The Blacksmith's Apprentice - Version 1.5 released

[Juno]

Nice finds on those bugs, Crystalgate.  (How much do I owe you?) Some of those have been there since the beginning, I think.  As for the forging, I'll admit that it feels a little "tacked on" at this point.  I haven't fully implemented the anvils, or the items that are required.  Currently there are four different weapons/armor that you can actually make with the materials that are provided in the demo.  I'd like to add more, but I want to keep a balance between finding and creating new weapons, without overwhelming the player with too many choices.

The bugs you mentioned will be gone in the next upload.

 

[Speedpaws]

Wow, it seems like youve been getting a lot of work done on the game, well the beginning anyway. I hope the second part is coming along nicely.

 

[Swordsaint892]

~POST MAY CONTAIN SMALL SPOILERS~

Just finished the game a few minutes ago as of writing this.  First off, I'd like to say that this game so far has been nothing short of amazing.  I haven't been hooked into a story or world in an RPG Maker game like I have with The Blacksmith's Apprentice.

You've done a great job with story and character development. The battles are still interesting even using the normal format.  I didn't find any problems with balance or anything so far.  I really wish that I waited a few more years before I checked into this game though, cuz now I'm stuck craving more!  Everything about the game feels very smart and professional; I tended to forget I was playing an RMXP game very often.

Spoiler: BUG/GLITCH/RANDOM ISSUES

The few complaints I have are just random things that can be fixed easily, and I've probably already mentioned to you via PMs.  It would be nice to get a warning from someone outside of the cave in Garrison to back away, and the sign that warns you about Harpies doesn't straight up tell you "Warning, Harpies will jack your shit up if you try to fight them."  Then again, me moving forward after reading the sign was just being cocky anyway.

I know what Doctor meant when he was talking about characters disappearing into thin air after some text boxes finish.  These mostly occured with Arthur, who would act out a cutscene and then disappear after the scene finished.  This also happened with the giant wagon you have to buy to carry coal in...  Maybe using a ChangeColorTone to all dark for just a moment then back to normal would make the disappearing events look better.  Screen Flash would do the trick too.

You have some jacked up transfer player events in the Dwarf Mines.  Entering the mine has Retain Facing Position when it should make you face down.  When you exit the area with Krakens, you appear way off where you should as well.  There's also those issues with the menu on at least two mine carts.  (The first level's northern cart, and the second level's cart that leads into a kitchen-like area.)  I think most of those errors have been mentioned already though.

A random one-  if you try to leave the Dwarf Caves after doing EVERYTHING (including sleeping after the feast) except talking to the foreman to get coal, it will play the annoying wind SE for the outside on loop, but you won't get transfered outside and have to talk to the foreman anyway, while the SE is playing for some reason.

Near the end of the game, it was not necessary to talk to Belarus for Arthur to know that Belarus has an escape cellar under his house.  All I did was the chores for Charis' mother, then returned to William's house.

Would it kill you to put some kind of music to play in the background of the larger 'battle' maps (ex. Thief's Woods; The Crossroads)?  I dunno, having birds chirping and wind breezing keeps something there, but after awhile, it got kinda tiring/irritating to me...  Might just be me though...

Random text issues-
~In Thornberry (I think), the first time you enter the Devonshire's house, it gives you the message that no one is home.  If the first time you enter the house is way later in the game, it will still give you that message even if the wife and the StoneCursed husband are there.
~In the cave north of Willow Glen, William and Arthur will talk about getting a flask for the spring water, even if Arthur is not in the party.  I assume this issue exists if William is not in the party as well.

Spoiler: Small Complaint *Spoiler*

Is "I love you." so damn hard to type!?  Aaahhh, it drove me crazy not getting to see either William or Charis say it before the demo's end...     lol

There's a lot more I want to say, but can't think of at the moment.  Regardless, I'm very, very satisfied with the game so far and can't wait to play more.  Great job so far, Juno.  Keep it up!!!   :thumb: :straightthumb: :thumb:

 

[Juno]

@SwordSaint: Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed the game.  You gave me some great suggestions.  I've uploaded a new version, which should fix all the bugs you mentioned.  It also includes some general improvements as well as a new introduction.  If you've already played, you might find the first two minutes interesting, as it gives a little more away (or does it?)...  And hopefully the new method of narration is an improvement as well.

As for this:

Spoiler: Small Complaint *Spoiler*

Is "I love you." so damn hard to type!?  Aaahhh, it drove me crazy not getting to see either William or Charis say it before the demo's end...     lol

All in due time, my friend.

 

[Crystalgate]

I did some sidequesting. The cave behind Garrison seems to be a patience test. Either the cave and the mountains are ridiculous large or I unknowingly walked into a circle. Enemies there are also often placed so they are near impossible to evade. Coupled with a 35 or so defense, forcing me to exclusively rely on skills, they drain my resources fast. I had to revert to an older save and give up my attempt at that cave. Maybe I'll return once I get much better weapons and armors.

Other side quests were fun though.

I haven't been able to forge a single item. I found one recipe, but that required an animal skin which I haven't found anywhere. I've found a lot of other forging components, but no recipes for them.

 

[Juno]

@Crystalgate: The Garrison Caves are meant for later on, my goal was to make the enemies prohibitively difficult during the demo, but not impossible.  The newest version has a warning sign, since they are very tough at this stage.  As for forging, the animal skin is in the Gloomy Forest, near the southern-most Hazelweed plant.  It's draped across a plant, as if one of the wolves killed it and was keeping it for later.  The other set of plans that are currently available enable you to make Iron Swords, and those plans can be found at the Smithy in Thornbury.  I made the graphic for the plans unique, so I hope they aren't too hard to find.

 

[Crystalgate]

The enemies aren't really prohibitively hard, the challenge comes entirely from the sheer number of them. It's impossible to know how many of them one has to fight in advance.

Anyway, I finally did some forging. I can't believe I missed the plans.

The sword I could make was really nice. Unfortunately I have already done pretty much everything I intend to do, so it won't see much use. It will be good for a future playtrough though.

I also found a bug. I'm unable to pass under the bridge in the thieves forest. Fortunately, I don't have to anymore.

BTW, William really gets a lot of candy near the end of the game.

 

[Juno]

I also found a bug. I'm unable to pass under the bridge in the thieves forest. Fortunately, I don't have to anymore.

Did you, by chance, go into the Pass on the other side of the Thornbury mountain summit?  That's the only reason I can think of that would prevent you from going under the bridge.

 

[Crystalgate]

Do you mean the place with the harpies? Regardless, I think the answer is yes since I explored every place of the Thornbury mountains that I could find and get to.

 

[Juno]

Yes, that's the place.  It'll be fixed when I upload next, which will hopefully not be for awhile.  In the meantime, I doubt most people will be able to venture that far... even so, I'll make a note of it.  Thanks!

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

You made me lose 4 hours of essay writing time! D=<.

Man. This game is addictive!

 

[Anopob]

Well, the new version seems promising, but sadly my save file is gone because I had to reformat my computer. Ah well, I might start again. Could you help me on the puzzle I was stuck at in advance though?

Spoiler

The part with the blue and red buttons and statues, I couldn't find the proper sequence to move them properly

 

[Juno]

Well, the new version seems promising, but sadly my save file is gone because I had to reformat my computer. Ah well, I might start again. Could you help me on the puzzle I was stuck at in advance though?

Spoiler

The part with the blue and red buttons and statues, I couldn't find the proper sequence to move them properly

Maybe you've already figured this much out:

Spoiler

You need to move the blue statue to the blue pressure plate, and the red to the red.  Use the grey plates to move them up/down & side to side, and by using the rocks in the middle of the puzzle, you can have one statue move while the other one is blocked.  There are many sequences that will solve it.  Also, if it starts to look hopeless, pull the reset switch.  Let me know if you're still stuck, and I'll post a specific sequence that will beat it (Which means I'll have to figure it out again...)

 

[Anopob]

Spoiler

Lmao, I have known all that and been stuck for...ever, but it's alright I still don't have the program at the moment and it'll take me a few days, so I guess I'll think about it and save you the trouble of solving it again :P

 

[Crystalgate]

I can't go to that place now due to the bridge bug, but IIRC, the solution was pretty simple.

Spoiler

First move the statues so that one of them can move down, but the other one cannot due to a rock being there. Now press the button that moves them down once and then press the button that move them up once. Now press the button that moves the statues towards each other. Keep pressing that button until the southernmost statue is standing one step above the exact same rock that earlier blocked the other statue. Press the button that moves the statues down once. The rest should be obvious.

 

[Juno]

Thanks, Crystalgate, for helping Anopob out.  I plan on posting a full sequence (there are many that work) for the statue puzzle.  As for your game, if you want you can send me your saved game file, I'll flip the switch that's needed to fix the bridge passability.  It won't take a minute.

 

[Enertron]

what's up, im new here. this is actually the first RPGM game i tried downloading, but i get this error when i try starting it "RGSS102E.dll could not be found." anyone know what im doing wrong?

 

[Juno]

what's up, im new here. this is actually the first RPGM game i tried downloading, but i get this error when i try starting it "RGSS102E.dll could not be found." anyone know what im doing wrong?

Do you have the "RTP" installed?  If not, you can download it from Enterbrain.  It comes with the RPG Maker XP program, but unlike the RPG Maker program, it won't require a serial number to use after 30 days.  Just google "RPG Maker XP", and download it from Enterbrain.

 

[Speedpaws]

So how long do we have to wait for the next part of the game? XD

 

[Axules]

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