Post by: Chiyu on September 19, 2007, 05:02:36 PM
Hello all,
Since the sequal is on it's way, I thought I would start a new advertising the first game again, for a number of reasons. First of all, Mikkoku 2 would likely benefit from good feedback and suggestions. Secondly, feedback and knowing that more people played (and liked?) the first game would definitely motivate me to work harder and faster on the sequal. Thirdly, it might make people interested in joining Mikkoku 2's team (I'm recruiting). And finally, I've been thinking about making a 'remake' of this game. With this I mean replacing the main characters' graphics with new, original ones, because this is what bothers me the most about Mikkoku at the moment: too many heroes with 'default' charsets and battle animations. If I knew it would be worth it, I could fix this in a new version.
That being said, I'll move on to the game itself.
Notes and features:
- The game took 3½ years to complete, started working on in Q1 2003 and finished it in Q3 2006.
- The 'style' of the game is influenced by RPGs like Final Fantasy and Suikoden.
- The game consists of of 754 maps (some duplicate ones of course), 1654 switches and 95 additional variables. In other words, it's a fairly big game.
- The game should be good for 20 to 40 hours of gameplay (depending on how "good" you are and whether you do all the sidequests or not).
- The game is divided in 25 chapters. These are not equal in length (far from it). These chapters get progressively longer harder. The first four chapters serve merely as an introduction (the first three especially). The characters who you fight with in the first three chapters are NOT the main characters and they have little or no character development. Forget about Jordan, Leen and DD as soon as possible, please ;).
- The strength of the game does not lie in the graphics department, but rather in the vast world, the storyline(s), the characters and the gameplay.
- The fighting characters are divided in classes, each with it's own strengths, weaknesses and skills. There are lots of them, and I can assure you that most of them are pretty pretty different from each other.
- High replayability value: after the first half of the game, you will almost always be able to customize your party to some extent and you can try out new combinations.
- Apart from the normal goal of the game, there is another (optional) goal. In Chapter 7, you get your own HQ; a small castle. You will return here often to talk with your allies or to switch your party members. There are 52 recruitable characters in Mikkoku, some PC's, some NPC's, each with his/her own unique abilities. Some will join you automatically during the quest, but others have to be found and recruited in one way or another. Do your best to recruit them all, the optional and hidden characters will surely be a great help!
- Secret summons and blue/monster magic spells to hunt for. Yes, the Summoner and the Blue Mage are very strong and useful classes in this game.
- Several mini-games become available in the second half of the game.
- Many new subquests become available in the last chapter!
The setting:
The game takes place in the year 530 (in chapter 1, 2, 3 and 4) and the year 531 (the rest of the game). The year 0 is equivalent to the founding of the great Cerpian Empire (which has already been dissolved a century before the events of Mikkoku take place). While it's a fantasy world and didn't share any of our world's history, you could roughly compare the year 530 to our High or Late Middle Ages.
I believe that having a good, worked out setting for a game is very important. You can't just add a country or area without having any background information about it. The world map is well planned. All areas are realistically divided among several empires, kingdoms, republics, city-states, etc. For a nice flash map that allows you to click on a country to get more information; go here: http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/geography.html .
Obviously, there are several religions as well. Basically, the west is home to the monotheistic Indevsan doctrine, the east is home to the the polytheistic Pahnemistic religion. Another former empire, known as the Tunaquan Empire, was also known for it's unique beliefs. Although the empire disappeared, the Tunaquan religion didn't - there are still a few followers left and they built a neo-Tunaquan Temple (location #45 on the world map). The people of the City-State of Wu in the north-east (the geographical 'successor' of the Tunaquan Empire) believe in a modified version of this ancient Tunaquan religion. These three religions are the major religions in the year 530. There's also a strange cult known as the Legendary Cult of Shanologists, you'll come in touch with them in Chapter 13. Not unexpectedly, most of the other races like Elves, Dwarves and Flamizards have their own beliefs as well. All in all, religion is not a major item in the game, although you'll come across some churches, temples and shrines. In the sequal, religion will play a slightly bigger role.
Story:
It's fairly hard to summarise Mikkoku's storyline. The 'official' storyline is essential for understanding the main plot, but the game has a lot of storylines which all converge at one point or another. All in all, we can state that the world is facing great threats... Some important plot points early in the game are:
- The bad King Elmer from the Kingdom of Grubmil who is looking for means to become mightier has recently declared war on the Queendom of Muigleb to obtain the "Stone of Immortality", which he thinks will grant him immortality. The locals of Muigleb, most notably Jordan and Leen, will do everything in their power to prevent this from happening!
- A vicious (and lame as hell) werewolf known as Tiny is organising an army of zombies with which she plans to take over the world. The "famous" werewolf hunter Jun-Jie from the City-State of Wu has devoted himself to hunting her down.
- In the north an army of Flamizards (half-lizard, half-dragon) is trying to invade the Snowdust Republic. These two parties have been fighting for control over the artic zone for fifty years. Certain martial arts monks have volunteered to guard the republic, but how much longer will they be able to stall the Flamizards?
Since the 'official' storyline isn't really relevant for the first half of the game and because it's too big to post here, I'll just give a link for the ones who are interested in the background story:
http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/story.html
Cast:
It should already be clear by now that the cast of Mikkoku is pretty large. However, it's still easy to distinguish the main characters. I will provide a short, "spoiler less" list (for a larger list of characters you can go to http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/characters.html ). Keep in mind that for this reason, the list doesn't contain any of the major characters who you meet late in the game (such as the main villains).
- Heroes
Mark
Age: 18
Description: Mark is kind of a vague person. Nevertheless, he is the real main character of the game. Mark is highly intelligent but often sounds pretty stupid because of the silly things he says. Mark is fed up with living in the boring, backwards village of Waat, isolated from the rest of the world. He wants to leave the island to see what else is out there. When he's about to leave, the village elder Bob hands him a mysterious coin, the Time Coin. Once he finds out that there are more of these coins, he is very passionate in collecting them and unlocking their secret. Once Mark understands the great power that's inside of him and learns how to use Black Magic, he will become a very valuable party member for the entire game.
Tom
Race: Human
Age: 19
Description: Mark's best friend. Like Mark, Tom has been living in the small village Waat for his entire life. He is the first to join Mark's fellowship to collect the coins and from then on does his best to protect and guide his friend. Tom makes a better leader than Mark, but he also gets emotional more quickly. He enjoys pursuing knowledge of other persons or areas. His wish to protect his friends becomes reality when he becomes a real Knight. With his Sword Techniques he can be a real pain in the *** for his enemies.
Arne
Age: 18
Description: Arne is a young man from Jih-viuh who recently got married to his girlfriend Lianne. But his honeymoon was abruptly ended when his wife Lianne got kidnapped by the evil werewolf Tiny. Arne is very aggressive, very impulsive and his hot temper can get him in trouble easily. The safety of Lianne has the highest priority for him. If Arne's HP gets too low, he can use his ability vanish to become temporarily invisible while others can heal him.
Lianne
Age: 19
Description: Arne's wife. Lianne seems to be tempting for villains to abduct. But don't think she's that helpless, in fact, she is quite a good fighter with her whip. Lianne is friendlier and calmer than Arne, but she's more passive and sadder than him. The two personalities complement each other. Lianne's mana-restoring dances make her a good support character for any party with mages.
Jun-Jie
Age: 21
Description: Jun-Jie, the infamous werewolf hunter from a village faaaar away known as Wu. When he was born it became clear that he was "the chosen one" to succeed his aunt Schimmelbart (currently the mayor of Wu), who used to be a great werewolf hunter herself when she was young. In fact, she succeeded in wiping out all remaining threatening werewolves, except for one - the evil Tiny from Kyouchou. Jun-Jie's life is devoted to tracking down and killing Tiny. This shows to be quite a difficult task, because Tiny's army consists of zombies while ironically, Jun-Jie is zombophobic. He has a somewhat strange, unorthodox personality and there are only few (including Tom, Mark and Arne) who dare to befriend him. Jun-Jie's specialties are his ability to use two weapons at once and his incredible speed.
Richard
Age: 19
Description: Not much is known about Richard's past. Even less is known about his intensions. Just like Tom and Mark he is out to decipher the secret of the twelve coins. Richard has a soft, gentle personality although he can be a little egoistical and surprising at times. Richard's ability to summon magical creatures easily makes him one of the best party members in the game.
Wim
Age: 44
Description: Wim is a jolly ol' pirate closely associated with the pirates at the SS Yahr. He can always be found in pubs or other places with a lot of beer present. Wim is terribly stupid but has a heart of gold. Oddly enough, drinking beer makes him more intelligent. He is also the proud owner of the ship "the SS Ale" with which he sails from pub to pub (talk about irresponsible driving!). Wim isn't controllable by the player, but that doesn't mean he isn't useful in battles. Quite the contrary; Wim is a HP tank with a very high attack power (even though he is somewhat slow).
James
Age: 16
Description: James is a young boy living in the forest village of Ikotaira, together with his mom. It is hard to trust James. Which probably won't surprise you, considering he is a thief after all. Despite his mischievous nature, the heroes are often in need of his assistance because he possesses valuable skills like being able to bust rusty locks or luring guards away. Take note though: James never does anything for free, so make sure you're rich enough when asking for his help! During battles, James can steal money or items from monsters. He can also attack enemies from a long distance with his boomerang.
Quist
Age: 29
Description: He's the leader of the monks in the Glacier Pass. Their mission is to keep the Flamizards out of Snowdust. Quist is incredibly strong as and will always fight to protect everyone and everything he loves. He would never abandon his friends, though it usually takes a while before he fully trusts someone. Quist is very direct when it comes to showing his emotions and he enjoys weird expressions. Quist's raw attack power is one of the highest in the game. He has a range of martial art skills at his deposal as well.
Max
Age: 24
Description: A few years ago, a beloved and well respected doctor living in Grrorkum. He had many patients and saved many lives. However, shyness and uncertainty made him retreat to his seaside cottage where he's living a peaceful, quiet life. He seldomly meets people because he has trouble making contact and starting a conversation. His knowledge of medicines and white magic have given him a great reputation, all around the world people know Dr. Maximillian.
- Villains
Elmer
Age: 20
Description: Elmer is one of the first bad guys who will frequently appear on the scene. Sometimes with a mercenary on his side, always accompanied by his trusted pets Puffy and Sloompy. The young king Elmer is the ruler of the Kingdom of Grubmil. Ever since the old Cerpian Empire was destroyed, Grubmil has been the most powerful state. Elmer is very powerhungry and is constantly looking for more ways to become more mighty. For example, he has recently declared war on the Queendom of Muigleb in order to retrieve their national treasure; the Stone of Immortality, which he thinks will grant him immortality. As it appears, war and theft are nothing more than steps to reach his goal, they are not goals in themselves ("the end justifies the means"). It is still uncertain why King Elmer needs power so badly.
Tiny
Age: ?
Description: A werewolf that has been wreaking havoc for years. She's the last one of her kind, all other werewolves have been slayed by the line of werewolf hunters from Wu. The current werewolf hunter, Jun-Jie Wu, spends all his time looking for her. Or should we say "it"? Tiny's ultimate goal is training an army of zombies and use these to create her own empire. For this empire (of which she will be the empress of course) she needs a lot of enslaved maiden, a mission that also occupies her. She/it also enjoys harassing people and making their lives miserable, just for fun. Tiny is mean, rude, deceitful, smelly, and most of all, a big coward.
Drangus
Age: ?
Description: The leader of the Flamizards, a half-lizard/half-dragon species. For half a century, the people of Snowdust have been in war with the Flamizards. 14 years ago, the Flamizards, under their charismatic leader Drangus, succeeded in conquering the Frozen Castle, the base of the Snowdust region. Drangus' army wiped out nearly every fighter and with his magic he turned the remaining people into snowmen. These snowmens, as vulnerable as snowmen are, all fled to the east, across the Glacier Pass to Snowdust Village. Then Drangus created his own lair underground of the Frozen Castle. But he wants more. He knows that the people of Snowdust have the Ice Coin in their possession. If he could extract the power of this Ice Coin, he and his army could become immune to ice, their only weakness. Drangus wants to get his hands on this coin, no matter what it takes.
Henk
Age: ?
Description: Henk is more than just a vampire looking for young girls to suck blood out. Sure, he enjoys juicy necks just like any other vampire, but that's not his main goal. He is working for a dark, unindentified force which has recently settled down in the Nameless Swamps. In his spare time, he likes to try to take over random towns and zombify all the citizens. Henk is cynical, dishonorable and rumours have it that he prefers pizzas over blood.
- Neutrals
Perry
Age: 41
Description: High Priest Perry is the head of the western monotheistic church, which is quickly growing in popularity. Incidentally, he's Tristan's uncle. Perry is a highly intelligent man, and extremely devoted to the god he believes in. You can always ask him for advice, although he will not allow his wisdom to be used for evil. Perry is also the leader of a holy order of knights, known as the paladins (of which there can only be one at a given time), who are in service of the church. His Indevs Church is in possession of the Light Coin, a treasure with a magical power.
Tristan
Age: 26
Description: The son of Alekrypol's last mayor, the great scientist Theo (who died one year ago during a scientific experiment), and Gisela; High Priest Perry's older sister. Tristan is doing his best to follow in his departed father's footsteps. It was his father who made Alekrypol independent, initiated the construction of Alekrypol's high walls and created an army for Alekrypol. His fathers successes have made Tristan quite arrogant. Tristan doesn't like helping people and he really hates people with less status than himself. He is also responsible for building walls between Alekrypol's wealthy centre and the rest of the city in order to prevent poor people from coming close to him.
Andrew / LANCER
Age: 23
Description: During a great war with the Flamizards 14 years ago, all surviving Snowdustians were turned into snowmen. Andrew, the warrior specialized in fighting with spears was no exception. From then on he would call himself LANCER, since he could no longer identify his body as "Andrew's body". 3 years ago, LANCER was democratically elected president of the Snowdust Republic (and mayor of Snowdust Village). LANCER is known for being very hot-headed (even as a snowman!) and impulsive. Regardless, he has a good heart and would always give everything he's got for the good side.
Ruwan
Age: 15
Description: Ruwan is a young boy from Gao who knows a lot about drinks, potions and scrolls. He's also interested in paranormal activities, which is why other people ask him for advice when something strange happened to them. His personality can be described as loyal and easily excited. He's very helpful and a in overall, a good friend.
Astrid
Age: 19
Description: Astrid is an annoying girl from the city of Woei who likes to follow people around. Most likely this is because she desperately wants new friends. Other than that, not much is known about her. She tends to act weird when people ask her about her past.
Resources & Credits:
The game's resources come from various places. Most of the sprites and chipsets have been plucked from RPGMaker resources sites like http://charas-project.net/, although a lot were designed especially for the game as well. It's a pity I didn't have a graphics team, so I had to rely on default and downloaded sprites. Most of the music files, just like the graphics, aren't original, but I was lucky enough to have two skilled friends who composed some songs for me (meaning that the most important music files, such as the battle theme, victory theme, main theme and ending theme are exclusive for this game). Credits go to:
- me, T. Bartels: for writing the entire storyline and "making the game" itself
- M. Theunissen.; for helping me with chapter 5 and motivate me in the early days of the game
- R. Franssen; for designing the maps of Horbrok, Jih-viuh, Grrorkum Castle and Eagle Castle
- T. de Rond; for composing the Main Theme, the Battle Theme, the Victory Theme, the Marching Theme, Tiny's Cave Theme (1) and (2) and Diablos' Dungeon Theme
- D. Hennekens; for composing the End Theme, Hellbound's Theme, the Mage Tor's Theme, the Inn Theme and the Crafting Guild Theme
- R. Vollebregt; for drawing the Title Screen and the Game Over Screen
- W. Plompen; for drawing the 'The End' Screen
- N. Veldhuis; for designing the layout of the official site: www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com
- H. van den Hurk; for beta-testing and for writing the official walkthrough (not finished yet)
- M. Wijnands; for beta-testing
- N. Fahsltröm; for beta-testing
- R. Verresen; for beta-testing and for making the flash map
- A. Castillo; for making the custom installer together with me
Download!:
Well okay, this post wouldn't be complete without a direct link to download the game right?
Download the installer for Mikkoku version 1.8 HERE! (http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/downloads/Mikkokuv1.8.zip)
I aimed at making it completely stand-alone from RPGmaker, so let me know if you have any issues with installing (for example; if it asks for the RTP or if it misses any files).
How to install the game (for noobs):
Open the file you just downloaded and go through the steps of the installer. If you want to, you can create a desktop shortcut for the game. After it's done with installing, you can simply open the game by double-clicking on Mikkoku.exe (in the game's directory) or the newly created shortcut! It's that easy.
Other files:
Download the MP3 version of the song "Mikkoku's Ending Theme" here (http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/downloads/MikkokuEnding.mp3) (1 minute 55 seconds).
Download or view the official Mikkoku desktop wallpaper here (http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/downloads/wallpaper.jpg) (1024x768).
Download or view the complete, high resolution world map here (http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/downloads/MikkokuWorldMap.png) (1600x1200).
Since many people seem to get find the huge city of Horbrok confusing, download or view a map here (http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/downloads/MikkokuHorbrokMap.png) (968x728).
Since many people seem to get lost in the Koroba Woods, download or view a map here (http://www.mikkoku.craccoclan.com/downloads/MikkokuKorobaWoodsMap.png) (1000x600).
Screenshots
The desert town of Tortan.
Jun-Jie vs. Tiny.
The 1st Heiwa Conference.
The evil King Elmer.
Some screens from in-battle.
Manage various things at your castle.
Once you've got an elf in your crew you can set a warping point and teleport back to it later.
Choose your party members in the castle.
Once you recruit Marco, you can play the mini-game "Invisible Touch" in the garden of your HQ. Other mini-games can be played in the Casino in Plaza del dinero.
Unlock new summons.
One of the optional places at the end of the game; the Mage's Tor.
A screenshot from "Vampiric Alekrypol" (Chapter 13), my personal favourite chapter.
During short sequences, you'll be able to look at things from another perspective; ie. playing as the bad guy instead.
The moon! Very different from our moon though. A mysterious place..
The castle of Grrorkum.
Solve puzzles.
Recruiting new companions to aid in your struggle is very important!
... But not everybody will join without conditions!
Elves, night elves and other races are present as well.
A nice city in South Woei, the port of Ynroh.
A dark fate awaits...
PS: I wouldn't have been able to finish this without the downloadable resources on charas-project and the great CharasGenerator ;). So thanks a lot!
Post by: Chiyu on September 19, 2007, 05:08:53 PM
Post by: DragonBlaze on September 19, 2007, 11:17:43 PM
I just downloaded it today, I'll let you know what I thought of it when I get a chance to play it a little bit. :)
Post by: Ben on September 19, 2007, 11:32:35 PM
im looking forward to playing a nice full length project
Post by: Chiyu on September 20, 2007, 12:35:53 AM
Sadly enough, with some people it asks for the RTP so I guess it's not 100% stand-alone yet, even though I put all the RTP files I used in the project folder.
And yeah, I regret it myself very much that the game uses the RTP... But given the circumstances: 1. when I started there were barely any good resources to download and 2. I never had an artist in my team :( and my own drawing skills aren't that great, I didn't have much of a choice.
Post by: DragonBlaze on September 20, 2007, 01:42:37 AM
From what I've seen thus far... You need to improve the begining a LOT! You tend to see this pattern in a lot of 'long term' games, the further you go along the better the game gets quality wise, because when you first start off, you're just learning, then as you make more and more, you get better.
First things first, you need an intro. What I mean by intro is a cutscene, that sets the mood for the game. This is also the place were you put your game tilte, and things like "Created by... your name". A good intro sets the feel for the game, and its the first thing that hooks players in, plus if you can tie the intro into the game at a later time, it'll give your game a sence of unity.
Second, you're begining maps need a lot of improvement, the world map is ok, and the outside of the castle is ok other than that you, you should redo your maps (what i've seen thus far is the fist two towns and the castle). They're very empty, not very organized, and they look bad. Fill them up with stuff, make them less 'big open squares' You have a pretty good town map in your screens, try to make your other towns like that. Insides shouldn't be big open squars either. Making them a little smaller usually helps, otherwise, fill them up with stuff or add walls in the middle to give your area some more rooms.
Third, you're story seemed kinda random, basically you start off and talk to a queen and try to join the army, then the enemy attacks you, then you realize they might want some super treasure, then you need to go to the town and get Dil-doh. And this all happened in a minute. You should expand on this stuff, explain it a bit more, and work with how you present it. Also, assume that the player is stupid and has no clue about your story, and you really have to explain it to them, cuz in reality, we dont know anything of the story except what you say, and if you don't explain what you say very well, we won't understand the story very well.
My final suggestion is that if you really want to make this a good game, make the stuff from the begining as good as the stuff from the ending is.
Post by: Ben on September 20, 2007, 02:36:20 AM
Also, my screen is the dankbank for 2k3 fullscreen as well.
the opening scenes could have used some cathcier mapping. Allthough i know rtp can be ballsax to work with.
that was what i got from the first scenes.
Im going to play further in depth when i have more time. Youve put alot of effort into this i can tell...so ill give it some more of my tiemz
Post by: Crais on September 22, 2007, 01:30:06 AM
I'll download it and try it in a bit. :corn:
Post by: Chiyu on September 28, 2007, 01:13:21 PM
Post by: Ben on September 28, 2007, 08:11:35 PM
its super awesome that youve posted a full game here.
when was the last time that even happend here?!? Youre a good role model for the rest of us.
Post by: ellie-is on September 28, 2007, 08:31:44 PM
EDIT: How big is it? (mbs?)
Post by: Chiyu on September 29, 2007, 12:57:14 AM
Lucas_irineu, the compiled download is 32 MB. Unzipped and installed, however, it's about 76 MB.
Post by: cherko on October 01, 2007, 01:49:57 PM
Excuse me if I'm sounding negative, I do like the game despite those two flaws. Also, I don't mind RTP graphics, but please don't use RTP music, ever.
I can make midis for the sequel, but I'm kind of lazy.
EDIT: Also, the first part with Jordan, Leen and DD is too long, and some of the battles are too difficult. Having to train temporary characters goes against every RPG rule there is.
EDIT AGAIN: The game crashed when I met Elmer in the Cave of Bees. Cause?
Post by: Chiyu on October 02, 2007, 11:26:02 PM
As for the battle theme, well... I think he did a good job with it, but of course that's subjective. Sorry about that. Take comfort in knowing that the sequel has another battle theme by a different composer :).
As for the RTP MIDIs, they're only used in the Muigleb area (where the first three chapters take place). I did that on purpose. If it turns out that more people hate those tracks, then I could easily replace them with other songs. No big deal at all ;).
I would appreciate help with the soundtrack of Mikkoku2, if you should ever change your mind, I'd gladly accept your help!
While I agree with you about the first three chapters being reasonable tough, I wouldn't say that they were particularly long. They should only take half an hour to an hour max, which is only a very small part of the full game. Also, they are not completely temporary (without spoiling too much: yes, they are part of the 54 heroes which you can recruit).
As for the evil crash, I am not sure why it happens, but it pisses me off big time. If ANYONE knows why it happens, I would really like to know. Apparently RPGmaker2k3 is not too happy with Zeno taking on Elmer by himself :P. For some people it miraculously works when they play fullscreen instead of windowed, or when they play windowed instead of fullscreen. For those who continue to have problems with the bug, I have released a small fix that removes most of these "duel" situations and replaces them with battle animations.
Get this patch here! (http://www.craccoclan.com/mikkoku/downloads/DuelFix.zip)
[Edit 5 oct: DuelFix re-uploaded with more maps fixed!]
Post by: cherko on October 03, 2007, 12:28:19 PM
I'll try playing it in windowed, and see if it works.
Post by: Chiyu on November 04, 2007, 11:29:55 PM
1. Bug fixes
Most obvious bugs have already been fixed through the years, but a few less obvious ones remained. I'm talking about the infamous "Ore Coin glitch" for instance. Or the fact that the game doesn't remove newly added certain characters when it should. Or that some characters can equip stuff that they shouldn't.
- Have you found more bugs? Please tell me!
2. Fixed dialogue
When I started making the game, I didn't intend it to become such a lengthy, serious project as it is now. This is why you will sometimes find smilies and such in dialogue (I'm referring to Andrew's and Tiny's lines in particular). I'll try to remove all of these, to make the game look more serious.
3. Re-balancing classes
While there are many characters to choose from, most people only choose from a select few. Especially Richard and Andrew seem a little 'overpowered'. So what I want to do is nerf these two a little. For instance, I'll take away Richard's axe and replace it with a weak rod later in the game so that he solely relies on his summons. This also means that some underused characters will get buffed a little. For example, Sander will get a new, stronger class when he gets officially crowned as the new king of Woei. Jordan will get a whole lot better as well. Lastly, I'll change some armour and weapon stats to make sure that the magical classes really suck at fighting (they are still decent once they get their best weapons, at this point).
- What should be done with Andrew, if anything?
4. Better maps
I can't deny that a lot of indoor maps (in towns) look a little bland and uninspired. I'll do my best to make them look better, be smaller and appear to be more realistic. A few outdoor maps that are below my standard will be completely remade as well. Pelargir, the first village you get to, has already received a huge graphical and functional upgrade. The mining shafts of Woei will most likely be changed as well. On top of this, many maps shall get a few minor tweaks.
- Are there any other particular maps that you really think should be improved?
5. Worthy capitals
The five major countries each have their own capital city, but they hardly look special. In fact, most people probably won't see the difference between a capital and a normal village. They look like dwarfs compared to for example Horbrok, Plaza del Dinero and Alekrypol. I'm referring to Port Chop of Grubmil, Woei of Woei (duh), Grrorkum of Grrorkum (doh) and Dany of Muigleb. Eagle's capital, the big port city of Primus, isn't even in the game yet, so I'll have to add it.
6. More short scenes
I want to add a few new scenes for fun or to give more depth to the characters or the story. For example, I've already added a scene in which you see Jun-Jie steal a raft from Max in order to pursue Tiny. Some more optional scenes would be nice as well, like if you take Richard to Grrorkum to see his young brother, something should happen.
- Anyone got some nice suggestions?
7. New, real intro
I've always claimed that the first four chapters serve as an intro, but in reality they're a bit too long to be a real intro. So I'll make a short, real intro movie (similar to what I did with the Mikkoku2 demo) that blends in with the actual game.
8. New subquests
While there are a shitload of subquests at the end of the game, there aren't too many before Chapter 25. I'm going to add some subquests that do more than just adding a character or summon. Some optional dungeons perhaps.
- Anyone got some nice suggestions?
9. New characters!
Many players like Mikkoku's aspect of maintaining a HQ and recruiting people (NPCs and PCs) to support your cause, so I will add some more. I'm thinking about expanding the number of recruitables from 52 to 64 (which is a 'rounder' number anyway). Chances are that Mia, Sarah and Stunner will become playable, as well as a dwarf, a red mage and a necromancer.
10. Extended first chapter(s)
Since they are not the official intro anymore, the first three chapters need to become a little more serious and realistic. Especially the first chapter will be changed a lot. Jordan and Leen will now not instantly join the army and be sent on an important mission, but rather they will get a tryout first, then a newbie reconnaissance mission and only then will they be drawn into the mess with the Stone of Immortality. This time, the player will get a better understanding of the conflict between Grubmil and Muigleb, seeing that it's not a real large scale war but rather a small expedition to get the Stone.
11. More chapters!
When you come back from the F-Dimension, your main objective is to find and kill Fright. But before this, there are a number of subquests you have to complete. These subquests give you various rewards such as Niklas ZERO, new blue magic, summons or ultimate weapons/equipment for your characters. This is all nice and all, but... since there is nothing else to do except for killing Fright, you don't really have a opportunity to make use of these goodies.
Also, it seems a bit stupid that after returning from the F-Dimension, Fright just sits in his cave and waits for you to come and kill him. These reasons are more than enough to add a few more chapters near the end of the game. I want to 'force' the player to use other characters as well, so perhaps there will be a dungeon with several teams (like the Cerpian Palace, but bigger and more choice for the player). I already have an extended storyline in mind but I don't want to spoil it, so ask me in person if you really want to know ;). Maybe there'll be a special flashback (to the Cerpian War!) chapter as well.
12. More information about the three other coins
Fifteen coins were created, but only twelve were entrusted to the human race. The Creation Coin, Dragon Coin and Energy Coin remain very mysterious, but I want to give them some more backstory as well. Whether they will be visible in the game or not still remains uncertain. I'll consider my options.
13. Adding more variety to NPC's
Instead of having all villagers look identical, I will add some variety by giving them different colours for their outfits and hair colours.
14. Adding icons in front of every item
Adding icons (glyphs) in front of every item so it's easier to identify them in the inventory list.
15. RTP music replaced by original music
It's quite easy to replace these songs by other midi's, if people were bothered by them.
Post by: Jaarroho on November 08, 2007, 02:26:33 PM
Post by: Chiyu on November 08, 2007, 06:57:19 PM
Well, hopefully I'll be able to improve the maps for the deluxe version.
As for the sequel..
It takes place 15 years after the end of the first game. I won't spoil anything for the players who haven't finished Mikkoku 1 yet. But it looks like you missed *one* tiny cliffhanger at the very end: "Someone" invading Grrorkum to claim his son. This son will be one of the main characters of Mikkoku 2.
Mikkoku 2 starts in the middle of a big war between a newly created empire and the allies. You'll play as a mercenary team hired by the rich city of Plaza del Dinero to turn the tides of the war in the allies' favour. This world war will only take up one quarter/one third of the entire game though. After that, Zarag (the main hero), will follow his own path.
Post by: dunedudes on November 08, 2007, 09:17:17 PM
Post by: Moosetroop11 on November 08, 2007, 10:41:08 PM
Post by: Chiyu on November 08, 2007, 10:43:29 PM
@moosetroop11: I suggest you wait a while before downloading it, especially if you value better graphics :)