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Two friends, three regrets, and a lot of conversation about nothing particularly significant.


Null Regrets is a short, linear RPG that takes place in a modern time only slightly ahead of our own. It details the story of a man who attempts to rid himself of his innermost regrets with the help of his friend. The game is about an hour long, with only three "stages" and three required battles to complete. There are two endings, one a bit longer and more substantive than the other.

This game's battles have been designed to require more thought than repeatedly attacking or exploiting elemental weaknesses. There are also several unique character mechanics which may take some time to master. Furthermore, there is no damage variance nor experience grinding. To say the least, the battles in this game can be difficult; however, an automatic save is recorded right before every battle, so do not worry about losing progress upon defeat.

In addition, if you find yourself losing far too often and would like to simply experience the story, there is a stat booster hidden within the game. To access it, simply select the first option in the in-game manual five times; it should come up on the fifth try. This stat booster increases the party's stats by their base amounts and can be toggled on and off as long as the menu is accessible.

I don't consider anything in this game too inappropriate for most players. However, there are some slightly frightening sections in the game as well as a pixelated instance of bloodshed, so if those make you uncomfortable please be aware of them before playing.

This is the first actual game I have completed, having only recently purchased RPG Maker VX Ace through Humble Bundle. Development began on June 8th and ended on June 30th.

This game was a submission for the 2014 Indie Game Maker contest; its submission page can be found here.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my game — I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

HOW TO PLAY:

1) Download the appropriate game application from the download page.*
2) Extract the game from the downloaded application.
3) Open the extracted folder and double-click on the "Game.exe" application. The game should start up.
4) The game should default to the "Start" option upon starting up. Press the Z Key to begin the game.
5) Further controls and instructions are given within the game.

* The RPG Maker VX Ace Run-Time Package (RTP) is required to play this game. It is included in the larger download link; players who already have the RTP installed on their computer can opt to download the smaller file which excludes the RTP. Note that the default download link on this game's profile page is the one that does not include the RTP — please click the "Downloads" tab to access the other download which includes the RTP.

KNOWN ISSUES AND BUGS:

  • This game's download may be stopped by Google Chrome due to it incorrectly flagging the game as a virus. If this happens to you, please try downloading the game in a different web browser.
  • RESOLVED in v1.01 (PARTIALLY): This bug has only been experienced by me, but after being in the final battle for a prolonged period of time, the game spontaneously decides to crash. I have not been able to actively replicate this bug nor figure out the cause behind it, and my playtesters have apparently not experienced it either.
    v1.01 Notes: This bug turned out to be more widespread than I predicted. While it has not been directly fixed, several modifications have been made to certain battles, making encountering this bug now highly unlikely not game-ruining. If your game does happen to crash, reloading your save should "reset" the amount of time it takes for it to happen again.
  • RESOLVED in v1.01: Diligence gain will only be 1 upon defeating an enemy, even if it has Focus. This is not a game-breaking issue, but it is not intentional and unfortunately I have not been able to figure out how to fix it in time without causing other issues with the game's battle system. Again, I apologize if you experience this bug.
    v1.01 Notes: Suit will now gain 2 DIL when he defeats an enemy regardless of whether or not it had Focus.

If you experience additional issues, bugs, glitches, etc, please feel free to contact me via private message or on Twitter at @KafroHudrep for assistance.

CREDITS for the game are included in readme file located within the game's folder.

Latest Blog

Null Regrets v1.01 - The Bugfix(ish) Update

Greetings.

Null Regrets has been updated to address several outstanding bugs in the game's code. Most importantly, thanks to various modifications to certain battles, the game should now be possible to complete without any crashes encountering impossible-to-surpass crashes; unfortunately, the cause of the bug is still unknown, and it can still occur. In addition, several other minor fixes and revisions have been made. To view the full changelog, click the button below. (NOTE: Spoilers within.)

8/10/2014 - v1.01: The Bugfix(ish) Update
- To address the unexpectedly widespread bug which caused the game to spontaneously crash after a long period of time in battle, the following has been changed:
--- The Stage 2 Boss now has a 32-turn limit. This limit is telegraphed by the boss's 'ellipses' actions. Please adjust your strategies accordingly.
--- The Final Boss has been split into three parts. LF, WP, and status effects are now reset between each part, and the difficulty of each form has been changed as thus:
----- Form 1: No changes.
----- Form 2: All three enemies' LF has been reduced from 40 to 30.
------- "I" will now become much stronger on turn 31. Please try to defeat it before then.
------- "D"'s AGG has been lowered to 10 from 12.
------- "C"'s SUP has been lowered to 12 from 16.
----- Form 3: The third form has been made more difficult:
------- LF has been increased to 100 from 60.
------- AGG has been increased to 16 from 12.
------- Poison damage has been increased to 15% of Max LF from 10%.
------- A certain skill is now used more often.
----- Form 4: No changes. This form is not intended to have any challenge.
--- Please note that the above changes have not directly addressed the bug; as such, it might still occur. However, the above modifications make encountering the bug highly unlikely, at least on my end.
- The Diligence glitch has been addressed. Suit will now gain 2 DIL upon defeating an enemy, regardless of whether or not it had Focus.
- The normal encounters in the final stage have been adjusted to be easier to outwit after running away from battle with them.
--- On-map stun duration increased to 3 seconds from 2.
--- Enemies can now be passed through while stunned.
- The stat booster can now be toggled on and off.
- Removed Mithran's Graphical Global Object Reference script due to lack of necessity.
- Previously MP3 BGMs have been converted into Ogg format.
- An attempt at explaining mind zombies has been made, for better or worse.
- Several portions of the longer ending's dialogue have been edited, for better or worse. The changes are not particularly significant.
- A pun has been added.

EDIT 8/14/2014: - Forgot to mention that the Burn effect for 'Wake Up!' also works properly now.


You can obtain this new version in files with and without RTP on the Downloads page. Previous save files appear to transfer over, but I won't guarantee anything on that front. Caveat: I'm the only person to have tested this version as of this posting; however, I have done so extensively without any many issues. Nonetheless, I'm also having my main playtester go through it tomorrow afternoon, so please feel free to wait until then for the go-ahead.

With that all said, I again sincerely apologize to all previous players who had encountered the bugs in the game; thank you all for your patience. Of course, if there are still any issues, please be sure to contact me.

EDIT: After another test it appears the bug occurs even with the breaks in battle. However, reloading a save appears to reset the amount of time it takes for the game to crash, and the updated version of the game adds the ability to continue at later phases of the final boss, so it's still manageable. I'll continue to try to find the source of the bug, but I can't guarantee anything at this point. This is so frustrating, I swear.

EDIT 2: Unfortunately my main playtester ended up being busy, but other players have reported being able to finish the whole game as well, albeit with minor but surmountable problems. This will probably be as good as it gets until I figure out the source of the crash bug.
  • Completed
  • Kafro
  • RPG Maker VX Ace
  • RPG
  • 06/30/2014 03:35 PM
  • 06/23/2016 03:55 PM
  • 06/30/2014
  • 49910
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Pages: 1
Been wanting to start this up before I signed up, actually.

The battle descriptions are a really nice touch and realistic for once. I rather like the system, but the burn from "wake up call" deals no damage.
It's pretty neat so far.

But .. in school, I just keep on looping. Is there anything special I have to do or is there a room hidden inbetween?
author=Kylaila
Been wanting to start this up before I signed up, actually.

The battle descriptions are a really nice touch and realistic for once. I rather like the system, but the burn from "wake up call" deals no damage.
It's pretty neat so far.

But .. in school, I just keep on looping. Is there anything special I have to do or is there a room hidden inbetween?


My sincere apologies for not answering sooner.

Thanks for catching that "Wake Up!" bug; for some reason I thought that -1% HP Regen would automatically round to -1 but apparently not. I'll put it on my list of things to fix should I eventually update the game.

Secondly, if you retrieved the Janitor's Keys from the closet, you should be able to open the door that was locked at the start of the stage. Hopefully this helps, because if not that sounds like another odd bug that I'll have to take a look at.
No worries, thanks for the reply! I would like to try it right away, but I'm afraid I won't have the time (and PC) to do that the next few days. I'll try it out on sunday.

And .. I can't find any closet. Just the blocked by your shadow-ish thing door (killing the lingering shadows in the area doesn't help) and locked ones/ones you turn back from. Not sure whether I already got the key, since I can't view any items, but the main door still remains locked.
Same as before, going to the right leads to a staircase leading back to the floor.
author=Kylaila
And .. I can't find any closet. Just the blocked by your shadow-ish thing door (killing the lingering shadows in the area doesn't help) and locked ones/ones you turn back from. Not sure whether I already got the key, since I can't view any items, but the main door still remains locked.
Same as before, going to the right leads to a staircase leading back to the floor.

Have you been unable to get to an area that looks like this? The closet is located in the lower-right room, which has the key in it. I'm not sure what you mean by "going to the right leads to a staircase leading back to the floor" either, since the progression for that stage should be A) go downstairs from the starting area, B) go out onto the second floor and watch the cutscene, C) go right, downstairs to the first floor, and then left, which should lead to the map linked above. I apologize if I am still unhelpful, but you are the only person I've heard from that has had trouble completing this section of the game.

Also, there's absolutely no need to kill the shadows either. Their only purpose, as stated in the game's dialogue, is to allow players to demo the party's new abilities, and maybe have fun with the combat system as well.
Yeah, I've been there. And the lower left door is blocked by the shadow, lower right turns me right back (probably was already there), but when I go back through the upper left door, go back up and check the door, it says "still locked"

Sorry for all the trouble.
author=Kylaila
Yeah, I've been there. And the lower left door is blocked by the shadow, lower right turns me right back (probably was already there), but when I go back through the upper left door, go back up and check the door, it says "still locked"

Sorry for all the trouble.

Apologies, but what you're describing is not possible. While there is a similar hallway on the second floor that has a room on the lower right which turns you around, the door on the first floor is only coded to allow players to go inside. Are you sure you didn't get the two confused?

If you could perhaps upload some visuals of what you are experiencing that would be helpful, of course.

I'll have to take my leave for now, but I'll be back later tonight (Pacific Time) if you're still having trouble. In the meantime, if I may suggest a potential solution, redownloading the game and copying your save files over might work. Thank you very much for bearing with the game despite this conundrum!
Well, that's what I can do when I am at the exact location of your screenshot .. I could go right, upstairs and will face black dead ends, on all sides except left. In which case I return to the long floor and said three doors.

I'll try a redownload and see what happens. Thanks for the fast reply! (which somehow didn't show up as a notice .. but oh well)
author=Kylaila
Well, that's what I can do when I am at the exact location of your screenshot .. I could go right, upstairs and will face black dead ends, on all sides except left. In which case I return to the long floor and said three doors.

I'll try a redownload and see what happens. Thanks for the fast reply! (which somehow didn't show up as a notice .. but oh well)

Hello again. I've spliced together a map of the second stage along with numbering the intended route to take through it (barring additional exploration and side-events). If you are continuing to experience issues with completing the stage, please inform me of any inconsistencies between the map and what you are seeing in-game; screenshots, if possible, are of course helpful. Thank you very much!
I can enter the closet after the redownload. Sorry for all the trouble and thanks for the help. Also have different interactions with the other doors, well, could be due to key as well.
Should've tried that earlier.

Edit:.. and it crashes on me sometimes while I select actions. Multiple times during the last fight, to be precise. No idea why... rinse and repeat it is. Why does it have to be so long :'(

EEdit: Seriously, this game hates me. Why do I spent hours retrying this .. saps on the motivation. *sigh*
author=Kylaila
Edit:.. and it crashes on me sometimes while I select actions. Multiple times during the last fight, to be precise. No idea why... rinse and repeat it is. Why does it have to be so long :'(

EEdit: Seriously, this game hates me. Why do I spent hours retrying this .. saps on the motivation. *sigh*

Ah, I'm terribly sorry — that bug is pointed out in the "Known Issues and Bugs" section. I only discovered it the day before the contest deadline, and it appears that, as of right now, approximately 50% of players experience it (up from only myself when releasing it). I've attempted to fix it through disabling various scripts (including the animated backgrounds script, which I was almost certain was the issue), but to this day I have not found the cause nor solution to this bug. (To be quite frank, I almost feel as if it is an inherent fault of the game engine rather than my own because no error messages are produced upon such a crash.)

There is a method of boosting your party's stats in the game's description that you can use to easily bypass any encounter, but regardless I sincerely apologize that you may be unable to complete the game legitimately in its current state. I've been trying to brainstorm various methods of sidestepping the bug over the past month, but unfortunately, game making is only a hobby to me and I've had to put it aside to deal with several real life obligations and complications for that time period. Rest assured that I'll eventually produce an update to the game that remedies these crashes somehow — until then, I again sincerely apologize for the issues, as well as sapping your motivation.
I see, that explains it. Thank you for the explanation. I really should've read that section, shouldn't I?
Well, I have bad luck ingame, so that's quite alright. It's too bad I won't be able to properly complete it nor write a review, but so be it. I'd probably mainly have ranted on depression and memories, too.

Good luck on finding the remedy ;)
author=Kylaila
I see, that explains it. Thank you for the explanation. I really should've read that section, shouldn't I?
Well, I have bad luck ingame, so that's quite alright. It's too bad I won't be able to properly complete it nor write a review, but so be it. I'd probably mainly have ranted on depression and memories, too.

Good luck on finding the remedy ;)

Thank you very much for your understanding. Hopefully I'll be able to get an update out soon that makes the game crash-free from start to finish for all players. I was honestly planning to fix the crashes with an update that also adds revised / additional content, but since this appears to be a more widespread issue than I thought I'll be saving those for later whilst I put bugfixing on the forefront. Until then, thanks for playing!

EDIT: A note to potential comments readers, the recently-released v1.01 update addresses the crashes. See the Blog post for more details.
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