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Tech and Homebrew => Turbo/PCE Game/Tool Development => Topic started by: nodtveidt on November 03, 2013, 10:43:38 AM
Title: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on November 03, 2013, 10:43:38 AM
I've kept this under wraps for some time now, only revealing it in bits and pieces to chatroom-goers and supplying a small tidbit of info in the MSR release thread. Time to let the cat completely out of the bag.
I've been working on it on and off for some time now, but only during downtime in Lucretia's development. Lucretia is my priority right now, but since I can't ever sit idle, I started this to fill the time voids. I know I said I'd never do another RPG, but there's just no helping it; RPGs are what I do best, and this project allows me to use my full potential as both a writer and a PCE coder.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: TheClash603 on November 03, 2013, 10:53:52 AM
Looking great!
Copyright 2013 eh... I assume that date has to change? lol
The current NPC banter was amusing :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on November 03, 2013, 10:58:19 AM
Thanks. :) Yeah, it will change to 2014 when 2014 comes around. :)
The main reason I'm releasing this video today is because it's about to be temporarily shelved; work on Jungle Bros is about to resume, and that will have my attention together with Lucretia. I'm doing this game as a time-filler, so I work on it when I have nothing else to work on. But I wanted people to know that there is indeed a sequel to MSR on the way. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on November 03, 2013, 11:25:19 AM
You continue to kick ass. This preview is awesome, and I'm not typically a fan of the genre. (http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.html)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: ParanoiaDragon on November 03, 2013, 02:34:17 PM
Very interesting. Seeing how this is a new game, you can totally build it to the PCE's strengths! Maybe we could do things that got cut out of the original!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: hoobs88 on November 03, 2013, 03:07:55 PM
Digging it so far!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on November 03, 2013, 03:55:41 PM
I don't want to give too much away just yet, but I will say that this game engine, although based on the original MSR code, is much, much more capable than its predecessor. Moving NPCs, sprite masking, map depth, ledges, split-party gameplay, and auto-movement are all new features to the game engine. Environmental hazards, weather effects, stealth missions, switch-puzzles, and other such good stuff also exists. Basically, everything I wanted to include into MSR, but couldn't because it didn't match the original design, is included in MS2.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: T2KFreeker on November 03, 2013, 04:36:52 PM
This looks cool Rover. I love what you have done thus far and look forward to playing this one for sure. Very cool stuff man.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: whisper2053 on November 03, 2013, 05:10:36 PM
Definitely looking forward to this! The first MS has gotten soooo much playtime from me, and I can only imagine how much better this one will be. And for something that's effectively been a side project? Wow, is all I can say...it looks absolutely amazing.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: touko on November 03, 2013, 07:13:44 PM
I thought you would never do any RPG !!! ;-)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Xak on November 03, 2013, 08:26:13 PM
THIS IS GREAT !!! cant wait to play it. Man I love the TG16 support. Too bad the racists belittle my spanish translations on here.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Tatsujin on November 04, 2013, 01:46:01 AM
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Arjak on November 04, 2013, 03:49:48 AM
Rover, you sneaky son of a gun! I thought you said you weren't doing a sequel! :lol:
Anyway, it looks like you're off to a great start. I seriously cannot wait! Let me know if you need any voice actors!
Until then, maybe I should finally try to play through the first one... :P
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on November 04, 2013, 07:41:06 AM
Voice acting will indeed be needed at some point, but that's a ways off.
Just so people know... I talked about this briefly in chat a bit ago but might as well state it here... Mysterious Song was originally supposed to be a trilogy. The original designer of the series stopped after Chapter I. I don't know why, but it would be a real shame to see the series die as a single story. That's why I decided to make a Chapter II. Of course, since it's meant to be a trilogy, there will also be a Chapter III at some point in the future. Chapter X in MSR is a spinoff of Chapter I and isn't really canon... it just provides an alternate version of Chapter I. Chapter II builds off of the original version of Chapter I.
I'm really glad people are liking what's in store. :) Thanks for all your words of encouragement. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on November 04, 2013, 10:05:20 AM
Retrocollect picked up the news pretty quickly, it seems:
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Xak on November 04, 2013, 01:00:34 PM
The in game graphics blow the first one away, not that the first one was bad in any sense. Just a VAST improvement graphically, cant wait to see the battles.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on November 04, 2013, 01:38:14 PM
Rover, I was thinking: you were heartbroken when you realized that an "official" sequel to Neutopia might not be feasible, so you poured all of your blood, sweat and love into MSII: ES.
Am I completely wrong?
Or is there a kernel of truth in it?
Naturally, I'd love a Neu Neutopia, but with all of the refinements exhibited thus far for MSII: ES, I can't complain about a damn thing.
(http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.html)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Punch on November 04, 2013, 02:22:51 PM
Have they tried to acquire the license for Neutopia??? Please tell me more.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Necromancer on November 04, 2013, 03:28:03 PM
The in game graphics blow the first one away, not that the first one was bad in any sense. Just a VAST improvement graphically, cant wait to see the battles.
Uh..... what?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: ParanoiaDragon on November 04, 2013, 05:19:39 PM
Voice acting will indeed be needed at some point, but that's a ways off.
We'll be good as long as we can get Bobcat Goldthwait to be Tiger, Roseanne Barr to play Ryanna, Sly Stone to play Spear, & Paul Ruebens to play Grimm! Rover is currently drawing up the contracts as we speak!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Arjak on November 05, 2013, 03:53:11 AM
Voice acting will indeed be needed at some point, but that's a ways off.
We'll be good as long as we can get Bobcat Goldthwait to be Tiger, Roseanne Barr to play Ryanna, Sly Stone to play Spear, & Paul Ruebens to play Grimm! Rover is currently drawing up the contracts as we speak!
That has got to be the worst list of casting choices that I've ever seen! :P
Wait, so Spear and Grimm are going to return in some way? Or is that just you jerking us around?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: ParanoiaDragon on November 05, 2013, 04:32:48 AM
I'm totally messing around, I personally know nothing about the story, I know as much as ya'll about it!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: hizaygizirlz on November 05, 2013, 09:54:51 AM
Saw this on retrocollect looking forward to picking it up
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: lord_cack on November 05, 2013, 10:39:36 AM
Rover, I was thinking: you were heartbroken when you realized that an "official" sequel to Neutopia might not be feasible, so you poured all of your blood, sweat and love into MSII: ES.
Am I completely wrong?
Or is there a kernel of truth in it?
Naturally, I'd love a Neu Neutopia, but with all of the refinements exhibited thus far for MSII: ES, I can't complain about a damn thing.
(http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.html)
Well, I know as far as my end goes, I don't plan on working on Neutopia III. I had done loads of tile work for a planned NIII but I have been working further on those tilesets and they are now in the developmental stage of an entire new project with them. I am not exactly certain the platform this project will come to, if it ever comes to light. But, the tile work is great and I am pretty excited about their potential. Don't take this for anything more than what it sounds like though.... this is NOT an announcement of a PCE title, but it could eventually be one :)
Also, like to add this is not something I have brought to the attention of Frozen Utopia. This is just my own work, thus far....
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Punch on November 05, 2013, 10:44:27 AM
STATUS: I need to buy and play the first one.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Arjak on November 05, 2013, 11:06:04 AM
I'm afraid it's a little late for that, Punch. The entire print run has sold out! If you want a copy, you're going to have to bug Rover about another pressing. :twisted:
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: vestcoat on November 05, 2013, 11:25:05 AM
Or go to the website of everyone's favorite homebrew dealer that still has all six independent TG/PCE releases in stock and buy it for $37.75.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: vestcoat on November 05, 2013, 11:30:51 AM
Rover, I was thinking: you were heartbroken when you realized that an "official" sequel to Neutopia might not be feasible,
Why is Golden Axe feasible and NIII isn't?
GA is much smaller in scope, no new tiles or sprites to do, the music is already all there, I just spiced it all up(& in a few instances had to rewrite a couple from scratch), plus, GA's engine could easily go to good use for any other brawler's we have planned...namely Dragon Arm. N3 is a huge project loaded with new tiles & sprites, music, etc. Plus, we really wanted to put it on a physical disc, instead of a download only, which is probably what GA will be in the end.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: vestcoat on November 05, 2013, 02:45:07 PM
Makes sense. Thanks
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: touko on November 05, 2013, 07:53:58 PM
I predict a lot of headaches for rover and many years of dev for frozen :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: SuperPlay on November 06, 2013, 05:50:34 AM
This is great news :-) Count me in for a copy!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Xak on November 12, 2013, 02:42:53 AM
I'm up for the voice acting when the time comes. I have samples on youtube to prove my worthiness.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: _joshuaTurbo on January 07, 2014, 08:21:52 AM
I just love having the ability to walk behind the sprite/background image of the trees! Great touch! :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: fragmare on January 08, 2014, 11:44:26 AM
Sweet pixels! :) Are Keranu and Paul still doing the art?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 09, 2014, 01:35:25 AM
No, all the pixels on this one will be done by Josiah Tobin, except the cutscenes.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Bernie on January 09, 2014, 10:43:21 AM
WTH.... how I miss this?! I thought you loved meeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! Why you no tell the Bernie?. lol.. I love it man, cant wait!!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: FiftyQuid on January 09, 2014, 01:14:34 PM
Before I watch the video in post #1 are there any spoilers in it? I haven't played the first game yet or heard any of the story.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 10, 2014, 12:43:31 AM
Yeah, there are spoilers in the video, so you may want to give it a miss until you've played the game. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 01, 2014, 06:01:21 AM
Since I've been out of commission lately due to both sickness and surgery, I have had some time to work on this some more while the work for Lucretia is finished up. I know that some of you out there like to read about dev progress and techie stuff so I figured I'd jaw about some of the recent progress of MS2 and how things have changed from MSR.
I started work on the battle program for MS2. It was obvious from the time this game was first thought of that the original MSR battle program was inadequate for all that MS2 has in store. MSR's battle program is very simplistic and limited; I needed something with a bit more power. The original program defines each enemy unit as a 64x64 sprite.. even the tiny little slimes are 64x64 internally. With so much free space, we should have made larger sprites, but we didn't. Oh well, live and learn. Anyway, a fixed sprite size makes certain things easier, such as hit response and centering. Only the main mode final boss has a sprite that is larger, and I ended up coding separate functions for its centering and hit response. It was inefficient and I can do better. So, MS2 does things better. First of all, the enemies are much larger now. Some of the weakest enemies in MS2 are larger than some of the most powerful bosses in MSR... to say nothing of the powerful monsters in MSR that are now absolutely massive in MS2 (such as the Dragon and the Mega Wyrm). Because enemy sizes can be variable now, a better system for handling their combined sprite blocks was implemented. It means more data is being manipulated, but this isn't an action game so moving around more data is not an issue. Additionally, enemy units can now make use of more than a single palette at a time. MSR only allowed a single palette per enemy unit. In MS2, "normal" sized enemies are still limited to a single palette, but "large" sized enemies can use 2 and "huge" sized enemies can use 4. No overlaying of colors is allowed, but individual sprite blocks can make use of different palettes, giving some of the bigger enemies more than the usual 15 colors. Up to 4 palettes can be used in total for enemy units. "Normal" enemy units can appear 3 at a time, but "large" enemy units are limited to 2 and "huge" enemy units are limited to 1. The game can use 1 "normal" and 1 "large" enemy unit at once as well. What defines their size is the number of full horizontal sprite blocks they use up... "normal" enemies have a maximum width of 2 (64 pixels), "large" have a maximum width of 3 (96 pixels), and "huge" have a maximum width of 6 (192 pixels). Vertically, enemies can now be as tall as 160 pixels, but the vertical size does not affect their size category since the issue is horizontal pixels... make them too wide and in too high a number and you get buffer overflows and pixels are lost.
Because of the much larger sprites, the interface had to be redesigned as well. I completely did away with the top portion; the game now uses a dynamically-changing bottom part. Much less text is used and battle turns progress on their own, unlike in MSR which was almost entirely text-based and had to be moved along manually. Damage now comes up as "bouncing numbers" a la modern Final Fantasy games rather than text displays. Spell selection is now more streamlined as well, and looks more like something out of a Climax RPG, with spell "levels" that can be selected rather than a verbose list as MSR used.
Another important aspect of battling in MS2 is the experience system. MSR used a fixed chart, like the original MS. However, for MS2, I ditched the chart and used Monolith's algorithmic leveling system instead. It means less data has to be stored and levels are essentially limitless, so you can keep growing more and more powerful with more time spent on grinding... if you want to. It won't be necessary though, as MS2 is a bit more balanced than MSR was, although power players who love to grind are still going to be right at home here.
Also, whereas MSR's story was thin and basic, MS2's story is a lot more detailed. Plot elements are key, and there is a hell of a lot more character development this time around. People just wanting to murder stuff can ignore much of it though. Ryanna is the main character this time around, so most of the story revolves around her, whereas MSR focused almost entirely on Spear.
I did not remove the conveniences that MSR implemented, though... for example, you can still dash around, even on the world map. That's one of the things that made MSR more fun to play. Nothing's more obnoxious than zipping around a town but then having to plod along on the world map. Dialogues and menus are still really fast, and I have implemented the ability to both use and buy multiple items in one go, unlike in MSR where items were bought and used individually. "Camp magic" now also functions this way, so spells don't have to be selected each and every time you want to use one. Also, since MS2 is a hell of a lot bigger than MSR, "save points" have also been introduced... you no longer have to only save at inns.
So yeah... these are some of the things to look forward to in MS2. Obviously I can't spill everything, but I figured I'd talk some tech about the new MS for those interested. It will still be awhile before this game comes out, but when MGC comes around, it will be available for demo play. There *may* be a public demo at one point but that won't be for some time.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: TheClash603 on February 01, 2014, 06:18:24 AM
Wow, the list of improvements is substantial and I think that everyone will agree that there isn't a change that would alter the experience too much to upset original MSR fans.
I am looking forward to all of these homebrews, too bad you guys are slow! :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Punch on February 01, 2014, 06:57:21 AM
I am looking forward to all of these homebrews, too bad you guys are slow! :)
I know you're joking but it is amazing what people like Rover and Arkhan are doing, because the games are mostly developed on their scarce free time, but with quality matching Turbografx commercial releases. I really don't mind waiting.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Bonknuts on February 01, 2014, 07:34:50 AM
Can't wait to see some these new enemy designs and colors :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 01, 2014, 09:09:28 AM
(http://frozenutopia.com/eternal-0030.html) Three normal-sized enemies on top of one of MSR's original backgrounds, although it has been re-converted with the newer tools to be more optimal.
(http://frozenutopia.com/eternal-0031.html) MS2's Mega Wyrm. It is a huge-type enemy, although it only uses a single palette.
None of the enemy sprites are originals, so they may not be final art.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 01, 2014, 10:16:33 AM
Okay, here's a different shot. I've been ironing out how the initial interface will look, and I think I've just about got it now. Anyway...
(http://frozenutopia.com/eternal-0032.html)
These three enemies use different size types. The first enemy is 64x64, the second is 48x48, and the third is 48x32. 48x32 is the smallest size the game uses.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Bonknuts on February 01, 2014, 10:27:41 AM
Holy crap! That's awesome!!!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: roflmao on February 01, 2014, 01:38:48 PM
Looking good, Rover! I'm wicked psyched. :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: GohanX on February 01, 2014, 01:45:48 PM
I dunno, I don't think I want to mess with that mega wyrm...
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Arjak on February 01, 2014, 05:08:08 PM
Those enemy sprites are absolutely gorgeous. Who made those?
I can't wait to see more! :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: whisper2053 on February 02, 2014, 12:22:12 AM
Just when I think it can't get better, you go and throw me a curve ball with something like this! It looks absolutely amazing...I soooo can't wait for the day I am able to get the finished product in my hands :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Bernie on February 02, 2014, 01:13:16 AM
Okay, here's a different shot. I've been ironing out how the initial interface will look, and I think I've just about got it now. Anyway...
(http://frozenutopia.com/eternal-0032.html)
These three enemies use different size types. The first enemy is 64x64, the second is 48x48, and the third is 48x32. 48x32 is the smallest size the game uses.
Man, you have really outdone yourself with this! Those screens are just beautiful!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: thesteve on February 02, 2014, 05:55:09 PM
Wow, how did I miss this Me want
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on February 03, 2014, 01:33:30 AM
First, thanks for sharing the design process with us. It is always fascinating to hear about how these decisions are made, and what options were considered, and the criteria use to evaluate pros/cons. Intriguing. Demystifying. Seriously. (http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.html).
Okay, here's a different shot. I've been ironing out how the initial interface will look, and I think I've just about got it now. Anyway...
(http://frozenutopia.com/eternal-0032.html)
These three enemies use different size types. The first enemy is 64x64, the second is 48x48, and the third is 48x32. 48x32 is the smallest size the game uses.
Man, you have really outdone yourself with this! Those screens are just beautiful!
AGREED. Absolutely gorgeous!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: sunteam_paul on February 03, 2014, 05:43:16 AM
Cool sprites, what game are they from?
EDIT: Never mind, found it: http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/ There are some absolutely beautiful sprites there, true eye candy for pixel artists.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 03, 2014, 06:22:43 AM
Interesting... Vampires Dawn gets some of their sprites from the same source I did... also interestingly enough, they're also using another source I'm using, primarily for my larger sprites. All of the sprites I've shown so far are from RM2... for my larger ones, they are sourced from RM95. Looks like they are using at least three more sources as well, although I don't recognize some of them. I recognize some RM2K sprites in their bestiary. There is a lot of variance of quality there.
For example: (http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_riesenfrosch.html) is from RM2.
(http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_sukkubus.html) is from RM95.
(http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_golbard.html) is from RM2K.
(http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_giftwurm.html) (http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_buschkriecher.html) are taken from the Phantasy Star series.
(http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_erdwaechter.html) I have no idea where they got this one from. But notice a serious quality difference between that sprite and
(http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_hauptmann.html) this one.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: sunteam_paul on February 03, 2014, 06:25:55 AM
Haha, yeah that dude is a bit crappy. There's also a fly in there that looks suspiciously like the one in Phantasy Star (SMS). Not exact, but very close.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 03, 2014, 06:29:30 AM
(http://www.vampiresdawn.org/wp-content/media/gegner/gegner_giftfliege.html) This one? :lol:
It was also in PS4. Perhaps it was also in 2 and 3, I don't know. I noticed a few other Phantasy Star sprites too:
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: sunteam_paul on February 03, 2014, 06:31:24 AM
Yep, looks funny on the white background though.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 03, 2014, 06:34:19 AM
It's one thing to source your sprites from resources intended for indie project work... it's another to rip them from commercial games, not paying any mind at all to quality differences between your various sources. That page makes me sad.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 03, 2014, 06:59:02 AM
Here's an example of why I was selective about my sources:
The left one is RM2, the right one is RM95. The quality is similar. RM2's sprites are drawn more old-school with limited color, whereas RM95's are designed to be used at a higher resolution so they use more colors but often dither a lot. The RM2 Harpy worked very well for where I needed a harpy sprite, but I also needed a harpy queen, Karaliene. The RM95 Harpy worked for that, because it does not use an absurd amount of dithering like most of the RM95 sprites use, and the shadow casting is acceptably similar between the two, although I will likely modify Karaliene's colors to more closely match the normal-sized harpy. If you must source from more than one resource, great care should be taken to ensure continuity. If I had used the RM2K Harpy:
(http://www.frozenutopia.com/rm2kharpy.html)
it would have severely broken continuity and looked like crap.
Of course, none of this will matter once Josiah's sprites are inserted, since they will all be from one source, and will be made specifically for this game.
(Trivia: karaliene is Latvian for "queen".)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on February 03, 2014, 07:31:16 AM
Quote
(Trivia: karaliene is Latvian for "queen".)
Yet one more thing I learned today. (http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.html)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Xak on February 06, 2014, 05:57:33 AM
Can i be a bonus boss?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: clackattack on December 14, 2014, 10:02:43 AM
Any news on this work, or am I kicking a dead horse?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 02, 2015, 03:33:49 AM
This is a solo project so I only work on it during times I'm not working on other things. Since I have been sick over the past few days, I've had the opportunity to do more work on it during that time, plus I've made small advances all throughout December. Also, anyone who is my friend or follower on Facebook might have seen that I list completing this game as one of my goals for 2015. There is really nothing new to show off, since most of the work has been on the code side, but I almost have the combat system complete so once that is done, I will probably do a new gameplay video. The new combat system is a bit more animated and way less text-y. It's kind of a cross between Pokémon, Dragon Warrior, and Final Fantasy 6, with some of the style of the first game.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: _joshuaTurbo on January 02, 2015, 04:28:31 PM
This is a solo project so I only work on it during times I'm not working on other things. Since I have been sick over the past few days, I've had the opportunity to do more work on it during that time, plus I've made small advances all throughout December. Also, anyone who is my friend or follower on Facebook might have seen that I list completing this game as one of my goals for 2015. There is really nothing new to show off, since most of the work has been on the code side, but I almost have the combat system complete so once that is done, I will probably do a new gameplay video. The new combat system is a bit more animated and way less text-y. It's kind of a cross between Pokémon, Dragon Warrior, and Final Fantasy 6, with some of the style of the first game.
The new battle system is super effective!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on January 03, 2015, 02:42:34 AM
Should we use...
"MS II: ES"
or
"MySo2:ES"
...as shorthand for this project?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: MrFulci on January 03, 2015, 02:56:58 AM
I missed the first MS, I was absent during it's release. Wasn't there going to be a reprint of it?
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on January 03, 2015, 03:26:08 AM
I missed the first MS, I was absent during it's release. Wasn't there going to be a reprint of it?
The reprint is currently underway. It should be available soon ("soon" can mean a few weeks or a few months).
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: MrFulci on January 03, 2015, 03:29:01 AM
I noticed after that post, the other MS1 thread, about a delayed shipment. I'll be sure to pick this one up. Not sure when I'll play it through, but I'll have it for when I get the itch for it.
Does MS reference the board, PCEFX, at all? It would be cool, to have an RPG game of sorts, that had all sorts of references to goingingons from here, over the years, hahahaha!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 03, 2015, 01:13:58 PM
The original MSR did not make any kind of references to this forum, but that's mainly because the original storyline had already been written by someone else and the bonus storyline I wrote was merely an extension of that. MS2:ES is a true sequel that takes place 2 years after the first storyline, and as such, I can add anything I want to it since I have total creative control (within the parameters set by the Creative Director, of course). So, if I want to reference the forum in it (and why not), I can. :D
Also, yes, MSR has a reprint in manufacturing, but the manufacturer f*cked around so much that it was delayed multiple times. It was ordered in early October for a late November/early December release, giving a couple of weeks' time for any possible issues, but they f*cked around all November and December. When I called them, they said the order hadn't even been f*cking finished yet. Hell, the jackass called me back to make sure we didn't want the discs shrinkwrapped because "people usually do that". No, motherf*cker, the order says NO SHRINKWRAP, and that's how we want it! So, now our order's been boxed up and queued for shipping. I should have the tracking information on Monday and will keep people in the loop. Last time we use these guys.
As for what to call it... I dunno. Call it ES, MS2ES, ES:MSII, MSII, MS2, MS2:ES, anything but late for dinner. I generally refer to it as MS2: ES and its internal project name is "eternal".
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Sarumaru on January 03, 2015, 01:15:58 PM
Very cool! Exciting to see new stuff for our beloved PCE. <3
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: MrFulci on January 03, 2015, 01:29:11 PM
Rover,
feel free to add my handle somewhere in there, if you want, in MS2.
Myself, I'd be more inclined to play through a homebrew RPG, sooner than later, if I knew it had some in jokes and references there. I know some people hated some stuff Vic Ireland did at Working Designs, when translating, etc, etc... but....
Do some goofy stuff. Nothing too harsh, though. You could have a NPC you have to collect gold for, to buy an expensive item at a shop, or whatever, to give him , only for him to run off with it, and take it to an auction house?
Playing a straight homebrew RPG game story, ok, cool, but, add some goofy stuff, for the folks buying it... I may the only person who feel this way, but, it's an idea!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Sarumaru on January 03, 2015, 05:00:23 PM
feel free to add my handle somewhere in there, if you want, in MS2.
Myself, I'd be more inclined to play through a homebrew RPG, sooner than later, if I knew it had some in jokes and references there. I know some people hated some stuff Vic Ireland did at Working Designs, when translating, etc, etc... but....
Do some goofy stuff. Nothing too harsh, though. You could have a NPC you have to collect gold for, to buy an expensive item at a shop, or whatever, to give him , only for him to run off with it, and take it to an auction house?
Playing a straight homebrew RPG game story, ok, cool, but, add some goofy stuff, for the folks buying it... I may the only person who feel this way, but, it's an idea!
I agree. Favorite Cosmic Fantasy 2 quote from a chicken: "Thank you thigh-master" This had me loling... I was also 12 years old and easily amused but still, this kind of thing is cool.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: MrFulci on January 03, 2015, 05:07:03 PM
I don't know what the majority wants, but for such a small audience that buys this title, and actually plays it, wouldn't a, "Spoof" type RPG be fun? RPG, all the way, but... I don't know.. This is all I know!
It may be too late for this sequel... I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get in your world, PCEFXers...
YOU SAID YOU WANTED DRUMSTICK!!!
THIS IS ALL I KNOW!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Bernie on January 04, 2015, 01:21:36 AM
lol, that be neat to make an appearance in a video game. Neato. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: MrFulci on January 04, 2015, 01:36:34 AM
I never played the first Mysterious Song, so I have no idea if any surprises were there.
I just think, since these games are made for such a small audience, why not add some silly, odd stuff.? Not everyone is keen on that, but, I just know it would give me more incentive to play a game through, sooner than later, to see what easter eggs are there. PCEFX has been around a while, so there's enough history to sift through, for fun stuff.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Bernie on January 04, 2015, 01:37:55 AM
Well, if you have never played MSR.... "Have you seen my pussy?".
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: MrFulci on January 04, 2015, 01:53:15 AM
I was absent from here, during the time that went for sale, then it went OOP when I returned... I'm getting back into the swing of things!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 04, 2015, 05:39:22 AM
I do have a running list of cameos for MS2, though the list is small at the moment. Anyone who wants in can just let me know and I'll add ya to the game. MS2 contains a minigame that can be played by challenging certain NPCs (Lunar: The Silver Star, Final Fantasy 8, and Xenogears all did this, which is where I got the idea from) and I was thinking of using forum members as the specific players of the minigame... of course, any other role is fine as well. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: KingDrool on January 04, 2015, 10:28:29 AM
jlued686 is a perfect name for an NPC. Rolls right off the tongue!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on January 04, 2015, 11:53:08 AM
I do have a running list of cameos for MS2, though the list is small at the moment. Anyone who wants in can just let me know and I'll add ya to the game. MS2 contains a minigame that can be played by challenging certain NPCs (Lunar: The Silver Star, Final Fantasy 8, and Xenogears all did this, which is where I got the idea from) and I was thinking of using forum members as the specific players of the minigame... of course, any other role is fine as well. :)
Esteban thanks you for cameos in the mini-game and in Olde Shoppe (as a barista).
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: ParanoiaDragon on January 04, 2015, 03:33:19 PM
IIRC, we were going to have a secret dev area in Neutopia 3 with the Frozen Utopians, with our own lil' hubs. Either that, or I dreamed about it! :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Necromancer on January 05, 2015, 03:25:54 AM
Sounds fine to me. I hope it doesn't go OOP before I can snag a copy, this time!
I meant to play an RPG in 2014, but didn't get around to it, except for Shadowgate on the NES, which is almost an RPG. RPGs I have to set aside time for, as I know from myself, in the past, I'd spend most of the day, then the following day, and so on, 'til I complete it. They can consume a lot of time. That's part of what makes me put RPGs on hold, and instead play something I can complete in a day!
I did similar with Dungeon Keeper 2 a few years ago, when I thought to myself, "Has it been 10 years since I last beat this?". It had been so long, I forgot that the, "Narrator" would taunt you, if you played the game past 3 or 4am :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 07, 2015, 09:13:23 PM
The development of the battle system is moving along smoothly.
(http://www.nodtveidt.net/eternal-0043.html)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Necromancer on January 08, 2015, 01:22:18 AM
I'm hoping for some animated tiles in the battle backgrounds, subtle stuff like dust motes and Hudson bees in the sun beams. :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Punch on January 08, 2015, 04:04:03 AM
I want to appear on this magnificent obey game!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: cjameslv on January 08, 2015, 05:53:29 AM
I'm hoping for some animated tiles in the battle backgrounds, subtle stuff like dust motes and Hudson bees in the sun beams. :mrgreen:
Or even the light rays flickering through the trees.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 08, 2015, 11:46:25 AM
If there is room in the battle system for extra effects, I will implement as many as I can. Core functionality always comes first, but I do like to make things as snazzy as I can. :D As with the original Mysterious Song, I store a lot of graphics data in the map program so they don't use up space in the battle program... that gives me plenty of extra space. I can use that space to add some visual effects. The only thing Mysterious Song had for special battle effects was the animated torches in the caves and the trippy background in the true final battle. The cave background in Eternal Silence will also have animated torches, but I also want to see if I can add things like moving clouds, maybe some birds flying by, and weather effects.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Dicer on January 08, 2015, 01:54:57 PM
Any small nods or touches will be awesome, I like the think of the people into the PCE/TG16 as a sort of special group and it's nice to see the efforts made by people to keep things going...
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: HailingTheThings on January 09, 2015, 03:33:31 PM
I too want Punch to appear on all up in this magnificent obey game!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Punch on January 09, 2015, 05:38:17 PM
Make sure you don't proofread my NPC's dialogue(s) in the game!
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: spenoza on January 10, 2015, 03:08:28 PM
What priority is being given to enemy animations and effects for player and enemy attacks? My curiosity compels me to ask...
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 10, 2015, 05:24:17 PM
Attacks are more animated now, though enemies are still static. Then again, even Final Fantasy 6 had static enemy sprites. Enemy sprites are just way larger now. There are five different types of attack animation, each based on the type of attack being used (sword, axe, staff, bow, or claw). Since there are more than just swords available now, it made sense to expand the animation types. Spells are particularly impressive this time though. Since Ryanna is the lead character in this game, much focus was placed on her particular gameplay facets, and since she is a magician, I wanted to make her magic really stand out this time.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Arjak on January 12, 2015, 02:03:37 PM
I would love to be an NPC in an RPG! Just make sure I get something really clever to say. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: roflmao on January 12, 2015, 03:37:41 PM
Having my avatar's name in the game would be way cool. Please add me. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: mrhaboobi on January 13, 2015, 07:31:03 AM
very sweet looking.. would love to see MrHaboobi as a character :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on January 13, 2015, 07:37:59 AM
Cameo list updated. :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Dicer on January 13, 2015, 02:33:39 PM
I believe all his work has stopped on any project, if I recall.
Just going slow is all. Frozen Utopia has stopped all development, but this game is an Eponasoft production and we're still plugging away in general. My priorities right now are Lucretia and Sydney Hunter, so this game remains a backseat production, as it has since its inception.
Any new status updates on this? Also feel free to user my user name as an NPC if that's still a thing!
Added. :) As for new status updates... not many. The little amount of time I have had to work on this specific project has mainly been refining play mechanics. I am going to be doing a poll for this game sometime soon, as there's a few aspects I want some turbob scene opinion on, but I am not sure when that will happen.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on February 13, 2016, 11:43:35 PM
Don't think I heard of Sydney Hunter yet, will have to check it out.
I've never posted a thread about it but it's a Flash game from 2011 that is getting console conversions. So far, there are SNES and PCE conversions... I'm doing the PCE conversion.
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: brizio on February 16, 2016, 07:31:59 PM
I thought it was for SNES and NES only based on this: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/439982171/new-snes-game-sydney-hunter-and-the-caverns-of-dea?ref=discovery Why the PCEngine version is not mentioned anywhere? Anyway, very good news! :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Necromancer on February 17, 2016, 01:59:00 AM
From update #14 in your linked kickstarter: "Oh and we have recently found both TurboGrafx 16 and Sega Genesis/Sega CD programmers, so Sydney Hunter and the Caverns of Death will be ported to those platforms as well."
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: nodtveidt on February 17, 2016, 09:41:32 AM
(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0030.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0031.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0032.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0033.html)(http://www.frozenutopia.com/hunter-0034.html) However, this is not a thread for this game in particular, so I will leave it at this. :D
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: Necromancer on February 17, 2016, 10:00:10 AM
Tres cute, Rover. :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: NightWolve on February 17, 2016, 11:17:37 AM
Great eye candy for homebrew. :)
Title: Re: Mysterious Song II: Eternal Silence
Post by: esteban on February 18, 2016, 01:11:14 AM