Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Selatria - Development Blog Entry 11/27



Progress on the game is coming well! Fundraising for the game is going to begin in early January, and that includes pre-orders. The proceeds from that I'm hoping to commission the current team as well as get some needed resources in order to have a completed project in a timely fashion.

So far I'm going to do that on Indiegogo and Kickstarter, if you guys have any other suggestions for fundraising techniques, send 'em my way. And damn, I just remembered I need to get a business card too. I keep forgetting!

I'll be starting a Development Video Log on YouTube so please subscribe if you would like regular updates of the project. I'll be posting them on this blog too, but I always appreciate the support. :)


Here are some screenshots of what's to come. (The raft is a placeholder graphic. What could it be? :P ) 'Sides, I can't think of any wooden rafts that can go over lava!

I would post videos but cut-scenes are still being tweaked, and it wouldn't be any fair to upload game footage when appropriate sounds/voices/music is still being worked on and finalized.



 






There's also an installer being worked on, too! If things go well with the project and/or the game is well-received when completed, I would love to port the game to the more professional JavaScript-based Sphere engine for a Linux version (possibly open it up to future mobile versions?).

But my ultimate goal right now is to finish the Microsoft Windows-version.




Friday, November 23, 2012

First Loves

November is a very special month for me. Did you know that?

I knew I was in love with a person I was with in November seven years ago and we got together around this time. (Was it before or after Thanksgiving? Who knows.) Unfortunately for a variety of reasons (one - we were both too immature), things never worked out, and eventually went separate ways.

But that experience did change my whole aspect on life. I went from being a very selfish heartless person to one who likes to take charge, and put things together, and one who isn't afraid to be himself. If people don't like me for who I am, then they shouldn't like me at all.

Anyway, since that ended, I have become some sort of matchmaker, and go figure they started their relationships in November.

Two couples in particular, one was a friend that I met in Final Fantasy who came all the way across the country to be with a classmate I went to school with. They would have never met each other had they not posted on one of my silly Facebook status update jokes.

The other couple we actually went to an anime convention together her, him, my best friend, and myself. My best friend and I looked down and up and BAM they were gone! Totally went off on their own. Fast forward a few months to when I was taking over a video group and put together one of our first productions, and they ended up heavily flirting with each other. Well after some time, I just told them to get on my computer and make their relationship official. So I always take credit for putting them together. (haha)

Well, go figure, both couples I mentioned got together the same day - November 6, 2010 and they're both still together!

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It makes me happy. To see that people are so much a match for each other. In my opinion that makes it more worthwhile to me then being in a relationship itself.

...Where was I going with this again?



Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Black Friday

You know, it's the start of the holidays, and that's all nice and well.

But the concept of Black Friday never really sits right with me. Thanksgiving is a day when you're supposed to be thankful for what you have. Yet many stores are now opening Thanksgiving night at 8PM for Black Friday deals.

That makes me really upset. I posted my concerns about this on Facebook and the responses have been along the lines of:

"Already been like that."

"I just know it's sad when nobody believes in people being with their families on the holidays anymore. :( I mean- people who want to work for the OT- go for it, but many places don't even let people request off for such days."

"...its been about 15 years and black friday will be a weeklong event within a decade."

"You do realize that there are fast food places open all day on Thanksgiving. What about the employees there?"

"Eh. It's the price you pay for working in retail."


The only problem here, is that it will only continue to get worse unless people band together and stop it. Corporations and marketing strategies are testing the waters, what opened at 5-6AM five years ago crept to midnight last year and now is 8PM this year. Soon they won't be closed on Thanksgiving at all.      

It's the Bystander effect. I would honestly feel guilty by going into a retail store on Thanksgiving evening, and expect the utmost service from them on a time when most people are usually with their families. Lack of empathy that shoppers have for the sake of getting that next new TV or that better console or computer that is 1/2 off.

I hate the concept of greed. It really messes with people.



I just don't like the concept that people will push others based on their own greedy impulses. It really does bring out the worst in people. (In real life, in online games, in everything.) That's more along the lines of what I was getting at.

People really lose sight of what holidays actually mean in hopes that they'll just get new things or gifts.


But remember!

Be thankful for what you have, but only until 8PM! 





Monday, November 19, 2012

I met a Final Fantasy friend in real life!

Yesterday, after months of planning, I got to meet a long time Final Fantasy friend in person!

Those of you who have played XI or XIV with me will recognize who it is, I'd rather not display their name for everyone to see here, but I'm very happy to finally meet a friend I met in an online game in person.

We're gonna plan to meet again real soon in order to actually do things like raids in "A Realm Reborn" in the same room, will be fun!

People have said I look angry or unamused in the picture - that is definitely not the case. A mix of a lack of sleep and me not being very photogenic >.<


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gaming Rant

Alright, time for another nerdy rant. (Going to also submit this to Did You Know Gaming?)

Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen/Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald take place contemporaneously.

Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver/Diamond/Pearl/Platinum take place contemporaneously after the previous games.

Pokemon Black2/White2 take place after both the above.

Then how is it that the Kanto leaders age in between the two generations (quite a bit at that), yet the Hoenn leaders look EXACTLY the same. It's been what, six years and Leaders Liza & Tate are still little kids.

http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/e/e9/Spr_B2W2_Liza.png

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The End of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0: The Coming of the Seventh Umbral Era - What a Weekend (Part 2)




XIV Terminology you'll want to know for this post.

Seventh Umbral Era - The era that is to take place after the events of the Meteor crash, and the small in-game events that took place before that.

Louisoix - An old sage who in the 1.0 version was a major NPC involved with fighting the primals (summons) of Final Fantasy XIV. Dies in the final meteor impact while using the twelve to attempt to seal Bahamut. Uses a spell from one of the twelve in order to send surviving adventurers to the future where they would be safe.

Dalamud - Eorzea's lesser artificial moon. It is summoned closer by the enemy Garlean Empire. Every patch leading to the meteor impact, it would grow larger in the sky. Bahamut cracks out of this in the meteor impact (below)

The Twelve The Twelve gods of Eorzea. Summoned by the players with /pray in the final 1.0 mission in order to try to rid Dalamud from impact. Used by Louisoix to attempt to seal Bahamut away with the players' help. Fails when it's shattered free. Louisoix uses the power of  "Althyk the Keeper" the Eorzean god of space and time to transport everyone to the future before being killed by Megaflare. The Twelve are gods, do not confuse with primals (the in-game XIV summons.) They are not the same, summoning the twelve can cause doom/chaos and is only left to important NPCs.

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@1:31 - The three Grand Company leaders of the three city-states 
@1:35 -  Gaius (FFXIV's Main Antagonist)
@2:28 - Cid in FFXIV


On midnight on Sunday, November 11th, the original version of Final Fantasy XIV went down in anticipation for the re-launch of the game, titled "A Realm Reborn".

Here is the in-game justification of the impact, as said by Final Fantasy XIV developers themselves.
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Eorzea. A Land embraced by Gods and forged by Heroes.
Seeking control over this realm and its abundant crystal resources, the Garlean Empire (a scientifically advanced nation hailing from the north) begins gathering an army of epic proportions. To ready themselves for the coming conflict, the city-states of Eorzea reinstate the Grand Companies?comprehensive centers of command which combine the commonwealths' military and economic assets. However, the commander of the invading forces, VIIth Imperial Legion Legatus Nael van Darnus (a.k.a. “White Raven”), has plans of his own. Driven by madness, he silently plots to usher in a more permanent form of devastation: Meteor.

The Meteor project is comprised of a complex scheme employing arcane magicks and lost technology to summon the lesser moon down to Eorzea in an attempt to annihilate the realm's inhabitants in one fell stroke. Dalamud, as the celestial object is commonly known, is revealed to be a colossal machine launched thousands of years ago into the planet's orbit by an ancient civilization.

Realizing the futility of standing alone against such a threat, the Grand Companies put aside deep-rooted differences and consolidate their forces under the banner of the Eorzean Alliance.

At the behest of this new confederation, adventurers from across the realm take up arms and march on the floating islands of Rivenroad. Here, the brave heroes confront Nael van Darnus, and after a heated battle, put him to the sword. But by this time, the White Raven's plan is too far along, and Dalamud continues its descent.

In an eleventh-hour bid to save mankind, the Grand Companies turn to Louisoix, an enigmatic scholar hailing from the forgotten city-state of Sharlayan. The 'Archon,' as he is called, devises a plan to summon the power of the Twelve, Eorzea’s pantheon of guardian deities, and use that power to banish Dalamud back to the heavens. But for this to succeed, the rite needs to be performed directly beneath the point of Dalamud's impact. After several sleepless nights of deliberation by the realm's foremost arcanists and astronomers, that point is determined to be a vast swathe of barren lowlands in central Eorzea known as the Carteneau Flats. With this information in hand, the Grand Companies order the immediate mobilization of their forces.

Unbeknownst to the Alliance, the soldiers of the VIIth Imperial Legion, oblivious to their leader's dark intentions, have also begun gathering in central Eorzea. Ordered to defend the area with their lives, they prepare for a fight, unaware that victory will bring about their own demise.

And so, with two great hosts amassed, the Battle of Carteneau begins.

Both sides fight with a desperation-fueled frenzy, neither yielding the other ground, until from the skies, a great roar issues. Dalamud has begun its final metamorphosis. In a matter of moments, the stone and metal of the moon's crust crumble away to reveal none other than the elder primal, Bahamut, now free from his ancient prison.

And thus do the people of Eorzea learn what it is that truly faces them. Never was it the White Raven's intention to blight the realm with Dalamud, but what slumbered within it.

Enraged after aeons of duress, Bahamut unleashes his wrath upon the realm, spewing forth endless fire and destruction. Louisoix quickly conjures a barrier to protect what remains of the Eorzean Alliance, and then begins the arcane rite that will channel the power of the Twelve and focus it into rebinding Bahamut. The sheer force of the primal, however, is too strong for even the Archon, and his efforts fail.

Realizing the end is nigh, Louisoix summons the last of his strength to call upon Althyk, the Keeper, god of space and time, to send those surviving heroes into an aetherial rift, where they are to remain untouched by the passing of the seasons until it is once again safe to emerge...and continue their struggle to forge Eorzea's future.
We await the return of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn, and will look for you fellow adventurers in the dawn of a new Eorzea!
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"A Realm Reborn" is going to include new class/job See: Arcanist // See: Summoner  a redesigned user-interface with tutorials, a new storyline explaining the post-apocolypse. Redesigned towns (meteor was the in-game justification for the change of zones). And a battle system overhaul that includes Limit Breaks, new spells and attributes, and a free company-summoning system (different than Summoner job to where the company summons can summon the primal at its full unleashed power.)

Here is a video of the re-designed Gridania, which in my opinion, was the worst off area out of them all. (And I say that with love. Sort of. That is my home.)



Here are some final pictures we took on the few days before impact. The last one being 5 minutes before meteor hit. :) 
















 

Did you know?

The final boss of 1.0 (Nael Van Darnus) gets the power of meteor in his second form. His ultimate move is Megaflare. Should have been a good hint about Bahamut coming.

Dalamud and Bahamut sound similar, and have the vowels in the same parts of the word.

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Some comments/questions I've been getting regarding relaunch:

Character data is not wiped. If you had a character in 1.0 and quit, you will be able to come back in ARR with your character. In fact, you will get a one-time chance to freely change your character look/race/gender/name with the new customization options they have given.

For people that stuck around in the hard times, they get a permanent discount of $9.99/month as opposed to people who will come back or join at PS3 release who will pay the standard rate of $12.99/month.

The alpha version will be coming out worldwide on November 26, 2012. They're about two months behind roadmap schedule, so the full version of the game should hit around March 2013.


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Anime Vegas 2012 - What a Weekend (Part 1)

It was a pretty fantastic weekend, there were two events that I was really looking forward to, and I was somehow able to make both. Anime Vegas 2012 convention from Saturday-Monday, and the end of the world cataclysmic event of Final Fantasy XIV that signified the closure of the current version and the transition to "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn" (That'll be Part 2.)

Anime Vegas: 

We left California around 11PM ish Friday night and got into Vegas at around 2AM Saturday morning. There's just something I love about driving into the brightest city in the world in the middle of the night where one can truly enjoy the splendor that Las Vegas has to offer. I really love the atmosphere of the town, I wouldn't mind moving there. I've already applied to several jobs in the area so maybe I could make it a permanent residence. I have talked to some friends who would like to move with me if that dream were to come true, so I wouldn't be living on my own.

I went with three of my friends: Jabari, Jon, and Shadoe. These three are usually the ones I go to conventions with, Shadoe and Jon are the ones that make my cosplays, and they're really talented at doing it. I have to thank them a million times over for doing my Moon and Sazh costume.

Okay, I think I got off on a tangent again. Time for pictures!

Pictures from Anime Vegas 2012!

Day 1: We were FFXIII characters. I was Sazh, Shadoe was Hope (the top pictures are the "formal version" of the cosplay for the dance), and Jon was Snow.

Day 2: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask characters. Shadoe was Link, Jon was Majora, and I was the Moon! (Three Days!)

Day 3: We went as cosplays people seemed to like most. Shadoe was Hope, Jon was Snow, and I was the Moon!


On Day 2, we went to a random casino in our costumes, and people seemed to really like it! Link/Majora got their pictures taken, unfortunately I didn't go as the Moon, can't eat a fine buffet in that costume >.<
















































Next year, Anime Vegas is going to be on Labor Day weekend instead of Veterans' Day weekend. Looking forward to going next year!