ELLIEJANE'S PROFILE

author=LockeZ
Hmm. RPG Maker 2000 is now listed as "out of stock" on Enterbrain's Japanese website. You can buy it from a third-party vendor like Amazon though. Just need to find one who's selling it. (Good luck?)

However, Enterbrain is run by humans who make a living selling software, not terms-of-service-enforcement lawbots. I have a feeling that if you emailed them and were like "Hey I want to buy the old version of this software instead of stealing it like everyone else does, and then I want to use it in exactly the same way you're letting people use the newer versions" they'd be like "Cool, send us money."

You'd think, but they really don't give a shit. Just like if you offer to pay to use their graphics in other engines.

There's useful criticism, which is great, but then there's a particular RPG Maker brand of criticism by people with an apparent lack or empathy or social skills who make no room for feelings and push for everything to be improved at all costs. Tbh if we listened to such people all the time we'd never get anything finished, it's one thing being a perfectionist oneself without having to deal with others. There's a place for criticism and there's a place for "actually that's OK, I like that".

CashmereCat
Speaking of that, feel free to feature any of my reviews in this magazine. One gem that I discovered recently was SnowOwl's Reap and Sow. It is currently in development and kind of goes under the radar. Here's my review.

Thank you so much for that - it'll really help.

This is very nice! Although it may be nice to find a ranking of "active" members in your ranking list. I'm pretty sure that even though RRR has had 106k members in the past, now it's not as active. At least it was like that the last time that I been there. Dramas happened, people left, etc.

Unfortunately nowhere really publishes that kind of figure well, except maybe RMNet.

Liberty
I too enjoyed the tips and tricks section - I think smaller bits like that can be popular (the idea of pointing out errors/bugs or anecdotes is nice). How about character spotlights? Just small bits to fill in parts. And also, once you get more people into reading, how about a 'puzzle' or challenge thing? Encourage a bit of interaction. Set a small challenge like 'make a map of x', 'code a thing' or something and then pick a winner to show a few weeks later. Just an idea.

That sounds a neat idea. I worry about what to do if there are no submissions, but I guess that's just me being negative. I'll work something like that in.

Chivi-chivik
...it needs a serious makeover, i.e, better page design.

Probably. I'm not a brilliant graphics wizard. I like to think I'm improving from the first issue of HBG but I know it's not quite there yet.

NewBlack
(I know the HBgames zine was criticized earlier for having in-jokes and jabs but honestly I have no problem with in-jokes so long as they're easy enough to get in on, and not tied to a particular forum or whatever)

I think once it's established and there's a good following, in-jokes and such will sort of flow naturally, especially if more regular writers get on board. I'm happy with it being a bit casual so long as it's not too much either way.

Hi guys, issue 1 is out now. I excitedly anticipate your hate mail / frownfaces.

Comments so far range from "wow this is super useful great tutorials A++++" to "I don't get this".

The trouble with screenshots being outsourced like that (even for just a few people) is the potential for things to be lost over time. You can see it at older sites that don't host screenshots themselves but have users use imageshack, photobucket, etc. If Imgur goes down at any point in the next 10 years (feasible) all is lost (and that is a legitimate time frame to look at in these things).