Coming Soon: Chocobos

[Mitsuki]

Sneak preview:

I hope that you all enjoyed the Tonberry special edition ideas so far, and as promised, chocobos will be making their way to vBShop. I know I said it'll be around November, but I'll go ahead and release those guys mid-October. I still want to give others (the ones who didn't get to purchase a tonberry) a chance to earn some Gil, as the chocobos will be a bit expensive. (Same price as the tonberries).

There will be 15 chocobos up for purchase, first come first serve. They've already been made. (Thanks to Kira for helping out). It comes with different colors, and when you purchase these guys, you can turn them into a smiley. (The smiley will be a tad bit smaller).

Here's the thing. Do you guys want something similar to the Tonberry Limited Edition and personalize your own chocobos as well? Or would you want something different? Let's toss some ideas around, and if it's pretty simple to do, then we can probably come up with something. I'm not sure if item customization would work for chocobos like they did for the tonberries, so I'm still unsure if the customization option will be available on vBShop as well. It might be down to just smileys and personalization.

 

[Martel]

Maybe make them a teeny bit cheaper than the Tonberries if they're not going to come with a crapton of accessories?

One idea could be to have different Gysahl Greens items purchasable instead, which have different effects. Like, say if you bought ten normal ones, your Chocobo could turn into a fat Chocobo for a couple of weeks or something. Others could change the colour of select body parts (but not the Chocobo overall) for example buy a pink one and it turns the Chocobo's beak pink, or one of the tail feathers, so you could have a Chocobo with a tail-feather rainbow if you wanted. Being able to stylize the beaks or crests with different patterns might be fun as well. Since accessories would be impractical, playing around with the design of the Chocobo itself might be a better option.

Those are the only two ideas I have right now; it's too early in the morning. I'll stew on it a bit more

On a minor note: will there be more of these after Chocobos? Like, Limited Edition Moogles, or Cactuars, or Flans, etc? I only ask because some people might want a little mascot of their own, but may regret purchasing one if a more appealing option crops up later~

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Martel has great ideas lol.

Im glad they coming so early. I was thinking about armour for the Chocobos, like Helmets or some type of harness. Shield would do. I have to be the first to get a good Choco.

Hope to see Moogles and Moombas in the future!

 

[Steve-O]

my holiday made me miss the tonberries, sooo i'm sooooo buying these, if your not adding others things to customize them, they should be a bit cheaper, but I won't moan

but now the question is, who am I stealing from to get the gil to buy it

 

[Mitsuki]

Maybe make them a teeny bit cheaper than the Tonberries if they're not going to come with a crapton of accessories?

One idea could be to have different Gysahl Greens items purchasable instead, which have different effects. Like, say if you bought ten normal ones, your Chocobo could turn into a fat Chocobo for a couple of weeks or something. Others could change the colour of select body parts (but not the Chocobo overall) for example buy a pink one and it turns the Chocobo's beak pink, or one of the tail feathers, so you could have a Chocobo with a tail-feather rainbow if you wanted. Being able to stylize the beaks or crests with different patterns might be fun as well. Since accessories would be impractical, playing around with the design of the Chocobo itself might be a better option.

Those are the only two ideas I have right now; it's too early in the morning. I'll stew on it a bit more

On a minor note: will there be more of these after Chocobos? Like, Limited Edition Moogles, or Cactuars, or Flans, etc? I only ask because some people might want a little mascot of their own, but may regret purchasing one if a more appealing option crops up later~

Haha, I was already thinking of implementing some type of Greens somehow and have the chocobo 'evolve' but I couldn't think of any ideas. For instance, Gysahl Greens can have a different effect than a Curiel Greens, with Sylkis Greens being the best, etc. I know Kira wanted to include these for personalization, at least - (Favorite type of Greens).

These are all great ideas, Martel. I'm not sure how tedious it might be, but let's say for the rainbow feathers - if we were to do that (I say 'we' because Kira helps me out with this), it will save us a lot of work if we were to pick the rainbow colors ourselves rather than have the members request each different type of color. Reason being is that I can just create one layer of rainbow colors, save that on the .psd file, and hide/unhide the layer as necessary. So if any more requests that, we won't have to do rainbow-coloring all over again - all we need to do is activate the layer. I'll mess around with the files later and see if this works. If it does, we can pick a few alternating colors (ie, red/orange, blue/green, or red/blue/yellow, etc).

The beak, yeah we can probably add that in too - this would actually be a lot easier. If they buy a certain Green, the beak will turn a certain color - again, it would be easier if were to pick the selected color and members can just specify from the colors given.

Fat chocobo...that might be a bit difficult. xD We'd have to render a whole new chocobo for this one, so it'll be double the work, especially if people requests to have it colored, etc. Maybe we can go back to this one later down the road, but it would have to be next year after we've released a few other mascots.

And remember, guys. The smiley chocobo will be around 50x50, so it'll be a bit smaller than the ones shown above. So any effects will be applied to the smiley.

To answer Martel's question, yes there will be more limited editions. Moogles will come next, though probably around January. December is a busy month for me, unless it's released towards end of November-early December. We'll see. And those who already purchased a mascot of their own - they're still allowed to purchase a different mascot. It's just a matter of being ready to nab them as soon as it hits vBShop, and I'll make sure to announce and keep you all updated as to when they'll be available.

Unfortunately, they have to be a bit expensive so that they don't fly off the shelves as soon as I release them. So if people really want them, they'll think of ways to earn those Gil...like, posting for instance. =P (Though realistically you can't earn a huge amount just by posting alone). Check the vBActivity tab on your profile so you guys can get an idea of how you can earn some Gil. Lately a few of the mods have been thinking of ways to hand out more Gil. Check out the FF Clans or GFX Clans for more info. Sometimes I'll do random Gil giveaways (up to 700 Gil) as well. I'll drop by the SB and ask a random question or something. Stevie's stealing attempts is also another idea. =P But yes, there's still about 3-4 weeks, so this should give you all plenty of time.

Let's not forget the bank interest. The bulk of the Gil is there, so be sure to take advantage of the automatic collection interest.


And @Ohri-Jin - I tried the shields and other items on chocobos last night. It doesn't suit them. I was looking for a harness last night but wasn't able to find any that would work.

 

[Shaissa]

If you bought the Tornberry would you be able to still buy the chocobos? I'm very selfish like this!

 

[Martel]

Well, I'm glad you like my ideas

I work with sprites occasionally, and it can be a bit of nuisance sometimes when they're so small, so I can see where you're coming from when you say it'd be easier to do it that way. It can take a VERY long time to edit these things so they don't look like a complete mess, no? xD

Thinking on it, you could actually have some miniature tattoos to go on the thigh, as well, like a lightning bolt, or a skull, or a heart. Or expanding on the tail-feather idea, have some alternate colour on the chest or crest feathers instead...or let people choose one or the other, because otherwise it could be more multicoloured than anything else. I also hesitate to suggest glowing eye colour palettes, just because the thought of a black chocobo with glowing red eyes, and bloodstained tail feathers and/or beak just popped into my head and made me laugh...and hats might work, as well. Hats work on everything. It's a lot of superficial stuff, but I don't think the sprites themselves would allow for the same sort of elaborate accessories the Tonberries have, as was previously mentioned.

 

[Mitsuki]

@Shuce - Yep.


And I have a separate file (300x300 canvas) where we edit a much bigger-sized chocobo (otherwise, there'd be no way to provide a quality chocobo if we edit a smaller one), so editing the colors wouldn't be a problem for me, as long as I use my wacom tablet for this. Using a digital pen for precision is a lot easier than using a mouse. I wouldn't even attempt doing all this using a mouse. Afterwards, I'll just resize the chocobo and transfer the layer I worked on, into a much smaller canvas, thus giving you these guys:



A chocobo with a red solid feathered tail -
A chocobo with three-color (red/orange/white highlights) feathered tail (it looked better when I applied it on a bigger chocobo) -
Purple/blue/light blue highlights - The highlights are barely noticeable but it's on the purple feather ones.


And to humor Martel - A flaming black chocobo with zombie infection.



There's actually no black chocobo included because I wasn't sure how well it would clash with the dark skin, but I suppose we can make this a rare chocobo? I don't know, we'll think of something.

The eyes are pretty easy to do, so we can include those too.

 

[Martel]

And to humor Martel - View attachment 2309 A flaming black chocobo with zombie infection.

...I KNEW that was going to be a good idea. xD

I wonder...would it be possible to include random eggs in between the Chocobo's legs as additions as well? It might look a bit strange (having a little trouble visualizing it) but it could be another option, and open up a huge number of options when you consider all the egg designs you could have~

Thinking on the black chocobo with the black skin - a glow could be another wacky option. Make it a flaming black chocobo with a green radioactive zombie infection, or a sinister red aura, for example. xD

 

[Mitsuki]

Polka dots. View attachment 2310



...I'm having too much fun with this.



And eggs? xD Maybe what I should do is have you guys buy eggs instead, let the tonberries incubate them for a week and wait for it to hatch.

 

[Martel]

You should do that for people who have Tonberries and who want to buy Chocobos. Although the rest of us without Tonberries might be a bit screwed if you did that; our eggs would never hatch. xD

 

[Mitsuki]

I'm tempted, but I'll never hear the end of it.


Glow:

All these extra special effects will cost you guys additional Gil. =P

 

[Martel]

That looks rather ominous...although it DOES stand out rather nicely now~

I'm guessing prices would be similar to the prices for Tonberry accessories, no?

I'm out of ideas for special effects (unless you can make it sparkle somehow) for the moment

 

[The Witch]

And eggs? xD Maybe what I should do is have you guys buy eggs instead, let the tonberries incubate them for a week and wait for it to hatch.

Eggs would be SO cute! I am loving this chocobo update! I love chocobos so I cannot wait to have mine!

 

[Mitsuki]

I'm guessing prices would be similar to the prices for Tonberry accessories, no?

Hmmm, somewhat. The chocobos are heading a different direction than the tonberry guys. I still want to implement the Greens, and each type of Greens (depending if it's rare greens or not) will produce a slight change for your chocobo. I'm guessing the glow aura will be a rare effect, so that type of Green will be a lot more expensive, and may take a few weeks before you guys earn enough Gil to update the basic chocobos. Basically the idea is that I want everyone to start off with a basic chocobos for awhile, and from there, you can upgrade your chocobos.

Here comes the fun part.

I'd like to do a Mating System as well. Similar to the tonberry accessories, the items (in this case, the greens) will be limited, especially the rare greens. For the basic greens (Gysahl), there will be 5 available. The rare greens (Sylkis) will be limited to one only. (There will be more type of greens, I'm just stating a few examples).

Now, with the breeding/mating system (I'll create a new thread for that later), if you were one of the unlucky ones and didn't get to purchase any perks for your chocobos, you'll have to ask another chocobo owner if your chocobo can mate, thus producing a special egg. So let's say Jeff's basic yellow chocobo mates with Ohri's red chocobo with yellow polka dots. They will produce an egg, and a new chocobo will hatch depending on the traits of both parents. Yellow chocobo + red chocobo with yellow polka dots = Yellow chocobo with red polka dots. The base color will still stay the same for Jeff's yellow chocobo, but now his chocobo has red polka dots. So that's one way to get a special effect even if the greens run out in the vBShop.

Now, to play around with Martel's egg ideas (because I guess Martel is just weird that way), the one who wants to inherit some sort of special effect for their chocobo, will be the one to carry the egg. So in the case of JeffxOhri's egg, Jeff will be the one to carry the egg. Incubation will take up to 2-4 weeks, depending on the rarity of the chocobo. So your smiley will change then, and a special designed egg will be added...between the chocobos legs....

Ahem, so as far as mating goes, you can't just say, "I want my chocobo to mate with your chocobo". You'll have to donate to the chocobo owner (they have to set their price: 300-3000 Gil, depending if their chocobos have a rare effect; they might even refuse the offer if they want their chocobos to be unique)

So for this, I will include the black chocobos, making it a total of 16 chocobos.

 

[Martel]

Now, to play around with Martel's egg ideas (because I guess Martel is just weird that way),

I'm not weird, I'm eccentric

I like this idea. It means you could wind up with any number of insanely awesome combinations...I'm reminded of Pocket Frogs, only with Chocobos...and, hopefully, not several thousand possible combinations you could literally waste away your life trying to complete. Maybe as an expansion you could have some special Greens related to growth, so when your Chocobo hatches, it's just a chick, and you need to feed it Greens to turn it into an adult, as such? Or maybe have some special incubation equipment you could purchase to shorten the waiting time for hatching, alternately?

Now for the ultimate question I'm sure everyone wants an answer to: any chance of Chocobo/Tonberry crossbreeding so we have Tonberries with beaks and feathers, or Chocobos running around with knives? Chocoberries!

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Princess Happy

You sure taking this far
Lmao but Im not complaining though keep it up Martelovski
Mitsuki
Too bad about the harness, but man tht glowing chocobo is just too epic even the one with polka dots. Shit these are way better than Tonberries hoho.

And could you guys once again put them on my postbit as well?

 

[Six]

Oh dear... I'm a little 50/50 on the Tonberry owners to be allowed the Chocobo special edition as well, or the others, maybe it'd be fair to say like... There will be a total of 4 special editions, each member can have 2. I dunno, maybe not. I personally don't mind either way, but just to give other members a chance as well.

Hahaha, the zombie infected one. Jeff asked me about it yesterday, "there's no black one?" I said it wouldn't show up or stand out on the forum, doing it this way fixes the issue. xD

Also, JeffxOhri, rofl.

Loving the idea of the chocobos. In all fairness, I don't think the Moogles should be released so soon after one another though. People need time to save up, and it'd be nice to have something to look forward to rather than just getting it a month after the first surprise came out. Just my opinion. From what I've seen the edits that Mits made are very doable. No complaints from me.

Ohri-Jin, I'm assuming that the post bit resize might not even be big enough to make out what it is, but we can give it a try at least. I'll wait for Mits on that.

 

[Raiiyokuu]

I demand there be baby chocobos.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

KIRA

No you killjoy!
I want to collect them all! I have 36k gil and I can afford everything Im loaded gurl!
I totally disagree with everything you said except the JeffxOhri-Jin.
Six