[VX] Amulet of Athos: Legend of the Sarian Knights

[Aurelia]

I agree about how the protect skill affects the game, however, to say that this game adopts strategy greatly in battle is somewhat false. The creator has a very solid base, but he doesn't/can't use it to full extent. This makes ALL the battles in the game use the exact same "strategy": Zack used protect and fast stance, then sunder/guard, the mage used slip heal (on Zack)/poison then the other one (be it the rogue or the assassin) used their slip damage skill. The whole process is used in ALL battles of the game (be it normal battle or boss battle - boss battles are just "prolonged" version of the normal battles actually), which makes the system gets old very quickly, after awhile it hardly can be called strategy but more of it's-just-how-we-roll. The battle ain't bad, but not exactly good either    It's quite disappointing especially since the game has so much potential battle-wise 

[hiromu656]

Well it IS a demo, so nothing can truly be taken to its full extent. Of what is given, I think strategy is a very big part of combat.

[Aurelia]

It is a demo consisted of more than just one boss battle actually, and they are all using the same skills to get through, that's what I meant by not-so-much-strategy    The creator could have diversified battles not to use all the same skills from beginning to end, and that doesn't matter if it was a demo or a whole game you know

[Ak47]

@Aurelia, hiromu656: Thank you for playing the demo and for your feedback, much appreciated.

feels like you are feeding information to player, not like actual people talking to each other.

I agree, this is what I need to work on. hopefully it will be a little more natural in the next release.
I also have a proof-reader now to fix all the typos and writing mistakes. 

As for the combat... in the old demo I believe there were 2 boss fights.
In the second one you didn't have Zack in the party so you couldn't use the protection strategy, thus making it different from the 1st boss fight. Also the Opportunity Skills were introduced in the second chapter.

I thought the status changing abiltites (debuffs), the Protection strategy and the Opportunity Skills were enough to keep the battles enjoyable and fast paced, for the first 2 chapters at least.

I have implemented a new custom level-up system, so now you can choose what skills you want to take, giving you a little more choice and options in combat.
Also another story related battle mechanic will be introduced in chapter 3.

I'll just paste it in here
[spoiler]
Rage System


Those who have completed the previous demo will have a better idea of what this is about.

At a certain stage of the game (end of chapter 2 in the old demo) Zack discovers his Larkan powers.
From here on every time you finnish a battle his "Rage" meter accumulates.
This will increase his Strength, Agility and Defence in combat as well as giving him access to devastating
Larkan abilities, all depending on how high his Rage meter is.
The higher it is, the more powerfull he becomes.

But there are severe consequences from having too much rage!
At certain points in the game if his rage is too high, Zack can become unpredictable and uncontrollable resulting in him
doing something crazy like hurting/killing innocent people as well as party members.
His attitude will also change, he will become less caring of others, aggressive and spiteful.

But there is a way to calm him down!
Using the Alchemy System you can create a special type of potion that will lower his rage.
But the reagents for this potion are quite rear so you have to be a little conservative.
Also you have to think of when would be a good time to use the potion, for example...
using it before you enter a town is a good idea instead of in the middle of a dungeon where that extra rage would help considerably!
[/Spoiler]

So if you enjoyed the battle system as it is now, hopefully you'll love it as the game progresses.

Thanks again for your feedback everyone.

[Ak47]

New Alchemy System



Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9-7jzOdIkQ[/yt]

Explanation/Tutorial

1. Learn Recipes from specialists around the world, or find them as loot.

2. You can find and gather Reagents for your potions in a few ways;

• Find and Gather them from the environment when you are out exploring.
  
• Buy them from shops.
  
• Some monsters may even drop them.
  

3. Regularly check your Alchemy Menu to see if you have enough reagents to make anything.
You can open the menu by pressing the 'A' Key.

4. If you know the recipe and have enough reagents the recipe's image will be fully colored.
If you know the recipe but don't have enough reagents the image will be saturated.
If you don't know the recipe you will see the unknown potion image.

5. finally if you know the recipe and have all the reagents then you can go ahead and make the potion,
It will then be added to your inventory ready for use.

[hiromu656]

That looks great, the Material screen's design is really cool too.

[CodeMaster]

All these updates look great but I have two questions.

1. Are old save files going to be compatable with the Chapter 3 demo
                                   -and-
2. When is the new demo going to be released.

[hiromu656]

After looking back at your alchemy system, I'm now thinking that, (if possible) the potions listed should be shown in the order they're found, that way if you learn something, you won't have to go all the way to the back unless you've already filled out the front page. Because right now it's more of a "fill in the blanks" rather than, "this is what you currently know"

I say this because there is a blank spot to the right of Weak Health Potion.

[Ak47]

@CodeMaster:
I'm afraid the old demo save files will not be compatible with the new one as so many things have changed.
But I will be providing a save file at the point where the old demo ended, for those who do not wish to play through it all again.
Still no eta on the new demo, quite busy with work atm, maybe a few months.

@hiromu656:
I could do it like that but it would be too much work.
I only plan to have 3-4 pages and the navigation is quite fast so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Also you will most likely be unlocking the recipes in the order they are shown (during the course of the game) but you may miss a few of them.
Thanks for your feedback.

[Ak47]

Here is a New Town Map I'm working on.
The map is not finished, this is just a small section of the town.

Video
Download it HERE for better quality(still compressed)
Or
Youtube
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEZu2zR_w_w[/yt]

Screens




I will continue the video as I complete more of the town.

[pacdiggity]

:O
Looking great. This game is progressing so nicely.

[exhydra]

Very nicely done! The walking pace is also set at a more realistic speed, which is nice to see.

Those are some pretty hard-core fruit sellers, by the way. Executioner beside our place of business? Normal occurrence for us. Drenching downpour of rain with no over-head cover? We've seen worse.

[Ak47]

@Pacman: Thanks

@Exhydra: Thanks,  I tried to keep it as medieval as possible. Times were harsh back then.

[vogelmeister]

Oooh, I like the new screenshots, excellent work. Nice and gloomy, just like this summer in the UK.

[CodeMaster]

The more screen shots you give the more inpatient I get. I can't wait for the new release.

[Ak47]

@vogelmeister and CodeMaster: Thanks

New Map with animated water.

Screen


Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUrHpsi5BG0[/yt]

You might want to watch in full screen to see the water detail more clearly.

[hiromu656]

That looks beautiful 

But your graphics seem to be becoming more realistic and detailed as the updates roll in, soon you'll need to change the actor graphics as well so that they don't stick out so much.

[CodeMaster]

I think they look fine and it can be hard to find realistic graphics for vx.

[lightnox]

I love your project and graphic point of view is magnificent

I download the game ended

PS: sorry i'm bas in english ^^.

[WeirdGameMaker]

I still love the way it looks
Keep it going Ak47.

[Ak47]

Thank you everyone for your kind feedback.
Sorry about the lack of updates, i'll post some screens and videos here to show the progress that has been made.




Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJzWGcHmdrE[/yt]


Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKFx9Qkkgvw[/yt]




Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJl-zTIfXM8[/yt]




Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTl_7F2ckxk[/yt]


Video
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL7pC_y9pq4[/yt]

Sorry it's a bit muddled up.
If anyone can tell me how to embed the videos here i would be grateful!

[pacdiggity]

That is gorgeous. Fantastic work.
To embed YouTube videos:

Code Select Expand

[yt]url[/yt]
Keep up the stunning work. Really, this game looks so professional.

[hiromu656]

Best looking VX game I've ever seen to be honest.

[Ak47]

Thanks guys.
And Pacman big thanks for showing me how to embed the videos!

[vogelmeister]

Thanks for the update.
Nice to see some activity on the project.