[RM2K][RM2K3] SMALL SURVEY ABOUT PATCHES - TAKES ONLY A MINUTE

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Hello,

you would do me a great favour if you could spare a minute to fill out this short survey about RM2k(3) patches: http://goo.gl/forms/OW1PCkHSu3

One of the reasons I need it is to allow me to make more accurate statements in front of Degica/Enterbrain.

Thanks a lot!
Cherry
I've filled it out too.

...I doubt that the number of people looking to reverse-engineer RPG Maker 2003 and compile their own RPG Maker 2003 to sell for profit is higher than zero.
I was a little confused by the question, "Do you create patches and/or obtain internal information through hacking/reverse engineering yourself?" It's ambiguous whether the "create patches" part is separate from "through hacking/reverse engineering". I answered no, because while I do write DynRPG plugins, I don't do any hacking/reverse engineering myself. -.-a
Magi
Resident Terrapin
1028
I don't use RPG Maker 2003 currently, but purchased it on Steam and left some feedback for your survey. Cheers~!
Damn, I should have added a "Do you create DynRPG plugins" question, or include the plugins in the patch creation question :|
WIP
I'm not comfortable with any idea that can't be expressed in the form of men's jewelry
11363
I also gave some feedback. I think disclosure is super important.
I use Ace now, but I did the survey relative to my old RM2K3 use. Good luck!
Submitted! Hopefully I'm not too late or something.

Here's my input since I've been heavily involved in the world of DynRPG:

I have a big project that has been in the works for many years, and at this point, I'm waist deep in the world of plugins/patches. It would take an ungodly amount of work to revert back to vanilla 2k3, and I frankly would just stop 2k3 use all together at that point and start fresh in a new engine.

Making plugins has been hugely beneficial to me as a developer, because it's given me a reason to learn C++ and figure out every little nuance of 2k3 in order to add some really special features and modernize it. Reverse engineering has kind of been a necessary evil in this regard, because it's the only way you'll really understand the engine, and how to enhance it. Patches are incredibly helpful because you can do a lot of quick fixes that would be less feasible as plugins (and would cause more overhead/be more "hacky").

As for paid patches/plugins, that's a tough area to get into for sure, but I could see some kind of distribution system, where you check off the ones you want to buy/add, click a button, and it does the work for you. Problematic areas would be bug testing and feedback. The DynRPG route has been nice because you get all kinds of honest feedback. In the pay model, negative feedback would get magnified, because someone could pull out the "I paid for this, so you have to fix it" card. In general obviously you wouldn't want someone to pay for a broken plugin, and if they did, you would need a way for them to provide feedback and updates. I could see some of that leveraged through steam workshop, but I don't think they allow paying for that stuff yet. The Skyrim mod debate from a few weeks ago comes to mind.

With that said, I'd love to get paid a little money for my blood, sweat & tears. It would probably motivate me more to fix bugs/etc. Being a plugin developer would have bigger responsibilities for sure.

That's my 2 cents. Good luck, Cherry!
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Steam Workstop still has plans to allow amateur content creators to sell add-ons such as mods, just not with Skyrim. Doing that for an engine like RPG Maker instead of a game, with support from the creator of DynRPG, would probably be an extremely safe place for them to start. There's no real concern about official updates to RM2K3 making the patches obsolete, since there won't be any more; yet it also doesn't have an existing community of modders that it's interfering with because this is the first official English release of the engine. It's a very unique situation, and if Degica/Enterbrain were to approach Steam about this, I think Steam would be extremely tempted to support it. They made it clear in their press releases over the past month that they are absolutely looking for a way into this market right now, and RM2K3 could be their ideal safe foothold.
RPG Maker add-ons being sold is something I'm a bit less hostile to than Skyrim mods for a simple reason:

What you're creating are effectively engine pieces to be shared for a game-making program.

Sharing engines, if only for a fee, has been an industry standart for decades ; one only has to think of how many game engines have been licensed to other development teams to allow them to make their own games.


Though if it is the desire of people to make add-ons for money for this engine, there should be both rules and measures to prevent coding theft (in short, like you don't sell a game with game rips, you don't sell an add-on with coding you took from someone's work).


I'm rather neutral to the issue and the idea of sold add-ons is something I feel should be dealt with carefully but I do think that it would be good for the official RM2003 to eventually reach the same potential of the unofficial engine (especially for those who are already using patches in the unnofficial engine).
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