RPG Maker XP Gets Advanced With 2D RPG Creation

Thanks to Insert Credit for its brief news that Enterbrain's "RPG Maker XP has been released [for Japanese PC users]. Lots of features added, lots taken away. You can download the [Japanese-language] demo, or check what's new on Zepy's page, since he went into a bit of detail about it." An in-game screenshot and several example pages show a complex 2D RPG creation utilty, and Zepy elaborates: "This time you can finally have high resolution/full colour graphics! And Ogg sound! No limit to character and map chip sizes! You can directly program your own scripts... with the triple map layers, you can have cloud or fog overlays!" Although the console RPG Maker series has been released in the West by Agetec, the PC version has yet to be officially translated and released.

This is awesome...

[ubrkl]

I can't wait to see (and help make) some of the games that come out of this. It means good things for the homebrew/hobbyist programmers and artists.

Bitching about fan translation in 3... 2... 1...

[Dark Lord Seth]

I remember RPG Maker 2000... Was translated from japanese to english by some russian fellow. All hell broke loose with the original developer, because everyone was downloading the ripped english version of the game and not the japanese version. They immediately went on a berserk and condemned that they would not release any upcoming version of the game to the US or to Europe and that they wont translate it at all because of what happened with RPGM2k. Brilliant.

Great product meets small but active niche, gets translated ( rather badly but hey, who cares... ) and the original developer fails to see how potentially lucrative an english release may be, instead claiming they'll never release to the US or Europe again. Seems like they mixed up their bitterness at being outdone by random people with their business sense...

Re:Bitching about fan translation in 3... 2... 1..

[Anonymous Coward]

A little bird told me that an English version of RPG Maker XP (or only the trial version at first) is in the works at Enterbrain and should be made public (official website) in a few days/weeks.