Out of boredom I am tinkering with RPG Maker. This isn't a serious project by any means, and I doubt I will release anything from it. I just want to experiment and play around with some stuff. If you wanna know how I did anything just ask and I'll help you.
What I'm making is an FFVII system. I want to recreate the exact look and feel of the game but within the 2D constraints of RPG Maker. So I want it to have an identical battle system, identical items and materia, etc. It should play as if it is a remake of the original game.
That said, story content wise it will be completely different. That's why I'm making this project, because I want to create new stories for FFVII but in the context of the original game's systems. So I want an empty game I can mess around in, that has all the systems around it.
So here's what I've done so far...
Battle System
Side view battle system with Hud identical to FFVII (just a little sharper). Could use some tweaks.
Everything you see there is working except for the BARRIER blocks.
Camera moves during battle.
Still want to create/setup/edit:
- Tweak limit breaks so the gauge only fills when you're hit
- Set up limit breaks themselves
- Summons with separate menu option
- Hidden menu options for flee/defend
- Barrier/MBarrier
- Status effects
Materia
Have set up and configured Victor Sant's materia system with some basic materia.
Materia shops working, picking up materia from the floor, etc.
Need to tweak AP.
Summoning... need to work out how I'm going to do that. Obviously in FFVII it's just a big animation but with the players invisible.
Music
Have all the audio from FFVII and all the sound effects. 700 sound effects, all unnamed... trying to trawl through them all and slot them into the appropriate places. Going to delete all of the RPG Maker ones so that I only use those from FFVII, to keep it sounding authentic.
Graphics
Get ready for your eyes to bleed... genuine FFVII prerendered backgrounds...
With characters from the RPG Maker MV character generator. Lovely.
Yes they're terrible but this is a personal project and graphics are not going to be my focus. I shall be using purely premade maps from VII, with the same two layer system, and pixel movement. I will be using generated characters mainly with some additions.
Speech
FFVII has a very basic message system but nonetheless it's more complex than that of RPG Maker. Trying to recreate the look and feel, the font style, and its limitations too.
As you can see I need to change the collision boxes around the player. It's a toss up between positioning when speaking to NPCS and limiting how narrow a space the player can enter.
Movement
Pixel movement with wall hugging. If the player walks towards a diagonal wall while pressing left, for example, the player will walk left until they hit the wall, then walk along the vector of the wall. (QMovement)
Intro Etc
The game starts with the Squaresoft splash and then the FFVII intro music. Then the "New Game / Continue" screen comes up, with appropriate sound effects.
I then want the play to go into an FMV. Will see if I can find the original FFVII FMVs ripped and find a way to play them within the game.
So...
Storyline
The player plays as Reno, a member of the Turks.
Play follows the storyline of Final Fantasy VII, but from Reno's perspective.
Reno doesn't necessarily know he's the antagonist of the series. Rather he's the protaginist of this game.
The city of Midgar is under attack. Eco terrorists have destroyed a Mako reactor within Sector 1, one of the main power supplies to a bustling megacity. The Turks are sent to investigate.
OK, I haven't got it all planned out yet, and I don't want to make it soppy. I know the Turks are supposed to be these big meanies who kill people and generally Aren't Very Nice. But I still think that Reno can be relatively naive and ignorant. He sees Shinra as the good guys.
Basically I want the plot twists of FFVII to be revealed to Reno in the same way that they are revealed to Cloud. Especially delving into the sinister goings on in Nibelheim and such.
The more he uncovers I think the more he will want to fight Shinra. I see him and the Turks eventually siding with Reeve.
Along the way there'll be battles with AVALANCHE of course. We know of the battles at Sector 5 Church, Midgar caves, sunken Gelnika, Gongaga, etc. We also know that at some point is attacked by Sephiroth. I see this as pivotal to the Turks in the same way that the death of Aerith is to AVALANCHE.
We know that Rude has a crush on Tifa; I want to explore this further.
Doop.
So as I have only played FFVII and don't have access to the other games, I'm only interested in its story. I don't know, nor care, what happens in Crisis Core, Before Crisis or Dirge of Cerberus. I'm not considering them canon for this project.
Sufficiently overhyped?
happy holidays!