OT: Omega's game "End of The World"

[Hectate]

Omega, you asked for feedback but I'm afraid that if I post in the off-topic thread that my feedback will get lost among the current topic. Instead I'm going to take someone else's suggestion and post an "OT" thread instead.

I played the game through what appeared to be the final point of development. You've done well with the RPGMaker creator. Here are a few comments of my own.

I like the overworld view. I'd played around with RPGMaker before and have only used screen-to-screen travel (Zelda 1, for example). The overworld has a classic feel to it, and helps you reduce number of unique maps you have to create.

Your story starts off strong and gives the player clear direction on what their next task is - a thing that many people forget. I'm not sure how much story you have left to tell, but obviously (without giving out spoilers to everyone else) since it's incomplete it feels like there should be just a little bit more.
I'd like to know more about the characters. Who are they? Why are they together? How did they survive? Where are they from? Did they know anybody that died in the beginning? Why do they care about finding the prince? Why are they such good (and quickly learning) fighters and healer(s)? Maybe this information will come out later but (IMHO) it needs to be near the beginning - preferably even before the first "boss" battle.

I'm not a fan of random monster battles in any game. It was particularly annoying at the waterfall (cave?) - especially when I was trying to leave. I realize that RPG games like this need a constant source of XP to level up and it comes from those random battles. It even makes sense in the dangerous wilderness of the overworld. I think, however, that once the player is in a town or "location of interest" that they should be able to see the enemies (and vice-versus). It'd cause you a bit more work to set up the NPCs and battles - but I think the game would benefit greatly from it. I had to fight 3 battles from between the time that I walked up and talked to the prince's guard and when I actually got to talk to the prince. Very aggravating.

The waterfall/cave area could use some more detail. I think you've just not finished developing that area, but the whole thing is just a little bland at the moment. More details to the walls, floors, etc. Also, you may want to separate the waterfall room (with the prince) onto a different screen. There might be a better tile-set to use, or if nothing else, you can take it up a notch and just have a larger room for the grand set-piece.

On another note of monsters, the big battle seemed to take FOREVER. I actually thought I was going to lose because I hadn't leveled up enough or something because it just never wanted to end. I think there was a trick to it that I later caught onto. You might want to drop the difficulty of that initial "boss" battle somehow for us new and non-RPG gamers. Also, I ran out of MP (for 3 of the characters) a third of the way in the battle which slowed it down too. You might want to ensure that the random battles prior to that point include some sort of MP potion drop rate, because I never got any and so I couldn't use any special attacks.

I ended up in the small town first (before finding the waterfall). One of the ladies outside could have an option to ask "Which direction is the waterfall from here?" Obviously I figured it out anyway, but it could be a common question?

Anyway, good job so far. Keep us posted with this!

[John.d.h]

I tried it out and I agree with most of what Hectate said.  Personally, I don't think the boss battle was too hard, but maybe provide a way to recharge your health and mana before the fight?  I wasn't expecting a fight at that point and if the wandering monsters had been much tougher, I'd have gone into it damaged and unprepared.  As far as the random encounters go, they do get a little annoying at times.  Maybe you could do something like the wandering monsters in Link 2, where you see icons representing strong monsters and weak monsters wandering around the screen.  That way you can avoid them to some extent, but of course they shouldn't be entirely avoidable or that takes some of the challenge away.  Most of the battles were a bit too easy and I could just mash enter 12 times to win, so maybe the strength of the monsters you encounter could be relative to your characters' level.  Overall, I think maybe you're following the Final Fantasy games a little too closely (Ether, Phoenix Downs, White Magic, Black Magic...) and I don't see what a water torrent has to do with ninjitsu, but the overall mechanics and everything work pretty well as far as I can tell.  The interface is pretty intuitive, so no complaints there.

[Hectate]

...Most of the battles were a bit too easy and I could just mash enter 12 times to win...

Yes. The random battles didn't scale at all with the player's level. To some degree that was better, because after the "boss" battle the player wants a quick, panicked escape but enemies always get in the way and must be defeated. Fortunately they were relatively weak by level 4/5 which seemed to be the point that I reached? But after that point (of escape from the waterfall/cave region) the player should be exposed to a higher level of monsters.

[Omega]

Firstly, thank you so much to all of you for your posts, especially hectate. It desperately needed some play testing. I'll now jump to all the issues in that short demo.

Balance: This is fixed drastically in the new beta2 demo, and stats are entirely changed. If you got used to the last demo, this may feel slightly alien, but testing determined that it was much more balanced, and the foes got a bit easier as you leveled up, but not too drastically easy as before.

Random Battles: Firstly, there will always be random battles here. I will not impliment wandering foes (like FF XII had) or anything of the like. Random battles is the true RPG style and is what is properly meant for this classical style RPG. The only exception is that some special foes, such as optional bosses or special enemies (ie: an enemy that's supposed to be avoidable) will wonder the map, either randomly, trying to keep away from the player, among a path, or heading towards the player. For the overworld, it seems fine, as was the cave entrance. I am thinking, would you guys prefer it if the cave used much less encounters (or none) when you need to escape from the prince (but the normal amount every other time)?

On the characters' backstory's: Fear not, as the entire story is very lengthy and worthy of maybe an oscar or two. The characters' backstory's, such as their past, including their families (dead of course), are primarily revealed through talking with the NPCs. The keypoints are revealed through the storyline, but many finer details are learned when you talk to NPCs. For example, much is learned about how magic works and the history of the land in the elven city, while the Pharos holds much information on the characters themselves, primarily their families and 'destiny'. Of course, you don't know what either of those locations are, so it looks like you're gonna be hanging while developement continues.

Detail in the Waterfall Cave: Good idea. For the next testing beta, I think I'll improve usage of tiles from set B and onwards. I also think I might split the cave into two parts, since that will certainly make the cutscenes DRASTICALLY easier (notice how the party didn't split apart when they talked to the prince like they did in the beginning? That needs to be fixed, yet there's no easy way to do so. Having multiple versions of the same map (ie: the room where the prince is found) may make the cutscene's easier, especially since you visit this place three times in the game, twice in the very beginning and once near the end.

On the boss battle: The boss's of the Waterfall Cave are slightly modified in stats now. Firstly, here's the secret to beating them: Notice that they can cast fire (note: they cast is far more often in the new beta2, and rather rarely in the old demo) which hints they're the fire element. Casting Lott's torrent (water based) or Truget's Blizzard (ice based, learned on lvl 2) does 1.5x the damage. Also, Capa's Butterfly Cut and Sword Dance do very good damage (though sword dance is a bit heavy on MP, making Butterfly cut more practical for long battles). Sanate should be healing, and attacking when everyone is good and healthy. The recommended lvl for this fight is lvl 3 or higher (4 is recommended). You will almost always be at least lvl 2 or higher when you reach the boss, since the cave's random battles will give you XP. You SHOULD train outside of the castle or town for a level or two so that the cave will be safer and you can afford to purchase items from either the shop in Boyet or the lone shopkeeper of Clacen Castle.

On finding the waterfall cavern: Good idea, I think I'll have that girl in Boyet mention the waterfall cavern is around the other side of the mountains, to the east).

On mashing the button twelve times to win: See first response "Balance".

On similarity to Final Fantasy: Exactly! Many spells (ie: firaga), enemies (ie: goblin), items (ie: phoenix down), and weapons (ie: ragnarok), etc are the same name and function as their Final Fantasy counterparts. The main reason for this is because it makes learning the game easier for seasoned players and vice versa.

On ninjutsu: Well, this is based on Edge from FF IV (one of the best Final Fantasy's, after IX). While it doesn't quite fit its proper definition, it is basically a set of ninja magics which always affect all enemies (but to some degree weaker). Sample moves include the starting move "Torrent", the next move "Icicle Blades", and includes many more powerful techniques including Epidemic and Armageddon (note: Armageddon is one of the last learned moves in the game, and deals massive damage to all foes. While it can't match some of the 'always 9999' damage attacks (there's only one, plus the dark matter item), it affects all enemies and is very useful, except for the fact that the MP cost is astronomical (by the time you get it (late lvl 80's), you will be using about a quarter of your MP per cast!

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but maybe provide a way to recharge your health and mana before the fight?

Hmm, that may actually be a good idea. What should it be? Should it be an NPC that volunteers to heal the party that one time, a chest/jar/object that will restore the party to perfect health when touched, or just invisibly heal the player as they enter the room (or something completely different)? What would YOU prefer to see when you're playing the game?

PS: MP is Magic Points, not Mana Points.

You've done well with the RPGMaker creator.

Thanks, though I really am still learning and previous areas probably will be improved as I get more experienced.

Your story starts off strong and gives the player clear direction on what their next task is - a thing that many people forget. I'm not sure how much story you have left to tell, but obviously (without giving out spoilers to everyone else) since it's incomplete it feels like there should be just a little bit more.
I'd like to know more about the characters. Who are they? Why are they together? How did they survive? Where are they from? Did they know anybody that died in the beginning? Why do they care about finding the prince? Why are they such good (and quickly learning) fighters and healer(s)? Maybe this information will come out later but (IMHO) it needs to be near the beginning - preferably even before the first "boss" battle.

See above: "On the characters' Backstory". This is one of those games where you start with knowing almost nothing about the characters, but slowly learn more and more over time. For example, you notice that you don't realize why the prince did what he did until you talk to the governor. Of course, expect to learn a lot more about the character's on the second trip into the caves, as well as in the next town you encounter.

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The beta2 will be released shortly. I am uploading right now, and estimated time remaining is 15 minutes...
The beta2 is now released. Note that it was created before I replied above, so only fixes what I specified fixed, and everything else I specified I'd do above, will be for the next release.

No storyline advancement yet, that's next, after a major revamp of the waterfall cave. Biggest changes:
-Battle backgrounds, not that weird swirly thing that VX uses as a default
-Bug fix for the waterfall caverns
-Various battle transitions, not just one swirl.
-Lots of new, great music for all areas!
-Damage pops up on the foe rather than be in the text box.

Download Here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ddmk2dh2xmd

[Hectate]

On the boss battle: The boss's of the Waterfall Cave are slightly modified in stats now. Firstly, here's the secret to beating them: Notice that they can cast fire (note: they cast is far more often in the new beta2, and rather rarely in the old demo) which hints they're the fire element. Casting Lott's torrent (water based) or Truget's Blizzard (ice based, learned on lvl 2) does 1.5x the damage. Also, Capa's Butterfly Cut and Sword Dance do very good damage (though sword dance is a bit heavy on MP, making Butterfly cut more practical for long battles). Sanate should be healing, and attacking when everyone is good and healthy. The recommended lvl for this fight is lvl 3 or higher (4 is recommended). You will almost always be at least lvl 2 or higher when you reach the boss, since the cave's random battles will give you XP. You SHOULD train outside of the castle or town for a level or two so that the cave will be safer and you can afford to purchase items from either the shop in Boyet or the lone shopkeeper of Clacen Castle.

Ah, the trick I though I found was that it seemed every time Capa attacked, no damage would be done - in fact they would HEAL by 57 points or so! I actually completely stopped attacking with him altogether to avoid whatever sort of vampiric negative attack thing that was going on. Maybe it was in my head or something... weird.

andom Battles: Firstly, there will always be random battles here. I will not impliment wandering foes (like FF XII had) or anything of the like. Random battles is the true RPG style and is what is properly meant for this classical style RPG. The only exception is that some special foes, such as optional bosses or special enemies (ie: an enemy that's supposed to be avoidable) will wonder the map, either randomly, trying to keep away from the player, among a path, or heading towards the player. For the overworld, it seems fine, as was the cave entrance. I am thinking, would you guys prefer it if the cave used much less encounters (or none) when you need to escape from the prince (but the normal amount every other time)?

As I said, random battles are fine in the overworld (even if I personally dislike them) but it seems that when you "zoom in" to a smaller area, such as the waterfall cave, monsters (or groups) should be just as visible as (for instance) the guards and prince. To compromise, I'd say if you keep the random battles in the cave, first reduce their frequency, secondly have them STOP at a certain point (near the prince's area), and definitely don't start again until in the overworld. To keep the "HURRY AND ESCAPE NOW!" tension going for the player (so they don't just meander out bored), you could spawn visible monsters blocking the path back out (there's several chokepoints that would work for that). That way the player would see them and know that they're going to have to fight their way out (make's sense from a story perspective too, if the prince is in control and wants to stop them).

I can't play now, but when I get a chance I'll test your beta 2 as well. If you happen to have another release before then, go for it. I'll go with whatever is current. You're definitely on the right track. Good luck!

[Omega]

Hmm, I found that 'absorption' thing the hardway. I accidently added a fire element to the bronze sword. It is fixed in the beta2 (remember that the boss absorbs fire).

As I said, random battles are fine in the overworld (even if I personally dislike them) but it seems that when you "zoom in" to a smaller area, such as the waterfall cave, monsters (or groups) should be just as visible as (for instance) the guards and prince. To compromise, I'd say if you keep the random battles in the cave, first reduce their frequency, secondly have them STOP at a certain point (near the prince's area), and definitely don't start again until in the overworld. To keep the "HURRY AND ESCAPE NOW!" tension going for the player (so they don't just meander out bored), you could spawn visible monsters blocking the path back out (there's several chokepoints that would work for that). That way the player would see them and know that they're going to have to fight their way out (make's sense from a story perspective too, if the prince is in control and wants to stop them).

I won't get rid of random battles for the cave, but I suppose it might be interesting to have actual seen enemies as you specified only on the escape from the prince. This would allow the player the opitunity to avoid some battles, but not all, and someone poor with the controls may have trouble.

[Hectate]

Hmm, I found that 'absorption' thing the hardway. I accidently added a fire element to the bronze sword. It is fixed in the beta2 (remember that the boss absorbs fire).

Interesting, I recall swapping swords so undoubtedly that was it. You might note that I had no idea that they were "fire element" enemies, nor that it was possible to absorb fire attacks to heal - nor were there any hints or indications that the opposite - water - would do additional damage. This is vital information to the player that hasn't been revealed yet. You need to introduce that at some point BEFORE the boss battle. That could also make finding the prince a multi-region mission/search. Here's what you could do.
1. Change the initial cutscene. Remove any mention of the waterfall, just say the prince "went southward".
2. Player gets to the small town, but nobody's seen the prince. The old lady tells you there's a nice cave to the west in the mountains. Maybe he went there?
3. Add a small cliff-side cave to the edge of the mountains to the west. Inside lives an old hermit, but he's being attacked! (or, alternatively and to easier explain the battle taking place EXACTLY when the player gets there, he's a hostage/prisoner/possessed guy)
4. Player battles this strange creature (take your pick) and saves the hermit. He hasn't seen the prince either, but thanks you for your help and gives you a few tips for being such helpful adventurers.
5. Player learns about element types and etc. Hermit-guy also tells the player he knows of another cave, where there's a waterfall. It's far across the country to the east though...

Tada! Now the player has a longer trip to find the prince (more random battles = more levels, items, practice in battle), an actual search instead of just "Go to the Waterfall!", and they get educated on important gameplay factors, and your game is bigger and better!

[-Archmage-]

This game is almost an exact duplicate of Pokemon, except for no pokemon, different characters, and different story-line, why don't you try to add 3D stuff, and get out of the pokemon feel.

[Hectate]

This game is almost an exact duplicate of Pokemon, except for no pokemon, different characters, and different story-line, why don't you try to add 3D stuff, and get out of the pokemon feel.

Not Omega here but I might have some insight.

The game is made with RPG Maker (version VX apparently) which is used to create (surprise!) RPG games. The program includes a significant amount of pre-existing art (2D) assets for use in these games. Additionally it doesn't include support for any 3D formats. It would be possible to create 3D objects and pre-render them for use in the game, but it'll still be a fully 2D game. It'd just be a completely different art style that would require a great deal of work to produce the necessary assets. In essence, Omega would need a completely different engine and completely new art assets to create his game in 3D. I'm sure he's considered the Glest engine and scenarios, but it doesn't really work the same way for a RPG as an RTS. This route requires no new code or art assets, just a story and some time to create the maps.

I'd say that you're wrong about the pokemon thing. Pokemon is far from the first RPG, nor was it the first to use elements as strengths/weaknesses. Pokemon just took many common RPG elements and refined them for a child's level RPG. Much of the default settings, style, and appearance of a "vanilla" RPGMaker game are taken closely from the Final Fantasy series (particularly the 16-bit SNES era), and that is reflected in Omega's game as well.

Omega: I had another couple thoughts earlier that I was going to update on my post but I'll put it here now.
For the waterfall cave, it needs to be less linear. Understand that I don't mean linear as in "a straight line", but as in "an un-broken/branching line". The player is searching for the prince, so you should include side-rooms and forks and dead-ends that the player has to explore to find the waterfall room. Obviously that will require more work and a completely new re-mapping of the area, but I think it'll benefit you. It will also add that tension again for the player as they need to remember how to get back out while they're in that "HURRY AND ESCAPE NOW!" mode. It doesn't have to be a maze; it should just require more effort than "follow the only path".

Also, for the "hermit cave" idea I posted above. I was thinking that there could be an earthquake (I believe there's a "shake screen" function somewhere?) as you approach the cave. When you go inside it's turning into a volcano/lava cave. That'd give the player a chance to fight some fire salamanders or something of that element. Alternatively the player could go into the hermit's cave from a very basic tunnel, but the earthquake happens when you find the hermit and when you turn around to leave, you're in a lava-tileset tunnel instead (or perhaps the tunnel gets blocked and the hermit leads you out a different route, etc). Either way, that'll give somebody a chance to tell you about the weaknesses of fire elementals, as well as how to figure out what element they are. Having a separate screen for the basic tunnel, hermit cave room, and lava tunnel would be the easiest way of doing this. You should be able to code the triggers (that move the player to the basic tunnel screen) to change so they move the player into the lava tunnel screen. So while, to the player, it appears they're moving back through the same, but changed, area - they're actually on a completely different screen! *evil game developer laugh*

[John.d.h]

Regarding Hectate's "hermit cave" idea, I love it!

Regarding the similarity to Final Fantasy, I think there's a big difference between 1.) liking a game and wanting to incorporate some of the same stylistic/gameplay elements, and 2.) liking a game and ripping off big chunks of it.  I feel like you're walking a little close to that line.

Regarding the Ninjitsu thing, it seems to me like they're all big flashy elemental spells, right?  To me that seems like the opposite of what a ninja would want (i.e. stealth and secrecy).  I think "Ritual" or "Elemental Magic" would be a good name.

[Omega]

@Hectate - I love your hermit idea too, and think I'll consider implimenting it. The next release (testing beta3) will completely change the waterfall cavern. I don't guarentee to use those ideas completely, but I probably will incorporate the basic idea of an interactive tutorial. However, I don't plan on creating a lot of fire enemies, but rather perhaps one or two elemental enemies that will attack the hermit (and will be part of the interactive tutorial).

The interactive tutorial would use scripted enemies and in-battle messages that teach the player the basics to attacking, defending, each character's special abilities, elements, HP and MP, and the numerous status ailments.

Now onto the layout of the waterfall cavern, I agree with you, a slightly more branched out version would be a good idea. By following the branches, you can find treasure and a *hint* to the boss battle (they are fire elemental).

@Arch, I'm not sure how you get a 'pokemon' feel out of this. I've played almost every pokemon game, and aside from the front-view battle system, the game seems nothing like pokemon. If I had to compare it to another game, I'd say it is most similar to Final Fantasy IV (set jobs, bonus dungeon after beating the game [but you don't know about that yet, do you?], similar magic, there's a ninja [remember edge?], and it's got a great story, with varying themes of romance, action, drama, betrayal, duty, honour, and plenty of other things, exploring the entire spectrum of human emotion (I sound like a salesman).

@John - I assure you that nothing more than names of some items and weapons are copied. Everything, including (but not limited to), weapon function, most enemies, concepts, ideas, level design, etc is original (no spoony bard line here). BTW, it is interesting to note that many 'concepts' made popular through the final fantasy series (and spread to other RPGs) are simply reality. For example, the katana masamune, the sword excalibur, the mythical chimera, the plausible Gilgamesh, and numerous boss references, weapon, item, and location references. They take many points from reality and fit it into the game (I like that).

The following list is a recap, primarily for my use, of what the next version will change:
-Change cutscene dialogue to state that the prince simply headed to the south.
-Change Boyet villager dialogue to mention that there's a cave to the east where the prince may have gone.
-Add hermit cave (the first eastern cave encountered). However, it is not a real level and there's no real fights, just an interactive tutorial to teach the player how to fight, use items, etc; It is optional so that experienced players do not have to take the tutorial.
-Change location of waterfall cave so that it stretches far past the hermit cave.
-Change layout of waterfall cave to give it deeper branches and more detail.
-Include a hint to the boss's element in the waterfall cave.
-Move the boss's room to a separate room of the cave.
-Turn off random battles and use wandering foes for the escape from the waterfall cavern.

[-Archmage-]

Seriously, after my experiences(trying not to sound arrogant here), this game feels kinda childish to me and reminds me of when I played pokemon, especially the graphics, makes me think of sitting somewhere playing my Gameboy, no offence by any of this, I mean overall it's not a bad game, it just isn't for me, I'm for true deep 3D RPG games, Dynasty Warriors cutscenes are pretty good, not perfect but pretty good.

[Omega]

Dude, the BEST RPGs are 2d (except FF IX, which used most of the ideas of the older 2d FFs). I mean, look at it: FF 4 - 6 were all 2d and are amazing (bearing in mind I've only played the GBA ports). Childish? I remember a very hard optional dungeon in FF IV (KAIN!), a brutal Neo Shinryu in FF V (I heart dragon lances),  and so on, so on. No 'kid' is gonna beat those easily. Besides, many would argue that 2D is gorgeous. I myself like both 2D and 3D. They both have their pros and cons, and I would change it for the world!

Going back to the game, I doubt most little kids (refering to <13), would properly grasp the true depth of the storyline of this game, which is somewhat complex (ie: ever played bioshock [you might not have if you're really young, it's very, very bloody], it has an AMAZING story, probably the best FPS story there is, yet it is a complex story that a very young person probably wouldn't understand [and they'd get nightmares from the hospital stage]. The story also is deeply told through diary entries of the remaining residents of Rapture, which is somewhat similar to how the NPCs tell much in this game. Of course, the major difference is that unlike Bioshock, 'End of the World' lets you see the characters and primarily involves them).

[John.d.h]

Really the only similarities between this and Pokemon are the same similarities that Pokemon has with a gazillion other games.  They're presented in anime-style 2D graphics, there's an overworld, the battles are turn-based, special moves, random encounters, etc.  You can find all of these features in a lot of old-school RPGs, many of which came long before Pokemon was even thought of.  I might look a lot like my siblings and maybe a little like my cousins, but it's because we're descended from the same lineage, not because we copied one another.

[Omega]

Good post John! Thumbs up. It is based on the early final fantasy's that I played (namely 1,2,4,5, and 6 - all the GBA ports). The graphics are similar in that sense, as is the overworld and random encounters. I hope to someday completely revamp the battle system so that it is ATB (Active time battle, an immensively popular battle system among FF III and later where the characters have a bar that fills up and they act when the bar is full. It is superior to turn battle systems, namely since faster characters are more apparent, and it's possible to see who will be next).

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Success! Remember that long list of things I wanted for the next release? Damn, I work fast! Yep, that's right, I did all of those AND MORE!

Here's a recap:
-Overworld revamp to modify location of caves, mountains.
-Included hermit's cave, which has a simple scripted battle for the interactive tutorial to teach the finer points of fighting.
-Lengthened and completely overhauled waterfall cave.
-Hint to boss's weakness in the waterfall cave.
-Extra paths and treasure in waterfall cave, so that it's not so linear.
-Cutscene in waterfall cave is revamped
-Extra room for the prince is added (disposable)
-Cutscene with the governor is finished (GORGEOUS!)
-Effects added for the escape sequence (low saturation and ocassional rumbling.
-Timer added for the escape so that players can't just take their time while the prince casts his mighty spell.
-No random battles during the escape sequence, instead enemies wander around, clearly visible.
-Cutscene for the second trip into the waterfall caves finally complete!
-A more proper way to show the player the demo is done.

Even if you played the original demo, you MUST play this. It is so much better (big thanks to hectate for that, name will be in the credits for sure!) than the original release, despite it being the same 2% of the game (oh crap, that's long).

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Will post download soon. Uploading now (64% complete).
Crap, it failed. Took way too long. I'll try again at school. I have broadband now, but it's satellite, and not THAT fast (can't bloody measure upload speed, the thing is obviously not measuring it right, since if I did 2000 kb/s, I'd be done long ago).

[John.d.h]

Sounds good so far.  An alternative to the ATB would be something with "action points" or whatever you wanted to call them.  Atlantica Online has a system I'm particularly fond of, in which a character gets to act when he/she has at least 100 AP, and attacking costs 100 AP while using special attacks costs different amounts based on the ability (you can go below 0 if you use a particularly hefty spell), and other actions (guarding, searching, changing formation) cost 50.  The amount of AP that a character regenerates per turn is random and based on the character's class as well as his/her agility score, so an archer (50-110 AP per turn) gets to act significantly more often than a viking (50-65).  Having different abilities cost different amounts of AP adds another element of strategy to the game, making the player consider whether using that powerful Deadly Strike is worth not being able to use that character for the next couple turns.  On top of that, certain attacks (like some poison attacks) can drain the targets' AP, delaying their actions.  In addition, AP carry over from turn to turn, allowing you to store them up while guarding.  Having AP regenerate in real time instead of on a turn-by-turn basis could also be an option, in essence fusing Atlantica's system with Final Fantasy's.  Just a thought.

Also, I'm not sure what you have planned for the battle view, but I'm strongly in favor of having the characters visible on the field instead of just in a "menu" below, especially if their appearance changes based on their equipment.  I might be asking a bit much, though.

[Hectate]

I'm looking forward to trying it. You can credit/thank as Nathaniel "Hectate" Mitchell if there's space. It's my goal to help whenever I can, I'm glad that I could. I might add that you've insired me to go back to some old ideas (I write them all down) that may bear fruit someday - so thank you as well.

And don't worry that it's only 2% of the game. If the beginning sucks, who'll play through to the part that's good? Bioware (big RPG maker, if you don't know) looks for story/game writers from anywhere in any background. Their tip/technique for finding good writers? If their characters stand out and capture the players mind and hearts - in the first two lines of dialogue.

Set the hook, and THEN reel in the fish.

[Omega]

True, though for the early beginning, the story is more practical than emotional. Let's face it, if a character dies that we just met and know nothing about, we could care less. No hard feelings there. But if a character dies in the middle/end of the game, and we had grown heartfully attached to him/her, we will definately be sad. In short, the story, like 99.9% of all stories, builds up, starting early with introducing the player, teaching them practical things, then expanding the story, showing them the characters, but not too fast, lest the story be too complicated to follow.

I'm sorry for the delay since I stated I'd upload, but my home internet for mediafire keeps stopping at 39% then restarting, filefront seems to be missing an upload button (odd), and I don't know any other sites. I'll use my school computers when I get the chance, but the last two days have had no time (of course, I missed half of school today to get some immunization shots before a trip to Dominican Republic in febuary).

Let's cross our fingers for tomorrow...

[-Archmage-]

Try upload.ps.

[Omega]

Doesn't allow EXEs. Meh. I was going to go at lunch recess, but forgot my stupid flashdrive  . Oh well, uploading now to Uploading.com. If it works, good, if not, we'll have to use school. Only 30 minutes remaining... ugh.

Still, here's news on developement:
-Created the world map on sketching paper. Took me two hours. It's a big world. Here's all I can say about it without spoilers: there's three continents, the first being the most civilized, while the second the least (but housing the most non-storyling dungeons). There is a vault of souls, located on that continent, which is the bonus dungeon for when you beat the game (noting that it is the same name as a place specified in the Eragon series, though it has yet to be seen there). The southern continent is primarily inhabitated by the ancients, and its mysteries are the most powerful. The main continent holds a variety of things, including a water temple, a lighthouse, an elven city, a mountain, an ancient tower, a few castles, a handful of towns, a very large city, an inland sea, multiple caves, and more! Among the other continents include an ancient temple, a large city, a vast desert, a few caves, mountain passes, an archipelago system, elven outposts, a mythical tower, deadly catacombs, and more. Not to mention there is a scattered number of islands around the world.
-Now transforming this sketch into the game, and of course, will have to fix the areas that are off because of the move. One continent is done, two to go (but they're easier).

//EDIT

Here's the latest and greatest testing beta. Give me your thoughts. Tons of changes from the last version, and far more complete. Old saves NOT compatible.
http://uploading.com/files/1b7f9518/End%2Bof%2Bthe%2BWorld.exe/

[Hectate]

Doesn't allow EXEs. Meh. I was going to go at lunch recess, but forgot my stupid flashdrive  . Oh well, uploading now to Uploading.com. If it works, good, if not, we'll have to use school. Only 30 minutes remaining... ugh.

An old trick is to rename the extension to a non-executable one (such as .zip or .blah) or even remove the extension altogether. Obviously you wouldn't be able to unzip it, but if your users/testers know that it's wrong, all it takes is changing the filename from whatever.blah to whatever.exe and it'll run again.

I'm getting it now, will try it out later.

[John.d.h]

Downloading now...

The southern continent is primarily inhabitated by the ancients, and its mysteries are the most powerful.

If there's an ancient civilization there, maybe they once inhabited more of the world, and left behind some goodies.  I was thinking something along this when I suggested having a way to heal before the boss battle.  Maybe the ancients left behind some ruins in some of these old caves, and a few of them have still-functional magic healing wells.

[ElimiNator]

I am downloading now too.

[John.d.h]

Okay, I just finished running through the game.  The hermit cave scene was overall pretty well done, but I felt like the dialogue in the fight was a little verbose.  Here I am getting beat up by this big ugly monster, and this old man is trying to recite Tolstoy.  I think something like "It's an ice monster; kill it with fire!" would do nicely, and then he could explain in more detail after the fight.  Maybe when the characters ask him what that was they just fought --and why it burned so easily-- there could be a "I see you have a lot to learn..." talk, with options like

• "I want to learn more about elements."
• "I want to learn more about special moves."
• "I want to learn more about effects."
• <!-- more options go here-->
• "Tell me everything you know!"

The waterfall cave was a huge improvement from last time.  I especially like the timer.  It added a much bigger sense of urgency than there was before.  Also, adding more variety to the tiles was a big plus.  I didn't really explore around the cave much (the first route I took led me right to the prince), so I can't really say much about the layout of the map.  Speaking of maps, it might be helpful to have some kind of map feature to keep track of where you've been and how to get there.

[ElimiNator]

What dose this half to do with glest?