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Two scouts stumble into the throne room of the King of Prem. They carry grave news: the southern kingdom of Terita has become politically unstable and is planning to attack the northern kingdoms of Dyros and Prem!

The King decided to summon his best soldier and assign to him the task of traveling east to the other threatened kingdom, Dyros. There he would warn their king and ask for their help.

Meanwhile, the Teritan army grows strong and dangerously restless...


Update as of recently:
I've been writing updates in the changelog for the installer. Check it out there.

Update as of January 2019:

Lots of updates!

To account for Windows 7 and on loss of native MIDI support, you should download a MIDI synthesizer. The one I've been using is VirtualMIDISynth:
https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth

The new version requires you to manually install an updated font file, TibsRPG2. The file is included in the install directory, but can be downloaded separately:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/downloads/10407/

To see the January 2019 updates, check out my blog entry on it:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/blog/21096/

Hit me up on my discord:
https://discord.gg/ysKmmqe


Features:
-Combo attack/magic battle system: when your characters' HP gets too low, they have a chance of attacking or casting a spell multiple times in succession
-50 hidden "stars" that are applied to characters to increase their stats
-For every 7 stars you locate, your characters get a "star level up." They each learn two new spells.
-The "Abacus" item allows you to alter the spells each character learns at a Star Level Up. It also changes the characters' classes, stat growth, and equipment pool!
-A Sketchbook item: the lead character can sketch enemies during battle, recording their elemental and status weaknesses for review
-A "Game Journal" item that reminds you where you are if you get lost
-A super-secret hidden dungeon that pays homage to one of my favorite game franchises of all time. No, it's not Final Fantasy. ;)


Background:
Way back in 1999, I was introduced to RPG Maker 95. I made a couple crappy, but important, preliminary games (important in that they were the foundation for learning the ropes, as it were). Then I met James Kish and collaborated with him to produce a game, "Tsukiden." It was significantly better than my previous solo projects, but it didn't get to enjoy an official release: RM2k was released when we finished. We pooled our time and effort into a follow-up game on RM2k which was to become the sequel.

Soon after the completion of the sequel (renamed Shukumei Star 2 and its prequel to Shukumei Star, naturally) The RM2k3 engine was released, and I began work on porting both games into it. SS2 was completed first, and SS1 was recently finished.

Latest Blog

2019 Update

Hoo boy! Some things have happened in the five and a half years since the last update.

Windows dropped MIDI support

Windows 7 was released, and as it turns out, all versions of Windows going forward have dropped native MIDI support. MIDIs will still partially play in-game now, but in order to hear these game MIDIs in their full glory, you need to install a third-party MIDI synthesizer.

I've been using VirtualMIDISynth:
https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth
with the following setup for soundfont load order:

(i.e. SGM loads last and takes priority.)


New Font

Additionally, the process to automatically install a font has changed, so I'm leaving it to you to download and manually install the new font, TibsRPG2. This font is new as of Jan 2019, so you should still install it, even if you have the previous TibsRPG font:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/downloads/10407/


Why the update?

Aside from the technical stuff above, I wanted to adjust the game again because I was never really satisfied with the difficulty balance of random enemies and bosses. As I began to tweak and re-balance all the enemy stats, I got along to tweaking other things like spells. And then I found a few stupid mistakes and oversights in the previous versions that I have now corrected.


Save file compatibility

Please note that the new install directory is now different from previous versions. I have no idea if save files are forward-compatible, so copy over your old save files with caution.


Changelog as of 03 Jan, 2019:
This log is not exhaustive, because I might have changed very minor things like spelling mistakes and a couple tile/entity positions.

MAJOR update: Now using Cherry's amazing DynRPG plugin system, which I've customized to do the following:
  • Makes message windows translucent
  • Adjusts battle timing
  • Displays battle icons when characters gain MP
  • Fixes Reflect crash, so now a couple enemies can cast Reflect

MAJOR update: New font (TibsRPG2) that is a modification of the RM2000 font
MAJOR update: Battle background have been updated: specifically re-worked to take up the entire screen rather than having the awkward black bar at the bottom. (See below)
MAJOR update: Many heroes are renamed. Some of their original names were taken randomly and sporadically in a spark of inspiration—for example: named after a friend's pets, which happened to be named after historical or mythical figures. Many of the old names today have contemporary pop culture associations (e.g. Pandora, Loki)
MAJOR update: As alluded to above, monster stats have been completely re-worked. The EXP they grant and their appearing locations have not been adjusted (mostly), but now the game should be easier overall, with fewer difficulty spikes.
MAJOR bugfix: Monsters never used to cast spells that only gave a buff (e.g. Fast, Wall, Regenerate). Now they do.
MAJOR bugfix: Status effects that claimed to halve/double Defense incorrectly affected Mind instead, and vice-versa!
Bugfix: Status conditions in general had numerical priority ratings. A spell that was supposed to grant multiple conditions with equal priority (e.g. Mutate) instead applied their effects based on these priorities. Now they should correctly apply multiple conditions.
Bugfix: Using a teleport item/spell in an improper place does not consume the item/MP.
Bugfix: I can't prevent you using buffing battle items outside of battle, but I CAN remove the buffs they give you! Don't use them outside of battle and you won't waste them.
Bugfix: Airship entering/exiting has been fixed, I HOPE.
Update: The shortcuts added by the installer are now flagged to open the game in windowed mode by default, which loads MUCH faster.
Update: Quetzalcoatl now randomly grants Reflect rather than Dodge/Regen
Update: Reflect status lasts longer in battle.
Update: Crusade's success rate has been lowered from 100%.
Update: Mutate can now cause Reflect.
Update: Gravity and X-Gravity have slightly lower success rate, but now can also inflict ½ ATK, ½ SPD, Stun
Update: Black Hole is now an advanced, multi-target gravity spell.
Update: Overhauled non-weapon equipment so that stat bonuses make more sense and are fairer.
Update: Elemental/Status resistances are now included in item descriptions.
Update: Black Hole and Reflect have swapped positions in the Abacus.
Update: Enemy spell usage has been updated. Enemies now cast spells more/less frequently if they own many/few spells, and enemies near the beginning of the game (mostly around Shide/Corax) have different spell sets.
Update: Overhauled class stat growth. Now the extremes in a given stat will vary by a factor of 2, and not 8. This ought to prevent e.g. characters with obscenely low agility from being agonizingly slower than other characters. Similarly, the attack and magic combo algorithm has been re-written, and now maxes out at 4 instead of 8 hits.
Update: Overhauled monster stats to likewise reduce individual "swinginess"
Update: Summon animations now fade in. Originally they did not, due to archaic reasons.
Update: Removed Herobrine.
Update: Abacus graphics have been updated for clarity. (See below)
Update: Abacus now has a Free-Roam mode where you can read about what each spell does, rather than having to guess based on its name.
Update: Hidden stars are no longer items to be used on characters to boost their stats. Instead, upon locating them, they instantly boost the stats of EVERY character, including those not in the party or not found yet, and remain in your inventory as trophies.
Update: Enemy distribution/EXP in the super-secret dungeon has been changed, and you get much less of the completion reward.
Update: Enemies in super-secret dungeon now play alert sound effects at the start of battle.
Update: Removed MANY traps and ambush tiles from Corax Temple, to make it less horrible.
Update: Removed Traps Radar: now Secrets Radar reveals both traps and secrets.
Update: Secrets Radar now stays on for four seconds, and makes a tick every second.
Update: Prem soldiers in the Dokutsu cave showdown now have different sprites than the Dyros soldiers.

Known bugs:
-If a character gets petrified while selecting a battle command, the game will hang because the player can't choose a command and the battle can't proceed until the character chooses a command.
-If an enemy simultaneously selects a spell at the same time that it is disallowed from casting spells (Mute, Berserk, etc) then the game will crash. This happens especially against the Lion enemy.


Graphics update samples
As mentioned in the changelog, some graphics have been updated: in particular, battle background have been extended, and the Abacus stat graphics have been updated to look more like an abacus:





Changelog from 13 Aug, 2013:
-New Game + has been "fixed," in that your characters' stats won't be wildly unpredictable.

Changelog from 30 Sept, 2012:
-Thanks to Seeric, I spotted a couple bugs. The enter/exit airship bug has been fixed (I think). Just to be safe, don't spam the "cancel" button as you enter or exit the airship.
-Leviathan should vanish when beaten, not leave behind a symbol.
-Sprite bugs have been fixed, including one on the sketchbook: it's supposed to show left/right arrows for -1/+1 page (top-left controls).

Older updates:
-The second boss battle (in the cave) has been made easier. The Knights will no longer cast any spells.
  • Completed
  • crthibodeau
  • RPG Tsukuru 2003
  • RPG
  • 12/08/2009 07:39 AM
  • 05/01/2020 05:42 AM
  • 06/18/2011
  • 136161
  • 22
  • 442

Posts

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How is the first game in production, and the sequel completed?

"Logic, it helps."
Read the "Background" entry in the game's description, right above your comment.
This game looks pretty solid. Think I will download it right now!
so when are you going to finish this up?
I'm doing my own playtest of the game, so that I can get motivated and in the right mindset to do the final battle and the ending.
Currently I've decided to return to school full-time, and that will be my priority. I promise to complete the ending once I've got some spare time.
The game is finished! Go ahead and download it ;)
Hey, glad you got around to finishing this. I had kinda lost hope since your February comment. Downloading the new version now :)
comment=42454
Hey, glad you got around to finishing this. I had kinda lost hope since your February comment. Downloading the new version now :)

Glad to hear! You picked a good time too, since as you can see I had to fix a stupid error that renamed your characters.

Good luck and enjoy!
I finally got around to playing this. Had a good first hour and a half with it, but then I entered the thief's cave and both my party members die in one hit. Any way to get around this, or am I gonna hafta grind for 10 levels?
You'll need to grind a bit, but also make sure you buy the best equipment from Dyros. Those "Thief" enemies certainly sting. And be aware that most of the chests are guarded or trapped by at least one Thief. Do yourself a favor and avoid the chest in the southeast area that says "are you SURE you want to open this?" because you'll be attacked by three Thieves at once, and you won't stand a chance. Better to come back later for this one.

When you first enter the cave, take Pandora back to Dyros and get her geared up as well.

Yes, the Dyros area grind is my least favorite part of this game, I'll admit.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
Just got to the world map. It's quite good so far.
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
...and then I got a game over against an overpowered Jack-o-Lantern fight. You should really enable saving on the world map.
lol Yeah I had that happen too, but it was right after I saved.

Anyways, thanks for the tips, crthibodeau. I'll try upgrading my armor, as the leveling up doesn't seem to be doing enough for me atm.
Sorry about the errant Phantom.

Since saving with the priests was not immediately obvious, I had the game save for you when you reached the world map for the first time (if you hadn't already). The Phantom is the hardest monster in the area around Dyros, but you should level up a bit before attempting to head over to Dyros. Or at least save up for some equipment.

The best rule of thumb I have is that you should save up enough to buy everyone the best (or most expensive) equipment you can, and then be able to buy a few healing items. Once you've fought enough to make that kind of money, your level should be high enough to progress without much hassle.

Also remember that as long as you're using only Tsukiden alone, he gets four times the regular experience. Take advantage of that!
Decky
I'm a dog pirate
19645
The amount of grinding is still a little excessive for an RPG Maker game. Level 7, in my opinion, should be enough to proceed to the Bandit's Hideout and fight the bandits there. Even with the stars and a decent sword, it's still brutal. I think the price of equipment should be lowered/monster gold drops should be raised.

So far, everything else is decent to good. Mapping is a little bare, but I think that's the style. I like what I've seem from the star/skill system so far, and the skills seem well balanced. I'd probably increase the base of the elemental-all spells by a couple points and lower the variance by one, just to make the spell more effective against groups of weak enemies in the early parts.
Wow, thank you for the input. When I get spare time I will consider all the above. Good "variance" advice, btw.
Actually I just had an idea that could serve to circumvent half the issues above without actually changing them.

You think Dyros is bare now? You should have seen it when it was originally designed. It was heaven to anyone who liked big, open rectangles. YAWN.
I agree with Deckiller on everything he said. Other than that though, this definitely feels like a charming oldschool rpg and it's kind of a shame that it hasn't received much attention.
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