211 replies to this topic

[D~N]

Not to my knowledge, though you can embed youtube videos. Here's how I've been doing things so far: if you give me your AIM address (via PM) and we get a chat going, we can share files and discuss them easily. If you're up for that, then all I need to know is what program you're using, because if I don't have that program it might not work, obviously. You'd send me a file I wouldn't be able to open, otherwise.

So, you may not be able to embed the music for everyone to listen to, but you can run it by me, which is pretty important I think. Alternately, if you want to share to everyone, you can use websites like http://www.rapidshare.com and the like, to host your files for all to enjoy. Try that, if you'd like.

[nameless]

Moosic

Ok Im hoping this works and hope you like it, it probably wont work for your game but I think that is my best piece.

Oh ya im using Magix Music Maker version 11 or something and i can convert to mp3 and other formats just so you know.

Sweet it worked ok here is a nother piece. I'll probably post most of the ones that i actually have in Mp3 form.

More Moosic

Even more Moosic

Edited by nameless, 18 August 2008 - 10:50 AM.

[CID Farwin]

2 questions:

1. Where can I find this program you're using?

2. Is it free?

EDIT: Found a free trial (86 MB)

I think that the music is great. Whether it fits or not, though, is up to Mr. In-charge-of-the-project.

Edited by CID Farwin, 18 August 2008 - 12:10 PM.

[D~N]

Wow. Wow wow! This is great stuff! The piano pieces are slow and almost sad - the minute i heard them I though that they'd fit wonderfully in some sort of dramatic cutscene. The quality is great as well, which was an important factor. I have a test for you. Actually, it's more of a request than a test, because after those beautiful renditions, you've more than proven yourself. What I need to see is if you can take a song I give to you and remake it, using the improved quality of this nifty program here. You can, of course, take your own spin on it, and fix any mistakes I may have made. (I'm not a musical expert by any means) Feel free to remix it to your own liking, or if you want you can translate it literally. I'll upload those songs in a little bit. I have them saved on another computer, so once I have access to it I'll give it to you. I'll try hosting it on rapidshare for everyone to hear, this time.

I think that the music is great. Whether it fits or not, though, is up to Mr. In-charge-of-the-project.

Hey now! Everyone's input matters to this project! I want people to speak up if they like something, and speak up if they don't like something! If someone thinks they have a birlliant idea, don't keep quiet. Make sure you throw every last idea out there, beause that's how the most creative ideas are found. It's not all about me.

[D~N]

Testing ability to upload from fileshare:

http://rapidshare.co...Forest.MUS.html

http://rapidshare.co...tpizaz.MUS.html

The first is a slightly boring forest theme. The second is my first, and somewhat repetative, attempt at gaming music. If this is successful I'll upload more. The trick is that you need to download Finale Notepad 2008 to use the file. A google search will bring up the newest version for free.

Edited by D~N, 18 August 2008 - 09:13 PM.

[nameless]

Sweet I'm glad you liked the piano pieces they are my favorite.Ok I'll try your test though I'm not sure how well it will work cause all the pieces you hear are actually individual sound clips that i have to arrange to get that sound, But I'll try my best. Oh and I'll Upload some more pieces that I soon Cause they are sorta more fantasy game sounding.

Is .MUS the file type cause I haa never heard o' that before. I hope it is compatible.

Kwaaiiiieeeee. That program is amazing now i can actually write my own stuff instead of premade sweeeeet goodness. Thank you sooooo much D~N.

Hey not bad I like the stuff you did, And the forest theme isnt that bad, I'm probably gonna have a heckova time trying to remix it thought.

Crap my program can't read that format.......ill have to figure out a way to get around that......or remix a nother way....

Edited by nameless, 19 August 2008 - 08:00 AM.

[D~N]

Sweet I'm glad you liked the piano pieces they are my favorite. Ok I'll try your test though I'm not sure how well it will work cause all the pieces you hear are actually individual sound clips that i have to arrange to get that sound, But I'll try my best. Oh and I'll Upload some more pieces that I soon Cause they are sorta more fantasy game sounding.

Oh, I didn't know that. Hmm, that changes things. I was under the impression that you music program was similar to Finale NotePad, in that you could make individual notes and stuff. If you are unable to use your program to re-create my songs, don't wory about it. I'll find another way to better the quality. Instead, would you be happier if you created original songs with your new tool? Would you find it more enjoyable if instead of revamping my songs, you could create your own? It's youre choice, so pick whichever you think is more fun.

Is .MUS the file type cause I haa never heard o' that before. I hope it is compatible.
[...]
Crap my program can't read that format.......ill have to figure out a way to get around that......or remix a nother way...

.MUS is a filetype for Finale NotePad, and only for Finale products. It can't really be uploaded by other programs that aren't Finale-based. However, if you want to upload something from Finale to another program, there's a trick. Bring up the Finale file in NotePad 2008. Next, hit File>Save As. Change the filetype from .MUS (or .BAK depending on what the default is) to .MIDI. If your other program can use midi's you should be in luck. Otherwise, I'm sorry. That's all I've got. =/

Kwaaiiiieeeee. That program is amazing now i can actually write my own stuff instead of premade sweeeeet goodness. Thank you sooooo much D~N.

Glad you like it. You'll notice the quality of the instruments isn't the best, so that's where my request to remix my songs came from. However, it actually is a good tool for writing original pieces. If you find writing music with this program enjoyable, then like I said, you're more than welcome to write original music for the game. If you need inspiration, I have a list of locations that need musical goodness. Otherwise, just have fun and I'll fit your piece appropriately.

Hey not bad I like the stuff you did, And the forest theme isnt that bad, I'm probably gonna have a heckova time trying to remix it thought.

As I mentioned, I didn't know that your program worked in such a fashion - I thought it was more akin to Finale, like you could choose indivdual notes or something. If you'd rather do something else, like I've said, go for it. In fact, more original pieces would be a great thing to have. Have fun with your new program.

Since I uploaded stuff successfully, I'd like to share some more. I thought using Rapidshare would be complicated, but it's actually working fairly well (so long as people download Finale first). So here's some more stuff:

http://rapidshare.co..._Tombs.MUS.html
That's supposed to be a creepy dungeon theme, but I think it came out kinda "meh."
http://rapidshare.co...meOver.MUS.html
A quick little jingle. Supposed to be sad, since you just died. I like how it came out, but I had to trick the program into getting the note I wanted. Using the highest notes on the Cello end up sounding like the violin, but better quality. So I do that sometimes.
http://rapidshare.co...illage.MUS.html
Something I made that I'm actually quite proud of. It's my most recent work, and I find it captures the essence of the small, rural home town. What do you guys think?
http://rapidshare.co...em_Get.MUS.html
Another jingle, this time happier. It's actually the same jingle as the game over thing, except more upbeat. This series of notes it kinda the theme of the game, so they'll be popping up in a lot of my songs. You can hear them in Khorel Village's theme, too. I won't be uploading it today (it's not done yet) but it's also a big part of the overworld theme.
http://rapidshare.co...rtMix2.MUS.html
I dunno, it's okay. Kinda messy, but it certainly does remind one of a desert. I just wish I knew how to do smoother transitions. And that goes for all of my songs, like the Dungeon of Tombs and the forest theme. They lack good transition, I fear.

And that's all my completed songs. I'm always going back and changing things, so if you notice something I should change, please tell me. I'm really pushing for a stellar soundtrack to this game, because I think that's one very important part of a game that is too often neglected. So... anyone with Finale and some time on there hands, wanna check these out, and give me some feedback? Please? I appreciate it. Thanks again for all your hard work folks.

---

I have an off-topic question for everyone here. So, anyone who's been following the plot knows that I want some old mysterious mage on the team. Well, we thought of his name: Bernard Khrophton. That's not the question though. Me and my partner-in-crime discussed if we wanted a party or not, how many party members, and how it should be done. Well, we decided on 3 people. One is Bernard Khrophton. The other is set to be a theif. She's 15 years old and becomes somewhat of a love interest for Oliver. She's small, quick, and sharp - both sharp-witted and sharp-tongued. She's a crafty theif and will probably end up resembling Talim from Soul Calibur. She'll have black hair that may or may not be braided, but I know for sure that I want an outfit that resembles the spunkiness of Talim's, particularly the shirt (or lack thereof). She'll be innocent looking, but deadly. SHe'll carry around a cloak, considering she's a theif, for sneaking around in the dark. The only problem is, I absolutely SUCK at drawing women. I just can't do it. So I need someone to help me out with this.

That's one question. I have one more question that's a matter of taste - what name do you think better fits my description of this theif: Sophie Miller -or- Rebecca Miller. Cast your vote please, because I'm torn on the name (either one seems perfect) so I need you guys to be the tie-breakers.

Like I said earlier, there's also a third member to the team. He's the last guy you find, and probably the least important. He's going to be quite funny though, as he's going to act very tough. However, he is never quite able to back up his words. To balance out the team, he's going to be an archer. Joey Marella is his name, and he's gunna have a somewhat steriotypical-Italian attitude. I'm thinking red-haired and perhaps one year or two years older than Oliver. The archer should balance out the team, so that's it's one Mace-wielding hero, one mage, one theif, and one archer. Suprisingly, I couldn't fit a swordsman, so that might end up being everyone's back-up weapon, like some sort of short-sword for emergency situations.

Anyway, so I've decide on the party - Oliver and 3 companions - but I still need help deciding on the theif's name. Rebecca Miller -or- Sophie Miller. Please help me make up my mind.

Edited by D~N, 19 August 2008 - 01:33 PM.

[Keen]

I think Sophie sounds more innocent. I'll vote for that. A word of warning though, the proper spelling is Thief. You won't want to make a mistake that distracting in the actual game text. I know it would drive me up a wall anyway.

So... does this mean you'll want a script for a Theft ability?

Note: I'd also like to know how you want this battle system to feel. It's sounding like you want something that looks like the Chrono Trigger system, where combat takes place on the map with the roaming enemies, but you might want the system to be turn-based, so that everyone gets one shot for everyone else's. What kind of spacial dependency are you interested in? CT, where you can use line- and area-attacks, but distance doesn't matter? Paper Mario, where the party stands in a guarding line, and magic and archery can pass the line? Some other third thing?

Edited by Lord of Drek, 19 August 2008 - 07:19 PM.

[D~N]

A word of warning though, the proper spelling is Thief. You won't want to make a mistake that distracting in the actual game text. I know it would drive me up a wall anyway.

Wow, it's odd that you say that; when I was discussing the party members with my co-creator Mike, as I said in my previous post, we had a miniature argument on the spelling of thief. Now, I thought it was spelt thief, but he thought it was theif. Usually I'm the bad one when it comes to spelling, so I assumed he was right and I mentally corrected myself. However, it appears I was right after all. Heh heh heh.

However, I wouldn't be suprise if I spelt a common word like that wrong. In fact, just the other day, I realized I had been spelling "professor" incorrectly my entire life. I thought it was spelt "proffessor" and that was even evident in my picture of Prof. Marks. I felt foolish enough that I actually went back and photoshoped that picture to correct the error, and fixed every misspelling of the word in all of my posts. Yes, I am that weird.

Anyway, about the battle system. I need help with these systems you're suggesting, and providing examples is a good idea. As I've reported earlier, I don't play RPG's frequently, besides my personal favorites like Mario&Luigi, Paper Mario, and Pokemon. Beyond that, I haven't played a single rpg. However, I will make one thing clear - I do not want a grid system. A simple system is sometimes the best system; Mario & Luigi has no grids or distances, the only attacks that can't be reached are if the enemies fly, which makes sense. I'm not all too keen on a grid system, but how about a "simple location" system - you can be near, mid-range, or far away. Attacks will reach accordingly. Furthermore, you can be ground-level, air, or underground. Rights and lefts will not play a factor, so it's just hight and depth. In this way, I suppose it does act somewhat like a grid system (a 3 by 3 grid) but i don't want the gridwork to be displayed. I want the player to use their eyes and see "oh, that guy is flying very far away, so only an archer would be able to reach, logically."

Again, I'm not 100% set on a battle system yet. I want something that feels natural, and is just as easy to use as Mario&Luigi (Which I think has a better battle system than Paper Mario, if that helps at all. More like M&L than anything else, really, is what I would like this to be like. Not identical though.) Also, because rights and lefts aren't a factor, I'd like to point out that a protagonists-on-the-left and antagonists-on-the-right* system would be easiest. A cross section like this is ideal for showing depth and altitude, the two main factors.

*Can be reversed, and should be, based on a random number generator. 2/3 the time you'll be on the left, but to spice things up, 1/3 the time you'll be on the right, or something of that nature.

Anyway, considering I'm not an avid RPg fan, I'd also like some hardcore RPG players to point out their personal favorite combat systems, and I'll go through them all. Again, everyone's opinion matters.

[CID Farwin]

Anyway, about the battle system. I need help with these systems you're suggesting, and providing examples is a good idea. As I've reported earlier, I don't play RPG's frequently, besides my personal favorites like Mario&Luigi, Paper Mario, and Pokemon. Beyond that, I haven't played a single rpg. However, I will make one thing clear - I do not want a grid system. A simple system is sometimes the best system; Mario & Luigi has no grids or distances, the only attacks that can't be reached are if the enemies fly, which makes sense. I'm not all too keen on a grid system, but how about a "simple location" system - you can be near, mid-range, or far away. Attacks will reach accordingly. Furthermore, you can be ground-level, air, or underground. Rights and lefts will not play a factor, so it's just hight and depth. In this way, I suppose it does act somewhat like a grid system (a 3 by 3 grid) but i don't want the gridwork to be displayed. I want the player to use their eyes and see "oh, that guy is flying very far away, so only an archer would be able to reach, logically."

I'm not really sure I understand this; clarification please? I'm a visual thinker, so a sketch or something would be nice.

Again, I'm not 100% set on a battle system yet. I want something that feels natural, and is just as easy to use as Mario&Luigi (Which I think has a better battle system than Paper Mario, if that helps at all. More like M&L than anything else, really, is what I would like this to be like. Not identical though.) Also, because rights and lefts aren't a factor, I'd like to point out that a protagonists-on-the-left and antagonists-on-the-right* system would be easiest. A cross section like this is ideal for showing depth and altitude, the two main factors.

Hm, from watching footage of Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (via youtube) It looks to be somewhere between Paper Mario and Mario RPG. (in graphics and battle system.) Which parts specifically of the M&L battle system make you like it more than Paper Mario?

*Can be reversed, and should be, based on a random number generator. 2/3 the time you'll be on the left, but to spice things up, 1/3 the time you'll be on the right, or something of that nature.

Personally, I like the Final Fantasy 6 way. (or maybe it's all of 4-6, I don't remember) where the positions switch when there's a surprise attack.

Anyway, considering I'm not an avid RPg fan, I'd also like some hardcore RPG players to point out their personal favorite combat systems, and I'll go through them all. Again, everyone's opinion matters.

I like the turn-based combat, but then again I don't go too far outside of FF for RPGs. Really I like pretty much anything, so long as it works.

[Steel Samurai]

I would just like to point out that compared to most normal JRPGs, the tactical battle system in FF Tactics, Jean D'arc, etc is very very fluid, though it works better with more party members.

Regardless, I think perhaps what you might be most interested in is the battle system in Tales of Eternia. (And perhaps some of the other Tales games as well, eternia is the only one I've played) You might want to look into that. Completely real time 2-d with the ability to have multiple party members and activate special attacks etc.

[Keen]

Basically what I'll have to do is gut the Scene_Battle class, and go from there. It could take a bit of work, but it's the best kind of work, as far as I'm concerned.

For some easier work in the meantime, I've discovered the most simple way to modify message windows by letting the user pass parameters: "\N[12]" means "insert the name of actor number twelve here"; "\V[2]" means "insert variable two here"; and "\C[3]" means "use color three for text from here on".

These are all part of RMXP by default, but the neat part is that I can add more of these without too much effort. After learning regular expressions, it took me about a minute to realize I could use this technique to reposition or resize the message window, and about two minutes to set it up and test it. The commands I came up with were "\P[0,0]" for "move the window's upper-left corner to pixel 0,0" and "\R[20,21,80,500]" for "do P[20,21], set the width to 80, and set the height to 500". I'll add one to show actor battler pics on the window, one to show enemy battler pics, and definitely one to insert newlines into the text. The pics will basically be the first step toward showing animated speakers, and the newlines will help with formatting. Any suggestions for more of these?

[D~N]

After learning regular expressions, it took me about a minute to realize I could use this technique to reposition or resize the message window, and about two minutes to set it up and test it.

I'm not really sure I understand this; clarification please? I'm a visual thinker, so a sketch or something would be nice.

I quickly made this up. See, it's a simple grid in that you can be near, middle, or far away from the enemies, and they have the same options likewise. What I didn't draw here was the vertical, which plays less of a roll. It works exactly the same as this poorly drawn picture would show, except people that flly are represented higher, and need more reach. Likewise, underground is probably the rarest thing to be seen, but I'm sure there will be some sort of enemy that burrows himself underground. Think of flying/underground enemies like...hmm...oh! Think of them like pokemon that use fly or dig. They can still be hit with the right moves (sky uppercut/earthquake) but for the most part they are out of reach.

Based of this thing I just drew, each area is one "unit of distance." For this system to work, we need to establish how far each attack can reach. For example, an archer could reach up to 6 units, so he'd reach anybody no matter what. A swordsman, however, could only reach 1 or 2 units, so you'd need to play him closer.

A more complicated setup would be that "flying" grants one additional unit of disstance. So if an enemy was flying all the way in the back, and your archer was all the way in the back, it would be a total of 6 units away. Does this make sense? I can always draw another diagram.

Hm, from watching footage of Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (via youtube) It looks to be somewhere between Paper Mario and Mario RPG. (in graphics and battle system.) Which parts specifically of the M&L battle system make you like it more than Paper Mario?

Besides the action prompts, I also like it's simplicity. I hope ours can keep this simplicity while adding depth (literally) to the mix. The amount of lists and sub-lists were kept to a minimum. I much prefer a neat system of
*Attack>choose attack>pick enemy
than a convaluted system like this:
*Battle>Magic>Fire spells>Flame of Heroes>Pick enemy.

Furthermore, battles go quickly and smoothly, and while the turn-based system makes it feel slightly unnatural (as all turn based games do) i think that this game was fun enough that I could forget about that. The action prompts, I think, made me forget all about the turn-based style, which is really a great thing.

I want our game to have a turn based system that flows. I hate this: "I'm going to hit you now. Okay, now it's your turn to hit me." That's stupid. I want to find a clever way to make that feeling go away. I want it to be more like a fencing match; if you get on the offensive, like you would in real life, you stay on the offensive. Likewise, when they push you into a corner, you should have to stay on the defensive until you can regain the offensive. I want it to flow. I want to integrate the environment, so that if you are on the defensive like i said, you can take cover behind, say, a rock to regain your ground, and maybe some health. But I still want it to remain a simple experience. It's going to take some work, but I know it can be done.

Personally, I like the Final Fantasy 6 way. (or maybe it's all of 4-6, I don't remember) where the positions switch when there's a surprise attack.

That works rather well, I think. Lets see if we can integrate that without copying outright. I'll think of something clever eventually. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Regardless, I think perhaps what you might be most interested in is the battle system in Tales of Eternia. (And perhaps some of the other Tales games as well, eternia is the only one I've played) You might want to look into that. Completely real time 2-d with the ability to have multiple party members and activate special attacks etc.

I'm looking into that right now. It seems like something that could work. However, it's pretty busy with everyone going at once. It looks like it works, I just don't know if we should dare to go that real-time. It's a good possibility though, and I do like it.

Drek, does this mean you have a functional animated speaking thing going? It sounds like you're getting close to what I had in mind, which is great news. If you have any screengrabs you can show that'd be excelent. Oh wait, you probably need character models before you can actually show any animation, right? I'll try and find you one just to use as an example, for now. Everything seems to be coming along splendidly!

Edited by D~N, 20 August 2008 - 11:12 AM.

[nameless]

Hey D~N can you give me a list of places that need themes? that will help me think about em better I think. oh and I'm probably gonna use both my program and finale so I'll have some from both most likely, theoretically.

[D~N]

Using both programs is a swell idea - go for it. I've got plenty of places that need themes, so I'll just list a few to get started.

• I've got at least 7 dungeons that need music. You've played Zelda before, yes? You know how dungeon themes are meant to be, so that shouldn't be tough.
• A snowy mountain theme. If I were to guess how I wanted it to sound, I'd say a mixture between "Snowman." "Snowpeak," and maybe a little "Death Mountain"
• A town theme - only this town is special because it was built on a swamp. If you chose this, think murky and drab. Here's a good example: Bubblegloop Swamp.
• A nice little theme for inside of a house. Have fun with this one.
• A victorious-sounding, heayv-on-the-brass Castle theme. This one's gunna be a challenge, because I've set high standards for it, as it must sound royal and impressive.
• Lastly, a real theme song that will play every time you see Oliver Shaw, Vladimir Savage, and Prof. Marks. They each need their own music, so I'm not sure how I want them to sound just yet...

So, have fun with any of those, or anything else you feel the urge to create!

[nameless]

Who are Oliver Shaw, Vladimir Savage, and Prof. Marks. like what kind of persons are they? so i can theme well.

[CID Farwin]

I've got at least 7 dungeons that need music. You've played Zelda before, yes? You know how dungeon themes are meant to be, so that shouldn't be tough.

What are the 'themes' of the dungeons, specifically. That makes a difference.

A snowy mountain theme. If I were to guess how I wanted it to sound, I'd say a mixture between "Snowman." "Snowpeak," and maybe a little "Death Mountain"
A town theme - only this town is special because it was built on a swamp. If you chose this, think murky and drab. Here's a good example: Bubblegloop Swamp.
A nice little theme for inside of a house. Have fun with this one.

I'll try my hand at those, too.

[*]A victorious-sounding, heayv-on-the-brass Castle theme. This one's gunna be a challenge, because I've set high standards for it, as it must sound royal and impressive.

You know, I might have something for you here. http://rapidshare.co...y_song.MUS.htmlNot finished by any means, but what d'ya think?

Lastly, a real theme song that will play every time you see Oliver Shaw, Vladimir Savage, and Prof. Marks. They each need their own music, so I'm not sure how I want them to sound just yet...

I agree with nameless, what kind of people they are helps.

And I've got another one, I've already given this to D~N. http://rapidshare.co.../Gears.MUS.html

[D~N]

First, I have to say something. That song, "fantasy," is absolutely amazing CID! Like it made me say "wow" out loud. I was literally upset when there was that long pause in the middle. If you tidy it up that gap, and somehow transition from the first half to the second, then you have a winner! I'm absolutely in love with it! You've definitely met my standards and more.

The dungeons are gunna be tough, beacause I don't have every one's theme set in stone yet. I have ideas, however:
Temple # -
1) The Ruins. This is a gear-themed, partially ungerground ruin. It's old and clanky, but has a very neutral feel. As far as dungeons go, it's fairly standard. It would go along the lines of the guitar/gear song that CID just showed (the "tick-tock feel" really gives you the sense of being surrounded by gears so in this way, it should be similar) only it needs to be more dungeon-esque. A darker feel, perhaps? Also, it may help to know that's it's found within a forest, and the entire place is overgrown (but more dirty than grassy).
2) The Mountains. As I said, he travels next to a snowy mountain. The dungeon of the mountain is actually just a giant puzzle that awaits those atop the mountain. It's not the kind of dungeon you can enter. It's more of an open envirnoment that happens to have a giant puzzle within it. Ideally, I'd like this theme to mesh with the mountain theme, but it doesn't have to.
3) The Treetops. That giant tree plays a central role, but unlike OoT, you wont go inside the tree. Rather, the dungeon is atop the tree, and you must climb and manuver the branches to solve the dungeon. It's going to be the weirdest dungeon both to create and to play through, but I want it to be something original and new. A reminder, if it helps during the song making process, that this tree is alone and atop a single island in the middle of a giant lake. I guess since you'll be high up, something uplifting? Not too set on this one.
4) The Towers. A castle dungeon. This could be done nearly complete! I just have to see what I'm going to do with it. I know that part of the castle wont be the dungeon; it'll just be, ya know, the castle. You can walk around it and stuff. But when you explore it deeper, you enter a laberynth of puzzles and such. I'd hold off on this until we decide. I might not even do a castle dungeon. My other idea for level four is this:
4) The Dunes. A desert dungeon. Pretty straightforward. Egyptian themed, hot, sandy, etc. I know I'll have a desert dungeon, I just don't know if it's #4 or otherwise. I have nowhere else to put it, and I want it more than a castle dungeon.
5) The Marshes. Just like there's a swamp town, there will be a swamp level. Similar in gloomy nature.
6) The Tombs. I'm handeling this one. Graveyard themed, et al.
7)The Heavens. It's the sky world, but it's a clanky metal skyworld. Definitely not your usual sky-themed place. I'm looking for a cross between the TP's sky place and Metroid Prime 3's.
8) Left a spot open. This spot is pending on if i keep both the castle and the desert. AFter this you retrun to the first temple and play it totalyl differently.

This post is running long, I'll explain the characters another time. I'm in a bit of a rush. =/

All I have left to say is that CID is a musical genius.

[nameless]

ok so these aren't finished yet but I will be adding more I just wanted to ask if these are heading in the direction you would like, or if they don't sound like what you want so first the mountain theme.

mountain theme


Second the town theme. It may not be boggy enough for you but I think its not to spectacular enough so your call.

town theme

Enjoy or criticize which ever you prefer.


Cid those are amazing, the fantasy one is super good as is the gears.

Edited by nameless, 27 August 2008 - 10:13 AM.

[D~N]

Aha, great stuff all around. The mountain theme is sounding great, as is the town theme.

There's a few ways you can go about this now. For the mountain theme, the way it sounds (in my opinion, and in this early stage) I think it would fit the dungeon part of the mountain more than the actual mountain. Which is not at all a problem, because those themes were supposed to be similar and interchangable. What you can do is, you can continue to make the song in the same style and mood as you have right now, and just change the name from simply "mountain," to "mountain dungeon." No biggy.

Alternatively, you could make slight alterations. You don't need to change what you have so far - it's great! However, if you want the song to continue past where it ended (which I'm guessing you do, judging by the sudden silence at the end) do you think you could perhaps transition into something with a similar all-around feel, but with an added piano riff? It'd be slow and subtle, but a piano would be a nice touch here. If you don't have any piano riffs in the program that please you, perhaps you could try a nice choral riff? Again, these are suggestions, and just instrumental suggestions at that. The piano and chorus are merely what first came to my mind when I thought of a huge, lonely mountain. If you think they wont fit well, then forget about 'em! It's not big deal. I want to stress that what you have already is great, and that we can use it in the game once you get the song to a stage where it loops seemlessly. I just think a piano or chorus would fit nicely into this little tune of yours, that's all. I hope you continue your great work on this piece, I like it a lot!

As for the Town Theme...Fantastic! Very swamp-like, but like you said, it could use a *touch* more boggyness . The song you've created has the potential to be boggier, all you'd need to do is change the tempo. Does your program have the ability to slow down your existing song? Because I think it's just the speed that makes it appear more "upbeat" than "boggy." A quick tempo change should be all you need to make this song perfect! Again, I like this song and the mountain song very much! Please, I do hope you continue your great work!

Hmm, it may appear like I'm criticising a lot, but it really boils down to this:
Mountain theme is great, if you add piano or chorus it'll be even more mountainish, otherwise it seems to me like it suits a snow dungeon. Also, the swamp theme is prefect, but you may want to consider slowing it down a tad. Great work all around! Keep it up

[Keen]

Sorry if I seem to have dropped back off the Earth, but I'm in the process of moving back to my dorm. Things ought to smooth out soon enough.

[D~N]

Well, the past few weeks have been very busy for me. I've recently been employed at my neighborhood Staples, and school just started. That's important because I needed to be settled for a week in High School, but also because, as you could imagine, Staples gets extremely busy around the "back to School" season. So yes, I've been swamped with things to do, but things have more or less settled down now. I'll have more time to work on the game - when I say this, don't think I haven't been working on it at all, because I have been.

Perhaps we can get back on track. By tomorrow or over the weekend sometime I think I'll finish the overworld theme. From there, I want someone to take my basic song and improve it's quality, transition, and musical "flow." As a non-musician myself, I can only dabble so much before I cross the boundry of suckiness. Besides that, I've been making finishing touches on the starting town, the woods, the cliffisde, and i started the swamp, the mountain, and the overworld. The last three are very basic so far, but the town and forest are really close to completion. Expect to see info on them soon.

[CID Farwin]

I'd be glad to touch up anything you've got.

[Tseb]

He guys I'm back. Been kinda busy with college but still interested in helping with RPGXP related stuff, if you let me know what you need as far as towns/ places I'll try and get something out or atleast be able to help you guys figure out how to script/build stuff the way you want it.

About the battles, RPGXP has a fairly simple battle system worked into it already that might do what you need, It's also supposed to have a 2 row system so that the damage taken by the back row is decreased along with the physical damage dealt by the back row. I.E. mages go in the back and deal less physical damage (not that they straight up attack much) and also take less physical damage.

Lemme know how I can help.

[D~N]

The battle system is being revamped to mimic Mario & Luigi games, with a slight distance variable. There are 6 squares on the battlefield, 3 on your side and 3 on the opponents. You can be close, medium, or far away from the dividing line, and so can they.

[-3] [-2] [-1] | [+1] [+2] [+3]

Looks like that diagram. you take tha absolute value of the distance you are from your opponent, see if your attack has that much range, and attack. An archer would have a range of 6, probably, and a swordsman 1 or 2. Also, flying enemies are +1 fo however far away they currently are. An enemy that's flying in the backmost space has a distance of +4, et. al..

I said I'd have that overworld music up, but I'm not happy with how it came out at all. I nearly scrapped the thing entiely. Maybe by the end of today I'll get that up. I could show you what I've got so far, if you want. Tell me if anyone's interested.

[CID Farwin]

Got another one for 'ya.

http://rapidshare.co...battle.MUS.html

Basically just the Khorel Village theme in minor key with a bass line.

[nameless]

for you D~N

hey D~N I have made this little piece of music so if you desire it you may have it. Yes it dose still need some work and disregard the last bit cause im not sure that its going to stay.

Also I'm thinking i need to put some other instraments in with it so I probably will.

very sorry i havnt been able to put more music up i have been very busy.

[D~N]

No worries, I've been busy as well (four ADVANCED PLACEMENT classes...gah!) so I've kinda neglected the internets entirely the past few days.

Firstly, lemme just say that CID, you've done it again. Not only that, but you've READ MY MIND. I was going to suggest that "hey, we need something like this that would be the equivilent for our main village; we need a spooky version of the Khorel theme!" But alas! you took the logical jump from the concept of "we should have the home village attacked by Vladimire" to "this means that we'll need a musical accompanyment too!" and for this, I thank you greatly. Not only is this song exactly what I was looking for without even asking, but you nailed the technicalities too by adjusting the tempo and key. This is something that I could not do myself - when it comes to the technicalities of music, such as tempo, key, octaves, and whatnot, I know absolutely nothing. So while I would have enventually tried to do this myself, I would have ultimately failed. And for this, I thank you very much! I love it!

Which brings me to...the hobo! Wonderful work! I like the direction you're going with this a lot. Almost sounds sad in a way, yet it's not, like, depressing. In my opinion I got the vibe, the feel, like it was inside a sad and empty café almost. But that was after the first listen - after listening more i think it'd fit in just about ANY lonely or deserted place. It reminds me of inside the Clock Tower from Majora's Mask - in that sense, I suppose it is somewhat sad-sounding. But I like it, and the direction you're taking it in. It also reminds me of Metroid a little bit. I don't know what you did, but you nailed a feeling of loneliness and desertion. Well done!

Now, you need to focus on the idea of the song. Random piano notes are good and all; clearly this is true, as you've created a wonderful snippit. However, to complete and refine this song, you have to have an idea in mind and go with it. You need to say in your head "I want this song to be for a café, or some other place." Once you choose the location, give the location some adjectives and describe those adjectives with song. If the cafe is empty, make the song sad and slow. If the cafe is popular and cheerful, make the song upbeat and fast. You seem to have potential here, this is undeniable. In fact, I really like what you've got here. Just flesh it out. Make it longer, like you said, maybe more instruments, maybe not, I dunno. The most important thing is, though, that you know what you want the song to be for and keep that in mind while you create the song; use your idea of the location to help create the piece.

To summarize; take what you have here, apply it to a definitive location, and make the song fit the location! You're off to a fantastic start! Just refine and flesh out! Needs to be a bit longer, obviously!

The song you gave me was something. This is something else. I made minor changes, but I think it flows nicely. You need not keep them, as it is your creation. It was purely the result of me toying around with your song. So basically you toyed around and got that, and i toyed around with that and got this. So it's basically one big accident.
EDIT: last section of the song still doesn't have a left-hand part. That's never been my strong point, so I'll leave that to you!

Edited by D~N, 23 September 2008 - 07:39 PM.

[Sir Deimos]

hahah, well i've made a few games myself, and you're going about this very ass backwards xD you seem enthusiastic enough to make it work though. good luck

[D~N]

Certainly the project shows very little order...but what makes it backwards? How can I fix this? I realize I'm getting ahead of myself with the music, but beyond that, how can I acquire some structure? Don't just mock us! Help us instead!