NEVERSILENT'S PROFILE

You mean Aremen.

I like the idea behind this contest, and I'm sure it's going to spark a lot of original concepts and inspiring ideas. However, I am a bit sceptical of two of the rules:

- There must be only HP. (MP or other gauges would be redundant with some rules below)

I understand that you are trying to avoid ways of fueling/(un)locking skills that are already well-known or even overused. Still, having the availability of certain skills depend on another number (commonly MP) is not automatically a bad or boring design choice. What is more important is how these "MP" can be acquired, refilled or unlocked. A battle system with MP but no ethers, for example, could make for a significant change in strategic possbilities.

- There must be no randomness, as we're trying to isolate pure strategy.

I readily admit I'm not a huge fan of randomness in games either, because it tends to make success or failure more and more dependent on luck. Still, randomness is also a strategic element, which involves deliberately taking a risk hoping for a positive outcome. (This article by Deltree takes a closer look at this phenomenon).


These are just my personal thoughts, of course, but I think it should be avoided to needlessly limit the participants' creativity with these rules. I don't think it's improbable that people will come up with new and original takes on old or well-known battle machanics, and if that means using a ressource like MP in an unconventional way, then why not?

Whoah! Thanks a lot, LockeZ, you're awesome! I decided to use the first one, and it looks much better now.



You've really helped me a lot, and I'll definitely be giving you a place in the credits. Thanks again.

If you could make something that matches the style of the button (without making the button difficult to see), that would be entirely too awesome. Thank you so much for being so helpful!

I've got some more notes ready. Here they are:

- If you go back to the Storage Area again after you've defeated the Guardian, he will be back lying in his bed and can be fought again as if nothing happened (despite there already being this option by using the dark aura circle).
- There's a typo in the description of the Mouth Binder. It says "can now Bind enemy Mouthes"
- Please seriously consider having enemies give more EXP and drop more Rift Dust. As of now, the costs for items used per battle are sometimes higher than the rewards - and that's not counting battles where I eventually got overpowered by enemies and had to escape.
- The River Slime's "Splintering Ice" spell is very overpowered, especially once it hits an ally for the second time. If there are two slimes in the same party, the player won't even have the chance to remove the Ice Weakness if they both attack the same target.
- When Karin's "Attract" has ended, the text says "Karin is still drawing the enemies' attention" - which is the exact opposite of what actually happens.
- May's Shield Dispenser Mod is very useful and a cool idea.
- Karin's "Purify" skill does not cure Bleeding.
- Wrong word: "You assume I won't be doing that it to you anyway" (see screenshot)

- It is not possible to sell "Shiny Lens" mods.
- The different moons mechanic is a very clever idea. I like it.
- When an enemy is killed by a Fang Trap, its secondary effect (caltrop) still activates and hits another enemy.


As much as I like the game so far, these are my main concerns:
- The Overload mechanic is too extreme. It has such an enormous influence on the course of a battle that it sometimes is even better not to revive Holly when she's been defeated. The impact of Overload and the ease with which it is triggered has to be reduced to make Holly more playable. She should still be a risky character, but her mechanic shouldn't decide the question of life and death on its own..
- I like being challenged by difficult enemies, but so far, every encounter has been as difficult as a boss battle. I rarely ever managed to finish an encounter with all allies alive, and since reviving is so difficult and expensive to get, it often isn't worth the experience points. This would not be a problem if there were only few enemy troops in the game, but there are loads of them, and it simply makes the game very strenuous.
- Battles take an enormous amount of time. Especially since there are so many extra effects, and as the battle log keeps reporting status effects over and over, the tempo of combat is so slow that finishing one encounter can take up 15 minutes. You will have to find a way to speed up this process and reduce the redundant status reports, or else battling will eventually become a chore.


I hope this helps you at least a little, Aegix_Drakan.