Hello everyone.
Soooooooo, I was thinking about getting back into RPG making.

I was an avid user of RM1 back in the day, when it first came out.
But then I lost my memory card data and got discouraged.
I then was very much into RPM2k3 after I got my first PC laptop in high school (always had macs).
I put alot of work into a game... but then, my evil brother shattered the screen of said laptop, lost most of my data (only had an old back up), and was given a new mac power book for High School graduation, so I never picked up the game again.
Had been searching for RPM2 for forever, but by the time I found it RPGM3 was out... and I never got into either.

Its been a couple years now since i picked up an RPG maker, and I'm kinda feeling an itch to create something again.
I few storys bouncing around my head. Of a classic RPG nature, with a different spin.

But the question is... which format? I recently found this site again and it pleases me to see people still making their games on I, II and III.
Here are my concerns
RPGM1 is a little cumbersome, but I saw that there's now a keybored for that, which is kinda cool.
RPGM2 confuses me a little bit. And maybe I have a hard time thinking in Polygons. I havent spent enough time with it, but got frustrated trying to do... anything.
RPGM3 I know the least about. But I enjoy creating my own magic effects and characters. I didn't like that alot of the things I like to be creative with are "preset". But it looks like it would be the easiest to get into, and less cumbersome map creation controls over RPGM2.
RPM2k3-- I've spent a good deal of time with this one. And I like the balance between customization and simplicity. But I know this is kinda the "Black sheep" RPG maker, since it doesn't have an official US release, and I don't want to be looked down upon.
RPMXP/VX-- Official at least. But... I don't know what I don't like about them exactly... I preferred the default systems of RPM2k3.
I know that I could 'program'/borrow someone elses programing for a similar default battle system to RPM2k3. But the task seems daunting. (I do have a windows partition on my current Intel mac now)

I kinda wish RPG Maker DS would come out here already, for at least I'd be able to create something anywhere on the go. But who knows when and if that'll ever happen.

Any thoughts and advice would be most welcome!
Thank you!

Well, first, and most importantly, there's a zero tolerance policy here on the pirated RPG Maker games and that includes RPM2k3. I won't say anymore on that myself as I am no moderator.

Secondly, it sounds to me like you would do best on XP. There's already so much history in that one as far as userbased content that you can do a lot with it. But I personally prefer VX on the PC side of things. That's just me. RM1 is my favorite as I am a big fan of the oldschool RPG look and feel, but you are very correct in saying it is cumbersome. With a bit of time, RM1 can be very robust but it takes a long long time to make a game on the first console release. Perhaps you should give XP another shot or maybe try VX.

I like XP the best, not that I've ever made a game with it.

XP has lots of features, power, customizeability, resources, what have you. It'd be the best choice for you, imo.

I don't know about XP as I've never played it but since you seem to be computer oriented maybe that is your best bet, otherwise if you are looking to make an old school RPG, go with RPGM1. If you are looking to program something unique and innovative, go with RPGM2, and if you are looking to make a 3D adventure or survival horror game, go with RPGM3.

RPGM1 is my favorite, as it's the easiest of the console RPGMs. Cumbersome, yes, but only because of the controller-typing, which of course will soon be remedied.

RPGM2 is a close second. It takes forever to learn, but I love the possibilities.

RPGM3 is meh. It's not bad, but I really don't like how map creation is handled. RPGM2's map creation is easier.

RMXP/VX, while ultimately powerful, I have this need to take advantage of an RPGM's power, and in this case, that would mean aquiring/making custom graphics and music. I'm not likely to ever have the motivation to do that.


By the way, I hope that, if you do use RMXP or VX, you purchased your copies.

Thank you everyone for your advice!

So i downloaded the official current RPGMXP.
Havent Purchased it yet since i figured I may as well use the 30 day trial... however when I open it it says:
"Failed to obtain a trial serial number from the nTitles server."
Whats THAT mean? And will buying a key fix it?

(and probably dumb question, since i'm mostly a mac user, RPMXP works with Windows 7 right?)

Never mind I figured it out
I needed to go to "Properties" for the .exe file and in compatibility make it Windows XP SP2.
And then I allowed it access in the firewall too and now it works!

I love RPG Maker 1, but lately I've been using RPG Maker VX. It kinda gives me a feeling of mixing RPG Maker XP and RPG Maker 1.