Topic: FlyingArmor's Map Projects Present and Future

[FlyingArmor]

Heheh, indeed they do. 

[FlyingArmor]

Hey everyone!

I managed to get two more levels done of The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt for the SNES, with the last one in the works, so this project will come to a close very soon.

I also had submitted the Great Stygian Abyss map for the Commodore 64 version of Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar last month, so that finished off that game.

Besides these, I'd like to whittle down the games in my current projects before taking on new ones. I started working on the dungeons in the NES Version of Ultima IV, and it looks like it'll be a lot easier to map them since so much stuff has been stripped out when compared with the various microcomputer versions.

Nothing much else to add, so that's all for now.

[FlyingArmor]

Gosh, it's nearly been a year since I updated this thread... O_O

Anyhow, the map set for Lufia: The Legend Returns is now complete.

[FlyingArmor]

Now that I'm finally done with Lufia: The Legend Returns, I've gone back to slowly working on Dragon Quest VI. I've been concentrating on mapping all the locations in the Dream World and I've got around 50 maps so far.

One thing I'm probably gonna add to these maps is a mini-map which indicates what world you're in as well where in that world the location resides. Since there are many locations which look identical in both the Dream World and the Real World, this'll be a good way of easily differentiating them.

The one frustrating thing about mapping this game though is having to capture all the graphics via vSNES through save states since the usual approach of taking tons of screen shots has the problem of discolouring portions of those screen shots, and that doesn't manifest in the save state data. What's worse is that this only happens in some locations and not others, so I've simply resigned myself to using vSNES for everything. While these discrepancies are not readily visible at a glance, they sure do bug me, haha! This sort of problem only seems to exist in games that were made in the latter part of the SNES era (I remember having to deal with this when mapping Lennus II).

This explains why it's been a year and a half since I first announced that I would take on this game and I have nothing to show for it. But it won't stay that way for much longer.

[VGCartography]

Excited to see DQ6, appreciate all the effort!

[FlyingArmor]

Excited to see DQ6, appreciate all the effort!

Thanks! I'm excited to share them. Just got something like 25 more areas left to map before I begin labelling them up.

[FlyingArmor]

Update on Dragon Quest VI: I've got about 3/5 or 4/7 of the game up on VGMaps so far, amounting to 74 maps, excluding the overworld maps. The other portion will come in the next couple of weeks or so.

Along with that, I also completed the map set for Ihatovo Monogatari (SFC), which will be up as soon as Jon is able to spare time for them.

Also brewing at the moment is a map set for Super Soukoban (SFC), which I partly took up because I'm currently writing my own Sokoban clone for MS-DOS, and wanted to get some ideas for how difficult puzzles are put together. These should be forthcoming fairly soon.

[VGCartography]

Fantastic work so far as always. I love the world maps for this game, and the SNES version color palette in general

[Cyartog959]

Fantastic work so far as always. I love the world maps for this game, and the SNES version color palette in general

As I, too. Nice we're seeing more JRPG maps seen. I'm more platform focused, but, I sometimes think of seeing RPG maps.

Hope to see more of yours up soon.

[FlyingArmor]

Hrmmm... I thought I had replied to VGCartography & Cyartog959 last month, but I guess it didn't get sent or something. Anyhow, thanks to both of you!

The remaining maps for Dragon Quest VI are now up on the site, everything except for the hidden dungeon areas, which I'll get to once I've played through them properly.

One thing I wasn't expecting was just the sheer number of areas this game holds! I think it'll end up clocking in at 146 maps once the hidden dungeon stuff is added in. What made things easier was the fact that there was a lot of reuse of areas throughout the game (which is especially evident with the wells) so I could basically copy an area from one map and paste it into another without any problem.

[dark_lord_zagato]

It's so nice to finally have a comprehensive map set of Dragon Quest 6. Pointing out the town/dungeon locations on the mini map is a good idea too given the large number of places you can visit in this game.

I know that mapping an RPG can be a lot of work and DQ6 is NOT a short game by any stretch of the imagination. This project must have been a pretty big commitment.

[FlyingArmor]

Thanks so much, Zagato.

While I had started mapping DQ6 years and years ago with only mapping a handful of locations like Lifecod and Reidock, I only really ramped things up in February of this year, so it's mainly been six months of work with long breaks in between mapping sessions. I'd say the main thing holding everything up was me playing through the game once more just so I could put the maps in the proper order.

The main reason for the mini maps was because of multiple locations that look exactly the same in both the Dream and Real Worlds, and I didn't want the file name to be the only way to differentiate them. Plus I think it'll be helpful with pointing out all the tiny locations scattered everywhere in the game.

After this one, I probably wanna work on something a little more simple, haha.

[JonLeung]

After this one, I probably wanna work on something a little more simple, haha.

If you want something that's (probably) simpler, and a change of pace from medieval fantasy, a great Super NES RPG that I'm surprised we don't have any maps for is Shadowrun. 

Of your current and future projects stated in your original post, I'm most excited for more of Ultima: Quest Of The Avatar (NES) and Secret Of Mana (Super NES).  Though that last one IS a big game, and Tropicon mapped it before, but I've always wanted labelled maps.  There's something to be said about unmarked maps too (for the graphical assets) so I could still keep his set if we do get a marked-up set one day.  It's actually very surprising that we don't already... it's probably THE most beloved action-JRPG of the 16-bit era.

[Cyartog959]

Really nice you're picking it up on those maps here, FlyngArmor. Great work.

I did remember this, there's a DSiWare RPG that's not yet mapped out. Said to be the first in that platform. I think it's called "Legends of Exidia". You've not heard of it yet?

Well, to summarize it, the game, being a rework of Gameloft's prior game on early mobile, called Might and Magic II, is about a group of warriors embarking on their perilous quest to defend the land of Exidia from the dark forces of the Morgost, the evil monster army set on resurrecting the evil dragon, Daraka, having previously been beaten by two unnamed heroes and his soul sealed by the orbs, and conquer Exidia.

That's what that game's about, as with a lotta other RPGs. I don't think not many heard of it. An obscure RPG at best.

Maybe you could put that in your mapping schedule someday.

If you're not sure, here's a trailer of the DSi rework to prove it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HttcOnkBbz8

[FlyingArmor]

Shadowrun would be cool to work on. I'll definitely give it some thought. 👍

Now that I've got a template to use for the dungeons in Ultima: Quest of the Avatar in the form of Dungeon Despise, it'll be a little less painful to map the rest, haha. At least the NES version is simplified compared with all the microcomputer versions, so there'll be less to worry about.

Speaking of Secret of Mana, I think it's probably time to work on it. I've begun laying out a number of areas using Tropicon's raw maps. I'll just take my time with it though and do 1 or 2 maps a day.

Thanks for the suggestion, Cyartog959, but I think anything beyond the fourth generation is kind of the opposite of "simpler" for me. I tend to like working on games from the 1980s and the first half of 1990s, or games with similar aesthetics that would've fit in that era, Nox Archaist being one such example (I've only released the overworld so far, but will eventually get around to everything else some day).


For some new maps, I've got all the levels for Super Soukoban (SFC) mapped out. I just sent them to Jon, so they should be available fairly shortly.