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Post by Dungeon Warden on Aug 30, 2006 15:52:30 GMT -5
Yes, the inn is open day and night - it's the only building that is.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Aug 29, 2006 12:10:28 GMT -5
I think I mentioned this before, but could I get a screen shot of the Sexy secretary? There is also an animated scene on the second story of the inn using the same sexy VFX I'd like to have done sometime. Thanks.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Aug 23, 2006 13:34:26 GMT -5
As suggested in my topic, I would like you to make a video if a battle scene showing how it looks in action. Use items, draw, and cast spells to show how it all works. With luck you might be a shot of a critical or a dodge as well.
It you see anything interesting in my demo you like, please take a picture or videotape it. There is so much going on in my demo that I don't know what should be recorded.
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cards
Mar 22, 2005 16:44:09 GMT -5
Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 22, 2005 16:44:09 GMT -5
I played MTC when if first came out and stayed with it until fifth edition. I liked the Yu-Gi-Oh TV show but I never played the game. I tried the pokemon card game but I didn't really like it.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 18, 2005 17:48:21 GMT -5
I was sorry to hear about your accident but I'm glad you're all right. I hope you will be able to walk again someday. Do you know how long you will need to be in a wheelchair?
My brother was also hit by a car when he was younger. He wound up in the hospital for four months with a broken hip. He is as good as new now but he was in bad shape for a long time.
Get well soon.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 30, 2005 15:52:00 GMT -5
I like the idea behind Spirit of the Blade. Are you going to make a demo showing the intro of your game? Get to work on this RPG so I can see what you can do with this idea.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Dec 9, 2004 15:10:09 GMT -5
Devils should burst into flame and become a pile of ash which blows away. Or maybe they could implode in a bright light. Your choice.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 29, 2004 8:59:08 GMT -5
You could create a world populated by demonic creatures, and have that world be attacked by Angelic creatures. This will let you use your basic concept but also allow you to take the story where ever you like. Your version of hell could never be like the "real" hell, so it is better to base your ideas on the concept but take it in a different direction.
It is an interesting idea to have the ugly, brutish, demonic beings as the "good" guys and the angelic creatures as the "bad" guys. I look forward to seeing what you do with the story.
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demo
Mar 31, 2005 11:03:24 GMT -5
Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 31, 2005 11:03:24 GMT -5
If you have a demo worth looking at (into to story, at least one town and dungeon) I wouldn't mind playing it.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Dec 18, 2005 22:30:04 GMT -5
I watched all the videos and I have to say there was some good stuff there. I was also reminded of the limitations of RPG Maker 2 as there was a lot of stuff I'd seem before as well. My monitor tends to make everything dark for some reason so I could see everything clearly but what I say was good. I'll have to play the game sometime to see how it plays.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 21, 2004 12:38:46 GMT -5
My online name is easy to use in a game. Go ahead and use it if you wish.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 9, 2005 16:47:21 GMT -5
All you need to do is uncheck the Close Message Window box and put in wait , clear message window, and close message window commands where needed. As long as the message window is never full and never closes on it's own, you can keep the messages going without requiring the player to do anything.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 11, 2005 22:05:31 GMT -5
Here is the information for major characters (taken from "The Dungeon Master's Design kit")
Game Abilities: The characters in game profile (HP, MP, Level, etc.) This includes any special abilities or attacks the character has.
Epithets: the title or descriptive name of the character. Lord William the dragon slayer is a more inpressive name then Bill. Make sure all major characters have a name that complements there importance.
Appearence: Pick a model and use colors that make the character stand out from the rest.
Mannerisms: You are some what limited to text, SFX and VFX in this area, but some interesting manerisms can make a character stand out.
Personality/Motives: Why does the character act and react the way he does? What reason does he have for doing what he does? No one does things just because they're evil or good. They need a reason to justify their own actions even if those reasons seem strange to others.
Responces to key Stimuli: here is where you move your character from the ordinary to the extraordinary. What party actions will anger the character? What actions will cause him to suddenly befriend the characters? For example, if the character is an orphan he might look more favorably on an orphan in the party.
Exploitable traits/ weaknesses: Does the character have a weakness to gambling that a villian or the party can take advantage of? Does the girl have a weakness to stuffed teddybears? Like the stimuli above, make the character special in some way.
Background/history: Where does the character come from? What life events led him on the path he now travels?
Typical tactics: not in combat, but in life. How does the character deal with stress? With people/ places he doesn't like? Those he does like? Where does he spend most of his time? If a villian, what is his modus operandi?
Minor characters are similar to major characters, only they don't need as much detail. Game stats (which could just be an event with pages), appearence, and personality would be all you need for most minor characters.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Mar 10, 2005 11:02:32 GMT -5
I do think I have that info somewhere. I'll look through my stuff and post it later today or tomorrow.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Dec 30, 2004 13:58:53 GMT -5
Or you could do what I did with my item menu - list the terms in a message window and have the player pick a number from a multiple choice window. Then have the script compare the number with the list and proceed from there. It you apply together the list (and uncheck close window) and the multiple choice list you can show both at the same time. It's not a great system, but it doesn't require the player to know how to spell the names.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 15, 2004 11:26:53 GMT -5
You're welcome. Note that this information is also in the notes that are in the RPG Maker 2 Techical Help forum. If you are looking for other helpful variables you can use in your battle systems, check them out.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Nov 11, 2004 9:44:47 GMT -5
These are some helpful tips. Thank you for sharing them.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Apr 1, 2006 19:54:09 GMT -5
This is a very interesting article although I don't agree with the idea of starting with the theme. Trying to force a theme on your story restricts your creativity. It is better to start at the end and work back wards to the beginning. And then rewrite from the beginning to the end. Read what you've written and find the theme, then remove anything that doesn't follow the theme and add anything that might help to develop it better.
The main problem with writing is that many people think an idea is all you need to write a story (how many people have said, "I don't want to post my idea in case some one steals it"?) An idea is nothing. I come up with a dozen ideas a day and throw most of them away. Themes are a way to make a story more coherent so that it doesn't go all over the place and confuse the reader/player. It is not where you should start writing from.
I do agree with the rest of the things you have to say. It is important to understand the people you are writing about - both the good and bad guys. It is always a good question to ask why should the main character to this or why is the villain doing that. Everyone has a good reason for their actions, even if no one else thinks the reason is a good one.
You might want to consider offering several options on the subject rather then just your own. As I member of Writing.Com, I read hundreds of writing tips and it is very rare to find two people who agree on the best way to write a story. Some people work better starting one way and other people work better using a different method. It is always a good idea to give people options.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Sept 17, 2007 8:53:19 GMT -5
FBOP has more of a fantasy feel then the other titles. Nostradamus wrote the Book of Prophecy, but adding Freewill to the title should remove you from being to similar. There is a MMO game called Horizons, so you might want to avoid using that title. I like Freewill: New Horizons for the theme you describe, but looking at the name for the first time didn't really suggest what the story was about. Doing a search for the name revealed this site, and this one, and also this one. The name seems to suggest the future (which is what you wanted) and that makes it sound like a science Fiction story (which is not). The Edict isn't a very helpful title, so it's good you changed it. Overall I like the current title but FNH works for me as well. Edit by Doan: Fixed the 1st link.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jul 18, 2006 16:49:50 GMT -5
Okay, I guess the main reason I wanted to go up a few levels is that the enemies are hard to kill without using skills. This means you either need to avoid enemies, carry a lot of SP recovery items, or run back to town every time you need to get SP back (which means fighting the same enemies over again).
It's not too hard to avoid the enemies in the dungeon, but this kind of makes the enemies pointless. Why fight the enemies when they only give you money which you use to get items to help you recover from fighting monsters? Something to think about.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jul 18, 2006 14:22:50 GMT -5
I found several problems with the game:
1 As you already pointed out, the main text doesn't work unless you have the proper fonts. In the future, do a web search for standard fonts so you know which ones all uses should have.
Even after changing the fonts as mentioned above, I found that the menus also need to have there fonts changed. I couldn't see the characters stats or equipment (or anything else for that matter) until I changed the font for all the tables.
2 I had no idea how to leave town. If you walk on the edge of the screen you are prevented from leaving. It is standard practice to put up fences/ land-marks (hills, brooks, etc.)/ or building to prevent people trying to leave anywhere except where you say they can leave.
But that isn't the real problem. The problem is that you can't leave at all unless you stand on the correct square and press the action button! I only found this out by editing the file and "fixing" the event. You don't need to press a button to enter a building, so why do you have to press a button to leave town! Especially then there is only one place you can leave.
3. After fighting a few battles, I decided to check to see how much more experience I needed to go up a level. None of the characters had any experience! This is a major flaw that makes the game unplayable. Do you check to see if the characters were getting experience or does this have something to do with the font change? Either way it needs to be fixed.
4. A minor point, but since the characters are wearing armor in the pictures, don't you think they should actually have armor? Every RPG starts the main character with some equipment. You could easily pump up the damage enemies do and give the characters some simple armor.
I got as far as the enemy strong hold, but since I couldn't level up I figured there was no point in entering. Get this fixed, okay.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jun 29, 2006 19:18:01 GMT -5
One way to develop hidden story lines is to "talk" to your characters. Find out who there are and why they do the things they do. What was life like growing up? Who where their friends and family? What family secrets are they hiding? Another thing to do is to steal plots from games, TV shows, movies, and/or books. Since they are subplots and you'll be altering them to fit your characters, you can probably get away with it without most people even noticing - especially if your tastes are different then most Subplots are good for character development (getting to know the characters better), plot development (explaining some loose ends), and game play value (giving the player something easy to do, if the game is getting hard, or something hard to do to challenge them). Extra stuff isn't really necessary, but it can help the player feel like he has some control over where the story is going. If you can't think of anything extra to add, that's fine. Don't put in a bunch of pointless stuff just because you think you should. Focus on the main story and make it the best it can be. After the game is finished, you can worry about if it needs some extra stuff to fill it out or not.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Jan 27, 2008 13:49:32 GMT -5
Speaking of which, this demo is over five months old. When are we going to see an undated version for the demo? I'd like to see some improvements in the characters and weapons, as well as most of the other problems fixed.
How much time do you devote to working on this game? I''m just wondering what the likely hood is that you'd actually finish it.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Sept 20, 2007 11:35:31 GMT -5
Not to keep harping on the mortimer scene, but you've fallen into one of the traps that many new writers fall into. That is, trying ti keep so much hidden from the player that the story starts to not make sense logically anymore. You know what's going to happen so it makes sense to you, but to someone who has no idea what's going on the whole scene feels poorly written and illogical.
I'm not interested in knowing the answers to my questions (at least not until I play the rest of the game), I just want you to realize that people who don't know what's going on are going to have a hard time believing this could really happen.
One thing I've learned is that you could give away a lot of secrets at this point and people still wouldn't understand what's happening. Have you ever walked into the middle of a conversation and not understood that people are talking about? This scene should feel like that. Mortimer and Crane should talk as if they are in the middle of a conversation so that the player knows something is going on without really understanding what. As they play the game the pieces will start to fit together and they can start making sense of it all.
One way to keep your secrets is to speak in code. Have the characters say things like "Remember what happened to Hargar", and "Sandor was only a legend" Later on the characters can learn some of these stories and try to piece together what is going on. This way the reasons for the characters' actions will be explained in a way that the player won't understand but will still let the player know there is a reason for the way things happened.
I know it's hard to put yourself in the shoes of a new player,but when keeping secrets leads to major flaws in the believability of the story, you might want to rethink your policy on keeping secrets. Remember, no one knows what's really happening but you. You can probably give away a few secrets early on without ruining the story. All I ask is that you think about it.
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Post by Dungeon Warden on Sept 19, 2007 9:42:31 GMT -5
By "get through some places and not others," I mean that there are some objects you can walk behind like trees and somethings you can't (Houses sometimes can't be walked behind for some reason). Some plants can be walked over and others can't. Therefore, trying to find shortcuts around buildings and through plants often leads to dead ends.
I should also point out that, while it's understandable that there are only certain places you can leave areas (RPG Maker 2 has the same problem), it is kind of unrealistic. Most professional games design the towns and wilderness areas so that there are fences, cliffs, walls and other objects preventing the player trying to exit at the wrong places. The exit point could also be made bigger by putting several exit events together since RPG Maker XP doesn't have the memory limits of RPG Maker 2.
The prison scene doesn't need a second battle, it needs more drama. If you've ever played an RPG with a prison scene, you know that the player has to search around the cell and find a secret exit or someone from the outside has to help them. There's no drama in just opening the lock and leaving.
About the treasure chests, it was kind of annoying to spend your hard earned money on equipment only to find the item you just bough in a chest. You start with just enough money to buy a leather cap and a shield, but one of the first chests you find contains a shield - and only the main character can use a shield. I had to restart my game so that I could buy the armor instead of wasting my money. It would have made more sense to have the armor in the chest. That way, you could at least keep the armor and equip it on another character later on.
This is really a minor quibble, since this happens in professional games as well.
You don't really need to lower the prices if you could just make tougher enemies leave more treasure. Maybe even have them randomly drop equipment or a high priced item you could use or sell.
I did talk to the characters when I could. Maybe I didn't respond correctly to get the best response. I don't know. I just didn't find the characters very interesting.
It's not just about adding mini-games and side quests to the towns. It's about justifying why the towns are there in the first place. Think about the way towns are laid out in your favorite RPGs. Most towns are either an important stop on your quest or they are blocking your progress somehow. By important stop, I don't mean something has to happen in the town itself. The town could just be the closest place to rest from the dungeon you need to enter. Most of your towns are just places to buy equipment, which you can't afford, and to rest before traveling to the next town.
Back to the death of Mortimer. Maybe these questions are answered later, but some hints of a deeper story should be given at this time or else it feels like lazy writing.
How was Mortimer standing in Crane's way? Did he have a key to the book or did his death have some other profound effect that is unclear? Crane wants to know what's in the book, so how is killing the one person who's read the book and knows where it is going to help him? Wouldn't it make more sense to torture him until he revealed the secret? He's is already attacking Covenant with every reason to believe he will succeed, so why bother with Mortimer at all? Why pick now to attack and kill him?
If Mortimer lets himself get killed, this should be made very clear in the story. Like Obwan in A New Hope, he needs to say something to indicate he believes dying will serve a greater purpose then living. It is unnatural to allow someone to kill you and that is why this scene rings false. Even if you don't want to give the reason for his surrender, you should at least make it very clear that there is a reason.
Keep up the good work. I look forward to your new and improved story and to continuing the adventure.
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