I am reborn...

[Alcedes]

I was browsing the internet...looking for info about megman..and who did i stumble upon?

John Mora..I said..hey...i know that name...

I couldnt place where tho. Well I just bought a new entertainment center and when I was moving my old psx games to the new e center, i saw it...

RPG Maker....and i said...MORRY!


Well...I am back..Same old Alcedes for those of you who actually remember.



Anyways, I have been out of the RPGM phase for a while...but after running into Mora I am feeling a strong calling...I seem to remember having some unfinished business.

So, out of curiousity what are the advantages and disadvantages that come along with the RPGM2 and 3?

From reading the boards and stuff I think I have gathered that 2 is the most powerful of all but 3 is the most user friendly...but what about memory capabilities? have these been improved? What about number of switches and custom graphics? Spell design in RPGM1 was very limited...has this been improved? Should i just download some games and play them and see what i think of the 2 different engines and see which i think i would prefer designing with?

Most importantly, which version am i buying on my way home tonight? 2 or 3? Which would you reccommend and Why?

I know thats a flood of questions and for that i apologize.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Valkysas]

Re: I am reborn...

welcome back!

[Bon]

Re: I am reborn...

welcome back!

Shouldn't this be in Free Form?

Oh, and welcome back, dude.

[The Toecutter]

Re: I am reborn...

If you want to have the ability to make a game in 3-D, have near full control over setting, battles, and events via use of scripting, and even want to make some custom art, but with the downside of spending perhaps 20-30 hours for every 1 hour of gameplay, use RPGM2.

If you want everything including buildings pre-made, want to be able to put in 3 hours of gamemaking for every hour of gameplay, and are willing to deal with far more limitations than RPGM1 ever had, use RPGM3.




If I were you, I'd pick up RPGM2. But those are just my preferences.

[Perversion]

Re: I am reborn...

My first game on RPGM3 took about 200 hours to create and playtest, and equated to about 15-20 hours of playtime. So what Terr says is not necessarily accurate. However, I did spend about 10 minutes to make a garbage game that lasted 1 minute, so there's that, too. It really depends on how much effort you put into your scripting, and how complex it is.

[Ryner]

Re: I am reborn...

If you don't want to deal with limitations, and would rather just use the overall best product, buy RPG Maker XP.

[Red Dragon]

Re: I am reborn...

If you want a console RPG Maker don't get RPG Maker XP.

[Valkysas]

Re: I am reborn...

if you run vista, dont get XP, because it doesnt work on it.

[Alcedes]

Re: I am reborn...

What about memory limitations? RPGM1 had major limitations i know...like 500 switch max and stuff like that. How are the others with this problem?

[Manji]

Re: I am reborn...

RPGM2 gives you the most for your money. its pretty much endless in what it can do and the only limitations would be the graphics. memory wouldnt be a problem.

[ErikaFuzzbottom]

Re: I am reborn...

RPGM1 may have had memory limitations, but it at least gave you an option to extend it onto multiple memory cards. Neither RPGM2 or 3 do that. They both have a trick to extend games, but it's completley useless on RPGM2. And yet, you're a lot less likely to run out of memory on RPGM2. RPGM3 eats up memory faster than RPGM1.

As far as switches and the like goes RPGM2 has (I think, it's been a while) 500 switches and 500 variables. RPGM3 only has variables, but there are a lot of them.

Battle effects, RPGM2 has an incredibly powerful VFX editor. You are limited to what objects you can use in it, but there are plenty of them. RPGM3 is more limiting than RPGM1. You can't edit battle effects. At all. You can only use pre-made effects.

Battle mechanics, same scenario. RPGM2's battle system, items, and spells are very customizable, and RPGM3 is pathetic.

RPGM3 also has a stupid 100-people limit. That is to say, you can only have up to 100 people in your game, including party members, and you can't re-use any of them in different locations.

Graphics in both is once again pre-set. However, as far as scenery goes, you can do whatever you want with what you're given in RPGM2. In RPGM3, you can create an interesting field, but dungeons are limited to flat rooms with a little scenery and the occasional stairway to different levels, and towns are preset aside from buildings, objects, and people you place in them. Buildings are even more pre-set. I should also note that RPGM3's field editor requires a lot of trial and error, whereas you can preview the effects of RPGM2's map changes before confirming them. As a side-note, RPGM2's graphics are very cartoony (though you can alter colors to give it a darker mood), and RPGM3's graphics are restrictingly realistic. Neither game engines are perfect, as RPGM2 has a short draw distance and a blur, and RPGM3's framerate gets choppy if it has to render too many things onscreen at once (which isn't hard to do).

Neither games have anything like RPGM1's Anime Maker. But as said, RPGM2 has a powerful VFX editor, and that can even be used for outside of battle. You can also customize the colors of characters and enemies to a decent extent, such as skin color, shirt color, etc., to any color you want. Some models have such interesting color patterns that you can make it look completely different with the right colors. Objects and ground textures can have color changes as well, but in their cases you're only adding color to their default color, not changing their colors completely. RPGM3 is like RPGM1, where each character and monster (not objects!) has a small selection of alternate color choices. Almost all the character colors has a rediculous color scheme, and monsters don't have as many choices as characters. The largest monsters only have one color. It has no VFX editor to speak of, and in fact effects outside of battle are limited to flashing and shaking the skreen, and using a couple of warps.

RPGM2 is very difficult to learn, but you have a lot of options available to you. You can grab internal info such as enemy HP or character model numbers, have the player input text or button commands and use those however you want, you can move multiple people around at the same time, etc.. RPGM3, not as many options. In fact, you can't move people around at all. Unless you want your cutscenes to consist of nothing but people standing around and flailing their arms, you have to use the Storyteller feature, which uses static character portraits (of various styles, most of them not matching the character models) on a static image with a fairly decent amount of objects you can place onscreen.

I think that about covers it. Any questions?

[Valkysas]

Re: I am reborn...

you can also use the VFX editor in 2 to create your own objects and characters.

[The Toecutter]

Re: I am reborn...

People have made guns, motorcycles, missiles, televisions, and other things in RPGM2. They've also made some wicked looking monsters.

[Alcedes]

Re: I am reborn...

Nice posts everyone...Especially Draygon. Rep to you.

It sounds like RPGM2 is the answer for me...i still wonder if my game idea is feasible in RPGM2 tho...Maybe I will go with XP..Im going to need a LOT of switches.

I am planning a Baldur's Gate type system...The rep system that is...depending on the choices you make in the game it will affect how everyone interacts with you...

With 2 completly different stories to play...The primary goal being to give the player the option as to whether they want to play the game as the hero or the villian. It should provide for some great replay value....assuming i make a game worth playing thru the first time.

[John Mora]

Re: I am reborn...

if you run vista, dont get XP, because it doesnt work on it.

Lime will never get made at this rate...