Some Newbie Questions! (Help Appreciated!)

[Phototoxin]

Hi, I got RPG Maker XP on Steam - partially due to the Pokémon RPG support available.
However I've decided to look into making my own small game to learn some scripting skills & general game making knowledge. (I used to do a bit of NWN1/2 stuff back in the days of yore)

My main issue at the moment is lack of documentation. I don't know where to look and I feel like I'm missing something really obvious. Most of the search results refer to other versions of RM - eg VX, rather than RP-XP - should I get the latest version or is XP sufficient? (In terms of technical power it seems fine for me and I know I don't have the knowledge/skills (yet) to take full advantage of the XP toolset.)

My specific questions/problems are:

• How do I find the dimensions for sprites/backgrounds/title graphic/portraits? (can I dig them out of the install directory?)
• Are there repositories of fan-content/free sprites/etc?
• Is there information on how the stats/damage calculations are worked out?
• Is there a database/repository of common scripts? (quest management, some battle stuff like summoning reinforcements mid combat)
• Aside from official forums (here) where do communities reside? - FB?, Discord?, Twitter?, LinkedIn?, Myspace? Bebo...?

Also General idea (C&C/abuse/banter/ideas welcome):

Spoiler: Plot

My general RPG premise is a druid/herbalist (the titular 'Healer') - custom class with moderate HP/STR/DEX/AGI, high INT can use spears and robes + their animal companion (high HP/STR, moderate DEX/AGI, low INT) who starts off fetching some ingredients to cure a townsperson. Undead and goblin-types are prowling the woods. However by fetching holy water from a chapel (where the BBEG can't go) the Healer is being used as a pawn. Using the holy water the BBEG can compel demons to work for him and cause all sorts of havoc.
My aim is to be more story based and exploration based. rather than lots of grinding JRPG style combat.

Main Goals - I don't know if these are realistic at the moment but it's what I've come up with!

Spoiler: Goals

Design/create/find a suitable Healer/Druid-esque sprite & portrait
Design/create/find a suitable Animal Companion sprite & portrait
Figure out a way of cultivating a 'herb garden' - so that objects can be removed/cleared and then the resulting space used to grow plants that have been gathered in the wild.
System that enables harvesting of said plants to then give access to stronger potions and abilities, as well as complete certain quests and help people.
Balance the random encounters with scripted ones to ensure that the game doesn't become too much of a combat grind

If you've read this far than thank you very much! Please take a cookie!

Spoiler: Click for cookies!

 

[TheoAllen]

should I get the latest version or is XP sufficient? (In terms of technical power it seems fine for me and I know I don't have the knowledge/skills (yet) to take full advantage of the XP toolset.)

RPGXP is still a viable engine and also capable of making a decent game. Some successful one made in RMXP, and some of my fave RM games are also made in RMXP. The difference is iirc, RMXP run at lower FPS (40?) compared to other newer engines (60 FPS).

But RMXP is pretty much can do the same on almost anything the new engine can do. But with the note that the internal RMXP scripting is a mess that renders most of public scripts incompatible with each other. So, you need to know scripting to make it works

How do I find the dimensions for sprites/backgrounds/title graphic/portraits?

There is help file, and it should contain an information about the standard resource. Try to check that out

Are there repositories of fan-content/free sprites/etc?

RMXP is an old engine (2005 iirc), so chance the fan contents were made is slim as people tend to use the newer one. And the old resources might already have gone or took down by the artist (or external factors like, photobucket changing how the link sharing works). So I can't really help with it.

Is there information on how the stats/damage calculations are worked out?

I will leave the RMXP veterans here to answer.

Is there a database/repository of common scripts? (quest management, some battle stuff like summoning reinforcements mid combat)

Some on top of my mind are AtelierRGSS and Littledrago's.

Aside from official forums (here) where do communities reside? - FB?, Discord?, Twitter?, LinkedIn?, Myspace? Bebo...?

There is RMN (rpgmaker dot net), and their discord channel has some people who are using the old engines. The best RM discord channel in my opinion

 

[Phototoxin]

That's been really helpful, thank you

 

[slimmmeiske2]

Are there repositories of fan-content/free sprites/etc?

Considering its age, there’s actually still a lot of resources available (in my opinion). We have a whole forum here dedicated to XP resources. You’ll also find a topic there by Avery that mentions other sites where you can find XP resources.

Is there a database/repository of common scripts? (quest management, some battle stuff like summoning reinforcements mid combat)

For scripts, I often just google what I need or search Chaos-Project, as there are a lot of XP scripts there as well. Of course, we have a script forum on this site as well.

 

[Andar]

Hi, I got RPG Maker XP on Steam - partially due to the Pokémon RPG support available.

Please keep in mind that the Pokémon package for RMXP contains rips and is not legal to use.

Additionally, there is no direct progression between the different Makers, they're different programs create at different time, and XP is one of the oldest - it hasn't been updated for more than a decade. And the newer Makers are often easier to use due to advancements in development, the only real advantage RMXP has left is the manual control over the map players (which isn't always an advantage as it also creates more work for the mapper).

 

[Phototoxin]

Please keep in mind that the Pokémon package for RMXP contains rips and is not legal to use.

Additionally, there is no direct progression between the different Makers, they're different programs create at different time, and XP is one of the oldest - it hasn't been updated for more than a decade. And the newer Makers are often easier to use due to advancements in development, the only real advantage RMXP has left is the manual control over the map players (which isn't always an advantage as it also creates more work for the mapper).

Thanks for the heads up about Pokémon.
I will try tinkering away with XP and see how far I get!