Elibean Nights

[Cerbuirus]

You could have told Athos' tale from Fae's perspective or maybe Sophia's.

The tale could have taken place after Sophia returned from the Dread Isle looking for Athos, and having discovered that he passed away, asks Fae (since she is several centuries old) how Athos arrived in Arcadia in the first place. Then Fae narrates the story talking in a 3rd person, childish way and tells Sophia about how he met Nergal.

But its only a concept so it not really worth putting much thought into :)

Sounds a lot like citizen kane, actually.

[reallylongname]

After playing some other touted Fire Emblem hacks, of which I shall make no mention lest derailing happen, I come to this. If you don't know who I am, that's because I'm a nobody in Serenes.

Where do I begin with this. After reading about thirty+ pages of the old thread and the new thread, I am extremely weary. There is no defined guide, the game is changed per release (I played 4.0, realized it was outdated when Zealot's chapter bugged out, then progressed to 5.0), and I've spent as much time actually playing the hack as I've spent looking for answers to questions about the hack. This speaks enough about what I think of the hack. I agree with the TV Tropes page when I say that this hack is ambitious, both in terms of writing and coding, probably a result of Arch's rightfully high standards. Original (at least to Fire Emblem afaik*) innovations and passable, logically reasoned bridging between FE6 and FE7? Incredible.

My version is "v 5.0", UPS file last edited date 7/2/2012. I downloaded it from the download page in the Elibian Nights blog.

My main questions are:

I have Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, Pent, and the Gaidens to those unlocked. This indicates that I am missing Zealot's, Karel's, Raven's, Legault's, Zephiel's tales etc. However, I will remark that after...somehow...miraculously coming across pages 11 and 12 of this thread, I've concluded that these simply don't exist in this version, for the reason that Nayr's additions were being excised. My own game looks remarkably like the screens on 11 and 12, bar the Matthew achievement. Confirmation of tale, achievement, and bonus content availability in 5.0, to set the record straight, would be extremely welcome

I would also like to ask about upcoming features. I've gathered some idea of what is to come (Hervor, Alastor, Arcard, Legault, Kent, Zephiel as far as I can tell for distinct tales, as well as some upcoming features such as hints for chapter/gaiden unlocks). However, I'm not entirely sure what is going to come of this. Rather than spending as much time as regulars have spent on this thread, I'd like a condensation of "upcoming features information" for a casual player to follow and understand.

Also, to unfortunately comment on the most recent episode of bickering, I've got to say that the whole thing could have been resolved with less ad hominem. But then you'd all be soulless automatons and not the colorful posters of Serenes with a history of verbal violence. I'd say "Child of the Tenth Month" (ack, extensive name that is probably shortened by people who know him/her) explained the situation the best to Nayr, who had questions that would be valid for a poster with an incorrect characterization of Hector and Dawson. This and the other Nayr conflict I've read (back on the old thread, to do with replacing Nayr's contributions), really highlight a trade-off in detail: I either get hugely annoyed by the unnecessary info I have to sift through to find stuff about "how to unlock so and so", but get a better idea of the project's history and close-to first hand experience of the development of the hack, or I read a synopsis that outlines salient points but is comparatively shallow in evidence. It's the difference between seeing Robespierre's Reign of Terror and reading about it.

Back on topic here, I'd like to close with suggestions about the hack's direction. I agree with Arch's sentiments on keeping the project short and focused, lest it get bloated with increasingly outlandish ideas. The main problem with most Fire Emblem hacks is that they're incomplete quality hacks, or complete rubbish hacks (Not complete rubbish, but completed and rubbish). I'd say that Arch's hack afaik* extends the greatest prospect of timely completion and high quality. What concepts have been introduced cover FE7 canon pretty well. The continents and countries are fairly well documented. The only thing I could find amiss is the development of the St. Elimine church, which I largely suspect is due to me not having played FE6 *gets shot*.

The asterisks mark places where I make statements based on my knowledge of all of Fire Emblem. At the moment, my knowledge is confined to FE7 and FE8, and some hacks. Therefore, my knowledge is fairly limited, and statements derived from that knowledge are probably faulty.

I apologize for anything that I've said that is offensive or demonstrative of ignorance. I mean only to streamline information flow to people who aren't avid members of the Fire Emblem fandom, and to also understand what I'm playing.

[Mysticblade]

A set end limit and short length is generally good for quality yes. Looking forward to the next version, if only so we can marvel at someone else's crazy luck playing through it.

I'd like a 'soon to come' as well, but I can wait till the next release.

[Arch]

Thanks for the lengthy commentary. I'll do my best to respond to each point, hopefully I'll clear up all of your questions.

Where do I begin with this. After reading about thirty+ pages of the old thread and the new thread, I am extremely weary. There is no defined guide, the game is changed per release (I played 4.0, realized it was outdated when Zealot's chapter bugged out, then progressed to 5.0), and I've spent as much time actually playing the hack as I've spent looking for answers to questions about the hack. This speaks enough about what I think of the hack.

First of all, my heart aches for you. Reading both of the threads? That's rough. You probably should've just asked all of your questions from the start. As for the 4.0, I must admit I'm a bit baffled that you would use anything other than the giant link that says "Download" on the first post of the newest topic. I tried to make that the easy part, but I'll see if adding a disclaimer like "this is the latest download link" helps to clarify things further.

I have Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, Pent, and the Gaidens to those unlocked. This indicates that I am missing Zealot's, Karel's, Raven's, Legault's, Zephiel's tales etc. However, I will remark that after...somehow...miraculously coming across pages 11 and 12 of this thread, I've concluded that these simply don't exist in this version, for the reason that Nayr's additions were being excised. My own game looks remarkably like the screens on 11 and 12, bar the Matthew achievement. Confirmation of tale, achievement, and bonus content availability in 5.0, to set the record straight, would be extremely welcome

I would also like to ask about upcoming features. I've gathered some idea of what is to come (Hervor, Alastor, Arcard, Legault, Kent, Zephiel as far as I can tell for distinct tales, as well as some upcoming features such as hints for chapter/gaiden unlocks). However, I'm not entirely sure what is going to come of this. Rather than spending as much time as regulars have spent on this thread, I'd like a condensation of "upcoming features information" for a casual player to follow and understand.

v5, the current release, contains Tales 1 - 4, all of their gaiden tales (sans the one involving Hervor because that's new), and all relevant achievements/bonus content.

I hope I don't sound like a dick by referring to the first post again, but it would've saved you some trouble. Under the big header "What's in this Release?" is the answer to your question. After Nayr's last episode, he pulled all of his contributions from the hack, and I rebooted it and rebuilt from scratch.

The upcoming v6 will contain the following: Every tale in 100% complete form, every achievement, every piece of bonus content, and creative liberties for select tales. After the v6 "final" release, I'll add the rest of the creative liberties feature at my own leisure (it's fun addition, so it shouldn't be too much of a chore to produce). I should add this information to the first post under another giant header.

"Every tale" is defined as the following: Tale 1 (Eliwood), Tale 1x (Merlinus), Tale 2 (Lyn), Tale 2xa (Rath), Tale 2xb (Kent), Tale 3 (Hector), Tale 4 (Pent), Tale 4x (Douglas), Tale 5 (Raven), Tale 6 (Karel), Tale 7 (Zealot), Tale 8 (Legault), and the Finale (Zephiel).

This and the other Nayr conflict I've read (back on the old thread, to do with replacing Nayr's contributions), really highlight a trade-off in detail: I either get hugely annoyed by the unnecessary info I have to sift through to find stuff about "how to unlock so and so", but get a better idea of the project's history and close-to first hand experience of the development of the hack, or I read a synopsis that outlines salient points but is comparatively shallow in evidence. It's the difference between seeing Robespierre's Reign of Terror and reading about it.

Interesting response. The development's been a pretty open process, and I enjoy having it that way (despite all the headaches it causes and the infamous spats between myself and a certain former employee). When I was really into gaming, I loved reading about development and all of the beta ideas that were cut from the game. I try to include these things in blog posts and the like, and strive to be as transparent a developer as I can be without spoiling the game. But it's interesting to hear somebody who finds this annoying for the consolidation of information.

This is an issue that would be easily rectified with a guide, which is something I've simply had no time/drive to whip up. I'll see if we can get one going after the v6 release.

I'd say that Arch's hack afaik* extends the greatest prospect of timely completion and high quality. What concepts have been introduced cover FE7 canon pretty well. The continents and countries are fairly well documented. The only thing I could find amiss is the development of the St. Elimine church, which I largely suspect is due to me not having played FE6 *gets shot*.

Raven's Tale gives us an insight to the Elimine church's inquisition and conquering of the Western Isles, but that's about all it gets, sans a few religion conversations dispersed throughout the hack. I didn't completely ignore it, however.

I apologize for anything that I've said that is offensive or demonstrative of ignorance. I mean only to streamline information flow to people who aren't avid members of the Fire Emblem fandom, and to also understand what I'm playing.

Don't sweat it. Thanks for the feedback. I didn't realize that there was a difficulty for casual followers to gain information, so hopefully I'll be able to use your feedback to improve upon this. Edited June 4, 2013 by Arch

[reallylongname]

As for the 4.0, I must admit I'm a bit baffled that you would use anything other than the giant link that says "Download" on the first post of the newest topic.

I believe I clicked on the old thread first. I didn't even know there was a new thread until a while later. After reading the last few pages of the old thread in frustration, I assumed you had moved shop to the blog, or Cafe, or something. Then I found out about this thread and was happy when I saw what was in it. It was probably for the best that I played both 4.0 and 5.0, since 4.0 and some stuff that 5.0 did not.

I hope I don't sound like a dick by referring to the first post again, but it would've saved you some trouble. Under the big header "What's in this Release?" is the answer to your question. After Nayr's last episode, he pulled all of his contributions from the hack, and I rebooted it and rebuilt from scratch.

I saw that, but pretty much failed to comprehend it. Unfortunately, I had no clue which tales were which. As I read through the thread, names and numbers continuously jumped around, and so I gave up. However, I should've understood from "1-4 and their Gaidens" to mean that there were only seven to eight chapters in the existing release, tops. So that was a mistake on my part. Thanks for pointing that out.

Interesting response. The development's been a pretty open process, and I enjoy having it that way (despite all the headaches it causes and the infamous spats between myself and a certain former employee). When I was really into gaming, I loved reading about development and all of the beta ideas that were cut from the game. I try to include these things in blog posts and the like, and strive to be as transparent a developer as I can be without spoiling the game. But it's interesting to hear somebody who finds this annoying for the consolidation of information.

I would have enjoyed reading about the project, if it weren't for the lack of a guide, the time of night, and the amount of time I'd spend looking for one. This is an understatement of my interest, since I was a fairly engaged History student. It appealed to both the intellectual and the social aspects of me, since the intellectual analyzed the recursive development of history, and the social enjoyed the life stories of historical figures. In a sense, it was like a reality TV show (words that I hesitate to use).

Again, the lack of a guide is my primary problem. I think I've been coddled by TLP's guide, since it tells you how to unlock the gaidens, the secrets, the characters etc. The only thing it doesn't have is the location of the secret shops, which don't have anything important and are found within a Google search. I'm glad to hear that the upcoming v6 release (something to look forward to this summer) will be a mostly finished product, with creative liberties coming in for patches afterwards.

Raven's Tale gives us an insight to the Elimine church's inquisition and conquering of the Western Isles, but that's about all it gets, sans a few religion conversations dispersed throughout the hack. I didn't completely ignore it, however.

To be frank, it was sort of hard to come up with something that you didn't cover. Maybe I need to replay FE7 and play FE6, as there are a lot of unused name drops that could be exploited, or something. Even if they're not mentioned, they could be created. However, I feel that you've covered Elibe pretty well, speaking from "I'm looking at a map" perspective.

Don't sweat it. Thanks for the feedback. I didn't realize that there was a difficulty for casual followers to gain information, so hopefully I'll be able to use your feedback to improve upon this.

No problem, glad to have helped.

I'd also like to add that I appreciate the blog posts. Building from my previously stated standpoint, they're a glimpse into the changing development of this hack, and give deeper insight into some of the characters (such as Dawson or ideas for Efta).

Also, it would be amazing if I knew how to add names to quotes (or knew how to quote segments of what someone was saying with the Quote at the bottom).

Edited June 4, 2013 by reallylongname

[Miacis]

I can take care of writing an EN guide if you want me to, Arch. I've already researched most of the things for just v5 with the LP I've made of it, so it would probably come down to just recapping everything, then updating it for v6.

I believe I clicked on the old thread first. I didn't even know there was a new thread until a while later. After reading the last few pages of the old thread in frustration, I assumed you had moved shop to the blog, or Cafe, or something. Then I found out about this thread and was happy when I saw what was in it. It was probably for the best that I played both 4.0 and 5.0, since 4.0 and some stuff that 5.0 did not.

I remember a few guys on the SomethingAwful LP thread finding the old patch, too. It might have to do with the fact that Google directly points to it (but I see you've got it solved with the [OUTDATED] tag), and that the first result is this, which also leads to a v3 (!) patch.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Miacis

[Arch]

I didn't realize that the first search result was the Serenes wiki, hahah. That's pretty bad, I should go fix that up.

Getting an EN guide would be fantastic too, Miacis. I was actually planning on asking you, but you beat me to the punch. We'll talk about it whenever I see you on skype.


Oh, and have some screenshots:

[eclipse]

New Kent looks nifty. Why does Matthew look exactly the same?

[deranger]

Why does Matthew look exactly the same?

Newton's second law, homeostasis....

Though yeah, nice mug exhibition. And increases in nonwhite organisms in FE. by infinite percentages in the battle sprites of both pegasi and people

And FE7x references

And hey new Kent Weapon, joining the ranks of Raven and Erk

Edited June 10, 2013 by deranger

[Book of Ereshkigal]

I love the brown on that falco.

[Crimson Red]

Oh hey it's a griffon rider

[Arch]

Happy E3 to everybody. I thought I'd celebrate with an update of my own. We're nearing the end of the line, so I'm revealing the final addition to FE7's cast. Since we've got two gaidens for Lyn's tale, I wanted them both to feature a new character. You've already seen Gaufrid, this is his 2xa counterpart.

It's aboot time, eh? That's right, Toni Soprano himself is joining the fray... It took a lot of work to convince HBO to lend me the rights to the character—not to mention a bunch of money in legal fees—but I think it was time well spent.

Now the only surprise I've got left is the final boss.

[spoiler=Don't Click Here Unless you want to know the Final Boss's Identity]But actually Toni is an FE7x cameo.

Edited June 12, 2013 by Arch

[Book of Ereshkigal]

Green haired archer chick?

Final boss is dragons

[Primefusion]

Obviously the final boss is Toni Soprano. That way you can have Toni vs. Toni.

Wyverns flying in caves. Seems legit.

[Arch]

Green haired archer chick?

[spoiler=Yessir]

I'd post a screenshot of what she looks like in-game, but I dun have that sprite quite yet.

Edited June 12, 2013 by Arch

[Parrhesia]

glad to see he lost some weight

dunno what's up with his hair though, the new look really doesn't do well for him

someone will probably shout at me because they think i think silvio is tony soprano

FUCK YOU TROLLS i just picked the clip that was in my favourites, #yolo

Edited June 12, 2013 by Furetchen

[Book of Ereshkigal]

...what?

Oh, Toni, I am dense :E

Edited June 12, 2013 by L95

[Parrhesia]

I WAS PLAYING ALONG, OKAY

DON'T JUDGE ME

[deranger]

That's a really good trail map 3 base toni.

2xa got different.

[Crimson Red]

Toni for SSB4

[Blitzzurger96]

Hey Arch. How do you unlock Douglas' Tale? I have v5 unless it isn't in there. Sorry if i seem rude, it's just that, I can only play Eliwood's, Lyn's, Hector's, Rath's, Merlinus', and Pent's Tales. Also, nice job with the Heaven Seal in Pent's Tale. I was surprised that you did that.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Blitzzurger96

[reallylongname]

Hey Arch. How do you unlock Douglas' Tale? I have v5 unless it isn't in there. Sorry if i seem rude, it's just that, I can only play Eliwood's, Lyn's, Hector's, Rath's, Merlinus', and Pent's Tales. Also, nice job with the Heaven Seal in Pent's Tale. I was surprised that you did that.

Have Renault stand in front of the sword-thing in Pent's Tale. By sword thing, I mean where the Druid with the Fimbulvetr was. You'll know you're doing it right if Renault says a text thing after waiting there.

[Randombobman]

I'll see your Toni Soprano and raise you a Toni Kukoc

[Arch]

I think it's time I offered up a (small) glimpse of the finale. I don't want to give too much away, but I hope this'll whet your appetite.

Yeah, I brought over another monster type from FE8. Too bad they're about to get OHKO'd by Murdock (equipped with his wonderful new axe that negates enemy defenses). We've also got a custom ice tome for Brenya, good luck pronouncing it (hint: it's psuedo-Finnish).

I'm currently working on putting the finishing touches on the finale. Just gotta wrap up that ending event and put together a few more palettes, and we're good to go! After that it's back to finishing up 2xb, then it's betatesting time. Hopefully that'll be taken care of in time for the planned FEE3 release.

Coming soon!

Edited June 30, 2013 by Arch

[Crimson Red]

#ElibianNights2013