Silver Heart [VXA][Demo]

@Milennin:

Sounds like you're missing the font that comes with RPG Maker VX Ace, I think having the RTP installed should fix that.

@LoganF:

I already know most of what you explained, what surprises me is that a tutorial is needed because a lot of people did not even try to learn. Just like I suspected a lot of the people who tried the tutorial commented that and I quote "Good, theres a tutorial. I didn't bother trying it before because of that lol".

Yeah, I'm missing the basic RTP. I'll try it out some time later then.
For the 2nd part of your quote. I wouldn't have minded to learn how the combat system works without a tutorial if it didn't sent me back to the very beginning of the game when my team died. Admittedly, it was my own fault for not making a save, but going by experiences with pretty much any other RPG I've played before, I didn't expect the need to save right after the game's introduction.

@LoganF:

Overwhelming was my goal and I've recently enjoyed a few RPG that have done that to me, but I think that may not be for everyone since only a few people have enjoyed it so far. The speed and the lack of instructions are a bad design choice if the person playing is approaching the game as a normal RPG and is not expecting to respond that quickly. Hopefully the tutorial helps more people be ready and the dummy battle allows them acclimate to the speed.

I'd figured as much. In fact, that was going to be the point of the original post I was writing before I changed it. I can see what your initial design intentions were, and I can appreciate them for what they were. Ultimately, it comes down to what your target audience is. As it was, there were only a small group of players who would be able to enjoy the game as much as you do. If that's all you were looking for, then it really wasn't an issue in the first place.

But by taking some time to consider the other types of players who may need or want some kind of information can be a good choice. And because it will be optional, you're only increasing the number of players who will try the game out and stick with it. It shouldn't affect the original audience at all.

I'm not sure what your plans are for the dummy battle, but you could even have it as part of the tutorials. That way, players who don't care for the tutorials aren't subjected to that battle. It retains the idea that you can just ignore it if you want to and get on with the game.

The tutorial for the battle system is finished and I've updated the demo with it.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/61337936/Demos/RMRK%20SH%20Demo/Silver%20Heart.exe

An NPC will approach you shortly after you gain control of your character and offer to show you the tutorial. Afterwards you can view the tutorial anytime you want by talking to that NPC again.

@Milennin:

Added a line of text to the tutorial NPC to tell you to save before you leave the castle.

@LoganF:

Yeah, having a tutorial certainly doesn't hurt. I just hope I've conveyed the information clearly enough.

As for the dummy battle, it's a battle where you just fight a dummy enemy. The battle itself has no rewards or anything, but you can use your items and try the shortcuts like speeding up battles or calling menus without having to worry about a lot of enemies and dying quickly. And of course once the battle is done your HP is recovered and the items you used are returned to you.

If anyone had any problems understanding the battle system before let me know if the tutorial helped and if there is any other information you would like added.

edit: Just played the tutorial. Looks good indeed, and explains the stuff I wanted to know.

I just finished playing the tutorial, it looks great and does its job admirably! Good job!

Thanks for trying it out. It's great to hear the tutorial is helping out.

Just posting to update and let people know that I'm still working on the game.

I've been reviewing the feedback people have given me from the demo and I've been trying to improve the game.

One of the new additions is the "Battle Retry" system.



When you're defeated in battle a prompt will appear asking you if you would like to retry the battle. This will not always be a lifesaver since it will return you as you were when the battle started, but it should alleviate the problem of having to return to the title screen because you forgot to save which is what seems to happen in most instances.

Most of the other additions to the game are mostly visual effects like the "Bubble prompt" and transition effects.



A bubble will appear whenever a point of interest or something hidden near the player.


Sadly, it's not all good news. I had to switch from MIDI to OGG because of a script I created and the music I am using does not have proper looping in it (loopstart and looplength) and the long pauses are too noticeable to ignore. Also It takes me 5 to 8 hours just to find a decent loop in a 40 second song and even then when I test the song I still hear a click or beep because it's not a precise loop.

That means that even though I'm currently using about 10 songs, it's going to take me 80+ hours just find and set their proper loops. And this has set back the progress of the game a lot since I can only work on it 2~3 hours a day.


And I want to end the update in a good note, so here is a preview of a scene in the game I've been working on.


 
Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

Very cool stuff TDS. I like the Battle Retry option a lot, and that scene is looking good.

Lookin Good TDS