Chp2 Dungeons built + twitters!

Have got two more dungeons built up now and am just adding the second subsection to chapter 2 and refining the dungeons, as well as polishing off the city.  The graphics/mapping is starting to get a bit lazy, as I’m running out of tilesets and with two projects on the go, I can’t afford to keep running around looking for unique tiles and music etc for every map in each game right now (there are plans to accomodate for this in the future though, but for now it’s just going to have to be dealt with, unfortunately).  Of course, have plenty of optional side-story involved, and have made sure all the side missions are optional, however they’re recommended as the final dungeon is nails; I’m still trying to balance it out, as I just got my ass kicked by the boss!

Also, after having seen Peter Molydeuxs twitter and have been readin’ it, have got myself a wee account there for spitting out my plans for either game without going on and making some huge post (like this) for every single update. Seems like the purpose of the thing and I could definitely use something that’s designed for smaller bits of info.

S’lookin’ good!  Are you excited?  I’m excited!

http://pixelbrady.wordpress.com/

Amn-Duth still needs filler content

Chapter Two contains a handful of dungeons and quests to complete optionally, before advancing onto the main dungeon and hunting down the primary boss of the Chapter; Stirling, the Drug Baron.  The hub area, where you will spend your time, is the populated Amn-Duth city, which is quite large (and quite laggy) and contains a lot to explore.  Multiple marketplaces with various prices to worry about.  The city contains countless people to talk to, many of them having at least something worthwhile to say (as each one has half a dozen different things to say) as well as many buildings to explore.  These buildings are anything from shops with even more wares, to quest collection NPCs, a Storytrader that sells information and clues and even a library with swathes of extra information to read up on, for those interested.  There’s now about five more buildings with empty doors waiting to be filled out with extra content, but I’m still working on what they will have, sadly!  Any ideas are welcome 😀

DotI’s first review!

http://rpgmaker.net/games/4179/reviews/1739/

Metatron has been the man to post the first public and proper review for DotI and gives a brutally honest opinion of it.  Much of the complaints about it are things that I’d have to agree with myself, although some of them (such as thinking the stealth mission was frustrating) I’m sad about, personally thinking Jezelles stealth sequence was quite succinct and to the point, I never saw a problem with it.  Then again, tunnelvision can create these problems.

Mainly, I’m pleased about the story thoughts, as that is my main goal.  As I’ve been promising over and over, Chapter Two is to be an improvement, and I’m taking on feedback such as this review towards that, I’m hoping that when someone decides to post another review based on Chapter Two, it will be a much better result, as it’s already exciting with the new plans!

Anyhow, the whole tunnel-vision problem I’m hoping to solve with Colonist, especially since there’s been a surprising amount of attention towards it, both feedback and people wanting to join the team or even just help out.  A whole new build towards the game and people involved has got me putting a lot of attention on that more than DotI, however I don’t want to think DotI has fallen into a hiatus, just that the past and coming weeks I’ve been fairly busy and haven’t been working on either so much; my sisters wedding and my neuro appointment have unfortunately taken precedence over getting more evented.

However, the latest thing I’ve had done on DotI is a swamp dungeon; it’s in two and a half sections, and the first section is a maze (of sorts) and took a few tries to get it right.  Unfortunately I made it impossible a couple of times, but now it seems do-able, since there’s at least one direct route to the end, but will need some testing to see how easy it is overall.   As well as that, the side missions have been built up and plans for the main mission have been more or less finalised.  There’s also the introduction of the Storytrader; the most well informed group on Averell, second only to the Storytellers themselves.  This shifty gentleman will  give you all the information you could possibly need to advance through the quests, but will only reveal these hints and secrets at a cost!

Some updates from chapter two

Despite working on Colonist (updates on PixelBrady) DotI is still coming along, albeit slower than before.  The first section of the Swamp has been completed after at least three failures that have been wiped..  It’s quite fun to go through now and try to suss the maze, but it’s a matter of having to balance off the monsters in it so they don’t become impossible to manage.  There’s also been a new story-based+useful-NPC introduced near the new Refugee base-the Storytrader!  Finally, a couple of mini-tasks have been put in, with one of them having an effect on the main boss of the chapter, of bringing this Drug Lord Stirling to justice!

ABS Demo Out!

Just a quicky post here since I’m absolutely shattered!  Have re-released Chapter One Demo (v1.7.1 – ABS) with the new ABS features as mentioned in a previous post.  I’ve also updated the video and screenies sections, and will still be using the previous “known issues” page for the ABS demos problems and bugs, if anyone finds any bugs.

Hope you enjoy it! 😀

DotI evolves with ABS (SAS)

http://arcthunder.site40.net/en-sapphire-action-system-iv/

I’ve taken up Khas’ Sapphire ABS script and have gone back and am now retroactively converting DotI into an ABS game instead of encounters.

I’ve thrown up some quick shots on the Screeny page as well, and will be remaking the video once I’m finished converting chapter one into ABS.

“Why?” you ask, with such interest and enthusiasm like I’d hope you do.

Well, I’d be toiling with the idea from the beginning, but pushed it away because I had virtually no understanding of scripts or even VXA as a whole, and why I tried to do this on 2k3 years ago, it made me want to die.  I’ve come back to the idea because I’m increasingly understanding the software, but also heavily because the quality of the finished product is paramount over my schedule.  I don’t know when I’ll get it finished anyways, so if it takes a bit longer for me to redo some stuff, I’m okay with that if it improves the game.

So, why ABS for the game?  Well, because being based off of a story that had all the characters separate and meeting up here and there, it was hard to create a party system for the game, I was having to create other characters that would be relevant and interesting enough to play, but be able to write them off as soon as the main character moves on.  That’s fine for one or two situations, but for every single section of the game I feel it would become blatantly obvious that the story was not designed with the intention of big groups travelling around the world together.  This way it allows the character to run around and do exactly as intended within the constraints of the story, without having to imagine up various other people to follow you around and act important for an hour.
The ABS also opens up some doors in terms of puzzles and dynamic/interesting dungeons that aren’t as readily available with encounters combat, and being a story-driven game I want sections of non-combat involved as well to allow the player to explore and treasure hunt.  This is also a bonus by removing the tiresome transition between encounters and field and lets the player move more seamlessly between events and cutscenes, getting a better feel of the progression.  Or at least I find it so.
As for the bosses, it allows me to make bosses that are hard without making them “the biggest badass in town” because teh story already has a set hierarchy of who is hardcore and who is flimsy, which falls to pieces when you have to make a boss hard just to keep up with the combat.  ABS allows difficulty in the boss battle without ever specifically stating that the boss character themselves are actually stronger than you are.

There’s a number of reasons I feel this is the right path to go down, and after playtesting the first two areas (the Wildness and the Tunnels) I feel it’s drastically improved the game.  The Chasm escape scene is now much more fun and challenging without becoming an issue of being transition-locked between constant battles. I was going to avoid it at first and maybe worry about it on a remake or split the game up into parts and ABS one of them, and any number of other avoidance plans, but I just couldn’t let it go once I started thinkin’ about what a benefit it could be.  Luckily, the more I work on it, the more convinced I am that it’s an improvement on the game and that it definitely was the right choice; not to mention it’s oodles of fun to playtest!

I am so, completely, utterly looking forward to making up the Grimaldus battlefield scene again, as with ABS it’s going play/feel amazing, I do believe!

Help me shape Chapter Two (poll time!)

Polls!  I need some feedback and polls seem like a good idea to get that! 😀

So, this is just a quicky wee post.  Amn-Duth City is taking pretty long to build up; there’s 70+ villagers and over 120+ conversational lines between them, some of them including pointless chit-chat, others informating city events and some even essential to quests!  There’s also thieves that will pick your pockets should you get too close, several merchants each with their own pricing agendas, trying to get as much of your money as possible and even another party member just itching to join you!

Chapter Two will be focussed around this city and the areas nearby, based around the central quest of catching the main baddy with a backup of several other side-quests to accomplish to help you level and get better gear, as well as find more characters and back story, including learning more about the Druids, if anyone remembers the mention of them in the Freelands.

Anyways, it’s coming along well at least, if slowly.  I’m not rushing it because this will be the focus of almost the entire chapter and no one wants it to be half-assed.  The city is fun to run around in because you do get completely lost, but there’s a lot of people scampering about and there will be hidden stuff to make it more worthwhile.  But, to the point, I’m not getting a lot of feedback despite views on both the blog and forums going up constantly, so am hoping that a poll might get me some better responses.  It won’t require you to log in to vote or anything, just two seconds to read and click, and it’ll all help direct me where I’m going, which is eaxctly what I need right now; I’m sorta floatin’ around in that “so much to do; where to start?” area and need something to focus on and build around!

The craftsman is one of the many merchants in Amn-Duth who will sell you various parts and pieces for various prices.  There’s a group of other marketplace salesmen who will also buy and sell gear at mixed prices in an attempt to scam you out of more than the items worth, as well as some who will actually sell you it even cheaper than normal!  There’s also a chemist poking around with all the best healing and restorative items.

The regional map is still a bit empty to look at, but not too much time will be spent on it, as it’s mainly a travelling section between the city and the scary-ass swamps to the east where you’ll have a quest to go in and visit in the name of saving a Druid!

Known Issues with ABS Chapter One Re-release

I’ll be leaving this post to cover any and all discovered bugs and issues with the ABS Re-release  as I don’t plan on releasing and patched versions unless a severe, game breaking bug is discovered, and after going through several dry runs today, I’m fairly confident there should be none of that.  This will just be covering other issues so you can look through and see what bugs you may encounter, or add to the list if you find one.  Will also help me keep up to date on what I need to fix.  Hopefully this list will be fairly small by the time Chapter Two is out 🙂

I’ll mention if each issue has been fixed or not, but these fixes won’t be patched into the current version unless there’s something massive.  Assuming the issues remain superficial I’ll just fix them now and they’ll be sorted by the time the next Demo is released

Chapter One Demo! +Chapter Two plans?

Download the Demo via Mediafire here and play now! 🙂  (link for known issues post at the bottom)
http://www.mediafire.com/?3m05nrxskgs2ycn

Chapter One Demo is now out, after spending the whole day going over it with a fine-tooth to clear out as many bugs as possible and add in as much polish as I could manage before I KO’d! 😀

Chapter One includes:

• 1~2 hours of gameplay, varying on your preference for optional content and cutscenes alone; spend more time exploring for those optional cutscenes and find that optional dialogue; it’s all these tibdits of information that reveal more about the characters and the plot!
• Access to one title, a dozen and a half character costumes, and three classes – the code for the third class will be revealed at the end of the demo
• Two exciting and varied boss battles
• A kick-ass stealth level that’s really pretty basic, but fun nonetheless
• Play as Three different characters, each with a variety of optional party members to join you, including a badass Goblin War Chief
• Tasks Log covering two missions; keep up to date with them
• Some monsters will now flee from you instead of chase you
• Many more items overall and more to be found planted across the levels
• Much more random dialogue crap in the NPCs that you will never talk to! 😀

As for Chapter Two, it’ll be the same theme but the intention is to free the reigns a bit.  Chapter one has been heavily story driven with a lot of compulsory cutscenes, but chapter two will finally open up the open-world view a bit more, giving you access for a choice of quests and missions and a bit of “you time” before blasting back into the thick of the story.  Although what happens in chapter two may appear as a break from the intense War story, it’s actually more relevant than any of the characters might have guessed at first!  Dum dum dummmm!

There will also be more of Khas’ cool lighting script and a bit more focus on puzzle dungeons rather than just mob-fests, as well as a bigger, happier hub area.  So far, I’m pretty excited about it!

Finally, if there’s any bugs, discrepancies, problems or even just “it’s crap”nesses about the Chapter One demo, do let me know so I can get around to fixing it! I’ve made a separate post for Known Issues to list out such problems.  Anyhoo, hope you enjoy it 🙂

Chapter One: what to expect!

So far the Demos have been just smaller updates of the previous ones.  I’ve only got the three important ones listed within the version history as they have the greatest changes; from the 2k3 alpha, to the VXA transfer, then the update with various scripts and style changes, that basically changed the whole flow of the game.  For the fourth demo I’ve been waiting for a more significant milestone, and the end of Chapter one seems like the way to go.  Some notes on what to expect in the Demo are at the bottom.  I plan on taking a bit longer to really polish up the first chapter and make sure it has as few bugs and problems as possible so it’s the top of its game, allowing me to leave a fair time till the next demo.

I’ve focussed on balancing much of the enemies, making them easier within the Hideout so that they don’t tear you apart as soon as you start, but progress smoothly from therein.  Skills have been balanced slightly and much more have been added in, now giving every character two sub-skill types and access to skills therein at different levels, keeping the classes varied and different from each other.  This as well as parameter changes and stat balances I think I have the two classes nice and equal, for all intents and purposes.  I’ve also been going over and polishing up odds and ends, fixing bugs and trying to make everything look cleaner, as well as bringing in random chats for NPCs and making the areas feel a bit “fuller”.  Also added in lots more items and weapons.

The rest of chapter one also includes a mini stealth level that has no combat and is mainly about timing to dodge the guards watch, and a heated battlefield area with a much higher level character.  The story advances a fair amount as well, and introducing plenty more questions about what’s going down in later chapters and preparing for the stage of the game where you get a bit more freedom.

Chapter Two will start off with more freedom in the game, giving you some open-choices and versatility rather than locking you down into a linear path, although it has to be kept in mind that the game is reliant on the story being played out, so freedom does come with some restrictions.

By the end of the Demo, you’ll receive a code that will unlock some more character costumes and another class to playtest the game again with, giving you some replay value for the first chapter, although this won’t much affect the sections where you don’t play as your main character.  There’s also some other character costumes that can be unlocked and discovered; the unlockables are all logic based and can be guessed, and the hidden ones just take a bit of exploration.  There will be more and more costumes being added to the selection as I advance the game, as well as classes.

What’s in the upcoming Chapter One Demo, you ask?

• Play as 4 different characters and have many more team mates in different situations, most of them optional!
• 18 possible character costumes (although to be fair, one of them is inaccessible until chapter two is released), including two monsters!  Unlock these with secret codes, finding secret areas or by accomplishing specific tasks and goals
• Keep up to date with your objectives with a “Tasks Log” that describes your current goalss as you advance
• 3 “pages” to be collected that give small insights into the history and background of the world
• Dynamic monster encounter situations, with both random battles and enemies that chase and run away from you
• 2 exciting boss battles, as well as a few more mini-bosses
• A stealth area requiring you to sneak through city streets
• An intense, high level section with lots of combat and theatrics
• Multiple insights into the story progression from the point of view of various characters