To Member+ or Not To. (and my other questions about groups and names)

[Scinaya]

I think it is partly, since the official forums launched about the same time as Ace came out. There was people in here only with invite for a a month or so, before forums were opened for everyone. Preorder bonus included that invitation.

And who knows, if there is more of preorder badges given, if/when next version arrives?

And oh, hey! Welcome to the forums! XD

 

[starlord]

Thanks, but actually its been more than a year since I joined the forums.. Have they released a possible date for the next version? Or possibly even a hint?

 

[Andar]

No, there is no known ETA for the next version - and personally, I believe that it will be some time before the next version comes out.


Enterbrain is currently working on a converter to enable RM-Games for mobile devices (the first game has been converted as part of an alpha-test or so, they haven't reached a stage for a public beta even) - I don't think that they have enough programmers to work on that and a next version at the same time, and it would not make any sense to release a converter for Ace when the next RM is already in the works.


So I expect them to start on the next version only after the converter is finished, which means it'll be a minimum of two years to the next maker in my opinion.

 

[starlord]

That's a lot of time.. But I think the waiting will be worth it..

 

[Clord]

No, there is no known ETA for the next version - and personally, I believe that it will be some time before the next version comes out.


Enterbrain is currently working on a converter to enable RM-Games for mobile devices (the first game has been converted as part of an alpha-test or so, they haven't reached a stage for a public beta even) - I don't think that they have enough programmers to work on that and a next version at the same time, and it would not make any sense to release a converter for Ace when the next RM is already in the works.


So I expect them to start on the next version only after the converter is finished, which means it'll be a minimum of two years to the next maker in my opinion.

Or they make it to be a feature for the next RPG Maker for PC. To be honest, that thing is so hush hush that they might have scrapped it already.

 

[Galenmereth]

The converter is definitely not scrapped, but it's never been said that it will be released as a commercial product. So far it's only been used by internal teams working together with external developers to convert their games. It might very well be a feature built into the next RPG Maker, however. It should be

 

[whitesphere]

I imagine, to say the VERY last, the converter is a difficult task.  Not just to make an interpreter, but to make sure everything works smoothly on a huge variety of Android hardware platforms.  The developer of Undefeated (the one game so far ported to Android) has said that even custom scripts need to be modified to work with the converter.  So it's not a simple "Push a button and out pops an APK"  I'd imagine said developer ends up with two nearly independent games.

So I'm 100% sure it's not dead, but I'm 100% sure it will take them quite a few months to work out the kinks in the converter.  And, even then, it sounds like game developers will need to customize their scripts/etc to work well in the mobile environment.

But I agree, I'd love to see built-in Mobile support in the next RPG Maker, whenever it comes out. 

Personally, as a developer (not associated with Enterbrain), I imagine Andar is being optimistic about the 2 year timeline, since the not-yet-even-in-public-beta converter probably will occupy all of Enterbrain developer's time until it's perfected and for a few months afterwards as they work out more kinks with other end user's games.   I'm sure they want the converter to be as high quality and easy to use as possible before they release it to the public, even as an early beta.  And that is no small task.

 

[markjacks]

For sure, I think everyone would be waiting for this. The day will come for sure. 

 

[amerk]

I imagine, to say the VERY last, the converter is a difficult task.  Not just to make an interpreter, but to make sure everything works smoothly on a huge variety of Android hardware platforms.  The developer of Undefeated (the one game so far ported to Android) has said that even custom scripts need to be modified to work with the converter.  So it's not a simple "Push a button and out pops an APK"  I'd imagine said developer ends up with two nearly independent games.

So I'm 100% sure it's not dead, but I'm 100% sure it will take them quite a few months to work out the kinks in the converter.  And, even then, it sounds like game developers will need to customize their scripts/etc to work well in the mobile environment.

But I agree, I'd love to see built-in Mobile support in the next RPG Maker, whenever it comes out. 

Personally, as a developer (not associated with Enterbrain), I imagine Andar is being optimistic about the 2 year timeline, since the not-yet-even-in-public-beta converter probably will occupy all of Enterbrain developer's time until it's perfected and for a few months afterwards as they work out more kinks with other end user's games.   I'm sure they want the converter to be as high quality and easy to use as possible before they release it to the public, even as an early beta.  And that is no small task.

I'm agreeing with this entire post. Even if a feature allowing converting options were included, I doubt it will ever be a plug, push, and play option. It's probably going to be an advanced feature, and people are either going to need scripting knowledge extending beyond RGSS#, or they're going to need to hire somebody with the expertise.

While I'm certain that parts of scripts can be auto translated, I doubt they can be entirely translated without any kind of effort. I'd even venture far enough to say the day we can covert between multiple program languages with the push of a button is the day we would see flawless MP3 to MIDI support (very doubtful either will ever happen).

We may hear of a new maker in the next couple years, but probably won't see anything for at least another 3 years, possibly 4. As you said:

they want the converter to be as high quality and easy to use as possible before they release it to the public, even as an early beta.

They have a lot riding on this. If they release a half-assed tool, this could discourage people from investing further into RPG Maker. At the same time, people are getting tired of sitting around with little to no news. Me personally, I don't really care either way. I love what the maker does for me, but I'm also not invested into its commercial capabilities, and probably never will be, outside of wanting it for other commercial developers I plan to buy games from. Having recently shifted my attention towards tablets and my new Kindle Fire HD, I'd love to start seeing RPG Maker games become available for these devices.