LOUISCYPHRE'S PROFILE

I've been around the RM community for a reasonable amount of time (going on a year this August) and I've made a thing or two in my time with RM. In chronological order:

Pimp



Main Protagonist: Alastor Styne (the Titular "Pimp")
Main Antagonist Sergeant Victor Luther
Supporting Protagonists: Lil' Pimp, Ralphie, Mars, Velvet, Mercutia, Rebecca, Xerxes.
Key Features: Short/Medium/Long range for weapons, AI party members.

Alastor Styne's life was that of money, women, and leisure. As the proprietor of a small, successful club, Alastor could kick back and enjoy life one sip at a time.
That is, until one of his close friends is shot in cold blood.
Now, tangled up in a web of revenge plots and cover-ups, Alastor has to survive long enough to discover the truth around his friend's murder, a truth that reaches into every part of the city - turning it into a deathtrap.

My initial foray into the world of RPGmaker 2003. While I personally feel it's the slightest step above some other "first games", and it has some ideas that still interest me today, it sucked. Or rather, it sucked. I eventually re-did the entire story and map, but not long after I moved on to...

Last Day




Main Protagonist: Rehy Gomortz
Main Antagonist Navajo, the "Maker of Heroes"
Supporting Protagonists: Lance de Graviz, Varita de Hechizora, Sir Seiz von Graviz, Zhara Hechizora.
Key Features: No standard attack command, SP restoration being common, SP damage being equally common, slightly improved graphics.

Many tales tell of a quartet of Heroes, who embarked on a great many missions for the saving, rescuing, and protection of a great many things. They had each fo them a power, that they applied to their noble endeavors.
The power of body - to walk walls and open air alike, knowing no inhibition of solidity or liquid. The power of mind - to see the intent of others, and to feel their feelings, think their thoughts. The power of spirit - to sense that which is to come, and know that which has already been. The power of soul - to resist all temptation, and to be immune to doubt, worry, and nervousness.
However, the time of these heroes has passed, for they have grown old, and are no longer able to defend the people. New heroes are needed in such times as these, as wars are fought without quarter, and those without rank or combat ability are cast aside into prisons, to serve and supply one military or another.

A more traditional RPG, I focused more on mechanics than story, and as a result the story blew. It did have Waheed, though, who remains one of my favorite characters, and my favorite recurring merchant, of all of my games.



1873



Main Protagonist: Mardsen Dustine
Main Antagonist The LeRoy Gang
Supporting Protagonists: Larsene Wyatt, Jubal 'Brit' Edwards, Lera Ruder, Samson Gregor, Richard 'Doc' Johnson.
Key Features: Ammo system, Mission-based structure, Time of Day/Day of Year functions, Regents card-based mini-game, Game Over upon ANY character's death, and a bunch of other, less significant shit.

The year is 1873. Law-enforcement is non-existant in the small trail town of Tombstone, Texas. Bandits, drunkards, crooked gamblers, and killers walk undeterred. Crimes are committed without regard to consequences, because there ARE no consequences.
Enter Mardsen Dustine. With his handful of allies, he is charged with clearing out the filth from Tombstone. Each month of the year 1873, you'll bring in various bounties and wanted men, culminating each month with a showdown with a particularly dangerous opponent. As you progress and your fame grows, the rewards you reap will grow as well - but so will your notoriety and the danger it entails. Can you survive a year in the West?

My most ambitious project, and my most promising. Praised for its gameplay - particularly battles - 1873 is the gun-slinging, beer-drinking, card-playing, bounty-hunting game with no substitute.



Projects that have yet to see the light of RMN day:


Vampire


(No titlescreen available.)

Main Protagonist: Logos SeLammiere
Main Antagonist Koljon Sentennen
Supporting Protagonists: "Violet Der-Ogidni" (true name is spoiler), Georg Bonsougneur, Nara Odaccas, Alucard Rimidalv.
Key Features: Items for Magic, Drain/Scan/Hunt/Synthesize commands (one for each character), Interior/Exterior on the same map (roofs vanish), Level cap of 25, lots of equipment combos (such as Beneficiary + Weakness Gorget + Traitor's Charm = Ally who attacks allies for zero and whose attacks inflict Regen, Refocus, and Fast - for free), TP equal to level - always.

"Sit, and hear a tale of joy and of sorrow, of a search for a soul - the soul of another - and at the same time, the search for one's self.
"Our tale follows the journeys of a band of warriors, who search for the soul of a companion, lost in battle, having fallen into the clutches of a terrible foe. This foe had power such as to fashion new elements at whim, and dictate the very nature of things as he desired. Or rather, he aspired to such power, for he felt it his right, stolen away from him as it was..."

An interesting bit of gameplay I've devised. It'd probably be about Generica-sized, although it'd take for longer to make, since the graphics are custom. The monster groups and battle events, especially, would take time, since each contains a "steal" and a "scan" command for every enemy in the group.

???

(No titlescreen available.)

Main Protagonist: ???
Main Antagonist ???
Supporting Protagonists: ???
Key Features: ???

You'll have to wait and see what this one is unless you're a certain someone with a certain PM who knows who he/she/it is.

I've gone and designed another TCG. This time, however, I've gone and added the extra twist of Levels, XP, Strength, and so on. The structure is surprisingly and elegantly simple, at least on paper so far, and is broken down below.

Stats:
HP: Base 20 at level 1.
Strength: Base 5 at level 1.
Defense: Base 5 at level 1.
Hand Size: Always 5 at match's start.
Number of Actions: Always 1 at match's start.
(perhaps adding more later)

Start with 5 points to distribute between HP, STR, and DEF, limit 3 to a stat. Points put into HP increase HP by 2.

Players will track their stats at both their current level, and at their starting level. XP gains are based on levels of the players. The greater the difference in either direction, the less XP is awarded. More XP to the winner than the loser, obviously. Matches are either played at current or starting level. Either way, 100 XP to level up and tourneys are always level 1. Basically, level is dick size player ranking.

Card Types

Actions are cards that, when played, resolve and then end your turn. The vast majority of these are attack cards, meaning most of your damage comes at the end of your turn. As of right now, they're almost all various Strength to Defense Ratios. Later ones might do hand size times level or such. Some Actions search the deck or draw as well.

Passives are played and then remain in play. The limit on passive abilities in play at once is how many you can play - i.e., you may have as many as you like. There are buffs, which increase stats, usually by the user's level. There are Attributes, which trigger under certain conditions, such as being attacked with a weapon or running out of HP. There are Conditions, which are active constantly or at certain points, such as a poison that damages between turns or an increase in hand size. Buffs, while also active at all times, are considered seperate.

Items are played and then discarded. They include invigorating weeds herbs and explosive powders, distracting ribbons or battle cries. Note that they don't have to be an actual item - Utility Item Cards include draws, counter manipulation, and weapon re-equipping.

Equips are not included in the deck, they are placed seperate and carry a different backing. They have effects such as redirecting defense buffs to attack or allowing extra offensive actions. The player may only equip 1 of each type - weapon, armor, shield, etc. - but may change their equipment once per slot per turn. Note that all of your equipment is in play from the start, meaning all of a given player's equipment is vulnerable at any given time.

Turn Structure

1) Draw Phase
The player draws to their current maximum hand size. Some cards allow the player to draw less than this, or shuffle undesirable cards back before drawing.

2) Main Phase
The player plays items, passives, and effects of cards here. The player may have card effects that let them play certain actions here as well.

3) Action Phase
They player may play by default a single action from their hand, and resolve its effects, at which point their turn ends.

Effects that specify the beginning of the turn trigger before the draw phase; effects that specify the end of the turn trigger after players are done responding to the Action Phase.

The Point of this Topic
I'm not just posting this for my health. If I wanted feedback, I'd print out the cards, draw in pictures, and go to my hobby store haunt and show it off to my homies. No, I would like contributions. Not financial - I know everyone reading this is a broke mofo like me - I'm looking for something a bit more playable. So!


Card ID#'s are "RMN-000". I'll order them and give them numbers later.

*Equips have a different structure. If it's a weapon, it's a "1H sword" or "2H axe" or so one. Try not to get too specific, i.e "sword" not "katana" or "scimitar". 2H dagger cards are always a pair of daggers; other weapons classes might also have two of a kind on one card - these pairs are always two-handed.

Shields can be one-handed (kite shield), Two handed (pavilion shield) or hands-free (buckler). Hand-free usually sucks ass, but are almost always better than nothing.

Armor is either cloth, metal, natural, or other. There are no sub-types of armor - greaves, bracers, and suits of mail are all "armor".

Accessories are limited to two at a time, but consider the Setting Note before making these.

I, of course, reserve the right to alter your card in any way I see fit in the interest of game balance, including splitting into multiple cards or changing its sub-type or type. I will, however, try to avoid declining it altogether unless it's entirely stupid. I won't accept "you win" as an affect, but "reduce your own HP to zero" I might accept.

Terminology

Offensive actions are always done to "the target" by "the user".

Defensive actions, passives, and items always refer to the user in second person imperative "Recover X HP."

Weapons refer to "the wielder" and "the victim"; other equipment mentions "the wearer".

Setting
No sorcery, just swords. So no fireballs, through gunpowder packets instead. No fairies whispering advice into your ear, instead you heard that tidbit at the local tavern. No magic potions, instead herbal wound pastes that just work.

That also means you'll have to think of practical ways for that hero to recover 1 HP when he deals damage. Maybe he's sadistic? Recovers one when taking damage? Must be masochist.

The main setting is European, but Middle-eastern, or feudal Asia-based cards are fine too, as long as they're roughly middle ages. Basically, cut yourself of at early matchlock muskets.



Sample Cards

All from Core Set 1 (which I will post in its entirety if this thread gains steam).

Also, Assault is and will be the only unlimited card in the game. It's your basic "attack" command.



Feel free to ask if a particular type of effect has been done yet. If there has, I'll provide such a card for reference.

Names Used

Quick question - One of the characters in my side-project is really deep ebon in color, and I can't seem to come up with a color pallette for her.

A few things to note:
Her main catch is Ice and Water attribute spells, but blue looks pretty hideous on her in my opinion.
Her eyes are dark green, to stress what not-african ancestry she has.
She is very strongly a motherly figure, often trying to extend affection to the younger members of the cast.

Any suggestions?

I've noticed that in a lot of Dragon Quest clone we've seen lately, walls will "bump" when you run in to them, as in DQ games. This, while a nice touch, results in "bump" being played when you hit the confirm key. While I may be stating the obvious here, I have a solution to this:

This might not be all that useful or relevant, but I figured in case, say, Dragon Fantasy III is in the works or something, he might use this.

This also allows events like portraits or event people to "bump" when you walk into them, and then spout dialogue when you actually speak to them.

Hope it helps.

Coca-Cola

This is the very nectar that the Olympian Gods imbibe with their ambrosia. Also, it is the primary cause of what few dental issues I have. I drink far to much of this for my own good - Let's just leave it at "If Coca-Cola cleaned my teeth instead of rotting it..."

I also own one of these now:



Hell yeah.



Runner up: Oro



Discuss your favorite type of carbonated beverage OR tell us why you don't prefer any!