[RMXP] The Hidden City of Arcatis (Now with difficulty levels!)

[Bob423 52]

Title screen by Kevin.ds

(you've been replaced shiny :P)

 

Story

2000 Years ago a huge city covered nearly all of the world. It was a thriving city where everyone was happy. Scientists discovered something that could make life so much easier. Not that it wasn't easy already. The energy gave the people the ability to summon water, or fire out of thin air, control earth, and wind, as well as heal the injured instantly. This power was in limited supply, however. People began to get greedy, and keep this energy to themselves. It was stored in glass containers, and released for a brief moment when used. The greed was slowly weakening the energy, and the people eventually ran out. They blamed each other for this.

Then one day, the sky turned black. The city began to sink into the ground, taking most of the people with it. Some people made it out alive. The people began to restart their society. For hundreds of years, everything was fine. There wasn't even any trace of the city.

One day an unlimited supply of that energy was found. The energy, which the people began to call magic, had been passed down; from generation to generation, through the peoples' souls, but lay dormant until then. Children now had the ability to use magic whenever they wanted. As the children aged, they learned to control their magic, and built schools to teach their children. Schools where the student were able to learn about the kind of magic they wanted to study.

 

The 3 types of magic are: Attack Magic, Healing Magic, and

Status Magic.

 

One particular 16 year old boy named *Bob starts his first day at a school in his hometown of Silverwood Village. His best friend, *Joe happens to be in his first class. Over the course of their first year at the school, they meet a girl named *Cathy, who becomes their friend eventually. Finally, at the end of the year, they take the Final Exam together, and pass. Not long after being informed of their achievement, the wooden training dummies, brought to life by magic, get out of control, and attempt to burn the school down. They all make it out alright, and the teachers use water spells to douse the flames. When they reach the village, they find that their entire home town is on fire! They find a way to escape the flames by jumping over a broken part of a fence. While escaping the flames, they get separated, and Bob falls unconscious. Bob wakes up in a house south of Silverwood Village, and meets an old man, who only says to call him Brian, and that he found Bob unconscious, but not the others. He directs Bob toward the village, and hands him a sword and shield as he sets off to find his friends.

 

after finding his friends, Bob, with the help of his friends, must save the world from an ancient, corrupted power formerly sleeping under the earth's crust.

 

*Player can name this character

---

 

contents

places

features

characters

screenshots

videos

credits

download

 

[/anchor]

 

Places

 

 

Arcatis (City) - An ancient city that covered most of the world, but sank into the ground. Some people think there is still a way into it.

 

Arcatis (Country) - When Arcatis was first built, it was started in the center of the country that this game takes place in. After Arcatis sank, the country was named after the city.

 

Silverwood Village - One of the first 2 villages built after Arcatis sank into the ground. The people's customs, and the look of the town have not changed in hundreds of years, because of the large number of magic users.

 

Silver Forest - A huge forest crawling with wolves anywhere there are no people. Many people believe the forest is hiding some kind of secret.

 

Mt. Ater - The second tallest mountain in the country of Arcatis. The peek can be seen from almost anywhere in Silver Forest. It is completely surrounded by Silver Forest on all sides.

 

Snow Lands - A huge field that is covered in snow all year round. It covers the entire northern border of the country of Arcatis.

 

Veneville - A small, newer village, North East of Silverwood. A certain powerful wizard can often be found in the skill shop here.

 

Glaciville - A village in the middle of the snow fields. Not many people like living here, because of the weather, but some people love it.

 

Mt. Aestuo - Mt. Ater may be the tallest mountain, but Mt. Aestuo is, horizontally, the largest. Mt. Aestuo is a volcano bordering silver forest on two sides, and over looking the ocean, on the others.

 

Sabaku Desert - The only area, other than Sunaville that has japanese in it's name. all others are either pure english, or have latin roots. It is a small desert in the southern edge of Arcatis, and is halfway in the country of Kelless. There is a small town in the middle.

 

Sunaville - The village in the middle of Sabaku Desert. The people there believe that a god granted them the power to pull water out of thin air, allowing them to never go thirsty, even though it hasn't rained in that desert for over 100 years. Most of the people who live here were born here, and don't want to leave.

 

Cursed Swamp - A large swamp that is like a maze. It is easy to get lost in it, and can sometimes turn people around, making them end up where they started. It is very hard to get to the other side.

 

Wastelands - Barren wastelands East of the Cursed Swamp. Few people have even tried to cross it in many years. The ones that have were either entering or leaving the Black Knight's HQ.

 

Mt. Caeli - The tallest mountain in the world. If it were easier to get to, it would have a lot of tourists. There is a mysterious temple at the top, and it's covered in trees, waterfalls, and, near the peak, snow.

 

Mare Maris - A busy city near the ocean, and the capital of Arcatis. The prestigious, Maris Academy, magic school is here, but despite it's reputation, it doesn't produce the best paladins, wizards, or clerics. Silverwood is the only school that can say that about all three magic types.

 

Dragon Plains - A huge field West of Mare Maris, and East of Sabaku Desert. It's known for being home to many types of Dragons, hence the name. Only people who absolutely have to cross it, will, and the gaurds at the Western gate of Mare Maris won't let anyone go there unarmed. There's a long way into Sabaku Desert, but it's not used very often.

 

Underground Caverns - A huge network of underground caves, connecting the country. There is a legend, that there is a door to Arcatis, deep inside this labyrinth.

 

Other areas of the world

 

 

Kelless - The country West of both Arcatis and Polraud. It takes up most of the western hemisphere

 

Polraud - The country South of Arcatis, and East of Kelless. It takes up most of the Southern hemisphere, and about half of the eastern.

 

there is a small, unnamed and unclaimed area of the world, that takes up the small amount of the eastern hemisphere, that neither Arcatis, nor Polraud take up.

 

 

 

 

 

Features

 

 

Blizz-abs (uses most features)

evented faces

Skill Shop with AP as currency.

enemies give AP

Current location window (on map and in menu)

evented save-points (work the same way as save circles in FF2 (originally FF4) and save points in FF7)

 

 

 

 

Characters

 

 

Bob

 

 

 

Age: 16-17

The main character. He's been friends with Joe since before he can remember. He tries hard in school, and always tries to make people happy. His dad left when he was too little to remember. His mom makes just enough money to support the two of them. Despite having a relatively poor life, he is always cheerful, and always happy to help those in need.

 

 

 

Joe

 

 

Age: 16-17

Bob's best friend. Somewhat arrogant, and curious. But will do anything to help those in need. His family is rich compared to Bob and Cathy's, but have always been friends with Bob's. When they were young, Joe would always get the two into trouble.

 

 

 

Cathy

 

 

Age: 16-17

A girl Bob and Joe met in school. She's better than them at almost everything, but very patient. She was orphaned at the age of ten.

 

 

 

Brian

 

 

Age: 74

A man who found Bob unconscious in the woods after the fire. He is very kind, and seems to know that Bob will be fine, as he allows him to leave, without a problem.

 

 

 

Harry

 

 

Age: unknown

A powerful wizard who helps Bob and his friends by giving them a special compass to find special orbs around the world.

 

 

 

Axel

 

 

Age: 17

Bob's "rival." He thinks he's the best at everything even though he dropped out of magic school, and is in fact pretty weak. His family is also the second richest non-royal family in the world.

 

 

 

Black Knights

 

 

An evil organization of warriors, led by an evil man, who plans to use an ancient legend to take over the world, and become immortal.

 

important members

Daeva: Fourth in command. She is in charge of the operations at the tower in Silver Forest.

Adrian: Third in command, and in charge of the operations in an unknown area.

Jon: Second in command. in charge of operations at the HQ when Kane isn't around.

He is one of the youngest members of the organization, at 20 years old.

Kane: (see next spoiler)

 

 

 

 

Kane

 

 

Age: 32

Leader of the Black Knights. He likes to take a direct approach to complete his goals, and will only do something himself if no one else can. He isn't very skilled in magic, but he plans to change that by using an ancient, legendary power.

 

 

 

Kevin

 

 

Age: 42

Bob's Father. He went missing 15 years ago. There must be some important part of the plot having to do with him, or I wouldn't put someone in here and not give much info about them.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Screenshots

 

here's an album of them http://imgur.com/a/6TGnQ

---

 

First 19 minutes of the demo

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSO1x_sagtQ[/media]

---

 

Credits

 

 

Blizzard - Scripts (you wish he was on this forum)

- Scripts

@Kevin.ds - Smoke bomb animation and title screen

@kellessdee - Scripting

l0rdph0enix - Volcano tileset (someone with that name is on this site, but they aren't active)

@Kiriashi - found faces

unknown - made faces

@Ackley14 - Harry's Theme

@SpriteZilla - Spriting

LiTTleDRAgo - Scripting (someone with that name is on this site, but they aren't active)

@Jon Bon - Mapping

@Zeriab - Scripting

TerreAqua - Scripting (not on this site)

@Polraudio - Scripting help

@diagostimo - Scripting

 

Music by:

Enterbrain, Nintendo, GameFreak,

NIS America, and Square.

(RMXP RTP, TLOZ franchise , Metroid Prime, Pokemon DPP, Disgaea 2, Final Fantasy franchise, and Kingdom Hearts respectively.)

and Ackley14

 

 

 

 

http://www.gdunlimited.net/forums/topic/9647-rmxp-arcatis-ii-the-hero-of-arcatis/

another awesome title screen by Kevin.ds

 

 

---

 

Here's a banner made by Kevin.ds

 

[anchor=download]

 

UPDATE: Added difficulty levels and made it so the player is forced to chose one of each class.

this prevents the player from getting stuck on certain parts and forced to restart the game.

Expert mode is how the game was before i added the difficulty levels.

Hopefully the game is easier now :D

 

DOWNLOAD 

(About 120mb)

If the above link doesn't work, I'm probably fixing something.

 

 

Known Bugs

(That I can't fix, or not without making parts of the game too easy.)

 

 

 

-May freeze when defeating an enemy. This is very rare, so it shouldn't be too much of  a problem. Blame Blizzard and his glitchy battle system.

 

-Some maps have weird tiles that look weird, or don't work well with large sprites. For example, go to Dragon Plains and watch a dragon walk behind a tree. These kinds of glitches are caused by both Blizz-ABS, and RMXP.

 

-Some maps are really laggy because of all the events. (even though 90% of them do almost nothing.) Some maps are really laggy because this script just hates me.

 

-Silverwood Village has this little thing where it kinda slows down the player. Could be lag. This may have something to do with the fact that I used the same map for when it's on fire, and when it's not. (and the way I did it)

 

-Both enemies and allies may stop doing anything for no reason.

 

-Confused allies may continue to fight even after being healed.

 

-Allies who cannot be controlled are also not passable by the player. Their tendency to follow you can be a problem.

 

-Could just be my computer, but the title screen music might bug out and sound weird. I don't know how to fix this.

 

 

 

Tips for stuck people:

 

 

 

-Check the minimap for white triangles and squares. These could be objects that can be attacked.

 

-Same goes for purple ones. they will take you to another map, or another part of the same map.

 

-Your team mates are idiots and will use any skill on enemies, regardless of the enemy's elemental weakness. If you want a certain skill or spell used, do it yourself.

 

-Watch the 19min video of me playing part of the demo. It might be helpful.

 

-Buy lots of items

 

-There is a town map in Mare Maris. Just continue West from the Eastern entrance, and you should find it easily.

 

-Trying different skills on objects that can't be damaged by normal attacks, but can be attacked, won't hurt.

 

-Try Jumping

 

-You can push some objects by pressing enter in front of them.

 

-Most flans/slimes have 1 elemental weakness.

 

-Revives and Ethers will save your life.

 

-It is impossible to beat the game if you don't have at least one character with status magic, and one with attack magic.

 

-The giant mana crystal in the sacred grove actually has a use after beating the last boss.

 

-If it looks like a save point, but doesn't have an S in the middle, it's a teleporter.

 

Easter Egg: One of the outdoor maps has some dark grass in the shape of a Cactuar.

 

 

 

 

If something seems weird and isn't explained in game,

(e.g. Caeli Temple being really high in the air when you're inside, but on a mountain when outside, or the Mana Temple seeming less old, and some rooms being different from the rest of the temple)

it can usually be explained by saying "It's magic"

 

sorry if the game is broken. Alternatively, you can watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmZjr8BajltKjHOZWMbmTdl7mpNDzMDyI&feature=mh_lolz

 

The Hidden City of Arcatis is more of a prequel then an actual beginning...if that makes sense. I've written out what happens in the game as another alternative to playing it. http://pastebin.com/07Ns42cG

Edited December 24, 2013 by Bob423

[ShinyToyGuns 29]

I prefer "The Hidden City of Arcatis"...oh, and btw, if you need more help on this, don't forget me :P

 

P.S. ~ Check your messages...I think you might have a surprise waiting in there ;)

Edited March 30, 2011 by ShinyToyGuns

[dolarmak 23]

although i think the title you have for the topic is cool, you can do better for the story than that can't you?

[ShinyToyGuns 29]

I'll be coming up with some more info on the story later today for Bob423.

 

As for the title screen, here is one of the ones I sent him...still waiting on a reply.

 

 

 

 

[Dragon324 16]

I'll be coming up with some more info on the story later today for Bob423.

 

As for the title screen, here is one of the ones I sent him...still waiting on a reply.

 

 

 

That title screen is really nice gj with it. It also fits at least in my opinion with the setting of the game.

Also if you need anything with eventing or want to run your story by someone I'm game. I can also help with balancing database work. For mine I just replaced physics constants with status and used a piece of a physics equation so everything is roughly balanced. Just Pm me if you need or want any help.

 

I would like to see more of a story posted though as that gives us a feeling for the game. Good luck with your project :clap:

[joman195 9]

I like that title screen.

[FranklinX 37]

I can't judge this at all. There really is no story. Please work at making a story.

[Bob423 52]

Yeah I know, I'm working on that.

[Bob423 52]

so...i think this game is canceled. i might...omg...*updates first post*

[Bigace360 38]

Its been a couple of months dude, where's the story? :huh:

[Dragon324 16]

I really think you should continue this one :P. If you need any story ideas or help you can always PM me and I can see what I can do. I think this would be good through for you just because it's not a fan game on anything just my thoughts though. Anyway I like the title screen and starting idea just needs some elaborating. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

 

Cheers :alright:

[Bob423 52]

More story and character details! :clap:

[Kiriashi 117]

I love that you're working on something original. I'm sure you know by now how I feel about fangames.

 

One word of advice, just make. If you have a problem, move on. Also, ditch the Papyrus font in the Title screen.

[madanchi 18]

very nice story Bob, I like it's solid purpose of how magic exists :D and the characters seem good too, should be interesting to play! How's it going with the game?

Edited October 9, 2011 by madanchi

[rgangsta 43]

The story sounds exciting! I want to see some screenshots. :D

[Bob423 52]

ditch the Papyrus font in the Title screen.

 

tell that to shiny lol

 

but i dont really know how to change it, and I kinda like it

whats so bad about it?

[Bob423 52]

now with screenshots! :clap:

[Kiriashi 117]

'Cause Papyrus looks terrible. Everyone uses it. It doesn't fit the title. And it looks terrible.

 

Terrible. : |

 

 

lol.

[ShinyToyGuns 29]

pretty sure I still have the psd file somewhere...if you wanna find a font you want Bob, I can redo it...or make a completely new one ;) www.dafont.com is a good font site

[Bob423 52]

naw, i dont really care, and like i said, i like it

[ShinyToyGuns 29]

I'm gonna try making a new one anyway...more to see if I can 1-up my previous attempt than anything else...you can choose if you want the new or old once I'm finished.

 

Edit:

Here ya go...do with it what you will...I personally like it better...though, the font bothers me still lol...

 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2011 by ShinyToyGuns

[Kevin.ds 28]

Sup bob , I really like the story for this game and Iam looking forward to seeing more of it :D

 

btw I was bored and made this in like 10min

[Kiriashi 117]

Sup bob , I really like the story for this game and Iam looking forward to seeing more of it :D

 

btw I was bored and made this in like 10min

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6678/thehiddencityofarcatis.png

 

Try this on for size, Bobbles.

 

 

=D

[rgangsta 43]

:o Loving that title, Kevin. You should use it, Bob. It looks great.

[Bob423 52]

that title looks super special awesome!

 

im gonna use it! thanks :alright:

[FranklinX 37]

Your game has tons of potential. I have a question. What does this energy do? Why does it make life easier?

[Bob423 52]

its magic...what else can i say? but yea i get your point, ill add some more info.

[FranklinX 37]

Oh I didn't know it was magic. If you haven't stated that in the story then you may consider it. You can say in minor details what people do with the magic.

[Bob423 52]

updated features, and added screenshots. see first post

[Bob423 52]

beta demo available.

 

click here to test.

 

let me know if there are any bugs, or things i should fix. a full demo will be released soon.

 

known issues:

-there is an event where 1 character's picture is shown for 2 different characters.

-equip menu uses the wrong names for equipment types.

-the cms in general needs a bit of work

-some text is cut off in a few scenes

-when the mayor talks to you, not only is some of the text cut off, but he skips half of a sentence

Edited December 1, 2011 by Bob423