AEROFUNK80'S PROFILE

author=TorqueMcFearson
Here's grievances:
Combat is sometimes frustrating. (Admittedly I fear it's just me.. why do I suck so bad? haha) I'm out of potions/mana/herbs and one good high-damage-dealing, silencing AOE from the enemy and death spiral begins. I'm abusing shield bash and focus restoring, but I feel like I'm missing something. I'd like to kick more butt, but there's no way to grind up levels or anything. Most baddies can kill my squishies in two/three hits, but I have to sink in six/seven in return. I almost quit, but then who will kill Cinder!? (...barring the parallel realities of all the other players of this game.)

Sorry about the combat. I will admit... that was something I struggled with (finding a balance). The difficult part I find is some have told me it's too easy (so I buff the monsters)... then I'm told it's difficult... so I nerf them a bit and try to find that middle ground. Healing was ALSO a big complaint. I did increase the amount that potions and Tia heals in my last update, and I added more potions, but maybe I need to relook at that further. Couple questions/tips:

• Are you using the alchemy set found upstairs at the inn to make potions with the herbs you find?

• During combat-make sure you utilize crowd control abilities. Sounds like you're using stun, but also use Sir Edwin's taunt ability. That will draw much of the aggro off your allies, and then you can focus most of the healing on Edwin since he's, technically, the tank of the group.

• Did you find Smoke Bomb for Kit? Or does he start with it (you'd think I'd know my own game LOL)? If you have it, use that more for him. It's cheap to use and increases his evasion rate quite a bit.

• There's a vendor upstairs at the inn in the library that sells skill books. In the event you missed finding one, you can purchase them off of her.

• Invest in a fishing pole and fish, fish, fish. Salmon is great to heal your entire party at a campfire.

• Are you searching the boxes found on the tables? Those, typically, hold potions. They're not chests. They're open boxes. Sometimes you find junk, but you do get quite a bit of potions from them, as well.

• Re-visit old areas. After each dungeon, plants respawn in the old zones. At this point, if you went back to Northern Pass or Winding Pass, you'd find more herbs.

Ultimately, the feedback is, difficult combat is an issues when I have no way to "git gud". Turn-based combat isn't exceedingly skill-based and there are finite experience points to go around when there are finite encounters. I feel locked into a level of suck I can't escape. Sometimes, I'm tempted to run past enemies in hope for survival, but they're my only way to level up..

I thought about making enemy encounters more random, so you could grind and level up more, but when I tried that... it only unbalance combat even more. Typically in a... it's too easy and enemies just aren't damaging the party... type of way. I have been messing with combat a bit more for part 2. Each party member will have a healing ability, as well. Some weaker than others, but I wanted to make sure you didn't run into a situation where you had absolutely no way to heal yourself. Hopefully that helps in my next game.

Really hope my tips above help in combat. If you find something that works for you... please share. Glad you haven't officially called it quits. Great hearing from you again :-)

Hey dnel! Glad you liked it. Part 2 is coming along really well. Still working on it. :-) I'm also working on the update for my first one, but I fell behind on that due to working on part 2 so much LOL

This looks like my type of game. Beautiful looking maps and character design. And I must say... I don't tend to find myself attracted to video game characters often, but wow. The two main characters look gooooood ;-P

This looks like my type of game. Looking good so far!

author=Liberty
Well, actually, I'd recommend more to have them be morally ambiguous instead. The saving of the theif was a hard choice because you could see how both sides were in the right and wrong, but if it had been a bit more balanced in judgement (being locked up in their prison for life, for example) or there was the option of having met a friendly centaur before (thus giving the idea that you could get one on your side instead) then I would have sided with them.

Choices that aren't fully good or evil are a better way to go, I think. That way the player doesn't deliberately ignore a path just because it's bad. Also, some of the choices seemed very out of character for our hedge knight to want to do (that is, like killing people's sheep or not saving someone in trouble).

That's another reason why I did most of the 'good' stuff - because it seemed more logical for the knight not to do bad stuff when he was spouting off about honour and doing good deeds. It broke the narrative a bit to expect him to go "eh, fuck that other knight, let's leave him" or to go around killing peasants' livestock.

I actually agree. The funny thing is, after I was almost done with the game, I thought about that. I guess I was just going for the silly, comical route for the "bad" choices... but there are a few bad choices that do make you feel like a total ass if you actually do them LOL There are a few moments that can feel a bit dark... but doesn't sound like anyone went those routes. haha

I think if I could go back and redo this game, I wouldn't have made Sir Edwin so "honorable" and talk about it as much. Then when you made the "good vs bad" choices, it felt more natural. You make him an honorable knight, or you don't.

However; when you do make the bad choices... he does talk about it and feels bad, and he usually explains why he made the decision. For example... say you don't rescue Gilmund and leave him to die. Tia struggles with it a bit and there are several cut scenes that play out that you didn't see. She lectures him, he explains why he made the decision... but ultimately apologizes for it.

Sir Edwin also has a tough time if you don't rescue Sir Lindsey. The way back to Larrenburg isn't quite as... cheerful. :-)