[VX] Final Fantasy IV-II: Skill Demo Here!

Zylos once advised that playtesting is essential. Damned if it ain't. Played through and found a lot of little errors i needed to fix. However, that process is complete and the last two areas before 4.0 are in the works! Additionally, the video I'm working on is almost ready for release... I'd give it till noon tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Welp, the video has been made, but due to time restrictions I didn't get to post it. I ran into a few problems which I didn't have time to look into just yet; the video is AVI format and I don't know if it can be wrapped in video tags. I do know that YouTube doesn't want to upload it, so an alternative needs to be found... unless I'm just doing it wrong somehow. Either way, I'll tinker with it tonight and see what I can do to bring it to you as soon as possible.

Holy shit, do I need a lot of video editing practice...
This is rediculous... I can't even get a zipped copy of anything meaningful on the forum. Looks like I'll either have to abandon the video idea or find alternatives. Suggestions welcome!

Edit: I got some suggestions from a few of the members here and am using a new software. After playing with the settings a bit, I got it to work! I'm going to try this again, may be up for viewing tomorrow night!

I present the shitty gameplay video! Gimme a break, it's the first thing I've ever made. See the main page for the link!

The eventing and mapping of the new areas is coming along well. After this next chunk of story, 4.0 will be released. I am also working on an "ad" to go along with the release.

Balancing out monsters and weapon/armor/skill power is still slow and tedious. Graphics are coming along well, and several character sprites have been replaced. Summoning spell animations are becoming better, longer and more interesting!

Unfortunately, the overall filesize is still gigantic, probably due to all the high quality monster battlers I'm using and the mp3 files for music. I hope after some optimization they'll be smaller, but that will need to wait untill after 4.0.

I'd like some feedback on the new demo when it is released, look to the 20th of February for it's release.

Here are some more screenshots of what I'm doing.

Spoiler for The Title Screen, with art by Tezuka!:

Definitely considering going to a different background color with that one...

Spoiler for Summoning Ramuh:

That animation needs to be tweaked, yet.

Spoiler for B1F of Goblin Mines:

Spoiler for Demeter Ruins- the second-to-last area before 4.0 will end:

As you can see, a lot has been done, but much is still to be done. As the deadline I have imposed on myself looms near, all I can do is try to get it done and out while I have time; tweaking can wait.

I like the looks of this project! Nice music!

Thanks a bunch! A lot of effort has gone into making it as true to an old console game as possible.

Bad news, I won't meet today's deadline. It will require another day or two before I have the last bit of mapping done. Give it untill Thursday, and you'll have it.

I have run into a bit of a snag with a cutscene I'm doing; I made it rather complex, and I did it wrong. I know how to fix it, but that will take time. Not much, but at least a few days untill it's right. Please stand by...

On that note, I realized a lot of the evented cuscenes were done improperly as well. THey work, at least the first time you enter the room in which they occur. The problem is, they also work every subsequent time! NOTE TO SELF: Erase event doesn't work they way you'd think it does! Use Self Switches set to no instructions with no graphic, and check the "through" option to get rid of events you don't need anymore. It will still be there, but the game will behave as though it isn't.

NOTE TO SELF: Erase event doesn't work they way you'd think it does!

It's because the state of an event isn't retained after you change map. It makes new instances of each event when you load a new map. It would be possible to write a quick script that stores the 'erased' state of an event and initialises events with it's previous erased state if it had one.

Obviously self switches makes this pointless, but if you have a lot of these events that you've erased thinking they'd disappear for good, it might save a lot of time.

You also don't need to set the through option to on, if the event is 'below characters' which is default on a new page.

I truly appreciate the knowledge, and the offer (if it was an offer) but I'm already halfway through the task! Thank you anyway, it's very kind of you just to stop by.

I think after I get the next area mapped and evented, I'll toss out a buggy demo 4.0 and then playtest, fix and polish the game. I'll then release 4.1 without new content and hopefully without the bugs.

Some eventing difficulties have pushed back the release of the demo, but it's getting fixed. Had I the time, this woulda been done, but I need to finish a cutscene, map the latest dungeon and tie it all up. Piece of cake.

Some other things to look for in the 4.1 will be an updated SBS; hopefully this will fix the "Reraise" and "Reflect" spells, and there's an addon by BulletXT that allows multiple targeting options! I may actually have to ERASE skills... I also found a script that will enable random encounters in vehicles; while I have not examined this script in detail, the intention is to use it for the sailing ship. Again, those features are going to be tinkered with AFTER the release of 4.0.

Here is where I release Demo 4.0. I really wanted to give you one more cave, but it just wasn't working with the tilesets I have. I'm currently turning my attention to improving the graphics all around- and decreasing the filesize.

So let's talk about that filesize. It's REALLY big because this is an epic-scale game and all of the monsters are already in the DB, as well as most of the MP3 music.

Anyway, this version is REALLY buggy. I noticed that all my cutscene events were done improperly, and only a few of them have been fixed (not, it seems, the half I thought previously). However, the game IS playable, if a bit unbalanced. There are several skills still on some characters' lists that won' t be there in the final; play with them to your liking. Heck, it's unencrypted- go ape shit. 

Um, sorry EvilM00s, but is it ok when 4.0 demo starts from scene near ruined castle? I mean, maybe you forget change player start location? Also, there are two save files included.
Well, it's unencrypted, so I can fix this issue myself.

Oh, Rydia lvl 30 on start... lol, I must edit more xD

Thanks for downloading the game!

Arrgh. Yeah, I forgot to erase the saves, but I would have sworn I put the player back on the intro map. Should you choose to do so, set party members to "dummy" only, and place start position on the map labeled "intro" somewhere in the middle. When you start, you ought to see a short scene in an un-ruined castle that leads to player control in the first dungeon- or you can wait untill after 1430 GMT -6 for me to fix and upload the file.

You will notice that the tiles used get less generic as the game progresses. Also, my event making skill improved as I went along, you will notice that as well. The weapon, armor and item power and costs are yet to be balanced out very well, as well as some skills, and keep in mind also that many skill animations will be altered in the next release.

If you would, let me know if the "feel" of the game is like that of previous FF console titles. I tried to stay true to that as much as possible.

I'm not mentioned it, but I played FFIV-II MoM before) I still have old version, so I'm type of "advanced user" (I was opening your game often because there was bug towers in old version - when you leave, you stuck in mountains xD).
Don't forget about characters initial items/levels/etc.

I will try to test the game and tell you about how it "feel" and found bugs.
(sorry for bad english, I'm not sure that all written grammatically correct in this post)

Very cool! I'm happy to see you have an interest in the project.

Many of the transfer errors have been fixed in the Wind Towers area, at least I think so... the playtesting hasn't really been that intense. It will be in the next version, though. The next demo will be reasdy in the next week or so and will hopefully not contain the mistakes in this one. In particular, the cutscene events will be cleaner; as it stands now, many of them will repeat if you go back to certain areas, which could stick the player into a loop.

BTW, don't worry about your English. It's good enough! What language do you speak normally?

I especially like FF 4, 5, 6, so, yes, FFIV-II looks interesting for me) And some of ideas are great! My favorite character is Mornay. Because He speak only the chocobo and, also, cool engineer!
Some bugs I found:
chests
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/chestbartucbug.png/
One turns into a small box (Bintel Dungeons 2F), the other gives endless tents.
Oh, you changed crystalls to S-mark... I think, it must stay "below character".
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/513/sugly.png/
Also, you can't save on this, because there is parallel process Event which automatically disable save options always (left-up corner). Delete it, and all will ok.

Sadly, it's not chocobo, lol. Normally I speak Russian. I can easily read English text, and know lot of words, but when it comes to grammar... Ugh, it's my weak point.

Fantastic! I was afraid Mornay wouldn't be received well, since he's difficult to understand. I wanted him to lend an innocence to the male cast, and also be an Alchemist so I could incorporate the potion-making script and the Tools command. Getting the rarer ingredients will be side quests of their own.

Ah yes, the chest in Bintel. I have been meaning to fix that since 2.0!

The tent system was experimental at the time, so thank you for reporting that! (noted.) Before that system was in place, I needed another method to turn off saves to work with the previous save system. Good catch!

I'm going to start playtesting and fixing things in the current version tonight. Thanks again for those findings.

Russian! I can't speak the language, but I love how it sounds. Your english is actually very good, so don't worry too much.

He is totally original and fresh! And I like Tools (my favorite ability in FF6 after Cyan's sword tech, Mime and Blitz).

Yeah, I see, even now tent system is not completed (well, I liked old crystalls system). There is another one "wrong save point" in Adventurers School Save Room.
By the way, I like your mapping. New Wayland looks great! But even now I can't find secret meeting room without RMVX help... Playing old version, I fully missed Rydia/Tividar/Lazarus meeting scene. Lol, I was shocked when I opened editor and find entrance behind building. I just think, it's too secret for story scene.
Some more about mapping - really need fix passability. In goblin cave I stuck after climbing the ladder (bad boards on the way) and underground level... It needs in serious fix.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/goblinsawesomness.png/
Also, player can pass though beds, tables with flowers, etc. Really many things.
- Check book in Wayland Old Sister 2F. It looks ok in editor, but in game it becomes white tablecloth.
- Party can enter Wind Tower 1 and speak with Mist without Rydia.

At your service.
Hmm, I feel the same about English words (especially, ability names - they sounds amazing!) Thanks.

Hm, looks like I have some serious work to do. Thanks for finding those things; the Wind Tower issue is one that I don't thing many testers would have caught.

EDIT: Fixed the chest and the save point in Bintel Dungeon. I did not seem to have the transfer problem in the Goblin Mines, however. Oh, and the chest outside the dungeon was there for testing the tent system on the world map! It's not supposed to be there, but it IS working as intended... lol.

EDIT 2: I was trying to make furniture like beds and such act like beds... but it doesn't work very well, so I will change those passabilities. Thank you for finding those mistakes.

EDIT 3: The flowers and desks show as impassable in the editor, yet they are indeed passable. It must be the tileswap script... fixing.

EDIT 4: Fixed Wind Tower scene activation. Rydia must now be present.

Getting to work on small things to make a more professional product, as well as updating the SVBS and skills attached to it. The new SVBS conflicts with several scripts already in place, but many fixes are available, and thanks to Pacman I know how to modify some of them to work. Testing in progress.

New "to-do" list on front page.

I did not seem to have the transfer problem in the Goblin Mines, however.

"Goblin Mines B1" - I walked into ladder EV034 (x=9; y=13). It transports me in (9; 13) of "Goblin Mines", and there is no way back, not forward, because of the boards. (maybe, you already fix passability of this boards, and it's only my version)
Also, besides "Goblin Mines B1", where player can freely walk over black tiles, I found one in Spinnaker Castle, which the player must pass, but it does not work. (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/607/thereisnorightblack.png/) <-Spinnaker Castle, Basement.
It seems you must do huge work with passability.
- Lankwell Curio Shoppe 2F (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/534/curioshoppe2f.png/) - your mapping skills good, but tilesets playing tricks with you...
- For cutscenes in wind towers you need autorun event, not player touch, because player can avoid this events.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/31/towersg.png/
- You can use Fire Bomb in inventory (do nothing)
- TAILS fan ignored my Snake Tail (not ready yet?)
- Dwarf Home 1 - fire need Direction Fix
- East Rear Tower, last floor (with guard). No transfer event (dead end, lol)
- In Spinnaker Central Tower chest can be opened through table.
- I use Lazarus' Exit Spell in Wind Tower 1 -> teleport into center of ocean 
- About missing files
Unable to find file Audio/BGM/1 - 05 - Opening theme (when meet Rugan and Ironguts)
Unable to find file Characters/!Secrets4 (West Rear Tower, Spinnaker)
Unable to find file Characters/mo'peeps (Central Tower 3F)
Unable to find file Graphics/Characters/$BGuard2 (and $BGuard1 too)(Spinnaker, during Bintel invasion. Normally, I fear, player can't continue game at all after that).
Unable to find file Graphics/Characters/$BDK2 (boss Dark Knight).

- Script: got this error during battle in last Wind Tower with Bartuc mage:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/52/hpcost.png/ (tried to use Dragoon empty skill during Renshi battle).

Thanks again, my meticulous friend. You are really helping  to make this project bulletproof! Let's address the problems you found one by one:

Goblin Mines: Blacktile and boards passability fixed. In using BulletXT's TileSwapXT, I have forgotten to save passge settings map by map and have overlooked a lot of this kind of thing. I now have a routine that will avoid this.

Spinnakker castle Basement: Again, the tile swapper got the best of me. Fixed.

Lankwell: You will NEVER guess what happened. Fixed.

Firebombs, Dead Ends, Fire Direction, Bad Chests, Missing Audio/Video files: As the project has grown and I import better resources and delete older ones, I forget sometimes to replace them in my events. These cases show that. Good catch! Oh, and Firebomb parameters fixed, too... I dunno what I was thinking there...

Tail Collector: Correct. This feature has not been fully implemented yet.

Exit  malfunction and script error: These two problems have me very puzzled. The Exit spell works by storing coordinates as variables, so there shouldn't be any problems there; and Jander's empty skill list is just that: I used an event to remove them, so no script should be involved. I'm going to really have to look at those...

In closing, your help has been invaluable to this project, AlexArmstrong. You have saved me a LOT of time. You have my gratitude! +rep!

Hmm, it seems I reach the end (after getting airship). I really like the way you go, so, to thank me, just continue your work!

About Exit  malfunction: I looked - in towers transfer event coordinates stored AFTER transportation. So, it leads to miss-transfer.

After siege, if you return in Spinnaker Castle, you can't exit it, because of "We cannot abandon the battle" message.
Same as before, there is no right passability in Demon Demice. Obviously tileset bug in Wendy Tomb. Moreover, if party reach the chest with Wendy mirror second time, there is no way to return back (dead end. Transfer event into secret passage must works only once!)
In Oakhaven Item Shop little girl thanked me for nothing (i don't find her mother before).
If you activate Hyrule tomb from back, the game will freeze. Gates inside "Hyrulian Tomb" map leads in nowhere (transfer player in the same point)
What with this music box? It do nothing... (I think, you need change item scope from "one ally" to "none"). Well, the door at music puzzle room leads in nowhere.
Shandril in one group with Rydia... (after cutscene in Earthfont).
No enemies in Demeter (not ready?)

Well, I hope, I found all most evil bugs... Waiting for next demo! Good luck with new skills and other stuffs)

Yes, Demeter does not have any encounters ready.

The siege in Spinnakker was done incorrectly, but is now fixed with proper event switches.

The Oakhaven areas still need a lot of attention. Oakhaven was a difficult place for me for some reason; my creativity got stuck there for some time and the shoddy work reflects that. There is a lot going on there, and I will get to fixing those errors soon!

The Tileswap program has been figured out, I now know that the errors were caused by my error.

The music box OUGHT to play the melody needed elsewhere, I tested it and found it to work. Hmmmm.... I'll have to investigate that further.

You say "Shandril in one group with Rydia... (after cutscene in Earthfont)."
If you mean after King Grigor has his solo battle, yes, she should be in the group along with all the other characters you've met so far. I'll play through that part soon and try to find the error.

Again, you prove to be a great asset to the development of the game! I shall go forward and issue regular updates to honor your efforts.
+rep