Released Pokémon Sacred Phoenix

Welcome to the kingdom of Keltios!
I have the honor to present my fangame project: Pokémon Sacred Phoenix. Born on June 23, 2018, here it is officially presented in the community!
Currently developed on a heavily modded version 24 of PSDK, this ambitious project aims to bring audacity and originality both in terms of the scenario and Pokémon gameplay while retaining the very essence of this famous license. In the long term, it is on the open-source Godot engine that I want to develop on, because it is the only way to make a fangame worthy of my ambitions.

In the spirit of the Relic Castle's game jams, this project that will be free of public use in order to allow everyone to benefit from it, but also to be able to make a contribution to the edifice.

When a Legend falls into one of the eternal human conflicts, the Mythical King will lose his Guardian and will no longer be worthy of Arceus' Throne. From this fall will be reborn the curse of the Sovereign of Kalos. Then utter Shadow will plunge the Divine Pokémon into a tormented sleep, subjecting it to dark servitude.

From this Shadow that puts many Pokémons' souls to sleep, the Rebirth will shine with the Rainbow Bird. Blessed by the flames of the Sacred Fire and the unconditional Love of the Phoenix Prophet, the Pokémons of Light will restore the balance of the Legendaries ... For from the Shadow type is born the Light, the balance of the world will never be broken.

Pokémon Sacred Phoenix is a fan-game that will introduce you to the kingdom of Keltios, a medieval-fantasy world blessed by the Legendaries. Loving myths and legends, it is therefore only natural that I transcribe these passions through my creation. This will involve a unique project on many points, originalities that will make the strength of this project:

On Giratina's sphere (the plot):
What would a world be without adventures? A medieval-fantasy world is full of mages, prophecies, court intrigues, quests, enemies, battles, deaths, hope and heroes. Through a scenario that skillfully mixes Celtic inspiration and the richness of the official Pokémon Lore, you will live the Phoenix Prophecy and will be led to discover the origin of a mysterious evil (the Shadow type) corrupting the heart of some pocket monsters.

On Palkia's sphere (the space):
Keltios, a frontier nation of ancient Kalos, will be a brand-new land to explore. At the height of its glory, this historically rich kingdom remains twice the size of a traditional Pokémon region.

On Dialga's sphere (the time):
A very rare originality, the quest of the Sacred Phoenix will go far into the past: 500 years after the Kalosian reign of AZ, or 2500 years before the contemporary events of the Pokéworld. This implies the absence of almost all technologies. Forget about glass buildings, motor vehicles, computers, Pokémon Centers and modern medicines! It is an opportunity to discover new landscapes (tilesets) and a different philosophy of life, especially magic which is very prominent. It is thanks to it that the forging of Apricorns into Pokéballs was already known and mastered in Keltios. And to make sure you don't feel out of place, you will have the opportunity to "Gotta Catch 'Em All" and to collect dozens of pocket monsters thanks to a mage's privilege that you will inherit very quickly. Yes, an enchanted grimoire will act as a Pokédex!

On Arceus' sphere (the physical laws):
As magic replaces technology, the inhabitants have learned to live in symbiosis with nature and the "magical creatures" that populate it. You will learn for example that Pokémons recover their energy by camping or resting in an inn (or by praying at an altar), but also that battles can be deadly to your fellow travelers in case of a blow that is too powerful (feature that can be set in the options: disabled, realistic or Nuzlocke). Because yes, in Keltios, the carnal envelope of a Pokémon remains mortal and many trainers have shed tears as a consequence!

Generally speaking, the Pokémon gameplay will be revisited in order to get closer to a classic fantasy RPG while keeping the essence of the license.

The Sacred Phoenix Quest (and its secondary objectives) will lead you to visit all 22 kelt towns, but also potentially some of the 12 known cities beyond the borders.
After an introduction on Phoenix Hill, where your starter will be given to you, your story will start in the peaceful province of Alienor in the west of Keltios, to the battlefields near the Distortion Massif, and to the dream of every trainer: the Mt. Asgard, where the Colosseum of Arceus, the headquarters of the Pokémon League of Keltios, is built. The map is designed to offer you a semi-liberty inspired by open worlds while guiding you a minimum to avoid finding yourself in an off-level zone.

In keeping with the Pokémon tradition, most of the cities are themed around the Celtic tree. The geography will also make nods to ancient legends such as those of Avalon or Broceliande.

– A mature scenario rich in myths and legends, and where the Legendaries are honored as gods.
– Three Dragon Starters: Dratini, Bagon and Gible. All three final forms have their Mega-Evolution.
– Unique tilesets for a medieval-fantasy atmosphere
– Mapping using the terraforming technique: all Keltios maps have a realistic relief and are perfectly joined. This provides an organic environment and a semi-open world that will allow soaring in the sky between all areas.
– An orchestral soundtrack by Pipevanes and Braxton Burks!
– 3 rivals
– 10 Augurs (replacing Gym Leaders), 2 of which are optional. Each will give a Talisman, equivalent to a badge.
– Two sects that will act as Teams: the Cult of Darkrai and the Cult of Giratina.
– Fully customizable difficulty, from Assist Mode to Giratina's Hell (hardcore Nuzlocke).
– You can forfeit to most trainers and thus decline the battle (but it will be perceived as a dishonor by your party). It is also possible to explore Keltios without battle-capable Pokémon, but be careful not to make unfortunate encounters!
– A Game Over is present and can be triggered in three ways: being defeated by a hostile enemy (death match), being killed by one of your own Pokémon or having all your creatures die (with an optional Black Out Clause).
– Follow Me: you first Pokémon walks by your side. This can be toggled by [Ctrl] key and has implications on the gameplay.
– Presence of holy and cursed places. This impacts your magic and the behavior of your Pokémons.
– Shiny encounter chance increased to 1/1074. Shinies have better IVs.
– Alpha and Noble Pokémons !

They have a greater chance of being shiny because of their perfect IVs (1/266 and 1/64 chances respectively).
– Speed-up button ([F5] key).
– An internal clock for the game with its own calendar and season management.
– Harvest of Keltios: many wild plants can be harvested in the lands of Keltios and require no maintenance. Their productivity depends on the season, but the Floral Gift (a passive ability possessed by fully evolved Grass Pokémons) can speed up an almost ready harvest.
– New potions and healing items adapted to the old era of Keltios.
– A mining system allows you to collect the raw materials needed for crafting, including the creation of Pokéballs.
– Field Effects: Like Pokémon Reborn, battlefields will have a very significant influence on the power of attacks and will combine with weather and auras. The number of weathers will also be extended.
– Caught Overhaul: The capture mechanics have been revisited. A Pokémon that is not weakened or of too high level can deflect balls. Conversely, weakening them will significantly increase your chances of capture! At the same time, the Apricorns-based Pokéballs – the only ones present in Keltios – are rebalanced and offered in three levels of quality. Thus, each one of them will have its utility.
– Death Overhaul: The death of Pokémon will be a reality in Keltios: you will be able to lose your magical creatures if they are hit too hard. This can be set in the options (disabled / realistic / Nuzlocke mode). A reincarnation system is present and allows you to get some ghost Pokémons!
– Overkill mechanism: Grants a XP boost in case of a powerful fatal blow, but beware not to bloodshed too often.
– Loyalty Overhaul: Many parameters influence the feelings of your Pokémons. Gain their trust by giving them food or massaging them. Their level of friendship will have a real influence on battles and will determine how loyal they are to you. You can also instill fear in them to gain respect.
– XP Overhaul: Depending on the importance of the fights, the experience gain will be more or less important. At the same time, an original soft level cap greatly accelerates the experience gained if your Pokémon is underlevel and reduces it by half if your Pokémon is too high level. The overlevel also reduces the dread felt by your magical creature, which will impact the obedience they have for you. This effect can be compensated with high friendship.
– Pokémons can evolve mid-battle and trade evolutions are replaced by alternatives ones.
– A Keltios Pokédex made up of around 500 creatures, of which 15% are Fakemons and regional variants (known as "ancient" forms). New Mega-Evolutions are also present!
– Two new types: Shadow and Light. It will be possible to grant one of these two types to your Pokémon through a ritual.
– A rebalanced type chart!
– Status moves are divided into three sub-categories: buff, debuff, and terrain.
– Effectiveness Overhaul: Chances of hitting with a debuff move are influenced by type affinity. Affinity also influences the chances of inflicting a side effect and the rate of indirect or fixed damage.
– Statuses and critical hits have been overhauled.
– Haxx smoother: Minimizes the luck/bad luck discrepancies that frustrate players in battle. This will be done by taking into account the success or failure of the last actions. For example, if you failed your Blizzard, the next one will have more chances to succeed, and vice versa.
– EVs and IVs will be visible on the stats. The Pokémon summary will also include much more information than in the official games. (Great for fans of RPG feats).
– The EV system is rebalanced and expanded to be closer to what it was in Gen 1 / Gen 2, rewarding trainers who train the same Pokémon over the long term.
– Possibility to curse, strengthen or bless the IVs of your Pokémon in order to minimize or maximize them. All your magical creatures will have a chance to become "Perfect". The nature in battle can also be modified in the same manner as mints.
– The hermaphrodite gender for Pokémons and egg groups redone from scratch.
– Each Legendary Pokémon will have its own Legendary move and/or Ability, reflecting its divine power over the world.
– A craft system with the smithing art.
– Double and Triple battles with the possibility of meeting wild Pokémons in pairs or triples (the latter is a horde battle.)
– Wild Pokémons that will act as bosses and will be fought in 1 vs. 2. In return, they will be able to call for reinforcements in the manner of the SOS battles in SM/USUM.

– Completing the three branches of crafting: forging, alchemy and enchanting. (Forging is done, left Alchemy and Enchanting.)
– Develop the game in HD with a resolution of 1280x720 and sprites in 192x192 for the Pokémons. My ultimate wish is that these HD sprites are also animated.
– Augur Battles will take place in colosseums. (Pokémon matches are the most popular entertainment in Keltios and the public wants to see the show!) No puzzles in these buildings, but the Augurs will give you an Alola Trial-style quest before facing you.
– Augur Battles will follow the Gym leaders' rules of the Anime with a battlefield to their advantage and a no item clause.
– A Pokémon League in the form of a Double battle tournament in a sumptuous colosseum.
– Replacing PP system with 2 new energy gauges for your Pokémons: Mana and Breath. This will allow more than 4 moves per Pokémon.
– 6 tactical options instead of 4 in battle: Attack, Stances, Tactics, Pokémon, Bag and Run.
– Ho-Oh's Scepter will allow your character to use magic, including casting O-Power style spells, but also to Mega-Evolve your Pokémons and use the Z-Power.
– The Sacred Mega-Evolution! Find the true Mega-Evolution as it is described in the anime: the one that requires a sincere love towards your Pokémon. It will also allow the use of Z-moves.
– The possibility of performing Poké-Jobs, a kind of repeatable quest that will allow you to earn money without spilling the blood of your magical creatures.
– In-map use of HM moves based on the Pokémon's ability to learn the attack (instead of having it in its moveset) and the presence of Poké Ride.
– Integration of Pokémon Contests.

The Silvynis family is a lineage that has had several royal ancestors. The latest was Nimue the Pure, Mythical Queen who watched over Keltios a century ago. Going back in the genealogy, it is revealed that the blood of Morgana Harmonia and AZ of Kalos also runs in their veins.
Of course, as in any self-respecting Pokémon game, you can choose your character's name. Be aware that if you take the hero, the heroine will become one of your rivals and vice versa.

The hero

Only son of Brendan and Ygerne, Aranel is a young man of 18 who, after the death of his father, found hope by following the teachings of the Ho-Oh cult. Shy but honest, he has always dreamed of becoming friends with Pokémons. He is very close to his cousin Viviane.

The heroine

Only daughter of Elowen and Gorlois, Viviane is a young lady of 19 years. Her destiny seems to be linked to Aranel's, for she too saw her father die during the terrible battle of Taranus 11 years ago, the same battle where the Mythical King Oromis lost his Suicune. Like her cousin Aranel, she decided to follow the teachings of the Temple of Ho-Oh. Enthusiastic and determined, she has always been fascinated by the magic of Pokémons.

The Pokémon "Professor"

Fintan the Wise is the grandfather of Viviane and Aranel, 68 years old at the beginning of the adventure. Lord of Sylvan Town, his manor houses a vast library, his dream being to list all the existing Pokémons in Keltios. Legend has it that he even met Celebi in the Lake of Time when he was 12 years old. When he sees that his grandchild has inherited the Scepter of Ho-Oh, he will entrust him with the Pokégrimoire, an enchanted book that acts as an ancient Pokédex.

Gwydion

High Priest of Ho-Oh, he plays the role of your mentor during the beginning of the game. Guardian of the Scepter of Phoenix Pokémon, he masters the Sacred Mega-Evolution, but it seems that his artifact attracts dangerous lusts...

Kerdus

He is the blacksmith and the Lord of Tintignac, the second town in the game. Master in the art of making Pokéballs from Apricorns, he will teach his knowledge to our hero very early in his adventure. (Yes, there will be crafting!)

Aerouna

Intrepid damsel of the Draconid People and aspiring Dragon Rider, it was she who gave you one of the three dragon eggs she possessed as a reward for your initiation. She will keep you company as your second rival, for she too was entitled to her dragon hatching as the new Priestess of Rayquaza.

Sveifla

Sveifla is an enigmatic character. The son of a high-ranking person, he used to serve the Cult of Giratina, but was banished after losing control of his Shadow Pokémon. The scar on his face is a testament to this. In revenge, he stole a dragon egg from Duiraco and hatched it, and is now trying to rebuild his career as a trainer. He will cross your path several times and will act as your third rival.

AZ - Azoth of his real name

Former King of Kalos and master alchemist, his love for Pokémon earned him the trust of Xerneas and Yveltal. But at that time, the Legendaries refused to intervene in human wars, which cost the life of his Floette.
Despite the kindness of the two Guardians of Kalos who helped him create the Philosopher's Stone and resurrect his beloved Pokémon, the sovereign succumbed to his dark side by freeing Giratina from the Distortion World. The ultimate weapon was created and ravaged Keltios, ending a 16-year war... but at the cost of his Floette's departure and an unforgivable reputation as a god of destruction in the eyes of the kelts. The only thing he was able to keep was his Philosopher's Stone, which is why he is still living 500 years later, wandering around looking for his redemption. Our heroes will cross his path several times.

Unos the Mythical King

Successor of Oromis, he is the current Mythical King of Keltios. He is the first mortal to have obtained the allegiance of three Legendaries at the same time, including Arceus himself. Needless to say, with so many divine Pokémons at his side, he is an exceptionally powerful trainer!

The equivalent of Gym Leaders, Augurs are the head of each Keltios Cult. Guardians of the wisdom of the Legendary they represent; they will subject you to a trial (like the Trials of Alola) if you express the desire to them to face them. Succeed in their quest, and they will then give you an appointment in their arena backed by the Temple, coliseums offering very beautiful shows for the inhabitants of their city.
These official Keltios League battles will be tough, as Augurs treat their magical creatures with the utmost love, healing items will be forbidden, you won't be able to send more Pokémon than your opponent has, and the arena's terrain will be significantly to their advantage. A small concession, however: you will be allowed to switch Pokémon for free if you knock out one of the Augur's magical creatures, and the Augur will never be allowed to switch voluntarily. In short, it's exactly the official rules of the Gym battles from the Anime.
Triumph and you will be rewarded with a Talisman, a badge that will reinforce your authority over your pocket monsters and unlock a quest that will allow you to learn a field move... And let's not forget the applause of the audience who will reward you with a nice amount of gold!

List of Augurs

Awena: Augur of Celebi – specialized Grass and Psychic-type
Meirion: Augur of Kyogre – specialized Water and Ice-type
Aedan: Augur of Groudon – specialized Fire and Ground-type
Blodwyn: Augur of Xerneas – specialized Fairy and Grass-type
Arianna: Augur of Lugia – specialized Water, Flying and Psychic-type
Houarnon: Augur of Heatran – specialized Fire, Steel and Rock-type
Erwana: Augur of Yveltal – specialized Dark and Ghost-type
Cerridwyn: Augur of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf – specialized Psychic and Light-type (It will be a Trio Combat)
Neñvel: Augur of Rayquaza – specialized Dragon and Electric-type
Ambros: Augur of Ho-Oh – specialized Fire and Flying-type

Note that the Augurs of Ho-Oh and Heatran will be optional (although highly recommended). The first one, because you'll already have his Talisman from being initiated by the priests of Ho-Oh, the second one because it won't unlock a field move that's essential to the main quest (and the League of Keltios only requires 9 Talismans to compete).
You'll also notice that their teams won't be monotype, but in the theme of the Legendary that fits them.

Spoiler

Sacred Phoenix renews the battle mechanics in depth, offering a new wind on the Pokémon license.

If your will is to be surprised and discover everything by yourself, follow the path of Azelf. The scenario will introduce you to these new features gradually.

But if you choose the path of Uxie and wish his knowledge, a documentation has been specially written for you. It is available in the "doc" folder of the game.

Fintan's library contains many books that can be accessed from the shelves of his manor. For an independent reading of the game, these writings are also available in PDF format. A good majority of the gameplay changes are described there, as well as some of the lore.

The library of Fintan the Wise (French version) (Spanish version)

Since June 23, 2018, Sacred Phoenix has grown and developed. The changelog traces its history.

View the changelog (French version)

This short document lists the questions related to the installation or the update of the game.

https://www.sacredphoenix.fr/res/Telechargements/PDF/FAQ/FAQ and troubleshooting_EN.pdf

Game download: Alpha v0.4.0.10 of November 11th, 2024

Available languages:

/

/

Includes the full prologue + Chapter 1, approximately 1 hour of gameplay - up to 2 hours with the side quests and optional content
The city of Gortelda, and the first Augur battle are our next goals.

Official website of Sacred Phoenix
Official Discord (boosted at level 2)
Deviantart gallery
Twitter
Youtube Channel

Spoiler

Project team:

• Amras Anárion: Project Lead, Lead Writer, Game Designer, Level Designer, Programmer, Community Manager, Game Artist, Pixel Artist and Translator
• Altarax: Programmer
• Cataclyptic: Game Artist
• Dracoyan: Pixel Artist
• Eysselia: Game Artist
• Gas : Programmer
• Splittingjaws: Game Artist (artwork of Fakemons)
• Sulucnal : Programmer
• Thunungu: Community Manager, Pixel Artist, Translator

Honorary members:

• FlorianDX: Game Artist, Pixel Artist
• Millie: Help for artwork
• Palkioss: Community Manager
• PixelCraft: Pixel Artist
• Sipondo : Programmeur

Former team members:

• BlizzardFeather: Game Artist
• Bugfix: Beta Tester
• Cottens: Game Artist, Programmer, Web manager, secondary Beta Tester
• Frillecho: Pixel Art for Fakemons
• KiriariSan : Game Artist for OCs
• MusicallyRoy: Musician
• Pipevanes: Musician, Translator

Credits from members who provided one-time help:

• Arnik: Concepts of Fakemons from his former project "Cristal de Jade", Pixel artist
• Galax: Musician
• JasCas: Sounds effects
• LOX: artwork of the regional Druddigon
• Pixâme: collab for the tiles of the Fintan Manor
• Samueljoo: Game Artist
• SkaraBdort: score of the Keltios hymn
• Vulvoch: tiles of the Ivy Tower
• Yjchigo: script help

Credits for external contributors:

-- Tilesets --

• Alucus
• aveontrainer
• Chaoticcherrycake
• carchagui
• Celiana
• Chimcharsfireworkd
• GameFreak - Pokémon HGSS
• Inkaline
• Kyle-Dove
• Magiscarf
• princess-phoenix
• Redshrike
• Saurav
• WesleyFG
• Phyromatical
• Evolina

-- Sprites --

• RBRNNova
• Oniwanbashu
• Conyjams (sprites of Galar's forms)
• KingOfThe-X-Roads (Gen 9 fronts)
• Caruban (Gen 9 backs)
• DarkusShadow (Gen 9 OWs)
• ezerart (Gen 9 icons)

-- Artworks --

• Cdhernly
• TRXPICS

-- Various graphics --
- Sidney Eileen (http://sidneyeileen.com) - graphic design elements

-- Music --

• Braxton Burks (https://www.connorgriffinmusic.com)
• GameFreak for the music from official games
• Adrian Von Ziegler (https://adrianvonziegler.bandcamp.com/)
• Dasgust (title screen score)
• BellBlitzKing (SFX rip for the Pokémon games)

-- PSDK game engine credits --
https://psdk.pokemonworkshop.fr/wiki/en/credits.html

 

[Amras Anárion]

Happy New Year and good health in 2024
We kick off this new cycle with a Sacred Phoenix feature under the sign of friendship. The Shiny Leaves of HGSS will be present in Keltios, rewarding you for traveling through Keltios with your Walking Pokémon bathed in love.
At the same time, talking regularly to your "follow me" will reward you with items they can find, the same as with the Pick Up ability.

 

[Dharakjoo]

I can't wait to want to see Chapter 1. ^w^

 

[safr]

Happy New Year and good health in 2024
We kick off this new cycle with a Sacred Phoenix feature under the sign of friendship. The Shiny Leaves of HGSS will be present in Keltios, rewarding you for traveling through Keltios with your Walking Pokémon bathed in love.
At the same time, talking regularly to your "follow me" will reward you with items they can find, the same as with the Pick Up ability.

Happy new year

 

[Amras Anárion]

Field effects in the style of Pokémon Reborn are coming soon to Sacred Phoenix. One of the oldest Ideals to become a Truth, making it the first French fan-game to implement them.
My system was conceived as a whole encompassing terrain, climates and battle auras, all three influences having been balanced together. This video focuses on the climate system and its influence: no less than 15 weather conditions will be present in my fangame, some of which are amplifiable or cumulative.
It's also an opportunity to show off Mega-Dragonite ant its mastery of storms.

Happy new year

Happy new year to you too!

I can't wait to want to see Chapter 1. ^w^

I've almost finished coding the field effects, which means the next release won't be long in coming (less than a week, that's for sure).

 

[Amras Anárion]

News dev diary entry:

I am announcing a new entry for the developer diary. It's been 7 months since I last wrote anything on it, preferring instead short and raw Youtube videos showing the latest coded features, announced for those who follow my channel, my Discord or my Twitter.

Developer diaries #11 - January 2024

Spoiler

Entry 10

Half a year has passed since the last entry in this journal. The reason for this is that I’ve been throwing all my energies into tasks that are not tangible from the public’s point of view: the creation of databases and the coding of features planned since the birth of the project.
As a result, there have been no public updates in all this time, and it was pointless to keep players waiting for the fangame, given that my roadmap made any new release impossible for a long time.


Many Ideals realized behind the scenes

And things happened! To avoid making a long text, I will make a list of all the new features:
– Move database completed.
– Progress on the Pokémon database, with almost 210 forms coded. Missing creatures will be coded as the need arises.
– Fully functional Shadow and Light Pokémons.
– New item database, including HD mugshot system
– Integration of Sacred Mega Evolution (possible thanks to the new item database).
– New database for wild encounters, with dynamic operation according to season, time and weather + random double battles.
– Integration of Alpha Pokémons (which have a one-in-128 chance of appearing randomly)
– Integration of the first regional forms, Mega-Evolutions and Fakemons of Keltios, some of which can be obtained as early as Route 1. (The public demo of February 2023 has none of this!)
– Integration of the first Pokémons from the last two generations (around thirty are planned). New abilities and moves are also included.
– Mapping of almost the entire exterior of Eleanor + macro-mapping of the next 4 Shires (all their maps are schematized in OW and geolocated on the worldmap thanks to a hand-crafted database).
– Thanks to Altarax, forging crafting is now functional, and the option menu has been improved.
– Translation of the Game design document about friendship (including some game design adjustments).
– And the latest addition: Pokémon Reborn-style Field Effects (including a weather system with 15 weather conditions in addition to terrains) are now fully coded, including a 90-page game design document written (and translated) for the occasion.

For all the details, I refer you to the official changelog.


A break in recruitment

After a fairly successful recruitment campaign launched last spring, I realized that it was difficult to keep new recruits motivated, for one simple reason: from their point of view, they don’t see any progress on the fangame. This nuance is important and legitimizes their feelings, since there have been no public updates to Sacred Phoenix for 11 months. This gives them the illusion that nothing is moving forward, and that their contributions will end up without a destiny.

In truth, all my energy in 2023 has been devoted to coding and creating databases, which is a non-tangible aspect of fangame development. Now that this is largely achieved, I will finally be able to focus on progressing the scenario, that is to say tangible content from the point of view of the players (and team members).

In the meantime, I’m taking a break from recruiting (although any spontaneous applications will still be gladly accepted) and will relaunch a campaign when I’m really in a tangible creation phase. I may even ask for an RPG Maker mapper, something I never thought I’d delegate.


This month’s goals

First thing I’m announcing: a fangame update will be released tomorrow! It is both shadow and light, because so much has changed:
– All the features listed above are now in game.
– … but there’s still no additional scenario (apart from the beginning of an interior in Kerdus Manor).

That said, things are going to speed up from now on! I’ve got all the scripts I need to finish Chapter 1, and the wild encounter zones are all done for the first three routes. In concrete terms, all I need is the artwork for the score book (even if it means using a placeholder) and a few tiles for the Tintignac interiors, but a second update with real additional content is likely to arrive in less than a month’s time.

We look forward to seeing you at Keltios. Now that the tree has taken root, it can grow!​

​

My old entries have been published on my Deviantart journal. For those who want to read them, this is where you will find them.
https://www.deviantart.com/anarlaurendil/journal/


Concerning the latest videos, here they are:

Shiny Leaf and Leaf Crown from HGSS

Combinable weathers (Field Effects)

Pledge moves (Field Effects)




And finally, the big news:

Tomorrow I'm releasing a Sacred Phoenix update containing all these new gameplay features.
Yes, things will finally move after 11 months without a public update.

 

[safr]

Cool

 

[Amras Anárion]

An update for Sacred Phoenix (0.4.0.6) has just been released.
As said in the devs' diary in the previous news, this update is paradoxical in that it doesn't yet include any story content, but adds many extra features, the most memorable being Field Effects and dynamic wild encounters that pave the way for first Fakemons and regional forms.
In any case, this is a milestone that will allow me to finally concentrate on the scenario.
In other words, the pace of updates will accelerate drastically. The next update may arrive within 2 weeks.

You can download it below with the changelog, and good news: saves from an old game are now compatible (but your creatures' moveset and Pokédex will be reset due to a change in structure, so be warned).

Download link: https://www.sacredphoenix.fr/res/Telechargements/Fan-game/Sacred_Phoenix.7z
(Alpha 0.4.0.6, about 30 minutes of gameplay)

Changelog: Current development cycle: "Yggdrasil's Roots
https://www.sacredphoenix.fr/res/Telechargements/PDF/FAQ/Changelog Sacred Phoenix_EN.pdf

 

[Dharakjoo]

An update for Sacred Phoenix (0.4.0.6) has just been released.
As said in the devs' diary in the previous news, this update is paradoxical in that it doesn't yet include any story content, but adds many extra features, the most memorable being Field Effects and dynamic wild encounters that pave the way for first Fakemons and regional forms.
In any case, this is a milestone that will allow me to finally concentrate on the scenario.
In other words, the pace of updates will accelerate drastically. The next update may arrive within 2 weeks.

You can download it below with the changelog, and good news: saves from an old game are now compatible (but your creatures' moveset and Pokédex will be reset due to a change in structure, so be warned).

Download link: https://www.sacredphoenix.fr/res/Telechargements/Fan-game/Sacred_Phoenix.7z
(Alpha 0.4.0.6, about 30 minutes of gameplay)

Changelog: Current development cycle: "Yggdrasil's Roots
https://www.sacredphoenix.fr/res/Telechargements/PDF/FAQ/Changelog Sacred Phoenix_EN.pdf

I-I see... I guess we have to wait the story content then. Oh, thanks for the warning Amras. 0_0

 

[hoshe]

I reveal to you today the ninth entry of my development diary. Since it's about 8 minutes of reading, I put it under the spoiler.
You will discover what the current obstacles to development are and what our objectives are. This month's entry focuses on coding, the main bottleneck.

Developer diaries #9 - January 2022

Spoiler

Entry 9

Three months have passed since the last entry. This is due to a slowing down of the development, itself due to several factors. But like the waves of the ocean, the progress is made in pulses: little progress until mid-December, but then it’s back to work with a great progress on the coding! This will be the theme of this ninth journal!


Pharaonic coding ambitions

Around mid-September, I started a huge project: redoing the database of all Pokémon moves from scratch. This step was necessary if I wanted to implement new data (the native PSDK one didn’t allow me to do so). It was also the perfect opportunity to add all the attacks added by Sacred Phoenix, never coded except for a handful of Shadow-type.

Before any coding, I had to establish the game design around the Pokémon attacks and ask myself all the right questions:
– How to define an attack and in what format?
– What are the possible categories, types, and side effects?
– Since I’ve divided the Status attacks into 3 subcategories (Buff, Debuff and Terrain), which ones will be in which subcategory?
– How many methods will it take to define all the existing moves?
– What are the possible attack ranges?
– What tags will I use and what are their effects?
– For the added data (Mana, Breath, elemental damage on the field...), what values should I assign?
– And of course, what rebalancing and modifications to make to all this? ...something already started 3 years ago! A perfect opportunity to take a critical look at all the existing moves and revise the ones that need it, while establishing harmonized changes to my own mechanics.

This will be done in Word format (not Excel), as it allows me a more advanced layout and the use of a color code to mark my changes compared to the vanilla mechanisms of Pokémon:
– Red = dexited move
– Dark red = nerfed element
– Blue = modification without significant impact on power
– Green = improved element
That’s about half of all the moves that will be rebalanced. This can range from a minor change (like a very slightly adjusted power) to a more profound overhaul by integrating my Fields Effects for example (but that’s another topic!).

The second major advantage of having such a list, sorted by type and then category, is that it gives me a clean and organized view of all existing moves. It’s a great help to me to establish the movepool of my Fakemons (or to revise those of the already existing creatures), because the official list established by date of addition (and thus by generation) has a clearly random arrangement ... not to mention that it doesn’t refer to my new attacks, nor exclude the ones I’ve decided to dexit (about 160 out of the 900 existing official ones).

An excerpt of shadow-type attacks: some are new, others have been balanced​

From Ideal to Truth

Now I have to write down all these ideas. So, I start by writing the list of attacks and all the characteristics that will be called by the code (type, power, accuracy, list of tags...)
I start at the beginning of October and I manage to maintain a cruising rhythm by referencing 40 new moves per day. But when I got to the 4th generation ones, my motivation started to wane. At the end of October, I was at 400 referenced attacks; then I stagnated around 500-600 until the beginning of December, adding only 10 or 20 on the rare days when I had courage.

Around December 10th was a tipping point: Eysselia took the lead and decided to give me a deadline to finish this damn list of abilities. Even though the deadline itself was not met (I would have finished the game design document 3 days late), it allowed me to go full steam ahead and finish the 300 missing moves in 10 days, even allowing me the luxury of including the brand-new Gen 9’s attacks!

But we still had to transform the game design into concrete code! Let’s go for a long copy-paste session from the Word to the Ruby script, abusing the [Ctrl] + [H] and regexes to semi-automate the formatting as much as possible! Don’t forget to create methods to extract the desired data and then test the code to hunt for bugs. (A Class migration is very delicate to manage!) This took me about ten more days.

Putting it into practice in code. The majority of flags are managed by independent lists.​

When the Field Effects invite themselves to the party ...

Today, this key step is almost finished. I just have to check that the attack’s methods (the “FunctionCode” in Essentials jargon) – completely renamed – are all existing in the new code. And that’s when I realized that some vanilla mechanics have never been coded in the game, even though some of them date back to Gen 6.
So, I went back to work on another important project that I had planned since the birth of the fangame: the Field Effects. Luckily, the game design on this feature was written in large part during the month of October, when my motivation was wavering for the referencing of moves. Thus, I wouldn’t have wasted my time and already have a base on which to start my coding!
Estimated time to code this feature and reach this additional goal: 15 days.


The other coding projects

Once this major Ideal has become a Truth, I will have to resume my main objectives that I left in September, namely to code the crafting system (yes, more coding!) and to finish the scenario, the Event-Making and the mapping of the second town of the game.
Don’t forget that I am the only person with coding skills in the team. All of these tasks rest solely on my shoulders, which undoubtedly makes programming the bottleneck of the project.
At least, I tell myself that all the code is already ready and will significantly facilitate my migration to another game engine such as Godot or Essentials. The raw data is already formatted, I would only have to create the methods so that the game uses mine and not the ones native to the framework.


A word about savegame compatibility

Such a profound change in the data structure unfortunately makes old saves incompatible, as there are too many conflicts to solve. Furthermore, coding “compatibility patches” significantly impairs the readability of the code and the performance of the game (especially when they are routines called in combat).
So, I took the opportunity of this reset to remove all the lines of code that are dedicated to old savegames compatibility. It’s also the perfect opportunity to modify the Pokémon data structure. As the data structure will be swollen with about a hundred of new data (I plan to manage a large history of actions and achievements of your magical creatures), it is important to cut the dead branches and to trim the thick ones. I’m just hoping to have time to restructure everything I want about Pokémon so that there is no future save incompatibilities (at least as long as I stay on PSDK).

One thing is sure: we are officially leaving the “Roots of Yggdrasil” cycle to move towards “The Branches of Knowledge”, a cycle that is characterized by significant changes on the databases. The next update will be a 0.4!


The sinking of Deviantart

It’s impossible not to mention this in our diary as it has been one of the causes of demotivation in the last few weeks.
Deviantart and its new “anti-NSFW” policy blindly assigned to an artificial intelligence has caused a significant loss of visibility to the project (from 40 to 80% of views drop!), and in turn a loss of morale on the team. Indeed, our Deviantart account alone represented more than 50% of the public visibility of Sacred Phoenix. It hurts my heart to see some of the images of our portfolio shadow-banned and crossed out with a big “mature content” for unregistered users (as much as 80% of our views), because a robot decided so, while our fangame has never published a mature artistic work.
So, we went looking for alternatives and decided to promote Sacred Phoenix in English on two new social networks: Instagram and Tumblr (in addition to Twitter where the communication is done in French). This will avoid having all our eggs in one basket.

It’s also an opportunity to improve our communication by doing more quality and less quantity, as I was already doing on PokéCommunity and Relic Castle. Before, raw images were published one by one on Deviantart. Now, our art is revealed with the colors of the project. It feels more professional.

My old entries have been published on my Deviantart journal. For those who want to read them, this is where you will find them.
https://www.deviantart.com/anarlaurendil/journal/

this is some incredible art work id love to play it some time when it gets finished

 

[Amras Anárion]

Introducing a major new NPC in Keltios: the bard (or bardess, depending on location).
This character has the same functions as Jack of Sword and Shield ( https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Jack_(Galar) ). Like him, who used to be found in every Pokémon center in Galar, every inn will have at least one bard offering these services, all free of charge.
And a little bonus: these minstrels will agree to challenge you to a battle in front of the inn's clientele, allowing you to earn a little money. These battles will be repeatable, with a delay of 1 to 2 days before they can be faced again.



That's one more major feature completed, offering a welcome Quality of Life to optimize your party.

In terms of progress, Tintignac is completely finished, if we disregard the scripting inside the Kerdus Manor, which remains to be done. The stores are up and running, and even the mills have a purpose. (I'll let you find out.)
All that's left to write and script is the final phase of Chapter 1 (bringing the Score book back to Fintan in his manor.), as well as scripting the initiation to the forge.

this is some incredible art work id love to play it some time when it gets finished

I hope so too, as I still have 3 important elements to put in place before release:

• Script the forge initiation in Kerdus Manor (+ repeatable battle with Kerdus to propose)
• Script the end of Chapter 1 in Fintan Manor
• Map and script events at Talonflames' Farm.

+ the finishing touch: place three Trainers on Route 2 and three more on the first half of Route 3, not forgetting to block the crossing points.

The next update will therefore have a minimum of 11 Trainers. That's quite a change from the 3 Trainers in the current demo, which has been stuck at this level for 2 or 3 years.

 

[Amras Anárion]

An update for Sacred Phoenix has been released on April 27th. Welcome to 0.4.0.7!

On the menu: triple, Horde and SOS battles... and above all... additional content!

After 2 years and 9 months in which the main quest ended at the start of Chapter 1, this one is now complete. We've also gone from 3 to 15 unique Trainers (not counting scripted wild battles) plus 2 side quests, giving you a total of 2 hours of gameplay if you do this optional content with the main story arc. Things should speed up in the future, now that 80% of the planned features have been coded.

Coming up: Gortelda, the Ivy Tower dungeon and the first Augur battle! The download link is available in the first post of this thread, as usual.

Note: the game is currently in version 0.4.0.8, a hotfix to fix some bugs having been published on April 28th.

 

[Amras Anárion]

It's been a while since I've posted any news. Summer vacation is here, and it's always a time when things slow down.
But the game is still in development ;) See our Discord for the real time updates.
As proof, here is the speedpaint of the artwork of Myrddin, Jarl of Bréliande Shire in Keltios. High Priest of Xerneas, he is also one of the kingdom's most talented enchanters.
Artwork created by Eysselia.

 

[Amras Anárion]

Here's Myrddin's artwork. Thanks to him, the clergy of Xerneas is now complete!
As a Master Enchanter in Keltios, he'll help you perfect this art.

Background of the Jarl of Bréliande :​

Myrddin was born in 464 in a Galar forest to a family of bards who passed on to him their passion for writing and knowledge of lore. Although his island kingdom had its own legends (such as that of the two warrior wolves or the Harvest King), it had been a long time since there had been any warlike or divine exploits on this island.
This was not the case in neighboring kingdoms, where merchants reported the presence of Legendaries, particularly in Keltios.
This was all it took for Myrddin to cross the Azure Sea in his teens and land on the mainland. He had one goal in mind: Ynis Witrin, a place that had appeared to him in a dream.

After a few months' initiation into the druidic community of the Dolmen of Ascension in Kalos, he took a new boat and docked at Gortelda to pass through the Bréliande Forest, a place steeped in history. As he lost his way in the Valley of No Return and found himself bewitched by a Hatterene, he was saved by a fairy-like glow. Xerneas had appeared!
From that day on, he fell in love with the forest and settled in Fearnos. He followed the teachings of the Goddess of Life and rose through the ranks with relative ease. When he became a Priest, his wish was granted, as he had the honor of being invited to Ynis Witrin in the year 485 and taught by their priestesses. There, he acquired an exceptional mastery of the art of enchantment, and struck up a close friendship with the Mythical King Oromis, who saw great potential in him.

When the battle of North Tears broke out in 488, his enchanting skills were put to good use to consecrate the items held by the magical creatures sent to the front. Unfortunately, this was not enough, and many died, including the Jarl of Bréliande. Faced with the urgent need not to leave a Shire without a sovereign, Myrddin was appointed by Oromis to replace him. This was the Mythical King's last royal decree before he was forced to abdicate by the death of his Legendary, which occurred two days later.

The following years were devoted to mastering his art, until he became the best enchanter in the whole kingdom. And so it fell to him to secretly consecrate the Scepter of Phoenix, the Scepter of Deer and the Scepter of Firmament with the Mythical Stones of Ho-Oh, Xerneas and Rayquaza respectively, enabling these relics to rival the Jewel of Life of Arceus. In gratitude, he earned the rank of High Priest of Xerneas, in addition to his title of Jarl, which he had held for 11 years.

When the hero arrives in Fearnos, Myrddin will help him perfect his Enchanting skills, if the player character has not gone beyond the novice rank. He will also teach him a few recipes and offer him a friendly fight once a week in the Fairy Colosseum.
He's not forgetting his Galarian origins, and won't hesitate to talk about the lands he traversed during his adolescence, including the Dolmen of Ascension in Kalos, which he visited when he was around 15.

 

[aly]

I really hope people's playing this. The game really have unique take on the pokemon role

 

[Astefia]

Why does VirusTotal say 5 vendors flagged the launchers of this game as trojans?

 

[Amras Anárion]

Why does VirusTotal say 5 vendors flagged the launchers of this game as trojans?

I talked about it on the Discord and replied to you.
This fangame has been around for over 5 years, and the files you cite have never changed since 2020. With nearly 20,000 downloads and therefore potential players, I can guarantee you that this is a false positive.

PS: I've asked VirusTotal to update the file analysis (last recorded analysis was 3 years old), and the detection has gone down from 5/64 to 3/74.

 

[Amras Anárion]

A minor update (0.4.0.9) has just been released.

It corrects a potentially annoying bug with multi-hit attacks (possible crash), another where Pokémons at the back of the player's bench were randomly shuffled between turns, and a final one related to difficulty settings.
But the most important advance remains the mapping of the Gortelda side, which is starting to take shape (the Ivy Tower is accessible, for example, even if it's still completely empty of occupants).

Example of latest maps :

If you're exploring in off-map mode, remember to return within the confines of Tintignac (or any older map) before saving, at the risk of getting stuck outside during the next update.

 

[wingzero93]

Played Sacred Phoenix during its first initial release when the demo came out, and I absolutely loved the story/gameplay. So excited to see that there's a new update for the game. Keep up the amazing work!!

 

[safr]

A minor update (0.4.0.9) has just been released.

It corrects a potentially annoying bug with multi-hit attacks (possible crash), another where Pokémons at the back of the player's bench were randomly shuffled between turns, and a final one related to difficulty settings.
But the most important advance remains the mapping of the Gortelda side, which is starting to take shape (the Ivy Tower is accessible, for example, even if it's still completely empty of occupants).

Example of latest maps :

If you're exploring in off-map mode, remember to return within the confines of Tintignac (or any older map) before saving, at the risk of getting stuck outside during the next update.

Beautiful

 

[Amras Anárion]

A minor update (0.4.0.10) has just been released.

The three most important additions are:

• Death Overhaul's hunting loot: killing a wild Pokémon allows you to recover crafting raw materials from it.
• Form management in the Pokédex + improved mouse ergonomics
• The "search" mode of the bag has had its behavior corrected

Feel free to report any bugs you see.
What is certain is that our next step is the mapping of Gortelda, so expect some new features in the main storyline for the next update.