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You are awoken in a tranquil forest shrine with only one command: Find my temple and fill it with light. You'll have to find out what that means, explore the (small) world and battle enemies and solve several puzzles on your way. You may even team up with temporary allies for a while.

From the Light is a short RPG made for the Trials of MZ event. It features a single character party and focuses heavily on the combat system. While you receive some skills for leveling up your character, most skills come from the choice of your weapons. A dagger may increase your chances to critically strike, but a Longsword will allow you to enter a combat stance, in which your normal attacks reduce enemy defenses. A two handed bastard sword provides you with powerful blows that may stun your enemies, but carrying a small shield instead, will allow you to parry.

Features

- RTP Only
- Fleshed out combat system with tons of ways to play the game your way
- Challenging and unique enemies and bosses
- Puzzles and treasures that reward exploration
- No game over screen, no matter how often you die
- Unique presentation of the lore through the world and item descriptions
- 3 to 5 hours playtime

Latest Blog

Version 1.1 released!

I am proud and happy to announce that version 1.1 of From the Light is now available for download!

About 1.1

So From the Light was released as an RTP-only game for the Trials of MZ event. While it was far from winning the event, most people who played it, expressed that the game had potential but was just not good enough in its 1.0 state. So I was encouraged to keep working on it and version 1.1 is the version I hoped I could have released for the event. Alas a lack of time and skill meant, that this couldn't happen.

Changes

Version 1.1 brings a nearly complete overhaul to the game. I revised all enemies, all bosses and most of the skills and equipment. Enemies now have distinctive behavior, so they will provide a fair but challenging experience. The boss fights are now aligned with the enemies you face in their respective area, so you can take what you learned from minor encounters to bring down the boss (thanks to Yanfly's comics for this very basic but totally eye-opening piece of advice).

I also added a ton of new equipment to the game, so you can really choose your playstyle. Magic and miracles now need you to equip a catalyst (talisman, chime or staff) so there is a tradeoff in raw melee power if you want to sling spells. Speaking of spells - all of them got an overhaul and they will now cost TP instead of mana. With additional skills to evade and deflect damage, TP management is now a cornerstone of the gameplay. I also fixed a ton of bugs still present in the last version.

RTP Only

Being true to the spirit of its foundation the game still consists of only RTP assets. No plugins, no custom sprites or tilesets. I find it really nice that I can use this project to learn more about gammak in an iterative process. I already have plans for more content in an upcoming version 1.2 while sticking to the RTP for the time being.

Bottom Line

I think version 1.1 brings so many changes to the game, that it would be worthwhile to try the game again for a second round. And if you have never played it, I would be very happy if you would give it a shot! Game length should be around 3 to 5 hours.

Posts

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Went out and died immediately to the first random encounter. Turns out this is a dork souls game. Honestly, I think dork souls doesnt translate well into an RPG maker game. Because dork souls involve lots of dexterity based gameplay like dodging and movement, which doesnt exist in RPG maker battles. The result of this is that fights end up becoming dependent on luck.

For example, when i run into goblins i cant just run away from them like you can in dork souls because my escape chance sux. Then they proceed to stunlock me so that I never get a turn before dying. Then after that the souls i was carrying disappeared and I couldnt recover the souls i dropped in that fight (they werent at the spot i died.) Thats all.
author=bicfarmer
Then after that the souls i was carrying disappeared and I couldnt recover the souls i dropped in that fight (they werent at the spot i died.) Thats all.


Thanks for the comment! This is weird, I just tested the event and it worked fine, specifically on the Goblins.

I appreciate your criticism. Indeed there are things you cannot exactly replicate in the turn-based RPG Maker combat system, as you said. Even so I think there are a lot of ways you can make a RPG Maker game souls-like, even regarding the combat. Getting to know the enemy and it's moveset, choosing your weapon and combining the skills and consumables etc.

As I tested the game I found that I got progressivley better. In my first run I didn't beat the bear before I was level 4, in my final testing I killed it at level 1. Similar with the other bosses. And of course you could do much more, by slowing down the combat, having the enemies telegraph their moves and allowing the play to react.

Please keep in mind that this game is an entry to the Trials of MZ event, and I only had about a week to finish it. I intend to further work on it, after the voting period for the event ends this weekend. So please continue to provide further criticism, so I can make the game better.
How the heck do u save? This is my first time playing a RPG Maker MZ game... Plz help!!!
author=eevee93
How the heck do u save? This is my first time playing a RPG Maker MZ game... Plz help!!!


Saving is disabled for this game. There is an automatic AutoSave after each battle and each map transition.
Gretgor
Having gotten my first 4/5, I must now work hard to obtain... my second 4/5.
3420
So here are my impressions of From the Light:


From the Light is an "open world" turn-based RPG. I like that idea, actually. Being just told to "go" and then finding stuff out on your own, as long as it is possible to find out what to do, of course. Luckily, it's not too hard to figure it out here.

The leveling up reminds me a bit of the level up system in Bloodborne. You have to collect a form of currency (in this game, "light") to level up at a shrine. I don't mind that at all, but it causes a few problems that I'll get into later on.

Stuff I like:

- The default assets of RMMZ look pretty good, and are put to good use here, with rich environments and cool character sprites.
- Certain treasures require a bit of ingenuity to get to. It's usually just finding hidden paths, but some are a bit more ellaborate.
- Strategic boss fights are good. It always pays off to pay attention to what the heck you're doing.
- Interesting weapon mechanics where every weapon type has different effects in battle. Some weapons can stun, others cause bleeding, and so on.
- It appears certain enemies level up with you, because some early enemies started pulling off skills I've never seen them use before as I grinded near the beginning part. Also, some enemies I'd never seen before also started showing up after a while.
- Auto-saving! Now that is something I've never seen on an RPG Maker game before.

Stuff I don't like:

- The goblins guarding a certain treasure are way too overpowered. It almost felt like we were supposed to lose that battle for story purposes. If it was possible to tell, somehow, how strong the goblins are before engaging, that would not have happened.
- Lost all my light and had to re-grind to get it back due to the above, which soured my mood somewhat.
- Far too many battles are too hard. In fact, sometimes even random encounters can be a nightmare.
- The first map... loops? I don't see the point of that.
- Sometimes I get a random encounter right after I'm done with a previous battle. Not sure if this is the engine acting up, or something with the scripts for this game.
- Having to walk back to the shrine in order to spend light to level up, and losing all our light if we die, made me start hating random encounters when I'm on my way to a specific boss enemy. Like, if there was the chance that we'd get stronger by fighting foes before getting to the boss, this would not be an issue, but this way, it's just a waste of time and resources.
- I see no point in not giving us the option to save manually, as quickly Alt+F4'ing after losing a battle allows us to keep the light we'd lose if we let the auto-save take place.

Bugs (that I can remember):

- There are two Alberts on screen after you beat the ent.
- It is also possible to team up with Albert after the fight by leaving and returning to the screen where he is. You better believe I exploited the heck out of that due to how hard the rest of the game is.
- I have to talk to the same character a few times to get their full dialogs. Not sure if intended, but really annoying.
- Rain effects never stop if you retreat from the swamp back to Albert's campsite.


I feel like this game has quite a few things going for it, and it's pretty nice for what it is. There are a few things that rub me the wrong way, but not enough to make the game unenjoyable. I think a 3.5/5 would be good for the game's current state.
Wow Gretgor, thanks for the awesome feedback!

The goblins seem to be a problem for a lot of people. I will look into it and general balance for version 1.1. Also did the LightRestore Event not spawn for you too? bicfarmer seemed to have a similar problem, but in my testing it always worked. I got a lot of suggestions by Liberty to replace the way Random Encounters are currently handled. I will try to make them less obnoxious. Currently its just a random timer and you can really get a lot of battles or no battles at all by the grace of RNGesus.

Thanks for the gracious rating, let's see if I can stamp out the problems and improve the strengths.
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