Should I Create a Materia Plugin from Final Fantasy VII?

[A_Higher_Plane]

I may try to create a FF7 materia plugin. I know there is one by Victor Engine but I don't think that it's compatible with Yanfly's plugins. I would try to make it so. Here are the features of it:

• Learn abilities temporarily by equipping those Materia.
• Gain passive states from the Materia.
• Gain AP points from enemies per battle for the Materia equipped.
• When you gain enough AP points on the Materia, it improves.

 

[ShadowDragon]

I wonder why you keep asking "Should I make this plugin" rather than
just make it, and release/sell it?

with some images how it looks like, and improve by feedback, suggestions?

there are people that might need it, depending on the features as well,
and on their game mechanic if it's usefull or not.

if you aren't able or "may" making it, than what is the point asking?

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

Well it is because:

• Creating plugins takes me time and is difficult for me, since I am not so good at them yet. I would rather create plugins that people would need/want more rather than trivial ones.
• My recent plugins that I have released didn't make me any money and were downloaded (for free) rather few times.
• I want to "gauge the popularity" of the plugin because of the above 2 reasons.

 

[ShadowDragon]

I make plugins as hobby and release it, they can donate
if they find it usefull or use it in their project (free or commercial).

I dont mind it really, if people can pay for it or use it, they might
buy/donate sooner or later as well

or check plugin requests to find what they need and try to help
them and become better?

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

Gee, IDK what to do guys!! I may create plugins as a hobby and release them and people can donate. But even my best plugin, Timed Input, with 30 downloads has made $0.00 money. I still allow people to download it for free so it is "Name Your Price" on itch.io. The plugins are rather "bare bones" and can be extended a lot.

 

[HexMozart88]

I find PWYW things usually don't get any payment except from friends. But they're good for exposing yourself to releasing things, and for exposing people to you as a creator. As you sell more, more people will be inclined to buy it. Also, be sure to practice good tagging. AD got 400 views in one week because I used the "adult" and "visual novel" tags. Unfortunately, the tags are kind of more suited to games than assets, but you can definitely say what kind of game the script is suited for in your description and in your tags. Out of curiosity, would you care to link one of your plugins so I can see what your page setup looks like?

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

@HexMozart88 I have linked to them in my signature here. One of them is no longer available for download because something has changed in the code and it no longer works right and it will take me time to fix it. I find it difficult to "get in the mood" and get the energy to go and do hours of plugin creation (and these plugins always take hours for me to create, even the bare bones ones, since I am not so good at them yet). But the Timed Input one had 30 downloads and it is my best one. I have had a lot of help making this one and it is still bare bones. It still has made me nothing, but I still allow it to be downloaded for free.

 

[HexMozart88]

So, good job with the page decoration, but your screenshots and description are pretty lackluster. I'm looking at your desc and I have many questions about what it does. I also can't see your terms of use. Also, just my opinion but if your plugin is "bare bones" as you call it, I'm not seeing why people would pay money for that. If I'm going to buy a plugin, it's gotta be polished, and it's gotta be something I really need/want for my game. If your plugin is still unpolished and basic, people are going to download it to try it out, but they're not going to want to give you any money because there are better things to spend their money on than an unfinished plugin by someone they haven't heard of.

Anyway, back to the topic, again, you haven't really given too much information on the plugin at all. Are you going to code these passive states? What's a Materia anyway? Are you going to code the AP or are people going to have to find a separate script for that? I have not played FF7, so I have no idea what you're talking about in your bullet points.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

Oh making each of these plugins "polished" will take a lot of time and a lot of hard work for me. It would be neither for me if I was a better RMMV plugin creator. But it is also difficult for me to do all this learning and plugin development. I would rather create basic plugins for a hobby, for fun, and to learn more but I also want to make some money off of them. What should I do?

Oh and here is what I mean by the Materia:

• Your RM games will have weapons and armors that have slots for materials/things called "Materia" and you will specify what weapons/armors have how many.
• These will add skills and states to the characters. You can learn skills like Fire and states like using auto cure on any of your friendly battlers.
• The plugin will also include AP points that you earn each battle.
• These AP points will automatically improve the Materia you have equipped currently after you gain enough AP points, for better abilities/states. Such could make Fire into Fira making it a more powerful spell or somehow improve auto-cure so that it has a more powerful healing effect or less limits on it.
• In the game, you can use a more powerful weapon or armor that increases stats like defense for less Materia, or the other way around. You will need to strategically choose for each battle or encounter or just for overall. You can have Materia that you can give any character you choose rather than learn abilities like Fire. You can have multiple character use the same type of Materia but one might have like Fira because you have improved it while the other one you have just purchased so it only has just Fire.

I'm not an expert in this system as I have only played the FF7 Remake but this is the best I can tell you right now. Maybe the original FF7 was somewhat different. I would love anyone who knows these 2 games to help me out explain these things.

Thanks for reading all this.

 

[KawaiiKid]

I may try to create a FF7 materia plugin. I know there is one by Victor Engine but I don't think that it's compatible with Yanfly's plugins. I would try to make it so. Here are the features of it:

• Learn abilities temporarily by equipping those Materia.
• Gain passive states from the Materia.
• Gain AP points from enemies per battle for the Materia equipped.
• When you gain enough AP points on the Materia, it improves.

I use victor engine materia plugin for my game. I am also using 39 Yanfly plugins, and in total 123 plugins with no issues.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

@KawaiiKid Oh really? But how? The VE Materia one requires VE's "Basic Module" plugin to work and this plugin conflicts with Yanfly's "Core" plugins.

 

[KawaiiKid]

@KawaiiKid Oh really? But how? The VE Materia one requires VE's "Basic Module" plugin to work and this plugin conflicts with Yanfly's "Core" plugins.

I'm using VEBasicModule v1.23 and VE_MateriaSystem v1.07 and have no issues.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

Ah ok! This seems to settle it for me though! No need to create this.. at all now!

 

[Willibab]

I seem to recall that VE basic module works with them as long as it is above the Yanfly ones.

As for suggestions on what to make, there are already some ff9 plugins, but ff8? Junction system is really interesting imo, just because it had features people didn't like doesn't mean that you can't add choices to it or make it different. Like using magic doesn't spend it for example. The system doesn't even have to be attached to summons/GFs but equipment or something else.

Just an ''you have x amount of slots where you can ''equip command categories'' type of plugin would be really cool imo. It could be used for a ff8 or ff5 type of system.

Same goes for ff2, people complain about it but no one is saying that a plugin has to be identical to it. Like a stat cap based on level or not gaining hp by attacking yourself xD (GALV does have a weapon proficiency plugin already tho.)

 

[oooNUKEooo]

OP, you probably should improve existing plugins functions. for example, yanflys plugins alone are enough to recreate a materia system, but i just read (here) about devs using victors engine And yanflys plugins.

you, maybe, could focus on creating additional or "ready-to-use" features that are possible with other mainstream plugins but require lots of tweaks.

for me, as the majority of plugins come from yanfly, i can mechanically implement many features, like a materia system, a multiple targeting and hitting spell, a delayed spell system, a ammo based gun system... but im restricted to the visuals yanfly designed for its plugins, like, id love to change the visuals provided by the battle turn order plugin or its battle status window plugin with easy (but theyre hardcoded). also about visuals, id like to change the appearance of the windows of the slots in the equip and attachments plugins. they look ok, but what if could use images i created to represent the slots?! maybe that would work. i dont know. maybe even if there were more format and color options other than just circles. i dont know... my point is: maybe you would start improving existing mainstream plugins on what they lack.

 

[ATT_Turan]

I know there is one by Victor Engine but I don't think that it's compatible with Yanfly's plugins.

I know it's since been discussed, but I'm not sure where you got this idea. I have several plugins by both authors in my project and they work just fine (as well as stuff from SRD and HimeWorks).

I wonder why you keep asking "Should I make this plugin" rather than
just make it, and release/sell it?

I agree with this.

I want to "gauge the popularity" of the plugin because of the above 2 reasons.

Most of the time when a plugin gets used, it's because someone is searching for that functionality. I think you have a much lower chance of people who are already using what they want in their projects seeing your random posts and getting inspired to say "Oh, yeah, that never occurred to me but I could use it!"

The plugins are rather "bare bones" and can be extended a lot.

To me, that is a problem. If a plugin is simple and bare bones, that means I (or any competent coder) could duplicate it easily, and perhaps a competent RPG Maker user could even duplicate it via eventing. That's not worth paying for.

I have paid for plugins that are sufficiently complex that in order to code the effects on my own, it would take significant research into the engine or significant time because it's a large plugin with a lot of code.

Also, just my opinion but if your plugin is "bare bones" as you call it, I'm not seeing why people would pay money for that. If I'm going to buy a plugin, it's gotta be polished, and it's gotta be something I really need/want for my game.

This.

Oh making each of these plugins "polished" will take a lot of time and a lot of hard work for me. It would be neither for me if I was a better RMMV plugin creator. But it is also difficult for me to do all this learning and plugin development. I would rather create basic plugins for a hobby, for fun, and to learn more but I also want to make some money off of them. What should I do?

That...is not really how the world works. People don't get paid money for amateur efforts that they're learning as a hobby.

Would you pay someone who says "I'm learning how to change my oil in my own garage, but do you want to pay me to fix your car?" Or "I'm teaching myself using tablature to play the guitar, but do you want to pay me to play for your wedding?" Or "Here are these bare bones stick figures I can draw, would you pay me to use them in your game?"

People get paid money for things because they have spent a significant amount of time in their life learning how to do it well, and therefore they're doing something that the average person can't do. You don't just get to say "I want to make some money off of this" and magically it happens.

I'm not an expert in this system as I have only played the FF7 Remake but this is the best I can tell you right now. Maybe the original FF7 was somewhat different. I would love anyone who knows these 2 games to help me out explain these things.

I would consider this a bit of a problem, also. You're trying to gauge interest in this plugin before you start making it, but you don't even know what it would do? Even though I disagree with the whole "gauging interest" approach, you should have a defined idea and vision in your head and be able to explain what your plugin would do. Why would anyone else care about you doing kind of something maybe that you need explained?

 

[ShadowDragon]

@A_Higher_Plane another thing of the materia is, if you make one and
are able too, you can create it without any core/base plugin that works
with other plugins.

as if its a standalone, it can be helpfull alot too.

PWYW option is also usefull so they can check for compability issues
and if you are able to make it compatable.

other people make a plugin + pro version as pro version is paid with
extra features.

other people make the code obfuscated for free, but paid is code
visible to edit it create addons to it.

there are reasons for how people think, some want them to get
a license first before going for commercial or pay the amount set.

however you approach it is up to you, so if you make a materia,
how would you make it and what is unique to yours what others
doesn't have?

is your more userfriendly? easier to set up? etc etc, try to create them,
and see how to extend it or by suggestion =)

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

For some reason I had it in my head that VE and Yanfly plugins aren't compatible. Maybe I have had issues with these plugins or saw it saying that somewhere somewhere. It's cool that they aren't!

It seems it's not a good idea to think I will get paid for unpolished plugins. But at least creating plugins is fun for me and feels good and gives me a sense of accomplishment. I am creating art here!

 

[Sword_of_Dusk]

For some reason I had it in my head that VE and Yanfly plugins aren't compatible. Maybe I have had issues with these plugins or saw it saying that somewhere somewhere. It's cool that they aren't!

Well, I'm certain I've seen threads where it was noted that some VE plugins don't play well with Yanfly's. Might have been VX Ace threads though.

 

[oooNUKEooo]

OP, if youd like to, and since you seem to know final fantasy well, would you create a yanfly compactible plugin that makes the attack and/or guard give way to another skill ff8 style*, like when youre low on health or under some effect?


* = theres an arrow besides the command in, which when its present (low health or under effect) and if you hit the directional button on its indicated direction, it changes to another skill (an optional critical/special/overdrive/limit break-like skill) for you to choose.