Sphere and PSV

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Sphere and PSV

Postby LaconianSandals » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:54 pm

Alright, so I've seen some incomplete "Phantasy Star V" projects in the past as well as some other fan games and you guys seem to have a decent grasp on game creation.

I've decided to try to complete a Phantasy Star V project now that I have the time to do so. I'm using a program called SPHERE that supposedly allows a lot more freedom than the RPGMaker programs, and that CLAIMED to be friendly to those who weren't experience programmers. However, when I open the "editor" all it shows me are some empty folders and it looks like everything has to be pretty much scripted and designed from scratch. Is there anyone out there on these forums who is familiar with this program?
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Postby BenoitRen » Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:33 pm

Somehow I missed this thread.

Yes, I'm familiar with Sphere. Well, familiar as in, I tried it. If I remember correctly, you right-click the folders to create or add stuff like maps and sprites. Those are the basics.

Interactivity and events are done using JavaScript. That's where it gets harder. You have to familiarise yourself with the objects and methods that the program wants you to use to do anything. There are few good tutorials on this, so I never got quite far with it.

This makes it more flexible than RPG Maker, and somewhat newbie-friendly because JavaScript is an easy language with dynamic typing. The alternatives are either to use programs that are less flexible, or use a more advanced programming language together with the SDL or Allegro libraries, which require you to program everything.
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Postby rlrunyon » Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:23 pm

I once thought of a story for a PSV using offspring from Chaz and Rika. A younger brother and sister. The sister uses Elsydeon as a weapon and is a great warrior. Her younger brother uses slashers like Alys. Thought of just using the two characters, but also thought of using four or five characters for the whole game. Instead of getting new weaponry for, let's call her Alysia, level up Elsydeon through the adventures, or it upgrades as her skills do. I even thought of using slashers like PSO's slashers and making the game more action/RPG like the newer installments.
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Postby BenoitRen » Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:50 pm

rlrunyon wrote:Instead of getting new weaponry for, let's call her Alysia, level up Elsydeon through the adventures, or it upgrades as her skills do.

Secret of Mana, is that you?
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Re: Sphere and PSV

Postby Zucca » Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:35 am

LaconianSandals wrote:I've decided to try to complete a Phantasy Star V project now that I have the time to do so. I'm using a program called SPHERE that supposedly allows a lot more freedom than the RPGMaker programs, and that CLAIMED to be friendly to those who weren't experience programmers. However, when I open the "editor" all it shows me are some empty folders and it looks like everything has to be pretty much scripted and designed from scratch. Is there anyone out there on these forums who is familiar with this program?
I'd stick with RPG Maker. I once used RPG Maker 2k. You can use some scripting skills with it too. And It's quite easy to create a game with it.
Altough I would still stick with the one which has more support and more freely available tilesets ans sprites.
I can say that at least RPG Maker 2k is quite powerful program to make an RPG. I don't know about the later versions. One thing still bugged me. To play the game you had to install almost whole RPG Maker to the computer where you wanted to play it. The binaries required much other material. Which actually isn't that bad. Like most of the windows programs, they like to provide own libraries and not use any shared ones. Space and resources (RAM) is wasted.

I think, it would be great to have FOSS game maker that would create games that utilize GTK libraries. If one coded that kind of program in python it would be easy to port to many platforms. :) But I belive that it would only happen if I learn python myself. :P

Now when I think of this... I have several years of experience on scripting: ECMAScript (javascript), Sleep, Bash, Apple Script (OS 9), DOS bat... I have long been thinking of designing an RPG which takes place in Algol system. The heroes of the story arent any of the heroes in original PS games. But those heroes could appear in some cameo roles. :)
Hmmm hmmmm hmmmm... At least I would like to have one FOSS Game maker first. I'll see then.

(Oops! Long post again. :E)

EDIT: Oh well. Sphere IS FOSS. \o/ I'll need to check it out.
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Postby Zucca » Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:58 am

Well it look like Sphere has it all. It really gives developer all the resources to do almost everything. It's hard to say yet, but if you can find a decent battle engine (and some other nice engines too) for Sphere it may be possible to create games as fast and easily as with RPG Maker (2k), but at the same time giving much more customization.
It's hard to say, but the limits with RPG Maker 2k weren't limiting my game designing back then when I was using it.

Conclusion: I'd try Sphere first (using premade engines and graphics). If it then seems to take too long time to create a game (which is usually the main reason for stopping developing) then I'd switch back to RPG Maker.

Some links
WP article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_(program)
Game development community: http://www.spheredev.org
Offical Sphere page: http://sphere.sourceforge.net
Last edited by Zucca on Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Danny » Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:31 am

rlrunyon wrote:I once thought of a story for a PSV using offspring from Chaz and Rika. A younger brother and sister. The sister uses Elsydeon as a weapon and is a great warrior. Her younger brother uses slashers like Alys. Thought of just using the two characters, but also thought of using four or five characters for the whole game. Instead of getting new weaponry for, let's call her Alysia, level up Elsydeon through the adventures, or it upgrades as her skills do. I even thought of using slashers like PSO's slashers and making the game more action/RPG like the newer installments.


That type of system does sound kind of like Secret of Mana. Great game, it would be interesting to see a PS game in that style. Although, I would perfer the characters to be more like the ones from PSIV. Hero with sword and heroine with slashers. Also, isn't it written some where that Chaz and Rika had a child? Due to Rika's short life span (being a Numan), I think they could have only have had one child. I can see it now, a guy who inspires to be a great swordsman like his father Chaz. Meeting a girl that uses slashers and falls in love with her. Very romantic! I guess the third character could be another person who has inherited Lutz' memories then. I think Elsydeon should also be re-sealed after defeating the Profound Darkness and be given to the hero as the last weapon again like in PSIV. I don't think that Chaz would just give him the most powerful sword in Algo like that... "Here you go son, happy seventh birthday!"

Anyways, I just have one question about Sphere. What's it's circumference? Oh I meant, can it make animated enemies like in PSIV? I really like using RPG Maker 2000 since an experienced person could make many great games that have a lot of neat features such as a day and night system, custom battle system, a caterpillar script, etc. However, in it's normal battle system, it can't produce animated enemies. They only flash and make noises when attacking which is kind of lame in my opinon... I would have liked to see enemies animated like in PSIV.
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Postby rlrunyon » Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:53 am

I get where your coming from. Just a thought. Also, never played Secret of Mana. I played some of the other installments. Of course my character advancement idea was quite similar to the series'.

I seem to fail at stories and ideas for fan games, but succeed in creating stories and ideas for my own. =P I just lack skills to put it together in a game. O_o Should have followed my dream as a small child and became a video game designer. =D
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Postby Danny » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:02 am

rlrunyon wrote:I get where your coming from. Just a thought. Also, never played Secret of Mana. I played some of the other installments. Of course my character advancement idea was quite similar to the series'.

I seem to fail at stories and ideas for fan games, but succeed in creating stories and ideas for my own. =P I just lack skills to put it together in a game. O_o Should have followed my dream as a small child and became a video game designer. =D


Nah, you're idea was also good. It seemed more like PSI to me which was also a good game. I just thought that the characters in a PSV fan game would resemble those of PSIV a bit more. Sega payed better attention to individual character plots in PSIV than in PSI in my opinion. I hope I didn't come off as an ass in my last post. That wasen't my intent, I was trying to be humerous not rude about Elsydeon. :lol:
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Postby rlrunyon » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:07 am

Nah, Danny. You were cool. =) I don't agree it was a good idea, maybe a decent one. ;) Trust me, I've came up with better. See it as a rough draft.

I wouldn't gouge your eyes out with a spoon or anything. Waste of a perfectly good spoon... =D
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Postby BenoitRen » Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:15 am

Zucca wrote:I can say that at least RPG Maker 2k is quite powerful program to make an RPG.

It's great if you want to make a basic RPG and stick to what's given to you. Anything else, like even a basic Steal command in battle, requires complex scripting and defeats the point of using it.
Danny wrote:Also, isn't it written some where that Chaz and Rika had a child?

It's written in the Compendium that Tohru Yoshida dreamed up such a sketch for his own amusement.
Anyways, I just have one question about Sphere. What's it's circumference? Oh I meant, can it make animated enemies like in PSIV?

If you can program it, it can.
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Postby LaconianSandals » Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:04 am

PEOPLE RESPONDED! YAY!

I was thinking either nobody was interested or everybody here just didn't like me enough to help me out.

Here's some basic information I had planned.

Phantasy Star Five: Lost History

1000 years after PSIV, civil war is rampant in Algo. New Palm, a project to reduce overpopulation by artificially rebuilding Palma and moving the Palman population there has resulted in civil unrest as they refuse to move from their homes and the native populations of Mota and Dezo try to force them out. In the midst of this civil war the Hunter's Guild has become little more than a band of mercenaries and brigands resulting in the reforming of the GUARDIANS after 2000 years. Their purpose being to enforce the rules of war and make sure that innocents stop being casualties of the civil war.

The story follows a GUARDIAN named Coll who is assigned to help protect a church on Dezo that has recently been attacked for a yet unknown reason by Palmans. Much to his surprise however, the next attack comes not from Palman warriors but from freakish biomonsters led by a man strange armor. After the church is destroyed he barely escapes with his life and swears to find the man in the strange armor and avenge his friends.

Characters (Some NPCs, some playable) will include but are not limited to one of Hahn's descendants (the founder of the New Palm project), one of the later generations of Lutz, and the descendant of at least one other previous protector of Algol.

Things I plan on adding to the series include: New and interesting villains, some background on previous characters who had very little, and of course a logical explanation on why there are still bad guys after the PD was defeated.

I'm not entirely done with the planning process, bbut I think I can do the series justice.
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