RPG making Programs.

[Abominae]

Currently, I can only think of the Playstation RPG maker series (along with Super Dante's RPG maker 2... I really should have kept the instruction manual I wrote for it. It was way better than everything I've found on it... ever...)

Anyway, aside from that, I've also heard about (and seen a little of) Dark Basic Pro.

I, and a team I've put together, are looking for a Design program (currently limited to RPG's but we do have plans for other genre's including a remake of a very treasured (and very rare) NES cross-genre title... see if you can guess it)

We're currently story boarding idea's for the title we've chosen to work on first and since this is the only forum I bother to keep up with, I thought I'd ask around and see if you guys know any programs that might help.

We're really not looking into graphics that surpass 32-bit. Certainly not ff7 quality... but more along the lines of Megaman X4 style and quality.

At this point, versatility beyond RPG games isn't a priority, so anything RPG related or specific will help. Thanks

[Zucca]

Sphere.
When you learn it, you can do pretty much everyting important with it.

[Abominae]

Thank you. Yes... this should do quite nicely... It'll take some methods I'm not quite accostumed to... and some extra programs... but I think this will be an easier route than I had previously planned.

[Abominae]

I've looked it up and it seems the 3 best choices right now are narrowed down to:

Game Maker
Sphere
DarkBasic Pro

Currently I'm looking at a 4 man (well, 1 woman) team, tho no single game has been tagged for production.

What are your thoughts on these 3 programs. Positive and Negative opinions are welcomed equally.

[Zucca]

Game Maker really looks nice (after seeing screenshot from wikipedia) even if it's propietary software.
I, as a FOSS oriented person, would still suggest Sphere. ;)
I think Dark Basic seems to have more hi-quality features (mainly 3D effects). Those are the features you don't need if you're planning to create a game that's similiar to classic PS game.

Also, I've read that there is a game creation software that's close to RPG Maker 2k, but is free. I need to search it up again tomorrow. Right now I'm too tired (I've been at wedding and at birthday party today). I'll check it after good, long slept night.

[BenoitRen]

I've tried Sphere years ago. I never really got the hang of it.

The problem is that there isn't enough documentation and tutorials to get you started. It's often suggested to not use the map editor at all, and to create your own engine, which doesn't make it any easier.

I eventually gave up, as I was getting nowhere.

[Zucca]

There's one old project, named Arm (Advanced RPG Maker), which is released under GPL licence. I don't know if it's at working state at all. Screenshots still give a promising look. So promising that I'll try to make it work on my Linux using Wine.
Also Open RPG Maker is worth of testing when a proper release comes out.

You may also want to test "IRE - a user-editable clone of Ultima 6".

[Abominae]

Like I said, I'm still researching, but I think DBP is in the lead at the moment. I don't have much use for it's 3D effects right now, but who knows...

Still I think I saw one promising program in your list.

now I just need to get a list of music/sfx programs...



I have some promising references. Give me a week or two to give an accurate description. I may even be able to help a few of you on your own projects with this info.

[Zucca]

I'll think I'll wait IF something comes out of Open RPG Maker. :)
Or I'll focus on Sphere...

[BenoitRen]

I suddenly remember that Naflign was working on an RPG Maker of his own, years ago. He seemed to have some stuff working, but after that the project seemed to slow down dramatically. It never got finished.

[Zucca]

I'd like to see him here on PS Cave board. :(
He sure was (is) on of the biggest contributors of the PS fan community.
EDIT: I was about to paste URL from www.pswebring.com for Naflign's Ego cached link, but as I read the front page I guess you already knew that site. ;)