Post by: Dukester on September 13, 2006, 12:36:13 PM
Pics and walkthrough are on the site
Lite version with less wavs 217 megs
www.megaupload.com/?d=BAF257GX
Full version with 70% voices done 497 megs
tinyurl.com/hdmwj
This is a demo made by Dukester and Vindicated with Rm2k3 (and a buttload of charas ressources) and it's time I gave back to the community after taking so much. 2 versions exists: the LITE version with only voices in the beginning (the part with the best voice acting -_-) is 217 megs and the full version which is the same but with more voices clocks at a whopping 497 megs (mostly due to inefficient wav and mp3 compression ) but thank god for storage sites like www.up-file.com and www.megaupload.com to allow me to store files at a fast speed.
You'll find that this RPG definitely has a style of its own, and is a
hybrid between an anime and a RPG, with lots of story cutscenes using battle charas. The battle animations used are pretty neat too, like the ones used by the boss in the tutorial battle, with some taking more than 2 hours to do lol. A full walkthrough is included so completing the game should just be a matter of patience.
Graphics wise there are a lot of custom portraits, parallax, battle animations (especially) but most of the battle charas, charsets and tilesets were taken straight from charas. I have some decent photoshop skills and a lot of effort was put into make the game visually appealing, or at least not an eyesore ;D
Technically there are some pretty innovative triggers used that circumvent some of RPG maker's limitations, such as a Diablo style attribute point spending after each character levels up.
Some triggers are complex, like adding battle commands in battle, adding skills then removing them after the battle is done, as well as a pretty decent summoning system (show invisible monster, switch transform on, change the monster's look, escape when monster numbers are 1 ;D ), while other triggers are really simple but have a cool effect, like having a skill point upon level and having the choice of reducing the mana cost of all your skills by 3 or giving them the
ignore defense property. And wait till you see Shizune's battle system!
There's tons of other effects, just try the game ;D I'm willing to share all the custom ressources used by my RPG and if there's any trigger in it that you want to reproduce or learn how to do it, I'll be
glad to tell you. All secrets are available to the public ^_^ You can add me on MSN thatvietguy@hotmail.com
PS: In the full version the opening story (the part about angels and demons) after you beat the first boss has been considerably shortened in the Lite version, this is an improvement because I felt it was bad on the pacing of the beginning, which has a lot more cutscenes and less rpg-ing than in the later parts. If someone downloads the full version please tell me if I should shorten it up to the part where it says Zaft Corps presents or not. I mostly kept the long opening because the Xenosaga 3 music was gorgeous ;( :p :)
Post by: Prpl_Mage on September 13, 2006, 06:45:49 PM
Well the game looked great and all but the Tales of-..." characters wasnīt changed so it seemed kinda' weerd.
Now excuse Iīm gonna continue playing the game...
Post by: Dukester on September 13, 2006, 09:15:12 PM
Yea the Tales chars is kind of lazy, but a crazy amount of time
was spent on the customized animations, and the portraits and charsets are not from Tales, at least ;D
When I figure out how to swap colors in photoshop I'll try to customize the battle sprites, until then try not to let it distract you too much.
Peace
Post by: DragonBlaze on September 13, 2006, 10:55:01 PM
Of all your screens, you only have one map, and that one map isn't really that good. The level up system looks interesting, but not that all impressive, its (or rather it looks like) a picture of albel from SO3 as a background, then a 4 way choice message system. I've seen some systems simular to this, but they looked a lot nicer.
So while your game doesn't look bad, it doesn't seem like its worth downloading from someone like me who has dial up.
Post by: Meiscool-2 on September 13, 2006, 11:10:55 PM
Don't take what I say to badly... I'm normally a tough critic. Also, you should zip your sfx folder then zip the game folder. It will reduce the file size greatly.
Post by: aboutasoandthis on September 13, 2006, 11:30:02 PM
I've got dial-up too, so no download. :bee_wtf:
Post by: Skie Fortress on September 13, 2006, 11:34:19 PM
Post by: Meiscool-2 on September 13, 2006, 11:35:55 PM
Quote
Originally posted by aboutasoandthis
Use Microsoft Sound Recorder to speed up the tempo of all of your WAV files. Then play them back at the lowest tempo in RPG Maker. This should cut the file size down a lot.
That will compromise the quality of the sounds though. It would sound like a chipmunk speaking in slow-mo :P
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 12:10:57 AM
Post by: aboutasoandthis on September 14, 2006, 12:23:08 AM
Quote
That will compromise the quality of the sounds though. It would sound like a chipmunk speaking in slow-mo :P
I'm doing it an it sounds nice.:P
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 12:26:30 AM
Post by: Dukester on September 14, 2006, 12:35:58 AM
screenshots alone I wouldn't have bothered to put them up. Condemning someone's work without trying it is not something I expected from this community, I sincerely hope the rest of the members in this board aren't as short sighted as Meiscool and Dragonblaze, who obviously didn't bother to look beyond the screenshots I attached to give their "well informed and constructive criticisms". If they had bothered to check they would see that each character has a custom battle system, tons of custom animations and innovative things as far as the RPG maker program allows it.
Any RPG maker realizes that their game can't have 100% original content, and that is exactly what charas is for, to provide the ressources to make a decent RPG, even if everything is not entirely customized;
For those who are on dial up, I apologize about the file size, if you sincerely want to download it I can send it to you personnaly, the lite version was made for people like you in mind.
Until next time folks, take care.
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 12:41:08 AM
If you see a piece of food in a bakery that looked like it came out of a monkeys rear quarters, was oozing puss and looked overall disgusting, would you try it? Screens are what encourage people to download and try the game. If the screens aren't appealing, then why should they take their own time to 'just make sure'? I suggest either better screens or adjusting to taking criticism.
Post by: Dukester on September 14, 2006, 12:47:40 AM
I never boasted this RPG to be godly or that people will be instantly in love with it, all I asked was that people give it a chance before making uninformed criticisms without even playing the game.
If you don't want to play a RPG maker made game because of lousy graphics, the choice is entirely up to you. Just don't come and claim that there is nothing innovative, that it brings nothing new to the table, that there's no custom content without trying the game. Doing so would make you...ignorant.
Post by: Bluhman on September 14, 2006, 12:49:22 AM
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 12:51:30 AM
Post by: Dukester on September 14, 2006, 12:55:15 AM
most players, that's why I made a 217 megs lite version with less voices, before submitting this game to this board. The boom of efficient storage sites which stores upwards of 1 gig enables more diversified RPGs to be uploaded. I'm sure having voices narrating the dialogue is a good thing, but if you prefer the version with less voices the choice is entirely up to you.
Take care.
I have a Sandwich: Because, once again, you don't judge a book by its cover, and that the old school 16 bit RPGs own the hell out of the new ones with their fancy 3d graphics. You're only 16 so the charm of the olden RPG's (ex: FF3) over the shallow and flashy graphics of FFX might be lost to you, but believe me the ones who make RPG Maker games still remember that nostalgia. And if you agree that FF3 was a much better game than FFX, why would you put down a game based on graphics and screenshots alone?
Post by: aboutasoandthis on September 14, 2006, 01:12:41 AM
A.) Posted a version of your game without the voice acting.
B.) Attempted to halve the file size of your Wav sounds.
You did neither.
What we're saying, is that it looks like you didn't put in too much effort into this. It really looks like you didn't. We cannot try your game, because the file size is rediculous. On my computer, that would take at least 10 hours. I am not going do leave my computer on all night when the game itself doesn't look that appealing.
It looks like you did not put much effort into this project, and that hearing your little friends speaking text that effective dialogue could've replaced would make up for it. I see a poor storyline. I see poor graphics. You tried to justify your DBS with Battle Animations and a custom styled battle system for each character. You did not explain your battle system at all. Also, battle animations do not make up a game. They're a nice little addition, but they cannot make up for the other areas the creator of the game has neglected.
Show some empathy. What do you think I am seeing? If I had to review your game, what score do you think I would give you? I see a creator who is not showing any effort to make his game easier to download. I'll GLADLY play your game if you were to make an effort to reduce your game's file size to 15 MB or below. Anything higher than that is ridiculous for an amatuer game, when I can go out and buy a professional one.
Whatever. This entire topic is ridiculous.
You really know how to piss people off. I had fun.
EDIT
After looking at the game summary again, I didn't even see a storyline. o.O I rant a lot.
Post by: Nandez on September 14, 2006, 01:15:02 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Meiscool
This game has nothing new or anything that stands out other then the voices. Your mapping is poor, you mix charasets that don't match, you use RTP graphics, you show no signs of custom made things, or even edits to your battle system. Your lvl-up screen looks like it was made in a few seconds, and your battle graphics don't match... especially the faces.
Don't take what I say to badly... I'm normally a tough critic. Also, you should zip your sfx folder then zip the game folder. It will reduce the file size greatly.
I gotta agree with you.
I think you should either ditch this project or start over. I mean its looks bad. You are useing RTP I prefer it when people don't use it, but I don't care except when you use it so badly and your mixing graphics that don't match at all. Not to mention your using that badly ripped Reid. No offense to who ripped it but I can rip and use charcaters and actually get there colors to not deterate or worsen so I don't see why noone else can in all the games i've seen Eternia characters used.
But as soon as your started this topic you you made it seem like your game was all this custom stuff but its not. Its poorly put together.
But luckily you put your thread here because out of most of the gaming forums out there Charas is one of the nicer ones.
Likes it been said this game doesn't look appealing enough to give a second thought to, let alone download because of ridiculous file size. While voices are becoming more used in games and thats fine I really don't mind downloading a big game. I'm on 56k btw. But downloading a game with a huge file size that looks like crap is insane. Even if the game was smaller you won't get many downloads because of how bad it looks.
Post by: Dukester on September 14, 2006, 01:27:17 AM
I know it's a pain for dial up people, but the only thing left to do is to cut apart every mp3 and wavs and put midis instead. You can't argue that there was no sympathy for people with slower connection when I tried to reduce the file size, so why all the hostility?
"It looks like you did not put much effort into this project"
Everyone who said this has not tried the game, mostly because of the filesize, which I thought was accessible since a high majority of people have high speed. The right thing to do here would be to comment on the inability to play because of the file size and move on to another topic. RPG maker doesn't allow graphical masterpieces, and everyone knows a good RPG isn't dependant on insanely good graphics, especially an amateur one like we are all trying to do.
It looks like you were expecting me to detail every aspect of the game for you, battle systems and everything. Do all the RPGs here detail it in their opening post without being asked? I'll have to check. The info is at the website, but not the actual triggers, as I said I would gladly share how it works with anyone who asks.
It all boils down to a simple, logical request: play the game before you judge it, or if you can't, don't criticize the whole game based on a few screenshots.
Post by: Nandez on September 14, 2006, 01:32:01 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Dukester
That's what the lite version is for! Reducing the file size so that it can be more accessible to people who want to play it. Stored on these sites the speed goes upwards of 200 kbs, so it doesnt take more than 25 minutes to download the full version!
I know it's a pain for dial up people, but the only thing left to do is to cut apart every mp3 and wavs and put midis instead. You can't argue that there was no sympathy for people with slower connection when I tried to reduce the file size, so why all the hostility?
"It looks like you did not put much effort into this project"
Everyone who said this has not tried the game, mostly because of the filesize, which I thought was accessible since a high majority of people have high speed. The right thing to do here would be to comment on the inability to play because of the file size and move on to another topic. RPG maker doesn't allow graphical masterpieces, and everyone knows a good RPG isn't dependant on insanely good graphics, especially an amateur one like we are all trying to do.
It looks like you were expecting me to detail every aspect of the game for you, battle systems and everything. Do all the RPGs here detail it in their opening post without being asked? I'll have to check. The info is at the website, but not the actual triggers, as I said I would gladly share how it works with anyone who asks.
It all boils down to a simple, logical request: play the game before you judge it, or if you can't, don't criticize the whole game based on a few screenshots.
First off if your gonna use a damn mp3 don't use so damn many. You can make some mp3s midis and sound the same and there are many ways to reduce mp3s but wtf do you think midis are for?
And While rm2k3 may not be a Graphical masterpiece with effort games can look very beautiful and very close FF3 or Chrono trigger.
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 01:32:43 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Dukester
That's what the lite version is for! Reducing the file size so that it can be more accessible to people who want to play it. Stored on these sites the speed goes upwards of 200 kbs, so it doesnt take more than 25 minutes to download the full version!
I know it's a pain for dial up people, but the only thing left to do is to cut apart every mp3 and wavs and put midis instead. You can't argue that there was no sympathy for people with slower connection when I tried to reduce the file size, so why all the hostility?
"It looks like you did not put much effort into this project"
Everyone who said this has not tried the game, mostly because of the filesize, which I thought was accessible since a high majority of people have high speed. The right thing to do here would be to comment on the inability to play because of the file size and move on to another topic. RPG maker doesn't allow graphical masterpieces, and everyone knows a good RPG isn't dependant on insanely good graphics, especially an amateur one like we are all trying to do.
It looks like you were expecting me to detail every aspect of the game for you, battle systems and everything. Do all the RPGs here detail it in their opening post without being asked? I'll have to check. The info is at the website, but not the actual triggers, as I said I would gladly share how it works with anyone who asks.
It all boils down to a simple, logical request: play the game before you judge it, or if you can't, don't criticize the whole game based on a few screenshots.
That entire post was you making excuses that you think justify making a half-assed attempt.
As for the lite being better, I tried to dl both at once. Its been an hour and a half for the large, and the small ended 10 minutes ago. The large is at 89%. Download wise they may as well be the same.
Post by: Skie Fortress on September 14, 2006, 02:07:38 AM
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 02:33:51 AM
But again, the voices are terrible. No matter what they said, they always sounded the same.
Post by: DragonBlaze on September 14, 2006, 02:36:53 AM
Quote
Any RPG maker realizes that their game can't have 100% original content, and that is exactly what charas is for, to provide the ressources to make a decent RPG, even if everything is not entirely customized;
WRONG! A good rpg maker puts forth the effort to make their game 100% original. I don't expect you to make a 'graphical masterpiece' just something that looks appealing. Well designed maps for example.
IF you want to make a game this big, post lots of info on it. True, I don't know much about your game, but thats because you did not post much detail on it. Do you really expect someone to take 10 hours to download a file without knowing anything about it other than what it looks like?
Quote
It looks like you were expecting me to detail every aspect of the game for you, battle systems and everything. Do all the RPGs here detail it in their opening post without being asked?
Yes, actually, most good ones do. However, even the ones that don't are small enough for even people with dial up to download in an hour or so, which for most people isn't a big deal.
I think its funny how you say you can't expect a masterpiece to be made with rm2k3, and we shouldn't expect uber graphics, yet you want to boost up the file size by using mp3s rather than normal midi files, which sound just find and are more fitting in a game of this nature.
I don't think you put much effort into this game because
A) you didn't take the time to even post your story or much info.
B) you didn't take the time to find/make original graphics
C) you didn't take the time to put much effort into the one map you had.
C) It doesn't look like you put much effort into making the level up system.
If you didn't put much effort into all the things I saw about your game, its logical to assume that you didn't put much effort into anything.
If you actually wanted to put some effort into making a lite version, find midis, take out unnessisary wavs and such. Guess what, my game uses voice overs and a few mp3s, all original graphics, and you know what the file size is? A little over 20 mbs.
Take my advice, truely put more effort into this. Make a good first impression, take the time to really make your game the best it can be. Take time to post details on your game to make people get interested in it.
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 02:58:05 AM
-You used ":(" In actual dialogue. Baaaad idea.
Post by: Prpl_Mage on September 14, 2006, 03:35:02 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Dukester
Thanks Prpl_mage for giving it a try, you're a king among men.
Yea the Tales chars is kind of lazy, but a crazy amount of time
was spent on the customized animations, and the portraits and charsets are not from Tales, at least ;D
When I figure out how to swap colors in photoshop I'll try to customize the battle sprites, until then try not to let it distract you too much.
Peace
Well the fact is that something went horrible wrong and now it takes far to long time to download it... Mainly cuz' my internet get fugged up but still. And I canīt download the 'lite' file cuz' the hosting site says that I have exeeded my download limit or something like that.
But you do know that Microsofts Paint works really well when editing things right? You donīt need photoshop to do it.
Post by: Arcanagirl on September 14, 2006, 03:45:24 AM
I played the game a bit and I am leaving my review and comments.
Gameplay: 6/10
The storyline did not pull me in much at all, and I quickly got bored and tired of playing. Although I do feel the storyline has potential, as a full time gamer I was not pulled in, thus stopped playing. For me to enjoy a game, I need to feel pulled in by how the story flows and characters enteract.
Battle System: 4/10
I honostly did not like this battle system set up. The characters do not blend at all, I liked how the system was unique in the way of using your attacks to learn skill lvls, but it seems like the effort was placed wrongly. In a game, you have to have flow and a whole lot of connecting, if the battles dont connect with the graphics or the system, then it gets poor ratings.
Graphics: 2/10
You get an A for effort in using assorted graphics, but if you play games, then you should notice games dont mix and match graphics just to get things done or what ever reason you used mix graphics, I have no idea..Its just not right. I play games all the time, plus I am making my own, but never have I seen such a mess. I seen poorly done graphics before, but this takes the cake, I mean the graphics are fine and all, but its how you used the graphics and the different types that damaged your game.
Overall: 4/10
I think if you spent less time on voice overs and trying to complete you game, and more time into the over all project, it might have paid off, but playing your game gave me the impression that you slopped all this together just to complete it.
I am not writting this to hurt your feelings or trash on you, and all of charas know I tend to be too kind for my own good, so please dont take this review the wrong way.
I do feel you should have posted more info on your game before posting the version, not everyone has high speed dsl like myself and can afford to waste 5minutes downloading it.
Now just cause my review was low rating, doesnt mean everyone would feel that way either. So maybe inform more members what your game is about, the unique things it offers, etc...Also, a note I would like to suggest, in designing a game, some things should get more attention then others, and I noticed where you went all out in battle animations, you lacked everything else. Should try to keep your designs in equals, not 90% animations and 2% everything else.
I End my comments and review here, thank you for your time and farewell.
Post by: emiiru on September 14, 2006, 12:15:42 PM
Post by: aboutasoandthis on September 14, 2006, 08:01:00 PM
I'm still telling you that if you really cared about a dial-up audience, you would realize this game would take over a day to download.
Imagine this. It takes about 10 minutes for me to download a 1 MB file on my computer. Mega Upload says you have 217 for your "lite" version. Multiply this by the 10 minutes, and that's 2170 minutes for a download. Divide this by 60, and that is a little over 36 hours. Next, you take into accout download speed. My computer would attempt to reduce the size for that download, and it managed to shorten the download to about 20 hours and 30 minutes.
20 hours and 30 minutes...do you honestly believe someone with dial-up will wait that long to download something over the internet? This is a hassle. You are not putting in the effort to make the game accessible to me, so I shouldn't be giving you the time of day.
I agree with DragonBlaze. You have to put effort into all aspects of you game. Not just the animations, not just voice acting, and not just the battle system. You show me neglect. I see a slacker, plain and simple.
Look. I want to play your game. :) The fact is that you are not putting any effort into making it easy to download.
The fact is that your "light" version will take at least 20 hours to download on dial-up.
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 14, 2006, 08:09:03 PM
Post by: Dukester on September 15, 2006, 02:15:35 PM
I don't mind the criticisms, as I agree with most of them (the voice acting which is done by two people could be a lot better, but none of us here are professionals so we can't ask for too much...) and the first dungeon is horribly rushed (it was added at the last minute because there were too many cutscenes in the beginning). But it's weird that people focus so much on the flaws that they don't find time to see the positive parts of things. Most of the custom animations (Alucard's and Forte's) were pretty complex and cool right? The battle charas cutscenes are easier to look at than plain charset cutscenes, the writing was decent (minus some cheesy lines), the music and voice acting (particulary the scene with the Devil Amon) was good for setting the mood. A good review has to point out the bad as well as the good sides, or at least be specific with the bad sides so that it can be improved.
There are some other neat triggers besides the attribute point level up system, so I'll just detail out one of the more complex custom systems I made for a character.
This character uses a mock summon system, used by showing a hidden monster next to her whose only ability is transform (when you upgrade the monster to change its looks) and escape (when it's the only enemy alive, so that the battle can end after all the other monsters are destroyed). Once you use the summon command the creature attacks automatically whenever its turn comes up.
(http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=neocs1cm8.jpg)After you use the summon command, that command is removed and another command takes its place, summon 2. When you use summon 2 the look of the summoned creature changes and it deals more damage. The more you level your character the more maximum summon commands is allowed.
Because summons automatically attack for her, she has no attack command, which is a lot different from other characters and makes her unique. Her other commands are Focus, which heals her slightly and charges her mana, and Unleash, where she uses that mana to cast a deadly spell.
(http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=n8iq6.jpg)There is also a Absorb command, that permanently destroys your summoned creature for the battle to heal your character, as a desperate effort.
So even in a default battle system, a lot of neat tricks can be done to make it different from other RPGs, mostly from using Call common event in battle events, especially change Battle Command. A full Diablo 2 style skill tree system can definitely work with the level up attribute system I made, as I said at lvl 3 Slayn has the choice to reduce the mana cost of his spells by 3 or give it the ignore defense property. Customization and storytelling (as shown by the extensive amount of cutscenes) is an important part of a good RPG for me, as it immerses the gamer
into the world and gives him control of how the characters he plays turns out. Barring the first dungeon, which was admittedly pretty crappy (still, 2????), I found the graphics decent enough. The quality of the cutscenes should make up for the shoddy map designs ;D
Thanks everyone, looking to hear more from you and comments about the level up and summon battle system.
Post by: Meiscool-2 on September 15, 2006, 08:10:27 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Dukester
I don't mind the criticisms, but it's weird that people focus so much on the flaws that they don't find time to see the positive parts of things. Most of the custom animations (Alucard's and Forte's) were pretty complex and cool right? The battle charas cutscenes are easier to look at than plain charset cutscenes, the writing was decent (minus some cheesy lines), the music and voice acting (particulary the scene with the Devil Amon) was good for setting the mood. A good review has to point out the bad as well as the good sides, or at least be specific with the bad sides so that it can be improved.
Uh... yeah... think what you want dude.
I'm going to sound like a complete *** for saying this, but try out my game's demo. The coding in it is at a very 'begining' stage, the AI in it is very linear, and there's not to much to do in it; yet your game's custom designs are greatly inferior to it. Try it, then try and post the same "What about my good stuff that's new and hasn't ever been done before?" atire. You'll see that your game doesn't have anything new to offer on the table, and that most game makers here put in the exact same things and ideas that you've put in your game into theirs. To impress a person, or for a person to see something as good; normally they must first: see something that they can't do, secondly play something they havn't already played, and lastly get warped into the game because of these new things.
Your game offers none of the 3 above. It's cons weigh more then it's pros. Deal with it, and don't try to make excuses.
Post by: I Have a Sandwich on September 15, 2006, 11:30:13 PM
Post by: Arcanagirl on September 18, 2006, 05:52:43 PM
1.Good Color cordination so colors blend together smoothly, else you go blind or it just looks so wrong.
2.Balance in style, and I mean the balance braught to games by cordination of all graphics combined, if there isnt balance, then it sucks.
3.A smooth battle system...I mean how well it is. Does it hold good styles, unique qualities, and not uber hard to kill one enemy. Some games go too far making enemies uber that the words "Cheat" came into play. Some battles in games just freaking cheat.
4.A Very good Storyline, one that will pull you in. So good that you feel the characters emotions. You cry they cry kinda thing, or if something died you either get sad or angry as hell. Become one with the story as if you were right there with them.
5.Bonus things help also at time, I still play games without bonus stuff, but I really like the bonuses.
For example, Star Ocean games, you can craft hella stuff. Lvl to 255, bonus dungeons after beating the game.