KickStarter Arcadian Atlas: FFT/Tactics Ogre inspired RPG

[Siveon]

Well, at least it's derived from something great? :shrug:

 

[Mustawd]

Well, at least it's derived from something great? :shrug:

 

[Murk]

I wish more games were derivative of good stuff.

I'd be p interested in this -- the more FFT, the better.

 

[Kefka1134]

Guess I'd pop in with my Alma avatar.

Honestly whenever I see the "inspired by" it just doesn't really mean anything, it could be amazing, it could be nothing, there's just no way to know based on that alone.

Based on the images, the inspiration looks to be surprisingly literal, like some kind of mid 16th century Europe vibe with a couple straight identical things like that guy which looks exactly like Gafgarion.

 

[Siveon]

Something of mild substance. To my surprise, it's being coded in RPG Maker. Never noticed.

Programmin' Blues & Big News
Originating in the RPGMaker VXAce engine, Arcadian Atlas hit a wall.

We started with VXAce because it was an easy way for two siblings with no programming knowledge to make a tactics RPG passion project together. After all, there was already a battle system & isometric map engine in place from the community that was free to use.
It just made sense, right?
But, the more we worked on the game... the more we ran into roadblocks.

The gameplay elements we were after, the isometric maps with traversable elevations and strategic tactical mechanics we had always planned for, they just... weren't possible with that engine. We were trying to make do with workarounds & find ways to cut corners just to "kind of" get mechanics working.




We weren't going to be able to make the game we wanted to make. And even worse, we were going to disappoint the small community of folks who've shown interest in Arcadian Atlas with a hollow attempt at the game we initially set out to make.

We don't want to be just another let down of a tactics game. We need to make this game & make it right - because if we don't make it, who will?





We needed a new engine. Something simple enough for 2 non-programmers to build the majority of the game themselves, but customizable enough for a programmer to hop aboard & handle all the tactical game mechanics.

Late in October, RPGMaker MV was released. Supporting Javascript & HTML5 with no hidden classes, we could feasibly build all those custom elements as Javascript plugins & release Arcadian Atlas on 3 major platforms - PC, Mac & iOS.




We felt that with our skillset & plans for Arcadian Atlas, MV was the right engine for us. The move to RPGMaker MV has been a painless one, and with the acquisition of a programmer, we are happy to say progress on the game has sped up exponentially as we move onto the real meat of our project.

Our programmer is currently plugging away at custom mechanics that will take Arcadian Atlas's gameplay to the next level.

Just a taste of some of the exciting new elements we will be adding in the next couple months...



Mockup map made in TileD - final product will look & function slightly different

• Fully custom isometric map engine that allows us to build highly detailed & fully interactive nooks, slopes, plant life, river rapids, deadly cliffs, etc.
• Custom grid-based SRPG battle engine will be an unforgiving strategy-oriented love letter to the tactics RPG genre
• Custom Menu & GUI system with CT (clock time) system, party roster, AP (ability points) learned 1st & 2nd abilities & ability to change job classes

This & tons more is coming up in the next few months. Stay tuned here for more updates. To be notified via email when the trailer or Kickstarter goes live, subscribe to the mailing list!

Also didn't noticed the iPad listing on the page. Man, for some reason that really didn't register. Weird.

And yes, I am committed to this (for some reason) ... by posting 3-4 week old news. Splendid. I should check indiedb more, it's how I found Underrail before I went to the Codex.

 

[Zetor]

Aww yeah, I always wanted Rocket Raccoon in FFT!

Some of that mockup looks a bit non-Euclidean, however. How 3D are the maps going to be on the FE - TO - FFT scale?

 

[Siveon]

Aww yeah, I always wanted Rocket Raccoon in FFT!

Some of that mockup looks a bit non-Euclidean, however. How 3D are the maps going to be on the FE - TO - FFT scale?

No clue, but probably how they show them in the mock-ups. So, I guess Tactics Ogre. On the SNES.

 

[CryptRat]

I really hope that they'll build some good maps.
Many SRPGs manage to build a fun character system, but the battle in Gungnir where you literally start under the canoons, or the one in Telepath Tactics on the bridge (where the guys request 100) are memorable video game moments, whereas the maps of Eternal Poison are so forgettable that the game is also forgettable despite multiple good ideas.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Yeah, I never really gave it a lot of thought, but that is probably a big part of why I enjoyed FFT more than TO. FFT has a lot of great map setups where you have to split your party, or the enemy has some sort of huge terrain advantage like an archer on top of a huge building or nasty chokepoint overlooked by mages. Probably what made Disgaea such a hit too; the geo blocks had a lot of wild effects that made the battles feel fresh even after dozens of them.

 

[Drowed]

Well, the more FFT clones, the better. The pixel art is good, even if it isn't great. I just hope that the system is deep enough. I would play (/pay for) it.

 

[breakfast]

Hi folks, I'm Becca. I'm making a tactics RPG called Arcadian Atlas with my brother Taylor. We received a couple hits on our website that linked back to these forums -- It looks like you might have some concerns for us about the project? So I wanted to use this opportunity to formally announce the game as well as answer any questions you guys might have about the game or our team.

Info about the game can be found on our website.

We can also be found on essentially every social platform known to man:
(in order of most to least often updated)
-Twitter
-TIGSource Dev Log
-Tumblr
-Facebook
-IndieDB

Most recent images:

​

Maps shown above (for teaser video currently in the works) have been made in TileD. Our actual maps will be made in the custom isometric mapping engine our programmer is currently fine-tuning. Here's our current progress on that:

As you can see, we're still pretty early in development. But it's a project we're really passionate about and we want it to be something the community can get excited about also.
We're interested in any feedback or suggestions you guys might have, so let that and the questions begin! ​

 

[Infinitron]

We have a thread about your game. You might want to join the discussion there: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...n-atlas-fft-tactics-ogre-inspired-jrpg.100698

 

[Viata]

Well, the more FFT clones, the better. The pixel art is good, even if it isn't great. I just hope that the system is deep enough. I would play (/pay for) it.

Yeah. I'd love to know a better explanation about the system. What I see is good enough to try it.

 

[Crooked Bee]

breakfast Welcome to the Codex! If you feel like it, you could start by answering Zetor's question and addressing CryptRat's concerns:

How 3D are the maps going to be on the FE - TO - FFT scale?

I really hope that they'll build some good maps.
Many SRPGs manage to build a fun character system, but the battle in Gungnir where you literally start under the canoons, or the one in Telepath Tactics on the bridge (where the guys request 100) are memorable video game moments, whereas the maps of Eternal Poison are so forgettable that the game is also forgettable despite multiple good ideas.

 

[breakfast]

Alrighty, let's get to this then!

Of all the tactics games out there, our system is closest to FFT's. The maps aren't 3D like FFT's however, they are closer to FFTA2's 2D maps which can't be turned. They do feature ramps, half tiles & other abnormally shaped traversable objects (rooftops, tree stumps, etc) and the objects will go semi-transparent when a unit is obstructed. Hired units can die permanently after a certain number of turns. Damage varies from behind, above, to the side, from the front, and below. Destructible terrain is planned as well as other interactive environments like river rapids, bridges, high cliffs that units can fall from, and overhangs / nooks where the units can hide for refuge.

The goal is to have challenging battles with unique strategies for each map formation, but with the added difficulty of the monsters' tactics we don't want this to cause the battles to drag on even longer than FFT's or Tactics Ogre's sometimes did. To avoid this we will likely limit the battles to only a few units you have to beat. Your own party will be limited to only 5 or 6 units at a time to help keep the pace of the game steady. Maps will be on average about the size of the forest map I posted above, though the z height range can and will go up quite high (the seaside city map shown above is only partially done, once we rebuild it in our iso map engine it will be 3 or 4 cliff steeps high so there will be a lot of upward scaling on some maps) and we will be able to have abnormally shaped maps with offshoots similar to FFTA's seen here:

We are still in the early stages of drafting the battle system so we haven't settled on an experience system yet. We are either going to go with the traditional JP system, a skill point allotment system (similar to Ragnarok Online's, if you're familiar) for a more custom way of building your hired units, or a combo of both.

I think that about covers it? Hope this info answers some of your questions!
Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

 

[breakfast]

Hi guys! Been bug testing the WIP map engine (abnormally shaped objects like trees, buildings and porches aren't in just yet) so here's a gif to show how the height mapping & collisions are coming along.
And here's how the editor is looking currently:

We are working on getting the teaser video polished & our composer Moritz is cooking up his first official tune for the game. Should have more to share on that around the end of this month!

Also, just as a side request (I tried to PM the mods first but can't for the life of me figure out how to start a "conversation"?)... This thread was started in the JRPG Weaboo forum, but we are neither Japanese (Austin, TX devs) nor do we really relate to the whole "desu desu" anime-influenced game style so we're worried our forum placement might be giving the wrong idea about Arcadian Atlas. Perhaps we could get this thread moved to the General RPG Discussion forum where more similar titles like Voidspire Tactics & Telepath Tactics reside?

 

[Siveon]

For future note, to PM one of the mods, simply hover to your inbox and click "start a new conversation". From there, in the participants box, you can write down the username of one of mods.

Nice mock-up! The scrolling could use some work but the engine looks nice. Are you planning for a level editor similar to Telepath Tactics?

 

[Damned Registrations]

Question about the system: You mentioned limiting the requirements to win the battle to defeating a few enemies. Did you mean that the total number of enemies encountered in the battle would be lower compared to FFT (which had up to 16 in some places) or that the win condition would be killing a few key units (or random ones to lower morale) out of the group of enemies? I don't think I've actually seen a game of this style that strikes a middle ground between "Exterminate everyone" and "Assassinate the leader" but thinking on it now it'd be a nice change.

 

[Murk]

I want to say that both FFT and Tactics Ogre had "kill THESE leader units" where-in you had to kill either 1 of x (like the first fight on the roof top with the Marquis and his OP assassins) or in the end game of TO where you had to kill a few of the black knight leaders in one fight. Still, those were rare and often just scripted events or needing to kill 2 instead of 1 leader. Having actual mission objectives that vary within fights would be veeeeery cool.

 

[Damned Registrations]

To be fair the rooftop fight was basically a gimmick; if Rafa survived the first turn then gang raping the nearest assassin was trivial. Never actually stuck around through the end game of TO, but that sounds like more of what I had in mind.

Brigandine would be a good example of the 'morale' based concept as well, although it's a different kind of game in general, as far as win conditions went, killing only a portion of the enemies to get them to retreat was a very viable strategy.

 

[SCO]

Man, i can't really get too excited about a indy FFT clone that doesn't take stuff from later best of breed clones like gungnir or Devil Survivor.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Wait, Devil Survivor is a FFT clone? What rock have I been living under? 3 second edit: Son of a fuck that looks awesome.

 

[SCO]

Well... not really, at least not in '3d battlefields'. The limited abilities pool kinda reminds me of 'limited interchangeable jobs' though (and i really enjoyed that it was a 'blobber'/tactical mix). There are a lot of clones in this design space that innovated immensely over the last decade.

Games like Jeanne D'Arc, Gungnir, Devil Survivor, phantom brave, wild arms xf or older stuff like Energy Breaker etc. Not that i recommend taking everything (or anything) from them, but some kind of gameplay/character system/encounter objectives/difficulty idea of how it's going to be beyond graphics would be required before i get excited.

Granted these games got further and further away from the FFT design space, but i don't think it's wrong to change stuff so the game is not only a nostalgia fest.

 

[Archibald]

Well they carved out their own identity, not really going to do that if you are stuck in copying FFT.

 

[Perkel]

Well they carved out their own identity, not really going to do that if you are stuck in copying FFT.

Better to copy FFT or TO astetics and gameplay and try to do something interesting with it than release some hot garbage.

Imo Tactics Ogre remake for PSP came close to godhood but some level scaling there didn't work that well.
FFT is good but it doesn't come close to TO in all aspects.

edit: Also suprised about devil survivor being srpg instead of traditional dcrawler... i have 3ds now so i will probably check it out.