[VX] The Scarlet Ascension (Updated with Demo!)

[Voulk]

"Alone? I can't say that's smart..."

High-Strategy Combat System
- Each character has their own unique resource system.
- Bosses have more than just high stats. Combine knowledge, strategy and over 70 skills to bring them down.
- Some skills are limited by cooldowns, others can only be used once or twice per combat. Use them wisely.

Equipment isn't just about the stats
- Ultra-Rare weapons give access to new skills while equipped. A strong strategy starts with your weapon choice!
- All characters have a trinket slot. Instead of giving stat bonuses these increase the power of a specific skill. For example, Arthur's 'Energetic Assault' trinket increases the duration of his Assault skill from 3 turns to 4. Super-power your favorite abilities!

Area Passives
- Enemy troops gain unique passives and effects depending on which area they're in.
- Each area has a rare enemy that has a small chance of joining a troop in battle. These often hold greater rewards.

A character driven story
- The game mechanics aren't the only thing on show here. Leucia has more liars than thieves and Leucia has a lot of thieves. Uncover the deception.
- Short stories written by the people of the land can be unlocked throughout the game and be read at any time once unlocked for those looking to fill in the gaps.

A game where fun is worth xp
- Most of your experience comes from quests and exploring. Grinding on enemies is still there for those who enjoy it but it's not as efficient.
- Most of your attributes come from equipment upgrades encouraging active gameplay.
- More side missions than you can shake a stick at. Flexible progression paths allow you to advance whichever way you choose.

No Random Encounters!


[spoiler]
It's been years since the war ended and the Emperor took control. Small packets of rebels are still scattered across mostly barren wastelands but their numbers dwindle. One such group hatches a plan. A plan that could topple the empire. But will this plan push them too far?

Meanwhile two Luganians wander through the wreckage of their former city. They are all that is left of their
race, all they seek are answers. As they comb the ruins they come across something. A message from a mentor
that's long since passed. Filled with new purpose they leave the city knowing their search for information has
only just begun.

Late one night we join our party as they attempt to break into a high-profile government building. Success will
mean possession of the mysterious artifact being closely guarded here. Failure will mean the caretaker has two
more bodies to clean up tomorrow morning. For Gordan and Arthur it's worth the risk, anything this carefully
guarded has to be worth thousands on the black market and food isn't cheap.

In a land of kidnapping, deception and crime, one group will go to any extreme...

[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

"To the exiles of Eris there are two commodities: food and trust. One is stolen, one is earned, both are vital for survival. A fear of empire plants force camps to stick to small groups of close friends and family. They're good people, forced into lives of crime to stay alive. A common goal unites all of them: Kill Emperor Radek.

I'll leave it to somebody else to tell you about the history of the land but suffice to say that the lush, beautiful
land that Eris once was is long gone. It's more akin to a wasteland nowadays. The natural resources are poured
into Radek's ambitions.

Eris used to be about fun, adventure and magic. Now it's about politics, power and greed. I can only hope that
I live long enough to see the Emperor fall. Surely we'd be better off without him?"

- Old man

[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

Gordan
Age: 21
Story:
Gordan was once a high-society nobleman. With the announcement of his engagement to the Emperor's Secretary, Gordan was in good standing with all. At least, this was true of him by day. By night he was the cities finest cat burglar. There was almost nothing this man could not steal. Being a man of wealth he had no need for the goods he took, no, to him it was merely sport.

Of course, petty thievery didn't fulfill him for long and a failed attempt at stealing the Leucian family crown saw him on death row. Unwilling to accept such a gruesome fate, Gordan escaped. He quickly ran into Arthur, his old
childhood best friend and a rebel he became.

Having apparently learned nothing from his days as a nobleman, Gordan is far too cocky for his own good.

Sample Skills
Expose Weakness (Passive): Gordans skills expose their targets, increasing all damage they take by 14%. Stacks 3 times.
Quick Attack: Deals damage and allows Gordan to recast a second skill instantly.
Clobber: If Gordan has lower HP (as a percentage) than his target, Clobber will stun for 8 turns in addition to dealing damage.

                           

Arthur
Age: 22
Story:
The Leucia-Echland war claimed many lives, Arthur's father among them. He watched as Radek assumed power. He watched as people he knew from his childhood were taken away by the executioners. He watched as the city transformed.

There had to be a better way, he thought to himself. This couldn't be the best path forward, and so he kissed his mother on the forehead and went on his way. He left the city his purpose now clear: he would find another way. Soon after he founded the rebels alongside a group of old friends.

Buoyed by the stories he heard during his childhood Arthur has always been a deeply curious soul. Some say this makes him morally ambiguous as he's willing to follow almost any path that catches his fancy. It's perhaps fortunate that he's anchored by a fierce loyalty and a strong sense of purpose.

Sample Skills
Bloodthirst (Passive): Critical hits increase Arthurs ATK by 15% for 9 turns. Stacks up to 2.
Provoke: Focuses all enemy attacks onto Arthur. Lasts 8 turns.
Unsuspecting Blow: Hits the enemy in an unusual place guaranteeing a critical hit.
Bolster Allies: All allies share the effect of any Safeguard / Bloodthirst stacks on Arthur for 9 turns.

                           

Tara
Age: 20
Story:
5 years ago, only weeks after Radeks takeover, Cameron (whom she was very close to), came to her with the idea of leaving the city. They were to move to the country where they no longer had to fear the harshness of the new regime. She pleaded with her parents to go with them. Their parents, fearing severe repercussions for leaving the city, instead disowned the two children telling them to go if they had to but to never come back. In tears, Tara left the city.

Before the fall of Echland Tara's family was of reasonable wealth and so she lived a sheltered but happy early life. A stark contrast to the life she is forced to live in exile and as such she continues to adapt. She often feels she has something to prove and so can be a risk taker.

Sample Skills
Assassin's Boon (Passive): Every fourth skill triggers a bonus attack.
Head Shot: Deals 100% bonus damage to targets below 25% HP.
Reload Splinter: Gives skills a chance to inflict a stacking damage-over-time effect on the target. Stacks to 3.
Exploit Weakness: Generates bonus SP if the target is stunned or slept.

                           

Cameron
Age: 24
Story:
Believing Radek to be insane, Cameron made the decision to flee the city along with his sister, Tara. Disowned by his parents,
Tara became the only family member to feature in his life and as such he became very protective of her.

Cameron is brash. He doesn't care much about the feelings of anyone else (except Tara) and is willing to go to any extreme to complete his goals. Ultimately he's angry at his place in life and desperately wants to live in a different world. One where happiness doesn't have to be stolen. He strongly resents the Emperor.

Sample Skills
Anesthetic Poison: Inflicts a poison that prevents the target from gaining positive status effects for 8 turns.
Shiv: Deals bonus damage if the target is inflicted with a poison effect.
Expunge: Consumes a poison effect on the target, has a unique effect depending on the poison consumed.
Smokebomb: Blinds all enemy targets for 4 turns causing their physical attacks to miss 75% of the time.

                           

Anya & Xavier
Age: 24 & 28
Story:
Luganians always tended to live sheltered, safe lives. The small independent nation was often seen as a large cult by those from neigbouring countries, a good cult, but a cult all the same.

When Lugania was wiped out by Radek only two survived. During the heat of battle the two siblings attempted to escape beneath a crag in the cave. They were sure to be discovered if not for a veil cast over them by a luganian elder with his last breath. They sat there in each others arms, only able to watch as every member of their people was brutally murdered.

Xavier, not afraid to make his own decisions, is more than happy to harbour a lust for revenge.
Anya on the other hand looks only for a place where Luganian ideals can survive in the modern world. She seeks
preservation for her race.

                           

Emperor Radek
Age: Unknown
Story:
Radek was always much too clever for his own good. His only weakness became his lack of control over his most primal of emotions. His anger was his Achilles Heel and the caretakers of the Leucian palace quickly learned to avoid his outbursts.

The story of the prince who rose to claim power over half the world varies wildly depending on who you ask. However, a few things are agreed upon by most:
- That he was unhappy with the way his father ruled Leucia.
- That the late king came to a mysterious end allowing Radek to ascend to the throne.
- That he declared war on Echland only a few days later.
- That he led the unit of elite soliders that wiped out Lugania in a single night.
- That he declared himself global Emperor shortly after Echland fell.

One thing people can't quite agree upon are his motives and for a man who conquered the world he sure seems troubled...

[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

Items are colored by rarity. Ultra Rare weapons gives access to unique skills while equipped!


A tent - Because inns are never cheap.


Everyone loves a good puzzle, right? Right!?


Well they don't look like human skeletons at least...


Combat uses a CTB battle system. This functions much like an ATB system but
without the waits between turns.


Meteors! Fire! Mercenaries! A ship!


The thieves had become accustomed to fighting off guards by torchlight.

[/spoiler]


[spoiler]

Most recent demo release (4/3):
With RTP (81MB): http://www.mediafire.com/?nqms647t55ubh1z
Without RTP (47MB): http://www.mediafire.com/?omtkrswrvqodf01

This is a tentative release. It has yet to be put through its final test run.

[/spoiler]


[spoiler]
The Scarlet Ascension by
Voulk

With a little help from:

Scripts
Yanfly (Battle Engine Melody)

BulletXt (SwapXT, Thomas Edison VX)
KGC (KGC_ExtraDropItem)
Mithran (Advanced State Probability, Skill Functions, Advanced Force Action)
Modern Algebra (Advanced Text System, color coded Items)
Omegas7 (Omega Quest)
Reedo (Skill on Equip Lite)
Shanghai (Variable Map Window, Enemy Linked Deaths)
Woratana (Max Level Limitation System, Multiple Fog)

Graphics
Mak (Tilesets)
Hanzo Kimura (Selected Resources)
(To be completed)

Beta Testers / QA
(To be updated)

[/spoiler]

[EvilM00s]

You may be onto something here. I can't see the shots right now, since I'm at a computer thats blocks stuff, but I'm definitely going to look when I get home. This sure sounds interesting, particularly the use of skills and how they work as a stacking/dependant system.

[hiromu656]

This game sounds really cool. I like how the equipment don't solely upgrade stats, and the fact that you can find these types of equipments. Hopefully I'm not mistaken, will there be multiple Ultra-Rares, or just main ones that you can find?
And sidequests are definitely a great thing to hear. I'll be awaiting this demo for sure.

[Voulk]

@ Hiromu

There are about 15 Ultra Rare weapons per character right now and that number will probably still grow. They're also included throughout the game instead of just at the end (you can even find one in the demo if you manage to beat a difficult side-quest).

@ EvilM00

I found it hard to do the battle system justice in the screenshots but be sure to check out the demo in March!

Thanks for the comments

[Voulk]

A quick update:

The demo is finished and all the remains is some final bug testing. Assuming nothing catastrophic happens between now and March 1st we should see it released on time!

[Acolyte]

Looks pretty cool. I'll have to give it a try when you release the demo.

[modern algebra]

Looking forward to seeing the demo!

[LoganF]

It looks very nice, I'm definitely interested in a demo.

Most of your experience comes from quests and exploring. Grinding on enemies is still there for those who enjoy it but it's not as efficient.

This reminds me of a constant argument I see on the FFXIV forums, which always makes me laugh.

The only thing I have to say about it, and some of the other elements of this game, is that you must be a fan of Borderlands. There's quite a bit of similarities: rarity colours, exp from quests typically crazy compared to killing things, 'class mods' powering up specific abilities, occasional 'badass' getting involved... Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing; those were definitely some of the enjoyable aspects of the game.

[strike]

I think that boat looks silly. if it's not on a world map it looks like a toy.

[Voulk]

@Strike_Reyhi

Fortunately the Theebs Merc squad had a little extra money in the coffers this month and were able to invest in some new ships, just in time for the release of the demo!


@Logan
I have never actually played Borderlands but by your brief description I'm pretty keen to check it out.


A quick demo update:
To be honest with February being so short time crept up on me pretty fast and when March 1st hit I didn't feel the demo had been tested thoroughly enough for a stable release. 48 hours later I'm feeling a lot more confident and I'm certain I can have it out to you all within the next 12 hours (5 if I don't sleep but it's 4am here). Keep checking back!

I'll leave you with an updated version of one of the original screenshots:

[Voulk]

Taking 'sticks to deadlines' off my list of strengths.

The good news, however, is that the demo is finally ready! Hooray!   

The link (excludes RTP): http://www.mediafire.com/?omtkrswrvqodf01
The link (includes RTP): http://www.mediafire.com/?nqms647t55ubh1z

This is a tentative version. I'm going to play one last testrun later tonight to confirm everything is in place.

A brief list of notes to read before playing:
* The art isn't 100% finished. You'll still see an RTP character or two around and 2-3 of the facesets are from facemaker. I'm intending to replace these but I haven't really found the right fit quite yet. You'll also see the odd battler that doesn't quite fit in.

* Any and all feedback is incredibly useful to me. Be forthcoming with your praises and blunt with your criticisms. With your help, this game can get even better.
* For those with older computers, I am incredibly interested in how your fps holds up throughout the game.
* The demo runs approximately 3 hours.
* All text is written in UK English, all this really equates to is a few extra u's in words that American players might not be used to.
* The game contains profanity. I wouldn't recommend it to those who are very young or those that dislike such language.
* Most importantly, have fun!

[AbsoluteIce]

Hmm.. I tried out the demo. Here are the few bugs I found.

- I can walk OVER the well at the place with the Zombie Mercs..
- Seems as if there's half a tree in the 'right' island near the boat.
- On the boulder maze, I can walk under the switch.
- When I tried to reset the boulder switch, I can see the RTP faceset of Tara.
- After a battle, I lagg quite a bit.. my computer isn't bad, though..

Overall.. The story is kickass.
But.. The battles seem kinda stiff to me..
Still, it's pretty good. Keep it up! 

[Voulk]

Hmm.. I tried out the demo. Here are the few bugs I found.

- I can walk OVER the well at the place with the Zombie Mercs..
- Seems as if there's half a tree in the 'right' island near the boat.
- On the boulder maze, I can walk under the switch.
- When I tried to reset the boulder switch, I can see the RTP faceset of Tara.
- After a battle, I lagg quite a bit.. my computer isn't bad, though..

Overall.. The story is kickass.
But.. The battles seem kinda stiff to me..
Still, it's pretty good. Keep it up! 

Thanks a bunch! The game is pretty well tested but things like passability settings are easy to miss.
Regarding the lag after battles. Does this occur just after the battle (once you return to the map) or beforehand around the victory screen area?

[AbsoluteIce]

Hmm.. I tried out the demo. Here are the few bugs I found.

- I can walk OVER the well at the place with the Zombie Mercs..
- Seems as if there's half a tree in the 'right' island near the boat.
- On the boulder maze, I can walk under the switch.
- When I tried to reset the boulder switch, I can see the RTP faceset of Tara.
- After a battle, I lagg quite a bit.. my computer isn't bad, though..

Overall.. The story is kickass.
But.. The battles seem kinda stiff to me..
Still, it's pretty good. Keep it up! 

Thanks a bunch! The game is pretty well tested but things like passability settings are easy to miss.
Regarding the lag after battles. Does this occur just after the battle (once you return to the map) or beforehand around the victory screen area?

After the battle, back on the map, then occurs the lag.
However, I just opened the menu, then closed it back to get
rid of the lag.

[Voulk]

After getting a bit more feedback it seems the lag problem is unique to you thus far. Very, very strange.

Small project update:
While I'm pleased with the status of the game so far I feel that I cannot complete it alone within a reasonable time-frame (at least, not to a desirable standard). On that note, I'm looking to build a small team around it.
   - I primarily need somebody to take care of the art side of things. I'm not looking for a giant time investment or anything. 2-3 hours a week is likely more than what will be required.
   - I'm looking for somebody who's played through the demo and has enjoyed themselves.
   - I'm looking for somebody with some prior experience in at least one of the following areas:
           - Spriting (including frankenspriting)
           - Mapping (especially parallax mapping)
   - Please PM me if it sounds like something you might be interested in

[Voulk]

It's revival time! Sorry for the lack of updates of late, uni work demanded my attention.

Here's the plan moving forward:
I have a revised demo that I'll hopefully be able to put up within a few weeks.

The major demo changes
- A revamped audio track.
- Bosses rebalanced. For the games first bosses, they're a little on the tough side at the moment.
- Chapter 1 redesigned to increase player interaction.
- A pile of bug fixes
There isn't any new content included, so it isn't recommended to those who finished the original. For those who are half way through it, you
should have no problems copying over your save file.

Aside from any bug fixes, this will be the last demo version. The full game is already very far along and I'd prefer to release it when finished
instead of chapter-by-chapter. To keep the topic from going dead during the wait for the full game I'll be previewing a lot of stuff as it goes into the game.

Feedback from anyone who's played / playing it is still super useful. I want to know what you liked, what you didn't like. Criticise me!

Thanks!