A simple 3d rpgmaker is perfectly viable while retaining easey access.
A simple environment constructer using blocks, like minecraft, with support for textures in a easily preset format using png or jpg pictures -
And a simple character designer using a similar set up, with slide functions for adjusting sizes and angles like you see in most mmo's, and you'd be good to go.
I would actually argue that this would make it easier to produce original looks for your game, than having people to draw custom sprites.
Add support for 2d prerendered backgrounds, so you could make games like FF7-9, and I'd be in heaven.
I don't need next gen graphics, I'd be fine with psx/n64/PSP level graphics.
In any case, drawing in 2d requires actual skill.
Putting blocks together and slapping a texture on it does not. The amount of work required to produce simple low res textures for a block like the ones in minecraft requires is nothing compared to drawing out a grass tile for vx ace.
I'd love an RPG maker like that.
Even easier, would be a 2.5d isometric engine so you could make games like breath of fire 3 or final fantasy tactics. This too, is completely viable.
Whether it would sell or not is another matter entirely.
But to pretend that it would be too complex, or make it harder for consumers to use, is pure BS.
What I would like to see, realistically speaking though:
- Pretty much vx ace with all thefixes and extra jazz that yanfly scripts do, native to the engine.
Specifically, common events to buttons, common events to tiles, casting animations, and state animations
- Pathfinder built in
- more options for enemy AI.
- More event calls for changing things in the database, like the ability to change sound effects, music beyond battle themes, and the various names and terms, like changing the name of gold etc.
- Slightly higher native resolution(640*480)
- Custom options for the title screen, as in specific unique sound effects for new game etc.
- Better keyboard support.
- Better message box options, like choosing what side the portrait appears on, showing two portraits at the same time etc
- Native font change support,so new fonts appear when you test message boxes in the editor
- effects for show picture command, like fade in/fade out.
- After battle, but pre-scene event options, so for instance I can change character sprites upon entering battle and have them change back after, before the scene fades in.
- More options for battle event conditionals, like upon death of certain/all enemies, MP%, state of one enemy effecting behavior of another, enemy A has low MP, so enemy B charges enemy A.
- native fog support.
- Native parallax map support, so that one can easily have a scrolling layer at the bottom(like the sky) and have a non-scrolling layer on top (the actual map).
- better inventory set up(the option to have several inventories etc)
- Event detection system.
Before someone goes "there are scripts for these", allow me to say -
Scripts often have bugs and compatibility issues. They are not optimal solutions to needs that could and should have been covered to begin with when you consider how necessary and useful they are.
The more you have to work with out of the box, the less you need to rely on scripts, and the more time and effort can be invested into the heavy mechanics that require heavy duty scripting like battle systems, platforming systems etc.
And, it's not like most of the features I've mentioned can't be added with minimum effort, for a negligible cost anyways, since they are possible to add using scripts made by the userbase.
Not having these features in a new release natively, would be laziness IMO.
