Blue[First Post Remodel Completed]

DEMO http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jnmnymqmy23


Latest Updates(6/14/09)
I am in the process of remodeling the first post, it should be up by tomorrow(and hopefully with a new,extended demo).
Heres the specs of the new update.

Pickpocket
You will now be able to steal from stores and certain patrons. Beware if you get caught nothing good will come of it.

Wood Cutting and Mining
Wood Cutting and Mining system is complete. When you do either you earn points for its respective class. The points can be viewed in the Menu for convenience. You can spend the points in a special shop to buy upgrades and even rare items.

Entitlement system
Now when you achieve certain tasks, or accomplish a certain goal, you can earn a title. A title is a special equipment(Replaces the second accessory slot in equipment scene) that comes with perks depending on the goal. For example if you earn the 'Logger' title you will get 20% more wood cutting points when you chop down a tree.

Rep system
Rep is earned by accomplishing certain tasks or completing quests. However not all rep is good, for example if you get caught stealing/pickpocketing your rep will go down. Rep can affect things like how much things cost in a shop or what quests you can get.

Classes
You be allowed to choose your own class.
Class list is now public!

Citizen- Uses pretty much anything to defend itself.
Swordsman- Uses swords and daggers
 - Bladesmen - Uses swords to unleash powerful accurate attacks
  -- Blade Master
- Defender- Specializes in defense skills.
 -- Protector

Apprentice - User of magical skills.
 - Wizard - User of powerful elemental based magic.
  -- Magi
Cleric - User of holy and miracle skills.
 -Priest - A citizen of the light, uses powerful holy magic.
  --Holy Master

Thief - Master of tricks and street combat.
 -Bandit - Uses daggers and speed to overthrow opponents.
  -- Master Thief
 -Brawler - Attacks rapidly with incredible force but reckless technique.
  -- Street Champion

Wingman - Long range user, specializes in bows and guns.
 -Archer - Uses bows with incredible speed and accuracy.
  --Sniper
 -Gunner - Uses the less accurate buy more powerful gun.
  --Gunslinger

Knight(Secrect Class)
 -Spearman
  -- Hell Knight
 +Brigadier
 -Heavy Knight
  --Holy Knight
 +Brigadier

Hidden Classes
Gambler
Psyko

Changed around quite a few scenes and menus.

Heavily unrelated:
Who gave me negative rep I have not done anything wrong


Title
Blue

Other potential titles:

Spoiler for:

[comments]
Title screen is still W.I.P.



Story~

260 years ago, Nol was a disturbed, treacherous and villainous place. Crime, hunger, disease
brought this once peaceful land to its knees. All hope seemed lost. 50 years later, a group of miners awoken and enraged a terrible beast, and with no weapons or knowledge of combat they were easily slaughtered. The beast fled the mines leaving the bodies of the workers to rot inside. Hundreds, thousands, millions of civilians were killed. The black knights were called in to defeat however they were easily overwhelmed. Just as they thought they would end up like the rest of Nol, the gods, despite what the people did to the land and each other, intervened and eliminated the terrible beast. In light of the chance for a new beginning the Black Knights decided to officially govern the land, which is now called Heiwa Nol,"Peaceful Land". 10 years later archialogists made a fascinating discovery, one "that could make this land perfect". Blue Lowell learned about this discovery, he has paid the price for learning about it. He tried to warn them, he really did, but they won't listen. Now he must stop this 'visionary's' mission, before the world must pay the price, a price it cannot afford.

[comments]
I was never much of a writer sorry, but I will try to improve the description of the story.




Characters
Blue



Nolan



Sandy



Kiera



[comments]
I will soon be changing their face sets to their sprites.
Obviously there are more characters.

Screenshots:









Features:
Hundreds of weapons and items

Carefully planned battle stats and monsters. No equipping the strongest weapon and rushing through.

Mining System You will be able to mine for minerals and ore. While mining you can earn points to buy special items in the Miners Guild.

Wood Cutting System You will be able to cut down trees for wood among other things. The points earned through this can be spent on special items in the Loggers Guild.

Rep System Rep is how people see you, the more rep you have the better people will treat you. Rep can go up by doing good deeds like helping a child find her lost pet or it can go down by committing mischief and crimes like burning down trees. Rep can also affect what quests you are able to get or complete, and how much you will pay for things in a store.

Entitlement System You can earn special titles by completing certain task or goals in the world. Equipped titles can give special enhancesments such as more hp or more points when you cut down a tree.

Custom Skill Damage Formulas No more will you have to be restrained by VX's mediocre damage system. With the many custom formulas planned and completed, you will be able to plan your attacks with great precision and person affect.

Stat Distribution You will be able to increase your stat points however you like, but do remember that what class a character is in may affect how much each stat increment will cost and add.

and much more!

Credits
Scripts( In no particular order):
Various YERD(Yanfly Engine ReDux) Scripts
pockethouse.com

KGC Scripts translated by Mr. Anonymous

ATS/Paragraph Formatter,Quest Journel by Modern Algebra

AS Anti Lag by Anaryu

Map Name Popup by Dargor

Misc Credits(Again, in no particular order)
vgvgf
modern algebra
Irock
NAMKCOR
Yanfly
l33tpie 6
Omegas7
ScreWe
pim321
Nessiah
miget man12
Overlord_Dave
~Mentally Insert yourself here if I forgot you~

I like your logo/title screen.

Your mapping needs an extreme amount of work.

Personally, I would rather see facesets that aren't RTP or at the least not of the first several characters.

As far as the story is concerned, I'm confused. Obviously someone had to find this mysterious thingy, but you wrote no one knows who found it, what it does, where it came from, etc. Yet somehow this character Blue, which we have no information about, knows exactly what this thing does and how it's used. That kind of makes no logical sense. I mean, you could say he just happened to find out in some random dream or whatever and continue off there, but that's a bit cliche. I think the mysterious thing needs to be a tad less mysterious so that there is some sort of info on it somewhere. Like perhaps it's fuckin shit up in Nol and there's some old sage that knows of a place that has information about another place that leads you to country that has people from an ancient race that tells you to go someplace else to learn things in a book that leads to another place which takes you to a town where there's a cellar and a old wall with cracks where you break it down and there's a new book hiding where it tells you to go to a new place with some more books where there is actually a small amount of information about this mysterious thingy and how to keep it from fuckin up more shit.

Not once did I mention or reference dreams, I try to avoid cliches as much as possible. When I reveal how he finds out it will make more sense I hope. Its my first game so I did not expect to hear too many positives about maps and story.
Just remember I forgot to set one of the people to move at random, silly me.

New Screenshots.
Finished Rului(Well for the most part maybe add/Remove another citizen or two)

I know you didn't mention dreams, I was just suggesting a crappy alternative as to how the protagonist knows about this mysterious object.

As for mapping (since I'm a mapping whore), I would suggest you start using the tall grass autotile as well. You've got the right idea about going random with the trees and flowers and things, but random is ... well ... random. All your stuff is evenly spaced out, by random, some things could be right next to each other or there could be big gaps where nothing is at. In town, something else that bothers me is the placement of all of those wells. You have like 50 freakin wells lol. A town might need maybe 2, or at the least, not 3 right next to each other like that in the 3rd new screenshot. The other obvious thing here are the buildings. Try to keep the roof tiles proportional with the wall tiles. You have 1 roof and 4 wall. Try doing 2 roof and 3 wall tiles for a building, or 1 and 1 for that tiny VX type house. With a 2:3 roof to wall tile type ratio going, try using the 1 tile windows instead of the 2 tile top and bottom tiles, but that's just preference.

Here's a very handy and well done mapping tutorial that could probably help out a bit.
http://rmrk.net/index.php/topic,29966.0.html

I think you have a lot of neat things going for your game. Particularly, I think your choice of scripts are very consistent. A lot of people just throw in whatever cool script they find, and it ends up like a big mess of scripts that don't mesh. But I think it's clear from this topic that you chose scripts that make sense for the game you want to make.

You're using RTP, but I like RTP to be honest, and I don't think it will make a big difference. And as for the story, there are a lot of ways that what you've advertised could lead into cliches, but I think there is enoughintriguing there that it need not be, and judging by the obvious effort you've put into your game, I suspect that you will follow one of the more intriguing routes, though that is something I will only be able to judge accurately once I see a demo.

The biggest negative I have is definitely the mapping, like grafikal said, all of his suggestions I would agree with. Especially the houses. With only one roof tile, the houses look really thin and there's not much substance, especially since the buildings are rather tall. The building tiles suggest a straight wall, meaning that the only chance for guaging width come from the roof tiles, and when they are only one tile high it looks like the interior would only be a single hallway, one tile wide. But then the interiors you make are gigantic. It's alright to have interiors a little bigger than exteriors as long as the proportions roughly match, but it's kind of weird when it's a dimensional warp. Don't be afraid of small interiors, though that's just my opinion.

All in all, I think that this game could be promising. I can't wait to see where you go with it.

I always felt my houses looks odd, I will edit my maps with the above suggestions and tutorials and see how they come out.

TUTORIAL DEMO UP
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zyimjzumdzy
Its a man-made Hedge Maze so it should be symmetrical and square but I was wondering if anyone could offer tips on how to liven it up.
Please notify me of any errors

Progress
Story: 95%
Mining etc~ 45% System is in place just have to enhance them
Map~ 5% I plan to have many many maps so don't get fooled by this small percentile
Database(Not including custom damage formulas or monsters): 23% Ive gotten around 50 or so items done.
Player Stat Balancing 15%: This is a lot harder than it sounds.
Skill Balancing: 27% Not as hard as player balancing.

I have added the backstory to the main one I showed earlier. The backstory itself remains relatively unchanged, however I have revamped the original story post.
Please post any mistakes or suggestions.

260 years ago, Nol was a disturbed, treacherous and villainous place. Crime, hunger, disease
brought this once peaceful land to its knees. All hope seemed lost. 50 years later, a group of miners awoken and enraged a terrible beast, and with no weapons or knowledge of combat they were easily slaughtered. The beast fled the mines leaving the bodies of the workers to rot inside. Hundreds, thousands, millions of civilians were killed. The black knights were called in to defeat however they were easily overwhelmed. Just as they thought they would end up like the rest of Nol, the gods, despite what the people did to the land and each other, intervened and eliminated the terrible beast. In light of the chance for a new beginning the Black Knights decided to officially govern the land, which is now called Heiwa Nol,"Peaceful Land". 10 years later archialogists made a fascinating discovery, one "that could make this land perfect". Blue Lowell learned about this discovery, he has paid the price for learning about it. He tried to warn them, he really did, but they won't listen. Now he must stop this 'visionary's' mission, before the world must pay the price, a price it cannot afford.







Update(6/1/09)
I have revamped Rului keeping the given advice at heart, and I want to know if you all like it better. I personally can say at least it is a improvement from my previous design.









Update(5/31/09)*2
Revamped 'Item' Menu
Implemented 'Gear' Ranking System;
Weapons can have the following rank:
Battle Worn (E.G.: Battle Worn Basic Sword) Lowest rank, has less stats than regular version of weapon.
Regular (E.G.: Basic Sword) The normal version of a weapon, it does not have a special prefix.
Strong (E.G.: Strong Basic Sword) A little bit stronger than regular.
Reinforced (E.G.: Reinforced Basic Sword) Noticeably stronger than the 'Strong' rank and much stronger than 'Regular' Rank.
Ultimate (E.G.: Ultimate Basic Sword) The best of the best, much stronger than all other ranks.
Armor has a similar system however some of the rank names are changed a bit.
For Armor there is;
Fragile, Regular, Enhanced, Reinforced, Ultimate.

Database Reorginization(To keep up with Weapon/Armor Ranks)
Some skill modifying
Various Formula updates
Mining Shop Completed.

Your maps are looking a little better.

Spoiler for Also:

Feel free to just type UPDATE MM/DD/YY in a post without ACTUALLY posting the entire update in that post and then just update the first post. It's faster for you and I don't have to read as much. (Same for your topic title, you could just type "Blue: Updated mm/dd/yy") lol

Edit::
Also, here's something for you to explore. It happens to be my WIP, but there's no actual events (other than the teleport events). Feel free to download it and explore the maps and take a look at how they're composed. There's only 3 main aspects, which are a cave, a forest, and a castletown. There's a small hometown you begin at, you can check that out, it's only 1 map large. The cave is in the north of the hometown (cut down the vines). The forest is just outside of the hometown from the world map. The castletown is just East from the exit of the forest. You can explore what ever areas are open to you in the World Map if you'd like, but the only accessible areas are the Hometown, Forest, and Castletown. There are 10 maps to the Forest and 6 to the Castletown and 3 for the Cave at the moment. The cave isn't actually complete yet, so you only get those 3. lol.

Anyways, I decided to post this up here so you could take a look, you seem to be taking the suggestions to heart and I thought this could help you out. All these maps are RTP except for the raise ground, market stalls and blacksmith which are just a bit of MACK TS.

There are 2 styles of house here, one is in the hometown which are very small homes VX/Chibi styled then in the Castletown there are larger more XP type homes.

Here's the direct download for you: http://www.mediafire.com/file/mmxrfjif4nz/GAME PROJECT.exe
(it's a bit large since there are several non-RTP musics)

Wow, those maps were amazing. How did you get that dark effect in the cave and those shadows in the forest?

Dark effect was done by tinting the screen in event commands with -32R -32G -32B.

The shadows are fogs. I used Wortana's Fog Script for VX.

Edit:: Here's the Fog Script by Wortana: http://www.rpgrevolution.com/forums/?showtopic=9385

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?gfhnjzjzzyy
(All Final Fantasy Monsters are (c) Square Enix
Please notify me of any errors/bugs.
Suggestions are welcome.
 
Many changes were made:
Enemy style changed to Final Fantasy Monsters.
Maps, were redone, most notably the starting town.
Enimies were buffed, I felt they were too weak.
I also changed some of their element.
Item and weapon tweaks.
Random unimportant database modifications/additions.

Nice, but there are many grammar problems.
Other than that and the mapping, it's a fine try for a first.

I am in the process of remodeling the first post, it should be up by tomorrow(and hopefully with a new,extended demo).
Heres the specs of the new update.

Pickpocket
You will now be able to steal from stores and certain patrons. Beware if you get caught nothing good will come of it.

Wood Cutting and Mining
Wood Cutting and Mining system is complete. When you do either you earn points for its respective class. The points can be viewed in the Menu for convenience. You can spend the points in a special shop to buy upgrades and even rare items.

Entitlement system
Now when you achieve certain tasks, or accomplish a certain goal, you can earn a title. A title is a special equipment(Replaces the second accessory slot in equipment scene) that comes with perks depending on the goal. For example if you earn the 'Logger' title you will get 20% more wood cutting points when you chop down a tree.

Rep system
Rep is earned by accomplishing certain tasks or completing quests. However not all rep is good, for example if you get caught stealing/pickpocketing your rep will go down. Rep can affect things like how much things cost in a shop or what quests you can get.

Classes
You be allowed to choose your own class.
Class list is now public!

Citizen- Uses pretty much anything to defend itself.
Swordsman- Uses swords and daggers
 - Bladesmen - Uses swords to unleash powerful accurate attacks
  -- Blade Master
- Defender- Specializes in defense skills.
 -- Protector

Apprentice - User of magical skills.
 - Wizard - User of powerful elemental based magic.
  -- Magi
Cleric - User of holy and miracle skills.
 -Priest - A citizen of the light, uses powerful holy magic.
  --Holy Master

Thief - Master of tricks and street combat.
 -Bandit - Uses daggers and speed to overthrow opponents.
  -- Master Thief
 -Brawler - Attacks rapidly with incredible force but reckless technique.
  -- Street Champion

Wingman - Long range user, specializes in bows and guns.
 -Archer - Uses bows with incredible speed and accuracy.
  --Sniper
 -Gunner - Uses the less accurate buy more powerful gun.
  --Gunslinger

Knight(Secrect Class)
 -Spearman
  -- Hell Knight
 +Brigadier
 -Heavy Knight
  --Holy Knight
 +Brigadier

Hidden Classes
Gambler
Psyko

Changed around quite a few scenes and menus.

Heavily unrelated:
Who gave me negative rep I have not done anything wrong

You don't have to do anything wrong, other members modify rep and they can do so for whatever reason they want. Also, rep modifications are anonymous. More importantly rep doesn't matter at all.

First post has been remodeled, demo is delayed due to me forgetting I have tests this week.

I found a few errors when it came to mapping, mostly being that if someone tries to go and find the treasure chest to get an actual sword, they are stuck. (in hedge maze, right after you fight the bandit, I went to the right and up to get the chest, once I opened it I attempted to come back the way I came... didn't work)

Bugtest and re-upload, with all the features your including this could be a great game.

Thank you for your input. Here is the fixed demo
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jnmnymqmy23

Also in this demo I have included the new AP gain formula, modified Actor stat gain curves, and enemy level was introduced. Tell me if either the actors or enemies are too powerful.

I hate to be "that guy" but I downloaded and when I tried to play the game a pop up window labeled "libpng error" showed up saying:
IDAT: CRC error

CNxFile Object:
Memory File
[OK]

clicked okay

(In a new window labeled "2Blue"... actually on second thought it is brought up as being the same window holding the game, witch was before only a black screen):

Script 'Cache' line 80: RGSSError occurred.

failed to create bitmap

[OK]

Moving on, this still seems promising, but currently I can not play it.

p.s. how DO you get your characters to be shown during a battle scene?
(if it's your own script and don't want others using it just say so... respond in PM)

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jnmnymqmy23

I have tested this and it seems to work fine on my computer, might have been a compression error.

New demo will be up this weekend. It will include, a new town, access to the forest and the buildings in Rului. A brief intro to the rep and woodcutting system.