Wow Vanit. Speechless. Are you parralax mapping? That looks far better than anything i could do.

(Last off topic message from me: Reviews don't matter to me I won't be going off-topic anymore :3)

If ever a cliche as the word "epic" is, I cannot think of another word at the moment. That is really detailed. I can't remember, was "My Bloody Valentine" in the original, or was that something you just added?

In the original. If you were ever wondering what the sign meant, its a reference to the real life album Loveless by My Bloody Valentine.

Never really noticed that before, I was always tuned into the "Loveless" part. But actually when I saw it revised in your 2D style, I thought it was in reference to the movie "My Bloody Valentine". Now that I'm comparing the two, though, yours is a very faithful 2D adaption.

Well, this is pretty weird. I noticed that the views in 2 of my videos went from 500ish to 15000ish in a day, and it turns out my remake is making the rounds of several French gaming news websites.

Very nice keep it up!

Alright, so normally, I'm turned off by ANY "remake" games. however, the way this game looks, I think this might be one of the few I like. I do not pretend to be an expert on RPGs, nor am I. however, I see enough promise in here to make this project one of the most successful ever. FF7, I have never played. however, I am quite familiar with Cloud, Barrett, Cid, Yuffie, etc. as I have played Dissidea and Crisis Core, and I have watched Advent Children. Anyway, to be making this with ALL custom graphics, using an old RM, and then getting it on a foreign site? you, my good sir, are what most low-level RPG makers aspire to be. maybe even high level ones. I hope to see this reach fruition, and to play the final game! You are awesome, and I hope to make a game this well.

Also, how did you make the battler do that, when he casted spells and used abilities to make it change like that?

Hey Vanit, I just played your demo, there was a few things you left out so far from the beginning but it IS a demo after all lol. But I was wondering where exactly your demo ended, because it wouldn't let me continue on after Barret said "SOLDIER huh? Don't trust ya!". I was able to run around but not continue to the next area. Either way, I had fun playing .

Thanks for your kind words, laansolo.

To answer your question about the animation of Cloud, because I made a picture-based custom battle system I had the freedom to animate the characters anyway I wanted. Cloud is being animated by a parallel process that iterates through his frames and executes associated code with each frame to get the desired behaviours and timing. When Cloud is in an idle pose he's also in receiving mode for "signals" sent by other parts of the battle system that tell him how to act.

@RzrBladeMontage: It ends at the screen unfortunately, stay tuned for a longer demo in a few months.

This game is great i hope to play the longer demo.

I'm not sure how much your longer demo will entail, but my suggestion would be to hold off on the demo until you can develop the game through the end of Midgar, right as they walk through the secured gated wall but before hitting the over world for the first time. That would not only give a view into your style, but it would extend the playtime for several hours and provide an excellent cut-off point while the rest of the game is being developed. It would allow people to also provide more concrete feedback of what they liked and hoped to see for the rest of the game.

Of course, my opinion on this may also be to the fact that Midgar was my favorite section in the whole game, what with the missions, running from the Turks for the first time, a cross-dressing Cloud, the Don, and escaping the Shinra HQ.

On the contrary, I think the longer the demo the less focused feedback I'll tend to get, which is one of the many reasons I want to have regular incremental releases (the other being that if SE decides to C&D me a mostly up to date version will be in circulation already so there's less chance of me working on something only to not be able to release it).

They won't C&D you, though. The main reason they did that with the Chrono Trigger game, is most of those people were professionals working on a fan game, and they wanted to release it to a bigger, wider public. This game won't even turn their heads given it is rpg maker based.

I don't see why it being made in RPG Maker would help my case at all. When I received all that attention in the French gaming news sites last week no one could tell it was even made in rm2k3 aside from my telling them it was, and even then many doubted it and thought I'd done it in C or C#. Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes was merely a rom hack and they got a C&D. Its got nothing to do with the medium, and entirely to do with using Square's intellectual property - if they see fit for any reason they can enforce their right to their IP.

So far as I can tell the best tactic to atleast get something out there while laying low is to work on as much of it as I can before it draws attention, then release what I have.

For how short it was, I'm impressed. I seriously look forward to seeing this game finished. Please for the love of all that is awesome, don't stop this project! I never played 7 really because I had no interest. However, I WILL play this should you finish it.

Starting to look a bit more familiar! I'd say this is maybe 80% done now.

I'm not gonna lie FFVII is one of my favorite games and prolly like most people I was a bit skepitcal but wow this looks very promising

I think what makes this game stand out as one of the better "amateur" remakes (amateur in the sense that it's indie, but by no means an insult) isn't that it's handled in 2D as much as that even though it's 2D you managed to still keep the feel (cutscenes, battles, menus, and even the color coordinates) that were all part of the original game. You must have really had to study the original game well enough to even come close to the details in this game.

Thanks for the kind words guys! You're right, amerk, I have spent a lot of time studying FF7 to try get as much parity with the original as possible.

As you can see, I hate moleboxed version. But the FF72DR needs to be continued, an the game too. But about the game, I like it. he graphics, the battle, everything! I hope you keep future to this series, keep going!

Checking in again.

I have been playing FF7 (PSN) and was wondering what you would b e doing for the parts that have deeper meaning. What I mean is, will you be doing the "answer this, increases that" in this? And if so, will you copy it exactly as it was in the original game? Was just a little curious. xD

(My sister would enjoy this lol)

*Also, saw the trailer. Amazing!

Ahem, I noticed something...

What about a custom movement system? Will that be implemented such as pixel movement?

Kero-chan: While this may sound harsh, one of the reasons I moleboxed it is I didn't want to provide the avenue for a swarm of FF7 spinoffs based off my custom systems and sprites that I've frankly put a lot of work into. If someone is really determined to have the FF7 battle system, they should do it themselves. I'm happy to provide code samples and answer questions, but I will not be releasing an unencrypted copy. Also the battle system uses some really outlandish design concepts as far as rm2k3 goes - I don't think you'd be able to make much sense of it unless I provided thorough documentation of its usage, which is something I'm also not inclined to do.

MagitekElite: I actually have no idea what you're talking about when you say "answer this, increases that"! But my intention is to make it a 1:1 remake.

Zinx: I did consider pixel movement at one point, but there wouldn't be much to gain from doing it. Movement in the field is about the only thing that will be using the default system. If it lends itself well to some of the minigames, I'll do it, but thats waaaay off for now.

As far as general progress goes I'm working on sprites at the moment. I'm choosing to be quiet about this until my next release (probably at the end of the year), so don't expect too many updates until then.

I've been secretly lurking this thread for the past couple months, and I'm really impressed and I want to see the day when this is completed. But I'm just kind of worried with how long this will take you, I mean you've been doing battle system tests for over a year and I only see the first minute or so of gameplay completed... I'm not disappointed or anything, I'm just worried that you might lose interest? You're going to have to make a Rollercoaster, chocobo racing, motorcycle mini-game and stuff, and if it takes you this long to make just the first minute of the game, I'm afraid it might take you years to get up to the end of disc 1...

I will be looking forward to the end result, and will play it, though.

I have faith in Vanit eventually finishing it, but what worries me more than anything is him miscalculating how much space he has to work with and accidentally running into the RM2K3 limits long before the game is finished. (9999 maps, 99999 events or whatever) That would suck if you had to stop the game at the 30% mark or whatever haha.

And I saw that topic in that magazine too and I was a little worried that Square Enix execs might see it and C&D it since it's so public so early in the game

Okay. Thanks for answering my question, and at one point I wanted to input pixel movement, but it is too much of a hassle for a minor thing.

Oh, I'm sorry >.<

In the game you could pick and choose what Cloud could say, and depending on the answer it shifted the story, the interaction between the characters and certain items. If that still doesn't make sense, I can google and bring in some sites explaining it

@Spaz_bunny: I can't deny that if you project the time to completion based off my current time spent/gameplay done, it looks like it could take a while. But until recently I'd been only working on the engine, and thats primarily finished now. Gameplay will come a lot quicker once I get over the hoop of doing character sprites, and refine my skill in pixel art (I'd done zero before this project).

@Klokinator: There's very little chance of my running into any of those issues. And the worst case scenario is that I separate it into 3 games, 1 for each disc. But again, I doubt I'll need to.

@MagitekElite: Oh I know what you mean now. Yep, I'll be replicating that in its entirety.

I downloaded this, but I have yet to play it (I'm keeping it a secret from my fiance who despises FF7).

It certainly looks like a decent remake.

I do wish, however, that the translations would be fixed, so I can understand things better (I read the thread, and you said you weren't fixing them, right?)

(When they "remade" Final Fantasy Tactics with new dialogue, it's like things I didn't get as a child, suddenly made sense to me).

But still, good luck with this! I'll keep an eye out.

Still waiting on a remake of Final Fantasy 6......*Ahem* Anyways. This'll be good for people who don't have it on cd
(Like i do... ) Or don't like usein' Emulators. I support this.
Plus, REDXIII is the best final fantasy Char ever (Next to Gau.... ) Also, will we get to breed chocobo's?
As much as i hated it. c:

@Strawberry: Initially I was going to leave all dialogue as is, but after much deliberation I've decided I will be correcting spelling mistakes and grammar if its incredibly awful (although I may leave in nostalgic ones like "This guy are sick").

@Bill: Yep chocobo breeding will be there as well as all the benefits you get from different types of chocobos etc.

Well you should just have the option to turn off and on the translation mistakes. I think then it would allow for those who hate them to skip them, and those who like them to still have them.

That sounds like way more effort than it's worth. I don't see what's wrong with Vanit cleaning up all but the nostalgic errors.

@Thiamor: I was thinking about making it optional at some point, but one of the resounding and consistent bits of feedback I got from my demo was about the bit of dialogue that had "infront" in it when it should be written as "in front" - no one at all realised the dialogue was SIC, and were bothered by the typo, even though thats how it was in the original. After that it was clear that I should correct all spelling mistakes, but I'll be leaving the dialogue intact - that is, I'll be correcting spelling mistakes but not rewording things unless its incomprehensible (which there are 1 or 2 lines in the game like that because they were so badly translated).

Everything in the GAME is nostalgic. Every bit of grammar is what makes that game what it is. Every turn, every word, everything.

People who get bugged by it aren't true Final Fantasy 7 fans.

Read my last post?...

The bottom line is that for most people its been 13 years since they played the original, or never at all (ie I commonly get the comment "I never played FF7, but this looks good and I'll check it out when its done"). The feedback I got showed that people simply didn't remember the bad spelling, or thought it was my fault. Sure, I have nostalgia for "This guy are sick", but not for simply intermittent grammatical errors.

Keep in mind that in most cases here I'm just informing people of my decisions and answering questions. Very little in this thread is up for discussion.

Right, I really don't think it's that important though.


That is a ridiculous statement. There is nothing wrong with wanting grammatical errors to be corrected. You sound ridiculous saying that people that want those corrections "aren't true Final Fantasy 7 fans".

None of those translation errors are as memorable or interesting as "Son of a submariner!" or "You spoony bard!" anyway.

I hope you finish this, the demo seemed great. Final Fantasy 7 is my favorite one of the bunch, it will be very nice to replay it in 2D.

The only thing I see wrong is the name option when your talked to.

Sadly I had to cut the naming feature as I ran out of pictures to show the individual letters of the character names in the menu and battle system.

Tis may be missed by some, but most probably would have just gone with the default names anyways.

Thought I'd post another WIP so people can, well, see a work in progress. Midgar is taking me quite a while because its difficult to get it to look geometrically correct with the right depth. I'd say the outline is maybe 40-50% complete at the moment - need to do the Mako Reactors, the scaffolding around the city, the buildings and add a few more details to Shinra HQ.

Gosh... I just wish Final Fantasy VII would die already. Ugh.

But on a happier tone and note, this does look incredible. I mean, you've seem to have put a helluva lot of effort into this. I'll be picking up the demo soon and giving her a whirl.

Don't you think, though, you could have spent all that time on an original title? I'm not bashing your choice, trust me, I would never... it's just, imagine what your 'own' title would turn out like with this much effort put into it. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I look forward to your future in this community if this project is any indication of what you're capable of.

Don't worry, you're certainly not the first person to ask me this question, and you won't be the last. There are MANY angles and answers to this question, but I'll answer the one you seem to have taken. I've found in communities like this one there's a certain "original game prestige", even if the original game is horrible. My personal satisfaction comes from knowing that people have enjoyed the experience I've crafted for them, and thats definitely what I'm getting out of this project.

Remakes are great practice because all the design and documentation has been already done for you, letting you focus on "inserting" the game. It's closer to working in an actual game studio, when you're supposed just to do your part and not mess with the design.
Just my three cents.

This is partly true. Ofcourse you're dead right in that I don't have to worry about the story, character or game design (at a high level), but I've had to do a lot of subsequent design in fully documenting all the mechanics etc, and to properly transition the game from 3D to 2D. I think this is worth clarifying as its tempting for people to say 'oh its not an original game, you have it so much easier", which is completely incorrect. In reality, I think I have put far more attention to detail and thought than anyone would into an original game.

As you have rightly said, Ceiling_Cat, this is an exercise in meeting an already set specification which is very like working in an actual game studio (I've said this to several people before). In an original game you're able to set your own specification, so if something is too hard or you don't know how to do it, you change the specification to suit whats convenient. I don't have that luxury, I have to meet all the specifications or justify leaving them out (like being able to rename characters due to technical limitations) or I've failed.

I'm not sure if this was asked before, but did you have an approximate timeframe for the next demo? I'm hoping it takes us all the way through Shinra and to the point when you first leave Midgar.

Back on topic... somewhat... I'm really curious to how you will develop the motorcycle chase scene. While everything else has visual appeal and shows your talents as an artist, part of me feels that the motorcycle chase scene will really show your merits as a developer as well, assuming you can get it to work for you in 2D as well as it did on the PSX.

This is great would you be able to post Cloud's sprite sheet for us to see?

I'm just curious, I suspect I know how you've set it up but I'm not sure I know how you've done it.

And don't let other people deter you from completing this project, if you finish it and then send it to squaresoft who knows the possibilities.

I know I'd pay for a game this quality.

@Amerk: I'd like to have something out by Xmas, but I'm not sure if that demo will get that far. As for the bike minigame there's a few different ways I've thought of approaching it (top down, side on), but I haven't yet settled on how I approach it as I still have a ways off yet.

@RandSummers: Are you talking about Cloud's battle sprite? I maintain a traditional sprite sheet for my own reference, but ingame its split up so every frame of his animation is a separate picture, and then I have an event which intelligently cycles through them to show the right animation depending on the action signal it receives. So normally it'll cycle between frame 1 and frame 2 if Cloud is idling, then if an attack signal is received it'll jump to frame 50 and cycle through to frame 80 to perform the attack animation and then jump back to idling to be receptive to signals again.

As I generally do not like FF remakes, or FF fan games I have to say that from before to now I am excited to see how this game turns out. you see like you are putting a lot of good work in to it and I am excited to see what you produce