IS IT BAD TO ADD TONS OF CUSTOM STUFF?

Of course it isn't bad to add custom stuff to your game, so long as that stuff actually fits with the core concept of your game to begin with.

Branching out of the default to add custom content does take a lot more work than relying on the generators and other pick-me-ups in RPG Maker, though, so of course it takes longer for games with a lot of custom content to get finished. It's especially true if you are trying to center your game around a different concept than what RPG Maker is built for. You have to venture in the trial-and-errors of RGSS scripting and fumbling around with it to make it work properly.

In short, it's not a bad idea to add lots of custom stuff, but one should be prepared to put some extra effort if they go down that route.

author=NeverSilent
You have your points there, Rya, and I can understand them even if I strongly disagree. I, for once, would never lower a game's review score for using the RTP, but I would give games with custom assets a bonus to the score. From my perspective, this sounds fairer, although you have your good reasons to think differently, too.

But isn't that basically the same except that all your scores are 1 star higher than mine?
I'm rather strict with scoring, because for me 5/5 means that the game is perfect and there is not a single possible change that would have made it better. But when it uses RTP, there is a change to make it better: Not use RTP. So I just can't consider it 100% perfect.

I'm surprised the term 'feature creep' hasn't come up in this discussion yet. An feature is only as good as your ability to implement it. Even if you're highly skilled, if you bog yourself down with too many new features, your game may never be finished because the workload exceeds what you can feasibly do.

The best thing to do is what Liberty said earlier: ask yourself what your game really needs. If you have a really good idea for a feature that doesn't quite fit, save it for another project. You can keep adding to your one game endlessly, but you risk losing focus and possibly never finishing.

As far as I'm concerned, custom is not necessarily better then standard. For example, non RTP is better than RTP if it looks better and worse if it looks worse. I seen plenty of RM projects with custom graphics that looked worse than RTP. The same goes for any other custom stuff.

Pick whatever helps your game the most and factor in the amount of effort needed. Weight the benefit of whatever piece of custom stuff you're considering against the added chance of your project not being finished. Granted, sometimes adding custom stuff actually increases the chance of you finishing a project. For example, making your game look better can improve your motivation to work on it.

author=RyaReisender

author=NeverSilent
You have your points there, Rya, and I can understand them even if I strongly disagree. I, for once, would never lower a game's review score for using the RTP, but I would give games with custom assets a bonus to the score. From my perspective, this sounds fairer, although you have your good reasons to think differently, too.

But isn't that basically the same except that all your scores are 1 star higher than mine?
I'm rather strict with scoring, because for me 5/5 means that the game is perfect and there is not a single possible change that would have made it better. But when it uses RTP, there is a change to make it better: Not use RTP. So I just can't consider it 100% perfect.

Not necessarily, but this is probably where different preferences and priorities come into play. To me, gameplay, story (if existent), innovation and functionality are what matters most in a game. There are many ways to ensure their quality, but not all of these ways are mandatory.
But more importantly, I don't think there is such a thing as a "perfect" game. Every game has its flaws and imperfections. In my opinion, a game deserves a 5-star rating if its positive aspects are so numerous and strong that I feel the less positive aspects become insignificant in comparison and do not noticeably influence my playing experience. So, if the other aspects are strong enough, I think an RTP game can very well deserve 5 stars (although custom assets definitely help).

@McBick:
I agree stuff like custom graphics or mechanics can greatly enhance your game and help you define a personal, recognizable style. But if you want people to see you're not making a generic RPG Maker game, the most important thing to consider is: Don't make a generic RPG Maker game. If the premise of your game is interesting enough, people will recognize it. But a generic game "dressed up" with fancy assets is still a generic game. (I'm not accusing you of doing so, I'm just throwing in my thoughts.)

About everything else: What halibabica said.

Is it bad? No. Is it a timesink? You bet.

Anyway, on the point of getting tired of RTP, I have yet to get tired of VX/VX Ace one. For 2k/2k3 I got tired quickly, just after playing few games, for XP it was little more, but still fairly quick and for VX... Yeah, I haven't got tired of it as for now despite playing literally hundreds VX/VX Ace games.