Final Fantasy Mod Progress Updates, Part II

[DJ Bonebraker]

Okay, first things first.... I may use the victory sound, but keep in mind that's a ton of work, and I'd rather not edit the .ini files for 200+ units, so I think I'll put it for Golden age UUs and King units ONLY.

Second... I'm not basing the FF I civs off of FF I exactly... I'm basing them off of 8-Bit Theater, which actually takes the mediocre plot and characters of that game and twists everything around and makes the story intresting and funny... The best part is I emailed Brian Clevenger, the author of 8-bit Theater, and he gave me permission to base the FF I civs off of his work (which is based on FF I), so all the names will be as they appear in the comics, like the fact that the Leader of the Light Warriors is Thief, who is also the prince of Elfland, and (judging by the comments on the strip where he set his contract for the Light Warriors defeating Garland), also the owner of Corneria.

Finally, don't worry about the credits movie... I can convert anything (even that animated gif) into a Civ III compatible .bik movie. You can also get those tools for free. Just search for "Rad Video Tools" on google, and you'll get about 500 download sites easy.

Sword: I haven't decided on what the final civ will be yet.... plus you can't set locked alliances on mods with random maps..... I think. Once I add the civs from FF I and II then I'll figure it out.

 

[Sword_Of_Geddon]

I've been thinking about how you would do the Monster Civ Hikaro.

In FF5, the main Villain, X-Death, wanted to build a world populated by monsters only. Since you brought back some of the villains like Rufus and evil Edea, why not him?

Make him at war with everyone else, except maybe that Orcish Civ. And maybe some of the other evil civs, Shinra Inc. might ally with him.

I'd help with monster units if you decide to.

 

[Falnax]

I've also got a somewhat comedic version of that soundfile that sounds like the victory music but screwed up for the death of a unit, but I assume that since this isn't Civ IV, that'll end up backfiring so you'd hear loss music when you defeat an opponent's unit...

Also, the credits aren't stored as a .bik file - it's just a .pcx and a .txt that the game uses to create the credits. Meaning that it's probably impossible to make credits with a moving background...

You never answered me on the concept of an 8-bit leaderhead, though...or on the counts of the prelude or the UUs...I know I put a lot of differentiated topics in that post, but still...

 

[Bahamut85]

only one question
is it ready?
if it's not ready why don't you post a test version of your final fantasy mod

probably it would make things easier for you, if there is some bug some playtester can find it faster than you only
and we can tell you if there is something missing
i'm a final fantasy fan and probably i can help you someway if i find something not right

(sorry for my english, i'm not english so i tried my best)

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Falnax, I'm sticking with the current version of the prelude. I'll post previews for the Light warriors and Dark warriors LH when I get to that. You can find some on the 8-bit theater page under charachter profiles.

I'll see about working on the Credits.txt when the thing is done.... I'll also see about converting some FF screenshot for the credits or coming up with a collage of screenshots from as many of the games as I can... but again that is for later..

What I HAVE been doing the past few days (aside from watching Stargate and playing the Warhammer fantasy mod) is thinking of a few things and playing with the Scripts.txt file.

One of the changes I made was what it says when you start the game, as well as all the barb messages (so now it's "A massive horde of fiends spotted near $CITY0" instead of "A massive Barbarian uprising near $CITY0" and so on).

In addition, I decided to go with UtahJazz7's Native American Rifleman for the "Citizen's militia" unit that's generated by the Constitutional Government Small Wonder, since they look more like some of your typical FF civilians than the Modern Resistor of Kinboat's.

Also I'm thinking about Using Kindred's Dwarf worker for the Dwarve's worker unit, and change the current graphics (the Gnome engineers) to a unit called Dwarven Engineers that's available to all factions in the Industrial era with Industrialization that costs the same as a settler and uses two population points, but works twice as fast as a normal worker and can build cities too.

Bahamut85: I won't release a beta version until I've got all the civs, units and other stuff set. Then I'll set up a private Beta test session, and once it's proven that there are no bugs (and I don't think there will be many, since I'm pretty darn thorough with checking the mod out every time I update it), then I'll release it....

But that's still a long ways off, especially since I'm the only one currently working on units for this mod.

 

[Bahamut85]

the units are simply amazing but the whole mod would be fantastic to play
i know it's a long work and that's why i suggested you to release a beta version
something to play waiting for the final version, something to look at and wodering what it will become when it will be complete

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Look, I am not releasing the beta until I at least have all the civs and placeholders for the graphics as well as the techtree finished, and that won't be for another few months. Hell, it was TWO AND A HALF YEARS before the Warhammer mod was available even as a beta, so as I said before, it will get done when it gets done. As it is right now, there are some annoying balance isues due to the fact that the Industrial and Modern age Tech trees are incomplete, and I won't be completing them until I get the units done, so feel free to step up and help out with them, since by doing so, the mod will be released sooner.

Oh, and a bit off topic, but as I've been catching up on my Stargate SG1 watching, I've noticed quite a few similarities between Stargate and Final Fantasy VII... Which I'll list later.

 

[Falnax]

It's probably best to add complete credits for the three lyrical parts of the soundtrack for the mod, seeing as in normal credits it lists everyone related in making a piece of lyrical music.

Please note that since the credits.txt auto-centers, these can just be copied and pasted directly into the credits...

"Otherworld"
(Middle Eastern Ancient Age Music)
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Arranged by Michio Okamiya
Lyrics by Alexander O. Smith
Vocals by Bill Muir

"One-Winged Angel"
(Modern Age Music)
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Arranged by Shiro Hamaguchi
Vocals by Matsue Fukushi, Minae Fujisaki, Kazuko Nakano, Saki Ono,
Toru Tabei, Daisuke Hara, Toshizumi Sakai, and Masashi Hamauzu

"Pray"
(Credits Music)
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Arranged by Toshiro Mitsutomi
Lyrics by Kazuko Sancha
Vocals by Risa Ohki

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Good Idea Falnax....

BTW, I'm currently working on the Industrial Era Tech tree...

It still needs some work (the original Industrial Era Tech tree was really convoluted, and some of the techs didn't make sense or were completely useless, like Atomic theory).... One of the things I am doing with is is making an optional tech that comes after industrialization and electricity that's called Wind Power, which renders the coal plants and factories obsolete, but allows you to build non-polluting Windmills and Wind Farms instead.... The same thing will go in the modern era... I'll have optional techs for polluting and non-poluting power plants and factories that give the player a choice: Extremely high production and lots of pollution or Rather high production with NO pollution, since once the techs for the green power are researched, the polluting improvments will be obsolete (and unable to be built). I got this idea from "looking under the hood" of the Warhammer mod. I was wondering how they made it so that only certain civs had access to certain buildings, yet they could research the tech for that building. Anyhow, I'll post a rough preview once I'm finished with it.

ALso, as promised, here's a list of all the similarties between Stargate SG1 and Final Fantasy VII that I could think of:

FF VII: There was an ancient race known as the Cetra or Ancients who built a lot of freaky high-tech/magical stuff, looked human but had extraordainary powers, and got all but wiped out by a plague, and most of those who weren't killed went to the Promised Land.

SG1: There was an ancient race known as the Ancients who built a bunch of stargates and a lot of other freaky high-tech things, looked human but had extraordainary powers, and all but got wiped out by a plague, most of those who realized that the plague was incurable, chose to ascend to a higher plane of existance.

FF VII: The main badguy is Sephiroth, who was thought to have been killed some time ago, but in actuallity he was in the lifestream, and reappears with the knowledge of the ancients. He goes around wearing a black cape and killing random people while on his overall plan to use an ancient weapon, the black materia, to destroy all life on the planet so that he can become a god.

SG1: The main badguy is Anubis, who was thought to have been dead long ago, but in actuality he ascended, and now is back with the knowledge of the ancients. He goes around wearing a black cloak while wiping out random civilizations in his quest to gain control of the ancient weapon on Dakara so that he can destroy all life in the galaxy and rebuild it in his image, effectively making him a god.

Other similarities:

AVALANCHE = SG1/Stargate Command

Shinra = The System Lords

Jenova = The Goa'uld (parasitic alien races who both enslave thier hosts to their will)

Aeris Gainsboro ~ Gen. Jack O'Neill (both are descended from both human and ancient ancestors and can use ancient devices)

Dr. Bugenhagen ~ Dr. Daniel Jackson (Both are extremely knowledgeable about the ancients and history in general, although Dr. Jackson can read and understand the ancient language, but Bugenhagen can't)

Reeve (a.k.a. Cait Sith) ~ Teal'c (both were working for the badguys (shinra and the system lords, respectively), but end up joining the good guys (AVALANCHE and SG1, respectively), but Teal'c is much better in a fight than Mr. head of urban development)

That's all I can think of right now...

 

[Quinzy]

wow. those similarities are freakishly, emm, similar...
thats pretty odd...

 

[Spacer One]

Im a little disturbed by the similarities...but as far as my knowledge of FF goes, you're right...Wow...I never would have made a connection between Aeris and Jack like that...good attention to detail there Hikaro

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Im a little disturbed by the similarities...but as far as my knowledge of FF goes, you're right...Wow...I never would have made a connection between Aeris and Jack like that...good attention to detail there Hikaro

Yeah, it relates to my abilities to sort and file massive amounts of information that I was talking about earlier....

I just came up with another similarity:

FF VII: Aeris & AVALANCHE search for the Lost city of the Ancients (which reqires some arcane relic to find) in order to find a way of defeating Sephiroth. Aeris is able to do so by using the White Materia in the Ancient Palace in the middle of the city.

SG1: O'Neill and SG1 search for the lost city of the Ancients (which requires translating ancient text on a number of arcane relics and ruins) in order to find a weapon that can defeat Anubis. O'Neill is able to do so by finding, and using, the Ancient weapon on earth and blowing Anubis' fleet out of orbit.

Still working on the Tech tree for the industrial era... Preview to come soon.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Okay! I think I've gotten the Industrial Age tech tree figured out... Oh, and I got rid of Physics and replaced it with flight (which allows you to build the first Airships and airports, etc in the middle ages). I'm also planning on adding two actual air units to the game: a cargo airship and a gelnika. Both are available to all factions, and are air transport only. The cargo airship will use Embryodead's airship and be available with flight, and will upgrage to the gelnika, which will have a larger operational range and transport capacity, and be available with advanced flight.... The reason I added this was because the AI doesn't use land transports, so I had to nix the transport cap of all the combat airships (which are actually land units), since it gave too much of an advantage to the human players. The only problem I can think of now is how to keep people from loading them onto transport ships (since the industrial and modern era airships are actually bigger than said transports), but I'm thinking of giving them a transport capacity of 1 and flagging them as transporting only tactical nukes. I believe this will work, since there are no tactical nukes in the game, thereby eliminating any human player advantage, but any transport cap. will prevent them from loading onto other transports.

That's where the cargo airship and gelnika come in: The AI can use air transports (there's a flag for it right ther in the editor), plus it will finally give the human and AI player the ability to unload a mass of troops accross fairly large bodies of water rapidly, but they won't have any of the other annoying things associated with combat aircraft in Civ III (inability to kill ground units/instant death if touched by a ground unit, immobility, etc), since these suckers will be strictly transports.

Anywho, here's the rough sketch of the Industrial tech tree. Please let me know if you have any problems iwith it.

 

[Stormrage]

OK, I just can see how White magic fits in there... I mean, you need Electronics to discover Adv. Flight, and you need White magic to discover Electronics = Adv. Flight is connected to White magic?

But I guess this IS Final Fantasy, and now that I look at it, I can`t see where to move it, so I guess everything looks fine to me

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Well, does it really make any less sense than having Medicine as one of the prereqs for adv Flight (since in the old one it was Medicine + Electricity that was required for Scientific Method, which then allowed Atomic theory (completley useless tech, so it was deleted for the FF mod), which then allowed Electronics, radio and ultimately Advanced Flight.

I'll get to working on the Tech tree ASAP. I need to hunt down the icons for some techs like Wind Power (although I might steal the Gearworks icons from the WH mod) and Advanced Steam Engines as well as a fantasy Flight Icon (I may just end up making one from a pic of the Prima Vista airship from FF IX) and advanced Flight (make one from the Gelnika airships from FF VII) I've also got to incorporate the Windmills and Wind Farm buildings. Basically, all "green" alternatives to polluting production buildings produce one less shield, but they make up for it in other ways... For example, due to the fact that Wind Farms have always been more of a supplemental power source (think Sim City 2K), you can build them in a town that already has another power plant... The only other power plant that you can do that with is the rather hard to obtain Geothermal Plant (must have Hot Springs in the city radius to be built). Of course, once you research the techs for the green power plants and factories, you can no longer build the polluting ones. I'm hoping that this, along with my "fix" to eliminate population pollution, will keep that annoying global warming and "whack a mole" pollution to a minimum.

 

[Ogedei_the_Mad]

I think it works out. Look at it this way: in Final Fantasy IV, the White Mage (Rosa) can cast "Float" on your party.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Yeah, not to mention that in several games, Aero, Aera, and Aeraga are considered White Magic...

The reason I made White Magic (which replaces sanitation) the prereq for Scientific Method is that most of the White mages have been the more scholarly types, whereas the Black Mages have been more of the "BlarG! Stabbity! Let's blow something up!" types.

 

[Stormrage]

although I might steal the Gearworks icons from the WH mod

I see no reason not to, its a great icon

I think it works out. Look at it this way: in Final Fantasy IV, the White Mage (Rosa) can cast "Float" on your party.

Yeah, I guess you are right

 

[Falnax]

I'll ask again, why do we have to use a version of the Prelude that contains the Prelude in the background for 5 seconds? Most likely the players will be confused, especially those who are playing an American culture group civilization, because that track sounds very much like the American ancient music...

Here's another alternative: it's just a plain, normal Prelude with no funny business whatsoever...

http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=220106/1137968305/01-Prelude.mp3

Also, I'm not sure what you'd need it for, but I attached the "loss" version of the FF victory tone...

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Falnax: I already got something like that, only longer. BTW, how's the civilopedia coming along? I just altered a few techs and added a bunch of buildings and one unit.

I added a windmill (increases city prod by 25%, doesn't require any resources and is about 1/2 cost of a factory... The optional tech required for it, wind Power, disables normal factories and coal power plants), a WInd Farm (ditto on the windmill), and a Water mill, which is pretty much the same as a factory, but doesn't produce any pollution, and a Broadcasting Complex that comes with Radio, and produces two happy faces and increases tax revenue, but is rather expensive. The unit I added was the Cargo AIrship, which (once I get the graphics done) will upgrade to a Gelnika with advanced flight. These will be the only two true air units in the game, and all they're for is transport and recon.

Therefore, without further ado, I introduce the finally completed Industrial Age tech tree (pay no mind to the discrepancy with the arrows going to Advanced Flight.... once the Gelnika is added, it will have the same sized tech box as radio, which is immediately below it):