RPG CREATION WITHOUT THE PRICE TAG - SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY

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RPG Maker VX Ace Lite Released

This past Saturday, EB/Degica has released a Lite version of RPG Maker VX Ace - and it is completely free. There is no time limit, however there are restrictions to the engine. It does provide you with everything you would need to develop your own game - a small one, mind you, but still! Free!

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The restrictions/limits pertain to databases, maps and scripts. Apparently they are:
  • 10 heroes
  • 10 classes
  • 126 skills
  • 16 items
  • 60 weapons
  • 60 armors
  • 30 enemies
  • 30 troops
  • 25 states
  • 110 animations
  • 10 common events
  • No call script but you can use the script functions of the other event commands like variable.
  • No script editor
  • 4 Tilesets
  • 10 events per map.
  • 20 maps max.
As well, while you are free to make games you are unable to produce any commercial games through RPG Maker VX Ace Lite like you are with the full version.

I haven't tried it myself to confirm, but this is what I've read! (And if you like Ace Lite, buy the full version here.)
I received an email about this release earlier this morning and was really surprised by it. This is definitely very restrictive for anyone truly serious about making something extensive, but it will be a great way for people to get their feet wet with VX Ace. Not sure how to feel about the inability to use scripting though since it's pretty much the main draw.
Also you can save which already makes this better than the Japanese Ace trial!

The disabled scripting is probably to prevent people from bypassing the restrictions. With the Japanese Ace trial I found ways to bypass the database restrictions via scripting which could've been done through event->script calls. I also could change the backend scripts because all the trial did was turn off saving scripts through Ace but it still loaded the file all the same. With a script to use a hero name as the location name and to lock the camera, some creativity with reusing events, and 500x500 maps and the map and event restrictions aren't so bad either. It was fun trying to work around restrictions like that (until I had to turn off my computer and lost some work due to no loading) but the crux of it basically came down to needing to script some stuff so I can see them trying to lock it down to get people to buy the non-lite Ace.

e: Probably could even bypass the 10 map limit in the trial by directly telling the player to go to Map 11 or so but 10 500x500 maps were plenty for my goals.
The event limit is 10. But yeah, mostly limits are those. Most of the "Change Maximum" buttons are disabled, and of course scripting (you can open the editor, but the Apply/Accept buttons are "forbidden").

Aside from the items (which means that you will not have that much space for "special items"), it's not much of a problem, at least for short, all-default games.

You can use extra resources though C:!. I suppose that if there is no way to use extra resources, that would had made Lite users to have no access to the resource packages Enterbrain sells (which would had meant less potential sales).

Lite version it's good. It's fun.

EDIT: I'm not sure about something, and please don't sue me for asking. The Ace Lite gives a select few of the resources from the full Ace RTP. So, what happens if I download and use the resources from the full RTP on a Lite game?
I know it doesn't uses them right away (it only gives access to what is inside the game's project). Since I have the RTP to play other people's games (people with the full version), and they don't seem to appear inside.

So, that's why I ask: Is is between the terms of use to use the full Ace RTP with the Lite version? Or have I to play around with extern free contents? (like, let's say, search music at Newgrounds =D).
A limit of 16 total items and 15 events per map, 20 maps max.

You might be able to make a very short, episodic rpg, where you include maybe 8 recovery items and 8 quest items, at most. But the limited events is a killer (especially when you want to build a town with quests and shops). Even if you combined maps as suggested, you would still only have 15 possible events on any given map, regardless of the map's size. That means the entire game couldn't have more than 300 events (assuming you use the maximum of 20 maps), so best to exclude those flickering animated candle events along with any other decorative events.

It's being marketed as a free alternative for those who don't want to buy Ace, but it's really not so much as an alternative as it is a very limited trial without the time constraint. Afterall, there's only so much you can do with such restrictions before your game begins to feel restricted.

I see where EB is going with this, though. It's intended for people who are indecisive about purchasing Ace and may be too busy to play the 30-day trial. EB's goal is still the same... if you like it, they hope you'll then go out and purchase the full copy of VX Ace. However, with such restrictions, it'd be hard to truly get a feel on how Ace fares over other makers. You'd still be better off getting the 30-day trial to see all of Ace's features, and then making a decision based on that.
You just gotta be creative with reusing events and managing them. With the Japanese trial I put all my towns on one map. I had one event on the world map watching the player. When the player moved on top of a town it would set a variable of what town they stepped on and teleport the player accordingly. Then on my town map I had an auto-start event that would see what the town ID variable was set to and set the X/Y of the NPC events to their respective places. The NPCs themselves had a page for when the town ID variable was X which dictated how they acted. The player wouldn't notice a thing until you got numbers mixed up and NPCs spawned in town Y with the events of town Z when the player appears in town X.

e: This is totally a management nightmare better suited for test of concepts than actually making a game because it adds totally needless accidental complexity.
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
This is an amazing idea. 15 events per map is a bit ridiculous, but hey, it's free. The banner's cute, too!
author=Craze
This is an amazing idea. 15 events per map is a bit ridiculous, but hey, it's free. The banner's cute, too!
Agreed, lol..I won't be using this since I already have Ace, but still this is really good.
They should have worked on releasing RM2k3 in english rather than this. What a waste of time.
author=Craze
The banner's cute, too!


Asdada ;w;
thankyou
author=ankylo
They should have worked on releasing RM2k3 in english rather than this. What a waste of time.


Yeah releasing rm2k3 in english is a waste of time.
Ugh. The 20 maps max restriction is what really hurts this release, imo. Or more like combination of the 15 events per map + the 20 maps restrictions. I would have preferred to have one or the other but both make this almost not worth the try, at least not for serious game making purposes... Still, I guess it could be fun to see what people can make with it. xP
author=alterego
Ugh. The 20 maps max restriction is what really hurts this release, imo. Or more like combination of the 15 events per map + the 20 maps restrictions. I would have preferred to have one or the other but both make this almost not worth the try, at least not for serious game making purposes... Still, I guess it could be fun to see what people can make with it. xP
At the very least, it's better than the month long trial seeing as it's free, and doesn't have a time limit. Lol
No script editor is a turn off for me though :/
I think that's the idea - the restrictions are there to get you to want the full thing.

The one thing that I *really* think is a cool purpose that they mention is school class projects. A free editor like this could actually be useful in that setting.
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
On a side-note, I know this month would be a Terrible Time for this, but are you perchance going to have a Ace Lite contest like the original trial type did? Even if there's not another $60 Ace code, just having more, more, MOAR achievements to get on the site would be nice. =3
Caz
LET'SBIAN DO THIS.
6813
author=Craze
On a side-note, I know this month would be a Terrible Time for this, but are you perchance going to have a Ace Lite contest like the original trial type did? Even if there's not another $60 Ace code, just having more, more, MOAR achievements to get on the site would be nice. =3


That'd be super cool! Maybe a mini Christmas competition or something (gives us all time to relax after Halloween contest o.o).
author=kentona
I think that's the idea - the restrictions are there to get you to want the full thing.
Just like the World of Warcraft trial version~ ^o^
author=Craze
On a side-note, I know this month would be a Terrible Time for this, but are you perchance going to have a Ace Lite contest like the original trial type did? Even if there's not another $60 Ace code, just having more, more, MOAR achievements to get on the site would be nice. =3
Honestly, this never even crossed my mind. I will consider it!
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
author=Craze
On a side-note, I know this month would be a Terrible Time for this, but are you perchance going to have a Ace Lite contest like the original trial type did? Even if there's not another $60 Ace code, just having more, more, MOAR achievements to get on the site would be nice. =3


I too would like to see this.
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