Return to Melanat - General Discussion

[JC Bailey]

UPDATE: This game has already been released! You can find more info and a download link on this thread:
https://www.swordofmoonlight.com/bbs/ind...opic=813.0

ORIGINAL POST:
So I've been bouncing back and forth between numerous ideas for a short spring side-project to create in SOM, and I think I've finally settled on the idea of a quaint revisit to the isle of Melanat. Below is a quick rundown of what I have planned so far, but please note that this probably isn't as detailed as it should be, as I'm still in the early conceptual stage of development.

To start, the game will take place on Melanat about 50 years after the events of King's Field 3 and will be more light-hearted than past games, this is to remain consistent with the ending of KF3, where Lyle ushers a new age of light into the world of Verdite after having defeated Seath. The exact details of the story are still a work in progress, but the main plot will center around the player character who is a descendent of Lyle Forester, and the main goal (as per usual) will be to retrieve the Moonlight Sword from the island of Melanat.

The levels will, in theory, will be scaled recreations of Melanat's levels as seen in KF2 (minus certain multi-leveled sections). One major difference, however, will be the addition of a large 'Holy' Temple, built long ago in the center of the island to honor a legendary hero of light (Lyle Forester). This single most important venue will change how the maps in Melanat are interconnected.

The gameplay will be your standard King's Field affair, but I do plan on making a huge effort to balance enemies and make every item useful. I want for everything to have a use, in other words, no tier-based nonsense like we've seen in a lot of grind-y RPGs in the past. Puzzles will also be somewhat prevalent, though not as major as the focus on exploration and discovery.

As I stated above, the game won't be dark and bleak like the past games in the series, though I do still intend to retain the isolated atmosphere that King's Field is known for. Specific areas like the West Shore will have all new flora and be more populated (more houses, npcs, ect) and luminous. This of course means larger drawn distances, which will unfortunately result in a rather annoying graphical glitch SOM creates when in large open environments, where map pieces on the sides of the screen are cut off to conserve memory. I will however try my best to make this problem as least-noticeable as possible (this may mean having to play the game in 4:3 standard resolution).

Lastly, I'll be using music made by a Youtuber known as Jacob Lake (with his permission of course). He makes some very unique King's Field-inspired music that will be perfect for this project. (His channel can be found here): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGYuLbj...-PXAqyQj0Q

Let me know what you all think, does this sound like a game you would play?

PS: If anyone happens to have the maps from King's Field 2, they will help me lots!

[HwitVlf]

The gameplay will be your standard King's Field[/glow] affair, but I do plan on making a [glow=red,2,300]huge effort to balance enemies[/glow] and make [glow=red,2,300]every item useful[/glow]. I want for everything to have a use in other words, no tier-based nonsense like we've seen in a lot of grind-y RPGs in the past. Puzzles will also be somewhat prevalent, though not as major as the[glow=red,2,300] focus on exploration.

You won my affection!!! Those are rare things to find in games these days and I would LOVE to see them in a new SoM game.

Todd remade a lot of the Melenat maps in Dark Destiny. Might be worth seeing if you two can colaborate.

Just a dumb thought, but I wonder if you could make the game link KF3 to The Ancient City storyline?

[JC Bailey]

Wow, that was fast! You responded before I could make even a single grammatical edit.

Linking the stories of KF3 & 4 isn't a bad idea. The only problem here is that I haven't played KF4 yet and have little knowledge of the game's story.

I'm actually thinking about doing a story that's more detached from the trilogy, but with numerous not-so-obvious connections. Kinda like what Dark Souls 2 did, a lot can change and be forgotten in just 50 years afterall. It'd give me more creative freedom in the storytelling at least (as I personally find the King's Field lore to be rather confusing).

[Verdite]

Sounds good and I think you are have enough know to make a project like this. I will be making the map tutorials soon and you'l be able to recreate some of the more unique places in Melanat.

About linking TAC to Melanat, I think thats a great idea. You could have a character in Melanat who is making the dark idol for example, only to have its positivity (possibly elf derived?) corrupted by a guyra - like monster.

I wouldnt worry too much about the tile cutoff, because alot of Melanat is underground and dungeon based - which is what SoM is designed around. The only problems you might have is around the west shore, but if you cut out the linking bridge from the shore to fire tower you wont... Melanat might have been hit by a storm for many years, causing severe erosion around the west shore?

Anyway what I like about this concept is the open scope of creating something unique, while having the lore and general level structure already there.

[JC Bailey]

Here's a sneak peak at what's to come.

Below are screenshots of the West Shore, remade to scale (almost), and with the addition of two new houses. One main thing I'd like to know is if the tower will work as a lighthouse, or if I should make my own? Otherwise, I'm pretty satisfied with the way it all turned out.

[Auric]

Wow, that looks pretty good! It's kinda odd looking at a bright and colorful Melanat.

The lighthouse dose look fairly small. You could make your own map parts or if you're lazy you can just say the tower was destroyed in a storm and it's in the process of being rebuilt.

[Verdite]

I can see that water tile I made you has been used well

I agree with Auric, it looks like its shaping up well. I think that you might be chopping and changing things when you know how to make your own custom tiles, though I will say... Making custom tiles can be a long process sometimes, but its very rewarding.

[HwitVlf]

Wow, it is weird to a happy looking Melenant, but I like it. You seldom get to see the results of 'saving the world' in a game. So I think returning to a happy Melenant is quite an interesting story telling opportunity.

I think everyone ‎  will recognize the lighthouse, but if the player cant climb to the top, it might be a missed game-play opportunity.

[JC Bailey]

@Verdite
Yeah, those water tiles have saved me a lot of time and resources, thank you! I was thinking about the instant death thing, would it be possible to kill the player based on elevation of the model? I tried lowering the elevation in the editor to 9.5, but the death zone moves along with the water. I'm thinking maybe lowering the model's elevation in Meta itself by 9.5 would solve that. Also, when you get the time Verdite, could you help me make a few more of those water tiles with extensions? There are a few instances where I'll need some funky shapes in order to fill in some small gaps.

@Hwitvlf
The best I could do without making a custom model is make the Lighthouse enter-able. But it'd be REALLY small inside, maybe I could make an NPC who lives in it and is agoraphobic.

[dmpdesign]

Hmm there should be a set of map pieces in the SOM intall that can get you the tower with the steps to climb along the outside. ‎  DD had the tower fairly close to the original, I just didnt make it quite as big around. ‎  Did your SOM install not include the big white castle side pieces?