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Fire Emblem: The Grand Archipelago ~ V1.1 now available


Avril Lavigne
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I loved playing through this hack. Final two episodes coming out Tomorrow and Thursday. Sorry it took a little while to complete, had personal things going on. Anyways, I finished this on Saturday, and I've previously edited both episodes, so I'm guaranteeing that both will be posted xD

Anyways, this has to take the prize for one of my favorite Rom Hacks of Fire Emblem. I'm personally rating this 10/10

Holy moly, thanks dude! I'm so glad you liked it a lot, let alone liked it! I noticed that I got a little brushing up to do with the text but I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for LPing my project by the way! It might be a while until the next patch is out. Working on the portraits right now! :D

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  • 2 months later...
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Announcement (if any of you care):

  • I'm super happy to announce that my next patch will have a completely new cast! (Aside from the bandit bosses, those are sadly still going to be there for now, as far as I know) There will no longer be FE7 & FE8 characters placeholding these fresh new characters.
  • The story is going to make a lot more sense now, and the text will flow nicer.
  • All playable maps that have been released so far (Prologue - Chapter 5) will be redone with the exception of the current Chapter 3 map.
  • The "New Prologue", which will now be the "New Chapter 1" is complete so far.
  • There will be pretty great reduction in playable chapters at the next release, and that's because of the semi-revamp that the project is going through.
  • Chapter 1 MIGHT be released at FEE3 (not confirming any releases that have to do with FEE3 until next week). I know that one chapter may be disappointing, but I'm hoping to also include Chapter 2 with that as well (which might ALSO be disappointing cause it's just two chapters). I hope some are happy that at least something new is coming!

I've posted these screenshots the topic post as preview for the next patch:

BtpOBXE.pngtxtjHij.pngiM8f4hV.png

1PF3IvP.pngnx3rHhO.pngHb9KFFK.png

I must warn you, all of this is subject to change. My schedule is unpredictable and there may be even more delays. I sure that's hope that's not the case.

I'd also like to thank the portrait-creating people that helped me out and made the process a lot faster than it could have been! See the credits for those lovely people. I believe at least one portrait from each person that helped (except one) is featured in my signature.

Hope you guys will enjoy the future release of this project!

Edited by Avril Lavigne
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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmm.. during Chapter 1, I accidentally left all my units in 1 cell to check one by one which cell is which and THIS happened:

93696ef34871e77021e0946bae443b3c.png

https://gyazo.com/93696ef34871e77021e0946bae443b3c

Hahah! I knew someone would make that mistake.

Can't wait for you to play the new version of that chapter when it'll be released.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I just finished the demo, and I definitely enjoyed it. I think this is going to be an awesome hack and I am looking forward to seeing more.

So the portraits are extremely good, along with the palletes.

I know you said you wanted to emphasize the personalities of the characters more in CH1, but I think CH2 helps quite a bit with that. There is really only so much you can do in a chapter, and unless the trainees are really all about to be killed off, you will have plenty of time to develop the personalities throughout the story. The only one I thought wa

Hey thank you :) I don't think you finished your review though! Haha it cuts off. Glad you enjoyed it though! Your criticism helps though!

And here's the thing: I know Ch. 2 does help a bit with it but there's a lot of other stuff going on that a player would probably forget by the end of the chapter. Prime and Ghast were right that I should focus on one story and develop the other stuff in a timely fashion, even if that means crunching a storyline together. I didn't realize that if there are a bunch of NPC storylines, then it just becomes forgotten when the playable characters come around. I thought the way I would present the story would make sense, and in a way it would make sense, but sometimes things might have to be non-linear for players to understand and remember the roles and stuff of each character. I know I have plenty of time, but the way I use that time is extremely important, and if characters aren't developed well enough in the first two chapters then the player has no idea if they like their own characters or not.

Just my response!

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I just finished the demo, and I definitely enjoyed it. I think this is going to be an awesome hack and I am looking forward to seeing more.

[spoiler=My thoughts]

So the portraits are extremely good, along with the palletes.

The chapter maps are really good too. I think the exams were really well designed and I love seeing creative missions.

Balance seems pretty good so far anyways. Only issue I had was with the the con. Mostly the mages all being 3, especially Laurel. I mean, I think it should be at least 4 to be able to wield fire without loosing any speed. Personally, going by the size and build of the characters, I think it should go like this :

[spoiler=con]

Marian = 6 she is slender, but also a melee fighter, so she should be more built than non-physical units. This would also allow her to rescue more units, but only to the point that makes sense.

Generic mages = 4-5 for female, 5-6 for male. Makes more sense unless they are children or just small. Plus I think most units should be able to wield the most basic weapon, fire in this case, without any penalties

Laurel = 5 slender mage, but comparing her to heidi, she looks like she is much taller. Since she is taller, she should be the same size as Heidi because Heidi is a physical unit, thus would be more built.

Dante = 7 I think his should be lowered to 7, he is able to wield shine without a speed penalty and he is only a mage. Doesn't seem like he's that big anyways.

[spoiler=characters]

I know you said you wanted to emphasize the personalities of the trainees more in CH1, but I think CH2 helps quite a bit with that. Especially with Marian and Heidi. This is a good example of good character development I think. The conflict is introduced in the conversations a bit in CH1 and then further in CH2. The only character I thought was lacking a bit was Enzo. He was a bit bland, but that might even be part of his personallity? There is really only so much you can do in a chapter, and unless the trainees are really all about to be killed off, you will have plenty of time to develop the personalities throughout the story. Slowly developing characters is probably the best way to do it imo.

Bernie is probably my favorite character so far though.

[spoiler=story/dialog]

So like you said in the FEE3 comment, after actually playing CH2, the scene with Bradley and Jade is probably in a good spot to provide a little foreshadowing. I think the main problem with the dialog, isn't so much the placement, but there is just a lot of irrelevant details that can be gotten rid of or shortened. Some things are repeated quite a bit and some things are just dragged out. The scene with the merchant and the mercenary, and again with the merchant and the Red Tusks, are the best examples of dialog that is really dragged out. Oh and the explanation for the final exam.... definitely needs some work =P.

I also suggest changing the world map dialog a bit. Instead of doing everything all at once, maybe only introduce each continent that is relevant at the time. Then as another place becomes relevant, bring up the world map again and introduce it. The Map itself looks good though.

Yeah, I think both you and this hack have huge potential. Going by my first impression, this will no doubt be one of my favorite hacks. I think the only thing you really need to work on is the way you present the dialog/story. The story itself seems like it is well thought out and will be very interesting. As I said before, I also like that you mix some comedy into the story. Your dedication really shows, keep it up!

PS I ain't be one o' dem professional writers, but I'd be more than happy to look over the dialog and make suggestions/edit. I think I could at least help you get more to the point, while still keeping the point intact. I'd be willing to help out with anything on this hack, but this is probably all I could really provide. Unless you need an additional tester.

Edited by urug99
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I just finished the demo, and I definitely enjoyed it. I think this is going to be an awesome hack and I am looking forward to seeing more.

[spoiler=My thoughts]

So the portraits are extremely good, along with the palletes.

The chapter maps are really good too. I think the exams were really well designed and I love seeing creative missions.

Balance seems pretty good so far anyways. Only issue I had was with the the con. Mostly the mages all being 3, especially Laurel. I mean, I think it should be at least 4 to be able to wield fire without loosing any speed. Personally, going by the size and build of the characters, I think it should go like this :

[spoiler=con]

Marian = 6 she is slender, but also a melee fighter, so she should be more built than non-physical units. This would also allow her to rescue more units, but only to the point that makes sense.

Generic mages = 4-5 for female, 5-6 for male. Makes more sense unless they are children or just small. Plus I think most units should be able to wield the most basic weapon, fire in this case, without any penalties

Laurel = 5 slender mage, but comparing her to heidi, she looks like she is much taller. Since she is taller, she should be the same size as Heidi because Heidi is a physical unit, thus would be more built.

Dante = 7 I think his should be lowered to 7, he is able to wield shine without a speed penalty and he is only a mage. Doesn't seem like he's that big anyways.

[spoiler=characters]

I know you said you wanted to emphasize the personalities of the trainees more in CH1, but I think CH2 helps quite a bit with that. Especially with Marian and Heidi. This is a good example of good character development I think. The conflict is introduced in the conversations a bit in CH1 and then further in CH2. The only character I thought was lacking a bit was Enzo. He was a bit bland, but that might even be part of his personallity? There is really only so much you can do in a chapter, and unless the trainees are really all about to be killed off, you will have plenty of time to develop the personalities throughout the story. Slowly developing characters is probably the best way to do it imo.

Bernie is probably my favorite character so far though.

[spoiler=story/dialog]

So like you said in the FEE3 comment, after actually playing CH2, the scene with Bradley and Jade is probably in a good spot to provide a little foreshadowing. I think the main problem with the dialog, isn't so much the placement, but there is just a lot of irrelevant details that can be gotten rid of or shortened. Some things are repeated quite a bit and some things are just dragged out. The scene with the merchant and the mercenary, and again with the merchant and the Red Tusks, are the best examples of dialog that is really dragged out. Oh and the explanation for the final exam.... definitely needs some work =P.

I also suggest changing the world map dialog a bit. Instead of doing everything all at once, maybe only introduce each continent that is relevant at the time. Then as another place becomes relevant, bring up the world map again and introduce it. The Map itself looks good though.

Yeah, I think both you and this hack have huge potential. Going by my first impression, this will no doubt be one of my favorite hacks. I think the only thing you really need to work on is the way you present the dialog/story. The story itself seems like it is well thought out and will be very interesting. As I said before, I also like that you mix some comedy into the story. Your dedication really shows, keep it up!

PS I ain't be one o' dem professional writers, but I'd be more than happy to look over the dialog and make suggestions/edit. I think I could at least help you get more to the point, while still keeping the point intact. I'd be willing to help out with anything on this hack, but this is probably all I could really provide. Unless you need an additional tester.

Ah okay, there we go. This is a lot more helpful. I really appreciate the feed back, and I especially appreciate the praise for certain things! Haha

When I get the time to clean my hack up and make it better (hopefully), I'll check in with you. Otherwise you might have to wait until the next patch :)

Thank you, by the way :)

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  • 1 month later...
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  • 3 months later...

UPDATE TIME!

Long time no post... It's been about 7 months since I have made any updates in this thread. So I think it's about time, even if it's not too groundbreaking and not that big of news.

With V1.1 being somewhat a failure, and very short, I decided to (once again) redo my project! I had read and listened to feedback based on what I have released, and realized that I need to start over--come from a better angle. And I believe I have done that.Though I haven't done much modifications to the ROM itself since FEE3 2016, I have been doing a lot of brainstorming and giving the story a major face-lift. This story has been in the planning stages for over 3 years. Unfortunately you have only been able to see variations of the first part of the hack, but this redo is hopefully (99% sure) the last (I can't keep putting all of the time into the introduction!!!). I have been putting more effort into the project as a whole, and the story is a big part of that.

I have almost every chapter planned out on the surface--meaning that I know how that Chapter advances the story, but not the other subtle or important details (I will cross that bridge when I get to it). I do, however, have the first part completely nearly planned out with a full-on guide with details and devices that need to be implemented into each chapter. What I'm saying is that I have the ammunition I need to start firing off full-throttle for a little while!

Also I have some gorgeous portraits that some people have been nice enough to complete for me (and some of you have seen in the patch) and I don't want to think their efforts are going into a dead project. 

I plan to release V1.2 at FEE3 2017, which will have 6 or more chapters.

No promises there, but if I at least put it out there it pressures me to work hard and reach a deadline that I've made for myself publicly! Life has been unexpected so stuff gets kind of messed up but I am seeing, based on my schedule, that I should be able to put a lot of work into the project over the next few months.

Here's a sneak peek at V1.2:

uut5ia8.png

I might be looking for help over time! Excited to get stuff moving!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/17/2017 at 5:34 PM, Avril Lavigne said:

With V1.1 being somewhat a failure, and very short, I decided to (once again) redo my project! I had read and listened to feedback based on what I have released, and realized that I need to start over--come from a better angle. And I believe I have done that.Though I haven't done much modifications to the ROM itself since FEE3 2016, I have been doing a lot of brainstorming and giving the story a major face-lift. This story has been in the planning stages for over 3 years. Unfortunately you have only been able to see variations of the first part of the hack, but this redo is hopefully (99% sure) the last [1] (I can't keep putting all of the time into the introduction!!!). I have been putting more effort into the project as a whole, and the story is a big part of that.

[2] I have almost every chapter planned out on the surface--meaning that I know how that Chapter advances the story, but not the other subtle or important details (I will cross that bridge when I get to it). I do, however, have the first part completely nearly planned out with a full-on guide with details and devices that need to be implemented into each chapter. What I'm saying is that I have the ammunition I need to start firing off full-throttle for a little while!

(Written as I kinda read through and give my thoughts)

1) I feel as though the training camp, as opposed to two chapters, should take a single chapter: The final test. With this, you would have to put a little more effort into giving the characters backgrounds, but it would progress the story a little faster. Just as well, I would put a little less effort into explaining the continent immediately; I remember when I replayed the first chapter, I was given information about the whole country. All that would be required is something like "This is country A" (Can't remember the country names off of the top of my head, I apologize) "and this is country B. Country A and Country B are at war. Country C is neutral and has the training district, which is where we are now."

I'd also work to convey a little less of the full story: Show a little less of the units that will not be used. I'm interested in seeing the other characters in the story, though I believe that in the beginning of the chapter they're played in, enough backstory to inform you of who the characters are, and what they're doing where they are. I'm going to use the mercenary and the pegasus knight as examples. In version 1.1, you don't get to use either, so they should be less relevant. I believe they were used on Chapter 4 of 1.0 (Don't quote me). On chapter four, you should kinda have, rather than a three chapter buildup, the mercenary say something along the lines of "Alright, now that we're armed, let us embark towards helping that royal who was captured a few days ago, then hunt for your sister again; we can't get much more behind on our rent before we're evicted." This kinda gives us the information (this was a basic explanation of how it COULD go, not how I believe it should, exactly) that we need to know about the Mercenary and the pegasus knight.

This across, you have more time to focus on the units you're seeing in that point in time

2) One thing that I loved about TGA was its unique chapter designs, specifically the Final Test's. I hope that you can find a way to advance the game in a manner such as this, say the mercenary (I've stated in the past, Mercenaries are my favorite Fire Emblem Class, and as such, I use them as examples more often than not) travels forward for a given reason (an example would be he's hunting the required food for the night) and gets ambushed, then has to make it to the camp (EG a "visit" event that leads to the ending event) before the bulk of the force (EG the stronger units) arrive.

That said, you do have to find a way to kind of polish any ideas into your story, which I do not know, so I cannot give any advice for. I would highly suggest, however, focusing on the story in full with one given story, but have each arc tell a fraction of the main story; the first version was amazing at this as it started the general story. You don't have to tell the full story in the first chapter. Remember, though they are hated, bandit chapters are there to progress the story in a meaningful way rather than just throwing you at the bulk of the story immediately. 

That's really all I have to say, good luck, and I can't wait to see the next patch of TGA

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Hey @Attila, thank you for your feedback. I didn't want to spill too much in my update, but I will say that I am not going the "information overload" route. And also, there won't even be a pre-final, or final exam on the next patch. That idea has been scrapped completely. I also am showing characters' stories when they become playable. So I won't be building up Landry & Bernie's, or Hunter's story up until you actually get to play as them on their chapters. I also reduced the amount of text and intro tremondously on each chapter. I do want the player to remember the details of the story, and giving away too much in the first bit is not a successful way to do that, I've learned. I've pretty much done what you've said, which makes me happy because that means you'll most likely enjoy it more! I'm sure the next patch will be an improvement, and I do really appreciate your feedback. Thanks!

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  • 3 months later...

For the few of you who are concerned, and those you actually contributed mugs to my project, this project isn't dead. Ideas came up and it's been finalized what's going to happen in the future as far as the progression of this project goes. :)

I hope some of you will still be interested in what's to come! I'm sorry it's been so slow.

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For the few of you who are concerned, and those you actually contributed mugs to my project, this project isn't dead. Ideas came up and it's been finalized what's going to happen in the future as far as the progression of this project goes. :)

I hope some of you will still be interested in what's to come! I'm sorry it's been so slow.

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