Skies of Arcadia Eternal

The dev log

A 2002 GameCube classic, rebuilt for PC and Mac from its own decompiled code. These are the logs of finding out how it really works.

The port's frame 6,571, black over the top half with a white block below.

Latest log

One frame of black

Just before the Blackbeard battle the screen flashed black for a sixtieth of a second. Catching it took every frame, two programs, and the right memory card.

Blue MoonGraphicsLog 054 min read

Every log

  1. Blue MoonGraphics One frame of black Just before the Blackbeard battle the screen flashed black for a sixtieth of a second. Catching it took every frame, two programs, and the right memory card. Log 054 min read The port's frame 6,571, black over the top half with a white block below.
  2. Red MoonShip battles Three bugs and a button: the Blackbeard, seen from the wrong places The first ship battle on PC put the camera inside a hull, lost Little Jack off screen, and left the world map staring up at its keel. Only three of those were bugs. Log 045 min read The first ship battle on the PC port, with Little Jack in front of the island.
  3. Blue MoonGraphics The wall that was a storm Why the clouds at the edge of the world map vanished on the PC port, and the two lights behind the camera that hold them up. Log 036 min read
  4. Purple MoonSound The music reads the room How Skies of Arcadia's boss battles change their music with the fight, and why almost none of the game's music is a recording. Log 026 min read
  5. Yellow MoonByte order Thirteen, not twelve: how two swapped bytes changed a whole battle Chasing a battle that played out differently on the PC port than on the GameCube, down to one table read in the wrong order. Log 016 min read