WHY AREN'T THERE MORE TUTORIALS ON THE BASICS?

I just wrote a ten page article on the very basics of RPGMaker 2003. First part in a series. I hope it's okay. - -

I remember when I first got started I had to figure things out as I went by myself - seeing as my internet access back then was pretty much nil, I really had no-one to ask anyway and the help file was in jibberish. When I did manage to get online, I was more or less adequately skilled enough to piece together a 'game', but reading tutorials did help a lot with generating ideas about how/when to use switches, variables and conditions.
Hell, I avoided variables almost exclusively for my first few games because I didn't understand them well enough to implement them properly enough and if it weren't for a pretty good tutorial I found (I have no idea where it is now) I'd probably still have some trouble with them.

Sure, learning as you go is a great way to figure things out, but the learning process can be sped up quite a bit by looking at some good tutorials. And they can sometimes spark off ideas.

Then again, I learnt the most about variables by crafting my own X&O minigame from scratch and a CMS. Using what you've learnt is important too. And now I've gone off the track. I may whip up something basic for general eventing/database explanation.

Yeah well, I actually failed Linear Algebra, so fuck that.

post=149494
There's a large group of people who want to magically be able to do something amazing with little effort.

rpg maker dot net

post=149522

post=149494
There's a large group of people who want to magically be able to do something amazing with little effort.

rpg maker dot net

RPG Maker.


That's why I use it!

I totally agree with WIP only with 100% less venom and spite.

So did the deluge of tutorials make RMN more noob friendly?

New people are the life blood of any community.

Intro. Skip this paragraph if you couldn't give two tail shakes of a rat's ass on who I am or what I have to say. I don't know if I've ever properly introduced myself when joining this site, aside for once being accused of having an alter ego named sbester (but that's all past, we won't discuss my split multiple personality disorder). But anyway, my name is amerkevicius and I'm a thinker and writer, I have very little technical experience. I've got great stories in my head, I've outlined them, I know how I want them to go, but getting the look and feel down in a game is a lot harder than it appears. I'm trying to learn. So far I've been hiding in the shadows, downloading game after game, and sticking my head out of the turtle's shell to post a few comments, ideas, and reviews, and then hiding back in my shell again. Now I'd like to make a game, not a perfect game, probably not even a great game, but a game worthy of this site, because dammit, these stories are tormenting me! Aside from joining a team that would take my ideas and flesh out the details on their own, I'm on my own. I am a noob (hello noob), but not so much of a noob that I can't grasp basic concept and apply what I've learned. Hopefully I will eventually get where others on this site are today… Okay, enough sucking up!

Here are my suggestions to noobs (yes a noob passing on advice)…

***3 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO WHEN LEARNING HOW TO USE RPG MAKER***

1) PRACTICE!!!! People need to have an idea of switches, events, variables, and how these work before delving into making a game. I learned very basic skills back in the days when I played the rpg maker for playstation. I didn't have access to the internet, and the guide that came with the game was useless. But I worked with it and got some of the basic understanding down. In reality, this is Enterbrain's fault, because they really could have created a guide to go along with each of their product, similar to a walkthrough for any other rpg, but they do not. Admittedly, I know very little about variables, because, well, I suck in math and haven't found a real good tutorial on how to use them. I think once I get this down, though, I'll be able to do just about anything complicated.

2) RESEARCH!!!! The search engine is a most powerful tool. I'm part of 3 sites (rpgmaker.net, rpgrevolution.com, and rpgmakervx.net), but I've also frequented rmrk.net, rpgcrisis.net, rpg-palace.com, creationasylum.net, rmxpunlimited.net, & rmvxp.com for tutorials, suggestions, and resources. If you cannot find something here, chances are you can find it on one of these other sites.

3) LEARN THE PROGRAM!!!! Before somebody worries about scripts and resources, they need to learn the engine inside out, including how to create events to get your game looking the way you want it to. This includes mapping skills, switches, & variables. Admittedly, the VX has a blocky look, limited tilesets, and tries to be smart when it ends up doing things that are completely useless. However, I have seen some very good maps come out of the VX just using the RTP. Learn how to use those limitations before you try to import more, because if you can't map with those limitations, what makes you think you're going to map with anything else?

Now... moving on. To the mods, please forgive me if I'm not supposed to be offering links to other places.

***A GOOD TUTORIAL FOR VX BEGINNERS***

http://www.rpgmakervx.net is not as organized as this site, in my opinion, but it does have something this site does not. A nice list of tutorials for the VX. You have to be registered there to post but not sure if you have to be registered there to access the tutorials and download the games. On this particular site, there is one tutorial that is above all others. The title to this is called Beginner's Guide to RPG Maker VX (link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/8795237/Beginner...PG-Maker-VX-v04). The guide takes you step by step through the game making process by having you follow along on your own rpg maker vx engine to create a mini rpg. How? Not just by telling you what you need to do, but why you need to do it, and what happens when you don't do it a certain way. I've used this guide over and over again, and it's given me a basic understanding of how things work with the VX, enough to be able to comfortably use the RTP to create a game (albeit probably lousy). The guide is a stepping stone, and unfortunately doesn't cover advanced situations, doesn't talk about scripts and how to import/export, and doesn't discuss variables, but at least it's a stepping stone for people starting out. On the other hand, the rpgmakervx.net site includes a Tutorial Master List that does cover all these other features, and then some, from beginner's basics all the way to more advanced usability. Check it out, if you have time. No, this doesn't cover 2k/3 or XP, but really, once you learn the basics of VX, you can easily apply these to a lot of the other engines, and the parts you don't know you can find out by doing a search in Google.

***WHY WE NEED TUTORIALS ON THIS SITE***

Next, I do agree with WIP, it would be nice to get tutorials on this site. I've enjoyed this site for their games, of which I believe this site has the most available to download, from a variety of different engines. But I believe this site could benefit from a forum overhaul to get it up to par with other sites, including a good list of tutorials. The plus side is, these tutorials are already available on other sites, so maybe there's a way to encourage these authors to bring their information over to our side. We might think it's basic elementary and people should know this stuff, but the fact of the matter is, somebody starting out is going to go to a site where they can receive the most help. Wouldn't it be nice if that was our site?

As I've mentioned earlier, I'm a bit intimidated when it comes to variables, and I have no clue how scripts work or why, and I have trouble getting the very basic scripts to work because there's no real information on how to use the components within the script (ie., what to insert, the variables and mathematics, and how to call scripts and set up common events). I'm not a scripter, I don't think I'd ever be able to figure out the language for it, but it would be nice to get some of the more complicated scripts to work. What I'd like to see are more tutorials that cover the basics as well as the advance, the scripts and variables, and complicated switch branches, but I'd like to see these done in similar fasion as the guide I previously mentioned, the Beginner's Guide to RPG Maker VX, where instead of just a brief tutorial we instead have the reader follow along on their own engine by making a mini rpg that applies these tools.

When it comes to scripts and variables, you might think it's rudimentary and should be left alone until a person has understand the basics. And I'm inclined to agree with you to a degree. However, our goal shouldn't be to make the site in sinc with others, but to make it better than others. And what better way to do that than instead of "Here's the script, follow the instructions, goodbye" to actually offer a tutorial on how to use it right at the beginning of a new project, and how to fill in the variables to make it function. That would surely draw a crowd. Just make them register here before they are allowed to download it. And once they see how well this site is, Word Of Mouth Advertisement, Baby!!!

***SCRIPT TUTORIAL***

Scripts: I've used plug-and-play scripts, but I would love to get a tutorial that walks me through on how to actually design a script, or at the very least how to get them to work, especially the more complicated ones that require a bit of knowledge. I think the perfect script for somebody to create a tutorial for that will introduce people to the dos and don'ts of script use is the Tankentai sideview battle script. Walk the person through from scratch and how to get this darned thing to work. Teach them a few steps on how to set up the random encounters, add the battlebacks for a few areas, and how to customize the script so that it will work correctly each time. Following along, I can then visualize what I'm doing and why. Another good example of a tutorial script is customized menus to spice the game up, and maybe a party swapper that allows me more than 4 people in a party. I'm more interested in how to get more people into a party then a battle screen.

***SWITCH/VARIABLE TUTORIAL***

Variable: When it comes to variables, so far I've seen examples that involve 0 and 1. I have an understanding on how these work (false=off, true=on; view them like a light switch, etc), but what about situations that requires more variables, like a variable of 2 or higher? I haven't seen very many tutorials with such complicated situations, and I'm sure I'm not the only noob wondering about this.

So, I've come up with two complicated situations that require a lot of switches and variables. These are examples I had floating in my head for a possible game, but because I have no clue on how to make these work, I've slipped away from game making. These examples are a bit cheesy, but gets the point across. Anyway, I think that if we understand what to do from these examples, any noob (myself included) will be able to apply this just about anywhere, including situations where depending on what certain events at the beginning of the game are triggered, this may or may not affect events near the end of the game.

If somebody would have the heart to create a complete step-by-step tutorial on how to handle these two situations, not only would this address every noob's question on switches and variables, it would also put us forever in your debt.

---Example 1: Feed the Troll---

I'm Hero X (a male), and I've just found out that in order to cross the Chimichunga River at the bridge, I must first pay the troll's fare by handing him the droppings of a Vampire Bat found within Dark Tower. So I go to Dark Tower, but I cannot access the door without first inserting the 4 sacred tablets of old into the grooves next to the door. Each groove has a symbol designated for one of the tablets. The earth and fire grooves are to the right of the door, the wind and water grooves to the left. So I leave the tower to locate the tablets. There is a village near the tower with a smithy, and the smithy tells me no weapon can kill the Vampire Bat, but he has an item that will damage the bat, Garlic Lotion. He will only give it to me if I can provide him inspiration of something to fix. Another NPC gives me the location of all the 4 tablets. The earth tablet can be found in a tree to the right of Dark Tower, the wind tablet in a tree to the left of Dark Tower. To find the Fire Tablet, I must go into the basement of the Smithy and fight a slime, which will then relinquish the fire tablet. And finally, the water tablet can be found in a cave behind Dark Tower. I go into the cave, and an auto event runs where Hero X talks to himself, while a parallel events takes place at the same time (maybe a couple of NPC children running around playing tag). The auto event ends, but the parallel event continues and when I try to talk to the children, they pause to laugh and then run around again. I go into the next room of the cave and find the water tablet. Uh oh, it's just one piece of a broken tablet, and shows up as such in my inventory. Where can the other piece be? I go back to the room with the children, the process of them running around continues, but the auto event no longer does, and this time when I talk to the children, one of them now hands me the 2nd piece of the water tablet. Now I have 2 broken pieces of the water tablet in inventory. Then the children run off and leave the cave, ending the parallel event. So now I have earth, wind, fire tablets, and 2 broken pieces of the water tablet. I go back to the Dark Tower, and I insert the earth, wind, and fire tablets into their respective grooves based on the symbol above the door. They must match. If I try to put the fire tablet in the wind's groove, something will buzz telling me it's incorrect, and not accept that tablet. So I put all 3 tablets in, but when I try to put the water tablet into the water groove, Hero X will stop and say "But it's broken. Perhaps we need to get it fixed." Then you go back to the smithy in town. He's excited you brought him something to repair. He repairs the broken pieces of the 2 water tablet halves and now it shows up as one whole tablet in my inventory. He then gives me the Garlic Lotion to kill the Vampire Bat (which can be used over and over again), but says it can only be used by a female. I return to the tower, and this time the water tablet works! The door swings open, and I'm invited in. Inside the tower, I see the Vampire Bat and some female chick trying to fight it off. I speak to her, and a battle starts. Aside from Garlic Lotion, nothing will harm the bat, as damage will always be 0. Hero X cannot use it (apparently males don't know how to use Garlic Lotion), so all he can do is rest and heal both himself and the female partner (Heroine Y). Heroine B accesses the item list to use Garlic Lotion over and over again each time it's her turn, taking away a chunk of the bat's HP each time until it is dead. At the end of the battle I receive Vampire Dung and the Vampire Bat disappears. The female asks if she can tag along. If yes, she will stay. If no, she will go back to the village where I can recruit her later if I want. I can now go back to the troll and give him the dung, in order to get passage over the bridge.

---Example 2: Divide the Party---

Okay, my second scenario. Hero A is the playable character, the only one you see on the overworld map, even though he's already formed a small party by having Hero B with him (unless you are using the caterpillar script which I don't really like). Hero A comes to Dungeon X and tries to enter. Hero B will step out of the party temporarily so now both A and B are on the map. Hero A will say “Do you think we can enter?” And Hero B will respond “I don't think so, it's much too hot. Let's find somebody that can enter.” Hero B will then disappear, as if rejoining Hero A, and Hero A will automatically take a step back. Until you gain Hero C, every time you approach this Dungeon, the same thing will happen.

If Hero C is in the party, once Hero A gets to Dungeon X, Hero B will step out of the party temporarily so now both A and B are on the map. Hero A will say “Do you think we can enter?” And Hero B will respond “I don't think so, it's much too hot. Let's find somebody that can enter.” However, Hero C will then step out and say “I can handle this!” Hero C then leaves A and B behind as he enters Dungeon X alone.

At this point, playability is switched from Hero A over to Hero C, and Hero C is by himself. Anytime you leave dungeon X, Hero C will then say something like “Let's Move on” and Hero B and C will then rejoin Hero A.

But whenever you come back to Dungeon X, Hero C will always say “I'll go alone” and separates himself from the other parties to enter the dungeon by himself.

***IN CONCLUSION***

I really think more tutorials will draw more people, but also give the skills needed for noobies to produce better results.

Thanks for hearing me rant.

At the very least, the tutorials being made will at least give the lesser newbies no excuse to post really basic questions.