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Topics - Kodokami

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1
Characters, Plot, and Themes / Is Leena Adopted?
« on: October 01, 2020, 07:12:41 pm »
Una is her "brother" but this can't be true—Miguel left for the Sea of Eden in 1006, when Leena was only 2 years old. Una, by appearance, is much younger than her, meaning that Miguel is not Una's father; Miguel also doesn't mention Una's name when he dies, only Leena's. So either their mother remarried years later, or Leena was adopted by a family in the village.

I'm leaning on the latter if only because another father is never mentioned. For that matter, their mother is only mentioned, never shown. Which is odd. We see their grandmother but not their mother?

Hm. I suppose it could be Una who is adopted instead.

2
Chrono News / Chrono Cross Piano Collection - ACROSS THE WORLDS
« on: July 01, 2020, 06:27:17 pm »
I don't think this has been shared yet, but there's a kickstarter currently on-going (with 5 days left!) for a collection of piano arrangements from Chrono Cross! Check it out here.

I am really debating with myself over that music box... :shock:

3
Chrono Cross HD Edition / Widescreen
« on: June 05, 2020, 01:09:36 am »
I've been researching this topic, and it looks like getting Chrono Cross to support widescreen will be quite the undertaking.

There's a community over at the PSXS2 forums dedicated to creating such widescreen patches for PSX games. However, the method seems to be quite the trial and error, with many games simply not compatible with that method. Worse, the OP later said that Chrono Cross is one such game, and that they do not expect it to be patched anytime soon without ASM coding. That was four years ago with still no news on it being supported.

The only other lead I found was this YouTube video from earlier this year, with incredibly little information on how it was done. Yet, it does appear to be true widescreen and not just stretched. There are a few issues, however; the dialogue text is misaligned, and there are noticeable graphical issues during battles.

If anyone has any information on how widescreen might be implemented, we can discuss it here.

4
Chrono Cross HD Edition / RetroArch Setup
« on: June 04, 2020, 07:08:36 pm »
Since Tirion's mod works off of RetroArch, I figured I'd write a short tutorial on how to get it set up. Fortunately, the RetroArch developers are already pretty good at that: Their webpage has downloads and installation videos and instructions for just about every system you can imagine.

RetroArch itself is not an emulator but instead runs off plugins called "cores". Once you start RetroArch, you'll need to go from the Main Menu to "Online Updater" -> "Core Updater", then find the PlayStation cores. There are two: "Sony - PlayStation (Beetle PSX HW)" and "Sony - PlayStation (Beetle PSX)". The only difference, I believe, is that HW offers more features. Select and update one of those (or both!).

To get Chrono Cross (or any PSX game) to work, however, I believe you also need some of the PSX's bios files. Specifically, SCPH 5500, 5501, and 5502. Find these online and toss them into RetroArch's "system" folder. You can then Import Content from inside RetroArch to find your game.

I'm not quite sure how to use Tirion's mod that will enable us to play Cross in upscaled textures, so I'll give the floor to them.

All other discussions specifically related to RetroArch and this project can be had here.

5
Chrono Cross HD Edition / Goals, Progress, & Discussion
« on: June 02, 2020, 03:02:45 pm »
This will be the place for general discussions for the Chrono Cross HD Edition idea I had in the Chrono Cross Backgrounds thread.

The goal is to have a more "modern" play experience of game, by way of upscaled textures and backgrounds, adding quality of life updates, and fixing known bugs. Eventually, once those are done, this "HD edition" can be used as a jumping point for more ambition hacks.

So, the three goals right now are:
  • Improved Graphics
  • QoL Updates
  • Bug Fixes

GRAND TO-DO LIST

Improved Graphics
User Tirion has created a mod of the RetroArch emulator that can replace the textures of Chrono Cross at runtime. His demo of this can be seen here. Currently, the textures have been upscaled using various sources to create a 5 GB texture pack.
  • Condense the texture pack into a more manageable size? (current pack can be found here)
  • Upscale and incorporate the FMVs as well (using a process similar to this or this)
  • Write a Read-me for directions on how to use Tirion's RetroArch mod (Included in the mega file and attached below)
  • Implement a widescreen hack, if feasible
  • Edit the game's introductory title screen (e.g. Chrono Cross: HD Edition)
  • Possibly wait for official texture support for Beetle?
  • Any more...?

QoL Updates
These should be relatively simple updates that make life easier for the players (and for the modders!). Users prizvel and Danetta had a list they were working on (are they still working on it?).
  • Single Disc Project (MOST IMPORTANT: Every change to the ISO should come after and be merged with this) (the SDP is the base game included in the mega file)
  • Introduce the Relief Charm early on and before NG+
  • Any more...?

Bug Fixes
Every game is known to have bugs. We should attempt to fix these for the final ISO for a better gaming experience.


Known Issues

Main files for this project, now tiltled "PROJECT KID", are listed below.

6
Fan Art / Magic: the Gathering - Chrono Trigger Set
« on: September 30, 2019, 01:19:20 am »
I've been toying with this idea of designing a Magic: the Gathering set based around Chrono Trigger for a while, and recently got the chance to talk it out more with the esteemed Lord J Esq. I'm excited to share the very beginnings of this idea, namely, the color identities I believe fit most closely with each of the cast.

In MtG, each card typically falls into one or more of five "colors", each representing certain themes and flavors. I tried my best to fit each character into their proper color(s), but it's fairly complicated; the philosophies behind the colors is subjective. A fully fleshed character would also share a bit of every color philosophy, though in designing this space for them, I need to find the best match. Besides that, the game mechanics and the abilities that follow any potential cards (which I hope to get to eventually) also follow their own color philosophies. For a very broad introduction, here's an introduction to the colors by the game's head designer.

TLDR: In general, if summed up in one word, the colors could follow:
White = Peace
Blue = Perfection
Black = Power
Red = Freedom
Green = Acceptance

Thus, I suggest the following for the cast of Chrono Trigger. I'll be working on this periodically, so of course, say any opinions, critiques, or suggestions of your own, especially if you're a player of Magic: the Gathering. (Note: "U" = blue)

Quote
Crono - WR
Marle - R
Lucca -UR
Frog - WG
Robo - GU
Ayla - RG
Magus - BUR
Lavos - GU

Crono, our silent protagonist. Brave and quick to action, however foolish, his selflessness in helping others is always in full force, while he also expresses a strong fervor and recklessness. He waves the Boros flag, Red/White.

Marle is hot-headed, earnest, and full of devotion for her friends. On top of that, she desires freedom from the shackles of her monarchy. Pure Red.

Lucca: Izzet, definitely. A passionate tinkerer, she commits herself to her creations and to her friends. Blue/Red.

Frog is a noble knight, through and through, fighting for his people. At the same time, he seeks acceptance--not from others but from himself. Selesyna, Green/White.

Robo... You know, we had him pegged as the Simic colors, Blue/Green, but now for the life of me I cannot recall why. :o

Ayla, without a doubt, embraces the Gruul philosophy entirely. She is Red/Green.

Magus is a grab bag of philosophies. He seeks power, absolutely. He manipulates others to achieve his goals. He is driven by pure emotion. Though, personally, I tentatively accept him as Blue, he for sure shares the other Grixis colors. Black/Blue/Red.

Lavos, the most surprising of all. Keeping in mind Chrono Trigger only, and not Chrono Cross, Lord J and I agree that Lavos is, at its most basic design, a primal force of nature, without emotion, without greed, without a care. A pure Green antagonist. However, given the inherent perfection of its species' progression, and how I cannot imagine designing a Lavos card without temporal mechanics, I say it also shares Blue.

7
I get excited about any Chrono Cross news, so I'd like to give a shout-out to the latest OCRemix album. Quite a few goodies in this one.

8
General Discussion / 2019 New Year
« on: January 01, 2019, 02:45:22 am »
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope all's been good, or at least I hope it will be soon. You deserve it. May your dreams and resolutions be with zeal. But most of all...

Enjoy the moment with all your might
Whether it's gloomy, whether it's bright!

 :lol:

9
Chrono Compendium Discussion / Compendium Pages Disappearing
« on: December 14, 2018, 12:55:44 pm »
I noticed some pages on the Compendium encylopedia are occasionally disappearing. Links sometimes lead to a dead end, giving the message:
Quote
Page not found

The page you were looking for could not be found.

Refreshing the page a few times may bring it back, so I don't think the links are dead, completely. Has anyone else had this problem?

10
General Discussion / OMEGA: Xenogears Tribute Album
« on: November 29, 2018, 11:16:06 pm »
More Mitsuda goodness! This time its a tribute album to Xenogears!

Quote
For OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears, the Materia Collective community came together in full force to pay tribute to one of the finest RPG soundtracks ever made. Over 130 arrangers, musicians, vocalists, lyricsts, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, translators, and engravers worked together to cover all 44 tracks from the original soundtrack. OMEGA features a diverse range of instrumentation and styles, from solo piano to full orchestra; guitar and mandolin duet to an enormous choir just to name a few. We put our hearts and souls into this album, and we hope we have made a fitting tribute to a soundtrack that has meant so much to so many people since it was released twenty years ago.

Also, I hadn't heard of the Materia Collective until now. I'll be checking them out!

11
General Discussion / Edge of Eternity
« on: November 25, 2018, 01:45:40 pm »
(Thought we had a topic about this already but couldn't find it.)

Almost 4 years ago, a game called Edge of Eternity was successfully Kickstarted. It started as a 4 person team wanting to create a love letter to the JRPG genre but has now grown into its own story. And very soon, on Dec. 5th, early access will start. I'm excited to see all the progress they've made. You can find the Steam page here.

Of special note to us Chrono fans, aside from their familiar game description--"An indie tribute to J-RPG classics. Explore a universe blending fantasy with science-fiction, intense ATB battles, and branching story."--their funding allowed them to hire Yasunori Mitsuda to provide orchestral music for the game! I'm looking forward to hearing those songs as well.

And finally, and more for my own amusement, a recent email I received from them showed my Kickstarter backer number: exactly 1000! :D

12
Fan Fiction / An Old Sequel Idea
« on: November 18, 2018, 12:28:42 am »
I was going through some of my old files that need sorting when I found a text file with notes for a Chrono Cross sequel idea I had called "Chrono Requiem". I want to share them here just to spark discussion and maybe new ideas. I doubt I'll do anything with this further.

Note: My current comments on this in bold.

Quote
At the conclusion of the final battle with the Dream Devourer, the Chrono Cross accomplished more than simply freeing Schala. The dream of the original Dragon God, consumed by the Dream Devourer during the fight between Dinopolis and Chronopolis, still existed and was also freed from its prison, making its way into Serge's mind; consequently, this protected Serge from Schala's mindwipe after she and Kid merged. [This was my answer to, "Belthasar, you ambiguous butt, what do you mean the Dragon God was 'consumed' by Lavos??" --> It merged with Lavos, just as Schala did, and the Chrono Cross item freed it as well.]

Belthasar returns to a ruined future in the Neo-Epoch. [Despite all of Chrono Cross, the future still refused to change.]

One month after the events in CC, Serge still remains in Arni Village.

Lucca completes and activates a second Chrono Cross. This effectively separates Kid from Schala, restores everyone's forgotten memories, and awakens the Dragon God within Serge. [Everyone remembers their other world's lives, even if they died! Fun, right?]

---

Crono fights Serge [Cause that's not fanboying.], but Serge is victorious (due to the Dragon God's influence). Belthasar arrives immediately after and attempts to reason with Serge, who refuses to listen. He tells Belthasar, "You are not a God!" then delivers him a fatal blow. Overwhelmed at having murdered Belthasar, Serge falls into despair and finally releases the Dragon God from his mind.

---

Harle combines with the Dragon God, her feelings for Serge and humanity compelling it to change conviction. The Dragon God then uses all its powers to slam the red moon into the Lavoid "mother", obliterating both; the Dragon God dissipates afterward. [Harle is the key! The bridge between humans and nature and Lavos, the true Chrono Cross. And the only one able to stop world destruction from ... the moon, which is ... another Lavos/Lavoid/Lavosian Leviosa. They can be whatever they want because evolution, ok? And this one chose a moon because spiral power, dammit. Also, it/they are here to stop the Time Devourer because eating all of space-time is going to piss someone off elsewhere in the universe, why not more Lavos creatures.]

And here's more stuff from a file titled "Chrono Afterimage", which I think was me trying to rationalize what actually happens after Chrono Cross.

Quote
  • All story-related events up until the split would be subject to TB/TTI, including Serge and Wazuki re-emerging from the Dead Sea.
  • After the unification point in 1010 A.D., the Records of Fate would suddenly become inactive, because their transmissions are not preserved by TTI/TB. Events pertaining to the lives of normal people would presumably proceed similar to Home World.
  • After 1010 A.D., Wazuki would presumably not turn into Lynx as a biological terminal for FATE because FATE no longer exists, or he might but would not be controlled by FATE since the Records of Fate transmissions don't exist. He would not attempt to kill Serge. Lucca would not be abducted and the orphanage would not be burned.
  • It was Lynx that manipulated the Porrean government and the Acacia Dragoons, not the Records of FATE. Without Lynx around, Porre would not invade El Nido and the Acacia Dragoons would still rule the islands.
  • In 1020 A.D., Serge regains the memories of the adventure. The Kid/Schala that is probably on the mainland likely also remembers the adventure, and seeks Serge out in El Nido. This would explain why they would get married in the future, because why would they if she didn't remember as well?

13
Site Updates / New Staff Member
« on: November 04, 2018, 01:00:27 pm »
To help out with some behind the scenes stuff here at the Compendium, and because he's been so helpful already in organizing the Dream Splash and encouraging participation here in the forum, I've decided to make Boo the Gentleman caller an admin as well.

So please welcome our newest Compendium staff member!

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