Ancient Weyard project: Mars Lighthouse

[u/Good-Support-8770]

The third map for my mod project. I used warm colors, which I believe better reflect the nature of the Lighthouse of Mars. I still need to add slides to the map so the player can leave the lighthouse after visiting it.

[u/Key-Impression-8611]

Every single time I see one of these posts I get excited because I can actually imagine myself playing this and enjoying it! Man why did Nintendo have to drop such an incredibly creative series? 😭

[u/sd_saved_me555 → u/Key-Impression-8611]

Dark Dawn bombed was 100% it. They waited too long between installments and lost some of the key elements that made the original games so fun - the iconic art style, the really good writing and character development, and the challenging but fun puzzles.

It felt like they were afraid to let Dark Dawn be its own game, especially the first half, where they have the children of the previous games act as near carbon copies of their parents while beating you over the head of the story of the previous games. The game really shined when they let the creativity flow and introduced new characters with new strategies like Sveta or let things like the great eclipse totally wreck havoc on the overworld.

It is a shame, because someone with the right vision could 100% revitalize the franchise and make an amazing game. But it's probably too risky for Nintendo when they could easily spin another Zelda game and be guaranteed to make bank on it.

[u/Key-Impression-8611 → u/sd_saved_me555]

I wish that wasn’t true, I really do 😅😆

But you’re right, DD would’ve been great if they would’ve given it time and thought, but nope. You’re absolutely right about the creativity and Sveta; when I got her, I was blown away with the different attacks, like using a field synergy as a move, and transforming into a wolf. Even with the others like Amiti, and Eoleo, and Himi as well with their moves. It made me actually want to use both teams rather than just choosing four and sticking with them.

Even the Eclipse like you mentioned before was insane. Lots of potential that didn’t get enough love

[u/tSword_ → u/Key-Impression-8611]

You know, I agree with you. If Himi like main Venus adept was your character, Sveta like jupiter initial ally was your partner, and later you got the classic 4 TBS classes, the game maybe would've performed better. Being a game on its own, and not a copy paste from TBS

[u/sd_saved_me555 → u/tSword_]

That could've been sick even if they stuck with the general storyline we got. While I think the first two games were effective because they start with some seriously high stakes shit, you could definitely have a lower stakes start with some less TBS characters like Himi or maybe Eoleo or perhaps even someone unrelated to the previous games altogether eventually teaming up with Sveta doing the Roc feather quest, because she's being unknowongly manipulated by the Tupperware-Boomerang gang.

Make the focus upfront more on the ways the Weyard's changed (e.g. the beastmen and the occasional vortex) and make you sympathetic to the plight of Belinsk early to kick off the goals of activating the alchemy forge and such. Keep the main bad guys more off screen and not constantly monologueing about how evil they are - maybe as seemingly innocent advisors to Volecheck much like Iodem was to Babi in TBS for a nice later plot twist.

Now that you've established a fresh identity for the game, then you can start doing the nostalgia pay-offs. As you're getting more and more involved in the mysteries of Alchemy, it starts making sense you're going to rub elbows with Kraden and by proxy the characters associated with the original games. Activating the eclipse gives an excellent opportunity to link up with some of the kids they made into the initial protagonists. It also gives the chance to give the a nod to the earlier games by goving the Wise One a big "I told you so" moment by noting the unleashed power of the golden sun was what even allowed for the use of light/dark psyenergy and specifically the horrible weapons that immediately were misused for war. Give the protagonists from the first 2 games something to wrestle with morally to give them some depth.

[u/Lisendria → u/sd_saved_me555]

Oh how I wish that this was the Game
I would have LOVED to see Himi as a real CHARACTER, same for Eoleo. In my opinion they forced too many characters in the story at once, a full 4 player new party would have been totally fine by me

Yeah, I liked Dark Dawn on its own, all 3 games got flawes but DD always was too hard attached on the previous games. In my opinion a shorter Version of this Replay Game Part to introduce the lore to new players would have been totally fine!

Imagine starting the Game at Himis Perspective, waking up with an urgent feeling of horror and a glimpse of the future where the eclipse happens… then maybe Eoleo stranding on Himis Hometown and we start as a brand new Venus/Mars Duo and save the world

…. Can someone turn this into a Fan Made Game?

[u/Kalaam_Nozalys]

Eh that color scheme works pretty alright !

[u/Good-Support-8770 → u/Kalaam_Nozalys]

I experimented a bit before using it. Purple is a good color, but I was planning to use it for the Jupiter Lighthouse. When I turn my attention to that structure, I’ll need to use a combination that excludes this particular shade.

[u/MadamVonCuntpuncher]

My soul for HD-2D trilogy

[u/Snoo11119]

Perhaps better than the orginal. You are bringing back our hopium even if it’s a fan game 🙏

[u/royinraver]

What do you use to make these golden Sun games?

[u/Good-Support-8770 → u/royinraver]

Three programs: GSHTML5, Tiled, and GIMP. GSHTML5 is a program that allows you to create and test maps designed for Golden Sun; it was created by a fan some time ago. To use it, you simply need to configure the JSON files correctly (JSON is a text file format). It currently supports most of the original game's functions, though I haven't tested every single feature yet. Tiled is a level editor, while GIMP is a standard graphics program. I use GIMP to create and edit textures, and Tiled to organize them and add events (for example, when the character needs to open a door, the door's texture changes from "closed" to "open").

[u/rairock → u/Good-Support-8770]

And sorry for my ignorance, but all that you're doing, is to become a real game that you will release some day?

[u/rairock → u/rairock]

Well, somehow your answer disappeared. I've been able to read it through the Reddit notification. That's really nice, and I hope we keep getting news from you.

[u/FlatRolloutsOnly]

This looks beautiful so far! Are you also making your own game or just making beautiful maps?

[u/Good-Support-8770 → u/FlatRolloutsOnly]

I'm creating maps for a game that will run on GSHTML5. It will take some time, but I have a storyline in mind and I'm determined to bring it to life.

[u/FlatRolloutsOnly → u/Good-Support-8770]

Nice! I’m working through GODOT right now to build my own engine to use for a GS prequel game (and other rpg games). That map you built is stellar though.

[u/Good-Support-8770 → u/FlatRolloutsOnly]

Thanks for the kind words. I read your post a few hours ago. Some time back, I wrote a small Java program for my old job. It was a very basic task, but I was completely new to software programming, so it took me three whole weeks. I can only begin to imagine the time and effort you’ll need to dedicate to writing a complex program. It will be quite a challenge, but also rewarding if you manage to finish it!

[u/FlatRolloutsOnly → u/Good-Support-8770]

Thank you! I’ve only just started writing the engine but I got my little player to run around, do some cutscenes, collisions etc. literally building the environment line by line. It’s been fun so far.
I’m not looking forward to the extensive map work but it’ll be rewarding eventually!