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So...
Skie Fortress- 07/23/2013 04:17 PM
- 9839 views
Posts 
J-Man
4684
View playlists
CloseOOKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! I beat the demo, quite an amusing run to be honest, now here are the last few bits of things I should gripe about.
There were some odd bugs here n' there during my moving around, doing things too fast would activate certain menus, like when I'm in a conversation with some schmuck, I could activate the save feature in dungeons.
Lesse... I could open up the menu on... TO BE CONTINUED... sorta.
What else... I could access the normal menu during conversations at the town map, when there is a small waiting period between messages.
Annnnnnnnnnnd... this one isn't your fault, but that whole enemy interuption thing when using a skill, yeah, rm2k3 limitations at its finest, I know the deal because I have to deal with that in my own game too.
Characters wise:
Gunnar/Kyon, I swear it's like Touhou and that long ass name show, too lasy to spell it again, anyway, I have this feeling all the women want to get in his pants in their own way. lol. He was very useful for his own self recovery with that soul eater, very useful, still what I'd wish for is some kind of revival item, because I could get my arse schmacked against certain bosses pretty quickly, and what I'd give to get that revival item, instead of focusing during half my turns. :P
Lesse... Veili and Priel were sub-par, I didn't put much effort into them, but they had their uses. And Patch was useful as always, though I suggest again to have some revival thing for her, if you don't plan to have revival items, at least one target revival spell, anything. >_<;
Also, MY GOD, THERE'S TOO MANY CHARACTERS, too many introduced at once, and good lord there's too many to keep track off, who's an enemy, who's an ally, the other thing that bugs me is the portraits, yeah, I'd assume some of them are pretty old since your old game was using them, hope that gets updated with a eventually newer release.
Lesse... Tutorials as mentioned before, you should have like some Help me file on your game, or some kind of tutorial place in your game explaining abilities again, because I forgot what some of them did. X_X; So a book explaining what the characters abilities are would be grand.
Annnnd yeah, nothing like a harem RPG, hope to see this again down the road, definitely a lot smoother than your older version of Sacred Earth. So I'll be keeping an eye on this one, until then, toodles.
Note: (Get on msn, we need to talk rpg maker timez again.) XD
Note2: I beat all the optional bosses too, even that shadow harpy, out of the optional bosses, Forneus and the Shadow Harpy were the toughest, the other two were pretty easy. :P
There were some odd bugs here n' there during my moving around, doing things too fast would activate certain menus, like when I'm in a conversation with some schmuck, I could activate the save feature in dungeons.
Lesse... I could open up the menu on... TO BE CONTINUED... sorta.
What else... I could access the normal menu during conversations at the town map, when there is a small waiting period between messages.
Annnnnnnnnnnd... this one isn't your fault, but that whole enemy interuption thing when using a skill, yeah, rm2k3 limitations at its finest, I know the deal because I have to deal with that in my own game too.
Characters wise:
Gunnar/Kyon, I swear it's like Touhou and that long ass name show, too lasy to spell it again, anyway, I have this feeling all the women want to get in his pants in their own way. lol. He was very useful for his own self recovery with that soul eater, very useful, still what I'd wish for is some kind of revival item, because I could get my arse schmacked against certain bosses pretty quickly, and what I'd give to get that revival item, instead of focusing during half my turns. :P
Lesse... Veili and Priel were sub-par, I didn't put much effort into them, but they had their uses. And Patch was useful as always, though I suggest again to have some revival thing for her, if you don't plan to have revival items, at least one target revival spell, anything. >_<;
Also, MY GOD, THERE'S TOO MANY CHARACTERS, too many introduced at once, and good lord there's too many to keep track off, who's an enemy, who's an ally, the other thing that bugs me is the portraits, yeah, I'd assume some of them are pretty old since your old game was using them, hope that gets updated with a eventually newer release.
Lesse... Tutorials as mentioned before, you should have like some Help me file on your game, or some kind of tutorial place in your game explaining abilities again, because I forgot what some of them did. X_X; So a book explaining what the characters abilities are would be grand.
Annnnd yeah, nothing like a harem RPG, hope to see this again down the road, definitely a lot smoother than your older version of Sacred Earth. So I'll be keeping an eye on this one, until then, toodles.
Note: (Get on msn, we need to talk rpg maker timez again.) XD
Note2: I beat all the optional bosses too, even that shadow harpy, out of the optional bosses, Forneus and the Shadow Harpy were the toughest, the other two were pretty easy. :P
Skie Fortress
2394
author=Solitayre
I just downloaded this and I can definitely say this game suffers from some accessibility issues. We're treated to a vague intro and then are dumped into the world with zero context or goal, and then spend a lot of time reading through a looooooot of menus to learn how to play.
Visually, this game is spellbinding, and the characters seem cute and likeable, but you're assaulted by an awful lot of information at once and it's hard to comprehend it all.
The best advice I can offer is don't overwhelm the player. Start them off only with what they need to know, and introduce new elements gradually.
Yes, I'm going to give this a try soon. I think I may post a blog entry with some simple visual tutorial examples and see what flies and what doesn't. Eventually.
I just downloaded this and I can definitely say this game suffers from some accessibility issues. We're treated to a vague intro and then are dumped into the world with zero context or goal, and then spend a lot of time reading through a looooooot of menus to learn how to play.
Visually, this game is spellbinding, and the characters seem cute and likeable, but you're assaulted by an awful lot of information at once and it's hard to comprehend it all.
The best advice I can offer is don't overwhelm the player. Start them off only with what they need to know, and introduce new elements gradually.
Visually, this game is spellbinding, and the characters seem cute and likeable, but you're assaulted by an awful lot of information at once and it's hard to comprehend it all.
The best advice I can offer is don't overwhelm the player. Start them off only with what they need to know, and introduce new elements gradually.
Skie Fortress
2394
author=J-Man
The battle system gets pretty easy to use once you understand it, not to sound mean there, but I skipped a lot of the tutorial, I'd say simplify on what the commands do, that way we're not wrapping our heads around a very complex battle system.
Yeah, that's the plan. Instead of explaining everything about Chains, maybe just say Hold Z to extend combo. Chains cost 25 EP Total. Insufficient EP leads to loss of 10% HP each step.
...With pictures to show what happens.
author=J-Man
Out the characters, I've found Patch to be the most fun, loving that extra recovery after each hit, very useful.
Yes, that's probably the most direct form of active healing you have access to early on, other than Gunnar's Soul Eater. But I've made sure balance the game so that it's not a necessity.
author=J-Man
I also find the mechanic of draining hp after your mp has been consumed to be an nice addition. I just wish there was a way to heal your team with items or something, but I recall you saying you didn't want that in your game, so I'll take it as it is.
Yeah, There aren't items. The name of the game is to balance your EP usage so that you aren't taking penalty damage from Chaining to begin with anyway. So being able to item your EP back up to full sort of defeats the point.
Also EX Recover and Focus cover the job well enough I think.
author=J-Man
Also, I sometimes lose track of when I'm building up points that I get all the extra spending points to use to power up heroes, probably should have some kind of thing where each hero has their own points instead of sharing one set points. Cause I could be a cheap ass and just have one overpowered character and kill all of the challenge. :P
You could do that of course. Pooling all SP was an intentional design decision. If you want to spread it evenly or favor some characters over others, that's your choice. But do keep in mind that having powerful skills won't grant you total victory all the time since your stats are still separate from them in the end, heh.
author=J-Man
Well, either way, been wanting to try the game out for a while, I like what I see, simplified stuff with cutscenes is nice, my only grip is just seeing the portraits kills a lot of the atmosphere. There was one or two actual cutscenes, but you should add some more, MORE I SAY! Like Final Fantasy Tactics like for cutscenes or something. :P
The game is heading in a primarily visual novel direction, so there being more BG scenes than sprite cutscenes isn't surprising.
BUT as it stands, I'm not completely free of sprite cutscenes. I still need and plan to do them for major story events. So there will be plenty more. They still have a place in this game, just not as much as others. Another way to say it is that I save them for when it matters.
In any case, thank you for the feedback. This is all useful to ponder on while I figure out where to go next.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
What happens when you post your soulfully hand-crafted wonderful artstuffs to the internet:
Every time.
Every time.
J-Man
4684
Two areas down and now on Day 3. Here's my thoughts so far.
The battle system gets pretty easy to use once you understand it, not to sound mean there, but I skipped a lot of the tutorial, I'd say simplify on what the commands do, that way we're not wrapping our heads around a very complex battle system.
Out the characters, I've found Patch to be the most fun, loving that extra recovery after each hit, very useful.
I also find the mechanic of draining hp after your mp has been consumed to be an nice addition. I just wish there was a way to heal your team with items or something, but I recall you saying you didn't want that in your game, so I'll take it as it is.
Also, I sometimes lose track of when I'm building up points that I get all the extra spending points to use to power up heroes, probably should have some kind of thing where each hero has their own points instead of sharing one set points. Cause I could be a cheap ass and just have one overpowered character and kill all of the challenge. :P
Well, that's my two cents so far, I'll go deeper into this game during the next few coming days.
Also, I'm sure the others already mentioned the main hero being Kyon, so my thoughts will most likely be like theirs, like I'm playing a Melanchony of Haruhi game somewhat. lol.
Well, either way, been wanting to try the game out for a while, I like what I see, simplified stuff with cutscenes is nice, my only grip is just seeing the portraits kills a lot of the atmosphere. There was one or two actual cutscenes, but you should add some more, MORE I SAY! Like Final Fantasy Tactics like for cutscenes or something. :P
The battle system gets pretty easy to use once you understand it, not to sound mean there, but I skipped a lot of the tutorial, I'd say simplify on what the commands do, that way we're not wrapping our heads around a very complex battle system.
Out the characters, I've found Patch to be the most fun, loving that extra recovery after each hit, very useful.
I also find the mechanic of draining hp after your mp has been consumed to be an nice addition. I just wish there was a way to heal your team with items or something, but I recall you saying you didn't want that in your game, so I'll take it as it is.
Also, I sometimes lose track of when I'm building up points that I get all the extra spending points to use to power up heroes, probably should have some kind of thing where each hero has their own points instead of sharing one set points. Cause I could be a cheap ass and just have one overpowered character and kill all of the challenge. :P
Well, that's my two cents so far, I'll go deeper into this game during the next few coming days.
Also, I'm sure the others already mentioned the main hero being Kyon, so my thoughts will most likely be like theirs, like I'm playing a Melanchony of Haruhi game somewhat. lol.
Well, either way, been wanting to try the game out for a while, I like what I see, simplified stuff with cutscenes is nice, my only grip is just seeing the portraits kills a lot of the atmosphere. There was one or two actual cutscenes, but you should add some more, MORE I SAY! Like Final Fantasy Tactics like for cutscenes or something. :P
I'm glad that somebody else was able to pinpoint the problematic issues with SEM. It seems that you can delete any physical trace of SEB, but it is still in the minds of us who actually played through it (I can still remember hearing the moaning when Gunnar got killed ... maybe I'm a masochist). And yeah, Gunnar was a lovable wimp in SEB, but maybe he did need to grow up a little bit.
Addit
6394
author=Skie Fortress
In regards to your second section, I don't understand. Gunnar hasn't changed much. He's still careful, cautious, and ever long suffering. He's no macho. He's not exploding with heroic energy, or fighting off armies of dragons by himself. He's...Gunnar.
I'm not actually upset, but please; tell me how I killed Gunnar, because from my eyes, I'm writing him as he has been. Unless becoming the leading man has made him different somehow.
Does the change of their protagonist roles somehow change the lens in which they're viewed? Because I really continue to fail to see it. And it's driving me up a wall now. Have I lost touch with my characters?
Well, maybe in your eyes the characters may seem like the same 'ol ragtag bunch, but they certainly have changed a lot throughout the years. And that's normal as time often goes by when you spend a lot of time with characters such as these. But you can't certainly tell me that Gunnar hasn't changed a lot since Bonds.
For me, when Gunnar was a bit of a cautious coward and Velli was dragging him around like he no other choice, it made sense back then. You had the cautious, almost overprotecting brother and the bratty, "didn't give a damn what was in her way" sister who just liked to get in trouble. I believed Velli made the better main protagonist because, even, say, at most jobs, the loud, obnoxious ones ALWAYS seems to be the ones in charge while the strong, silent types are just...off to the side, I guess. This made more sense to me back then. And I guess I preferred that way. Not to say that everybody didn't like Gunnar back then, but I found him more of an interesting character than the norm that you usually see. Then, he became in charge. And that's when he had to change in order to fit the role of a suitable "leader". I dunno... Maybe this is just one of those cases where a character sort of "evolves" from game-to-game and that the overall image of that character changes with time. In some ways, that's kind of neat how Gunnar went from all "whimpy" to a total "badass" from game-to-game. Although I may not like the change, it's change, nonetheless. You're the creator. You call the shots. ^^
author=Skie Fortress
I think that in the end, I may just have to go and play Bonds again myself and find out just what it is that I lost so mysteriously in the years passed.
It'll be a good learning experience, despite how much I loathe the game.
Why do you hate Bonds so much, anyways? Maybe it's just a personal thing, I guess. Either way, I wouldn't fret about it so much.
You've suffered enough for one day. I'll leave you alone for a while, 'kay? Hey, cheer up. Despite all that, I still like this series.
Skie Fortress
2394
All interesting points. And all points that vary in their ability to be addressed. This is giving me a lot a think about now.
And Addit, I need to stress that I'm not after popularity or anything of the like. Just some design feedback, which you've given. Changing your user title like that is actually pretty embarrassing, so maybe you could dial that back a little? Ahahaha...
Now for your post.
Ugh, Sacred Earth: Bonds. That game continues to haunt me, but apparently I seem to have done things right with it since people continue to laud it as good despite it's...innumerable and embarrassing number of flaws. It's a strange phenomenon to me really.
Ah, right. hype. It's been so long and I've grown so out of touch and unenthusiastic with the RPG Maker community as a whole. And while I used to be a regular, I seem to have lost my will to keep hold of that activity and keep oiling up the 'hype machine' like I've been so accustomed to in the past.
Maybe I'm just old now. Hah.
I think this goes hand in hand with the above section, so I'll leave this alone.
I don't get this one. Bonds and Memory are two different games with two different plots as you have said above. All that remains is the cast plus some new additions. There hasn't been anything else I've put out beside these two that touches on SE, unless you're an olllllld oldie from back in 04-05. But I won't go into that era and the projects associated with it. For everyone's sake, heh.
I think this is a case in which the mechanics need to be explained better. But I firmly believe it's not that hard. ...I just need to get it across. That's up to me now. It's not your fault, it's mine.
Well, in regards to the first section, Memory happened because I didn't tell the story I wanted to tell in Bonds. It was like a small anecdote. Incomplete, and very shoddy. Yet, in my journey to tell the actual story, I seem to have lost all the charm that made Bonds...Bonds. I really have no idea what to do about this anymore.
In regards to your second section, I don't understand. Gunnar hasn't changed much. He's still careful, cautious, and ever long suffering. He's no macho. He's not exploding with heroic energy, or fighting off armies of dragons by himself. He's...Gunnar.
I'm not actually upset, but please; tell me how I killed Gunnar, because from my eyes, I'm writing him as he has been. Unless becoming the leading man has made him different somehow.
Phew, all that said, thanks for your input, even if you haven't actually played the game, haha!
And then...
Yeah, this is a problem. It started out as 'this looks like a good placeholder' let me use this for now...which turned into whole pile of BGs that aren't mine. It's generally bred out of the desire to prune away mapping and dungeon exploration and cutting down on sprite events whenever possible, but it's a design angle that isn't really all that savory when the work isn't mine.
I need to figure out what to do about this.
I'm generally of the opinion that the node system is an interesting one. I'm sure people are more used to running around with sprites and such, which makes it harder to sell, but I think it works better under a 'visual novel' type approach.
But I have to ask then; what would make it better?
I thought of doing this already. It's just a matter of when I'll buckle down and implement it. I'll definitely have to try it soon though. Pictures and visuals of what will happen instead of just text seems to be the way to go.
Now this I continue fail to understand even to this day.
I never believed that I was writing Gunnar any differently than I had been. He's not suddenly a brave hero running off to take on the most dangerous of foes with the wind at his back. He's still just as careful and long suffering as he has been. And Veili is just as impulsive and rude as she has been. It's just that their protagonist roles have been switched.
Does the change of their protagonist roles somehow change the lens in which they're viewed? Because I really continue to fail to see it. And it's driving me up a wall now. Have I lost touch with my characters?
I'm very worried now.
And I'm apparently never going to get the intro right. I think that at this point, the best bet would be to throw away all manner of foreshadowing and just jump right into present day. I've made three intros now, at three different periods of the project's development, and all three of them have failed.
Which brings up an interesting question; does there /need/ to be an intro? Or can diving straight into present day without any foreshadowing or past/future event literary devices be considered enough of an intro to move on with?
-------------------------------------
ALL OF THAT SAID HOWEVER
I both of these posts have given me a ton of food for thought.
I think that in the end, I may just have to go and play Bonds again myself and find out just what it is that I lost so mysteriously in the years passed.
It'll be a good learning experience, despite how much I loathe the game.
And Addit, I need to stress that I'm not after popularity or anything of the like. Just some design feedback, which you've given. Changing your user title like that is actually pretty embarrassing, so maybe you could dial that back a little? Ahahaha...
Now for your post.
author=Addit
But on a more serious front, I’ve been following this game and this series for a long time now. I remember playing the original “Sacred Earth: Bonds” WAYYYYYYYYY back on Gaming World many, many moons ago and I was just…wowed by all that pretty, pretty custom artwork and edited sprites; it just was amazing back then. And there was Gunnar. AND THEN THERE WAS GUNNAR! Although this isn’t my favorite RM game in the world, since I’m not a big fan of “dungeon crawlers” in general, *bIeh* I still had some fun with this one and some memories to take back from it. (yes, bad pun)
Ugh, Sacred Earth: Bonds. That game continues to haunt me, but apparently I seem to have done things right with it since people continue to laud it as good despite it's...innumerable and embarrassing number of flaws. It's a strange phenomenon to me really.
author=Addit
1.) No / Lack Of Hype For This Project
Other than the “Release Something Day Demo,” there hasn’t been that much new information about this game in quite some time. And although you do have that blogsite you often post updates on, it really doesn’t seem like there is much new information coming in. You need to hype that shit up, sister! Maybe not as much as some of the other, more spammable hype machine games around here *cough* *cough* but it would be nice to receive some additional information once and awhile on this game.
Ah, right. hype. It's been so long and I've grown so out of touch and unenthusiastic with the RPG Maker community as a whole. And while I used to be a regular, I seem to have lost my will to keep hold of that activity and keep oiling up the 'hype machine' like I've been so accustomed to in the past.
Maybe I'm just old now. Hah.
author=Addit
2.) Nobody Knows Who You Are Anymore!
I rarely see you here anymore. If you swung by once and awhile, other people would look at your profile page and go like, “Oh, yeah. I remember her. She made that game with that “blue haired” freak and that extremely long ass dungeon that is so frustrating to explore. I WANNA GO PLAY THAT GAME AGAIN!!!” I know you’re busy, but you gotta “comingle” like you used to do back then. On Gaming World, you were a regular just like me at the time. Now, nobody knows who you are anymore. (well except for the usual suspects)
I think this goes hand in hand with the above section, so I'll leave this alone.
author=Addit
3.) This Game’s Old News
I know that “Memory” is a separate entry – but let’s face it, this game is old news, now. Everybody has already played either one of the many different versions for this series, so there isn’t that much left to hold on to now.
I don't get this one. Bonds and Memory are two different games with two different plots as you have said above. All that remains is the cast plus some new additions. There hasn't been anything else I've put out beside these two that touches on SE, unless you're an olllllld oldie from back in 04-05. But I won't go into that era and the projects associated with it. For everyone's sake, heh.
author=Addit
4.) Confusing, Confusing Mechanics
WHY IS THIS GAME SO BLOODY HARD!? Maybe it isn’t as difficult for everybody else, but I just never seem to stand a chance against anyone in these newer games of yours. Grrrrrrrrrr…!!!
I think this is a case in which the mechanics need to be explained better. But I firmly believe it's not that hard. ...I just need to get it across. That's up to me now. It's not your fault, it's mine.
author=Addit
5.) Changes, Changes, Changes
To be honest, I personally thought that you should have stayed with the original entry to this series; I thought it was great. There really wasn’t any reason to go fix or change anything or even do a sort of “side story” to it all; just concentrate on doing another game in the series altogether. You were on the right track by doing “Sacred Earth Bonds 2” after finishing up the first one, which looked pretty promising. And even though it was a sequel to the original, it still had enough “uniqueness” about it to be rather inciting. But then you cancelled that and did “this” game in its place.
And then…what the hell happened to Gunnar, man!? He used to be the rational fuzzball that made me fell in love with him because of his “cowardness”. And then you introduced him to Ryan Braun’s secret stash and made him all mucho-like. You basically killed him with once false swoop of the pen.
Well, in regards to the first section, Memory happened because I didn't tell the story I wanted to tell in Bonds. It was like a small anecdote. Incomplete, and very shoddy. Yet, in my journey to tell the actual story, I seem to have lost all the charm that made Bonds...Bonds. I really have no idea what to do about this anymore.
In regards to your second section, I don't understand. Gunnar hasn't changed much. He's still careful, cautious, and ever long suffering. He's no macho. He's not exploding with heroic energy, or fighting off armies of dragons by himself. He's...Gunnar.
I'm not actually upset, but please; tell me how I killed Gunnar, because from my eyes, I'm writing him as he has been. Unless becoming the leading man has made him different somehow.
Phew, all that said, thanks for your input, even if you haven't actually played the game, haha!
And then...
author=Archeia_Nessiah
1. Instead of using backgrounds that are from random pixiv artists, I think you should utilize your tilesets instead to emphasize your game's setting for the cutscenes. It does make it ridiculously jarring when I see Mir's stronghold like some wooden cottage with Japanese-unrelated text to it, etc.
Yeah, this is a problem. It started out as 'this looks like a good placeholder' let me use this for now...which turned into whole pile of BGs that aren't mine. It's generally bred out of the desire to prune away mapping and dungeon exploration and cutting down on sprite events whenever possible, but it's a design angle that isn't really all that savory when the work isn't mine.
I need to figure out what to do about this.
author=Archeia_Nessiah
2. I am still 50-50 about the node system. But that now is a personal choice.
I'm generally of the opinion that the node system is an interesting one. I'm sure people are more used to running around with sprites and such, which makes it harder to sell, but I think it works better under a 'visual novel' type approach.
But I have to ask then; what would make it better?
author=Archeia_Nessiah
3. The tutorial overload at the intro, why not just use pictures instead of explaining everything as bullet points or something
I thought of doing this already. It's just a matter of when I'll buckle down and implement it. I'll definitely have to try it soon though. Pictures and visuals of what will happen instead of just text seems to be the way to go.
author=Archeia_Nessiah
4. I do admit that I liked Gunnar better because he was a coward, now he feels too Kyon-like. It was nice to have a leading lady with twintails and then have the cowardly brother actually have potential and steal the spotlight. But I'm guessing by now that doesn't matter since you have far gone with the game's story.
Now this I continue fail to understand even to this day.
I never believed that I was writing Gunnar any differently than I had been. He's not suddenly a brave hero running off to take on the most dangerous of foes with the wind at his back. He's still just as careful and long suffering as he has been. And Veili is just as impulsive and rude as she has been. It's just that their protagonist roles have been switched.
Does the change of their protagonist roles somehow change the lens in which they're viewed? Because I really continue to fail to see it. And it's driving me up a wall now. Have I lost touch with my characters?
I'm very worried now.
author=Archeia_Nessiah
5. I didn't like that intro where the text and then the two characters on the bridge. The presentation for that one is just way off.
And I'm apparently never going to get the intro right. I think that at this point, the best bet would be to throw away all manner of foreshadowing and just jump right into present day. I've made three intros now, at three different periods of the project's development, and all three of them have failed.
Which brings up an interesting question; does there /need/ to be an intro? Or can diving straight into present day without any foreshadowing or past/future event literary devices be considered enough of an intro to move on with?
-------------------------------------
ALL OF THAT SAID HOWEVER
I both of these posts have given me a ton of food for thought.
I think that in the end, I may just have to go and play Bonds again myself and find out just what it is that I lost so mysteriously in the years passed.
It'll be a good learning experience, despite how much I loathe the game.
Addit
6394
author=Archeia_Nessiah
I do admit that I liked Gunnar better because he was a coward, now he feels too Kyon-like.
At least I'm not the only one.
Classic Gunnar > Modern Gunnar.
I will admit that some of the game design choices was pretty meh for me from what I played. For example:
1. Instead of using backgrounds that are from random pixiv artists, I think you should utilize your tilesets instead to emphasize your game's setting for the cutscenes. It does make it ridiculously jarring when I see Mir's stronghold like some wooden cottage with Japanese-unrelated text to it, etc.
2. I am still 50-50 about the node system. But that now is a personal choice.
3. The tutorial overload at the intro, why not just use pictures instead of explaining everything as bullet points or something?
4. I do admit that I liked Gunnar better because he was a coward, now he feels too Kyon-like. It was nice to have a leading lady with twintails and then have the cowardly brother actually have potential and steal the spotlight. But I'm guessing by now that doesn't matter since you have far gone with the game's story.
5. I didn't like that intro where the text and then the two characters on the bridge. The presentation for that one is just way off.
1. Instead of using backgrounds that are from random pixiv artists, I think you should utilize your tilesets instead to emphasize your game's setting for the cutscenes. It does make it ridiculously jarring when I see Mir's stronghold like some wooden cottage with Japanese-unrelated text to it, etc.
2. I am still 50-50 about the node system. But that now is a personal choice.
3. The tutorial overload at the intro, why not just use pictures instead of explaining everything as bullet points or something?
4. I do admit that I liked Gunnar better because he was a coward, now he feels too Kyon-like. It was nice to have a leading lady with twintails and then have the cowardly brother actually have potential and steal the spotlight. But I'm guessing by now that doesn't matter since you have far gone with the game's story.
5. I didn't like that intro where the text and then the two characters on the bridge. The presentation for that one is just way off.
Addit
6394
I haven’t tried the demo out yet because I’m so lazy -- LAZZZZZZYYYYYYY!!!
But on a more serious front, I’ve been following this game and this series for a long time now. I remember playing the original “Sacred Earth: Bonds” WAYYYYYYYYY back on Gaming World many, many moons ago and I was just…wowed by all that pretty, pretty custom artwork and edited sprites; it just was amazing back then. And there was Gunnar. AND THEN THERE WAS GUNNAR! Although this isn’t my favorite RM game in the world, since I’m not a big fan of “dungeon crawlers” in general, *bIeh* I still had some fun with this one and some memories to take back from it. (yes, bad pun)
But…
I have noticed that the series, and this game, just isn’t quite was it used to be. Maybe it’s just me, but here’s my two cents about why you ain’t so popular anymore, Miss Fortress:
1.) No / Lack Of Hype For This Project
Other than the “Release Something Day Demo,” there hasn’t been that much new information about this game in quite some time. And although you do have that blogsite you often post updates on, it really doesn’t seem like there is much new information coming in. You need to hype that shit up, sister! Maybe not as much as some of the other, more spammable hype machine games around here *cough* *cough* but it would be nice to receive some additional information once and awhile on this game.
2.) Nobody Knows Who You Are Anymore!
I rarely see you here anymore. If you swung by once and awhile, other people would look at your profile page and go like, “Oh, yeah. I remember her. She made that game with that “blue haired” freak and that extremely long ass dungeon that is so frustrating to explore. I WANNA GO PLAY THAT GAME AGAIN!!!” I know you’re busy, but you gotta “comingle” like you used to do back then. On Gaming World, you were a regular just like me at the time. Now, nobody knows who you are anymore. (well except for the usual suspects)
3.) This Game’s Old News
I know that “Memory” is a separate entry – but let’s face it, this game is old news, now. Everybody has already played either one of the many different versions for this series, so there isn’t that much left to hold on to now.
4.) Confusing, Confusing Mechanics
WHY IS THIS GAME SO BLOODY HARD!? Maybe it isn’t as difficult for everybody else, but I just never seem to stand a chance against anyone in these newer games of yours. Grrrrrrrrrr…!!!
5.) Changes, Changes, Changes
To be honest, I personally thought that you should have stayed with the original entry to this series; I thought it was great. There really wasn’t any reason to go fix or change anything or even do a sort of “side story” to it all; just concentrate on doing another game in the series altogether. You were on the right track by doing “Sacred Earth Bonds 2” after finishing up the first one, which looked pretty promising. And even though it was a sequel to the original, it still had enough “uniqueness” about it to be rather inciting. But then you cancelled that and did “this” game in its place.
And then…what the hell happened to Gunnar, man!? He used to be the rational fuzzball that made me fell in love with him because of his “cowardness”. And then you introduced him to Ryan Braun’s secret stash and made him all mucho-like. You basically killed him with once false swoop of the pen.
Anyway, I’m going on and on about this, so I’ll just wrap this up. Probably the reason why feedback had been dwindling and it seems like nobody just gives two flying aces about this game anymore is probably because it’s summertime; there’s better, more newer games out there to play; or maybe that the support IS there (I mean, you have 30+ subscribers sitting around for a reason) but they’re just waiting for a more “full version release” to come along. (or maybe they’re just lazy, like me) Either way, don’t be bothered too much about all this. Besides, this blogpost has already guaranteed you a couple of extra downloads -- so you’re on the right track. ^_-
I my advice to you is to just relax and continue working on this. I’m sure things might pick up in the not to decent future. Besides, if you still love working on this game, no reason to stop. Not every game is a success at first. I still do follow the series, more for curiosity purposes, but I can’t help feel that it may be time to move onto a different game, or just refix the old version and release that one on here. Anyways, I still believe in ‘ya.
…And even after saying all that I’m STILL too lazy to play the demo. Sue me. I rather go play the original. WEEEEEEEEE!!!
But on a more serious front, I’ve been following this game and this series for a long time now. I remember playing the original “Sacred Earth: Bonds” WAYYYYYYYYY back on Gaming World many, many moons ago and I was just…wowed by all that pretty, pretty custom artwork and edited sprites; it just was amazing back then. And there was Gunnar. AND THEN THERE WAS GUNNAR! Although this isn’t my favorite RM game in the world, since I’m not a big fan of “dungeon crawlers” in general, *bIeh* I still had some fun with this one and some memories to take back from it. (yes, bad pun)
But…
I have noticed that the series, and this game, just isn’t quite was it used to be. Maybe it’s just me, but here’s my two cents about why you ain’t so popular anymore, Miss Fortress:
1.) No / Lack Of Hype For This Project
Other than the “Release Something Day Demo,” there hasn’t been that much new information about this game in quite some time. And although you do have that blogsite you often post updates on, it really doesn’t seem like there is much new information coming in. You need to hype that shit up, sister! Maybe not as much as some of the other, more spammable hype machine games around here *cough* *cough* but it would be nice to receive some additional information once and awhile on this game.
2.) Nobody Knows Who You Are Anymore!
I rarely see you here anymore. If you swung by once and awhile, other people would look at your profile page and go like, “Oh, yeah. I remember her. She made that game with that “blue haired” freak and that extremely long ass dungeon that is so frustrating to explore. I WANNA GO PLAY THAT GAME AGAIN!!!” I know you’re busy, but you gotta “comingle” like you used to do back then. On Gaming World, you were a regular just like me at the time. Now, nobody knows who you are anymore. (well except for the usual suspects)
3.) This Game’s Old News
I know that “Memory” is a separate entry – but let’s face it, this game is old news, now. Everybody has already played either one of the many different versions for this series, so there isn’t that much left to hold on to now.
4.) Confusing, Confusing Mechanics
WHY IS THIS GAME SO BLOODY HARD!? Maybe it isn’t as difficult for everybody else, but I just never seem to stand a chance against anyone in these newer games of yours. Grrrrrrrrrr…!!!
5.) Changes, Changes, Changes
To be honest, I personally thought that you should have stayed with the original entry to this series; I thought it was great. There really wasn’t any reason to go fix or change anything or even do a sort of “side story” to it all; just concentrate on doing another game in the series altogether. You were on the right track by doing “Sacred Earth Bonds 2” after finishing up the first one, which looked pretty promising. And even though it was a sequel to the original, it still had enough “uniqueness” about it to be rather inciting. But then you cancelled that and did “this” game in its place.
And then…what the hell happened to Gunnar, man!? He used to be the rational fuzzball that made me fell in love with him because of his “cowardness”. And then you introduced him to Ryan Braun’s secret stash and made him all mucho-like. You basically killed him with once false swoop of the pen.
Anyway, I’m going on and on about this, so I’ll just wrap this up. Probably the reason why feedback had been dwindling and it seems like nobody just gives two flying aces about this game anymore is probably because it’s summertime; there’s better, more newer games out there to play; or maybe that the support IS there (I mean, you have 30+ subscribers sitting around for a reason) but they’re just waiting for a more “full version release” to come along. (or maybe they’re just lazy, like me) Either way, don’t be bothered too much about all this. Besides, this blogpost has already guaranteed you a couple of extra downloads -- so you’re on the right track. ^_-
I my advice to you is to just relax and continue working on this. I’m sure things might pick up in the not to decent future. Besides, if you still love working on this game, no reason to stop. Not every game is a success at first. I still do follow the series, more for curiosity purposes, but I can’t help feel that it may be time to move onto a different game, or just refix the old version and release that one on here. Anyways, I still believe in ‘ya.
…And even after saying all that I’m STILL too lazy to play the demo. Sue me. I rather go play the original. WEEEEEEEEE!!!
author=kentona
It's definitely not a popularity thing. My game is also going lightweight on the feedback. I don't know why that is, either. RMN's visit count is up 50-100% year over year.
I'll have to analyze how the visibility of games is working/not working.
Less forum userbase, more random visitor base, maybe?
Maybe only the userbase that knows you and knows of SE are following closely? And maybe, random site visitors are skipping over this because of the engine, in favor of games made on newer ones. Which would explain your download count. I mean your blog blew up with responses within minutes. Somebody's paying attention.
Dunno, though.
DBAce9Aura
52
I do notice that the way Tactics Ogre and the first Final Fantasy Tactics game handle tutorials is that they have it as a separate option in the menu for those who want to know how things work while not having it interfere with the game.
The former has some scenes in the beginning where some of the basic mechanics are explained during battle through character dialogue (i.e. a wizard explains how magic works, a knight explains how elements work, that sort of thing).
It's something you might want to look into if you're interested in a way to have clear cut explanation on how mechanics work in your game while still having a core gamer friendly experience. I'm assuming that's what you're aiming for since none of these systems scream casual gamer friendly regardless of how well things are explained.
The former has some scenes in the beginning where some of the basic mechanics are explained during battle through character dialogue (i.e. a wizard explains how magic works, a knight explains how elements work, that sort of thing).
It's something you might want to look into if you're interested in a way to have clear cut explanation on how mechanics work in your game while still having a core gamer friendly experience. I'm assuming that's what you're aiming for since none of these systems scream casual gamer friendly regardless of how well things are explained.
Dyhalto
7536
author=kentona
My game is also going lightweight on the feedback. I don't know why that is, either. RMN's visit count is up 50-100% year over year.
My layman's assumption is that it's because there're only so many ways to say "looks good", and people feel redundant saying it too often (because there is a lot of good stuff here).
author=Sailerius2k3 games run on Windows 8. 2k3 games don't run on your machine.If you haven't played the game yet, then let me ask; what's preventing you from doing so?2k3 games don't run on Windows 8. As much as I've been looking forward to the game, I'll have to miss out on it. :/
If you haven't played the game yet, then let me ask; what's preventing you from doing so?
2k3 games don't run on Windows 8. As much as I've been looking forward to the game, I'll have to miss out on it. :/
Skie Fortress
2394
author=kentona
It's definitely not a popularity thing. My game is also going lightweight on the feedback. I don't know why that is, either. RMN's visit count is up 50-100% year over year.
I'll have to analyze how the visibility of games is working/not working.
is that so? Intriguing. I'd be interested to know what that research yields.
author=Link_2112
Well, I can say I've never heard of this game, but I'm so busy with other stuff that I wouldn't have time to play. But I've noticed that people don't comment on stuff much anymore. Friends will comment on their friends games, and some of the younger kids are commenting on each others low quality games. When something interesting is seen for the first time there's a little buzz, of course some things take off, but even that doesn't last long. There seems to be a large amount of cool content that is going unnoticed. I couldn't say exactly why or what to do about it, other than to keep posting new things about and hope that sparks some comments. Add images, blogs, media, stuff like that. If you sit around waiting for something to happen, it's less likely to happen.
Looking at the images, this looks cool. That battle system seems cool. Is it similar to what I saw in that contest where people submit bosses, or something? Didn't you win with a battle system like that? I remember seeing a video of it. Do you post any of that code, or whatever you did to alter the DBS?
Yeah, sitting around and waiting for something to take off definitely isn't the way. Not that I'm looking to 'take off' really. I'm just after some feedback, not internet fame, haha. But I suppose that the two might actually go hand in hand a little.
And yes, I submitted this exact battle system to the first boss contest a while back and apparently won. This is the game that it came from. I haven't actually posted any code or tutorials regarding it, but this is basically just a massively altered DBS with some legwork done by patches.
author=Archeia_Nessiah
There are some people who has issues with Molebox/Rm2k3 not working on their PCs (Kread told me SEM crashes on him on startup) so that could be one of the main issues.
So molebox may be part of the issue as well. That's a little disheartening to me. I'd like to encrypt my work, not just for my sake, but for the sake of those that contributed as well.
Well, on one hand, I doubt that anyone would get away with using anything from the game without it sticking out like a sore thumb, but it's also simply the principle of the matter to me. I'll have to think about it.
author=CyrusBlue
I haven't tried your game yet, as I haven't had the chance, but I did play your battle system demo back when you released it for the boss contest. I have to agree, it was a bit confusing for me. It just didn't really get through to me when you had the NPC explain it all before I jumped into the battle. I think you should have multiple battles that step people through the different functions, then set one up where they have to apply what they've learned.
Yeah, the boss contest demo had all of it's information stuffed into a single moment for the player to learn before they got into the battle, but the actual story demo tried to circumvent this by breaking up the systems and unlocking them bit by bit as the game went on.
I guess I need to do more breaking up then! Thanks though. I guess explaining mechanics isn't really my strongest suit.
