RMVXA Trial Time Running Out

The last post was on Good Friday, but I've not been able to continue with any projects because I was away for the Easter holidays. And then again for a further week, with no access to RMVXA.

This now means that my RMVXA trial now has 8 days of trial time left. I don't think it's really that useful for a program to have a 30-day trial based on the actual install date rather than the number of days used, especially given that it's not a viable option to access the program every day, thereby maximising the trial period. I've only used the trial a maximum of 9 days out of the 30-day trial thus far.

As it stands today, I have 8 days left to the trial. I don't know what's now going to happen with the Paranormality 1: Darkling demo, since I'm not sure if a week is sufficient to produce enough material for a playable demo. Probably only a basic one. So now the quandary is whether to continue with it, for which I'm only able to spend about an hour each day on the project, and attempt to produce a small playable demo or another storyline video. After the trial period expires, the project will be deferred until later.

I simply can't afford $90. It's not viable for me; work doesn't pay enough for creature comforts above basic rent, utilities and food. The paycheck I was expecting, which would pay for two-thirds of it, has been deferred a month (the rest I'd be able to fund on my own). The "makers of the maker" have offered a one-week-remaining discount of 15%, but I'm short. Oh, the vicissitudes of life!

I don't know at this point where it's going. I am currently taking a Ruby script course (another one), so even after the trial ends and even if I can't finish the Darkling project, I still have RMVX, which will be the main focus for a while afterwards.

RMVXAce - Ruby Tutorial 1 RGSS3 Review

Following on from the Ruby Tutorials in RPG Maker Videos series, Gubid has started a tutorial for RMVXA/RGSS3. Here's the first video, which takes a look at some of the changes in RGSS3 from RGSS2.

The rest of the tutorials, along with the RMVX/RGSS2 ones, are on GubiD's YouTube Channel.

Paranormality 1: Darkling - Project Demo #2

Continuing the Paranormality 1: Darkling project, this is the second video demo of the introduction.

Events are set in motion when a series of strange events and encounters occur. Ralph, a paranormalist, who lost his sister three years ago, is still dealing with her death. His partner, Diona, is tolerant of his creeping depression, but even that is starting to fray at the edges. How will things turn out? Find out in the next demo update, which will be a playable, downloadable one.

(Again, apologies in advance for the poor sound quality. I'm still getting used to this microphone; it's so powerful that it picks up all background noise and I don't know how to filter those out yet.)

Have You Bought RPG Maker VX Ace? - March 2012 Poll Results

Last month's poll results are in, conducted the second half of March, and the results are surprising yet are not surprising at the same time. Out of 23 votes, only 18% (4 voters) either preordered or bought RMVXA when it was released. An overwhelming 61% (14 voters) said they couldn't afford it.

Indeed, at $90 RMVXA punches a huge hole in many enthusiasts' pockets, mine included. Not everyone is able fork out that kind of money, especially in today's economic climate. However, I have to say that Enterbrain did the right thing with their newest RPG Maker.

For all intents and purposes, RMVXA is an extension of its predecessor, but it goes beyond what RMVX was capable of with RGSS3 and feature-rich additions. In my opinion, RMVXA is not for "noobs", it's for the die-hards, for those who practically grew up with RPG Maker since RM2K and mastered each and every one of them since, and for programmers whose passion for producing some awesome scripts have made RMXP, RMVX and RMVXA what they are today.

Let's face it, VX Ace is good! So is it worth the $90 price tag? I have to say, although I personally can't afford it, yes it is!

Paranormality 1: Darkling - Project Demo #1

Further to yesterday's post, I decided to go a little further and see if I can create a game before the Trial version expires.

Unfortunately, the microphone is so "powerful" as to pick up on the background noises and traffic (I might redo this video later, with improved sound quality). You might want to turn down the volume slightly before playing the video.

Scripts Used (So Far):

• Animated Title - Companion Wulf
• ATS Series RMVXA - Modern Algebra

Music:

• Kevin Macleod - Incompetech

Title Screen Animation (Experiment) - RMVXA

This is an experiment using RPG Maker VX Ace trial for an animated title screen I did. If there's no saved game the "Continue" option will not show, but when a game is saved "Continue" will be shown in the menu, as demonstrated in the video.

The mouse script is Jet's Mouse System (RGSS3) using a custom made cursor. The name of the font is "SF Gushing Meadow".

Failed To Obtain nTiles Trial Serial Number

This is one of the most common problems. I had to reinstall RMVX after something became corrupted. I had the privelege of trying out the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Bluntly, I don't like it - it's way too gimicky and iOS-ey for my liking - so uninstalled it and went back to the Windows 7/XP dual boot setup I had previously. RMVX was working just fine previously, but now it's not. I had to uninstall and reinstall it, but receive the infamous "Failed to obtain serial trial number from nTiles" error.

I know all about setting permissions, running as admin and running in XP compatibility, but it still won't go past this error for me to re-enter my activiation code. It's probably the firewall blocking something, but to be honest right now I can't be bothered with resolving it.

Instead, I'll focus on RMVXA (trial because I can't afford $90, nor could I afford the $75 during preorder) and some of the other makers I've been playing with. At least until I can reinstall Windows XP and try again.

And, of course, I'm still working on the RPG Maker Times Companion website, which will be all the way complete by the end of this month. (As a result, not only of the website development but also of the nTiles error, the demo for TGP demo will also be put on hold.)

RPG Maker Times Collection Update

I'm getting ready to upload a huge update to RPG Maker Times Collection. That's partly why there haven't been updates to RPG Maker Times; I've been working feverishly on the website. Once it's all the way complete, then the time spent between the blog and the website will be reduced.

The updates will include:

• All of the scripts I've written for RMXP and RMVX (except for the MMORPG Style Status Menu, which is still being rewritten for its integration into The Gladiator Project)
• All of the tools and utilities on RPG Maker Times Companion, plus some additional ones which will also make their way onto RMT Companion. Note that some utilities, especially the ones that are hard to find or no longer available for download, are hosted on the site and can be downloaded directly.
• All of the windowskins, each one indexed and categorised. This will result in the eventual deletion of the RPG Maker Times Windowskins blog because it won't be necessary. It may still be in its current Wordpress blog format, but only if I can host it on my current provider.
• The RPG Maker Times FAQs site is also coming down, but with the FAQs placed on RMT Collection and with an opportunity for readers to ask questions about the RPG Makers. This won't be a forum - there are plenty of those already - but will be a Question & Answer type part of the website.
• The RPG Maker 2K3 Master blog will finally be taken down, since most of its posts were transferred to RPG Maker Times anyway. It had a good 2-year run, but now it's time to say goodbye to it permanently.
• Finally, RPG Maker Times IS going to have a layout change. I'm planning on going for something simpler. I was thinking something similar to the RM2K3 Master blog, with several enhancements. What do you think?

New RPG Maker Times Collection Site Live

The RPG Maker Times Collection site is now online. This is part of an ongoing expansion for RPG Maker Times and, as I mentioned previously is designed as a repository for scripts, resources and additional materials contained on this blog, placed in one convenient place. Bear in mind that the site is still under some heavy construction, but progress is being made slowly and surely.

The RMVX Scripts/Addon-Ons Compendium script is now available for download from RPG Maker Times Collection also. This is the ultra up-to-date version and contains the following scripts/scriptlets:

Battle Start Announce Image: Displays an announcer image at the start of the battle.

Critical Hit Flash Screen: Flashes the screen when a party member performs a Critical Hit.

Extra Stats Window: Displays several additional statistics, such as number of battles fought/won, number of towns visited and number of times saved.

Game Progress Window: Displays the current game progress as a percentage.

Location Window: Displays the current map location.

Parameter Equip +/- Icons: Shows icons next to parameters on the Equipment screen according to stat increase/decrease when equipment is equipped/removed.

Window_Status Parameter Options: Optional feature to display the "hidden" parameters (Hit, Evasion, Critical and Odds) in the Status Menu.

Moving Through Treacle Update

That's how I feel, like I'm moving through treacle. So many things I'd like to do, so many projects on the go, and only so much time to do them. I guess this is where those good time management skills can come out of hibernation now. Anyway, onto some updates.

001 Engine

I've been playing around with the Engine 001 for about a week now. It's pretty damn hot actually and very easy to use, although in the beginning the learning curve can be a bit steep if you're not used to it. One of the things I absolutely love about this maker is that scripting is achieved by selecting the options from a complex set of commands (a bit like the Event Commands in the RPG Makers), which is then displayed in a kind of flow chart format. I haven't even scratched the surface of its potential yet, but from what I've seen it'll be a good one to use and include on RPG Maker Times. And I guess this is where the expert guestbloggers come in handy too because, frankly, I don't know my way around 001 Engine enough yet to justify putting any kind of tutorials up.

RPG Maker Times Collection

I started some serious work on the RPG Maker Times Collection website. Regular visitors will already know that it's a repository for much of the materials on RPG Maker Times, rather than having them strewn all over the place.

At the moment, the site is still a bit messy, with broken links and a lack of real content. I'll be working on that bit by bit, so regular visitors to the site should start noticing something more concrete as time goes on.

The Gladiator Project

I've finally finished Stage One of the MMORPG Styled 3D Model Status/Equip script. Using a combination of Make Human (a program that allows you to create 3D models) and GIMP Shop, I've ended up with a much better, cleaner model than previously. In versions above 1.0, this will be fully integrated into KGC's Equip Extension script.

RPG Maker Times Cartoon Strip

As many of you will probably already know, especially if you've read the previous post about this topic, I've started creating a few random cartoons. At the moment, the main Cartoon Strip is hosted at Wordpress, but y'know, I'm just not happy with it. So today I'll be migrating it over to Blogger, which means that I may finally end up using one of the Dynamic Layouts I've been eyeing up for a while. But we'll see how it goes.

That's it for another exciting update. Stay tuned until the next one!