First Fantasy: Mana Force

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DJ_O
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First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

I have already finished this project, but I thought I would share it here for the people who still browse MaxCoderz every now and then, quoting an old post of mine:
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After several weeks of development, First Fantasy: Mana Force is finally complete! You can download it here: First Fantasy: Mana Force. If you used version 1.0, then delete prgmMFSB, MFSB2, MFSB3, MFCH and MFBM, because all sub-programs were renamed to shorter names in 1.0.1.

First Fantasy is one of the first RPG ever released for the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition and the first ever one for the TI-84 Plus CE and TI-83 Premium CE! The CSE version uses Doors CSE 8.1 libraries to enhance TI-BASIC language, while the CE version uses CE Textlib. This very loose remake of Mana Force for the 83+ brings enhanced graphics, new magic spells and enemies, new cutscenes, expanded storyline and many new challenges. There are 16 magic spells available, 7 character classes, 49 monsters and several hours of gameplay. If you are a fan of Square-Enix Japanese role-playing games such as Final Fantasy, then you should try it!

If you aren't convinced yet, there is an outdated video on Youtube showing the CSE game in action (the CE version looks similar, but misses the HUD and has fewer colors), as well as the project sub-forum, which has a very large screenshot thread showing the evolution of the game.

Enjoy one of the first JRPG for TI's color Z80 and eZ80 calculator models and my first major RPG release since 2008! :D
While this isn't Reuben Quest nor ROL series, this RPG might appeal to people who prefers small games with fewer files, plus the 2002 game was totally unbalanced anyway. Here is the download link: http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fi ... 46383.html
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tr1p1ea
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by tr1p1ea »

Very colourful and a good game to play. Works pretty fast on the CSE too :).
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Thanks for the comments. Yeah the CSE version hasn't been updated but it actually looks better, since it takes advantage of xLIBC. Thankfully DrDnar did not add error checks for everything in his lib so I could do things with CE Textlib that cannot be done normally.

Here are some updates:

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-The game now uses 16 colors instead of 15, allowing some dungeon color changes
-The game is completely full screen now
-Your hit points are now displayed at the top of the screen at any time except in the menu
-There is a new sub-program for the custom font routine needed for the above
-You can now quit the game using CLEAR in the menu
-The shops and the warp zone now have a border like the menu
-Some empty green gaps in the village graphics, similar to the ones present in dungeons prior version 1.1 have been removed.
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by chickendude »

Nice, the exact same file works for the CE? I'll see if i can find where i put mine to test it out...
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Nope, for the CE there are different files available than on the C Silver Edition. This is what the C Silver Edition version looks like, by the way:

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The C Silver Edition version uses xLIBC, by tr1p1ea, which is part of Kerm's Doors CSE 8.0 shell.
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by tr1p1ea »

If xLIB was released for the CE then it would work *hides*.

TI killed any hope of that however.
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Oh! I just noticed that I haven't posted about version 3.0 here. Thanks to Iambian custom font routine and editor, the game now uses sprites on the home screen!

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-You can now quit the game with CLEAR from the title screen.
-The game now uses single-color sprites instead of only ASCII art graphics.
-Text now uses a different font.
-Omega magic spell visuals have been updated
-Some magic icons were replaced
-There is now an animation before casting magic spells.
-Version number is now displayed at the bottom-right of the title screen.


Download link: https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=185757

You need ArTIfiCE and ASMHOOK to run the game if you have OS 5.5.1 or higher. Do not garbage collect after installing ASMHOOK, else you will get a RAM Clear.
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by tr1p1ea »

Looks amazing!
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Thanks! The custom font program by Iambian definitively opens new possibilities reminiscent of End of Forever by Betasword. However I tried doing the same on a monochrome calculator ROM and I couldn't get tree sprites to look right in 5x7
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Version 3.1 is now released, with the following updates:
-The game launcher now has an icon in shells like the C Silver Edition version did.
-Save files are now archived after being edited, for protection against RAM clears.
-If a save file is empty when loaded, then a new game is now launched instead.
-The error that rarely happens upon exiting the game from the status menu might have been fixed, but it is not 100% sure yet.

https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=185757

The Cemetech and Ticalc copies should be approved in the next hours/days. Keep in mind that the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition version of First Fantasy is no longer updated since 2015, so all the 2020-21 changes only apply to CE models.
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by tr1p1ea »

Awesome work as always DJ!
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Thanks!

A new expanded version of First Fantasy: Mana Force for the TI-83 Premium CE and TI-84 Plus CE is underway. Four bonus dungeons with even harder enemies are being added. Here are some of the changes in the menu:
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The following screenshots did not have the crystal shard and orb displayed in the game menu but they still shows some updates:

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EDIT:

Major update with version 4.0 release!

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-Four bonus dungeons added via an entirely new quest unlocked at the end of the original
-Some graphical improvements in dungeons and the village
-Title screen copyright layout changed and reduced in size
-In-game controls that are displayed on-screen now shows up as button icons for better readability.
-Fixed save loading bug introduced in 3.1.
-Some dungeon colors and graphics changed.
-If a second quest is started after beating the game, a star now appears besides the save file on the title screen.
-The last error mentioned in the previous version changes might have finally been fixed once and for all.

https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=185757
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by tr1p1ea »

Looks great and runs pretty fast too - good to be programming?
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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Yup it was fun to code again, plus version 4.0 felt nostalgic since that version was programmed entirely on-calc, albeit with some help from SourceCoder to view code on larger screen. I didn't code on SourceCoder since I accidentally corrupted one of the First Fantasy file that had lots of text there, and I didn't feel like re-adding dozens and dozens of \ characters everywhere to prevent in-game text located in sub(string,offset,length) from turning into larger tokens and causing errors (a problem that happens in every single PC TI-BASIC editor including TI-Connect CE itself). I sure missed the instant Goto feature from Doors CS 7 and Doors CSE 8.

Oh, btw, I dunno if this is caused by the jailbreaking tools, my abuse of CE textlib, the custom font or a new TI-OS bug, but sometimes when scrolling through the PRGM editor with ALPHA causes code to be written instead, such as prgmMF1prgmMF1prgmMF1 or prgmMF1MF1MF1MF1 until I release the up or down key. Unlike Casio calcs, the 84+CE lacks an Undo feature so it can be annoying.

I also toyed with the idea of adding a "Codewalrus presents" splash screen but I guess I'll keep it for a future update. It would have Walrii all in white with a black outline with codewalrus logo in green

EDIT: Oh damn, I just stumbled upon an old set of screenshots from Version 1.03, back when the game still had the TI-OS status bar at the top of the screen for the CE version, with the version 4.0 screenies side by side for comparison:

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Re: First Fantasy: Mana Force

Post by DJ_O »

Updates since last update post:

-Fixed leveling up bug introduced at an unknown time.
-After some magic animations such as Flare and Blitz, the sprites re-appears faster now.
-Using lightning-based magic spells while in the swamp now causes you to take damage as well.
-The main character sprite now faces all four directions while walking.
-The magic casting animation is now shorter.
-Fixed display bug in the 3rd dungeon
-Added map walkthrough in mapsWalkthrough.zip file included with the game. The password is the name of the final boss in lowercase letters.
-Changed many magic spell and battle command icons.
-Cleaned up the code a little bit.
-Added treasure chests in almost all dungeons.
-Walking is now slightly faster.
-CodeWalrus splash screen added before title screen.

Download link: https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=185757 (as well as ticalc and Cemetech once approved)
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