GRETGOR'S PROFILE

Gretgor
Having gotten my first 4/5, I must now work hard to obtain... my second 4/5.
3420
Just your friendly neighborhood RM2K3 developer trying to relive the good old times of his RM2K3 teenage years with more mature and sober eyes than before.

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[IG Maker] Ten years later, what is the community's verdict on IG Maker?

Hey all, I've been wondering about this for a while.

My current game project requires an ABS. While it is not impossible to make one in RPG Maker 2003, designing a compelling action system around its limitations is a greater challenge than just "coding" one out of event commands. I'm actually quite good with event commands, having been an RM2K3 user since 2006, but no matter how hard I try, the combat always feels sloppy and awkward, and changing into a turn based system simply would not work for my project.

So I moved to Game Maker (thanks to Cap_H for the gift code <3) but making all the little things I need to make in it, without any prior knowledge of GML, is proving to be a frustrating endeavor, even moreso when I have a 9-to-5 teaching job and a wife to care for. I long for the old days of my RPG Maker youth, but alas, now I'm an adult, unfortunately.

That's when I remembered IG Maker was a thing, long ago. At least according to its store page description, it seems to have everything I require already built in, so it'd save me a whole lot of time that I'd be able to use on other things, like designing dungeons, writing the story, and improving the dialogs.

I tried downloading the trial version, but it glitched out for me and I could never try it out. I'm actually willing to buy the full thing if people in general tell me they had a good experience with it, even without having used the trial version myself.

The engine is now ten years old, probably a bit older, and the community seems to have lost enthusiasm for it really quickly. So my question is: to those of you who have used IG Maker, would you recommend it? Why/why not? Is it something a person with decent knowledge of RPG Maker event commands can dive right in, or does it require expertise on other things?

Thank you all for your attention, I eagerly await your replies.

[RM2K3] Massive eyestrain when screen scrolls?

I'm running RPG Maker 2003's official Kadokawa release, and I've been trying to solve this in every way imaginable with no success.

Whenever I walk around, causing the screen to scroll, the screen "blurs" somewhat, it feels jittery, but strangely without dropping the FPS. It immediately makes my vision blurry.

I tried playing around with the F5 settings to no avail. I think I remember people complaining about something similar in the past, but I can't remember if there was a solution.

Any help, guys? I wish I could use VX Ace instead, but that's ridiculously expensive.

EDIT: Apparently, what happens is that the screen "stops" for a fraction of a second between steps, and that's what leads to eyestrains. No idea how to solve it, though. I try creating a new gamefile, and the same problem arises.

EDIT 2: it happens both in full screen and windowed, and seems to be less strong when I reduce the resolution. Will test it in gf's computer tomorrow.

[RM2K3] Lag when scrolling (official release)

I'm currently using the official version of RM2K3, and it lags a bit whenever the map scrolls. It's not game breaking, but it's really annoying, and it didn't happen in the pirate version.

I'm not using any heavy events or anything like that, so I have no idea why that could be happening. Any ideas?

[RM2K3] Clouds/fog to hide parts of the overworld

Hi!

For my current game project, I need some cloud pictures to occult entire parts of the overworld at once. I have everything figured out eventing-wise, but I'm having a really hard time finding a proper cloud picture to use. I mean, it can't be an entire rectangular picture filled with clouds, but instead a rather round-ish cloud that I can use to cover sections of the map in a way that feels "natural". The problem is that I absolutely suck at making graphics, otherwise I'd do it myself.

Does anyone know where I could find such a picture? An Internet archive like charas-project or something of the sort? I could even make do with "composite" pictures, since we're now allowed to use 1000 of them. Thanks in advance.

Friends and loved ones as testers: is there a way to make that work?

Hi, everyone! I'm in need of some insight and advice.

Back when I was younger, and made a few (lackluster) games, I didn't understand how important test playing was, not only for finding bugs, but also to discover whether our game was engaging enough, how people experience it, etcetera. Recently, I've come to realize (not on my own, obviously) that testing is an essential part of solid game design, and that it's naive to think I'd be able to output something good unless I could get subjective feedback from test players.

The problem is: I'm a very shy person and not very gregarious, so I really don't have what it takes to convince people I barely know to test play my games as I watch them. I thought I'd simply ask family members and loved ones to take a look at what I've made and give me their feedback, which is a flawed testing method.

The obvious problems with that are:

  • They are obviously going to be biased, since they are close to me.
  • They're probably gonna force themselves to get into the game, since I'm explicitly asking them to take a look.

I thought I'd simply tell them to "take a look at this game I found" instead of saying it's my game, which would get rid of problem #1, but not problem #2, because they'd be expecting something great, since I told them to take a look at a specific game.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Is there any way to make test plays from loved ones as unbiased as possible? If not, is there any way a shy, introverted fellow such as myself could get other people to give him feedback?

Thanks in advance!

Unable to post reviews.

Hey, guys! I have a problem :( so, I was writing a game review, and when I hit "submit", the following screen showed up:



Is the review system currently down? If that's so, it's okay, I can wait. But if not, then how do I proceed?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, hi guys! Sorry I forgot to make an intro topic when I first signed up.

So, I wasn't aware I should make an introduction topic before. My bad, guys! :(

Some of you may know me from long gone RPG Maker communities such as Ultima Island, RMWiki, Blade2k or RGP/RP. A long time ago, I was making RPG Maker games constantly, and released one (extremely lousy) game in here, to get some feedback outside the small communities I was a part of.

I've also made a handful of other games, but those were only released in the aforementioned long gone communities until now, and I'm looking into posting them in here as well.

Nowadays, some recent events in my life made me want to make games again, and hopefully, being more mature and serious about it than I was in the past, I might actually release something good that people may enjoy. I plan on working primarily with RM2K3, but I might try out the newer engines if the occasion calls for it.

So yeah, I like romantic dinners and long walks on the beach... etc etc.

Hello, guys! Sorry for not making this topic earlier D:

[RM2K3] Official version changelog?

Hey guys, what's up?

So, I've been wondering if I should buy the new, official version of RPG Maker 2003. I've been trying to find a full changelog with a detailed list containing all changes and additions, but all I can find are vague feature descriptions from either enthusiastic or disappointed people. Does any of you know where I could find such a changelog?

I made a (slightly dreamy) list of things that could potentially interest me in the new RPG Maker 2003, and I'm curious to know if any of the items on the list check (I'm aware most of these are wishful thinking, but we can dream, right?):

  • Local variables and switches for events, hopefully able to change pages within said events.

  • Some way to copy/paste events such that if I change one version, all get changed (kinda like Object Orientation, that'd be cool).

  • Non-kludgy ways to calculate trigonometric functions.

  • Something like an option to make a sound played by an event actually sound like it's coming from the event (something like a 3D sound system or something).

  • Being able to set a picture's ID number according to a variable rather than a fixed number.

  • Native mouse support, or continued compatibility with Powermode in case that doesn't happen.

  • The ability to use larger event sprites than the default Charset size without needing to resort to bizarre picture interactions.


So, can a kind soul help shed some light on this situation? Thanks in advance.

Some help with general questions regarding RPG Maker development in this day and age

Hello, guys! What's up?

So, it's been a heck of a long time since I last tried to develop anything substantial with RPG Maker, but recent events in my life have sparked in me an inspiration to make a certain type of adventure game that would really benefit from how the RPG Maker engine works, so I'm thinking about picking it up again after six or so years of completely stopping any game making activities.

I'm sure a lot has changed in the underground indie game developing scene since then, with an official commercial RM2K3 released which, according to the official web page, counted on the input of great RM2K3 names such as Cherry, a bunch of other RPG Maker versions coming out, like VX and MV, and the advent of rather expensive game making tools such as IG Maker and thousands of other things I'm probably not aware of.

Now, I have a few questions regarding what's still "in" in RM2K3 development, and what's completely "last decade" nowadays.

First of all: can a developer still get away with using First Seed Material (Mac and Blue) for graphics, and a soundtrack composed mostly of stock music? I ask that because I don't posses the time nor the talents needed to work on graphics and music myself. My question is: is a game with a presentation built around stock material still taken seriously? If so, that'd spare me a lot of time and headaches.

Second: back in the day, I saw many people create project pages and periodically update them with short demos of the mechanics and levels they intended to include in the game in order to potentially get some feedback from the community as they went, all so they could make the best possible gaming piece for all. Is that still common practice in RPG Maker development? I ask that because I don't want to force anyone into the commitment of becoming an "official" test player. I'd rather let people freely choose to play the demos for as long as they want and give as much feedback as they see fit without feeling like they are being forced to do so. I'm also willing to test and provide feedback on any ongoing project page that has more or less this same format, that is, if that's still a thing.

So yeah, those are not exactly technical questions, they're more like an attempt at learning the current dynamics of the RPG Maker community in the 2010's.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to answer :)
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