Technical Difficulties

Many people seem to have dificulties with playing fangames. Errors everywhere, missing files... So here is a page explaining the most common problems. I am currently looking for ways to make stuff work at Linux and other Operational Systems.

Japanese Support (Windows)

You must ABSOLUTELY have Japanese Locale (the last option on Applocale) on EVERYTHING. When extracting, use Applocale. When booting the game, use it. If you feel more comfortable, you can set your system's locale to Japanese instead of using Applocale.

You must have the East Asian Languague Support before even considering to play fangames.

Installing East Asian Language on Windows XP

NOTE: You must have your Windows XP installation CD or at least the necessary files. These can also be downloaded from Microsoft, but pirated OS's must stay far away from it.

Enter the Control Panel, then go to Date, Time, Language and Regional Options, and finally to Regional and Language Options. Sometimes you will be able to go directly to the Regional and Language options depending on your Control Panel display.

Select the path where the folder is located so Windows can copy the necessary files. IN SEARCH FOR A ENGLISH SCREEN!
Click on the Languages tab and check the Install East Asian Languages box under Supplemental language support.
Insert your OS installation CD and click Ok. If you don't have the installation CD, but have the /i386/ *NOT sure about this, since I have the Service Pack 3* folder with all the necessary files somewhere, click Ok and select the path where the folder is.

Downloading and using Microsoft Applocale

Microsoft Applocale is a useful tool that 'emulates' another language's locale, so you can use programs in different languages without changing the whole computer's locale. It can be downloaded here.

After installed, using Applocale is very simple.

When you open the program, it asks if you want to add or remove programs or launch an application. Select the Launch an application box and then browse for the one you want. IMPORTANT NOTE: Applocale won't locale .rar and .zip files, so you'll have to search for your WinZip or WinRar .exe, and from there export your files. DON'T forget to always extract things with japanese locale!
It then asks the language you want. Select the last one, or 日本語. That's japanese.
It will then ask if you want a shortcut to the application. I usually make shortcuts for the games' RPG_RT.exe and for WinRar, so I won't have to do all the previous steps every time I want to play.

Just remember to use it EVERYWHERE related to japanese games.

Changing the System Locale

If you would rather change your whole computer's locale to japanese instead of using Applocale, do the following:

Go to the Control Panel and then Regional and Language Options.
Click on the Advanced tab.
Under System current locale, select the language from the drop-down list.

RPG Maker Run-Time Package

To play most of the fangames, you will need the RPG Maker 2000 Run-Time Package, RTP for short.

You will most likely need the Japanese 2000 RTP, which can be downloaded here. YOU MUST USE JAPANESE LOCALE TO EXTRACT AND INSTALL, OR ELSE IT WON'T WORK. If the installation stops at 44% with an error, you most likely forgot to extract it with Applocale.

You might also need the English 2000 RTP, that can be downloaded here.

Dreamscaper uses the English RPG Maker 2003 RTP, which can be downloaded here.

If you feel the need to download the Japanese 2003 RTP, you can get it here. REMEMBER TO USE APPLOCALE.

Other problems

I'm using Windows Vista and the game doesn't work!

If you have any troubles with making any games work on Vista, you can try these:

Right-click the application and click on Properties.
Click on Compability and select Windows XP Service Pack 2 (?).
Click Ok.

OR

Right-click the application

Click on Advanced

In the Dialog window, check the box Run As Administrator.

If neither of those work, you could always try running to the hills.

My character keeps going up without me pushing any buttons!

This is a common problem in RPG Maker games, from 2000 to VX. The reason as to why this happens is still a mystery, but you could try one or all of the following:

Reboot your computer.
Turn your computer off for some minutes. Let it cool down, take a breath.
Stay away from RPG Maker games for a while, even after rebooting.
Reinstall RPG Maker (if you're using it).
Reinstall the RPG Maker RTP of the game you're trying to play.

Again, if those don't work, running to the hills sound like a good idea.

It's kind of laggy... / Fullscreen and Window Mode

The game's ACTUAL resolution.

This is so common I don't even. The resolution most people use is actually x2 of the original, which might make the game lose its smoothness. Most people also don't realize they're playing it on x2.

There's some solutions to it:

Pressing F4 toggles Fullscreen on/off. If you start fullscreen and you don't want it, pressing F4 will help you. If you want to go back to fullscreen, F4 is your friend.
Alternatively, pressing Alt + Enter also toggles fullscreen mode on/off.
F5 toggles screen size from x1 to x2. Pressing F4 to leave fullscreen will, in most of the times, leave you with x2, as well as playtesting it from RPG Maker also gets you x2.