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Well, that demo was amazing.

OPENING SUMMARY

Hmmm, well... where do I start? Omnis - The Erias Line, for one, is a pretty wonderful game that actually used its potential right. Nowdays, not many stories out there tend to use their potential right. At first, it'll look promising, but end up being really shitty as a whole. Luckily, this one learned how to use it, and it came out very well. It's definitely a demo, while it may not be the best game in the whole entire universe, VERY much worth playing if you are up for hourly demos that aren't difficult as fuck and will have their full game coming out soon. As for complaints... ehhhhh... none, actually. I tend to nitpick some bad habits for story writing and character development, but I don't think I have any so far... yet. Anyway, enough of my talking, let's actually get to this review! By the way, brace yourselves, because this is probably going to be one long review, even if it is a demo.

Who the hell cares, deal with it.

STORY

Omnis - The Erias Line opens up with its main story about four characters embarking on a mission to retrieve a prisoner located in the Terminus, and swiftly get out before any heavy burdens occur. Though it does seem like a simple task, the setting, as well as the dialogue, heavily imply that this will be way more than just a, "save the damsel in the distress". By the dialogue and setting, if any of the enemies get a hold of you, they'll kill you in an instant. It's do or die, kill or be killed. The story also does a great job of showing, instead of telling. (...damn it, I need to learn how to do that.) By doing this, the writer leaves an impression on how you would like to think of this setting, instead of info dumping on you. What I also favor, personally, is how the characters talk in a more modernly fashion, moreoverly reflecting how real people would deal with this situation. Either you're a coward or you're a brave man; and this explains it very well through the characters reaction to each situation, for example;


Oh, oh, I know! GET YOUR ASS DOWN THERE AND WE'LL FIND OUT.


Well alright, asshole. Hope you get killed on the way up on that elevator.

Overall, this game does very well in terms of storytelling, showing that it will not be superpowers that will take over the world; only mere humans using their bodies, as well as other animals, to fight against other humans. To properly explain it, the general setting in this game would be more of a Man vs Man rather than Man vs Beast, which is what I love most about this game's story. We aren't out to conquer some great monster threatening Earth, nor are we out to collect the mighty crystals in order to restore the world's balance, nor are we going to transform into demi-gods to destroy a one-winged Sephiroth/Cloud ripoff, nor are we out to save the damsel in distress; we're only here to do our job, and it'll be far more dangerous than a regular one. Far, far more dangerous. Wonder how much we're getting paid, anyways... we better get paid more than half a million dollars in cold hard cash for sacrificing our lives like this.

CHARACTERS

Although Omnis - The Erias Line's primary strength lies in its writing, the characters are close. Though Omnis does not have a HUGE cast of characters such as, for example, Xenosaga, it has a fair amount of characters for attachable personalities and great development. Luckily though, the characters weren't made with generic personalities, and each has their own personality, thus characters were not sacrificed for story nor gameplay. Each character is distinct, and finds their own way... welllll, sort of. The only complaint I have about the characters is that I wish I would've gotten to know some of these people and their story more before they... you know. But, then again, in a setting like this, it wouldn't be fit for a character to randomly sit there and explain their entire backstory within a single flashback. Perhaps, if they ever had places to camp in order to find that man in the Terminus (although that wouldn't be possible either because have 68 MINUTES to retrieve the prisoner and then get out.

Now then, moving onto the main characters.

I'd mainly say that both Skyler and Orphan are the main characters, and although this is a demo, I hope that they are to develop well within the game. So far in the demo, it seems that we've only seen Orphan develop throughout the game by displaying his mood when he gets angry, and seems to be extremely threatening... and kind of scary, actually.

Yeah yeah, y'all don't want none of that Orphan serious shit, yo.

He also tends to be very selfless, as shown in the situation in the game where Skyler and Orphan fight a couple of guards, and in the process, Orphan is bleeding like hell and tries to tell Skylar that it's merely nothing, showing that he's not selfish and trying to force her to help him. Unlike a lot of cowards who later mature throughout a story, Orphan is actually pretty distinct from them. I suppose he just reminds me of Hope from FF13, except far more matured. I think Orphan is my favorite character, actually, since he seems to be the one who's shown more development than the others. I hope Skylar develops like Orphan's doing. She probably does, but sadly, I was unable to finish the game due to the RTP not responding while playing the game. (And I've actually retried it over and over.) That makes me sad, since this was a pretty darn good game.


Not wanting to slow others down. Pretty understandable, Orphan.


Overall, in terms of characters, I feel as if this game could use a bit more of work upon it, though it is completely understandable in this type of setting and story. Then again, it is the perfect type of setting for character to heavily develop throughout the story, though this is ONLY the beginning. I only just wish that I would've been able to know some of the characters more, and their reaction to multiple other situations. I wonder if we'll find any other side characters that are important to the main characters and they end up dying, anyway. Ah well, the full game is commercial, so I'll consider buying it sometime when the full commercial game is released.

GAMEPLAY & AESTHETICS

As for actual gameplay and excluding battles, the game is actually very well done. The graphics AND tileset are both original, which doesn't occur much in RPG Maker Games, allowing potential for alot of attention towards the project. The aesthetics also do a well-done job of visually presenting the dark setting within the game of Man vs Man or Kill Or Be Killed. Fortunately, this game also does other things that SHOULD have been used but haven't in an RPG Maker Game; chasing events, train battles, and time limits! Those are my favorite, and it actually changes the structure of each battle. Time Limits, though, probably aren't considered as great as the other two because you're on pressure wherever you go, and each moment you spend is significant on a time limit. Espicially if you're on a 1-minute time limit. Jeez, I hate those... either way, the way that the gameplay attempts to change itself throughout the venture through the Terminus is very well done. The mapping is also well-done, as well.


Oh hell no, better get the fuck outta here fa- wait... is that Mr. Potato Head?

What is also well-done is the graphics of the characters, and how they actually have motions in-game and sound effects for their motion, rather than a sprite simply standing still, which actually makes it feel like more of a realistic RPG Maker game. This, ultimately, gives the game more variety than other RPG Maker Games, though I feel as if people don't really see into the motions of the characters in-game, graphic-wise. I gotta say, this coudl be a one-of-a-kind RM game. What I mostly like, though, is that the sprites aren't chibi like most of us have, and they're tall sprites, and at the same time, not XP tall, which also makes the game look pretty good. The facesets are actually drawn to be realistic, as well! Another plus in terms of the setting. Though, for the art, I'll say is done good, but I won't say it's great or amazing mainly because it's not my style in terms of drawing facesets. I admire anime-styled facesets more than realistic face styles, but this one was done good.


GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT. I JUST SAVED YOUR LIFE.

Overall, the gameplay, excluding battles, is done well. I'd say much more, but I'm more of a story/character guy rather than a gameplay guy, but for one, I can say that the gameplay was great, and the features given in the gameplay are a big plus, allowing players to possibly consider re-playing the game due to certain fun levels in the game. That's actually something I'd do, as well.

BATTLE SYSTEM

Now, here's where most RM games fall off, including this one! Sike.


You want some of this, son? Better back up, before you get smacked up.

The battles themselves are well-done, and it provides variety through adding in different troops of enemies as well as different enemies themselves. The battles are fun and each troop tends to be distinct from the last. In terms of balancing, this is actually done pretty good, too. None of the enemies are too hard, and at the same time, not too easy, either. It's a perfect balance for making the game fun and avoiding heavy frustration and rage, and you don't die that often either. I mostly like how the skills are distinct from regular skills; you are given the option of pressing arrow buttons in order to enhance the original attack force of the skill, thus making the outcome of the skill in total, far more stronger than the original.


GET FKIN REKT M8-- I mean uh, train battles, sweet!

What is also well-done in terms of battles are the extra status skills; being able to protect your ally from an enemy even if it means dying, or attempting to dehance the enemy's defense force, which makes attacks that weren't useful, useful. Also, I like how there are automatic NPCs in battle, as well, though I just didn't like how Grunt only attacked instead of doing something distinct like Skylar and Orphan. I actually really liked Grunt.


Shit.

Overall, the game's battles are well-done and balance, nothing is too hard, nor too easy, though personally, it took a bit of time to get used to the game's battles, since they are probably more different than from what I normally playtest in RPG Maker Games.


CONCLUSION



Extremely well-done, hope all the characters develop well in the full commercial game.

Posts

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Great review!

A few points in response, if that's okay? (They're not in any sort of order) I'll deal with the 'negatives', since improving them is what I'm most interested in.


- Skyler's Development
This is a tricky issue, since I wanted to demonstrate as much as I could about the characters without sacrificing the pacing I had in mind and cramming the demo. Skyler is the pragmatic one, with an ability to distance herself from emotions when required (she balances Orphan's emotive-ness in that way). Throughout the demo, her reserved, aloof and even cold attitude is deliberate and there's tons to her that will be unfolded later, though I can see the merits of revealing more of her character in this sample. It's definitely something I'll think about.


- The Grunt's attacks
"I just didn't like how Grunt only attacked instead of doing something distinct like Skylar and Orphan"
This is a great point of feedback. To be honest, it's a point that's already been festering in the back of my mind for a while. I'll address it by giving him some more skills in the next version!


- "it took a bit of time to get used to the game's battles"
Do you think that a tutorial of some kind would be useful? This is something else I've considered, but I've been reluctant to use too many tutorials unless absolutely necessary.


- "Time Limits, though, probably aren't considered as great as the other two because you're on pressure wherever you go, and each moment you spend is significant on a time limit."
If OMNIS feedback has any point of contention, it's the time limit. I wanted to offset the sense of 'pressure' by making sure the time limit was big enough to never be much of a real threat, but maybe it's time to concede that having a time limit hovering over you over such a comparatively large portion of game play is a no-no.

Finally:

- "you are given the option of pressing arrow buttons in order to enhance the original attack force of the skill, thus making the outcome of the skill in total, far more stronger than the original."
Sadly, this isn't how it works. That's how it's GOING to work if I can get funding to hire scripters, but for now the button combos just allow you to execute the attack, not boost it.


Anyhow, I'm grateful for all the points to work with here. More than anything I'm chuffed with a 5/5 score and I'm so glad you enjoyed playing. I'll keep you posted as I work on making things even better :)


EDIT
I should add a point about the commercial side of things, in case anyone reading supposes I'm presumptuous or pretentious or whatever:
I'm still learning the financial/business side of things, but as far as I'm concerned the philosophy is "sell it for as little as sanely possible" not "as much as possible". Profits, such as they might be, are already earmarked for the game's sequel (it's forward planning, not 'getting ahead of myself' :) )
Just to insert, I actually really liked the time limit for this game. At first I was a little appalled, wondering how much of a crunch it would be. But it worked.

As far as tutorials, can you make them in character? Like have Orphan narrate his own tutorial instead of a black screen? Not sure if it would work or not, but it might keep your pacing a little better.

How long do you expect the full game to be?

-flap
For all the cool stuff, I find it's all bogged down by slow ass event pacing. Things like music fading and waits between certain event actions are brutal. I'm looking at a countdown clock and my characters are walking 2 steps forward, wait, turn his head, wait, say something, wait, turn his head the other way, wait.... I want to run to save my buddy already! The entire game is like this.

I wouldn't give it 5 stars, probably 4, because there's lots of good features and not many bad. But that slow pacing is hindering the game experience for me. I played about 20 or 30 minutes so far and I'll have my videos up when I finish the demo.
author=flapbat
Just to insert, I actually really liked the time limit for this game. At first I was a little appalled, wondering how much of a crunch it would be. But it worked.

As far as tutorials, can you make them in character? Like have Orphan narrate his own tutorial instead of a black screen? Not sure if it would work or not, but it might keep your pacing a little better.

How long do you expect the full game to be?

-flap


I'll have a think about it, but at a glance there doesn't seem to be a way to do tutorial's that way without hinting at a fourth wall break or using a narrator, which doesn't fit with the style.

author=Link_2112
For all the cool stuff, I find it's all bogged down by slow ass event pacing. Things like music fading and waits between certain event actions are brutal. I'm looking at a countdown clock and my characters are walking 2 steps forward, wait, turn his head, wait, say something, wait, turn his head the other way, wait.... I want to run to save my buddy already! The entire game is like this.


This is also something I'm gonna look at. It's one of those aspects that I've played through it too often too notice anymore. And yet, having said that, I did have a vague sense of having been too liberal with the 'wait' function. I think I might just go through it event by event and cull the 'waits' by 50%.
There's a wealth of points to get fixing and improving on, which I'm looking forward to doing.

Just wanna thank everyone for their pointers and hope that you'll all give it another go when the issues have been seen to :)

I've got to say, slashing all the 'waits' is relieving like getting around to clearing out a messy room.
Haha- it was a bit slow (although it picked up after the first dungeon). But I'd say the only really long wait was the elevator descent.
author=flapbat
Haha- it was a bit slow (although it picked up after the first dungeon). But I'd say the only really long wait was the elevator descent.


I've already condensed it by about a minute and a half. Just going through things and reducing the 60-180 frame waits down to 20-100 frames (where appropriate)
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