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A Prayer Answered

  • Red_Nova
  • 10/31/2015 01:18 PM
  • 3886 views
I think I crunched so hard over the last two weeks I deserve my own cereal. Red_Nova's Crunchberries: a suckerpunch of flavor, overtime, and a rabid desire to follow through with your commitments at the cost of your time, health and friends in every bite. Buy now for only $29.99!

... Maybe I need to work on the advertising campaign a little bit, but it works! Because, as soon as I submit this blog, I'm gonna compress and upload the complete prologue for Prayer of the Faithless. YAAAAY!

Like I said before, this took much, MUCH longer than I thought it was going to. And the worst part is, I did more work since releasing the tester's copy than I did the month prior. I seriously underestimated the amount of work that would go into this game. If you don't take anything else from this blog, take this: No matter how much you plan and prepare, a game will take longer than you thought it would initially. This can be applied to real life too, you know. But whatever. No one's learning any life lessons on MY blog!

There's been a surprising amount of coding that went into this project. I've always been able to code, but I haven't taken the time to learn RGSS3, so I just let it fall to the wayside for all my other projects. Even now, I wasn't creating completely custom scripts, just tweaking already made ones to make the act in different ways. It's been, by far, the most tedious and annoying part of the process, but also one of the most rewarding.

The second being, of course, the characters. It's been a blast writing the initial cast and, even though you only play as three out of the six planned cast (while interacting with a fourth), I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. This goes for how they play in battle, too. One of the goals for this project was to make each character feel more unique and less like the same cookie cutter character templates in battle, and I think the end result succeeded in that.

But enough rambling. I'm just happy to finally have this out for you. Of course there's plenty more things I could do to improve the prologue, but I said it was coming out this month, and dammit I was going to follow through with that commmittment! That's why I had a bowl of my own Crunchberries cereal every morning!

So yeah, as soon as the prologue goes up, I hope you download it and give it a play. It's actually a bit longer than I planned, clocking in about 1:30 hours of playtime, but I hope it's an engaging 1:30 hours.

Now then, if you'll excuse me...

*dies*

Posts

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CashmereCat
Self-proclaimed Puzzle Snob
11638
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh snap. I didn't think I was so hyped for this but when I saw the download up, I freaked out a bit in excitement. My expectations are high, and you can't bring them down.

I'M SO EXCITED.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Thanks Cash! I hope you like it!

Oh wait, that's right. I'm dead. Can't hear you.
unity
You're magical to me.
12540
*uses Adrenaline Shot on Red *

This is fantastic news! I'll be playing this today, for sure! :DDDDDDDDDDDDD
Holy s***, just decided to enter to RMN after don't know how long and I find this surprise.
*smashs download button
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
author=unity
*uses Adrenaline Shot on Red *

This is fantastic news! I'll be playing this today, for sure! :DDDDDDDDDDDDD


I FEEL ALIIIIIIVE!

And thanks for playing (again)! Yours and NeverSilent's feedback was invaluable!

author=urano23
Holy s***, just decided to enter to RMN after don't know how long and I find this surprise.
*smashs download button


Almost like you were

(•_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

PRAYING for this download!

*dies again*
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
The ditty about costing health is hitting a little too close to home at the moment! However, I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to getting my grubby hands on this.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
S-sorry! I wasn't exactly thinking coherently at the time of writing. I hope you like it!
nhubi
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
11099
Download button pressed, excitement mode engaged.

Okay, beat the prologue. Damn your cliffhangers Red_Nova.
I'll give you my thoughts. Beware the giant text wall.


So far I'm loving it. I've said it before but I can see a lot of improvement in the aesthetics and presentation of the game. While nothing mind-blowing, your maps are much more filled and detailed than the first rather uninspiring maps I saw in Soul Sunder, and the character's portraits and busts are miles away from the first pixeled and unpolished drawings as well.

I was wondering about wether the characters would feel more unique and special like the ones from Soul Sunder. It's a common flawed trait that some good writers(like you, you are a good writer) that they make a character archetype that is excelent but then most of their characters are re-used versions of the same characters with different faces. Proved wrong, while some characters do have a Soul Sunder vibe, most of them felt rather "special" and endearing in their own way. I was expecting either Mia or Amalie to be similar to Myra to be honest, good to see I was wrong.
The only thing that bugs me a bit from your characters is that they almost all share this "troubled and dark past full of mystery" thing, although this is justifiable by the Crap Saccharine World they live in. The story was really cool so far, it got me constantly trapped about what was going to happen next.

Now, let me tell you about the gameplay. I think you have a trauma with tutorials or something but you always seem to be lacking in explaining the player how to play. You get control over the main character, wander around a bit and boom, here you go player, good luck with this zombie, you know what to do. For a game that features a rather unique battle system you really fail at explaining the player how to play it at first. I saw some statues giving hints about how to fight, but one thing is giving optional secondary hints that will help you understand the battle system better, and another is not giving a basic explanation about how it works. I'm not speaking for myself since I could figure out more or less how to play, although I had played that demo you uploaded a while ago of the battle system, but for someone one hundred percent new, I don't know how easy it could be. I'm not saying that it should take you by the hand, but at least give some basic instructions. How the stamina works, the focus command, the fact that you always get three actions, stuff like that.
Also, at first I had no idea you could jump over gaps by just walking towards them. That's another thing that should have either a small text box tutorial or at least an arrow or something to indicate that you can jump. I get that you probably want to keep a secret within the map in what places you can jump in order to have secret locations, but in the beginning you have to at least make the player aware of the fact that they can do it. When I played it I had no idea where to go to find the book in the dream and wandered around for like 10-15 minutes until I realised I could jump by walking towards the empty gap between the floors.

Aside from that, I love the battle system itself. It is unique and strategic and makes you take each and every decision carefully and small mistakes can be punished severely. Each character plays and feels different from each other, although I do have to say that I relied more in Aeyr than in anyone else most of the time. I don't have much to say about it since it was really good overall and I enjoyed it thoroughly so far.

Of course, I do have one major complaint about one particular combat, that is, the final boss of the prologue. I will just clear and explicitly explain how I lived it.
Due to the nature of the battle system, I naturally spent every turn trying to make the most and maximize the damage I could pull while mantaining a defensive stance. I tried to find a balance between how much damage I could deal, while keeping my stamina up and his stamina down(pretty hard since he keeps restoring his stamina). Sometimes he would use the Miasma charge thing and I would use Amalie to remove the state to avoid getting wrecked.
So far so good and after a while I managed to reduce a good chunk of his health. The problem? The guy kept healing so trying to deal more damage than what he was healing, while also trying to keep stamina levels reasonably good was a living hell. I think I spent around 30 minutes(perhaps even more) trying to take down the bastard and I just couldn't. I even reached a point where my First Aid kits where running dangerously low. After spending so long trying to keep all these things together, eventually I could commit a mistake or two, since it was getting seriously repetitive and my mind was dying, and it was then that he was healing more than I was damaging him!. At that point, I just said "f*** this" and took the approach I take when I think it's over. Give up and let the boss kill me and opt for a different strategy next time.
So, what did I do? Nothing but spam the Attack command so that the boss could kill me. Try to guess what happened. I lost?....no, I won. Literally, just spamming "attack" with Aeyr won the fight. Aeyr was knocked out at one point but I noticed that the boss had like 50 Hp left, so I just revived him and continued spamming attack and boom, congratulations. I just couldn't believe it, I had spent half hour spamming different command and abilities against a boss that could be beaten with just pressing the Z button endlessly(yes, I was frustrated). In case it matters, I chose the Mage Knight class.
I'm sorry but while the battle system is great, the boss battle itself was catastrophic failure if the player can win by just spamming 'attack' infinitely and win. It renders everything and all the potential the system posseses rather pointless if the player doesn't need to give any use to it. It also makes me fear about what other bosses will be like. In my opinion, the boss battle should be changed completely. It's also a shame because it almost killed the mood for me for what was a really good and well written scene(I actually left for a coffee after the fight and left the game waiting in the victory screen).

Anyhow, regardless of...that. The prologue was truly excelent and I'm really looking forward to see more. Also, I'm already in love with the main characters(mostly Aeyr and Mia).
I'm hoping for the best and wish you best luck with this project.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Wow, thanks so much for the detailed feedback, urano!

I'm glad the art and mapping has improved! Those two are my weakest areas, so it's nice to hear that they're getting better!

author=urano
I think you have a trauma with tutorials or something but you always seem to be lacking in explaining the player how to play.

Haha! Yeah, I try not to shove tutorials in player's faces as much as I can to let them learn the system on their own. While I agree that certain mechanics could be explained a bit better, I like to think that the first fight allows payers to get a feel for the system on their own. This is how I imagine the players will act when the first battle begins:

- Choose attack.
- Panic when basic attack does 0 damage.
- Check their Drives and sees Sonic Fist and Hateful Aura. Then, either:
-a) Use Sonic Fist, sees that no damage was done to enemy's health, but SP went down.
- b) Use Hateful Aura, sees in the description that attack rose and defense dropped for BOTH characters.
- Realize that they can keep acting even though they took an action, and that one of the buttons on the top right screen has turned gray.
- Try Attack again. Gasp as they realize they can now do damage!
- Realize somewhere along the fight that even their basic attacks take away from Aeyr's SP, and that they need to Focus in order to keep attacking.

So the player learns from this exercise that actions need to be taken before attacking and that SP factors into defense. All without a single tutorial message. I've always held the notion that players learn more by doing than by being told, and this approach allows them to really appreciate why you need to reduce enemy SP before approaching, so I try to set the pacing of the beginning to allow them to learn the intricacies on their own. I thought this would let you see firsthand the consequences of failing to do so, too.

THAT BEING SAID, I think you're right about how certain things need to be communicated to the player, like jumping and item use. I'll take a harder look at the tutorial and see how to explain it better.

I'll also take another look at the final fight. While this is the first time I'm hearing about this, I'm looking at the boss' patterns and seeing that a situation like yours was certainly possible. Questions: Did you visit the Quartermaster before going outside? How many times did you chuck throwing knives at it?

The Mage Knight class just grants you a relic that gives you a fire spell and alters your parameters to a more magic-focused style. The boss was weak to fire and pierce, so throwing knives and casting Fire Crash (especially if Amalie had the Relic) should have given you an easier time.

EDIT: One last question: did Junsunia keep using Hateful Aura on Aeyr? If so, that might be why you could keep using basic attacks to win, since it boosts both Aeyr's and the boss' Attack but dropping both their Guards. I hope that's the case, since that'll be really easy to fix.

Despite of the flaws, I'm pumped you had fun with the prologue! I'll get to work on polishing up the areas you mentioned. Thanks again for the feedback!
author=Red_Nova
I'll also take another look at the final fight. While this is the first time I'm hearing about this, I'm looking at the boss' patterns and seeing that a situation like yours was certainly possible. Questions: Did you visit the Quartermaster before going outside? How many times did you chuck throwing knives at it?

The Mage Knight class just grants you a relic that gives you a fire spell and alters your parameters to a more magic-focused style. The boss was weak to fire and pierce, so throwing knives and casting Fire Crash (especially if Amalie had the Relic) should have given you an easier time.

EDIT: One last question: did Junsunia keep using Hateful Aura on Aeyr? If so, that might be why you could keep using basic attacks to win, since it boosts both Aeyr's and the boss' Attack but dropping both their Guards. I hope that's the case, since that'll be really easy to fix.

Despite of the flaws, I'm pumped you had fun with the prologue! I'll get to work on polishing up the areas you mentioned. Thanks again for the feedback!

Yes, I did visit the Quartermaster. That's why I had enough First Aid kits and stuff. But I didn't use the throwing knives(it would have helped now that I think about it, dumb me).
I equiped the relic to Aeyr because I thought that if I didn't his stats would be real bad, since I didn't get any other free equipment from the man.
I think he did use the Hateful Aura two or three times(Don't remember exactly because I wasn't paying attention, just smashing buttons). That might be why Aeyr could make so much damage.

Is pressing Control supposed to bring up game-code-type things?

Am I supposed to be down to one party member after talking to Margaret? And yet, the game still thinks I haven't lost one at all... Getting chats, anyways...

Luke's age and appearance don't seem to match... Is it just me?
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
... Nope. That'd be the Window Identifier script that I forgot to take out. It shouldn't affect the game itself, though. That'll be taken out in the next update, which should be as soon as I get this boss fight tweaked.

author=Malandy
Am I supposed to be down to one party member after talking to Margaret?

If you're referring to Amalie, yes. She leaves your party after you talk with Mia. If you're referring to Mia, she doesn't officially join your party during that segment, since she's not in a combat-ready state.

As for Luke's appearance, well, I think he looks younger, especially when seen next to the others.
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6280
I'm late, but still: Well done, Red_Nova! I'm glad all your hard work has paid off. It's going to be hard to wait patiently for the full game, though.

(At least I get to test it early, heheh.)
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