For the past four years I've been cooking up a co-op first person shooter/beat-em-up. It's a different style of play entirely based on what character you pick.

It talked about poor loading etc etc.

Unfortunately, the reviews were right about that, even with the 4MB RAM cart (which I think was REQUIRED for the game) the loading times were pretty bad. Apart from that, though, there really wasn't any difference. They just did a straight port of the arcade game with no added elements or gameplay modes, whatsoever. This worked extremely well with the vs series games (X-men vs Street Fighter was arcade perfect, a short load time when you first booted up the game and that was it with the 4MB cart), but Capcom just didn't put the same care into the AD&D collection. It probably didn't help that the Dreamcast was already out at the time and Capcom was focusing their attention on games like Street Fighter Zero 3, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Street Fighter 3: Third Strike and the Vampire collection.

Back on the topic at hand, though, I've also thought about a story builder system for an RPG which would allow for the storyline to build itself dynamically based on player's actions in the game. In practice, it would feel like an epic RPG story which plays out like your average Final Fantasy with elements like rivals, love interests and various fleshed out characters that you meet along the way. It wouldn't be defined through obvious branches, though. Rather than having a branching dialog tree every now and then which determines the course of the game, things like where you go, who you talk to, and battle performance would define the course of the storyline. Each playthrough would feel like a completely different game without making it obvious that the storyline isn't a cohesive whole and completely linear.

As an example, you would create a character and define their background at the beginning of the game. Say your character is an adventurer, starting in a village known for that kind of person. The game might start out with your mother waking you up and saying that a childhood friend of yours was looking for you and is probably waiting in the town square. You could go straight to the town square and meet up with the character who turns out to be your rival and he challenges you to a duel. If you win the duel, the character could slink off and end up becoming one of those rival characters who teams up with the ultimate evil to gain power. If you lose, he may lord it over you and remain in the village only to join your party half way through the game when the village is sacked by another villain character. Another possibility might be to explore the town before going to meet the character and running into a mysterious girl who is being chased by some guards. You help her hide from them and she gives you some magical item (and will probably join your party after you leave the first town) before running off again. You go to meet the character in the square, but this time he is more of a friendly rival who, win or lose, can be added to your party before you leave town to investigate this item the girl gave you.

Basically, with each play through your would meet different playable characters with different back stories, and would play through completely different scenarios with different main antagonists leading up to different boss battles and ultimately, endings. I could really see a system like this added enormous amounts of replay value to traditional RPGs. You could also use a similar system to generate unique storylines for characters in MMOs so that there was a point to your wanderings and each character would have a unique storyline to promote actual role-playing that was a little deeper than just choosing differen fetch quests to fulfill.

My friend once attempted to create Metal Slug Tarantula, with graphics and effects based off from those from FEAR. Obviously, it didn't go far until it was seemingly terminated.

If I could make a game, I would turn Half-Life 2 into Time Crisis- Half-Crisis 2!
That, or a game like Namco X Capcom or War of Genesis III.

But these are all a dream. A wonderful, wonderful dreams.
Sniff, that Half-Life 2 related dream........

"Half Crisis"... that's about as good as "Divine Divinity."

"Time Life" you work was well. Even without the Warner.

Sidwarrious
Who cares if it's sick and sadistic? No one is getting hurt. Cuz children can't feel pain. If they could the things I do to them in my basement would count as torture. And that's not nice!

You sick fuck!! I'm 13 you sadistic bastard! Of course children feel pain you brainless fuck!!

Okay, relax, he was exaggerating for the sake of humor. Let's not turn this into a "thing"

I would also like to see a turn-based RPG which utilizes newer software routines to make fights more exciting. They could use smart AI to have character models move and react realistically to things in battle. Getting hit would knock them back and reflexes would kick in to make them correct themselves if possible. Characters would react to their surroundings, jumping off of walls, taking cover when told to defend, etc. Characters would jump up larger creatures dynamically based on the way the larger creatures are built and moving. They would target weak areas, preferably defined by the player. Each character would have dozens of unique animations for different attacks and moves, so each time a move is performed, it looks different. Characters wouldn't need to return to some lineup between attacks. Instead, the game would pause mid battle, so the player could input the new command for a character whose turn has ended. Visually, a battle would play out like a cinematic where you get all the crazy flips and martial arts you usually see in the prerendered sequences, but you'd still be calling the shots. The game could used an ATB style combat system, except the time between turns would be detemined by the animation for each move which would move faster or slower based on a character's agility.

Combine this with good enemy AI and you could end up with some really cool boss battles.

isukun
I would also like to see a turn-based RPG which utilizes newer software routines to make fights more exciting. They could use smart AI to have character models move and react realistically to things in battle. Getting hit would knock them back and reflexes would kick in to make them correct themselves if possible. Characters would react to their surroundings, jumping off of walls, taking cover when told to defend, etc. Characters would jump up larger creatures dynamically based on the way the larger creatures are built and moving. They would target weak areas, preferably defined by the player. Each character would have dozens of unique animations for different attacks and moves, so each time a move is performed, it looks different. Characters wouldn't need to return to some lineup between attacks. Instead, the game would pause mid battle, so the player could input the new command for a character whose turn has ended. Visually, a battle would play out like a cinematic where you get all the crazy flips and martial arts you usually see in the prerendered sequences, but you'd still be calling the shots. The game could used an ATB style combat system, except the time between turns would be detemined by the animation for each move which would move faster or slower based on a character's agility.

Combine this with good enemy AI and you could end up with some really cool boss battles.

That battle system actually sounds a lot like what Square-Enix is doing with The Last Remnant [en.wikipedia.org]. The whole thing's not so dramatically dynamic as what you suggest, but basically what I've seen implies that it will be primarily a turn-based battle system, but the fights will appear realistic, as opposed to two teams standing on opposite ends of a screen and taking turns hitting each other.

Inkmonkey
The Last Remnant [en.wikipedia.org].

That does look pretty nice.

I need to go ahead and make that thread for the game I've been thinking about...

dark link it was a joke man. It was a very roundabout Simpsons' Quote. Homer says that about his animals, but not word for word.

Isukun's idea of battle presentation is a good one, and I think Grandia Extreme's battle system would lend itself well to such animations.

Yes, I'm biased b/c I do think GX's battle system is completely unrivaled by anything. But it really does fit the "cinematic feel" better than a standard ATB. When you start your turn, your character actually takes time running thru the battlefield to reach the enemy, and during this time the enemy might have started his turn as well and is running towards you (or a party member). Multiply this by x party members and x enemies. Then throw in Isukun's variable cinematic animations.

The Grandia series has done that since the beginning. It's why the first game is still one of my favorite RPGs. The fact that characters could knock enemies out of their attacks if they were fast enough and vice versa, the ability to move to different regions on the battlefield, and that your time bar was dependent on what you did in your last turn, it was a pretty deep system. The visual style I'm thinking of would definitely expand on that without destroying the core gameplay.

I keep seeing games like the Last Remnant. They start out impressing me, but then end up playing more like FFXII. Now I didn't hate that game like other people did, but it's not at all the kind of thing I'm talking about, here. From what little I've seen of the gameplay for the Last Remnant, it looks more like the faux MMO style of gameplay than a standard turn-based system.

mlai's game talk hurt me head.

Three words.

Harry Potter MMORPG.

...Think of the profit. Sooo many kids would want to be a part of Hogwarts. Everything you need for an MMORPG is there. I'm surprised no one has done it yet, unless J.K. Rowling isn't letting anyone.

lastcall
...Think of the profit. Sooo many kids would want to be a part of Hogwarts. Everything you need for an MMORPG is there. I'm surprised no one has done it yet, unless J.K. Rowling isn't letting anyone.

This game can hit the online pedophile demographic too. Bonus profits!

Sweet baby jeebus! Why didn't I think of that. 8D lol

this forum page is doing alright

sometimes it jes takes awhile. Look how long The Matrix online took anf that game was GREAT

Sidwarrious
sometimes it jes takes awhile. Look how long The Matrix online took anf that game was GREAT

Don't get me started about MxO....the first Matrix movie changed my life (literally. I dressed up as Trinity during college. It was pathetic) and when the Wachowski brothers fracked up the rest of the trilogy, I was so upset....

I beg to differ with you about MxO, Sid. It wasn't a great game at all. ...I beta-tested that game and started two of the biggest factions, The Collective (Machinist) and The Sirens (Merv). Gameplay is really dull. You get a mission, go in a building, kill a few guys, complete mission, wash, rinse, repeat. Very dull. The costumes, which made the Matrix movies so cool and unique, were terrible in the game and I was hoping beyond hope they would fix that after beta. They didn't. ...Many people suggested to the dev group that they allow the player to jack out and play around in the real world, flying hovercrafts and socializing with your crewmates in Zion, Zero One, etc. It would have also been a cool opportunity for them to develop this idea into a housing area. But they never did this.


I re-installed the game a few months ago, hoping that it would be better than the crappiness of the beta test I played. It wasn't. They didn't change it at all and I was very disappointed. In summary, several years later it hasn't changed one bit since beta. I blame it patrially on the fact that Sony Online has taken it over. They ruined Star Wars Galaxies, and they ruined MxO. ...I was actually surprised to see that MxO was still around. I thought it was cancelled. I won't be surprised if it will be soon, though.

The Matrix is a classic, greatest movie of that time. Then it was fucked up worse than Star Wars prequels. The only redeeming thing I can think of for Matrix 3 was the end credits techno. That's some great techno. They should've used that instead of the lame pr0n music for the cave rave. Not that the entire cave rave scene shouldn't be cut out, cuz it should cuz the only way it could be worse would be if it was an entire cave of Jar Jars hopping and copulating.

It's hard to be on the internet. I was being very sarcastic. Hence the all caps.

Stick with quotation marks. It better conveys sarcasm.

Or even better, turn the words into a link to something that best conveys your true meaning. Para ejemplo:

"sometimes it jes takes awhile. Look how long The Matrix online took anf that game was GREAT "

mlai
The Matrix is a classic, greatest movie of that time. Then it was fucked up worse than Star Wars prequels. The only redeeming thing I can think of for Matrix 3 was the end credits techno. That's some great techno. They should've used that instead of the lame pr0n music for the cave rave. Not that the entire cave rave scene shouldn't be cut out, cuz it should cuz the only way it could be worse would be if it was an entire cave of Jar Jars hopping and copulating.

Yeah, that cool techno was made by Juno Reactor. I used to have a bunch of their stuff on iTunes, until my computer decided to have a brain fart, and my entire iTunes library was erased.

From what I can recall, the first Matrix soundtrack was my first introduction to that genre of music. Before that, I was listening to Sting and Phil Collins and Seal. Ugh, what the hell was wrong with me. ...Anyway, I still really enjoy that soundtrack, it never gets old.

Meh, not a techno fan. And I wasn't really upset with the sequal until the second time I watched it. The first time I was so happy there WAS a sequal I didn't care. When I rewatched it and paid attention I hated it. X__x.

I had no prob with movie #2. The cave scene was embarassing, the Neo-Trinity chemistry nonexistent, but whatever it's just a scene. I didn't even care it had a non-ending.

But movie #3 ended with the worst way possible. It's sooooo stupid. Machines that honor their word WTFROFLMAO. If the ending was good I would have forgiven all the travesties. Every hint was pointing towards the awesome ending of Neo becoming the virus and becoming the God of the Machines, sacrificing his own humanity to end the war between man and machine and begin coexistence. The irony of Smith's apocalyptic ability facilitating a lasting peace. Neo's growing affinity to the machine spirit. EVERYTHING pointed to it. I just can't fathom how the Wachowski retards couldn't see it themselves. Instead we get Machines honoring their word, oh how long is THAT gonna last? And humans still stuck in that little basement called Zion, except now they know it's really just a bigger cage, a reservation if you will. Way to go, where's the brave new world? The plugged humans are STILL plugged. LOLMG Neo becomes (dead) Jesus. LOL such original imagery it blows my mind NOT.

Whoah, I seem to have wandered into the Media discussion forum... Seriously, though, at least talk more about the Matrix games, or I'll have to retitle and move this thread.

mlai
Instead we get Machines honoring their word, oh how long is THAT gonna last? And humans still stuck in that little basement called Zion, except now they know it's really just a bigger cage, a reservation if you will.

Actually, according to the Matrix Online storyline--after the three movies, eventually the Machines broke the truce, so they didn't honor their word for long. Morpheus was killed by some Assassin program (no one claimed responsibility, not even Merv) and Zion was completely destroyed, and the Zionists had to move elsewhere.

The continuing storyline can be found here. [en.wikipedia.org]

Lord Shplane
I've actually been slowly piecing together an MORPGS together in my head for years now. I really think it would be awesome, if I would ever actually make it.

same here.

in my head, this morpgs world is basically like one huge world... each with their own interactive continents and their own respective races. you could even buy different armor and clothing styles that you wouldn't find in any other counties, since each would basically has their own different styles and different types of weapons too.
And of course the fact if you can even use those things also depends on what size you are, not class.

You also could get your own houses, and upgrade it to your liking too in my own morpgs fantasy. in my mo rpg fantasy, there's tons of things for you to do.. and you don't even have to level up fighting monsters or killing animals if you don't want to. You could level up just by simply pursing after a "job" type aka honing your crafts that you were attempting to become talented at. The killing monsters and animals is just something you can do if you want to.

The reasons for what I wanted in my own morpgs:

1. the whole clothing only being wearable if it was of a certain size thing)--
That was what always irked me about some morpgs... Like on Ever quest II , one time I played an Fairy on my bro's account.
A fairy is TINY compared to the other races...anyway I could create armors and weapons for myself. and when I got around to selling the armors and weapons I made, some humans somehow they would be able to equip the things I could wear too simply just because they were the same "class" as I was. I was an ranger. I was just like "WTF?!!" I mean, fairy clothing is supposed to be TINY, right? so how the fuck can a human or a elf wear the same thing I can just because they're the same class as I am? talk about odd.
And the only thing I liked about being an fairy when comparing it to humans or elves, was that everything actually looked GIANT if I played as an fairy. really added to the "realism" of the game... which was why that whole clothing and weapons thing bugged me so much.

The other thing I didn't like if in an mo rpg if you came from "another nation" compared to another players in the game, they wouldn't be able to tell. A magician from say, "The tropical islands" would look the same as as a magician from the cold, freezing north.That is, if you don't take race into account.
I mean, that doesn't also make sense at all.... if you think about it. lol.


2. Houses thing. In this free to play MMO I play, they're taking forever for the other levels of a house to be ablivable. so far my house is basically level 2. And I can't upgrade it to level 3, 4, or even 5. and I know for a fact that in the foreigner servers they already have everything the game has to offer, and that they're slow to give the American servers everything.
So that's something that's always irritate me. I want to know what my house looks at level 3, damn it! T_T and I also dislike the fact that on the American servers all our houses look the same basically while on the foreigner ones they have like different varieties of styles.
In my dream MMO, no such discrimation exists!

3. Quests/Jobs without killing stuff-- I guess this one is pretty explanatory. After all, there used to be GOOD rpgs where doing quests and or jobs actually had an effect on how much you leveled and on yourself as an character.
Now some of the MMO creators seems to be getting lazy on that aspect and only constantly have npcs send you out to kill something. of course some mmo's out there still give out exp and stuff for your Quests instead of just small amounts of gold or something. But sadly that's almost getting to be a rarity.
That's why some people out there say MMO's and rpgs are crappy and boring. =(
I want to bring that aspect back and prove those people wrong!

So you want Animal Crossing + World of Warcraft? IMO that's very doable, and the only reason we don't have such games yet is because action game designers and family game designers are 2 different species, and they don't talk to each other.

As for faery clothing... c'mon, you're a faery! You make magic clothes! Of course they fit everybody!