#fossil fighters fangame

[eclysia]

is there anything you really like but haven't gotten the chance to talk about much? if so, feel free to talk about it! :D

talking about things is difficult right now, but here are some things I like but don't post about often

-fossil fighters

-off/its fangames

-parties are for losers

-mother series

-paper Mario series, especially super paper mario

-sci-fi and horror novels and media in general. I always appreciate recommendations, especially for novels

[ailingwriter]

Project: Fossil Fighters Revival

I must be crazy.

For those who have followed me for a while, you might know that I've been making Fanmade Vivosaurs for the video game series Fossil Fighters. I also said that if the project got enough traction, I might do more with it.

It has not gotten much traction. I'm doing more with it anyway, because I can't stop thinking about it.

Project: Fossil Fighters Revival is my efforts to establish multiple elements of a hypothetical fourth Fossil Fighters game. I can't actually make the game - I don't have the money, time, or programming skill - but I can still describe how I would make the game if I could.

At minimum, I will be doing the following:

Revamp the combat system, as every Fossil Fighters game does. (I don't plan on changing too much from Champions, don't worry.)

Create some new abilities, status ailments, and move effects to make the battle system more engaging.

Make 91 new Vivosaurs (bringing the total up to 250.)

Revamp the ten new vivosaurs introduced by Frontier for the classic format.

Introduce some new Super Evolvers, both for the new vivosaurs and some of the old.

Create at least eleven full dig sites that contain almost all the Vivosaurs between them... somehow.

Create the town/towns that would function as your hub/hubs.

Figure out what Vivosaurs you would be able to start the game with.

Figure out what fossils you could trade in DP for.

Some goals I'm hoping to achieve but cannot promise:

Create 141 original Vivosaurs, bringing the total up to 300.

Create some original Story-based Vivosaurs that do not contribute to the 91 or 141 total.

Create at least 15 full areas, most of which have sub-areas of their own.

Get art for some of the new Vivosaurs. (I am not an artist, and I don’t have access to much in the way of funds at the moment, so I won't be able to commission art for all of the new vivosaurs. Art of just a few of them is far more achievable.)

Get art for some of the new areas. (See above, though I'm actually somewhat decent at landscape drawing so... we'll see.)

Write a full story for the game. (I love writing, but I have so many projects already...)

Things I would love to do, but realistically are just not happening unless I get help.

Make a soundtrack for the game.

Get art of every new Vivosaur, including the Super Evolvers.

Get art for all of the areas. (Between the lower number and my own admittedly-middling skill, this is the most likely to happen, but it still probably won't happen.)

Get art of all the story characters.

Actually manage to make a full, real fangame.

Thank you to everyone who is sticking with me through this project. I will try to post either an informational snippet or a new Vivosaur every Saturday, as well as a new Vivosaur every Sunday.

I might be moving this to a dedicated sideblog later, so I'll try to keep everyone informed. Below are the relevant links to pertinent posts.

Fanmade Vivosaurs information

Battle gameplay changes

Notes on biomes in previous games

The Fossil Vivarium

[beast-feast]

Got these two and I'll be organizing some stuff for later :) keep an eye out for all that

[dappercritter]

Who do I have to hire and what do I have to sacrifice to get a fangame of Fossil Fighters going?

[ailingwriter]

The Fossil Vivarium

Back when I started this project as just me making fanmade vivosaurs, I knew that if I didn't set boundaries for myself on what animals I could make into vivosaurs, I'd go a bit crazy. So I made a series of restrictions, including a size restriction. I couldn’t use any animal that was smaller than one foot.

This did result in a small problem: a lot of the really wierd animals from the Cambrian Era are smaller than one foot. I know that some people would be upset if I didn't include them, but I'm not going to just break my rule.

Enter the Fossil Vivarium.

Throughout the game, you can access mini-dig sites that have Small Fossil Rocks within them. These contain fossils for not only small animals, but also plants, letting you construct your own vivarium for extinct (or, in a few cases, very ancient) species of plants and small animals. This is not at all required to complete the main story, but there are rewards for building up your vivarium.

Some Animals That Might Be Exhibited In The Fossil Vivarium:

Plectronoceras: One of the earliest known cephalopods. Wizard squid.

Opabinia: 5 eyes, feeding stalk. You know 'em, you love 'em.

Hallucigenia: 14 tentacles for walking, 14 spikes for defense. The Fossil you revive it from is upside down.

Marella: Funky little dude. Somehow extremely common, despite its weirdness.

Wiwaxia: Just a lump that's full of love.

Pikaia: One of the first chordates. Ever.

Pneumodesmus: this little millipede is one of the first land animals known to man.

Parioscorpio: this scorpion is another candidate for being the first land animal.

Some Plants That Might Be Exhibited In The Fossil Vivarium:

Ginkgo: one of the earliest trees, somehow still around.

Staghorn Fern: an odd plant that doesn't need soil to grow.

Cooksonia: one of the earliest plants, from over 400 million years ago.

Archaefructus: This Early Cretaceous plant was one of the earliest true flowering plants.

Archaeamphora: A possibly-carnivorous plant from the early Cretaceous.

[ailingwriter]

Biomes in Fossil Fighters Games, Traits Shared Between Stages Of The Same Biome, And What I Would Keep.

A few notes: I'm not just limiting myself to the main areas of stages. If I think that smaller parts of a stage stand out enough as separate biomes, I will mention them as such. Furthermore, I am only including areas where you can excavate fossils, so areas like the Dinaurian Spaceship and Zongazonga's Castle will not be counted.

BIOMES IN ALL 3 GAMES:

Canyon (Rivet Ravine (1), Rainbow Canyon (C), Goldrush Canyon (F))

These dig sites have a surprising amount of similarities. They all are dig sites that encourage experimentation and rebuilding of your lineup - Rivet Ravine is most likely the first opportunity to get your hands on Water- and Neutral-Element Vivosaurs; Rainbow Canyon has a lot of more unique vivosaurs like Aopteryx and Hopter, and vivosaurs that veterans may not have had the opportunity to use in the story of Fossil Fighters like Ankylo, Giganto, Allo, and Aopteryx (again); and Goldrush Canyon introduces the first Neutral Vivosaur and the second vivosaurs of most of the other elements, giving some choice within each element instead of just choosing between Sungari/Nibbles, Edapho, Proto, and Lophus MN based purely on element matchup. They are all also the first dig site to contain vivosaurs of every element, even if that does come with a small asterisk for Rivet Ravine.

Desert (Parchment Desert (1), Dusty Dunes (C), Dusty Steppe (F))

These dig sites, in comparison to the Canyon courses, have very little in common! Parchment Desert has no fossil overlap with the other two, and Dusty Steppe is both more complex and less element-restrictive, though both traits are hallmarks of Frontier courses. It pains me to say it, but I think Frontier had the best desert dig site simply because Frontier actually did something interesting with it, instead of making it just a generic desert. However, they do tend towards having Fire, Earth, and Neutral vivosaurs.

Hideout (BB Base (1), BB Brigade Base (C), Neo Black Whale (F))

I have mixed opinion on this biome. It's necessary, absolutely, but it hasn't ever really been pulled off all that well. BB Base was just a straight series of rooms, with no real variety to it. BB Brigade Base is more complex, with a variety of rooms, but not only is it smaller, it has only one small part in which you can excavate fossils. And while the Neo Black Whale has a good amount of challenge, it also feels very samey and has no unique fossils, instead taking parts from vivosaurs found in other dig sites.

BIOMES IN TWO GAMES:

Forest (Knotwood Forest (1), Winding Road (F))

Distinct from the similar Jungle Biome with a lack of tropical elements, instead going for a more temperate feel, there are not many connecting elements so there isn't much to keep in a new forest Dig Site, but the biome itself has some potential.

Pyramid (Digadigamid (1), Stone Pyramid (2))

This may be more of a sub-dig site, but I'm counting it! Hidden at the very back of their games' second dig sites, these mesoamerican-style pyramids are a large basis for my theory that the Digadig Tribe being connected to Zongazonga's reign (and, possibly, the ending of it).

Volcano (Mt. Lavaflow (1), Mt. Krakanak (C))

Two very different ways of handling volcanos! Mt. Lavaflow is solidly on the ground, never having much change in elevation until you drain the lava (!). It's probably at the base of the volcano. Mt. Krakanak, on the other hand, has one part elevated high above the ground that you dig on until you reach the volcano itself, which you scale then (later in the story) climb inside (!). Either way, they have a lot of fire-element Vivosaurs, and have the kind of awe-inspiring wackiness that one expects from a Fossil Fighters Dig Site.

Glacier (Coldfeet Glacier (1), Icegrip Plateau (C))

Another biome similar to another one, glaciers are much more icy than snowy, and don't contain as much variety as Snowy Mountains, usually having mostly water-element vivosaurs with a few outliers here and there. It tends to be among the bigger dig sites.

Lake (Treasure Lake (C), Lantern Lake (F))

These are rather different stages to be honest. Due to one being a rather generic first dig site and one being an aggressively thematic mid-game dig site, they have wildly different feels. And that's okay! The one feature they both share - shallow water that you can walk/drive in - is a good one that can work in a lot of different atmospheres.

Jungle (Jungle Labarynth (C), Starry Falls (F))

Much more dese and mazelike than forests, Jungles tend to have traversal as a part of the challenge, not a commonality in Fossil Fighters. They also, oddly enough, both contain a key element of the plot accessed in the endgame, which really works in jungles specifically, due to the mystery they exude.

Snowy Mountain (Hot Spring Heights (C), Frozen Wastes (F))

While I like the biome, there isn't really much to talk about here. While they have more variety than glaciers, there isn't really much overlap in structure. Frozen Wastes is a test of your movement abilities, while you barely spend any time in Hot Spring Heights during the main story. Frozen Wastes is huge, while Hot Spring Heights is on the small side.

BIOMES IN JUST ONE GAME:

Plains (Greenhorn Plains (1))

Honestly, I'm not sure whether or not I'm surprised this hasn't returned. There is some overlap between this and Hills, but I 'll get to that later. Plains would probably be large open areas, best for dig sites that don't have a particular end goal unless there's a sub-area. It fits its role as a first dig site well, but that might be the only role it can reliably fit... maybe.

Tunnels (Rivet Ravine Tunnels (1))

It might be slightly cheating to put this one here. There's some presence of caves in each game tbh, but it's never been the subject of a full dig site, which seems very odd, as this sort of area seems like a shoe-in for a dig-site.

Underwater (Bottomsup Bay (1))

Why. Has this not. Returned. There are so many things you could do with this idea! Underwater caves, coral forests, the ability to emerge from the waters to terrify beachgoers! There are so many possibilities with this, and I refuse to let them go to waste. Obviously, it'd mostly have water vivosaurs with only a few exceptions, though now that there are marine vivosaurs that aren't water element, the possibility of exceptions is a lot higher.

Sunken Ship (Woolbeard's Ship (1)

Each game has two levels that are so unique or fitting for the game that I don't think repeating them is feasible, at least not so soon. Woolbeard's Ship is one of the original's, at least not for quite a while. If I did bring it back, though, you just know that this is where you'd find Spectro.

Crashed Spaceship (Secret Island)

And Secret Island is the other area from the original that I don't think can really be copied. Unlike Woolbeard's Ship, the circumstances behind the Dinaurian Spaceship mean that any attempt to copy it will most likely flop. How else could you have a futuristic machine that had existed since the time of the dinosaurs?

Inside a Whale (Bonehemoth (C))

This is probably one of the most insane dig sites ever. I don't think much can top the Bonehemoth. If I did have another 'Inside a Whale' dig site, it would just be the Bonehemoth again, complete with His Lord And Majesty Tonzilla. Definitely one of Champions' unique dig sites.

Petrified Forest (Petrified Woods (C))

Champions doesn't have too many wacky locations compared to the first game, but when it did branch out, it went hard. I might be able to make another Petrified Forest that's good, but I don't think it could get anywhere near to the wonder of this stage. I'm just upset it's functionally so small...

Underwater Cave (Seafloor Cave (C))

I'd put this down as Champions having a third unique stage if the game actually did anything with it. I'm determined to make a good Underwater Cave level out of sheer spite.

Beach (Paradise Beach (F))

This is a rather interesting idea for a dig site. There are two different kinds of beach, and while sandy beaches are rather plain, rocky beaches aren't, and are a great place to explore. They also sometimes have fossils in them, so one being a dig site isn't too far out of the question!

Hills (Yodel Hills (F))

Some people might say that Yodel Hills overlaps with Plainsa and, honestly? I can see where they're coming from. There are a lot of similarities, but the more varied terrain and mazelike structure sets Hills apart from Plains just enough.

Autumnal Highway (Autumn Garden (F))

This is a biome that really only works in the context of Fossil Fighters Frontier. Most of the settings of Fossil Fighters games wouldn't need highways, you're just on a relatively small island, compared to literally Japan. In most games, a highway is thematically jarring because you aren't in an actual car. Highway is a biome that really only works in the context of Frontier. Even without all that, the autumnal aspect makes the area even more unique. I may be able to copy that part of the biome, but the highway is something that I don't think should be repeated.

The Past (Ancient World (F))

As much as I hate that the one moment you get to travel to the past is in Frontier, I honestly think that it's best if the concept isn't revisited for a while. I don’t want to set a precedent of being able to travel to the past, as I think it would introduce too many plotholes in some games. I want traveling to the past to be special, not expectable.

So, Which Ones Am I Keeping?

I feel obliged to keep Canyon, but of the three biomes that show up in all three games, it's the one I'm the least enthusiastic about keeping.

Desert is a biome that deserves to have a good dig site in a good game. I'm keeping it.

Hideout is pretty much necessary unless you choose not to have an evil team. So yeah, I'm keeping it.

I've already come up with ideas for Forest and Volcano, so they're staying.

Pyramid is not going to be used unless I involve the Digadigs, which I'm currently leaning against.

Glacier and Snowfield are very similar, but have very significant differences. I'm definitely including one, and I might include the other.

Lake is a bit iffy. It has some potential, but it might intersect with some other ideas I have.

Jungle is just a fun concept that still has room to explore it further. It'll probably be used.

Plains is one I'm conflicted on. There isn't much one can do with it, though innovation isn't impossible.

Tunnels and Underwater are concepts that should have been reused, but never were. Let's fix that.

As I said earlier, I'm doing Underwater Cave out of spite.

Beach is an interesting concept that doesn't deserve to just be in Frontier.

Hills seems a bit plain honestly, and I'm not sure I can do a lot with it.

I'm not going to do any of the really unique concepts that have already been done. That being said, I'm going to try and implement some unique dig sites of my own.

All of this is subject to change of course. I may get new ideas for one biome or lose interest in another, and I will gratefully accept any feedback people may have.

[ailingwriter]

How Fossil Fighters Revival would change the battlefield

Every Fossil Fighters game makes some change to how the field works, and Revival would likely be no different. However, I don't have enough confidence in my game design knowledge to completely overhaul the system. So instead, I will be altering the systems set by Fossil Fighters Champions.

The main change is this: Each Vivosaur rotates independently of the others.

The battle starts with the same formations shown in Champions - either the Cambrian Formation, with one vivosaur in the front AZ and two in the side SZ; or the Jurassic Formation, with two Vivosaurs in the side AZ and one in the back SZ. Once the battle starts, you can move your vivosaurs as you like.

You can rotate any one vivosaur one space for 5 FP. You can also rotate your whole team for a discount - it only costs 2/3 the total FP if all three are present, and 4/5 if there are only two, both fractions rounded down. (If you only have one Vivosaur, it still costs full price, for obvious reasons.)

Vivosaurs cannot move past other vivosaurs unless a certain ability is in play (which I will discuss further below.)

Any Vivosaur can be in any space at a time, with two caveats: you cannot have three Vivosaurs in the support zone, nor can you have three vivosaurs in the attack zone.

The decision to limit the SZ is admittedly mostly for balance reasons. If you could stick all your vivosaurs in the SZ, then you could just entirely shut down close-range Vivosaurs from even functioning, as well as severely hampering Mid-Range Vivosaurs by throwing three vivosaurs with enemy-debilitating Support Effects in the SZ, making an attack from the AZ unfeasible at best. I would rather avoid that, Close-Range vivosaurs have it rough as-is. The same rule applying to the AZ is for symmetry, as well as for allowing interactions with certain new moves.

How This Affects The Gameplay:

ABILITIES

There are two new abilities that interact with movement between spaces, as well as a possible edit to an existing one.

-

Pass is an ability mainly held by flying Vivosaurs, though there are some exceptions. It allows a Vivosaur to pass over other vivosaurs while rotating. I am aware that this ability is somewhat underwhelming, so I may change it so that passing through spaces occupied by vivosaurs is not counted for the cost of moving. (For example, let's say Ptera is in a space adjacent to Stego. With Pass, Ptera could move to the other space adjacent to Stego for only 5 FP, instead of 10.) For balancing reasons, I may make it so that this FP discount would not be applied when Passing other Vivosaurs that have Pass, else you chain together Passes to move about the board ridiculously fast.

Existing Vivosaurs that would be given Pass: Aopteryx, Ptera, Coatlus, Jara, Dimorph, Guera, Nycto, Sungari, Thalasso, Hopter

New Vivosaurs given Pass: Sharovi

-

Nomad allows a Vivosaur to move across the field for less FP than Normal (1-4, depending on the Vivosaur). This can range from a cheap discount to a huge FP saver, depending on your strategies. They even reduce the FP used when rotating the whole team.

-

Position Lock may have the added affect of preventing your opponent from altering their side of the field with moves. (Wait, what?)

-

Moves That Alter Positions

With the more versatile system in place, there is a lot more room to be flexible with movement. So let's be flexible. There will be at least three different ways to mess with the opponent's field, as well as at least two move affects that alter your own field.

-

Enemy Field

There are at least three distinct ways to mess with your opponent's side of the field. I may add more later.

First, you can send a Vivosaur to the back of the SZ. All the moves that sent a Vivosaur to the EZ back in the first Fossil Fighters might work like this. (Might. I'll get to that in a later post.) This also has some interesting effects if there are already two other vivosaurs in the SZ that I will get into later.

Secondly, you can pull an enemy to the front of their AZ. Similar to the previous, there are interesting interactions if there are already two vivosaurs in the AZ.

Lastly (for now), you can shuffle your opponent's field. This is unreliable and random, but it is also the only way to change the positions of your opponent's entire team.

-

Your Field

There are at least two ways your moves can affect your side of the field.

Send the User to the back of the SZ: Basically the same as the enemy's effect, but under your control! Has the same interactions if there are already two vivosaurs in the SZ.

Send the user to the front of the AZ: Yeah, you all probably saw this one coming. Same as the enemy's effect, same interactions if there are two vivosaurs in the AZ already.

-

A Note On Excite

With this change in gameplay comes a change in how the Excite status affect operates. Normal Excite now only prevents the affected Vivosaur from moving. For Golden Excite their are two options. First, we could make it similar to how it works in Champions, randomly moving the affected Vivosaur at the start of every turn. Second, we could simply have Golden Excite prevent the entire team from moving. This is something I would love feedback on, as I am not sure which option would be best.