Ruby to C# -> Unity

[Kalyth]

Hi everyone,

hope this is the correct section of the forum to post this!

So, I've started a new project I'd like to complete in a more serious way than all the others I created so far, which were all trials and training.

This time, I'd like to plan it this way:

- create the game "skeleton" with RPG Maker and placeholder assets (musics and graphics)

- start a crowdfunding campaign to complete it by paying composers and artists

- based on how much I can get from the campaign I'd like also to get it ported on different systems

Now, this final part is the most difficult one of course.

In order to port it I'd use Unity, which isn't compatible with Ruby, but can support C#.

My questions are:

1) is there a way to export the whole game code?

I already found a script here that allows to export the scripts, but not the core game engine.

2)  Has anyone here ever tried converting Ruby to C#?

I found some code converter on the internet, but since I'm no programmer I'm not sure that will be enough to import the game into Unity.

If point 2 isn't possible, I'd also pay a professional programmer to convert it from Ruby to C#.

If you're interested on the game I'm making, you can find some totally  "in progress" screenshots here:

https://www.facebook.com/alterego2099

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[Shaz]

There isn't even a way to port VX or XP scripts to Ace automatically, and those are all in Ruby. You've got zero chance of exporting them all to C#, not to mention the scripts we have access to in the editor aren't all that's needed to run the game - the base classes (Window, Sprite...) are hidden to us, so your programmer would have to figure out the missing bits.


Note - this is an RPG Maker forum. We are happy to help you while you are working with RPG Maker, but when you reach the point of porting to Unity, you won't be able to get assistance here.

 

[TheoAllen]

1) is there a way to export the whole game code?

No...

2)  Has anyone here ever tried converting Ruby to C#?

The main problem is Unity is a whole different engine than RGSS. They handle sprites and other graphics differently with RGSS.

I ever tried Unity and the code concept is so different.

 

[??????]

It would be possible to get a functioning ruby environment within unity though, and from there, its just a case of reconstructing the core classes, then adding default scripts and rpg maker assets, which would breach the EULA unless you had permission to do such things.

In short : Its possible, but much more hassle than its worth.

 

[Shaz]

mmm ... he said the crowdfunding campaign would pay for custom assets

 

[??????]

Indeed. Which does 'bypass' the graphics side of things, but all default scripts are also counted as resources, which I do believe the EULA covers? Could be wrong, I usually am with these things D:

Probably much easier to just have people code the same game in C#.  Be faster, more efficient, allow more... Plus it would avoid the whole EULA crap. Especially if its full custom resources.

 

[Shaz]

Yes, I suppose a direct transpose of the scripts from RPG Maker to Unity would breach copyright. You are better off determining what you need and have it written from scratch - even if it means you want the methods to pass the same parameters so you could use a tool to transfer your project afterwards.

 

[TheoAllen]

I'm still being skeptic if RPG Maker codes could be converted into Unity. Because as I already said. It's a whole new engine.

Why not make the Unity inspector looks similar to RPG Maker instead? This is what my friend did

Spoiler

Anyway, you should not expect any help from us since we're in RPG Maker forum. Not unity.

 

[Tsukihime]

Anyway, you should not expect any help from us since we're in RPG Maker forum. Not unity.

I would have assumed RPG Maker developers would be highly interested in being able to port their game to unity, which would then allow them to port it to almost every major platform.

 

[TheoAllen]

I would have assumed RPG Maker developers would be highly interested in being able to port their game to unity, which would then allow them to port it to almost every major platform.

I'm going to dev in Unity instead of RPG Maker if this is the case. It's like asking if RPG Maker can be used to make a 3D game. Even if it could, you will find a major obstacles. Why not use the 3D engine instead?

(out of curiousity, have you tried Unity yet?)

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Porting a game from one engine to another AFAIK is more work than making it on that other engine right away... So I do suggest doing it all in Unity right from the start rather than using RM as like a base.

I already found a script here that allows to export the scripts, but not the core game engine.

Because that would breach the EULA, I think.

 

[Shaz]

I would have assumed RPG Maker developers would be highly interested in being able to port their game to unity, which would then allow them to port it to almost every major platform.

By "developers" you mean people using RPG Maker to make their games. You do not mean the creators of RPG Maker (I assume). Why make a game in RPG Maker then port it to Unity, when you could just make it in Unity to start with? Unity is a competing game engine. This is an RPG Maker forum. We do not provide support for people developing games in Unity (and that includes porting games to unity that have originally been made in RPG Maker).


As I said originally, as much help can be obtained as necessary on this forum while development is happening in RPG Maker. But once the focus shifts to Unity, this is not the place to come for assistance.

 

[Kalyth]

Thanks for all the answers and clarifications guys!

Of course, I'll never try to look for help on actual Unity coding here and seeing all our answers creating the game with RPG Maker and porting it really sounds like an issue.

I guess that I'll stick to it until I have finished creating the story from start to finish (so just event creation, dialoges and multiple choices) and then decide (based on any team creation/crowdfunding) if to complete it with RPG Maker and stick to it (so realeasing only on PC) or have the mechanics of the game developed in Unity.

This is just a too early phase to decide, so, again, thanks a lot!!!

PS: Is there a reason for the resolution being set just to 640x480? The fullscreen version of the game really looks bad...

PPS: also, is there a reason why RPG Maker can't export but *.exe files?

Wouldn't a wider range of supported platform be more appealing to many indie RPG creators?

 

[TheoAllen]

PS: Is there a reason for the resolution being set just to 640x480? The fullscreen version of the game really looks bad...

You need to change everything if you want to change the resolution above 640 x 480. Because it will looks really bad as well. And when you going to do that, the RPG Maker wont be considered as "simple for kids ..."

PPS: also, is there a reason why RPG Maker can't export but *.exe files?

Wouldn't a wider range of supported platform be more appealing to many indie RPG creators?

Back to the RPG Maker captions. "Simple for kids". In my opinion, RPG Maker wasnt aimed to be a commercial game engine. But a game to make another game for amateur game developers. Just like what they did in Console version. But people sell their game anyway.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Wouldn't a wider range of supported platform be more appealing to many indie RPG creators?

Maybe because EB simply doesn't have the capacity to do so when they made the makers? EB is not a big company AFAIK. Making it support multiple types of exports is not really easy you know...

 

[Tsukihime]

By "developers" you mean people using RPG Maker to make their games. You do not mean the creators of RPG Maker (I assume). Why make a game in RPG Maker then port it to Unity, when you could just make it in Unity to start with? Unity is a competing game engine. This is an RPG Maker forum. We do not provide support for people developing games in Unity (and that includes porting games to unity that have originally been made in RPG Maker).

I have the same sentiments when people ask "what about android/iOS support? What about console support?"

You need to change everything if you want to change the resolution above 640 x 480. Because it will looks really bad as well. And when you going to do that, the RPG Maker wont be considered as "simple for kids ..."


Back to the RPG Maker captions. "Simple for kids". In my opinion, RPG Maker wasnt aimed to be a commercial game engine. But a game to make another game for amateur game developers. Just like what they did in Console version. But people sell their game anyway.

Oh, so RPG Maker has been demoted to just a game now.


And I can't imagine what you're trying to suggest when you emphasize it being "simple for kids", especially when you put it in the same context as resizing your images.

 

[Spirographic]

If you really want to port a project over to Unity, you'll have to do it all manually. I can't really provide support for this, even though I do have experience in C#. All I can say is that RM's scripts, or rather, the functions available to the player, are relatively easy to recreate using C#, but not easy to replicate - you can make something similar, but not the same.

All this being said, Unity is an easy enough engine to learn, and a good one. But if you want to learn Unity, you need to... learn Unity. There is no bridge between RM and Unity worth crossing.

Though, I suppose you can use RM as a 'proof of concept' thing to quickly and easily test concepts with placeholder assets. But it's not much of more utility to a Unity dev's development cycle.

 

[TheoAllen]

Oh, so RPG Maker has been demoted to just a game now.

Yeah, or at least, I consider it as a "game". I'm playing with RPG Maker. It's fun, isnt?

 

[Tsukihime]

Yeah, or at least, I consider it as a "game". I'm playing with RPG Maker. It's fun, isnt?

Unity by definition would be a game as well, because you would be playing with Unity and it would be fun.

 

[Lemur]

I have the definite ability to do something like this, but I don't intend to. Allow me to explain to you why, and it can most definitely be considered a scalding indictment of RPG Maker as a Platform:


Closed Source


You only have access to part of the program. The rest is locked up. Can we simulate / crack / otherwise duplicate it? Yes, probably trivially so in fact. That makes it even worse to an extent because you get into legal matters of it, and that's a mess no developer wants to touch.


Non-Viable as a platform


RPG maker is a toy. There are no two ways around that. Its exporting is crippled to a single platform, there are no real methods for deployment, and network inter-op is gimped. The ruby engine is a great idea, but poorly written and implemented. When ruby is not wielded properly by a rubyist, it makes a mess.


There's very little real extensibility, and as a professional platform it just doesn't have the juice. The storage system is a convoluted marshal system, and database support is non-existent.


Unity and Game Maker are far more powerful in this regard.


Notes


I would not duplicate RPG maker, as mimicking a flawed platform will yield a flawed product.