Fire Emblem (Interest Check)

[Revelation]

Still looks good, things seem to fit in just fine.

[Hoshino]

The sad thing is zoomed in sprites are just fine and great for showing off what you need. But resizing sprites to fit the map size, they just look bad, what with the stretching and skewing. And from what I've seen, there's not much you can do to get zoomed sprites to look as good as you need them to.

...unless you print screened a zoomed in sprite and then put that into photo shop--oh sweet god.

[ZameRagues]

I think this size edit looks good

[Sabre]

The sad thing is zoomed in sprites are just fine and great for showing off what you need. But resizing sprites to fit the map size, they just look bad, what with the stretching and skewing. And from what I've seen, there's not much you can do to get zoomed sprites to look as good as you need them to.

...unless you print screened a zoomed in sprite and then put that into photo shop--oh sweet god.

The great thing about maptools is that imported sprites and maps are automatically locked according to their pixels, and thus scale perfectly with each other to prevent the kind of problems that occur when resizing in an image editor.  For that reason I don't resize anything, and each square is more or less 16 x 16 pixels like the original game and then zoomed into for the final presentation.  Some of the enemy sprites are a pixel or two off in scale though, as they were early edits when I was getting the hang of the process and do plan on replacing with better work.

[Silk]

Really hyped for all this now xD

[ZameRagues]

Like wise, I'm replaying my fire emblem games to get reused to the game feeling.

[Kunoichi]

Yeah, it's looking like the maps will be great, and the story an interesting one.  I'm excited, too. ^^

[Latooni Subota]

Here's a question.

Do we want to use an established continent (Far far in the future, but not that long really!) or make our own. Worldbuilding is fun, but lots of extra work.

[Sabre]

It's not so bad to create our own universe.  It's not even necessary at the start since the prologue will be a local affair that won't need much explanation in matters of location.  I happen to have a lot of maps to work with.  I've come half-prepared for a game like this, you see.

Like so:


... over which we can apply a layer and distinguish specific realms of our choosing.  The same can be done with any other map, including old Fire Emblem maps if we want to use one.  There's no difference unless we specifically want our game to be in the same universe as another Fire Emblem game.

[evangel]

I'm getting very excited for this as well. The sprite work with both maps and characters look positively sweet! But in my opinion, we should set it up at an established continent, if only to reduce the workload on starting this out. And speaking of starting this out, have we any ideas for the prologue?

[Sabre]

Currently we seem agreed on a minor rebellion the details of which can be explained through the story to prevent spoilers for any grand storyline that we'll build off it.  I believe we're looking at a rebellion in which Cecilia and her followers and mercenaries either join or even lead a rebellion against another family member of hers.  We have Cecilia and Ysena, a lady and a mercenary captain, and most of the players will be followers of either or be independent wanderers who join up at the start.  Two or more players can discuss any backstory that may link their characters together in some way (like say Maribelle being a wandering performer and another character who acts as a paid bodyguard and traveling companion, etc).

Storyline and world-building aren't much of a concern for me, as these happen to be my strengths since before joining (all the sprite and map work you've seen so far I've learned in the last 48 hours).

[evangel]

My thanks for rising to the occasion, Sabre. I'm very impressed to say the least!  :o

[Revelation]

Were there other loyalist soldiers that were doing to rebel? Seems a few backgrounds or characters might have changed a bit, we could work something out, or not! I'm fine with either.

[Sabre]

Yes, each player has a choice in how they want to be recruited into this rebellion, and an in-game recruitment option will be accommodated.


Oh technology, what would I do without you?

[Kunoichi]

Wow, that certainly looks impressive.  Looks like I'll have to give some thought on how I plan to enter the game...

How are Dancers usually recruited in Fire Emblem games?

[ZameRagues]

So who exactly is/are the lords/princesses of our game?

My idea for my character is to be loyal to said family and helping to protect them.

Edit: Wow, I didn't think there was a program like that. I suddenly want this just to play.

[Revelation]

So who exactly is/are the lords/princesses of our game?

My idea for my character is to be loyal to said family and helping to protect them.

Edit: Wow, I didn't think there was a program like that. I suddenly want this just to play.

http://rptools.net/

Is where you can get maptools if you want. A very, very fine program for mapmaking and hosting online games.

[Sabre]

You don't have to be 'recruited' if you don't want to.  There's all sorts of options available to the player.  Since everyone's character is an individual player from the start, there's really no such thing as an NPC role for them, so unless they're specifically on the enemy side at the beginning they'd be automatically on the allied team even if they've never met with the main body of players yet (that can be handled in after-battle role play anyway.

So as a dancer, you could already be part of the team in either Cecilia's guard, as a mercenary already a part of Ysena's group like Tethys in FE8, or just a wanderer who is enters the battlefield from either a village/house somewhere or from off-map altogether.  You could also have another character partnered with you as a companion or partner in crime (or bodyguard, since a dancer by herself can't exactly fight).


I believe Cecilia, the trobadour, is in line to the 'throne' as our party Lord.

[Kunoichi]

Hmm.  Actually, I think I do want to be recruited, to be honest. ^^; Or, well, I suppose a more accurate term might be 'rescued', since I imagine Maribelle would be dancing for the enemy soldiers to pay off a ridiculously trumped-up debt that some corrupt government official saddled her with.  Shouldn't take too much convincing to get her to switch sides, all things considered...

[ZameRagues]

I can start with Cecilia in the starting party.

Being indebted to her father, Seth could have a desire to protect the princess as a favor. That's my idea at least.

If Latooni is okay with it.

[evangel]

We can probably recruit Maribelle in the first battle, even.  ;D

For me, I might just follow suit with ZameRagues and see if my character can hitch a ride with Cecilia's group. The more I think about it, the more I find it hard to justify a lord strolling around in angry looking black armor and an angry-looking scarf without other nobles getting uncomfortable. Maybe a bum knight who sold his estate and is wandering around like a crazy freak.

[ZameRagues]

I like the idea, it gives us a wall to hide behind.

[Kunoichi]

We can probably recruit Maribelle in the first battle, even.  ;D

That would depend on whether the first battle involves fending off an enemy attack or striking out at an enemy camp.  The former isn't the sort of thing they'd bring a dancer along on, but the latter...

[Latooni Subota]

Do keep in mind that going by what we've done so far, Cecilia's family will be the enemies for the most part. If I might suggest for specifics, her father was good and badass king (with a mother out of the picture) .

Father- King

Older Brother and Sister- Jerks, most likely? From the first Queen (now dead)
Cecilia- From the second Queen (now dead too!)

When the king died, the line obviously goes to the oldest child, her big half-brother . . who is a total jerk and starts being generally a badguy. Making things better for the army and nobles, and mucking up the lives of the commonfolk. Cecilia decides she doesn't like this, tries to 'diplomacy', and epicly fails repeatedly. Some of the not-asshole soldiers and nobles convince her that there needs to be a coup in order to restore order and protect the civilians . . and that's what we got.

Sounds okay? :x

[Sabre]

Cecilia, as a noble, would naturally have a retinue with a knight or two acting as her personal guard.  Like Claire, and maybe Aurich.  Ashton too if he no longer wishes to be an enemy unit recruited to the party during battle.  Besides knights she would have other retainers or servants or just friends loyal to her cause like Seth and Edmund (hidden personal goals aside).  Then there's the Advent mercenaries which she could contract Ysena for their services (if needed, I may buff the party with some allied NPCs to even the odds against a large enemy force).

Independent characters like Valerie and Maribelle (or Aurich, I'm not decided on him yet) can join Cecilia as a personal choice or oath to serve, or join Ysena's mercenaries and accomplish the same goal of joining the main party.  The two (or three) can also be in a group themselves as either a wandering troupe that decides to put themselves between the enemy and the other players or villagers, or hired/forced soldiers working for the enemy.

Also, if you guys have any friends who'd like to join, feel free to invite them so we can add to the party size.  Or later, after we've streamlined the game play and get used to the process we may start inviting newcomers (appropriately leveled) to the party in different chapters.  These could be other people on Elliquiy or, if need be, secondary or even tertiary characters for some of us if we want or need them.


As a character, I had in mind an urban knight of sorts for Aurich.  A knight of a free city rather than the landed, big-estate type we normally think of, he spends his free time as a merchant and bureaucrat rather than hunting.  He fashions himself an up and coming tactician and statesman.  As stated he could either be a guard or friend of Cecilia or a passerby that joins the team as a sellsword or oathtaker.


Now, building off Latooni's suggestions, the prologue will open with Cecilia forced into rebellion.  Her manor, a small gift her father left her since she couldn't inherit much else between her siblings and their greed, has come under attack and overrun along with the nearby town and villages.  Cecilia's forces regroup and, with the help of others from the towns, villages, and even passing mercenaries, fight back to retake the small estate.  Initially caught off guard because she wanted to keep negotiating for temperance and kindness from her siblings, she is then branded a rebel once the small force her brother and sister sent fails to kill her.  Even if she never wanted it, she becomes a figurehead for the new rebellion.

This can satisfy a lot of requests from various players on how they want to join the party - Ysena's mercenaries can either be passing by and decide to help, or perhaps secretly hired by one of Cecilia's followers who foresaw this treachery and they arrive in time to join the counterattack.  Maribelle can be in one of the houses or villages taken over by the enemy who didn't expect Cecilia's small party to find help and attack so soon.  The region can be a sort of crossroads for any individualists to likely pass by.  Ashton can see the injustice in this one-sided battle that feels little more than an assassination attempt, and so on and so forth.