For some time i'm using free game making software called 'Construct' which is absolutly stunning. I mean you can achive anything as far as 2d goes. Construct uses Direct X, so the technologies in modern 2d indie games such as hardware acceleration, pixel shaders, scaling, rotation, blending effects, alpha channels, are all available to you too. Check it out is you seriusly thinking about 2d game making.

Links:
Official Site
Forum

Screenes

I heard of it a while ago and it looks really good :o
Is this better than game maker?

it is way better.

This post awfully smells like an advertisement...

Nevertheless!

Is this 'Construct' software non-scripter friendly? Judgeing by the screens, it looks as if heavy time scripting is required...

All I see in those screens is eventing, meaning that it is non-scripter friendly :]

I'm, only construct user, i think it's greate, and even more ppl should get on board.

You don't need to know programming, everything you do with events. There is Python support, but same thing you'll achive with event's and they will run as fast as they would be scripted.

It looks pretty good, professional (I love MVS-Style properties editor). However, I don't see the point of using it for 2D RPGs - you don't need all those advanced features and RM is still hard to beat in terms of time efficiency (if you're good at it).

I used to use rmxp a lot back in the days, and i can assume you that building games with Construct is as fast and efficient as with rmxp ^^

The list of features looks great, especially the mouse control and input windows. online features will be awesome, if they can make it happen.

But you *could* mention it's still in development, and even the Undo button doesn't always work. The site doesn't say it either, unless you consider the random post in the forum saying 'here's what we plan for version 1.0'.

still, I doubt "building games with Construct is as fast and efficient as with rmxp", at least for RPG games, because
-None of the tutorials show how to make an RPG style of game.
-Everything is an object, and there's no map editor. so you have to manually import every tree, rock and grass tile to make a single map.
-No battle system, you have to make one from scratch.
-It's no where as easy to use as RMXP.

Verry often people are aimong for custom BS in rm, so i wouldn't agree with this point. Tileset plugin is in development. I agree it's not as easy as rm but it is almost as easy as rm and way easier than ruby.

Hey megatronx, keep in mind that creating a game is not only about the code. Resorce management is also very important, and on that field Construct is way back after RM. If I was to create a JRPG I'd still hold to RM because it saves a lot of time on building the system, and a lot more to debug it. As for the battle system - yes, most of people use custom battle systems, but it's rarely an original system, rather some popular CBS used by thousands of other RM users ;)
That said I think Construct is good for people who don't actually need the hyper-ease of use of the RM anymore but also start to suffer from its limitations (there's great many of them :>).
That's the reason why I'm switching to Construct but I wouldn't recommend it to somebody who's just starting with game making.

p.s. Oh yes, there's also that when you see the difference between V-synced screen and one redrawn like RM does it you'll probably want to forget about the second one ;)

If you want this program to ever be as user-friendly as RMXP, you'll have to include a Run-Time Package. Beginners will lose patience in designing everything on their own.

Wow if it's better than Gamemaker I have to start using it^^ AQnd I have done A LOT in Gamemaker! WOW:)

I've been messing with it myself, on and off, and it's definitely a fun little tool. Iconoclasts, an ongoing project being developed in Construct by konjak (the guy behind Noitu Love and Legend of Princess), is a good example of the kind of versatility the program can bring (although it's worth mentioning that the guy has loads of experience backing him up on it).

Iconoclast looks like Ivory Springs started over. If that game can be made with Construct, it's definitely an engine worth checking out.

Oh geez, I was pretty iffy on this engine until I saw that Iconoclasts demo. I'll definitely give this a shot, maybe even buy the standard license once I get a bloody credit card.