MV MMO Dev Kit

[Ellie Jane]

I held back on creating a topic until MV was released so that I could see if this would actually work. Good news: it will.

Basically, I have a browser based MMORPG. It has been online for the past five years (literally, it has had two minutes of recorded downtime in that time, and that was by my own hand). But I don't like it, and players don't like it, and I want to remake it as a proper graphical game.

So I am making an MMORPG in RPG Maker MV. Am I mad, insane, or in a coma?

At the moment I have got this far: created a basic Ajax plugin. That means I can talk to PHP from JavaScript, which also means I can talk to a MySql database. That's the basis of my original MMORPG, so implementing things in RPG Maker MV is now as simple as replicating all the functions I made for that.

I am not just making an MMORPG though.

I plan/aim to release everything I make to the public, as the Netplay+ project helped me so much in the same way when I got started with RPG Maker back in the day. I want to produce a kind of dev kit that you can use for your game. This won't be a plugin, because that would be making your game for you and all RM MMORPGs would look and feel the same.

Rather, it will be a collection of plugins and tutorials, ideas for concepts, and other snippets of code, for how to make your own RPG Maker MMORPG.

What I want to know are your thoughts on what should be added.

There is currently one caveat: you will not be able to see other players on the map in real time. Instead you will see a ghost of their form, which does everything a player would do (you can right click them to trade, chat, battle, etc) but does not follow their real-time coordinates. I do not personally think this is too much of a problem, but doubtless people will disagree. It is a lot different work to do this, which is the issue, because the system I am creating is a kind of state based system (you request from the server and the server sends you data to change the state of your game, the server does not sit there sending you data on the fly).

FAQ:

Can RPG Maker MV make an MMORPG?

Yes. RuneScape is released in HTML5/JavaScript form. Anything you can do with HTML5/JS you can do with RPG Maker MV, if you are willing to learn a lot.

Is it a good idea?

Probably not. It will be a lot of work on your half.

What do I need to host the MMORPG?

You will need a web host that is happy for you to be hosting such a thing. I am currently paying $19.99 a month for a VPS to host my game.

Are you qualified to carry this project?

I have been using RPG Maker since 2004, and Netplay+ since 2005, but I am not really an expert in this despite that. I do however a degree that includes courses in web security, so I know what I am doing as far as keeping it safe is concerned.

When will this be released?

This is not going to be released in one go. Every time I finish and polish something for my MMORPG, I will then go about making it usable for the public. Some things will be too tailored to my game, so its release will be more in tutorial form - explaining how and why I went about something in the way I did.

Any other caveats?

Yes. Your game will have to run in a browser in order to use Ajax, as you can't Ajax between different domains (in this case, running it on your PC outside of a browser will make it run under localhost). The javascript will have to be on the same web server as the PHP, although the graphics, database, and other data intensive stuff can be hosted elsewhere with some work.

Aren't you getting a bunch of kids' hopes up ready to crush them with Reality?

I started making MMORPGs when I was 14. It was fun.

How can you make a FAQ when nobody has asked a single question yet?

Shush.

 

[chalkdust]

Perhaps this question just shows a failure of my limited imagination, but what functionality does going multiplayer add if the other players aren't updated and interacted with in real time? What is the purpose of having them in-game at all if interactions are "ghosted"?

 

[TheOriginalFive]

I imagine if you're using the default MV engine as a base, you could have simulations of other players accompany you, or you could duel said simulations. Something like old Adventure Quest or Dragon Fable.

I'll keep up with this topic out of curiosity.

 

[JosephSeraph]

wow that was fassssssssst ºwº

I'm interested in seeing what you do, though I myself don't want to make an mmo.

But there are other interesting ways of implementing online interactions within the game...

 

[Ellie Jane]

Perhaps this question just shows a failure of my limited imagination, but what functionality does going multiplayer add if the other players aren't updated and interacted with in real time? What is the purpose of having them in-game at all if interactions are "ghosted"?

There's tons you can do multiplayer without necessarily seeing the other players live. Some functions I plan to create:

Trading

- Player to player trading: you send them a request, they send it back with their offer, you accept or decline

- Global auction house (similar to Grand Exchange in RuneScape or Black Lion Trading Company in Guild Wars)

Communication

- Chat

- Private messaging and other communication

Co-operatively created world

- Enemy unit sizes and town occupation based on what the average player is doing

- Quests open up if people are generally "winning" against certain monster groupings

- Gates and battle objectives that requre a set number of global wins to break through (say 1,000 people need to beat x monster)

Simulation

- Player vs Simulated Player battles (you fight an AI, but the AI gets the player's stats and traits from the global database)

- NPCs that are based on actual players and discuss their actions and achievements in an NPCey kind of context

Leaderboards

- Player stats compared against one another

- Competitions

Multi-user dungeons

Just because you can't see the other player live doesn't mean they can't co-operate with you in a dungeon. This will be a tough one to work out, mind, but I think it can be done.

Guilds/Groups

- Multi-user guilds and groups with their own leaderboards, chat systems, goals and guild houses

 

[RogdagoR]

This is a pretty interesting thing, i will like an interactive rpg! Alle the stuff you can do are similar to Brave Frontier style, and i like that

 

[Kane Hart]

I'm confused about the Php needs. Just based on this: https://nodejs.org/en/

I really love to see multiplayer features. I just hope it's very modular and not one big bloat where it just makes everything not compatible. Would it be cool seeing other players move around? For sure but I rather start small like mailbox or chat or leaving messages on signs etc.

Here was ideas I wanted to have in my game down the road:

Basic Multiplayer:

• Leave messages on signs like clues
• Mailing System
• Chat System
• Trade System (Maybe even Trade/Auction House)
• Social Club Like a Tavern where people can maybe meet up?

 

[Mouser]

Baldur's Gate multiplayer is asynchronous, for a non-MMORPG example of what I think she's talking about re: other players.  Does it limit what you can do? Yes, it wouldn't work for an MMOFPS, for example.  That said, there's a lot that still can be done even if you don't know _exactly_ where everyone is around you and what everyone is doing.

 

[Ellie Jane]

I wish I had time to sit down and work on this properly. I have a day off on Wednesday, will try and hammer down the core then (or by then, and hammer down some more important stuff on Wednesday).


What I consider the basic core is:


- User login / register


- - - requires text input boxes


- User position stored in database


- Database storage / retrieval of stats


- Selectable face graphics


- Basic chat


- Online players list


- Inventory stored in database


- Database stored switches and variables


Once we're there, a kind of quick simple lobby game where people can chat to one another is creatable.


A kind of ++ of that would be:


- Visual equipment (easy but some work to implement)


- Trading system


Then we're motoring, and it's just a case of picking a feature people want and implementing it.


I think all that is doable on/by Wednesday, it just depends what comes up.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I love that you straight up say its probably not a great idea in the opening post.

Good luck to anyone who wants to try though. I hope you know what you are getting into.

 

[Ellie Jane]

Good idea or not, I have had my mmo online for five years now, and there is actually very little difference between the base systems I will implement here in mv. It's doable, it's fun, but it's a lot of work. But then so is making a game.

If all I achieve is remaking Afar in RPG Maker MV, it will already be an improvement.

 

[Kane Hart]

I wish I had time to sit down and work on this properly. I have a day off on Wednesday, will try and hammer down the core then (or by then, and hammer down some more important stuff on Wednesday).

What I consider the basic core is:

- User login / register

- - - requires text input boxes

- User position stored in database

- Database storage / retrieval of stats

- Selectable face graphics

- Basic chat

- Online players list

- Inventory stored in database

- Database stored switches and variables

Once we're there, a kind of quick simple lobby game where people can chat to one another is creatable.

A kind of ++ of that would be:

- Visual equipment (easy but some work to implement)

- Trading system

Then we're motoring, and it's just a case of picking a feature people want and implementing it.

I think all that is doable on/by Wednesday, it just depends what comes up.

Ever thought of optional login? Rather then making user have to login have more of hash key generated locally for that user? Maybe they can also make an account if they like or backup their key. But I think a full login system at times is a bit much these days.

The only reason I say this is a lot of people be using this via the browser. If that idea is to make it simple and easy as possible having to deal with an entire login system is really not needed at least for core function.

Maybe login system with account management etc. Could be an addon to the core? 

 

[Mouser]

You can't just tie an account to a computer because one computer may be playing several accounts/characters.

 

[Kane Hart]

You can't just tie an account to a computer because one computer may be playing several accounts/characters.

You can and many many games are doing this. It's hash based you could take the hash and copy to another pc or you could even then add an account to it after.

The idea is being able to pick up the game instantly and play it without worrying about account management.

It is a suggestion anyways I just think that a full bloated login system from the start is a bit over the top. I don't think I would use this for basic multiplayer interactions.

 

[Black Mamba]

is possible to make a simple multplayer game (1-4 Players) ?

 

[Mouser]

is possible to make a simple multplayer game (1-4 Players) ?

Possible? You bet (this is the first RPG Maker where that will be the answer to virtually every 'Can you do this?' question).

Will it be a while before somebody nails it and tackles the performance issues and makes it playable? Probably.

In some ways it will be harder than the MMO, because you'll likely need all the players limited to the same screen at the same time.

[Edit: my 'solution' to the MMO issue would be to display other players as events - but multiplayer to me implies local multiplayer]

 

[Nelderson]

I actually got Node.js server and client socket.io packages installed and working in MV.  I don;t know how well it would do with an MMORPG, but I can certainly forward you everything I have if you want to go with a non-sql database(mongobd?), and an all JavaScript backend.

I'll probably create a basic script for anyone to use that'll pull basic usage statistics in real time.  Such as: How long played this session? What maps were played this session? What events triggered during gameplay?  How far along in the game? Etc....

Maybe make more of a leaderboard database that people can use for their individual websites

 

[Ellie Jane]

Personally I would rather stick to php because I wouldn't feel up to scratch with security if working with nodejs, and many web hosts will be up.in arms at you using a js back end.

Plus I'd rather use a SQL database as it's the standard. (And, selfishly speaking, my existing database is in it...)

 

[RogdagoR]

What if you do a sort of login with facebook?

 

[Kane Hart]

What if you do a sort of login with facebook?

You could add that as a api on top of the main login system. Steam, google, facebook.. I wonder though google API allow you to just auto work on a phone without even needing to sign in I wonder?