What do you think the next Standalone version of rpg maker will be?

[TheAM-Dol]

I’d really like to see more native audio features.

Not even native support for positional audio through like audio emitters...and RM's whole event ethose lends itself to audio emitters. How has it not had native support!?!

 

[Dalph]

RPG Maker BHM (Balloon Head Max)

 

[123edc]

XP - 2004
VX - 2007
VXAce - 2011
MV - 2015
MZ - 2020

unite 2022/2023
with 2024 ...
to be continued,

the question is ... will they stick to established rythms, or will they dive into an accelerate loop ... after all, our world doesn't get slower and competition don't sleep ...

and considering, that mz now also is already nearly 3-4 years old ...

 

[Ms Littlefish]

Handheld/console ones have kinda trickled in between the PC releases but I don’t think they’re widely considered the core series anymore, so I didn’t include them. Unite is kinda the only outlier because it’s just…different? But, the Unite store page mentions it’s not a successor to MZ. As far as whether it’s an offshoot might be a dose of copium tho. We’ll see.

 

[Arthran]

Realistically, can we even say for sure that there's going to *be* a new standalone version of RPG Maker?

I don't wanna be a downer, but considering that about 70% of the community haven't even upgraded to MZ yet, and considering how costly the Unite debacle probably was, I wouldn't be super surprised if there is little budget for or interest in making a legit new release.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

The thought has absolutely crossed my mind…
But, y’know, trying not to speculate on thin air just yet. It definitely seems like an option tho. XD

 

[123edc]

yeah, but the thingy with mz was/is kinda the question,
of what real benefit it provides towards mv ... especially considerin the plugin/pricing perspective of it

the same thing kinde hunt's unite to,
at first (before i knew of all the bugs and legs) i was realy looking forward to it ...

but 100€ + 20% tax + character dlc1, character dlc2, character dlc3 and even half of the soundtrack outsourced towards dlc kinda ruined the deal for me from the start ...

the cost / what we get for it balance just get's more and more out of proportion nowadays ...

 

[TheRealFame]

Hmmm.. I don't think their abandoning 2d just yet.. Maybe we'll see a rpg maker with the focus on replicating what rpg paper maker is doing right now? There isn't much else to add to the engine anymore, Besides coming back to help the developers backing them with their games.

 

[Andar]

All companies need to get products out to get money in, or they won't survive.
And I read somewhere that GGG is currently workingg on a console/handheld release.

I suspect that after that one (which would already have been in planning during Unite-work) they'll get back to PC-based, it would fit their general schedule.

That said, what the next PC-based version contains will depend on what they blame for the Unite-desaster.
If they decide they were too ambitious then they might decide to go back to the basics and make a version with only gradual improvement from MZ.
If they decide it was the Unity codebase on the other hand, they might decide to try to get all the new features that were planned in Unite to work with the regular standalone.

But it will also depend on what kind of money they can still get - the Unite fiasco can't have been good for their cash reserves and reputation for delivering programs to publishers.
And if they don't get enough money to afford a big reprogramming of the PC-based engines...

 

[nio kasgami]

Handheld/console ones have kinda trickled in between the PC releases but I don’t think they’re widely considered the core series anymore, so I didn’t include them. Unite is kinda the only outlier because it’s just…different? But, the Unite store page mentions it’s not a successor to MZ. As far as whether it’s an offshoot might be a dose of copium tho. We’ll see.

Audio could be very interesting tbh! Also yes Unite was a Sister engine and not an official one. it was mainly an experiment to see with unity but with the whole Unity fiasco it aint gonna work.


My big issue rn is that rpg maker mindset is <simple enough for beginner and powerfull enough for developper>
which while it is useful, it limit the range of what they can do. if they want to attract customer or ancient user they will have to innovate more. Unite features was actually quite the innovations (parrallax mapping, auto balancing, UI editting in game (even if it was wonky). they just didnt deliver well because they didnt understood the nature of C# and unity well.

They will have to actually push for the next RM. because one thing many people mistaken : Any serious developper don<t mind if the next iterations will break our project if its mean they pushed a lots of breaking change that matters.

lets say they rewrite the entire codebase to be more performant. Yes it break previous game BUT allows lets say for nicer workflow for plugin devs. More tools that helps us plugin dev. or even MORE tools that helps the artist (such as unlimited frame, State machine , parrallax) if they push those features which YES will break previous project, but make our experiences easier then it is fine.


I honestly find annoying the mindset that every rm has to be somewhat <backward> compatible with the previous one. (at least programming wise)

Art wise it shouldnt matter if they allowed custom size of most thing in the system which they somewhat fixed with the multi tileset size support in MZ.


speaking of State machine...I am surprised they didnt implement that since state machine are kinda stapple when it comes to game dev learning...and are actually fairly easy to create.

 

[AquaEcho]

I honestly find annoying the mindset that every rm has to be somewhat <backward> compatible with the previous one. (at least programming wise)

It doesn't necessarily have to be if the RPG Maker core engine was strong enough to stand on its own without any third party support/plugins/assets. Without any backwards compatibility all of that would have to be rebuilt or ported to the new engine which would take years. One of the advantages of MV over MZ is it has way more plugins, and it's considerably cheaper.

So the new engine would have an uphill battle convincing users and plugin devs to move over to the new engine while also costing more.

 

[Poryg]

There are three options.

1. we're not going to see a new rpg maker.
It would make sense with the flop of RM Unite. But I don't see that as very likely.

2. we're going to see a major overhaul.
It would be nice to finally have a modern engine, but given how little RPG maker has changed since XP, I don't see it as very likely.

3. we're going to see a minor upgrade to MZ
I see this as the most likely option, given the history of it already happening. A new engine, potentially in a new language, with minor upgrades it should've had years ago, and an increased price tag.

Either way, I don't think RPG maker is going to do as well as it did in its VXAce or MV days.

 

[AquaEcho]

They should lean hard into the "So easy anyone can use" pitch and make a lot more WYSIWYG features in the editor. Features similar to those in SRD HUDMaker or Triacontane's GraphicalDesignMode should be built in, especially since Triacontane already makes official plugins. I mean, how many threads do we have asking how to customize menus?

Add Picture Common Events or picture collision built in without a plugin. Make it so you can highlight a path of tiles on the screen and it automatically generates a move route sequence for you.

 

[Storyteller-Hero]

I think that the next RPG Maker won't be coming for at least another 3-4 years, with focus being placed on selling DLC and adding functionalities to MZ.

The next RM will probably have increased capacities as a result of the average capabilities of computers growing every year. Larger max limits in databases, larger maps, etc.

 

[nio kasgami]

I think that the next RPG Maker won't be coming for at least another 3-4 years, with focus being placed on selling DLC and adding functionalities to MZ.

The next RM will probably have increased capacities as a result of the average capabilities of computers growing every year. Larger max limits in databases, larger maps, etc.

which u wrong they always release an new rpg maker every 5 years (main standalone) so we are actually already at 4 years mark which mean in the summer of 2024 we will prob get an announcement.
Not that it will prob be announced here as I dont know if this forum will cover / support the next iterations of the rpg maker.

 

[BubblegumPatty]

I feel like we haven't seen the last of RPGmaker, but I don't think we're getting a new mainline one anytime soon. Between the Unite debacle and the fact that even MV is still getting regular DLC releases (albeit ones shared with MZ) I don't see them in any rush to make a new entry.
As for features I think they'll add, I'm blanking. I'm sure there's plenty of lil QoL tweaks they can throw in.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

I think someone has suggested here in these forums that a future (2D) RPG Maker could or should support ARPG (action RPG) games like the Kingdom Hearts series.

I think such would be a great idea. Or, at least I would really want such. I also like the ability to create hybrid RPGs, like the Final Fantasy VII Remake. And other similar/related RPG functionalities.

But how would they implement it? Should such still go to a different map and you can move the character? Will it be a 64x64p (pixels) character like in RPG Maker MV and RPG Maker MZ? Or will they let you be on the world map with a 64x64p character?

If it will be on the world map, can they allow both 2D and 3D maps? For 3D environment/objects, a basic 3D functionality with non-complex 3D objects like trees, boxes, and treasure chests, like RPG Paper Maker. Complex ones would be like the "high-polygon" 3D ones, like human and non-human ones. Such would be too much. But regular ones like low-polygon ones might be doable.

I find such features in an RPG Maker a compelling reason to purchase it.

 

[AquaEcho]

There are already ARPG plugins like ChronoEngine or map projectile plugins like Galv's one, I don't see more than 10 percent of the userbase here using them.

Also I don't know if RPG Maker is the best engine for it. ARPGs can have a lot of processes happening simultaenously: checking for button inputs, multiple battlers moving or attacking at once, updating states, HP changes, etc. Being single threaded means commands can get lost in a mess of simultaneous commands.

 

[SGHarlekin]

There are multiple maker engines for this I feel like. Pixel Game maker for example does top down or sidescroller action games. I kinda doubt RM will ever do anything else but turn based by default.

 

[Vati]

If they just added less rigid ways to customize and build game menus and other UI, I'd be ecstatic... that's pretty much all I'd need to want to upgrade, haha. Something more wysiwyg as mentioned above would be great overall, while otherwise keeping things simple as they are.

As for how likely it is or when it might happen, I have no idea.