So it begins!
I got to spend the past couple of nights starting my notes, and while I did not get very far game-wise (just got Leglius), I’ve managed to settle on a pretty decent way for me to note everything that’s going on.
Firstly, I decided to go back on what I said earlier, and turn the frame limiting off. Now all the music is a cheery 2x speed, but more importantly, I can get things done twice as fast. I may be forsaking atmosphere, but I’ll have enough playthroughs to get that back later on. Especially since I’ll have to get all my screenshots from the PS2 playthrough, not the emulator one.
Secondly, I managed to find an ELF file for a CodeBreaker 9, which means I can turn on all sorts of cheats that make it easier to get through a playthrough. Currently I only have on max money and controllable attack/defense phases (time only passes when you hold Select), but that is more than enough. Combine that with save states, and I have been able to plumb the depths of exactly what events fire when and what causes them, without having to deal with too many headaches.
I’ve also decided to try to go straight text for my note-taking. I have no idea what the output of all of this is going to be, so I want it to be as flexible as possible.
As an example, here is a snippet from a typical note session — obviously the writing is scratched spottily through the dialogue, so it’s pretty terrible, but you can begin to get an idea:
Enter Bonbertan. You get the recipe for Rollcake. Tutorial for synthesizing. Talk to Skycat again, since you should have the ingredients.
[Skycat asks Luca to synthesize the rollcake with her.]
Player can choose whether or not to see the tutorial; tutorial just walks them through with more visuals.
(BONBERTAN SYNTHESIS: LUCA)
Rollcake -> Baked Crackercake (Stocks 10)Exit, and return to the General Store.
[Cloche returns, with an uncomfortable silence. Sasha accepts the horrid cake happily, making Cloche crush on her harder. Sasha begins called her Sister Clo.]
Obtain recipe for Bomb Specs.
[Luca and Cocona talk girly. Cloche interrupts, complaining she can't rest.]
(CLOCHE TALK TOPIC)
(Sasha #1)(LUCA TALK TOPIC)
(You Are Nice To Children)Store:
Fruit Drop: 35 - 99
Igniting Water: 15 - 99
Ticklish Fuzz: 15 - 99(GENERAL: MEWMEW SHOP SYNTHESIS: CLOCHE)
Bomb Specs -> Walking Gergo (Stocks 10)(GENERAL: MEWMEW SHOP SYNTHESIS: LUCA)
Bomb Specs -> Standard Bomb (Stocks 10)(SKYCAT STORE SCENE: Luca)
[Scene about making a recipe so it turns out good no matter how bad Luca is.]
This section had little story description and was more about how I reference different actions. I try to note talk topics and store scenes at their point of origin, even if you can’t listen to it right then. I notate story notes and event descriptions in brackets, for possible use later on. I note the number of stock you get for creating a synthesis, along with shop prices and stock. And a whole bunch of other stuff I probably don’t need. Again, one of my main goals is to make sure that at any given point, all the information you need is right where you are without flipping back and forth randomly.
How I write all this will continue to evolve through the playthroughs, but I think it stands pretty well. It allows me to pluck through the game at a pretty good clip, while still retaining a large amount of information. This info is also in a relatively easy to read format, so that no matter how the end design of the book is, it should be easy to transplant the data.
Once I finish Phase I (both paths), the design and creation of the actual guide will start. My current plan is to do this in chunks, taking roughly 1 phase at a time, and making a semi-polished product for each. Then, adding all the data and story chapters and standardizing/polishing the entire thing together.
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