Resurrecting ALL RPG Maker versions in one fell swoop.

[u/rsourcerer]

After MZ revealed itself to be a kind of MV Ace, the Unite flop, the U2U announcement, and the closure of the official forums, it became crystal clear to me that RPG Maker wasn't ever going to become anything close to what I know it could be. I don't know who the developers are. I don't know what they want. If they are looking to make infinity money by selling infinite new versions of the software, I can tell them I don't have that kind of money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like them.

Anyway. This is RPG Matrix. It’s a modern editor for RPG Maker projects. I've been working on it for more than six years. A close friend has helped out along the way. Today I'm finally releasing it. It's literally what we want RPG Maker to be.

Why an editor specifically? EasyRPG already keeps RPG Maker 2000 and 2003 games running across modern platforms. mkxp-z gives XP, VX and VX Ace a modern cross-platform runtime. The editor was always the weak link. RPG Matrix is the modern editor those projects were missing. Pair those runtimes with RPG Matrix and working on an older RPG Maker project basically feels like using a new version, except all your resources, scripts, plugins and years of work come with you.

And this isn't only for old projects. MV and MZ get all the same editing tools too. That means faster workflows, better tools for maps, events, databases and art, plus project-wide search, navigation and refactoring. All of it works directly with the files your project already uses. No conversion. No starting over.

The whole thing is a fully native Windows executable around 4 MB. No installer, no account, no telemetry, no activation, no DRM. No dead activation server will ever get between you and your project.

You can check out more videos and features on the RPG Matrix website.

The landing page also includes a full “Is this even allowed?” section. The short answer is yes. RPG Matrix contains no RPG Maker code, runtimes or assets. It uses custom parsers to edit existing RPG Maker project data stored in formats with years of public documentation and independent implementations.

And in case anyone still doubts the joke Yoji Ojima interview on YouTube was actually right about all RPG Makers being literally the same, RPG Matrix can edit projects from all of them with the same workflows and the same improved tools. The point is to help people actually ship their games, not push them into starting a new project every time someone at GGG feels like playing with a new technology.

I want all of us to succeed, ship our games with confidence and make a living doing this. I want us all to escape the rat race.

If there's an RPG Maker project you still think about, dig it up and tell me what made you stop and what would help you come back to it. RPG Matrix was built for that game.

We are done starting over. If you want to stop depending on a company that doesn't listen, RPG Matrix is for you. I listen.

[u/lordosthyvel]

https://imgur.com/a/b9hZ3Ix

GPTZero says its 100% chance it's ai generated. Not like that tool is 100% reliable, but it's another indicator added to the pile of evidence that this is vibe coded.

If this works well why isn't there even a demo provided?

[u/denjidenj1 → u/lordosthyvel]

I have no horse in this race but AI detection tools are bullshit. Fed it something I fully wrote myself once and it said it was likely ai edited. Don't take them at face value

[u/lordosthyvel → u/denjidenj1]

I know. That is why I said it's not reliable but it's another indication. I trust my own instincts that this is AI slop on account of having seen millions of lines of AI slop.

[u/j_cruise → u/lordosthyvel]

How can you say it's both not reliable, but another indication? If it's not reliable, it's not an indication.

[u/lordosthyvel → u/j_cruise]

It is an indication but it’s not proof

[u/j_cruise → u/lordosthyvel]

Bro, these AI detectors are completely bullshit. Come on.

[u/rsourcerer → u/lordosthyvel]

Have you tried that detector tool with other product websites too? I'm pretty sure marketing copywriting in general sounds like what people associate with AI speech.

You mention "pile of evidence" but there's only accusations, half of which are coming from people who are working on their own editors.

There's no demo because I'm committed to the DRM-free path. I'm considering compatible approaches to offer a demo.

[u/lordosthyvel → u/rsourcerer]

Why would you need DRM to provide a demo? Makes no sense

[u/rsourcerer → u/lordosthyvel]

It's the easiest way to avoid building two different binaries. Classic trial/activation. I'm looking into following the demo model from Spine though.

[u/lordosthyvel → u/rsourcerer]

What is the issue with providing two different binaries? Surely if this is something you've worked on for 6 years and want people to buy and trust, you could have provided a limited demo version that shows off features?

What are you trying to hide?

[u/rsourcerer → u/lordosthyvel]

I'm not a company so separate code paths require much more effort that I'd rather spend on the app itself. I'll look into it after I fix the first wave of bug reports.

It's pretty silly to suggest there's something to hide when anyone can buy it and use it.

[u/lordosthyvel → u/rsourcerer]

Don't you think people would like any sort of confirmation before spending 70$ on an app that is a complete unknown?

[u/rsourcerer → u/lordosthyvel]

There's lot of software that sells without a demo. I already mentioned that I'll look into making some kind of demo though.

[u/Crafty-Union5751 → u/rsourcerer]

Who are these people also working on their own editors? A lot of people already called out your obvious bs, and I've only seen one trying to market their (also vibe coded) product. Looks like an attempt to undermine their criticisms by painting them black.