Lunar: Eternal Sapphire [Some New News]

For people with stuff to show off. Artwork, music you've composed, websites you've designed, etc. Put it here.
User avatar
Rune Lai
Bromide Hunter
Posts: 1590
jedwabna poszewka na poduszkę 70x80
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2002 7:46 pm
Location: Shrine to Ghaleon
Contact:

Post by Rune Lai »

Maria refers to the Blue Spire as the "Blue Sprite." I'm assuming that's a typo?

By the way, I know you're trying to replicate that RPG feel, but I think it may be worth considering cutting down the amount of time the characters spend doing nothing but walking. At one point I was watching 4-5 screens of nothing but walking which is very tiring. As a passive viewer, who is not controlling character movie, there is nothing for me to see or do during those portions of the story.

If they are leaving an area you don't have to show them leaving completely off screen, just start them walking and fade out. Games do this during cut scenes sometimes. It keeps the viewer's attention and the experience moving.
You have taught us the pity to live.
But I will not forget the beauty of life itself.
--Hyuui Riin, Phantasy Star II
-- http://www.sabrecat.net/ --

User avatar
Shiva Indis
White Dragon Knight
Posts: 983
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:59 pm
Location: Genjuukai

Post by Shiva Indis »

It's an interesting typo, if so. Reminds me of the lyrics for 'Rondo of Light and Shadow'.

Blue moon, a fairy playing songs...

Blue moon, a fairy dancing with the sky...
「まあいいけど。」

User avatar
Kizyr
Keeper of Knowledge (probationary)
Posts: 8315
Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2002 7:36 am
Location: Marius Zone
Contact:

Post by Kizyr »

Shiva Indis wrote:It's an interesting typo, if so. Reminds me of the lyrics for 'Rondo of Light and Shadow'.

Blue moon, a fairy playing songs...

Blue moon, a fairy dancing with the sky...


I always wondered what the deal was with that lyric. KF
~Kizyr (they|them)
Image

User avatar
snaztacular
Lostest Boy
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 2:06 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Post by snaztacular »

What are you using for those backgrounds, Zophar? Is that RPGMaker XP? I watched the first episode, and it was interesting. I have no problem with a fetch-quest if it's used well to set up the story, like yours was. The problem I have is that it looks and progresses so much like a game that I'd really rather just play it than click a green button to play on autopilot! RPGMaker would allow you to make environments identical to the ones in the video with relative ease. You can also make and release installers (I believe), and then it would be a game like it wants to be!

User avatar
Bravo 29
Red Dragon Priest
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:23 am

Post by Bravo 29 »

Finally saw episode two, and I thought it was hilarious. The character interactions are hilarious, as well as Jack's flaws. He has godlike abilities, and no sense of direction. Talk about a dangerous combination. ^^;;;

Anyway, now we see why his mother was so anxious to get Jack away from Winddale. THEY are coming. Do I sense ominous bad guy appearance in the future? Ooh, I can hardly wait. Hee hee hee. Keep it up, man!

User avatar
localflick
Black Dragon Wizard
Posts: 495
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:07 pm
Location: Chicago-ish

Post by localflick »

Somehow Episode 2 felt more like Lunar to me than Lunar DS did. Maybe because the graphics are closer to the 2 main Lunars.

I also really like the character dialogue art (PrettyGirlJean, they're awesome!) but there's something odd about their placement. It's probably just me, and a very minor thing, but it might look better if after the characters are cropped out you put a thin black outline around them. I don't know why, but lots of RPGs do that (like Thousand Arms, The Grandstream Saga, and I think Fire Emblem too), and it feels odd not seeing it, but that's just me. Maybe putting them in a lunar-style box? I dunno it's not important anyway. It's a very well done episode, and I'm looking forward to the next.

User avatar
PrettyGirlJean
White Dragon Knight
Posts: 782
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:20 am
Location: Amherst, NY
Contact:

Post by PrettyGirlJean »

Hi there :)

Thanks for the feedback everyone! ^_^y

Thanks as well for the compliments on the art *^^* I spoke to Zophar about the outlines. I'll be working on designing a box, unfortunately that may make the characters' portraits smaller and lose detail. But I'm trying out some different designs because there doesn't seem to be a way we can make the background behind the characters completely transluscent. Zophar has to take out the white behind the characters himself. We're workin' on it though :D

Also, we'll be adding voice acting and cutscenes! They won't be fully animated (mainly because I'm still learning flash and animation ^^), but they'll be like TSS where the eyes and mouth move. I'm not sure where we're at as far as non-cutscene dialogue, but I think Zophar's not gonna go that route.

Anyhow, if you'd like to keep up with the project of course you can continue to visit this thread but Zophar and I both have deviantart accounts where we're posting art and other information about the project ^_^y (Where you can also find out more about the voice acting):

Zophar - http://zopharxiii.deviantart.com/

PGJ - http://vanstane.deviantart.com/

His is strictly for the project so any updates will be made at his account first ^_^y Also, Zophar will probably update the first post here in the next couple of days. We're both gonna be busy today and tomorrow on episode 3 :)

Thanks again everyone! Take care now :)

User avatar
Shiva Indis
White Dragon Knight
Posts: 983
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:59 pm
Location: Genjuukai

Post by Shiva Indis »

Bravo! Chapter 2 is a major improvement, I think. The characters seem more fleshed out, and Pretty Girl Jean's art really helps me get into the characters. I really like the little chat at the Star Dragon Tower. Some subtle character development there. :D

PGJ, here's a suggestion for a quick fix on the text portraits - hook Zophar up with versions on black bakgrounds, since black tends to blend better.

As for criticism, I agree with Rune that there should be less walking. Other than that, characterization still seems a bit hasty. While the interaction between Maria and Jack was fun, it seemed too brief for them to end up traveling together. While Maria obviously wants to stick by Jack, what reason does Jack have for letting her come? It didn't seem like she was so insistent that Jack had to give in rather than put up with her. I would've liked it if she offered to be his guide in Salyan Desert, or hounded Jack while he bought supplies, or something like that.

Another thing, Mom's dialogue at the end suffers from redundancy. (I hope I don't come across as overly nitpicky...)

"I told him not to come back because by the time he decides to come back and pay a visit they will have come. In other words, I told him not to come back because... There won't be a Winddale Village to come back to."

You could cut this down to: "I did it because by the time he decides to pay a visit, they will have come. In other words... There won't be a Winddale Village to come back to." We know the topic is Jack's Mom telling him not to come back to Winddale since Lorenzo already said it.

Keep up the good work!
「まあいいけど。」

User avatar
Haru
Pao Hunter
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:33 pm
Location: Magic Guild of Vane
Contact:

Post by Haru »

Heh, pretty impresive. However, If it was a game, it will be more interesting to play it.
The boy Jack is a solution of Luna & ALex :lol:

User avatar
Silver Phoenix
Bromide Hunter
Posts: 1677
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2005 5:57 am
Location: Allentown, PA
Contact:

Post by Silver Phoenix »

Good job so far. The effort alone is worth our appreciation. Yes a lot of things can be improved but I realize you both are not proficient game programmers. It's interesting to hear music from various games implemented into the world of Lunar.
If you need some help with the writing or want to brainstorm ideas I'd be glad to help. I know you want to make as much progress as you can, but any good writer knows to review and revise the work before finalizing it. The thorough effort will give the overall attempt more appeal when viewed by the public.

I have no experience in programming so what you are doing deserves encouragement. Most of us are Lunar zealots so while there are some harsh critics the rest of us will be here to offer support and ideas. Oh yeah, we need to see more battle scenes with variations on the enemies which I'm sure you're working on.

User avatar
PrettyGirlJean
White Dragon Knight
Posts: 782
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:20 am
Location: Amherst, NY
Contact:

Post by PrettyGirlJean »

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update ^^ One of two of the cutscenes for Episode 3 was recently completed and the second one should be done today or tomorrow. So I'm confident barring any weird anomalies that Episode 3 will be done this by this Sunday. Last time I talked to Zophar he said he had about 16-18 hours left of work, but that could be much less now since that was a day or so ago.

Anyhow, I'd like to thank everyone again for their feedback and especially patience for this project. I'm confident that episode 4 will come out a lot sooner than 3, I think the holidays really slowed things down.

One last thing, Zophar will probably update the first post with this information (and at his Deviantart account), but we are still looking for people to audition for the voice role of Jack. There will be another female character, but I'm not sure exactly when we'll need that one, so I'll leave that up to Zophar to tell you :)

Thanks again everyone and take care! ^_^b

User avatar
Ardekh
Red Dragon Priest
Posts: 179
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 8:52 pm
Contact:

Post by Ardekh »

Your art is fantastic, of course. :) I'm loving the episodes. Can't wait until it gets into some cut scenes and voice acting.

As far as the whole portrait background thing, you might not have to make them translucent, just put them on a colored background. Like in Lunar 2, you could make the background for the text box solid.

User avatar
Aquaignis
Black Dragon Wizard
Posts: 366
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:04 pm
Location: Might's Tower...still...
Contact:

Post by Aquaignis »

The 'surprised' expressions look pretty lackluster. The story is alright, but it needs some fine tuning.

My expressions from the beginning to end went like this: :shock: , :D , :? , :) , 8)
Some of the answers in this post are made of frozen lose with whipped failsauce topping and suck sprinkles......

User avatar
PrettyGirlJean
White Dragon Knight
Posts: 782
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:20 am
Location: Amherst, NY
Contact:

Post by PrettyGirlJean »

Right now, there's some technical difficulties with one of the cutscenes. Flash is being a poo poo head -_- The art for the cutscenes is complete though ^_^ Upon speaking to Zophar, the first bit of voice acting will be in Episode 4 along with a couple more cutscenes and a few new characters.

NewGen, is there a particular reason you find the shocked expressions dull? Do they not look shocked enough? Perhaps I should redraw them... I'd really like to hear what others think as well.

Thank you guys for your feedback! ^_^b

User avatar
Zophar
Black Dragon Wizard
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:01 pm
Location: West Chester, PA

Post by Zophar »

I have finally completed episode III. You can find the putfile link on the first page, I also have it on my DA account. I would reccomend going there to view the episode since it's taking forever to load on putfile. Well, let me know what you think okay?

Thank you all who watched and shared your oppinions about Episode II, I really appreciate it.

User avatar
Dragonmaster Lou
Black Dragon Wizard
Posts: 483
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:58 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Post by Dragonmaster Lou »

Sorry for slacking off on this -- I only just caught up and saw Eps 2 and 3.

I have to say I really, really like where this is going. :) So far so good, it seems like you're really capturing the feeling of Lunar in this.

My only wish is that you stuck to Iwadare-composed music, but that's only because the Mitsuda-composed tunes, while being excellent as well, really sound stylistically out of place next to the Lunar tunes you chose. Of course, it just might be my brain doing a double-take at hearing Mitsuda tunes with Lunar backgrounds as well. :)

Oh, and if I can help out in anyway, I'd like to. It looks like it would be fun. :)
"Guts can turn a 30% chance into a 100% chance!" - Taiga Kohtarou
Personal home page: http://www.techhouse.org/~lou
Lunar page: http://www.techhouse.org/~lou/lunar/
AMV page: http://www.tealstudios.com

User avatar
Zophar
Black Dragon Wizard
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:01 pm
Location: West Chester, PA

Post by Zophar »

Dragonmaster Lou wrote:Sorry for slacking off on this -- I only just caught up and saw Eps 2 and 3.

I have to say I really, really like where this is going. :) So far so good, it seems like you're really capturing the feeling of Lunar in this.

My only wish is that you stuck to Iwadare-composed music, but that's only because the Mitsuda-composed tunes, while being excellent as well, really sound stylistically out of place next to the Lunar tunes you chose. Of course, it just might be my brain doing a double-take at hearing Mitsuda tunes with Lunar backgrounds as well. :)

Oh, and if I can help out in anyway, I'd like to. It looks like it would be fun. :)


Thanks! :D

I try to use as many Lunar tunes as possible but the problem is that quite a few of those songs don't quite capture the mood or tone that I want to set down.

Well, if I need help with anything I will let you know. In fact I may need some additional voices for an upcoming scene.

User avatar
Dragonmaster Lou
Black Dragon Wizard
Posts: 483
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:58 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Post by Dragonmaster Lou »

Cool, I'd love to help out with some voice acting. I'll have to figure out how to record myself on this mac (never tried it before) first...
"Guts can turn a 30% chance into a 100% chance!" - Taiga Kohtarou
Personal home page: http://www.techhouse.org/~lou
Lunar page: http://www.techhouse.org/~lou/lunar/
AMV page: http://www.tealstudios.com

User avatar
GhaleonOne
Ghost From The Past
Posts: 9079
Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2002 4:59 am
Location: Not of this world...

Post by GhaleonOne »

I'm pretty impressed. I finally got around to watching it (all three chapters) last night and was really entertained. I'm certain anticipating the next chapter now!
-G1

User avatar
PrettyGirlJean
White Dragon Knight
Posts: 782
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:20 am
Location: Amherst, NY
Contact:

Post by PrettyGirlJean »

Awesome ^_^ I hope everyone will feel the same ^_~

I post some of the art ahead of time at my DA site, mainly concept sketches, but if you (or anyone) is interested in seeing what Astaroth and Amon look like you can see sketches of them here:

Asta:
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/29080710/

Amon:
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/29080808/

I am going to do my best to have more animation in the cutscenes, but for now I hope everyone is cool with the simple eye blinking and/or mouth movements. ^_^

We've gotten quite a bit of positive feedback and it's really inspiring! I'm currently working on character designs for a new character and what we call "portraits" (which are the character's dialogue pictures) for the villians.

Thanks again for the kind words! ^_^b

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests