Author Topic: Plot Idea  (Read 4674 times)

nightmare975

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #15 on: February 13, 2007, 10:12:49 pm »
I'll try it out, any ideas on how it should look?

Chrono'99

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #16 on: February 14, 2007, 02:15:57 pm »
Dunno, just make the snowy place not too similar to the Crimson Echoes Beast Forest, although 3 screens sounds long enough since it's the first mini-dungeon.

nightmare975

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #17 on: February 14, 2007, 10:11:55 pm »
Are we planning on changing his Character Portrait? We do have the Prophet picture the we could use.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #18 on: February 14, 2007, 10:42:01 pm »
Yes, I'd like to change the character portrait.

Chrono'99

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #19 on: February 28, 2007, 05:24:46 pm »
New patch with the Zeal Dark Wing area and Vehek's palette, with Zeality's part of the Beast's Nest (not accessible ingame yet), and nightmare975's Mt Woe first map (not accessible ingame yet). Nothing new plotwise but it's just to post the latest version of the rom.

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« Last Edit: February 28, 2007, 05:36:36 pm by Chrono'99 »

ZeaLitY

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #20 on: February 28, 2007, 08:41:27 pm »
I'll try to get some things going starting Friday (no time tonight or Thursday, aside from planning the JQC). I'll go ahead and export a location's events every time I get done as a backup. Time to start writing dialogue!

ZeaLitY

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #21 on: March 02, 2007, 09:16:10 pm »
Zeality memorandum: Different red rock

blue robe palace

Scene whines / minor updates / dialogue

To avoid a bunch of importing, I'll post dialogue here for places already scripted.

{119} - New Title Screen

  • String to

    Chrono Trigger: Prophet's Guile{full break}
    By Kajar Laboratories, 2007
    Press A to begin{null}
  • Overall music to Zeal Palace; once full development is done we can worry about music in other areas

{15F} - Dark Ages Portal

  • {Magus}: ...{delay 03}{full break}
       The...Magic Cave?{delay 02}{line break}
    Have I fallen?

{0F4} - Dark Ages Portal Exterior

  • {Magus}: Snow fields...{delay 03}{line break}
    A world of ice?{null}

{182} - Algetty Entrance (if he enters, let's have him turn and leave)

  • {Magus}: This...this place!?{line break}
    I must...!{null}

{161} - Land Bridge leading back to Portal (if this is the first he enters)

  • {Magus}: These walls...{line break}
    If I step here, I...{delay 02}{null}

{151} - Skyway leading to Enhasa

  • {Magus}: This...this is impossible!{line break}
    It's flying!{line break}
    Have I made it back...?{delay 03}{line break}
    The Gate has deposited me here?{full break}
       ...{delay 02}{line break}
    Zeal is in one piece.{line break}
    ...Will Schala be alive?{line break}
    ...Of course, Lavos! Lavos will...{full break}
       My God...{delay 03}{line break}
    I have a chance to stop it.{line break}
    I can exact vengeance at the source...{null}
  • Magus walks forward a little.
  • {Magus}: ...Zeal. I cannot believe...{null}

{164} - Skyway leading to Kajar

  • {Magus}: Hmm...{delay 03}{line break}
    I would cause much alarm here.{line break}
    Perhaps I should appraise things back{line break}
    in the city of dreams...{null}

~

I'm at Enhasa now. I will rearrange all the NPCs across the map, make new preliminary dialogue, and export the entire thing.

Edit: Okay, here are Enhasa's lines as a back up in case the event export is corrupted. Enhasa's events and a checksum .sfv file are attached. Just install QuickSFV to verify your download is uncorrupted.

Welcome to Enhasa, where dreams...{delay 02}
My, you have quite an aura there.
I'm curious of your origins...
Ah, I apologize.{full break}
Enjoy this splendid city of dreams,
traveler!{null}

Everything forged in fealty to fire,
water, light, and shadow has been
relocated to the North Palace.{full break}
The stewards of Zeal are preparing
for a full switch to the boundless
power of the slumbering immortal,
Lavos.{full break}
The Gurus have likened it to burning
bridges behind oneself...how
unfortunate!{null}

{Magus}: The elemental tools are{line break}
already sealed, and the promise of{line break}
eternal life rampant...{full break}
   The Mammon Machine's activation{line break}
at the sage's underwater palace must{line break}
be only days away.{null}

The door to the north palace is sealed
with a mysterious energy.
Even we, the Enlightened Ones, cannot
open it.{null}

Welcome, what can I do for you?{null}

Belthasar is unrivaled in genius.
His works in service of Zeal have
added to its luster a thousand-fold.{full break}
I wonder, however...if one day the
Guru of Reason will create machinations
for his own ends exceeding the grandeur
of the Blackbird and Ocean Palace.{null}

Our magnificent King, removed from
this world in a single flash...{full break}
It is troublesome to accept, but
thankfully, the Queen is selflessly
working to restore...{delay 02}
No, to surpass his glory.{null}

My, your aura...!
It's overpowering!
As if you're the child of a nightmare,
or a wrath unleashed in pursuit of...{full break}
Some awful fortune...{delay 02}
Shadow users confound me. And for
one with such power to appear here...
Is it an omen?{null}

Ah, Vera speaks of fated dreams...
But I choose to imagine lucidly
in my sleep, and make my own
vespertine enterprisesas I please.{full break}
Even in this late age, philosophies
of Enhasa vary. Perhaps because
we're all too busy enjoying what
the veil of closed eyes offers...{null}

Not since the raising of our islands,
centuries ago, have such advancements
been made in such a short period.{full break}
Imagine, immortality realized through
the lifeblood of the seabed's lord.{full break}
Artists, and creators, shall never die,
but will exalt Zeal in eternal glory.
You, too, should gaze into the glowing
red rock of the machine...{null}

Traveler, have you ever experienced
a dream of such detail and depth
that you spend each waking hour
considering its ethereal meaning?{full break}
I have found this truth. The visions
we experience and create are the seeds
of action...{delay 02}
Do you, too, have a burning dream?{null}

He's been like that for days,
asking about fate, and wondering if
we're all on some collision course
or something.{full break}
I wish he'd just go to Kajar and
figure it out already.{delay 02}
Bah, interruptions...
...Zzz...zzz...{null}

Visitor, do you believe...{delay 03}{full break}
Wow, check out that get-up! Let
me guess...you believe in Fate!
You put off a bad vibe, like Janus...
So, are our lives predetermined?!{null}

{Magus}: ...{line break}
Perhaps you should ask me in a few{line break
days' time.{null}

The Nocturne Festival is coming up.
Zeal's orbit will be affixed to stay
in the realm of night for two weeks...{full break}
By then, eternal life will be reality,
and we can revel in starry delight.{null}

Majestic dreams of centuries past
are recorded in Enhasa's volumes.{full break}
It is enlightening to read of our
ancestors' dreaming of the day Zeal
would take to the skies forever...{null}

Poor Janus...he loved his father.
Perhaps Schala can console him.
He walks our golden corridors to
dwell on dark and troubling thoughts...{null}

~

{152} - Enhasa Exterior (for the Janus/Gaspar/Lasher cutscene)

GASPAR: ...No, you are correct.{line break}
There is indeed something holding{line break}
Janus back. With a lineage such as his,{line break}
he should have remarkable ability...{null}

LASHER: That's troubling. I've tried{line break}
exercises, drills, the works.{delay 03}{line break}
Everything but coming at him with the{line break}
intent to really inflict pain...{full break}
   But I can't do that. Not to a royal.{null}

GASPAR: Yes, it'd be beyond your{line break}
authority. {delay 02} Do not worry too much.{line break}
Before the Sun Stone was sealed up, we{line break}
did confirm that he can receive energy.{full break}
   He's probably a slow learner.{line break}
In this situation, we need...{delay 03}{line break}
Less haste, and more speed. Be patient,{line break}
and work with him diligently.{full break}
   It will come. I've sensed his potential.{line break}
Be ready when he finally unleashes it!{null}

LASHER: ...Thanks, wise one.{line break}
I will continue to work with Janus.{null}

(He takes a step forward, then faces Gaspar again)

LASHER: Wise one, should we take him{line break}
to the Ocean Palace when it is ready?{line break}
The activation of the Mammon Machine{line break}
might coax a little talent out of him.{null}

GASPAR: Hm...{delay 02}{line break}
Such a precipitous event...{full break}
   No, let us leave him here.{line break}
I have my doubts about the Ocean Palace...{line break}
Even Belthasar has expressed worry.{line break}
Best to keep him safe at the palace.{null}

LASHER: Understood.{line break}
Thank you for your audience.{line break}
{delay 03}Janus!! I'll take you to your room.{null}

(They leave)

{Magus}: Heh, I went anyway.{line break}
I'd better devise a way to attend the{line break}
christening of the Mammon Machine...{full break}
   Schala's presence is inevitable, and the{line break}
old men may get in the way...{delay 02}{line break}
They must be removed. Perhaps I can{line break}
impress the Queen...{null}

~

{164} - Skyway leading to Kajar

(I wasn't aware Enhasa was throwing a
costume ball today...){full break}
Wha? Oh, uh, nothing...
Going to Kajar, I presume?{null}

~

{165} - Kajar

Okay, I've got to do all of Kajar. I'll export it like the other stuff. Edit: I'm not quite done, but here's the main room dialogue:

......{full break}
You are strange.{delay 02}
But I need the cash.{null}

Lode Shields will come in this week.
They are the pinnacle of defensive
capability, able to deflect even
some Shadow magic.{null}

Don't mind him. He thinks he can
construct a Skyway that can phase
through solid matter and avoid line
of sight alignment.{full break}
A goal that ambitious...{delay 02}
Not even our beloved King could have
realized it.{full break}
But I'm sure his offspring, descendants
of the two most powerful magic users
in history, might have a chance at it.
Who knows what they're capable of.{null}

Kajar's latest research is astounding.
Long have we held that humans sprung
from primordial times with magic
as a deep-seated, natural trait.{full break}
Those without it, the Earthbound,
are a different species. But now...
Now, our tests of human Creation
Fibers paint a different picture.{full break}
The ability to use magic...
It seems to be naught but a small
candle, ignited or dormant, totally
unrelated to the rest of our bodies.{full break}
To think, magic ability is only
a small switch in our being...
As if spliced in to an already
complete template of humanity...{null}

Janus was here a moment ago.
That poor thing...
I don't think he's over his father's
death quite yet.{full break}
Maybe Alfador, and the star he
was named after, can cheer him up.{null}

I'm spent. Now that the elemental
wonders are sealed up, I'm having a
hard time adjusting to this new Lavos
energy.{full break}
Increased power or not, I need some
rest.{null}

The Gurus were close to our King
when fate struck him down.
His passing dampened our passion...{full break}
But the Queen will ensure that the
Mammon Machine, and the artifact, are
put to good use.{null}

Welcome to Kajar.
A traveler? Uncanny!
Please, before you go, lend some of
your unique knowledge to our ledgers.{null}

At times, you will hear shouts as
scientists discover some new truth
and quickly reveal it to the others.
It makes Kajar a little more exciting!{null}

Schala is such a sweet person.
She's the jewel of the kingdom,
inspiring with fairness and
gentleness...{full break}
I think Janus gets a little envious
of his sister at times.{full break}
{Magus}: {delay 02}...{null}

What a raw aura!{delay 02}
It's like staring into the sun!
And brilliant blue hair...
How peculiar.{null}

I say, can you hold on a minute?
We're trying to split Fire from a
Light convalescence!{null}

(I'll explain that later)

Whahaa!!{delay 02}
You startled me!
Studying spatially-enhanced Skyways
is tough, so don't bother me, okay?{null}

Kajar is such a different place from
Enhasa...{full break}
Whereas they embrace it, we eschew
sleep to realize dreams.{null}

The Mammon Machine was designed in
the style of the crest of Zeal, seen
on this tapestry.{full break}
Though I admit, the machine emits
a more sinister emanation...{null}

I can't begin to count how many
pieces of the infernal flying machine
Belthasar had us create in here.{full break}
Honestly, does he think we're Nu?
For a wise Guru, he's got nerve!{null}

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« Last Edit: March 05, 2007, 02:39:32 am by ZeaLitY »

Vehek

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #22 on: March 05, 2007, 01:31:40 am »
No corruption, but I can see a few errors in the text.
Ah, Vera speaks of fated dreams...
But I choose to imagine lucidly
in my sleep, and make my own
vespertine enterprisesas I please.{full break}

"Enterprise" and "as" should be separate words. This is the result of typos and copying and pasting into Temporal Flux, huh?

{Magus}: ...{line break}
Perhaps you should ask me in a few{line break
days' time.{null}
"day's time." gets cut off.
« Last Edit: March 05, 2007, 01:43:16 am by Vehek »

ZeaLitY

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #23 on: March 05, 2007, 02:43:58 am »
Aha, the contrary. I wrote and saved in TF, then scrolled up through the dialogues to paste them here. Thanks for catching those.

I'm not sure if the Kajar dialogue I added is any good. There's a really important thing about the way humans received magic in there that might not be appropriate, and people seem to be a bit pushy around Kajar.

Chrono'99

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #24 on: March 05, 2007, 11:28:14 am »
Just a question: is this Vera a reference to Radical Dreamers? It seems obvious that is it because of the name, but apart from that I don't see the connection.

ZeaLitY

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #25 on: March 05, 2007, 01:19:15 pm »
Nah, I just couldn't think of a dreamy sounding name for a Zeal woman. I guess it sort of came subconsciously.

Chrono'99

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #26 on: March 19, 2007, 07:11:37 pm »
Alright, a new patch. I have quite a few things to note but there actually isn't much new things in this version.

What I've added:
- All the dialogues from this thread except those for Kajar (Flux export still pending?)
- The Melchior scenes. To tell the truth, I didn't feel like mapping so I skipped the Mt. Woe part except for the cutscene at the top... I'm leaving the mapping for later or for others. Check Melchior's battle scene against Magus though, I had some fun coding it even though the result is a bit short (in my mind, Melchior is Green innate :) )
- Battle against the 4 Nu on a balcony in Enhasa (a placeholder area actually) + the Zeal and Dalton cutscene

What remains to be done up to this part of the story:
- Remaining maps for the Beast's Nest (or is this it?)
- Remaining maps for the Zeal Dark Wing area: note that the Queen's chamber should have teleporters, or somethings, connected to the throneroom and to Mt. Woe
- Maps for Mt. Woe: I'm not sure how, but the layout of the locations must take into account that Magus escorts NPC Melchior through it and protects him from enemies
- A script for this cutscene: "Cut to Magus walking down a lengthy hall, and a couple flashbacks of the Gurus helping Janus."
- The balcony tileset: the clouds from the Blackbird overview tileset are perfect, we can probably graphically replace the Blackbird itself with some tiles from Enhasa

Finally, an important point that I think must be corrected about the plot outline: "Magus is free to walk around Zeal. He eventually reaches Enhasa, stepping out onto a balcony." We should have some sort of trick to make the players know that they must go to the Enhasa balcony, because else they will definitely have no clue what they're supposed to do and they will wander for a long while from Zeal Palace before reaching Enhasa.


Edit: Oh and since there isn't much door or anything in Enhasa to put an access to the balcony, I replaced the healing square with a teleporter to it. I guess the balcony may be more a roof than a balcony this way but oh, well...

Edit²: And on the bonus side of things, I'm gaining a lot of experience and ideas from all this for Crimson Echoes. The original Blackbird overview tileset has layer2 clouds and ocean tiles plus awesome layer 3 transparent clouds on top (think Seiken Densetsu 3's intro sequence). We will definitely use that for the Vanguard Apocalypse Epoch cutscene...

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« Last Edit: March 19, 2007, 07:24:59 pm by Chrono'99 »

Chrono'99

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #27 on: April 08, 2007, 11:33:20 am »
Finished!

Well, not really. I've finished coding the backbone of the game so that it can be played through up until the ending screen, but now there's the second phase of the development: hole-fixings, polishing, and the dungeons.

So, what remains to be done? Everything I wrote in the previous post, plus the big stuff like the Prophet's spriteset, etc. I'm going to do the Mt. Woe dungeon part now. Since this hack is short (in playthrough, not in coding), I'm going to turn this "Escort Melchior" into a minigame of sorts.

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Chrono'99

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #28 on: April 08, 2007, 03:05:07 pm »
Eh, incidentally, this is the point where the ROM has to be expanded. Let's hope it doesn't cause random corruptions or bad surprises.

justin3009

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Re: Plot Idea
« Reply #29 on: April 08, 2007, 09:06:05 pm »
Not bad.  I like it.  But a few things were kinda meh...

1) Magus: Some of his text just didn't seem to much like him, but very rare.
2) I really doesn't say  what your suppose to do after you see Schala and Janus on the mountain.
3) If you leave Zeal and go back to the "Cave" it'll do the whole mountain sequence again.

Other then that, it was excellent.