This sounds simple at first. Remove RPGMAKERVXAce from the game configuration file. But it is not what it seems. Every so often, it’ll replace the empty space with a 0. When I playtest my game I get an error. Very annoying. Why is it doing this? I save the text in the file. I can playtest a few times without the error. But at some point, I think on relaunch of rpgmaker, the configuration will have overwritten the empty space with 0.
From what I’ve read, the VX Ace editor rewrites Game.ini when it saves the project, so I think that’s what keeps undoing your edit. I haven’t seen it put a 0 there before though.
What if you left RTP=RPGVXAce alone in your working project and only removed it for the release? File → Compress Game Data has an Include RTP Data option that bundles the RTP in, so players don’t need it installed. It packs the whole RTP though, so the download gets a lot bigger.
If you want it lighter, make a copy of your project folder and copy just the RTP files your game uses into it, from the RTP’s Audio, Graphics, and Fonts folders (on Steam it’s in steamapps\common\RPGVXAce\rtp). Then clear the RTP line in the copy’s Game.ini and run its Game.exe. Any missing file error tells you what else to copy over. Since you never open the copy in the editor, nothing rewrites it.