CHANGE THE SYSTEM FONT IN RPG MAKER 2003

Hello, fellow game makers! In this tutorial, I'll be showing you how to change the font on the new version of RPG Maker 2003 -- the official one sold by Degica.

Note: You may have some problems selling your game commercially due to not only modifying the base files but also if you don't have permission to use the font you want.

You'll need:
- Fony
Primary download here
Alternative download here
- Resource Hacker

**VIDEO TUTORIAL**

0:49 CORRECTION: The font must be named "RPG2000" if replacing the first font (100) or "RPG2000G" if replacing the second font (101)

**WRITTEN TUTORIAL**

The first thing you need to do is open up your project folder. This can be done by opening the menu at the top and selecting Project > Explore Project Folder.



Now we can see the entire project's assets, including its save data and other stuff. But what we're looking for is the "ultimate_rt_eb.dll" file. Copy that to anywhere that's convenient for you.



Okay, great, we have our DLL copied over. Now, open Fony. It should look something like this:



Click on File > New. If you have a TrueType font ready to go already, click on File > Import > Installed TrueType Font to select the font you want. (TrueType fonts have a .ttf file extension.) Now when you're about to load your font, take note of the Font Header window. Make sure that the name is "RPG2000G" ("RPG2000" if replacing MS Mincho) and the copyright, module name and description are blank. If they aren't set that way, the font won't import correctly (see Troubleshooting below.) Also make sure that next to "Height (pixels)", it says (9 pt), and that your font is monospaced. Look at the example below to see how to do it.



(Note that sometimes when importing TTF fonts, Fony may bold the font. Not sure why.)

You'll be greeted with a blank screen (or your imported font). From here you'll be able to create or modify your font. Here is how you use the program:



Once your font is created, save is as a .FON file somewhere. Make sure it's called "RPG2000G" ("RPG2000" if replacing MS Mincho). Finally, replace the .FON extension with .BIN.



Now open the DLL in Resource Hacker. Open RC Data. You'll see two RC data files. 100 is MS Mincho, 101 is MS Gothic.



Right click on one of the RC data files and select Replace Resource.



Finally, select the font file that should now be a .BIN file.



Now save ultimate_rt_eb.dll and place it back in the project folder. You're done! Enjoy the custom font in your game!



*** TROUBLESHOOTING ***

Q: My font looks completely different than what I wanted it to look like!
A: Does it look like this? If so, then you probably messed something up when creating your font. Make sure that the font is named "RPG2000G" ("RPG2000" if replacing MS Mincho) and that there is no other data associated with it (see above).

Q: My font is cut off at the bottom or the side!
A: Your font is probably too big. RPG Maker 2003 has a font size limit of about 6x12 pixels for any character.

Q: What about those symbols you create by using $A, $b, etc.?
A: That's an EXFONT. There's a great tutorial that will show you how to replace this here.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know what you think in the comments!