REDMASK'S PROFILE

Thank you!

Speaking of the next game, eventually I want to finish the prequel I was working on and I have also been learning how to make 3D graphics lately. So who knows maybe one day I'll be able to make a 3D game.

If I do remember, there was one script compilation that had full rotation for XP.

Woah really? Neat! Though if I were to use something like that I might want to make a whole other game that takes advantage of that. Maybe if I can find it I will someday but I have many other projects keeping me busy right now. Something like that would be good for a particular idea I had about a character who is stuck on an island but again thats a game for another time.

Anyway, I like your choices for favorite and least favorite characters. I should mention there will be a more complicated villain in the final game. I'm definitely glad you like Rawjal! I always really enjoyed her character in Nsala Liberation so I thought it'd be great to flesh her out more in Nsala Sunset.

Thank you very much for your review Katana Hiroshi. :D

I'm glad that overall you seem to approve of the gameplay.

In the older version of this game I was told by someone that it was too difficult. So I remade all those old levels and included multiple difficulties in hopes of pleasing everyone. I am glad you Katana Hiroshi had the courage to beat the demo at its hardest difficulty. I hope that this shows readers that I did in fact make the game more accessible. And if someone besides Katana is reading this response, please do not feel pressured to pick the hard mode. Please pick the difficulty setting that you are most comfortable with.

I'm glad you like the atmosphere and music. It's very important to me that I get people to like the African setting.

You mentioned you noticed some "glitches as well as some odd prompts." Can you recall the specifics so that perhaps I can look into those issues?

In the inner sanctum of the temple that area has some invisible walls because if the player was free to walk everywhere the 3d illusion would be ruined. Is that what you are referring to? The 3D does have some limits like that which is why they don't generally get used for gameplay intense areas and are meant mostly to make story line driven areas look more interesting. That part of the temple used invisible walls because I wanted the room to look empty to fit with an old story I read about how a certain Akan kingdom's true treasure was not the flashy objects that is presented to the public but is in fact a simple stool that was the throne of many ancestors. In the game, that room of the temple has nothing but a lone stool.

I think I've always been a fast paced story teller because I like to get to the point of things and don't want things to become too long and drawn out. Hopefully that wasn't a huge problem for you. I think other players have enjoyed the pacing so I'm not to concerned.

What I am more concerned about is that you were sometimes confused as to who was talking at some points. Do you recall an example of this? Because if I can do something to solve that I will. I didn't think that would be a problem since every character's name is shown before they begin to speak. So if you can give me some examples of when you were confused, I can look at those parts of the dialog and try to make some changes.

Thanks again for your review! It is much appreciated.

Thanks for the input. I'll try hard to make the game live up to its potential in future updates.

Such retrospection from the developer is impressive, and the people who played the original will probably note a few changes here. Still, a lot more work is required before I could reasonably see Nsala Sunset entering the pantheon of RMN's greats, which is what a game with its ambition should deserve.

Thank you for your review. I'm glad that you see potential in Nsala Sunset to be a great game.

As for what you believe will help fulfill said potential I will address here.

You said the animations on the plants are to fast. That's a simple fix I'll slow it down. Not sure if it will look as fluid when slowed down but I'll give it a go.

You were impressed by most of the graphics but a few graphics seemed low res to you. Please understand my games have zero budget, I am poor, and currently jobless. I might not have time to fulfill everyone's desires.

Both of my games have maps with plenty to do in them. But lets just focus on the map you show in the screen shot. You say the maps

don’t have anything interesting in them

. In that map that you show there is a Fireball tutorial and a short storyline scene. Additionally there are four optional events to interact with on that very map including: 1Nziru who you can chat with and gain affinity, 2 Clua who again you can talk to and gain affinity, 3 a treasure chest with a Baobab Fruit, and 4 a Heart-to-Heart event which you complimented.

Some dialogues are quite well-written, though, and really do make you think, or provide unexpected twists. The early dialogue with Nziru about songs, or their first heart-to-heart conversation is a good example of those dialogues done right, especially since all the options and replies really do feel in character.

How many more things do you honestly expect to be crammed into this map?
Moving on you point out a lot of red growth in that screenshot. Yes, from that camera angle you can see a lot of it and yes it is a boundary. Games need boundaries, if you could go past that the Mode 7 effect would be ruined and I can't make my game go on forever.

You mention that you wish to read about the weird plants. I wish to not waste players time. I believe players time is very valuable. Have you ever played Metroid Prime? Fantastic game, I love it. In that game they added a scan visor. It let you read a lot about the environment. And that's great and it can add to world building. But tell me this how much of that scanned info do you remember. Probably very little. I would bet you remember 2 or 3 really interesting scans but that's about it. I have nothing important I wish to tell you about that fantasy plant. If you want to learn about a real African plant there is one in the game the Baobab fruit which is explained in game to be from the Baobab Tree A.K.A. the Tree of Life. Said tree is also featured in my previous game as well. But I'm not a Botanist I don't know everything about the plants of Africa. My research is targeted mostly at the people, art, and culture.
If you find it odd that I should put in a fantasy plant well let me put it this way.
My art is not a simple recitation of my knowledge of Africa I've stated my games are
not documentaries. Every artist puts there own ideas in their work. Price of Persia is not just a recitation of Persian knowledge the artist who made that game put themselves in the work. African art and culture is my inspiration but my work is my work and not simply a replication.
Speaking of straight educational knowledge I might just bring back the EDU Noks from the last game. Yes the break the 4th wall but it's the best way to separate the fantasy from the real knowledge I can provide. And I will remind everyone that these EDU texts are optional so if your worried about your precious 4th wall than don't read them.
I would also like to add that the EDU Noks will have much more interesting info than whatever random description I give for a plant that's there to look nice.

I hope that doesn't disappoint you. In fact, I'm not against object descriptions so long as I feel they are worth talking about. For example, if you talk to Lanoa a second time in the shrine before the view shifts to reveal the door, she'll tell Rawjal that the large statue in the room is an oracle used in divination. That to me is interesting and that is the sort of world building dialog I wish to share with my audience.

The saving sound goes on for a while because I have a habit in games of double saving and I know others do too. The sound is prominent so that people like me are less likely to waste time doing a double save.

You want footstep sounds? Rawjal is floating. Besides there are only so many events I can add before RPGMakerXP decides it can't handle it all and starts to slow down.
I apologize for the technical limits but they are beyond my control.

You mention taking issue with my characters occasionally using an American accent. Well I am American I can't help but write the way I do. Plus, I'm no English major. Besides I hate that unwritten rule that every movie about a foreign culture has to use British accents. I love the British accent but I'm not British. I do know an English major, he was kind enough to look through much of Nsala Liberation's text but I can't pay the man. I'm poor. So I don't know if I'll be able to get him on board again.

Your next screenshot shows Lanoa telling Rawjal about saving the game. That happens because players need that info. If you would like to recommend a better way than please tell me and I will consider it. I always take players suggestions seriously so I am all ears.

You want more details about the curse healing. I will likely provide more about that at some point. This is just a demo after all.

I should note those guys in the shrine aren't kids. Rawjal is just a very tall woman. I'll have kids in the game at some point so you'll see what I mean.

Anyway you take issue with the fact that sometimes Rawjal just speaks her mind without player input. Well she had an established character in NL so she's not a blank slate. I think blank slates are dull as characters. But maybe you have a point maybe I can add more dialog options.

Thanks for finding those typos I'll fix them.

I understand that the F12 thing is convenient but it's also not needed. Whereas the script that conflicts with it is very necessary. I apologize but I don't think I'll be able to fix that. Luckily You don't need that function to enjoy the game.

I'll consider your suggestion of a 3rd difficulty but it might not work out there is more going on with that in the coding than you may think.

Other than that there doesn't seem like much complaints about gameplay other than the fact that you wish it was more tied to the story. I'll see what I can do. I'm sure I can do something about that.

Thank you very much for your input it has been very informative.



Since you brought up my previous game Nsala Liberation let me take a bit of time to talk about that.
It is a fact that none of those reviewers played the first dungeon of the game. They all quit sometime during the beginning so they have seen very little of what is in the game. Only one of those reviews reflect the current build of the game and again it's just first impressions given. It's worth noting that Dr.-iHawk's review isn't all that negative but from what I recall Dr-iHawk's biggest issue was finding the emblems. An issue that's easily solvable by getting the exact locations marked on the map by a character named Tingtembo. I will take responsibility on not making a bigger deal of that new feature and perhaps that's why Dr.-iHawk did not find Tingtembo who would have alleviated one of his/her's biggest issue. I actually intend on making another update to Nsala Liberation eventually. I believe the game is great in it's current form but the are little things that I can still improve which are being revealed to me via private messages and a current Let's Play. Please understand I didn't have a dedicated tester until Red_Nova volunteered and it's impossible for him alone to find everything there is in a game as big as NL. But it is due in part to his testing that I have much confidence in the current build. The rest of my confidence comes from myself having worked more than 6 years on Nsala Liberation.
Moving on to the other two reviews I just want to mention that Alichains was very nice in changing his review to a not rated review after he had learned that I had addressed many of his issues in the newest update. I thank him very much for doing so.
As for Sviel I contacted him to try my newest version but he never got back to me. I will try contacting him again whenever I finish the next update.

I didn't bring these reviews up to bemoan them I'm simply explaining why you should not be turned away from NL. That being said I am intending an eventual update to NL so if you wish to wait for that than that's perfectly fine.
It's also worth saying that I do in fact thank those reviewers for their time and effort.

Regardless, of opinions of my games I'm quite certain that most players walk away with a better appreciation of Africa and if that's all I can achieve than I have still achieved plenty.

Thanks again for your review.
I'll try my best to make sure Nsala Sunset's full version is as great of a game that everyone hopes it will be.