EDIT: After making so many changes and getting used to the ins and outs of working on this forum, I figured this post needed a complete overhaul. Some of the base info here like the background story will be left unchanged, but as I fix this I'll add to the credits, the snapshots, and basically update anything that needs to be done.
I'm trying to make this game a good one, so any help would be appreciated. The help I need the most is for you, the reader, to just test the game and tell me if it works. For those of you that have played this game in its early stages, thanks for doing that, and sorry I subjugated you to such pain.
I have updated many things in-game, but I still have a ways to go. I have to apologize in advance for my shoddy spriting skills, and I hope they don't annoy you too much. Most of the enemies you will see in battle are using placeholding sprites, which will stay there until I either get a lot better at spriting, or somebody helps me out with that. Chances are i'll end up using more of the RTP resources than I want to, and that will limit this game's originality.
Oh well. It's too soon to cry yet, so let's just see how this goes!
Background StoryCenturies ago, there was a Golden Age. A grand city of great majesty and beauty spread out on a plain below the view of a crystal the size of a mountain. This was the city of Vellenge, a city more beautiful than any other. Four races of people lived there in harmony, making the best of their prosperity. There were the peaceful, gentle Clavats, the proud warrior Lilties, the wise Yukes, and the athletic Selkies. Sadly, it was not to be.
Peace was shattered the day astronomers discovered a great meteor in the sky, headed right for their planet. The meteor impacted the crystal and destroyed it in a horrific explosion, and leveled the city in moments. The fragments of the Great Crystal were scattered to the horizon, and the people who survived by fleeing the city wandered without a place to call home. They wandered as nomads for many years, looking for places to live out the rest of life quietly. Danger escalated as the meteor that destroyed their home bled out a foul cloud of evil across the land.
The cloud was named Miasma. It took many lives as it washed over the land, and the people fled from it and the monsters it brought into the world. They then came across shards of the great crystal. The crystal's brilliance held the fould cloud of death at bay, and finally the people had a safe place to call home. Over time, the crystals faded, and the people sent out caravans to search for a cure. The soldiers they sent came back with a chalice of glowing water, something they chose to name Myrrh. The myrrh restored power to their crystals, and thus the Crystal Caravans were born.
Main StoryOne day, many millenia after the meteor was forgotten in the darkness, Ichiro, Grandson of the village elder of Tipa, encounters a band of Goblins while exploring the nearby forests. He runs ahead to warn his village of their plans to raid, and bands together with his friends to fight back the menace. He and his friends are the village's new crystal caravan, and after they rescue their hometown, they set out to gather Myrrh to keep their village alive.
Ichiro and friends encounter many new allies and enemies as they journey, and after their first year they come back to find their home razzed to the ground by monsters. Now, with no village to rescue, Ichiro sets off to solve the mystery of their dark world and bring hope back to everybody as a sinister shadow works towards his plan for bringing the world to ruin, something he has not been able to do for centuries.
But can he overcome the haze that threatens to swallow life? Is he, the Chosen one of the Princess of Light, enough to vanquish an evil that has festered in one of the darkest craters for millenia? Or does this world know no hope?
CharactersIchiro
Ichiro is the story's main hero. He believes in true justice, and once he sets his mind to a task he never gives up. He tends to be oblivious to the deeper feelings of the people around him but he does his best to stay on the best of terms with his friends.
Asuka
Asuka is the daughter of Tipa Village's resident tailor. She fights alongside her longtime friend Ichiro, who she secretly loves. She seems pushy and bossy sometimes, but she just tries to keep her airheaded friend on track.
Bishop
Bishop is a Yuke that is another of Ichiro's longtime friends. He is virtuous to a fault and speaks with a noble politeness. His research in light magic has given him the ability to heal allies and is only limited by his knowledge of the magic arts.
Engle
Engle is another villager that is signed onto the caravan's crew. Unlike most Lilties, he is very shy and withdrawn, which may explain why he wears a bucket for a helmet. He fights like a bear in battle, swinging around gigantic spears that only a warrior could hope to lift.
There are many other characters, which will be introduced in the story, of course! It'd be best to let you play the demo and see them for yourself.
ScreeniesHere's a cache of snapshots for you to consider.
Example of battle
Random screenies from running around
Credits-Scripts-
Blizzard's tons of ad-ons
Stormtronics CMS
and the Party Switcher!
Legacyblade's Legacy Class Change
Blizzard's R\O Job\skill system
Valcrist's Rice Field CBS (From Rpg Rpg Revolution)
That about sums up the scripts. Thank you, Blizzard, for such good scripts! These are awesome!
Um...Let's see...
Square Enix and Nintendo for the original game
Creative Uncut for the heroe's battler pics.
Enterbrain for the things that came with RPG maker XP,
Square Enix for the FFX music I used,
Enterbrain again for the scarce amount of RPG maker VX graphics I used,
Me for the custom drawn monsters and bosses, bleah....
and Elemental Temple for the Crystal Chronicles main menu theme.
and unknown people for the FF1, 2, and Golden Sun battle music. (I got those out of a resource, and there wasn't any info on the composers. Love ya, whoever made this stuff!)
This list will be updated as the project progresses.
And now for your lurvely demo!
Demohttp://www.sendspace.com/file/j2caouI updated the demo. I fixed a few cutscenes, adjusted a few weapons, adjusted a few characters, and adjusted prices of a few items and also fixed the Mine of Cathuriges Dungeon, which I stupidly forgot to put an entrance on, lol!
When I release the final version, i'll touch up the graphics a bit. The demo has at least three hours of play time, and it's only an appetizier in comparison to the final version! Let me know if you encounter any odd errors or awkward scenes. I'd like to fix them.
As far as a crew goes, this is a one man project. I've done all of this myself, not including the graphics and music i've had to import and all of that. Comments, criticism (As long as it's not too flamey, lol), and advice is much welcome! Please, enjoy. (If you want to use some of the graphics in the game, in other words the pics I drew, heck, help yourself. I don't own them. Credit would be nice....but is not necessary.)
EDIT: This is due another update. I've made huge changes (Removing MOST of that annoying bright stuff from the battler pics for example.)
I incorporated Legacyblade's class change script along with Blizz's R\O job skill system to create classes with unique sprites and dynamic stat changes, and I'm also using a CBS called Rice Field CBS. It's a lot like the battle system on FFX, and it makes excellent use of the class sprites since it uses the actor's character graphic. Note that these graphic changes don't actually change the appearance of the character's Status screen. Those battler sprites are just used for the status screen now.
I will update my information here soon to show my new resources and the new scripts I'm using, but since I am on a different computer that will happen a little later. The screenies will also be updated, and I will provide a new demo which should contain about 5-10 hours of gameplay depending on whether you like to goof around or just rush through the story.
On a final note for this edit, I fixed some stuff at the beginning of the game, mostly just general event improvement including key cutscenes and the backbone for an intro opposed to just chucking the player right into the game. (Hope that makes ya feel better, Starrodkirby.
)
Here's to hoping that this turns epic!
-Shining Riku-