Plague, Title Might Change Options

[HeroOfHyla]

Updated tilesets!

Old Vetrion:


New Vetrion:


I'm working on getting rid of walled towns.

[HeroOfHyla]

Quick character art.



The doctor's not in the pic.


Also, I might consider just using the default battle system for a while. It's really tedious to do a cbs and I can't come up with creative stuff for it.

EDIT: Reposted image because it was huge.

[Antifarea]

The fan-art looks decent. Also I have noted that you are also doing the facesets among other custom stuff, so props for that... I laugh in good way that you took a picture of your writing to show others... I hope it doesn't get too tedious to write all that stuff in the computer. I have a question, are you doing recoloring throughout in the computer or the game pictures will have the drawings colors straight up from the scans? I would suggest colors that matches with the faces for that matter.

The title screen could be re-done from scratch, with better fonts and colors on it. Also the background on it makes the game have a futuristic look and from what I can see in the story the game starts in a village? and sounds like it's about medieval times kind of... so It might result in being sort of out of sync. Well all in all good luck.

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't noticed you updated the pictures in the latter posts... God I'm soo glad that you totally destroyed the RTP maps and used more fancy chipsets, props again. Now the game actually loooks it's getting a vast improvement graphic-wise.

[HeroOfHyla]

I'm considering switching this game to Game Maker. I'd probably still use the same style of sprites, because I'm not good at spriting from scratch (except for facesets). A custom battle system would be much simpler is a more versatile program. I'll need to learn a bit more GML before I make the switch, though.

Also, I might eventually put a topic in the recruitment forum for story-writing and music.

[Boogie Knight]

The sounds very interesting as plot goes, and it looks pretty solid graphically. I am curious about how the plague itself affects gameplay. The biggest danger to stopping the disease I imagine would be not getting infected as well. Making the player think strategically when it comes to prevention would be a nice twist, especially if for some reason the hero needed to enter a place overtaken by the plague.

[HeroOfHyla]

Well, it's official:

I am restaring this game in Game Maker 7.

Game Maker is a better choice for a few reasons:

1. A CBS will be MUCH easier.

2. I have TOTAL control over pretty much every aspect of the game.

3. I can still apply my knowledge from 2k3, like on how to make custom menus (for the most part), but I have less limitations.

4. LOCAL VARIABLES! This means managing monster health will be MUCH easier.

5. If the game turns out well, I can legally sell it.

I've only one screenshot of the game in GM right now, and it's just of the custom top-bar:



Unless feedback in this topic changes my mind, the combat will run similarly to Final Fantasy XI. Melee combat is done automatically, but you manage items and skills on your own. It'll be a mouse/keyboard interface.

[GoldenGriffon]

As I told you, I commend your willingness to go learn to use a new engine. It's sometimes difficult trying to grasp new concepts when you're so used to something else. Are you going to use RPG Maker graphics?

[HeroOfHyla]

I was actually planning on using custom graphics. Because movement won't be tile-based, I can have a little more freedom, and I want to reflect that in the graphical style.

Plus there will be a nifty effect where buildings become transparent if the block the hero from view.

I've got messages working. Text appears letter by letter, which is nice. The only thing I need to figure out is making delays in a single text box. I tried using [alt+0173] to make a blank character, but it shows up as an extra space in-game.

[HeroOfHyla]

New screenshots:


Mouse based movement. The quill is your cursor. Click somewhere on the map, and a flag will appear. The character will move to the flag. There's pathfinding, but it's very basic and doesn't work well.


Showing the message box. I made the windowskin myself. 4 lines of size 18 Arial fit perfectly.

That's all I have for screenshots so far, but I'd like to talk about combat.

Combat!

Combat works like Final Fantasy XI or like the melee units in an RTS. Regular attacks are done automatically at intervals, but you can select special abilities to use. The attack interval is determined by the weapon delay rating and your speed.

There are 5 combat stances you can use. You can change at any time, but changing will reset the weapon delay. The stances are as follows:

CODE

Neutral:
No benenfits, no penalties

Aggressive:
Strength up, Accuracy down

Careful:
Accuracy up, Strength down

Guarded:
Fortitude up, Evasion down

Evasive:
Evasion up, Fortitude down

Killing an enemy gives AP, Exp, and items. AP is used to learn Essences and Exp is used for levelling up.

Leveling up will increase your five stats (Fortitude, Strength, Evasion, Accuracy, and Speed). How much each is increased is based on what stance is most used.

Sometimes, enemies drop essences. Equipping an essence will give you its ability as long as you wear it. You can wear up to 2 essences at once. Gaining enough AP will make the essence permanent, and free the slot for another essence to be used.

Essences give abilities which are divided into 3 categories:

-Actions
These abilites are like spells or attacks. They can only be learned once. You must choose to use them from the menu each time you need them. They cost MP to use.
An example is "Fire Breath." It creates a blast of fire to damage enemies.

When selecting an action, you must designate a target. Different actions have different types of targets. These include:
Self
Close Burst
Blast
Ranged Single
Ranged Burst

-Upgrades
Increase stats. These are stackable.
An example is "Strength + 3" It increases your strength by 3 permanently.

-Passive Abilites
These give a special ability which is always on. They cost no MP to maintain. They are not stackable.
An example is "Adaptive coloring." Enemies will be unable to see you when you stand still outside of battle.

If you have no need for a certain essence (like if you already know the spell), you can try combining it with another essence to make a more powerful, unique one.