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Life under the rule of the winged Skyborn race isn't so bad for Claret Spencer, the star mechanic of an independent repair shop. She can patch up just about anything...but when a certain cravat-wearing customer turns her life upside-down, she finds herself pulled into an epic, city-wide conflict that's going to take a lot more than elbow grease to fix! Join Claret on her journey through a tale of magic, metal and mystery as she unravels the secrets of the Skyborn!

Summary
Skyborn is a story-driven, character-driven steampunk game. Magic meets metal in this world, powered by coal, steam, and technology, with a backdrop of magic and myth. Steampunk is a setting with its roots in 19th century England, in the industrial and Victorian era, all adapted for modern times and used as its own fairly new genre of games, movies, and especially... outfits. Skyborn takes you into a fantastical journey, from gritty, industrial cityscapes, to beautiful ancient ruins, and even into a realm of pure magic.

Features
-The focus of the game is a mostly light-hearted adventure. The character interactions, atmosphere, and story serve as the engine for the experience.
-Full-sized busts used in character dialogues. Full array of expressions as well, really brings the exposition to life.
-Mouse and menu bar. Thanks to the masterful work of rpgmakervx.net's Mithran, the mouse is leaps and bounds ahead of any previous iteration. It has easy navigation, easy clicking, and is fully capable of navigating through the menus intuitively and quickly.
-Threat, tanking, and CT systems make for a more tactical, streamlined combat system.
-No random battles. All encounters, other than scripted sequences, are visible on the map, and for the most part, easy to avoid.
-Exploration nodes! You can level up adequately, simply by collecting exploration nodes. They will grant xp/levels and can be found in the nooks and crannies of the world.
-Mining, crafting, and augmenting. Mine ore, take it to a forge. Turn it into a piece of armor. Then, take that armor and further customize and enhance it with a magical augment. Augments can be overridden without losing the piece of equipment, but it destroys the augment item itself.
-Battle retry. No automatic game over upon losing. Hard to lose anyway, without setting it on "hard" difficulty, the setting tailored for veteran RPG players.

Latest Blog

  • Completed
  • Commercial
  • harmonic
  • RPG Maker VX
  • RPG
  • 12/06/2012 08:36 AM
  • 09/14/2020 06:10 PM
  • 03/16/2012
  • 177936
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Isn't this a commercial game? Is this the demo then? Sweet~ I'll download~
Definitely one of the better looking commercial rpg maker games~ :)
Before I attempt to download, might I know what the restrictions on this free-to-play version are?
Right so here are my thoughts:


First and foremost - this is a paywall version and NOT ALLOWED ON THE SITE! Congrats on being the first to abuse the privileges you were given. Let's see, rules clearly state that only FREE versions of a game are allowed to be hosted on RMN. This is free... for an hour. Yeah... pretty sure this isn't what Kentona intended when he posted that rule. You're probably gonna catch holy hell for that.

This issue is still being discussed and it seems that I was mistaken that this was a deliberate attempt to game the system and slip through a loophole. Sorry~

Onward then.

Starting music is pretty cool. Nice that you've got options added on the start screen. Hm, basic options via script.
Nice visuals. The steampunk pack, right? I really like the portrait~
Sounds~<3
Dialogue is a okay but needs a little work. "Sigh, I wonder if I can trade you in for a cat, Coggie..." for example. Make the sigh on one line and the rest start on another, otherwise it reads as though she's actually saying 'sigh'.
Lol, gear gun~
Maps are kinda empty or at least lacking. Like the bedrooms are just beds in corners. It's kinda disappointing. I'd love to see more interaction too. You could couple it with EXP instead of just handing it to you by finding stars. (also kinda disappointing since you really don't have to work for them.)
Okay, so that battle was kinda cheap. I killed them both and they still fought for another three rounds. Could have made them a bit stronger, or an event if you'd battered them enough, ending the battle.
That said, the battle system is very simple - not necessarily a bad thing but I would have liked to have seen something more in there. The skill you got - Sniper - did about as much attack as just attacking. Does it have anything to make it worth using? Perhaps make it a guaranteed shot so that if you're fighting monsters that dodge a lot, you can be certain of a hit?
Zounds? Seriously? XD
Sulliford at times seems British by the way he talks and yet, also not at times. It's irking me. Either go fully or not at all. >.<
There's some issues in upper town. You use a certain tile as a rooftop, then use it as a wall. Does not compute.
You can see other inners when you're inside a house. It breaks the illusion. Either make them their own map or add enough buffer between them that you can't see the other in any way.
Dat Dhacian.... is one sexy piece o' man-meat~<3
Hm, even when battles are supposedly hard they're pretty easy.
Augments are nice. As are different chest types.
Pretty easy to get up levels. :\

Okay, so my trial ended suddenly and without warning. Would be nice if you'd allow a save before just shutting off. There was nothing to indicate a sudden shut off, just BAM! No game.

My thoughts:
I like the characters. There needs to be more exploration. Maps - especially inners - need a bit more work. Only got to see one dungeon and it was okay. Battles, even set to hard, are pretty easy. Level ups are cheap - very very cheap. In the first hour I got to about level 10.


Pros:
- Augments
- Characters for the most part - some dialogue is a bit meh
- Graphics and portraits
- Battles are fast and items are plentiful
- Pretty fun
- Forging
- Menus are nice, as is mouse integration (though unnecessary)
- Music is very nice - though the battle music sounds very familiar for some reason, like it was based on another games' song?
- Sound effects~<3
- Freakin' Dhacian!<3

Cons:
- Paywall - you have one hour play then you have to pay to play more
- Sudden cut off when hour is over
- Some cases of bland/bad mapping
- No lore
- Exploration is practically non-existant in towns. Why should I visit other parts of towns that aren't the shops/inn? There's nothing there for me.
- Battles, even set to Hard difficulty, are easy
- Dialogue could be polished up a bit more
- Levelling was cheap - it almost seemed like it was tacked on as an after-thought

Well, there's some stuff for you to ponder over. You'd better get rid of that download, though, as it's breaking site rules. You can upload a link to the game in the upload section and it will keep the button at the top, but send people off site to download, which keeps the rules, yo.

So what you all really want to know: Is it worth buying? I enjoyed myself despite the issues with it, so depending on the price, I would. Personally? At the current stage it's in I'd pay less than $5 for it. If it were spruced up a bit more, I'd consider it worth about $10.




harmonic
It's like toothpicks against a tank
4142
Thanks for playing. But...

There was no "abuse", it's a simple misunderstanding. The demo is indeed free, and 99% of commercial RM games use the exact same 1-hour trial method, and have for years.

So yes, of course it's free... for an hour. Of course it has a paywall. That is how this world works.

Link to the game's home site has been added.

Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
harmonic isn't trying to abuse the system, he actually asked me whether this kind of download was allowed before he added it and unfortunately I didn't know the answer.

This is one of the things we'll have to sort out in dealing with commercial games, is all.
That's fine then. The reason I jumped on it so hard was because it seemed as though you were exploiting a loophole, so to speak, so soon after the whole green-lighting of the idea, which just isn't right.

Glad to see you've apended. That said, I enjoyed the game well enough, but it is rather rough in areas and, no offence meant, but I wouldn't pay the asking price for it. It was fun in parts, though - mainly your characters and some of the systems.

I highly recommend going back through and maybe adding some lore into the world - bookshelves and NPC talk - to help the world feel more real. Writing seems to be one of your stronger points and you could probably do a good job of it.

You could even couple it with the whole 'explore=exp' thing you tried to have - so that finding bits of lore gave small increments of exp instead of one star = giant jump. It'd give people a reason to walk around and check out your mapping - which isn't bad, though it has a few issues. At the moment there's no reason for people to check out the houses in towns because, well, there's nothing for them when they do.
I bought this a while back and played through. Nice game. I think I got it from aldorlea or something. Not sure.
harmonic
It's like toothpicks against a tank
4142
Lore is a tricky thing. We really wanted to avoid unneeded fluff and make a 10-hourish, "tight" experience, rather than a daunting, sprawling sandboxy thing.

That said, there is a lot more "lore" type content later on, and there certainly is a huge wealth of back story that I used to build the world itself. For instance, the city design itself is beholden to the world setting, the hierarchical nature of a society dominated by Skyborn, what they have planned, and how they prefer to structure their humans. In the Port District, you finally meet foreigners, who drop hints about other human kingdoms, even subtle homages to "historical" names and places from one of my other games, Deadly Sin 2, which takes place about 700 years before Skyborn in the same game world. I have like, world maps, timelines, etc.

Knowing what I know now, I probably would have done a standard edition / collector's edition type thing. The SE would be what Skyborn is now, the CE would include a lot of extra content and all that "fluff" that was left out.

That said, Skyborn is very much a done deal. :) It's been out since March, no reason to go back and polish it. No time or energy for that these days anyway.
Ah, it's commercial. I don't care then.

...Just kidding. I'm on the same boat (but out of RM), so cheers and good luck!
I'm glad to see this here, it's one of my favorites.

Personally, I liked how there wasn't a whole lot of lore exposition at the beginning. In such a character-driven story, I feel it was better to learn the basics of the small world Claret knows from the start rather than seeing more of the world beyond the scope of her experience.
harmonic
It's like toothpicks against a tank
4142
author=bigtime
Any chance on future Skyborns?

Sadly, both of us are under non-compete contracts in the game industry at the moment. :) Though that may change at some point.
author=harmonic
author=bigtime
Any chance on future Skyborns?
Sadly, both of us are under non-compete contracts in the game industry at the moment. :) Though that may change at some point.

Ah ok then.
Hey I am having some problems in the coal mine... There is a ledge inside a cave on the first floor that I cannot seem to reach.. I completed the dungeon and still could not find the access point any help would make this person very happy.
benos
My mind is full of fuck.
624
I played it some time ago. Looks awesome.
i got this game in the humble bundle its on my steam but for some reson i cant play it
You have to redeem it via steam, then download it from there. It should then play just fine as long as you still have Steam on your computer.
BurningTyger
Hm i Wonder if i can pul somethi goff here/
1289
Hmm, I'll have to play Deadly sin 2 after finishing this one and pay attention...
shayoko
We do not condone harassing other members by PM.
515
Random thoughts may include spoilers

only 4 save slots :O but where are the saves?

cant rest in bed to restore health!?

games beautiful. i cant believe some people said this was anyless then great (so far anyway)

sucks you cant get back on your ship to sleep or something...surely theres beds on it!

i really hate when you have to break a piece of gear or a upgrade to keep using one or the other...
they did this bs in RER2 raid mode :/ hopefully at least you can earn as much money as you want and free travel to any location.

the red phantom! :D

betrayed...guh i knew i should not of trusted scum that would use marriage as a excuse to give her something...
i SWEAR ill be extremely pissed if we don't take that fuckers life during this game! i DON'T CARE what his reason for it was...

im surprised they let you keep your weapons in jail

red phantom went ahead of you with the other prisoners so why are there locked doors? it should of been done already!

tsk figured it was him,he saved me so its a + but i was in that situation because of him in the first place >.>


its a shame the store and inventory do not seprate items,weapons,armor and key items

guh...he betrayed me but... ... hes a great guy...damit i cant hate him! it bothers me tho that the objective is to "scope out"
the rebel base tho...i mean seriously...is she really remotely considering betraying these people? even after all she has seen and heard!?

should have a healing point in the rebel base

not only is there no healing spot int eh area but theres no store that sells potions and such!

the Arena challenges are extremely brutal. you have to have amazing planning ability to complete it. what each characters real is and such

Aldas back story was predictable from a mile away :3 before she started to tell her story i knew what was going to happen

i wish epic/one of a kind gear was unsellable :(

those apples...so much win......

:O WOW if you beat the arena champion...you become GOD!

Holy shit! the arena and gauntlet have nothing on Saehral! she must have 200k+ life!

Great ending! who was the old man though???



General
This game was quite refreshing,the more games on the engine i play the harder it is to find those gems which stick out in some way for me. and this is certainly one of them!
with a 10+ hour experience of good+ characters,custom art,customizable gear,exploration
you wont be disappointed!
the grammar and glitches are pretty much flawless!

Overall
i highly recommend this was a great game!
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