Probably the gazillionth "which one do I pick?" post created in this forum

[Agent10007]

Hi everyone, looking for guidance from experienced people.

A little bit of context, me and a group of friends used to make as a private joke a small fantasy world in which the uni teachers we don't like are the evil dragons and we are the cool guys and the different majors of our undergrad are different races more or less friendly depending.

I'd love to make them as a tribute and a good memory to keep, a small game, honestly nothing crazy, a party of a couple dudes (if possible with the option to either choose the playable character from a pool or make their own, but if it isn't possible it doesn't matter at all), a couple of dialogues to say we'll go there and beat the dragon, a very undetailed overworld map to go through and have the party walk to a couple of locations, bit more dialogue, and then one or two boss fights and it's done. Overworld encounters of cliché monsters like slime skeleton bats or whatever really being appreciated. Something with dragon quest vibes, but like the alpha test of the alpha of the beta of the 0.0.0.00001 of a dragon quest pilot game

I have ZERO experience with all of this: Art? Zero (tho if there are like "bland knight" and "bland magician" presets they will be perfect). Music ? Zero. Game development? 0.5 (I watched extra credits on youtube), and what worries me the most: Scripts and coding? ZERO.

I have RPG in a box thx to epic giveaways, but it feels weird to make a big overworld with that and awkward to navigate, although the scripting had some very nice presets, so I'm considering getting a RPGM for this.

This is a fun side thing, I don't plan on making other RPG games at all, and especially not on the near future as I will be starting a PhD, so I must admit I would rather keep the expenses very minimal, I see 2003, XP and VX are acquirable for very very low price. Or could a demo version get the job fully done?
Knowing all of this? What version would you recommend to me? Is it some doable without crying for days trying to understand the most basic thing? Can I get this done without spending 10 years on it? Or should I just let that die and not waste my time and money?
Thanks in advance to anyone reading this !!

 

[TheAM-Dol]

I swear we just had a thread like this within the past 30 days. While I suppose your awareness that this question is likely asked frequently, it doesn't change the fact that you could probably get a more convincing answer quicker by just googling it.
Well I suppose I can add something new to the conversation not present in my last response to one of these threads:
You're, in the end, going to get mixed answers here because we all prefer the version we are currently using to make our games.
Folks will swear by the Ruby engines (VX Ace and earlier), while others will swear by the Javascript engines; MV, MZ.
From a technical standpoint, my recommendation is MV, but you got a lot of duct tape to deal with. If you are planning a fairly basic and simple game (which it sounds like you are) the polish in MZ and quality of life improvements are best, without question. The problem is that the main provider of plugins considered a necessity for the engine has made a monopoly out of their plugins by using some frowned upon practices. The discussion always becomes heated, so I'll just leave it at that.
I personally do not recommend any of the Ruby engines because their age is showing and it's usually more often then not I run into technical issues just trying to launch the game, let alone play it.

However, there is one version of the engine that brings even the deepest rivalries together. We all collectively agree that RPG Maker Unite was a mistake.

So in summary, for your little role play with your friends, I recommend MZ.
If you have aspirations of anything bigger...well it's complicated so at that point you probably need to do more research.

Excuse strange typos. On my phone.

 

[TESTOSTERONE]

RPG Makers come packed with resources ready to be used, including music and art. Not to mention all the resources (most being free to use) that you'll be able to find here created by this community.

RPG Maker was made to be easy for anyone to pick up and make a quick, simple game, like you are aiming to do.

• VXAce is beloved and goes on sale for like $8.
• MV goes on sale for like $12.
• MZ goes on sale for I think $50 as cheapest and is the newest of these engines.

Either one of these will get the job done, as long as you are willing to spend a few days learning how to use the engine.

 

[Willibab]

Most of the programs are so simple that even children can jump right in. (Maybe I should say old people, since kids have this stuff in the bag these days xD)

If you plan on using the RTP (art that comes with the program) then you might want to pick based on that. The styles can vary greatly...Not sure if you're picky or not

 

[TheAM-Dol]

If you plan on using the RTP (art that comes with the program) then you might want to pick based on that.

This is also very true and I should have mentioned this on my post. It's kind of like as the makers have moved forward, the art has gotten worse. I'm really not a fan of the 48x48 pixel art because it's not quite reaching the "cg" full resolution art, but it isn't really the stereotypical idea of "retro pixel art" either. It's this weird ugly middle ground I'm not a big fan of.
I like the VX and XP RTP.

However, you are allowed to use the RTP from one engine in another so long as you own both, so you could buy MV and all earlier engines on sale for probably less than the cost of MZ. MV isn't designed to work with smaller tile sizes (smaller than 48x48), but that duct tape I was mentioning will make it possible. MZ can use different tile sizes, but that defeats the point I was making about buying all the old makers for less than MZ.

 

[Agent10007]

Damn, the answers are quick
Thanks yall ! And yes AM-Dol I figured (and was affraid my post would be removed tbh), but after going through a couple threads here and on reddit I didn't feel like most was giving me confidence before investing money, that's why I decided on posting mine with as much info as possible to be sure I'd hit the nail (or rather, be sure I avoid one that would cause major issues, you probably guessed it but scrips is the scary part).

I picked up and messed around the free demo of VX ace, and it seems like it has everything I need and I'm figuring out with ease how to do things (except how to add a custom monster in the list of things I can pick for a boss fights, this took me way too long to figure out I needed to make it in the database then in the groups lol). And the art is matching perfectly what I envision. Is the ruby really that troublesome?

Also, I don't really know if what I want is doable by 30 days, but I assume if I go for a paid version after working on the free demo I will be able to pick my progress back right? (Yes it might feel like a dumb question but do I really want to risk losing a big portion of what might be the rare moments of truly free time I'll have before years on something as dumb as "demo version work doesn't transfer to paid one sorry" )

 

[Sword_of_Dusk]

I'm glad you seem to be going for VX Ace, because it's the one I was going to recommend in this case. If you had plans to make this a recurring hobby, I would say MZ, but since you're doing a one and done project, and one that isn't particularly complicated by the sounds of it, VX Ace is the cheapest option that isn't unreasonably old.

 

[TeiRaven]

Not a dumb question at all! Yes, your project will be safe after the demo! As far as I remember, the only limit on the demo was time.

I personally never quit RMXP, and it periodically goes on sale for 2.50 USD--the RTP is really lovely and very extensive, and ChaosProject forum has a great archive of scripts for it. The biggest drawback I can think of offhand (for what you're doing) is that for some reason, it is the only installment that doesn't let you put facesets into textboxes without jumping through hoops.