IMPROVING NEXT GENERATION RPG CREATION SOFTWARE

I did it.
Good luck.

Good luck and I have few things to say here.
It would be difficult to compete with RPG Maker, reading your survey I found out that things you would like to improve are all good in it. Plus it has support of a big company and a hoard of users. I would aim to make an engine for people, who feel limited in rm and yet they don't want to leave the familiar entirely and go for something like godot or unity.
RPG Maker's limitations are often the reason why its so popular. It's super easy to make a game in it. But everything made in it has the same, slightly clunky, feel. This is where you could try to outshine it. And maybe try to make it more appealing for some other group of devs too. Don't focus on jrpgs too much. If I were able to make both my zelda clone and final fantasy clone in it, I would consider using it more. Also, names like zelda and mario have a wider player base. Just make it easier to for devs to move beyond the rm's jrpg formula.
Also, I think that making the product freemium with a dedicated assets store is the best way. Engines you're really competing with are 001, 20xx, RPG Wizard, GameMaker, Godot, Slime Builder, IG Maker... not really RM.
You don't need to have an rtp, if the store has enough good stuff in it. Free stuff, ideally. That could be enough to get initial attention. People could use your engine for not being so uniform as rm, while using same free trees from your store over and over. Business is a lot of hypocrisy.

One of the big things that I can think of: A more customizable editor.

There's definitely an increasing trend of combat-less RPG Maker games and there has been for quite some time, but you don't have a whole lot of flexibility in terms of what shows up in the editor and database. Chances are, if you're making a horror or walkabout game, you're probably not using the Armors tab, or the Stats tab, or a whole bunch of other things either for that matter. The ability to hide tabs and event buttons that are irrelevant to your project would be very helpful for those making those types of games.

I'll honestly be surprised if the next RPG Maker doesn't do something like this, considering how many developers are making non-RPGs in these engines. Making it a lot less rigid about what you're -supposed- to do with it will help broaden your audience.

I put in my 2 cents, id like something that ties into my current work flow. I pay adobe/unity monthly fees and get constant updates and new features, id like an RPG Maker that does the same thing. I know that sort of thing would upset hobbiests, and im a hobbiest too, but thats what claiming on taxes are for. More money going into the program means more money to improve the program. Im all about that shizzle.

Edit: Oh yeah, the way tilesheets work in RPG Maker is stupid. I want to be able to make the tile sheets in the program. Import a small png and just tell the program "thats the ground, put it in the ground spot". Instead I have to currently do a lot of trial and error tile placement with current iteration of RPG Maker.

I also filled the survey. I recently "invested" in the official release of 2003, but if a new engine gives me more capabilities, I'd be certainly interested.

What I feel the RPG Maker software lacks has been addressed by others (The lack of menu work), but something wasn't mentioned, I think.
I believe we need more flexibility on the Default Battle System. Full code (or through UI) access to the battle elements:

- Menu (Hide this, show that, re-skin this, change the function to that)
- Actors stats (enemies and party members)
- Exp and level management.

Say, if I wanted to create something like the Bravely Default battle where I can "store" turns, I need to create so many workarounds...
The fact that I cannot figure out who the party/enemy targeted using which skill/attack/item, or the MP used, or so many other things... irritating.

I filled out the survey as best as I could. However, not to be much of a downer here, but I feel like you're asking the wrong questions. I'm not saying you couldn't pull off a better RPG Maker. In fact, I think you absolutely could make a higher quality engine than what we have currently. What I'm calling into question is the chances this new engine will be a success.

If you're marketing this new engine to people with RPG Maker, there's one really important detail that should be kept in mind: People already have RPG Maker. That may seem like an obvious fact, but ask yourself why someone with RPG Maker would want to buy another one. To use a different example, Call of Duty 4's success spawned lots of different lookalikes trying to capitalize on its success. But they were all commercial failures. Why? Because gamers already had Call of Duty. They didn't want to jump ship and buy into an untested franchise, even if that franchise was objectively better than Call of Duty. Why? Because they already had Call of Duty, and that loyalty was enough to keep them from trying out a different series.

"Same, but better" isn't going to cut it, I think. "Different" will make you stand out. When gamers looked at Homefront, they saw Call of Duty. When gamers looked at Spec Ops: the Line's marketing, they saw Call of Duty*. When developers look at your new engine, unless there's something immediately apparent that separates it from RPG Maker, they're going to think of RPG Maker. If you offer something that cannot be done with RPG Maker, then you'll have a strong competitive ground.

I bring this up because you'd be surprised how different people will act when the time comes to act on what they said they'd do in a survey. While I don't have the numbers in front of me, I think there's a strong case to be made here by looking at the people still using RM 2k3 so long after all these new engines have come out. Brand loyalty is a powerful armor that can hold up against even the most objectively better new tech.

Just my two cents on this.


*: I can't tell you how painful it was for me to write that sentence...

hi hedge1 ❤

this sounds really exciting! I don't have a whole lot of time, but I'm gonna try and pass this thread/survey around in a few places and I want to throw in my two cents very quickly:

When I started using rpgmaker2003, 11 years ago, I originally thought you could make a game like final fantasy 6, earthbound or chrono trigger with it - you can't, you can only make a game like Final Fantasy 1-3 with it.

I donated and used RM20XX in the past. But part of the reason why I could never use it any further than that, is because it looks too different from rpgmaker2003 - I really just want what Sonic Mania did for Sonic games - an editor that looks identical to rpgmaker2003, but you can easily make final fantasy 6 and then maybe, dragon quest, earthbound or zelda game in, and then easily port it to Mac, Linux and modern consoles.

Right now, there doesn't seem to be an rpgmaker editor that can let you do that.
Right now, when you make an rpgmaker game, it's only playable on PC and with some tinkering, might not really be playable on Mac and might not really be playable on Linux.

There really needs to be a program, something that everyone can use, where they can very easily and very quickly make rpgmaker games in, in terms they can understand, and then be able to very quickly port those games to other systems and consoles not just what rpgmaker/enterbrain/ascii has been doing for the last 20 years.

I want an rpgmaker editor that's like, the Macromedia/Adobe Flash of rpgmaker games.

I want an rpgmaker editor that's like, the Microsoft Word of rpgmaker games.

There's definitely a demand for this. ❤

Like, rpgmaker is very difficult to use, it's more difficult than it needs to be for the average user.

A new rpgmaker program should ideally, make the process even easier for the average user, while extending beyond rpgmakers original limitations, but at the same time, look/feel somewhat familiar to longtime users of rpgmaker.

This thread is amazing..

I already said it in survey so it seems like it's at least in the thoughts, but I'll say again here. I wanna give my complaints about RPG Maker and what I would do to improve the current stuff.

Menu/UI customization. This is WAY harder than it should be. I should just drag and drop window sizes rather than using scripts for this. I won't pretend to understand how to make this stuff but I feel like the idea of RPG Maker should try and figure out a very fluid way to do this.

I also think it should be way easier to hide options such as certain stats, etc.

LAG I love RPG Maker VX Ace, I really do. The biggest issue I have with it, is the lag. I have resorted to making super small maps just to avoid lag and I'm someone who likes having somewhat bigger maps. MV came along and the lag is WAY worse than even VX Ace. Now I'm not talking about making a 500 x 500 map with a billion events run smoothly, but I should at least push it a little bit with maps bigger than 50 x 50 without hiccuping.

Console Flexibility I would love to make a game and release it on consoles and whatnot, not just steam. I'm not sure how easy that would be to pull off, but I think RPG Maker should really focus on that next and anyone else who wants to do this.

Tileset OptionsI don't care about autotiles other than for dirt/water stuff. I want way more (reasonable) amount of space to have for my tiles (as a pixel artist). The amount of space I have for water tiles is sad as I've ran out on multiple occasions doing more complex stuff. I want way more layer options as well. Example: I would like to make more complex tiles for rivers to where you could see details under the river without sacrificing an arm and a leg to do so. I should be able to make some cliff stuff and just post transparent water animation over it. Stuff like that if it makes sense.

My other suggestions may be a bit trickier and require further discussion but I'll try.

Default Battle SystemI want my default system to start very simple and have space to improve upon. There should be a check box for animated enemies and characters and a very basic way to change position of characters if you wish to have them at all.

Battle formulas and whatnot I never got super deep into, but something like VX Ace and perhaps even more flexible would be good. Just easy to pull off with room to go deep with, if that makes sense.

MORE possibilities for battle systemsFor RPG creation, the first person turn based battle system in my opinion is a must and best, as there is tons of potential to do with it. Yet, I would love for a respectable option for different types of battle systems. Such as action or strategy. This is maybe not a must for something to start with, but something I would appreciate having a respectable base for.



I don't know if I convoyed what I said well or even said a fraction of stuff I feel should be improved upon, but I hope this is a start. It's very important to talk to us rpg maker game devs and keep a dialogue with us. Keep it simple. Make it flexible. Let it run smooth.

I personally don't care about presets such as a run time package type of thing. I make my own graphics and music. That type of thing is low priority as far as I'm concerned though I do understand its worth.

I would super advice against 3D rpg makers until someone gets 2D right. They haven't yet. Perfecting what we have now would be great.

There are way too many things in current RPG Maker you need scripts knowledge for when it should just be a feature.