed RPG, you might need a new tileset anyways.  Even then, I'd try to stay with tilesets that are compatible, in appearance, with the RTP. 

The Store has some fairly inexpensive tilesets for sci-fi, modern, horror and even Cthulhu-esque horror games which are a LOT cheaper than contracting for a custom tileset (which can run over a thousand dollars --- it takes a LOT of work to make a full tileset!)

 

[Housekeeping]

RTP's fine, but it's going to limit your options, no matter how much you tinker with it.  For example, my last game was set in a giant tree.  That's such a specific setting that neither RTP nor any resource packs will cover it.

Honestly, I'm starting to feel that if you come to the table with an idea, and your goal is to make the best game you can, then custom assets are a must in order to make that idea work, because every pixel on that screen and every sound emitted from those speakers matters.  Limiting yourself to the RTP means that you're limiting yourself in terms of expression.  When I think back to my first game, I made everything work, but I had to make the mise en scene way less charged because of lack of options, scenes had to be rearranged or dropped altogether because they'd be infeasible, etc. 

That said, if your goal is to make a fun game and you don't mind not staying true to your vision, then RTP is fine.  Too, if you build your idea around the RTP instead of trying to force the RTP into a preexisting idea, then you can make a game that's 1:1 with your vision and everything's peachy.

 

[amerk]

Parallax is fine and certainly honorable for those who venture that route, but it's only one of the tools at your disposal, and it's up to you to decide on its use. Some people opt to full parallax, others partial, and still others only for certain overlay and shading effects.

However, what others say is also right. You really should have a hand on the map editor before worrying about scripts and parallax and custom resources. Once you've mastered how the editor works as well as the use of the resources, then mapping will be much easier for you if you decide to deviate from it. But if you are unfamiliar with the editor, or you have limited skills in mapping, it's usually not going to matter what other tools you use, since a bad map (regardless of the resources) is still a bad map.

Me personally, I love seeing custom resources. But a lot of those come from people who first started with and mastered the default.

 

[phoenix_rossy]

In answer to the OP - no, it most certainly isn't. Having something unique about the project is, however.

Be that a unique story, characters, settings, gameplay, artwork... and so on. With the right 'hook' you don't need to embellish with custom artwork, though it can help to reach a wider audience.

Take this from someone who has two pretty much 'stock' games on Steam

 

[nasgath]

Can I get a link to those 2 stock games on Steam phoenix rosy, please?

 

[GRIMMJOW]

I know victim of zen is using stock resources on steam. but imo it's not a good game(lazy mapping, battlebacks, balancing)

 

[Kes]

Agreed, Victim of Zen is not a good example of what can be done with the RTP.

 

[TheoAllen]

RTP is not that bad. However, in fact if you want to get notice faster, custom contents is the choice. RTP is considered as mainstream. Unless you have something to show in your game, most of people tend to look into some custom contents games than the RTP one. Keep in mind that the first impression come from the screenshots.

Also, I consider parallax mapping is also custom contents even they're made using RTP

But if you just want to try RPG Maker, I recommend you to use RTP, and get some friend to test your game. Once you have skilled enough, go with custom contents.

 

[BlackLiquidSorrow]

No, I was able to make a treetop village using the RTP so I definitely don't think it's worthless. I see a lot of people complaining about using the RTP but I never see them making cool and unique maps using it. We've definitely seen enough forests, ice caves, and volcanoes in both RPG Maker and official games. How about a town floating in the ocean, a haunted hotel, or a structure that disobeys the very laws of design itself?

 

[phoenix_rossy]

Can I get a link to those 2 stock games on Steam phoenix rosy, please?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/311860/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/329000/

 

[nasgath]

Wow phoenix, I was extremely impressed by your games. You also gave me a lot of ideas

 

[phoenix_rossy]

Thanks I do what I can.

Also glad I provided some inspiration

 

[SquallStorm]

I've seen a lot of highly acclaimed RPG Maker games be slammed for using RTP (lack of identity being the primary unlying logic).  That said, I use a bit of RTP here and there.  I think it's beautiful.  My only issue is how well does it blend with other sets?  Not really well.  I love Mack graphics, for example.

 

[phoenix_rossy]

I've seen a lot of highly acclaimed RPG Maker games be slammed for using RTP (lack of identity being the primary unlying logic).  That said, I use a bit of RTP here and there.  I think it's beautiful.  My only issue is how well does it blend with other sets?  Not really well.  I love Mack graphics, for example.

But therein you have another issue- Mack's tiles are now so well recognised that they might as well be RTP. 

 

[SquallStorm]

But therein you have another issue- Mack's tiles are now so well recognised that they might as well be RTP. 

While I can't disagree with that, a lot of tilesets are becoming popular.  Pixel Myth, Celianna's...  I think the identity of a game/map/battle system/insert thing here, is dependent on what the game developer does with the resources available to them.

 

[Tai_MT]

Exactly.  It's not what you got, it's how you use it.  Or, as one of my ex girlfriends used to say:

"It isn't the size of the ship, it's the motion in the ocean!"

Yes, it applies to game design as well.  Need an example?  Dwarf Fortress.

 

[cabfe]

Just wanted to add that, at the French RPG Maker Games Contest called Alex d'Or, the three top games used mainly RTP graphics.

That didn't prevent them to win, because graphics don't make a game alone.

There were beautiful games using custom graphics, but the gameplay didn't follow and most of them didn't get any award in the end.

As Tai_MT said, Dwarf Fortress is indeed a good example of a good game that didn't bet it all on graphics. You're supposed to *play* a game, not look at an art piece for hours (although, if you can have both, that's even better )

 

[Luiishu535]

Glad to see that a lot of people here value the use of the resource, rather than what resource's used. A lot of folks seem to simply ignore games that has RTP or RTP-like stuff in them.