[RMMV]Twin Hearts Saga Volume 1: Resurgence

[Sacrifyx]

New version fixed. Thanks for the quick reply!

[Milennin]

Playing the demo right now.

-The intro is pretty long, with the cutscene, alchemy tutorial and the mage's dialogue before I could get on my way. It's not too bad, just something I thought that was worth noting.
-On the first forest map after leaving home, the bunnies are able to walk over the edges of the forest. Nothing game-breaking, but it looks a bit silly.
-The spiders that appear in random battles from the start are huge. Not something that looks like a newbie adventurer at level 1 could ever take on. I'd replace them with something... smaller, and keep these for higher levels. They do look pretty cool.
-In Arreh Marketplace map, the basket with tomatoes shows up over the hero character.
-Having the hero's faceset appear on every object examine makes it look as if he's describing the things to himself. I'd think it'd look more natural with plain text.
-On the subject of examining, some places have most objects examinable (for example, the weapon store), while others have none or very few (like the smithing place outside the weapon store).
-The woman at the fruit stall in Arreh Marketplace doesn't open a trade window.
-I can just walk into any guest room in the inn. You'd think they would lock these to keep random people out. The storage room is locked, though.
-Some NPC's have long stories to tell, it would be nice to give the player the choice to continue the conversation after the first few lines. For example with the black guy in the inn, give the player the choice to ask for more information from the NPC or to just leave him. Other NPC's also usually start out with a short intro, with the main character following up with a question for more information. Turn that question into a player choice.
-I can walk on part of the table in the magic store.

-A black woman NPC in Northbridge has part of her dialogue cut off by the edge of the chat window.
-The man in Willett Mansion is without any dialogue.
-A building in Northbridge is missing Town 4 song, crashing the game.
-A building in Northbridge is missing Town 6 song, crashing the game.
-The Guard Tower has an NPC without any dialogue.
-The entrance to the Guard Tower from the wall is invisible.
-Cancelling the travel options in Northbridge stables brings me to some place outside the town...

-Hiring Sasaki in Arreh's inn. He claims he's an experienced soldier, yet he comes without any equipment whatsoever. Surely he should be having at least basic armour and a weapon?
-Sasaki got hit by some status condition (it has a staff icon in his status screen), but I have no idea what it is. Checking on his status screen I have no way to see what it is? Cause it's killing him and I have no way to remove it?
-Sasaki doesn't show a proper dead graphic in combat.
-A rat just used Bodyslam on me? Surely this isn't Pokémon I'm playing?=P But seriously, it seems a rather odd skill for a rat to use.
-A guard in Hearthold Keep blocks my way and asks if I have spoken to Kirio yet. I don't know who this guard is. I don't know who Kirio is.
-Not going to continue playing for now.



I can see what you're trying to do with this game, and I know it's still in a beta stage, but I'll summarise my opinions on it so far:

-Graphically it looks fairly bland, the mapping isn't very spectacular (although it's not bad either), and there's tons of unused space everywhere. Buildings are huge, but the immense space isn't put to use very well. From the places I've visited, I haven't come accross any unique buildings or locations, that stand out from the other things. I know you're trying to build a world with this game, so I feel it's important to give each location its special places. Make a town be (in)famous for something, an unique building, or a gang that rules the streets or whatever.
-Choice of music is okay, but there wasn't anything outstanding.
-I like the way you put detail to your world by giving NPC's meaningful conversations, but like I mentioned above it would be nice to have a choice to continue the conversation after the first few lines.
-On the other hand, I feel especially the main character is lacking personality. He comes over flat, not like a real person. He doesn't show much feelings or share opinions. He's mostly just listening, and asking for more information. You did better with the NPC's I think, and that's a shame. My character feels much less interesting than the people I'm meeting in the world.
-The combat system wasn't really interesting to me at all. The enemies were all dead in 1 fire spell, while taking a few hits from my regular attack. They did little damage back, which makes it just not feel very exciting. Sasaki got downed pretty quickly after I went out of town and he got hit by a status condition after his first fight. I hadn't come across potions that could cure him, so hiring him felt like a waste of money.
-Final note, I really liked the NPC that set itself on fire. That was a huge contrast to your other stuff. It was something unique, and it contained a nice touch of personality. I'd like to see more encounters like that (doesn't necessarily have to involve the NPC killing itself, lol )

All in all, it's hard to judge the game in its current state. You've got the maps, and some of the dialogue in place, but there's a lot of work to be done to make it really come alive.

[D&P3]

-The intro is pretty long, with the cutscene, alchemy tutorial and the mage's dialogue before I could get on my way. It's not too bad, just something I thought that was worth noting.
-Cancelling the travel options in Northbridge stables brings me to some place outside the town...
-Hiring Sasaki in Arreh's inn. He claims he's an experienced soldier, yet he comes without any equipment whatsoever. Surely he should be having at least basic armour and a weapon?
-Sasaki got hit by some status condition (it has a staff icon in his status screen), but I have no idea what it is. Checking on his status screen I have no way to see what it is? Cause it's killing him and I have no way to remove it?

Have to agree on the lengthy intro, I can normally keep going through long dialogues just fine, but this learning curve is very steep and it makes me bored pretty quickly, especially with the way it's worded.
Second Issue was encountered in my first video, that really annoyed me. I went from having no clue where I am to having no clue where I am and no clue on how to backtrack.
Same for Sasaki in this version, I'm pretty sure that guy was equipped in the previous demo I got him.
Definitely need to agree with the icon stuff, that's kinda getting on my nerves a little bit not knowing what a staff has to do with poison, or why a crossbow represents death.

There were some others you mentioned that I agree with, but these are probably the main ones I think this game needs to fix.

[Milennin]

-The intro is pretty long, with the cutscene, alchemy tutorial and the mage's dialogue before I could get on my way. It's not too bad, just something I thought that was worth noting.
-Cancelling the travel options in Northbridge stables brings me to some place outside the town...
-Hiring Sasaki in Arreh's inn. He claims he's an experienced soldier, yet he comes without any equipment whatsoever. Surely he should be having at least basic armour and a weapon?
-Sasaki got hit by some status condition (it has a staff icon in his status screen), but I have no idea what it is. Checking on his status screen I have no way to see what it is? Cause it's killing him and I have no way to remove it?

Have to agree on the lengthy intro, I can normally keep going through long dialogues just fine, but this learning curve is very steep and it makes me bored pretty quickly, especially with the way it's worded.
Second Issue was encountered in my first video, that really annoyed me. I went from having no clue where I am to having no clue where I am and no clue on how to backtrack.

I watched the first video, the one you posted on here. I noticed some of the tutorial stuff, like cooking has been removed in the demo that I played. That's a good thing, because what I saw in your video was just information overload right at the start. In the new version it's much more do-able.
On the second issue, I don't think he had added the journal back in your version yet. In the demo I played there was a journal that told me what I had to do next, so that's pretty nice. As for finding directions, I think it's important that a map is added to the game, so a player can check where places are located at.

[Sacrifyx]

-On the first forest map after leaving home, the bunnies are able to walk over the edges of the forest. Nothing game-breaking, but it looks a bit silly.

Fixed.

-The spiders that appear in random battles from the start are huge. Not something that looks like a newbie adventurer at level 1 could ever take on. I'd replace them with something... smaller, and keep these for higher levels. They do look pretty cool.

They should only appear in caves and the forest - both places that, if following the questline noted in the journal, you won't be in until you've had a chance to gain a couple levels. The caves are specifically off limits until certain conditions are met, and the forest isn't a place for low level characters anyway.

-In Arreh Marketplace map, the basket with tomatoes shows up over the hero character.

Fixed.

-Having the hero's faceset appear on every object examine makes it look as if he's describing the things to himself. I'd think it'd look more natural with plain text.

Glad you noted that - I've been curious about that myself. I guess I'll go the other route in one of the next updates.

-On the subject of examining, some places have most objects examinable (for example, the weapon store), while others have none or very few (like the smithing place outside the weapon store).

Yeah, just one of many things that I need to get around to.

-The woman at the fruit stall in Arreh Marketplace doesn't open a trade window.

She has nothing to trade at the moment.

-I can just walk into any guest room in the inn. You'd think they would lock these to keep random people out. The storage room is locked, though.

I'll need to retool the upstairs I suppose.

-Some NPC's have long stories to tell, it would be nice to give the player the choice to continue the conversation after the first few lines. For example with the black guy in the inn, give the player the choice to ask for more information from the NPC or to just leave him. Other NPC's also usually start out with a short intro, with the main character following up with a question for more information. Turn that question into a player choice.

The NPC's with the longer stories are to become main characters later in the game. I find it important that you hear what they have to say for that reason. I'll further revise their dialogue to shorten it up a bit, but there will be no skipping of it other than ignoring them altogether.

-I can walk on part of the table in the magic store.

Fixed.

-A black woman NPC in Northbridge has part of her dialogue cut off by the edge of the chat window.

Fixed.

-The man in Willett Mansion is without any dialogue.

Fixed.

-A building in Northbridge is missing Town 4 song, crashing the game.
-A building in Northbridge is missing Town 6 song, crashing the game.

Fixed.

-The Guard Tower has an NPC without any dialogue.

Fixed/

-The entrance to the Guard Tower from the wall is invisible.

How so? Follow the path.

-Cancelling the travel options in Northbridge stables brings me to some place outside the town...

Fixed.

-Hiring Sasaki in Arreh's inn. He claims he's an experienced soldier, yet he comes without any equipment whatsoever. Surely he should be having at least basic armour and a weapon?

Part of his backstory that he doesn't want to talk about. There is a reason behind it. I'll update his dialogue to note that he needs a weapon, but don't expect him to come equipped any time soon.

-Sasaki got hit by some status condition (it has a staff icon in his status screen), but I have no idea what it is. Checking on his status screen I have no way to see what it is? Cause it's killing him and I have no way to remove it?

That would be poison...I REALLY need to update a lot of the icons. The general store in the marketplace sells antidotes, otherwise poison goes away after 100 steps.

-Sasaki doesn't show a proper dead graphic in combat.

Yeah...don't have one, and I'm not an artist. If you are or happen to know one who isn't busy and wouldn't mind making a downed Sasaki...

-A rat just used Bodyslam on me? Surely this isn't Pokémon I'm playing?=P But seriously, it seems a rather odd skill for a rat to use.

Agreed. That's an RTP creature, I haven't really made any changes to default skill sets and such but I'll definitely look into that.

-A guard in Hearthold Keep blocks my way and asks if I have spoken to Kirio yet. I don't know who this guard is. I don't know who Kirio is.

Can't duplicate this issue. The only thing I can think of is someone maybe used the debug menu to get into the keep before they were supposed to...that would cause that dialogue to happen. Follow the questline properly and you won't have that issue.

-Not going to continue playing for now.

I hope you'll reconsider after I get a new version up with some of these larger issues taken care of. I'll let you know when that is. Thanks for the feedback, it's a great help!

-Graphically it looks fairly bland, the mapping isn't very spectacular (although it's not bad either), and there's tons of unused space everywhere. Buildings are huge, but the immense space isn't put to use very well. From the places I've visited, I haven't come accross any unique buildings or locations, that stand out from the other things. I know you're trying to build a world with this game, so I feel it's important to give each location its special places. Make a town be (in)famous for something, an unique building, or a gang that rules the streets or whatever.

That 'unique' thing will really come into play as you make your way into the wider world - not in this demo, unfortunately, but I do have plans for each island to have its own set of afflictions - zombies, ghosts, cannibals, children of the corn type thing...just have to wait for it.

-Choice of music is okay, but there wasn't anything outstanding.

It's all RTP, from XP and VXA. I tried to pick stuff that fit the moment it'd be playing.

-I like the way you put detail to your world by giving NPC's meaningful conversations, but like I mentioned above it would be nice to have a choice to continue the conversation after the first few lines.
-On the other hand, I feel especially the main character is lacking personality. He comes over flat, not like a real person. He doesn't show much feelings or share opinions. He's mostly just listening, and asking for more information. You did better with the NPC's I think, and that's a shame. My character feels much less interesting than the people I'm meeting in the world.

I can agree, to an extent. He hasn't had a lot of opportunity to talk anyways, I'm hoping that I can rectify that soon.

-The combat system wasn't really interesting to me at all. The enemies were all dead in 1 fire spell, while taking a few hits from my regular attack. They did little damage back, which makes it just not feel very exciting. Sasaki got downed pretty quickly after I went out of town and he got hit by a status condition after his first fight. I hadn't come across potions that could cure him, so hiring him felt like a waste of money.

As noted above, potions are in the general store in the marketplace. enemies and such are all garden variety RTP with default stats/skills, etc., and pretty much the same with the actors. That was something I didn't want to mess with too much in the beginning because I know it's so easy to go very wrong with it.

-Final note, I really liked the NPC that set itself on fire. That was a huge contrast to your other stuff. It was something unique, and it contained a nice touch of personality. I'd like to see more encounters like that (doesn't necessarily have to involve the NPC killing itself, lol )

Probably my favorite event, personally - both in the making and the playing. Glad you enjoy it, and count on more humorous encounters going forward.

All in all, it's hard to judge the game in its current state. You've got the maps, and some of the dialogue in place, but there's a lot of work to be done to make it really come alive.

Thanks again! If you have any specific suggestions on what's missing, keeping it from coming alive, post here or PM me - always open to new ideas!

[Milennin]

Thanks for the response, glad to hear you've been fixing some of the things I listed. And yes, I will play the game again in a future demo version.

About the quest to Hearthold Keep. I recruited a soldier (Sasaki), as it told me to in my journal. Then I headed to the keep. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a step I was missing? Even so, consider placing that guard that blocks the way at the entrance of the dungeon, so a player who doesn't follow all the steps doesn't waste his time going through the long corridor before running into the guard.

Anyway, good luck with your game.

edit: Forgot to mention in my previous post, but I did like the song that's playing in the Arreh Marketplace map. It's quite catchy.=P

[Sacrifyx]

OK -  a new version is up. This one won't address anything not noted in the previous version but I did fix a couple things D&P3 found in his most recent video.

He was able to get into Hearthold Keep during that video and complete that area with no problem as did I on several test playthroughs, so I'm not really sure what issue you ran into. Rest assured the guard is where he is for a reason and moving him elsewhere at this point in the game is not an option - you'll gain access to the rest of the keep in a later segment of the game.

[Sacrifyx]

So...no updates for a while. The project isn't dead, isn't even on hiatus. I'm taking a slightly different path with it. In listening to the criticisms, I've had to take a step back and really look at the demo thus far and I realized that they're all really valid. I've spent so much time on the story and none at all in pacing it properly so everything just seems to get dumped on the character all at once. I've revamped the intro a little bit to stretch out the tutorial parts and give the player a short tour of the island. Now I need to work the story into that and kind of keep the new flow going. That said, someone suggested I actually 'write' the story. Like novel-style. So I am. It's my hope that in actually fleshing out the characters and pacing the plot (much easier to do when I write like that), I can translate that into a better gaming experience. Once I have it done to the point that the demo is, I'll begin the process of straightening out the game and hopefully have a new, functional and fun release out before too long. Oh, and don't bother with the download link in the original post - my webserver got jacked up and it's dead now. If for some reason anyone wants the demo in its current form, PM me here and I'll find a way to get it to you.

[Sacrifyx]

Volume 1 is complete and ready for release. Current download and all details are in the OP. Any further updates will be minimal.

[Linkis]

Not sure if anyone else came across this problem.
When told to go back to town and recruit someone to help me in that broken palace, there is a room at the Inn, first floor, and right of the hallway that if you to into the room and then try to leave......game says the door is locked and you can't get out

[Sacrifyx]

Not sure if anyone else came across this problem.
When told to go back to town and recruit someone to help me in that broken palace, there is a room at the Inn, first floor, and right of the hallway that if you to into the room and then try to leave......game says the door is locked and you can't get out

I'll check that out real quick.

Edit: I found the issue you're referring to, and I've attached some updated mapxxx.rvdata2 files that you can drop in the data folder to correct it. Just as an FYI, the place you're in isn't the inn - you need to go back to the inn in the marketplace (southwest of the big city) to find the soldier, same place you were in during the intro spell/potion making quest.

Edit Edit: The maps I included will work if you saved while stuck in that room. The fix will enable you to leave, but you won't be able to enter it again, which as what I originally intended.

[Sacrifyx]

Been almost two years since the last big update. Between a full time job, a wife and two kids, time is scarce but work has continued slowly but surely. Check the first post for download links to the all new MV version - updated, expanded, embiggened, beautified, and other words too.
As always, I'm open to any and all criticism, feedback, reviews, etc.