Which can help the game PAID or FREE Plugins ?

[MrDaisy]

Hello, it has been a long time since i posted, i used to try build my game around vxace, but i stopped until MV was released and than stopped again due to real life matters,

now i came back and found that MZ was released,
so i was thinking of switching to MZ but some of what i wanted back in MV is not released to MZ

also found out that creator who i used to follow for plugins switched to paid plugins, so what i have is outdated

do people\player look at the game based on plugins and designs.. ofc paid plugins appear to be better, but to pay more than the software price is a bit insane to me..

should i consider buying full set of plugins and customize it at my own (graphic wise only) or should i just use the engine default and use few free plugins ?

Best Regards,

 

[ShadowDragon]

to use free or paid plugins is totally up to you.
some people create games for free with paid plugins, but with donation
to pay them (if it's good, great, awesome, supportive etc).

however you approach it, is up to you, I look for a good story, not which
plugins are used to create the game.

as long it's in my genre (adventure, puzzle, action) and optional a good story,
I'm always in for a game to play.

you can also keep beta testers small and sell your game, but it depends
how you built it and worth it

I would say, Follow your heart, that's the only thing that is right.

it's a dutch saying, and a raw translation =) but it's true

 

[Dopan]

the plugins you use depend on what you want to build into your game..
And MV has a lot of free plugins..
But if there is something you want in your game what only a paid plugin can do than just buy it..

I would not recommend to buy all kind of stuff if you dont know , that you need it .. so first figure out what you need and if the plugins you want to use are compatibel with each other..

 

[Milennin]

If you can get by using free plugins, no reason not to use them. If you need a plugin for something that isn't too big and specific to your project, you can always try to request a free plugin first and have a small chance someone will do it.
Get paid plugins, if you want something custom made, and if you're willing to pay for that.

 

[Shaz]

Players don't know whether your plugins were free or paid for. They might not even know that you USED plugins.

You should not have ANY plugin - free OR paid - unless your game needs it and you can't do it without the plugin (or can't do it easily). If the plugin you need happens to be paid, then the decision comes down to whether you can afford it and how badly you need it.

 

[TheoAllen]

do people\player look at the game based on plugins and design

No, but that depends on If you market your game to fellow RPG Maker dev or complete commoners. Because some people when you know what plugin/engine you use, just think "Yeah this is Yanfly's game all over again" or "This is just another RM game". That way, they could think that your game is just an asset flip without even trying.

ofc paid plugins appear to be better, but to pay more than the software price is a bit insane to me..

At least for a paid plugin, you're entitled to ask for support.

should i consider buying full set of plugins and customize it at my own (graphic wise only) or should i just use the engine default and use few free plugins ?

You can mix both.

 

[AccolourChris]

Hello, it has been a long time since i posted, i used to try build my game around vxace, but i stopped until MV was released and than stopped again due to real life matters,

now i came back and found that MZ was released,
so i was thinking of switching to MZ but some of what i wanted back in MV is not released to MZ

also found out that creator who i used to follow for plugins switched to paid plugins, so what i have is outdated

do people\player look at the game based on plugins and designs.. ofc paid plugins appear to be better, but to pay more than the software price is a bit insane to me..

should i consider buying full set of plugins and customize it at my own (graphic wise only) or should i just use the engine default and use few free plugins ?

Best Regards,

I would think it wouldn't matter too much. From what I understand from the community they just like to see what story you will bring to the table, not so much what mechanics they can use from a plugin. I've played quite a few RPG Maker Games over my previous time and my new time here and can say I've never thought about it. Now if you are trying to shoot for a commercial project it might help to have these added features into your game, but if you are trying to sell to the community they will know it's a plugin so it doesn't matter.

I would say just use things that help make your game more fun and worry less about how you can appeal to a wide audience ^.^

 

[KrimsonKatt]

You basically need plugins to use RPG Maker to it's fullest potential. It's a sad reality of the engine, but sadly the developers (KADOKAWA, Dediga, the publisher, is cool with me) are really lazy and scummy and refuse to add in all the features people want so plugins wouldn't be required anymore. They basically make the community develop the engine for them, since they're too lazy to do it themselves. I'm guessing with your post you're talking about Yanfly, in which I'm sorry, but unless you want to make your own plugins using Javascript you need to pay up. It's $30 for all his MV plugins which is a fully complete package, a pretty reasonable price, but for MZ it's much higher, $100 total for all his past and future plugins. However, the MZ plugin library is not yet complete, with only 5 out of 10 waves completed and wave 6 currently in production. However, if you buy the current $100 pack, you will gain access to all previous and future plugins which includes every plugin previously released for MV plus a ton of new highly requested ones like Persona and Bravely Default battle system plugins. Another option is buying the $30 MV plugin pack and porting the plugins yourself to MZ for your own personal use. That comes with the drawback of not having thr new plugins, but it is a sacrifice you could be willing to make if you don't have money to spare and known a good amount of Javascript. However, you cannot release those ported plugins publicly, as you would be breaking the visuastella TOS. (Yanfly rebranded as Visuastella shortly before MZ released) To makes things a bit more simple these are your options, which in short include:

1: Buying the MV plugins for $30 and using them in MV
2: Buying the MZ plugins for $100 and using them in MZ
3: Buying the MV plugins for $30 and then porting them yourself to MZ
4: <snip> - removed by moderator
5: Learn JavaScript and make your own plugins, either publicly releasing them or keeping them to yourself. (Yanfly is known for being extremely harsh with DMCA and lawsuits if you copy the concept of his plugins, so be careful.)

It sucks now that pretty much all plugins are commercial so if you don't want to pay up you'll have to make your own, but that's capitalism for you. People like Yanfly found a demand for a product, and they exploited that demand for profit once they realized that it could be profitable. Sucks to be you I guess.

 

[Zeriab]

Plugins may help you achieve what you want with your game.
Be careful not to focus too much on plugins. Adding plugins and playing around with plugins can be fun, but there is a risk that you loose sight of your game. This can end up hurting your game.

do people\player look at the game based on plugins and designs.. ofc paid plugins appear to be better, but to pay more than the software price is a bit insane to me..

The price of RPG Maker MZ is an irrelevant factor. What you need to consider is whether the value the plugins provide to you is worth their price. Make sure you can afford to spend the money as well. Personally, I find the concept that the price of plugin must be restricted by the price of RMMZ to be a bit insane.

There is also the path of commissioning scripters for writing custom plugins specifically for your game. Expect the price to be higher than when buying paid plugins.

It sucks now that pretty much all plugins are commercial so if you don't want to pay up you'll have to make your own, but that's capitalism for you. People like Yanfly found a demand for a product, and they exploited that demand for profit once they realized that it could be profitable. Sucks to be you I guess.

Important lesson here: Be critical of what you read. There is a risk that what's written is wrong or misleading. This includes my message as well.
Specifically for the contents in the quote I would argue that there is a wealth of free plugins for MZ. There are also nice Japanese plugins. I think determining which is for MZ can be a bit difficult.

*hugs*
- Zeriab

 

[MrDaisy]

First i would like to thank all of you for replying,,
i will cut this short, you guys opened my eye a bit more on what to do from here, which will help me.
so i decided to start a fresh project and take it slow with developing, and one of my most loved creator ( Mog ) i like his plugins because its easy to edit graphics, and its straightforward,

also i plan to check the japanese plugins,

i will not use plugins unless they are truly needed, for example Quest Tracker or something that can not be done by events or if statements,

and i am planning to move to MZ, because it does have few extras which i need.
i am do write my own novel, so my game will be based on it.
i wont mind using available characters graphics within MZ or use even old graphics from MV or vxace

i still have all my resources saved..

so i will take it slow,
and i hope you guys give it a shot when i release beta of the first 2 chapters (prologue & Chapter 1)

Thank you again,

happy RPG Making/Playing

 

[Ksi]

There are literally hundreds and thousands of games made in RPG Maker that never needed a plugin to be made. Some of these are the best games you can find from the lot. Things that have won prizes in competitions (like the IGMC) or just been lauded as Great ****ing Games.

Plugins make things easier, yes, but they don't make or break a game. Eventing is hella powerful on its own. I've seen marvels made with just events - 3D platform systems, custom battle and menu systems, side scrolling shooters and all manner of interesting gameplay aspects.

If you find yourself unable to 'bring out the full potential' of your game without using plugins, that's your own lack of ability, not the engine's. You do not need plugins to make a truly great game. They cut down on a lot of the eventing you have to do, yes, but usually ask that you do other work to make up for that. They can be a bit more flexible and easier if you're after a general system but you're going to have to do some editing and fixing if you want them to be more specific and defined for your game instead of a cookie-cutter slap-in that everyone else has.

I would say that Plugins help your game development go faster if you're just doing something general but if you want a finer touch and more control over the various aspects of the game (something that most people don't even bother with because they get lazy about it) then you're going to have to work just as hard, if not harder, than you would if you tried to do the same thing with eventing.

The issue is that a lot of people are just plain lazy. They pick this up as a hobby and don't care enough to learn how to make their own plugins so they tend to just slap and play and leave things default. Believe me, I've played thousands of RM games and there's a hell of a lot of people who just slap in a plugin they wanted and call it a day.

That's not bringing out the full potential. I would hazard that those who bring out the full potential make use of everything the engine has to offer and don't just rely on plugins to make their game.


All that aside, pay the damn people for giving you easy-to-use content for your lazy game-making endeavours. They deserve it for the work they do. You wouldn't tell someone who was adding Quality of Life upgrades to your house that they're charging too much money for the new voice-activated components. You'd either decide you don't need them or pony up, so don't act like paying someone to make your game dev life 'easier' is a huge chore.

The fact that you consider plugins to be essential to your game development means you should be ****ing paying for them! You want a fridge in your house, you pay for that ****. You want an engine in your car, you pay for it. You want plugins in your engine? Get out your wallets and ****ing pay for it!

 

[Reinarc]

Echoing some of what has been said, no average gamer is going to know if you used plugins. If you want your game to have any chance of standing out, though, you’re probably going to have to use them.

While I agree RPG Maker has been stagnant in its growth for the price they’re charging, I don’t think it’s fair to blame plugin developers. Never do something you’re good at for free! I have major respect for Yanfly and his team, as they’ve helped someone like me with no coding experience create a game I could never make without them. This goes out to other plugin writers, too.

To be honest, I’m shocked Yanfly had his MV plugins available for free. That’s a ton of work!

Back to the topic. There are plenty of free plugins. Just have to do a little digging.

 

[TheouAegis]

Nice question, you are asking the same thing as, which can help you to move from your house to your school, your legs or a motorbike. Assume the school is 30 kilometers afar, paid plugins are like that cool motorbike which will cost you quite a bit however it will save you from walking to your school on your own legs for hours FOR EVERYDAY.