Experimenting With RPG Maker VX Ace Trial

My confession for the day is that I've been playing around with RPG Maker VX Ace (RMVXA from now on) ever since its official Japanese release. Curiosity just about killed me, so I couldn't resist downloading the demo. Of course, it was all in Japanese and I was totally lost for a while, but I had some fun guessing and experimenting.

However...the wonderful folks at RMVX Ace Games Net have provided an English translation patch for the trial version specifically for the short RMVXA game provided there too (the first one for RMVXA!). That means that I'm able to delve into it a bit more. Just for the experience.

Now the ONLY reason I did it this way, rather than wait (aside from "grasshopper syndrome"), is for review purposes and to deliver what we can expect from RMVXA IF Enterbrain deigns to bring out an English version. And they would be idiotic not to (but of course they are! *Wink*).

So what's it like? (By the way, no screenies here at the moment; they're on the RMVX Ace Games Net website.)

Demo Version Limitations

Virtually everything is fully functional, but it does have some serious limitations, which are listed below. Some of the items are a result of my own delving and some are based on the Googleated Enterbrain/Famitsu website.

• "Open Projects" is not available, although when you open a New Project, it'll preload the sample map already provided, which you can play and from within the editor.
• You can edit the map, including events, which are essentially the same as with RMVX, although only 10 maps and 10 events per map are allowed in the demo version.
• There is a limited number of materials and graphics in the demo version. You cannot export materials, although you can import them.
• Compress Data (for making a standalone, executable game) is disabled in the trial version, which means that while the games can be saved and played from within RMVXA, saved data is erased after RMVXA is closed.
• In the Database, Actors, Classes, Items, etc. have a predetermined Max. Amount. You can edit them, but you can't add any more if they go above the predetermined upper limit.
• You can view (and edit) the scripts, but saved script edits are automatically purged and returned to default once RMVXA is closed, essentially disabling the Save function.
• Tne built-in Character Generator is limited to a minimum amount of options to choose from, allowing you to create basic characters, which have the element of sameness to them after a while.
• All of the events commands work in the demo version (as far as I can determine), except for the "Play Video" event command according to Enterbrain's website. I've not had a chance to actually try this because I'm not sure how to convert movies to the OGV format yet.
• The updater feature is not functional or compatible with the demo version.
• The RTP (Runtime Package) in the demo version is limited to a pre-bundled package is only for "data collection relevant to the current session". In other words, as I've mentioned before, saved data is not actually saved but is reset each time RMVXA closes. The actual [official] RTP is provided separately, available after purchasing.

Yet, despite such limitations, you can still see its complete range of capabilities and you can definitely have a "feel" what the full version will be like. (For the impatient ones, I wonder how viable - and legal - it would be to purchase the Japanese version and use an English translation patch. Enterbrain would certainly want to avoid the "Don Miguel-RM2K/3 love affair" again. This is especially in light of the fact that Enterbrain has not officially announced an English version yet.)

So here are my first impressions of RMVXA, focusing specifically on its features and functionality. It's rather long, but gives a rough, certainly not comprehensive, idea of what RMVXA is all about. The following part is a bit long, though I hope not long-winded.

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