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Scima: Reimagined
Instead of continually updating SIC with more and more extra bits and bobs and making the game cluttered and bad, I figured I'd just rebuild it with the express purpose of being able to have stuff added on progressively:
Syma

Want to Play?
v1.2 is out now.
Download here at RMN or from the Mediafire mirror.

Scima will be covered on my blog at Pixel Brady as well as RMN here.

Pixel Brady: Scima Invasion Crew, lazily titled by breeding Sci-Fi and fantasy magic into the system, is a short repeatable game based around a small crew of specialists who invade a rebel base to save the world or some such. Truthfully there's not really much of a story! :D

Playtime?
Each playthrough clocks around 30~40 mins on average (at least during the test runs) but with three routes to the end and ten classes to pick from (as well as passwords to unlock extra features after completing a run) it's designed to be playable more than once!

Features, you ask?
  • Sci-Fi & Magic! Handguns, grenades, combat specialists and magicians all wrapped up together in a mission to punch through an evil base!

  • Simple maps, simple graphics, simple story. It's a simple game with simple mechanics. Sounds boring maybe, but that's part of the point; to just be able to dive right in and play with class combinations!

  • No free recovery points or Inns to stay at. You need to rely entirely on your crew and any supplies you find. You begin with plenty of supplies but they start running out as the enemies get stronger! Conservation is key!

  • No levels! Your crew is always stronger and better than any baddies you find (except bosses!) so your only worry is supply attrition; can you save all your best stuff for the bosses?

  • Ten available classes to mix, match and combine into your crew. With eight common skills between everyone and four unique skills per class, there's plenty of tactical differences between using each class.

  • All skills have unique and varied damage calculations which are shown in the descriptions for you to accurately and tactically decide which skills are best used at any given time.

  • Permanent death! Losing someone hurts your chances of completing the mission, but airlocks across the base allow you a chance to request backup from four other crew members waiting to aid you!

  • Three different paths leading to the bases inexplicable core. Each path can be backtracked and taken (if you want) to give you different bosses and paths to take when trying different class combos.

  • Unlockable Boss Rush Mode! Fight every boss in the game in direct succession with no ammo refills, no backup calls and no breathing time between!

  • Unlockable Survival Mode! Fight an endless supply of baddies with random bosses mixed in!

  • Three optional bosses who make even the General look like a miniboss! Oh no!


Oh, it was Details you wanted?
It's a simple game based off a simple concept I wanted to try implementing. There's literally more tutorial textboxes than there are dialogue/story, as that was never really a part of it. I liked the idea of seeing sci-fi and fantasy magic put together (which is something I rarely see) but wasn't as interested in story as the concept itself.
It also helped with the skills, as I mixed together "tech points" (a victor script) and mp use. Between the ten classes who have their own skilltrees, everyone has a various mix of skills utilising both of them to different degrees. By then putting unique damage calcs to each skill that involved a mixture of stats, and then limiting ammo boxes and mp tonics, it forces you to tactically decide which skills to use when, so you always have some left over for the boss.

These classes include a Marine who uses firearms to attack. These weapons do very strict damage that's modified only by an enemies defence. They target single enemies, while Grenadiers will use explosives that target everyone.
There's also a Healer who uses magic that heals based both on their magic attack, but the targets own magic stats as well. Healers use magic to heal whole groups at once, while Medics use single target heal and buffs that (non-magically) deal strict amounts rather than stat based.

The rest of the game? The mapping is uninspired visually, although the game as a whole is mapped out in such a way that there are three separate routes to the boss (with backtracking possible) so I just spent more time actually planning routes than trying to prettify it. I kept one tileset throughout the whole game, but made an effort to change the basic visual look after every couple of bosses.

But besides that; you can save anywhere, death is a permanent feature so you have to conserve even peoples lives, but every so often you'll find an airlock where you can request up to four more people to come and help you.
Most importantly is just the cute, chibi battle appearance! So harmless looking, but I think it goes well :)

Anyhoo, blether over.

Latest Blog

SIC Reimagined: Syma

So, I released two versions of SIC within days of each other and had plans for further advancements onto it, including extra paths and bosses.

Now, I really like the concept of it all and am having fun with the sci-fi fantasy mix (even if most of it is just a conceptual difference rather than a practical one) but the problem is that SIC was really just designed as a single level thing and crowbarring more stuff in would inevitably just ruin the contained feeling I was going for.

So instead, what I've decided to do, is reimagine the whole thing. Rather than a single level game with gradually increasing number of paths and bosses being crammed into the same tileset and clunky class-switching structure, I went with a hub-based mission system. Plonk your bum in your Hub where you can select classes, gear up and prepare your team, then jump into the level. From that, I can just staple on as many extra levels and features as I come up with (or get suggested to me) without it ever feeling like it's defeating the style of the game.

I could have just rebuilt it entirely, but since SIC is pretty much finished and is fairly balanced (as far as I'm aware), I figured it'd be better to make it a whole new project. This also gives me the opportunity to refine some details like stats as well as find shinier new graphics and improve the weaker features that SIC had.

So, Syma is the new version: SIC 2.0! Let's compare the two?
:Same visual style for battles.
:Same classes, same skills, same battle layout.
:Same "watch your ammo" structure, as there are no healing items or recovery points.
:Shinier graphics and more tilesets.
:More than one level will be added over time.
:Two whole new classes: Sorceror and Magictechnician!
:Class-switching script to ease class decisions.
:Expanded equipment system with more tiers of gear.
:Levels are now possible, but serve only as very, very small bonuses.
:Damage Calcs have been refined and the UI neatened up.

Syma.
  • Completed
  • Brady
  • RPG Maker VX Ace
  • Tactics
  • 02/19/2013 02:17 AM
  • 01/26/2019 06:55 AM
  • 02/19/2013
  • 40219
  • 8
  • 452

Posts

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I hope bro i won't be disappointed with your title your wee hero II just rock really and if your next piece will be rocking again it will be really great.I trust you :)
You know..your games are special you always write no story....tsss,but whatever it never mind if there isn't a story your games are unique in battle system and realism.Just to mention your wee hero(skyrim alike) I can't wait for it,if it will be finished tomorrow it will be christmas for me. :) I hope you will speed up your effort I am not the only one waiting :)))
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
After releasing the Wee Hero demo I wanted to just take a quick break. My goal was to have this project finished within a few days (but got lazy andd did nothing the second day in~~)

This project was just to scratch an itch really. Like with Wee Hero, I'm just trying to work my creative process, so it's good to jump all over new ideas.

As for stories?! Well Wee Hero is designed to specifically have no story to be open-ended. This has no story because I was feeling lazy, and focussed more on the battle system.

Either way, glad you approve! SIC will be out soon, tomorrow probably. Am just still trying to balance everything out, and just have to remove the platforming because it kept refreshing stats D:
I didn't say you can't take a break of course you can:) but if I say your games rock i mean it,I am not some newbie I play games almost 16 years :D and finished around 1200 games :D crazy I know but all that refining and collecting materials in wee hero is just that what i wanted and these games needed for so long,i want to say your ideas are great and i know if you release tomorrow it will be another good game even if it is short in gameplay....No one said i can't play it more times no?....I played wee hero as example 5 hours nad gameplay is around 3 you understand me,no? :))) keep up the good work...honor
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Yeah, the play time for SIC is pretty short (averaging around 30~40 mins now) but it's designed to be freely repeatable. You can play it once and leave it forever just fine, as there's only one direct "ending", but with up to ten unique classes to use and three different paths to the ending (each with two different bosses) you can play a second or third time without feeling like you're just doing the exact same stuff.

There's a total of ten bossfights, but unless you're planning on backtracking you'll only see six in any given playthrough. The gear from boxes and drops are also random, and completing it reveals passwords to get some starting gear to make the next run start smoother...as well as how to unlock the Boss Rush mode which honestly; I can't beat!
hahahaha :D You can't beat your product? Beat me..lol Be sure that I will of course run it three times and when I try the rush mode i will write you honestly if I did it or not :) 10 bosses good good :))) honor
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Well the problem with the boss rush mode is that it's one boss after another with no crew changes, restocks, recoveries or breathers, whereas the "story" mode allows time between all the bosses to prepare. Boss Rush just fires you straight into the next one!
Then it's clear count nearly the supplies needed and it can be beated no? :) honor
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Honestly it may not even be possible without just resorting to attack-attack-attack!

Might need to throw in a Recover All once or twice to give the player a chance! We'll see once I release it anyways. Am fairly sure I've got everything covered by now and the balance/playtime seems fine, so will release it tomorrow and you can let me know ;)
I will be first...I will let you know of course ;)..honor
I must say the first thing that suck is the music...music must increase on level as increase the difficulty of battles trust me not one bmg it was first that caught my eye it's really a problem try to level up music like it was on wee hero but add more and more music...I want to say first boss-some slow metal cover...mid boss-some faster cover...and final boss my ears must bleed from the metal cover....everything so far look good on the other side...characters ok facesets ok abilities great and dificulty is more and more increasing as you proceed...do something with that music really no one wants only one song whole game release again with song and i will even nominate it for songs too :)))
I mean battles and don't be mad bro :) you are doing good pieces :) honor
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Battle music is limited just down to the RTP music; I didn't spend much time prettifying the game up because I didn't want to realise that I'd spent two days hunting for resources and ignoring the actual development, which I have a bit of a habit of doing.

I did try to keep the battle music escalating throughout it all though, but did just run out of it by the end. Had to bring in a 2k3 track I like for the secret boss ;)
You know the best thing is i used 3 combat specialists and one infinite healer because of your mana swap :D infinite mana :DDD and the game has a real problem every boss goes under 2 minutes even the final boss was under 3 minutes...i dunno if you know xenosaga or final fantasy X but the final bosses was a real baddasses that can't be killed under 30 minutes...if your secret boss is that strong i mean only in this game as an example a boss that have 50k will suffice as threat enough and he doesn't must have much strength just to prolong the battle :))) i look forward to that music by the way I understand you :) honor
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
Well I have been going on about balance testing after all.

Although the intention was never for long, epic marathon fights as much as just quick "sprint like" fights. To survive a marathon fight would imply you'd need enough resources to last the whole game and long boss battles, which skews the formula a bit. All you need is enough supplies to fight at all; running out essentially leaves you useless, so it was more about making sure you had enough.

Although 3 fighters and mana swap? Kinda just dodged the issue there, didn't you? ;)

Try some other combos, see how it fares! Boss Rush is more marathon-esque, and the secret boss is harder than everything else by a fair margin, and has significantly more health! :)
Brady
Was Built From Pixels Up
3134
@red77thunder:

You got me interested with all your talk of lengthy boss battles, and thought that considering the game is based around supply conservation that maybe a boss designed to run you dry of supplies before you can even kill him suits the game. A suitably mega-healthy boss has been drawn and created from this suggestion and will be in the next update o:

You might not like the music though; it's more suited to long battles and less heavy metally; what can I say, I like the long, drawn out boss music ;)
It was fun, I love collecting equippable items and potions. Love the different classes and their dynamics together. I wish we could choose who we bring in the beginning though as I liked Elena and Samus the best in terms of how they looked.
You are the boss.I will try your piece of work tomorrow because i have now full hands on Crysis 3 on my lovely gaming pc....but otherwise your game is really a good piece of work and your improvements on bosses and all that looks like something you must of course use even in ..Wee Hero.. give into wee hero some ultra hp boss i will be much much happy to fight someone that will stand for a long time in wee hero with ability to snap mana it will be a great oppurtunity to remind some great games like FF X bosses like omega and ultima and if the appeareance of boss will be the same as true omega from FF i will destroy even my pc if i should lose to that piece of trash :DDD....and dragons won't be bad idea too...I am friend full of ideas how great game have to look and if we will put our ideas together i trust that wee hero will be even better because of complexity it matters the most for almost two days i played skyrim again and because of your wee hero i must play it again it reminds me that much of skyrim that i must play again...that's a signal that your games are on the right track to be a good pieces :))) And never mind the music I am satisfied....in the end they aren't that bad :) honor and GN ;)
author=DominatedMind
It was fun, I love collecting equippable items and potions. Love the different classes and their dynamics together. I wish we could choose who we bring in the beginning though as I liked Elena and Samus the best in terms of how they looked.
We both appreciate that you have fun Brady there is going to be best if he keep up on the right track :) no Boss? :D honor
Hey boss i nominated it for a game of the year that mean if you don't screw up otherwise.I will nominate wee hero.But if you screw up that super piece of work wee hero i will punch you to the nose :D !!! give it your best shot ;) honor
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