Fire Emblem - Total Rewrite?

[NoCashOtaku]

Hi,

For a while now, I have been thinking of how to make a Fire Emblem engine. Yes, I am fully aware people can make rom hacks and all, but I want to do this for a few reasons.

[spoiler=Reasons why.]

1. Rom hacks can be quite limited in terms of graphics. If someone wants to make, say, a HD version for reasons unknown, they should be able to. No questions asked.
2. It will be open source. As an open source program, it should allow ANYONE to add new features if they choose. If they want to make a food system(unit's ability to fight determined by how hungry they are?), let them! It may be a hit! It may not as well.
3. It will make things easier for FE game devolpers. Chances are, Nintendo didn't want any of their games to be rom hacked, or even ripped, for the matter. However. This rewrite will be made for people to have their own FE "games" or whatnot. Kudos to the person who makes a game based on Soul Eater.
4. Why make a fanfiction, when you can make a fangame?
5. Negates the need to get an emulator.
6. Why would I want to do that? Because I want to know how it works. (Quote comes from Assembly Language Step by Step, by Jeff Duntemann).

In any case, I would like to make the program be able to...:
[spoiler=Features]

1. Use games from external databases. I want to create an engine, not an actual game. As such, the program will not contain any levels, characters, items, etc, but should be able to open, and execute, such files.
2. Allow the user to use either the keyboard+mouse, or a game controller.
3. Contain a generic menu for options such as video/audio settings, controls, and all the works.

Now, the main question is: HOW should I make this program, in terms of programming? There are some more simple matters such as,

[spoiler=Confusing Stuff]

[spoiler=Item Class]

• The item class, which contains:
  • A string for the display name of the item.
  • A flexible array of special_effect objects. I.E. a life absorb object. I want a little advice with this, because I have no idea on how to implement this for actual battles.
  • Another flexible array of super_effective types. Why an array? Weapons like Falchion.
  • A description object. Why turn such an uneeded thing into a class? Because it appears everywhere, that's why.
  • A character for a weapon type('S' for Sword, "L" for Lance, "A" for Axe, "B" for bow, and all?). I'm wondering if this should be an integer ID instead.
  • 4 integers:
    • durability - Still wondering how to make the weapon breaking feature.
    • might, accuracy, and critical_rate.
  • Some sort of reference to a sprite.
  • Another flexible array of sprites for battle animations and whatnot.

I would add more, except I'm apparently out of time. For now, this is only an idea. I have no plans on actually commiting on this yet.

[Book of Ereshkigal]

We have FEXNA, if you're looking for an engine. Whenever it releases, anyway.

(If I'm understanding here)

http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=44734

Edited March 15, 2015 by L95

[NoCashOtaku]

Oh, thanks for pointing that out. I actually didn't notice the thread, so I just yped up this... Thing. Guess I should do more research.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Why make a fanfiction, when you can make a fangame?

Because, no matter how good of tools you have available to you, one is a lot more work *coughgraphicsandleveldesigncough*.

Also making engines is kind of a lot of work. Making an engine that's user-editable enough to swap various games in and out of it is even harder, let along making the engine itself user-editable (which actually completely defeats the purpose of having the games be hotswappable since you's need to change the engine, too...). I mean, your main notes are about the various members of an item class (important in the long run, but not right now), when you haven't even decided what language to write the thing in?

But yeah FEXNA is definitely what you want, and fortunately already has several years of work put into it.