Chrono Compendium:About

Machinecompendium.png

A photonic Compendium of all human knowledge

Mission Statement[edit]

The Chrono Compendium's mission is twofold. It first aims to archive and catalogue all existing knowledge and plausible speculation regarding the Chrono series, whether textual, auditory, or visual. The Compendium secondly wishes to create new content, and foster the growth and development of the Chrono series and its fan community.

History[edit]

The Chrono Compendium was created by ZeaLitY, Ramsus, Ybrik Metaknight, Radical_Dreamer, and a few others in July 2003. It evolved from a 50-page thread on Overclocked ReMix in which fans analyzed the games' plots. ZeaLitY originally made the thread to show off a map of Enhasa; as more posters became involved, the founders of the site began to understand the depth of the Chrono series plots and a need for organizing information. ZeaLitY began the Chronology FAQ to house discussion on Chrono Trigger, originally believing that analysis could fit in a small appendix. The posters then began to discuss Chrono Cross, and decided that the discussion and findings should be preserved on a website. The name 'Compendium' was chosen in part due to the film adaptation of H.G. Wells's Time Machine; in the libraries of the future, several orbs existed with human interfaces that served as repositories for all human knowledge.

The founders' personal reasons for creating the site include:

  1. To present new analysis and findings to illuminate the fullness of the series, since most sites and fans only scratched the surface;
  2. To create a complete resource for the indulgence in the rich world of the series, and to create new content and maintain the community;
  3. To preserve the legacy of the series, eternally updated and maintained.

Before this Chrono Compendium was created, a small ezBoard used the name. You can find an archive of the forum here.

Game Policy[edit]

The Chrono Compendium embraces each game of the Chrono series, treating them as one canonical work except where noted. We do not endorse one game as better than the other, and neither do we exclude Radical Dreamers. Fan analysis has shown that the plots and internal mechanics of the Chrono series are very consistent and harmonious. Outside the games, interviews are considered sources of canon, with Masato Kato regarded as the primary caretaker of the mythos, and Takashi Tokita the secondary caretaker. Ultimania books are mostly considered canon except where they contradict the games.

Comprehensive Schedule[edit]

The Chrono Compendium has many goals; several have already been fulfilled, and the sky's the limit. Listed below are strategic and imminent objectives, along with sustained programs.

Strategic Goals[edit]

  1. Have all work at Material Requiring Translation translated.
  2. Complete the Chrono Compendium Music Archive.
  3. Create a Chrono Trigger DS script.

See this forum for other items.

Completed Goals

  1. Finish listing basic information in the Encyclopedia
  2. Round out images and extra Encyclopedia features/organization (homogenize entries/music), create the Image Index
  3. Finalize all current analysis:
    1. Go through every thread, summarize, present theories, and end discussion, culminating in the placement of information in the theory encyclopedia.
    2. Apply existing articles to theories, and update existing articles.
    3. Create new articles from all other available related material.
    4. Cross-examine with other sources.
  4. Achieve a beautiful, nice layout and streamlined site design.
  5. Confirm that the Compendium is the new, unquestionable center of the Chrono fan community
  6. Revise the charter to reflect current status and think of staff positions.
  7. Release the translated script of Chrono Trigger upon its completion.

Compendium Projects[edit]

  • Chrono Series Music Archive

The Chrono Series Music Archive project aims to create lossless sound files of all official Chrono series auditory releases and other remixes. See this thread.

  • Dream Splash!

The Splash runs June to the end of August and covers an expansive topic in the series, inviting an entire range of contributions. Special forum ranks will be granted to those voted as favorites, including Artist of Termina, Bard of Regiorra, and Poet of El Nido.

Completed Programs

  • Chrono Break Initiative

In professional and logical ways, the Chrono Compendium aims to support the development of a new Chrono game, tentatively titled Chrono Break. See the Chrono Break Request Form if you are interested.

  • Chrono Compendium Encyclopedia Standardization

In late 2006, the Chrono Compendium Encyclopedia was audited and standardized concerning issues of layout and prose.

The Chrono Trigger Coliseum is a ROM hack by jsondaq2 allowing players to compete in a coliseum with three modes of difficulty for prizes and surprises. The hack seamlessly connects with Chrono Trigger, allowing normal play of the game.

The Chrono Compendium is using KWhazit's translation of Chrono Trigger to release a comprehensive script contrasting the English, Japanese, and retranslated English text of Chrono Trigger in an easily read and understood presentation.

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes is a gargantuan ROM hack intending to tell the story of a second adventure of Crono and the gang occurring between Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross.

Chrono Trigger: Prophet's Guile is a gaiden ROM hack covering Magus's time in Zeal. Released in January 2008, it reflected the cutting edge of hacking for its time and encouraged new works to follow.

  • Chrono Compendium Encyclopedia Beautification Project

In January 2009, aesthetically-pleasing images were added to several articles, and the prose of older articles was rewritten to use active verb voice and correct other questionable writing.

Chrono Compendium Charter[edit]

  • This document provides a general outline of the Chrono Compendium as an organization. The charter is not intended to be a definitive resource and is subject to change as the site evolves. It was written by Ramsus, GrayLensman, and ZeaLitY.

I. Declarations[edit]

  1. The site will pursue the enrichment of the fan community through objectives outlined in its mission statement.
  2. The site will not accept or forward Cease and Desist letters regarding fan projects mentioned on the site.
  3. The site will not reveal the identity of any member without due process of law.
  4. The site will not participate in affiliate programs of any sort save those conducted on the links page.
  5. The site will not accept commercial advertising of any sort.
  6. The site will not support fan petitions.¹
  7. The site will not support the commercial endeavors of fans.

¹ - Some fans may be shocked at first with this proposal. After all, if we're fans of the series, why wouldn't we want another game by petioning? Fan petitions fail to spread a positive image of the fan community -- they are in fact detrimental. There are many ways to indicate interest in a new game, but "petitioning" to "demand" a new game, or a remake, makes us out to be a bunch of infantile, rabid fans biting at the heels of Square Enix. Worse yet, such fans are usually too picky to bite when they finally get what they want. We don't even know what negative connotations consumers petitioning would have when carried over in translation. So if you're in charge of such a fan petition project, don't ask the Compendium to help with your publicity. If you really want influence in the company, start buying shares.

II. Organizational Structure[edit]

a. Heirarchy
  • General Members
All registered Chrono Compendium members belong to this group. General Members are able to post messages in all forums save administrative and private fan project boards.
  • Architects of Kajar
Members with a healthy, active interest in ROM hacking or fan project building can join this usergroup by contributing something or helping with something on the to-do list sticky at the forum.
  • Creative Regents
Creative regents include members who have won an annual fan work contest and keep a special title for one year. These titles include Artist of Termina (art) and Poet of El Nido (fiction).
  • Creative Emerita
Creative emerita are members who have won an annual fan work contest in the past, but whose titles have passed on to new winners.
  • Fan Project Leaders
Members leading or creating fan projects receive this designation, allowing them to post reasonable news directly to the Chrono Compendium news and updates page.
  • Entities
Entities include the original founders of the Chrono Compendium who act as site administrators. Entities provide suggestions for the site's direction and manage the forums. Acting chief administrator is sometimes given the unofficial title Director. See the later section, Directing the Chrono Compendium, for the responsibilities entailed by site leadership.
  • Gurus
Gurus are members of the Chrono Compendium recognized for outstanding individual contributions to analysis, the Chrono Compendium, and the popularity and enjoyment of the Chrono series on whole. Guru status is reserved for the highest possible achievements in individual fields; existing Gurus become emerita upon the promotion of new courts. For types of achievement, Life is reserved for creative, Time for analytical (both technical and plot) or unique, and Reason for community-wide leadership and activity.
Court I - Aitrus (Life), GrayLensman (Reason), warmgun (Time)
Court II - Aitrus (Life), GrayLensman (Reason), The_UnknownUser_ (Time)
Court III - Aitrus (Life), GrayLensman (Reason), Leebot (Time)
Court IV - Geiger (Life), GrayLensman (Reason), Leebot (Time)
Court V - KWhazit (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), Leebot (Time)
Court VI - KWhazit (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), FaustWolf (Time)
Court VII - Geiger (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), FaustWolf (Time)
Court VIII - Geiger (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), Luminaire85 (Time)
Court IX - Geiger (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), GlitterBerri (Time)
Court X - utunnels (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), GlitterBerri (Time)
Court XI - Agent 12 (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), GlitterBerri (Time)
Court XII - Radical Pan (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), GlitterBerri (Time)
Court XIII - Radical Pan (Life), Chrono'99 (Reason), Thought (Time)
Court XIV - Lorenz (Life), utunnels (Reason), Vehek (Time)
Court XV - Lorenz (Life), utunnels (Reason), Angerona (Time)
Court XVI - rushingwind (Life), Angerona (Reason), Clovis15 (Time)
Court XVII - StarbeamAlpha (Life), Angerona (Reason), Clovis15 (Time)
Court XVIII - Boo the Gentleman Caller (Life), Mauron (Reason), Danetta / Prizvel (Time)
Court XIX - Reld (Life), AcaciaSgt (Reason), PowerPanda (Time)
b. Registration
To post messages or submit content, you must become a Chrono Compendium member by registering for the Forum. This is for several reasons: 1.) To help control the content of the site and 2.) To identify the author of submissions. Only a valid E-mail address is required for registration. Only one membership is allowed per person to prevent confusion and abuse of the site.
c. Rank
Chrono Compendium members receive a rank based their post count which is displayed under their user name. The rank automatically displays a Chrono series image above one's avatar, and is meant only for fun enjoyment.
  1. CC Reserve Corps (0)
  2. Iokan (+1)
  3. Earthbound (+15)
  4. Porrean (+50)
  5. Level ** (100)
  6. Guardian (+100)
  7. Enlightened One (+200)
  8. Chronopolitan (+300)
  9. Squaretable Knight (+400)
  10. Acacia Deva (+500)
  11. Black Wind Agent (+600)
  12. The Great Magus (666)
  13. Mystical Knight (+700)
  14. Sun Stoner (777)
  15. Time Traveler (+800)
  16. Temporal Warrior (+900)
  17. Dimension Crosser (+1000)
  18. Magical Dreamer (+1250)
  19. Errare Explorer (+1500)
  20. Day of Lavos (1999)
  21. Radical Dreamer (+2000)
  22. Zurvan Surfer (+2500)
  23. God of War (+3000)
  24. Lavos (+4000)
  25. Hero of Time (+5000)
  26. Time Devourer (+6000)
  27. Arbiter (+8000)
  28. Ayla's BronzeFist (9999)
  29. End of Timer (+10000)

III. Code of Conduct[edit]

  • Chrono Compendium staff members
  1. shall be fans of the entire Chrono series.
  2. shall not attempt to use the site merely for personal aggrandizement.
  3. shall not use the site in pursuit of any commercial endeavor.
  4. shall not support fan petitions as a staff member of the site.
  5. shall not defame other web sites in the Chrono community.
  • Chrono Compendium members
  1. shall treat all other members in a courteous and respectful manner.
  2. shall not post or link to any material which may be found offensive by other members.
  3. shall not post derogatory or insulting statements toward any other member or post comments intended to annoy or provoke other members.
  4. shall respect the privacy of all other members.
  5. shall not engage in any activities which disrupt the normal functioning of the website.
  6. shall not create an user name intended to impersonate, mock, or antagonize another member or falsely claim to be another member.
  7. shall not attempt to gain access, privileges, or abilities unintended by the design of the website or gain unauthorized access of the user account of another member.
  8. shall endeavor to convey the highest possible level of truth and accuracy in every post or submission.
  9. shall not knowingly submit any theories or statements which are false or erroneous nor modify any body of evidence to support such a claim.
  10. shall not claim ownership of any work created by another person. If the work of another person is reproduced in whole or in part, full credit shall be given to the original author.
  11. shall not post any illegal material, as well as anything that is self-incriminating or incriminates other members.

IV. Disciplinary Procedures[edit]

a. Moderation
Moderators may remove material found in violation of the code of conduct. Moderators may also move, edit or delete material to maintain the order of the site.
b. Penalties
Violators of the code of conduct will receive a warning and may have special privileges or titles revoked. Repeated and serious violations may result in members being suspended or banned from the site. Moderators are able to issue warnings, but an administrator is required to modify the account privileges of members.
c. Appeals
Members who find the actions of the moderators unfair or unwarranted may ask the administrators to reevaluate the decision, however the judgment of the administrators is final.

V. Site Index[edit]

a. News and Updates
Site updates, important news items and fan work releases are posted here by the administrators or fan project leaders.
b. Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia is the compilation of all factual information collected about the Chrono Series. Chrono Scholars are responsible for maintaining and updating the content of the encyclopedia.
c. Analysis
Analysis is a subset of the encyclopedia containing all reasonable analysis of the Chrono Series, including articles and individual theory pages.
d. Features
Features are any special presentations concerning the Chrono series, whether interviews with developers and fan project creators or editorials written by staff members.
e. Community
Community is an umbrella for all fan works. Fan art, fan fiction, game modification, other fan projects, and annual contests are presented under the Community header.
f. Games (Quick Reference)
Quick Reference is a table of several encyclopedia pages concerning the games that do not fit in other categories.
g. Discussion Forums
The message board is the center for discussion and debate and community for the Chrono Compendium. Categories are listed below.
  • News and Updates
News and fan project news are posted within this forum for display on the News and Updates page.
  • Site Discussion
Any discussion which does not belong in another forum or concerns the site is placed here. General, non analytic dialogue about the Chrono series takes place in Chrono / Gameplay; help requests and gameplay discussion also take place here, and all spoilers must be clearly marked in this forum. This category includes Kajar Laboratories, a central forum for discussing fan works.
  • Fan Creation and Feedback
Authors may post unfinished works for comments and suggestions. Authors may also ask for help editing or proofing their work. All kinds of fan projects can be submitted, previewed and reviewed here as well.
  • Chrono Series Analysis
This is the location of any discussion related the analysis of the Chrono Series. This entire forum category should be considered to contain spoilers.
  • Fan Projects
Fan Projects in-progress or finished belong in this category, where team members and leaders can meet privately or publicly to work on a project or field criticism and feedback.
  • Mt. Woe - Dead Fan Projects
Fan Projects abandoned by their teams exist here, open for public viewing according to the Compendium's doctrine of archival.
h. Links
Links include other Chrono sites or affiliates who agree to mutually link with us. The Chrono Compendium does not accept main page affiliation and will not display buttons for other sites on its pages.

Directing the Chrono Compendium[edit]

Responsibilities and Procedures[edit]

CHIEF TEMPORAL DIRECTIVES

  • Primary Directive - The Director shall facilitate the enjoyment, comprehension, and dissemination of the Chrono series through the archival, presentation, and analysis of information and media, and through the stewardship of the fan community, to include the fostering of new fan projects, discussions, and activities.
  • Secondary Directive - The Director shall uphold the principles and existence of the Chrono Compendium through passionate, enterprising governance and resourceful, amicable community leadership, and shall ensure that anything bearing the name of the Compendium is of quality befitting enlightened Chrono fans.

Prologue - Functional Units

  • Scripts - The site is governed mostly by three Python scripts with a hidden fourth utilized by each. These include index.py (which generates the news page from the news forum), rssnews.py (which generates RSS feed of the site news), and story.py?id=1 (which generates story content from collections of XML files). URLs are rewritten with Apache mod_rewrite to a scheme that should be usable even if the Compendium were to abandon MediaWiki or remove those CGI scripts. The only exceptions are some of the images and special pages in the Wiki and any links to the forums.
  • News and Updates / Forums - The forums use Simple Machine Forums; their only real link to the site is as a back end for the News and Updates page. Articles posted in the News and Updates and Fan Project News forums will automatically appear on the front page. Also, any stickies in the News and Updates forum will appear on the sidebar of the News and Updates page. The most recently updated sticky will appear at the top.
  • Stories - The Stories system outputs xml files through story.py?id=1, allowing for certain markup or design not enabled elsewhere on the site. Individual "Stories" are numbered folders with numbered xml files in them. Naming a file sidebar.xml will create a sidebar using that file for a particular Story.
  • Encyclopedia - The encyclopedia runs on MediaWiki, the natural choice. Aside from skinning, there are no significant modifications to the encyclopedia save for general site scripts that render URLs with a .html ending.
  • Oekaki - The oekaki uses Wacintaki 1.3.7 by Waccoon.
  • Chronofan - Chronofan.com is the main file server for the Chrono Compendium. It has a few main folders. Other houses utilities, hacks, fan projects, and other miscellaneous files. Publications houses textual documents such as scripts and guides. Stories houses images used in the Stories system when uploading them to the encyclopedia would take too long. Translations stores translation patches, and Video stores videos offered on the Download section and also serves as an archive for certain concert videos. They also host the folders Music (Chrono Trigger) and Music (Chrono Cross), which together constitute the...
  • Chrono Compendium Music Archive - The Music Archive, hosted on Chronofan.com, is an archive of all remixes, doujins, and official releases of Chrono music (which, unlike the rest, are kept in lossless quality). The archive was made due to the fickle availability of remixes and doujins, and the need to create perfect, lossless rips of the OSTs, the archive was made; it also ensures no songs are ever lost. Albums and doujins are stored in folders with the artist and doujin name, while remixes are stored in one of four large folders, including ones for OCReMix, VGMix, ThaSauce, and Chrono Compendium / original / all other remixes. All content added to the Music Archive should also be added to MIOCALEUV.
  • Site Design - The site features regular content pages, a forum, and a News and Updates page / certain Feature pages with sidebar content. A navigation bar and the site banner sit at the top over all content.
  • E-mail - The Chrono Compendium's e-mail address is chronocompendium@gmail.com.

I. Broad Duties

  • A. News and Updates
  • New developments, fan works, and information related to the Chrono series should be announced in periodic updates on the News and Updates page. The Director should be mindful of these new developments. Except for specific sources of information that shall be discussed later, the Director should vigilantly monitor the Chrono Compendium forums, especially the Submissions forum, for news and should also check the Chrono Compendium e-mail account.
  • In news updates, real world information concerning the Chrono series franchise or its developers takes first precedence unless it is trivial news. Fan project releases are next in line and should often be supported with a 500x100 banner with a link to download to catch the eye of readers. Other commonly covered news topics include ROM hacking developments and utility releases, other fan work releases (fan art usually rounds out each news update), video game journalism on the Chrono series (such as Chrono Trigger making a new "Best Games Ever" list, for example), and site / community news. Contest news should take a high position in the update; visibility may translate to more participation.
  • When a new game is announced, the Director should immediately set up a preview page linked in the sidebar and add to it as news comes out. If the Japanese release date precedes the English release, the Director should also ensure that someone will import the Japanese release and provide screenshots and material for an early walkthrough. When the new game is released, the Director should provide for it completely as has been done for other games on the site and in the encyclopedia, meaning listings should be made for music, monsters, et cetera. This should be done as early and efficiently as possible. The Director should also immediately commence a project to rip the script of the game by hacking for use in analysis, perhaps as part of a larger project to decode the game in order to access its assets and understand its structure.
  • B. Programs and Goals
  • The Director should set apt long-term goals for the site and also preside over community programs. These should be listed at the Chrono Compendium About Page.
  • C. Features
  • These are any special features, including interviews, previews, reviews, rankings, editorials, or even art showcases. Features can be anything except plot analysis articles or static listing of information that better belongs in the encyclopedia. Features make use of the Stories system and should be listed on the Features page when completed.
  • D. Backup
  • Every January, April, July, and October, the Director should back up the SQL for the site and forums, the structure of the site, and any new files archived at the Chronofan server (this last point can and should be done automatically each time a new file is added to the server). The structure of the site can be backed up easily by selecting everything in the site's FTP and saving to a new folder. The archive of the Chronofan server can be made in the same way, though it is recommended that the director only download it once and then simultaneously add any new additions to the site in the archive to avoid several gigs worth of redundant backups.
  • E. Chrono Community
  • The Chrono Community is not limited to the Chrono Compendium forums. Other boards, like those at GameFAQs or as subsets of bigger Square sites, exist and host discussion on the series. The Director should regularly visit other active Chrono forums specified under the Community Map, especially the GameFAQs forums. Participation in these forums can increase visibility of the Chrono Compendium (with a signature link), correct misconceptions and contribute to discussions (such as the fact that Guile is not Magus), and effectively promote the series by announcing certain developments (like fan project releases) and contributing to the overall community.
  • The Community Map is a listing of Chrono sites created to get an idea of existing fan sites and forums, and provide links for readers. Every January and July, the Director should run the links through the w3c link checker to determine if some of the older fan sites have died off and should be removed from the listing. If a dead fan site is notable, it should be added to the Notable Deceased section.
  • ROMs of the Super Nintendo games, ISOs of the PlayStation games, and rips of future games should never be hosted by or linked on the Chrono Compendium. The Director should remove any posts containing links to ROMs and close any request threads for ROMs in the forums.

II. Static Information and Presentation

  • A. Analysis and Articles
  • The cornerstone of the Chrono Compendium is its analysis of plots, which can be fascinatingly deep thanks to the nature of time travel fiction. Analysis is presented in two forms; the first is in the Analysis section of the encyclopedia, currently residing at Articles. Individual mysteries and topics of interest are categorized and listed on category pages such as Locations, People, Events, et cetera; the category links are under the Theory and Analysis header. Above that is the Observation and Conjecture header, where a listing of plot inconsistencies, general temporal principles, and translation differences go.
  • Plot inconsistencies are only major plot points that directly contradict each other within the entire series. Dialogue inconsistencies that can be reconciled with the interpretation of different intent are not plot holes; they are a product of tough translation schedules. Unexplained events are also not plot holes. As long as Kato wants to make a new game, the backstory will exist in his head; it is useless to jump the gun.
  • Above that on the Articles page are actual articles. Articles are created when several related topics of interests are presented as a coherent whole, and are geared for making a satisfying read. Plot summaries are also listed in the articles. Normal articles should have a table of contents and illustrations where needed.
  • Analysis comes from the forums. Forumers regularly discuss Chrono series topics and reach conclusions or propose theories; if valid, these should be added to the Analysis section of the encyclopedia. Each topic of investigation should be linked to on the topic pages it involves. For instance, a mystery about Belthasar, aside from being linked under the listing for People topics, should be linked from the general Belthasar entry in the encyclopedia.
  • Analysis Review - Every January and July, the Director should review all topics in the analysis forums with new posts dated after the last topic review. Resulting theory pages and changes to theory pages should be documented in new posts to the topic review stickies in each forum, while subjects still requiring further discussion should be expedited or, if conclusion does not seem to be feasible in the near future, reserved for the next review. However, if such a topic is material to analysis, it should be pegged for monitoring and added to the theory pages when complete.
  • B. Encyclopedia
  • The Encyclopedia is the greatest single repository of Chrono information. Listings should be maintained for every relevant category of interest, such as monsters, locations, or characters. All sorts of information can be added to the encyclopedia, and the current structure should be examined for a general sense of organization. Simply put, pages on topics should include all possible information relevant to that topic.
  • For quality control, encyclopedia access is limited to the Director, administrators, Gurus, and those the Director feels can contribute meaningfully to the encyclopedia or maintain its quality. The Director should maintain an open "encyclopedia errors" thread in the Chrono Compendium Discussion forum for error reports, and then fix the reported errors.
  • Standard encyclopedia entries begin with the General Information header, then a Game Information header if the topic covers multiple games, then a header for each game with pertinent information beneath. For general series topics, listings of linked Theory and Analysis pages and Name Origin / Japanese Equivalent sections may also be apt. If Media for the topic exists, the Media header follows, with subheaders for Music, Images, or other linked media. The bottom of every entry should have a From: (Page) note linking to the general listing the page appears on.
  • Many special game-centric topics are currently organized under the Games page, a catch-all for articles or real world subjects that aren't easily categorized or are of special interest. Coincidentally, the Games page stores a lot of important information but is not easily segregated from the main encyclopedia. A link should always appear in the navigation bar for this reason so that readers will find it. A few common elements to each game listing includes credits, translations, plot summaries, general FAQs, official art, and instruction manuals.
  • Articles on the games themselves are unneeded, as thanks to ZeaLitY the game articles on Wikipedia are all Featured. Articles on the games should still be linked under the Games section; these pages can contain a link to the corresponding Wikipedia page and an image gallery of box art, which is not easily placed anywhere else on the encyclopedia. The Director should continuously monitor and upkeep the game articles on Wikipedia to ensure their perfection, and should aim to get each on the Main Page at least once to promote the Chrono series.
  • C. Modification
  • The Modification page under the encyclopedia is designed to inform readers on modifying the Chrono games, provide tools for modification, and link to completed, finished works for fan enjoyment. It is structured by game in order of release, with links under each heading leading to these forms of content. Completed modification pages should include a download link, author credit, synopsis, and images.
  • Translation pages or listings should be maintained for each game. These pages should link to translator websites, where translations can be downloaded. The Director should archive any translations and independently link them under the website links as a "Chrono Compendium Backup". The translations should also be listed on the Fan Projects page. Utilities listings should include a download link, an author credit, a short synopsis, and a small note for any special conditions, such as whether the edited ROM can be headered or unheadered.
  • Huge releases or editors, such as Temporal Flux for Chrono Trigger, can be listed on the Modification page itself instead of on a Completed Modifications page / listing. All editors, utilities, offsets, ROM hacks, and other related files should be hosted and linked from the Chronofan Other folder, except for Translations, which should be backed up in the Chronofan Translations folder.
  • Sources - News and releases on ROM hacking most often come from ROMHacking.net and the Kajar Laboratories forum; both sources should be periodically checked or monitored. The Director should review Kajar Laboratories every January and July to check for any utilities, offsets, or developments that were missed.
  • D. Music
  • The regular music pages, not including fan music, are organized into a page for each game, named like Music (Chrono Trigger). The Director should add a new page for each new game in the series. The Music page itself should link to these pages and also contain quick links to places to buy authentic Chrono series soundtracks (not bootlegs). The game music pages should begin with a track listing linking to individual songs. It should then feature a list of official releases, such as OSTs or official arrange albums. The Director should add new official releases as they come.
  • Listings for official albums should begin with a thumbnail of the cover, then proceed with the number of discs, and the fields composed by, arranged by, release date, and music label. A track list with individual song times and overall disc time proceeds, followed by a link to purchase, liner notes, and an image gallery. A disclaimer should be included if the purchase source is Japanese. Official releases should be ripped in a lossless format and added to the Chrono Series Music Archive on the Chronofan server for posterity.
  • Next is the unofficial releases section, including fan music, which will be glanced over for now. First appears any technical game rip archives, such as SPCs for Super Nintendo games; these should be linked with an explanation of the file format and a note specifying who ripped the tracks. After that, any other unofficial releases (such as beta music ripped from a commercial or trailer) should be listed.
  • Individual song pages should begin with fields describing where the music appears, what the original Japanese title is, and the time signature. Any other special information about the song, such as something given in an interview with the composer, should appear in prose at this point. An Official Releases section should follow with links to the game Music page listing for any official releases the song appears on, using # Wiki markup so that the viewer is brought exactly to the release. The Unofficial Releases section then appears with the same link as appears on the game music pages, except without the description of the file format. Fan music information proceeds; that will be covered later in this document.
  • E. Links
  • The links page is the only area where the Chrono Compendium links to other websites aside from situations of utility. It is divided into three sections; Chrono series resources leads to useful sites, like official stuff and translations. Chrono Shrines and works links to shrines, fan projects, and other Chrono fan websites; think of them like affiliates geared around the Chrono series. Affiliates and Links Exchanges are exactly that; other webmasters can request a link here if they will add one to the Compendium at their own site. Beneath that was administrator picks.
  • The Chrono Compendium will neither accept front page affiliates nor link to affiliate websites on the News and Updates page. Links should also not be integrated into any regular portions of the site, such as the navigation bar or layout. The Compendium is unique among fan sites because it is an island unto itself, and has not added a bunch of ugly buttons to its front page in a desperate bid for hits.

III. Fan and Community Works

  • A. Fan Projects
  • New fan projects that ask for them should be given their own forums and member groups. Considerations in creating a forum include whether the forum should be public, in order to showcase progress, or private, in order to allow developers to work in secret; who the moderator will be; and what the title and synopsis of the forum shall be. Forums are listed in alphabetical order under the Fan Project forum category. However, completed fan projects automatically take precedence at the top, with FINISHED! added to their synopses at the beginning.
  • Upon demonstrating the feasibility of the project and demonstrating some tangible progress, fan project leaders can be given the ability to post to the Fan Project News forum, a back end for the News and Updates page. However, posts should always demonstrate progress or weigh in on a pressing issue or concern. "We still exist" posts and entries on trivial things like the creation of a new sprite should be moved to Kajar Laboratories to unclutter the News and Updates page. The Director may also grant Encyclopedia access to a fan project member as an easy way to list information, such as bug reports.
  • Fan project teams should be interviewed either once or twice depending on the length of development. A long project should be interviewed perhaps one-quarter through completion, and both long and short projects should be interviewed to coincide with release using the Stories system. Interviews should cover major developers (all if possible) and feature a sidebar with content such as short Q&As, screenshots, a short FAQ, or other tiny insights into the development process.
  • When a fan project is completed, its forum should be made public (unless against the will of the developers), moved to the top of the Fan Project forum category (alphabetized with other completed fan projects), and edited so that its synopsis begins with "FINISHED!" The fan project can be promoted in numerous ways, including a blurb on the News and Updates page sidebar, and posts on other Chrono series forums found at the Community Map.
  • Completed ROM or BIN hacks should be submitted to ROMhacking.net. All completed fan game files should be uploaded in a ZIP or other archive to the Chronofan server under the Other folder and distributed from there, perhaps supported by other utilities such as Sendspace if chosen by the developers. Contrarily, translation projects or hacks should be uploaded to the Chronofan Translations folder. ROM and BIN hacks should optimally include a copy of a patching program and instructions on how to patch, if feasible. Games requiring RPGMaker runtimes should specifically state this in the readme, and releases should supply a link for those runtimes.
  • The Director should maintain a Fan Projects page listing all completed fan projects, ongoing fan projects, and abandoned fan projects, structured in that order. The listings should include an image and a synopsis. Entries under the abandoned section should also include a short reason for the abandonment or death of the project in boldface before the image and synopsis.
  • Every January and July, Fan Projects and the Fan Projects forum category should be reviewed to identify dead or abandoned projects or other situations requiring action. Projects can be declared dead under two conditions: a) the project has not had any activity from developers for six months, and b) developers who are contacted do not respond or confirm that the project is dead. Dead project forums should be moved to the Mt. Woe category and opened to the public so that project assets can be recycled for future endeavors, if possible.
  • Aegis System - Many modding communities are crippled because participants each try to put out their own project with little help; in the end, none of these myriad projects is completed in a timely fashion. Also, expert experience acquired in development is spread out and kept disintegrated in this fashion. In order to facilitate fan project quality and completion, the Chrono Compendium always supports one fan project with special infrastructure. The project is selected by a consensus of the Director, Entities, and Gurus. The selected Aegis fan project receives its own encyclopedia page containing a summary of the project, screenshots to attract interest, banners for visual spice, and a list of openings for help. The list should include various methods of contacting the development team. This page is advertised in four areas: with a roughly 150x50 button on the News and Updates sidebar, a sticky topic in Kajar Laboratories containing the same information as the page, a long, full-width but very thin clickable banner at the bottom of the site, and a link in the navigation bar.
  • B. Fan Art and Fanfiction
  • Fan art can be gathered from the Submissions board, the Chrono Compendium e-mail account, or other sources on the internet provided the author gives express permission to post the fan art. Bitmap submissions should be converted to PNG.
  • Fan art should be uploaded to the encyclopedia, then added under the heading of its author at the Fan Art page, which uses <gallery> markup to easily list pieces for visual review by the audience. Unusual art such as cosplay, video, or physical art should be placed under those sections beneath the regular art area. Fan art of obvious importance or uniqueness, but without author information, may be added under the Unknown heading under the regular section. The author may contact the site to reveal his or her identity or request the art be taken down, at which point it should be.
  • All newly submitted or added art should be announced (usually at the end) of news updates. Traditional structure lists the author with a direct link to their submitted image in the encyclopedia, and not simply a link to the Fan Art page. Since certain submissions may slip through the cracks, the Director should review the Submissions forum at the beginning of every January, April, July, and October.
  • The Chrono Compendium features an Oekaki that anyone can register and work on.
  • Fanfiction can be gathered through the Submission forum, the fanfiction review forum (where it is often posted incorrectly), the Chrono Compendium e-mail account, or abroad on the internet provided the author gives express permission to post.
  • Fanfiction is posted on the Fanfiction page under the header of the author, who can have multiple stories. Each story should appear with a small synopsis and a link to the piece. Hosting the actual work can be handled a number of ways. A piece can be converted to Wikipedia markup and posted on an encyclopedia page; in this event, the page should be entitled, Fanfiction:(Title). The piece, if on the forums, can also be linked from there. Alternatively, the author can submit an .HTML file saved from whatever the author originally composed the piece in, like Microsoft Word; this .HTML file should be put in the Publications folder of the Chronofan server.
  • The Fanfiction page is divided into two sections; one is for Completed Works, and the other for Incomplete / In-Progress Works. Care should be taken to classify submitted work accordingly. Since submissions can fall through the cracks, the Director should review the Submissions and Fanfiction forums at the beginning of every January, April, July, and October.
  • C. Fan Music
  • The Chrono series is very popular, and its music is remixed, rearranged, and covered in earnest by fans. Fan music is classified on the Compendium in two forms; it is either part of an album or doujin (as in commercially released on compact discs), or it is an individual remix, usually released over the internet. The fan music type determines how it will be classified at the Chrono Compendium. In the unofficial releases section, the Albums and Doujins page is linked first, followed by the Concerts page. Remixes appear individually listed below.
  • Fan music released on a commercial compact disc is archived at the Albums and Doujins page. The Director should first attempt to obtain the music for inclusion in the Chrono Compendium Music Archive on the Chronofan servers. Sources can be found at the end of this section. The doujin should be uploaded in a folder bearing the artist and doujin name, preferably with an SFV or MD5 included to check file integrity. It is not necessary to upload covert art, as it will be uploaded separately to the doujin's listing on the Albums and Doujins page.
  • The Albums and Doujins page is divided into sections for Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Radical Dreamers, and Chrono Series US releases (albums), and the same for Japanese releases (doujins), depending on the source content of the doujin. The doujin should be entered alphabetically into the category in which it fits. Information should begin with a thumbnail of the cover, a composed by identifying the source composers, an arranged by field for the remixers, a release date, and a general rating in case the music is awful and the audience should be warned on a scale of 1-3, with 1 being crappy, 2 being average, and 3 being good or above. If available, the disc running time should be listed. Then follows the track list, which should also have running times for each track if available, and also the source tune game in brackets beside the track title. Following that should be a Purchase link to the remixer website and a disclaimer about exchange if the website is Japanese. Finally, an image gallery of the cover, back, CD, et cetera should appear. Any advertisement banners for the doujin found on the remixer website should also be archived.
  • Unlike remixes, Albums and Doujins needn't be listed on the main music pages for each game. They do need to be listed on individual song entries, where they appear before Remixes under Unofficial Releases. Listing consists of a simple bullet containing a Wiki link with artist and title to the Albums and Doujins page, utilizing the # link markup to take a viewer right to that album's entry. To determine which song pages need doujin listing, the Director must listen to the covered Chrono songs and determine what the source tunes are.
  • Sources for A&D - Albums and doujins are listed at various sites, but few have complete records. The two most useful sites for finding information on new releases are http://www.vgmdb.net/, a database of releases, and the Gamingforce Forums an active forum with a healthy VGM community; specifically, Niki's obscure VGM thread, where new releases are posted usually with download links. Doujins and remixes new and old can also be found at VGMCentral, a DC++ hub for video game music. These sources should be reviewed every March, June, September, and December for new releases.
  • The Concerts page exists to list concerts where Chrono series music is played. Event listings are organized by date under an alphabetical listing of artists. Before event listings and under the artist header, artists synopses should appear with an image of the performers, a small blurb on history, and fields for the artist website, the Wikipedia on them (if one exists), the number of members, and their base of operations.
  • Concert listings begin with fields for venue, notable guests, and reviews and transcripts which link to reviews of the concerts (such as those on the Anime News Network). What follows is a set list. Most concerts are bootlegged on Youtube; in this event, the Director should examine the Youtube sources and create an acronym for each source (for instance, if a user named Magus2888 uploaded a video, M2 is a suitable acronym). By each song in the set list, a link to a corresponding Youtube recording should be added with the acronym serving as the link (for example, "Battle with Magus (M2)", where M2 is a link to a video of Battle with Magus being performed). The Director should use MediaPirate or other browser software to download the FLV files from Youtube or other sites for archival whenever a new concert is added to the listing. Backups are not necessary for non-Chrono songs.
  • Concerts are linked in individual music pages between Albums & Doujins and Remixes. They should be linked with the # markup to take the reader to the exact concert the song appears in.
  • Sources - Concert reports are fickle. Very large events are the most likely to be recorded, and these are often announced with press releases. Bootlegs usually appear on Youtube, Google Video, or other streaming user-driven video sites.
  • Fan music released as individual tracks on personal or group websites are known as remixes. There are three large remixing sites: OCReMix.org, VGMix.com, and Thasauce.net. The Director should first attempt to obtain the remix for inclusion in the Chrono Series Music Archive. The remix should be included in the archive in one of the three folders for the three big sites, found under the VGM top level folder; if it comes from neither of them, it should go into the Chrono Compendium folder under Music (Chrono Trigger).
  • Remixes are listed in at least two places. They appear on the main music page for the source music game, whether Music (Chrono Trigger), (Chrono Cross), or (Radical Dreamers), and they also appear on the source song's individual page. For instance, a remix of Frog's theme that includes Far Promise ~ Dream Shore would appear on both those song pages, and also on Music (Chrono Trigger) and Music (Radical Dreamers) general listings. The organization of the listings is the same for both regular music pages and song pages; the categories go, Chrono Compendium, OCReMix, Thasauce, VGMix, and then Other remixers. To identify which song the remix covers, the Director must often listen to the remixes.
  • Except for OCReMix and Thasauce remixes, all listings of remixes should directly link to the remix file as uploaded to the Chrono Compendium Music Archive on the Chrono fan server. Remixes from personal sites often disappear when the author moves on with new hobbies or the hosting runs out; this used to necessitate annoying link changes until the policy of linking directly to the remix was instated. VGMix, aside from being too fickle to depend on for stability, also currently lists in its X iteration remixes without individual pages, making relevant linking impossible. Remixes should be listed alphabetically with song title in apostrophes and then "by (artist)" outside the link. Chrono Compendium released remixes go under that section beneath an italicized source tune header. Remixes that fall under the Other category are also alphabetized according to the artist. If a new remix's artist is not represented, he or she should be added in the Other section between lines with a small synopsis, a link to their website, and of course the remix as linked in the Chrono Series Music Archive.
  • VGMix has had three iterations. The first is known as VGMix 1, and remixes acquired from this website should go under Other > VGMix 1, not the regular VGMix heading. The second incarnation is known as regular VGMix in the listings; it used a three-tier system of Good Stuff, Must-Haves, and Stuff of Legends. The third iteration is known as VGMix X; these remixes should be placed before the Stuff of Legends category beneath a "VGMix X" heading to differentiate them.
  • Some remixes will be acquired through work-in-progress forums or other special methods. Any work-in-progress remixes should be listed in work-in-progress sections under the Other heading, not in the big three categories. For instance, an OCReMix work-in-progress would not go under OCReMix, but under Other > OCReMix WIPs (works-in-progress).
  • Sources for Remixes - Remixes come from many sources. Starting with the big three, OCReMix lists its remix releases chronologically, allowing one to easily monitor releases and pick out Chrono entries. VGMix X's poor quality system puts all remixes together under one chronological listing and poorly identifies them by game; to find new Chrono remixes, one must look for Chrono images in the thumbnails near remixes or pick up on familiar terms in remix titles (for example "Mammon Machine"). Thasauce functions like OCReMix, allowing easy identification of new releases. The Director should also comb work-in-progress forums at these sites to find promising material that otherwise would be lost. These include the OCReMix WIP forum and the VGMix WIP forum. Also, Overlooked Remix. Remixes can also be submitted through the Chrono Compendium Submissions forum or e-mail address. Finally, Chrono remixes often come from the monthly Dwelling of Duels contest. Removed OCReMixes may pop up on OCReMoved. For Japanese remixes, most are hosted on personal sites with no real way of identifying new releases or reliably finding them. At times, Japanese remixes will come together for projects, such as Celestia or Gekitsui King Contest; the Director must rely on hearsay or informed visitors to learn of these. Though these sites should be regularly monitored if possible, all should be reviewed every March, June, September, and December for new material.
  • New remixes, albums, and doujins should be highlighted either in the Remix Watch sidebar thread, or in an actual news post if the list is long or significant enough.
  • D. Downloads
  • Downloads is an outlet for any fan work or other object of interest that evades classification elsewhere on the site. This can include special fonts, screensavers, sound effect packs, or other ephemera. Objects added to the Downloads section should be announced in the next news update and should be hosted, if needed, in the Other folder of the Chronofan server.
  • E. Speedruns
  • Speedruns and techniques are discussed in respective pages for each game listed under the Games page. The Director should monitor SDA and its forums for news concerning new Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross speedruns every January and July, and update the pages as needed.

IV. Forums

  • Please see the Chrono Compendium charter for an overview of the forum structure and relevant procedures.'

V. Final Word

  • Directing the Chrono Compendium efficiently is largely a matter of intelligently archiving and presenting information. "Keep found things found" by good organization.
  • The Director should be in the springtime of youth. Aside from that, the Director should perform these duties or delegate them to industrious individuals. If deadlines are not met, information is lost or not presented in updates, or the community lacks leadership, Chrono fans should vigorously lobby for a new Director. It is a thousand times easier to keep the Chrono Compendium going as a continuing success than start a new site because the Compendium's leadership disappeared or became bad stewards.

Duty List[edit]

This duty list also keeps track of who is currently fulfilling responsibilities. Several types of special access are needed as a bare-minimum for some duties, including general site access (CCP), encyclopedia access (CE), Chronofan FTP access (CF), forum administration (F), and e-mail (E). The site's current director is ZeaLitY.

I. Broad Duties

  • Maintain the site's technical workings; install software updates; troubleshoot problems. (CCP, CF, F)
Ramsus, ZeaLitY
  • Synchronize Chrono Series Music Archive and MIOCALEUV. (CF)
ZeaLitY
  • Post news and updates; monitor the forums for items of interest; check the chronocompendium@gmail.com e-mail account. (CE, CF, F, E)
ZeaLitY, Faustwolf
  • Add information on new games vigilantly. (CE)
ZeaLitY
  • Set long-term goals for the site and initiate programs.
ZeaLitY
  • At every January, April, July, and October, back up the site's structure and SQL. (CCP, CE, CF)
ZeaLitY
  • Visit other Chrono forums to help clear up topics of discussion and pass along relevant news.
ZeaLitY, others
  • Every January and July, use the W3C link checker on Community Map to find dead links.
ZealitY (CE)

II. Static Information and Presentation

  • Every January and July, review all new posts in analysis forums from the date of the last Topic Review to find new analysis; add it to the encyclopedia and also linked in a new Topic Review post; expedite unfinished discussions and determine what should be put off; remove outdated content or make new articles as necessary; change the Chronology if needed. (CE, CF, F)
ZeaLitY
  • Maintain the Wikipedia articles on Chrono games at Featured level.
ZeaLitY
  • Check ROMHacking.net and the Kajar Laboratories forum for new releases and information to be added to the Modification encyclopedia every January and July. (CE, CF)
ZeaLitY
  • Add new official music releases; obtain lossless rips; back them up on the CCMA. (CE, CF)
ZeaLitY

III. Fan and Community Works

  • Give fan projects forums, membergroups, and encyclopedia page if needed; add them to the Fan Projects page; oversee the Aegis system; complete needed duties as listed above upon release.
ZeaLitY (CE, F)
  • Every January and July, review the Fan Projects page and forums for dead fan projects to be removed. (CE, F)
ZeaLitY
  • Add new fan work to the encyclopedia and post it in news; every January, April, July, and October, check the Submissions forum and e-mail account for any lost pieces. (CE, CF, F)
ZeaLitY
ZeaLitY
  • Every January and July, check SDA for speedrun updates. (CE)
ZeaLitY

IV. Forums

  • Preside over the forums and community as needed; select moderators if needed or for fan projects; choose Gurus. (F)
ZeaLitY

Schedule[edit]

January

April

July

October

Historical Designs[edit]

The Chrono Compendium has been through several designs:

  • Chrono Compendium I (PHPNuke; used 2003) Wayback Link
  • Chrono Compendium II (Purple with Sidebar; briefly used in late 2003)
  • Chrono Compendium III (Simplistic Blue; used until June 2004) Wayback Link
  • Chrono Compendium IV (Monobook Mediawiki; used July 2004 to early 2005) Wayback Link
  • Chrono Compendium V (Futuristic Blue; used early 2005, and notable for using the Prerelease Lavos eruption sprite and being thin)
  • Chrono Compendium VI (Peach; used 2005-2006)
  • Chrono Compendium VII (Green; used 2006-2007 until August)
  • Chrono Compendium VIII (Icy Blue; used 2007 until 2008)
  • Chrono Compendium IX (Whiteish; used 2008 to December 2010)
  • Chrono Compendium IX.I (Whiteish; used December 2010-2014)
  • Chrono Compendium X (Official Art; used 2015-present)

Image of Chrono Compendium I:

  • CompendiumI.png

Mockup design for Chrono Compendium II:

  • Article Bar

Images of Chrono Compendium III:

  • CompendiumIII.png

  • Article pop-up text in action

Old site icon used for Chrono Compendium IV: Oldsiteicon.png

Images of Chrono Compendium V:

  • OSX Test 1

  • OSX Test 2

  • Logo

  • Last image of V taken

Image of Chrono Compendium VI:

  • Alternate VI colors

  • First image of VI taken

  • CompendiumVI.png

  • Zeal image

  • Radical Dreamers week image

  • Kid image

Images used on Chrono Compendium VII:

  • First Logo

  • Second Logo

  • Christmas Logo

  • Chrono'99 Logo

  • Kid

  • Kid 2

  • Kid Dithered

  • Kid Tall

  • Maintenance

Prototype designs for Chrono Compendium VIII:

  • 1

  • 2

  • 2-b

  • 2-c

  • Beta

Images of Chrono Compendium VIII:

  • Compendium71.png
  • Compendium72.png
  • Compendium73.png
  • Compendium74.png
  • Compendium75.png
  • Compendium76.png
  • Compendium77.png
  • Compendium78.png

  • Alternate Spring's Gift design

Images for Chrono Compendium IX:

  • Screenshot

  • Last front page before transition

  • 9hours46min.png
  • 22hours46min.png
  • Happynuyear.png

Images for Chrono Compendium IX.I:

  • Front page after transition

Image for Chrono Compendium X:

  • Front page after transition

  • Android screenshot

  • Secret Level **

Archiving a humorous e-mail we received:

Chrono Compendium,

First off, I want to say I'm sufficiently impressed by the extent of content your compendium has to offer. I feel its catalogs provide a variety of applications to please most any Chronothusiast. And that, along with the determination brought on by some nightly ganja, is how I find myself composing this message.

It has to be almost six to seven years now since I first recall having the ability to access it. Since then, I find myself suddenly conjuring it on occasions coincidently drunk of nostalgia and cheap rum. Grapefruit juice and rum, actually. Something I had adopted while being taxied around Nassau. I believe the driver's name was Macintosh. Anyways, he always sipped on the stuff when he droves us around the island. There was very little he couldn't provide us during our stay. But, dare I say? There was.

It has proven a near impossible task for me in the past semi-nostalgic, semi-alcoholic months to locate any information regarding a filmed documentation, journaling a group of friends and colleagues as they experience the widely loved and universally celebrated affair of Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995) in the course of a 24-hour period. The film journaled the conversations and friendships of the group over the course of 24-hours as they gradually progressed through the linear of the video game.

The title of the aforementioned, remarkable thesis escapes me completely and I am hitherto held in a cradle of uncertainty regarding my possible attainment of the documentary ever again. It is to this decree I write to you, a compendium, a college and community of Chronothusiasts who may, in any method, shed some light on the subject of the '24-hour Chrono Trigger Documentary.' Has anyone else encountered a similar project during their past decade of internet exploration and development? Shit, does it really exist or am I abusing my nostalgia? If this proves to be incredibly difficult, let it be difficult. If I'm forced to search the internet's horizons, so be it. If my fate is to sit down and give up this investigation, I must simply laugh.

Yours truly,

A descendant of Doan

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