Been working on this for years, off and on.
Recently i been making WAY more progress though.
Originally i had a story about how.. in order to save algo, they had to pull together and basically rebuild Palma from the asteroid belt.. but the more i thought about the plot.. the more it just sounded way off, and kinda stupid.
So more recently i have come up with a new story.
It's basically a "what if?" scenario..
What if in Phantasy Star 2, things played out differently?
How different would it be?
What if they prevented Palma's destruction?
What if the battle with the earth men played out in that the military from Motavia managed to show up, and arrest many of the earth men?
PS3 would most likely never happen.
And PS4 would play out MUCH differently with things being much different.
That's the concept i have decided to go with.
And the ideas i am coming up with work much better in my opinion.
Picture Motavia becoming more tropical? Like.. sure the sand is showing more, but there is still plenty of green but with deserts spread out.
Now picture Palma, still there.. still thriving.. ........... Lassic's Castle still floating around ominously... (sorry, i hate the name Lashiec... i know that's the japanese name.. but it sounds like something a drag queen would say *laughs*).
Things are doing well... but an evil is gaining traction...
Now picture familiar faces from PS4, but in very different situations.
My game will still showcase characters from PS4, but under very different circumstances.
Zeo, no longer the leader of some evil cult, but a simple maker of special weapons for Espers and Lutz himself.
Rika.. you would still gain her in your party.. but under VERY different circumstances.
Chaz... still the monster hunter... but no longer to be the main protagonist.'
Rune.. leader of the espers.. but too busy to battle, too busy to journey.. sends with you someone under his wing that shows great promise.
Roland Landale... decedent of Alis Landale... now to be a savior of Algo. (his name is not final.. it's a tentative name.)
Liona Ronquist (tentative name as well) The said student working directly under Lutz, sent to help.
Sarin.. a new Battle Android partly designed by Wren to be smaller and more powerful (think .. how our world.. Tech keeps getting smaller and more powerful.. Sarin is smaller but more powerful than Wren).
Wren himself works at a facility where he helps construct future droids to work in Algo.
Raja... this guy i had the idea of still landing on his temple... and having to get into a fight with him, that ends with both sides giving up.. that was one idea lol.
I also had an idea for a super intelligent Dog... kinda like Miyau.. only Canine.
Hahn Mahlay, i have some ideas.. but.. not sure i should share them... might be controversial.
Alys... something about her... in PS 4 i could not help that maybe she was Alis Landale brought back from the dead some how... can't help but think that.. so.. i was thinking i would make that more clear.. and maybe have some in depth story where she explain to Roland who she is.... maybe a touching moment.. and she ends up parting ways with him.. leaving with him words of encouragement.
(i realize she's not even named Alys in the japanese version.. but the whole... ?? for her age along with Lutz... and how she looks so similar.. i can't help but think these things.. i'm sure other's have as well)
The story needs more fleshing out.. but a scientist has basically.. a sample of the dark force in a lab that has been studied for years since it was found on the space station Noah.. him and his decedents before him have studied it.. but the evil energy emanating from it is eating away at his very soul...
That was an idea i had.. and it kinda gets out of hand from there..
That's all i have story wise i can share.. it does need fleshed out more though.
Okay, now talk about the music in the game.
I been doing a LOT of remixes....
I take this "familiar yet better" approach to remixing music.. i try and make it sound similar but better... so it sounds a lot like it did in the original games, but a bit better.
I like to use sound samples of actual instruments.. as little synth sounding instruments as possible.
So guitars, and strings.. horns... brass sections.. pipes.. aka flutes and so forth.
It's also a slight... SNES/PlaySation 1 RPG like sound to it.
But it still sounds like the themes you have heard before.
I plan to show some samples.. i'm overly protective of my work.. and i know how the internet likes snatching stuff up and saying it's theirs.
But i will post some clips if anyone's interested.
Okay.. graphics time..
I'm taking a similar approach to music.. SNES/PS1 looking... so nothing high rez looking, nothing 3D either really though.. other than the first person dungeons i'm doing.
That's right, i got first person dungeons up and running, i was SO proud of this fact.. but now i am at a cross roads... PS1 style dungeons? Or PS2 3 and 4 style? Maybe a mix?
The battle system right now is rather similar to PS4.. but more similar to PSG1 on the Playstation 2.
But at one point i was thinking of first person battles... it's a hard call to make man.
Same with how towns work... at first i was doing the PS1 thing where you walk into a hose and it shows a first person thing where you basically see them face to face with a background and so forth... but over time i started steering more towards PS4.. going IN to homes walking around and stuff.. that way you can find chests and what not.
So all these ideas.. all these things i want to do.. but no clear direction on styles..
Thoughts on that would be VERY appreciated.
Okay.. now for some screen shots.
I have no drawn art or anything... i had some franken spriting i was doing.. like my main charecter's Liona and Roland were some heavily moded PS2 faces.. but i got called out on it someplace.. like it was a bad thing.. so i am trying hard to do more original sprite work.. and as such... i have nothing to show yet..
Sprites for the overhead portion are another story though, i made some original ones.. or tried hard to.
Anyhow.. screen shots.. let's start with the FPD parts i got so far.
I got a mine, and a cellar on camineet so far.
Celler first.
A metal door, closed.
A metal door open.
A metal chest closed.
A and opened.
Random cross way.
The steps leading out.
Okay, now the mine i have.
Notice the lights.. i thought that was AWESOME when i got that to work.
Notice the pick... little things like that are meant to help you know where you are in a dungeon.. think of them as markers.. you won't see the same walls and everything always the same everywhere you go.
Chest.. closed.. noticed the detail i am trying to add. I want that familure yet better look to be prominently displayed in this game.
Opened. Some chests as they open won't show a graphics of light in the chest.. this is meant to give you a fast realization that the chest is empty, even though it says it.. but you are less likely to have to read it. And some chests will need a second look, to actually find something. AND i plan to add the "check for a trap" option.
Upcoming cross way... nothing special.. just thought i would show that.
Close up of the pick.. as mention before.. it's just a marker.
You're all probably looking at the object in the upper left hand corner. That is the early look of a compass system i am putting in the game.
In PS1, it was often hard to get an idea of where you were going... but rather than do like PSG1 and add an option for a map.. which i think is too easy.. i felt landmarks and a compass would help keep you from being too lost, without ruining that.. sense of discovery and.."wow.. where am i?" feeling you might have gotten like i did playing PS1 back in the day.
I just wanted to make it a little easier without ruining that feeling all together.
Ugh.. just realizing i need to take some overhead screen shots, i will get to that as soon as i can.
In the meantime, if anyone wants to see those.. face shots i had made and give some feedback.. let me know.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? I can't promise i will run with anything and everything suggested, but i do appreciate the feedback.
Also.. please be constructive, and don't be vague..
Details details details folks.. it helps to know what i can work on if you tell me in detail your thoughts.
Also.. i don't think it will happen.. but no nitpicking, i have dealt with that before.
Like above, just tell me in detail what i can work on, and i will do my best..
I REALLY doubt anyone will.. but nothing like "that sucks" or "that just looks distracting" or.. ya know.. rude and vague stuff never really helps.. ya know?
I don't think i will get that here, but just thought i would mention it.
Other then that, looking forward to the feedback.
-UPDATED-
Adding some screen shots of some maps.
This first one is a Village.. but it's not final.
In fact none of these are final.
Not sure if i am going to use this as an actual village, at the moment it's more like a test.
An early city...
A mountain i'm working on, it's incomplete.
This is but an early look at just a portion of my map..
I'm not happy with it's design.. and it like the other shots i have shown do not represent the final "product"(not really a product.. but that's my way of saying this is not necessarily permanent.)
