What I think is that they may make the OS be able to detect which calc hardware it's installed on and if it's the new hardware, it will run different USB routines than if it's on old hardware

I would like to see this win POTY 2010 ^^

I thought I would share a working concept for one of the dungeons found in the game: (warning: high resolution)



This is a multi-sectional area: The Flowstone Eitr, the Corporeal Gorge and Castle Pandaemonium. In this area alone, there are 14 different bosses to be dealt with. (seven are optional, and guard a number of rare equipment)

The four Crown Princes of Hell, in their revised and empowered forms: Shaitan Redux, Livyatan Redux, Matanbuchus Redux and Ba'al Zebûb Redux. Each guards the entrance to the Corporeal Gorge. They must be destroyed to break their seal on the gateway. Then, there's the guardian of the Pillar of Souls: Là-Bas. The Pillar of Souls is a one-way trip to Castle Pandaemonium: The final resting place of fallen gods. There are seven optional, lesser demons of Hell who guard the Seven Weapons of Legend: Azazyel, (Zanbatou, nintou sword) Armers, (Mjöllnir, battle-hammer) Gadrel, (Ragnarök, knight sword) Yekun, (Phoenix Talon, claw) Barkayal, (Grand Vicarius, staff) Tamiel (Obelisk, lance) and Penemue. (Heavenly Strings, bow) Each of these items is quite powerful, but they cannot be carried out of this area. (one-way trip) Finally, there's a show-down with the final boss of the game, which I shall not spoil with too much detail.

There are a few save-points scatterd around the dungeon, but saving in this area means you'll never go back to the main world itself. I thought about implementing a sort of "Village of the Damned" here, where the party could at least have a place to rest, interact with NPCs and trade for equipment and supplies. It's large enough to be a world in itself. In fact, the dungeon is probably larger than the entirety of Escheron put together.

Other dungeons won't span quite this much area, but some will come close.

I can't even count the amount of time I've put into map design. This design spans several weeks.

I also wanted to share some more info on the Guardians found in the game. As I mentioned earlier, each character can "equip" a Guardian in order to use a selection of spells. Guardians are proxies between mortals and magic.

Each Guardian will automatically be summoned when specific conditions are met; such as party HP reaching critical. There are two different techniques a Guardian can unleash, depending on the conditions of its summoning.

Monocerus
The Eternal Lamenter



Feat 1: Maiden's Cry - removes curse and hold status, and restores HP to the entire party.
Feat 2: Aurora - removes all negative status effects, and restores HP to the entire party.

Spell Inventory:

Vigora, -duas, -omnis
Panasil
Inviea
Bara
Visect
Viea

Zhar-Ptitsa
The Emissary of Purgation



Feat 1: Fires of Purgatory - minor, fire-elemental damage against all foes, and resurrects fallen allies.
Feat 2: Flames of Rebirth - resurrects fallen allies.

Spell Inventory:

Visrieon, -duas, -omnis, -ultimare
Vigora, -duas, -omnis, -ultimare
Visect, -ultimare
Panacil
Osma

Vildegraas
The Consignor of Fate



Feat 1: Scathing Breath - moderate, non-elemental damage against all enemies.
Feat 2: Bolide Airburst - major, non-elemental damage against all enemies.

Spell Inventory:

Visrieon, -duas, -omnis
Algara, -duas, -omnis
Helieon, -duas, -omnis
Ragnare
Tempre
Osma

Hajduk
The Unspoken



Feat 1: Silent Blade - deals a swift death to all vulnerable enemies. Inflicts non-elemental damage against enemies that can't be slain.
Feat 2: Cruciform Cut - deals a switch death to all vulnerable enemies. (effective against stronger enemies, as well) Inflicts non-elemental damage against enemies that can't be slain.

Spell Inventory:

Algara, -duas, -omnis
Tempre
Necrosisect
Inviea
Bara
Viea

Solomon
The Bearer of Attrition



Feat 1: Seal of Solomon - boosts attack, defense and resistances of all allies, and restores MP.
Feat 2: Dark Precepts - boosts attack, defense and resistances of all allies, and restores MP. (more effective)

Spell Inventory:

Toxisect, -ultimare
Inviea, -omnis
Bara, -omnis
Tempre
Viea
Osma
Necrosisect
Visrieon
Algara

Prima Orsa
The Demiurge



Feat 1: God's Left Hand - ends the game.
Feat 2: God's Right Hand - three successive, non-elemental attacks against all enemies.

Spell Inventory:

Visrieon-ultimare
Algara-ultimare
Helieon-ultimare
Vigora-ultimare
Toxisect-ultimare
Visect-ultimare
Invia-ultimare
Bara-ultimare
Necrosisect
Tempre
Osma
Ragnare-ultimare

------------------------------

Here is a brief run-down of spell effects:

"-sect" is suffixed to spells related to status

-duas : second level of power
-ultimare : highest level of power; usually with accompanying effect
-omnis : affects an entire group at once

Visrieon - Visrieon-duas - Visrieon-omnis - Visrieon-ultimare
Minor to major fire-elemental damage; add blindness

Algara - Algara-duas - Algara-omnis - Algara-ultimare
Minor to major ice-elemental damage; hold target

Helieon - Helieon-duas - Helieon-omnis - Helieon-ultimare
Minor to major lightning-elemental damage; hold target

Vigora - Vigora-duas - Vigora-omnis - Vigora-ultimare
Restore HP; cure poisoning

Toxisect - Toxisect-ultimare
Minor to moderate non-elemental damage and incur poisoning

Inviea - Inviea-omnis
Raises evade; raises party evade

Bara - Bara-omnis - Bara-ultimare
Raises defense; raises party defense; raises defense and resistance

Tempre
Temporarily raises a single ally's attack power

Panasil
Recovers status (poisoning, blindness)

Visect - Visect-ultimare
Resurrects a single ally

Necrosisect
Incurs instant death

Viea
Transports back to previous save-point

Osma
Drains target MP

Ragnare - Ragnare-omnis
Major, non-elemental damage

wow looks nice, and I like the ideas for spells. For the last Guardian, does the "ends the game" thing means Game Over?

WOW! Nice Concepts! It definitely is upto the level of the top games sold in Gamestop! I think they should be produced and sold

I thought some people might like to peek at the data structure used in the game. It varies significantly from Escheron, in that characters have traditional experience levels, and learn their own devoted skills along the way. There is generally no real character customization this time around. You can equip each individual character with their own guardian, giving them access to various spells; but this isn't a permenant change to the character itself. Characters also have a limited equipment selection. They are only proficient with specific types of equipment, depending on their role in the game.

Characters now have a base resistance table, granting them some natural resistance to various elemental and status modifiers. In Escheron, this was more black-and-white, where a character only had three options: they fully resisted something, they were weak against something, or they were neutral toward something. Now there's an actual number to go along with resistances. If your defense against fire is 50%, for instance, then you will negate 50% of the total damage from any fire-based attack. Resistances are also derived from the items you're wearing, of course.

General statistics scale much higher now. In Escheron, character HP was based on an 8-bit integer. (255 was the highest attainable mHP) In Rephaim, character HP may be increased as high as 9999. (through the use of HP-boosting items) The most HP a character would have by normally leveling is somewhere around 2500.

Physical attacks function much the same, but there is a more substantial attack multiplier now. In Escheron, the highest attack multiplier was 3, which means your damage output was multiplied by the number of times you could hit an enemy with a single attack. (generally, your attack is calculated over and over until it either misses, or you reach your highest multiplier) In Rephaim, the multiplier is set to 8. Your multiplier depends on both your character level, and the type of weapon you're using. Each character has varying proficiency with the types of weapons they can equip. As a general idea, a melee character wielding a decent sword at level 32 might output somewhere around 800-1400 damage. The highest damage a character might be able to output with a melee attack would be somewhere around 2500.

Due to various limitations, I thought a 16-bit integer for experience would be appropriate. The max character level is 32. The experience table is the same for all characters, regardless of their class. Although the level max seems a bit low, characters won't be leveling all that often in the game. It might be more comparable to D&D, where a level 20 character is considered an immortal by normal standards.

/-----------------------------------------------------------\
| Global Experience Table                                   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| 01 ... 00000 | 09 ... 00989 | 17 ... 04253 | 25 ... 18289 |
| 02 ... 00276 | 10 ... 01187 | 18 ... 05104 | 26 ... 21947 |
| 03 ... 00331 | 11 ... 01424 | 19 ... 06125 | 27 ... 26337 |
| 04 ... 00397 | 12 ... 01709 | 20 ... 07350 | 28 ... 31604 |
| 05 ... 00477 | 13 ... 02051 | 21 ... 08820 | 29 ... 37925 |
| 06 ... 00572 | 14 ... 02461 | 22 ... 10584 | 30 ... 45510 |
| 07 ... 00686 | 15 ... 02953 | 23 ... 12701 | 31 ... 54612 |
| 08 ... 00824 | 16 ... 03544 | 24 ... 15241 | 32 ... 65535 |
\-----------------------------------------------------------/

                     /--------------------------------------------------------\
[Edmund] Giovane     | Base Resistance Table                                  |
Protectorate, LV. 01 |--------------------------------------------------------|
0320 mHP  /  012 mMP | Level     | 01 | 03 | 05 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 32 |
Strength     ... 13  |-----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
Dexterity    ... 08  | Fire      | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
Constitution ... 15  | Ice       | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
Wisdom       ... 05  | Lightning | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
{LUCK}       ... *   | Magick    | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
WPN: Bronze Sword    |-----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
SHD: Bronze Shield   | Poison    | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 05 | 07 | 09 | 12 | 15 |
HLM:  (none)         | Blind     | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 05 | 07 | 09 | 12 | 15 |
ARM: Bronze Plate    | Hold      | 03 | 04 | 05 | 07 | 09 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 |
ACC:  (none)         | Curse     | 05 | 06 | 08 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 30 |
                     \--------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------------\
| Status Progression Table                                     |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|        level 02 - 10      level 11 - 20      level 20 onward |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| mHP | +28-42 per level | +48-64 per level | +72-96 per level |
| mMP | +01-02 per level | +01-04 per level | +02-06 per level |
| STR | +01-04 per level | +02-04 per level | +03-04 per level |
| DEX | +01-02 per level | +01-03 per level | +02-03 per level |
| CON | +01-03 per level | +02-03 per level | +02-04 per level |
| WIS | +01-01 per level | +01-02 per level | +01-03 per level |
\--------------------------------------------------------------/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At levels 05, 10, 20 and 32, a character receives the highest progressions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Attack Multiplier per clv                                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sword | x | Nintou| x | Axe   | x | Pole. | x | Staff | x | Bow   | x |
|-------+---+-------+---+-------+---+-------+---+-------+---+-------+---|
| 01-04 | 2 | 01-04 | 2 | 01-04 | 1 | 01-04 | 1 | 01-04 | 1 | 01-04 | 2 |
| 05-08 | 2 | 05-08 | 3 | 05-08 | 2 | 05-08 | 1 | 05-08 | 1 | 05-08 | 2 |
| 09-12 | 3 | 09-12 | 4 | 09-12 | 2 | 09-12 | 2 | 09-12 | 2 | 09-12 | 3 |
| 13-16 | 4 | 13-16 | 5 | 13-16 | 3 | 13-16 | 3 | 13-16 | 3 | 13-16 | 4 |
| 17-20 | 5 | 17-20 | 6 | 17-20 | 3 | 17-20 | 3 | 17-20 | 3 | 17-20 | 4 |
| 21-24 | 6 | 21-24 | 7 | 21-24 | 4 | 21-24 | 4 | 21-24 | 4 | 21-24 | 5 |
| 25-28 | 7 | 25-28 | 8 | 25-28 | 5 | 25-28 | 5 | 25-28 | 5 | 25-28 | 6 |
| 29-32 | 8 | 29-32 | 8 | 29-32 | 6 | 29-32 | 5 | 29-32 | 5 | 29-32 | 6 |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------/

--------------------------------=[ Abilities ]=---------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quickening: Rivening Sword

"Pious sword -- rend evil!"

Base damage is calculated by STR + WIS*3. Additional damage against undead
creatures. (Edmund's LV*24) Damage all enemies. No attack multiplier. Magical.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passive Skills: +04% evasion with all shields; cover allies

If an ally is at critical HP and Edmund's current HP is 60% of maxmimum or
greater, then he will suffer damage in place of that ally. (physical attacks
only) Damage from the attack will be reduced by 15% total.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 ------------
  Spellsword
 ------------

This is Edmund's initial command ability. Each character has a unique command
ability which either functions stand-alone, or allows the character to access a
multitude of special skills learned at later levels.

/------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Cleansing        | Hit% 100 | Level: 01 | MP Cost: 08 | Initiative: critical |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Restore HP to the entire party (WIS/4 +6..12) and cure poison status.        |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Bloodrend        | Hit% -30 | Level: 03 | MP Cost: 12 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| -30% attack; restore own HP equal to damage dealt. Use attack multiplier.    |
| Target single enemy.                                                         |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Hallowed Strike  | Hit% *** | Level: 05 | MP Cost: 15 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Attack and accuracy *2 when targeting undead creatures; 20% chance to fell.  |
| Use attack multipliers. Target single enemy. Cannot target non-undead.       |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Vajra            | Hit% -10 | Level: 08 | MP Cost: 15 | Initiative: last     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Lightning-elemental attack, with 60% chance to hold enemy. Use attack        |
| multipliers. Target single enemy.                                            |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Blood Eagle      | Hit% -10 | Level: 12 | MP Cost: 08 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Damage self by -20% mHP; add result to attack. (per hit) Use attack          |
| multipliers. Target single enemy.                                            |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sanctuary        | Hit% n/a | Level: 14 | MP Cost: 02 | Initiative: n/a      |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| When used, prevents all random encounters until the party leaves the current |
| area. Not a battle skill.                                                    |
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

 ----------------
  Eldritch Sword
 ----------------

When Edmund undergoes his class-change, his command ability is changed to
"Eldritch Sword." All previous abilities are retained, and any abilities that
haven't been learned will still be acquired at their respective levels.

/------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Radiance         | Hit% 100 | Level: 16 | MP Cost: 18 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Increase party attack 12..24. (stacking)                                     |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Shieldwall       | Hit% 100 | Level: 18 | MP Cost: 18 | Initiative: critical |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Increase party defence 12..24. (stacking)                                    |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Hypostasis       | Hit% -10 | Level: 20 | MP Cost: 20 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Standard attack with multipliers / ignores 24..48 defence per hit.           |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Devotion         | Hit% 100 | Level: 22 | MP Cost: ** | Initiative: critical |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Drains all current HP and MP. Restores all allies to full status.            |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Ruination        | Hit% -15 | Level: 24 | MP Cost: 28 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Inflicts poisoning and blindness, and brings enemy HP to critical if HP<1200.|
| No attack multiplier. Target single enemy.                                   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Inviolable Sword | Hit% -08 | Level: 28 | MP Cost: ** | Initiative: last     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Attack (WIS*3) and MP cost (WIS base) depend on wisdom. Use attack           |
| multiplier. Target single enemy.                                             |
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

I'm going to balance things so that it's fairly difficult to level at all. Ideally, the average party level should be around 20 at the end of the game, assuming the player doesn't make a habit out of fleeing random encounters. The point-of-no-return at the end of the game will be a suitable grinding spot for reaching max level, if the player wants to invest the effort. (this is considering the numerous boss fights that appear here, as well)

Well, this is very much a hobby for me. Some ideas don't take very long to plan. I produced all of Zanken's assets in a couple of days. RPGs are usually an ongoing process of editing and expanding upon a foundation. Initial planning, (basic storyline, notes about the game engine, and some more specific features) only take a week or so to plan. Beyond that, I can't really count all the time I've logged into just editing and polishing everything. Escheron was some two years of planning before it moved into the coding stage.

I wish I could help with planning or creating assets for other projects, but I haven't noticed any requests on that behalf.