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Episodic, you say?
Sort of. I consider the core game "complete", since there are now more than twenty varied missions with hours of gameplay and over a dozen classes and room for more. I decided that rather than define an endpoint as "complete", I'd just clear up the core game and then just update and add missions and extras MMO style; when a new update is available, it gets glued onto the side in the form of a new Episode!

Latest Version
-Episode X
-14/03/13

Symmary
Syma is a Hub-Based Missions game that involves class-selection and RPG elements. The main theme is based on careful rationing of your supplies (which include ammo, mp, health and even your characters lives) as each mission will tax them in different ways, and without restore points in the entire mission you have to make sure not to use your supplies carelessly.
The game is based in a futuristic universe where magic is as freely used as technology, with missions taking place in anywhere from factories, forests and even space! Both magic and technology are utilised in combat at varying degrees from the different classes your characters can use.

Syma Features?
  • Sci-Fi & Magic: Classes, weapons, skills, missions and maps are all based around one or both of these themes; you can shoot lightning bolts or fire a shotgun!

  • Hub-Based Missions: Sit around on your spaceship and get flown directly into the mission hotspot where you'll have various different goals and tasks to complete!

  • Varied Mission Briefings: Missions vary both in terms of story/appearance, and how they're handled tactically: the same setup won't work everywhere!

  • Fourteen Classes: Each class has it's own unique stats and skilltree with their own purpose. Freely change your squads classes between missions and even equip subclasses to specialise your stats further

  • RPG Elements Only: Although levels and equipment do exist, each one doesn't count for much, aiding you only slightly and still relying more heavily on your skill selection and class combinations

  • Succinct Dialogue: Mission briefings are short and sweet and based around getting you straight into the mission without a text overload

  • Use Your Ammo Wisely: Everything from skills, ammo and even your characters lives will need to be used carefully in each mission as you get no recovery points or restocks!

  • Damage Calcs: All skills and abilities have unique damage calculations which are displayed so you know exactly what to use and when

  • Hard Mode: Every mission has a duplicate of itself with much stronger monsters and better rewards

  • Side Missions: As well as your standard missions, you also have solo missions for characters to take on, megaboss battles, split-party dungeons and even fly and fight in your space shuttle, the Esper I!

  • Chibi Combat: Combat is visually based around sprites and map graphics; with resized animations, the visual look of the whole game is consistent with the cute chibi sprites vibe

  • HoloMap Deck: The HoloMap Deck lets you view Sector Y holographically and see all the planets that you have been visiting, as well as read up extra information on them


The Rest about Syma
Syma is the spiritual successor to Scima Invasion Crew (SIC) which is another project I worked on and have finalised. SIC was one very large level with class selection and an emphasis on using your ammo wisely, as there were no recovery points for the entire game, and several bosses.
The idea was fun and I found that after the initial game was done, I kept adding on more routes, paths, bosses, unlockables and even a survival mode. I realised that I could keep adding more, but it'd wind up just being detrimental to the feel of the game, which was intended to be short and sweet; the game was completed in under three days as a "quick project".
So Syma is a reimagining of SIC; it's capable of being expanded upon endlessly and is more open to changes and additions without interrupting the feel of the game. This has given more a good chance to refine classes, stats, ideas from before and even prettify with several shiny new tilesets (SIC was made entirely with one tileset) to really open up the concept a lot more.

There may also be updates for this on my personal blog at Pixel Brady.

Latest Blog

Piece on the side: mini-project

So after releasing Episode X with a bunch of new shit, I figured that was a good time to take a wee break and get some steam back for another couple of missions I've been scheming up.

So in the meantime, I've been playing about with another wee mini-project I've had in mind: VXA Pantomime: FFVI.

It's in a whole other world from Syma, being a visual play/novel and containing virtually no interactivity elements; it's just a short "game" designed to mix together different mediums of storytelling (you read, watch, listen, play a bit) while summarising FFVI down to it's fundamental story.

Has been fun making, since it's let me listen to all the FFVI MIDI music again, but it'll be finished pretty soon~


Posts

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shayoko
We do not condone harassing other members by PM.
515
Ver 11
thoughts
the auto text is really annoying

...the holomap deck...is too dam big....

so many characters... and classes to level up....and whats worse? those not in your battle party of 4 don't get xp!
and support classes don't gain xp and EVEN worse the level cap is 99!?

at least you can switch jack out. that's something good

hopefully you can replay any mission you want after beating it :3 that would make the game alot better

cannot run from battles

lack of items to restore mp

stages are too long and tedious given the conditions...
its like its built to use all 8 of your characters but the class and level system contradicts that...


General Dropped (extremely tedious)
...

Overall
Recommended to masochists
I understand that it is probably more a coding issue than an actual design choice, but aside of making little sense that the others are so intimidated by an enemy or boss who just butchered a whole party when they could have very well jumped in to help out once one was down, It would make the game even more fun if for example the ATB bar of the defeated character would keep moving (maybe slower) and everytime it hits the end you'd be given the yes/no choice of throwing in a character from the second squad instead, with a subsequent list of avaible characters to pick from in that case (like skill-selection).

Really good game btw. Kudos to you.
nhubi
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
11099
There's a small error in Dane's hologram options, it says Sly's holostation options, not Dane's.
this was/is fun. I'd write a review if weren't a lazy bum
I loved SIC, a more fleshed out one? Hell yes =] what's the progress on this?
Yes i have the latest update. That's why i found it kind of strange to begin with...

I can't acces an area which shows a stair i'm assuming that leads to level 2.

hmm

I think i'm going to delete everything and reinstall the game.

Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Do you have Episode X? The missions you haven't mentioned, as well as the HoloMap, come with the Episode X update. The HoloMap is next to the level 2 door and contains a search menu that lists all possible missions.
These are the missions that i've completed so far.

-Mason
-Anarchist
-Jester
-Cursevine
-desert mission (governor rescue)
-Tulims curse
-Churric camp
-Sym village
-Warlord's queen
-Bounty hunter
-radical attack(radical leader)
-Lex SSH containment
-Wetwork (hajou & danze)

In this arera there was one empty holodeck left. Is the above mentioned the holodeck map?

Other missions
Occultist mark 1
Shuttle escape (onboard the esper 1)
There were 2 empty holodeks probably two optional missions

So far i also completed three solo missions (sly elena and samus solo missions)

I completed some of the hard missions haven't started the golem mission at hard difficulty yet although i will definitely try it soon.

As i understand now i think i might have completed more of the game than originally thought. I actually thought the chip would unlock acces 2....

Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
The chip is actually something that hasn't been implemented yet. I wanted to put the item in now so that when it's function came into play, no one would have to repeat the mission to get the item again; you'd already have it, and it'd just suddenly become useful. A "the chip has been decrypted" notice would appear, if you follow me.

Access 2 isn't accessible yet as I've no idea what to put there (too many possibilities, none of them solid in my mind yet) so have just left it there so it can be added in whenever. Although you should be able to get down to the HoloMap Deck fine.

Which small mission(s) is/are missing? All the missions in the game are available if you have over 25k rep (and I'm assuming you've unlocked the Urgent Mission as well, which isn't based on rep). Note that three of the characters don't have solo missions yet, if that's what you mean.

As for the shuttle mission, I'll need to look into that. I've not come across that bug myself, but it's possible I've not done two runs of it in the same test file, so I'll check up on that and see if I can sort something out.

As for advancement, I don't know what to say! I just don't have any more content available yet! Have you done Hard Modes? I haven't been able to beat the Golem on Hard Mode yet, myself.
But no, sadly I don't have any spare content with more repeat value; maybe you have some suggestions you could throw my way? As I said in the blog, I've taken a few days off to work on VXA Panto so I can refresh my mind a wee bit and think clearer for the Episode XI missions; I'm running out of unique ideas for solo missions, in particular! :)
author=Brady
Have you not downloaded the latest episode?

I remember coming across that bug in Jester's Mansion; it was fixed in Episode VIII.

However, if you have already downloaded that bug fix and are still getting a problem just let me know and I'll look further into it, but as far as I'm aware, the current version is free of that issue.

Let me know~

EDITEDIT:
Just checked to confirm: the bug is definitely fixed in Episode X which is **out now.

Indeed as you mentioned it i had an older version. So i downloaded the latest version and i could finish the yester mission.
But i'm facing another bother. See i completed almost all the small missions except one that didn't show up for some reason. Now i got this message that says there is a mission briefing at the bridge this mission splits the members into four groups and afterwards they get together to defeat the golem which wen't all smoothly. The golem was defeated and i got a chip but it says it's encrypted and be viewed quiet yet.

So i wen't again to the bridge but bothing happened i just get the possibility to replay the entire mission over again?

I can't seem to acces level 2 either since there is a small mission missing as well as two additional(optional missions)

I also noticed that the side scrolling plane mission could not be replayed properly when i arrived a second time at dthe big ship i got some kind of message showing up constantly freezing the game. but this is not so important of an issue.

Now i just don't know how to advance in the game anymore i have almost 120000 of rep and completed all the small missions except for one that doesn't show up.

The mission of the golem was completed succesfully and i received a chip. I sense that there might be something i have to do to read that encrupted message.

Any thoughts on this?



Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Well I'm glad you think so. Have been unsure about public opinion because I'm not getting much feedback, so am just relying entirely on my own judgement/perception of what sounds cool to me! Good to hear that others are enjoying it :)
This game is just awesome. It's easily one of the better futuristic games to come out of VX Ace.
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Have you not downloaded the latest episode?

I remember coming across that bug in Jester's Mansion; it was fixed in Episode VIII.

However, if you have already downloaded that bug fix and are still getting a problem just let me know and I'll look further into it, but as far as I'm aware, the current version is free of that issue.

Let me know~

EDITEDIT:
Just checked to confirm: the bug is definitely fixed in Episode X which is **out now.
I played this wonderfull game but i can't go beyond the yester mission. i have 70000 of rep more or less and most of my crew are level 17 or 18.

They are all well equiped and bosses are not a problem anymore. However i encountered a strange mission where i have to capture a clown named yester.

I defeated him once but the mission was not over as i couldn't get back to the mothership.

I defeated him a second time and then something like yester has collapsed we have him. So i thought finally i got him but i was still out there the crew didn't go back to the mothership?

This is the only mission from level one that poses a problem as i'm literally stuck in that mission.

Any ideas what may be causing this?

author=Brady
After mentioning the bestiary there, I've thought about it more and decided to implement one. It's set up already and working nicely, and looks good with the current UI. It's a basic one that doesn't give item drops or anything fancy, but dos give the enemy stats and image, and is unlocked after fighting them for the first time.
Unfortunately it won't update retroactively for current save files (although the VR enemies from the tutorial will be automatically added).

This feature will be available in Episode VIII :)
Sounds awesome. Nice work.
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
After mentioning the bestiary there, I've thought about it more and decided to implement one. It's set up already and working nicely, and looks good with the current UI. It's a basic one that doesn't give item drops or anything fancy, but dos give the enemy stats and image, and is unlocked after fighting them for the first time.
Unfortunately it won't update retroactively for current save files (although the VR enemies from the tutorial will be automatically added).

This feature will be available in Episode VIII :)
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
There's no scan command or bestiary features in game. Have ben toying with the idea of a bestiary area, but nothing's come of it yet.
I enjoyed playing the game, and I like the futuristic look.
Although is there a way to tell how much health an enemy has?
i'll try something too man :D something like crysis but it will take a while of course :)
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