Bearers of Unity

[Raen Ryong]

Well, I've been working on my RPG for a very long time now, over a year, but for some reason Charas Project wasn't allowing me to access the main forums when logged in which is why I'm only posting information now

Well, the game is entitled Bearers of Unity for a reason that becomes clear when at a certain point in the game. The plot is fairly complex so I'm going to have to explain it as best I can... without spoiling anything. Here goes...

One Thousand Years Before Present Day

The War of Avulsion

The world of Seidgaea (meaning 'United World' in the ancient Kirinthian language) housed the power of all eight elements (Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth, Wind, Light and Darkness). Four nations existed named Reesa, Jeuda, Ferneza and Cyras. Despite the low level of civilisation, life was fairly prosperous during this era. That was until an avaricious knight named Darclysm formed an army, the Abyss Knights which consisted entirely of monsters. His motives were unclear, but he began using the primal force of Chaos (there are four primal forces - Light (not the same as the elemental, which is far weaker), Dark (not the same as the elemental, which is far weaker), Order and Chaos), which he solely had dominion over. He was a ruthless and tactical leader and, with his faithful knight Prysm by his side, soon the entire Cosmos was threatened by his gathering of darkness.

However, to Darclysm's misfortune, four warriors had found the mysterious Seeress Myst. Their names were Sirus, Rebane, Minara and Kreon. Veterans of many campaigns against the aggressive nation of Cyras, the allied nations of Reesa, Jeuda and Ferneza held them in high regard. Myst entrusted Sirus with the Dragon Tear and Dark Matter, two substances which held within them the dormant power of primal Light and primal Dark.
She then told them to seek a mystical blade which they would find in an equally mystical cave, and to fuse it with the essences of primal Light and Dark, to create a weapon powerful enough to contest Darclysm's primal power.

Meanwhile, the three allied nations formed a coalition force, named the United Nations Army, and attacked Darclysm's hordes. Although the Abyss Knights numbered only in the 25,000s, they were still able to meet in battle a force of 325,000 United Nations Army soldiers... it was a bloody battle and the Abyss Knights won with approximately 115 monsters left. A ragged 750 troops from the United Nations Army managed to retreat from the slaughter. One thing was clear: without Sirus, they stood no chance whatsoever.

Sirus succeeded. The legendary blade, freed of the barrier of mist which held it in the cave, was then fused with the Dragon Tear and Dark Matter to become a spiritual weapon of immense power. The real question was; would it stand up to Darclysm's manipulation of the Abyss and Void (The Abyss is pure primal Chaos and the Void is pure primal Dark... Darclysm had some aptitude with primal Dark also)?

Sirus marched towards the homeland of the Abyss Knights, the Dry'has Ne Refus (Darkness No Refuge in the Kirinthian language, which is ironic). In the Gloom Forest which overlooked the place that was to be the decisive battle of the war, the warriors devised a plan with their remaining troops. Eventually it was decided that Sirus would lead a platoon of troops initially and thin out the enemy lines, and the other warriors would come and assist shortly after the battle began. It was a risky strategy, but fortunately a well-executed one. The Abyss Knights all perished in that battle, along with all of the United Nations Army soldiers... but one question remained. Where was Darclysm, the self-proclaimed 'King of Chaos', and his knight, Prysm? As the warriors were contemplating this, Darclysm himself appeared before them.

He began the battle by using a technique known as the "Dark Flare", which was known only by him and Prysm. The battle that would decide the fate of billions began to sway in Darclysm's direction as Sirus realised that his team was beginning to lose, slowly but surely. Even though it was suicidal, Sirus and his team combined their powers with that of the Valiat and released all of the primal energy at once... resulting in a massive cataclysmic explosion that rent the fabric of space and time. As the smoke cleared, neither the warriors nor Darclysm was seen... Prysm must have died in the conflict earlier.

The massive elemental conflux caused the world of Seidgaea to violently change, as the elemental parts of the land were separated from the mainland to form other worlds, repelled by the anti-matter released from the explosion. Seidgaea then began to be known as Tirgaea, or "Torn World".

Founding of the Abyss Empire

The beginning of the royal Nightflare bloodline

The monsters retreated to the deepest recesses of the world. The Dry'has Ne Refus was once again not a refuge for darkness. Dulahan Nightflare, the leader of a group of about 2,000 warriors took advantage of this uncertainty. Somehow, he discovered a portal the Abyss Knights used and constructed a castle in the icy world it led to, naming it Nightflare Castle. As the other nations, excluding Cyras were weak, it was a simple matter to create the Abyss Empire, and to make it a dominant power. Quite why he named it after the Abyss Knights is unknown. This was the beginning of the royal Nightflare bloodline, and the current king of the Abyss Empire, Remas Nightflare, is a direct descendant of Dulahan.

Present Day

Tirgaea

Tirgaea now has ten recognised nations. Reesa, Jeuda, Haceon, Umbris, Ferneza, Magissa, Velis and Transa make up eight of ten and are collectively known as the Allied States. They are in a state of alliance and often meet within Reesa to make decisions. The Abyss Empire is a powerful, dominant power and the strongest of all of the nations. King Remas Nightflare rules the empire with his son, the prince Rath Nightflare, the six imperial generals, and his shady advisor who is known only as "The Seer".
The Republic of Cyras is the tenth nation and it maintains a state of hostility towards both the Allied Nations and the Abyss Empire. It is a fairly powerful nation.

Earth

The story of the heroes starts on Earth (yes, the same world we are in now ). The main characters; Raen, Drake, Amber and Heather lead an idyllic life in their small village. Magic is largely forsaken on Earth and it is a completely different world to most. However, the Abyss Empire turns its attentions to Earth and the four children suddenly find their realities twisted and their quest begins...

That's a very basic overview of the story, avoiding spoilers...

Features

Many characters which (hopefully) have some depth

Many, many characters. They have differing stats (obviously) and it's up to you to devise a perfect team... or maybe just team with your favourites? I'm trying very hard to put a lot of character development in there...

Class Upgrade System

Expansive Class Upgrade system which currently encompasses 72 classes. Yes, that's right - 72 ... 56 of which are available to normal characters. That's a lot of character customisation, I hope, but it doesn't stop there...

"Rune Fusion" System

Tired of learning attacks by Level? Me too. That's why there are many different skillsets, which learn skills using different stats (eg Fire uses Mind, Warrior uses Attack, etc)... you can use Runes to give characters other skillsets and completely customise them. Want a mage using three elements? Go ahead. But how about making an archer that can use archery as well as another element or two? I hope this allows more party customisation. There are different types of armour focussing on augmenting different stats so this adds to the strategic element of party-raising too...

CBS - Duel System

Ever played Suikoden? The duel system is quite cool, is it not? And no, I'm not going to do a "Legion Saga" and copy the system exactly. I've redesigned it so you have many many different attacks and skills. A hell of a lot of coding, but worth it. BTW, the DBS is still in use.

CMS

I'll make this at the end of the game, but it basically displays character information, class information, help and your current playing statistics (eg number of battles). It can be accessed from any save point making it convenient. Yes, the default menu system is also in use.

Nice Facesets!

I'll upload this one here since it is small enough... basically, the faceset shows the character and their elemental affinities next to them. Nice looking, in my opinion.

Overview of Project

Yes, to finish, this is entirely my work. I do not have a team, nor would I want one. I do the reams of coding, a lot of graphic/midi editing... everything myself. Hence fairly slow rate of progress... but damn satisfying.

I've made a website on it, though I don't update that often...  ... if you want screenies, visit there. I've heard that many people find the colour scheme quite disgusting though lol... I'll change if it is THAT bad. I just like bright colours

I've probably forgotten to say some stuff, but hey -- leave a comment or whatever. Feel free to ask me about anything. Laters...

[DragonBlaze]

The background sounded very cliche with all the differant elemental forces or whatever they're called. So yeah, the background EXTREAMLY cliche. Though the 'current' story or whatever seemed to be pretty good and original.

The screens aren't too great. The inside dungeon type maps are very open and empty, the forest ones are good, but instead of showing the same map 3 times there, you may want show differant ones. Then the last inside one is kinda meh.

And having the 'alex' for the char is not a very good idea.

So yeah, this game could turn out good, but it has a very cliche background and the maps are nothing outstanding. You're gonna have to work extra hard to make this project good.

Good luck though.

[Raen Ryong]

If it sounded cliche, it's probably because I'm trying to avoid spoilers... which makes it difficult to explain anything in great depth. There are some elements which do sound a bit cliche I admit but don't worry I go into a fair bit of depth on the elements etc, with some scientific theory (which isn't entirely made up lol)... the screenshot of the village done 3 times was to show off the day/night and random weather systems when they were in their testing stages. I haven't taken any screenshots recently.

Oh and btw, none of those are actually dungeons lol and looking at it, I have taken the barest areas. I'll have to make you reconsider with some more recent screenshots when I get time

Using "Alex" was a decision I decided to stick to, as I always used him to represent myself in my earlier RPGs and the main character is a persona of myself.

[DragonBlaze]

Alright, I'll be looking forward to the other screenies and hopefully the story is less cliche than it sounds.

I still don't agree with the alex head, but its your game and its your decision, so I'll just leave it at that.

[Muraiko]

Looks great to me. I have no problem with that whole elements stuff. I think elements are cool. My game has the five chinese elements: Fire, Water, Wood, Earth, and Metal. I don't think elements are cliche'... but of course, I'm not too sure.

[Meiscool-2]

Nice system. I like the yellow/goldness of it.

[Raen Ryong]

Well, I do agree that elements are cliche. I mean, after all, they ARE used in just about every RPG going (both professional and non-professional) but I don't think that they're cliche in a negative way.

Don't worry, I assure you that the elements etc is the only thing that I have "copied" from other games. The storyline is entirely original, unless I've subconsciously copied something which could happen. And yes, "Alex" it shall remain!

Glad you like the system... it's the result of three combined systems and then edited some more...

Well, I've taken some more recent screenshots showing more... populated areas as well as some coding screenshots etc.


A duel where I've edited my stats to give me a *slightly* unfair advantage. Hey, I'm the designer

I'm aware none of those screenshots show off TOO much, but they should at least convince you that this game isn't an entire waste of time lol... hopefully?

EDIT: Hmm... where'd my pictures go? I'm such a newbie here... just use this link; http://photobucket.com/albums/e56/RaenRyong/
to get to my photobucket thingy.

[Meiscool-2]

looks like a waste of time to me. I mean, if you're going to use advanced coding, at least try to make it look nice by using pictures instead of the default text system.

You're on the right track as to maps, but you're lacking detail in emence proportions.

[Muraiko]

So that means that your game doesn't have a battle simulation, like a link type thing or somthing? Hmmm... I wonder though, if it is like a link thing, then how can your other party members help out? I mean, the game link IS a one playable character thing.

[Meiscool-2]

Originally posted by Muraiko
So that means that your game doesn't have a battle simulation, like a link type thing or somthing? Hmmm... I wonder though, if it is like a link thing, then how can your other party members help out? I mean, the game link IS a one playable character thing.

Zelda, not link, and 4swords ring any bells? How about computer AI like in secert of mana?

[DragonBlaze]

Those are only for certain battles. He said he's still using the DBS, thats just like a little add-on battle system, so the other characters won't have to be involved in those battles. I'm guessing it'll work about the same was as The Way games used both a plunge battle system and the defult battle system, and the plunge battles only involved the main hero and one opponent.

[Muraiko]

Oh, okay, I get it now. and meiscool, zelda is the princess's name, the green hat guy's name IS link.

[Raen Ryong]

Right, just to clear up... that screenshot shows the Duel System. That is basically when there is an event in the game that results in the main character fighting against an enemy, one-on-one. I thought it would be more interesting to implement a system to make it different from an ordinary battle... I may change to using pictures rather than the default text boxes at a later stage of the project, but I think the text boxes work well enough. It is turn-based, not active, so the use of them won't slow it down.

I'll mention all of the features I can think of at the moment, as the previous list was a bit incomplete (well, I was writing all of that at about 1am lol);

Special Facesets

I'm not using facesets as such anywhere in the project. Even the menu ones have now been replaced. Why? Because I do not feel they look very good... instead, they have been replaced by images of the character with their elemental affinity. I like it, anyway.

Boss Information

Before each boss encounter, you will be given a choice to view the boss's stats (I'm pretty sure there is a screenshot of that), their techniques and then general hints on defeating them. You do get the choice, so if you lose on a boss and have to reload to face it again, you don't have to be annoyed by the pictures (they don't take very long, but you never know.)

On a side node, I've endeavoured to make sure bosses aren't immune to status effects. Ever got annoyed at a game because your party constantly succumbs to status effects, and the very same ones don't work against the only enemies you'd want to use them against? Even bosses aren't immune to some... though they mostly will against instant-death type statuses (most... not all. Try different strategies)

Timer System

I've hijacked one of the game's timers and forced it to count upwards

Time affects when people stay up, events that happen only at a certain time of day, screen tone, monster encounter rates and the music.

One minute (in game) is equivalent to one second of real time, and "a day" in game is split into five different time periods:

Day --> 10:01 - 18:00

This is the 'normal' time of day. The screen tone is normal, monster encounter rates tend to average at this time, and most people are awake. The music is even in terms of volume and tempo.

Evening --> 18:01 - 22:00

Twilight... certain monster species prefer this time of day, whereas some others detest it... monster encounter rates may drop or increase. The screen tone goes fairly fiery-coloured (orangy), and the music gets slightly quieter and a bit slower. Most people are awake during this time.

Night --> 22:01 - 00:00

Nighttime in all of its glory (I like it at this time )... Expect not many encounters in a wilderness area, but many in a cave. The screen tone gets fairly blue and dark at this time, and it becomes slightly difficult to see in caves. Adventuring in caves is not recommended at this time. The music gets a lot slower and quieter, and most people are asleep at this time... normally only the Inn is open.

Early Morning --> 00:01 - 06:00

This is very similar to night, only darker. It is very difficult to navigate through caves and the encounter rate in them peaks at this time. The screen tone is darker still and the music quieter... most people are slumbering at this time and you won't find many shops open, although Inns tend to run a 24-hour service.

Morning --> 06:01 - 10:00

This is slightly darker than day. Monster encounter rates begin to reflect those in day, and many people wake up about this time. The music is a slightly quieter and slower version of the day, and the screen tone is also marginally darker than in day.

Resting in inns puts forward the timer by 9 hours (= 9 minutes), and fighting a battle puts it forward by 5 minutes (= 5 seconds).

Random Weather System

This is pretty self-explanatory. This will change once every six hours, and no -- it won't happen indoors :p

Certain events may happen at a certain time of day, and wildlife may or may not appear as well. Adventuring in the Early Morning with a thick fog is not recommended at all... for ease of playing, you can simply enter a building to disable the current weather, but if you're caught out in a wilderness...

Level Up Message

This doesn't really affect gameplay, but is just a small addition that tells you your stat gains upon a level up. That's... about all there is to say about this feature.

Duel System

A duel is a battle between the main character and a single opponent that is fought with more finesse than a normal melee battle. You select your moves from a possible 21 before the battle (except in the tutorial), and each has strengths and weaknesses. There are also approximately 18 special skills, so far, to boost your attacks or hamper your enemy's.

Rune Fusion System

There are 26 skillsets in the game, of which 22 are available to any character. These are:

Fire
Ice
Lightning
Water
Earth
Wind
Light
Darkness
Swordplay
Warrior
Archery
Spellsword
Lightsword
Chivalry
Chakra
Shaman
Dragoon
Shadow
Spirit
Steal
Song
Wild

Each character has three 'slots' in which you can decide which skillsets they should learn. The first slot is always occupied by their class's skillset (except for mage-classes, which have none), but the other two can be freely changed. Each skillset is different in terms of power, MP cost, accuracy, field of effect (IE, Single or All), and the stat required to learn skills. For example, Fire Magic tends to hit all enemies, with low-ish power, moderate MP cost, moderate accuracy and it requires Mind to learn skills at a moderate rate. Darkness on the other hand tends to hit a single enemy, is very very powerful, high MP-cost, moderate accuracy and it requires Mind to learn skills at a slow rate. The more physical skillsets, like Warrior, require Attack and some skillsets, like Lightsword, require two stats (Attack and Agility). This means that you can customise your characters a lot more, and you can outfit them in different armours to raise different stats more.

Armour Classes

"Casual" Armour --> Raises all stats moderately. Can be used by most classes.

Robes --> Raises defence minutely, and Mind massively. Cannot be used by many classes, but works well with the eight elemental skillsets, Spirit and Song.

Heavy Armour --> Raises defence massively at the cost of agility. Can be worn by a fair amount of classes, but only helps Chivalry directly (Attack and Defence)

"Wing" Armours (IE, some light armour with some wings attached) --> Raises defence minutely, Attack slightly and Agility significantly. Ideal for Lightsword-users.

"Wild" Armours --> Raises defence slightly, Attack by a lot, but lowers Mind. A very niche armour, suitable for most physical skillsets.

Class Upgrade System

There are 72 classes in the game, 56 of which are available to most characters. When you upgrade classes, you get a choice between different "career paths"... each class upgrade raises all stats slightly but 2 go up by a whole grade (eg, from Average to Excellent in the database)... this means that you can plan ahead how you would like the character's stats to develop. Each class also has an in-built skillset.

Before class upgrade
* Max Level 25
* To Upgrade, must be level 20 or higher

First class upgrade
* Max Level 50
* To Upgrade, must be level 20 or higher
* More EXP needed than before upgrading.

Second class upgrade
* Max Level 75
* To Upgrade, must be level 60 or higher
* A lot more EXP needed than before upgrading.

Final Form (Third class upgrade)
* Max Level 99
* Significantly more EXP needed than before upgrading.

This means that it is beneficial to raise your characters to Level 25 before upgrading, as it takes more EXP to level up after Class Upgrading, and the same for level 50 instead of 40 etc. This also means that a party of level 50's can take a weaker level 10 member, for instance, to a training area suitable for their level and because they need more EXP the amount they will receive will be incredible since the level 10 has yet to upgrade for even the first time... if that makes sense. Suffice to say, you can train a lower level character in a higher level training area. I may post a class list later...

Bank System

Ever wondered what the point is in storing your money in a bank? You normally get Game Over from the random enemies, so it's not as if you would lose more money than usual, and you're unlikely to get/need more than 999999 in currency...

This is why my Bank system (which can be accessed a little bit into the game) has an interest system! Depending on what "Bank Card" you have, you receive different rates of interest. You receive that interest after every successful battle... meaning there is some sense in storing some money to let it collect interest. The initial rate is only 5% per battle, so it's not as if you're going to get filthy rich after a few battles... needless to say, this is one of the parts of the project that require the most moderation!

Other Stuff

Oh and regarding criticism, could you please make it constructive rather than... condemning? I would like to improve if you say there is something wrong, but instead of being told "there is an immense lack of detail", I would like something along the lines of "there is an immense lack of detail. You should space out the trees more", for instance. And yes, I know most of the criticism so far has been constructive.

I'll be playtesting my game again soon... so I'll take many screenshots at that time. Laters!

[Muraiko]

You can make computer AIs in the field to help you fight foes and you don't even need a battle simulation? How do you that? Sounds interesting.

[Raen Ryong]

Umm... sorry, but I don't really understand your reply. However, it is about 11pm and I am knackered, so it may be me being dense...

The duel system involves you against a single enemy. It's a one-on-one battle. The enemy's actions are controlled by a random variable which gives a percentage chance for each action, depending on the enemy's personality. The tougher opponents will also adapt their attacks depending on other factors, such as your HP.

The duel system is not used that often, it's used mainly for a big battle between your protagonist and a fairly major enemy. It is turn-based, not real time, which is why the text boxes don't slow it down any. I'm still using the DBS for most of the battles.

Hope this clears things up...

BTW, thank you for... well, being interested in my game! You're the only person so far who hasn't criticised it lol