V~e, Update: Fixes Options

[nijal]

V~e

Story
V~e is a game that has no main villain to defeat. The overall story of the game has to deal with reality and not by accurately portraying real life, but through the character's understanding of their own reality. There are various stories to be immersed in while playing; with each supporting character having their own story and issue to be resolved. There are also four endings to the full game, which alters based on your morality alignment (Mood). A big surprise for this game is that it will be two games in one. Almost a New Game Plus, but instead of replaying the first game, you play a new story that continues from the previous one. This will also include new characters to play as.

Characters
Anderson Folde - The main character.
Jaquilyn Kinda - The main character's best friend.
Ledger Decole- An accomplished Knight.
Dillan Vigore - A traveler.
Nokarie Hitori - A retired Ninja.
Reysa - Another traveler.
Krystan Crysto - A master Magician.
Valenah - A mysterious woman.
There are many more characters to play as.
(I do not want to spoil each character's story because they will be explained in the game)

Features
Choice System - Results extend outside the choices you select. The choice system works as a way to create a unique experience which you want to see the outcome. Even though it seems as if some choices follow a Good & Bad formula, they do not affect your morality. Until you reach the end that is.
Morality System - The morality system in this game is very distinctive, because for one reason, it takes effect towards the end of the game. Morality is treated as a mood instead of a scale of Good & Bad.
Sneaking - Just like any espionage game, there are a few moments in this game where you get to sneak around.
Mystery/Horror - This game features moments where you take part in either solving a mystery or having to survive a horror game inspired mansion.
Side-View Active Timer Based Battle System - This features large-bodied characters.
Skill Shop and Skill Mixing Shop
These are just a few in the demo.
(Plenty more that will be considered to add in the full game)

Additional Information
In order for the game to work properly, it is recommended that you have RPGVX_RTP installed before playing. This is offered on this site: http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/download/run-time-package. The demo has an estimated 5+ hours of gameplay. You must also have the program Winrar installed before attempting to download the demo. It is important that the game is extracted to an empty folder.

Credits
BigEd781 - Level Up Display/Save Screen System/Item Memorization
Mr. Bubble, Enu, Kylock, Moghunter - Battle System/Animated Battlers/Battle Back Add-on
Crazyninjaguy - Battle BGM Selector
Modern Algebra - Advanced Text System
Nechigawara Sanzenin - Skill Shop
Prexus - Party Changer
Rafidelis - Advanced Title Screen
Wltr3565 - Enemy Victory Add-on

Angevon, Anni, The Lonely Alchemist, PCM, Rogutaan - Battle Sprite Sheets
Gabychan - Clouds for the Title Screen
Homunculus, TaFresh, Vascious - Face Graphics
Kaduki - Face & Character Graphics for the Main Characters
X_anime_fan_x - Underwater effect for the Game Over Screen

Special Thanks
Alt_Jack
Brent
David
Jansiel
Jason
Julian
Kenneth
Michael
Weedhead

Screenshots

[Show/Hide] Click to Open

Download

[Show/Hide] Click to Open

MediaFire Microsoft SkyDrive

Note
This game is possibly quite hard.


Update
+ Sleeping moments (Inns) have now been shortened.
+ Liberty Tower's 3rd and 5th floors are now a bit easier. Boulders can now be pulled back and questions can be skipped.
+ Corrected the many misspellings of Guard.
+ Fixed a glitch with the chickens in the harvesting mini-game.
+ Intro is a bit friendlier.
+ Enemies are now weaker, except for bosses. Bosses are still as difficult, though EXP and Gold gains have not changed.

This post has been edited by nijal: Jun 14 2012, 01:26 PM

[Freank]

the sprites of RO in the battle system are not appropriated with the background and with the style of your game.Replace them

This post has been edited by Freank: Apr 15 2012, 11:11 AM

[nijal]

Is that actually the only thing that bothers you about my game?

The thing is, I didn't exactly want those backgrounds for the battle. I just chose them to help with the battle scenes.
I do know that I only want a ground backdrop instead of a surrounding backdrop. I only want the ground because I want to make the battles feel as if it's like Tactical RPGs, where you engage in battle on a floating box.

Thanks for sharing that with me. To ask you something though; when you conduct many battles would you easily notice that difference? Would it continually bother you that the battlers don't match their background?

[nijal]

I hope that many of you have had the time to play the demo, because I have decided to stop production.
I have no reason to continue it. I haven't received relevant constructive feedback nor have I heard of anyone other than one person, who has beaten the demo. I definitely know of many who have quit, so it is either people have quit or are just not interested. I understand that graphically V~e is not amazing nor does its story seem interesting to some of you, but the experience is beyond what you can expect from current rpgs. The experience is different. None of you can correctly predict the ending of the entire game.

I don't mean to be snobby.

I really want to make V~e, but I haven't been convinced that more than one person is interested in playing it.
I released the demo to see what other people and my peers would have to say.
The game has gone a long way without much feedback, but now it is different. I'm pressured to not continue making the game.
I'm not being told to stop, I just receive a ton of stress that makes me want to stop.

Anyway
Have you either quit or are you not intrigued? Why?

This post has been edited by nijal: Apr 28 2012, 10:53 PM

[thatbennyguy]

Maybe for the matter of its 250Mb download. That's a whopping size for something that looks like it's been made with RTP. Does this include RTP? Because it shouldn't. Plus your description is heady, your screenshots don't reflect anything about the game, I don't understand what the concept of the game actually *is*. So maybe you should consider that.

Heck, I'll download it anyway.

EDIT: Plus, to download it, you have to sign up to stinkin' Windows Live Account, and what if I don't want to? Why don't you upload it to MediaFire or something? Aargh. I'm still going to play it.

EDIT #2: And it says there's a temporary problem with creating my Windows Live Account. Please put it up on MediaFire, and while you're at it, make the download smaller if possible. Compress some mp3's or something, I bet you've got like a whole album in there.

This post has been edited by thatbennyguy: Apr 28 2012, 11:49 PM

[supercow]

im really intrigue and interested in the feature of this game too bad it need vx
screenshot is plain looking , i only see 2 example of inside and outside so i cant say much but if its the best you have its uh...not very interesting looking
even though i love RO , i have no problem you using it but the battle background however could use more spice up
if the download is really 250mb , you should really cut it down, dont just put everything inside and then not caring about it at all
for bgm/bgs/me/se you could use program to change it to .ogg , it might change it a bit but it will really help a lot to reduce it

[nijal]

I'm very happy that you both have something to share with me.
You don't have to sign-in to download the demo. I didn't want to use Mediafire because I wasn't certain by it.
I came across that are Microsoft's Skydrive to share files, so I just jumped on board.

I thought about converting the mp3 files into ogg. but I didn't take the time to figure out how.
I really apologize for the file being as big as it is. That's why I split it to make it easier to download.
I also didn't toss everything for the game into the demo download. I just put the essential stuff and probably one additional thing.

I don't know what to take for the screen shots! There's so much that I don't want to spoil, but I just want to give a small taste.

If you want, I can explain everything to you. The concept, why I chose the battle backgrounds like that, and so on.

Thank you for stirring a conversation!

[supercow]

I thought about converting the mp3 files into ogg. but I didn't take the time to figure out how.

i use program like magix audio cleaning lab, im sure theres plenty of program like that, just go to a computer store and ask whoever work there which program is the best

I don't know what to take for the screen shots! There's so much that I don't want to spoil, but I just want to give a small taste.

why are you worried about that? just bring out the best screenshot that you have ,to lure people into your game.
if you want to market/sell anything, first thing you need to do is appeal to people you want to sell ,ex:
if your a vegetable seller, a dirty spotted vegetable one might had more nutrition, but people would prefer a shiny and clean one, i know its unfair but its the truth , first appeal is everything especially to stranger
and the stranger wouldnt know how good/great your game is if they dont play it because its not that interesting to look at and they cant really be blamed for it

If you want, I can explain everything to you. The concept, why I chose the battle backgrounds like that, and so on.

im not good with deep thought concept or something (maybe you meant reason? , my english kindda sucks sorry bout that)
i only look at it if its colour or shape is strange or feel something is missing from it, and the battle background/battle screen need something to spice it up otherwise it looked plain

i probably wont play it/any other vx game since i dont have vx, but if you want to continue this, good luck

[thatbennyguy]

You don't have to sign-in to download the demo.

I do. Please host it on mediafire, even if you don't trust it. I will only download it if it's on mediafire.

I thought about converting the mp3 files into ogg. but I didn't take the time to figure out how

Please do. I (and most people) won't download your game unless it is 50Mb or less, unfortunately.

I don't know what to take for the screen shots! There's so much that I don't want to spoil, but I just want to give a small taste.

Please spoil it. I don't care if it's a spoiler, that's what it's meant to be to draw you in! Please do.

Plus, the reason why people may not be *jumping* on it like crazy, is because you're not very active in the community. If people recognize you as a friend, they will recommend to others, and word of mouth spreads like wildfire. Use every channel of communication possible to market your game. Make it *extremely* easy for people to download your game. Sounds like you need a marketing manager or something

In case you didn't realize, I *really* want to play your game, because it sounds intriguing and deep (my two favourite qualities of a game). Just please, *please* make it more accessible. That's all I think you need.

[nijal]

I have compressed the mp3 files. and it's no longer around 250mb. It's also definitely not around 50mb.
I've also upload it to MediaFire. You don't need the VX program in order to play it, you just need to download VX RTP.
I didn't realize that I have to be an active community member for people to find interest in my work.
It's funny, because one of my friends told me while playing V~e, I'm not trying to make friends seeing how the game treated him. I was also called a douche one time by another person.
I guess that's the kind of fun I should share in the boards.

I have spoiled the game a bit, but there are more photos to see.
I didn't mean reason, I actually meant concept. I was listing what I would share if you asked.

[thatbennyguy]

Hey thanks for making the file smaller. It is still big (esp for a RPG Maker VX game), but I am downloading it now from Mediafire and hoping that it will deliver.

I didn't realize that I have to be an active community member for people to find interest in my work.

Ah, well, it certainly helps. Generally on the internet people are hard to gain attention, so you have to make sure that you get word around in several formats, so people hear about the game. It helps if they know who you are, and I generally gauge how reliable a person is by how many posts they've made. Which is ironic, because I've made under 100 posts, so don't trust me

I'll give you feedback once I've downloaded the game.

Cheers
Benjamin

EDIT: And those new screenshots are pretty sweet-looking. Especially the farming mini-game, the conversation options, and the "clue review" screen. These are the things you need to show about the game, get us excited!

This post has been edited by thatbennyguy: Apr 30 2012, 02:34 AM

[supercow]

screenshot number:
4. the "ocean" is the world?
5.make it so it look more like a store, if someone wanna store/sell something, the item storage would probably behind the store seller
6.i dunno, to me vx look so boxy
7.the farm look nice (still kindda boxy but nice nonetheless )
- why does the barn/house need fence around it?
- why put trees near crops? the trees could hinder the crops
- put smaller size fence around the crops <-- my preference, but its okay if not also
- the ground around the crops look too tidy
8.how the hell do someone get inside that chair? jump at it?
9.....
10.i like the place when its compact
- i dunno why theres a tomb in the table
11. no need to put too much of the same things like clock/maps
12. same as 11
13.....
14. might be look good for outside if theres a different kinds of ground
ex: some ground is full of grass/ some are well tended/ some are dirt ground
mixing it will make the scenery less boring

It's also definitely not around 50mb. sweat.gif

you mean its a demo with over ++50 mb?
if im making full game i want it to at least less than 20 mb , well it depends on the kind of game anyway
if your forte is in the story, dont rely too much on music it might help but it wont help that much

you just need to download VX RTP.

how do i get vx rtp ? cant you just make it stand alone?

btw how big is the file size now?

[nijal]

Numbers
4. The ocean is not his world exactly, that moment is a flash-forward. Where a little while before someone questions his grasp on reality.
5. The store system works differently than what you can see. The Item storage is usually in the area of the shelves. For some stores in the game.
6-14. You're really asking for a lot when it comes to graphics. I do plan to remake this game with better graphics and so on, but for VX, I'm just trying to use what I have and make a great game out of it. Everyone teleports to sit down. It's funny to say it.
I've gotten used to seeing people have three clocks on one side of a hallway and they're there so each room would have their own clock. For V~e I placed the clocks in accordance to how the NPCs would appropriately place them. If they moved more that is.

The demo's file is around 170mb or so now. In the Additional Information section I gave a link to where anyone could download the VX-RTP. Just know when you go to the site, it shows VX Ace first, you would have to click the tab to move to the VX part.
Making it stand alone is something I considered to do, but I thought it would be easier if people just downloaded the RTP. It is quite small. 20mb or so.

I reuse plenty of the songs I have for the game, but it's still plenty songs.

[amerk]

Not to derail the topic, but if 50+ MB is a concern, you might need to consider a computer with more memory or upgrading your internet.

50+ MB is very common with games made these days on newer makers; I've seen several come through over 100+. A lot of the previous RM2K and 2K3 games were under this size, namely because of their limitations, but the new makers (especially Ace) tend to include a ton of features that drive the size up. I believe Ace's encryption size has gone up to 1G, which is sure to encourage a lot of heftier-sized games.

Another thing to consider is if you have the RTP by default or not. If the RTP has to be added to the game project for people who refuse to download it themselves, then that drives the project size up even higher. It's better for the game player to download the RTP (which is free), so that the developer doesn't have to include it for every single project.

Back on topic: nijal, this seems like a decent project, and I'll have to give it a test drive when I have some time. The fact that there is no main villain can go either direction. As long as there is a conflict of sorts (the heroes struggle to reach their goal with other types of obstacles preventing this), it should work out well enough. My only objection, without having played this, is that if there is no major end battle, then focus should be less on battling and leveling up throughout the entire game.

[nijal]

Actually I didn't focus on battles for the game. People strongly suggested to me that there should be battles to fill in the gaps between each quest and such that you engage in. I focused on specific boss battles, so people would have something worth preparing for.

Thanks for your insight though.

[amerk]

Just wanted to point out a VX game called Dawn's Light: A Christmas Story. The game is an rpg without any battles, but focuses entirely on puzzles as you complete various quests. So depending on the flow of the game, battles are not necessarily a must, although I can understand how some people may feel about playing an rpg without any battles at all.

If battles do require any amount of leveling up, even without a final villain, you might consider a final battle of sorts (maybe an extremely ferocious monster guarding the path to the final goal, as an example), otherwise some players may feel like it was all for naught. In any case, good luck with the project.

[nijal]

Thank you for your insight and well wishes.
There are many final battles of sorts around in V~e, because there is a final boss within the demo.

[thatbennyguy]

v~e

• resumed game
• can't go out of first town to right yet
• you haven't given the player much direction on what to do. Which would be fine, if there wasn't so little to do at all.
• i like the idea of shopping from shelves
• "vash's wife loves the morning wood"... WTF?
• classic fetch quest is a bit boring, and it's unintuitive finding it in the schoolhouse
• not sure what to do here
• i bought 2 mushrooms because it said mushrooms (plural, meaning more than one)
• now I don't have enough money, so i have to start all over again!
• went through the whole thing all over again
• ohhhh so the recipe deal is a morality choice in itself... do you buy the weapon, or do you get the ingredients?
• i got the ingredients
• and he gave me a hint as to where i could find the recipe. i didn't see that first tiem
• aw no wait it isn't you can't even buy the sword anyway xD
• me thinking mastic was an inredient
• ooh yay farm job! WOOWHOO!
• i fed a chicken, and then it froze
• flippin out.

OK, I'm having a bit of trouble with this game.

[nijal]

I did make an update to help players know why they can't leave the town yet through the right.
There's plenty of direction for where to go and what to do.
Example, when you start in your house, your father says to go to school and if you looked on your bookshelf you would discover directions on how to get there. After school is done your teacher would tell you to go home. Simply, a number of people would give you ideas of where to go next. If they don't, things would just guide along the way.
The ingredients thing is a Morality choice, because you could waste your fathers money to have things to sell.
Hopefully you're using the save point to help you.
The Chicken froze? It doesn't happen for me, unless you're talking about how you stand there to watch them walk away?
Mushrooms is plural, but if you noticed, you only have enough money to buy one of each ingredient.
So basically the father would have to make do with one Mushroom.

This post has been edited by nijal: May 4 2012, 08:39 AM

[Pinky]

This game looks very interesting. By the way I think your backgrounds match the battlers perfectly so there's really no need to change them unless you really want too. Anyway I'll give you more feedback on it after I download it and play it.


EDIT:
Okay so far I played up to the produce quest, I am enjoying the game and will continue playing. However I do suggest making the produce quest in the farm a little easier only because a few people like me are not good at adding things up, but I will keep trying until I neil it. I cannot wait to get farther. Another I suggestion is compltely restoring the main character's HP after the trainning battle I used the healing item in battle and got defeated and I am stuck at 1 HP for awhile. Don't get discourged though please these are just suggestions and I am already enjoying the game. Keep up the good work.

This post has been edited by Pinky: May 5 2012, 02:53 PM