Terra Chimera - Soulfire

Terra Chimera - Soulfire

Synopsis

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The land of Brumar is in the middle of the most peaceful decade in recent memory, following the aftermath of the Guldan Civil War, which toppled the great empire after which it is named. Towns are thriving, trade is abundant, and people are generally quite content. The story opens up with young Almos, a newly enlisted sentry for the Malian army's Eastern Guard Tower, who, along with his friend and commanding officer Sir Steven, is summoned back to Malar by King Hador for reassignment. It's a welcome change for the energetic young soldier, who would rather swing his sword than stare at ocean waves all day from atop the coastal tower.
Peaceful on the surface, but relations between nations in Brumar are tenuous at best. A minor political slip-up could have disastrous results, although the leaders of all nations have expressed a disinterest in more bloodshed. If they aren't careful, Almos and Sir Steven could find themselves in the middle of a great conflict.

King Hador sets Almos to the task of traveling to the desert town of Uktuk to collect information about a mysterious relic that may (or may not) actually exist. Everything seems to be going rather well.

However, there is something a bit unsettling about Almos' recent dreams; Whispers of a life that isn't his, of people he never met. And where did his unusual abilities come from?

As unrest increases in Brumar and peace treaties become constrained, the fate of the small independant villages becomes questionable. And who is the mysterious figure known as "Sekhet?" What role does he play in the escalating tension? All will surely be revealed, but will it be too late?

The Land of Brumar

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Primarily consisting of three large continents and outlying islands, Brumar has very diverse landscapes. From rising mountains to dense jungles and barren wastes, Brumar is home to many species, critter and human alike. To the north is frozen Rekul, barely supportive of life, where only the hardiest of people survive.
To the southeast is the continent of Seran, flat with sparse mountains and highlands where it isn't coastal, and temperate enough for people to live comfortably. The kingdom of Lazler makes the northern half of this continent its home, with the southern half belonging to various independant Barons, who pay tributes to Lazler to maintain their freedom.

Lastly, the great continent of Humaal resides to the southwest. Inhabiting this continent are many free towns and states, held together by treaties with the primary kingdom of Malar, in a similar fashion to the Lazler tributes but with more control given to the king, Hador. In the dry southwest, across the Guldan desert, lies the village of Uktuk, the remnants of the old Guldan empire, destroyed decades ago in the war. The ruined spires of the old castle can still be seen on clear days to the west, between rising mountain peaks.


Map of the World (concept)


The Village of Uktuk

Characters

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Almos

The energetic young soldier, newly enlisted in the Malian Army. At the beginning of the story, little is known about Almos' past and much is to be revealed, however there is no air of mystery about him. He seems to have suffered from amnesia, able to remember only as far back as the day Sir Steven rescued him from a band of orc slave traders. Since then he has been a loyal friend to Sir Steven, following him even into the armed services of King Hador. With little to no knowledge of Brumar and its inhabitants, its climates and dangers, Almos could sorely use a good friend.

Strangely, Almos has developed an affinity for dream-related magic, and often has disturbing visions that he can't explain. But if Sir Steven had any doubts of Almos' usefulness, they are quickly swept aside; Almos is rapidly learning to control his talents, and becoming a valuable asset as a fighter.


Sir Steven

An old crusader and loyal servant to King Hador of Malar, Sir Steven is one of the king's best swords. Sir Steven is old enough to remember fighting in the Guldanian Civil War as part of an auxiliary peace keeping unit, back when he was about Almos' age (an approximation, since not even Almos knows how old he is.) Since then his order has disbanded, with most of the members moving on to normal lives or service as one of the king's many sentries. Despite the infectious peace that has gripped the land, Sir Steven remains ever vigilant, ready to fight back the armies of Hell to defend his kingdom.

A man of few words and towering presence, Sir Steven makes a valuable friend and an even more valuable soldier.


Deidric

Once a trusted advisor to a high ranking Guldanian official, Deidric left the kingdom after the great collapse following the war and disappeared from the public view. A gruff, short, and pragmatic man such as him wasn't exactly missed by his remaining countrymen, and most assumed he was dead anyway. After seeing the corrupt underbelly of Guldanian politics for many years, Deidric has become a bit of a cynic and absolutely an isolationist. He is currently residing somewhere on the outskirts of the old kingdom, probably alone, the way he prefers it.

During his time as an advisor, Deidric studied ancient magic and lore, including the accounts of many remarkable relics and artifacts. If anyone were to know a bit about a certain mythical object, it would be him.

Screen Shots

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Atop Eastern Guard Tower, Sir Steven informs Almos of their reassignment.


What memories will unfold with the turning of each page?


Explore dangerous lands to uncover the mysteries hidden beneath the surface in Brumar


Featuring a modified battle system that emphasizes tactics and preparation, Terra Chimera: Soulfire will put your skills to the test with challenging enemies and epic boss battles that will leave you catching your breath.


Let your consumer instincts take over. This game features an advanced shop system with dozens of custom items to help you on your adventures. Additionally, players can let their entrepreneurial spirits take command with a custom-built commodity market system.


An early scene of Almos waking up in a jungle.

Features

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The Goal:
Terra Chimera: Soulfire emphasizes dramatic environments, deep and developed character personalities, and engaging music. The goal is to immerse the player in a fully-fleshed universe while still maintaining a sense of humor and tactical challenges.

Other features:
Skill tree for the main character (possibly more in the future)
Equip skill system (not available in demo)
Unique skill effects
Custom lighting and shadow effects
Some custom battle animations

Scripts:
BulletXt (disable auto-shadow, swap tile-set)
Wortana (Neo-Save System 3, Multiple Fog)
Rafidelis (CT Style Menu)
Sojabird (Auto-light, Window_HUD_VARS v2.0)
Yanfly (Redux Scripts)
cmpsr2000 (Shopaholic)
omegazion (Omega Equipment Customizations)
BigEd781 (Custom Level-up)
Jens009 (Critical Flash)
masterinsan0 (Item Name Handling)
Redyugi (Level Up Effects)
KGC (Victory Fade)
UNKOWN, MiDas Mike, AvatarMonkeyKirby,
and xXRandom.CrapXx (Credits screen)

Music/Sound effects:
Chrono Trigger OST
Chrono Symphonic
Final Fantasy VI OST
Faunts (title music and game theme)
NemesisTheory: "Rose at Dawn", "Show No Tears", "Give No Mercy", and "Rose at Midnight"
nietzlawe: "Desert Trip"
LucreOnBeats: "Grasslands at Dusk"
DjRocALot: "Nostalgic Memories"
Cosmos8942: "A Time Before"
TheOrichalcon: "Coma Dream"
Hades: "The Anguish of Silence"
Various sound effects packaged with scripts

Graphics:
BasharTeg (some custom graphics)
mega456789 (charsets)
Wortana (fogs)
Aindra (balloon faces, charsets)
Macys_Hero (charsets)
eathrock (charsets)
ragu (charsets)
SirJackRex (new title screen)

Various graphics packaged with scripts

DOWNLOAD

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Terra Chimera: Soulfire Non-RTP Demo

Terra Chimera: Soulfire RTP Demo

ReadMe

If you have RPG Maker VX and the RTP files, download the Non-RTP Demo. Otherwise, you'll need the RTP Demo! If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, download the RTP Demo.

I noticed a bug that occurs with the encrypted version of the game. For some reason the auto light script can't access the picture files needed to show shadows and lights if it's encrypted. Here's the fix:

1. Download the picture files here.
2. Extract the folders into the game's directory.


NOTE: The readme file contains solutions and tips for solving some puzzles within the demo, so refer to that if you get stuck!

Credits

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See Features section.
If anyone was omitted please contact me and I will make the necessary corrections!

Notes
Hello everyone. I've been working on this project since February and it seems to be coming together rather nicely. I'm relatively new to RPG Maker (especially VX) but I do have a bit of experience on RM2k. This game started out mostly as an experiment but over time I've improved and rearranged things. I wanted to emphasize story over graphics and features, which is why I'm mostly using default sprites and sounds (although any contributions would be greatly appreciated and acknowledged.) Demo now available!

Anyway, comments, criticism, and random thoughts are appreciated! Let me know what you think. Please no formal reviews until the game is completed, however.

If anyone is interested in submitting resources or helping me on this project, send me a PM.

Please note that this is currently a BETA demo release; There will probably be a few bugs. Let me know if you find any! I will be updating this with new versions as necessary.

-Bash

This is nice game so far and I look forward to your completed work. I'm a pretty decent map maker and eventer so if you need help with either of those.
Btw, my name is Steven, so I definitely will be playing your game.

Quick update. Here's a peek at a new character, Annette.

At the beginning of the game, Almos finds her trapped in a cage in the jungle. This cutscene will be in the next demo version, but here's a sneak peek.

By the way, anyone is welcome to use these graphics if they want, just please give credit where credit is due. I used the Famitsu generator for the sprite (with some modifying on my own) and FaceMaker for the face.



-Bash

The name is rather pretentious, but other than that, it looks all right.


My two cents:
The synopsis seems pretty well written. The characters look good.
I'd like to see more screenshots, but the maps are pretty unattractive; the shadows are overwhelming and quite ugly, in addition to taking too much attention away from the mapping itself.
The title screen is pretty plain and carries no weight, and the "Terra Chimera:"'s bottom half almost fades into the black, which makes it hard to read.

Finally, you should work on keeping the maps consistent (with their environment) and natural looking; take a look at some of the finished games to get some ideas.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm not sure what you mean by the name being pretentious... "Terra Chimera" defines the series, and "Soulfire" defines the volume within the series. I intend to develop other games under the "Terra Chimera" title in the future.

I've gotten a lot of feedback about the mapping so I'm going to be putting a lot of effort into improving the visual appeal of the game. Also, I would love to make a new title screen, but I'm rubbish with that sort of thing 

If anyone would like to contribute a title screen, send me a PM! All materials used will receive the proper credit within the game.

-Bash

I can make you a titlescreen if you wish; PM me the details and I'll see what I can do.

I'll elaborate on my previous reply and try to make it clearer, but I really need to go so, it'll have to wait.

Update:
New graphics credits in the "Features" section.

New screenshot added to showcase some work I've done trying to improve the mapping:


An early scene of Almos waking up in a jungle.

New version of the demo will be uploaded shortly. I had to remove the old files because of problems with the uploader, so downloads will be temporarily unavailable.

I will post an update once the new versions are ready to go.

New demo version (0.05) up and ready for download!

New in this update:

New character sprites
Bug fixes
New face sprites
New title screen
Expanded intro sequence
Commodity trading system now in the demo

Let me know what you think of the changes and enjoy

-Bash

I have some free time tomorrow, so I may download the demo. (:

I'll keep my opinion on the game to myself until I play the demo, but I will elaborate a bit more. I feel as if the name is trying hard to be epic and very wowing, but it just ends up sounded rather contrived and trying to be more than it is; hence my calling it pretentious.
Given the fact that I have not played the game, this is all an observation. I'll may feel different after playing the finished product.
The maps are looking better, but I think you should lower the opacity off the sun rays just a tad to make everything on the maps visible.

Anyhow, good luck!

I noticed a bug that occurs with the encrypted version of the game. For some reason the auto light script can't access the picture files needed to show shadows and lights if it's encrypted. Here's the fix:

1. Download the picture files here.
2. Extract the folders into the game's directory.

This should not affect save game states or anything like that, but it does enhance the intro a bit if you want to revisit it

-Bash

Looks great,i'll check it out later =]

Update:
New graphics credits in the "Features" section.

New screenshot added to showcase some work I've done trying to improve the mapping:


An early scene of Almos waking up in a jungle.

the auto-shadow from the wall tile on the trees at the top of the map looks weird, also GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN the fog is very smothering.

Well, it IS supposed to be a jungle, and jungles are rather smothering (humid) as I understand it. But you may have a point... I might scale back the opacity a bit. The same thing goes for the shadow. In the game the opacity for the shadow and the light continuously shifts so the actual effect is a bit different from the screenshot.

I'd hope so, those pillars of light are like laser beams of brightness

good mapping

Thanks 

Looks great!
One problem... When I go to download it leads me onto Wikipedia... 

Hmm, strange. The links were messed up. That's been fixed - enjoy!