Maker Help!

[Elizabeth17]

Hi! I am seeking help which RPG maker. I am pretty computer dumb. Also I  am gonna be working offline with a mini laptop. Some of the basic specs of the laptop are.


11.6-inch Laptop, Intel Atom Z3735F, 1.3 GHz, 2GB DDR3L, 32GB Flash Memory, 1366 X 768 HD


So, any advice on which to pick?


Looking for simple easy to learn. I don't mind too much about the exact specs. My goal is to get a free version, learn, get the core guidelines of my game online(maps, layout, core aspects) and then get a bought version to change the aestestics or make it look nicer and add the special features I wanted. Oh, points for any game that has more modern sprites in the free version.


Help! Do you guys need any more information?

 

[Andar]

I've moved this thread to Product Discussion. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.



That computer is really low spec (especially the atom CPU and 2 GB RAM) - you definately should test the computer with a free trial of the version that you want to use.


I think you should try to install Steam and see if VX Ace LITE (which is currently only available through steam, not otherwise) can work.


The LITE version (please do not confuse that with a trial version, that is something different) is a free but object-limited version of RPG Maker VX Ace. (the trials on the other hand are time-limited to 20/30 days but have no object limitations on them). You can test game making with that as long as you want.


That said, you might consider the newest version MV if your computer can handle that editor - but I don't think it can. you cen test it with a trial but most probably your processor will not be able to handle MV.


From the basic specs RMXP might be the only program it can handle, and that is not the easiest Maker to use (despite being extremely old and not fully compatible to most modern Windows versions)

 

[Elizabeth17]

I've moved this thread to Product Discussion. Please be sure to post your threads in the correct forum next time. Thank you.



That computer is really low spec (especially the atom CPU and 2 GB RAM) - you definately should test the computer with a free trial of the version that you want to use.


I think you should try to install Steam and see if VX Ace LITE (which is currently only available through steam, not otherwise) can work.


The LITE version (please do not confuse that with a trial version, that is something different) is a free but object-limited version of RPG Maker VX Ace. (the trials on the other hand are time-limited to 20/30 days but have no object limitations on them). You can test game making with that as long as you want.


That said, you might consider the newest version MV if your computer can handle that editor - but I don't think it can. you cen test it with a trial but most probably your processor will not be able to handle MV.


From the basic specs RMXP might be the only program it can handle, and that is not the easiest Maker to use (despite being extremely old and not fully compatible to most modern Windows versions)

Opps. Sorry. I am not that great with forums either. I figured general discussion was safe.


The computer doe work pretty good.  I think. I am pretty bad at the technicals but a friend said that... crude I don't rmemeber, but that an internal issue is used to make up for the low ram. Like, it runs a PSP emulator. with no lag.


But the storage space is pretty low.I think I only have... okay one moment. Getting computer to check. Yes I write in real time with no editing! That way ya  know I am being sincere.


While waiting for computer to load. Questions.


1. Does Steam cost money?


2. Does downloading Steam to run a maker mean it will be even worse? I mean, 2 programs sounds worse than 1.


3. Does Steam affect my ability to work offline?


And loaded. 7Gb of free space. Well  maybe a bit more. I have a few video files that aren't needed but thats the basic range.

 

[Andar]

No to all three questions


Steam will need a tiny bit of resources (and on that computer it might not be that tiny), which is why I said to test it, but it should not be too much as steam puts itself on standby if it starts a game. And steam itself is a free platform, you only pay for programs on it (it also contains free programs and Ace Lite is free). All RPG-Makers work in offline mode of steam (although there are games on steam that require you to be online, but you won't be able to run most of those anyway)

 

[Shaz]

Ace Lite doesn't have a time limit, so you can spend as long as you like playing with it, but it limits you in how many things you can set up in the database, how many maps, how many events on each map.  I'm surprised you can't get Lite from the RMWeb store.  The Ace trial gives you the full version without those number limits, but you do have a trial period which is (I think) 30 days.  And you can get that from the RPGMakerWeb store and don't need to install Steam.

 

[Elizabeth17]

@Shaz


So wait. Lite limits the  amount of maps you can have? That sounds like a harsh restriction. Is  this common in all the  free versions?

 

[Andar]

@Elizabeth17 there are no other free versions than Ace Lite . all others are trials that are limited to 30 days of operation, and you would usually not be able to make that many maps before the trials stops functioning.


But yes, that is what I meant by object-limited: you can only make small games with Ace Lite, because it is free and they want you to purchase the full versions to be able to make bigger games.


But because there is no time limit on it, it is also the best choice for learning the basics without having to pay for a full version - the 20/30 days of the trial are usually not enough for that, because learning takes time, and unless you can spend fulltime on the trial you won't be able to get that far in the 30 days.

 

[Elizabeth17]

@Andar


Ah! Thanks Only one option clears that up. So for Ace Lite, I need steam?


So two more questions.


1. Do you know how many maps? And can I make multiple games. In the sense of like West/East sections in seperate games that I could just piece together after I bought the paid version and was ready for the paid version?


2. Is Ace Lite gonna teach me things that might be bad habbit for different software?

 

[Andar]

1) I just started Ace Lite to check for the correct answer, and it looks like there is no map number limit, but you are limited to 10 events per map. Since you'll need one event each for NPCs, chests, shops and transfers to other maps (and several other things as well), that will limit what you can do on one single map.


2) not unless you really mess up.


Lite forces limitations on you, which means you'll be forced to think about ways to bypass those limitations (for example how to have a single event stand for several functions because you have only ten of them per map). So unless you really get into convoluted logic when eventing, it will teach you to handle events better.


(for example, one mistake new users on the Makers often do is to use several parallel process events at the same time - you won't be able to to that but have to learn how to combine them directly, because you simply can't create as many events as users of the full version can).


The only thing that can be bad to learn from Lite is to think too much on events - Lite has no scripting ability, and scripts and plugins have been used to make game making easier and improve the engine. Spending a dozen hours to figure out something by eventing that is easily done with an existing script in five minutes would be bad.


But that is not all bad, because too many people tend to go to the other extreme: looking for scripts and plugins even for the simplest solutions that would be better done as events.