News and Updates

Fan Projects Update: CTOSV
Well, it seems what I did not want to happen, has happened.....
  Almost three years ago now, I started on a venture to have an almost "piano collections" type album for Chrono Trigger. The inspiration for this venture came from the internet musician trend at the time, started by people like the Blindfolded Pianist (now the VGP). From the VGP's forums, this project was born and had many musicians in it. It seemed that it would be done within the year. The months went on and with the VGP's forum dissapearence, went the pianists. At that time pianists were hard to find, but I still managed to keep it up. This was followed by the complete destruction of my computer, in which almost all of the songs were lost. At that time, many of the original musicians were gone, and all contact with them was lost, making the retaining of the songs impossible. From there I continued to try and keep the project running, which leads to now.
 
At this day and age on the internet, the video game pianist base/fanbase is almost gone (compared to what it was.) Finding musicians willing to record large numbers of songs is nearly impossible. So that said, I am discontinuing the CTOSV Live project.
  However, there are still many tracks recorded (not as much as I had before the PC collapse.) I will be doing my best to master these and get them into an album of some sort by mid November at the latest. It will feature about 20+ songs, and if I can find any, some bonus material of some sort.
  I would like to thank all of you who have kept your interest in the project these past 3 years and who have contributed in any way. A big thank you to Zeality for letting us use this board. I am sorry that it had to come to a close, but as they say "thems the breaks."
    Keep an eye out for the remains of the project, coming in mid november.
    Thank you

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CHRONO CROSS Explored! Monolith Soft, Eminence Videos, New Doujin, Etc.
Chrono Cross has been explored on a double front thanks to the relentless efforts of the new Guru of Time, FaustWolf. The Chrono Cross Demo has been penetrated and several interesting graphics have been found. Specifically, Pierre's first design, dialogue icons for a Nu / Quadffid / Ketchop / strange Belthasar or male Direa, and other interesting differences have been discovered. You can even download an archive of the demo's dynamic textures, or view composite images of prototype character art / dialogue art. There's just too much to describe here; hit the Cross Demo Page and check it out!

On to the main game: FaustWolf is spearheading an effort to map Chrono Cross's file structure and eventually extract its individual assets (such as static textures and character models). The situation is very dynamic and constantly changing. We've already ripped all the dynamic TIM texture files and the basic STR cut scene files, and with Ramsus's help, FaustWolf is adding the offsets to a master spreadsheet listing Cross's data. New opportunities on the horizon include ripping character models (it HAS been done in the past; we're trying to contact the guy who did it), exploring Terminus Traduction's notes, finding the prerendered background textures, and ripping the high-resolution battle character textures. Relevant threads are here and here. Check out a taste of what success in this arena shall give us by clicking the image below. Also, don't forget to check out interesting dynamic textures I've found here. You can download the entire dynamic texture pack for Cross here; any help identifying the unknown ones is appreciated.



Monolith Soft plans to release a new game for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2008 named Soma Bringer, with the music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. What's also remarkable is that a character looks a lot like Crono (though, rest assured, this is not affiliated with the Crono franchise). There's also a Sephiroth clone in there. The press release is here, and here are the screenshots. Click the banner below.



We're a little late with this, but here we go. Eminence (a VGM quintet) toured the US and Japan this summer, playing a couple gigs in each country. The Japan concert sold out at lightspeed, and the Otakon concert was a packed house. Yasunori Mitsuda and Hitoshi Sakimoto were at both. Thanks to enterprising guests, bootlegs of the Eminence recordings have been released on Youtube. To view results encompassing the whole shenanigan, click here. I'm ripping the .FLV videos from Youtube for preservation in our archives. They also released a professional recording made during their Passion! tour back in May; I've contacted them to see if any copies are available, since it sold out pretty quickly at fests.

PHOENIX Project, a group of Japanese VGM remixers and musicians, have put out a new Chrono Trigger doujin named Resolution Trigger. Find their project page here. I have not been able to find this at VGMC to add it to the Compendium music archive, so if you have this doujin, let me know.

As alluded to earlier, FaustWolf is now the Guru of Time as Leebot has been absent for a few months. His example has solved the issue of what to award the position of Guru of Time for. Previously, Life was awarded for creative / fan project activity, Reason for outstanding leadership, and Time for deep analysis. With the cool-down of analysis, Time's demesne became sort of extinct. Well, that's remedied now. As of this post, the position of Guru of Time is rewarded for aggressive, deep research into any subject in the Chrono series. FaustWolf is our new Guru of Time thanks to his beloved investigation of Chrono Cross's file structure and assets. This project will add much-needed luster to Cross fandom and expand the Chrono experience by indulgence in the game's workings and beautiful presentation.

RyanWMD2006 has officially opened his fan project, Chrono Distortion. He states, "This game is basically about the fate of the Original Chrono Trigger Team, and it takes place 5 years after the original game." Read more and view screenshots at this thread.

People's Remixing Competition #104 recently wrapped up; the song to be covered was "Robo Gang Johnny". This sort of thing doesn't attract the best quality, but it's worth a definite look. The results have been added (along with a Black Omen piece from PRC #19) to the encyclopedia. For the fast track: [ 1 Funky Johnny by Alex Smith - 2 Open Mic Night by TheoConfidor - 3 Arrogance my Chickenwarlord - 4 An Otherworld Awaits Robo Gang Johnny by Nario - WIP 'Robogang' by zircon - PRC19 Black Amen by LAOS ]

In speedrunning news, inichi's latest research has discovered a menu trick allowing him to skip the Guardian, Zombor, and Nizbel 2 boss battles and skip the Day of Lavos Video, Kino dialogue, and Melchior's workshop sequence for repairing the Masamune. In a couple months, he'll start his new speedrun, and he's sure to shave off many a minute with these new techniques. Follow his progress here.

I'll wrap things up with bits and pieces. First, fanart from Silver: [ Humanoid Lavos ] I also added valandro23's "When Crono Meets Serge" comic here. Second, I stumbled upon a Japanese imageboard where Temporal Flux and CT ROM hacking are being discussed. Course, we have no way of knowing what they're saying...anyway, it's here. Finally, stay tuned for the release of the Radical Dreamers: Thieves of Fate remix project, which is pretty much 99% done! Jeez, what a friggin' huge update. This really is taxing...but it's thrilling to see the community so vibrantly animated and alive.

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Retranslation Patch V1.01, Compendium Mega-Update
Version 1.01 of the Chrono Trigger Retranslation has been released. Click  here  to download. If you don't support the 7zip format, click  here . It fixes minor bugs, a list of which exists here.



Chrono News >>>  [1]  V Translanka recently found a strange image in Chrono Cross which displays for the spell Black Hole on one of the Fates islands via the Bend of Time. For a split-second, an image of a young woman, a boy (or girl), and an art figure appear. See the image here. Some think it's a Janus and Schala easter egg.  [2]  Thanks to hankun, we now know the role of the Japanese ROM included with Final Fantasy Chronicles discs. The PSX rips the game data from the ROM (though in the case of the US release, the English lines are pulled from external data). Read the entire fascinating thing here[3]  New bit from Biccy added to the Chrono Trigger FAQ: getting short names to display correctly (like Cro in the Retranslation patch). The trick is to put spaces before the short name, not leave spaces after. This will display the names correctly in dialogue (whereas the other method leaves spaces between the name and punctuation).

Media News >>>  [1]  Chronofan.com, our new media server, does not automatically generate index files. Notwithstanding, I've made one for the VGMix archive (which is not linked to individual songs). Find it at http://chronofan.com/Black/VGM/[2]  I forgot to preserve the link to the Chrono Trigger Remake Project's "Unfinished Business" retrospective .zip file containing art and whatnot. I've added it back to the project's listing under the Dead section of the Fan Projects page. To download the .zip file directly (if you're curious), click here[3]  The name of Lavos's incomplete theme has been fixed in the Chrono Trigger SPC archive. This incomplete variation does NOT play in the Arris Dome Day of Lavos video, but in fact the Ocean Palace. There's no actual music difference, so there is little reason to redownload if you have the archive already. If not, grab it here and the Pre soundtrack here. Remember, the Compendium's SPC soundtracks are superior to SNESMusic.org's; information is in their readmes.

Site News >>>  [1]  Three Compendium strategic goals are being decommissioned. Firstly, Crimson Echoes is no longer a goal. It would take sacrificial amounts of time to complete, and the Chrono community is simply too small to pull it off. The forums will remain locked for the time being to safeguard the extraordinary plot. Secondly, fan project wikis will no longer be offered. There are not enough fan projects to justify this. Lastly, the mission to scour for fan art and fan fiction is pointless. It would be a huge ordeal to mirror fan fiction, while fan art is all at DeviantArt these days anyway.  [2]  When changing links, I noticed that the Lavos pages didn't have his isolated eruption sprite. I've added it to the sprite sheet, and I've also added the slightly different Prerelease eruption as an image of its own to the 1999 A.D. (CTP) and Monster (CTP) pages (see here if curious).

Fan Project News >>>  [1]  Molotov's hard drive crashed, meaning until data recovery is undertaken (and known to be a successful prospect), the new Chrono Cross speedrun is indefinitely postponed. Thread in question is [url=http://speeddemosarchive.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=consoles_older;action=display;num=1177637217;start=180#180]here[/url]. let's all hope Molotov gets his data back (and not just the Chrono videos, of course).  [2]  The winner of the Chrono Trigger Novel Project's Wii contest has been announced: MagusChild, with 78 signatures. Enjoy!  [3]  Three more fan projects have been declared dead and moved to the abandoned section of the Fan Projects page. First is Chrono Stream, whose creators have been nowhere to be found since April or May this year. Second is the Cyrus Resurrection Novel Project, whose creator stated in a February forum post that he had lost all motivation to continue. Third is [url=http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Fan_Projects.html#Chrono_Prism]Chrono Prism[/url], which went nowhere after June 2006 since Ale decided to do another project.  [4]  While digging through Kajar Laboratories, I uncovered a Chrono Trigger tileset pack for use in RPGMaker made by wishkas. Download it here.

ROM Hacking News >>>  [1]  I've combed Kajar Laboratories to post new data to the Modification encyclopedia, and I've also updated Geiger's offsets guide here to match his new revision. New pages: [ Breakpoint Addresses - Music Notes ] Updated pages: [ Attack and Tech Scripts - Character Animations - TF Event Tricks[2]  JCE3000GT has centralized his five FF6 Chrono Trigger SPC insertions (and the one RD insertion) and released them in a single archive. Download it here[3]  Geiger's Offset guide is now updated in the Compendium's files (he actually released the new version in June; it's just sadly taken this long to get it up). Pop in to Offsets (Chrono Trigger) to download.

Fan Art >>>  [1]  We've got some new fan art from Ema and an unknown artist. It's actually old fan art from the "Art Thread" of Kajar Labs, but I'm just now rediscovering it. Thanks to FaustWolf for bringing up the unknown Lucca piece. [ Ema Crono (color) - Magus Unknown Lucca[2]  Forumer cald attempted to recreate the 1000 A.D. plane graphic seen in the Alpha Version trailer. Find it at the end of this page.

Help Needed  >>>  [1]  ce.herograw.org's backup magically disappeared, so we're missing JLukas's original Japanese script and Chickenlump's updated Temporal Flux manual. If you have these, please post.  [2]  In this thread, two Spanish Chrono fangames were discussed. The links are now down, and we don't have any backups. If anyone has these, please post.

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Chrono Trigger Retranslation Patch Released! Media, Fan Art, Pre Entries
It's here. At the end of August, I felt we had waited long enough, and began a blitz effort to insert the retranslation into the US ROM with Temporal Flux. Tons of beta testing, a few hard hacks, and many hours later, the Chrono Compendium Chrono Trigger Retranslation Patch is complete. To immediately download the IPS patch and readme instructions, click  here. If you don't support the 7zip format, click  here. Thanks to Lena for this sexy banner:



But that's not the end by any means! Check out the "Making of the Retranslation" feature by clicking here. It details the grueling process that brought you the patch and offers up a link containing some of the hard hacks we made in the forms of patches for your personal use. So, three cheers for KWhazit and the new patch! Hoist the colors high; never shall we die! Be sure to report bugs if you catch 'em.

All the links have been fixed in the Compendium's features and encyclopedia. That just leaves forum entries, and we'll get to that eventually with a find and replace job on the database. Not all the music has been uploaded to the new hosting server yet, including the VGMix archive. It'll be there soon. On another note, I merged the entries for Monsters and Characters in the Prerelease since those entries were very small. Lastly, we've got some new fanart. [ Kid Rocks by Silver - Kid by jono - Glenn to the Rescue by mondragon369 ]

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Compendium Media Server
Update: We have hosting again, but I have to reupload all our assets and change the links. It'll take a few days.

Herograw has decided that having administrator status over the Compendium forums is more important than friendship or decency. We have rejected his unreasonable request, and he has deleted the contents of cc.herograw.org.

The assets are safely backed up. It is regrettable that someone I've been friends with for a few years and now professes himself to be a devout Christian would do something so puerile, but I guess it can't be helped. There will be replacement hosting and a simple find & replace command in the Compendium's database to fix all the links at once.

So, to those of you inconvenienced, you know who to blame.

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Fan Projects Update: Wii Contest: Scanned Petitions Still Accepted
    Don't think you can get your petition to us in the mail?  That's okay, because petitions that are scanned and emailed are just as acceptable!  For the Wii contest, petitions will still be accepted throughout the week, both by post and email.  So, don't delay any further.  This chance won't come again!  Send your scanned petitions by email to novelist@chronotrigger.info.

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Chrono Trigger + Teaser, Fan Art, Links Update, Youtube, Tech Fix
Zakyrus has uploaded a Quicktime teaser of Chrono Trigger + showcasing some of the modified Zeal scenes and providing a glance at the mysterious Cleft of Dimension. Check out this thread for the link and discussion, and don't miss out on the awesomeness of the CoD! Moving to general news...Jono has submitted an image of Kid to the fan art section here; many thanks! I've updated the Links page to remove dead links and tighten up the organization. Don't hesitate to e-mail us exchange links with the Compendium if you're interested.

On to videos. Lyonskar customized a character in Soul Calibur 3 to look like Marle. Check out the Youtube video here. Also on Youtube is fenix85044's rendition of Cross's "The Brink of Life and Death" boss theme in Mario Paint. Check it out here and give him some feedback. He's also done Black Omen (thanks justin). Finally, I've fixed the Monster Techs CT page. Titles with Slow and Instant Death were messed up, distorting the table of contents. Something huge is coming...but its release date is no longer in my hands. Stay tuned.

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Fan Projects Update: Only 1 Week Left to Win a Wii!
     

     What is most likely your best chance ever to win a free Nintendo Wii in a contest is about to expire!  All petition envelopes must be postmarked by September 23, the first day of autumn (in the USA).  So, now it's crunch time.  It's still possible to get the required number of signatures in a week!  If you plan to go to a gathering, a church service (don't interrupt the sermon!), an outing, a wedding, classes, or anyplace else with lots of people, you've got it made!  Knock on doors down your street, pitch a table outside of your favorite store or in a mall (with permission, of course)--just do what it takes to get that Wii!  (And, remember, even after the contest is over, the regular OpUV prize structure will remain in effect.  You automatically reach the first prize level just by qualifying for this contest, so you're [i]guaranteed[/i] a prize!)

     FOR THE CONTEST:
     Get the contest info HERE
     Get your petition forms and OpUV login HERE
     Get the Demo Chapter Package HERE
     Get the Novel & Demo Chapter Survey HERE

     And, just like that, you'll be in the running for a brand new Nintendo Wii!  Good luck!

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Fan Projects Update: Chrono Crisis Paradigm-Shift and Staff Openings
Chains of Fate yesterday posted on the Crisis forums concerning the prospect of turning Crisis into an original game named Devil Theory. The issues at hand include the threat of a C&D, the possibility of greater audience and exposure with an original game, and the constant withdrawal of fickle team members who sign onto the project, do nothing, and go AWOL (haha...welcome to the Chrono community). The main counterpoint is that the team would receive greater exposure WITH a Chrono fan game (like mixtapes fledgling producers / artists pass around in the music industry) than with a 4th-party homebrew.

At any rate, Chains said they'd keep trucking with Crisis as long as they're able to find some help. They need the following talent:  [1]  A concept artist  [2]  A tile artist  [3]  An artist to make finalized, colored pictures in a certain style  [4]  Someone who can code in Ruby  [5]  Someone to sprite magic effects  [6]  Possibly another spriter to assist Lena (a tile artist, coder, and dedicated artists are what we need the most to keep the project alive). The forums are here if you'd like to volunteer. And they need volunteers, not "hey I'll help!" --> 6 months later, "user was last active September 2007". If ultimately no one can help, that's fine; it's a lot better to acknowledge that than be teased for for months at a time by wafflers.

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FALL OF GUARDIA, Vectorized Logos, Unused Techs, Fan Art, Remixes
Firstly, an important analysis potential breakthrough. Cansei de ser Enix of the Chrono Crisis forums has stated that General Viper's speech in the Chrono Cross Demo is a replica of Kid's speech from the General Kid ending in which she plans to conquer Guardia and Porre. This may reinforce the implicit suggestion that the Dragoons were at the Fall of Guardia. As usual, important knowledge lay buried in Japanese text. We need these translated: [ 1 - 2 - 3 ]

On to the rest!  [1]  The Dream Splash! has begun. If you'd like to contribute to an explosive fan-take on the Kingdom of Zeal, or read the current submissions, visit this forum[2]  With research by Shinrin and justin3009, I've created a page for Unused Techs. Check out what's lurking in Chrono Trigger's battle data there. Videos and images of the other techs will be added soon.  [3]  I've posted Luminaire's vectorized logos on the prominent Downloads page. Go grab them if you haven't already.  [4]  Check out Deezer509's latest piece, King Crono. We're thankful for Deezer509's continued patronage of our Fan Art section and this cool image reminiscent of Ichigo's look.  [5]  We have two new remixes, one from Luminaire85 from the forums ('Chrono Trigger Theme') and one from zohar at OCReMix ('Wind Scene Concert Paraphrase').

Lastly, it looks like Chrono'99 is taking a vacation, so no one's around to help us rip the Chrono Cross Demo's TIM (texture) files. Again, the problem is that we can see them, but they're disjointed in TIM Viewer and other programs. There's an example here; post in that thread if you can help. There's a lot of beta Cross art and images lurking in the demo that we'd love to rip. You can check out what's already been posted about the demo here.

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