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Progress Report

Butts

Hi guys! First of all, happy belated birthday to our grand buttsmith Squally-chan!




Dun worry guys, this is like a regular thing for us. Worry about the fact I have mental conversations with Squall in my head.

I dunno when I last updated, I'm having a great amount of difficulty keeping up with things lately. More or less I've been absurdly busy. I am out of the house for school 20hrs a week and now I work 20hrs a week as well, so if that doesn't put a damper on my timekeeping abilities I don't know what will.

I've been mainly working on that train sequence I hinted at in the last post. I need a few action sprites for it, so that's what I've been fiddling with, along with the intro sequence.



I kind of really liked how the intro image came out, especially since it was done in a little over an hour I think? It was pretty fast.



So the intro sequence is mostly done and now I have to do the eventing for the train sequence. I keep telling myself I could get it done in one night and then blowing it off and going to sleep instead. I DON'T WORK A DESK JOB, LET'S JUST PUT IT THAT WAY.




I've also been doing some database work, using spreadsheets to pre-calculate damage ratios before putting the formulas into RM. So far it's going ok, just a little slowly.

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I didn't post it last blog, but I've also been doing some tile work (yay?). Since you can walk in 8 directions I figure making some furniture like that will help break up the grid.


No updates in other fields since my other two team members have disappeared for the mean time (MakoInfused is around every now and then, but with NewBlack...well let's just say we're doing the internet equivalent of putting up 'MISSING' posters. He hasn't been around for a month and a half, no hair or hide of him to be seen.

If you do see NewBlack please call our hotline which is 1800-WE-ARE-GOING-TO-KICK-YOUR-TEA-DRINKING-HIDE)

Well that's all from me! Have a screenshot of what happened after Squall realized I only wanted to draw his butt on his birthday.



Needless to say, I only got one completed.


Progress Report

Greatest Blog Ever!

...Not really.

As I ever-so-obviously pointed out, Laguna Loire is officially included in SLH's roster. Although I didn't realize until I was looking for pose references, his class in SLH is very similar to his Duodecim incarnation. Laguna's the only one who can use Militia items, which used to be restricted to a sub-class called Demolitioner. Certain skills will use certain Militia things, and as he levels up he gains new skills that use different amounts or types of items. For example, Desperado would use 1x Grenade. There's going to be a variety of moves, many most likely inspired by Duodecim, but like Squall there will be some new ones thrown into the mix.

So, since I haven't posted in forever-ages, I guess this had better be a nice big blog post, eh? True question is, have I been working?!

Yes. Yes I have. HOLY SHIZ.

Alright. Soooo I've actually decided on the proper intro for the game now. Starting out in Deling City in the RSW demo wasn't...dynamic enough. So I've added a bit to make sure the entrance is nice and abrupt. Drop you right in the thick of it. I won't tell you too much, but it involves trains.

Yes I did draw this specifically for this blog.
No, the train sequence does not involve Laguna.
I wouldn't let that man within ten feet of a train.

Aside from that, I've been mostly mapping and doing cutscenes for Winhill. I wanted to remake some older maps because they were genuinely too cramped for cutscene use, so I did!


Text box is semi-transparent in the final version. I have a common event for them.

Artwise, I'm sure most people who are reading this blog will have seen the new Squall portrait. I'm still playing around with how to crop it, but I'll get there eventually. I'm a much bigger fan of this version than the old one, at the very least.


I have a STYLE apparently

Continuing along on the arts, I should probably preview Laguna's art, eh?


battle sprite, guest staring Zell and Irvine's FF8 outfits

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Outfit design, featuring VESTS.

I do love vests. The outfit's pretty simple, but I didn't want Laguna of all people wearing something complicated.

Aside from new cast members, I do have some new-ish stuff for some other members of the cast that I do need opinions on! I'm not completely satisfied with Irvine's, though I think this might, finally, be Rinoa's last incarnation. Friggin hell.
Rinoa:
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Irvine:
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And one last sketchy-one I did for Tobias:
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Aren't you guys lucky?

Although it's probably a bit early to actually be mentioning it, I will be looking for a composer at some stage. If anyone's interested please message me, but I'll warn you that I'm picky about this. Sound design and music is so crucial to a game's vibe and energy, and I need someone who knows how to keep the power and emotion of a song in place. More or less, the songs I'm referring to are The Legendary Beast, Man with the Machine Gun and Only a Plank Between One and Perdition. If you think you can deliver a satisfying rendition or integration of these tracks in a song, then by all means, give me a buzz.

Anyway, onward and foreward! I plan to have that train-related intro done some time soon.

Out of curiosity, which would you prefer in the opening of an FF8 sequel- the game's tagline ("When the sleeping lion awakens, grief will swallow it whole") or a throwback/something similar to the text during the opening of Advent Children? ("For those who loved this world, and found friendly company therin- this Reunion is for you"). Of course, phrased differently.

Something along the lines of
"For those who promised to wait."

Announcement

A new challenger lurks in the shadows...


Hi all! Thank you all to those who've subscribed since the game's demo release last month and those who played and left feedback! The development team have taken it all on board and will be addressing the bugs and major issues A S A P. Myself and MakoInfused are both in University, so there are long periods of time where we're not working on the game (I.E the majority of May) but that doesn't mean we don't talk about the game or discuss what our plan of attack is.

Anyway, I've been mainly working on cutscene dialogue and maps. There are still quite a few maps needed for Disc 1, namely the majority of Dollet, but I'm slowly working through them.



About midway through this month MakoInfused will be able to continue working, and a key priority is updates to the movement system of VXAce; this will aid in my development, cut back workarounds on my part, and make the game more aesthetically pleasing, allowing me to make full use of the 8-direction sprites. Cutscenes will be some of the more dynamic ones you'll see in a RPG Maker game.

And with Disc 1's outline now solidified and minorly rewritten to be more dynamic from the original draft, a soon-to-come blog post will have a nice announcement and artwork in it...

Look forward to it!

Announcement

Re-Upload Already?!



Aha, sorry guys! On one part it's my fault BUT the main issue is not really mine. I have to reupload unencrypted because the animated battlers system uses folders inside the battlers folder, which encrypted games do not like. So Squall wouldn't show up in battle, enemies wouldn't animate, etc...


The second thing was if you cleared a map the dialogue afterwards would repeat, which is a legitimate bug that I am sorry for (I didn't clear a map after I altered the event, whoops). My bad!

It's reuploading now so it should be up in about half an hour or so. Hang tight guys!

Announcement

I think I experienced some minor time compression there.

Lately with how hard I've been working, days seem like four. It does not feel like I went to Sleeping Lion Heart's previous build about 3 weeks ago to where it is now in that amount of time.

It's a completely crazy feeling, and I kind of like it. It's like time slows down when you're working hard; I was enjoying most of what I was doing, though! Normally people say time speeds up when you're having fun, but I think the fact my days were completely chockers was just grinding time flow to a standstill.

Anyway, the prototype is up. It's finishable in about 10 minutes if you don't run around and 20 if you do. A lot even cutscene-wise isn't final but this does give you some idea of how everything's going to be playing out when full game time does come around.

The boss, I am fully aware, is X-ATM092, not 174. I had the sprite from Cosplay Crisis so I touched it up slightly and put it in as a placeholder. The real X-ATM174 is in the design stages, and I'll show you guys that once it's done (thank Elements when it is!)

So in short, this was an exhausting but great experience. Leave any feedback you have on the page dedicated to it or on the main page, even if you think it might be insignificant! It's much appreciated.

I might add the videos of the earlier two builds to media sometime tomorrow; for now I need to go and work on an assignment.

Due tomorrow.

.__________________________________________.'''''''''''''''

Progress Report

Time's catching up to us, huh...

The 3rd already? Wow, how a month flies by.

Now, I am definitely releasing something for RSW, that was confirmed by the announcement poster early this month. What something is remains up in the air, but I would like to put something playable on the table. As it stands, the game is more or less playable, I just need to finish off this level; I've been doing a lot of other things in the meantime. It's all towards this game, but getting around to actually eventing things has been amazingly elusive!

If I'm not satisfied with what's playable I probably won't be releasing it, and will most likely turn to a media release and get the demonstration done soon. It's almost there, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Hope to see you all with something playable come the cut off point! Time for ye old game development crunch time!

Progress Report

Updates and Progress

I would have liked to update with something a bit more substantial, but I do want to make sure people don't go thinking this project is dead. It is far far from dead.

Unfortunately most of what I'M doing is on the boring side of the spectrum. I don't post every single sprite update I make (it would get tedious quite quickly) so to briefly summarise, spriting, mainly working towards getting a basic set of graphics done. It is a lot harder than it seems ._.' Admittedly I don't work on the project every single day, and my attention does wander into other games and avenues as well, so the slow progress IS mostly due to that, I'm afraid.

To put a simple cap on things: I am missing Diag-Up-Run, Up-Run, Victory, and adjustments to Attack.

I have done yet another sketch of Rinoa but it's not something I'm willing to post as of yet.

I've also done some minor revising to the game flow in Disk 1, which I felt stagnated a lot, along with continuing with the game's script, which has thankfully been writing itself! @-@

I also tested out a Map Zoom script and with a great deal of discussion we all decided it wasn't a good idea.


Pixelly, too.

Aside from that, as I've said before I'm working on getting an operational prototype. I've been working on a couple of scenarios of event code simulating certain parts of gameplay, such as how dialogue is handled.

Meanwhile, MakoInfused has been slaving away (he amazes me) at the game's code, getting the battle HUD mostly operational as well as coding the encounter system.

This is what we need the formatted battle sprites for X'D

I ended up revising the encounter brief given in the systems tab because I don't have the time or patience to make a full set of overworld sprites. So no touch encounters.

Instead, the game does have random encounters, but you are able to clear maps. Once a map is cleared you don't encounter any more enemies and if you clear all maps in a dungeon you'll get a bonus.


Nothing fancy, but you can see the encounter HUD for dungeons.

Additionally, clearing certain rooms will unlock other bonuses or bosses within a dungeon, too; in short, you're encouraged to clear out each map. It's not necessary, but the amount of encounters given should give you a good balance when it comes to the boss.

This is quite similar to Touch encounters, however there's a TWIST! I love twists.

Anyway, you're able to reset a map's encounters by pausing (via the ALT key at current).

I figured that unless you actually fully prevent a player from grinding (which I feel makes a player feel gridlocked and removes control/choice) I'd actually give them options regarding it. Grind if you wish! You even get an ability later in the game to double the encounter rate, if you so desire.

This way if a challenge presented does keelhaul a player's progress (since everyone plays differently) it's not hard to turn around and fight a few extra battles to prepare. Or, should they want to return to the beginning of a dungeon, running back won't be an arduous chore if they've cleared the maps out.

Of course, there's sure to be hiccups with this, but that's why we're striving towards a prototype so the dungeon exploration can be tested, modified and solidified before I really get too in-depth with it.

Yes, progress is slow on this game, but that's because I want to make sure that it fits my vision of the game as well as providing a good RPG experience. Everyone approaches the problems set out in RPGs differently, and this is my direction to grinding.

Comment, criticize and suggest anything you feel like!

Progress Report

Back on board!

I'll be working on this again soon since I've just finished up Nachtheulen. Our scripter had a project he needed to work on too, so he'll be back in about a week or so.

Right now, myself and a ~secret team member~...well mainly him while I oversee and nitpick, have been working on properly outlining abilities and classes. Seeing and thinking about them all has been great fun, and I can't wait to get to databasing and seeing these skills actively used.

Of course, the truth of this blogpost is that I am currently replaying/playing for the first time Kingdom Hearts games, and the following image is completely relevant to this game.



SQUALL/LEON BUTT

that is all.

Miscellaneous

Character Analysis: Squall

Rough, and unrefined, but you get the idea. Word Count: about 1450

Squall Leonhart

The deepest character of the cast and unfortunately, despite the writer’s efforts, the one most commonly taken at face value. This is more or less taken from the first sequence of gameplay, up until Galbadia Garden. From that point onwards, Squall’s personality and motivations become much clearer. It is absolutely key to view Squall as a whole rather than judging by either his actions at the beginning or end of the game.


At face value, Squall appears quite harsh and abrupt, despite being quite bright. He intentionally constructs a persona of apathy in order to guard himself from pain. This is partially amplified by the fact he can no longer remember what the feeling of being close to someone is, only the agony of losing them, so he doesn’t feel the need to drop his walls unless they are completely charged through.
The truth is that his apathy is actually an opposite-facing mask to how Squall actually feels. Whenever he becomes attached or involved in something, Squall pours his absolute heart and soul into the pursuit of it. He is completely aware of his tendency to do this, and thus avoids those situations—including creating dreams, attachments, or participating in events.

Most of Squall’s actions are driving by the fear of having his heart broken. There is no middle ground with Squall Leonhart; it is all or nothing in everything he does.

It doesn’t become clear until later how deeply this runs within him, when he ‘kidnaps’ Rinoa from Garden, but examples of this are dotted throughout the lead up to the event. His intent to complete his mission during the Deling City incident, launching himself into harm’s way to save others in the D-District Prison, and despite being reluctant to do so, leading the Garden in the attack against the Sorceress all speak volumes of Squall’s drive and passion whenever he actually undertakes something. It is not as distinct until Squall experiences something that rings similar to past pain that it becomes absolutely clear that this is Squall’s disposition.

Squall’s allowance of letting himself be dragged into certain situations, or ‘going with the flow’, rather than questioning his orders (his excuse is that he is a mercenary, but unlike the previous point this character flaw isn’t one he is as clearly aware of) actually draws its roots from the fact that Squall overthinks to the point where he does ridiculous or insane things because he can’t put his foot down on his thoughts. His mind works at whirlwind speed, and it doesn’t take much for him to spiral into what seems like an over-exaggerated outburst. The first time this happens is in Galbadia Garden, where he, seemingly randomly, furiously exclaims he won’t be talked about in past tense. For those in the room it seemed to make no sense, but at the time his thought process seemed clear—it wouldn’t have been until later that he actually realized his reaction was over the top.
As a result Squall often tries to mindlessly occupy himself. He does what he is asked and doesn’t think about the orders he’s given for very long lest he end up debating the entire situation. He hates being bored or left with nothing to do, because his mind immediately turns to thinking about…well, anything.

The second time this occurs is, yes, when Rinoa falls unconscious. He loses his tight grip on his thoughts and ends up doing something ridiculous, which he doesn’t process until he reaches the midsection of the bridge and speaks to her while she is inanimate, wondering if everyone was laughing at him or were angry.
This thought process is one of the reasons why Rinoa is intriguing to him; she is able to question, rebel and act without feeling like she is being judged by others.
Although Squall forcefully drives others away, he is still quite aware of how others perceive him, and how he wishes to be perceived. As he says to Rinoa on the bridge, it’s a lot easier when people don’t realize what he’s actually like, and believe that he doesn’t care about anyone and is an introvert. His determination to crush any thought of rebellion or questioning stems from the fact he’s in a military organization and doesn’t wish to be viewed as distinctive.

However as with most things this is yet again a conscious thought while his subconscious tells otherwise. His decision to choose to wield the gunblade shows a number of things about his character; a part of him wishes to be acknowledged and accepted by his peers (and Sis, in extension), and he is able to complete just about any difficult task thrown his way.

Squall is quite stubborn, and it is likely that Seifer may have mocked him at some stage with something along the lines of ‘I bet you couldn’t learn how to wield one’. As a result Squall’s rivalry with Seifer (which has always been present) drove him to not only pursue the same weapon discipline but use the harder version (revolvers have a stronger recoil than pistols, thus making learning how to manage the gunblade’s vibration function several times more difficult).

For Squall, Rinoa presents an interesting concept of how he is currently, and how he could have been if he had actually questioned what he was doing at an earlier stage. It could almost be said that he sees a kindred spirit in Rinoa—another who is also quite intelligent, passionate, and allows herself to be led by her heart rather than letting her mind dictate her behaviour. Squall’s core is the same, but he has trained himself to reign in how his heart feels in favour of reason and the possibility of having his heart stomped on.

It is rare that Squall’s being ‘a jerk’ is actually intentionally being mean or cruel to someone and is rather stating the truth. When he does speak, Squall does not mince words and is very concise when it comes to a logical concept, but is terrible at explaining how he actually feels. As a result he comes across as cold, and struggles with easing his words so they are received better. What he says to both Rinoa (in front of the television screen) and to Zell (inside the forest) during and post the Timber mission is not him intentionally being an asshole, rather attempting to explain facts to those who are driven by heart. There is no doubt that Rinoa had exceedingly high expectations of SeeD, and that Zell’s statement on a worldwide broadcast could have resulted in missiles being fired at Garden much earlier in the timeline.

However, this is far from him deliberately trying to hurt either of them, because it’s very clear that he cares for them, even if he still views Rinoa as (mostly) a ‘friend’. Squall intentionally places himself in harm’s way in D-District in order to save Zell, which only occurred at maximum two weeks after the Timber incident. He was extremely concerned about sending the missile base team away, and his relief was extreme when they came back safely (how does ‘Yes! They’re safe!’ along with a look of complete and utter relief reflect someone who doesn’t care?). Upon Rinoa’s interrogation as to whether or not he saw her differently to the others, Squall actually blushes, and this is still early in disc 2—well before Esthar or Rinoa falling unconscious.

Squall’s heart and mind struggle with meeting in the middle, and rather, he reflects his garments; either he is strictly logic and cold reason, or fiery, intense and passionate. His heart is easily harmed when it is in clear view, so he hides it behind walls of apathy and pushes others away. Despite this, he throws himself into the line of fire constantly for them, and takes no consideration for his own safety, seeking to rather do something on his own than risk someone he cares about getting hurt or potentially screwing it up. It takes enormous amounts of trust for Squall not to feel this way.

Which is why it is very clear he cares deeply for every member of the party, rather than just Rinoa. Each character has a chance where they could be picked second in favour of someone possibly more responsible, but gradually, he allows every member of the group to step up to the plate and prove themselves.
Although it seems as though Squall’s character development was Squall learning how to care for others, it was actually Squall learning to meet in the middle of his heart and his head and pursue goals and dreams, and express himself as a coherent whole rather than a logical mind and a passionate heart.

Game Design

Magic and Mana Handling

The original Final Fantasy VIII was one of the first Final Fantasies to not rely on a magic system. Despite it being an innovative idea, the Draw system fell flat on its face and is one of the least liked systems to grace a Final Fantasy game to date.

Going from this, it's probably most easily stated that using a HP/MP system is the best method. Which is what I'm going to do.

I'm not just removing draw and the Junction function because they were bad or broken (broken more of the issue here), it's because it removes the difficulty of the game so easily it's not funny. I'm currently conducting a playthrough of Final Fantasy VIII, and though it can be said I'm pretty good at it anyway (*cough*) the fact I am able to strike most enemies once or twice, including bosses, and kill them says a lot. And despite the enemies levelling with you, they were never at a point where a random encounter could kill you. Including T-Rexaurs.

Yes I can kill those in three or four hits too.
(STR-J Tornado+ Str Bonus for the last 30 levels+ STR+40% + Darkside)

Anyway, the route I'm taking in Sleeping Lion Heart is a bit different. The GFE and PAE system is able to convert and use magic fonts to power themselves. It is impossible to purchase Ethers, but you can claim them from other sources.

Question is where? Well, what's a magic font, you ask?

A Draw Point!

A draw point, by my own definition (both in FF8 and here), is a part of the world where magic energy gathers. They are born by chance, or in places where a high rate of emotion has been present. That's irrelevant, of course, but moving onto the mechanics point of view.

You can use a draw point in a similar manner to Final Fantasy VIII. Select the member you wish to restore MP-wise, and the magic energy will be absorbed by their equipment. If all of your party members are full, or if you're preparing for a boss fight, you can choose to Stock the magic energy as Ethers.

Stocking is intended to be a last resort; if you Stock a draw point's magic energy you will leave it empty for quite some time, while if you simply heal your characters with one the energy will restore quite quickly. Certain Draw Points will never restock at all- these are the ones that bestow Hi- or Mega- Ethers.

Although Draw Points are quite common, these are your only source of magic energy, so circumstances must be taken into account. It's all about managing your resources and making sure you're prepared.

At this point, the only other method of regaining magic energy is through resting.

In other news, I've mostly filled out the mission system for Part 2, including highlighting which missions are character development/plot important and which ones I can cut (just in case). I have yet to decide if the current set up is too large, since having been playing FF8, each disc is also set out into 'missions' and it's only three or four main segments each disc (no joke).

At this point, I'm kinda looking for someone who can do map layouts or parallax mapping of basic areas. Maps are currently one of my biggest concerns (along with sprites, but that's my concern...unless I hire someone for enemy sprites, but that would result in exorbitant prices, because of the amount of enemies and animation level).

But that's a kind of since I still worry about quality and whether or not my expectations might be too high ^^;

I also have no idea what I'm gonna do about the world map, since it's definitely going to have to be divided into segments.
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