Indie Game Maker... er, no. IG Maker.

[Valkysas]

Perversion just brought this to my attention.

We all knew about Action Game Maker, enterbrain's XNA compatible game creation tool. what we didnt know was that they actually released the thing. because they didnt tell anyone.

The software, re-branded "IG Maker", is out now on download.com for $89.99 with the standard 30 day trial.

Their own website makes no mention of this release.

http://tkool.jp/products/IGMAKER/

I would like to support this software, but there's a little problem. Enterbrain's site states plain as day in the features section (final tab) that playing games made with it require the download of player software for those that dont have the $90 maker. I cant find this player software. enterbrain's site doesnt tell you where it is. cant find it on download.com (finding IG maker alone was a pain, since searching "indie game maker" didnt find it).

I wont support software that we cant play games for.

if someone can find this player software, then I'll gladly add IG Maker to the site.

[Draygone]

...Wait, what? o_O

Wow. And here I thought they couldn't top releasing RPG Maker XP at the same time as RPG Maker 3.

[Wavelength]

Originally Posted by Valkysas

I would like to support this software, but there's a little problem. Enterbrain's site states plain as day in the features section (final tab) that playing games made with it require the download of player software for those that dont have the $90 maker. I cant find this player software. enterbrain's site doesnt tell you where it is. cant find it on download.com (finding IG maker alone was a pain, since searching "indie game maker" didnt find it).

I wont support software that we cant play games for.

I checked out the website after I saw this announcement last night and I thought the nitty-gritties looked pretty cool. I'd like to learn a bit more about it's limitations but I do plan to buy this.

As big of a blunder it is for them to not point us to the "Player", the way I understand it, anyone who DOES own the ($90) software can play games you've made, right? If so, that would put it at the same level as the console Makers (albeit with less justification), where you also need to buy the game (as well as a rare accessory!) in order to play other peoples' games, and as such, shouldn't we support it even if the "Player" doesn't exist or can't be found?

[Perversion]

I spent about 45 minutes hunting around Google last night to see if I could find anything about being able to play other people's games. You CAN export to Flash, and have some site host it for you, but as I could find no other info about a "direct" player, I'm guessing it MIGHT be included in the trial/full purchase download.


That would, in my eyes, be pretty ludicrous, though, as the full download is 1.2 gigs, and I'm sure the software itself that enables others to play it is probably no bigger than 50 MB (if that).

[Valkysas]

wave, 90 is a big difference from the 50 and 40 we're used to paying. the attach rate will be low. it is low.

enterbrain's site says games exported in flash may not work correctly.

[Perversion]

Here's a question for someone who might know...

I'm guessing the EULA is the same for this as it is for RPGMXP/VX. It's gonna be a bit until I can get a PC built for me, but I'd like to tinker around with the software on the computer upstairs in the meantime just to try it out, especially as I have a week of vacation coming up next week.


So if I download the trial to the PC upstairs, can I later save what I've done and download the full game onto a new PC and import my previous work?


Also, if I decide to bite the bullet and pay for the entire thing, can I later install it on another PC without having to rebuy it for that PC? In terms of software, I'm new to PC, so I'm not sure how this kind of stuff works, and any help would be appreciated.

[Clavat95]

It says in fine print that it isn't guaranteed to work on 64-bit Windows Vista... Isn't that the main operating system now? I tried it out with it and it wouldnt even let me buy it.

[Stormy]

I'm pretty sure that various versions of XP are still main OS in use today.

Your first question should be a yes Perversion, unless Enterbrain! did something retarded.

I am uncertain for your second question. Theoretically, yes. But I don't know how Enterbrain!/Agetec handles online purchases. If they have you do it through a member account, they may record that you have already purchased it and allow you to download it an indefinite number of times.

On the other hand, they may not. I imagine that you could copy the installation package, burn it to a cd/dvd and re-install it whenever necessary.

[Valkysas]

Enterbrain gives activation keys.

Lately, if people lose their XP keys and contact support, they are given keys to VX instead.

I have no idea why.

If you buy the software, make damn sure you keep track of your keys. write them down. e-mail them to yourself.

[Perversion]

No surprise, but I just exported an HD XNA-compatible demo game to get a feel for file size (87 MB...), and with the export came the ACPlayer folder you were inquiring about, Valk. Looks as if it's a 382 KB folder, which I'm guessing can be added to the site in a zip folder due to how small this is.


So....I found the player. Only thing I do not know is if it's okay to host. As the trial download is free, and this is just the player, I'm sure it probably wouldn't be a problem (breaking copyright, etc) to host it.


Whadda ya think, Valk?

EDIT: According to the EULA, this should not even be an issue.

[Wavelength]

That sounds like the find we needed... have you tested to see whether it works for playing games? Has anyone who doesn't have the software tested?

[Perversion]

As a quick test, I exported one of the premade demo games and double clicked on the .exe file. It played fine.

[Goufunaki]

Cool, I was waiting for this. Hopefully it's easy to make something without any real programming skills.

[162]

Three words- Dream. Come. True!

[Draygone]

Three words- Too. Dang. Expensive!

Yes, I know it's still considerably less expensive than a real development kit, but I can't be spending that much money right now, especially considering my track record of actually finishing games. And considering neither RMXP nor RMVX have come down in price since their releases, I probably can't just wait for the price on this to become more affordable, either.

Probably we're paying extra to be able to put our games on Xbox 360's service. Anybody know if Microsoft has a service charge for that?

[Valkysas]

not paying extra for that.

this doesnt include the membership to the XNA code creator's club, which is 100 dollars per year. it also doesnt include the software needed to create the game in the xna format, which I don't know the cost of. enterbrain's page tells you what you need to get your games up on the 360 marketplace.

[Goufunaki]

XNA itself is free. Although, I dunno if you take the game made from IG Maker and convert it there.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

[Goufunaki]

This thing is too confusing for me.

I click around, but I just don't understand what does what. I can't even figure out how to get started.

All I wanna do right now is just make a simple background and a character to run around to get an idea.

[Perversion]

Glad to see I'm not the only one then...


Actually, I'm not glad to see that. I was hoping that I was just missing something simple, and that others were having fewer problems navigating the convoluted interface in order to do something really basic...like, you know...MAKE A PLAYER CHARACTER MODEL AND A BACKGROUND.

[Draygone]

Thanks for pointing that out. Had no idea you were giving us your experiences with it.

So far, it sounds like...
1) it's not worth $90, and
2) Enterbrain's lost their touch.
Which kinda worries me, as far as future RPGM-type programs go. Maybe somebody else will step in and make something good, themselves. Until then, sounds like all the more reason for Agetec to find a way to bring us RPG Tsukuru 4.

"Easy Mode", Enterbrain. Would do wonders for those who casually want to create a game on a program like this. Doesn't need to be the only mode. Keep the difficult customization for those who want it, but don't force all of us to figure such a convulted system out. Something along the lines with what RPG Maker 2 gave us would be nice.

The simplest but greatest thing that RPG Maker 2 did in Easy Mode was provide all the graphics and animations at the start. That way, when we did something like create a monster, we didn't have to go through the trouble of creating the monster's graphic, the animations the monster would use, and the spell effects for some of those animations. We only had to create the monster and tell it what attacks to use. Yet the harder difficulties provided the option of changing the extra details should the user want to.

One thing that RPG Maker 2 could have done better in that respect is when you created a new monster, a bunch of options that made the monster work in battle were blank, and we had to figure out what to put in those options in order to make it work. The same issue was present when creating new party members, items, and spells. They simply would not work without the proper scripts chosen. RPG Maker 2 should have automatically filled those options with the proper basic script, with the option to swap to our own custom scripts should we decide to.

Another thing was that, on Easy Mode, you could not edit the basic stats of characters and monsters (HP, MP, attack, defense, etc.). Something as simple and important as that should have been available on all difficulty levels.

I would go into furthur detail with what could be better, but without having used IG Maker, I would not know what.