Map editor

[Lantiz]

So... I love the RPG Maker map editor, it's by far the best tilemap editor I ever used.

That said, I totally understand the need for the engine work as it does, by having everything needed for an RPG created ready for use. But, I often find myself dealing with workarounds to create different kinds of games. Example here

With that in mind, I decided to try my luck with other engines/frameworks, and I found some cool stuff. But none of them had a decent map editor.

I tried Tiled and didn't like it, it's great, very flexible, but that is also it's bigged problem for me. I also tried some others....
Also the auto tiling method in RPG Maker is really great.

So my only way out seems to be making my own editor. And so here is the reason for this topic:
I just wanted to ask: is it a crime if I create an editor almost identical to the one in RPG Maker? There will be some differences of course, changes and what not, but I'm really confortable with RPG Maker and that's why I want to make it similar. The positons of the widgets, menus, shortcuts, layers...
But it's still a map editor only, not a game engine.

So, is it a bad thing? Can I create something like that? If so, can I sell it without problems?

That's it, thanks!

(sorry if this is not the right section, I could not guess a better one)

 

[Skunk]

I dont see why not, Yanfly has something quite similar that allows you to place tiles.

 

[TheoAllen]

Then, it's a graphic editor. Able to save the map you created as png, different size of tile if possible, and anything. I don't really think if it's a crime, especially if you can offer more versatility that makes your tool gonna be quality of life for those who wants parallax mapping

 

[Poryg]

RPG maker itself is copyrighted, but not its' design scheme, as far as I know. So as long as you don't read or tinker with the default editor code, I don't think there should be a problem.

 

[Andar]

You can make similiar editors as long as you don't use the RTP or shop resources in them.
Those are restricted to be used with the RM engine, but if you have completely unrestricted resources, you can make your own editor to use them.

 

[Lantiz]

@Skunk @TheoAllen It's not something to create map images, it's meant to create map files for games in general.

@Poryg That's what I thought, but even so I was afraid of patent or something like that...

@Andar Thanks for clarifying, I won't use RPG Maker assets outside RPG Maker, only a similar tile management.

 

[TheoAllen]

@Lantiz It just an idea, Because it might be useful for more people (if you plan to share it)

 

[Lantiz]

@TheoAllen Cool, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you [:
Don't even know if I'll be able to create it :b