Author Topic: 2018 Dream Splash Update  (Read 11545 times)

ZeaLitY

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2018 Dream Splash Update
« on: May 07, 2018, 02:18:41 am »
Sorry for the hiatus, everyone (and huge apologies to my Peach Mountain Shoguns). Let's sum up everything that's happened since the last official mega-update. Since it'll take even longer to add remixes and doujins, those will be updated separately.



The Chrono Compendium is hosting another Dream Splash contest, the first in nearly 6 years! These contests are a way for fans to create and share their wonderful art, music, fiction ... anything having to do with the Chrono series that YOU make. We encourage anyone and everyone to participate, so tell your friends and join us in keeping the dream alive! (Thanks to tushantin for the art!)

[CHRONO BREAK]  A Chrono fan named Mariela Gonzalez managed to contact Masato Kato on Facebook in 2015, publishing a retrospective on the series (that was later translated to French) with the interview. She asked about his original idea for Chrono Break; find the translated section here. Note that no other part of the interview has been translated, nor has an additional interview with Yasunori Mitsuda, and so the book has been placed on Material Requiring Translation. Long story short, and using a separate post from Kato's Facebook page, "Chrono Reflect" would've encompassed Serge, Kid, and Janus saving the original Chrono Trigger crew shortly after the events of CT concluded (perhaps from the Fall of Guardia?) and would've featured Crono, Lucca, and Frog returning as well.

[HOWEVER]  We're not sure if Kato's concept is the same as Takashi Tokita's planned Chrono Break game, which is probably how the trademark filing originated. Check out this interview, where he mentions that the concept carried over to Aemo's character and the balance of three starting characters seen in Final Fantasy Dimensions II. Boo the Gentleman Caller followed up and researched what the game was about. As taken from the FF wiki (our proud affiliate for over a decade at this point): "The game follows a young man named Morrow and his companions as they travel through time and space in order to save the world from beings attacking the fabric of history." Per Boo, based on this, the game would have returned to time travel akin to Chrono Trigger, visiting different eras. More importantly, it would have revolved around the "Chrono Break" being the literal breaking of space-time by multiple aligned big bads attacking different points in space-time in unison. Check this thread for a further character run-down and speculation.

[INTERVIEWS]  Takashi Tokita revealed in 2016 that Tetsuya Nomura created the famous courthouse location art! Check out the interview here[2]  Hironobu Sakaguchi mentioned last year that FF7's development was halted so that virtually every resource at their disposal could work on finishing Chrono Trigger. Check it out here[3]  Next we have Takashi Tokita stating which ending of CT he thinks is canon (see the interview here. Spoiler—it's the one where the Epoch must be sacrificed to reach the Lavos core.  [4]  shmuplations completed a new round of very similar 1995 magazine interviews with the Chrono Trigger team; find it here. Many, many thinks to him for this work!

[MODIFICATION RELEASES]  In case you missed it, Temporal Flux 3.04 is out! Grab it here[2]  LethargicOwl has produced an addendum to Doctor L's re-retranslation of KWhazit's original Chrono Trigger retranslation, hoping to polish it further. Check out the patch notes here[3]  Right behind is Chrono Trigger Complete, an effort by Kakera Sorcerer to create a complete experience with clarification of mistranslations, additional text from CT DS, and even some original lines taken from Chrono Compendium theory (such as referencing the Frozen Flame in Zeal).  [4]  From Chronospolit, we have the CT Bug Fix and Uncensoring Patch. This patch fixes several bugs and also restores censored dialogue from the Japanese original, as well as restoring things referenced by Chrono Cross that were not originally localized for the American release. Find it here[5]  Moving on from translations, we have The Fang's Chrono Trigger 1.01, a hack with several tweaks oriented for low-level gameplay. Check it out here and hit the ROMHacking.net page for full patch notes.  [6]  Notthisguy has provided a patch allowing one to start the game with Marle at Crono's house, bypassing Crono's first encounter; find it here[7]  Last but not least, we have three tweak patches from Laputan Machine, which eliminate the randomness of Reptite Cave treasure, tweak Johnny's race mechanics, or offer better prizes for completing the race. Find them here[8]  Okay, one more...thegreatBen released Chrono Trigger + unrelated to the Zakyrus project of the same name, restoring a lot of cut content; check out the readme for the full list!

[CROSS MODIFICATION]  nullpointer has uploaded the Chrono Cross 70-80% complete NTSC Disc One beta disc! This disc remarkably features working debug rooms, which were stripped out before the game went gold. The Compendium has picked up the dump for hosting on this page, and a research effort is underway at this thread, with some action items just waiting to be explored. Many, many thinks to nullpointer for releasing this!!  [2]  utunnels got pretty far on dumping Chrono Cross models into his viewer utility. Check out the full list here. Enjoy seeing several Chrono Cross characters and enemies like you've never seen before!  [3]  It's worth noting that the model viewer has given us basically our only true good look at Tia; check it out here[4]  Danetta has authorized linking the Chrono Cross Single Disc project, which avoids the need to change discs when playing Chrono Cross on an emulator. Check it out here!

[FLUX PLUGINS]  Mauron and others have been busy creating Temporal Flux plugins capable of an incredible range of Chrono Trigger modification!  [1]  Hi-Tech is Mauron's flagship tech editor; grab it here[2]  A bevy of others are this zip file! they include: Fiendcrafter, An enemy stat and appearance editor; Inventory Manager: A shop editor; Itemizer: Item and equipment editor; NPCustom: NPC graphics data editor; Save Master: A plugin to control the data copied into save files; String Relabeler: A plugin that allows editing of some of Temporal Flux's global strings; and Warrior Workshop: A character stat editor. Thank goodness, no more using Crone!

[CHRONO TRIGGER]  someguy339 recovered an amazing piece of lost CuteLucca fan art; see it here[2]  Xouman has released soundfonts for Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, and other games; find them here[3]  If you're into speedrunning, check out this page, hosting practice run and textless hacks for Chrono Trigger. The hacks have been mirrored at the Compendium. Good luck!  [4]  Scintillating_Void provided a great write-up on Lavos in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft, which is now our newest feature! Check it out here.

[CHRONO CROSS]  Lina Takezawa, a Japanese user, graciously stopped by to try and help us with the Chronopolis battle text romaji. Check out her translation as juxtaposed with XABY's old attempt here[2]  utunnels made an awesome topic comparing characters' listed heights to their height as measured with his model viewer utility; check out the surprising results here[3]  The rules for each card of the Chrono Cross Bandai Card Game have been translated here. We still need the name card translated, however (check here).  [4]  Masato Kato released a storyboard of a cut FMV on his Facebook showing Harle leaving Serge at Chronopolis when the Dragon God formed. This rather settles the fact that Harle, too, merged into the Dragon God, which was previously not explicitly shown. Find it here.

[DREAMERS AND ECHOES]  Crimson Echoes peripheral content has been restored to this page, including all the art done for release, beta screenshots, the CE Memorial soundtrack, and several interviews. This was originally hosted on crimsonechoes.com, and now is coming home to the Compendium.  [2]  Masato Kato released his character art for Serge and Kid (Radical Dreamers) on Facebook; check it out here[3]  I'm not sure it's being worked on any longer, but it's always worth checking out utunnels' web version of Radical Dreamers. Easy to play at work!

[ANALYSIS]  Schala (why does she send away Magus from the Dream Devourer battle?)  [2]  Lynx (Why didn't he simply wait for Serge to cross dimensions and grab him?)  [3]  Anti-annihilation energy (Counter Time Experiment)

[STEAM]  Chrono Trigger's maligned Steam release prompted various hackers to release patches and other utilities to improve the game. This site has a wonderful selection of them. As the site and its efforts are still ongoing, the Compendium has not picked up the patches to host here, but has added a link to their page on the Modification encyclopedia page (and has backed up all items to date).

[COMPENDIUM]  We now have a Discord thanks to V_Translanka; check it out here[2]  Rounding out the update, we're announcing a new Guru court! Guru of Reason will be Mauron, who has been a constant, steady presence over the last several years, quietly working on and expanding Chrono Trigger hacking knowledge and serving as a linchpin of the surviving modification community, along with several others. Guru of Time will be shared by Danetta and Prizvel, who have made countless invaluable contributions to Chrono Cross modification, and have taken time frequently on the forums to help new Chrono Cross hackers find their footing. Lastly, Guru of Life will be Boo the Gentleman Caller, whose community-focused efforts and threads have kept a sense of Compendiumite spirit going, when we'd all assumed a quiet death would ensue a few years back. The Dream Splash is going and life is good! Congratulations to everyone.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 02:41:34 am by ZeaLitY »

Mauron

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2018, 02:28:02 am »
Awesome update, glad to see things moving around here.

The LethargicOwl link under Modification Releases [2] is broken.

It's an honor to hit Guru status. :D

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2018, 09:15:42 am »
Eff yes! Mauron!!! You got the Guru status!

In all honesty, that was my intent in bringing Guru-ship back up a month or two ago. I was wanting to make sure you got Guru. I should note that I had nothing to do with this, though, and I'm totally glad Z and the others stepped up to pull the trigger soon. You are MORE than deserving.

Congrats!

Kodokami

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2018, 11:59:34 am »
So many new things! Congrats to the new Gurus! Y'all deserve it.

Mauron

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2018, 04:17:23 pm »
Many thanks, and congrats to the other new Gurus.

Acacia Sgt

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2018, 04:47:38 pm »
Alright, good to see another one happening; and congrats to the new Gurus!

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2018, 04:49:57 pm »
Oh shit. I just realized I got a Guru title! And that's not false modesty; I hadn't read the full release this morning when I was prepping for my busy meeting-filled morning. I only saw Mauron's because she had made a comment about it.

I already gave Mauron a well-earned congratulations, but also congrats to Danetta, and Prizvel!!! Thanks for all the work, ya'll.

Clearly I have to go through this entire news post, as there's a lot of new tidbits I had never noticed. For example, Chrono Trigger Complete completely flew under my radar up until I just reread this the news post in it's entirety. I've been wanting to do another playthrough but been finding the energy to do so just out of grasp. I still haven't played the Secret of Mana remake, for crying out loud, and that's another of my favs!

PrincessNadia78

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2018, 06:11:28 pm »
Wow that's quite the update! I have quite a few things to check out now.  :D

congrats to all the gurus! You deserve it! *throws streamers*

FaustWolf

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2018, 09:57:06 pm »
Well hot damn, a lot's happened since I last checked in here! Huge congrats to the new Gurus -- a great deal of real sweat goes into safeguarding a community like this, and it's a huge relief to find the fanbase thriving again with the help of great caretakers. Well deserved honors all around!

Phew, gotta take some time to digest all this. I'm really surprised that Kato wasn't overseeing the story in the official Chrono Break project after all! One would hope that they would have pulled him in if it had gotten further. I would have enjoyed a blend of both his and Tokita's ideas for the story.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 09:58:59 pm by FaustWolf »

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #9 on: May 07, 2018, 11:29:06 pm »
First off... Welcome back, Faustwolf! This is a momentous day indeed! THE Faustwolf has returned! Wooooohoooooo!

Quote
Phew, gotta take some time to digest all this. I'm really surprised that Kato wasn't overseeing the story in the official Chrono Break project after all! One would hope that they would have pulled him in if it had gotten further. I would have enjoyed a blend of both his and Tokita's ideas for the story.

I'm honestly tempted to buy Final Fantasy Dimensions II just so I can do a proper writeup and bring it back here for analysis. It could be fun picking it apart for snippets of what could have been included in Chrono Break.

FaustWolf

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #10 on: May 07, 2018, 11:38:25 pm »
Hah, no need to celebrate. I should be celebrating YOU, Guru of Life! For the most part, I'll be hanging back and quietly going through the forums as time allows. I have some PMs to catch up on too. I do have to admit seeing Dream Splash 2018 has given me a little itch to try a brief screenplay, but it depends on how other things in my life go over the next couple months. C'est la vie!
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 11:52:28 pm by FaustWolf »

Mauron

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #11 on: May 07, 2018, 11:42:45 pm »
I recommend celebrating all the returning users.

FaustWolf

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2018, 11:48:17 pm »
Sounds like a REASONable thing to do! Congrats Mauron! Glad to see you're still kickin' as strong as ever.

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2018, 11:55:10 pm »
If Mauron is one thing, she is ever constant. I think she's done better than anyone over the past few years about posting and staying active.

But yes, we should celebrate all the returning users! :)

Kodokami

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Re: 2018 Dream Splash Update
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2018, 12:59:06 pm »
I'm honestly tempted to buy Final Fantasy Dimensions II just so I can do a proper writeup and bring it back here for analysis. It could be fun picking it apart for snippets of what could have been included in Chrono Break.

I've been tempted to do the same. The reviews I've seen have all suggested it to be mediocre, probably due to it's history as a freemium game, but I do agree that it would be fun to experience the story and muse about how it's connected to Chrono.

Also, hey, welcome back FaustWolf!