This is a project I have had in the works for nearly a year. It is still in the "concept" stages because frankly, I am going to be a perfectionist with this title. This has been something I have been very much looking forward to creating, and I want to make the best game I possibly can.
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Standing against tyranny may be madness, but it is a step toward freedom. If our deaths must come, let it be a death of our own choosting.
Intro
To the ancient civilizations it was called Daer'mon. To the cave dwelling dwarves it was the Kaalerdonal. Humans had no name for it, for humans were too young of a race to have seen the destruction it brought. Humans did not comprehend what it was.
---
Holan Razaen looked at the city as the cold wind stabbed at him. He could have been naked for the good his cloak was doing. Was winter on his doorstep early this year? No, that couldn't be it. It was far too early for the winter chill. The harvest was not yet for another tenday or two. He should have another cycle of the moon before the winter preparations. This wind was not the coming of winter. It was too...unnatural. But what could it mean?
Razaen was a cautious man. It was his skilled planning and care for his people that had brought Kal'ero to greatness. And this wind brought him a sense of unease. Something was coming. And he needed to be ready.
---
Kamiil Vasquez stood naked outside his tent, welcoming the cold night air. It was a good sign. Asal'on had finally answered him.
It had been years since he had any good news. How long had it been since he had ravaged the seas as the greatest of the pirate lords? A decade?
He had used a different name then. But then, he had gone by more than two dozen names in his unnaturally long life. He was getting old, even by elvish standards. And yet he still retained the speed and strength of youth.
You're no longer an elf, he reminded himself, you have evolved. You are above the elves and the other lesser races.
He did not yet know what he was, or the limits of his body, but he was constantly testing them. The elvish champions fell at his feet, the closest thing he had to a worthy opponent in nearly seven years. Yet they could not best him in battle. Was he immortal, doomed to linger on this land for eternity, searching for an adversary worthy of a death by his blade?
No. He could not be immortal. How many times had he narrowly escaped death while in battle? Strong as he was, he was still mortal. And alone he was vulnerable. Too many lords had sent bounty hunters after him. How much was his head worth now?
It mattered not, because he could defeat any opponent in single combat, of that he was certain. But to complete his plans he needed allies. Surely he could find some lords among the humans ambitious enough to join him. The promise of power had changed stronger races than the lowly humans. And with Asal'on guiding him, he could not lose. All he needed to do was please her. And from the whispers in his ears, she liked his plans.
His people had called it Daer'mon. The Whisper of Death.
Prelude
Dark days came to Kal'ero. Vasquez, having formed the Council of Seekers, marched onto the capital city with an army of six lords. Vastly outnumbered, Holan Razaen fled the castle, and assembled the Kal'eron army to various outposts around the kingdom.
For ten long years, Razaen and his men made use of guerrilla warfare, ambusing raiding parties and supply wagons, trying to weaken Vasquez's forces. They had the support of the people, but as the riots began, so did the murders. The support soon became less vocal. As time went on, it became no more than a prayer. Few were brave enough to openly support Razaen, and fewer joined the ranks of the army.
To make matters worse, it seemed as though Vasquez was able to conjure soldiers from the wind. If Kal'ero was to be free once more, Vasquez would need to fall in battle.
On the Plains of M'hae, Razaen called Vasquez to battle. The Kal'erons were outnumbered, but they believed they could attain victory. They believed that somewhere in the heavens the gods still looked down at the world, and that they would guide them to victory.
But it seemed as though the world itself was against them. Lightning struck down from the sky, and heavy winds carried enemy arrows twice their normal distance, while making a natural barrier for Vasquez's troops. Though they fought valiantly, the Kal'erons were defeated. Halon Razaen, and all of his heirs were killed, and their bodies were left to rot in the sea of grass.
A decade has passed, and Kal'ero is slowly dying. Her people are starving, and sickness becomes a growing concern. The world Kal'ero once knew is gone, and the one that replaced it is sucking the life from the people. The gods were gone, and Halon Razaen was no more. Though rebels still fought against Vasquez, they were scattered and leaderless.
Hope was lost.
Soon, all of Kal'ero shall perish.
Story
Kal'ero is dying. The people grow sick and weary, as Vasquez continues to demand high taxes, and arrests those who cannot pay. Any who openly oppose the new rule are viewed as traitors and executed.
The town of Rilan has been hit harder than most. Never a very prosperous town, it has long had to lean on its community to survive. Those that were unable to pay the taxes get helped by those that have coin to spare, and the townsfolk look after one another.
One such townsfolk is a man named Feldiir. Though he is not the magistrate or the wisest of the townsfolk, the people see him as their leader. Feldiir works hard to support the town, as the main hunter, and only real defense against any bandits that might happen to come across the town.
While on a hunt one day, Vasquez's troops come to collect the taxes, and being to beat a sick, elderly man. Feldiir's wife Rose comes to the man's aid, and in return, the troops turn on her. Feldiir returns to the village empty handed, only to see his beloved wife killed in front of him.
Enraged, Feldiir turns on the soldiers, and manages to slay them.
Spiralling into a state of apathy, Feldiir buries his wife.
Feldiirs actions inspire the people of Rilan to stand up against Vasquez, but Feldiir wants nothing to do with a rebellion. He wants revenge on Vasquez for taking his wife from him, and vows that he will not die until he has become a free man.
Note: this section needs to be reworked. Though this is generally how the story will go (as far as Rose being murdered, and Feldiir wanting revenge) there are major changes to the storyline being implemented to stem away from being overly cliche. I am just figuring out how to implement them. For the most part, the game will start rather cliche, but as the plot thickens, it will become less cliched.
Character BIOSes
Gameplay
While the overall storyline is pretty cliche, the game will feature many aspects that will create a unique gaming experience. Chains of Honor will exhibit as unique of a story as I can create, with well developed characters that players will (hopefully) enjoy both playing as, and against.
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This is all I have to post right now. It's about 3:24 AM so I will likely go over this post again and make my story/prelude bits much more to my usual standard (I see them as sloppy and bland right now). I will also add character details in the near future, as I am almost done with them.
If you've made it this far, I thank you for reading this thread. I know it's a fair bit of text, and it's going to have a lot more in the coming days.
Cheers.
Nolund
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Intro
To the ancient civilizations it was called Daer'mon. To the cave dwelling dwarves it was the Kaalerdonal. Humans had no name for it, for humans were too young of a race to have seen the destruction it brought. Humans did not comprehend what it was.
Holan Razaen looked at the city as the cold wind stabbed at him. He could have been naked for the good his cloak was doing. Was winter on his doorstep early this year? No, that couldn't be it. It was far too early for the winter chill. The harvest was not yet for another tenday or two. He should have another cycle of the moon before the winter preparations. This wind was not the coming of winter. It was too...unnatural. But what could it mean?
Razaen was a cautious man. It was his skilled planning and care for his people that had brought Kal'ero to greatness. And this wind brought him a sense of unease. Something was coming. And he needed to be ready.
Kamiil Vasquez stood naked outside his tent, welcoming the cold night air. It was a good sign. Asal'on had finally answered him.
It had been years since he had any good news. How long had it been since he had ravaged the seas as the greatest of the pirate lords? A decade?
He had used a different name then. But then, he had gone by more than two dozen names in his unnaturally long life. He was getting old, even by elvish standards. And yet he still retained the speed and strength of youth.
You're no longer an elf, he reminded himself, you have evolved. You are above the elves and the other lesser races.
He did not yet know what he was, or the limits of his body, but he was constantly testing them. The elvish champions fell at his feet, the closest thing he had to a worthy opponent in nearly seven years. Yet they could not best him in battle. Was he immortal, doomed to linger on this land for eternity, searching for an adversary worthy of a death by his blade?
No. He could not be immortal. How many times had he narrowly escaped death while in battle? Strong as he was, he was still mortal. And alone he was vulnerable. Too many lords had sent bounty hunters after him. How much was his head worth now?
It mattered not, because he could defeat any opponent in single combat, of that he was certain. But to complete his plans he needed allies. Surely he could find some lords among the humans ambitious enough to join him. The promise of power had changed stronger races than the lowly humans. And with Asal'on guiding him, he could not lose. All he needed to do was please her. And from the whispers in his ears, she liked his plans.
His people had called it Daer'mon. The Whisper of Death.
Prelude
Dark days came to Kal'ero. Vasquez, having formed the Council of Seekers, marched onto the capital city with an army of six lords. Vastly outnumbered, Holan Razaen fled the castle, and assembled the Kal'eron army to various outposts around the kingdom.
For ten long years, Razaen and his men made use of guerrilla warfare, ambusing raiding parties and supply wagons, trying to weaken Vasquez's forces. They had the support of the people, but as the riots began, so did the murders. The support soon became less vocal. As time went on, it became no more than a prayer. Few were brave enough to openly support Razaen, and fewer joined the ranks of the army.
To make matters worse, it seemed as though Vasquez was able to conjure soldiers from the wind. If Kal'ero was to be free once more, Vasquez would need to fall in battle.
On the Plains of M'hae, Razaen called Vasquez to battle. The Kal'erons were outnumbered, but they believed they could attain victory. They believed that somewhere in the heavens the gods still looked down at the world, and that they would guide them to victory.
But it seemed as though the world itself was against them. Lightning struck down from the sky, and heavy winds carried enemy arrows twice their normal distance, while making a natural barrier for Vasquez's troops. Though they fought valiantly, the Kal'erons were defeated. Halon Razaen, and all of his heirs were killed, and their bodies were left to rot in the sea of grass.
A decade has passed, and Kal'ero is slowly dying. Her people are starving, and sickness becomes a growing concern. The world Kal'ero once knew is gone, and the one that replaced it is sucking the life from the people. The gods were gone, and Halon Razaen was no more. Though rebels still fought against Vasquez, they were scattered and leaderless.
Hope was lost.
Soon, all of Kal'ero shall perish.
Story
Kal'ero is dying. The people grow sick and weary, as Vasquez continues to demand high taxes, and arrests those who cannot pay. Any who openly oppose the new rule are viewed as traitors and executed.
The town of Rilan has been hit harder than most. Never a very prosperous town, it has long had to lean on its community to survive. Those that were unable to pay the taxes get helped by those that have coin to spare, and the townsfolk look after one another.
One such townsfolk is a man named Feldiir. Though he is not the magistrate or the wisest of the townsfolk, the people see him as their leader. Feldiir works hard to support the town, as the main hunter, and only real defense against any bandits that might happen to come across the town.
While on a hunt one day, Vasquez's troops come to collect the taxes, and being to beat a sick, elderly man. Feldiir's wife Rose comes to the man's aid, and in return, the troops turn on her. Feldiir returns to the village empty handed, only to see his beloved wife killed in front of him.
Enraged, Feldiir turns on the soldiers, and manages to slay them.
Spiralling into a state of apathy, Feldiir buries his wife.
Feldiirs actions inspire the people of Rilan to stand up against Vasquez, but Feldiir wants nothing to do with a rebellion. He wants revenge on Vasquez for taking his wife from him, and vows that he will not die until he has become a free man.
Note: this section needs to be reworked. Though this is generally how the story will go (as far as Rose being murdered, and Feldiir wanting revenge) there are major changes to the storyline being implemented to stem away from being overly cliche. I am just figuring out how to implement them. For the most part, the game will start rather cliche, but as the plot thickens, it will become less cliched.
Character BIOSes
Vasquez was born an elf, over seven centuries ago. His true name has been lost with the ages, and he takes on new identities as he needs to. He is most renown among the world as the pirate lord Kiingal.
Vasquez lived in a time when the gods still existed among the world. He was a skilled fighter, even by elvish standards, but he was not kind hearted like his brethren. He believed that only through battle could one grow stronger, and that the elves were below him for not believing so. He believed he was above them, and though he looked and spoke as an elf should, that he was a higher being.
He was exiled by the elves and ventured the world, growing stronger with each battle. He did not fight for bloodlust. He fought only to grow stronger. He wished to one day find an adversary that could match him in battle, but that day did not come.
When the gods abandoned the world, he believed it was because they deemed the races of the world unworthy. They were soft, content with lives of mediocrity, while he starved for greatness. Soon after the gods' departure, he met the entity Asal'on. She did not claim to be a god, but she had powers that no mortal could ever have. She morphed Vasquez into something else. He was no longer an elf, yet he retained his elvish stealth and speed. There was no name for his new form. He was just a higher being.
For the next century, Vasquez has spent his life pleasing Asal'on, believing that she is a true god. She speaks to him on the wind, telling him what directions to take.
Vasquez's words are poison, and the ambitious and cruel fall easy prey to him. He is a master of manipulation, and he helped him to surround himself with six powerful lords. Slowly, he is draining them of their resources, paying them the taxes he takes from the people of Kal'eron, but as he fills the purses of his allies, the Council of Seekers is slowly drifting apart, but the soldiers are remaining loyal to Vasquez alone. Soon, he will have an army large enough to conquer the world, completing the plans Asal'on wishes of him.
Vasquez lived in a time when the gods still existed among the world. He was a skilled fighter, even by elvish standards, but he was not kind hearted like his brethren. He believed that only through battle could one grow stronger, and that the elves were below him for not believing so. He believed he was above them, and though he looked and spoke as an elf should, that he was a higher being.
He was exiled by the elves and ventured the world, growing stronger with each battle. He did not fight for bloodlust. He fought only to grow stronger. He wished to one day find an adversary that could match him in battle, but that day did not come.
When the gods abandoned the world, he believed it was because they deemed the races of the world unworthy. They were soft, content with lives of mediocrity, while he starved for greatness. Soon after the gods' departure, he met the entity Asal'on. She did not claim to be a god, but she had powers that no mortal could ever have. She morphed Vasquez into something else. He was no longer an elf, yet he retained his elvish stealth and speed. There was no name for his new form. He was just a higher being.
For the next century, Vasquez has spent his life pleasing Asal'on, believing that she is a true god. She speaks to him on the wind, telling him what directions to take.
Vasquez's words are poison, and the ambitious and cruel fall easy prey to him. He is a master of manipulation, and he helped him to surround himself with six powerful lords. Slowly, he is draining them of their resources, paying them the taxes he takes from the people of Kal'eron, but as he fills the purses of his allies, the Council of Seekers is slowly drifting apart, but the soldiers are remaining loyal to Vasquez alone. Soon, he will have an army large enough to conquer the world, completing the plans Asal'on wishes of him.
Feldiir was born in the village of Rilan. He is a strong man, and the people look to him for strength in times of need. He is not the magistrate, but he is the widely accepted leader of the small community.
When he returns to the village to find his beloved wife Rose murdered by Vasquez's men, he becomes enraged, striking down the soldiers, causing an indirect reaction from the rest of Rilan. Seeing Feldiir's pain evolve into strength, the citizens of Rilan wish to join the rebellion. Feldiir wants no part in a rebellion, wishing only to avenge his wife.
But deep in his heart, Feldiir can sense the change in the world. The sickness and starvation is no coincidence. He knows it must be linked to Vasquez somehow; that he is somehow sucking the very life from the land. It is a land that Feldiir loves, and a land that Rose loved more than he. He vows to free the land from Vasquez's grasp, and promises Rose that he will return to her arms when he is a free man. But until that day, he asks her to wait for him, and to guide him along his travels.
He doesn't consider himself a leader, and he knows he is no match for a trained soldier, but somehow he must find a way to defeat Vasquez, and bring freedom back to the people of Kal'ero. He adopts the red hawk as his standard, and fights in the name of Holan Razaen, the true king of Kal'ero.
When he returns to the village to find his beloved wife Rose murdered by Vasquez's men, he becomes enraged, striking down the soldiers, causing an indirect reaction from the rest of Rilan. Seeing Feldiir's pain evolve into strength, the citizens of Rilan wish to join the rebellion. Feldiir wants no part in a rebellion, wishing only to avenge his wife.
But deep in his heart, Feldiir can sense the change in the world. The sickness and starvation is no coincidence. He knows it must be linked to Vasquez somehow; that he is somehow sucking the very life from the land. It is a land that Feldiir loves, and a land that Rose loved more than he. He vows to free the land from Vasquez's grasp, and promises Rose that he will return to her arms when he is a free man. But until that day, he asks her to wait for him, and to guide him along his travels.
He doesn't consider himself a leader, and he knows he is no match for a trained soldier, but somehow he must find a way to defeat Vasquez, and bring freedom back to the people of Kal'ero. He adopts the red hawk as his standard, and fights in the name of Holan Razaen, the true king of Kal'ero.
Gameplay
While the overall storyline is pretty cliche, the game will feature many aspects that will create a unique gaming experience. Chains of Honor will exhibit as unique of a story as I can create, with well developed characters that players will (hopefully) enjoy both playing as, and against.
There are two possible battle systems I have in mind. Both will have unique aspects that will only be seen in CoH, without having to create two systems completely from scratch.
The first battle system in mind is an isometric system that will be very traditional. The look and feel will be like that of any other game with a standard battle system, but with enough ingenuity to keep players interested. I'm hoping to have completely custom battlers, backgrounds, and animations. If all goes as planned, this battle system will be very much eye candy.
The second battle system is an adapted tactical battle system, which will likely require most of the coding from scratch. It will not be the typical Fire Emblem looking system, though there will be similarities.
Once I am finished with the actual story, I'll have a better sense of what I am leaning towards.
The first battle system in mind is an isometric system that will be very traditional. The look and feel will be like that of any other game with a standard battle system, but with enough ingenuity to keep players interested. I'm hoping to have completely custom battlers, backgrounds, and animations. If all goes as planned, this battle system will be very much eye candy.
The second battle system is an adapted tactical battle system, which will likely require most of the coding from scratch. It will not be the typical Fire Emblem looking system, though there will be similarities.
Once I am finished with the actual story, I'll have a better sense of what I am leaning towards.
The Class System in CoH is one that I very much look forward to implementing. Depending on how I decide to do the game (TBS vs standard BS) this could change slightly. However, either way, there will be a number of possible classes for each character, each with their own tech skill (essentially an Overdrive system) and pros/cons. It will allow for a lot of customization from the player to create a party that best fits their playing style.
If there's one thing I am going to do my absolute best at, it's making sure that CoH has completely custom graphics. We will be 100% RTP free, and creating a look and feel that will be unique to this game. As I said at the start of this post, I am going to be a perfectionist on this title, and I want to create the absolute best game I can. I have this belief set in me that if I am going to go all out (which I am doing on this project), then I want to have completely custom graphics as well.
As with the graphics situation, CoH will hopefully have some custom music that you won't find anywhere else. No rips, RTP, or anything. This means that this project will likely hit more snags than I anticipate (and I anticipate quite a few), but if the final outcome is what I envision it to be, it will be well worth it.
As I said before, I hope to create characters in this game that people will remember. I might be setting the bar too high, but I want to have that Sora feel to my characters, where people fall in love with the characters. I want to evoke emotion from a player. I have a storyline that can make you laugh, and it can make you cry. But if you don't get attached to the characters, what good is the story?
Some people base their game on music, others mapping or scripts. Some games are story driven. This game is going to be character driven.
Some people base their game on music, others mapping or scripts. Some games are story driven. This game is going to be character driven.
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This is all I have to post right now. It's about 3:24 AM so I will likely go over this post again and make my story/prelude bits much more to my usual standard (I see them as sloppy and bland right now). I will also add character details in the near future, as I am almost done with them.
If you've made it this far, I thank you for reading this thread. I know it's a fair bit of text, and it's going to have a lot more in the coming days.
Cheers.
Nolund