fangame Verdant Tales: Symphonic Horizon

[Dylanrockin]

Bird Jesus Christ, this is incredibly ambitious…and here I thought my own personal fan game project was crazy ambitious.

I mean anime-style cutscenes. I wish your wallet luck, man.

Yeah, I already paid for, in total, 4 of them, and I don't even want to begin to start at how much those 4 animations costed me ^^;

That is exactly how I feel.

[Dylanrockin]

Greetings, once again! I am bringing you all with your regular news update, on Radio Whirlwind, except not on that podcast. Anyways, I have an update that I am proud to bring you about my game, and what you can expect for the first beta, when I decide to release it XD This video is basically detailing all that the first beta will go up to, as well as showcasing another Anime Stylized Animation, and spoiler warning, it's literally just an explosion; because, who doesn't like explosions? But, there will be 3 more of those animations coming out within the next 2-3 months, and are... much more exciting than an explosion.

But, in any case, here is a little video for you guys:

And for some reason using AVI's by doing a script call doesn't seem to want to work - so I basically had to convert the video file of the explosion into a gif, which... doesn't look as great ^^;

Edited November 4, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Commander]

I merely skimmed the video, not because I don't like it, but because I do not like any story spoiler...at all. I just did a bit of glancing here and there and it seems pretty good. Also, moving animations. YAY!

[Dylanrockin]

I merely skimmed the video, not because I don't like it, but because I do not like any story spoiler...at all. I just did a bit of glancing here and there and it seems pretty good. Also, moving animations. YAY!

It's all good, you are the first one who has told me that you were willing to skip through the videos that I posted of important battles, just to avoid spoilers XD Which is awesome! But, the thing about the animation that I used was: I couldn't really get the audio of the explosion to line up well with the gif (because the script call to play .avi files doesn't seem to want to work for some reason), and the quality was HEAVILY botched because of it. I might play around with it at a later date and get the audio with it, but for now, it's just a silent explosion.

Or were you just referring to the menu animations? XD

Edited November 5, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Sutoratosu]

Error: Stratos.exe has crashed

Cause: mind blown

before anything, let me just say...

This looks like, hands down, the best looking fan game I have ever seen on the internet graphics wise, no doubt about it... and the amount of additional, high quality concept art there is to go along with it... I'm telling you bro, most of those I would easily mistake coming straight from Game Freak itself, actually no, scratch that, they are freaking better than gamefreak. And that's without even mentioning the unique game mechanics elements that easily set it far apart from anything I've seen... the whole Variable Trainer system reminds of Final Fantasy 4 the After Years in a way, being able to jump from character to character and basically... play it a bit like it's final fantasy or something, and the fact that each character has a unique skill set only adds to the feeling.

I haven't fully read up on the thread yet, just skimmed here and there, but obviously, I don't care how long I have to wait for this... whenever you get this thing out, I'ma try out, most definitely. Hell, I was recently even considering getting rid of my old Windows netbook for a newer replacement, and this is definitely a bonus reason for me to.

[Ronan Erudon]

I don't have enough energy to be hyped for both this and Fallout 4.

So fuck Fallout 4.

[Dylanrockin]

Error: Stratos.exe has crashed

Cause: mind blown

before anything, let me just say...

This looks like, hands down, the best looking fan game I have ever seen on the internet graphics wise, no doubt about it... and the amount of additional, high quality concept art there is to go along with it... I'm telling you bro, most of those I would easily mistake coming straight from Game Freak itself, actually no, scratch that, they are freaking better than gamefreak. And that's without even mentioning the unique game mechanics elements that easily set it far apart from anything I've seen... the whole Variable Trainer system reminds of Final Fantasy 4 the After Years in a way, being able to jump from character to character and basically... play it a bit like it's final fantasy or something, and the fact that each character has a unique skill set only adds to the feeling.

I haven't fully read up on the thread yet, just skimmed here and there, but obviously, I don't care how long I have to wait for this... whenever you get this thing out, I'ma try out, most definitely. Hell, I was recently even considering getting rid of my old Windows netbook for a newer replacement, and this is definitely a bonus reason for me to.

Heheh, thanks, I really appreciate your kind words! It means a lot, actually! But, yeah, this game is... a lot more JRPG focused, rather than trying to stick to the usual Pokemon Formula, which, is another reason why I feel most people will feel really divided on this game. The game is very much a Pokemon game, it just takes itself more seriously, but has times where it can be lighthearted, and you can go about doing Gym's and stuff (even though Gym's are technically optional, since you don't need to do them to progress the story, and are only used as a sub-plot between Vice, Marissa and Helena). The Variable Trainer System was made to help incorporate a way to make the characters feel unique, alive, and... most importantly, themselves. They are not an avatar or a persona of you, the player. The aspect of the character abilities was a way to make the characters also feel different from one another, and can be attributed to your play-style. That's not to say though that you can just go through the game playing as one character, because, there are points in the game where you will play as that one character you ignored, and will HAVE to train.

But, I am glad that you are looking forward to this game! I am just hoping that it is well received among Pokemon fans, as well as anime and traditional JRPG Fans.

I don't have enough energy to be hyped for both this and Fallout 4.

So fuck Fallout 4.

Well, you have, hopefully, a lot to look forward to I just hope that everything goes the way I hope, within the next few weeks. However, I am going to be VERY busy next week, with work, irl. Which is another reason why I delayed my game for about another month or so ;w;

[Hexagoen]

ok... ok.... o. k.

how have i not seen this yet O-O

this is by far one of the more ambitious projects here

the artwork is top notch and is hella clean, and from that video, i have seen that you have put alot of effort into this!

looking forward to a beta/demo soon enough!

[Login]

There are no words for this...

Briliant work man, keep up

[Damage]

This game looks beyond amazing. I have a feeling running it will be like Crysis 3 though...

[Dylanrockin]

This game looks beyond amazing. I have a feeling running it will be like Crysis 3 though...

Not quite ^^; It does have a huge download size of 3+GB, but that is mainly for all the music and sound stuff.

ok... ok.... o. k.

how have i not seen this yet O-O

this is by far one of the more ambitious projects here

the artwork is top notch and is hella clean, and from that video, i have seen that you have put alot of effort into this!

looking forward to a beta/demo soon enough!

Thank you for the compliments ^^ and I am hoping my efforts translate well over to you, the future players of the game I am gonna be pretty busy next week, so progress and updates might be really slow, but I'll try to see what I can do for progress, since I get 2 days off tomorrow and Saturday.

Update: I am currently reaching the point in my eventing that I am about done with the first continents main story stuff, and can finally start NPC dialogue, side stuff, and trainer data. I am also going to start programming some of the last few abilities in for the remaining characters. Characters that have access to all 3 of their abilities are listed below:

Vice Braving

Ability 1: Encounter None - Programmed in, with video in the main thread.

Ability 2: Verdant Transformation - Programmed in, with video in the main thread.

Ability 3: EXP Growth - Programmed in

Marissa Brennan

Ability 1: Jumping - Programmed in

Ability 2: Ascended Mega Evolution - Not Programmed in yet

Ability 3: EXP Growth - Programmed in

Vivian Vance

Ability 1: Shadow Dash - Programmed in, with video in main thread

Ability 2: Shadow Sneak - Programmed in, with video in main thread

Ability 3: Lockpicking - Programmed in

Krista Harper

Ability 1: Passive Healing - Not programmed in yet

Ability 2: Pokesense - Not Programmed in yet

Ability 3: EXP Growth - Programmed in

Hiro Monochroma

Ability 1: Time Control - Programmed in

Ability 2: Time Stop - Not Programmed in yet

Ability 3: Dream Transference - Programmed in

Allan Monochroma

Ability 1: Critical Capture - Programmed in

Ability 2: Time Field - Not Programmed in

Ability 3: Family Bond - Not Programmed in yet

[Masquerain]

Jesus. This is probably the most ambitious fan project I've ever seen. I truly hope everything works out.

^ Simply this

It looks amazing, I hope it will go as far as to reach its debut and more!

Heterochromia girl Q_Q mewant, too bad I don't like her design but wellp, many cool chars out there

[Dylanrockin]

^ Simply this

It looks amazing, I hope it will go as far as to reach its debut and more!

Heterochromia girl Q_Q mewant, too bad I don't like her design but wellp, many cool chars out there

I doubt it will go to the "more" aspect of it's release, in my opinion; I just hope it does well among the Pokemon Community, especially with all the risks that I have taken to make it differentiate itself from others.

Well, I am sure she will grow on you, as she develops throughout the course of the game ^^ spoiler warning, she loses her heterochromatism after a certain point in the game, due to... spoilers XD It's one of the tricks that help amplify character development, when something physical about their appearance changes, as it mainly signifies a change in the character themselves - much like Serena in the Pokemon anime with her hair getting shorter. It helps show for character development in Marissa herself, once that very exposition heavy scene happens. Also, Marissa is actually designed after a friend of mine, irl, who is also a gymnast like her ;D

Side Note to Everyone: So, I am currently in the process of making sprite costumes for ALL the characters, after I get everything on the 1st Continent of Lumia done. So far, I have these costumes ready to be made:

Christmas Costumes:

Halloween Costumes:

Beach Clothes: With no artwork at the moment ;w; It's being worked on by one of my friends.

Maid/Butler Clothes:

Formal Attire:

And Character Specific Costumes that are unique to that specific main character. Like, Vice's Verdant Clothes that you see in my profile picture, and on the main thread.

But, I was wondering what you'd like to see for a possible costume. And no, this is not trainer customization, they are meant to be funny little preset costumes that the characters can wear ;D Kind of like in Tales of Symphonia, and all the other Tales games.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Radical Raptor]

I'm pretty impressed by all the work that did. I mean, you made that whole engine yourself and that battle system looks pretty good, it could even put the elite battle system to shame. I mean you must have made it all yourself since you have no credits...

[Dylanrockin]

So, I had my good friend make a .exe icon for my game, and this is what she came up with:

Yes, I know it looks really huge, but, the way you go about changing the game.exe icon basically requires the icon, especially on windows 7 and up, to be around 256x256+ But, this icon alone looks super cool!

Edited November 6, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Ronan Erudon]

I can't open it, must be bugged :'(

[Dylanrockin]

I can't open it, must be bugged :'(

Pffft xD This icon isn't quite what I would use for a background, mainly because of all the transparency

[Masquerain]

I doubt it will go to the "more" aspect of it's release, in my opinion; I just hope it does well among the Pokemon Community, especially with all the risks that I have taken to make it differentiate itself from others.

Well, I am sure she will grow on you, as she develops throughout the course of the game ^^ spoiler warning, she loses her heterochromatism after a certain point in the game, due to... spoilers XD It's one of the tricks that help amplify character development, when something physical about their appearance changes, as it mainly signifies a change in the character themselves - much like Serena in the Pokemon anime with her hair getting shorter. It helps show for character development in Marissa herself, once that very exposition heavy scene happens. Also, Marissa is actually designed after a friend of mine, irl, who is also a gymnast like her ;D

Side Note to Everyone: So, I am currently in the process of making sprite costumes for ALL the characters, after I get everything on the 1st Continent of Lumia done. So far, I have these costumes ready to be made:

Christmas Costumes:

Halloween Costumes:

Beach Clothes: With no artwork at the moment ;w; It's being worked on by one of my friends.

Maid/Butler Clothes:

Formal Attire:

And Character Specific Costumes that are unique to that specific main character. Like, Vice's Verdant Clothes that you see in my profile picture, and on the main thread.

But, I was wondering what you'd like to see for a possible costume. And no, this is not trainer customization, they are meant to be funny little preset costumes that the characters can wear ;D Kind of like in Tales of Symphonia, and all the other Tales games.

That is a great shame, heterochromia is awesome. Though I must say Vivian is probably my favorite o3o

I think the game will really go well with the community and I hope it sees the light of day and also hope we get to see it fully finished one day!

Edited November 7, 2015 by Masquerain

[Dylanrockin]

That is a great shame, heterochromia is awesome. Though I must say Vivian is probably my favorite o3o

I think the game will really go well with the community and I hope it sees the light of day and also hope we get to see it fully finished one day!

Vivian is pretty awesome, she is actually my favorite as well! Her dialogue, alongside Craig's, is some of the funniest stuff you will hear out of the characters, when they banter with one another. Vivian is the only other character that can use Verdant Transformation, besides Vice, in Symphonic Horizon (even though that is Epilogue stuff, but, she can do it). Surprisingly, Vivian was my least favorite, up until she got her ninja redesign, along with her characterization getting redone.

It will hopefully see the light of day, and I do plan on putting 200% into this game, after Christmas, moreso than what you are seeing now.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Dylanrockin]

Update: For those of you who are interested in watching people work on their Pokemon game, I just got finished livestreaming me working for about 2 hours. The progress that was made involved a lot of trainer and side-quest events in the game. It doesn't have any commentary, not today at least. So, if any of you are interested in watching the stream archive, the video is below this text post. Also, with all those events done and dusted, that put me really ahead of schedule, in terms of getting NPC events done and out of the way!

Also, for like a split second you can see one of the scripts for my game XD Thankfully that is an open source script that anyone can use, made by KleinStudio's, my boi ;D

In short, this livestream is basically your update for the day. A whole lot of events were made, trainers were finished, and optional stuff inserted ;D

Edited November 8, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Tempo17]

Hey one thing that I noticed was how in the character description it states the age and at what point in the game each character is at. In Symphonic Horizons 2 is that just the second half of the game or is it a new game completely?

[Dylanrockin]

Hey one thing that I noticed was how in the character description it states the age and at what point in the game each character is at. In Symphonic Horizons 2 is that just the second half of the game or is it a new game completely?

That is a completely new game, and is the sequel the this game. That is a little side-project that I am working on at the same time as this game, but, I work on it whenever I don't feel like working on my main game. Those 3 games listed are the only games that I will work on that are related to the Symphonic Horizon series.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Masquerain]

Does the presence of the Serena concept art/sprites mean that there is simply no official artwork available for the particular character?

Also, was Hiro always a gender-neutral name?

[Dylanrockin]

Does the presence of the Serena concept art/sprites mean that there is simply no official artwork available for the particular character?

Also, was Hiro always a gender-neutral name?

Serena? Oh, no concept artwork does exist for Krista Harper, in fact, here is her concept artwork:

The statement that she makes was actually made, because Serena WAS the placeholder for Krista, and everyone hated that idea; so, I ended up giving Krista this design, and even asked how everyone liked it XD

And Hiro is a gender neutral name, I found out, thanks to Pokemon Christmas Rom Hack XD

Edited November 8, 2015 by Dylanrockin

[Masquerain]

Serena? Oh, no concept artwork does exist for Krista Harper, in fact, here is her concept artwork:

The statement that she makes was actually made, because Serena WAS the placeholder for Krista, and everyone hated that idea; so, I ended up giving Krista this design, and even asked how everyone liked it XD

And Hiro is a gender neutral name, I found out, thanks to Pokemon Christmas Rom Hack XD

I see, I was wondering because in the 1st page, many placeholders are still serena That said, Krista looks pretty cool as well

Edited November 8, 2015 by Masquerain