CARRIONBLUE'S PROFILE

Some sort of thing from planet x
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Safety: Life Is A Maze

author=kin15225
can enybody help: every time that i close the game and open it agun it delite all my saves so i need to play it from the start evry single time that i close it ):

I am not sure why that happens, but what I would recommend doing as a quick fix is to- right after you save- do not close the game but minimize it with alt+enter
(It is either that or alt+tab) then copy your save to a different folder.
I would also check where your copy of the program is, because under windows if you leave it in a protected folder- it will do some really weird things.

Safety: Life Is A Maze

author=Darken
agreed with tatsu.

One problem I have with is that the spikes overstay their welcome very quick. There's no variety of environment hazards or obstacles. At some point the spikes just feel like filler. Not to mention the spikes timing makes me feel like I'm taking advantage of the fact that I know how event detection in 2k3 works. The timing is so specific and isn't really based on the visuals because most of the time I see the spikes coming up just as I'm halfway through the tile.

There are times when you have to maybe run away from an enemy while also dodging spikes but that's about it. There could have been push block puzzles, more complex switch puzzles, really even if the puzzles were stolen from legend of zelda/lufia 2 it would work. I notice the key and doors thing gets phased out rather quickly. Which is a shame because it's a good way to direct the player to previous areas s/he couldn't go before.

RNG combat just doesn't work I'm sorry. I get that you have run from enemies most of the time. But there's always that mandatory enemy that I run into and even with the most possible hearts and attack power I will die half the time. Roguelikes generally have RNG decided battles yeah but there are so many elements like stats and inventory that you can manage and generally you probably have 100% chance at killing the basic of enemies. In my experience from games like Shiren, you end up having to cleverly use items to gain the upperhand or utilize upgrade mechanics to deal with enemies that can beat you 1on1. To sum it up, Safety doesn't really give you enough "cards" to change the outcome nor are they interesting. You either have enough attack or hearts, or a spare potion, that's about it.

But this isn't quite a roguelike. It's not a real time/turn based game it's really just a real time game with tile based movement. Very unreliable movement at that. Roguelikes also have randomized dungeon areas. However I do love the idea of an RPG with a story using roguelike movement. It's just that you should really just make it straight up turn based to make it less buggy/annoying. Enemies should only move when you move, and it becomes more about positioning or thinking ahead. I don't think 2k3's tile based movement is reliable but it could be if everything is processed in turns. On the other hand, real time would definitely require a different engine at this point.

I don't really like the inventory/storage setup. I understand making a custom inventory with one row of items is hard enough in RM but it's not practical if a pack rat decides s/he's just going to drop all of his items in one place instead of keeping important items and saving future important items. The problem is that there aren't really future important items and so you're better off using up the items for the sake of space and their use in the long run. Mainly the problem has to do with the item variety themselves. The storage dumping I understand is just a quick way to not have to deal with eventing in individual item depositing/withdrawing, but it made me think about the need for it in the first place.

I think some of the things I'm suggesting require fundamentally changing the game from the ground up. Which is too much the ask especially from a project made in 2 months. But since you seem keen on redesign or even perhaps a sequel, these are just on my thoughts on that. I think this is a good looking game and it has a nice story. I even wanted to like this game but the gameplay is stuck in one place, and it's hard for me to ignore.
author=RyaReisender
I only partially agree to this.

I agree that this game needs a lot more strategy and not just spikes spikes spikes (and bulls).

I also agree that the storage is quite pointless and really doesn't justify its existence (especially since the ending is so easy, the part right after the first storage chest is the hardest, that's where you need potions, not later on). At its current implementation, it's better removed.

What I don't agree to is making the game fully turn based. I liked the first half of the game due to it being a lot reaction based. I didn't know how RM2k3 works, but I learned that collision always is with the tile you move to and not the tile you are currently on pretty fast anyway. You are right that spikes get boring, but if I imagine all types of different movement patterns for monsters like with the bulls and then slowly combining them with other monsters and spikes, then I can imagine it to be quite an enjoyable real time challenge. Works for me.


Thanks for at least trying the game out though Darken, even though the gameplay sort of bugged up everything it seemed.
I guess the summary to this is that it needs more traps, more items, more strategic gameplay, more puzzles, more monster movement and more stuff.
I had some problems making turned movement but I will see what I can come up with on that end.
I super appreciate your feedback on this, and that goes for everyone!
I'll see what I can do to make it a better experience.

Safety: Life Is A Maze


author=tatsunical
the bugs are definitely there

i remember my game crashing twice within the first 10 minutes due to some kind of eventing error

and then after beating the very first monster the load screen would pop up after every fight until i died. perhaps this had to do with how game over conditions were handled?

also using a potion didn't always update my HP visually until i reopened the menu

we're working with rm2k3 so i understand that there are a lot of limitations to deal with, especially for an action/adventure game. you might want to consider switching engines in the future to something more suitable. also for future games i would like to see a bigger emphasis on puzzles, and having the player solve his/her way through a problem in a methodical manner, rather than what you have right now which is basically the player being at the game's mercy until the game (or luck) decides that the player can proceed


What I am wondering is if some of your errors come from something else, especially the game crashing.
I understand it depends on the operating environment as much as programming it properly, but I never had a crash- even though I tried a lot of things to purposely get it to crash.
Some of these problems are, just like you mentioned, only really ever solved by moving the entire game to another engine/recoding it- which I don't intend to do for this game at least. So, I can only assume that you fell into a loop of badness due to the way the rpg maker thing read it that time. It's not the most stable thing ever.
That being said, I am probably going to end up scrapping a lot of these levels, keeping the story events and redoing the game to be more room to room puzzling.
It's going to take some days to redesign it however, since I am going to try to modify some of the game engine to be more gameplay friendly/arcadey and cut down on the amount of ways a unfortunate player might run into a crash event.
I'm also adding in a few new ideas for the game, but I'm going to go ahead and keep the versions I have up in case people prefer the more adventure type map-play-style.

Steam VX Ace Giveaway - Part 1 (Tagline challenge) - Winner announced

RMN: RIP AND TEAR!

RMN: MAKE SOMETHING!

RMN: PIZZA PIE

RMN BIG SEXY BODS

RMN: THE M IS FOR AMAZING!

Safety: Life Is A Maze

author=ErekT
All I get when I try to run this is a black screen that I can't alt-tab or ctrl-alt-delete my way out of. Super-annoying, but I guess it's a rpgmaker problem. If possible, maybe have the game default to running in a window instead of fullscreen?

Anyways, the game itself looks intriguing. Hope to be able to play it :)


I'll see what I can do, if there is something I can cook up that should at least try that. Sorry it doesn't work at the moment! :)



author=tatsunical
cleared it

i thought this game was very charming and enjoyable on an artistic level. on a gameplay level however, it was quite frustrating and i found many of your choices in design to be questionable. with how battles and stage hazards are right now, progression is almost entirely random which is a huge problem. there are also a lot of bugs atm, along with tiling issues, both of which are some of the easiest ways to disrupt gameplay and break immersion. i have to wonder if you've tried playing through this game yourself because some of the things that you are subjecting your players to is downright silly

that said there must have been something about this game that kept me playing from beginning to end (despite having sent it to my recycling bin on two separate occasions...)

all in all i think your games are cool (i beat ISoG too). they have a distinct visual style which is probably your greatest strength. if you just polish up on your gameplay a bit more you'd have the potential to achieve something much greater

just my two cents! i hope nothing came off too harsh here

-tatsu


Thank you for clearing the game! And I really appreciate you coming back and telling me about how you liked it and what you thought of it!

And no harm taken, I am aware there are some pretty large problems with the tomfoolery of the battle system, and I'm seeing if I can balance it out better for some aspects.
Can I ask you where the tiling issues was so I can look at them for the next update?

@everyoneelse
If there is something you'd like to see in the next version, then now is the time! After this version, if there are no super-game breaking bugs that come up- it'll be finished and I'm moving to my next few projects. (Which won't be knock into stuff rpgs, as much as I like that idea.)

Safety: Life Is A Maze

Thanks you two and especially to RyaReisender for the thorough documentation of possible bugs and bugs!! :)

I'll check out both of your lists when I get some time this weekend, and make some changes. I'll probably go ahead and make the spells insta-kill since you can't tell the exact damage dealt on the fly anyways- plus enemies respawn most of the time anyways.

Safety: Life Is A Maze

author=kentona
So has this game made all the waves on the internets yet? RPS, etc...

i dunno, i think there was a article about it on indiegames
but they call me carrionblue instead of moga so i really need to change my username
somehow i think

@ryareisender
SORRY! ; ; There is a proper updated version being uploaded now and has been set to not so debuggy mode, plus some of the fixes.
Also, the chest just allows you to keep a reserve item pack in the chest until you pick it up again overriding all your current items. It's possible to delete items, so you should make a save before you use it- and read the messages it gives you before use! :)

Safety: Life Is A Maze

oh fuck
EMBAARASSED

Safety: Life Is A Maze

Okay, well I will look at all of that and repair it. I will also do some battle changes, at least scale down the difficulty.
The entire tower btw is a board itself, there is way more after that!

The enemies are all pretty much how they are, but I will look at that unbeatable guy and stuff.
@ ryareisender
Which screen is there no wall mapping at?

Edited: updated with fixes for some mapping errors, and made combat easier. Also, .the cassette player is added
when you do the room event where you get it. (Added to extra inventory)
Thanks for all your help so far guys!!

Safety: Life Is A Maze

author=calunio
Should I wait for an update before I download it then?

I updated it, so it should be fine to play now.:)