Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes - HELP WANTED!

[Astrobot7000]

Since I don't know where else to say this... I found a pretty nasty bug.

I am searching for Ayla in the singing mountains, however, I am also exploring. Every time I go into the Dactly Nest the game freezes. The character simply do not move. The music continues to play though. This happens only at the peak of the dactyl nest.

It happens every time for me. I hope I don't need to go up there at some point.

[Vehek]

That bug was fixed a long time ago. It had to do with the Dactyl Nest being used in that scene with Kino.

[Astrobot7000]

Awesome. I suppose this demo is just out of date then.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Yeah, that demo is ANCIENT.  I think it's safe the say the finished product will be VERY different...

[Raul]

Hey guys, I'm a huge fan of CT from Brazil, I played it when I was very young, and I still consider it the best RPG. I played CC too several years ago, and I loved it.

So, I searched on Google today about Chrono Trigger and I found out there are talented fans of the game making a fan sequel for 3 years now, and they are looking for help.

You know, playing some more CT with a new story is a dream of mine since I was 8 (I'm 18 now). I don't know how to map or how to work with sprites, but if you guys want a translator, I can translate the dialogue to Brazilian Portuguese once it's released, so the CT fans here in Brazil can play and enjoy it too!

Yeah, I'm a dreamer, and my 'engrish' is annoying, but if you guys need me, I'm here to help 

[FaustWolf]

Fascinating! Remind us of your translation skillset when CE is released. It'd be great to get it into different languages.

[Belaith]

I want to help out with spriting. Gimme a few ideas of what need be done.

[Agent 12]

mentioned somewhere (maybe in this topic) is a little test for spriters to do as sort of a proof of concept (it's a simple hack of turning balloons into some other sprite (even the words hello world).  make an IPS showing that first please.

--JP

[FaustWolf]

I think I've said this before, but I think it's really best to have a division of labor when it comes to sprite insertion -- there's an artistic side (sprite creation) and a technical side (sprite insertion). I'd be happy to insert any sprite frames a spriter can produce, and I'm hoping to have a sprite insertion tut complete in a few weeks' time so others can learn that process. This really takes pressure off the artist, and makes things much more efficient for all involved.

Is there anything specific CE could use with regard to sprite creation? Maybe a few extra frames of Toma or the Mystic Knights? Obviously some needs may be spoilerific and shouldn't be exposed publicly.

[Raul]

Fascinating! Remind us of your translation skillset when CE is released. It'd be great to get it into different languages.

Sure, I'll keep waiting and following your work. Good luck! 

[Belaith]

I think I've said this before, but I think it's really best to have a division of labor when it comes to sprite insertion -- there's an artistic side (sprite creation) and a technical side (sprite insertion). I'd be happy to insert any sprite frames a spriter can produce, and I'm hoping to have a sprite insertion tut complete in a few weeks' time so others can learn that process. This really takes pressure off the artist, and makes things much more efficient for all involved.

Is there anything specific CE could use with regard to sprite creation? Maybe a few extra frames of Toma or the Mystic Knights? Obviously some needs may be spoilerific and shouldn't be exposed publicly.

I'll make any kind of sprite needed. But I can't put them into the game. I'd be happy to learn how but unfortunately, I can only mess with sprites. And my spriting still needs improving.

I can send these sprites to you through some form of file sharing. Whether it be IM or email.

[Agent 12]

The thing is spriting for a game is MUCH more than just drawing the pictures.  It's one thing to draw the sprites it's another thing to draw the sprites in a way that works in the game.  As you know the sprites aren't stored in the same way as they are shown in game you have to make sure it fits in a reasonable amount of space, that the animations all line up etc. 

I can end up spending more time trying to make a sprite that someone makes work in the game than it takes to draw the sprite itself.  And that's assuming that the sprite fits in it's bounds anyways.  Figuring out how to get your sprite in the game is certainly a doable tastk (i had to teach myself to get two sprites of mine in crimson echoes).  It's much more useful for everyone involved if the spriter is aware of all these issues before they being creating sprites for the game.  I've had several people email me various sprites that simply aren't going to work in the game because they sprited without knowing how the limitations imposed by the game.

So like I said before please complete that specific task and then we'll talk about making game specific sprites.  It's not an impossible task (like I said I was able to do it) and FW was able to do it.  Being on the CE team is a commitment anyways so this is sort of like....a test of commitment


--JP

[FaustWolf]

Good point about knowing the technical limitations.

12 colors for an individual character sprite. If the sprite is armed for battle, that limiit goes up to 15 if I'm not mistaken (12 for the sprite, 3 for the weapon). Also, if the sprite is a player character, each sprite frame must fit into four tiles' worth of space. A "tile" is composed of four 8x8 pixel squares. Here's a visual of a tile:


Player characters are all "Size 0" sprites currently, and are composed of four tiles. Size 1 sprites are composed of 8 tiles. Size 2 sprites are 12 tiles. If the sprite is an NPC or enemy, it should be safe if it consists of up to twelve tiles. Vehek determined that Size 2 sprites were the maximum used in Chrono Trigger. A neat trick for huge bosses is making much of them part of the background.

It's my sincere hope that we'll figure out the memory management issue preventing Size 1 sprites for player characters one day.

But once the spriter has a handle on those few facts, it's pretty cut-and-dry: we need artistic skill. The technical side can be learned with a bit of patience, and I solemnly stand ready to insert any sprite sheet a spriter could devise.

EDIT: Post corrected per Vehek's observation.

[Vehek]

If I remember correctly, Vehek determined that Size 1 sprites were the maximum used in Chrono Trigger.

Uh, no. There are size 2 sprites, such as Gato.

[FaustWolf]

Got it now, thanks. I imagine that the same memory management issues would crop up if you tried to put, like, five Gatos in Choras' bar along with all the patrons.