Producer Letter #19
ACTION GAME MAKER’s 1st Anniversary and Upcoming Updates
Hello everyone, this is Morino, the Producer.
Thanks to our wonderful community, ACTION GAME MAKER has officially reached its 1st anniversary since its full release on June 17, 2026!
First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all of you.
While there were many instances where bugs and difficult-to-use features caused inconvenience, thanks to your reports, ACTION GAME MAKER has improved significantly. Furthermore, thanks to your active participation, our official Discord and the official community, RPG MAKER GUILD, have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge, creating a much more user-friendly environment compared to the time of release. We will continue to strive towards our 2nd and 3rd anniversaries, so please continue to support us.
Now, in this 19th Producer Letter, I will focus on our development plans and cover the following three points:
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About the Version 1.3.0 update released today
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Development plans for Version 1.4.0
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The major development direction for Version 2.0: “Usability”
While point 2 remains largely unchanged from what was shared in the 18th Producer Letter, point 3 involves some shifts from our previous stance. Therefore, I will explain the intentions behind these changes in detail.
◆ About the Version 1.3.0 Update
Since this update was implemented as a slight surprise to celebrate our 1st anniversary, and we haven’t mentioned it in previous Producer Letters, I will explain the highlight features: the Custom Action Plugin function and the 3D Background function.
◯ Custom Action Plugin Function
The Custom Action Plugin function allows you to create original conditions and actions using GDScript. Previously, we implemented a feature last year that allowed using GDScript methods as conditions or actions. However, that feature required setting a script under a specific node and writing code there, which inevitably felt a bit too professional. With this new function, you can simply “drop a script anywhere in the project,” and it will “automatically appear in the list of conditions or actions,” making it usable “almost exactly like existing conditions/actions.”
This feature was born from the idea of allowing scripts to be shared easily, similar to the plugin system in the RPG Maker series, so that even beginners can use them effortlessly. We will also publish sample scripts and tutorials on GUILD, and we have renamed the GUILD module sharing board to the “Module/Plugin Sharing” board. We hope you will make good use of it.
◯ 3D Background Function
As a new feature, we have implemented the ability to set 3D backgrounds, which was a frequently requested feature by users. By adding a BackgroundLayer3D node, loading any 3D model (in glTF format), and setting the 3D camera position, you can now utilize 3D backgrounds.
The 3D background camera (BackgroundCamera3D) automatically reads and follows the position of the current scene’s camera, so it should naturally create a parallax scrolling effect.
However, please note that 3D is strictly for the background and exists in a completely separate space from the 2D side. Therefore, features like “a giant 3D boss fighting a 2D character” are not possible with this function.
Even for those who are not interested in 3D, we have added a sample project and shader & HDR samples to help you create more modern and beautiful expressions using 2D functions. We hope you can enjoy the beautiful and powerful expression capabilities of the Godot Engine, whether in 3D or 2D.
◆ Development Plans for Version 1.4.0 and Beyond
Next, regarding future update plans, I will explain in a bit more detail two of the items mentioned in the previous Producer Letter: “Further improvements for generation performance” and “Update to Godot 4.6.”
◯ Further Improvements for Generation Performance
We have received reports that generating objects is heavy, especially when the object involves large-scale Visual Scripts. We now have a clear path to solving this issue and have begun full-scale fixes.
The root cause was that the system was copying Visual Script resources every time an object was generated, which created a heavier load than anticipated. We have started the fix, but since it involves changing the fundamental behavior of Visual Scripts, it will take some time. We expect to implement this around summer.
◯ Update to Godot 4.6
As mentioned previously, we will be updating from Godot 4.4 to version 4.6.3. There are various bug fixes, but there are two major changes regarding 2D:
1. Implementation of Node UID
What does this change? Well, even if you reorder nodes or change their names, actions that specify nodes, such as “Change Property,” will no longer encounter issues. This is essentially the node-level version of the Scene UID implemented during the update to version 4.4 last year.
2. UI Changes
The UI will be updated to a new design. While the overall layout remains largely the same, problems where the available area shrinks and becomes difficult to use when expanding inspector elements will be resolved. The result will be a UI that is easier to read and more user-friendly.
These updates are very convenient, but as mentioned in point 1, we need to fix the specification methods for all actions that specify nodes, such as “Change Property.” Therefore, it will take some time, and we expect implementation around autumn.
◆ Major Development Direction for Version 2.0: “Usability”
Now, let’s move on to new information, specifically the part I mentioned at the beginning about “slightly changing our previous stance.”
In the Producer Letter at the time of release, we announced our policy of “not changing the Godot UI.” However, for Version 2.0, we have decided to aim for UX improvements that include UI changes.
The reasons are twofold: first, more people than expected found the Godot UI difficult to understand; and second, even for those who overcame that difficulty, there were many points where using ACTION GAME MAKER felt inconvenient. Additionally, as we have continued to improve stability, we now have the bandwidth to focus on UI/UX.
From an engineering perspective, the Godot UI is designed very logically. Elements are thoroughly organized so that “this element is here, and this editing task belongs in this category,” making it convenient for those who learn and work with programming. All elements are listed in the Inspector and are accessible.
On the other hand, this results in many settings that appear inefficient and difficult to understand from the perspective of non-engineers. For example, consider creating a tile:
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Add a
TileMapLayernode in the top-left screen. -
Set the tile size and physical collision in the right-side screen.
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Load the tile images in the bottom-left and bottom-center screens.
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Switch tabs in the bottom-center screen to place the tiles.
From an engineering perspective, this makes sense: create a node, build a data structure, edit it, and link resources. However, from a general user’s perspective, one might wonder: “Why does creating just one tileset require following four steps across four different screens (top-left, right, bottom-center, bottom-left)?”
Through our operations over the past year, we have come to re-recognize that the strength of the RPG Maker UI lies in eliminating these technically correct but overly complex elements to make things clearer.
This is our pledge to seriously tackle UI/UX improvements. While I will explain specifically how we plan to change things in the next Producer Letter, I want to clarify points that might cause concern right away.
Disadvantages of Modifying the Godot UI
1. Available Features Will Be Restricted.
Organizing the UI to be more understandable means selecting which elements to keep in the UI. While we will choose functions to make them as user-friendly as possible for everyone, some features of the Godot Engine will inevitably be restricted.
2. It May Impact Synchronization with Godot Engine Updates.
We will need to investigate and respond to whether the modified UI parts are compatible with future Godot Engine versions like 4.7 and 4.8. For example, after we create a feature that sets up tiles with a single click, Godot might make changes to their tile system.
Many users are particularly concerned about point 1. Therefore, we plan to implement the system so that users can freely switch between the standard Godot UI and the new UI at any time. Please rest assured regarding this point.
◆ Conclusion
That concludes this Producer Letter.
ACTION GAME MAKER is just getting started. We will do our best to reach Version 2, so please continue to support us.