Alright, so I feel like I'm turning to you guys a lot lately. Maybe it's because I'm finally getting down to the nitty-gritty of this damn demo. By the way, thanks to everyone for the help with the song.

So I've got a pretty big problem that was actually present in the last demo, but I think only a few people noticed it (hopefully). I honestly have no idea how to work around it, and it's driving me crazy!!

Here's the lowdown: early on in the game, Goldo can gain the Scan Crystal ability which he can use to scan people's stats. In order for me to get this skill to work, I had to make it into a switch, which in turn forced me to change his battle command, Bag, from Skill Subset to Skill. This means that Bag no longer shows only Bag abilities but rather all of his skills. Originally, I didn't think this was a big deal because he only has Bag skills anyway; but then I remembered his Soul Rend ability (essentially, a limit break skill) that he gets on occasion. So now when he gets his Soul Rend move, you can just go into Bag and use it without the limit break bar ever emptying and the skill never disappearing. I can't just put a condition on the Bag for using the Soul Rend because then it would apply to the whole number of his skills. So far, I've come up with these options, none of which are to my liking:

1. I can make his Soul Rend into a switch as well, but that would be confusing because his Soul Rend would have to be in Bag instead of its correct battle command. That would also mean I'd have to do all of his skills through events because a switch can't directly do damage to a target. Making skills through events isn't possible for a lot of things (his Soul Rend increases the party's resistance to elements; I could do that through Conditions I guess, but I'd rather not). I feel like this would make things pointlessly complicated.

2. I could ditch the Scan Crystal ability all together. I really don't want to do that though, since it feels like a pretty elementary skill for him to have.

I can't really think of any other options. It's so annoying. I wish I could make a switch skill be part of a subset and not just the "general" skills battle command; or at least have a regular skill activate a switch when used. Ugh, thinking about it makes my head hurt.

Sorry, I know this probably sounds confusing as all hell. Hopefully I explained it clearly. So does anyone have any suggestions?

I know what you're thinking Craze and no, switching to VX isn't an option by this point.

Hey guys,

So I've gotta question I want to ask you all. I've just recently encountered a really bizarre bug for 2k3 and was wondering whether anyone else has encountered it or figured out a way around it.

So one of my battle commands, I've set to Link to Event (instead of attack, defend, skill subset, etc.). I wrote an event for it in battle, so it should work fine. However, when I use it in battle, sometimes it will do some random action rather than the one it's supposed to do. A few times it had the character do an attack animation, another time it had him use a random item, and another time it actually had him attack himself! What the hell?! I didn't even think that was possible!

A majority of the time, the command works fine, but I really don't want to leave it as it is. Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm sure some of you are probably wondering this. Sadly, it just isn't ready yet, which honestly sucks...a lot. My goal was to get this demo finished before the end of winter break, and mine ends tomorrow. I don't want you all to think I've been slacking because although I've been spending some time with family and hanging with a few friends, the majority of my break was spent working on this game. So why isn't it ready yet?

Well, I said I planned to release it on New Years sometime around October. I thought setting a solid deadline would push me to work on it more and get it finished, and it did. However, I sorely underestimated the amount of work that needed to be done, and how long it would take to actually do everything I wanted. Also, I wasn't really able to get a whole lot of work done on it until break because of school work. I was aware that the amount of work needed to get done was staggering, but I thought with a whole month of free time, I should still be able to get it done, right? Right?

Wrong. I guess even deadlines can't make the impossible possible...

So how far am I from reaching my goal? Still a ways, sadly. Most of the maps are done, but I still have a bunch of cutscenes that need to be finished. Also, I've done next to nothing on the new battles and creating some of the other character's special skills. I was planning to do all of that at the end because for the most part, the battles were pretty mindless except for the boss battles (although setting up the specific skill systems for some characters would take some serious thinking). Also, I felt like I was progressing more when I got the cutscenes finished. The bad thing is that making the cutscenes took soooooo damn long. I'm really particular about the flow of cutscenes and having dialogue make sense; sadly, sometimes it take a lot of time to get things just right (although I'm probably too picky about some things).

Okay, so not having this done before the end of break sucks for a number of reasons. First, I've got a new semester, meaning more time working on school and less on the game. Second, and this is probably the biggest problem, is that I'm graduating this year, meaning I need to start applying for different jobs and figuring out what exactly I want to do for the rest of my life. It's definitely got me stressed out.... Because of these things, I won't be able to get as much work done on this as I would like.

Despite all of this, there are some good things to mention. I've gotten a lot of help from people in regards to mapping. Ultima187, Lennon, Rei, and LittleWingGuy have all pitched in and really helped me out with some major areas. LWG, you probably aren't even aware how much you've helped me with some of your maps from your old project (although you will see once this demo is released). Also, boobledeboo's artwork looks amazing; you guys will all be blown away when you see some of the scenes she has drawn. To all of you who have helped me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Another good thing to mention is that although I've been working on this game almost nonstop for a month, I'm still extremely motivated to continue working on it. I honestly can't believe it. I thought I'd be dead by this point. There were definitely times where I burnt out some over break and there are certain areas I'm not really looking forward to doing. However, I'm still excited about releasing what I have and feel like when I do have free time, I can spend it working on the game.

One last thing is that although I still have some left to do, I'm really proud of what I've got right now. I've added some really interesting puzzles this time around that I think people will enjoy and the story is really picking up. Also, there are going to be a butt load of new gameplay elements for new characters, as well as some minor edits to old ones that I really think people will like.

Anyway, that's about the gist of it. I'm not really sure when the demo will be released. I could just release what I have now (add some battles first of course), but I still haven't reached the point that I wanted to get to. I'm sorry to disappoint everyone and I really hope you're willing to wait a little longer.

Oh, and this is a bit overdue, but I'd also really like to thank the people who voted for my game in the Misaos this year. Winning Most Promising Demo really means a lot, and makes me want to work even harder to make this game something you all will love. Cheers, everyone!

EDIT: Just hit 100 subscriptions today. Thanks everybody for the support!

Hey guys,

So I've basically been working non-stop on Forever's End for the past week and a half trying to get it ready for New Years. Since I decided not to work at the cafe over break, I've been able to make a ton of progress. However, I've still got a bit left. Really, my main focus has been making the cutscenes and progressing the story's plot, as well as finishing a number of dungeons. Right now, I have a bunch of cutscenes with just the dialogue I plan to use. I'm in the middle of going back and adding all of the actions and movements, which subsequently means testplay, testplay, testplay. Battles are things I will do at the end, because most of the code is already typed out, for the most part. All that's left is to make some new enemies, copy and modify the code, and work out boss battle mechanics.

I've had quite a bit of help with the mapping, thankfully. Lennon, Rei, and Ultima187 have all pitched in a helped me with a few maps. I've gotta give a big shout out to Ultima187 for his work on Dorent, because it looks fucking amazing. Seriously, you're all gonna be blown away when you see it.

In addition, boobledeeboo has been continuing to help me with some animated comic cutscenes, which as always look superb. She's just about finished with them all for the demo, at which point, I just need to edit them and add them in-game. Sadly, my composer kinda flaked out on me, which honestly isn't that surprising. However, he was able to at least finish a couple of custom songs, which all sound great. It isn't that big of a loss, as I already quite liked the soundtrack I currently had. Speaking of which, I've gone back and replaced a few more of the songs with some lesser known but equally as pleasant ones.

Revisions will be the last thing I do. There are still a few kinks that people have brought up to me that I need to fix, but I'll get around to them sooner or later. Right now, I just want to focus on moving forward, rather than constantly going back and revising stuff. After all, finishing the game is my primary goal!

As I predicted, I'm starting to get burnt out a bit from working on this constantly. I already knew I had a lot to get done, so I'm not really surprised. However, a little motivation boost would be a big help. So I'm just wondering, are people still looking forward to this demo? Even if it's only a couple of you, it'd be nice to know that my game is still relatively anticipated by some people.

Hey guys,

So I just uploaded a video to youtube showcasing the nifty new comic style I'm using for significant scenes:




I've also gone ahead and added a download for the video for anyone who wants it (still pending). Really, the only reason I did this was so that my game could be voted on for the Misaos. The original demo was released only a few days before the new year, which probably was kind of stupid on my part. A number of people have already expressed interest in voting my demo for a Misao, so I'd like to at least give them the opportunity before the next version comes out. I didn't really want to resubmit the same download because I didn't want to get people all jazzed up thinking it was a new demo. I hope this will allow people to vote for my game, but I guess we'll just have to see. Karsuman was okay with it, so hopefully Magi is cool with it too.

Speaking of the next demo...

1/1/11

I will be releasing the next demo on New Years Day. Haha, funny, I didn't realize it would be all 1's until after I typed it. I thought about releasing it on Christmas day like I did last year, but in the off-chance someone would actually want to vote it for a Misao next year, I thought I might as well wait a few days (and not make the same mistake again).

Anyway, this demo should be about 60% of the completed product. It will also be the last demo before the final release (woohoo!). I still have a bit I need to finish, but I've been diligent, and I should get a majority of it finished over Thanksgiving and Winter Break. I may have a few people beta test it, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Cheers!