It's been over six months since the New Year's demo, and so it's high time you heard what's happening with FFVII: Rebirth.
Firstly, Rebirth isn't dead. Whilst it's true I haven't been able to do much work on it since the demo, that doesn't mean the project is abandoned. But although it isn't dead, it does need some surgery. My plans for Rebirth grew into a horrible, sprawling mess. I didn't just want to 'rebalance' FF7, I wanted completely new encounters, bosses, AI and field scenes. This wasn't what I originally set out to do: to make FF7 fairer, more fun to play, and a lot more 'involving'.
So that's why I'm formally commiting to a more 'stripped-down' Rebirth, released iteratively (perhaps on a monthly basis). 'Iteratively' means I won't be waiting until everything is 'just so' - rather, I'll be releasing revision after revision, listening to player feedback until we together reach an ideal finishing point.
So, what will the 'new' Rebirth still feature?
- status spells that are genuinely useful, and status effects that *matter*
- rebalanced limit breaks, where one limit in a level isn't unambiguously 'better' than its counterpart
- an enemy element and status defence class system- better individuated character stats
- more interesting weapons, often 'sidegrades' rather than 'upgrades'
- new, less game-breaking enemy skills- holy, air and wind element abilities
- armor and accessories that promote more 'stategic' gameplay
- *by popular demand:* a controllable Nibelheim Sephiroth
- a 'meltdown' like status
- stronger enemies
- a true MDef. fix
- enemies that employ the newer spells
As time goes on, I'll be able to start adding some of the more ambitious changes the earlier Rebirth attempted. These include completely new enemy behaviours, NPCs that talk about local enemies, new bosses / enemy encounters, and a few more things I can't reveal yet.
OK. So when are you going to release?
I don't know. But this time, I *will* be providing regular updates. See my thread on QHIMM for the latest news.
You're the best. It seems that the Wolfire tactic of constant small updates really works. I commend you for the continued effort.
Thank you for your great effort! Can't wait to play FF7 again in a more difficult version!