@spoiler: Good eye.

I'm shooting for March 16, but there's still a lot of work to do so it might end up taking a few more days. March 16 will be the last day of my spring break, meaning I get to put in a week's worth of 18 hour days before release. Whoo!


What are you stuck on? Are you having trouble finding all the places you're supposed to go? Try checking the journal and see if that helps.

Yeh I bought goods, spoke some people in town but I'll figure out the rest. I must say, your mapping is unqiue...
This has gotta be one of the best games I've played in rpg maker.

If you're still stuck, here's how you get through the first town:

Thanks, I'll get by this when I get back from college. Looking forward to it.

EDIT
I'll be playing your project tommorow. I've finished with bloodsphere so all my free time
on pc I will continue playing your game. Cheers for posting that spoiler, I'll be checking
it out soon...

I would say there is a strange error. When I play Vacant Sky Act II many times to learn more about creating games and sometimes, this error appears: "Script 'FmodEx*' line 303 RuntimeError occurred. FMOD Ex returned error 36." I'm sure that I've download and had new fmodex.dll in my file.

This error appears after the battle with the Assassin in the beginning of Act II.

Ugh! I thought I saw the end of this horrible error. Did you have that error in Act I?

Just got back into Act I, and currently I'm stuck on a boss.Will go into detail in spoiler.

Luckily, this error doesn't appear in Act I.
Let's me check it one time. May be there are some files in my computer make the error. (I guess)

About the boss (Spoiler: May be you doesn't have luck in this battle. I just have a simple strategy. Just let Zaqris heals your party, don't use any magics. Two other characters will attack the boss. Very simple...)

I feel I have to apologize for that boss, as it's downright unfair--it's completely the fault of the RNG whether or not you win and on top of that, there's a bug where (as you noticed) heal is affected by First Aid. Here's what you should do to optimize your chance of winning:
* Have Rayonne on Counter
* Consider putting Seri on Guard since she's unlikely to actually dodge any of the boss's attacks
* Have Zaqris do nothing but heal

Hopefully that doesn't stop you from moving on to Act II; I've fixed all these stupid balance issues since then.


That's really bizarre...I've never heard of anyone that had no problems in Act I but did in Act II. Did you try it with the old dll?

Well, I read in the first page that it should replace with a new dll so I replaced it. I played with the new dll.
It won't work after I scaned my computer. I wonder why only me have this problem?

But don't worried. I don't know why it sometimes happens it. I can still play this wonderful game. And please focus on your next Act, Ok? I'm waiting for Act III.

Well I've finally gotten past the boss, with help from your advice and a pretty big touch of luck.If possible, I think you should work out that fight a little more for other people who may want to play Act I.

Anyway, the game was pretty good overall. From what I've read about Act II, it seems you've improved on pretty much all of the faults with Act I, so I don't really have much critique to give you. I'm extremely happy you noticed how linear it was.

Yeah, that's why I'm glad I decided to release the game in segments--I was able to get a ton of worthwhile feedback from Act I to improve Act II. I could really use feedback on Act II before I get too far into Act III, though.

Okay, I've just completed Act II. And I must say, I am EXTREMELY impressed. For anyone who liked Act I, I must say that Act II is at least 2 times better.

The cutscenes (mainly the ones near the end) were,in my opinion, flawless. I enjoyed every second of them. They are definitely better than most RM games I've played so far.

As for the battle system, I've enjoyed the revamp.The option to grind was somewhat a blessing and a curse, because I couldn't help but think the boss fights were supposed to be harder than they were. It's probably just because I played on the Veteran difficult and grinded alot. I'm sure Legendary is like you said...suicide.

Speaking of the battle system, I had this one problem whenever I used Auria's Ascension. She seemed to go much slower. I got less turns with it activated. And I got Wonder Child in the last Act...waste of a point lol.

Presentation of the story was nice, although at times I felt there was a little too much info presented. Made my mind numb at times, but I'm sure that's just me.

Loved the character personalities. Everyone had something about them that stood out, like Blaise with his bluntness (pretty funny actually), Vanquish with his thoughtfulness, etc. Very well written.

Overall, I had an excellent time with the game. I really can't think of anything wrong with it. I absolutely can't wait for the next one to come out.

On a side note, your whole concept of the Archon is veeeeery similar to an idea in my game. Makes me jealous I didn't release it before you released yours.

Thanks for playing! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I ended up putting over 50 hours of work during Christmas week into the final cutscene, so I'm glad to hear it left an impression.

When using Azure Awakening, which shards did you have equipped to it? PM me your save if you can and I'll take a look at it.

Eh, nvm about the Ascension thing. I just tried it earlier and it seems fine. I think I got frozen or slowed the last time I used it. By the way, what are the Azure fragments for if you don't mind me asking?

They're used for a special piece of equipment you get in Act III.

Just an update. Working on the final dungeon now. In between preparing for exams and scribbling notes and diagrams on my walls, I've been putting Act III together. I'm still hoping for a mid-March release but it might end up having to be pushed back if I want to put in everything.

Love Act II so far! But now I'm stuck trying to fight What's-His-Face in that dungeon . . . and it seems I have to make some choices I don't like if I even want to think about winning. D'oh!

Hopefully I can beat him soon so I can finish Act II and give you my full feedback.

Is this the first dungeon you've done in Act II? If so, Rend to Sorrows should be fairly effective; you start off at max charges in this fight.

Yup. I unloaded that on him right away. I actually had to go back and grind a bit to make things easier. I finished the rest of Act II last night! I really like the way the story is going, for the most part---the relationship between two certain blondies seemed a bit rushed to me, but other than that, the characterization is good. Some of the dialogue's awkwardly phrased and/or kinda choppy, too, but I don't have much to complain about. The art and music are fabulous and the gameplay solid.

Looking forward to Act III!

I'm glad you enjoyed it! By chance, could you cite me some scenes with awkward dialog so that I know what to look for and improve upon?

I'll have to replay some stuff to remember exactly where it is, but I'll get back to you ASAP.

Hello, I just started playing act 1, but when I'm at the part where you have to choose your patron I can't choose.. When i wlak up to one of the pools where you have to pick your weapon, it let's me choose any of them but then she says I already have a sword/dagger/spear/shield. This happens continously.

Then when I go to the book, she says I'm not ready to open it yet, and when I speak to the old man or the blond gentleman, they say you haven't choosen a patron yet..

So how can I get a patron if I can't pick a weapon?

Appart from that, I think the game is really good, the story is nice, fighting system is good. so good job!

I hope this can be fixed, thanks in advance.

Thanks for playing! You need to choose a weapon from the left pool and from the right pool. The choice of weapons determines what stats you spec in.
Sword = Attack
Dagger = Speed
Shield = Defense
Spear = Accuracy

Hope that helps and that you keep enjoying the game.

Sai

ah I see, I didn't pick one from both pools before, it works now, thanks

I find Vacant Story enjoyable and hope to see this game progress. I thought I should inform you of several bugs.



Also, I have a question


Great job on both Acts and I am looking forward to Act III.

I just downloaded it. It's pretty impressive thus far. I enjoyed the voice acting at the beginning. She delivered her lines very naturally. I also like the music and the artwork was well done. I'm going to download act I to better understand the storyline. I barely played any of act II because I wanted to start on act I. Good job though. Keep up the good work.

On the Act II bugs - good eye, I don't know how those slipped through beta testing. And to answer your question:


Thanks for playing and I'm glad you enjoyed!


Thanks for checking it out! Let me know what you think once you've finished.

Sorry for the delay on Act III. I'm using the time to add in a lot of new content, including a lot of unlockables and replay value. No estimate on when it'll be out, but I'm trying my best to finish it soon.

Here's a new track from the soundtrack, called "In Contention."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0DWk9864A

(EDIT: double post)

Lovely as always, Sailerius. Please take all the time you need on Act III. I still owe you a proofreading of the first two acts, anyway . . . if I weren't so sick at present I'd be well on my way through it, although it's hard to get every last detail covered when you've not got a way to look at the code and such.

Thanks for being so patient with me on this subject.

Looks interesting. Might give this a try.

Also, someone said they can't see a bunch of teenagers saving the world. I guess they haven't played any of the Final Fantasies.

This is probobly the first rmxp game thats ever slightly interested me to play it =/ i shall download as we speak =]

Tanx...

Don't Spam. ~Rob_Riv

You need to include information on the story and a list of credits.

Also, less than half the cast are actually teenagers.


I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for your interest.


Don't use that link! That's for the ancient demo. Here's the links you want:
http://gdc.wpi.edu/Vacant_Sky_Vol_1_Contention_Act_I.zip
http://gdc.wpi.edu/Vacant_Sky_Vol_1_Contention_Act_II.zip


Is it necessary that I add a list of credits to the post? They're included with the game.

Yes, as per the rules of the forum a list of credits is required. I would have pointed it out before, but I guess I hadn't see your thread.

Sorry Act III is taking so long. It's currently in the late stages of beta, so hopefully all will be good for a release soon. In the meantime, the opening theme, "Memory of the Sun" has been released. Take a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkA0NBPKIzs

Awesome music! Yay!

Please take your time with Act III. Don't rush!

This may seem like a silly question, but I just started Act I, and I can't figure out how to exit, for the life of me! When I hit esc and get the menu, there is no exit. And I can't do it at the save point either. All I can do is F12. Am I missing something???

Also, I know I should spread those points around for attributes, but I don't really know the character enough to see where she needs them. Any ideas? Should I just randomly do something, or wait? Thanks!

Um . . . have you tried hitting Esc again?

To answer your second question, I'd play the game and find out for yourself.

I've tried hitting esc many times. Doesn't work. All I can do is F12, but even that doesn't just stop the game. I either have to CTRL ALT DEL or minimize and hit the X.

Update - I'm looking for some testers for the remastered Act I. If anyone's interested, please post here or PM me.

COUNT ME IN.

im game:) ... looks pretty promising like the music too

~ Merged for double posting
Please wait at least 48 hours before double posting ~ -Harry.

it seems really great from what iv'e been playing... but there are a few minor details you might want fixed

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

when your walking around to try and turn the power off in the beginning if you go to one of the doors and click on it it says to go to cell block E which i have already done and thats also not where yur supposed to go
when you turn off the power and use the teleport thingy... three people teleport out but the teleport noise only happens for two people
and last (for now) when you are the red haired girl walking around town and if you use your to do list... the text is screwed up a lil bit ... i think you tried to highlite it but didn't finish?

anyway thats what i could find with 5 minutes of playing but other than that it's great!

I have found a bug in the Kasch quest in the second act. When I go to activate the Rayonne-Val switchs there is the Ray/Val dialogue then the screen go black, I hear the sound of doors opening and then when the screen return to normal Rayonne and Val aren't at their place near the switches like the others and from then on I can't use the menu any more (I tried to press esc till when I returned to Svaneholm and reloading a few times, but the menu still didn't work). What can I do to restore the menu apart replaying the game and try the Kasch quest before the Val one?

Edit I forgot to mention that I didn't see any animation of Val or Rayonne moving toward the switches either before or after the screen turned black.

Yeah, that's a known bug, sorry. >< If you email me your save file ( admin (at) projectbc.net ) I can re-enable your menu. If you're curious about what caused it:

Thanks for the answer that explain it, and it was a great idea pity you decided against it . I found a save editor and re-enabled the menu myself, sorry I should have posted that I solved the problem, but I was totally engrossed by the game. By the way I just finished the second act and I must say it was really great.

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll be able to get Act III out soon.

Downloading the demo when i get around to it, Great mapping. Great Graphics, Great storyline. Bookmarked.

Whew, been awhile.
I could go on about how good this game is, cause it is. Characters, music, maps, all done very nicely. But it's nothing you haven't heard before.
However, there are some problems I'd like to note. It is sometimes very easy to move on ahead and skip side quests or make them unfinishable without knowing. Like that "missing boyfriend" quest. Never even heard about it until I read the thread.
Also, the "choosing the weapon" part is left unexplained in the game. I ended up going with two spear, which, uh, probably wrecked the character. So now I'm stuck getting my butt handed to me by the back to back battles against the bandits in ACT I. Most infuriatingly, they just keep dodging. Really, some times it feels more like the battle depends more on luck than characters.
It's really only those to things. It can get a little aggravating. I suppose my only choice is to restart. And since I don't have to poke around to find everything, it shouldn't take as long. But even having looked around, I've still missed things. I guess now that I know that there's another side quest, I can search for it. And I think that was the only one, as I was just under level 3 by the time I reached that double battle.
Again, it's nothing too game breaking, but a little explanation for somethings might have helped. It would really be nice to have some idea how the weapons in the pool work or what the various out of battle skills are for and what the numbers correspond to in terms of usefulness. Like, should I try to increase all of them (which is usually not how it goes) or is it better to have certain ones higher because they're more useful? I understand you should tell people how to play, but giving me an idea on what does what would certainly help me make up my own mind.
And perhaps toning down dependence on RNG, or not making so broken. It seems like that's the primary problem with the battles people can't pass. It alright to lose and learn something, but if it all comes down to luck each time, it starts to feel hopeless.
Anyway, that's what I think. I hate to sound like I'm complaining, but those things are things I feel take away from the game. At least, my experience with it. Still, it was fun to play it again. And I have learned from it. I just need to try again from the beginning with what I know. I'm not going to give up on it, I'm just a little, frustrated with it is all. Let you know how it turns out.