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The rope winds from the clouds like the long-dried trail of a giant's tear. It whips in the arid wind, down the birdless sky, and into the open mouth of the ravine that splits the dead land. Down and down it goes, the sky darkening to a pinpoint of light above it. This is the sky that Ivy knows.

Ivy and her sister, Mint, peer further into the ravine. It has been one day since their father stopped moving. A dandelion sprouts from the parched earth like hands clasped together in prayer. It is the only living thing they've seen in this dead world. A growl echoes off the cliff walls. Maybe not the only thing.

Sometimes Ivy dreams of a sky that covers everything. When she awakes, she hates herself for still having the dreams of a child. She's fourteen, now, her sister twelve. The rope stretches up above them, up, up, up, further than young eyes can see.

Features:
-Character-centric storyline
-50+ hours of gameplay
-Challenging boss battles
-Original music
-Different equipment sets that modify the ways characters play
-A crafting system featuring over 100 pieces of unique equipment
-LOTS of side quests
-Puzzles that spice up dungeon design
-Recruit an odd assortment of townspeople and pass legislation to develop your own village
-Raise a pig to compete in the Pig Arena and win prizes
-New game+ feature that includes multiple bonus endings--a mechanic I blatantly stole from Chrono Trigger

Latest Blog

Major Update

I've been hinting here and there about wanting to update A Very Long Rope, and I finally got off my ass and did it. I made quite a few changes, and I'll list them below, but I want to talk about the most major one in depth. When I made A Very Long Rope, my goal was to make a game with a strong story, and a lot of the other aspects got brushed aside. This was going to be my way to segue into the community and hopefully find some other people interested in working together. Since then, I've shifted my perspective and focused more on things like design and aesthetics, which this game doesn't really care much about, unfortunately.

So, the update. The chief annoyance I've been hearing about A Very Long Rope is the dungeon design--mainly, levels are way too big, and the random encounters serve to make things worse. So, this update adds an item to your inventory that toggles enemy encounters. This item was available in the game before, but the only way to get it was to beat the game (players who have done this know I'm talking about the saecelium shield). Now, this item is given to the player at the very beginning, meaning you don't have to fight a single random encounter anymore.

Of course, since bosses exist, you'll still need to gain experience. In order to incentivize getting a good amount of experience before each boss, I've made several treasure chests need a currency called "victory points" in order to open them. Basically, you get a single victory point for every enemy you defeat in a battle (other than bosses). Victory points are dependent based on the dungeon, so the ones you earn in the first dungeon will only work in that dungeon. The cost of opening chests is higher depending on what's inside the chest, so you might need to spend between 2-6 points in order to open each of these special chests.

I've also doubled the experience, gold, and item drops from monsters. The net effect here is that if you open every single locked chest, you'll end up fighting about half of the encounters that you would have if you just left random encounters on. I did a full playthrough and felt that these locked chests provided short-term goals that kept me more interested while exploring; I hope they do that for you, too!

Here's the full list of changes:

-Reduced crit damage from triple to double
-Stat cap increased to 9999 (will mainly affect buff stacking)
-Berserk no longer sucks
-One-touch Sprint
-First agricultural upgrade requires three people instead of five.
-Escape rate now a flat 60%
-Added a way to get out of the Goddess Tower if you don't have a portable transceiver
-Fixed a few typos/graphical glitches/small things I don't remember
-Rare drop rates have been increased significantly
-Gold/XP/Drop Rates doubled
-Findable equipment that could be used in recipes is now sold as recipes in your town along with the regular recipes.
-Saecelium Shield now added at the beginning of the game. Players can use their old data and find a Saeclium Shield in a number of places within a blue chest (such as the entrance to your town, on the world map, or next to the save point in Old Town); the blue chests will disappear upon opening one.
-Most chests are now "locked." Gain Victory Points from defeating random mobs in a dungeon to open locked chests. Victory Points are specific to each dungeon.
-Locked chests are weighted based on how good the item is. 2 VP is a potion, 3 VP is gold, a good potion, or monster mats, 4 VP are great potions and large sums of gold, 5 VP are stat-boosting items or rare monster mats, 6 VP are equipment.
-Chests that aren't near easy grinding spots (e.g. chests in certain puzzles, chests in towns) will never be locked. Several other random chests in dungeons will also not be locked.
-Arena fights now give experience
-Can now use saecelium shield during soul tear scenes
-Only need to find the wolf four times instead of nine (what was I thinking?!) in Marina's soul tear scene.


That's it! Oh, and make sure to subscribe to my new project: Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass.
  • Completed
  • Housekeeping
  • RPG Maker VX
  • RPG
  • 11/26/2013 04:56 PM
  • 05/29/2023 03:05 PM
  • 12/01/2013
  • 525365
  • 48
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So I've been playing this game! Here are a bunch of comments after playing about an hour and a half in.

-There are two things I really, really dig about this game. The first thing is how the party (so far) is a family, Ivy and Mint as sisters and their grandfather as guardian/caretaker. I can imagine the story expanding to a pretty epic scale, but right now the stakes are all extremely personal which is something that a lot of Japanese RPGs (particularly on this site) could stand to learn from. It's definitely a good change from the paladin hero encountering a magician who says something along the lines of "you are the chosen one, since we fought the third boss together I will go with you!" Another thing I dig is the music, which I assume is custom and if so, is probably one of the better custom soundtracks I've heard in an rpg maker game.

-I'd be interested to know what games you played inspired you while making this? The touchstone I immediately draw is Dragon Quest V (which is all about the player character growing up, finding a family and constantly dealing with fate's shitty hand) but you may have had other touchstones, I dunno.

-The gameplay is very much the weakest link, to the point why I wonder why the game is designed the way it is. The first town you encounter in the game (haven't gotten to the rest) is really wide and empty and doesn't have much to discover, despite all the open houses. Battles can be challenging (boss battles especially) but they usually come down to bashing the opponent with skills while refilling MP periodically. There isn't really a "hook" (Final Fantasy's ATB live-action shenanigans, Shin Megami Tensei's emphasis on shoring up weaknesses or even Press Turns) to make things more interesting, which isn't a bad thing! But there are too few enemies and too many battles and regular enemies don't have much character. The boss battles are a little better though.

-The last step of the puzzle in the first dungeon is waaaayyy too much for the beginning of the game. Brute forced my way through it by pressing every button in turn. One thing you should think about (if you already aren't) is puzzle escalation--making sure that each dungeon builds on each other. Truth or lie buttons should come later.

-I do like how each "quest" so far is a little twist on an old jrpg faithful: the "bandits in the mountains" quest turns out to be something totally different, the beast in the woods is actually a spirit tampering with the hunter's mind. That said, I'm hoping there aren't too many of these because with the game's reported length (50 hours or so?) I can imagine these excursions becoming padding and then swiftly becoming tedious.

-Another thing: while the writing is definitely better than the norm for a lot of these games, I'm a bit mixed on the way this writing is employed during the story. One of the hallmarks of really great jrpgs is how they're able to convey a lot of information with the bare minimum of exposition or player interaction--the Dragon Quest games are actually really good at this, as are Final Fantasy or even the Mother series. A lot of the best story beats in A Long Rope are completely removed from player interaction, meaning that instead of a story sequence that makes sense mechanically you have a (well-written) cutscene in which the characters talk at each other through countless dialogue boxes. The scene in the beginning with Ivy and Mint climbing the rope was pretty effective, but I can only imagine how much more effective it would have been had a)you found a way to convey the monotony and exhaustion and horror of that experience to the player through the game itself and b)(optional) if you had more context for Ivy and Mint's relationship beforehand. It was an effective moment but maybe it could have been deployed a bit later to greater effect?

-Mint's status as a Sick Party Member makes me worry about cheap emotional tricks later on, but the writing's been good so far so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.

-In the end I'm struggling with why you chose to make this a video game in the first place when it would have made an equally good book. I can see why you might have looked at your writing and music skills (which are both pretty impressive) and thought "I'll show off both at once!" but as it stands you have a really interesting and effective story and a pretty good soundtrack mired in substandard mapping and what looks to be a lot of padding. I don't expect you to make any big changes to this game, since it's finished and the game is really long! But in the future, assuming you choose to make another game I'd recommend either practicing your mapping/design or (much preferable) finding a partner with equally as good knowledge of mechanics as you have of writing and other things. Hell, if you were to go to town on this game and change things up I think it could be seriously great but I wouldn't expect anyone to put that much effort into a game they've just completed. Better to move on to bigger and better stuff.

-Alternatively, another thing you could do would be to program a mode to make the game much easier (eliminate random battles entirely maybe? just have a couple of really effective but difficult battles?) so that people who just want to play through and see the story may do so. I might very well tough it out, definitely want to see where it goes, but when the writing and music are definitely the best part of this game it makes sense to find a way to show both off to as many people as possible.

-If anything I've said here contradicts any big twists/secrets/game mechanics in the latter parts of the game, take all of this with a grain of salt!


In short: this is a game with fantastic writing and very good music that also acutely feels like somebody's first effort. If it sounds like I'm being a bit harsh here it's only because I can almost tangibly feel how great this game would be if it was deeper and less wide, if that makes sense. I'd almost say "great first effort, the next one could be astonishing!" if this one wasn't already 50 hours long (which complicates things.) At any rate, if I keep playing this thing I'll let you know whether things change or if I have a more positive impression overall.
Wow, thanks for the extensive feedback! The music is indeed all custom, so thanks for the compliments. The early quests are mainly designed for character building, cementing some themes, and introducing a few other things that will become important throughout the story. You also caught my little jrpg nods, which I designed in part as a love letter to the genre. I don't know if I took direct inspiration from anything with the game/story, but I have played a LOT of jrpgs.

I didn't write a book because, growing up, books weren't really how I got my stories--not that I didn't read, but I got my stories from games more than anything. I've written a novel and quite a few short stories, but, as a genre, writing isn't fulfilling for me in the same way that it is for a lot of the other writers I know. Games felt like a natural path for me. Rpgs do have a history of conveying story through cut scenes, but, yeah, integrating story into the game play is something that I'm trying to do more as I go on.

I definitely would love to partner up with one or more people to cover my weaknesses. I'm finding it hard to ask anyone directly because I feel like I have to earn the right, if that makes any sense. This game was going to be that for me, but now I wonder if the reliance on random encounters, VX's default systems, and my "just get it done" mapping philosophy might isolate the crowd too much. Thanks for giving it a go, though!
Nah, if it makes you feel any better this game's definitely a step up over many of the games on this site, at least storywise. There seems to be this prevailing sentiment among a lot of aspiring rpg makers that they have to make everything themselves (or at least rip all the graphics themselves and use other people's scripts) but when it comes down to it there are very few people who could pull that off alone. They exist (Derek Yu for example) but don't blame yourself for having to cut corners in order to make a 50+ hour rpg. It's enough to drive anyone crazy!

There's nothing wrong with either random encounters or VX's default systems, by the way. They can help but you can do a lot with the bare minimum of resources. I think the issue with A Very Long Rope is that there's so much stuff packed into it that there's not quite enough mechanical variation to carry it properly. You don't need mini-games or a fancy battle system but successfully executing the basics are very important. So don't feel like you need to make things fancier, if anything stripping unimportant stuff out might be a better idea. Would put greater emphasis on the story as well, which I think is what you care most about anyway.

For what it's worth I think the first few hours of this game have enough promise to "earn the right" to do anything, if that makes sense. Again, if I have time in the future to keep playing, I may post more impressions! We'll see.
Can someone tell me where to get the sublimely beautiful thing Gerard needs. I am stuck and I don't really want to buy the pink or brown bear. I would rather get the blue bear.
Sure thing:

There's a girl in Low Town who will trade it to you for potatoes, which you can buy in the West District.
Thanks for the help. I haven't had to do anything like that since the last time I played Ocarina of Time.
I need some help again. I am at the Flying Mountain and every time I go up against Rutger, I die in a few turns. My characters are all at level 21, yet that isn't enough to win. Is there anything I can do to make this fight easier?
Yeah, you can win at 21. Here's the strategy that I posted earlier on the board:

-Have Cyril and Ivy use their group attacks until the two soldiers die.
-Have Mint use vitalize every turn--including the first, since Rutger's faster.
-Buff Ivy's attack with Leif, and then start buffing everyone's defense--use items with him where needed.
-Once Rutger's two soldiers die (preferably simultaneously), just guard and heal for three turns until Rutger's buffs wear off, then he should be pretty easy.
-Alternatively, status effects will work on the soldiers, so confusing, sleeping, or paralyzing them is an option.
I forgot about that post. I'll go try it.
If that doesn't work, you can always team up with FuSoYa and cast W Meteo.
It didn't work, I tried it a lot of times and some of my characters kept dying and when I tried to revive them they got killed again. Also, what is FuSoYa and W Meteo?
Oh, I was making a joke--I thought you were named after Golbez from Final Fantasy 2/4, who teams up with FuSoYa at one point and they cast W. Meteo, haha.

Hmm...Do you have robes and other spirit-boosting gear on Mint? Those affect how much you heal. Too, if you haven't gotten them, there's a good staff and bow in that little "climb the mountain" puzzle. I just tried this fight with the gear you can buy in Eulalia and no accessories and beat it on my first try. The only change I made to the strategy I gave you was that I used Leif as an item slave through most of the fight. I still buffed Ivy's strength with him on the first turn, but after that he tended to be more useful for using high tonics and free death passes. Also, I used phantom storm with Cyril and wide swing with Ivy, just to be clear.
I did choose this name from Final Fantasy, but I chose it after beating Final Fantasy 4 on DS for a name on Pokémon Emerald. I switched off and on between this spelling of the name and Sylar from heroes on future Pokémon games ever since. Back to the topic at hand, I gave the book you get from the prisoner to Cyril but per your help I will change that. Also, the climb the mountain puzzle I will have to go back to so I can get that bow if I haven't already, but just incase I have it what is the name so I can check. Also, there is an elixir in a chest in the puzzle, but when I open the chest and grab the elixir the timer hits 0 and I couldn't find a cave to reset the timer before the two stair climbs that precede the elixir in the chest. I will continue looking for the cave so I can reach the elixir safely but if there is no cave one will have to be inserted.
There is no longer any need to read my previous post except for the part about the cave, because I just beat Rutger so thanks for your help. Also, I found the bow, it is called Squab Bow. Also, after Rutger is beaten is he supposed to walk right through you like Tobi on Naruto Shippuden?
I need help on the Silhouette fight. I somehow need to kill them before they multiply.
Yeah, Rutger walks through you, but that's more like a graphics limitation of the era this game was modeled after than him using a secret jutsu, haha--just think of it as him walking by you but invading your personal space because he's not the type of person to care about that kind of thing. Every chest is obtainable, but you might have to take a path to get to it using a counter-intuitive path--remember, you fall a lot faster than you climb.

The silhouette fight can be beaten a few different ways, but probably the easiest is to equip rings that prevent sleep. You can buy them from the merchant back at the entrance to the mine (as in the blocked entrance that you camped in front of). If you don't do that, then it's probably best to use group attacks and hope that they don't chain-cast sleep. My roommmate took them out one by one, so that can work, too, but again, having those lapis lazuli rings will make the fight cake.
Well, I just beat it, but barely. I only had that one ring that prevented silence, confusion, and sleep. Also, if you don't have certain equipment that you can miss if you don't get them, you will not be able to beat the silhouette. For example, mint's cloak, prototype beam sword, and the book you get from the math guy in the balfur jail just to name a few.
Yeah, that's why I put the vendor who can sell anti-sleep rings outside of the mines--if you don't happen to have any status prevention gear, you can buy them from him.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I'm going to move that guy to a more obvious location for the next update.
I just realized that you were not talking about the guy inside the mines, that sells the 1000 or 2000hp potions whose name I can't remember. Also, I never saw the guy who sold the anti-sleep rings.
Edit: The name of the potion, not the merchant.
Yeah, it's that guy; after the mine entrance gets blocked by boulders, if you go back to it, he'll have moved there, and he'll sell those rings in addition to normal potions. Since it's a bit counter intuitive to go back to that screen, I'm going to move him so that you can't possibly miss him.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
All right...

*cracks knuckles*

...let's play this!