ReMake of Lunar DS *New pic of Perit Village*

[Nobiyuki77]

I drew a little doodle today that made me think that this is something Lunar DS was sorely lacking. I don't know how difficult it would be to throw this in there (and I need to redesign it a bit to be more Lunar-ish...) but I think we need a baby dragon.

So here's my idea.



Thoughts?

[Alex_Pwns_Hiro]

Nobiyuki77, I think the baby black dragon idea is awesome!!!

[Nobiyuki77]

Thanks! ^_^ I just hope it wouldn't be too difficult to impliment into the game.

I'm expecting to be offline for the next couple of days as I need to reformat my computer (I got some bad malware, don't worry I'm posting from my work computer...) and I need to erase the harddrive after I backup all of my artwork, documents etc. I'm expecting to finish it by this weekend.

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

Hey Sadrin! Check this out!

[MiaOne]

This artwork is BEAUTIFUL This gives me hope for DS, don't forget to add your friendly neighborhood Ausa babe into the mix

[ilovemyguitar]

I'm not giving away too many details on how exactly the plot will be expanded, but the Ausa family will definitely be represented in the game, and there will be more Dragon-related goings on besides simply charging into their caves and fighting them. We also have a few fun lore-related tricks up our sleeves that will give interesting backstory on several aspects of the world of Lunar.

However, as tempting as it is to cram in a zillion references to everything in the other games, my main goal in writing the script is to make sure the characters are properly fleshed out and the players can connect with them as deeply as they could with those in the series's main console entries. I've always felt that the thing that makes Lunar so great is the outstanding characters, and the lore-related events and exposition in this project will come in a way that services the characters' stories first.

Lucia in particular will be fleshed out a great deal; she's sort of a big question mark of a character in the original version, and you never really get an idea of who she is as a person. (Of course, that could be said of all the characters in the original version, but I digress.) We'll be taking a different slant on her character that's more or less true to what we saw before but adds another layer of depth and gives her a more clearly-defined character arc that parallels Jian's in a really interesting way. This Lucia will be a much more layered and complicated character, and hopefully won't come across as such a cheap knock-off of Luna.

I really am quite excited to be a part of this project. With the way various aspects of it are shaping up, I'm confident that the end result will be something that stands up to the rest of the series and holds its own in terms of quality.

[Sadrin]

I love the black dragon picture! I do agree with you about the lack of flying cat. The whole time I was playing DS I was wondering when the little guy would enter the story, then I thought it was neat how Jian's only partner was Lucia. I kinda thought of him as being stronger because it? I'm not going into details just yet but we'll see.
Oh and Nobiyuki77, I hope all goes well with your computer.

Benevolent_Ghaleon
LOL thank you for that? LOL I really enjoy that picture of ayumi... its soooooo old but AWESOME! I just made an ayu wallpaper the other day for my...errr myspace.

As far as an update from me...
Delrich is becoming something very large so I might have to trim it down just a bit? Would you like to have puzzles added into game? I would like to see Jian & co. interact with their world a little more than just going from room to room. I'm also thinking that because Jian is so good with acrobatics, he'll be able to go places that others can't. But that's just an idea at the moment. Right now i'm still searching for graphics to use. Most the grapics that i'll be using are from games that Working Designs dealt with. Working Designs had their hand in alot of other great games. I want use the gfx as a way to say thanks even if they didn't make the gfx themselfs. I have to do alot of heavy editing though to make it look like its all from the same game. I guess thats all i've got to say at the moment... back to working on.... this project? Hey we need a title for the game! All ideas are welcomed!

[Nobiyuki77]

Computer should be up and running tonight. I'm hoping to use this 4 day weekend to great use (though it'll only really be 2, I work most of Friday and am going to Japanese lesson 6 of 10 in New Jersey Saturday). My Sunday and Monday are free however and I hope to get more gifs done, work on the timing of the animations etc.

Question about the gifs though. I haven't quite figured out how to remove the white background to just make it the character in the gif. When I erase the background in Photoshop I either get a checkered background, or when I save it it defaults to white. Anyone know offhand how to fix this before I spend a few hours researching the topic?

Also Sadrin, do you need these gifs to conform to a particular pixel size? like 200 x 700 or something? (I just made up those numbers, I don't really know) ^_^ I'll draw up some Ausa designs for you tonight and PM them to you for your approval.

[ilovemyguitar]

Sadrin, I was thinking about the title as well.

Lunar: Dragon Song Complete?

[Nobiyuki77]

I was thinking "Lunar: Dragon Song: The Playable Version", but I'm sarcastic like that. XD

[Jenner]

Nobiyuki77- I'm so pleased that your so interested in the project.
Benevolent_Ghaleon- That's how I felt within 7 mins of lunar DS.
Everyone- Ok so it's taking me a little longer to get Port Searis done... >_< I've been working on the design of Gad's express for HOURS! The arch deal above the door is hard to draw... So i'm using part of the ship to do it. No worries it look cool! But now... In EB, what was the colors of Shiro and Chiro? And which is the fastest of the two?? I'm working on the logo for gad's express. I wen't to school for graphic design and i'm having a hard time lol.

As far as editing in a flying cat for the sake of having a flying cat in the game, I just don't think that'll make sense. I never played Lunar DS but the Dragons are probably keeping out of the affairs of Lunar right now.
To compensate for the lack of flying cat I think the design for Gad's Express should be a "Flying Cat" struggling under the weight of a huge package. That will cover BOTH issues Sad's having.

I wonder how much of the ORIGINAL concept of the game you're going to maintain. A lot of my Issue with DS is how it DIVERGES from the already established history of the other two games and yet pretends its a prequel. In both Silver Star and Eternal Blue that Beastmen were NEVER the Majority. That they had a history of oppression under the humans. Several of the beastmen NPCS in Meribia VOICED a great deal of resentment. They mentioned that Meribia is one of the only places they can be treated with exceptional kindness. In EB there aren't many beastman NPCs at ALL (I can't recall any beastmen in the game other than Leo/Mauri and possibly Gwynn). DS switched that, making it all messed up. I think rather then highlight this fictitious dominion of Beast/Human we should instead be playing this off like post-civil war America. With the Beastmen resentment and the humans and beastmen both trying to cope with integration. Beastmen believe they've been wronged. They're stronger and tougher than humans. Humans believe beastmen are dicking around on their territory and the uptight snooty holier-than-thou magical people think the beastmen are stupid savages who cannot learn magic and thus are not worth their time.

[Nobiyuki77]

Bad drawing week is bad. D: Finally got something going during lunch today.



Her arm needs redrawing though (on the left one)

[PrettyGirlJean]

Wow,I havent' replied in such a long time and I just read through the pages and looked at all of the art. Simply amazing! I'm very excited about this project! And maybe afterwards I can truly pretend that L:DS never existed that this remake is the true one! lol Keep up the awesome work! ^_^b

[Nobiyuki77]

Once again, this is just a test.

[Sadrin]

I think it would be safe to call this project LUNAR:Dragon Song Complete for now unless someone has a better idea. LOL How about Dragon Song(LunarNET remix)? Haha

Jenner- I really like that idea for Gad's express! I'm still now sure how well the flying cat would fit into the story so that is a grand idea. Plus having a flying cat during battles might be really hard to code. I won't be the one to code the battle system. I'm still looking for someone to help with that.

Thanks for your input on the Beastmen. What your saying about the post-civil war is kinda what I would like to see happen. I kinda always had the idea that Jian was the one who united Beastemen and Humans so that the fight turned toward the Vile Tribe. I feel like Vane could be the center of all of this.

Nobiyuki77- The artwork looks fantastic! It makes me so happy!

[Jenner]

I think Lunar: Rise of Vane would be a good title. Lunar: Path to Unity

I'll alter a few Nall Sprites to represent what I think the logo should look like.
As far as it being out of place. Video game developers stick homages to things all over their works. They're called Easter Eggs. Gad's Symbol as a flying dragon would be an easter egg, and IMHO an appropriate one.



In Lunar: EBC the Star Dragon is a green dragon. I always hated that, but, I decided I'd alter a Nall Sprite to be a green one. I didn't like it so much so I inverted Nall's colors (making it Bronze/Gold and Silver) and I like that one a lot more. It's your project so you may be able to alter the colors even more. These are just altered sprites originally ripped by Naruto NU.

[phyco126]

Or Lunar: Dragon Song Won't Suck This Time Complete

=P

[Alunissage]

I've been staying out of this thread because I have a really hard time supporting a project that's taking an official entry in the series (however underdone) and rewriting it significantly. I admit to toying wistfully with the idea of a fanhack of Lunar EB with some of the things tuned up, like typos removed and treasure chests placed usefully (and containing items that were cut or flawed like the Flame Fist). But not changing the underlying social dynamic, such as the beastman-human tension. It seems to me that if the goal is to try to "redeem" an entry into the series or simply make it accessible in a more playable fashion, altering it -- not just restoring the parts that were cut from the earlier plot outlines and documents -- is the wrong way to go. It has to be consistent with the universe as established, including the material in the game itself (I don't mean on the scale of whether Rufus is in it for more than one dungeon, but in the historical and political setting), or it's nothing more than alternate-universe-type fanfic. And at that point you should be making up your own brand-new storyline and game, not calling it Name Of Official Game Complete. Which is really what prompted me to break my silence on this at this point.

Of course, I am not unbiased. I've said before that the only way I'd be likely to be happy with a Four Heroes game is if I were involved in its development, because otherwise unless some extremely dedicated and obsessive writers and developers work to include every little thing that could possibly relate, the same things that I (and fans in general, I suppose) are aware of, it will conflict with something and feel wrong. And frankly, fans are far more likely than developers and writers to do this, I think, because what we mainly do is obsessively argue about the crumbs of info available in the games, the manga, etc, while the people actually writing these things are making their own new story and their own game and likely not trying to make it match all these earlier pieces of background. When Dragon Song came out and seemed to miss some of the already-developed history of Lunar, some of us here tried to reconcile the existing backstory with the new material in DS/Genesis, because that's what we do. Having invested all that time and thought over the years, it's hard to have confidence that a project which will change things that "didn't feel right" in the game and otherwise alter stuff to suit the whims of those working on it will feel any better than the original did, and probably worse. As I said, I'm biased here, so what this boils down to is that things which neither match the game nor my personal view of the setting will of course seem wrong to me, which is exactly why I don't read fanfic, but while the second half of that is entirely subjective and may be ignored by the people writing the fanfic (which is what this is), the first half is really just Not Good.

Now, it's nice to see that Joe is working on the writing; he's a pretty thorough and thoughtful fan who pays attention to details. But some of what I see in this thread bothers me enough so that I'd at least implore that you resist the temptation to name the game anything that suggests it's simply a port of the game with a bit of gameplay tuneup, or ignores or downplays its status as a fanwork (or implies that it's original when it's not, for that matter). I mean, call it Dragon ZOMG or whatever if you want, but not DS Complete. It was one thing for the official remake of Lunar 1 to rewrite backstory and all that stuff (even if it annoyed a lot of us); it's another for a fan to do that and claim that their version is better for doing so.

(Anyone remember that awful movie script someone wrote based on SSSC? It's like a manual of what not to do.)

[Jenner]

just to be my usual punkish self. If you really want to keep the "ds" in the title call it Lunar: Doesn't Suck.

kek.

[Nobiyuki77]

Lunar: Dragon Song Fan Edition?