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Silviera
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I am amateur game developer, and even more amateur reviewer, currently in and out of college.
I am currently developing a game called Eternity: The Black Star along with Solitayre, which is nearing its first release.
I have extremely high standards, so please don't be offended if you believe that I have reviewed your game unfairly. My focus is on improving the body of a work primarily by pointing out what I think are its flaws, but feel free to ignore me if I am wrong (and I will be).
I am currently developing a game called Eternity: The Black Star along with Solitayre, which is nearing its first release.
I have extremely high standards, so please don't be offended if you believe that I have reviewed your game unfairly. My focus is on improving the body of a work primarily by pointing out what I think are its flaws, but feel free to ignore me if I am wrong (and I will be).
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So my time at RMN is coming to an end...
Impossible. You can't leave just as I arrive. Who will push the approve button on my reviews?
From a quick scan I'd say Runelords is the project I'm most interested in. Then again, I haven't played any of your games yet, so maybe I will update my opinion if I get to them before you vanish into the mists.
From a quick scan I'd say Runelords is the project I'm most interested in. Then again, I haven't played any of your games yet, so maybe I will update my opinion if I get to them before you vanish into the mists.
RM2K Damage Algorithms
I don't think those damage formulas are accurate (nor is Algorithmate for that matter), for rm2k3. All you need to do is make a base 1 effect skill with max intelligence variance and test it at both a 1 int and 999 int hero. There is a difference in damage...not high enough if you ask me, but it's there. I will confirm that is the formula listed in rm2k3's help file, however.
The 'ignore defense' thing basically just decides if an attack will be using the physical defense stat or rely on intelligence to reduce damage. In both of these cases you need heaps of a stat to reduce damage by any significant amount.
Between all this and agility I hate working with rm2k3.
I looked around for a while but couldn't find a thing on rm2k.
The 'ignore defense' thing basically just decides if an attack will be using the physical defense stat or rely on intelligence to reduce damage. In both of these cases you need heaps of a stat to reduce damage by any significant amount.
Between all this and agility I hate working with rm2k3.
I looked around for a while but couldn't find a thing on rm2k.
Morbid Awakening (Demo) Review
First of all, a review is always the thoughts of the reviewer. If a reviewer takes public opinion into account at all they are not a critic, they are a sycophant.
I am a person who loves storyline, and it is one of the reasons I play RPGs to begin with. I have described in detail why I did not like the story you wrote. I'm absolutely fine with a story heavy game, but the fact is you spend more time wandering around dungeons fighting monsters than reading dialogue in this game.
I focus on the flaws of the game with the intent that developers will read and hopefully agree with a few points in order to improve their development.
I'm sorry you didn't find any of my feedback useful, but at the very least I do not want you to misunderstand me.
I wish you luck in the development of your game from this point on.
I am a person who loves storyline, and it is one of the reasons I play RPGs to begin with. I have described in detail why I did not like the story you wrote. I'm absolutely fine with a story heavy game, but the fact is you spend more time wandering around dungeons fighting monsters than reading dialogue in this game.
I focus on the flaws of the game with the intent that developers will read and hopefully agree with a few points in order to improve their development.
I'm sorry you didn't find any of my feedback useful, but at the very least I do not want you to misunderstand me.
I wish you luck in the development of your game from this point on.
Paradise Blue Review
You don't necessarily have to do puzzles, though that is something I like to see personally. I really like when a game focuses on optional puzzles rather than sticking them in all of the main dungeons. It's pretty annoying to get stuck when you can't figure something out.
As for level design, I guess the main thing you need to worry about is offering more to the player than just killing monsters over and over. Battles were fun, so that's definitely a strong point, but if all you're doing is battling the entire game things start to get a little stale.
You did have a few things, like the timed mission to snag that music box at the beginning of the game, and the stealth sequence later on to capture the Ang..something (there's no way I can remember the name of those mechs). There may have been some other things since I didn't complete 100% of the missions.
Minigames are good, quirks are good (like those random emote mushrooms in the swamp). Basically anything that will make each area of the game stand out as something different than Cave A or Cave B, and even better if you can make your areas stand out against other games. I guess it boils down to trying to be creative, which is pretty crappy advice but it's the best way I can sum things up.
As for the music issue, I think a lot of gamers (including me), are pretty spoiled in that respect. We're used to listening to seasoned composers like Nobuo Uematsu and Kenji Ito. Not to say that an amateur composer can't make something memorable, but I wouldn't worry about it too much if people aren't lavishly praising the epic quality of your music.
One thing about music is that it's largely associative. Chances are if you remember a song from a videogame vividly, you can also recall exactly the scene that accompanied it. It kind of works both ways there, where a powerful scene may lend strength to the song and make it more memorable. This isn't always the case of course, but I just thought I'd mention it as something to think about.
As a final note, impressive work on all those graphics. They'd have fit right at home in those NES era games.
Anyway, that's it for my rambling advice. I don't claim to be an expert (or really anyone who knows anything at all), but I hope at least some of it was slightly helpful.
As for level design, I guess the main thing you need to worry about is offering more to the player than just killing monsters over and over. Battles were fun, so that's definitely a strong point, but if all you're doing is battling the entire game things start to get a little stale.
You did have a few things, like the timed mission to snag that music box at the beginning of the game, and the stealth sequence later on to capture the Ang..something (there's no way I can remember the name of those mechs). There may have been some other things since I didn't complete 100% of the missions.
Minigames are good, quirks are good (like those random emote mushrooms in the swamp). Basically anything that will make each area of the game stand out as something different than Cave A or Cave B, and even better if you can make your areas stand out against other games. I guess it boils down to trying to be creative, which is pretty crappy advice but it's the best way I can sum things up.
As for the music issue, I think a lot of gamers (including me), are pretty spoiled in that respect. We're used to listening to seasoned composers like Nobuo Uematsu and Kenji Ito. Not to say that an amateur composer can't make something memorable, but I wouldn't worry about it too much if people aren't lavishly praising the epic quality of your music.
One thing about music is that it's largely associative. Chances are if you remember a song from a videogame vividly, you can also recall exactly the scene that accompanied it. It kind of works both ways there, where a powerful scene may lend strength to the song and make it more memorable. This isn't always the case of course, but I just thought I'd mention it as something to think about.
As a final note, impressive work on all those graphics. They'd have fit right at home in those NES era games.
Anyway, that's it for my rambling advice. I don't claim to be an expert (or really anyone who knows anything at all), but I hope at least some of it was slightly helpful.
Silviera's Review Requests
Game: Paradise Blue
Battle System- 4/5
Combat is strictly traditional old school, though you'll be able to customize your characters a great deal. The game essentially uses FFT's job system in which you gain normal exp and job exp for every battle. Normal exp simply increases your stats, while job exp will grant new abilities. The game begins by allowing you too choose from all the default FF1 classes, and items you acquire throughout the game will unlock plenty more. You can switch your class at any time simply by equipping any you have obtained through the status menu, which will immediately change your stats and abilities to reflect the new class. Gaining experience in a class also allows you to equip its ability set, allowing you to create characters such as a Black Mage with a full arsenal of White Magic. Some classes also learn supportive abilities as well, which act as an accessory of sorts. Most of these tend to increase a stat or provide a constant buff that is active throughout all battles. There is one extra twist in the form of mercenaries you can hire which will follow your party around. They do not appear in battle but provide a constant supportive effect, such as casting Haste on the entire party before battle or allowing your group to gain a First Strike every time.
Balancing is one of this game's strong points, and it is accomplished with a rather unusual method. The game has no random encounters, so you'll be choosing whether to fight or run through monsters in any given area. What's unusual here is that once an enemy group is defeated it is gone forever, which means there's a limited amount of exp and gold to go around. If you just kill enemies as you follow the main storyline the game ends up being challenging for the most part, but if you break off from the main path to explore optional dungeons and seek out extra bosses the game's difficulty begins to fly out the window rather rapidly.
Not everything is perfect here, however. The one flaw with the system is that certain classes and class combinations tend to be ridiculously more effective than others. Whether you stumble across them or actively seek them out, you'll likely end up with a character or two who can completely decimate every enemy entirely on their own. There is some extra challenge thrown in with the addition of super powerful optional bosses, but it does detract a bit from the experience when you're plowing through the normal game.
Storyline- 2/5
You are participating in a rebellion of some sort to overthrow a kingdom. The game is extremely light on dialogue, and what little is present is often spoken in an unnatural and confusing way. There were several points in the story in which I wasn't exactly sure what my characters were doing, but since the script is light and nearly every scene in the game includes a Skip Scene button, you won't be dwelling on this aspect of the game much.
Characters- 3/5
A bit of a departure from the norm here. The game's storyline follows two characters who are instrumental in carrying out the aforementioned rebellion. One seems to be a lazy swordsman of some sort, and other is a hyper violent short tempered assassin. Most of the game's dialogue is provided by these two and it's often entertaining enough. However, you do not play those characters. Your party is a group of mercenaries hired to guard these two, and never speak a single line during the entire game. It's an interesting way to allow for a character driven story while allowing the player to build their own party. It would have mattered a lot more in a game with a stronger narrative, but then again this game does not spend much time dwelling on its story.
Level Design- 3/5
Mostly average in this department. Levels rarely consist of anything except wide open areas filled with various enemies and treasures scattered about. The game does change things up every once in a while, but it doesn't make up any significant part of gameplay. One nice thing about the design here is that you'll never be lost in this game, even with the occasionally confusing writing. A handy Quest Log is included which will update you on all optional quests you've taken as well as point you to your next objective in the main story. Since the game also allows you to rapidly travel around a world map with conveniently labeled areas, you're never more than a few minutes away from your next objective.
Graphics- 5/5
The game tries hard to capture that late era NES feeling, and with that goal in mind it succeeds flawlessly. Everything from the tilesets to the battlers have been ripped and in some cases heavily edited from Final Fantasy games. There was plenty I didn't recognize as well, so I'm not ruling out the possibility that several graphics have been drawn exclusively for this game. One thing I appreciated here is that the game includes a unique battler for every single character class, both male and female, which helps give your nameless heroes a lot more personality. The bottom line is it looks and feels exactly like a game from the era it is trying to emulate. Knock off several points here if you like fancy new graphics, because you are going to hate the look of this game.
Music/Sound- 3/5
All the sound choices here have been selected with that 8 bit theme in mind. Most of the music consists of fairly repetitive midis, and all the sound effects appear to have been ripped from various Final Fantasy games. None of the songs are annoying, but none of them are particularly memorable either.
Random stuff I liked-
The skip scene feature. Sure I never used it, but it's something I love to have available.
Searching a shell and being given four choices regarding whether I should loot it or not. All of them were different ways of saying yes.
Random stuff I hated-
Not a thing.
Final Thoughts-
A solid traditional RPG experience. For fans of NES era RPGs this game is a must, though some people may not appreciate this style.
Overall Score 4/5
----
Some extra notes for the developer-
The parade at Santelha quest shows up as Complete the moment you acquire the quest.
Not sure if you intended this or not, but Regen can be cast from the menu allowing you to go into battle with a significant advantage for only 4 mp.
Not really a bug, but I wanted to mention this anyway. My fight with Llorcan went on so long he actually ran out of mp. Poor guy.
Battle System- 4/5
Combat is strictly traditional old school, though you'll be able to customize your characters a great deal. The game essentially uses FFT's job system in which you gain normal exp and job exp for every battle. Normal exp simply increases your stats, while job exp will grant new abilities. The game begins by allowing you too choose from all the default FF1 classes, and items you acquire throughout the game will unlock plenty more. You can switch your class at any time simply by equipping any you have obtained through the status menu, which will immediately change your stats and abilities to reflect the new class. Gaining experience in a class also allows you to equip its ability set, allowing you to create characters such as a Black Mage with a full arsenal of White Magic. Some classes also learn supportive abilities as well, which act as an accessory of sorts. Most of these tend to increase a stat or provide a constant buff that is active throughout all battles. There is one extra twist in the form of mercenaries you can hire which will follow your party around. They do not appear in battle but provide a constant supportive effect, such as casting Haste on the entire party before battle or allowing your group to gain a First Strike every time.
Balancing is one of this game's strong points, and it is accomplished with a rather unusual method. The game has no random encounters, so you'll be choosing whether to fight or run through monsters in any given area. What's unusual here is that once an enemy group is defeated it is gone forever, which means there's a limited amount of exp and gold to go around. If you just kill enemies as you follow the main storyline the game ends up being challenging for the most part, but if you break off from the main path to explore optional dungeons and seek out extra bosses the game's difficulty begins to fly out the window rather rapidly.
Not everything is perfect here, however. The one flaw with the system is that certain classes and class combinations tend to be ridiculously more effective than others. Whether you stumble across them or actively seek them out, you'll likely end up with a character or two who can completely decimate every enemy entirely on their own. There is some extra challenge thrown in with the addition of super powerful optional bosses, but it does detract a bit from the experience when you're plowing through the normal game.
Storyline- 2/5
You are participating in a rebellion of some sort to overthrow a kingdom. The game is extremely light on dialogue, and what little is present is often spoken in an unnatural and confusing way. There were several points in the story in which I wasn't exactly sure what my characters were doing, but since the script is light and nearly every scene in the game includes a Skip Scene button, you won't be dwelling on this aspect of the game much.
Characters- 3/5
A bit of a departure from the norm here. The game's storyline follows two characters who are instrumental in carrying out the aforementioned rebellion. One seems to be a lazy swordsman of some sort, and other is a hyper violent short tempered assassin. Most of the game's dialogue is provided by these two and it's often entertaining enough. However, you do not play those characters. Your party is a group of mercenaries hired to guard these two, and never speak a single line during the entire game. It's an interesting way to allow for a character driven story while allowing the player to build their own party. It would have mattered a lot more in a game with a stronger narrative, but then again this game does not spend much time dwelling on its story.
Level Design- 3/5
Mostly average in this department. Levels rarely consist of anything except wide open areas filled with various enemies and treasures scattered about. The game does change things up every once in a while, but it doesn't make up any significant part of gameplay. One nice thing about the design here is that you'll never be lost in this game, even with the occasionally confusing writing. A handy Quest Log is included which will update you on all optional quests you've taken as well as point you to your next objective in the main story. Since the game also allows you to rapidly travel around a world map with conveniently labeled areas, you're never more than a few minutes away from your next objective.
Graphics- 5/5
The game tries hard to capture that late era NES feeling, and with that goal in mind it succeeds flawlessly. Everything from the tilesets to the battlers have been ripped and in some cases heavily edited from Final Fantasy games. There was plenty I didn't recognize as well, so I'm not ruling out the possibility that several graphics have been drawn exclusively for this game. One thing I appreciated here is that the game includes a unique battler for every single character class, both male and female, which helps give your nameless heroes a lot more personality. The bottom line is it looks and feels exactly like a game from the era it is trying to emulate. Knock off several points here if you like fancy new graphics, because you are going to hate the look of this game.
Music/Sound- 3/5
All the sound choices here have been selected with that 8 bit theme in mind. Most of the music consists of fairly repetitive midis, and all the sound effects appear to have been ripped from various Final Fantasy games. None of the songs are annoying, but none of them are particularly memorable either.
Random stuff I liked-
The skip scene feature. Sure I never used it, but it's something I love to have available.
Searching a shell and being given four choices regarding whether I should loot it or not. All of them were different ways of saying yes.
Random stuff I hated-
Not a thing.
Final Thoughts-
A solid traditional RPG experience. For fans of NES era RPGs this game is a must, though some people may not appreciate this style.
Overall Score 4/5
----
Some extra notes for the developer-
The parade at Santelha quest shows up as Complete the moment you acquire the quest.
Not sure if you intended this or not, but Regen can be cast from the menu allowing you to go into battle with a significant advantage for only 4 mp.
Not really a bug, but I wanted to mention this anyway. My fight with Llorcan went on so long he actually ran out of mp. Poor guy.
Worst videogame character.
Aesthetic Assistance Required
Here's what I've got so far. I couldn't make it in the exact same style as the help window since the help window itself is semi transparent. Pictures also always appear on top of everything else. The help window is also not always displayed, but I think having the box present at all times doesn't look too bad.
Thanks for the help, I'm pretty satisfied with how this looks.
Thanks for the help, I'm pretty satisfied with how this looks.
Aesthetic Assistance Required
It sort of acts as a counter for the entire battle and is effected by every party member and every enemy when skills are used.
Hmm, I suppose I might be able to slide it into a corner of the help window without having it be too distracting.
Thanks for the advice, I'll take it into consideration.
Hmm, I suppose I might be able to slide it into a corner of the help window without having it be too distracting.
Thanks for the advice, I'll take it into consideration.
Aesthetic Assistance Required
There are some problems there. One is that I have no idea how to slide it off screen during skill selection without using scripting. The other is that the type of skill used changes the number in different ways(ie: punch adds +1, kick adds +2, etc.), so the player really needs to see it on screen when the skill list is open so they can plan their next move accordingly.
Aesthetic Assistance Required
Basically...my problem is this. I am developing a game with RPG Maker XP using the standard battle system, and during combat I need a picture display to be present on screen at all times displaying a number.
This number is utilized during combat and changes any time a character performs a skill.
My problem is in XP anytime a character has their skill window open, it takes up the entire screen. So my question is, where should I actually display this number?
Should I just stick it in the skill window area and accept that it will slightly cut off the names of skills? Should I stuff it down by the battlers? Should I put this number in a box to make it more noticeable at the cost of obscuring even more of the screen, or should I just drop this gameplay mechanic entirely because it would look terrible?
I am at at a total loss and not really competent enough with scripting to find a work around, and would appreciate any advice regarding this.
This number is utilized during combat and changes any time a character performs a skill.
My problem is in XP anytime a character has their skill window open, it takes up the entire screen. So my question is, where should I actually display this number?
Should I just stick it in the skill window area and accept that it will slightly cut off the names of skills? Should I stuff it down by the battlers? Should I put this number in a box to make it more noticeable at the cost of obscuring even more of the screen, or should I just drop this gameplay mechanic entirely because it would look terrible?
I am at at a total loss and not really competent enough with scripting to find a work around, and would appreciate any advice regarding this.
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