Final Fantasy VI SDK - Going Social!

[Prexus]

I thought you might get a bit of humor out of this. I started trying to get Minkoff/DerVV's/Tricksters ATB working nicely and used some FF6 sprites as battlers while testing it. Two days later, I have this:

Obv. not even close to what you are doing and everything, just thought it might make you HURRY UP AND FINISH FOR ME >:O /rageface kidding.

I :heart: what you are doing Dargor and take a break as you need it.

 

[Dargor]

This is awesome Prexus :D I really like it!

I will probably get back to work this week-end, I'm starting to miss those graphics. (and I also have to meet my own deadlines!)

 

[MagitekElite]

@Dargor:
Thank you for answering my question and sorry for being so late. >.>
I cannot wait to see what's done with the final battle event, I have a feeling it will be great.

Good luck Dargor and take a break when you need them! :33

 

[Dargor]

The break is over!

I did A LOT of jobs on event commands this weekend, at least half of them are integrated in the editor and should be fully implemented by the end of the month.
While working on these, I also cleaned the list of event commands. A couple of them were totally useless.

For example:
1) The Change Actor HP/MP/EXP commands have been moved in the Change Actor Parameters command, in which you can also change the Vigor, Level, etc. of an actor. Also, it is possible not only to increase or decrease the values, but also to Multiply and Divide them using either a constant, a variable or a script.

2) The Variable Operation command also let you store strings, not just integers.

3) Any commands that targets a party (Change Map, etc.) have the following feature:
--a) The command can target an user defined party (Current Party, Party #1/2/3) and in some cases All Parties

4) Any commands that targets an actor in the party ( Add Member, Change Actor Parameters) have the following feature:
--a) The command can target an user defined party (Current Party, Party #1/2/3) and in some cases All Parties
--b) The command can target all actors in the user defined party (see feature "4a")
--c) The command can target a specific actor in the user defined party (see feature "4a"), using 2 methods:
----I ) You can target an actor in a specific party position (1,2,3,4)
----II) Or you can target a specific actor (using its ID). If the actor is in the party (see feature "4a"), the command will be executed.

I did a lot more than that but it would be too long to write.
So right now, the main focus is the Map and Event Editor. I'll post more updates as soon as possible.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Imzogelmo]

Glad to see that you're getting the events even more polished than the original. That should really speed up development. Keep us updated!

 

[MagitekElite]

I agree with Imzogelmo; glad to see the events being polished (more so) than the original! I would foam at the mouth at any update, big or small, so I suppose I'm just being a kook xD

I can't wait for more! Great job (again), Dargor! :heart:

 

[Imzogelmo]

Hey Dargor!

Not to be impatient but I was just curious if there were any more updates, as it has been a few weeks. Even some screen shots would be a nice thing just to see how it's going! :D

 

[Dargor]

I'm working on it! I'll release a ton of new screenshots in a few days.

As for updates, well, there is nothing much to say.
I'm working on the event commands, slowly but surely, trying to have as many functions available as possible.
It's a really long process and I do not have a lot of free time these days, but things are still moving forward.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

Hey, it's me again.

I just wanted to give signs of life here :P I'm still working on the SDK but times are hard for me right now, I don't have a lot of free time for this.
But as I always say, don't worry, I'll post updates as soon as I get back to it!

- Dargor

 

[Imzogelmo]

Glad to see you're still there. I understand about not having much free time, though. That happens to everyone sometimes. It's OK. I'm sure once it is released it will be awesome!

 

[Dargor]

More news!

I made a breakthrough in the development of the SDK. I was finally successful in implementing SDL into WxRuby!
For those who don,t know what I'm talking about, let me quote the official website:

Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform multimedia library designed to provide low level access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, 3D hardware via OpenGL, and 2D video framebuffer.

What does it really mean? It means that I can use this library (which is a lot faster than RGSS or wxRuby graphics functions) to render maps and animations in the Editor.
I'm always complaining about how Ruby is slow for processing graphics like that but with SDL, it should be a lot better. It's still not as fast as C++ but it should get the job done for now.

It still needs more testing and push this library to its limits, but it's looking great up to now.
Thanks to that, maybe one day I will be able to build my own graphics and audio libraries for the SDK and even have a Play In Editor option! :O
Maybe, maybe...

So right now I'm focusing on the map editor and better/faster rendering.
And before I firget, the screenshots have been uploaded but I can't link them right now, I'm still at work.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Celesinator]

All sounds good, Dargor =D Hope you get those screenshots up soon! Can't wait!

 

[KiddUniverse]

Huh... My 3000th post was deleted...

 

[Dargor]

What? Hun, my reply to your post was deleted to...

 

[Ellie]

Huh... My 3000th post was deleted...

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=74682

 

[Dargor]

^That makes sense.

I will post those screenshots later tonight but be aware that they are a bit old and part of the design will change. I might opt for a less visual but more efficient approach soon. Something that would speed up the development for me but also for people who will be using the SDK.

By the way, I am currently rethinking the whole thing right now, the SDK might grow into something a lot bigger than just an FF6SDK as I'd like to reach a broader audience. SO many ideas in my head right now!

But don't worry, the main focus is still on the FF6SDK and it will always be that way as long as it's not 100% finished.

That's all I can say for now.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[SDeluxe]

Whatever you choose to do, I only hope that you continue to make fast progress. I forgot my password and couldn't log in to reset, but I've been eager to inform you that you have a lurking silent fan`base who has this page bookmarked. I check your progress on a weekly basis and am always encouraged by your work.

And I know there's more of people like me out there, I think they should sign in/register and say so.


Thanks for the continued progress my friend! I've been a hardcore FF6 enthusiast since my days as a child, its nice to relate with your own ambition.

 

[MagitekElite]

Any screenshot would be good for me. :biggrin:

By the way, I am currently rethinking the whole thing right now, the SDK might grow into something a lot bigger than just an FF6SDK as I'd like to reach a broader audience. SO many ideas in my head right now!

What exactly do you mean? If you have any small idea on it yet, I mean :blush:

 

[Dargor]

I do have a lot of ideas but after this last weekend I have decided to drop the idea.
I wanted to make a more general 2D Game Engine with a template and plug-in system.
The FF6SDK would have been a game template.

But my main goal is to make an editor that would be able to recreate FF6 as faithful to the original as possible.
It would be a huge waste of time to develop a general purpose editor AND an FF6 template for this editor. So I've dropped the idea.
Instead, I'll keep on working on the editor that will be specific to FF6 and nothing more. I will make sure that the main features will be as customizable as possible, but the more you give power to the user, the more you can lose control of the whole thing. There's a big annoying gray area when it comes to customizable features and since this editor is specific to FF6, I won't derail too much and focus only on the features the game has to offer.

However, these ideas (and the reflection that came out of it) made me explore a couple of new things.
Something in which I see an enormous amount of potential which would imply a drastic change for the SDK, but it would be for the best.

Let me gather my thoughts on this, I still need to make more "research and development" (if I can say so!) before announcing anything.
All I can say is that this change, if I decide to do it, would bring the editor a big step away from RPG Maker XP and VX.

 

[game_guy]

I do have a lot of ideas but after this last weekend I have decided to drop the idea.
I wanted to make a more general 2D Game Engine with a template and plug-in system.
The FF6SDK would have been a game template.

But my main goal is to make an editor that would be able to recreate FF6 as faithful to the original as possible.
It would be a huge waste of time to develop a general purpose editor AND an FF6 template for this editor. So I've dropped the idea.
Instead, I'll keep on working on the editor that will be specific to FF6 and nothing more. I will make sure that the main features will be as customizable as possible, but the more you give power to the user, the more you can lose control of the whole thing. There's a big annoying gray area when it comes to customizable features and since this editor is specific to FF6, I won't derail too much and focus only on the features the game has to offer.

However, these ideas (and the reflection that came out of it) made me explore a couple of new things.
Something in which I see an enormous amount of potential which would imply a drastic change for the SDK, but it would be for the best.

Let me gather my thoughts on this, I still need to make more "research and development" (if I can say so!) before announcing anything.
All I can say is that this change, if I decide to do it, would bring the editor a big step away from RPG Maker XP and VX.

Well if this idea does conjure, you're definitely going to have some competition. >:3 Myself, Blizzard, ForeverZer0, and Ryex are creating an RPG Maker ourselves. Called ARC. (Advance RPG Creator) The game engine is practically done. Coded in C++ with embedded ruby 1.9. We already have an RMXP game running at 60 FPS. Anyways back to topic.

I do hope you focus on the FF6 SDK and not stray too far away from it. You've done so much work on it already. Even if five more RPG Maker comes out or whatever, this would still be the best engine to use for creating an FF6 game. Anyways, good luck Dargor. I wish you best and hope for this project to be completed. I've wanted to create a fangame so many times. xD