Suggestions for the next RPG Maker

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

That would be nice to have that by default I think. would probably be useful for a lot of people


Another thing, maybe an in-engine method to change the game icon. It really should have been there.

 

[Zoltor]

Yea, definitely.

Yea, that would be kind of cool, this way people can model the icon off their game they made, instead of it having some obscure dragon head icon.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Well, you can change it right now via hacks, and EB doesn't take actions for that specific hack, but it's better to do it "legally" right? XD...


IDK if other people share my sentiment, but it seems I've grown accustomed to the console. So maybe have a settings, in-rgss-player this time, to open the console during the game. Plus allowing the maker to set the default value (whether it's shown or not). It could be helpful for showing info for the players, especially for when you're releasing test versions

 

[Zoltor]

Well, you can change it right now via hacks, and EB doesn't take actions for that specific hack, but it's better to do it "legally" right? XD...

IDK if other people share my sentiment, but it seems I've grown accustomed to the console. So maybe have a settings, in-rgss-player this time, to open the console during the game. Plus allowing the maker to set the default value (whether it's shown or not). It could be helpful for showing info for the players, especially for when you're releasing test versions

Ok(yea come to think of it, I've seen some games that changed such), and yea ofcourse.  People shouldn't have to use a hack for something like that anyway, It's silly(EB should just have a option for such lol).

 

[West Mains]

I don't know if its been said, but the program seriously needs a window to draw sprites in. It's a little annoying downloading an entirely seperate program just to change something properly. Just a little Edit Sprites... button to get a close-up pixel-view to be able to change things (or draw off of a blank model .

Would help instill a sense of trying to create things one's self rather than using the (frankly awesome) character generator. Equally this would be available to use on tilesets too. That way even the most basic noobie can do a simple colour swap to add some flair to things.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I beg to disagree with this statement. It's already easy to do that with other Free programs out there. I believe the underlying reason as to why people still don't do it, is not simply because the program doesn't come with it's own graphics editor... it must be more than that...

 

[Caustic]

I beg to disagree with this statement. It's already easy to do that with other Free programs out there. I believe the underlying reason as to why people still don't do it, is not simply because the program doesn't come with it's own graphics editor... it must be more than that...

Rampant laziness?

 

[Rukiri]

The Only thing I care for physical copies is Movies "Sorry, you want to stream 4K content?.. no didn't think so", Music"Prefer Vinyl to digital", and Video Games.  But when it comes to software I'd rather just buy the digital version, if you're buying from a large company they're not going anywhere over night.  Unless you console game, physical copies aren't much either unless there's pre-order gifts.  

Physical Copies for PC/Mac software is just gone, I bought VX Ace when it first came out and still have the Japanese box as some of the games were fun that game with it, I did use a translation patch though  

The Physical medium will probably only last for Music, and Movies because of storage or technology.  Since 4K is here "for the few of us" we will be seeing lossless video formats and compression will just be out of the picture thus making the file extremely large.  A Compressed movie is around 50Gbs, a raw file is 2-3X that.   A 4K movie is 4X a regular 1080p movie due to resolution and needed bandwidth/storage.

But software?  Nobodies going out and buying physical software anymore, those days literally died a decade ago.  They're around but it's a farcry from years past. 

 

[Zoltor]

I don't know if its been said, but the program seriously needs a window to draw sprites in. It's a little annoying downloading an entirely seperate program just to change something properly. Just a little Edit Sprites... button to get a close-up pixel-view to be able to change things (or draw off of a blank model .

Would help instill a sense of trying to create things one's self rather than using the (frankly awesome) character generator. Equally this would be available to use on tilesets too. That way even the most basic noobie can do a simple colour swap to add some flair to things.

That's not a easy thing to add, that's like adding an entire new program in it, It's not as simple as you would need. If It's as basic as MS pain, what's the point, and it would have to be a pretty versatile setup for people to use it.

Frankly that's one thing we're better off just using a independent art program for.

You don't even need the full version of the better art programs to do wonders, so It's very cheap to get a art program to fit your editing/custom art needs anyway. Paying a little bit extra money for a separate program is better then having a half assed art program stuffed into the RPG Maker program(no doubt raising the price of such as well, which would suck, especually since the odds that the art program would be worth using, would most likely be close to nill. Nevermind the fact anyone interested in such things like game development, are very likely to already have a good art program).

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

@Ruki - a single compressed 4K will be that big? Oh crap. yeah, that will be better off in physical discs... XD


@Caustic - yeah, + maybe inherent fear of art? Just like how a lot of beginners and seasoned folks alike have inherent fear for scripts...


@Zoltor - yeah, Paint.net and GIMP are nice easy to use but powerful, FREE image editing programs


Plus another thing with an external image editor, it will likely be getting updated every now and then. Likelihood of that for an in-engine editor? Maybe close to nil. Even the engine itself doesn't get updated that much, it's been out for years and what do we have? 1.02

 

[Caustic]

@Zoltor: As Shana noted, Paint.net & GIMP. I mostly use GIMP in place of Photoshop *if only because my "copy" isn't strictly legalCOUGHCOUGHHMMMM* Also, Inkscape, for when you want to do actual drawing and vector art instead of photo-manip/sprites ( which I would assume to be great for static battler art & backgrounds ).

@Shana: In about a decade or so (probably less even), 50GB will be about what 512MB was 7~10 years ago. And how DVD rips used to take up 50~90% of a person's hard drive and would have taken hours to days to download on the fastest connections. It's just the "natural" progression of technological things.

Also, I figured as much XD

Though at least with art there's templates to work off of built into the RTP. To be perfectly honest, sprites and sprite art only takes a steady hand (whether you're using a mouse or touch pad) and an idea of what you want the end product to look like; 'laxes and backgrounds take longer, but still, it's generally the same idea - if you get desperate trying to make a skyline, copy a photo of NYC, trace it out, move some buildings around (and change a few to avoid copyrights and that silliness) and voila.

Coding... not so much, at least in my opinion :\

Not everyone learned to program in elementary, or even Jr/high school - I didn't really "get it" until a few years ago. To be honest though, it really should be a requirement alongside English (or language of choice) and mathematics by this point. At the very least, Java and HTML 5 should be basic curriculum, not extracurricular/AP/college-level studies.

 

[Tai_MT]

You know why I don't have a bunch of custom art I've created?

1.  I can't draw for crap.

2.  It's frankly quite confusing to me to even learn how do it in a simple Paint program.

3.  Trying to remember all the default sizes and such for everything in the program is frankly a pain in the rear on top of everything else you need to remember.

4.  People are already too highly critical of art styles and designs anyway, so I see no point in trying to excel in this area.  When games like Gears of War are praised for their graphics, you can see how it'd be hard to care what your graphics look like as a rank amateur.

As for the option to have these things in RPG Maker itself...  I think I'd rather have them as separate "Add On" programs that were "Official".  I wouldn't mind spending another $20 for a program that allows me to rework graphics and sprites and maybe came with some extra artwork that other programs don't.

 

[Black Vodka]

More layers. Please.

How about 10 layers??

20!

 

[Sharm]

I really hate the idea of an in system graphic editor.  Sure if you just want to tweak one thing and get back to testing it seems like it'd be nice but everywhere I've seen it implemented the result has less functionality than MS Paint and causes some pretty significant lag in the maker while you're trying to work with anything, even if it's not art.  Yeah, it's nice to have a screwdriver on a swiss knife but when you're building a house you want a real screwdriver and don't use the swiss knife at all.
 
Tai_MT, I think this video might be relevant.

 

[Zoltor]

I really hate the idea of an in system graphic editor.  Sure if you just want to tweak one thing and get back to testing it seems like it'd be nice but everywhere I've seen it implemented the result has less functionality than MS Paint and causes some pretty significant lag in the maker while you're trying to work with anything, even if it's not art.  Yeah, it's nice to have a screwdriver on a swiss knife but when you're building a house you want a real screwdriver and don't use the swiss knife at all.

Tai_MT, I think this video might be relevant.

^This lol.

 

[Zeriab]

I suggest they fix the F12 for real this time, and more importantly give the choice to disable that "feature".

If both are not possible then removing the F12 reset is without a doubt preferable. I mean, by a lot.

*hugs*

 

[Tai_MT]

Hey, I can appreciate bombed out hell holes full of debris and destruction...  It's just that...  I'm pretty sure such a thing wouldn't consist of only poop brown and gunmetal grey.  I mean, there are buildings made of red brick, or painted other colors...  Dead grass can be yellow.  I'm not asking for rainbows...  But "realistic graphics" shouldn't translate to "myriad of browns and greys without anything else!".  I've played a ton of games, and by far the worst graphics I've ever seen were in games like Fallout 3 and the Gears of War Franchise.  Nothing really pops out in those games in terms of looks.  They're just bland blah random garbage that looks the same as any other piece of random garbage.  May as well be the old NES indecipherable pixel glitches that signified you need to blow in the cartridge.  Yet, these games are hailed as some of the most "graphically pleasing" during their times of release and even after that.  Even with terrible looking water, lighting, and character models.

But, that's just my two cents.  Because of that belief, I don't invest much time or interest into "graphics" as a whole.  A real gamer doesn't need pretty graphics to enjoy your game.  A real gamer just needs to be having fun.  After all, isn't that what Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress have taught the world?  Graphics are overrated when gameplay is deep and engaging.

 

[Sharm]

Well, I'm totally with you, GoW has ugly aesthetics and Minecraft has a much more interesting one, but pleasing graphics are an essential part of a good aesthetic.  A good aesthetic can make a surprising difference on how engaging your game is.  This is a total derail of subject though, might make an interesting in depth discussion in the GD forum if you want to keep talking about it.

I would be really happy if I had a little more control over the tiling rules.  This tile isn't transparent but the one right next to it is and only tiles well with the one in this other specific position and it's all a mess!  I would much rather have a few more layers in which I could decide what went where and be able to push a button to move a mapped tile up or down the layer stack.  Oh, and I would love to say something is a counter without it completely changing the tiling rules to something bizarre and nearly unusable.

 

[2d_quest]

events with different sized collision areas

            -probably multiples of 32 considering the way RM works.

             (eg.  32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256)

          -useful for town entrances, exits, and large monster sprites.

-its pretty odd that the large doors only have one 32 by 32 collision space even though the door is larger in both directions.

-especially needed if RM starts allowing different resolutions, though it would still be useful without that.

 

[Rukiri]

Seriously, why is there a layer limit to begin with? The only thing you need is Map View, and Event View.  You should be able to add as much layers as possible and obviously you would then need to create your layers accordingly.  Almost no tile editor even has layer limitation anymore, it was only a limit 19 years ago do to hardware limitations and I'm sure ascii based everything on what the average person has not someone like me who buys server grade hardware for reliability.  There's having the fastest but there's also having the most reliable, nothing says more awesomeness like 2 CPUs!

Enterbrain really does need to release a universal type of engine, you code it, here's RGSS4, go at it!  Honestly I actually found parts of Action/Indie Game Maker quite useful but that lack of actually eventing/programming the game drove me nuts!  Seriously not only giving IGM Rpg Makers event system, RGSS4 or better yet javascript, python, boo, or lua would make the engine very compelling for 2D games!  I do believe particles are needed in games but instead of just having an editor just make an api for it and let the developer of the game control how his/her particles should work.  Yes, most modern engines even Unreal and Cryengine have particle editors, but that's in a 3D space, 2D is where Enterbrain should focus.   I do believe Enterbrain put more thought into RPG Maker than Mark did in Game Maker however, Game Maker has none of the limitations that RPG Maker has and one of the big ones is the Map editor it's free aspect!  But it does allow you to change the tile size on demand, While tilesets are standard at 32x32 no reason to lock it down and having to rewrite a large portion of the tilemap in RGSS just to change a few dimensions!  This should be something the user can change, heck IGM has it and because I personally think Ace is what VX should have been but missed the calling when it came to free aspect mapping. 

Also you guys should note Battle Animations, why isn't there an editor to animate your sprites the way you want to?  You can animate your battle animations the way you want but not the most import you characters movement animations!