Goodbye

Unfortunately, I've been extremely unsuccessful at following a couple of the forum tutorials and my asking for help has only resulted in more confusion for me.

I guess RPGmaker VX Ace isn't for everyone. I'm recently retired and it seems you can't teach an old dog new tricks after all. My  thanks to anyone who's tried to help. It's been brief, but interesting.

I'm uninstalling my trial version of the program today and I'll close my RPGmaker account tomorrow.

Why so soon? You have only been here 2 days.

Come on, give it a chance! There is a learning curve for everything!

I wish you luck. As a fellow retiree, I can tell you though, if you give up on something after only a few days,

you have a long and boring retirement ahead of you.

I urge you to stick with it!  It absolutely takes some time and I am still learning a great deal every day, but there is no rush!  Keep up with the tutorial, maybe watch a video tutorial on youtube, some people find it easier to follow along that way.

I have also uploaded a screenshot circling the red roof tiles in pink, the blue one is in the same row....hope it helps and good luck in your adventures whether you stick around or move on.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/Athryl/RPG%20Maker/Rooftiles.png

Athryl, the words of encouragement from you & two other members have given me some hope, so I'm going to give RPGmaker another  go. After I checked out your link to the picture of the roof tiles I decided to try one more time of getting them to work. They didn't. But then I experimented... You see, I'd been following a tutorial called a "step-by-step guide for beginners" that seemed well-written, but did not explain how to get the proper red & blue roof tiles to show up in the Tile Palette. He simply said all the tiles he used were under Tab A except for the bridge. Well, I did not know you had to find and load the proper tileset first because he didn't instruct that. When I finally realized what needed to done, I did locate the tileset (called Outside A_3) but still didn't know it had to be loaded into the Building category and not the Ground one. I was totally frustrated and the help I got later only added to it because the author still didn't explain how to do the correct steps. Well, now I've finally figured it out and so I'm going to take another crack at it. But I'm sorry to say that, no matter what, I can't go beyond the 30 day trial demo because 70 bucks is way more than my fixed retired income can afford. Any how, thanks again for your help and words that are keeping me going at it.

Mouser, your statement really hit home, and I'm going to hang on to RPGmaker till the end of the trail period. Please understand that my inability to understand a certain aspect of the program was based on two different tutorials, one of which seemed well-written, but neither of which actually went step-by-step for newbies, and I found myself frustrated because I couldn't accomplish a simple task like drawing a map like theirs. But I just figured the problem out on my own, so I'm hangin' in there a while longer.

If you don't mind going through Steam, they get some really good sales. I got my copy for a little under $18.00.

The downfall to getting the Steam version is you need an internet connection to start it up.

There is also the Lite version which has quite a few limitations, but there is still a lot you can do with it as long as you are using it just for fun instead of to sell.

Limitations of Lite(that I can remember): Limited number of total maps per project(can't remember the exact number), 10 events per map(I've had a single one work as 4 separate ones on 4 separate parts of the map so that isn't too bad if you get creative), No increasing the current maximum number of anything in the database, and no scripting. Sounds like a lot(and it is) but there is still a lot that can be done with it.

Occasionally there are even contests you can enter using the Lite version that have the full version as a prize.

I agree with you about the learning curve. I just wish those who wrote supposedly "step by step beginners guides" would actually treat the reader as if they were a newbie. Although only an experienced, advanced user can write a guide, they sometimes forget that a person using it needs a complete explanation to everything they're presenting and that they can't skip small things in assumption that the newbie knows what they're talking about. I've tried to follow two different tutorials, and both failed to explain important "small" steps that an inexperienced person needs to know. But, anyway, your encouragement has helped me decide to attempt another shot at the program. My thanks to you.

I am glad you figured out the roof tiles!

And I second both Steam and Lite as viable options.  I started out with Lite for a few months (very casual use) before I got the full version on Steam for I think $30 last year, and I have seen it even less than $30 since then.  It may be a little tough to go from the full version trial to Lite, but you can still do so much and can definitely continue to learn while waiting for a good sale on the full product.

So rather than good bye, welcome back :)  

I know precisely what you mean. I have had to deal with that far too often in different things myself.

Oh, as to those contests I mentioned... It is too late to enter this one, but it will give you an idea of the kind of stuff you will have to do to enter one and the kind of prizes to be won in them.

http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/26990-incredible-journey-mappingscreenshot-contest/

Glad to hear you are giving it another go! There is a lot to learn at first, it can be quite overwhelming. Ask questions when you need to, I'm sure someone can help you out. And as Cadh said, keep an eye out for Steam sales or use the Lite version.

That's the spirit!! This community should be able to answer all your questions, it's answered all of mine!

There isn't really a great difference between trial/lite/full verison for beginners. When you start out it's just finding how mapping, eventing and databasing work. Until you get those down, lite and full version are not different at all. Fortunately, they are all relatively simple to get a hold of (the basics that is).

Remember, if you have any questions, just ask! If no one gives you a satisfactory answer, I'll be glad to help in a PM. I still have nightmares trying to work everything out by myself until I discovered the forums!

Thank you for your offer of help, "Yank." Considering my difficulty comprehending the workings of RPGmaker, I believe I'm going to need all the help I can get! :)

I suggesrt you follow the link in my signature, it should help you find the correct tutorials.

Also, keep in mind, making game maps is a skill, so it takes time and effort to master.  I've been working on a game for a few months, and still have a long way to go to make a beautiful map.  The tutorials help.  

I've found another huge help are the many, many sample maps included within RPG Maker.  To view one, right-click on your Map and select the "sample maps" option.  Then, choose one of the maps, and see how they do it.  You can even edit the copy of the sample map, to see how changes affect it.  

Best of luck!

Thanks for suggesting the sample maps. Would you believe I wasn't even aware of them?!! Geesh, there's just soo much to the program!

Sample maps are a great place to start. Also, one thing I recommend (because it helped me so much) is to find maps I like and try to copy them. There is a maps/screenshot thread that you can find many beautiful samples. Try to copy them, not to use, but to get a better idea of how great maps are laid out.

It's sad to see someone go but I wish you good luck in everything Gary. 

Hey Gary!

Don't you give up on yourself that fast! I am sure you can get into VX Ace. I, myself am a total newbie and currently getting into it and i have found quite some great tutorials. Believe it or not i have long googled for good tutorials and was never really getting along with them, until i found that rpgmaker itself has tutorials. They are from the offical rpgmaker website and give you a great i sight into the program! In 2 days roughly about 8-9 hours i have learned a lot of new things. And i am tutorial part 2/9 :)

So dont give up on this! Hang in there!

Heres the link: http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/support/products/tutorials

Cheers,

Ympker

Thank you, Ympker, for your encouragment. I had tried the tutorial you mentioned, but struggled greatly with a couple things in it. But one of the biggest things that was making me want to give up was knowing my trial version of RPGmaker VX Ace would run out and I did not have the $70 purchase price (I'm retired). However, HumbleBundle.com started an incredible sale on the RPGmaker software and so I got it really cheap! Anyway, my interest is back and I'm working through a tutorial by Kelsper. Looks like I'm gonna hang around here after all! :D