E3 RPG Maker 3 Review

[Intro1]

Went to E3, played a close to fully functional RPG Maker 3 in english for many hours (probably too many), met Dave Silveira (Ascii Dave), met the new project manager and a ton of other people. I'm going to give a bigger review of RM 3 but here's a quick general impression.


RPG Maker 3 is RPG Maker 1 in 3D with some new features, a few removed features, no character sprite editing or importing, a new robust story telling system and an amazing environment creation tool. Graphics are beautiful and the 'BLUR' has been completely removed.

Rather than a sequel of RM 2, it's more of a very nice 3D update of RM1, with a lot of great additions and a couple of hiccups. I'll have much more later today.





Start screen split into 4 categories:

- The World
- Character and Items
- Story and Rules
- Data Management


The World
Creating Towns, Dungeons and Fields, and laying Events down in those places.


Character and Items
Creating people, party characters, enemies, enemy parties, and classes.


Story and Rules
Creating title screen, creating start point, creating storyteller cut scenes (new feature) and play testing.


Data Management
Loading games from a memory card and accessing every single Event in the game to Edit or do what you want with.




Here are some Features:


PART I

Can add secondary effects to magic and weapon attacks, like poison, defense up, hp drain, etc.

Characters have 4 colors, also changes uniform art

Character graphic for text can be one of 4 sizes and placed in right, left, or center of screen.
Character graphic for text can be picture, silhouette, and silhouette with a question mark.

Character graphic for text can be 1 of 8 different art styles, ranging from normal, classy, anime, silly, childlike, Xenogears style, and 2 other serious styles. Every character has a graphic (but not every character color).

You can create up to 100 characters

88 character graphics

Special effect text that appears on screen includes Game over, to be continued, Fin, some Japanese text, and a few more, in various fonts.

Set special Backgrounds for when characters are speaking, to add effect.

Screen can fade out in red as well as black and white.

In story teller, 17 items you can make appear on the screen and you have it rotate and move in a variety of ways.

You can change the speed text appears on screen during messages from fast to slow.

You can change the size of text from regular size, very big, and huge. (across the whole screen.

Change the height of the ceiling in dungeons.

For sound effects, there are 49 Play sound effects, 26 system sound effects, and 21 special Melodies, like for Game Over, Victory, battle, etc. You cannot adjust the pitch or length of any of these, like in RM1.

You can change the walking sound if it annoys you.






PART II


46 BG Music tracks, you can’t speed up or slow them down either.

You can have backgrounds with the photo of a monster appear, cool for cinematic effects.

You walk with the left analog, you hold (triangle) to run.

When creating a world map (outdoor) you can load from a large number of already created, beautiful looking maps, which you can edit in any way you want.

Creating Backgrounds
Creating a map from scratch is incredibly easy and fun. You pick a terrain, you pick a shape (circle, square, line or free hand) and you draw just as you would in MS Paint. For instance, choose the water terrain, select a circle, and draw a circle on the map. You now have a circular body of water. If you want a river in the shape of an S, select Free hand and draw an S or any shape you want, and voila, you have your Snake River. This is by far the strongest aspect of RM 3. You can draw a 2D picture of trees next to a volcano with some grass surrounding it, and mountains in the background, and POW !!!, the game turns your 2D picture into a breathtaking 3D landscape. The possibilities here are unlimited. On your landscape, you can then set the climate, the season, the type of rain, the time of day, the amount of trees, the elevation of the land, and whether magic can be used in that area.


PART III

During battle, Characters and enemies are fully animated and everyone has 3 different attack animations.

There are a number of preset magic effects, but you can’t create any new ones.

49 monsters, ranging from small, medium, and large. Many of them have 3 different colors, some have only one color.

You can set monster attack preferences, but you can’t fine tune them by exact percentages.

You can give a monster up to sixteen different magic/ skill attacks to utilize in battle, in addition to a regular attack.

There are Variables to be used with events. They’re also used as Switches, since there are no Switches anymore.

There are 40 different types of sample towns, each with 4 different looks, so that’s a lot. There 19 sample dungeons, and 15 fields (overworld maps). You can edit all of the graphics of all these samples in any way you want.

You can use events to change the climate, vegetation and elevation of your land at any time.

When creating NPCs, in addition to giving them 4 movement paths, you can also give them 8 normal actions and 19 actions while talking. This is very cool actually (with one possible slight problem). So you can have an NPC walking around randomly, and he might be searching for something, so he’ll be putting his hands to his eyes like he’s looking for something far away. Or you’ll have NPC looking worried, excited, happy, hopeful, angry or fidgety. When talking to an NPC, you can have him bow to you first and do 18 other different actions.

Event pages are called ‘Modes’ now, and now bigger page numbers have default priority over lower page numbers if no condition is set.
You can set 4 conditions per page (Mode).



PART IIII

There are 84 different events in total.

You can change a character’s name at any time.

Decrease a character’s level or make him forget a spell at any time.

There are 54 character models, and you can use character models as enemies also.

When creating a party, you set the formation of the party the way they appear in battle on a tic tac toe graph. This is to make weak characters appear in the back or side and strong characters to be in front.

You can only see one character in your party at a time, but you can change who it is on the (start) menu. You can have 4 people max in your party.

You have almost 200 pre rendered backgrounds to use, for telling stories or during talking (or for title, game over screens).

You create characters before you place them on the map. You can create events before you place them and you can copy them to anywhere.

You can add sound effects to the Title Screen.

The title screen can appear in normal, black and white, or red tint.

There’s no timer. I tried to rig one and thought I came close, but it didn’t work. Still a chance of it being possible, but looks unlikely.



--Story teller
This is a new feature where you can call up a story telling mode at any point in the game. Lets say the commander of a recon crew is telling his troops the story of the pyramid they’re about to raid of a Black onyx stone. The screen would go black change and a pre rendered picture of the Pyramid would appear, with the commander’s character graphic and text telling the story. The music would fit the mood and you can outline the screen with some effects also. You can then have a model of the black onyx stone float on the screen as the commander is talking about it. Then the screen would switch back to where you are in the game, (or it could go longer). You edit the background, music, floating items, character text graphic, screen effects, and sound effects.




The 3 strongest features of this game is the deep, easy to use Environment Editor, the large amount of already made, great looking assets, and a very low learning curve (for RM players).

To put things in perspective, I went through 90% of the whole game without an instruction manual. For 3 days straight, to test the game, I had to create all the assets I needed and place them into a game so I could try everything out, without ever playing the game and without a memory card to save anything. That means every day, I had to start from scratch each time to build everything. The bottom line is, if you are very comfortable with RM 1, you will become VERY comfortable with this game in 1 to 3 days tops.


The weaknesses of this game is that, in the name of simplifying everything, they removed some of the customization, and the lack of a graphic editor/importer (which there was no option for anywhere in the game) means you'll really need to be more creative with your stories, since all the characters are fantasy characters. A timer should have been added also.


SCORE: 92%



If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask.

[Mikochan]

no character importing? wrong. check the news.

[finalfantasyFReak789]

Yay! From the way you described it, as being more like RPGM1, in 3d, even with a few differences, It sounds good. Time to save up...

[Intro1]

Well I can check the news, or I can play the game and ask Ascii Dave, which is what I did. And I was there when the game mags and sites were interviewing Dave, they never even touched the game.

[Mikochan]

There is going to be a lot of importing going on. a whole lot. check the site news. really. do it. Dave just didnt tell you everything.

[pinkymadigan]

I still wanna know if there are variables...

[Intro1]

There are variables

[Valkysas]

lots of different kinds too. each character has around 50 connected to them.

[Valkysas]

wow, thanks for the new information!

[RPGD]

Nice summary. Kudos!

I have to note, though, that in RPGM1 you could change the pitch of SFX and the speed of BGM.

[The Toecutter]

All fantasy characters? Lame.



Were there any sci-fi or modern backgrounds, buildings, objects, and that kind of stuff? If so, what?

I'd like to create a post-apocalyptic RPG, and if I can do modern-ish skyscrapers in a state of crumbling(Looks possible using tower graphics, but if and only if you can screw around with their colors at least and place window objects on them), and if there are any modern sorts of objects like televisions or cars, I can work around its limitations, even with fantasy characters.

Any guns that can be created, equipped, used in battle, that actually appear as guns?

What about objects? Any color change possibilities?

[John Mora]

All fantasy characters? Lame.



Were there any sci-fi or modern backgrounds, buildings, objects, and that kind of stuff? If so, what?

I'd like to create a post-apocalyptic RPG, and if I can do modern-ish skyscrapers in a state of crumbling(Looks possible using tower graphics, but if and only if you can screw around with their colors at least and place window objects on them), and if there are any modern sorts of objects like televisions or cars, I can work around its limitations, even with fantasy characters.

Any guns that can be created, equipped, used in battle, that actually appear as guns?

What about objects? Any color change possibilities?
...You already know the answer. RPGM3 has never had any pretense of being anything other than a fantasy RPG creator.

[RPGD]

And remember the downloadable content.

[The Toecutter]

...You already know the answer. RPGM3 has never had any pretense of being anything other than a fantasy RPG creator.

More like 99% sure of the answer. But RPGM2 was the same way, only it had a car...

[Intro1]

With the Environment creator, it looks like you could create modern-ish buildings and a post apocalyptic world is definitely possible, because you can change the sky to a variety of colors, including a red armageddon haze. You can also create tall buildings.

Not sure about guns, but you can make your character's weapons shoot animated projectiles at enemies. There weren't really any modern objects. WHen you equip a weapon on a character, you actually see him use that weapon in battle. Don't recall seeing any color change ability for items.

There were a couple of features of from RM1 that were removed in RM3, for the sake of simplifying things, but I feel those things absolutely should have been left in. They definitely made the game a lot more accessible, and you will be able to crank out games very fast. I completely forgot to ask about how much memory the game uses on a card (since I didn't have a card at the time).

Also, I hope RPGFan is right about downloading new content, but what likely happened is that they confused being able to download our created games from the web as being able to download new content for the game itself. Ascii Dave was very excited about explaining all the new features to me, and when I asked him directly he said there's no importing, no picture paradise stuff like the second one. You only have the four different colors for each character model. I then asked him if a character editor of some sort would be added and he said it would take too long. It's highly unlikely he would stand 5 feet away from me and tell an interviewer something completely different. So we'll just have to enjoy the tools we're given right now, unless a miracle happens.

[Valkysas]

it's memory card usage is the same as RPGM2. around 2MB per save.

it does have hard drive support, so I am inclined to believe the downloadable content bit, as I'm unsure of what else the hard drive could be used for.

[Draygone]

RPGM2 had a car, a truck, a submarine, a "time capsule", a couple similar-looking robots, some modern sound effects, and a rocket object for use in the VFX editor. Did I miss anything?Characters have 4 colors, also changes uniform artOh cool, so it isn't just color-swapping? Are monsters the same way?49 monstersThat is...disappointing. Which makes me glad of the HDD support.You can use events to change the climate, vegetation and elevation of your land at any time.Ooh, imagine creating an apoctalyptic scene. Lightning storm appears with vegetation dying and the earth's surface being rearranged with mountains crumbling, etc etc. :D There are 84 different events in total.You mean premade events, or commands available? If the latter, it's already looking better than RPGM1 in that aspect; RPGM1 has 27 commands, I believe, not counting subcommands.and you can use character models as enemies also.I'm sure that'll make a lot of people very happy.

[Intro1]

Well hopefully the hard drive support isn't just to store games.

Monster art changes, but not as much as the humans do.
There are 84 different pre made events.

[finalfantasyFReak789]

As I posted on the mag:
The lack of customablity isn't necessarily a bad thing. Since we are all using the same set of tools, It forces designers to become more creative, and focus more on stories and the quality of the game. That's why there were so many good RPGM games. It also seeds the need to push the limit of what can be done. Anyway, I'm psyched for this upcoming release. I never really got much use of RPGM2, but 3 seems to be remedying most of 2's problems.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Intro, did you see all of the playable character models? Are there any dragons, or dragon types among them?

[The Toecutter]

With the Environment creator, it looks like you could create modern-ish buildings and a post apocalyptic world is definitely possible, because you can change the sky to a variety of colors, including a red armageddon haze. You can also create tall buildings.

Could you elaborate? Does this environment creator allow you enough leeway to actually create believable-looking skyscrapers on the worldmap or something? These tall buildings you mention, what do they look like, and how closely together may I place them? If I can place them close together, that might work pretty well, and maybe a few tricks would allow me to create believable-looking modern roads.

[Vonwert]

Jeroak....there are already two known dragon types. They are shown in the pictures on the pavilion.

I am very excited. Though I am a bit disappointed in the lack of a timer. But I love the fact that you can change the enviroment at will :D

[highwind]

Four known dragons so far.


http://www.pavilionboards.com/rpgm3/battle2.jpg

http://www.pavilionboards.com/rpgm3/battle3.jpg

http://www.pavilionboards.com/rpgm3/monster1.jpg

http://www.pavilionboards.com/rpgm3/monster2.jpg

[Jeroak Nelave]

Actually, i was asking about dragons as playable characters, not as enemies. I dont even care if they look humanoid, just dragons as playable character models.

[highwind]

Oh.......well.........I KNOW YOU CAN BE A TREE!!!!!



http://www.pavilionboards.com/rpgm3/dungeon2.jpg

[Jeroak Nelave]

And that makes the game a must buy, right there, LOL!

...no, seriously, it does.

[OrinMaxden]

Were can you get a hard drive for the PS2 besides with FFXI? also all the old style PS2's are gone. You can't use the hard drive on the new PS2.

[Zero]

The only thing that disappoints me is that you can only pick from 4 different colors for each character model. This will make it harder to make the characters i want, but i'll live.

[Angry Black Man]

Awww Man! You STILL can't create original character models? They could have used something similar to Magic Pengel's creation engine...or maybe just added the option for a 2D game. But that would probably take way to much memory.

I like the Clown, and the old hag is PERFECT!

[Mikochan]

everyone loves sample clown.

[Intro1]

There was a pre made castle that was very tall and you can place the buildings close togther if you want. But how much you can detail it, I'm not sure because I didn't get that in depth with creating buildings.

[pinkymadigan]

How about equipment? Are we looking at 2 hands, helmet, armor, accessory, or what? Thanks for the variable info that helps a lot BTW.

[Valkysas]

every character model has a certain equipment type. like the male character in most movies and screenshots, he can only use swords. there's around 6 or so sword graphics he can use.

so two handed weapons, or two weapons equipped at the same time is totally reliant on the character model you use.

[Vonwert]

I wonder if you can see the weapons on the characters outside of battle?

[Draygone]

Yeah, that might be useful if one wanted to create a CBS.

Did you check to see if VFX can be used outside battle?

[Ryu_Yuki]

No modern stuff? Oh I hope the hdd is used for new content. Finding the old PS2's which arent slim has become difficult now and the hdd is only available with FFXI. I am lucky I have my old PS2 and that I bought the hdd to play FFXI. Hehe so I dont have problems with the HDD. But what I wonder is why didnt Dave told Intro about the HDD support. Seems like a pretty important function to mention. Maybe he kept it a secret as a surprise. Or maybe...ACK I confused myself. I'll just have to wait to find out.

[Valkysas]

there are quite a few things dave didnt tell Intro1.

time reveals all.

[Ryu_Yuki]

As a dragon fan I'm finally happy that dragons have the look they deserve.Finally I'll be able to use dragons that do bring fear to the players. So 4 dragons...My favorite is the first one, its the scariest.

Time might reveal all but it takes time to pass time and then that time...ugh I mean its hard to wait. But for such a great game it will defenitely be worth the wait. Finally no more chibi characters. Finally fields, castles and places that look like a Final fantasy.

I also wonder if weapons can be worn outside. Though I didnt see any on the pics or videos. One thing that did got my atention were those traps.

[Intro1]

As far as characters, you actually create characters and Classes separately, then you place them together in the editor. You give each class a certain set of stats, then you give the Class to any character you want. You can have about 100 different classes. The class you give the character determines the Stats. the character has. Any character can use any weapon. You can't see the character holding the weapon when on the map or field, but you can see it in the editor.

[highwind]

time needs to hurry up.

[Valkysas]

Any character can use any weapon.

the information I recieved (from japanese review sites) said the weapon graphics were character specific.

[Ryu_Yuki]

hmmm...guess we still will have to wait to find out. It would be cool that all characters could use weapons.

[Chuck]

the information I recieved (from japanese review sites) said the weapon graphics were character specific.
Maybe that's the "special edition" part? I'm inclined to go with Intro only because he played the english version and Agetec apparently added some features and because I want it to be true.

[pinkymadigan]

Do we know what kinds of equipment there are though, in terms of the system? Like in RPGM1 you could use two weapons and have two accessories slots available. In 2 the DBS only allowed 1 accessory and I don't think dual weilding was in it if I remember correctly...
I'm asking so that I can start formulating ideas for items, etc if I want to.

[abyssknight]

Wait a second.

You need a Playstation 2 HDD in order to receive updates? I apologize for my lack of knowledge, but aren't you supposed to purchase one? Or does the PS2 come with one already?

I thought PS2 HDD's only come with Final Fantasy XI. =\

[Valkysas]

we're not entirely sure what the HDD is for. we're waiting for confirmation from agetec.

and yes, the HDD is only available with FFXI

[abyssknight]

...Damn.

I really don't want to pay ~$120.00 CDN and ~$20.00 CDN for a hard drive and network adapter. I wonder what the use for the hard drive will be.

EDIT: A quick question for Intro1. Please tell me that the 'world organization' deal doesn't exist in RPG Maker 3. What I'm trying to say is, do you have to create seperate files for the events, objects, and level design for a map and combine it for the area to be completed?

[xddga]

hello again everyone, used to show up on agetec and pavillion forums for RPGM2 a long time ago.
was looking up info on RPGM3, and after reading this I'm kinda disapointed. everything looks great, just looks like they omited several very important things... can already tell I'm going to have to do my own CBS for the battle system I want to do, and w/ no VFX editor or any graphics making program what-so-ever, I'm not even sure I can do anything closely resembling what I want. Unless you can edit the battle scripts like you can in 2, and even then I'm going to have get rid of most everything else. physical attacks [like Skills in the Dragon Warrior games] are a huge part of the battle system i was going to do and made in 2 (just never released it... heh... now i might have to pick it up again), and it looks like this tailored only for magic...
glad I didn't preorder it yet, now i'm just going to have to wait and see if I'm going to buy it which looks doubtfull.

[Crimson Knight]

I see everyone forgot about someone else's "review" of RPG Maker 3 weeks ago. :lol

Valk, it's kind of funny, that I thought the same exact thing about the HDD when I saw the interview with Dave, before I saw how a few people had their doubts about the possibilities. I had them too, and even if it was beneficial for people using the HDD with RPG Maker 3(like downloading new content), it doesn't seem reasonable. What happens to the people who don't have one/can't/don't want to buy FFXI to get one? There's really no reason to include HDD support at all, unless new content could be downloaded.

And I think the whole special edition thing is the explanation behind some of the database numbers that were higher in this review, compared to someone else's review at the pavilion.

[The Toecutter]

Well, you can buy a used HDD...

[Crimson Knight]

But in RPG Maker 2's case, it was fully functional. You didn't have to fake it, you just had to make one.

[Armor King 108]

What kind of weapons are there? Can you make characters fight barehanded? I really hope that you can use any weapon for any character, that would just be too awesome. I WILL have a Dwarven Archer!

Why did you say that there are 88 character graphics, but only 54 character models? Why is there less? And is there really only 54?

Wait a second, if you played the game...shouldn't you know what all the character models are? Or do you not want to say just yet?

Well, could you at least say how the character models are divided up? We saw that there are 23 male characters, but how many female ones are there? And...how many 'other' ones are there?

A few more questions...if you don't want to list the character graphics, or can't remember them all...could you at least tell me these 3?
Is there a dragon?
Is there a fairy?
Is there any other kind of animal person besides the Bird Knight?

Sorry for all the questions...

[Mikochan]

there's 24 female.

[Ryu_Yuki]

Can monsters like for example the dragon be used outside battle like for a event. For example when the dragon is speaking with the characters before the fight or something? I remember I had to struggle to find some good representations of the monsters outside battle.

[Intro1]

Not sure if you could use enemies graphics outside of battle. But they did include full screen pictures of a lot of the monsters which you can call up and use in the background to make monsters talk.

The weapons are medieval weapons, and I saw something that looked like a night stick. As far as character models, I forgot why I said 88. There are characters you can make from scratch and there are pre made characters (there's 54 pre made), so 88 might be total models, but I'm not sure. I didn't go through every character model. There male, female and animal models. I only played with the gorilla (walks on all fours) and the tree.

The world organization deal and the old school method of event placement have been merged together. You place events on a field just like RM1, but if you want, you can change events from 1 big world organization view, but you don't ever have to if you don't want to. For NPCs though, you have to create the character in the character editor (or just load the samples) before you can place him on a map in an event.

One other interesting thing, for character event movement, I didn't see a 'CLose Up' or 'Move Away' command. Just 'Random', 'Left Right' or "Up and Down'. Perhaps it was listed with the other 'Action' commands, I don't know but I thought that was strange.

[Chuck]

There are characters you can make from scratch.

How does that work? Sounds like very good news to me.

[finalfantasyFReak789]

^ I'm thinking he means that there are 88 models. Models are used to make characters, Like in RPGM2, and there are 54 demo characters. It's just speculation on my part, but I'd assume that's how it is since it has been said that you really can't edit the models.

[Ryu_Yuki]

*prays for enemiy graphics to be able to be used outside battle*

Gorilla?! Yes! Now I can make a Ape escape game! Catch the gorillas not the monkeys. And the tree could be used for a Lord of the rings game. Now that I think of it the characters look a lot like on Lord of the rings. You could probably make a perfect rpgm3 of LOT.

[Armor King 108]

Gorilla? Are you truly serious that there is a Gorilla? That's just too cool!
Is there even a character portrait of it?

It's funny, that was one of the things that I didn't like about RPGM2, that there was no monkey. But, a Gorilla is close enough for me.

Also, can Gorillas equip weapons?
That would be too awesome to have a Gorilla with a sword, shield, axe, bow, anything!

Hmmm...Gorillas aren't particularly medieval are they?
Could you make a jungle-type area by any chance?

Of course, I intend to have a Gorilla join the party...(Main character, anyone?)

Enough about the Gorilla...

That 'creating characters from scratch' thing sounds very promising, even if it happens to be very limited. (I hope it isn't)

A few more questions...

Could you speculate a little more on what kind of weapons there are?
For example, are they different types of swords?
You know...broadswords, katanas, rapiers, 2-handed swords, shotels, cutlass, scimitars..?

Still, I would like a tad more information on the character models.
Like, are there Mermaids or anything?

But, regardless, this game is still starting to look quite awesome...
Quite awesome, indeed!

(if you didn't notice, I used the word 'Gorilla' 9 times...)

EDIT: Wait, by 'Creating characters from scratch,' do you mean...
Selecting a character model, choosing a color, naming the character, giving them stats, giving them spells, giving them classes, etc.?

[Zero]

This game is looking to be the best Rpg Maker yet. I have one question though, is the character with wings like an angel or something? Also do some of the character models have silver hair?(the silver hair is important to my game)
opps that's 2 questions, oh well.

[Intro1]

There are people with silver hair, there’s even a female elf who when you change her palette color, she looks exactly like Storm from the X-Men, (which means there are black people also).


“I'm thinking he means that there are 88 models. Models are used to make characters, Like in RPGM2, and there are 54 demo characters. It's just speculation on my part, but I'd assume that's how it is since it has been said that you really can't edit the models.”

Final Fantasy Freak is correct here. This is as far as you can go as far as creating a charcter from scratch, didn’t mean to make it sound like more than that.

Don’t remember if gorillas can equip weapons.
There were a variety of different models for swords, axes, spears, clubs, nunchuku I believe. I didn’t scroll through each one though.

I didn’t see every model, so I can’t say if there are mermaids. There were town people, samurai, king, queen, very short boy prince and princess, samurai, old man, patriarch, dwarf, fat house maid, ninja, adventurer, warrior, thief, big fat guy, merchant, elves, pirate (may you can see are RM 1 characters).

You’ll have to show me the character with wings you’re talking about, not sure what you mean.

[Zero]

a guy that has wings on his back like an angel.

[pinkymadigan]

I'm confused as to what the 88 is still. Is it 88 unique possibilities total or 88 unique inhabitants in your game? 88 unique inhabitants sounds really low.

[Adam Ferrell]

Is there a kung-fu looking guy or only samurai?I want a guy like in a martial arts movie.

Are there Katana swords or only those longswords?

[abyssknight]

It would be interesting if RPG Maker 3 was released with the PS2 hard drive, though that would discourage buyers that already have one. In all honesty, the use of the hard drive - whatever it may be - won't get much hype. Not everyone likes FFXI; I, for one, do not.

Maybe they'll release RPG Maker 3 in two forms: one with and one without the HDD. I highly doubt this will happen, though.

Disregarding that, I can't wait for this RPG Maker to come out. The models look great, especially the dragons.

[Adam Ferrell]

" I can't wait for this RPG Maker to come out"

You're gonna have to wait buddy.hahaha. :lol
Until August....... :|

I'd buy it with a hdd if it came out but I don't think alot of other people would.I'm just going to have to use the game"sans hdd" until I get a used one some dissapointed FF fan sold.

[abyssknight]

Yes, I suppose you're right about the HDD thing. Unfortunately, my parents are a little skeptical about Ebay.

It's a pity that it has to come out in August. It would be awesome if it came out in June; that way, I could enjoy the game through all of summer vacation.

[highwind]

Do you NEED the PS2 HDD??

Why can't you use any external HDD??

[Valkysas]

because other HDDs arent PS2-formatted, and have no way of connecting to the PS2.

[abyssknight]

*Sighs*

Sony's way of making more money. :droplet

[Ryu_Yuki]

Samurai?! Ohhhhhhh yeah! Short boy prince and princess? Double ohhhhhh yeah! Some important models are there so its coming nice.

[Valkysas]

Is there a kung-fu looking guy or only samurai?I want a guy like in a martial arts movie.

Look at the ninja in our preview. "Sample Ninja". he might fit your needs.

[Armor King 108]

So, are there 54 models to choose from when making a character or is there 88? There seems to be some confusion on all this, so some clarification would be nice.


Personally, I think that 'Sample Ninja' doesn't look like a ninja, he looks more like some Commando or something. Whatever though...

[Zero]

There are 88 character models and 54 pre-made character models.

[Ryu_Yuki]

I agree with you armor king. That sample ninja really doesnt looks like a ninja. I think he also needs a diet.

[pinkymadigan]

I don't get what the difference is between the premade and the other character models if you can not edit them... Are we trying to say that the game comes with 54 characters already set up, and that you can make up as many more as you want from the 88 models, or that their are 54 already programmed, and that you can only program 34 more custom characters using a different number or what. This is really not being explained well, sorry to b*&%h.

[RPGD]

I believe they mean that there are a total of 88 character models in the game, and 54 of them are used as the preset characters, leaving the others lonely and bored.

[Ryu_Yuki]

its just like this. The sample guys like the Sample Ninja, Sample Archer, Sample Mage,etc. are the preset characters already created as samples. There are 54 samples. Thats what Ithink.

[Crimson Knight]

I think it's like the character reg. in RPG Maker 2. There are 88 models you can use to register characters, and there are 45 already registered for you.

[Armor King 108]

I sure hope you have 88 models to choose from. 54 did NOT sound like enough, especially because I think that RPGM2 has about twice that many...

But, I thought of something else, are there any vehicles?
Like, a ship, blimp, airship, car, anything?
RPGM1 has ships, and 'blimps'
RPGM2 has ships, blimps, airships, cars, trucks, and other stuff, and you could even register objects and characters as vehicles. I believe that if you wanted to, you could make a King a vehicle...

[Ryu_Yuki]

In one of the pics that Pavilion has here of RPGM3 there is one of a air balloon but I hope thats not the only vehicule. For the most important air vehicle would be a airship so I hope it has on.

[Zero]

As long as there is an airship and a boat i'll have all the veicles I need.

[Crimson Knight]

And if there are drivable vehicles, I hope they're easier to use. The only real gripe I had with RPG Maker 2 was that the vehicles were a PITA to use, to the point where I don't use them in my games.

[Draygone]

Easier as in easier to create? I'm sure it will be.

[The Final Rune]

Only one word required from me.

:drool Gimmie :drool

[OrinMaxden]

And if there are drivable vehicles, I hope they're easier to use. The only real gripe I had with RPG Maker 2 was that the vehicles were a PITA to use, to the point where I don't use them in my games.

I had no problem using the vehicles from RPGM2, but i was using the present scrpits. even if your not using them it tells you how to make one in the instruction book. or you could just load up the present scrpits and copy it real quick

[Lone Phantom]

Do you know if there are scimitars or shamshirs in the game?

[WarDragon]

it's just the vehicles in rpgm2 are kind of awful.

[WilliamKirk]

BloodKnight's referring to doing more advanced things with the vehicles than just using them: such as not letting the map loop and transfering the party from map to map while in a vehicle.

[Ryu_Yuki]

If they do include a airship I hope it looks better than the one on RPGM2. If the game has improved in graphics a lot lets hope the vehicles improved as well.

[Zero]

Does anyone think I should make my game on RPGM2 or wait for 3 to come out. I'm going to make it on 3 anyways but should i do it on 2 first.

[Valkysas]

depends on the story and features you want in it. regardless, make a new topic for that question. this one is just about RPG Maker 3 itself.

[Zero]

Are any of the dragons white?

sorry about not posting a new topic for my last question Valkysas

[Chuck]

Does anyone think I should make my game on RPGM2 or wait for 3 to come out. I'm going to make it on 3 anyways but should i do it on 2 first.
Go for it. Then the RM3 version can be like an enhanced Director's Cut type deal. But only do it if you can come up with enough extra content for the second version to feel like there's something new to it. Even if you don't do two versions of the game, starting it on 2 will help you work out some of the details so you can work more quickly when you start buiding it on RM3.

[Zero]

Thats good advice, so i'll take it. I'll work on my game more this weekend.

[Valkysas]

*finger hovers over the negative reputation button*

no more posts about zero's game. he can create his own topic for it.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Hey Valk, do you know what the original release date was gonna be, before they pushed it back to August?

Any has anyone been able to answer wether they have a dragon (of some type) as a PLAYABLE character model?

[Valkysas]

the first date agetec gave me was august, and that was the day we found out about amazon screwing up and announcing the game early. so I'm guessing agetec always intended august, and amazon just made up that date, or got it from someone else that made it up. the game will of course be done in july, they just need time to manufacture and advertise.

you are in luck on the character model question, we should be getting a complete list from agetec in the next few days.

[Jeroak Nelave]

YES!

Thanks for the info Valk!

[Rodak]

Sorry if this question has been addressed elsewhere (I looked, but did not find) but is there any word about multi-chapter games and transferring data from the first Memory Card save to the next.

This was a major drawback in RPGM2. Even a "clipboard" to bring single events/scripts from one save to another while creating would be a boon. I am likely going to make all-new VFX for the same spells in Chapter 2 of my RPGM2 game because it is too difficult to reproduce the complicated ones exactly.

I only ask about it because, in RPGM2 they claim no data can be transferred from "slot to slot" on a memory card but it is not true!! A more accurate statement would be no useful data can be transferred from save to save. I am referring to "screen shots" which can, if taken in one save but not rendered into images, be retained when you "delete all" and load another save.

So some data can be transferred.

I want more! I'm greedy! I want a cow for a playable character! And a frog! I want the world and I want it NOW!

Peace.

[Valkysas]

no idea.

[Draygone]

I don't see why, when you're ready to start on the next slot, simply create a new save with the current information and delete all the stuff you will no longer need, but keep stuff like character models and VFX. It'd be a lot better than starting from scratch each time you add a new "chapter". As far as I know of, anything can be carried over that you want to be carried over, save for stuff saved on the save file created during gameplay (such as each character's current levels and stuff).you are in luck on the character model question, we should be getting a complete list from agetec in the next few days.WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!

Oh, but will that list be a list of character models, or a list of character models AND their color options? Would be nice if the list was a set of pics showing off each model, but that might be asking too much.

[Rodak]

I don't see why, when you're ready to start on the next slot, simply create a new save with the current information and delete all the stuff you will no longer need, but keep stuff like character models and VFX. It'd be a lot better than starting from scratch each time you add a new "chapter".

Very true. But even that would not get around the characters level and experience / abilities problem.

My mistake was splitting my data in half and deleting too early. I ran out of memory making Map and Dungeon graphics early in the process. Before I found ways to save memory, I split it up and had barely begun working with the VFX editor. I have all my Chapter 2 environments and a lot of the scripts/events on a single save, but ALL my VFX were made in the other one.

A simple case of bad planning. I did not know I would not be able to move data around until too late.

I did not even get good with the VFX editor until recently, and reworked some early efforts. All in all it would be simpler to be able to "merge" files.

Now THAT would be a cool use for the Hard drive! You just would not be able to save it on a Memory Card until it was less than 8 Megabytes (or is that 2.2 something per save?)

Oh well, I can dream.

It's the waking up part I don't like.

Peace.

[The Toecutter]

A nice feature would be the option to use the entire memory card for your game...

[Rodak]

A nice feature would be the option to use the entire memory card for your game...

All right! Another Dreamer...

That's similar to what I meant when I first mentioned the idea that the Hard Drive might let us save bigger files.

I was not thinking about the obvious option you suggested. That would be too simple for a corporate giant like Sony.

Why do they want to limit the size of the games we create on these systems?

The world may never know...

Oy.

[Crimson Knight]

BloodKnight's referring to doing more advanced things with the vehicles than just using them: such as not letting the map loop and transfering the party from map to map while in a vehicle.
Not only that, but the terrain restrcitions make them useful for few occasions.

[The Toecutter]

So on RPGM2, you could actually use the car as a vehicle on the worldmap? That would be interesting...

[Rodak]

So on RPGM2, you could actually use the car as a vehicle on the worldmap? That would be interesting...
Not only that, you can use any character model or object model as a vehicle.

I have used giant turtles and even the characters' models themselves as vehicles.

Which brings up another question about RPGM3... When resizing objects, what happens to their "borders"? You see, in RPGM2 if you make a small object very large and place it on a map, the party can walk right through it until they hit where the original edge was.

This is important because I used giant pyramids for my dungeons (it provided a plausible excuse to make each floor progressively smaller and save memory) and I had to "plant" objects along the "new" edge to prevent the party walking right through the pyramid on the world map!

This was annoying, but since it was able to be worked around I guess it's not critical. But it is still annoying and therefore worth asking if it was fixed in RPGM3.

It's a shame RPGM3 did not try to offer 2 modes: one like RPGM1 (which they did) and one like RPGM2 (which would probably be too complex to put all in one game, but I'm still dreaming and I don't wanna wake up).

Peace.

[Valkysas]

I dont think you can resize objects.

[RPGD]

I'm not 100% sure if I remember this correctly, but it's possible that if you set something like, say, a building or object like a ship, as an event, you can resize it. Remember the opening? The airship? Same one in the objects.

[Valkysas]

what opening?

[RPGD]

RPGM2's opening. Remember? With the town, then the earthquake, then the tyrant in the ship? It was also done in Fu-Ma, only as a normal ship.

[Valkysas]

but isnt he asking about 3?

[RPGD]

Oh, wait, you're right. My error.

[Rodak]

I dont think you can resize objects.
Well. That solves the problem, I guess. Thanks.

====
Edit:
====

And yes, I was asking about 3. I think that not being able to resize objects is really going to limit the creativity.

I do not know if resizing events with scripts, as opposed to resizing the object model, has a different effect on their border permeability in RPGM2. I'll have to check after I get back to my game.

It is weird walking through things you have enlarged (or being stopped short if you shrink them). Maybe RPGM4 will make everybody happy (I'm still dreaming!).

[Draygone]

I'm pretty sure the collision detection was off no matter how the object/character is resized.

[Ryu_Yuki]

I'm looking forward to that character list from agetec.

[Armor King 108]

I would also like to see a character list soon...

Actually, I'm really anticipating the animal part.
I'm curious what other kinds of animals there are...I wasn't expecting a Gorilla.

The first RPG I worked on (didn't finish) had a monkey as a playable character, and he was the main character's best friend, so he was important to the story...But, I wanted to remake what I had created in RPGM1 in RPGM2, but alas, there was no monkey...I was just going to make him a Monk instead. Get it, MONKey...(you know, I'm kinda going off topic a little) However, since there is a Gorilla, I might have an easier time trying to 'remake' the first RPG I worked on...

Anyway, I think at least 3 animals have been confirmed: Cat, Chicken, Gorilla
(the first two were shown in the background of screens for the character/monster editor)

But still, I wonder what category the Treeman falls into?

[Jeroak Nelave]

All i know is that i hope there is a dragon of some type.

I NEED a dragon that can be used as a character model, or i cannot make my games!

[Zero]

I to need a dragon for my story. A white one.

[RPGD]

A brotha not good 'nuff fo' you?!?

:racism

[Zero]

It's an ice dragon

[RPGD]

'Twas a joke.

[Intro1]

Tree man was in the animal category.

[RPGD]

Odd.

[Rodak]

It's an ice dragon
Try Blue if they do not have white.

Glacial Ice is blue, so it's actually more accurate (white would be proper for a snow dragon).

An animal list, huh? Can animals be used as characters?

And everybody knows what else I am going to ask to know about the animal list.

MOO?

[RPGD]

Remind me to make you an RPGM2 VFX cow.

[Draygone]

I NEED a dragon that can be used as a character model, or i cannot make my games!It wouldn't be a medieval RPGM without at least one dragon model for use outside of the DBS. RPGM1 had one, and RPGM2 had two. I doubt that means RPGM3 will have three, but I'm sure there will be one.An animal list, huh? Can animals be used as characters?I figure if the Tree was listed as an "animal" and the screens show a tree main character, then I would assume that's the case. Really, I figure the "animal" list is simply a part of the character model list, which probably also comprises of "male" and "female" models.

[chimaira]

Hey theres one thing alot of people didnt ask..what is the battle system going to be? Will there be an option of turn based or real time? because real time is awesome and sometimes it gets boring runing on a map like in Final fantasy 7 and then warping into battle doing the turn based thing. i would like to just travel to certain areas and find monsters in the woods and walk up and attack and retreat if needed and a 2 player option would be so awesome like that...and u should be able to make it where u can sit down to heal slowing... like resting. and they should of made it wher eu can customize ur characters more like there faces,colors,size....like making giant spiders or cyclops..

[Crimson Knight]

Hey theres one thing alot of people didnt ask..what is the battle system going to be?
There's a reason why few people asked about the battle system. Check out the media for RPG Maker 3 at IGN.

[abyssknight]

Chimaira, that has been resolved in one of Intro1's topics. Look here (http://www.pavilionboards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1767).

Haha, once I get this game, I'm definitely making a parody game with animals as main characters.

[chimaira]

hwo do i check it out?

[Crimson Knight]

Final Fantasy style turn based battle system. Goodie.

[chimaira]

that sucks... no real time fighting option

[Zero]

that sucks... no real time fighting option


you can probley make a good real time fighting system like people made in the first RPG Maker

[Rodak]

I figure if the Tree was listed as an "animal" and the screens show a tree main character, then I would assume that's the case. Really, I figure the "animal" list is simply a part of the character model list, which probably also comprises of "male" and "female" models.
I hope so, but just the image of the tree is not enough evidence. I have used Objects as character models in RPGM2 (by using bypass objects, hiding the party, and putting them on the same square). This was only in a cut scene, but it should be possible in regular gameplay. In fact with vehicles it would be easy.

and u should be able to make it where u can sit down to heal slowing... like resting.
That can be done in RPGM2 with an indirect effect, so it should be possible in 3. We'll see.

Remind me to make you an RPGM2 VFX cow.
OK.

Make me an RPGM2 VFX cow.

Thanks. I tried but was not happy with the results. It looked like a bunch of Cow Parts nailed together, and not properly nailed either.

That's why I used the Sheep for my main character.

And I think, after seeing the images from RPGM3 again, that it would be better than RPGM2 for the game I want to make set in Piers Anthony's Xanth.

[Armor King 108]

I also want a dragon for my game, a red one. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to 'remake' my first RPG, and one of the characters was a red dragon...Still, I don't like how there is only four colors per character. Especially for a dragon (assuming there is one), because to me, dragons are something that should come in lots of different colors...oh well...

Of course, I have a back-up plan in case there is no dragon character graphic...
1. I could pull a Lunar, and have a cat...and say that it's a dragon (of course, this one wouldn't have wings...)
2. I could pull an Orphen, and have a dog (that show has blue wolves that are called Deep Dragons...)
3. Do something other things do...have a dragon that looks like a human...(sort of like Breath of Fire)

...that reminded of something! Is it possible to make a character 'transform' into a monster? That would be pretty neat...


Anyway, I'm actually really glad that the battle system is Active Time Battle...it makes the agility/speed stat so much more important...

[Ryu_Yuki]

I dont care about the dragon's color. As long as there is one outside Battle system I really dont mind the color.

[chimaira]

i have a question when it says 54 pre made characters but a total of 88 does that mean besides the 54 u can make characters form absolute scratch? like i could make a cyclops or theres already 88 models (54 which u cant change and the rest that u can jsut slightly change)i hope u can at least change the size of them.

and is there somthing u can buy to make extra models from scratch to add to the game?
sorry im new to the rpg maker

Plus im really hoping for a real time fighting option i would like to hear from others if they think it will be in rpg maker 3 thank you.

[Crimson Knight]

“I'm thinking he means that there are 88 models. Models are used to make characters, Like in RPGM2, and there are 54 demo characters. It's just speculation on my part, but I'd assume that's how it is since it has been said that you really can't edit the models.”

Final Fantasy Freak is correct here. This is as far as you can go as far as creating a charcter from scratch, didn’t mean to make it sound like more than that.

Please read the ENTIRE topic.:) You'll find a lot of questions have already been answered for you.

[Draygone]

Here's an all-important question. Can you make characters float? You know, for those instances where you meet the main villain and he floats down from the air while everybody else looks on with fear/anger.

[Crimson Knight]

LIKE AN ANIME!? :lol

I would hope.

[Zero]

Here's an all-important question. Can you make characters float? You know, for those instances where you meet the main villain and he floats down from the air while everybody else looks on with fear/anger.

Floting would be a nice option to the game. The reminds me can you make characters swim?

[Armor King 108]

That would be pretty cool if you could make characters float and swim and stuff...but, it would also be nice if they could walk underwater...or at least, in the water.


...I just remembered something I've been wanting to ask! It's rather important actually. I really would like to know about Elementals and Properties.
I'm not 100% sure on this, but it's been a while since I've used either:
RPGM1 has only 3 elementals, and they use a Rock-Paper-Scissors formula. Also, you cannot make your own characters weak against an elemental.
RPGM2 has (I think) 200 total Properties (which is basically the same as Elementals)...100 properties for physical abilities and 100 properties for magical abilities. Also, you can adjust elemental weakness/resistance anyway you like for characters/monsters/equipment.

I'm not expecting RPGM3 to have as much Elemental/Property stuff as RPGM2, but I really hope it's got more than RPGM1...

[Intro1]

Gentlemen, as I mentioned before, RPG Maker 3 is not a true sequel to RM 2, it is a 3D remake of RM 1 (with a few changes), so don't compare it to RM 2, compare it to RM 1. Take RM1 and add beautiful 3D graphics, unlimited outdoor graphics and effects, variables, and a Storyteller mode for more interesting, static background cut scenes (with dynamic effects).

[Valkysas]

its not a 3D remake of RPG Maker 1 either. its just a medieval rpg maker geared towards simplicity.

[Armor King 108]

I'm just curious about some things that I felt were rather limited on RPGM1.
I don't like how there was only 3 elementals (4 if you count None)...Weapons can only raise one stat, and that's Attack power...Shields, Helmets, and Armor can only raise one stat, and that's Defense...Accesories can only raise one stat (but it could be any stat you choose)...

Those littles things that bugged me in RPGM1, I could see being improved upon in this game...regardless if it's an 'improved' version of RPGM1 or not.

[Intro1]

There appears to be more than just 3 elemental classes, but I didn't delve into that too much. Just think about creating prettier 3D versions of RM1 games, this is exactly what it felt like when playing with it.

[Chuck]

I know I'm going to love RM3 because the main thing that kept me from accomplishing anything with 1 was building the towns and dungeons. It took forever and I was never satisfied with it. I was always adding and changing things to try and create something that was visually interesting. I wanted to put all kinds of detail into the areas even when it didn't have a purpose so it would feel like a real game. With RM3 the environments will look great with far less effort and I'm excited to finally actually make a game.

[The Toecutter]

I never had that problem. I always found it to my advantage to spend about 30 seconds to think out each room in detail. What NPCs will reside there? what is their racial, ethnic, and overall and socio-economic status? What objects will exist in the building? How many rooms is the building? How will the rooms be partitioned off and what will the layout be like.

Give yourself 30 seconds, and imagine yourself walking through it as it's created. Now you're ready to build. 5 minutes later, and voila.

[Redneck 2000]

I'll probably still prefer RPGM2. I actually love the cartoony style, it fits my comedy games. And it has tons of customization.

Luckily the videogame store near my house always has the RPGM games used for sale for like $20 a month after they come out, so I'll get it then.

[Chuck]

I did plan out my towns and rooms extensively before I started building them. I just ended up hating how it looked. I just never liked the way towns came out, always seemed too small and boxy to me, and rooms always came across as too empty. I'd keep adding objects to fill everything out more but it ended up taking so long that I'd completely lose interest. I just wasn't interested in creating every single tile of the settings before I could even start telling the story.

[The Toecutter]

It would really help you then to have each block or tile have a representative unit of distance for both indoors and outdoors, so when you plan your buildings, you won't have that problem.

[Incognito]

Are there any skeleton and or Grimm Reaper character models because I'm using a GR as the main character of my game, and I just wanted to make sure.

[RPGD]

You're in luck; they're in both RPGM1 and 2.

[Incognito]

I assumed as much since I have RM 1, but my question was in referance to RM3.

Thanks, though because I don't have RM2 yet.

[Valkysas]

I thought it was pretty obvious what one he was asking about, this being an RPGM3 topic and all.

:minotaur

I dont know if there is one. maybe intro knows.

there's been one in every single RPG Maker before this (US and Japan) so I'd say "probably".

[Incognito]

Alright, well, in that case, I'll wait to see what Intro has to say on the matter.

Thanks, Valkysas.

[RPGD]

.... I could swear this was a general RPGM topic.

Am I going senile at warp speed?

:\

[Pandacon]

This game is looking great, I put my RPGM1 game on hold because of my excitement for this, mainly because I dont like the memory limitation for the PS1 memory card.

Yet I may still make a demo... maybe...

[Valkysas]

there are no memory limitations for RPGM1. we figured out how to get around the system data limit long ago. so now you can have as many scenario AND system cards as you want.

[Pandacon]

well... not really, I read up on what you guys do, and it makes things a little difficult for backtracking elements of my game, so I feel it kinda limiting.

Yet I will miss the option for custom sprite graphics in RPGM3 :(

[Draygone]

It helps to have everything in the first card 100% complete before moving on to the next. Then you wouldn't have to worry about going back and forth so much.

And there is a limitation with memory in RPGM1. What if you had a big game, and wanted it to be possible to return to every previous area in the game for one reason or another? If you run out of memory before making all the places, you're pretty much out of luck. I can see myself easily running out of system memory with my game, but I don't plan on backtracking being possible for very far (because of limited memory for scenario data).

Skeletons, grim reapers, dragons, fairies, mermaids, slimes; odds are these will all be found in RPGM3. I mean, they're medieval fantasy staples.

[Pandacon]

I wish they would include some futuristic stuff like they had in RPGM1, since I wanna continue my game onto RPGM3, but oh well, I'll figure something out I guess.

[Lone Phantom]

I guess that mean you can't use monster graphics as main characters,
because I wanted to use an ifrit.

[RPGD]

Apparently, you can use a few, just not all of them.

[josh]

sweet Jesus. I need this like Ben Affleck needed acting school in Pearl Harbor. since I'll soon be without computer but with PS2 I'll take what I'm making in RPG Maker XP and use this. it sounds dynamite.

[RPG Learner]

Well i've have a question. When will RPGM3 come out in the US? Hmm and i was wondering are there going to be weapon resistant equipment?

[Draygone]

August, for certain. I don't know of an exact date, but I hear it may be the 2nd.

[Tsunami]

I hope it's the second, I want to be able to use it a bit before summer ends.

[Incognito]

I hope it's the second, I want to be able to use it a bit before summer ends.

My thoughts exactly.

[abyssknight]

I can't wait 'til we get the model list for RPG Maker 3 though, if we ever do get it. This'll definitely help me plan out any game I want to make ahead of time.

[Ryu_Yuki]

The model list is still not here...agh...If its on August 2 then at least I'll get to use it like 4 days before classes begin again.

[Tsunami]

Yeah, the August release date sucks. Whatv ever hapened to the July release date? Anyways, didn't Valk post at some point that there was going to be a model list coming this week?

[Crimson Knight]

He said agetec's busy, so the list might come later, be patient. And agetec only set an August 2005 release date AFAIK.

[RPGD]

I'd expect it to be up by the time Valkysas finishes uploading all the remaining games. He's got a lot to do, so try to be patient.

[Valkysas]

the only ones who ever set the july date are amazon. and as agetec revealed that very day, it was BS.

[Ryu_Yuki]

Those amazons are some real amazonians...Getting the info wrong. Heh I'm lucky I dont buy or check amazon. Still this reminds me....RPGM2 also was released a August. The good thing is that my birthday is on August so its easy to get RPGM3

[Valkysas]

RPG Maker 2 was released October 28th.

[Draygone]

I just thought of something. Out of curiosity, how many people were interested in RPGM3 at E3?

[Intro1]

Well I think Agetec was deliberately kind of incognito, as their booth was more out of the way and less distinct, but there was a very light but steady flow of visitors, (at least during the times I was there). It didn't seem like many people knew that RM was going to even be presented, much less knew that it would be playable.

[Valkysas]

agetec is always kind of out of the way. and yeah, its always intentional. it allows them to be more personally involved with everyone that comes by.

[RPGD]

In case no one's seen these, Gamespot has six videos of their screwing around in RPGM3.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/rpgmaker3/media.html

Wow, everything's so... seamless.

DERbLoB!!!

[Draygone]

It'd be a little better if the music didn't stop when transitioning between different screens. I like what I see otherwise, though.

[Crimson Knight]

Man, that battle was pretty slow. And what's with the ATB bars if the battles supposedly can't be in real time?

[RPGD]

We'll find out once we get it. I'm sure there's some way to speed things up.

Is your interest waning, or are you even more intrigued?

Boo-yah! I hit 1500! *dances*

[Crimson Knight]

Is your interest waning, or are you even more intrigued?
Both, leaning more towards waning. I knew it was going to be limited, but but the options just seem...crippling(especially after the frighteningly expansive options of RPG Maker 2). I like the fact that you can test a lot of things before actually playing the game though. I'm intrigued to see all the options that can actually be used. Maybe there will be a battle animation speed option. It looks like there will be a lot of status effects to use too.

[RPGD]

Hey, Mark said himself that you'd be disappointed if you compared it to RPGM2.

At any rate, I really hope that bLoB creature can be used as a playable character.

[Crimson Knight]

But I'm not comparing 3 to that, it just makes the feeling of a downgrade worse to me that's all.

[The Toecutter]

If it makes you feel any better, this is not part of the official RPG Tsukuru series. Enterbrain just decided on a whim to publish it. The real RPGM3, and not the one being named that, will hopefully have a lot more options.

[Valkysas]

yeah, this is not RPG Tsukuru 6. this is just a side-series RPG Maker (and actually just called RPG Tsukuru, without a number). usually confined to the PC, they often use things like this to test concepts for future RPG Makers. They're always aimed at making just one type of game.

Agetec is calling it "RPG Maker 3" because the RPG Maker name sells.

[The Toecutter]

I like the concept of premade playable characters and buildings and even event systems to assist in ease and speed of use, but it would be perfection to see a selection of hundreds of each and then the ability to import your own in the rare event it would even be needed. Imagine being able to put together a quality RPG in much less time than RPGM1, while still giving options to those who want to get creative with graphics and textures.

From the looks of those videos, it appears as if you'll be able to make your own character portraits. I may be able to do something interesting with that concept if it's reality...

[MC Ardle84]

Now if only I could take back buying the Japanese RPG Tsukuru XP and get RM3 instead...

[Draygone]

Don't get rid of your copy. You'll probably want it whenever you want to do more stuff than what's allowed with RPGM3.

[Ryu_Yuki]

if they keep making RPGMs do you think we will be seeing a RPG Maker for PS3? The battle system on RPGM3 seemed fine to me. But waiting is making me impatient. Maybe I'll eat a snicker to ease my excitement.

[RPGD]

DerbLoB!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/RPGProgrammer/bLoB.pnghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/RPGProgrammer/bLoB.pnghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/RPGProgrammer/bLoB.png

Anyone want to recommend a name for this little guy?

[Chuck]

if they keep making RPGMs do you think we will be seeing a RPG Maker for PS3? The battle system on RPGM3 seemed fine to me. But waiting is making me impatient. Maybe I'll eat a snicker to ease my excitement.
I expect so. RM1 was a long shot, RM2 was uncertain, RM3 was a surprise, but this one should be the most popular yet among the masses (easy, great graphics) so sales will rise and make RM4 more likely.

[Draygone]

How about, DerbLob? I mean, we already have Tr33m4n.

[RPGD]

It's Tr33m4nn... GET IT RIGHT!!!!

:minotaur

[abyssknight]

I expect so. RM1 was a long shot, RM2 was uncertain, RM3 was a surprise, but this one should be the most popular yet among the masses (easy, great graphics) so sales will rise and make RM4 more likely.

If they do, however, they won't use the full extent of the PS3's abilities. Enterbrain's never reached the maximum power of any console with the RM series, save, perhaps, RPG Maker 3. However, although it was a significant improvement, contrasting it with other actual RPG's makes it seem like a joke. I suppose it would be too expensive to improve on this, though.

Having said that, I'm not a graphics w***e. As a matter of fact, I'm thrilled with RPG Maker 3's visuals. Perhaps an RPG Maker 4 would look like Final Fantasy X with a faster frame rate.

[Conner999]

So in short, RPGM 1 is more powerful, but RPGM 3 has much better graphics. Dissapointing. Guess I'll go back to hoping the next RPGM will give me what I need.

[Chuck]

I'm pretty sure 3 is more powerful than 1. I think was Valk that said to consider it like a 1.5. Its only shortcoming compared to RM1 is that you can't make custom graphics link in Anime Maker since it isn't sprite based. But it uses variables and scripts (much simpler versions than 2 as I understand it) so its much more capable than 1.

[Incognito]

Well, I was impressed, but I have yet to find out if a skeleton and Grim Reaper can be used as playable characters, though. I only hope they can because the GR is vital for the role of main PC in my game.

[Draygone]

As was said, they've been in every RPGM so far, so odds are they'll be in there.

[Incognito]

Well, alright, if that is the case.

[cloudfrickinstrife]

wow...

just found out there was an rpg maker 3.

p.s. i used to be Diablosssss, creator of many group games that failed. so i guess that means i didnt really create them.

anywho..
the environment editor look sweet. however... for downloadable content, you would have to buy a hdd AND an online adapter, right?
that sucks.

[Jeroak Nelave]

There isnt any downloadable content, that was just a mistake.

[Draygone]

Yeah, the HDD is simply to lower load times in the game, and there is no direct online use at all.

[lilwilddude]

When are we gonna get the graphics list?

[Valkysas]

ah, I have no idea.

when agetec is done compiling it, we'll get it.

[Jeroak Nelave]

I was gonna ask the same question tonight...guess now i dont have to.

Thanks for the info Valk

[Vonwert]

I think the biggest thing I want in the new maker, which I probably won't get, is having the ability to add a large number of switches (or their equivalent) for the activation of an event.

In RPGM1, we have only 6 spaces on each page. Which isn't enough. We should be allowed to have 001 - 034 on in one of the 6 spaces.

That would be great for big puzzles, that have many switches.

[pinkymadigan]

Why don't you set a page where having those six sets off a flag, and having another six sets off a different flag, and then the activation is dependant on those two flags? Just a thought...

[Draygone]

The 6-condition limit is definately irritating. I would've liked maybe 9.

[cloudfrickinstrife]

i would like to know a list of the different magic effects (regen, demi, etc). i never touched RM2, so i dont know whats up these days.

also, i would like to know about what status effects you can have, as well as what you can have accessories function as (such as a ring that prevents petrfication).

[Incognito]

Customizable portraits would be nice. As for status effects, I would love to equip them to a few items.

[Draygone]

Judging by those descriptions, I don't think we'll need customizable portraits if there's one (and several styles) for every model. ...Well, maybe if you wanted emotions in those portraits. I don't we're gonna get something like that anyway.

Let's see... RPGM1 has Poison, Paralyze, Sleep, Mute, Confuse, Stone, and of course Death. They're typical RPG status effects, so I assume they'll all be in there. Though I wouldn't mind knowing what other status effects might be in the game. You just know there's gotta be some stat-altering effect like Attack Up or something like that.

[Incognito]

I have an idea for a ring that grants its wearer the power to petrify his/her foe. Off topic, but I heard there was a way for us to share games with each other.

[Crimson Knight]

We could share them through the max drive, which is a small thumb sized USB drive that holds about 16 or so MB of data. I'm getting a larger thumb drive though, so I can store more games on the go. :D

[Incognito]

Awesome. I will have to buy one at EB.

[tjoris9]

Here's a few questions to bounce off the more knowledgeable folks:

Will there be a VFX editor like in 2 or are we probably looking at something closer to 1's small, though fairly usefull, library?

I'm glad they're keeping the variables. It'll be easier to do just about everything, including simulators (Business and political), CBS's, you name it.

Is there any advanced movement scripting for NPC's, like in 2? Especially for scripting "background programs"? I'm pretty sure the answer is "no", though, as making a timer seemed impossible.

[Draygone]

As far as I understand there is no VFX editor. All effects (and there's a bunch of them) are premade. They automatically are better than RPGM1's effects, though they might not be on par with some VFX a more creative RPGMer can create in RPGM2.It'll be easier to do just about everything, including simulators (Business and political), CBS's, you name it.CBS's, assuming there's some way to show weapons outside the DBS. So far it sounds not likely.Is there any advanced movement scripting for NPC's, like in 2?Here's what you're probably looking for:When creating NPCs, in addition to giving them 4 movement paths, you can also give them 8 normal actions and 19 actions while talking. This is very cool actually (with one possible slight problem). So you can have an NPC walking around randomly, and he might be searching for something, so he’ll be putting his hands to his eyes like he’s looking for something far away. Or you’ll have NPC looking worried, excited, happy, hopeful, angry or fidgety. When talking to an NPC, you can have him bow to you first and do 18 other different actions.

[tjoris9]

Thanks.

One other thing...

Will there be a limitation on mapping, like the 512 block maximum for buildings in 2?

[Draygone]

You know, that's a good question. There might be a limit to how many buildings can be placed in a town, but from what I can tell you can still place a lot of them in there.

[Draygone]

So I saw the PSM review of RPGM3. One of the screenshots showed a Lizard Man as a party member, and what appears to be armored Skeleton (among other monsters that I couldn't identify) as opponents.

Whoops, sorry for the double-post.

EDIT:Hey Valk, how early do you think you'll be getting a copy of RPGM3? If it's early enough, maybe you'd be able to answer our questions. Questions like: would it be possible to have a character shoot an energy blast into a home, blowing it up and knocking out someone hiding behind it?

[Draygone]

*bump*
Because editing posts doesn't do that automatically.

[yugdesiral]

draygone: "Questions like: would it be possible to have a character shoot an energy blast into a home, blowing it up and knocking out someone hiding behind it?"

What a ridiculous question, hahahahahaha! What does it mean?

[Valkysas]

draygone, I dont think any special visual effects can be used outside of battle.

I have no idea how early I'll get RPGM3. RPGM2 was 4 days early. Whever it gets here, I'll be answering questions.

[Warrior Angel]

not to get off topic, but how do you transfer games from the playstation 2 to the computer?

[Misty]

not to get off topic, but how do you transfer games from the playstation 2 to the computer?

Dex Drive. You can transfer your RPG Maker data from a memory card.

[Valkysas]

dex drive for PS1, x port, shark port, or max drive for PS2.

[lilwilddude]

any more word on the graphics list?

[cloudfrickinstrife]

which of the three do you recommend?

[WilliamKirk]

I'd recommend the X-Port, as it's the most reliable as far as not corrupting data goes. Max Drive's more convenient, but X-Port's more reliable. Shark Port's the worst. If you have an extra memory card and a back-up file of your game on it everytime you transfer games up and down from the internet you'll be safe.

[Dr. Sprite]

Hey Valk......I heard about this graphics list and i was wondering when you would be getting it....Also i have heard alot about this topic and i want to get a answer.....Is it true that you will be able to download new content for RPGM3?

[Kenshin-dono]

Hey Valk......I heard about this graphics list and i was wondering when you would be getting it....Also i have heard alot about this topic and i want to get a answer.....Is it true that you will be able to download new content for RPGM3?


as hes mentioned several times, he doesn't know when he will be getting that list, and there is no downloadable content. Read all the posts

[Dr. Sprite]

Ok Im sorry

[SpikeHartseeker]

At this rate, We'll probably get the actual game before the graphics list. >_<

Come to think of it, what exactly IS this graphics list? Will it just be a list of character models, or will it include monsters and buildings and such? Will it have pictures? Will there be more information such as what models can use what types of equipment? C'mon, I really want to know so I can start planning my games!

[Draygone]

I just want a character/monster list. Including buildings wouldn't work out as well.

"Let's see, we've got...
A House
Another House
A Shop
A House
An Inn... No wait, another house."

[yugdesiral]

yeah, we've really seen very little variety so far. I can't wait till we get lists, even if they're not complete.