So, uh, what's this RPG Maker Unite thing?

[bgillisp]

Let me put it this way about that trailer. I was in the group that was probably going to get this day 1 to play with. After seeing that trailer I will not and will wait a while now. I was actually really close to removing from wishlist on Steam and just forgetting about it, it was THAT bad.

 

[ChampX]

Get your credit cards ready for obfuscated code, because I think we already know what the answer is.

This is a rather pointless endeavor with C# code. Unlike JS which is interpreted and deployed JS apps generally have the code visible and modifiable on the spot, C# gets compiled down to an intermediate language then to native code which is far from human readable as is. Sure it is possible to decompile this and steal code, but most people won't bother with that kind of effort.

You could argue distributed library code could get stolen and uploaded elsewhere without credit and obfuscate that way, but the people skilled enough and want to do it will be able to anyway while at the same time you will make it annoying for developers to work with your code. I don't think I have seen any Unity store assets that did not make their code available to developers that purchased or if they did, it didn't catch on in popularity.

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure majority of code theft in the MV/MZ scene happened by people going into the plugins folder of released games and copy/pasting them into their projects, which will pretty much be a non issue with Unity/C#.

 

[BreakerZero]

This is a rather pointless endeavor with C# code. Unlike JS which is interpreted and deployed JS apps generally have the code visible and modifiable on the spot, C# gets compiled down to an intermediate language then to native code which is far from human readable as is. Sure it is possible to decompile this and steal code, but most people won't bother with that kind of effort.

You could argue distributed library code could get stolen and uploaded elsewhere without credit and obfuscate that way, but the people skilled enough and want to do it will be able to anyway while at the same time you will make it annoying for developers to work with your code. I don't think I have seen any Unity store assets that did not make their code available to developers that purchased or if they did, it didn't catch on in popularity.

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure majority of code theft in the MV/MZ scene happened by people going into the plugins folder of released games and copy/pasting them into their projects, which will pretty much be a non issue with Unity/C#.

I believe that this is what IL2CPP does. You compile your Unity project, it goes through the IL processor, and then depending on your distribution method it either builds the finished product on the spot or gives you a Visual Studio project which you build separately.

 

[Aesica]

This is a rather pointless endeavor with C# code. Unlike JS which is interpreted and deployed JS apps generally have the code visible and modifiable on the spot, C# gets compiled down to an intermediate language then to native code which is far from human readable as is. Sure it is possible to decompile this and steal code, but most people won't bother with that kind of effort.

You could argue distributed library code could get stolen and uploaded elsewhere without credit and obfuscate that way, but the people skilled enough and want to do it will be able to anyway while at the same time you will make it annoying for developers to work with your code. I don't think I have seen any Unity store assets that did not make their code available to developers that purchased or if they did, it didn't catch on in popularity.

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure majority of code theft in the MV/MZ scene happened by people going into the plugins folder of released games and copy/pasting them into their projects, which will pretty much be a non issue with Unity/C#.

It doesn't protect against plugin theft from deployed games, just code theft. This is why some free plugins also get obfuscated. Since C# protects against plugin theft automatically by compiling, you can be sure that certain people will still obfuscate their stuff to protect their code from other game developers. (making it less useful to said game developers in the process)

 

[Rukiri]

Um... that trailer was hilariously bad! Hopefully they delay the release as 2022 is almost wrapped up and would rather they delay and refine the product versus rushing it as it doesn't look too hot rn. I was gonna get back into game development but really thinking about skipping unite and probably use what I was used to like GMS2 or Godot.

 

[Zeriab]

I believe that this is what IL2CPP does. You compile your Unity project, it goes through the IL processor, and then depending on your distribution method it either builds the finished product on the spot or gives you a Visual Studio project which you build separately.

IL2CPP converts your IL code to a C++ version. This can lead to performance improvements, especially on CPU heavy stuff.
For example, my Unity game has some heavy procedural generation. When I switched to IL2CPP the procgen time was cut in half.

Reference:

Unity - Manual: IL2CPP Overview

docs.unity3d.com

Unity - Manual: Overview of .NET in Unity

docs.unity3d.com

 

[BreakerZero]

Um... that trailer was hilariously bad! Hopefully they delay the release as 2022 is almost wrapped up and would rather they delay and refine the product versus rushing it as it doesn't look too hot rn. I was gonna get back into game development but really thinking about skipping unite and probably use what I was used to like GMS2 or Godot.

Honestly speaking, I don't believe that the trailer ain't entirely worthless. I personally find it to be serviceable at the very least. Of course, since I already committed to porting over some of my work I'm not going to let a bad first impression change my mind. If anything, it gets the job done even if it's got a few issues in execution.

 

[ThreeSixNine]

Of course, since I already committed to porting over some of my work I'm not going to let a bad first impression change my mind.

From a plugin writing perspective, I understand not wanting to wait.

Part of what keeps me coming back to RPG Maker MV is that it's fun. And a big part of why I enjoy it so much is because of the huge plugin library, which I am grateful for.

And while the base program has its limitations, it doesn't have a huge number of glaring flaws. Even without plugins, it's still fun to see how far I can push the system. Especially when you consider that a basic understanding of JavaScript can raise that limit even further.

That being said, if I compare my reasons for using RPG Maker to playing video games, they're largely the same. I find enjoyment through Creativity.

If this doesn't look as fun or more than RPG Maker MV is currently, I have no real reason to pick it up when it releases other than curiosity. I have a difficult time justifying a $15 game based on that. When I look at Unite, the biggest draw for me is experience with a new system and language.

I'll definitely be waiting to see how this turns out. At this point in the RPG Maker timeline, I have zero expectation.

 

[BreakerZero]

I kind of just had a thought regarding the trailer issue, as I've seen much worse. Thinking back to Super Bowl 56 there was one ad that the press dunked on more than the others: a QR screen saver display that resulted in a lot of "WTF did the broadcast system crash or something?" Turned out it was a spot for crypto market Coinbase and their site is what actually crashed from all the traffic.

In short, you can have a horrible ad and still be ingenious enough to be effective. That I think is ultimately the case here.

 

[FrozenNorseman]

There's a downloadable Pixel Scaler on the Unity site, and going through the ReadMe it states the following:

This is a tool to enlarge pixel art like an illustration. 100% to 400% can be selected. If you want to enlarge RPG Tool MZ/MV materials for RPG Maker Unite, please specify 200%.

Am I right in understanding this to mean that the standard tile size for Unite is going to be 96x96 pixels (200% of 48)? That'd be... interesting.

 

[fizzly]

Well....the trailer is such a dissapointment. I hate those characters on map look.

 

[123edc]

during their announcment of unite, i realy liked the style of these new sprites, but in these trailers (and also their explanation screens) they look kind of awefull

i realy hope, that they polish their converter up until release and allow us different kinds of convertion for our models ... like:

- different styles [mz/mv, vx, xp]
(so, that ppl who already collected these parts could continue using them for npc alongside their models ... so, that they don't - yet again - become obsolete)

- choosing, how pixalated the convertion should be

- allowing us different formats (not only vrm's) to convert

- creating a marketplace, where ppl could sell their "generator - parts"
(while looking for vroid parts the only "good ones" i found where on japanese websites ... often with japanese terms ... sometimes even attached with a "foreigners, who don't understand are prohibited from downloading" ...

sometimes even with the minefield of "oh, i translated it for you, but if i made an error the japanese version of these terms will always count" ...

that type of jungle is realy, realy bad ...
so, yeah, i realy hope for them to create a platform (not their 2 releases a weak, but a realy marketplace), where the seller could actually select "allowed", "not allowed" and the buyer could filter accordingly ...

 

[nbgamemaker]

from what i understand so far it's a unity based rpg maker that can do 3D i don't know much more.

 

[123edc]

actually, no - they already said, that it won't do 3D ...

but you may be able to play around with it and make it possible [since it's based on unity, that shouldn't be too hard] ... but they won't create it with that in mind ...

 

[Arctica]

It will use some cell shading.

Edit: The sprites appear to be cell shaded.

 

[BreakerZero]

Latest dev log is out, describing a typical development workflow and explaining the build process. Looks like it goes straight through Unity's build interface as well, so there's nothing stopping you from exporting to any of the supported platforms (and even Xbox, Switch etc. if you're a registered developer, though of course that is beyond the typical level of support).

 

[Rukiri]

actually, no - they already said, that it won't do 3D ...

but you may be able to play around with it and make it possible [since it's based on unity, that shouldn't be too hard] ... but they won't create it with that in mind ...

Yea I don't get that, what are they doing that's preventing 3D all together? Unite is a plugin for Unity correct? Honestly the more I look at Unite the more it's not worth it.. The tile editor looks bad, no idea if they have an animation editor but I just have no confidence in this product at all! Sorry folks, if you wanna do something light and make an RPG then GB Studio or Godot is probably for you. Making the RPG Database isn't as hard as you think (pretty easy once ya break it down <3).

I hope this ends up being modular and importable into existing projects like every other unity plugin, the rpg database stuff alone is a massive time saver.

 

[AfroditeOhki]

I'll be watching this for the assets. Much like I ended up getting MZ just for the assets (and map creation), as my project was already way too dependant on MV for me to change versions. I do love collecting visual assets though

 

[BreakerZero]

I'll be watching this for the assets. Much like I ended up getting MZ just for the assets (and map creation), as my project was already way too dependant on MV for me to change versions. I do love collecting visual assets though

I ended up in the same situation. Also, they're decidedly vague now on timing so between the two I had to cancel my transition plans. And the latest devlog is significantly delayed now as well, it's been a few days since Halloween and still no sign of the October update.

 

[BreakerZero]

So one day after I said "significantly delayed" the devlog went up. This time they were discussing the addition of a game templates feature, which should be super helpful to newcomers. Also, they're reiterating that they're still planning to support MZ and maybe another standalone maker at some point, so those aren't expected to go away just because of Unite.