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Emzee

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Blog Entries posted by Emzee

  2. Emzee
    This won't be very long. Today (or tonight, rather), I want to talk about the highs and lows emotionally involved in my upcoming RPG, LoMZ 2: The Infestation. I won't spoil anything, but I will point out that in the original Infestation (that's still up for download and still being played) I had intended on achieving a sort of catharsis from the players. Seeing innocent characters brutally murdered, friends about to kill each other, and enemies sitting back and laughing as if they already won. These feelings of sadness, shock, and anger (among other emotions) are important in enhancing a storyline.
     
    I'm just here to tell you that the storyline in this new version in like Infest. on 'roids. The villains are crueler, crazier, and in some cases, cooler. As for the heroes, they still have their various flaws, and I've made effort to make them more noticeable this time, which will intensify the diversity in the 8 characters that the player will be allowed to control.
     
    That's pretty much it for now. Sorry I don't have a screenshot this time. I'll try to post one later.
  3. Emzee

    Spring Break Is Here!

    By Emzee,

    Finally after months of labor, we get a break from school. I'm not going anywhere though, and I have even more work to do at home. You can't win -- you just can't.
     
    Well, happy St. Patrick's Day at least. I hope you wore green, because I didn't!
  4. Emzee
    This title of this devlog comes from my most recent series of projects for my upcoming RPG, Legend of Mata Zuto 2: The Infestation: and that is cut scenes. There will be around nine or so cut scenes in this new edition, and I've just finished making four of them.
     
    Cut scenes are a very fun to code, because not only are they easy, it allows for a great deal of storyline input, which I value almost more than gameplay. There were quite a few "holes" in the storyline in the Silver Edition of The Infestation, and one of my "fixes" for this new edition is to fill in all those holes, or just remove them. Because of these cut scenes, you will learn more about the individual characters as well as the villains. For example, you guys who played The Infestation knew (and still know) hardly anything about the Bahdraak in terms of personality, and they were the final bosses of the entire game! Also through the cut scenes, you will learn more about Haci (who was the blacksmith in Fall of the Conqueror) and become immersed in a love-triangle involving him, Kai, and Kaj. I will also flesh out the romance involving Luka and Gali (who hooked up in Fall of the Conqueror as the try and free Ra'lhen (who calls himself Ronkshou) from the new Makuta's influence.
     
    Yes... there will also be hints concerning a "new" Makuta to replace the Makuta of Metru Nui who was killed by the Toa Mata. The third side-story (along with the quest for Ronkshou and the love-triangle) is the Dark Vengeance, founded by Nui Laka. It's a team of four consisting of Nui Laka, Wokapu, Ronkshou, and Tailua's confidant (if you payed attention to Tailua's last words in Fall of the Conqueror, you will recognize this name), Kenzor, the Toa of Nightmares.
     
    As I said, I use cut scenes to bring out the story aspect of The Infestation. They will be shown almost as a reward after every dungeon, nest, etc. Some of these cutscenes will not be your average little book-on-a-screen either. Three of the cutscenes will involve the WIP Particle Engine, and these are the "battle scenes". The first one is the fall of Makuta. That'll be cool, and then there are two more near the end of the game. I can't really discuss those without giving away spoilers, but they will be awesome. The only thing I'm worried about is the possible lag that may come, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
     
    Well, that's it for this week. Here's a screenshot from one of the cutscenes, and thanks for reading!
  5. Emzee
    Hey all, I'm back with my second devlog entry!
     
    As promised last week, I will be going over the process I took for making a Kahu Riding system in RPG Maker XP. However, what I did not expect was that the process would be overly simple -- too simple to write an entire article about just this system. That said, I'm gonna write the systems that were in the original Infestation and in Fall of the Conqueror, and how I'm putting them into this game.
     
    First thing's first though: the Kahu.
     
    After dodging booby traps, persuading a vengeful warrior to join you, and defeating a Bohrok twice, no doubt you'll want a big thank you, along with perhaps a little something on the side. That little something comes in the form of a flute (similar to the one in MNOLG 1) given to you by Kongu. With this flute, you don't merely summon a Kewa, but a Kahu that will transport everyone in your group. Like I said before, it's so basic that it's laughable. I made a new item called Le-Koronan Flute, gave it a description and linked it to a Common Event. Common Events are a special group of events (processes) that either run non-stop throughout the entire game, or can be called at any time, anywhere. This is different than "Map Events", where the commands in that event can only be executed in that map (in GameMaker these are called "rooms"; other engines call them "levels").
     
    Anyway, in the Common Event, I've set a variable that will determine where on the "World Map" the player will be transfer to. This variable is set in almost every map because depending on where the player is, that will determine where on the World Map his Kahu will appear. The Map is just a panorama, and the Kahu is simply the Takua character with its graphic changed and his speed increased. Other things like clouds and sound FX are added as well, but that doesn't change the fact that this was a lot easier than I expected.
     
    Alright, on to the next topic.
     
    Systems from The Infestation
     
    There's only one. But no worries, it still made it into the new Infestation. This, of course, is the Caterpillar System. I'm not going to bother showing you the RGSS script because it would just look like gibberish to you. However, a Caterpillar System is where everyone in your party follows you, meaning they're seen on the map. This is unlike Fall of the Conqueror, where the other members of your party only appeared during important events. Even better, this system is more realistic. Instead of the characters moving in a formation, they move like an actual group of people would, shuffling around and whatnot.
     
     
    Systems from Fall of the Conqueror
    Okay, there's three. The first notable one is the Limit Break System. That's right, it's also going to be in the new Infestation. It won't be as... can't think of the word right now, but let's just say that there won't be as many spells. That's simply because of lack of battle animations, and I can't have a skill without an animation to display it with. Each member get 4 spells and they learn a spell as they level up (levels 1, 10, 20, and 30). Unlike Fall of the Conqueror, this system features a "gain mode", where the player chooses how his/her limit bar will be filled. I found a cool script for it and just put it in. No editing is required (for right now anyway), so it's all good.
     
    The second feature of FotC is the Party System, which is also much better in this game. It is kinda Final Fantasy 7 styled, where you have members of you party on one side, and available party members on the other.You can have a maximum of 4 people, and I heard it's rather difficult trying to increase that number without drastic changes to the very foundations of the game (like the battle system). There are some lines of code that are edited from the event command menu. Through that, I can decide which party members appear, which can be taken out/put in, and other stuff.
     
    The third feature is the Skill system. Similar to FotC, a character can hold two elements at a given time. However, they can choose one of those elements. For example, Takua as a Fire Orb equipped because he cannot equip any other Elemental Orb. The Skill Orbs can be equipped by anybody though, so that leaves room for choice, which is always fun. This system still has a little bit of tweaking to do, but it's nothing big. Much of this type of stuff will be done right before the RPG's release.
     
    Well, that's pretty much it folks. I hope you enjoyed this devlog. I'm out!
  6. Emzee

    Devlog #1: A New Frontier

    By Emzee,

    Welcome to the first entry of my Devlog. In this issue, I'm going to introduce the software I'm using to create the new version of Mata Zuto 2: The Infestation:
     
    When I first joined in Summer 2002, the first topic I posted in was Flow of the River, the very first fan-created game on BZPower. That Digital RPG was created with a simple and primitive Windows application called "RPG Maker 95", released in 1997 by ASCII (currently called Enterbrain). Now, there are 4 other programs made by this company that are/were on the market: RPG Maker 2000, 2003, RPG Maker XP, and brand-new VX. The "new frontier" I'm going to show you now is RPG Maker XP.
     
    It's not that new anymore, but for those who've used older RPG Maker programs or played games from those, you'll notice the many differences that this program has from its predecessors.
     
    Now, I'll go over what Mata Zuto 2: The Infestation is about. The sequel to the recently finished Fall of the Conqueror, the perspective changes from the views of the Toa to the views of the Matoran. In an effort to avenge the fallen Makuta, a monstrous follower named Nui Laka awakens the Bohrok Swarms and allows them to ravage the villages on Mata Nui. In order to stop the Swarms, the Guardsman Aft has to take one Matoran from every village and retrieve special Krana Xa from the six Bohrok. Once all six Krana Xa are retrieved, they can be used as keys to open up the Exo-Toa chambers that are needed in order for the Toa Mata to face the Bahrag, the leaders of the Bohrok Swarms. However, Nui Laka has plans of his own: knowing the inner mechanisms of the Bohrok, Nui Laka plans to create a new breed of Bohrok that will overthrow the Bahrag and "restore order" on Mata Nui.
     
    The story will become much more complex than that as you get deeper into the RPG. Twists, turns, romance, betrayal, and lots of adventure!
     
    For the last month, I've been doing a lot for this game. Starting with graphics, I've converted simple graphics from kits and from Fall of the Conqueror so that they'll look okay in RMXP (RPG Maker XP). One thing to note is that RMXP is the first RPG Maker program to allow 24-bit graphics (including JPEGs). Here's a shot of the main interface. I personally think the new Matoran charasets are spiffy, and I hope others will enjoy them too. I won't show them clearly just yet though, I have other things.
     
    One of the greatest innovations was the adding of the RGSS (Ruby Scripting) to the program, allowing experienced users to go beyond the limits of the maker. I've tried that many times before with past engines, and not only were they exceedingly difficult, but they didn't always work either. With RMXP, you truly are free to do as you please.
     
    Right now, I'm about to finish up the Lehvak Nest, which is part of the Air Temple that was visited in Fall of the Conqueror. Every "dungeon" in The Infestation has a special theme to it, whether it's avoiding booby traps (as in the Air Temple), or some storyline trivia (as in the Gahlok Nest). I've added tons of stuff to my most recent dungeon. As I said earlier, many the player will have to use his logic and timing in order to dodge the many hidden booby traps that are designed to eliminate the characters. Once the Lehvak Nest is completed, I have to start the coding for the Kahu, which the Order of Peace will receive as a reward for defeating the Lehvak. I should hopefully complete that entire system (which will be similar to the Highwind in FF7 or to Flammie in Secret of Mana), in one day so I can move on. Afterwards is about mapping Ko-Wahi, Ko-Koro, Mount Ihu, and the Kohrak Nest. I'm also trying to decide what theme it will have. Even after all that, I'll still only be about 45% finished with the game as a whole. I'm only putting in the skeleton for the game, and I plan to go back and add cutscenes, special effects, and other systems to enhance the RPG. Once that's finished, I'll up be up to the final "dungeon" where you fight Buzzkill and Roadkill. That's about 90%, and then there's the final battles and the credits. Sounds simple, and I hope it will be. I'd like to complete this game very soon.
     
    Thanks for reading, and be sure to read what's up next week when I (hopefully) show you how I code the Kahu summoning/riding system.
  7. Emzee

    Coming Soon, My Devlog!

    By Emzee,

    Under the coding section, I will be starting my Devlog, which is basically a blog detailing the many aspects of game development.
     
    Why should you take interest into something like this? Well first of all, secrets about the upcoming "XP version" of The Infestation, as well as tidbits about the even more mysterious Influx will only be seen here in this blog. You'll also get to see how difficult creating a game can be, whether it's an RPG Maker program, or a complex coding-based program.
     
    I plan to start this next week. I hope you'll enjoy it!
  8. Emzee

    24 Club

    By Emzee,

    Hey I was thinking... is there already a 24 club? I know there's quite a few fans here, and if there is one I'd like to join (heck, there's a LEMON club here! ). If there isn't a club, I'm proposing that one gets started!
     
    That's all for today.
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