Slice of Venture Remake Diary #5

Hello everyone,

Sorry I'm a bit late. I should've made this post earlier but I needed the original SoV project to take screens and I didn't have it until I came back home yesterday. I'll catch up with a closer release of the next post, don't worry ;)

So yes, mapping again. But this time, it's a completely different approach. I'm gonna shower you with pics. I'll first start with 10 comparison pics between SoV maps and their new version in SoVR. Keep something in mind, I didn't try to reinvent the wheel. In most cases there's nothing extraordinary new. Also, there are a couple of things I'd like to mention beforehand.

First of all, you have to understand that the constraints of MZ aren't the same than VX Ace. Resolution-wise, VX Ace maps are 20x15 at the smallest. For SoVR resolution (which will be 1400x1000), it's minimum 30x22. That's 330 more tiles (more than the double :x) When the maps are interior it's not a problem. Black around the walls feels normal (you can see it in TH2.) But for exterior maps, it's a problem (you shouldn't have black except in very specific cases. So I have to adapt the maps with that in mind. That's the reason you'll see some maps (notably the houses) where you see MUCH more than just what's inside the fence but also what's outside. I wasn't going to make huge-ass inside just to fill the map. That's why in many cases you see more "useless content".

Secondly, you'll realize that all in all, putting the resolution aside (VX Ace tiles are 32x32 while MZ are 48x48) you'll notice that there isn't a big difference in between SoV and SoV on some maps when it comes to tiles to decorate the maps. The best example being the inside of the grandparents' house. I'm sending you back to the previous post for that. Due to the smaller resolution, there was MUCH MORE content made for VX Ace that could easily blend with the original assets. It's not the case anymore with MV/MZ. So I don't have as many assets as I'd like (I also suspect that RPG Maker's peak was the XP/VX/VX Ace period and now it's less popular (so less people willing to create content.))

Lastly, pay close attention to the convini. It's one of the very rare cases where I went with a tileset that doesn't really work with the base assets. Since the majority of the map is done with those tiles, I took the risk to implement it nonetheless. You'll have to admit that considering all the elements contained in that map compared to original convini, it would've been a damn shame to put it aside.

Anyway, I'm just giving you pics without more talk. Feel free to guess what are the places if you don't remember them :p

I put that last version on purpose to make a transition. Because I have more pics. There WILL be new places in SoVR. The forest being one of them as a place where you can go, and not just for cutscene purposes. There's now a nice little shrine inside the forest.

What about those other new places? Be careful I'm gonna spoil a good part of things. This time I'll explain things a bit, though.

Let's start with Marakoma second part. To make things breathe a bit I didn't want things to be crammed in a single map like the original game. So I made two maps. The subway changed into a real train station. This map also serves as the living place for Riki and Tetsu. I've ditched their living place from the original game. It was very random and not coherent at all. So they still live a cheap appartment but near the train station (the dark building on the left). The train station sign was custom-made by me. I found out something absolutely crazy about the town's name while searching for possible kanjis. You can be sure there will be a specific dialogue in the game to explain it. It's too beautiful to be true :p

If you go down the stairs next to the train station you'll find an underpass allowing to either go on the other side of the tracks inside the station OR on the map above. It's your regular dump. I need at least one of these in each of my games 8D

This is a completely new place. Unlike the two previous maps that won't change anything about the base scenario (they're more intended for post-game content), this is a map that will have a specific use. This is where you end up if keep moving north in the forest. It's a rescue center for abandonned animals. But I won't tell more. You'll know about the whole thing in game :p

Next, we have a junkyard that will be accessible from the map. All in all, there's a good amount of things from the original game that I kinda keep when it comes to the main scenario. BUT, there's one thing that will be completely changed, it's the story between Reiko, Seiichi and their parents. I've reimagined something a bit more credible (it's not going to be Umineko level hold your horses, I should say it's less silly than in the first game :x) And to make things a bit more interesting for the player, the sisters will have to search a bit more to find clues about the whole story. That will lead them in that junkyard AND in the next map.

The mine. It's only one of the maps. It's supposed to be the same mine that runs under the Kurita farm except it's somewhere else. I've never really used the mine in the game other than having a place to mistakenly summon Anaëlle. This time, it will be much more central. Don't worry, I'm not going to put a maze with tons of maps. There will only be 3 maps with pretty straight path.

And that's all for the mapping posts! I hope this one was a bit more interesting (after all there's actual game content inside.) In the next posts, I'll reveal a bit more from the cast, I'll also talk about my global view on the game and I should also make one post about pixel characters :p

I'm leaving you with this forgotten map that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about in SoV and that was never used. Do you remember the abandonned house next to the dentist cabinet? It was supposed to be the inside.

If I remember correctly, I wanted this map to serve as a transition with a possible game idea I wanted to do back then. It kinda looks like a refuge for survivors on a zombie apocalypse. It wasn't supposed to have any use but hint at such a game. I've always wanted to make a sort of survival game with Yuki and Ayame in a zombie apocalypse having to make their way through sick monsters and ending up fucking most of them. But that was almost 10 years ago ^^' Let say that if the result is extremely different, I kinda turned this idea into The Hunter...

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll see you quicker than you think!

See ya o/