Action Game Maker... The Possibilities

Screenshot of Platformer Sample Game

Due to the recent release of the Action Game Maker sample games, and the eminent release of the program itself, it's only natural that we at ICU Gigasoft are curious about what it means for us. I've played the games myself, and have read about some of the new features in this new game maker engine from Enterbrain. I'm impressed with the features, the frame-rate, and functionality. It seems like a solid addition to the line of Makers. But again, what does it mean for us?

Until we get our hands on it come this March, it's really hard to say. Of course, there is the initial allure of beign able to make platformers and action rpgs (who really cares about shooters?) like Mario and Zelda. But, beyond that, what else is there? I'm sure the system is flexible enough to be limited to our imaginations, such as what scripting did to XP and VX. However, that imagination of mine is kind of drawing a blank. My best idea so far is a possible move of Daibouken from 2003 to AGM. Other than that, it wont' be until we play around with the new Maker that we'll be able to understnad it's possibilites for ICU Gigasoft.

Progress Report (C-Division)

C-Division here,

Back again with a little progress update. We've been doing a lot of work recently on Mario.

-We just finished the fourth sage. Game time now isn't accurate because of the amount of areas and sidequests we plan to add between the Sages. I, C-Divison, am programming the Main Story straight through and then we will go back and add all we intend to.

-Mario's suits' abilities are now all completed. There are seven suits for Mario and Luigi with mostly 2 extra skills. That equals a lot of long battle animations but it looks good. Luigi still has two more suits that need the skills to be made. Mr. L and Poltergust 3000 :).

-The battle system is complete and lacking only specific monster skills.

-Badges are complete.

-Earlier scenes of the game have been revamped to match the quality of the later scenes we've made. (Almost all the scenes shown demo are now at least a little better.)

-Surfing, Submarine, etc. Minigames have been completed and implemented to the Main story.

-Mario should be released at the very latest in summer. We should hopefully have it finished before then though.


These are some of the main points that we've done on Mario these past couple of months and it's coming along nicely. Any questions or concerns will be greatly appreciated.

Econ Drama (School Project)

DOWNLOAD MOVIE HERE

First off, you need to know this:
-This was made for my AP Economics Semester Exam
-This is a movie of the project, there was no need of releasing the game itself
(It's just a Phoenix wright type thing, so you're not missing much)
-Simple Mouse Script by Woratana, Mouse System by DerVVulfman
-Message System by Woratana

All sprites and music are from the Ace Attorney series.

Click the screens for full size.

Mario RPG:SS's Incredible Progress

U Division here.

Mario's coming along really well right now. The demo showed off the first "Adventure," but now we are in the middle of Adventure 4 (aka, the third Sage) story wise. The game slows down and developes after the first Sage, so the game is easily 6 times as long if you already know what to do. It'll be even longer for first timers and if you stop for side-quests. But we haven't only been progressing the main plotline, we've added and reworked other features as well.


Updated/New Game Features:

• Power Suits- Like in the Mario Platformers, equipping these gives your characters a new special skill only usable by that suit. There are 8 suits for each character, with 2 being unique to that specific person. Each suit has at least two extra special skills.
  
• Pentagles (Star Pieces)- This mysteriously growing fragments can be found throughout the world. Use them to unlock Extra features.
• Interactive Maps/Puzzles- Hammer, Jumping, and upgrades to both will be essential to some of the puzzle solving in the game.

Updated/New Game Elements:

• Public Transportation- Throughout Mario's quest, he'll board the flying Voom Shroom, the Cactus Kingdom Ferry, traverse the Intercontinetal Pipe System, a trans-desert Wiggler Bus, and more!
• Mini-Games- Super Mario Bros. EX, Super Mario's Pipe Panic, Yoshi's Eggventure, the Yoshi Races, Yahoo Surfing, and more to come!
  

New Mario Video!!

C-Division aqui,

Fresh off of my computer and onto Youtube, we just made a Scene Preview video for Mario. This is basically showing some scenes that mostly weren't in the demo. Enjoy!

Mario: Seven Sages DEMO v 1.0! (100 Post for U-Division)

C Division Here,

It's here! This will give the first playable demo of what is to come.

Click HERE to download

Features:
-One "Adventure"
-Partial Custom Menu implementation
-Complete Battle System (DBS modification)
This demo shows off some of the basic features and story of the game.

Super Mario RPG: The Seven Sages Demo... is coming!

C-Division, here!

I'm letting you faithful SMRPG:SS fans know that your 3 years of waiting is about to be rewarding. I've talked it over with U Division and we've decided that, heck, we might as well put out a demo. There's really been nothing stopping us from doing it before, and with my help there's definitely nothing in our way. In fact, we began checking for bugs and fixing them yesterday, to prepare the first part of the game for the public. Some time later this weeek, or even as early as tomorrow, we will release the Super Mario RPG: The Seven Sages Demo (v1.0).

I wont' give it all away now, but here are some things that might interest you about it.
-U Division's Custom Menu is up and ready for the demo, although some parts of it are disabled.
-There are Bagdes, although different than Paper Mario's or Superstar Saga's.
-There is a Boss Battle in the demo.
-There is an easy side-quest you can find.
-Edit: The Arcade will be there! (You can play Super Mario Bros. EX)

The demo should have about a half hour of play, just enough for you guys to grasp the plot and experience it. Check back for more updates.

Mario: Seven Sages new Battle Video

C-Division here,

In anticipation of the upcoming demo, U-Division has just made an updated video of the basic battle system. There are still some elements to it not expressed in the video. We can't give everything away can we?

Notes:

-Powerups such as the critical hit (As seen in the video) happen randomly during the heat of battle very similarly to Mario RPG for the Super Nintendo.

-This video shows the first glimpse of Bowser in action. Most of the attacking sprites are custom-made courtesy of U-Division.

-The characters are done with battle animations, not charsets for smoother animation. This question has been asked a lot.


If you have any questions, please comment.


Click HERE to see the video on youtube or watch it below.

C-Division's Zelda: CPW v2.0 is up!

For more information, head over to C-Division's Works and give the new version of his well received RPG Maker Masterpiece a download. You'll find detailed information on the changes from v1.1b to v2.0 on his website. Or, if you're just that impatient, give it a download from the link at the top of the page.

*Promotional Release* Zelda: CPW Beastiary

In honor of it's 500+ downloads and the upcoming version 2.0, U Division is proud to offer an early release of the Zelda Beastiary. The Legend of Zelda: Courage, Power and Wisdom is a game filled with many monsters, and for the enthusiasts I've created a beastiary for in depth information. Everything from the monsters' stats to their drop rates is contained in the beastiary. Basically, every thing you ever wanted to know about the enemies you'll no doubt have to chop down on your quest to save the princess. Go ahead and give it a downlaod now if you're itching to see, but CPW v2.0 will come with the beastiary included.


The Legend of Zelda: CPW Beastiary
Includes:

• All monsters found in Zelda: CPW
• Detailed battle stats
• Item drop rates and Rupee drop rates
• Attacks, skill list and critical ratio
• Pictures for every monster
• *BONUS* Special promotional beastiary video!
  

Mario RPG is Given to C-Division, Production up 300%

It's true. C-Division now owns half the rights to the former U Division project, Super Mario RPG: The Seven Sages. You may know C-Division as the guy who completed a Zelda fan game, for which a download link is at the top of the page. Well, that driving force is now behind Mario. I'll still be doing some of the advanced coding (the custom menu, the mini-games, etc) but C-Division will now be doing more of the grunt work. With this change of pace, we may actually see a release for Mario. His goal is to have it done by or during next summer. Let's hope that happens.

Comments are appreciated.

Big Things to Come... (C-Division)

Hey it's C-Division,

I haven't been on here in a while, I know. With school starting and all that I've been busy lately, but it's started to slow down so I can get back to gamemaking and mugen. U-Division and I have an important announcement that we'll make soon so stay tuned.

In other news, I will be releasing another version of Zelda. This one has a boss battle mode after you beat the game for those who want more of a challenge.

I never got around to adding more to Krash or making a video this summer, but I will try to get those done as soon as possible.

Thanks and check out my blog!

Monster Breeding Database Overhaul

Now that breeding is an important part of the Monster Tamers series, I realize that I need to do some work on on the database before I can continue with the main game. As it is now, everything about the breeding process is complete, from the visual frills down to the code. However, the breeding database (that tells you what two things equal what) has only the very basic combinations for most monster families.

I spent the morning giving both the Slime and Beast families all of their possible combinations, meaning there is code to produce every Slime type monster there is and Every Beast type monster. That was about 700 lines of code, so I expect the entire breeding script to be over 3,500 lines of code. It seems a bit daunting a first, but in all honesty its really just busywork. I've gotten adding mosnters down to a science as far as the breeding list goes. If I keep it up, the Mosnter Breeding Database will be done in a month.

Daibouken: Floor 1 of Arben Temple

It's certainly been a while since the last Zelda video, but here it is. I decided to play my game again, hoping to finally figure out an answer to my question. That question was whether the battle system was worth the extra effort. Well, after playing through it, although the Neo BBS is not perfect, I realized that it was enjoyable and simple. I want to pay more attention to puzzle solving, so the battle system isn't any more complex than it needs to be.

Watch the video if you're interested.

Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers Breeding

(This is an excpert from a post I made on GamingW forums concerning improvements to my project. I'm no longer using the alchemy system, and instead, I've developed a breeding system akin to the Dragon Quest Mosnters games from which Monster Tamers is inspired)

Dragon Quest Monsters: Monster Recruiting/Breeding Script Project

U Division Style

Features:
*Recruit Monsters that you fight
*Add those Monsters to your team
*Breed those Monsters to make new ones
*Monster Genders (+ and -)
*Nicknames for monsters

Not Implemented:
*Wildness/Tameness Stat (I haven't figured out how this would help.)

Background:

This is something I'm working on for, what is essentially, a Dragon Quest Monsters (or Dragon Warrior Monsters) remake. Initially, I had no clue how to make such a thing so I used a different method of getting monsters. However, after learning of the powers of Arrays and the ".push" function (yes, laugh at my mishmash scripting knowledge) I realized I had a chance at doing this. Maybe because of years of RM2k/3, I've been taught to jump of the hurdle of insufficient knowledge by trying what you know, I've been able to produce a system that ignores my scripting inexperience. A prime example of this inexperience is that of which was mentioned before, and in addition some of the programming (mostly of the Battle Scene) is actually eventing using the "Call Script" command.

Despite all of this, I've come up with a product imitates the famed Mosnter System from the DQM series as much as I could. There are differences (mostly out of my own lack of knowhow and few for personal taste) and they do change things up a bit. Eventually, I would like to release this, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing it. Some of this is eventing, and others of it scripting, but none of it was created with the initial intention of making it public. Common Events are used, Game Switches, and lots of Global Variables show that I'm still new at this. At the least, I'll produce a demo of the game for which it is crafted but a standalone release of the script is still up in the air.

How Offspring Is Decided:

Ped1 = "First Monster's Name"
Ped2 = "Second Monster's Name"
Fam1 = "First Monster's Family"
Fam2 = "Second Monster's Family"

The game checks a predetermined array of monster combinations for a key that matches any of the following, and in the following order.

*Ped1, Ped2 (As specific as it gets. The unique result of two monsters)
*Fam1, Ped2 (Less specific. The result of the pedigree and the mate)
*Ped1, Fam2 (Reverse of previous. Specific monster with general family)
*Fam1, Fam2 (The least specific. The result of any monster from either family.)

I'm not sure if this is the best way I should set up the priorities, but it does follow the rules of breeding that the series put in place.

Walk Through: (Click pics for full size)


First you use the "Recruit" Skill during battle. The ease in which you recruit a Monster is based on your "Tamer Level" and their current HP. Much like Pokemon, whittling down an opponent's HP is to your advantage. Unlike DQM, you can't use an item to make your enemies like you more, but this is still a suitable substitute.

If luck is on your side, then monsters will join your party after battle. Unlike DQM, more than one monster can join you.

In the Monster Farm you can change your party, adding up to three monsters to your team. You do fight with your monsters, FYI.

And best of all, their is the Starry Shrine thing. The place where you can breed your monsters. Choose any two monsters (the first being a pedigree and the second the mate.) to breed from your farm and party. The parents of the monsters will run away, but the child will be at the level of the pedigree and will know both parents skills. This is a sizable change from the original games. Partly to get rid of having to grind a level one monster up later in the game, and partly because your loosing two monsters to gain one.

The way I've scripted breeding is as close to the DQM as it can be. It does matter who the pedigree is and who the mate is, because reversing the order will produce a different monster. For every combination of monster, there is an offspring. The only exception being monsters from the Boss Family. They will be a little more selective in that area.

And finally, you have your offspring. There will be no eggs to pay to hatch, you simply receive the monster and are ready to go. All new monsters are sent to the farm first, so you'll have to pick them up there.

Now you can fight with your new monsters.

If you have any questions or comments about this, please respond. If you'd like me to go into detail on any part of this, I'd be glad to do it.

Working Hard or Hardly Working? (PS: It's the former.)

Despite the complete absence of updates on the site, U Division has been hard at work on a new project. Well, new in the sense that information about it has not been released to the general public yet. I'd like to be able to tell you about it, but the very nature of the project won't benefit from that. In other words, I can't tell you about the game until it's finished. I know that the point of a blog with updates is just opposite of that, but I've decided to go against that. First off, you already know a lot about most of my projects. There's no point in getting your hopes up for another one. Secondly, the way the game is, demos will not work. This project undergoes drastic changes frequently, and it's the kind of game you want to play all the way through.

C-Division: The Legend of Zelda: Courage, Power, and Wisdom

It's here everybody. After 3 years of work, C-Division has pulled through to complete his first public game. I've played it, (4 hours of quality RPG Making) and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who whose a fan of games in general.

Download The Legend of Zelda: Courage, Power, and Wisdom

Summer Season Productivity

The time is now here for ICU Gigasoft members to up the ante when it comes to work. Not only in summer jobs, but also the reason you came here: games. Without the hassle of school boring down on us, expect lots of progress on our games. One of them (C-Division's Zelda) is even scheduled for completion. Keep checking back or frequent updates for this is one summer that you don't want to miss. I'm not sure how you'd miss a summer though...

E-Series: Mario Screens

Here's just some screens of the updated game. The battle animations are changed a bit, and the font in the menu is easier to read. I don't know what the "E" stands for, but it's easier to categorize.

Mario is Back!

Remember this ungainly image? Well, I thought that maybe I could ignore it but that doesn't prove to be working. Surprisingly I've gotten enough comments on the trailer video hosted on Youtube and several direct messages asking about the game. I'm serious, some one even told me that they had been waiting for this game ever since it was announced (which was about 3 years ago) and still have faith that this game will become more than just a trailer and some pretty pictures. I must say, for those of you who've hung on for such an amount of time your patience will be re rewarded. For those of you new to the show, feel lucky you didn't spend the last 3 years of your life waiting for this. To all, I'm happy to say that work on the ol' Mario RPG is finally picking back up here at U Division. The hiatus was mainly due to the distraction and appeal of the RPG Maker XP as opposed to the 2003 version that Mario and Zelda are based off of. That, and my natural tendency to look for challenges and new ideas instead of sticking with what I have and what I know.

But enough about me. What you want is Mario, and I know it. That one poll I once had at that one time showed a 6:1 interest in Mario over Zelda, so this is scientifically proven as well. Anyhoo, all I have to say is expect more media and more information on the sleeping beast. However, when you're really interested in taking a gander try summer time, for without the hassle of school I expect productivity to increase tenfold. Well... ten times zero isn't much but you get the point.

The Hiatus is over, I'm back!!

Go over to my site cdivisionworks.blogspot.com for the full story.

SPRGP: New Features (Plus Improved Old Ones)

Ever since I made a breakthrough in RGSS scripting (a personal one, nothing compared to the average scripter) I've had a renewed interest in scripting. Not only this, I was able to figure out how to do more things. You may not think any of them are advanced, and most likely they are not. Nevertheless, I was able to improve the quality of the game by adding new scripting enhanced features.

(Scripts I made are bold)

Script Based:
-Monster Beastiary
-Quest Objectives/Journal
-Books

Event Based:
-Monster Loot
-Monster Alchemization

RPG Maker VX Impressions 2

I've decided to give VX a chance, but have yet to take it seriously at this point. At this time, I have no plans to make a game with it, but I could see myself using it in the future. The Majority of my interest in VX actually comes from a scripting group, KCG, that is quickly and efficiently producing customizable scripts that are extremely useful. Not only do they replace some of the missing features of VX, they add many RPG favorites (learning skills from weapons, leveling up skills, categorizing items, stat bonuses and so on) but they also invent their own. For this reason alone, I have interest in VX. At the moment I've only managed to horde some of their excellent work, but hopefully in the future I'll be able to put it to good use.

Acceptable Excuse

Despite all of my intentions to update frequently, my plans were once again foiled with the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Since the release of that game, RPG Makin' has been on the back burners. And to make things worse, Spring Break is just a day away meaning over 10 days without access to my computer. But if you've been following this site for any amount of time now you know what to expect. But fear not, after the break and when the novelty of Brawl has worn off (don't hold your breath on that one) my attention can then again return to the RPG Maker games you know and love.

P.S. Dedede rocks.

RPG Maker VX: What's the deal?

The leap between RM2k3 and RMXP was a huge one. Not all in a positive way, for us at ICU Gigasoft miss the efficient side view battle system of 2k3. But aside from that XP brought the power of scripting, and the limitless possibilities that came with it. But that was years ago. Now a new Maker has come into the spotlight. The problem is that it's not... new. Sure, it has RGSS2 but that's not a revolutionary advancement. Everything else about the maker gives us mixed feelings. The RTP and default graphics are a little odd, and the new mapping system can do more harm than good. Some of the functionality of 2k3 has been restored, but those aspects were minor at best. The lack of battlers is a further step down from XP and now seems like 2k. It's been interesting to play around with, but at this point I'm definitely not going to switch.

This is quite sad really. How can 2k3 still be worthwhile program when XP and now VX have come out? Is this a testament to the follies of Enterbrain? 2k3 still isn't obsolete after all this time, which is honestly pathetic. Oh well, there's not much to do. At least there is an RPG Maker to complain about.

Zelda Resource Kit: Version 1.0

For those of you interested, here are some Zelda Resources.

DOWNLOAD ALL: Complete Pack (v1.o)

• Animations (v1.o)
• Charsets (v1.o)
• Chipsets (v1.o)
• Music (v1.o)
• Sound (v1.o)

Mario Resource Kit: Version 1.0

Instead of just letting these resources just go to waste, I've decided to release them for public use. After all, aside from some of the chip sets I made, these mostly aren't my creations and therefore should be shared.

DOWNLOAD ALL: Complete Resource Pack

• Animations
• Backdrop
• Charsets
• Chipsets
• Facesets
• Monster
• Music
• Panaroma
• Sound

C-Division Computer Crashes: Zelda Gone (Mostly) Hiatus Til Summer

Yea, the title pretty much sums it up. I was working on Zelda and just finished the fourth dungeon thus making me about 85% done with the game when my computer randomly turned off for no reason that I know of. So basically I'm really mad and parts of my database are spread out and I have to redo a bunch of stuff which will take a long time. So I've decided to put Zelda on a hiatus until summer and focus on my other projects in the mean time. I'm sorry about this and I'm really ticked myself because all the data I need is spread out on different computers of ICU Gigasoft so I'm gonna put the project on hold.

Monster Tamers: Monster Roster [Update #3]

Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers
Monster Roster Page

(This post is where the entire roster of the monsters you can make in this game. Frequent monster updates will be done. Eventually each monster will have its own post.)

Total roster so far: 16

SLIME FAMILY
#1-Slime

#2-SpotSlime
#3-WingSlime
#4-RockSlime

BEAST FAMILY
#1-Antbear
#2-Almiraj
#3-CatFly
#2-IronTurt

BIRD FAMILY
#1-Dracky

PLANT FAMILY
#1- Mad Plant

INSECT FAMILY
#1- Catapila
#2- Armorpede
#3- GiantWorm

MATERIAL FAMILY
#1- Goopi
#2- CoilBird

Monster Profiles "AntBear"

Name: AntBear
Family: Beast
Number: 1


Being a beast, the AntBear has a high STR power and HP in comparison to other lower grade monsters. You may think of him as a powerhouse because of this, but one of its best attributes is that it starts off with the command "OFFENSE: Attack Lv 2" that gives him a ATK power of 20 instead of the normal 10. However, you'll quickly discover that his lack of good moves and increasing uselessness too much of a trade off as your game progresses. The random "Berserker All" he learns at his max level isn't worth the time put into raising him up that high.

• Max Level - 40
• Level Up Ease - B-25, C-20
• HP Rank - 300
• MP Rank- 280
• STR Rank - 225
• DEX Rank- 150
• AGI Rank - 140
• INT Rank- 160

Moveset:

• LV 5: Bash
• LV 10: Leg Sweep
• LV 15: TwinHits
• LV 20: LushLicks
• LV 25: MetalCut
• LV 30: Big Trip
• LV 35: KissFest
• LV 40: Berserker All
  

U Division Battle Plan: Spring 08

Alright, although it's not as interesting as a post filled with screens of my projects or even a video, this should still be of importance to those of you who still follow this site. I've decided to make a list of what I plan to do for this spring in regards to my games and projects.

Games
SUPER POCKET RPG: Monster Tamers

1. Increase the roster from 17 to at least 30 monsters
2. Update site with all completed monster information
   
3. Simplify Dungeon System

SUPER MARIO RPG: SEVEN SAGES

1. Add functionality for next 3 badges
2. Redo some outdated-weapons
3. Update current battles

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK'S DAIBOUKEN

1. Finish updating Arbolis Temple Dungeon with Minish Cap graphics
2. Finish BBS up to 15 monsters.
   
3. Start sketching out the basics of F-Mail and Journal

PROJECT PKMN

1. Reveal exactly what it is

Projects
ACTION INPUT BATTLE SYSTEM

1. Create a "Limit Break" or something else that'll use points saved from "timing hits"
2. Have at least 10 enemies
3. Have at least 5 Sword Skills and 5 Elemental Skills
4. Create basic Items
5. Finish basic Battle Commands
   

Latest Zelda Updates (C-Division)

Hey it's C-Division. For all the latest updates about my Zelda game head over to my Site.
It's really getting down to crunch time for me because I'm very close to finishing the game so stay tuned for more updates. Comments are appreciated.

Website Back Up: ICU Gigasoft

If I had paid more attention to the state of things here, U Division Games wouldn't have been down so long. I apologize for that. Expect more content soon.

Also, U Division, C-Division, and WaveBossa have joined up to streamline our sites.

U Division Alive Again

Hiatuses seem to be the norm on this site, and I am sorry for that. However, I plan to make up for the past... months by working on the games you know and love. In other words, Zelda and Mario finally get some fun in the sun again. Expect more details about these games as I restart the working process on these two treasured U Division titles. In addition to a slurry of screen shots, don't be surprised when a video two come out of this as well.

And if it's possible, I will also continue working Super Pocket RPG. That title may undergo some huge changes. The only thing guaranteed to stay the same is the Monster aspect of it, but other things are all up in the air.

Sorry for the Hiatus

I got distracted from Super Pocket RPG with still another side project: a "Timed Hits" Battle System. As you may have guessed, I'm a sucker for programming new things, especially battle systems. But even though work on the new system was going well, I had spent a lot of time RPG Making and my zeal ran out. If you look on the right hand side and see the number of posts per month, it's easy to see that my work ethic fluctuates. A lot. Don't worry, I'll be working on the sight again, eventually.

Monster Profiles "Dracky"

Name: Dracky
Family: Dracky
Number: 1


Dracky are speedy and weak and overall simple. You can find them very early on in the game, which is actually a good thing because the max level of a Dracky is high (LV 50). The vareity of interesting and potentially powerful moves may be ignored by the unintimidating look and lack of rarity.

• Max Level - 50
• Level Up Ease - B-15, C-20
• HP Rank - 150
• MP Rank- 320
• STR Rank - 140
• DEX Rank- 90
• AGI Rank - 200
• INT Rank- 80

Moveset:

• LV 5: Bite
• LV 10: Antidote
• LV 15: Fury Flight
• LV 20: Tail Wind
• LV 25: AntidoteAll
• LV 30: Feather Fest
• LV 35: Charge Up
• LV 40: WindBeast
• LV 50: Fierce Chrage Up

Monster Profiles "Slime"

Name: Slime
Family: Slime
Number: 1

As you would expect, Slime is the most basic of basic when it comes to the monsters in Monster Tamers. At least at first glance he is. Small, weak, and frankly unintimidating, Slime doesn't get much love from serious Monster Tamers. However, the small guy has some tricks up his sleeve that may keep you from just giving it to your little sister. If you can endure having a weakling in your party for long enough to get him to his highest level, you'll be rewarded with one of the most powerful moves in the game. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it or not.

• Max Level - 40
• Level Up Ease - B-10, C-20
• HP Rank - 200
• MP Rank- 270
• STR Rank - 120
• DEX Rank- 100
  
• AGI Rank - 150
  
• INT Rank- 90

Moveset:

• LV 5: Gelly Glob
  
• LV 10: Firebal
  
• LV 15: Gel spell
• LV 20: Buck Up
  
• LV 25: Firebane
  
• LV 35: Radiant
  
• LV 40: MegaMagic
  

SPRG: Monster Tamers -Map Systems-

As stated in a previous post, the Dungeons will be divided into three parts: the Garden (as pictured) the Castle, and the Boss Room. The Garden will be maze focused as opposed to the puzzle oriented Castle. In order to facilitate you're trek to finding that portal, certian features are available to the player.

Guidance Arrow: (Only appears in "Garden")
This arrow points the player in the right direction towards the portal. Most useful when you want to speed through a dungeon. However, if you go the "right way" you will surely miss out on treasure, other Monster Tamers, and possibly side-quests.

Blue Screen Map: (Appears in "Garden" and "Castle")
The Blue Screen Map pretty much shows where you are in relation to the screen, and not the entire map. In it's basic form, it's quite useless. It'll show you where important characters or other things are on the map. However, you can upgrade it to the point where it shows invisible items, ghosts, and even hidden portals.

Overlay Map: (Only appears in "Garden")
This on-screen map is incredibly useful when finding the right way to go. Because the Gardens are often filled with twists and turns, the overlay map, combined with he aide of the pointer arrow, can really make things easier. That is why you must find the dungeon map before you can use it, unlike the other two. Each dungeon has its own map, so you'll have to get used to finding them.

SPRG: Monster Tamers Customizable Room

Customization has always been a way to give the player more say in the game. That's one of the reasons why having the ability to choose and create whichever monster you please is an attractive feature of the game. On a smaller scale, the player will also be given the same freedom in deciding what his or her room will look like. You start off with this gray slab with limited allure and limitless potential. As you progress through the game, you can unlock trophies and other decorations for your room. Or, if you manage to make a surplus of money, you can spend it on special items found in a Decor Store.

Obviously, none of these things will affect the over all game, but that doesn't mean you won't find your fair share of secrets through decoration. Secret portals are unpredictable things, and sprucing up your place my land one in your midst... Rare recipes can also be found on parchments that happened to be hidden in a doll... In other words, there are some benefits to buying the decorations aside from aesthetics.

Gee, doesn't that look (slightly) better?

SPRG: Monster Tamers Dungeons

It seems like more and more that Dragon Quest Monsters is influencing my own game as I continue to work on this project. To put it simply, the guys at Square-Enix got it right. Of course, I have made enough of my own modifications to their formula to give SPRPG: MT enough of its own feel to be unique. That being said, I'd like to establish a post dedicated to how the Dungeons will be set up in this game.

• There will be 3 types of Dungeons in this game: Boss, Secondary, and Extra
• There are 2 parts to a Dungeon
• Boss and Secondary Dungeons will have 2 parts most of the time, Extra will only have one

Dungeon Types

Boss Dungeons will primarily focus on developing the story. The name of this type comes from each of these having a "boss" or powerful monster at the end of it that must be defeated. All boss dungeons have bosses, but that does not meant Secondary or Extra ones do not. In order to beat the game, all boss dungeons must be finished. For the sake of the story, this is pretty much a given.
Secondary Dungeons are dungeons that correspond with a side quest. They are not important to completing the game and do not necessarily effect the story. However, some secondary dungeons will be used to continue a "branch" of the story that may no longer be important. In addition to involving side quests, secondary dungeons are a good way to find more monsters and monster recipes.

Extra Dungeons can also be called "Secret Dungeons." These dungeons are short, boss-less, and only have one part to them. They end with finding a rare treasure or recipe. Access to an extra dungeon is a reward in of itself. However, although there may be a pot of gold at the ends of these rainbows, getting there may not be a walk in the park. Some of the common monsters you find in random battles may be "boss level" in other dungeons. Although you may be at a point in the game to unlock an Extra Dungeon, it is not a guarantee that you will survive in it.

Dungeon Parts

Dungeons are taken in two parts: the Garden and the Castle. Mind you, these are figurative terms not literally. Not every dungeon is castle. It is important to know the differences in these two to better understand the game.

The Garden tends to be the easier of the two but not by much. The focus of the Garden part of a Dungeon is to find a portal to get to the Castle part. Dragon Quest Monsters fans will be familiar with this type of layout although it is not completely the same. This part is a compilation of a bunch of mini-maps with simple shapes. This results in a slight maze like experience because finding the portal may boil down to guessing the right path.

The Castle is the more traditional type of dungeon, complete with it's own fair share of obstacles to slow you down on the quest to face your doom with a boss. They will be pretty standard for RPG fans, but what makes them special is the focus on the Field Magic System. The Field Magic system is basically the eqivilent to using the tools in Zelda to solve a dungeon. However, Field Magic is not used in battle, limitless in uses, and leveled up through story progress. Basic Field Magic will open doors, push rocks, lift boulders, and blow up stuff. The more advanced kind do some pretty interesting tings as well. Golden Sun fans will find this system familiar.

Dungeon Features

• Current Area Map
• Toggle ON/OFF
• 100% accurate placement of Hero and other events, updated to the game tick
• Upgradeable through Add-Ons
• Treasure Box Detector
• Ghost Detector
• Invisible Treasure Detector
• Field Magic System
• Interact with the dungeon to progress
• Lift, Push, Pull, Explode and more to objects in your way.
• Hold down "Shift" to utilize the magic quickly
  

FSP Host up and quit... [UPDATE]

...leaving U Division, and consquently all of ICU Gigasoft, looking for a new host. During this transitional period things may be a bit rough. The only thing I'm positive about is that there will be chaos on this site come Nov. 1st when all files hosted on fsphost.com go offline. Hopefully, I can prevent bad things from happening by finding a new host. Hopefully.

[UPDATE] After about an afternoon of work, I was able to transfer the site to a new host. You can still access it by going to udivision.blogspot.com. However, udivision.3host.biz is also an option.

Super Pocket RPG: Game Update Log [#2]

As promised, this will be the log to log all updates, specifically and informatively. Whenever I update Monster Tamers, this post will be moved to the top of the page for easier access.

Update #2: 10/24/07
It's been too long, and I wish I had more to say. However, some big changes are happening with Monster Tamers. First of all, and probably most importantly, the current story will be removed. This may seem a bit odd to get rid of the story, but I think overall this will be better for the game. Instead of going for a story-driven game, I have opted out for a mechanic-driven game. As much as I would have liked to have made this a deep game, I don't see myself getting too far in game like that. For completion's sake, it's better that I stick with something simple. That new simple plot is yet to be decided on, but it shouldn't be too hard to think up.

This simplification of Monster Tamers also applies to dungeons. For those of you who have played the original Dragon Warrior Monsters, you'll know what I mean by "simple dungeons." Without pictures, this is a bit hard to explain. Basically, you get to the dungeon by going through a portal. All of the portals are found in the main castle, which is your HQ, and more portals are unlocked through story progression and secrets. This way you can focus more and amassing your horde of monsters both rare and powerful without being bogged down with story elements.

Update #1: 9/9/07
So far, we are looking at exactly 16 Monsters that are possible to make, and about 14 of those you can fight. Generally, the number of monsters you can make will be higher that those you actually fight. That is because of the "Monster Essence" system. In other words, I may never fight a SpotSlime but if I use extract essences from a Slime and an Antbear I can make one, providing I have the recipe.

I've also been fooling around the difficulty of the enemies. I've realized that once you get four monsters in your party (I was able to do so in about one hour of playing) the battle get rather easy. This is because the max number of monsters you can fight is 3, so when you have 3 monsters plus yourself, you have the speed advantage. I decided to combat this with simply raising the enemies hit points, in stead of fooling around with ATK and PDEF. Of course, I also adjusted the speed to make sure they get to attack before they die.

Game Reviews

Game Reviews

GameBoy Advanced

Golden Sun
[7.5/10] (10/23/06)

Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced
[8.8/10] (1/19/076) (by C Division)

Nintendo Gamecube

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year
Door [9/10] (12/11/06)

Downloads

RPG Maker Related

Coming Soon... Go to Downloads.com to
get a free RPG Maker XP Trail!

WinMugen-- The famous fighting
game maker. This version allows it to run much better on Windows XP than
before.

Version -- FINAL

Mugen Character Maker (MCM)--
A very useful tool if you want to get into making characters as opposed to just
downloading other people's creations.
Version -- mcm20b-dev35

Links

Wave Bossa's Creations;

http://wavebossa.blogsopt.com

Information

Wave Bossa, AKA I Division, is a dedicated member of the ICU Gigasoft
team. Thanks to recent surge of interest in his incredible, but
controversial, Mugen Character K'oss, he has created his own development
blog and promises more news and updates. In order to learn more
about his creations and see videos of his characters in action, just
follow the links to his site.

U Division Info

Welcome to U Division's Official Website!

What is U Division?

U Division is a part of the ICU Gigasoft game-making team. We create
games based on the "RPG Maker 2003" and "RPG Maker XP" software from
Enterbrian. The software belongs to them, but it allows us to make
games for free.

Are U Division Games Free? Please tell me they are!!!

Repeat, ALL U DIVISION GAMES ARE FREE. This is more of a hobby if
anything, so we do not seek to make a profit out of it. That is a
double edged sword, because at the same time there is no money to provide
the extra "motivation" to complete a game.

Um... do you have any completed games?

Do not worry, we plan on completing our current projects for you to play, or
at least arrive at the state where we can produce demos of our product.

Hey, how do I play these games?

In order to play the RPG Maker 2003 games, you will need to install "RPG
Maker 2003" on your computer. Sites such as
"RPG RPG Revolution" offer this
program, you can order it online.

What about RPG Maker XP?

That's the beauty of XP, you don't need to install anything but the game!

Too much school, not enough work

Despite my earlier announcements, I haven't been regular in my updates of the site. I hope to stop this by next week, but it's really challenging to find time to work on my projects with school in the way. I'm not stupid enough to put priority on this hobby of game making, but it seems really tempting compared to AP class homework. At the least, I will add a few screens of the various U Division Games.

Well, here's a video that's been late to being added to the site. This was made by C-Division, so give him the props, not me.

SPRG: Monster Tamers Battle System

(Click for full-sized Image)

An important part of any RPG game (especially a Super Pocket one) is the battle system. For this, U Division has decided to use the very well done RTAB (Real-Time Active Battle) System programmed by the RPGXP genius, cogwheel. This kind of battle system means that your speed plays a greater role in deciding who attacks. Theoretically, you can attack your opponent over and over assuming your speed is that much higher than their's.

Of course, U Division simply doesn't import scripts and leave it at that. In addition to using this script, I've made some slight tweaks here and there to make it more unique for the game. Here a a list of features that are labeled with "Default RTAB" or "U Division Mod."

Battle Zoom "Default RTAB"
This neat feature does a little and a lot at the same time. Although it only zooms in and out on the selected targets, it also adds a more dynamic feel to the often static Battle Scene. This alone was one of the main reasons for using the RTAB.

CLICK HERE FOR ANIMATED PICTURE

Combinations Attacks "Default RTAB"
This feature is one of the coolest the RTAB has to offer. It may be a little hard to see in this animated GIF, but the Slime chooses "Gelly Glob" and the Hero chooses "Jab" which results in a powerful move called "Slime Slash." In addition to Tamer and Monster combos, there are Monster and Monster combos. For instance, get your Slime and Spotslime to use the trademark family skill Gelly Glob and the result will be the most powerful Slime-only attack in the game, "Gelly Flood."

CLICK HERE FOR ANIMATED PICTURE

Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers Overview

(Click for full sized image)

(This post will change frequently as more information is revealed. Updates will be noted and a permanent link to this post can be found on the left frame. This will be were most general info on the game can be found.)

Title: Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers
Author: U Division Games
Genre: RPG
Date Started: June 10th, 2007
Players: 1 Player

GENERAL PLOT:

"In the center of the continent of Arpsi, there has always been a land referred to as the Promised Land. However, like an oasis in the middle of a desert, the Promised Land has always been surrounded by the most powerful monsters. The closer to the Promised Land, the more fearsome the creatures of the wild. The kingdoms of the continent have always lived in fear of the great power. That was, until now. Thanks to the much advancement in Magic, Alchemy, and increasing military strength, it will not be long before each kingdom tries its hand at claiming the place first. However, simply having the forces of the entire continent rush into a bloody fight would make it necessary for the Promised Land to be divvied up accordingly. So, eliminating the threat beforehand has become the new plan of action. The East and West sides of Arpsi have forged their own alliances and it is only a matter of time before war between the kingdoms, and eventually war for the Promised Land."

"In order to fight that war, the Kingdoms need warriors. Only humans with special blood can use Alchemy, and therefore, can tame Monsters. You are part of one such family, the Makyar Clan. With your father already a General in the Dalmoss army and the first draft wave already happening, it will not be soon before you must be drafted into the war yourself. But thanks to your Makyar Blood, you will join the ranks of the most powerful military unit, the Monster Tamers."

FEATURES:
(These will get their own separate pages but for now their info can be found here.)

• A lot of different monsters to fight and tame. 90+!
  
• The ability to roam the world from the beginning of the game, giving access to hard monster early on
• Your monster can learn moves during battle by getting hit by the given move. This is decided by monster family.
• A journal that keeps track of you Main Quest, Secondary Quest, and all of the Side-Quests making it easy to figure out exactly how much of the game you've beaten.
• The player can trade monsters with other tamers in the game to diversify the line-up.
• The hero fights side by side with his monsters in order to tame them.
• Bestiary add-on that you can download from the site.
  

Taming – Despite what you’d think, you don’t actually tame wild monsters. You only tame the monsters you create from their Essence. These are taken from the monster during battle, by using the technique of Extracting. There are many different ways to tame a monster, but as a Warrior Tamer your expertise lies in raising them for battle. A fully tamed monster is one at its’ highest level possible.

Extracting – During Battle, attack a monster with the skill “Extract” and it will begin flashing purple if the skill is successful. Once it is in that condition, the monster will continue to drop Essences until it either is killed or if the Extract wears off. NOTICE: You can Extract from just about any monster, but you can only create those whose recipe have.. However, you can still sell the Essences of monsters you cannot create.

Monster Essences – Monster Essences are material that can be Extracted from a Monster. These are used in order to create new monsters. In addition to this, Monster Essences can also be used as healing items, trade goods, quest items, and in rare cases, equipment.

Monster Material – In addition to monster Essences, certain Materials are needed to create certain monsters. Unlike Essences, these can be purchased from stores.

Monstrous Alchemy – In order to create a monster from its Essences, Monstrous Alchemy is used by the top Monster Alchemist. Depending on which monster, multiple Essences may be needed or different.

Monstrous Alchemy – Tools – There is special tools needed in order to perform Monstrous Alchemy. They are not used up in the process and can be purchased as well. They are the "Transmutation Stone" and "Transmutation Shard."

Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers announced

Finally, after too long of a wait, the newest entry into the U Division line-up has been revealed. However, it may have to be done in bits and pieces. I've decided that rather then make new pages using the old U Division template, it would be better and more accessible to just post them instead, and then just update the frame on the left with the most useful links. The first of these updates along with more information on Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers should be up soon.

U Divisoin to reboot this fall

I know, this past summer has been glaringly scarce when it comes to updates. Probably less then five total posts for the summer months. With all my free-time you'd think I'd be able to remember to post everyone once in a while. However, U Division will begin updating more frequently once again. Also, we will be introducing a new game shortly that has a LOT of potential if I can stick with it. Be sure to check back here sometime next week for more content updates and the unveiling of the new project.

Also, we here at U Division realize that some of you might actually want to know what we are working on when we say "we're working on project X." Well, I promise that we'll introduce a series of exponentially more detailed updates that deal specifically with what we're working on. Instead of "I worked a little on Zelda," it would be "I've begun converting the the first dungeon to Minish Cap graphics and have been implementing the Neo Bouken Battle System." Be on the lookout for more posts in the upcoming weeks.

C-Division's Cyderian Chronicles DEMO v1.0

Being a fellow member of ICU Gigasoft, it's only natural for U Division to support and promote it's sister sites. As you can see in this post, and the last, the C-Division and Wavebossa both have something to show for their hard work. I suggest you check them out, using the download links above.

K'oss is finally and fully unleashed! [UPDATE 1]

From our sister site WaveBossa:

Get the first complete version of the MUGEN character whose been changing the community!
UPDATE:
Another release so soon after 0.6. Now it's 0.7.

Link: Download K'oss v 0.7

Bouken Battle System gets a functionality upgrade

This post has been long overdue, so it's about time I make it. As you may know, the Bouken Battle System was quite a rather lengthy and bug-prone bit of code to have in my game. The only way to implement it without it interfering was to make battles take place in select rooms. Well, that's not going to happen. Rather than take the wimp's way out, I've decided to refine and strengthen my code for the BBS. In the course of two days (only a couple of hours spent reworking it) I finished the Neo-BBS. Everything the old had to offer sans the possible bugs.

In addition to changing the code, I've also opted to simplify the whole RPG element. Much like the game, Super Paper Mario, the focus will be more on puzzle solving then RPG. Don't worry, you'll still get to fight and level up and all of that, but you'll find yourself more concerned with figuring out the answer to a difficult puzzle. Gaining levels will only increase your stats slightly, if at all, but you will gain levels frequently. In fact, you only need to defeat 3 monsters in the first dungeon to get to level 2.

More Bouken Battle System Information:
Here is a shot of the "Status Screen."
As you can see, Link is pretty weak. But more importantly, it is best that I explain the meaning behind the stats.

Power: (ATK) Link's strength rating.
Dexterity: (DEF) Link's defense rating.
Wisdom: (INT) The more wise you are, the more efficient your spells are.
Courage: (SPEED) The more courageous you are, the better chance you have of landing a blow.

HP and MP are pretty self-explanatory. And Rupees are currency.



Battle Algorithms

Sword Attack
Damage = [(LINK ATK * COMBO)/2] - ENEMY DEF
Note: The Combo default is 2. As in, if you don't pull off a combo, the algorithm looks like this: Damage =LINK ATK - ENEMY DEF.

Bomb Attack
Damage = (LINK ATK*2) - ENEMY DEF
Note: In other words, it's two times Link's ATK minus the enemies defense. Obviously, this can be one of your most powerful weapons. But unlike the sword, it is ammo based.

Small/Big Arrow Attack
Damage = LINK ATK
Note: The arrows pierce defense. When enemies start getting higher DEF, the Arrow can be more useful. But equipping the bow does not raise your attack much, if at all. However, bows that require Big Arrow's do raise your attack more, but still not as much as a Bomb or Sword.

Magic Cane/Gust Cannon Attack
Damage = 0
Note: This two psuedo-weapons don't actually deal damage. Instead, they slow down your opponent or fade them away. Both weapons raise your SPEED a lot, so it's harder to get hit while trying to inflict such a status condition on your opponent.

A few more screens trickle in...

A couple of more screens. These were taken from Hyrule Field. I haven't really worked on the game much, but I will probably do some more mapping on Hyrule to make it bigger. I plan on it being ginormous.

Friday Media: Mario Bros Video + Image

Yes, today is Sunday. Don't rub it in my face. But, even if I did update two days late I still updated. Here is last weeks Friday media for the upcoming game "Super Mario RPG: The Seven Sages."

Mario Bros. EX Mini-Game

Friday Media: Naruto AMV

If there's any evidence that RPG Making has been taking a back seat for almost a month, this may be it. The Friday Media piece is no way related to game making, but, then again, was it supposed to be? Besides, this is a music video of a game (Narutimate Accel) and I made it, so why not?

Song: "Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas


And now for a random GIF I made:

Update drought, I won't deny it.

Thanks to the mounting pressures of schoolwork and such, I haven't had much time or desire to work on Zelda or Mario. Interest in game making tends to come in spurts for those of us who aren't paid (nor want to be) for our hard work. It seems as if releasing that demo really did me in for a while because I haven't done much work on Daibouken since. I will try to refocus my energies on Mario which may prove more fun to work on after a long hiatus.