I've been tossing around the idea to built a new RMXP engine. I don't yet have the whole idea formulated as of yet, but I have been doing some brainstorming and have even began some coding.
Here's the idea:
C# application with embedded Ruby Interpreter
The loose plan is to built the editor with C# and embed an IronRuby interpreter. I have already managed to embed the interpreter and manage to execute some Ruby code using C#, so it is not nearly as difficult as I imagined. I am slightly leary of IronRuby since I have not worked with it before, but I think I will explore it some more for its compatibility with the .NET Framework and ease of use passing data back and forth between the languages.
Ruby 1.9.1
Now this may not seem like such a big deal to those who aren't scripters, but 1.9.1 is far superior to the 1.8 version of Ruby that RMXP uses by default. In addition to being faster, one addition that a 1.9.1 will add is the WINOLE library, which allows for MUCH easier ways to access and manipluate external programs through a script. One example of where this would have been handy is the screenshot.dll that many scripters use. With WINOLE, you would not need any external .dll, and it could have been easily done in maybe 25 lines of code (although that specific feature will likely be a built in feature with my engine). There are far more advantages than mentioned here, as I am sure most Ruby scripters who are familiar with 1.9.1 can attest to.
RubyGems
Gems are add-ons that can basically be added to the Ruby source code. There are thousands of them with a wide array of uses, ranging from added functionality to existing classes, to complex ones like WxRuby that allow you to make Windows forms, which Game_Guy and I were experimenting around with a an idea to re-write the database. This is one of the main reasons I was second-guessing the idea of using IronRuby. Although Gems can be used with IronRuby, not all the bugs have yet been worked smoothed out, and some Gems simply don't work. This will allow for even more ability to scripter to take advantage of Ruby's full potential, which is hampered down in the existing RMXP.
Extensibility
I plan to have the editor be fully extensible, and allow for the use of plugins for the editor. This feature has not been fully thought through yet, but will definitely be a there. What this will do is allow for you to simply copy-paste a .dll that someone created to the "Plug-Ins" folder, and when you run the editor, there will be new tab pages for editting of custom scripts you may have. For example, think of the BABS configuration or the CCTS configuration I just wrote. The plug-in feature would allow for similar things to be written as a .dll and embedded right into the main editor for a one-stop place to edit your game.
Totally Revamped Editor
I plan to re-code the editor to allow for more features. Many of the built in limits will be eliminated, such as a max level of 999, any stats, number of characters, enemies, etc., etc. It will be easier to use, have many minor improvements, and I also plan to not make it modulas. This will allow you to have the map editor, script editor, and database all open at the same time and not having to close one to use the other. It always irritated me that you couldn't do that. All of them will be resizeable and can also be opened during playtesting. This is the part that I will be coding first, and I will likely release it before the whole engine so that people can begin to take advantage of it.
Open Source
I will leave the engine open source so that it can be editted by anyone with the ability to do so.
Compatibility
One of the greatest things about this engine is that any and all existing RMXP projects will be able to work with it.
I will continue to keep you all posted on progress, but as of the moment it is mainly a bit of a side-project that I do as a hobby to challenge myself. Needless to say, even an approximate release date is not even possible at this time, but I would love to hear anyone's thoughts and feedback.