[VX] Legend of the Moonhunter [February 8: DEMO 2.0 released!

@Boe: as you've summed up your experience in handy bullet points, I will answer the same. Thus!

1. Thanks. I like keeping it short.
2. I considered that as well, as what you show does look better.
3. still better than the VX RTP rain. 
4. I will have to change the beds then. Never really thought much of it.
5. default menu - true. But it works fine for me, and I don't need it to be visually overhauled.
6. coo'. Thanks.
7. I focus a lot on making the dialogues interesting, but it does take long to make.
8.

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he won't appear in the demo yet. But soon after...

(9). I suppose that would fit better for the avatar, but... I don't care. 

Hope you will enjoy the rest too.

This looks cool. o.o It's about time I downloaded it! I'll leave my comments below as I play through and such. :p

(Sadly, I wasn't able to play through much due to whatever the lag was caused by. )

Spoiler for Playthrough Comments:

Gosh, that artwork at the beginning is just fantastic. ;_;

Hmm...experiencing quite a bit of lag so far. Maybe it's just my computer, though. D:

I love how you gave the sprites some more special frames. Neat. :p

Hmmm...not sure what's up with the grass. O.o It's kinda strange...

Oooh, I like the music in the forest!

Still not sure how I feel about the pixel-like graphics being meshed with the RPG Maker ones. D:

Neat battle music, too.

Battle was kinda tough, died on my first try. o.o Can I only use food outside of the battle?

I'm gonna stop here for now, because my computer may be having some insane lag right now. D:

Spoiler for Overall thoughts:

Alright, overall I really liked the way the scenes were done. :p The art is just fantastic! Also, I loved the music. The battles were a little tough, though. And I wasn't a big fan of the graphical mixtures. :s Overall, I really liked it! Certainly had a lot of detail into it. :p Oh! And the characters and dialogue were handled well. That's always what I'm looking for, so you've passed that test. B)

The biggest problem (which may be due to my computer, but I'm not sure yet) was the lag. I have a relatively old computer, so it might just be me, though.

Thank you, Doctor yuyu...babe... there must be a story behind that name, it is quite curious (in the good sense)

Yes - the experience with the lag is mostly from slower machines with less RAM-memory. The areas are huge - with many events and details - which causes slower computers to have significant drops in frame rate.

The battles are relatively fast paced, and therefore can be intimidating. I am currently "upgrading" the Moonhunter bar, to give it a message board with gameplay tips and tricks. In a few weeks I want to replace demo 1.2 with 1.2b; no added story elements, but general fixes, the tutorial board, and added shadow to towns/interiors.

I am very happy you liked what you played so far! Happy you like the music - I compose it myself.

  Your computer may have more lag in the final area in the demo, which is twice the size of the forest at the start. Just a heads up...

Well, the "dr" thing was a part of some RMRK running gag recently. xD I should get rid of that at some point, lol. :p

I came up with "yuyubabe" many years ago, when I was little and loved the show "yu yu hakusho". Eventually, I learned that "yuyubabe" is cheesy, and started going by "Deannomite" in most places. For some random, unexplainable reason, I chose to go with "yuyubabe" when I signed up at RMRK. I thought about changing it to Deannomite, but I decided that it would be confusing and I like being "yuyu". :B The end!


It probably is my computer, then. :p I'm going to need to clear some RAM space, I think it's getting full, too. I always make smaller maps and connect them with transfers, so I didn't even really notice how bad my computer is with bigger maps. ;_;

If I ever find the time to clean up my computer, I'll try it out. B) At this rate, I don't think this machine can handle the final area. ;____;


By the way - I like the battle animated. :p And the character faces are fantastic!

Not a bad story to the name.   Mine is just a mix of my first and last name. Meh.
Glad you still like parts of the game, despite the frame rate drops. I have a relatively new laptop, so it runs the maps quite well. I believe size and the sheer amounts of events eat up memory.

Don't worry about missing the game; it'll be a process of many years, for certain.

I always thought your name was a re-spelling of "Joker"! :p

Aha! I like that explanation! I think I'll roll with it in the future. Groovy 

09/05/2013: Character update


Zihkan (Zihkan Kesh'Kan), age 48
Zihkan is a brilliant scientist, but is socially disconnected from most people. His wild theories about the forest's inhabitants have earned him a bad reputation, but his fascination for the forest has not decreased at all. Although his mind wanders off from time to time, his handiness with guns and potions make him a valuable asset to the team.

Too cool! B) That artwork never ceases to amaze!

Thank you, Yuyu; I shall relay the message to the artist. I'm sure she  will appreciate it 

---

Different topic: as I am working towards moving to a new house, and getting married in July, updates may be a bit slow. I haven't had the opportunity to work on the game for two/three weeks now, truly sorry.

However! I am thinking of periodically releasing the music from Moonhunter, putting it either on Youtube or on Soundcloud. Or both, because what the heck. As every theme has a story to its creation, I will probably include a little background story to how I composed each piece of music. Yes - for those who did not yet know: I compose the music myself

If I can mange it I will upload the first song(s) this weekend. Expect it to be fully online Sunday/Monday.

I can't seem to get a YouTube video embedded... or I don't know how. I thought th code was [movie] but that didn't do much. So i give you a direct link to the first of a series of videos - which really are only music soundtracks. Hope you've got a good bass in your speakers...

Legend of the Moonhunter - OST

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boL8swxkbr4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boL8swxkbr4</a>

01: The Forest Awaits.

This music plays during the opening scene of the game, and is also the main theme.

History
I had composed an earlier version of this piece in 2002 (yes, Moonhunter was an idea 11 years ago already); I did not have my current music software or experience, but the melody has stayed almost entirely the same. This version I went for orchestral instruments, adding toms near the end.

I enjoy the second half of this tune the most. With the toms and soft hi-hats I hope to add a sense of urgency, breaking the calm. I wanted to give the brass dissonance to enhance the eeriness and add suspense.

I really like the songs inside the game, and that you upload your own pieces for the OST is awesome!

I think you need to put the [yt] tag in order to make the youtube vid embedded by the way. Just put the link inside that tag and it should work

Thanks, D_M! I am glad you like my compositions. The [yt] tag works now, I believe.

I will do a weekly update with 1 or 2 OST videos, and a bit of a background story to them.

Double whammy today for the OST uploads. 

Legend of the Moonhunter - OST

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42SZv_XuphA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42SZv_XuphA</a>

02: Dark Rain Forest.

This is the main theme of the forest that covers the game world. There are/will be many variants to this one theme.

History
When composing this theme I wanted to do something new, music wise. Dark, mysterious forests are typically accompanied by similarly eerie music. There are plenty of RPGs who do this. The feeling I wanted to go for was a rhythmic and catchy tune, not as much scary as it is simply enjoyable. The main character, after all, is not afraid of the forest, and more or less goes through the motions in the first half an hour of the game. I hope this establishes a different atmosphere than a threatening, looming forest with demons everywhere.

---

Legend of the Moonhunter - OST

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7bso2s6eik" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7bso2s6eik</a>

03: Battle Echoes

The game's battle theme.

History
Battle themes are, to me, the most fun to create. Upbeat tempos and getting it on with drums and beats. This theme I felt should be funky and catchy, modern and nice on the ears. I'm a big fan of composing a network of instruments around a simple-to-follow melody. Creating harmonies with other instruments through chorus, chords and a big, fat bass. The 'echoes' in the title comes from the synthesizer staccato sounds that pan and echo around. I like adding classical instruments to a song like this; the piano melody is soft, introductory to the later half where the drums kick deeper and the electric guitar, again, 'echoes' the melody, in a harder way. Only after I finished composing I noticed I left out cymbal hits. I chose to keep them out, as I feel the tune doesn't need climactic hits as such.

-- For those who paid attention: All three melodies (and later the boss battle theme too) are written in the same key. I did this on purpose, to easy the transition into the game, as well as make it all feel connected on a musical level as well. Later on melodies will, of course, vary more greatly.

25/06/2013: Sexy Ipimaru

Alright - I have now moved to my new house and am settling in quite nicely. It has pond for my turtles, who love the additional swimming space. These weeks a lot of friends and family come my way, as I will get married in roughly 2,5 weeks. Exciting times!

The little I have been able to do is making Ipimaru sexier. I've added shadows, greatly enhancing atmosphere:

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I have also worked on making the cathedral (on top of the mountain) more atmospheric, using shadow and light. Maybe I will tweak the light a bit more, not sure. If anyone has ideas, do tell; I'm fairly new at this.

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Over and out. It may be a few weeks until my next update. Social obligations come first, alas!

Oh - and a feature not mentioned in the demo: for widescreen, press F5; this will retain scale proportions with widescreen monitors.

07/09/2013: Still alive

Wow, time flies. In the meantime I had my family over in Indonesia, I got married and started work after the holidays again, coordinating a school musical while I'm at it. But this Moonhunter project is not done! I'm still at it. In fact, I may not have passed the 20% mark yet. Here's the latest screen of what I'm doing:

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I will probably update the demo soon to version 1.2.2. Not much changes in gameplay, or additions to it, but bugs will have been smoothed out more, all enemy art will be original and all the graphical updates of late (screens of the towns, shadow, and stuff) will be in place to be checked out.

Don't forget: for full screen in widescreen, press F5; this will retain scale proportions with widescreen monitors.

This looks great!,
Let me know if you need a simple spriter. ( I would love to do some icons, or skill icons)
Keep up the good work!

247/09/2013: Title screen

Quick update. I'm re-imagining the title screen. Here's a pic:

Spoiler for:

The grass will have a simple wavy animation to it, just for enhancing the atmosphere a bit. The logo and text will fade in after a while. I will also update the music, making it more like forest and night sounds.
Thank you for the offer, Rekios! At the moment I don't need a spriter, but if I get in a pinch I will contact you 

Relax, I am not dead. Nor is the project. I am working on it still! However, I have hit a bit of a snag.

During my latest test battle (in-game) against a new enemy, I usually get a method error around halfway of the battle. It refers to the ATB 1.2c script for Tankentai SBS. The error is about the following line:

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  @base_act_count = base *  100 / act_type[1]

The whole section the line is part from:

Spoiler for:

def change_act(act_type)
    change_atb
    case act_type[0]
    when 0
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi / act_type[2] if act_type[2] != 0
    when 1
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi / @battler.speed_level
    when 2
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi if @battler.low_speed_level == 0
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi / @battler.low_speed_level
    when 3
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi if @battler.speed_level / 2 + @battler.low_speed_level / 2 == 0
      base = @battler.at_speed * @battler.agi / (@battler.speed_level / 2 + @battler.low_speed_level / 2)
    when 4
      base = @battler.at_speed
    end
    if act_type[1] <= 0
      @base_act_count = 1000
    else
      @base_act_count = base *  100 / act_type[1]
    end
    @base_act_count = 1 if @base_act_count == 0
    @battler.act_count = 0
    @gauge.bitmap = Cache.system("act_bar")
    @battler.atb_count_up = false
    @battler.at_active = false
  end

This is the first time it happens. The only new addition to this battle (apart from new enemy skills etc) is that one temporary teammate is added that auto-battles.

Can anyone help me out why this error persists, and explain to me how I can get rid of it?

Other than that progress is slow - but progress IS made. I hope to update the demo soon, which won't add much gameplay, but will have some quirks fixed (oh, alright. And a little extra gameplay).

Problem update: Seems it had to do with one of the skills the aut-character used. Removing it seems to have done the trick.

Sorry for making everyone wait so long for updates. In the meantime, have a wallpaper I made of every originally created enemy thus far for the game. Find it here:

Spoiler for:

I am working on it, people! Promise!

I...I'm alive? I'm alive!

First time posting with the forum's new layout. No, this project isn't dead at all. As usual, things are busy and working alone can be tedious. I'm currently asking for help about terrain transparency here: http://rmrk.net/index.php/topic,48668.msg558737.html. I am also e-mailing with the artist I work with about some more art.

So sorry - no new screens or real progress so far. I will update more stuff again later, including a polished version of demo 1.2.

The artist I work with has made some new pictures for the intro of the game! They are absolutely wonderful.

1. The Dark Rain Forest in all its spooky glory.

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2. the king marching into the woords with hs army.

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3. King Feran defeating the demon Prince of the Forest.

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I have also updated the story part and added small 'banner' pictures to the main page. I am thinking of refreshing a lot of screenshots as well, due to art/monster updates. But those may come later.

The new backgorund story is as follows:

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The Dark Rain Forest. A demonic woods created by a terrible entity. A patiently growing darkness.
For hundreds of years, the island of Andorei has been covered by a huge, ever-growing forest. It always rains, and night ever lasts under the dripping boughs of the trees. The forest is said to be evil, for it houses demonic creatures and grows ever thicker.
87 years ago, king Feran waged war against the Prince of the Forest. He was a righteous king, with a lot of power and many followers. He was able to gather an army of roughly 1000 men, which was impressive considering the growth rate of the forest devouring cities in its wake.

The battle lasted for 16 days, until finally king Feran and his elite had fought their way into the Prince's castle. There, the king drove his magic-embedded sword in the heart of the Prince. What happened next could not have been foreseen.

Bereft of its vessel, the darkness bound itself to the nearest living source: the king. A surge of dark magic entered him, cut at his flesh and dyed him red in his own blood. His screams took the hearts of man and demon alike. It was a painful, forceful pact. In his mind, King Feran saw the pure, raw force that now raged within him, simple yet magnificent, brutal yet honest. He understood, then, that he would have to yield to it, or be destroyed. His mind was changed forever.

Fire and lightning swept through the air as a reborn King Feran slaughtered everyone like a frenzying beast. When calming down he enslaved the surviving soldiers, whom in time would become his demon servants. The king then drowned the city surrounding the castle, transforming it into a lake. The castle, on top of a hill, still stands at the far end of the lake, like a remnant of those days of fire, thunder and water.

For 87 years king Feran honed his skill and grew in power, ever embracing the darkness which swallowed him. He is obsessed with the forest, its growth and how little he influences it all. He entertains himself by manipulating people, exploiting those with strong desire, and crushing those who rebel against him.

At times 'heroes' come along and challenge him, all of whom perish fighting him. It isn't until one female Moonhunter crosses his path that he meets a worthy challenge...
It is now 87 years after King Feran turned evil. People live in fear of the forest, subdued by its dooming omnipresence. Only some dare to enter the night. Those are the Moonhunters, sell swords and bandits that can be hired.
Meet Dark a Moonhunter for hire. When one day she is hired to save a boy named Keshi, she finds out he has a unique power, linking the two together in a way which forever changes their lives.

I have been steadily working on the game the past weeks. Many things have been updated:
- new battle backgrounds
- original enemies
- began with weapon upgrades for Zihkan
- new skills
- working on new areas

With that many small things upgraded I decided to refresh the screenshots. Some were far too old, and now everything is up-to-date with what the new demo will look like.
New demo: No, not yet! I plan on releasing demo 1.3 in June. I hope it will add +1 hour of gameplay (maybe more) compared to version 1.2 - pushing the total gameplay for the demo to around 6 hours. And THAT... is only 1/4th of the main story.
I must be crazy... pfff...

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Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for tuning in!

Some battle backgrounds I'm working on.




Something went wrong at the bottom of the cave; somehow the lighting effect in photoshop didn't match. I will fix that soon enough.

I've been busy! Adding new maps is taking time. I'm now photosoup-ing a city that was flooded and is now a lake.



Hop to get some feedback at some point, friends. It's lonely talking to myself.