Master of the Wind (Complete!)

[ArtBane]

I fixed the teleport problem. Apparently the variable was off. You will have to download the game again unfortunately or start from your last save file if you haven't already saved there. For anyone who has already downloaded the game don't go to Dasani's Grave (the stairs in the northern part of Boreal) before chasing after the ember mages. It will only end in tears.

The Toxic Boots recipe is fixed and now available at the armor shop in Pearlton. Thanks for the reports guys.

The new version of the game has been uploaded!

 

[Kingwalrus]

Spoiler: Some spoilers inside

I just finished playing this masterpiece. Compared to other arcs I found this slightly easier. I really didn't had to level characters too much to beat boss enemies, which I liked.

I also liked that there wasn't so much fighting. Being in the monastery was fun when you met Gabriella and Dican's sister. It also enlighted the world's background, which I found interesting.

Some things, though:
- The Under the Lake button mashing game froze sometimes for rome reason.
- The fight with Zala had no background music. Was this intentional? :-/
- When I fought with Evrind and his bodyguards, the Baron's battler was Finley's, not Baron's

Anyway, great job. :thumb:

 

[ArtBane]

Spoiler: Some replies inside

The fact that you didn't have to fight or level as much in this arc was intentional. I spread out the battles more in areas that didn't have save points so that they wouldn't overwhelm players as they explored the dungeons. I also worked on the pacing so that people wouldn't feel forced to level to beat a boss. The battles probably felt easier too with the addition of more party members which allowed more strategies.

As for the other things (in order):
-I noticed this too when I was testing but it only happened once out of the many times I played the game. Still I will look into fixing that.
-There is suppose to be music there but for some reason the song doesn't seem to work for a lot of people. I will find a replacement for the next update.
-Thats another boo-boo. I'll fix that too.

Thanks for the reports and the kind words.

EDIT: Dican has no sister. That person you met was a dude.

 

[EmuMaster2002]

Well, the music is the most chunky part. Separate the game files and the music, and put both up for download in the super pack. Maybe split the music into two.

 

[Volrath]

I'm not sure about that, really. Everyone would still have to download the music to play the entire game, so it would pretty much be the same size. Also, if someone decided not to get the music and play anyway, there would be errors right and left. Going through the game to compensate for this would be a huge hassle....not to mention the fact that some scenes are completely staged around a certain song.

I think ArtBane did a great job compressing the music for the Super Pack. For Arc III, we just got a bit carried away. IV won't use as much music, I'm sure. A trilogy pack would be about 200 MB, if not more, but I guess if people really want to download something that huge and Arc IV gets delayed for whatever reason, I suppose there's a chance we might put that together.

 

[.Bio.]

I played this game and I must say, it was great! it felt alot like a comic book to me and I felt that the music set the mood greatly the puzzles stumped me greatly seeing as I have know skill in that area and I found the battles to be challenging enough that for some parts I had to go back a retrain something I almsot never do in video games. It's a great game you have here I hope you can keep it up.

 

[Alastyr]

Well, that was quite a bit of fun! I just beat Arc 3 and I must say, I'm impressed. The story continues to thicken and you've got me on the edge of my seat. Excellent job with the characters, Volrath. I actually care about what happens to them.

Spoiler: Spoiler: Must have seen Secret Ending

I even went so far as to shout "No! Not her!" After Gabrielle met Andau in Fort Drake. (I grew attached to Ms. Robin after I realized she wasn't as evil as you made her seem in Arc II) Speaking of Andau, the secret ending was amazing. I remember reading the same story in his diary back in Arc I, but it's nice to see it played out.

The dungeons were much improved since last time. Especially that last one, it was huge! I'm really liking the style of puzzles. They're sort of like mini-games, but require more thought. I'm looking forward to playing more of your intense, and very fun dungeons. Excellent job with that, ArtBane!

Battles were intense to say the least. The new special skills are very interesting and quite useful as well. Too bad Laruel didn't come with some Mass effect healing spells. I found Shroud was still best at being the main healer.

However, if there's one thing you can improve upon, it's visuals. A lot of the maps are just too wide-open and some of the graphics don't look quite right. (The stalactites in Boreal Volcano come to mind) I may be able to help a bit with graphics/sprites. Bug me a bit if you're interested. The offer will always be available.

 

[ArtBane]

Glad to hear someone got the secret ending. Volrath put a lot of effort into it and I think it came out great. It is definitely the most artistic thing we done in the series so far.

I appreciate the kind words for both of us. If anything we have been improving on the visuals with each arc as we get more practice with mapping. I don't know what you mean about the stalactites not fitting in as there was not much else to put there. If you thought they should have melted, it was the curse on the Boreal area that allowed them to remain frozen even with the lava below.

I may take you up on your offer to help in the graphics department though. Anyway glad you enjoyed it.

 

[FzGhouL]

I don't think size is that big of an issue honestly. As long as you guys can host it, 200 MB~ is not much compared to the massive storage capacity people have nowadays. I guess download rates are annoying, but I think its worth it. Just do something else while it is going. At worst case, you DL at 50 KB/sec. That'll only take you a couple of hours to complete, just do something else in the mean time.

I haven't finished the arc yet, I kind of dread the moment I will, so I've been dragging things out as long as possible. I've put 7 hours in and am just getting to Boreal. I'm having a blast and I really appreciate the work you guys have put into it. I especially liked the Monastery, that part was surprisingly involved and very enjoyable.

I am going to agree with Alastyr on the visual aspect, especially some of the maps being sort of wide open. BUT I will expand on it by saying that only a person seasoned to criticism would ever become savvy of that fact that some maps could use touch ups. I find I am generally too immersed in the game play to bother worrying about the maps. Also, you guys have some of the best event coordination I've ever seen. Thats probably the most pleasing visual aspect; we always have a stimulus to look at. Overall I'd say don't worry too much on the maps, because you have to really zone in on them to notice most of the details. You'll improve as you go on, and I think its sort of a generic complaint.
How many of the NPCs in your game actually have jobs? Most seem to just hang out at the pub.

Also, I was most pleased with the vast amount of Easter Egg action. I probably did not catch much of it, as I am not very culturally informed, but Volrath's witty humor is very pleasing.

Now back to sinking another afternoon in the world of Cade and Bones.

Thanks.

 

[Volrath]

I'm really delighted the Monastery scenes appear to be popular. When I first conceived the storyline of this arc, I worried about how it would go over. A extended sequence of scenes basically focusing on a week in some kind of fantasy seminary, featuring lengthy discourse about the world's backstory and detailed debate about world politics? MORE SPARROW PLZ!!

In all seriousness, I'm glad that story element seems to be a hit because some of it is fairly personal. A lot of the issues they struggle with reflect my basic view of the world...the way the Rain of Fire was misused as justification for Gallian rule essentially mirrors what I saw our government doing after 9/11...I was in New York on that day and I saw firsthand that beautiful sense of unity that sprung up after the disaster, only to see it squashed by polarizing political chicanery. I may never forgive Bush and the others for doing that, but at least I can address it in my work.

About the NPCs, I have a love/hate relationship with them. I really enjoy putting in random gags, some of which are so specific I'm not sure if anyone but me understands them, and I have gotten a bit more creative with them. In Arc IV you'll see some much more unpredictable NPCs. On the other hand, it seems like no matter what you do, there's always a lack of realism there. There's always more NPCs than the town can probably support, and sometimes you just can't really come up with anything interesting for them to say. Throwing a bunch in the pub is a long standing tradition that goes back to my RM2k days. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the Arc so far.

 

[scape]

i'm only a couple hours into this, but i'm loving it so far- especially the Toutens flashback. i have a weird issue, though:

for some reason, after battles, it won't display text in the box. like, the "gained 50xp and 1 Yellow Dust" text. the box appears, and the item icons appear, but not the text. regular game text and even level-up text appears. not a crippling bug, but annoying. any ideas why?

 

[Merk]

Stuck in Ice Temple.

Spoiler

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/SFZ/master1.png[/IMG]

What do I do? Is there a switch or something nearby? I know the flying flame thing can melt the ice blocks, but it doesn't go downstairs, only through rooms.

And yeah, the entire monastery sequence was very well-done, especially Cade's friendship with Gabriella. That part was probably my favorite part of Arc III thus far, barring the excellent CadeXAuburn moment.

 

[Alastyr]

Spoiler: A small hint

How do you melt ice? With fire.

Spoiler: A bigger hint

You need to light that torch like you did with the other ones on the floor above you.

Spoiler: Outright Spoiler

Direct the fire from upstairs to move down the stairs and onto the torch. Then push the torch to each ice wall.

Volrath: The NPCs don't need to be full fleshed out characters by any means. In fact, I like the witty and sometimes silly things they say. I may not get all the references, but as long as they aren't bland, I'm fine with them. :thumb:

 

[Jstreet]

Oh, Arc III has arrive eh? I didn't notice. :P
I'll definitely give this a run through over the next few days. I'll give a review when I finish (If I finish . I know how hard you guys like to get with the puzzles, and I'm not good at solving them :P).

 

[ArtBane]

Is that sarcasm I smell? Anyway, I hope you do manage to get through my puzzles this time Jstreet as I am looking forward to your review now.

for some reason, after battles, it won't display text in the box. like, the "gained 50xp and 1 Yellow Dust" text. the box appears, and the item icons appear, but not the text. regular game text and even level-up text appears. not a crippling bug, but annoying. any ideas why?

I will look into that. It may have something to do with the font for the display screen.

 

[Zeph]

Just beat the game and damn did the ending tick me off O_o . It was so damn addicting I only took 1 break. Before I go looking for the 2nf secret ending item, can someone tell me if the ending adds to the normal ending or if it's a back story or something? Thanks.

 

[Starwinderbeta]

Love that you put Elfen Lied's theme song in there.

 

[rabican]

I just finished playnig all 3 arcs and I must say this is the first rmxp game that I've played that has been worth finishing. Dialogue, plot , characters and thematical constancy are waaaay better than in any other Rmxp game i've seen so far. Battles and puzzles are challenging enough to be interesting. Bit too many whack a button scenes for my taste but meh, thats okay.
Good job, I'm already waiting next arc.

8/10

Spoiler: 1 bug I found

Party got in the big ice wall Stoic tries to crush with Shroud's help when i miserably failed in button whacking. This only happened once eventough i failed 4 times.

 

[Afro Samurai]

I was expecting some cool extras on the third act. Bah, I'm stuck in the second arc (in the switches after the guards).

 

[Volrath]

You mean like a secret ending, tons of crafting recipes (some secret) and one wacky easter egg in Eagle Path? Thorough players will be rewarded.

Also, about that Arc II puzzle, it's been discussed quite a bit in this thread. In fact, I think if you look at the first page, I was giving Arathe some help on it.