Radical Dreamers

Started by WhiteRose, July 21, 2010, 08:06:37 pm

Previous topic - Next topic

WhiteRose

July 21, 2010, 08:06:37 pm Last Edit: July 30, 2010, 06:53:12 pm by Dartha Stewart
If any of you are fans of the Chrono series, you may have heard of a small, Satellaview game known as Radical Dreamers, released only in Japan. A ROM was later obtained and translated by the DemiForce team, making it playable for the first time to an American and European audience. This game is a glorified text adventure that tells the story of a small group of thieves as they explore the massive Viper Manor, home of the treacherous Lord Lynx, in search of a treasure known as the Frozen Flame. It was off of this game that the later sequel to Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, was based. However, there are many who regard the original Radical Dreamers to be equal, if not superior, to CC. Though I am not one of those people, I did rather enjoy this game. My plan is to take this small, text-based game and turn it into a small yet full-fledged RPG experience. It's a fairly short story; the original game was only about an hour long (shorter if you knew exactly what to do,) and this remake won't be much longer. Hopefully, not only will this mean it'll be easier to keep the players interest, but also that it will actually be completed, unlike all too many projects around here. Another thing that will make this even easier to complete is the fact that I will need only a few character sprites designed and not much else, as I can draw from Chrono Trigger and the RTP for tilesets and NPC graphics, and the original game for the soundtrack, story, and layout. In keeping with the Chrono Trigger style, I am hoping to use Forever_Zero's Chrono style CBS once he completes it (with his permission, of course,) along with a number of other systems to create a base system that will be very similar to that of Chrono Trigger. The main concern I have at the moment is the spriting; as mentioned, I will need sprites for only the four main characters, one of which should be a simple edit of an already existing sprite - the problem is that I would, if at all possible, like these sprites to be in the style used by Chrono Trigger. I don't know if this has ever before been attempted, but I'm hoping that with all of the graphic talent here at Chaos Project, someone will be able to aid me in the task. Once I am a bit further in development, I will create a topic in the New Projects section, but for the time being, I am not far enough along that I consider this necessary. If anyone is interested in assisting me with these character sprites, please let me know by posting here. Specifically what I'm looking for are sprites to be created of the main characters and villain, namely Serge, Kid, Magil (this could easily be an edit of Magus' sprite from Chrono Trigger,) and Lynx. As anyone who has played the original Radical Dreamers is probably aware, these characters look a little different than their Chrono Cross counterparts, however, I have decided that I would prefer these sprites to be in the Chrono Cross style, as not only is there more reference material available, but the number of players having played CC is much greater than that who have played RD, leading them to picture these characters in their mind to appear as they do in CC (I'll admit that, having played CC first myself, I fall under this category.)

tl;dr: Anyone wanna help me with some Chrono Trigger style sprites?

UPDATE: I've finished the intro and the first scene up to where the first fight starts. Things are going along swimmingly. Once F0 completes his CBS and I have the sprites, I should be able to complete the first release of the game within a couple weeks.

UPDATE 2: I've made excellent head-way into the mapping and eventing. Once the sprites are finished and F0 finishes his combat system, I'll implement those and put up the first demo.

rodas

 I love the idea of seeing this as game! I actually never got to play the sequel to chrono trigger or radical dreams.. which seems to have the same characters. I'm a bit confused on that but that's not the point. I really like the idea and hope the best for it!

I made a very small sprite edit for serge if you wanna take a look



I don't know if you would like this, but unfortunately I don't think I would be able to make all of them for you.... There is way too many and this is an edit of chrono... I'm not a spriter.. >.>
Hey! I will do some evented systems, if you have something pm me and I will see what I can do. I will do only one at a time as I am also working on a game.

WhiteRose

Quote from: rodas on July 21, 2010, 08:48:29 pm
I love the idea of seeing this as game! I actually never got to play the sequel to chrono trigger or radical dreams.. which seems to have the same characters. I'm a bit confused on that but that's not the point. I really like the idea and hope the best for it!

I made a very small sprite edit for serge if you wanna take a look



I don't know if you would like this, but unfortunately I don't think I would be able to make all of them for you.... There is way too many and this is an edit of chrono... I'm not a spriter.. >.>


Radical Dreamers was created as a sequel to Chrono Trigger, though it wasn't readily apparent until the end how it tied back in to its predecessor. When it was decided that a actual, full-length sequel to Chrono Trigger was to be made, named Chrono Cross, they based it off of Radical Dreamers, re-using the characters and large parts of the story.

Your sprite isn't bad, but it looks a little too much like Crono for my taste. Thanks for the offer.

rodas

Oh! Thanks a lot for the info.  :)

It's okay.. I just recolored chrono for the most part, so I kinda expected that. I will keep an eye on this project and hope for the best!  :haha:
Hey! I will do some evented systems, if you have something pm me and I will see what I can do. I will do only one at a time as I am also working on a game.

WhiteRose

Here's the title screen I've made. It's based off of the original title. What do you think?

Spoiler: ShowHide


Here's the original title image, if anyone is interested:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Dweller

Hi,

A few weeks ago I started a Serge sprite (Vex template) but I abandoned it to other projects:

Spoiler: ShowHide


If you like the style I can work on it.
Dwellercoc
Spoiler: ShowHide

WhiteRose

That's actually very well done; if at all possible, however, I'd like to use Chrono Trigger style sprites not only so that I can use already created sprites for many parts of the game and have them fit in stylistically, but also so that they maintain the Chrono atmosphere that I'm aiming to achieve. If I can't find anyone willing to sprite this way for me, I'd greatly appreciate if you could finish it for me.

poxy

RD... wish I played that but I'm probably to ADHD to attempt text games now. Far past my MUD playing days...

On the topic of sprites: would they be original sized like these?
I dunno how well they would work with the RTP set...

That's a nice looking title screen, btw.
My Project: ShowHide

WhiteRose

Here's an example of a Chrono Trigger sprite properly sized to work well with RTP tilesets; if you're interested in helping with spriting, then if you could size it like these, then I'd appreciate it.

Spoiler: ShowHide


I have all of the Chrono main party (sans Lucca, for some strange reason) converted, so let me know if you'd like any more of them to use as a base or whatever. At the moment, I'm not hoping for anything more than just the basic 4x4 sprites. However,
A) I don't know how the spriting will work in F0's CBS which I am planning to use, so it might be necessary for additional sprites to be created, and
B) Characters would better be able to convey emotion if they had some little animations like the original Chrono sprites. This is not, of course, a necessity, and should definitely be a lower priority than just getting the sprites done in the first place.

I am actually fairly proficient at editing sprites, so I could probably do a good portion of B and possibly A myself, so these aren't really major concerns.

poxy

That looks like a double of the original but filtered using 2xsal, probably done by an emulator and ripped from that. The problem is editing those sprites would be a lot of work, because of the the alpha channel and the filtering applied gives it an anti-aliasing effect.

That sprite could use some editing also, because there's some misalignment and it's not using all the right sprites [when he's walking forward his hair flips around, because the third forward sprite is just mirrored]. Also there's a whitish outline around it.

The easier way would be just to double the sprites using nearest neighbor, and apply the 2xsal filter. Editing would be much simpler since the sprites are smaller and use fewer colors and gradients.

The problem is finding a way to add the 2xsal filter. It could be used to upscale a lot of things, such as the RM2K sprites, CT graphics... I'm looking for software, atm. If I come up with something, I'll put it up...
My Project: ShowHide

WhiteRose

July 22, 2010, 09:38:32 pm #10 Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 09:56:04 pm by WhiteRose
Alright. The filter isn't really necessary; if it's easier, we could just use graphics completely identical to the original, albeit resized a bit. And yes, these sprites aren't the best (and that's a bit of an understatement.) I don't remember exactly where I got them, but there was one that the left and right walking sprites were switched for some reason. I don't remember if I ever fixed that or not. What might be best would be to use this for a guideline as to the size the sprites should be, and then just create new ones from the original spritesheet that you showed me, and then further edit those to create any brand new sprites. Magil's sprite should be a fairly simple edit since he actually is
"Necessary Story Spoiler": ShowHide
Magus from Chrono Trigger. (That is, assuming you get the regular ending.)



EDIT: I've started on the game; I'm using place-holder sprites for now. Can anyone think of a good tileset for an old-style mansion? I think for the inside I should be able to do alright using pieces from various indoor RTP tilesets, but I can't think of what to use for the outdoor parts. There are only a few (in fact, only one, unless I'm mistaken,) outdoor scenes, so it's not that big of an issue.

poxy

July 22, 2010, 11:52:27 pm #11 Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 11:59:48 pm by poxysmash
Well some good news: I found some programs that scale and apply the filters. There's hqx2 and Scale2x, both which run from the command line. A plugin for GIMP or PS would be nice but I couldn't find one.

Here's hq2x:
Spoiler: ShowHide

Scale2x:
Spoiler: ShowHide


hq2x looks better but the downside is that it only works on .bmp, meaning no transperancy, meaning the background color will produce an outline for the sprites. Though that can be fixed with some editing.

Scale2x accounts for transperency but doesn't look as nice.

Also, was going to suggest RM2K tiles upscaled to match the style, using RMXP's Resource Wizard, but the doors and chairs don't match in height. Here's a screenie anyway:
Spoiler: ShowHide



Edit: Here's rodas' sprite upscaled using hq2x:
My Project: ShowHide

WhiteRose

It looks great! Now my main concern is about how difficult it would be to sprite in that style. It's certainly a little different than the RTP style, or any of the templates that I've seen, but I think it should be manageable. rodas did a pretty good job, though of course it might need to be edited a little further before it's completely passable.

poxy

How's this?


Shouldn't be too hard to sprite, just time consuming. Use the sprites from here, edit if needed, then use the hq2x or scale2x program. If you like that one I'll try finishing it.
My Project: ShowHide

WhiteRose

That's actually really, really good! I'm very impressed. His hair seems a tiny bit purplish rather than blue, though, but that might just be me. If you could go ahead and finish it, that would be fantastic. In addition, if you're willing and have the time, would you help me with the sprites for the other characters? If you're too busy, I understand.

poxy

Without making promises, I can try to make the base poses for the other characters... though Lynx would be really hard and I'm not sure if I can do his sprite. I am also working on my own project so it may take a while to get the sprites done.

Here's what I have so far for Serge:

Spoiler: ShowHide
My Project: ShowHide

WhiteRose

July 26, 2010, 12:20:04 am #16 Last Edit: July 26, 2010, 03:05:17 pm by WhiteRose
Quote from: poxysmash on July 25, 2010, 09:52:48 pm
Without making promises, I can try to make the base poses for the other characters... though Lynx would be really hard and I'm not sure if I can do his sprite. I am also working on my own project so it may take a while to get the sprites done.


I don't except any promises. On the contrary, this is just a fun little side project for me as well, so I'm in no hurry whatsoever. Just maybe work on the sprites if you have some free time to kill. I'll keep working on typing up the dialog and doing the eventing and mapping; we can't really progress any further besides that until F0 finishes his battle system, and he of course is working on his own time (as he should be,) so, like I've said, we're in no rush.

EDIT: As far as priorities go, don't worry too much about Lynx's sprite. He only shows up for one scene at the very end, anyway. By then I'm sure I'll have figured something out.

poxy

Sounds good. I won't have to play text RD this way :]

Finished Serge is now in the spoiler in my last post.
My Project: ShowHide

WhiteRose

Quote from: poxysmash on July 26, 2010, 06:10:06 pm
Sounds good. I won't have to play text RD this way :]

Finished Serge is now in the spoiler in my last post.


Excellent. Very well done. I'll go ahead and put him in the game.

Diokatsu

Do you want me to do the HUD, Title, Gameover and other such things? I'd be glad to do it :p