New RPG Maker incoming? Topic

3530

06/13/2020 04:39 AM

author=JosephSeraph
Though customizing stuff so it runs well on smaller resolutions IS a pain.

Try getting it to run at the Gameboy aspect ratio as I did, I had to break the engine so badly to make it work, especially the UI. -_-

Sgt M

h

7268

06/13/2020 05:26 AM

author=Liberty
author=Darken
maybe everyone at RMWeb is playing world of warcraft and thinking about the next expansion pack. "That illidan prepared line creates FOMO right?"
Maybe it's not RMW or peeps in charge of the marketting but someone that Degica has specifically hired for it that isn't part of the community.

oh wait...

thought that was fucking obvious tho

But yeah, you can't throw that shitfest of a marketting ploy on RMW and crew since they were just given shit to put up. I can tell ya now, it would have been a hell of a lot better worded if it had been.

Did they pull a dude off the street because cmon

JosephSeraph

delet me

7818

06/13/2020 05:26 AM

Here's to hoping MZ has some low resolution support! I highly doubt it though lol

But yeah MV3D at least makes low resolution something convenient map-wise, otherwise you'd probably need a tilesize changer and a dummy folder if you were doing 2D .... the thought gives me a headache

actually if the System2 tab really does have resolution settings as I suspect... That gives me a lot of hope for better UI downscaling

Darken

3952

06/13/2020 06:17 AM

author=Yellow Magic
author=Red_Nova
Anyway, the announcement was, just like people have mentioned already, geared towards newcomers and not towards veterans.
I do wonder if this is sort-of a last-ditch attempt to get new people interested in RPG Maker, although based off the screenshots, anyone would be able to tell that they wouldn't exactly be making Persona 5 with this thing.

How popular is the more old-school style of jRPGs with the average current-day gamer anyway? If the answer is "not very", why not just make a great product for the loyal existing fanbase?

EDIT: Having said that, maybe the loyal fanbase itself is dwindling in numbers as its members grow older. Did you know Lun Calsari only has 169 followers on Twitter?

I don't know if The Way was ever really popular, it's hard to even establish metrics that compare to back then since the internet was smaller and things seemed relatively bigger. Twitter nowadays isn't that good of a metric either since it's mostly gamedevs following each other. But just to try and birds eye view it...

Few examples I can think of popular JRPGs:
(the metric being, at least 5k reviews on steam which is roughly 200k unit sales by super generous estimates, and released within the last 5 years)

Crosscode made by a team lead by the Velsabor person, though I doubt there's little carry over from the rpgmaker audience. It's also a bit more on the action side but the aesthetics lead to be a very Secret of Mana with mouse controls feel.
Temtem although would not call it a traditional RPG it does count. uhhhh it's turn based combat and you explore places.
Octopath Traveler Cheating with only 4k but sold extremely well on the Switch, which was unexpected considering the experimental artsyle and idk it reminds me of Saga Frontier which is for nerds

To give you an idea, neither Indivisible nor Cosmic Heroine passes this threshold. Not even Hyperdimension Waifu Game, not even the latest Dragon Quest. Granted the Steam audience leans towards the Baldur Gate WRPG type stuff (typically over 10k in reviews). Which is why I find Crosscode extremely notable since it's very much close to the SNES aesthetic that a lot of RM2K3 users adore and yet it obviously sold outside that audience. I couldn't tell you how it did that well. Right place at the right time sure, but I do think the JRPG aesthetic counted for something.

Problem is none of those popular examples or even the runner up ones are made in RPG Maker. To the Moon and LISA are highlighted as big examples but uh they're very old examples of the 2011-2013 early Steam momentum. We're not even honing in on the exact format RPG Maker game favs typically follow. So it's really up in the air whether or not the RPG is still "viable" let alone a game made in RPG Maker. I just wouldn't bet on it most of the time.

visitorsfromdreams

3530

06/13/2020 07:00 AM

author=Darken
Problem is none of those popular examples or even the runner up ones are made in RPG Maker. To the Moon and LISA are highlighted as big examples but uh they're very old examples of the 2011-2013 early Steam momentum. We're not even honing in on the exact format RPG Maker game favs typically follow. So it's really up in the air whether or not the RPG is still "viable" let alone a game made in RPG Maker. I just wouldn't bet on it most of the time.

What was the last legitimate RPGM game to make a big splash? I know Jimmy was a hit with a niche audience but it didn't seem to get the love that a lot of us had hoped it would. I guess Heartbeat was kind of biggish when it launched (I know there's also a lot of justified controversy surrounding the game too) but it faded into obscurity pretty quick. She Dreams Elsewhere has been getting some mainstream press buzz which is fantastic but that's all I have really seen RPGM wise in recent years.

OldPat

OrudoPatto, kisama!

5017

06/13/2020 07:04 AM

That MV3D thing looks indeed impressive. But damn, is navigating through the map a pain in that test project. xD

As for me, at the moment, MZ doesn't hype me at all. Four layers mapping is cool, really *REALLY* cool and a feature I always wanted back but still... hopefully that's not everything it has to show.

Still, *elder man's voice* "it is not thy tool who makes the game for ya".
So, y'know... if you have stuff going on with the current RPG Makers just focus on that. Don't y'all dare trying to convert your projects for the new tool for no real concrete reason. I saw that being done way too many times when a new RPG Maker got released and as a result I saw so many dead projects all around. A massacre. Everytime a new RPG Maker gets released is like the D-Day for game projects.

Liberty

RTP Princess

24266

06/13/2020 08:10 AM

author=Sgt M
author=Liberty
author=Darken
maybe everyone at RMWeb is playing world of warcraft and thinking about the next expansion pack. "That illidan prepared line creates FOMO right?"
Maybe it's not RMW or peeps in charge of the marketting but someone that Degica has specifically hired for it that isn't part of the community.

oh wait...

thought that was fucking obvious tho

But yeah, you can't throw that shitfest of a marketting ploy on RMW and crew since they were just given shit to put up. I can tell ya now, it would have been a hell of a lot better worded if it had been.
Did they pull a dude off the street because cmon

If I had to guess, someone in their Japan office who got nabbed to 'write something for the English site' because they were best at English. Probably.

Marrend

Guardian of the Description Thread

21781

06/13/2020 10:46 AM

Okay, maybe I downplayed the importance of having 4 layers. However, maybe the screenshots they present for their engine could have actually showed us what a 4-layer map could look like. Give us some eye-candy to "get wowed" with. Rather than what you might see when you press "New Project", or just fooling around in the editor. Or would something like that gonna be a "later" thing, when they officially announce this, among other features?

I dunno. On one hand, I have no projects I want to work toward. Which means that if I suddenly get the inkling to make stuff again, I could get MZ ~~for cheap~~, or stick with ~~what I know best~~ Ace. Though, if there is one for sure thing that I'm counting on, it's that RMN (and maybe RMW too) will have events on (or soon after) the release of MZ.

Craze

why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar

15170

06/13/2020 11:12 AM

Marrend
Though, if there is one for sure thing that I'm counting on, it's that RMN (and maybe RMW too) will have events on (or soon after) the release of MZ.

i mean, gaymak is soon right?

edit:

Darken
Crosscodemade by a team lead by the Velsabor person

WAIT WHAT

unity

You're magical to me.

12540

06/13/2020 01:20 PM

I've personally done a bunch of complaining about the marketing, but I want to be clear that I'm not taking jabs at anyone in specific on RMW when I do it. I know they are probably just as frustrated from the poor handling of everything as we are, and I know from experience the frustration of making something and having it be poorly marketed and feeling powerless due to that.

In that light, I probably shouldn't pull this again, the last thing I want to do is make folks feel insulted for stuff they can't even control. I apologize if I made anyone reading this feel bad with my comments.

Marrend

Guardian of the Description Thread

21781

06/13/2020 02:38 PM

Where are people are getting the impression that RMW has anything to do with any of the announcements? Being the official site of RPG Maker might give the staff certain privileged information about the engine, but, like, that does not mean they have any say in the advertising campaign!

Craze
Gaymak is soon, right?

Are you trying to imply that MZ would be available for gaymak?

Sooz

They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!

5354

06/13/2020 03:01 PM

author=Liberty
If I had to guess, someone in their Japan office who got nabbed to 'write something for the English site' because they were best at English. Probably.

The Japanese marketing is pretty much the same stuff, though. It even still has the "Get ready to be wowed!" copypaste.

Darken

3952

06/13/2020 05:58 PM

author=visitorsfromdreams
author=Darken
Problem is none of those popular examples or even the runner up ones are made in RPG Maker. To the Moon and LISA are highlighted as big examples but uh they're very old examples of the 2011-2013 early Steam momentum. We're not even honing in on the exact format RPG Maker game favs typically follow. So it's really up in the air whether or not the RPG is still "viable" let alone a game made in RPG Maker. I just wouldn't bet on it most of the time.
What was the last legitimate RPGM game to make a big splash? I know Jimmy was a hit with a niche audience but it didn't seem to get the love that a lot of us had hoped it would. I guess Heartbeat was kind of biggish when it launched (I know there's also a lot of justified controversy surrounding the game too) but it faded into obscurity pretty quick. She Dreams Elsewhere has been getting some mainstream press buzz which is fantastic but that's all I have really seen RPGM wise in recent years.

If you define big splash as at least greater than 1k reviews and within 5 years, then horror games mainly. Most of them were originally free games converted to english/definitive versions and published by PLAYISM, originally japanese.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/537110/Angels_of_Death/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/691450/Misao_Definitive_Edition/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/483980/Mad_Father/

Rakuen and Finding Paradise are probably the biggest contenders which has ties to To the Moon in terms of gameplay and style actually did pretty well, got into award festivals. Very much a brand thing though, and retaining the momentum from To the Moon. Finding Paradise at 7k is insane though, more reviews than a typical FF re-release.

Though again, not really RPGs. Most RPGM games that are actually RPGs barely get to 200-500 reviews. Including Jimmy(225) and Heartbeat(359). Helen(585) is on the higher end, again originally in japanese translated into english later, PLAYISM etc. Ara Fell (591) did pretty well (but uh, it's now made in Unity).

Most things that Paradise Project (slight NSFW warning) has published are RPGM made as RPGs. Their top game being 40k reviews, not made in RPG Maker, but games like Dark Elf (3k) and The Heiress (1k) are clearly RPG Maker. However not all of them did well, just some, and they're in the cheapskating 2-5 dollar range. I consider this a really inflated anomaly though, there's a culture on Steam spam posting """"ironic""""" reviews and memes on porn stuff.

Eternal Senia, a slightly older game, ARPG, and it's free, but interesting considering it's hard enough to get high downloads for free games and I've never heard of it. Also, originated in Japan.

So idk, translate your RPG to Japanese, make it horror themed, add porn, and have your plot center around doctors trying to forge memories for old people about to die.

Actually shoutouts to Fear and Hunger, not on Steam but I feel like it had big splash and is an actual RPG.

unity

You're magical to me.

12540

06/13/2020 06:26 PM

Hey, a genuine thank-you for all of that, Darken. This is some really interesting info and the kind of thing I'm always interested to catch up on!

At this point, I'm beyond hoping to make some sort of big splash and just content with "this is an outlet for my creative work" so I guess I'm slipping more towards the hobbist end, but there's nothing wrong with that IMO :D

Sooz

They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!

5354

06/13/2020 06:33 PM

From everything I've seen of internet fame, I feel that becoming mildly popular in a small-to-medium niche is probably the best one can hope for, in terms of maintaining sanity.

Rue669

1098

06/14/2020 01:09 PM

In many ways, marketers will tell you to hit those niche markets and find your "true fans".

She Dreams Elsewhere is one game I've been following because developer seems to be doing everything right in terms of advertising the game. It just so happens that the game is very cool too and I'm looking forward to playing it.

Cap_H

DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS

6625

06/14/2020 02:16 PM

RPG Paper Maker looks great and every new update gets me hyped! But it never will have the same support as RM and a large library of scripts and resource. So, it's for a different audience, but I also find it to be a great step for someone who wants to move away from RM and still make games, which are mostly turned based old school jrpgs.

Rakuen and OneShot made some splash from what I know.

jomarcentermjm