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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jul 31, 2006 21:25:55 GMT -5
And to think so people do stuff like this for a living. very well done, by the way. Some background might have been nice, but the effects were the main thing. Keep it up.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 12, 2005 16:20:24 GMT -5
Yeah, I remember that pet following idea. I remember putting in my two-cents, but I wasn't the only one that helped getting the system to work.
Getting a party of events to follow the leader might be tricky if there are several objects/bulidings in the area unless you keep the members close by checking the Party coordinates and moving the events toward that spot. Moving the event randonly around the area (while still staying close to the leader) might help them to walk around objects as well. I'll have to test this out. Great idea!
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 8, 2005 12:11:09 GMT -5
If you want a specific party member to always be the leader, you can give that character a custom condition that will move him to the front everytime the party moves. Pesonally, I like switching the leader so that I'm not always looking at the same character throughout the whole game.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 4, 2005 15:28:36 GMT -5
Okay, this was suppost to go here.
I found the combat very difficult at first. It was impossible to tell when the small enemies were attacking you as there is no attack animation and the big enemy doesn't need to be anywhere near you to hit you. Only the dodge option saves you from being killed after three swings.
Worse is the fact that your attack misses the enemy unless they are standing on the front right corner trying to run around you. Sometimes you can hit the small enemies when they are in front of you, but the big enemy can only be hurt when he stands on this spot. I used up all my healing items and died several times until I learned how to avoid damage while killing the enemy. This is called playing the system - learning how to fight the controls instead of the enemies. Very poor design in my opinion. I understand that creating a Action RPG is not easy but battles shouldn't be fustrating. I think part of the problem is that the small enemies move faster than the scripts can calulate hit detection. I'm not sure why you can't hit the large enemy - maybe because he is large it is hard to hit the space the enemy is actually on.
Because enemies move so quick, spells are not practical. You can get hit several times trying to hit an enemy with a spell. Some sort of target lock would be nice, although I'm not sure how you could program it.
The traps were interesting and I liked the story (what little there was) - although the ending was a little puzzling - which I'm sure it was meant to be. The boss as easy to beat once you know the secret of combat (I was only level 3) - just let him try to run around you on the right hand side, and hit him until he dies.
I hope you will tighten up the controls and fix the combat before your next demo. The story has potential but the CBS needs a lot of work.
P.S. If you are going to make a practice arena - let the player practice. Don't throw a bunch of enemies at him and expect him to figure out what to do. Also don't end the game when the character dies. Have the character wake up in bed or back at the start of the arena instead. It was annoying to have to start all over again because I died during a "practice" battle.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 18, 2005 13:47:44 GMT -5
Your game shows promise. I look forward to playing your demo.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 23, 2005 15:47:38 GMT -5
I didn't think you needed the disk to use the Max Drive unless you have an older PC (Win 85 or before). Win XP will read the Max Drive like any other memory card.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 23, 2005 12:07:56 GMT -5
I don't know if you noticed, but I have a new mini-game "Waitressing" on the site now. I have had one very positive review so far, so I think you will enjoy it.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 18, 2005 16:56:34 GMT -5
I can't really give an example using one of your characters because it really depends on the story, so I'll use my own example:
The NPC mayor of a small town was born to a wealthy merchant and his wife. He was better off growing up then most of the other children and came to feel he was better then they were. When he did what he was told and made his parents happy, he was rewarded. But if he was bad, he was serverly punished. Fortuately, he had a charming personality and was able to convince his parents he was good most of the time.
As he grew older, he learned the value of having a few good friends. Especially if those friends could protect him from bullies or offer him things he couldn't get on his own (at first it was trading lunches, but into adulthood it became items from far off places.)
Because of his charm and powerful friends, he became mayor of the town and took control of all the day to day affairs of the community.
Personality: Has no concept of poverty. Values works of art over money. Likes to feel he is always in control. Doesn't trust anyone and always keeps his eyes open for deception.
Quirks: likes to sound of coins jungling in his pocket. likes to see rare objects. Hates not knowing what people are up to.
Flaws: slightly paranoid. Will pay outragous sums of money to aquire unusual items.
This character feels like a real person and can have a real effect on the story depending on what happens. He could arrest the characters if he thinks they are up to something. He could help them in exchange for a rare item. He could be covinced to look the other way by a villian in the same way - although he wouldn't really look away because he wants to know what is going on at all times. I'm sure you can think of other story possibilities.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 17, 2005 20:57:04 GMT -5
I guess these are pretty good hook notes for the characters (i.e. their motivation to get involved in the story). You'll need to add more detail (background, reactions to everything that happens in the story, personality quirks, and a flaw or two) to make them seem like real people, but the basic motivation is there and that is the important thing.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 15, 2005 12:16:45 GMT -5
I don't have any trouble this FFX's puzzles except one of the temple puzzles had me confused for a long time because I couldn't find out how to do it. I finally had to look at the strategy guide to figure out what to do. Some of the side puzzles were too hard and illogical, but the main quest was simple enough.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 14, 2005 16:47:36 GMT -5
I do love a good puzzle. The more challenging the better, but not something that requires a walkthrough/FAQ to figure out. I want to figure it out myself, and it is very fustrating when I can't. One problem with puzzles in RPG Maker 2 is that it is hard to know if the creater actual made the puzzle possible. If you know all the puzzles were fully play tested and mistake proof (ex. you can't move a block and lock yourself in so you have to reset the game and start again.) that's one thing, but if you don't know if the puzzle actually works, you can give up too easily (this happened to me with one of Nash's puzzles). Hints are nice, even if you have to go back to town and ask a wise man for a clue to what you can do next. If you are putting puzzles in your game, try to do them wrong. Do everything you can think of that shouldn't work or that might trap the player. If you have a friend you can get to play test the game, watch him play it and see what he tries to do. This can also give you ideas for new puzzles.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 13, 2005 15:59:32 GMT -5
I enjoy puzzles as long as they are well thought out and not too fustrating, but I don't want a lot of them as it takes away from the story. Ultimately, the style of game play will determine the level of puzzles. Epics should have few puzzles while zelda style action/adventures can have many. Lots of simple, boring, run around (ex. hit the switch and hurry to a spot before the time runs out), or fustratingly hard puzzles get old fast and can ruin a game. Balance is the key.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 9, 2005 16:43:31 GMT -5
1: The main character - 9 2: A 'treasure hunter' - 5 3: An assassin - 3 4: a character's best friend - 8 5: a character who has saved an innocent life - 9 6: the comedy relief character - 7 7: a character who tries to preserve life (pacifist) - 9 8: a female character - 6 9: a character who killed a non-monster for a good cause - 7 10: a character who asked to join the party - 5 11: a character whom the party asks to join them - 7 12: a character who is looking out for his own needs - 6 13: a traitor from the other side that joins you - 5 14: a character from a rebel force - 6 15: a character who has saved the party from doom - 7 16: a character that joins you because of a third party (ie: here, take this guy with you for this mission) - 5 17: the silent warrior type - 5 18: a really young character - 4 19: a really old character - 6 20: describe the person you would most trust - Someone who was trustworthy in the past 21: describe the person you would least trust - a traitor
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 6, 2005 15:28:36 GMT -5
My mini-games are in the Crown Notes section of my forum ( Crown Notes), so I won't repeat them here.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 3, 2005 13:16:00 GMT -5
I make it so that if a door is examined it will either open or a message will appear as to why it won't open (store closed for the night, need a key, etc). The player then has the choice to enter or not, and they will warp when they enter.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 17, 2005 20:48:26 GMT -5
I though by rooms you mean interesting areas of the dungeon rather than all rooms and connecting hallways. There will be around 100 interesting areas (I haven't actually counted) in my first dungeon. I have no idea how many rooms and hallways I'll use to get players to those areas.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 15, 2005 21:00:21 GMT -5
Let's see. How can I answer this question?
Well, anyone who's played my demo will know that the game begins with a huge, trap laden dungeon (might be a hundred areas by the time it's done - although I may combine some areas together). After that ... well, I don't want to give too much away, but there will probably only be one other fairly large dungeon and maybe a couple of small caves. There is also a huge city what will have maze-like streets and enemies lurking about. My game is not a standard adventure so my dungeons will be story based rather then the typical enter a dungeon, fight the boss, go to the next area type of adventure.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 25, 2005 22:38:54 GMT -5
I like the idea of a second story and also worry that if it is not done well it can annoy the player. It will be interesting to see what you come up with.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Dec 7, 2004 9:55:19 GMT -5
I am making a modified DBS with characters visible, since I invented the format. I am playing with the idea of including some tactical elements as well, similar to Final Fantasy 6 (FF3 on SNES) where you could move partys like chess pieces and fight standard battles when the enemy meets. I won't need this until much later in the story, so I'll work on other things before I worry about this.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 2, 2005 14:05:12 GMT -5
The problem with starting new members at the parties current level is that it means all characters need to be balanced so that a character doesn't join and imbalance the game because of the high level they join at. If the characters are the same, why would you want a new member in the first place. It is harder to control game balance with this option.
All characters start at level X. The problem with this is that if the party is far ahead of the game, new members will be so under powered no one will want to use them. As way around this is to give new members higher stats to compensate but this isn't much different than option 3.
Starting at a set level gives you control of the power level the party gets throughout the game. If the player is rushing through, new members will replace weaker members that haven't had a chance to develop. If the party is too tough, they may ignore new members unless they being something new to the game.
Other options include starting new members at a level equal to the lowest member's level. This forces players hurring through the game to spend some time building levels, but the power players won't use the new characters.
Set the level at the average level or a specific level; whichever is higher, or lower, depending on which kind of player you want to cater to. This gives you some flexability but still has limits.
Make evey character different, so that all characters are important regardless of their starting level. You can use any level method with this and control the power level at specific parts of the game.
Characters come and go. Characters join at the level they need to be to get the player throught the current story line. Power gamers don't like this because they can't build their party, but it gives you control over how powerful the party is at each major plot line. Speed gamers will find the game easier - which may be good or bad depending on why they are speed players in the first place (ex. some poeople like the challenge of beating enemies that are much more powerful than the party).
Ultimately, it depends on your game. Play test, play test, and play test until you get the balance you need to make the game challenging, make every new character worth adding to the party, and make both speed and power gamers happy with the end product (while keeping the average gamer in mind as well).
Good luck!
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 4, 2005 10:55:06 GMT -5
Holy Flame, I downloaded your game file and played it but all I could do was move between three screens (Enterior castle, bridge, guard post). There was no opening scene (even though I found a title screen in one of the files) and only a few people to talk to. Is this all there is? Since your screen shots show a lot more of the game I would have hoped your demo would have more than this. It is hardly worth releasing a demo if there is nothing to do in it. If this is an error, please fix it and re-release the demo. If this is all there is, please create a bigger demo so that we can see some actual game play elements. I look forward to seeing more of your game.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 11, 2005 22:49:42 GMT -5
Well, I know a lot about Japan (one of my favorite countries ;D) so he better do a lot of research if he wants to impress me. Conversly, if Tigger has any questions I'll do my best to answer them.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 8, 2005 15:23:33 GMT -5
It sounds like you took the old story and rewrote it so it's basically the same with less confusing details - except what's the ten years latter stuff? It sounds like the character fails and has to wait ten years to redeem himself. It might be interesting if the player has a chance to get some of the medallions and weaken the ritual. Then depending on how the first part goes, the second part would be harder or easier. That would make the game more original.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Feb 7, 2005 16:38:08 GMT -5
I don't know. Even if the story is a little cliche, it's the nuts and bolts game play that will make or break the game.
I do have a few questions though:
1) Who is Velnorm exactly? Why does anyone care if he lives or dies?
2) I can understand why the king would want to get rid of any threat to the throne (this includes sending Zell to kill Velnorm - since both are potential threats) but why would Zell go along with this? What reason does he have to follow the king's orders (considing the king doen't like him), risk his life, and kill someone who's only crime is stealing a rune stone? I understand it might not be a good idea to leave someone who's immortal to run around loose but considing what he'll have to go though, it might not be worth risking his life over. 241,000 chillings (why the odd number?) sounds like a lot, but what good is it if he's dead?
3) Who is Zell? Is he the kind of person who actually has a chance against some of the world's most powerful monsters? Could he raise a small army to help him in his quest? It sounds a bit foolish for him to go alone. I understand this is a staple of RPGs but there is usually a reason the hero has to go alone or with a few close friends (no one believes the danger, the hero is a fugitive, the hero has a special ability (Ex. time travel in Crono Trigger) that only allows a small group to go on the quest, etc.)
4) I don't understand the part about the king being exiled and Zell taking the throne. There is no historic precedence for this sort of thing (usually a king would be exiled (if he wasn't executed first) if he lost a revolt - in which case he wouldn't be king anymore regardless of who was next in line). Maybe you mean that the king is afraid that Zell will start a revolt and have him exiled because Jevlous isn't well liked while Zell is. This would make more sense.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 16, 2004 9:50:52 GMT -5
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