Final Fantasy VI SDK - Going Social!

[rey meustrus]

Such a feature is almost already possible with spells that call event commands. The proper way to implement the feature, in my opinion, is to make the spell target available as a variable to the event commands and then make it possible to automatically cast a new spell on the same target based on, for example, a fork statement based on a random variable. Event commands could also be used to make a spell take time to cast if they have control over the caster's animation and ATB bar.

 

[Dargor]

I think It's a good idea. Not essential but it should be easy to implement but should remain entirely optional.
I remember FF10 also had a short and long summon animation option.
If I do this, it would be for each and every skill types, including summons since they are a type of skill.

About the iPhone/iPad port, the short answer is no. I had this idea before starting to rewrite the SDK but I decided to stick to Ruby as a scripting language and it can't be ported to other platforms, at least not without porting Ruby itself to the target platform. But if someone manages to port Ruby to another platform, I would be ready to take a look at it and see if I can port it. However, I could rewrite the SDK in C# with XNA and port it to Windows7 Phone and XBOX 360. But it's not likely to happen at this stage. :P

Take care!
- Dargor

EDIT: You know what? I think Rey's right.
It would be so much more simple for everybody to simply use common events for summon animations.
However, I would have to expose a few variables to know on which target the animation should play if it is done through an event command.
I'll think about it.

 

[rey meustrus]

I found something called shinycocos a while ago. I haven't completely figured out how easy it would be to implement RGSS on top of it but it is a Ruby framework for mobile devices. Looking at it now, I have to say it's a shame it runs on 1.8.7, but maybe this is what you're looking for?

 

[Dargor]

Never heard of that, I'll take a look at it!
It's indeed a shame that it doesn't run on ruby 1.9 now that I have ported the SDK to RGSS3 (which uses Ruby 1.9.2).

But besides that, I'm pretty sure I could come up with something eventually.

Thanks a lot Rey.
- Dargor

 

[clockworkbutterfly]

Dargor,

That's totally ok. As long as it's eventually possible to do. I figure that by the time the SDK is done AND some of us actually finish games that we make with the SDK, then someone will have written that add-on. I just think it would be nice to eventually make some of our games into playable apps.

Thanks for all your hard work!

-- C42

 

[QuickMythril]

Hello Dargor (Sasha)! First of all let me say that I am thrilled to see you still working hard. Not sure if you remember me, as I see you have had many people coming and going following the progress of this project. I had ripped some spell animations, not sure if they ended up being something you used. I must say your continued work is as much of an inspiration to us (game makers) as we are to you. I'm glad to see so many people still checking in over the years. I know you will eventually complete this SDK, and I'm glad we can be here to encourage (or nag) you to finish.

I also have a few questions, and ideas for things that probably won't be implemented into your release. I know you don't want to release anything until you have it all finished, but how are the resources coming? I have been planning to make a game for years, but basically decided to wait for you. I want to make a true sequel to FFVI, taking place 20 years later. Basically I am working on the story of what happens to everyone in between games, and then the main conflict in the new game, and for the most part I don't even need to touch the computer until I have the SDK to start from. I plan of writing everything on paper until then. A few things I would like to start in advance however, are updated character sprites (everyone has to get older) plus a new world map. My idea was to basically take the World of Ruin and apply the World of Balance palette (with some changes). The SDK releases so far, I believe only had the World of Balance partially done. I know I can easily find character sprites and update them, but I feel like it would be such a waste of time to create a whole new world map, and then it end up being incompatible with your final release. So, I guess what I want to ask is, if it's all done, can you share your World of Balance/Ruin resource files, so that people can start working before the editor is complete?

A couple other things I plan to include in my game that will involve features not seen in VI-1 are: maybe a Picross mini-game (for Relm), a Collectible Card mini-game, and the main character would be customizable. When you start the game you will play as Duane and Katarin's child. You get to choose the name, gender, hair color, face type, etc. All those good things they have added to "modern" games, except it will be all pixelated.

I have seen various FFVI-based fan games pop up throughout the years, and so far nothing that compares to what I have in mind. (I did like the idea of a prequel telling the story of the War of the Magi.) I truly hope that I could completely create this game using your SDK and submit it to Square-Enix and have them port it to the FFXIII engine. They have been making all sort of spin-off and sequel/prequel games, but they seem scared to mess with their Masterpiece. Which reminds me of another feature I would like to include, the multi-bar battle gauge system from XIII.

I'm curious about what your plans are for once this is finally all finished. I know you are making this for the fans who want to make their own games, but have you ever considered working on an original story yourself? I feel like your opinions on my game would be as valuable as anyone else, since you clearly have strong feelings about FFVI. I didn't intend to make a post asking for help, but if there is anyone who feels like there should be a VI-2, and would like to have some input on how it turns out, contact me. This is not a project I expect to knock out in a few months. I would like people who are serious about making a long term commitment to developing a companion to one of the best RPGs of all time.

Anyway, good to know you are still there, as this is the first time I've been here in a few years.

 

[Dargor]

[SDK UPDATE IN THE POST BELOW THIS ONE!]

Hello QuickMythril!

Of course I remember you, you made awesome videos on how to rip battle animations on youtube! :D
I do use the sprites you ripped, it helped me a lot and saved me a lot of time. It's truly appreciated.

About the SDK:
It's funny that you ask about the maps because I've been working on them this weekend! I will elaborate more below in the SDK update.
All I can tell you is that I will provide all the maps and tilesets from the game. So yes, you will have the world maps already done and I guess you could simply replace their tilesets to have the results you want.

As for the graphical and audio resources, I'm not focusing on them right now. Not enough actually. I must admit that I'm working mostly on the technical side of the SDK, all the code of the game and the editor, so I can release something that works within the time frame I've given myself.
However, I can safely say that I will be using the same sprite format as in FF6 for characters and battlers. This format:

I will also be using the same tileset format as in FF6, which is 16 tiles large (but they will be 32x32 px instead of 16x16 px).

As of my projects after the SDK:
My ultimate goal is to remake the entire game, merge the GBA features in it and tweak/fix/enhance many aspects of the game. Something like an "FF6 Remastered".
Back in 2003. I had an idea for a sequel, an original story which actually gave birth to this SDK instead, but I won't be doing it. And there's a chance I won't be doing the remake either. Anyway, I will see when I get there! I have plans for something bigger in 3D afterwards, not related to FF6 or RPG Maker in any way.

I do think a prequel or a sequel is a good idea, as long as it is consistent with the universe and style of FF6 and does not feel alien compared to it.
You have my full support and I hope it sees the light of day with my SDK.

Oh and, if I forgot to answer one of your questions or if I wasn't clear enough, please tell me. I will be happy to elaborate!

Take care,
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

It's been quiet here, so it's time for another update.

I will be honest, I haven't been working on the SDK very much lately, I had to take a little break.
But, something grabbed my attention this week end and I ended up doing more that I imagined!

A few years ago, someone (I don't remember the name) released a very very good level editor, the FF6LE. Recently, Lord J, the author of FF3usME released a "Rogue version" of this editor to increase compatibility with his editor. Then I remembered, the coder behind FF6LE released the source code and I happen to have it on my computer! Oh, it's in C#? Nice! I've been learning this language these few past months! :D

So what did I do?
Just a small exporter and converter... ... :D
Oh yeah, I did it! I added a function to FF6LE that allows the user to export all 3 Tilesets of a map to a PNG image, export the tilemap data and convert it to a Ruby RPG::Map object! Just to make sure it works, I tried with 2 maps. A chocobo stable and the Floating Continent. And you know what? It WORKS.

It is really not elegant right now and it is not possible to edit the map in RPG Maker without screwing it up, because RMXP tilesets are 8 tile wide while FF6 is 16 tiles wide. I also can't export animated tiles, it's all static, so there is still man work to be done once exported. But still, dumping the map and tileset files generated by this new function I made, directly in the right Project folder, will work. There still a lot of work to do with this like exporting collisions and priorities but I'm getting there. Also I am not saying that this will be a feature of the SDK, but with this I can guarantee you that I will be able to deliver all the game maps and tilesets like 100 times faster that I would have expected.

That's all for now!
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

I kept on working on this last night. The function now ask you to choose an RPGXP project to export to and it automatically exports the map and tileset data with the right IDs and it also exports the tileset images with the right format and size! I will eventually release my modified version of this editor so you can try it yourself.

Next thing I'll be working on is exporting the tilesets with the passage flags and priorities. It shouldn't take more than a day to figure out how to do that.
If all goes well, It would have taken me only 3 days to make a map exporter! This gives me another good reason to start working on my map editor as soon as possible.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Celesinator]

Ooooh everything sounds lovely! Do you think this will still come out around the beginning of next year or somewhere in there? You seem to be making wonderful progress! And although I don't post a lot, I still check on this every week. Happy to see you're working on it every time I come here =D It's been 6 years since you posted this thread!

 

[MagitekElite]

Wow! Lots and lots of updates, and discussions! And I missed it! xD

Everything -- the parts I could understand with little to no knowledge of this, of course -- sound absolutely amazing! It all sounds great! Can't wait for more updates! :cute:

 

[Dargor]

Sorry for the delay, I have been very busy at work the past few weeks!

@Celes
I'm still on track to release a "feature complete" beta version at the and of the year!
As I said before, this version should be entirely usable by scripters but it won't come with the editor yet. A couple of its features will still require RMXP.
However, the full release will have an editor and won't rely on anything that is dependent on RMXP.

@MagitekElite
Thank you very much, it's truly appreciated!

A little update!
I just noticed that after porting to RGSS3, I'm having a few more problems with fonts and menus. That should be very easy to fix but it gave me the idea of replacing the standard .ttf font format for an old school bitmap font format. I will try to make it as compatible as possible with RGSS font system but there's a comple of features that won't be included such as Font.Shadow or Font.outline.
I won't include them because since I'm opting for a bitmap font format, it means that you can achieve these effects directly in the bitmap image. However; Font.color, Font.name and Font.size will work.

So yeah, I'm cleaning up the menus and fonts. I'll get back to the battle system later.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

Hello!

I've been silent for about a month now so I guess it time I update this thread a little bit!

First of all, I can't believe this topic has finally reached more than 100,000 views! I'm so excited to see that people keep on coming here from time to time even after 6 years of development.
Thank you very much, all of you who help and supported me through these past 6 years, words can't describe how thankful I am.

Now, what can I say about the SDK and what I did last month? Well to be honest, things went slowly for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't worked on it!
I spent a good amount of time working on the Bitmap Font feature which now works like a charm. Fonts are now graphic files stored in the Fonts folder.
They will eventually be editable in the database and it will be possible to have as many fonts as you see fit.
Besides that I have also started working on all the cursors and scrollbars for the windows. It looks way better than a blue semi-transparent box.

I also took the time to go back into Visual C# 2010 and work a little bit on the skeleton of the editor. I don't want to spend to much time on it so I only did a couple of essential features such as creating a new project, saving/loading Ruby data, etc.

To make sure I'm still on track to release the SDK and the editor in time, I have a list of features I need to work on, with priorities and complexities, and I realized that many of the editor features I have on this list cost way too much time for a small gain. So I decided to cut on some features I had originally planned to make sure I can release the editor in time (somewhere in 2013). But these features have not been removed, just postponed. Once I have released the SDK and its editor, then I will take the time to make it look even better.

As I am writing this, I am also working on the SDK so you can expect more news to come soon.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Jason]

Seriously Dargor, I need to know one thing: How the fuck do you stay so devoted to a project for this long?! If I don't finish a project within 6-12 months I lose all hope and abandon it...

It's really amazing to see you're still working hard on this 6 years later, and will carry on working into the 7th year, provided we don't all die... but just for that I really need to say... Wow.

Can't wait to hear more news from you, even though I don't understand half of the stuff you talk about (No offence, some things just seem to go over my head), it's still nice to hear you're adding onto and updating it for the better... any chance of new screenshots anytime soon? :thumb:

Again, great work, keep it up!

 

[Dargor]

Haha, thank you very much :D

I'm sorry if sometimes I am way too technical when I talk, if there are things you don't understand, please feel free to ask, I will be happy to give a better and less technical explanation. :P

To answer your question, how can I stay devoted for this long, I would love to give a simple answer, but there is no such things.
I love FF6, it's the game I love the most. I also love programming and designing video games, that's what I do for a living!
But from time to time, I lose hope too. Life is going on and I do not have as much time as I had 6 years ago. When I feel like I can't go on with this, I simply move to something else for a couple of days or weeks. I go play Quake or Unreal, aaahhh these good old games. Sometimes I just go back to my parents house, they have an awesome and peaceful forest behind the house. So I take the time to relax, and when I feel like going back to this project, I'm telling myself that I must complete what I started 6 years ago, and when I'm done, I'll move on to something new.

And as for new screenshots, I'll release more in a couple of weeks, but I doubt they will look very different than the ones you have already seen. :P
Anyway, I'm still on track for a late December release!

Take care
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

Update!!

I have integrated the Sketch and Control commands. They were a bit more complicated to make than I imagined, but it's working very well now.
Sketch will simply select a random Sketch command from the target and execute it, as long as the actor has enough MPs.
Control will bring up the command window, populated with the target's control commands. This command will use the enemy's MPs.

Both can include Skills and Battle commands.

Take care!
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

More update!

I've implemented the Rage command. Enemies have a list of rage skills and when an actor selects a Rage, then he starts being controlled by AI for the rest of the battle. His skill list is memorized and replaced by the Rage skills, His AI forces him to always use a random skill. The Leap command is another story tho, it's such a specific command and I don't know how I will handle it yet.

I have also implemented Health and Shock. Both commands are basically the same (skill casting commands), the only difference is the skill they cast. Morph and Revert will also be "skill casting" commands. The Morph skill will add the Morph status to the target, and Revert will remove it. Also, Statuses will have the option to replace an actor's graphic (think of Imp), so the Morph status will replace the target graphic for an esper graphic. It can of course be customized! I guess the Possess command will also follow the same rules.

That's all for now!
- Dargor

 

[Dargor]

Another tiny update!

I had to play with damage algorithm and states a bit lately and realized that there's a very important variable in the physical damage calculation that should not be hard-coded.
It's the "damage multiplier". It is not used very often, but when an actor is in the berserk state, 1 is added to this variable. 2 if this is a critical hit, same thing if Terra is in the Morph state.
Berserk and Morph are very specific and I don,t like it. So I decided to make it so any states can have a damage multiplier. By default it's 0, you can go higher but you can also go lower for bad statuses.

That's all!
- Dargor

 

[rey meustrus]

If it's a multiplier, wouldn't it make more sense for the default to be 1, with 2 being double damage and 0.5 being half? I did a quick look at FF6 damage algorithms and I see that the FF6 damage multiplier basically pumps up the attack 0.5 at a time, so 1 would be 1.5 damage, 2 = 2 damage, 3 = 2.5 damage. But it doesn't have to be done this way unless you insist on using an integer for the multiplier (and even then the multiplier could be in 0.1 increments or lower and affect all damage instead of adding the multiplier on top).

 

[Dargor]

You are right, I could definitely do that. This whole multiplier thing is misleading because as you said, it increments 0.5 at a time.
A total multiplier of 3 does not multiply the damage by 3, but by 2.5. Thanks a lot for the suggestion Rey! :D

EDIT:
The base damage multiplier is now 1.0. States damage multiplier can range from -10.0 to 10.0. Since you can stack this, I might cap the total damage multiplier even if the damage cap is 9999.
I will also probably add a new Relic Effect, "Break Damage Limit". I think it's a cool addition.