Final Fantasy IV VX - Public Demo

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Dark Design Games recommend that you read this page before playing Final Fantasy IV VX Demo, as it contains last-minute information that may be important, or there may be steps for you to follow to successfully run the game on your computer.

What is this Demo?

This demo is for previewing a game currently in development using Enterbrain’s excellent RPG Maker VX toolkit. It is provided to the public to gather feedback to help improve the release version of the game.

What is playable in the demo?

This demo features the entire prologue of the game, and the dungeons Mist Cave, Water Cavern and Antlion’s Nest. It features the Castle Baron, Town, Kaipo and Damcyan. The demo will end after curing Rosa of desert fever and arriving at Mount Hobs. There is approximately 90mins of gameplay, if fully explored.

How do I install the game?
No installation is necessary. The entire game is distributed in one file (EXE). Simply copy it to your desktop from the zip file downloaded from the project homepage and double click on it to run the game. It is that simple.

Note: It may be necessary to install the included font if it is not displaying properly during the game (i.e text is completely missing or is garbled). This is rare however but is very easy to remedy. Simply copy the font into C:\Windows\Fonts or right click and select ‘install font’.

In order for videos to playback, you will need to install the xvid video codec that is included in the demo package. Failure to install the codec may result in a game crash or videos not playing back.

What are the controls?
The controls are standard RPG Maker VX controls by default.
Keyboard direction arrows - Move character
SHIFT KEY – During a battle this selects the entire enemy party, useful for casting a spell at all enemies at the same time. This works for your allies, also. On the field this makes the player run.
Z – Default ‘Action’ button, used to interact on the field, select commands and embark/disembark from vehicles, such as the hovercraft, chocobo or airship.
X- Default ‘Menu, Cancel’ button, used to display the menu to access your party, inventory and change settings.
Q, W- ‘Left and Right Selection’ – very important in Final Fantasy IV, this allows you to choose a different target than a spell or item usually would. Eg. Using a potion or Cure Spell on a Zombie, or attacking yourself to cure during the fight with Lugae’s Reverse Spell.
All other controls can be configured using the F1 keyboard command. (Although FFIV does not use them.)

Known issues with this demo
During initial playtesting, the issues are few and far between, many of which won’t affect your actual gameplay, but can be a minor hindrance. Here is the known issues that we have currently found during our playtesting;

-There is a slight delay when first starting the game. (Showing Cecil in the water). This is because the game is loading the next scenes which are complex. A movie will be displayed while the game is loading this part in the final version.
-There are sometimes weird alignment issues with the beds and secret walls. Yes, Cecil's head gets cut off sometimes. We are working on this.
-Dodgy transparency on Mount hobs tileset - Aware of this, it won't be present in the final version of the game.
-Overlay issues with fires and particle effects, this will be fixed.

FAQs
Questions that we received from play testers prior to public release of the demo. You may find a helpful solution here if you are having a similar problem with the demo.
Q. Why is the text missing / looks garbled?

A. The font has been embedded in the game and should display on most systems straight away if not, copy the Chicago Light.ttf font into your Windows Font folder (or right click on it and select Install). Windows 7 users can alternatively do this easier by selecting the control panel icon.

Q. Why is my game showing a black screen / zig zag lines?

A. Final Fantasy IV VX makes use of the Xvid video codec in order to play video sequences. Please install the XVid video codec in order to play the game.

Q. Why is the game’s program (exe) so large?

A. For ease of install, smaller download size, and protection of our game, the entire game project has been compressed and encrypted into one single game file. It's much easier now to get started with the game and there are no installation issues involved. It's as simple as copying the game file to your desktop and playing it (you will need Xvid and the game font though, but they are included). Without the game being compressed like it has been done it would be much bigger, It's been reduced to 438mb. The final version will probably be around the same size, as most resources already exist inside the demo.

Q. What protection method did you use on the game? Can I use that in my game?

A. Sorry, but no. Dark Design Games won’t be revealing what protection method we used to compress and secure our game for obvious reasons.

Q. I can’t seem to find my save games from the demo. Where are they stored?

A. Since they won’t be compatible with the final version of the game, the save game files are not revealed from within Windows Explorer. The final version of the game will save game files to Documents > My Games. Saving however works as normally as it does in any other VX game.

Q. Where is the bestiary? Will it be included in the final game?

A. Yes, the bestiary (amongst other things) is still being developed, and will be featured in the final game.

Q. Why can’t I save?

A. You can. You just need to be on the Overworld or on a save point in order to do so (exactly the same as in the original FFIV)

Q. Why can’t I use F5 to watch full-screen movies?

A. Use ALT+ENTER instead.

Q. I have a widescreen display but when full-screen the game does not stretch to fit. Why?

A. This is by design. The aspect ratio of RPG Maker is fixed, and to prevent ugly stretching it will not fit widescreen resolutions.

Q. Why is the saved game screenshot is black?

A. If you are using the Windows Aero theme, it won't take a screenshot of the game properly before saving. The best way to resolve this is by disabling desktop composition on the game's compatibility properties.

Q. My Anti-virus reports an infected file. What gives?

A. Check that the copy of the game hasn't been tampered with. You can do so by checking if it has our digital signature attached to it (Properties > Digital Signatures) If the digital signature is present then it is more than likely a false positive. The game was checked with multiple AV engines, including MSE, Kaspersky and AVG and is clean.

How do I report feedback?

Please visit the Final Fantasy IV VX Project page on the RPG Maker.net (RMN) network.
http://rpgmaker.net/games/4091/blog/7680/

NOTE: Please don’t submit reports for known issues.

When will the full game become available?

Simply, when it’s done. Although August 15th 2012 is the planned released date for the full game, it could, at any time, be released at a later date.

Credits+ Legal

Monster battlers, tilesets, facesets and the whole Final Fantasy concept © Square-Enix. Dark Design Games does not claim copyright on the Final Fantasy series of any type. Rips from FFIV Complete Collection PSP, Legally with screenshot software, a PSP, and a purchased copy of the game on UMD disc. Ripped by Jake Stephen Jackson, edited in Photoshop CS5
Dark Cecil sprite by Jake Stephen Jackson
Fusoya sprite edited by Jake Stephen Jackson, based on Sithjester’s Ramuh.
Rosa, Paladin Cecil, Edward, Black Mage, White Mage, Milon, Odin, Kain, Rydia Child, Rydia Adult, Edge, Zemus, Golbez, Yang, Palom, Porom, Ceodore, Porom (the After years) sprites by Sithjester.
Soundtrack © SQUARE-ENIX. We have respected their copyright by protecting it from further redistribution and have disabled the use of sound recording software while the game is playing.

External Scripts used in Final Fantasy IV VX (All of which are open for anyone to use in their project, modify or improve) Couldn’t have done it without these guys, I am eternally grateful;

• Hanzo Kimura's Animated Title Screen – We only edited portions of it to display as we wanted in FFIV, most of the code is exactly the same.
• Tankentai Sideview (Excellent) SBS 3.4d – Apart from General Configuration of the script, most of it remains the same in this game.
• Notetags Add-on for RPG Tankentai Sideview Battle System – Mr Bubble, Mithran and Yanfly
• More Action Command Sequences By Mr. Bubble
• Animation Overlay Patch for RPG Tankentai SBS – Yanfly, Mr Bubble
• Default Scope Options Addon for RPG Tankentai Sideview Battle System – Kylock, Mr Bubble
• Row Changer – OriginalWij
• YERD- ElementAffinity
• YERD-MenuSystem
• Yanfly New Battle Stats
• SelectAll – CrimsonSeas
• Fog- Wortana
• KGC Large Party
• KGC Steal
• Mr Bubble’s Bow Script
• Premade Action Sequence Mr Bubble, AlphaWelp, Kylock
• State % - Mithran
• Force Victory music stop – Mr. Anoymonous
• Deriru’s Storage System
• Takentai Doom Skill
• PlayTimeAndLocation – Mr. Anoymonous
• Diakonos Display Background Based on Area
• Miss Laura's Transparent GameOver Screen (VX)
• NeoSave – Woratana
• Cursor Sprite + Smooth Movement Script – strcat
• Pictures under Characters – Woratana
• Map Credits – Woratana
• Zeus81 Fullscreen
• Modern Algebra Battle Transitions
• Particle Engine by arevulopapo
• Deriru's States v2.5