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Hi hi : ) ni hao.
Favorite Final Fantasy Title
Sigh...Final Fantasy VII.
I'm serious. Sure, the game was completely ridiculous and made absolutely no sense, and sure, the characters were a collection of anime stereotypes, and sure, it was full of that kind of 90s grimdark misanthropic pretentious soap opera dialogue, but I loved ever second of it. There was always something new and cool happening, the plot never really dragged, grinding was kept to a minimum and the whole game was pretty much everything I loved about anime and Japanese pop culture at the time put into a blender.
But, while VII is my favourite, I admit that it is not the best Final Fantasy game. There are balance problems, and the game is quite easy to exploit. The setting was also very anachronistic, and elements were mostly put together just because they were cool. No, for an example of the series at its best, I would hold up VI; great game balance, memorable and complex cast, a story that is epic and actually does hold up to close scrutiny, a magnificent score and a ton of replay value.
...But then, VI doesn't have daikaiju:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvjBWZ1dL_E
I'm serious. Sure, the game was completely ridiculous and made absolutely no sense, and sure, the characters were a collection of anime stereotypes, and sure, it was full of that kind of 90s grimdark misanthropic pretentious soap opera dialogue, but I loved ever second of it. There was always something new and cool happening, the plot never really dragged, grinding was kept to a minimum and the whole game was pretty much everything I loved about anime and Japanese pop culture at the time put into a blender.
But, while VII is my favourite, I admit that it is not the best Final Fantasy game. There are balance problems, and the game is quite easy to exploit. The setting was also very anachronistic, and elements were mostly put together just because they were cool. No, for an example of the series at its best, I would hold up VI; great game balance, memorable and complex cast, a story that is epic and actually does hold up to close scrutiny, a magnificent score and a ton of replay value.
...But then, VI doesn't have daikaiju:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvjBWZ1dL_E
Interracial Relations
...I think it's an embarrassment to the entire human race that, in 2012, there are still people who object to people of different colour skin dating.
People should just wear funny and obnoxious hats to distinguish one another, so grumpy xenophobes can complain about that.
People should just wear funny and obnoxious hats to distinguish one another, so grumpy xenophobes can complain about that.
The Screenshot Topic Returns
Honestly, I actually think the blank tile with the tone you chose is pretty easy on the eyes, and that's not something you can say for every grass tile. If you plan on adding texture, I wouldn't add too much.
RPG cliches
I like the article you linked to DBAce9Aura; one can say that originality isn't so much about the story itself, but how it is told.
I mean, it's not actually all that difficult to come up with a completely original story; it just won't make any sense to humans. For example.
Bob woke up, floating in a room of vitreous humour. Swimming downstairs, he noticed his roommate shaving a train. Bob started openly weeping. His friend asked him what was wrong. Bob exploded.
Quite a twist huh? That made absolutely no sense, because there is nothing in our culture that it references. We don't know WHY the things in the story were there, or why Bob exploded at the end. Sure, an alien might get it, but not a human.
Now consider this story:
"Careful honey, it's loaded," he said, re-entering the bedroom. Her back rested against the headboard.
"This for your wife'"
"No! Too risky. I'm hiring a professional."
"How about me'"
He grinned. "Cute. But who would be dumb enough to hire a lady hit man?"
She wet her lips, sighting along the barrel. "Your wife."
Wasn't that great? It's by Jeffery Whitmore, and in only a few words its meaning registers with us, because the talented writer knew exactly how to connect with our social consciousness to craft a story about sex, betrayal and murder. We don't even need to know the end, because we already understand the building blocks of the story so well. An alien might not get it, but a human would.
I'll stop there so as not to turn this post into an essay. Basically, using cliches is an important part of language and story telling, and they are the foundation on which human stories can be told. It is not the completely original an audience craves, but rather a story that they can relate to with new characters, events and drama.
I mean, it's not actually all that difficult to come up with a completely original story; it just won't make any sense to humans. For example.
Bob woke up, floating in a room of vitreous humour. Swimming downstairs, he noticed his roommate shaving a train. Bob started openly weeping. His friend asked him what was wrong. Bob exploded.
Quite a twist huh? That made absolutely no sense, because there is nothing in our culture that it references. We don't know WHY the things in the story were there, or why Bob exploded at the end. Sure, an alien might get it, but not a human.
Now consider this story:
"Careful honey, it's loaded," he said, re-entering the bedroom. Her back rested against the headboard.
"This for your wife'"
"No! Too risky. I'm hiring a professional."
"How about me'"
He grinned. "Cute. But who would be dumb enough to hire a lady hit man?"
She wet her lips, sighting along the barrel. "Your wife."
Wasn't that great? It's by Jeffery Whitmore, and in only a few words its meaning registers with us, because the talented writer knew exactly how to connect with our social consciousness to craft a story about sex, betrayal and murder. We don't even need to know the end, because we already understand the building blocks of the story so well. An alien might not get it, but a human would.
I'll stop there so as not to turn this post into an essay. Basically, using cliches is an important part of language and story telling, and they are the foundation on which human stories can be told. It is not the completely original an audience craves, but rather a story that they can relate to with new characters, events and drama.
The Screenshot Topic Returns
@SorceressKyrsty
As usual, your spritework is very nice and the animation looks smooth (within the confines of the few frames the engine allows). I keep saying perspective isn't a big deal, but the larger the sprites get the more noticeable the distortion becomes, and while it's not too noticeable in that video, the character sprites do look out of perspective with the map. The WIP screen you showed earlier looks like the character is standing in front of a painting, as the map is a 3/4 view and the sprite is drawn on a 2 dimensional plane.
I find it is helpful to think of human sprites as being composed of a series of blocks when spriting in a 3/4 perspective, as this allows everything to easily be referenced on the same plane. If this is too much work at this stage however (understandably), you can 'cheat' the perspective by just using maps which don't draw attention to the clash.
@NOACCEPTANCE772
I know the clashing art aesthetic is a conscious choice, so I won't comment on that, but the numbers are hard to read and the interface should be cleaner for the sake of gameplay.
@CociCookie
That looks quite nice. I can see what you mean, but the character bunching doesn't look too distracting to me.
@Ocean
I love the aesthetic you're using, and I share your pain with regards to the disappointing autotiles of VXAce. What might help is if you made the ground the autotile instead of the water, as that would create some smoother coastlines.
@Shablo5
That looks quite dazzling! The discoloured logs under the trees look a little odd though, especially next to the smaller, different colour tree stump next to them, and I'm not sure I understand the white soil in the flower garden.
@Creation
I like the main character, and everything looks to be in the proper perspective. However, there are a few problems; the windows and the door are far more textured than the rest of the building, and they clash. The door also appears to be too small for the character to easily use. The placement of the windows is also very odd, as modern buildings tend to have evenly spaced windows, and I'm not sure what those grey blocks on the roof are. I recommend using some photographic references when mapping out modern architecture.
I know that your style is going for a minimalistic, easy to view aesthetic, but I recommend using some additional tones to make things less monotonous. Consider adding a soft discolouration to some of the tiles to give the roof a more natural appearance, and make sure to keep the shadows consistent across the map. I know that seems like a lot of criticism, but I do think your sprites have a definite charm. :)
@alterego
There are a few grammar problems ( If a word starts with a vowel sound, you should use 'an'. If it starts with a consonant sound, you should use 'a', for example.) I kind of like Zohar's melodramatic dialogue, but I agree with Archeia_Nessiah that it would make more sense outside of the immediate drama; people don't tend to talk much when they are in mortal danger. Having those thoughts be presented as a recollection instead might work better.
The game itself looks gorgeous by the way.
As usual, your spritework is very nice and the animation looks smooth (within the confines of the few frames the engine allows). I keep saying perspective isn't a big deal, but the larger the sprites get the more noticeable the distortion becomes, and while it's not too noticeable in that video, the character sprites do look out of perspective with the map. The WIP screen you showed earlier looks like the character is standing in front of a painting, as the map is a 3/4 view and the sprite is drawn on a 2 dimensional plane.
I find it is helpful to think of human sprites as being composed of a series of blocks when spriting in a 3/4 perspective, as this allows everything to easily be referenced on the same plane. If this is too much work at this stage however (understandably), you can 'cheat' the perspective by just using maps which don't draw attention to the clash.
@NOACCEPTANCE772
I know the clashing art aesthetic is a conscious choice, so I won't comment on that, but the numbers are hard to read and the interface should be cleaner for the sake of gameplay.
@CociCookie
That looks quite nice. I can see what you mean, but the character bunching doesn't look too distracting to me.
@Ocean
I love the aesthetic you're using, and I share your pain with regards to the disappointing autotiles of VXAce. What might help is if you made the ground the autotile instead of the water, as that would create some smoother coastlines.
@Shablo5
That looks quite dazzling! The discoloured logs under the trees look a little odd though, especially next to the smaller, different colour tree stump next to them, and I'm not sure I understand the white soil in the flower garden.
@Creation
I like the main character, and everything looks to be in the proper perspective. However, there are a few problems; the windows and the door are far more textured than the rest of the building, and they clash. The door also appears to be too small for the character to easily use. The placement of the windows is also very odd, as modern buildings tend to have evenly spaced windows, and I'm not sure what those grey blocks on the roof are. I recommend using some photographic references when mapping out modern architecture.
I know that your style is going for a minimalistic, easy to view aesthetic, but I recommend using some additional tones to make things less monotonous. Consider adding a soft discolouration to some of the tiles to give the roof a more natural appearance, and make sure to keep the shadows consistent across the map. I know that seems like a lot of criticism, but I do think your sprites have a definite charm. :)
@alterego
There are a few grammar problems ( If a word starts with a vowel sound, you should use 'an'. If it starts with a consonant sound, you should use 'a', for example.) I kind of like Zohar's melodramatic dialogue, but I agree with Archeia_Nessiah that it would make more sense outside of the immediate drama; people don't tend to talk much when they are in mortal danger. Having those thoughts be presented as a recollection instead might work better.
The game itself looks gorgeous by the way.
Simple Request in modifying the VXace battle system
Thank you very much MakoInfused; you've given me much to think about and helped me get started with this!
The Screenshot Topic Returns
@Clareain_Christopher
The sprites and atmosphere are great, but I am having a hard time following the architecture of that place from the screenshot; it looks like a collection of very abstract shapes. If that's what you're going for, it's fine.
@obsorber
I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but graphics in that screenshot are actually quite similar to the visuals on the MSX Engine, an old Japanese computer from the 1980s:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX
The console is remembered by many with fondness, so the style has kind of a unique appeal.
@Sana
Very nice and vibrant! Really, it's sold mapping that looks great, no criticism! The only thing that is a bit odd are the small trees with the high roots, as they look a bit like they are floating above the ground.
The sprites and atmosphere are great, but I am having a hard time following the architecture of that place from the screenshot; it looks like a collection of very abstract shapes. If that's what you're going for, it's fine.
@obsorber
I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but graphics in that screenshot are actually quite similar to the visuals on the MSX Engine, an old Japanese computer from the 1980s:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX
The console is remembered by many with fondness, so the style has kind of a unique appeal.
@Sana
Very nice and vibrant! Really, it's sold mapping that looks great, no criticism! The only thing that is a bit odd are the small trees with the high roots, as they look a bit like they are floating above the ground.
Simple Request in modifying the VXace battle system
Thank you very much for the offer of help! I would actually like to know how to do both for different reasons; I know that I need to change the method call for the x and y, but I have not yet been able to figure out how to do that for this case (I usually get errors when I try to call individual actors to set unique locations). I believe I am overlooking something rather straightforward, so any clarification you could provide would be very helpful.
In scenario 2, I was considering displaying a single portrait when a given character is selected, to avoid a cluttered interface. Knowing that I should query the BattleManager.actor.index is already a big help, so if you don't mind taking the time I would be quite grateful for a step-by-step guide. I am guessing that others attempting to make similar systems for the first time would benefit from it as well.
Thanks again!
In scenario 2, I was considering displaying a single portrait when a given character is selected, to avoid a cluttered interface. Knowing that I should query the BattleManager.actor.index is already a big help, so if you don't mind taking the time I would be quite grateful for a step-by-step guide. I am guessing that others attempting to make similar systems for the first time would benefit from it as well.
Thanks again!
Simple Request in modifying the VXace battle system
Greetings all,
So, I'm being drawn into the allure of VXAce and all of its impressive functions, but I would really like to modify the default battle system and make it my own. The trouble is, I'm still quite a novice at scripting in Ruby; my previous experience was all with XP, and that mostly consisted of shuffling integers around.
After taking a crash course in Ruby, I am familiar with the terminology, but I am still having trouble with what I imagine to be a very simple problem. I would like to add face portraits to the battle window. That is easily done, just by editing Window_BattleStatus and adding:
draw_actor_face(actor, 100, 0,actor.alive?)
But while this works fine for a single actor, as you can imagine multiple actors cause the face graphics to stack in the same place. I have tried to find the appropriate method to have only one graphic be displayed when a given character is selected, but after two hours of reading guides and searching through the scrips I have not found said method. I would be extremely grateful if any of you wise, knowledgeable and all-around attractive people could point out what a newbie like me is overlooking.
Alternatively, I considered having face or battle graphics for the different actors displayed outside of the menu, but then I run into the problem of how to assign them individual coordinates, as I don't know the method for having individual face and battle graphics positioned, only for having them ALL be positioned.
I apologize if these questions have already been answered before, but I didn't see them when I did a search before making this topic. Once again, any insight you guys have would be greatly appreciated.
So, I'm being drawn into the allure of VXAce and all of its impressive functions, but I would really like to modify the default battle system and make it my own. The trouble is, I'm still quite a novice at scripting in Ruby; my previous experience was all with XP, and that mostly consisted of shuffling integers around.
After taking a crash course in Ruby, I am familiar with the terminology, but I am still having trouble with what I imagine to be a very simple problem. I would like to add face portraits to the battle window. That is easily done, just by editing Window_BattleStatus and adding:
draw_actor_face(actor, 100, 0,actor.alive?)
But while this works fine for a single actor, as you can imagine multiple actors cause the face graphics to stack in the same place. I have tried to find the appropriate method to have only one graphic be displayed when a given character is selected, but after two hours of reading guides and searching through the scrips I have not found said method. I would be extremely grateful if any of you wise, knowledgeable and all-around attractive people could point out what a newbie like me is overlooking.
Alternatively, I considered having face or battle graphics for the different actors displayed outside of the menu, but then I run into the problem of how to assign them individual coordinates, as I don't know the method for having individual face and battle graphics positioned, only for having them ALL be positioned.
I apologize if these questions have already been answered before, but I didn't see them when I did a search before making this topic. Once again, any insight you guys have would be greatly appreciated.
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