Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => Fan Stuff => Topic started by: Claimh Solais on June 27, 2011, 03:14:19 PM
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It's an 8bit Turn-based RPG. Don't like it, deal with it. I, for one, happen to love RPGs, so nyeh.
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PLOT: 1802, Transylvania
In a small village within Transylvania, there was a boy named Solus, he was 17 years old. A good boy, but a little anti-social. He always kept a pendant with him, given to him by a friend. He worked hard everyday to earn money, as he lived on his own. His father passed away long ago, and his mother was nowhere to be found. Solus worked as an odd jobs man. He'd do any kind of job as long as he'd get paid. Of course, it's not like he got many good jobs.
Eventually, his life began to get better. He got this new job, which was to escort an elderly priest to a shrine, and he'd be paid rather well. Solus accepted this job without a second thought. The very next morning he set out with the priest to the shrine.
However, this was no ordinary shrine. This shrine housed the grave of the Dark Lord Count Dracula, who had been slain eight years prior by the brave Richter Belmont (none had known about Alucard's exploits in the castle in 1797). Puzzled as he was, Solus continued on with the priest into the shrine.
Of course, unknowingly, he just escorted the evil dark priest Shaft to the resurrection site of Dracula. Legions of the dead began to rise, and they all beat down Solus. His body was never found.
Dracula arose once again, thanks to Shaft. His power, this time, was extraordinary. He managed to warp time and space, not only destroying one time frame, but all others at the same time. Richter, who had not faced the legions of Dracula in two years, stood up again to fight, but this time alongside four of his legendary ancestors.
Dracula, however, sensed something. He did not have complete control over time and space as he thought he did, or as Shaft had said. Something was missing. Some item that he needed...
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CAST OF CHARACTERS:
The characters may or may not come from the year that the events of their games take place.
Leon Belmont: From the year 1097, original appearance - Lament of Innocence (PS2)
The first of the legendary Belmont clan of vampire hunters. By striking down his very beloved against his own will, her soul was infused with his whip to give birth to the legendary Vampire Killer whip. He swore that his clan would one day hunt down and slay Dracula. He himself, however, never once faced him in combat.
Trevor Belmont: From the year 1478, original appearance - Dracula's Curse (NES)
The first Belmont to defeat Count Dracula. He fought alongside Grant Danasty, Sypha Belnades, and the Count's very own son, Prince Alucard. After the battle, Trevor was wed to Sypha. Years later, he received word about the Devil's Forgemaster seeking to revive Dracula and set out to stop him.
Simon Belmont: From the year 1698, original appearance - Castlevania (NES)
Quite simply, the man. The most famous of the Belmont family, having vanquished Dracula in the year 1691. On a quest to hunt down the remnants of Dracula's army, he was approached by a mysterious hooded woman. This woman spoke to him of a curse placed onto his body by Dracula, and then told him of the way to undo the curse. Simon did just that, and in the process revived Dracula. At that moment, Simon took him down once again.
Juste Belmont: From the year 1740, original appearance - Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
The blood of the Belnades family flows strong within Juste, as he has great control over the elements, as well as holding the Belmont Warlord Chromosomes within his body. Juste traversed alongside his friend Maxim through Castlevania, and their exploits brought Dracula back from the grave. Juste, not willing to let Dracula wreak havoc, defeated him there and then.
Richter Belmont: From the year 1802, original appearance - Rondo of Blood (PCE)
Richter had fought against Dracula in 1792 (10 years ago now). He had help from a girl that he rescued by the name of Maria Renard. Four years later, he disappeared and Maria set out to find him. Maria, with the help of Alucard, discovered that Richter was under the control of the dark priest Shaft, and had unknowingly brought about the resurrection of Dracula. Alucard then set off on his own to defeat his father once again, and Richter and Maria escaped. Peace had returned, as Alucard was triumphant.
---Two years later, however, disaster struck again as an incubus named Magnus attempted to turn Alucard against the humans, and awaken his vampiric side. Of course, with the help of Richter, Maria, and two vampire hunters named Alexis and Silyl (as well as his old friend Lyudmil), Alucard was able to break free of this control and slay Magnus, returning peace once again.
Shaft: From the year 1802, original appearance - Rondo of Blood (PCE)
Shaft was defeated in 1792 by Richter, and thought to be dead. However, his spirit lived on and he returned in 1797 to attempt to reawaken Dracula. Ultimately, his plans were thwarted by Alucard. Now, he returns once again, after reobtaining his flesh and bone, to revive Dracula once more.
Count Dracula: From the year 1802, original appearance - Castlevania (NES)
Dracula is the evil dark lord who waged war against humanity. As a vampire, he has amazing powers, and can use them far greater than any other of his kind, thus having him titled as King of the Vampires, Lord of the Night. He was slain countless times by the Belmont family, once by former servant Hector, and even by his own son Alucard. However, humanity's greed continues to call him back.
(http://i53.tinypic.com/2ujsiom.png)
Solus: From the year 1802, original appearance - The Greatest Five (PC)
A young boy, who works as an odd jobs man. Believed to be dead.
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GAMEPLAY: Typical NES era RPG. Turn-based battle system, with many skills at your disposal. There are several puzzles throughout the game which vary in style.
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Anyway, more details will come later. All I got is the screenshot below done. I'm really worn out for how long it took to put together the resources to make the screenshot. >.<
And I'm more or less happy with the way the courtyard turned out finally. Gonna add some trees and pillars soon, though. Maybe a window or two.
(http://i52.tinypic.com/1znspvp.png)
NOTICE: If there is a character that you wish to see appear in this (must be from Castlevania), let me know. I'm still writing out the story for this game so there are tons of possibilities. Also if you have your own original character you would like to see in this game, talk to me about it and I'll see about putting him in. ;)
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sounds interesting! any sprites of the Belmonts available yet?
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Leon, Trevor, Simon, Juste, and Richter.
What, no Christopher?? you wound me deeply :'( Christopher is far more legendary the either Juste or Leon. He fought Dracula twice, now that's legendary.
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What, no Christopher?? you wound me deeply :'( Christopher is far more legendary the either Juste or Leon. He fought Dracula twice, now that's legendary.
actually, Portrait of Ruin was the game to lay out who the Greatest Five were (and it was the game where the title "Greatest Five" originated, in the spell), and in those games the five Belmonts summoned were Leon, Simon, Trevor, Juste, and Richter - no Christopher, which is a tad disappointing. I think Claimh is using this concept of the Five rather than picking five of his own favorite Belmonts.
The game looks cool so far. Can't wait to see some sprites.
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sounds interesting! any sprites of the Belmonts available yet?
Yup! I actually posted them for critique in the Spritework thread, but I'll just post them again here for convenience's sake. Also, you can actually see Trevor looking at the gate. ^^
(http://i55.tinypic.com/34fn1pk.png)
I'm currently trying to find a way to better Simon and Leon's palettes so they're not so pale. And the Richter sprite is rather old. I'm gonna fix him up eventually.
actually, Portrait of Ruin was the game to lay out who the Greatest Five were (and it was the game where the title "Greatest Five" originated, in the spell), and in those games the five Belmonts summoned were Leon, Simon, Trevor, Juste, and Richter - no Christopher, which is a tad disappointing. I think Claimh is using this concept of the Five rather than picking five of his own favorite Belmonts.
The game looks cool so far. Can't wait to see some sprites.
Right you are. ^^ The whole concept of the five is from Portrait of Ruin. The reason I did it like that is so that I'm not biased and only picking fan favorites, but rather instead picking the five IGA and co. decided upon. Otherwise Julius and Christopher would probably be in there. But also remember, the story goes that Dracula warped time and space. Expect to see a lot of familiar faces as well as OC (original character)s.
I don't really got much done on it. I planned on making this a long time ago. Hell, you don't even start out in this stage I made here. It's quite further on down into the game. ^^
And since I mentioned OCs, I may as well say this now. I'm willing to take anyone's OC into this game to be a character. I obviously won't pick them all, maybe 3 or 4. Just to get the character cast to be larger. I'm not too good at making my own characters ^^
I also updated the topic post with the character cast (so far) and the general plotline for the story.
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I forgot to mention this. There are about seven Belmont sprites in the Greatest five attack even though only five appear at a time.
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Yeah, but aren't the extra 2 just 8-bit sprites of Simon & Trevor?
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Yeah, what Inccubus said. There's only five people.
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Even though I'm not into RPGs that much (I used to like them), this game looks interesting to play.
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I'll try my best to make it worth your time. ;)
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Aww, those sprites are so cute. ^^
I like the Richter sprite.
I played RPGs a lot when I was a kid. I should like this. I don't play RPGs as much as much as I did, but maybe this can change that...?
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It seems from a protagonist stand point, shouldn't you play the game mainly as Solus?
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Nope. That story basis up there doesn't tell the whole story, and Solus, as far as anyone is concerned, is dead. Basically, the main characters are the Belmonts, but the story revolves around that guy. But don't get me wrong, the Belmonts play a big role in the plot, not just as the man who goes into the castle to slay Drac cuz its his destiny.
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Looks interesting. What kind of set up are you thinking of using for the battles?
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I'm using typical turn-based battles. At my current experience, I can do no more.
However, someone suggested I should do a 16-bit version of the game to be released alongside the 8-bit version. I am thinking about it, as the person said they can do an ABS for me (adventure battle system, similar to Legend of Zelda and such).
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It's actually a lot of work to do a whole other set of graphics for a second version. If you do wanna do that I'd do one , finish the game, and do the other afterwards and release it as a special edition.
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It's actually a lot of work to do a whole other set of graphics for a second version. If you do wanna do that I'd do one , finish the game, and do the other afterwards and release it as a special edition.
That was another idea I had, but didn't give it too much thought, as I'm not even done with the first area in the 8-bit version yet. The graphics, yes, is the big part of the game. However, implementing them into the engine is the easy part. Just takes a few clicks.
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Hmm... I found the old beta version of the castle entrance. So lemme hear some opinions on this.
Which looks better? The current build:
(http://i55.tinypic.com/30kuafc.png)
or the beta build? (which wasn't even finished)
(http://i53.tinypic.com/2vcu5xt.png)
SOME NOTES:
-The black lines are called a grid. I'm sure everyone knows what that is.
-The gate in the current build locks you outside of the castle. You can go straight to the castle from the beginning of the game, but you can't enter it.
-The green block with the small "s" on it is a symbol meaning "start point".
-The pink squares in the beta build are event spots. In this case, the ones on the gate are used for keeping the player from stepping on the black area, and the one in the upper right corner triggers an event with the player characters talking to each other.
-The current build has its tiles ripped from the original Castlevania, creating the classic style feel of the castle.
-The beta build had tiles ripped from Final Fantasy III (the NES one, not the SNES one, which was FFVI). It still works in CV, and creates a sort-of LoI atmosphere.
And how does this below screenshot look to you?
(http://i53.tinypic.com/2e6ehxe.png)
Does it look 8bit, or just lazy level design? I was trying to hold back, since 8-bit RPGs didn't have extravagant level design (well, they did for their time). Should I just improve upon what it looks like, or is it fine the way it is? A note should be taken that while it doesn't look it, all the tiles here were ripped straight from the Castle Entrance from the original CV.
The upward path leads to the Main Hall, which will expand the castle entrance. The door to the left will lead to a room full of statues, which upon advancing further in the game, will serve as a Boss Rush mode. The door to the left will be sealed, and will lead to a secret. Opening it will require a key hidden somewhere in the castle.
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I'd say give more color to the stages just so they're more interesting to look at. You can go all-out without going beyond 8-bit ;)
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None of the maps are done yet. I'm planning on getting the basic concept down first, then adding in all the finer details later. I don't wanna spend too much time on one area, cuz then I'll forget what I wanted to do later for other areas.
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Which looks better? The current build:
(http://i55.tinypic.com/30kuafc.png)
I like the grass, trees, path & gate on this one.
or the beta build? (which wasn't even finished)
(http://i53.tinypic.com/2vcu5xt.png)
I like the wall, columns, & props on this one. I think you should use more resources from 8-bit RPGs and use CV graphics as a reference to enhance them.
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I was planning on using some resources from The Legend of Zelda. They made dungeon/area design so simple in that game... But the Final Fantasy series has much better looking level design, so it's easier to use tiles from that.
So in other words, you're saying mix and match?
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Definitely.
Of course a healthy dose of editing to make things look fresh helps a lot too.
Wouldn't you say it's working out well in my project?
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Yeah, I hear ya there. I'm trying to make everything blend as well as possible, so editing will be needed.
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I think the key to making things blend is the use of complimentary palettes and, of course, sharing palettes is a must for NES style graphics.
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Yeah, look at the original Legend of Zelda for example. Almost everything in a certain dungeon was the same color.
While I won't do that (it was majorly bland), I will use the same colors in some cases.
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Here's a new sprite. Shows off what the character Solus looks like, as well as the new sprite style and portraits. More updates to come as I finish up making his sprites, the villager sprites and implanting the tiles into the engine, so I can make the first town.
(http://i53.tinypic.com/2ujsiom.png)
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Not bad. Kinda reminds me of Crystalis for some reason.
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Dunno what that is. I actually based him off of someone from one of the three original Fire Emblems. I don't remember who it was though (was not Marth, if anyone thinks that).
Thanks for the comment though.
Notice the portrait is edited from Simon's Wai Wai World portrait.
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Nice touch with the wai wai portrait. ^_____^
Crystalis is an NES game similar to Legend of Zelda. You should check it out.
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Nice touch with the wai wai portrait. ^_____^
Crystalis is an NES game similar to Legend of Zelda. You should check it out.
I wanted to make some reference to that game. It kinda sucked until I got Simon in my party.
I'll look at it, since I'm for some reason so into retro gaming now. Plus I could probably take resources from it.
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Crystalis is awesome.
LOL it's got Yoko Ono as the composer, hehehe.
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LOL it's got Yoko Ono as the composer, hehehe.
Are you serious?!? She helped with a game??
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She composed for a lot of games.
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Hah. I never knew that. What else has she done?
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Question... Who's that? ^.^;;
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She was the wife of one of the Beatles I forget which.
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She was the wife of one of the Beatles I forget which.
John Lennon.
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Hah. I never knew that. What else has she done?
Oh wait, confused her with another name lol.
welp :(
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Ooooooooooooooh. Okay. That's pretty cool. :)
Welp, in an on-topic note, I should have more graphics for viewing pleasure up soon. :D
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8-bit Rpg? AWESOME!! its been forever since I've seen one...
how will the Battle system be like?
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8-bit Rpg? AWESOME!! its been forever since I've seen one...
how will the Battle system be like?
Says in the first post, but meh. I don't even read them half the time. :P
It's a turn-based battle system. It's too much work that I don't feel like doing for an ABS (adventure battl system, Zelda style. At least, I don't feel like doing it for this game). I'm thinking of some stuff to add to the TBS (turn-based system) to make it more exciting though.
I have some more character sprites made for villagers, but I'm gonna finish them all before showing them off. There's only six, the same as Simon's Quest, but I'm planning on giving them alternate color palettes as well to add some variety.
After finishing up the villagers, I'll move onto basic enemies (the ones from CV1 stage 1) and then resprite the greatest five Belmonts. :D Before I upload anymore screens, though, I need to finish placing tiles into the game.
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oh I was refering to like the standard Enemies and no Actors or you going for a slightly more advanced FF-esque battle system where you see 2-d versions of your characters and they do the animations?
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Yeah, totally. Course that's gonna be there. It's too bad I can't set it up like an old FF game (with the boxes on the screen), but meh. I'll make due.
I'm also accepting OCs into the game (obviously with my approval), since I want a small amount of characters in this game that aren't in the original series.