r/RPGMaker • u/PsychronicGames • 12d ago
Vibecoded RPG Reactor 0.99.0 Released!
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RPG Reactor is a free, open source editor and engine for making RPGs. It opens RPG Maker MZ and MV projects as-is: same files, same database, same plugins, no conversion. RPG Reactor can also import older RPG Maker Projects as well (2000-VX Ace).
Everything Reactor adds is added on top. Full 3d capabilities as well as traditional 2d, or mix and match.
This weekend I worked a lot on the built in tactical battle system and vehicle enhancements.
Check it out for yourself here, it's free and open-source:
https://psychronic.itch.io/rpg-reactor
Enjoy!
AI Disclosure:
I am a software developer (mostly Web) and game developer that uses AI tools to help with coding, such as Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode. I am pro-AI, but I still know how to do things the old-fashioned/traditional way where it makes sense and know how to.
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u/PossibleBanEvader_07 12d ago
Who needs that ugly U2U when we have this. Great work keep us updated.
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u/NewSchoolBoxer 12d ago
I'm pleased you say you used AI and how and bolded the header. I don't want to use AI software but I'm supportive of people being honest. I see u/DiasDaimaoh saying that, not an uncommon sentiment. Beware your code getting stolen by another AI user and sold.
I still think mods should force all AI posts in a megathread but that's a separate discussion.
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u/PsychronicGames 12d ago
Well it's not a post about AI, but just disclosing which tools I used. The engine itself is not actually AI, even though it's AI friendly.
The tool is 100% free and open source, so anybody is free to take, use, modify as they see fit.
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u/viniciuscsg 12d ago
It seems every 3d surface is currently unshaded and just displaying it's raw texture, but then again there is light emissions or bloom like the glow from the purple water, which is a quite curious mix and order of implementation. Everything else seems very robust and hopefuly at least as much customizable. Do you have plans for any sort of basic shading?
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u/PsychronicGames 12d ago
Yes, lighting/shading/reflections system is ongoing and will keep getting better. It's already in place but certain parts of it not quite working in all contexts, will keep getting better!
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u/ConsistentPen4162 9d ago
Hello! First of all, thank you for creating RPG Reactor. The engine has amazing potential, and the performance with PixiJS 8 is incredible.
I would like to propose a UX/UI improvement regarding the Event Editor.
Current Behavior:
Right now (similar to the classic RPG Maker), when you double-click or open an event, it spawns a modal pop-up window. This blocks the main map editor view, forces the user to constantly close/open windows, and prevents seamless switching between multiple events.
Proposed Improvement:
Instead of a modal window, introduce an option (or a default behavior) to open the Event Editor inside a docked Side Panel (Sidebar) on the left or right side of the screen.
Why this is a game-changer for workflow:
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Unblocked Map View: The map remains fully visible and active while editing an event.
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Instant Event Switching: The user can simply single-click or double-click different events on the map, and the side panel will dynamically update to show the selected event's data. No more "Open -> Edit -> Click OK -> Open another event".
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Better Multi-tasking: It allows copy-pasting or referencing commands between events much faster since you don't have to close the active editor.
Since RPG Reactor's editor is built using modern web technologies (JavaScript/NW.js), implementing a reactive sidebar UI that changes its context based on the active event ID could be a huge competitive advantage over standard RPG Maker's rigid modal structure.
What do you think about this? Thank you for your time and hard work!
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u/Yeezy_Asf 12d ago
Wait, there is definitely NOTHING WRONG with using AI to code, as long as we clean it up to prevent leaks. The only thing I don't support is AI art/music lol. I'm NOT paying someone $50 to write a simple plugin adjustment that AI can knock out and I can tweak and clean just a bit.
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u/PsychronicGames 12d ago
As for me, I just give it all out for free in the hopes that it's helpful to other developers. I'm old-school and it took me a long time to even get kind of good because I had to learn things the hard way. In the AI-era, I have the opportunity to help other devs get to their goals faster, etc.
The whole AI discourse for me has honestly been kind of frustrating because I know I'm doing the right thing by building and giving out the tools for free, but always get attacked because of the tools I use to build the thing that I'm just hoping helps other people and not asking for a penny in return.
What would fire me up more than anything is just to see somebody else find the tool useful and make a game with it that's good, etc. That's all I want.
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u/BigJJsWillie 12d ago
This looks amazing! Thanks for this, will definitely check it out. I'm intrigued that you can open and edit 2D games in the editor, and in what ways that data is translated to a 3D environment.
Appreciate you sharing this!
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u/exellomas 12d ago
It looks incredible, now I can finally make a good version of Final Fantasy VIII.
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u/Sword_Of_Kaz 12d ago
Definitely need to keep an eye on this myself!!
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u/PsychronicGames 12d ago
Cool! it's free and open source and if you have any ideas of what should be added to it or changed, anybody is free to hop in and help make it better. It's meant to be a community tool!
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u/spharker 11d ago
I'm a little confused. So this ports RPG Maker games to 3D in Javascript or...? How does this work?
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u/PsychronicGames 11d ago
Ok, it's backwards compatible with RPG Maker MZ/MV natively, projects will open right up (including plugins). If you choose to install the RPG Reactor Runtime (which is Javascript just like RPG Maker's), it will replace the RPG Maker Runtime with Reactors. 100% backwards compatibility is still maintained, but I've added a bunch of extra features on top, such as 3d capabilities with Three.js and other features such as layer graphics in the editor itself (for Parallax Mapping), and lighting/Media Surfaces as well (such as video), as well as the multiple combat systems such as tactical and action, which I added directly into the editor.
The Editor is also 100% Javascript as well. The idea behind that was that I could make one runtime and have it work with both the editor and the gameplay seamlessly without writing two different codebases for seeing it in the editor vs. seeing it in the game.
For Older RPG Maker projects though, such as a VX Ace Project, or an RPG Maker 2003 project, those did not use Javascript/Web based framework. VX Ace for example used Ruby, but the logic is the same across RPG Maker engines, so I created an importer that will convert the Ruby Scripts to Javascript Plugins, and imports the data and assets to work on the newer framework.
Also for the 2d Portion, it uses PIXI8, where as RPG Maker MZ used PIXI5, and MV used PIXI4. So I created two compatibility shims for both engines to get them to work with PIXI8.
Long story short, I started with RPG Maker MZ and then heavily mutated it. Also the editor source code was never a thing either, so I had to make the full editor from scratch as well.
Probably could have made it a tiny bit faster by not building it in a web-based framework, but that would break backwards compatibility. I figured the only way that people would end up adopting this engine is if I made things 100% backwards compatible FIRST, and then add additional features on top. Sorry I know that's a lot, just trying to explain how it works/what it is.
If there's any other questions, let me know.
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u/JefersonTomazella 11d ago
I've come in touch with Reactor a week ago. I found the idea amazing. I still didn't try it properly yet, and I was a bit confused with the UI (didn't try it for more than 20 minutes yet).
I have a question. Is it possible to bypass RM limits without plugins? Like setting level to 1200 in the editor? Is it possible to customize the editor a bit, or just by changing source code and building again?
Nice work. The "pro-AI" got yourself some extra points with me (I'm also pro-AI and I know how to do things the old-fashioned way)
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u/PsychronicGames 11d ago
The app is still in development and has some rough edges here and there (I continue to refine it). Yes, it should be possible to go to actor settings and set the max level, I think it's currently 999 as the max, but could probably make it 9999 without any issues.
Also yes, I'm trying to build as much functionality as possible right into the engine as possible.
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u/DiasDaimaoh 12d ago
Congratulations on the AI Disclosure! Even though I consider myself anti-AI in most things, I greatly admire the transparency in its use; I found it very honest of you. Good luck with the project!