Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes Demo 2 Feedback

[CyberSarkany]

Another 1 by me:
If you beat Dalton(I know you are not supposed to), he disappears in this black gate(the one he disappears in when you fight him on epoch), and then he is still standing there an putting you into prison.
I know you actually have to lose, but it's kinda weird he disappears and reappears...
Colliseum and Zeal are the next ones to beat

[justin3009]

I kind of hacked my stats to max on magus and he beat zeal.  Nothing happens really, he does exactly what happens if you lose =/

[CyberSarkany]

For the colliseum: the "normal" difficulty screws the game after the 2nd battle(screen gets screwed+freeze) see pic.

Easy mode...must...be...a...joke
Really...blue imp invasion...it's far too easy, even for an easy mode.




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[but2002]

You CAN change the sprites, tilesets, and ANY graphic. Not with Temporal Flux but with other ROM hacking methods. The only restriction is that you can't really add anything, you're just replacing the existing graphics with what you created.

The Chrono Crisis sprites are different than the CT ones (they're bigger, with more colors and less animation frames), so they can't be used. Anyway, I don't think it would be a good idea, the 2 projects simply aren't related.

I think you missed my point, i know they aren't but im just talking sprites here! So we can add to the storyline by letting the Trigger team interfere with, or just witness the Pre-Cross events w/ serge & the FF

[Chrono'99]

You CAN change the sprites, tilesets, and ANY graphic. Not with Temporal Flux but with other ROM hacking methods. The only restriction is that you can't really add anything, you're just replacing the existing graphics with what you created.

The Chrono Crisis sprites are different than the CT ones (they're bigger, with more colors and less animation frames), so they can't be used. Anyway, I don't think it would be a good idea, the 2 projects simply aren't related.

I think you missed my point, i know they aren't but im just talking sprites here! So we can add to the storyline by letting the Trigger team interfere with, or just witness the Pre-Cross events w/ serge & the FF

I understood, and I just noted that the only possible issue (it's not an issue yet) would be, eventually, that we'd have to "sacrifice" more and more existing sprites for the ones we make. For this demo for example, we already replaced the Queen Zeal sprites by, you know... the "other" Zeal, the one who isn't the Queen (). As a consequence, the Queen will probably be absent in the game.

But don't worry! We'll probably still put as much new sprites as possible though, for story purpose and just for the coolness.

Also, CT:CE takes place at least a whole time-line before Cross (one of its purpose is actually to explain Cross while providing a "Trigger 2"), so Project Kid and El Nido don't exist as such yet. There are still quite a few Cross references in the demo though (references to non-El Nidan Cross persons/stuff). By the way, how many of them have you noticed? There are at least 4 references

[Vargose]

well great job. Although to give some constructive criticism it was rushed. Killing off Kino wasn't cool. I mean saving him, would make a great filler mission, and then you could save the siging mountain for later on, and make it larger for that matter. I think Ayla should have already had the child, that way she could go with you to save kino. You could use the idea that she has to nurse him back to health to get her to stay if you feel its too early to have her in the party permanately. Then even later on you could have a mission involving saving\looking for her child.

Dalton's return could have been a little more discreet. It would build more tension and be better for the gamer, if it was more of a surprise.

I loved the King Zeal idea.

That whole jumping back and forth between Chronopolis and 1002 AD. They need a real reason to go back and forth like that. You could shorten it to one trip to chronopolis with Epoch, not the time egg. I mean Lucca might really want to see the future. When they arrive they get a trasnmission from Chronopolis. The android could do his thing then, and when they return to 1002 everything is screwed up. So they go back to Chronopolis to find out what happened.

They could actually loose the Epoch and be forced to use the TDC, which would gives you more plot controll.

[Chrono'99]

well great job. Although to give some constructive criticism it was rushed. Killing off Kino wasn't cool.

This makes me think... did anyone even noticed that Atropos was killed? If something was rushed, that would be this. I wanted to report it but forgot every time for some reason (maybe precisely because it was so rushed that I totally forgot it even happened :/ ).

[chronolover]

Anyway, I have to say I really really enjoyed the 2.0 demo.  It's really nice to play CT again after so long (I played thru' the original twice, so it gets really boring to play it a third time which tried last night). 

Can I recommend more things?  I'm not sure how well into the game you are or the beta stuff..

There are somethings to brush up on.  e.g. the ferry bits, I wouldn't mind if you guys actually used the ferry animation very very briefly to show that u're taking the ferry and then quickly zoom to when you arrive (so sort of like a fade out and then fade in to the other side of the continent or sth).

As for graphics, good work but again some parts need some changing.  Check all your tiles to make sure that the corners, the edges of say the ground are well integrated to say a river or sth.  Such as beast wood/singing mountain.. some of the pixel art could be done a bit better.  The beast woods perhaps needs more exploration, it's kinda easy to just fight through empty woods and then get to Dalton. 

I like the idea of lengthening the magus chapter and the second chapter.  Reunion SHOULD hold off -- it practically took 3 hrs to get almost everyone from the CT cast back.  It'll be better to have one or two held off as a SURPRISE, or like some in disguise.  Too many characters were introduced too quicky -- need more time to develop them.

I love the riddles.  Again, maybe more of these?  Also, the InstrumentP thing... what's that about? 

Finally, a question rather than recommendation:  How far into the game are you guys and how far away from completion?  I simply can't wait.    More sprites, more exploration

And the MOST important thing is again the story.  I loved it in CT when they played the sad song when Robo was being beaten around by his old robot friends before Crono had to go and kill them all.  And the same for when Crono died.  Or the fight betwen robo/atropos; or when frog had a flashback to cyrus.  Those moments NEED to be focused on, and perhaps some new midi songs would be nice (perhaps incorporate some Cross midi music into it.  There are plenty of sites online with Cross midi music on them ).  Killing off kino, killing off atropos, killing off medieval leader.. too fast!!! need to stretch the storyline a little. 

And I also remember when lucca explaind to crono in the original story about marle and leene and stuff, it was like a black background and she's like teaching crono about a genealogy/lineage thing.. i think it'll be really cool if we get stuff like that from lucca again, explaining the consequences of the porre soldier and etc etc... those moments can be very comical. 

[but2002]

You CAN change the sprites, tilesets, and ANY graphic. Not with Temporal Flux but with other ROM hacking methods. The only restriction is that you can't really add anything, you're just replacing the existing graphics with what you created.

The Chrono Crisis sprites are different than the CT ones (they're bigger, with more colors and less animation frames), so they can't be used. Anyway, I don't think it would be a good idea, the 2 projects simply aren't related.

I think you missed my point, i know they aren't but im just talking sprites here! So we can add to the storyline by letting the Trigger team interfere with, or just witness the Pre-Cross events w/ serge & the FF

I understood, and I just noted that the only possible issue (it's not an issue yet) would be, eventually, that we'd have to "sacrifice" more and more existing sprites for the ones we make. For this demo for example, we already replaced the Queen Zeal sprites by, you know... the "other" Zeal, the one who isn't the Queen (). As a consequence, the Queen will probably be absent in the game.

But don't worry! We'll probably still put as much new sprites as possible though, for story purpose and just for the coolness.

Also, CT:CE takes place at least a whole time-line before Cross (one of its purpose is actually to explain Cross while providing a "Trigger 2"), so Project Kid and El Nido don't exist as such yet. There are still quite a few Cross references in the demo though (references to non-El Nidan Cross persons/stuff). By the way, how many of them have you noticed? There are at least 4 references

When the game was first created they had to "add" to it, so why not in the aftermarket can't we also "add" to it?

[Agent 12]

Adding Ferry----OW Editing is very undocumented and dangerous

Mapping----we are always looking for people to clean up maps

Reunion Chapter----We still haven't given back all the characters yet (Frog/Ayla).  Original plan was to have new playable characters but wow that's hard/impossible

InstumentP--Instrument Part, Turned out it was to long and it cut it

% Done:  Impossible to tell

Recommendations:  There's some good ideas in there, specially the lucca thing

Killing People off:  This seems to be the pretty general consensus.  In our defense Kino didn't technically die during the time period of the demo, could been 7 months before or something.

--jp

[Chrono'99]

When the game was first created they had to "add" to it, so why not in the aftermarket can't we also "add" to it?

Well when the developers made the game, they had to make all the data fit in a cartridge with limited space (in terms of Mb). On a computer there are no limit, but the ROM still acts like the cartridge. All we can do is replace the sprites that are already there to create something "new"... Adding sprites on additional space and making the game recognize correctly the tiles and animation frames is impossible. Or at least we don't know how to do it. If we knew we would have already put a bunch of new playable characters (playable, non-playable, it's the same problem).

[joemomma]

arent there a bunch of empty slots for NPC's or something? Why cant you use them?

[Vargose]

Making Antropos playable and not killing her off would be a interesting change. It is easy enough to do it. She is just a simple pallette change (that is if you leave off the bow). That way Robo can stay in Chronopolis, and the gamers get something new. Granted you'll have to shorten her name, or come up with another.

And I think justin3009 has successfully replaced Ayla with Kino.

[joemomma]

ya but's thats like having a pink robo, i meen it's cool and all but it's just not scharla or Glenn or Serge not to mention Kid or Harle

[Vargose]

Well as far as I am concerned Schala shouldn't even be in the game, but I am willing to let that slide. As long as you guys construct a nicely refined plot, its cool if you take some artistic liberties.