Serenes Emblem Discussion Thread (CHARACTER ROSTER IS FINALIZED)

[Von Ithipathachai]

Well then, now that all the major mods are aware of this thread, I guess the first story elements we need to figure out are who the main Lord(s) will be and who the villain(s) will be.

I think maybe eclipse or VincentASM would make for a good main protagonist.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Von Ithipathachai

[Sub Zero]

@Von Ithipathachai Yeah, why not? I'll add them to the list of characters.

But I got to ask, who'll be the "christmas cavaliers"? Just a small question.

[Sire]

Somewhat random, but I'm gonna toss this out there.

Instead of making a full game, how about making a "prototype" chapter first? Doing a prototype will help lay down the groundwork for future development, and if the whole game doesn't go through, at least there may be a playable prototype map to mess around with.

Making a "single epic map" should be easier than making an entire game. Of course, this is but a suggestion. Feel free to do whatever you want.

- - - - -

Be it map or full game, I see the following at minimum requirements...

1. Base game engine (I'm assuming we are going Fire Emblem at this point, or something similar to Fire Emblem)
2. Volunteer Members (To fill out the playable cast, and possibly villains. There are some who are interested in being the antagonists already.)
2A. Character Sheets (At least the name and class the individual wants to be. Going further with portraits, support convos, and other story stuff would be nice but can technically be considered optional)
3. Story Outline (This also includes character recruitment and "gaiden chapters," if any.)

* * * * * * * * * *

Going off of my application again, maybe it may be wise to streamline the process. Here's my submission, but in template form for easier viewing.

Username: Sire
Game Name: Sire
Desired Class: Great Knight (Axe)
Desired Archetype: Gotoh, Lorenz, or Camus

[Von Ithipathachai]

12 minutes ago, Joshii said:

@Von Ithipathachai Yeah, why not? I'll add them to the list of characters.

But I got to ask, who'll be the "christmas cavaliers"? Just a small question.

You can add them there, but keep in mind you'll need to make sure they're okay with the roles in the game you've given them, or even if they've been given roles in the game at all.

I personally find archetype-filling less important than having a broad range of classes or class trees with playable representatives.  That said, so far we do have two people who specifically want to be Sword infantry, so assuming you stick with my modified Sanctaea Chronicles standards you could make them Cain and Abel Myrmidons, with one having bulkier Mercenary-ish stat spread and the other having a more agile Myrmidon-ish stat spread.

[Waleed]

12 hours ago, AzuraxCorrin(M)4Life said:

I volunteer I wanna be the manakete character you can use this

Thanks to @Waleed for making this I used it for something else i'm working on and wanna use it for this cause she's so pretty and he's really good at what he does.

you can call her Corra

Hey, Thanks for your appreciation. 

[Sub Zero]

@Sire A prototype chapter? That..doesn't sound half bad actually! I'll definitely try to put this suggestion into full swing!

@Von Ithipathachai Of course! I'll try to copy/paste my list whenever I get the chance, and see if people want to either change to something else, or have another suggestion entirely about their character.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Joshii

[Pengaius]

One issue is making maps, especially good maps takes a lot of time and a lot of testing, if the project is not very long-term, I'd recommend copying (read: ripping) some of the more interesting maps from the gba games (assuming this is a gba mod/hack as they are by far the most stable) and modifying them slightly (particularly indoor maps can be awkward to make from scratch and look good at the same time) at least for the prototype version(s) because this helps to get a better look at what you want the finished game to be like, and may help with writing the scenario if you have a loose approximation of what maps each chapter is in. 

On the character side I'd like to submit myself (bold I know as I'm effectively a background character on site) for the role of green Cavalier (or random nomad dude (maybe a hostile Pengaius tribe) if somebody more suitable for the role comes along) 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by Pengaius

[Von Ithipathachai]

I'm tempted to say I can try making the maps while you concentrate on story elements.

[Sub Zero]

Due to the mass amount of bullshit I'm encountering recently, that might have to happen. Map making isn't my cup of tea anyway so I guess this is a blessin' in disguise. 

[Von Ithipathachai]

3 minutes ago, Joshii said:

Due to the mass amount of bullshit I'm encountering recently, that might have to happen. Map making isn't my cup of tea anyway so I guess this is a blessin' in disguise. 

Then we may have a system now where I focus on gameplay aspects like maps and unit balancing and you focus on story aspects.  Worst case scenario I can just send you development builds as needed.

[AnonymousSpeed]

I don't really play around with SRPG studio, 'cause I don't have it, but if Von is making the maps anyway, then could he just use his copy? I don't want to imply he should, because I know he's busy with his own project and I don't know how much effort this would require of him...but I figured I'd ask.

[Von Ithipathachai]

1 minute ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

I don't really play around with SRPG studio, 'cause I don't have it, but if Von is making the maps anyway, then could he just use his copy? I don't want to imply he should, because I know he's busy with his own project and I don't know how much effort this would require of him...but I figured I'd ask.

I can treat this as a side project to avoid getting too burned out on Sanctaea Chronicles.  I do have some interest in bringing this idea to life.  For now I could probably make a simple proof of concept map in which the mods have to save a village from Pengaius's Butter Bandits or something.

[AnonymousSpeed]

3 minutes ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

I can treat this as a side project to avoid getting too burned out on Sanctaea Chronicles.  I do have some interest in bringing this idea to life.  For now I could probably make a simple proof of concept map in which the mods have to save a village from Pengaius's Butter Bandits or something.

"I'm gonna butter you up, stick you in the oven, and then eat you. 'Cause you're toast!"

[Sub Zero]

Haha! That sounds great! I definitely can see that as a boss line! 

@Von Ithipathachai That sounds like a deal. Someone who has more experience with game design and SRPG studio can get better results. Take your time with it, we'll take care of the story and other needs.

[Von Ithipathachai]

7 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

"I'm gonna butter you up, stick you in the oven, and then eat you. 'Cause you're toast!"

Again, if I'm gonna be handling gameplay I'd ideally like to make changes to Sanctaea Chronicles's balancing conventions for porting over to SF Emblem, specifically adapting them back to using Weapon Ranks instead of Weapon Level and merging all the different Tome types into a single type.

So yes, it will take some time, but I promise I'll have something to show for it.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Von Ithipathachai

[AnonymousSpeed]

10 minutes ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

Again, if I'm gonna be handling gameplay I'd ideally like to make changes to Sanctaea Chronicles's balancing conventions for porting over to SF Emblem, specifically adapting them back to using Weapon Ranks instead of Weapon Level and merging all the different Tome types into a single type.

So yes, it will take some time, but I promise I'll have something to show for it.

You know, the thing which always bothers me about putting all the tomes into one weapon type is that it means there's only one weapon type which hits resistance. This isn't really a problem, it's just kind of weird. Since most tome subtypes are functionally the same it makes the most sense to combine them regardless.

Hey, talkin' 'bout weapon ranks, I'd like to suggest that they be static like in FE4.
I know a lot of people like the idea of any lancer being able to use a silver lance, but I don't think that's what weapon experience actually does.
It really just means that most lancers have to whack things with a steal lance 55 times before they can use a silver lance.

It also makes it so weapon types gained on promotion pretty lame, because they usually start or D or E or something.

Maybe that's just me, though. I figured I'd just suggest it, since here seems to be where we do all the suggesting so far.

[Acacia Sgt]

That would certainly be interesting if weapon ranks were indeed static. Though that would certainly involve lots of balancing discussions and stuff.

[Von Ithipathachai]

1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

You know, the thing which always bothers me about putting all the tomes into one weapon type is that it means there's only one weapon type which hits resistance. This isn't really a problem, it's just kind of weird. Since most tome subtypes are functionally the same it makes the most sense to combine them regardless.

Hey, talkin' 'bout weapon ranks, I'd like to suggest that they be static like in FE4.
I know a lot of people like the idea of any lancer being able to use a silver lance, but I don't think that's what weapon experience actually does.
It really just means that most lancers have to whack things with a steal lance 55 times before they can use a silver lance.

It also makes it so weapon types gained on promotion pretty lame, because they usually start or D or E or something.

Maybe that's just me, though. I figured I'd just suggest it, since here seems to be where we do all the suggesting so far.

I did consider using static weapon ranks.  Maybe if SF Emblem becomes a full game I will, but for this proof of concept I probably won't.

EDIT: ...Crap.  I want to have Thunder magic that's effective against Armored units, Ice magic that's effective against Cavalry units, and Wind magic that's effective against Flying units.  Fire magic would ideally have higher base Mt than all of them in exchange for no effective bonuses, but if I continue to use my current balancing system that won't happen.  Perhaps using Sanctaea Chronicles's balancing scheme for weapons won't be as good as I thought.  But I should still be able to figure something out.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Von Ithipathachai

[Pengaius]

8 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

"I'm gonna butter you up, stick you in the oven, and then eat you. 'Cause you're toast!"

I'm melting, MEEEEEEEELTING!!

[GreatKnightEcho]

I know I'm probably too late, but this seems cool! If I'm ever included, I wanna be a Troubador. Character picture would be the protagonist of Hollow Knight with a Dedede hat.

[Sub Zero]

Don't worry, you guys still got a while until its too late. I'll try to post a warning when the times almost up.

-----------------------------

Btw, I'll post my character sheet later today. With desired starting stats and everything.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Joshii

[Von Ithipathachai]

1 hour ago, Joshii said:

Don't worry, you guys still got a while until its too late. I'll try to post a warning when the times almost up.

-----------------------------

tw, I'll post my character sheet later today. With desired starting stats and everything.

Now keep in mind I'm still not done adjusting Sanctaea Chronicles's class system for SF Emblem.  A couple of the classes people have requested (namely Mercenary and Troubadour) don't exist in Sanctaea Chronicles, so either they'd have to be given different classes that are close approximations of the ones they want (i.e. Myrmidon instead of Mercenary and Priest instead of Troubadour) or the promotion branches would have to be adjusted to accommodate these new classes.  My main concern with adding Troubadours is that my current class scheme has no mounted Staff users at all.

Right now I'm working on adjusting the weapon/item system.  I should have two different approaches ready soon.  People can choose which one they prefer.  Both of them will have added Strike and Breath weapon types for potential transforming classes.  I know AzuraxCorrin(M)4Life wants their character to be a Manakete, and there's always a chance somebody could want to be a beast class.

EDIT: Here they are

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NCidJrX-zpwoBlCirKmbmAkfSN7Q6sLss9J7KHQzmyw/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IjQzSLULX3bf0NLus24wgpur2iNq-vs_C5YfrgMzKZs/edit?usp=sharing

Edited May 25, 2019 by Von Ithipathachai

[alatartheblue42]

1 hour ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

Right now I'm working on adjusting the weapon/item system.  I should have two different approaches ready soon.  People can choose which one they prefer.  Both of them will have added Strike and Breath weapon types for potential transforming classes.  I know AzuraxCorrin(M)4Life wants their character to be a Manakete, and there's always a chance somebody could want to be a beast class.

EDIT: Here they are

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NCidJrX-zpwoBlCirKmbmAkfSN7Q6sLss9J7KHQzmyw/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IjQzSLULX3bf0NLus24wgpur2iNq-vs_C5YfrgMzKZs/edit?usp=sharing

I'm just skimming at the moment, but rn I'd say the "Alternate" one, mostly because it uses E-S, not just E-A. Either would be fine though. But you have a loooot of tomes, especially in the Alt one. Might want a way to narrow that down overall (like only do one rank of the effective tomes so that they match Armorslayers and the like) or add element specific mages/skills to restrict how many tomes can be used by a single unit. For example in the Alt one, a single weight less and a few more shots would hardly be reason to carry Shine over more effective coverage or more shots of a given element if the chapter is predominately a certain unit type. For the original, the D elemental ones are practically Bolganone except in use amounts, so unless you're mostly fighting infantry, there's no real reason to use Bolganone, especially when you could also then use the fancy C tomes.

[Von Ithipathachai]

47 minutes ago, alatartheblue42 said:

I'm just skimming at the moment, but rn I'd say the "Alternate" one, mostly because it uses E-S, not just E-A. Either would be fine though. But you have a loooot of tomes, especially in the Alt one. Might want a way to narrow that down overall (like only do one rank of the effective tomes so that they match Armorslayers and the like) or add element specific mages/skills to restrict how many tomes can be used by a single unit. For example in the Alt one, a single weight less and a few more shots would hardly be reason to carry Shine over more effective coverage or more shots of a given element if the chapter is predominately a certain unit type. For the original, the D elemental ones are practically Bolganone except in use amounts, so unless you're mostly fighting infantry, there's no real reason to use Bolganone, especially when you could also then use the fancy C tomes.

I would rather not split Mages into Fire/Thunder/Wind/Ice mages because I'm trying to avoid having a lot of class bloat.  As it stands now Mages and Bishops have exclusive access to Light Tomes, while Dark Mages and Sorcerers have exclusive access to Dark Tomes.  I could just cut out the basic Light and Dark Tomes entirely and just leave the specialty ones.

[AnonymousSpeed]

>Moderator exclusive weapons
>Not the ban hammer

I think nixing a lot of the non-specialty dark and light tomes is a good idea, keeping things a little more streamlined. I'm going to try and not get too hung up on the number of tomes yet, considering how this is just a prototype / proof of concept.

On that note, I don't want to advocate for the Crash Bandicoot approach to game design, but I think it would be good to try to have troubadours in the final product. That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about implementing them right now.

11 hours ago, Pengaius said:

I'm melting, MEEEEEEEELTING!!

The perfect death quote for the one enemy weak to fire tomes. We'll have to get you a yellow palette.

Also, I think that the tutorial, instead of being about fighting bandits, should be about fighting shitposters.

Edited May 25, 2019 by AnonymousSpeed