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Featured Member Projects => Completed and Inactive Projects => [Completed] Superstar Hero (PC) => Topic started by: Dream of Omnimaga on February 28, 2017, 11:15:28 PM

Title: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on February 28, 2017, 11:15:28 PM
Introduction

Superstar Hero is an sci-fi action-RPG set in a dystopian Quebec City of the far future. The game is heavily inspired from the early Ys series games and Mega Man, but it doesn't take itself seriously, with an usually over-the-top depiction of the 92th century and how Quebec has (d)evolved, where the goal of the game is to... as you guessed... save the world! It also contains some weird glitches that were left in and it is your job to take advantage of them to counter the game's sometimes-very-high difficulty.

You can lower its difficulty by farming for gold and buying attack/defense/speed upgrades, but at one point you might prefer trying to master the abuse of some of the game's (and RPG Maker 2003 engine's) quirks, such as cornering enemies while attacking them or character positioning and attack timing for maximum damage.

The game is not complete yet, but it's coming along nicely (despite some breaks over time).


Setting

The game is set in the dystopian future of 9108, in Quebec City area. Because of overpopulation, people started building new skyscrapers right out of the ground, digging down while building the structures around the remaining rocks and dirt, rather than building upwards into the sky. The thinner Earth crust that resulted afterwards, despite being reinforced heavily by metal to support 900+ floor high skyscrapers, resulted into Quebec City temperature never going under 10°C even in the middle of January nights (except during snowstorms in upper parts of the city). Sainte-Foy District is now the hi-tech hub of the city, while St-Roch is the shopping one. As a result of various geopolitical events in the 21th century (such as Internet becoming illegal due to widespread terrorism and Harlaka residents being banned from the rest of the city and eventually most of the world, and then disappearing entirely on Christmas 2093), the district of Harlaka, built after the 2029 nuclear attack on Lévis in order to house the remaining survivors, has suffered from crime and depopulation during almost its entire existence and today, it is overrun by the Tibestian alien race and their robots, and you now need special governor permission to get in.

As you learn by talking to NPC's in the game, if you thought that finding new staff in the retail job world in 2018 was hard... well... imagine Walmart being closed for over one week due to being unable to find enough staff to run the store. That's life in Quebec City, in 9108 AD. Oh, and many people hate you or are scared of you because you were built by the enemy race. But for whatever reason, they are neither scared nor attacked by monsters who dare roaming the city streets (people retaliated so often that monsters just gave up attacking locals). And for whatever reasons, half of the women in Quebec City now walk down the street in bikinis. (yeah, the game is more for a mature audience, btw xd). And just like in the 2010's, Quebec City is home of at least three :walrii: .




[spoiler="Original Post"]So I thought I would resume work on this old project, which has been dormant since about January 2009: Superstar Hero, which is an action-JRPG set in the Quebec City future of 9108, after a nearby city got destroyed. You are an hero of the Tibestian enemy race that lost his destructive memories and somehow ended up on the good side, now willing to stop his own master from destroying the world.

Your only weapon (once you buy at least one attack upgrade) is that electrical attack that damages all enemies surrounding you, along with area of effect items you can buy at shops. You can also buy defense and speed upgrades to reduce the amount of damage you take and increase the speed at which you can attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E8rSavGSSM

Changelog since v0.1 demo:
-Replaced all music not made by me
-Added new music, including some from the unfinished ROL0 remake. Most songs are still unused, though.
-Removed weird frame (resolution is now close to SNES-like, except the save/load screens)
-New enemies inside the Quebec City tunnels
-Altered some sound effects and volume
-Quebec City graphics slowed down and altered a little bit to make it a little less flashy (it's still flashy, though)
-Changed HP bar to a gradient and changed the color of defense.
-Updated project from RPG Maker 2003 v1.09 to the newly-released 1.11 (Steam version)
-Fixed some bugs introduced by updating to RPG Maker 2003 v1.11, mainly with font settings having changed.
-Added more Quebec City maps including the link between both ends
-New enemies
-Test boss

TODO:
-Fix balance issues (mainly with how expensive upgrades can get)
-A lot of new maps/NPC convos
-New bosses/enemies (most bosses will most likely be Ys style, being either a standard enemy/stationary object in a room filled with projectiles you must avoid)[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: Yuki on February 28, 2017, 11:18:51 PM
Ooooh, can't wait to see :D
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 01, 2017, 04:59:36 AM
Thanks. And since it's 2017 now, this happened:

(https://tg.codewalr.us/file_556.jpg)

That will be handy when you want to go back and forth from the western end and eastern end of town. :P

EDIT: The animation for Walrii Express is done. Basically the flashy cat walrus rides you on a bridge all the way to the east part of town (which will have an elevator to go in the lower parts there) at very high speed.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: p2 on March 01, 2017, 02:37:13 PM
I really like the idea of offering a coffee walrus as a means of faster transportation inside the game :D
Will you add additional graphic effects like sparks and stuff to show how super fast a walrus can move? :)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 01, 2017, 10:53:58 PM
No sparks, although there is a funny bug that allows the character to use his attack while riding the :walrii:. I decided to leave it intact since I thought it was funny XD (the attack is spark-based btw).


Also I did some more progress on the game. There's now a purposely crappy mini-map available for view in two of the city locations (West side entrance and the top of Montcalm Tower). The second elevator now works (the first one is blocked by security) and Walrus express can now go in both directions. I also did some updates for exits that are indoors so that they're more noticeable.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 02, 2017, 05:05:46 AM
Sorry for the double-post, but I think this deserves a bump since it contains eye-candy (from a test boss battle)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7WFVGgAfKQ

I don't think this guy is beatable without 5 potions nor maxed out levels. :P

There is a bug, though, which makes the character move super fast if hit by multiple enemies simultaneously I think. Also I noticed a weird glitch when dying, which causes your character to become a :walrii: (I am serious)

EDIT: Also the Quebec City seen in the game now has a mini-map that can be viewed from two locations:

(https://img.codewalr.us/quebeccorruptionin9108ad.png)

As you can notice, the map sucks. This was done on purpose. Notice the little notice at the bottom that says it's a government investment worth a crazy amount of gold. It's in reference to Quebec government corruption scandals, especially computer-related ones. and might give hints that  they're still going on in the year 9108 AD. :P

And the Walrii bug mentioned above was fixed.

EDIT 2: Better video quality now
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: p2 on March 02, 2017, 10:12:26 PM
errrrm that enemy is a bit hard to spot and I didnt even get it at the beginning that thingy was attacking you.....
But I do love the tiles of the knight//vharacter, he looks both cool and cute at the same time ^.^


what is that attack you use on him, is it something like thorns, injuring him whenever he attempts to attack you?
also what are those fancy bubbles? ^^
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 02, 2017, 10:42:40 PM
Yeah that was kinda the goal. It's a small boss like some of the Star Ocean series ones that are ultra fast and not always in-screen. :P Most game enemies moves towards you but at different rate/speed, but this boss has some patterns he does from time to time like circling around while plenty of projectiles goes through the map (which loops, btw).

Also the attack is some sort of electric attack which damages all enemies surrounding you (although sometimes it can miss, such as against those green monsters in Quebec City East Side)


What I want to try at one point is make a picture appear every frame right on top of one specific event, but I'm unsure if that's possible in RPG Maker 2003. That would allow me to have some bosses that are much larger.

EDIT: Also the boss is much easier to see at 60 FPS (which is what the game runs at). For some reasons, though, Youtube doesn't support 60 fps videos that aren't 720p 16:9 or higher.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: p2 on March 02, 2017, 10:50:09 PM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on March 02, 2017, 10:42:40 PM[...] such as against those green monsters in Quebec City East Side
I assume this is how you called the map? xD
At least I hope so... :ninja:

you could add additional tiles with the character and all the other stuff getting smaller and smaller, so by going through the tiles from original size to tiny you could simulate some zoom-out effect (if you adapt the object positions)...
The enemy doesnt have to be huge, if the camera zooms out just everything else except the monster becomes tiny ;)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero project revival (action-JRPG)
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 02, 2017, 11:02:45 PM
I think it's QuebecEast1 :P. I prefer not making the names too long in the map list lol. If I display the locations I will use full names, though. Technically Quebec City's west side would be Sainte-Foy today and the east side Saint-Roch, but the game timeline is so far in the future that those neighborhoods are not even recognizable anymore (other than the fact the La Planque and Laliberté retail stores are actually in the game) :P

When you save your game an acronym or shorter name is shown, since the location name is stored inside the character name field (so that it shows up in the save menu) and I think it's about 12 characters max), so Montcalm Tower shows MONTCALM TWR.

Also I doubt that zooming effect is possible since I use RPG Maker 2003 (the Steam version) :P. I can zoom in/out actual images, though, so if I can manage to display images at the same position as enemies then I could create all sorts of special effects on them.


EDIT: @p2 here is a better quality video now (running at 60 FPS if in 720p mode)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=i7WFVGgAfKQ


EDIT: OMG! I DID IT! I found out how to sync a picture to a specific event location so I can now have large boss sprites *.*

(https://tg.codewalr.us/file_564.jpg)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - an action-JRPG in the style of Ys but futuristic
Post by: p2 on March 03, 2017, 08:46:56 AM
these graphics are sooo much not from this century... :ninja:
I love it :love:
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - an action-JRPG in the style of Ys but futuristic
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 03, 2017, 03:17:32 PM
Hehe thanks. Also that boss is kinda from another dimension. I am thinking about allowing you to fight him as many times as you want. The final boss will probably be slightly easier but take much longer to go down.

Title: Re: Superstar Hero - an action-JRPG in the style of Ys but futuristic
Post by: p2 on March 03, 2017, 03:27:32 PM
you maybe want to add a major change in behaviour as well as in graphics for the big boss once it reaches maybe half of its lifepoints, else the battles might get just a little bit too repetitive ;)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - an action-JRPG in the style of Ys but futuristic
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 03, 2017, 04:44:38 PM
I plan to have some bosses shoot stuff, move differently and even change forms.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 05, 2017, 06:26:14 AM
(https://img.codewalr.us/test223.jpg)

Based on this, I think I'll increase this boss HP. I manage to beat him with 2 potions left and he has 2000 HP. So I assume 3000 HP would be just enough to be beatable with 5 potions. I haven't tried playing it with a real gamepad, though, so maybe with a real gamepad he is much easier? :P

EDIT: I did it with 2 potions now. Also I realized that if I want to increase his HP I need to update each projectile one by one O.O. But yeah, 4000 HP would be more "reasonable" :trollface:

Also here's a new video of him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ru4o5opJo
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 05, 2017, 07:48:58 PM
I really wonder how you manage to draw such crappy//old graphics...
not that it looks, terrible, it fits perfectl in the game, but for nower standards it is a bit unusual xD
really nice work tho, I like it how u use that script to use larger enemies :)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 05, 2017, 09:09:12 PM
It takes a lot of practice and inspiration. This boss was ripped from two chunks of the Angel in the Stars album cover :P

And yeah I wanted a graphical style from 1990-92 :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 05, 2017, 09:13:24 PM
yeah it looks really super hard to get graphics done looking like that O.O
awesome job in doing it! :)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 05, 2017, 09:32:23 PM
Thanks. To be honest it's easier than HD graphics but it depends of your art style.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 06, 2017, 07:21:09 AM
An update (not much on the story progress but rather on implementing new enemies and maps):

I made one of the map for the final dungeon with four special enemies ran via a script. Basically, once all four enemies are killed, they respawn from four doors. I'll probably re-use this idea earlier in the game with much easier (and fewer enemies),  like in Metroid.

Eventually I'll also try to add enemies that shoot projectiles but the projectiles will probably despawn after traveling about 10 squares away, otherwise they'll just loop forever across the maps.


Oh and since your main character is an enemy robot whose firmware got corrupted (resulting into him becoming friendly), you will actually have to fight similar robots later in the game (probably much harder). I should also add tiles that can cause damage, such as spikes, and switches that can turn them or other things off.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Ranman on March 06, 2017, 07:25:50 AM
This project is AMAZING. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 06, 2017, 07:31:31 AM
Lol thanks. Note, however, that this uses RPG Maker 2003, so credits for the engine goes to Enterbrain and ASCII, as well as whoever officially released it outside Japan via Steam recently. But I'm kinda  happy about the game because RM2k3 was not designed for action/real-time RPG combat, yet I somehow managed to have some particularly fast-paced battles/gameplay (it starts slower, though, since you need to buy speed upgrades for your attack).

Also the funny thing with this project is that many of its bugs ended up becoming features, such as the double/triple hit bug when you attack an enemy trapped in a dead-end or sometimes when running straight towards him while attacking. :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 08, 2017, 02:47:07 AM
(http://i.imgur.com/ZFfjW3f.gif)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 08, 2017, 09:09:36 AM
I love it how completely random those graphics/artworks look  :thumbsup:
Also really nice job on those traps xD
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Yuki on March 08, 2017, 09:20:17 AM
Yeah, that's a pretty interesting mechanic.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 08, 2017, 08:51:30 PM
Thanks. And yeah I tried to picture how the year 9108 AD might look like assuming an human population exists or has recovered by then :P

Also, while this is the final area of Quebec City, some of the obstacle puzzles in there will also appear earlier in the game, particularly in the Forgotten Ruins.

I also would like block pushing puzzles, but I'm unsure how to do it properly in RPG Maker (for some reasons, if I look at the block then move in parallel, the block moves in the opposite direction even though it should stand still). I need to check in which direction the character is facing, I guess :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 11, 2017, 08:39:31 AM
By the way, the test boss was made much harder after I implemented those electric obstacles. I had forgotten how in 2008 I setup enemy attack speed and now remembered there were two parameters to prevent you from taking 100 hits at once or something. The Tibestian robot clones similar to your character also attacks much faster than most other regular enemies in the game. A mini-boss was also added, which often moves in circle and is protected by two electric things on each side. He is invincible while they appear and he causes a lot of damage (although he doesn't take too long to defeat).
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 13, 2017, 10:56:05 PM
Good news: You can now play the current version of Superstar Hero in your browser at https://codewalr.us/index.php?topic=1901.0 :D (there is lag and there are glitches with some cliff corners at the beginning and with flashing effects, though, due to EasyRPG not being complete). Ignore the orb in the Montcalm Tower, because it leads to a normally unreachable part of the game with super hard enemies. That's unless you have the patience to max out your stats in the current build, though (max attack level is 10, same for defense. Speed can only be increased to 5, though) :P

EDIT: There might be issues with saved games. If you save your game in Montcalm Tower then reload, then it might crash.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 14, 2017, 03:43:44 AM
Major update, I would say: Bosses and  mini-bosses now have energy bars! :D

(https://img.codewalr.us/bossbar.png)

Basically, when a boss fight starts, HP divider and multiplier stats are applied to a second HP variable that cannot be higher than a certain amount, just so that the HP bar remains the same size regardless of the boss HP.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 15, 2017, 12:23:50 AM
I think the North Side and West Side of Quebec City are pretty much complete, at this point. East Side saw some progress but is not fully complete yet. I also added a new boss. Also, like in Star Ocean 5, there's a shop in the final dungeon. Otherwise, it was just next to impossible to backtrack all the way back to the West Side shop in order to buy new potions and upgrades.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 17, 2017, 03:13:49 AM
Sixth post in a row without replies D:

Anyway here is a new boss (I die in the video tho):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fC5HYB8ORI

In this boss fight, you must avoid the skull head and you must also avoid being trapped by the robot guards things, else you can no longer move. You can attack everything and the skull takes much more damage than the guards, but the caveat is that the skull takes your HP down very fast. The entire enemy party shares a common pool of HP, so once the boss HP reaches zero, both the guards and the skull die at the same time, regardless of who you hit during the fight.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: tr1p1ea on March 17, 2017, 03:14:28 AM
The onscreen action is pure insane, I love it :).
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 19, 2017, 09:11:06 PM
Can't u somehow shrink that pversized skull? :ninja:
He looks terrrifying and funny at the same time, which confuses me (https://codewalr.us/walrusirc/smileys/XD.gif)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 20, 2017, 12:22:07 AM
I axtually like its size, although I wish I was better at doing large art :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Ranman on March 20, 2017, 01:29:15 AM
I love it...  :crazy:   Reminds me of some classic arcade games.  8)

Please daddy can I have some more quarters ;D
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 20, 2017, 03:18:05 AM
On a side note, I was contemplating doing some changes about the enemy attack mechanics. Right now the fastest enemies are set to attack at a specific interval when you touch them or when they touch you and that interval varies from one enemy to another. However, this often causes enemies to attack you right as you touch them, making you get hit many times no matter how hard you try not to be. What I want to test is if the engine would be able to make enemies attack you only after you stood next to them for a certain period of time. This could allow me to increase the hero attacking speed even more to make the game more entertaining right at the beginning, while also increasing the enemy speed even higher.

The game is already fast paced enough at the end but I would definitively like more speed earlier.

And yeah it has an arcade or 90's action feel, but in top-down view form rather than the typical side-scrolling, and instead of a score you get gold for future upgrades.

On a side note, do you know why I made the HUD vertical? I would like to have it horizontal, but the problem is that RPG Maker 2003 doesn't center the character properly when walking around: He is one tile off to the left. So I prefered to have the HUD vertical to center him.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 20, 2017, 08:53:34 AM
that would be cool as it encourages players to fight in speed type (hit and run) while otherwise u sometimes can't do anything ^^
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 22, 2017, 02:15:32 PM
So I changed the attack speed, although since delays are multiples of .1 seconds I couldn't do better than a 0.2s attack delay for max level (rather than 0.3) since the attack itself lasts 0.2 seconds. Setting the attack itself to 0.1s made it impossible to hit anything without getting pummeled with hits because the attack ended up lasting twice shorter. Besides, mashing buttons this fast is already hard enough XD
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 23, 2017, 05:21:13 AM
I got a Final Boss background (animated) and sprite ready :3=

I won't show it for now, though, for spoiler reasons, but I think this is gonna be an intense battle (inspired from Ys III but faster). It's the only part of the game that is not top-down view. Since RPG Maker pictures show up above everything else except the frame, I had to make the final boss background as 6 extra tilesets and cycle through them non-stop, rather than displaying 6 pictures in succession to create an animation.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 23, 2017, 09:54:17 AM
now I'm really interested...
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on March 23, 2017, 05:21:13 AMIt's the only part of the game that is not top-down view.
is it similar to the pokemon battlescreens (the viewing angel)?

also that graphics problem sounds a bit stupid, glad u found a way around it ^^
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 23, 2017, 04:28:44 PM
That battle is more like  side-scrollers, where you only walk left and right.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 23, 2017, 04:40:37 PM
ah ok ^^ sounds nice :)
can't wait for the first spoiler pics being leaked ;D
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 24, 2017, 06:27:33 AM
Most of the final boss battle is pretty much done. Of course it still needs a death sequence, though, and obviously the game ending, but before I add the ending I need to finish the rest of the game and bosses :P (although I think only two more bosses need to be added).

And trust me, this is a very long battle :P (about 8 minutes)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: mazhat on March 24, 2017, 09:28:10 PM
How long has this game been in development?
I recall seeing this game way back when.

Do you have a plan for the game or is everything put in spontaneously?
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 24, 2017, 11:15:47 PM
Yeah I started in 2008 but then I stopped until recently. The story is very basic so no plan file exist but I plan to write some notes when I got the other dungeons and bosses done. I'm still debating about whether it should be minimal NPC convo and arcade style or total JRPG style. I also need to check if I can add a timer.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: _iPhoenix_ on March 24, 2017, 11:36:21 PM
Could we have a download from a half working state?

Like, not 100% bug free, but enough to be playable.

I am amazed at the progress you have made. It's really coming along!
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 25, 2017, 02:54:54 AM
There is a version playable in the site arcade, but it uses an emulator, not the original RPG_RT engine, so it's quite buggy. I might try to get a download out at some point but I would prefer at least finishing the entire Quebec City East side and the boss there, since in the current game state, you can't really do that much more than in the 2008 demo (the final area of the game is done, but not the areas before)

Thanks for the support by the way. Also here is one of the game boss backgrounds:

(http://i.imgur.com/501jjFD.gif)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 28, 2017, 01:17:53 AM
There is now an in-game tutorial available at various locations. Once you start the game, you are asked if you want to read it and once you say no, the game starts normally (there is a bug, however, if you read it once: Your character will be able to attack once, probably due to RPG Maker event lag while multiple non-parallel-process events are launched at the same time. However, you still won't be able to kill the first enemies , so you'll obviously still need your attack upgrade.

Inside the tutorial, the girl with white hair and clothes will conclude by asking you to attack her, as a proof that you have RTFM ( @MateoConLechuga would probably like that :P).

The tutorial is also available by talking to the three :walrii: (other than the Walrii Express one) that are located in towns.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: MateoConLechuga on March 28, 2017, 01:34:09 AM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on March 28, 2017, 01:17:53 AMInside the tutorial, the girl with white hair and clothes will conclude by asking you to attack her, as a proof that you have RTFM ( @MateoConLechuga would probably like that :P).
Haha awesome :) Everyone should read the manual! :D Fantastic progress so far; I like all the colorfulness :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 28, 2017, 01:56:54 AM
Thanks lol. And yeah I thought I should add a RTFM reference in the game somewhere. Of course, with the tutorial the manual is only necessary for installing the game, but otherwise I guess it fits :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 29, 2017, 01:49:35 AM
The Forgotten Ruins are underway, with water switches

(http://i.imgur.com/7PKVrN2.gif)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on March 29, 2017, 12:13:09 PM
those switches sure do strange things to the map :ninja:
What exactly is happening there? ^^
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 29, 2017, 01:46:35 PM
They raise and lower the water level.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 04, 2017, 12:53:09 AM
Small update:

-Bug fixed in one of the two bosses before the final boss. The exploit was similar to the first boss in Secret of Mana and allowed you to beat him in just 3-4 seconds under certain circumstances.
-Made said boss harder in the process
-Made the boss on the other side harder as well but not that much.
-Added the game "ending".
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on April 04, 2017, 08:39:57 PM
im curious...
is the "game ending" a pure text thingy?
or is it like in some other games, half automated game (live a video) and half text? :)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 13, 2017, 12:37:04 AM
The ending is essentially a parody of Ys: Memories of Celceta ending, as well as the ending in most NES games. :P
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 16, 2017, 07:02:06 PM
Not many updates but I proceeded to make the final area before the final dungeon much harder by adding extra monsters in certain rooms that mostly had obstacles.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: mazhat on April 21, 2017, 12:48:10 AM
What's your opinion on RPG combat DJ?
Do you prefer the old school "I hit you, you hit me" turn-based battles,
or do you prefer interactive battles like the Mario and Luigi RPGs
where it's possible to never to take damage?
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Ranman on April 21, 2017, 03:25:25 AM
I vote for old school.   8)

Keep up the awesomeness DJ  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 21, 2017, 04:20:40 AM
Quote from: mazhat on April 21, 2017, 12:48:10 AM
What's your opinion on RPG combat DJ?
Do you prefer the old school "I hit you, you hit me" turn-based battles,
or do you prefer interactive battles like the Mario and Luigi RPGs
where it's possible to never to take damage?
It depends.

I used to absolutely love turn-based RPGs like Final Fantasy on the SNES that did not require doing all sorts of complicated timing-based combos. On the other hand, I hated how some of those games required fighting about 30 enemies before leveling up, so nowadays I don't have as much patience for such games. Nowadays I prefer action-based JRPGs.

I can't say about Mario and Luigi series as I haven't played it much.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 24, 2017, 07:06:36 PM
Question about difficulty:

-In my game, enemies are currently setup so that if you have enough defense, their damage won't do anything to you (except with one enemy in particular). However, I feel this makes the game a bit too easy near the end if you're overleveled. So I was wondering: Should I make the minimum damage equal to 1 instead of 0? I thought this would add some challenge. This would obviously require altering all enemies, though, but I don't think it will take too long.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: mazhat on April 24, 2017, 11:00:50 PM
You could go the Fallout 1/2 route and have it so that sometimes enemies could pass through your armour,
but with a direct answer, I'd prefer 1 hit damage. It's minimal enough to not have to worry, but it could collect over time.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 05, 2017, 07:22:37 AM
Yeah I think I'll go the 1 damage route.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Yuki on May 05, 2017, 07:27:34 AM
Yeah, it would be a bit boring if there's enemies that won't do any damage. Minimal damage would be enough to be a bit annoying because that's the point of enemies.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 05, 2017, 04:03:56 PM
On a side note,  another idea I had was to make enemies spawn gold or other mini items when dying, like in Zelda and Demon's Crest, rather than giving gold automatically. I might keep that for a sequel, if any ever happens, though.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: p2 on May 06, 2017, 12:30:15 PM
inb4 u collect stacks of rotten flesh from zombies but can't drop it  :ninja:
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 09, 2017, 07:51:33 PM
That would be bad, considering this game only has 5 item slots O.O
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 23, 2017, 08:23:36 PM
UPDATE: Now every single enemy, boss and obstacle in the game cannot cause less than 1 damage point. So no matter how high your defense is, you'll still take at least 1 damage from low-level enemies.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Yuki on May 23, 2017, 08:40:33 PM
Yeah, I think it's better this way.

Fun fact: I was looking at some old SNES dev manual I randomly found on the internets and this is what NOA says on the subject in the approval process section:

(https://img.codewalr.us/Capture%20d%E2%80%99e%CC%81cran%202017-05-23%20a%CC%80%2016.32.50.png)
(https://img.codewalr.us/Capture%20d%E2%80%99e%CC%81cran%202017-05-23%20a%CC%80%2016.32.58.png)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 23, 2017, 10:30:11 PM
Lol that is probably not valid, considering many games did it :P (eg some RPGs where enemies caused 0 damage if you were too strong, defense-wise). This is more for collision bugs lol

Also the game works on Android after some button layout changes but the player has to manually change the layout himself it seems.

(http://i.imgur.com/40XL2Bq.png)
Also, on my Nexus 5 there is zero lag/slowdown, although some glitches seen in the web version may occur.


EDIT: The arcade version has been updated. It now skips boss 1 then go straight to boss 2 with extra levels/items, and then a short lived trip to an unfinished area, where you unlock the final area upon exit.

EDIT: On a side note, for the sake of nostalgia, here was the original game thread from 2008 :P https://www.omnimaga.org/computer-projects-and-ideas/super-star-hero-progress/
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on June 07, 2017, 03:51:11 PM
This is stalled for now. I just can't find motivation to add new ideas and features to spice tqhe game up before the final part and I feel it just won't be fun to play in its current form.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on July 31, 2018, 07:57:45 PM
There hasn't been much updates on this in the last few years, but the final boss has been updated so that the end of the fight is much harder. The intro music is now Clouded Future again, the final dungeon music was changed to Clouded Future too and I discovered some exploit late game that allows you to get 9999 gold in just 6 seconds (although it's kinda impractical since it costs 5000 in the first place to abuse and using the stocked up money for ultimate upgrades means that you have to travel all the way back through the war zone and minefield that is Quebec North #6 (meaning you have big chances to die instead).
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on August 06, 2018, 02:47:55 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsG9wPqmFw0

The optional boss fight has been updated graphically. By the way, the boss name is "Tutorial" xd


The title screen has been updated as well, with a darker sky, a warning for people who got epilepsy and motion sickness and the game controls.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on August 10, 2018, 01:57:59 PM
UPDATE:

-A star now appears next to each save file in which "Tutorial" was beaten
-"Tutorial"  HP increased from 4000 to 5000. However, orbs still disappear after he takes 4000 damage, so you're kinda getting a small break xd.
-The actual in-game tutorial (as in, not the boss mentioned above) is now only available by talking to :walrii: in the game.
-The song "Superstar Hero" has been re-introduced back in the game, for mini-bosses, meaning "Super Ultimate Mega Doom" is now gone.
-First boss attack power decreased from 5 to 3
-First boss orb projectiles attack power decreased from 3 to 2
-First boss HP increased from 10 to 20
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on August 20, 2018, 01:24:38 AM
I have no update, but here's what to come, as I got new ideas:

1) The ruined city you see at the beginning of the game is Lévis. No clue about when it was destroyed is given, but given real life and worldwide events, I  was tempted to replace the picture with a smaller city or cutoff some of the skyscrapers, or maybe even use a picture of Lévis, to suggest that the city was destroyed not too far into the future.

2) A sequel to the game would involve traveling back to 2186 A.D to eliminate the source of the Tibestian problem, as it is supposedly around that time that they first visited Earth and secretly setup an outpost there. The setting would be a Dystopian Quebec City, where due to past events, all former residents of Lévis are only permitted access to a certain portion of the city despite their city being nuked in a terrorist attack in 2029, and by the year 2100, due to their reputation having spread worldwide, they are banned from accessing most big cities. As you land in 2186 to  fullfill your mission, you would find yourself in the middle of another affair, as the night before you arrived in 2186, most of the younger portion of the enclave population vanishes overnight, followed by multiple mysterious reports of hijacked airships causing no casuality at all.

3) I also need to fix the super fast gold earning bug.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on September 22, 2018, 06:21:53 PM
I have worked more on the NPC convos to make them more relevant to the game's setting, while also updating some of the city maps.

I also updated the first post of the topic with a description of the game and the story setting. I'll add the story later.

By the way, you learn most of the game's setting by talking to NPC's.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on September 25, 2018, 05:05:39 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e04makDO0o4
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on September 29, 2018, 08:35:32 PM
Update: Aside from the other NPC additions I did after updating to 0.7, I also made the game intro much harder (you will probably have to make the farther monsters follow you all the way back to the beginning without getting hit too much by the plant-like monster, so that they can let you pass, and one very hard enemy was added at the end of the road before the ground collapses under you.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on October 28, 2018, 07:07:53 PM
Progress so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvai3uE45HE
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on February 17, 2019, 11:26:52 PM
Project update:
-Boss names are now shown in battle, when applicable.
-Boss 2 and optional boss were renamed from Tanorial and Tutorial to Loneliness and Anxiety
-Title screen updated, but it will most likely change again in the near future.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on March 18, 2019, 11:40:24 PM
A long-standing bug causing the amount of gold obtained from kills to be incorrect most of the time is being fixed right now. Basically, under the old system, the amount of gold gained per kill was directly tied to the total amount of damage the enemy took before dying, rather than their max HP, resulting into an unintentional "bonus gold feature" that caused lots of problems when offensive items were used.

Some enemy gold amounts were adjusted after fixing the bug.

Also, all item shops are now called Cears (in reference to Sears).

(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/72803910636548096/557366483072843814/unknown.png?width=1202&height=677)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 03, 2019, 10:46:34 PM
Good news: Superstar Hero can now be completed from start to finish with no skipping! All areas and bosses have been programmed. I'll continue adding content, though.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 08, 2019, 05:20:58 PM
Update:
-Some graphics were added or updated to blend better with the rest
-More shadow effects added (mainly on Quebec Bridge II)
-New enemy implemented
-Crystal Hill area completed
-Wind in Crystal Hill no longer pushes the hero to the right when walking and instead just slows down walking overall. This made collision detection impossible due to RPG Maker 2003 limitations, otherwise.
-Treasure chests were added to the game. All of them are locked and contains gold. They can only be opened with the governor house's key.

(https://img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvMzI0ODI1LzIwMDAyMjAucG5n/original/H6VnqG.png)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 12, 2019, 07:50:46 PM
Updates:
-More bug fixes
-Various map changes around Hooleigan Village
-Fixed bug with HP bar not refreshing to 0 HP when dying
-More shadows added in Hooleigan area
-City of Gold will now be home of a secret dungeon of the same name
-Dynamic lighting effect added to one tile, sort-of.
-Added event that unlocks City of Gold dungeon.
-Warning about mature content and for epileptic people moved to a separate screen before the game intro
-Some new tiles added for City of Gold dungeon.
-When you have 25% HP left, a warning sound now starts playing and the HUD becomes orange.


Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 16, 2019, 06:51:06 PM
Update:
-The second save point located in the ruins has been moved a bit further, to the City of Gold
-City of Gold expanded
-The boss called Anxiety now makes an appearance outside said boss fight and thus harasses you as you move through one of the City of Gold tunnel and the following room, but you can't beat him in those areas.
-A new monster has been added.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on April 25, 2019, 07:00:47 PM
Changelog:
-Fixed bug with one of the final events being marked as completed earlier than supposed
-Added more glossy tiles
-Music changed for two bosses
-Fixed a collision bug with the ruins door
-Replaced some village graphics to match the rest of the artwork.
-Replaced some ruins graphics to match the rest of the artwork.
-The game is now gamepad-compatible, including item usage
-Fixed bug with first NPC talking twice (the second time always being in English no matter language options)
-Other things I forgot

https://dj-omnimaga.itch.io/superstar-hero
https://gamejolt.com/games/superstar-hero/408824
https://rpgmaker.net/games/11068/
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on May 24, 2019, 05:42:52 PM
Superstar Hero is set to release on Steam on June 13th. The soundtrack is already available at https://djomnimaga.bandcamp.com/album/superstar-hero-the-original-soundtrack . The English version of the game is pretty much complete, while some text is missing in the French version (and will default to English accordingly). Here are the changes since the last news post:

-Translated entire village, bridge and entrance of Quebec city to French.
-Translated Sainte-Foy district to French.
-Translated the toy brick guards in Sainte-Foy and Harlaka to French.
-Translated Saint-Roch outdoor area and Montcalm tower to French.
-Fixed display issue causing messages to overlap on items.
-Fixed map visuals in the Quebec City entrance.
-Fixed map visuals in Hooleigan forest.
-Fixed loud acute noise when the mini-boss song starts.
-Fixed some text in shops
-Fixed the end text not showing
-Fixed bug with Godess of Light pathfinding after talking to her for the first time (she didn't make it to the river anymore)
-Moved Godess of Light one tile left to prevent accidental interaction when exiting Tibestia Lab. It was a long overdue, as she was really in the way.
-You can no longer open the quit/language menu during an event such as riding Walrus Express
-You can no longer walk over thin air right next to diagonal cliffs facing Southeast/Southwest
-Applied some changes to Hooleigan cliffs layout to accomodate the aforementioned bug fix.
-It's now possible to save your game during the intro, right before the first monsters, so if you die you don't need to re-watch the entire intro again.
-The sky is now lighter in color
-There are now two ways to beat the game.
-Toned down the flashing screen when you die
-Your character now interacts with shadows, meaning that he also becomes darker while walking through a shadow.
-Fixed shadows in Saint-Roch so that they don't overlap on sewer grids.
-Changed the reward for defeating one of the super-bosses.
-It is no longer possible to reach level 20 attack.
-The blue enemies in Crystal Hill now causes a minimum damage of 1 rather than 0.
-Game controls are now shown in the game menu rather than the title screen.

(https://img.ourl.ca/H6VnqG-1.png)

Download:
https://dj-omnimaga.itch.io/superstar-hero
https://gamejolt.com/games/superstar-hero/408824

Here is the Steam store page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1089080
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on June 09, 2019, 07:43:53 PM
Here are the changes since the last beta release:
-French translation is now complete.
-You can now increase water level when entering Forgotten Ruins from Hooleigan and lower it when entering from the City of Gold, so you can now travel to Quebec in both directions.
-Improved some graphics in final dungeon area
-Added more enemies, including brand new ones, in various locations.
-Added a new map in Hooleigan Valley/Forest with new graphics.
-Changed cliff graphics in Hooleigan Valley/Forest
-Added new character graphics in various locations.
-Changed the font of some text.
-Moved boss HP bar down by a few pixels.
-When you beat the game, it now shows the quest completion percentage, for those who want to 100% the game.
-Fixed HUD bug after riding the Walrus Express from Saint-Roch to Sainte-Foy.
-Fixed some text in one of the last Cears store.
-Fixed major mini-boss defeating bug happening when leaving the room less than half a second after the fight, resulting into the player not being able to advance further in the quest.
-Fixed display bug introduced in version beta 0.15 in the final dungeon.
-Fixed HUD bug after riding the Walrus Express from Saint-Roch to Sainte-Foy.
-The HUD no longer displays when riding a Walrus Express or changing the water level in the ruins.
-New and animated title screen, with options menu!
-It is no longer possible to open the menu during cutscenes.
-Some Hooleigan Village residents now give gameplay tips and advices.
-Some rocks that can be pushed now blocks you after the intro, forcing you to push them to get to the village.
-And more importantly, the game is finished!

(https://img.ourl.ca/2-1.png) (https://img.ourl.ca/newgraphics1.png) (https://img.ourl.ca/newgraphics2.png)
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on June 13, 2019, 03:10:25 PM
Good news: The game is now released! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1089080/Superstar_Hero/
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on October 17, 2019, 10:40:03 PM
I dunno why I haven't posted the updates here, but aside from the minor updates that went on in the past few months, you can now buy the game soundtrack as a DLC on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/1103910/Superstar_Hero__Soundtrack/ . There are already 43 copies sold. The soundtrack installs inside the Superstar Hero game folder and the music files can be copied anywhere else on the computer.
Title: Re: Superstar Hero - a Ys-like JRPG set in the Quebec future of 9108
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on January 17, 2020, 07:43:44 PM
Heya, good news: My Superstar Hero OST can now be obtained from Steam even if you don't download the actual game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1103910/Superstar_Hero__Soundtrack/

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/1103910/extras/AlbumArtwork.png?t=1579287804)

Until now you were forced to have the game installed if you also wanted the soundtrack.