The Enemy Within

[eharper256]

As someone's already pointed out, completing the Hot cross bun quest kinda makes the arena a bit too easy (at least for the person you pick to get the reward skill). Still, hope you enjoy. Once you've done that; you've got the actual plot to complete. :D

 

[eharper256]

Version 0.8 update:
Actually I've been pretty lazy recently; since I decided that playing System Shock 2 again was a good idea. Then my copy of Pokemon Pearl finally arrived from the states. Oh dear...there goes game creation time.
I did plan out the promotion branches and sidequests in more detail, created a sprite + battler for Emperor Hakuoro (of Tuskuru), squished the stupid bugs in the chapter V cutscenes and added more dialogue to them. Oh yeah, and I made the formal attire sprites for all of the characters so that I can finally complete the ball scene.

 

[Kingwalrus]

Hello there again.
Just asking, how many chapters are you planning include in this game?

I mean, I was just wondering when do you think this game will be ready (and we can get to play it)

 

[Firestalker5]

Hello there again.
Just asking, how many chapters are you planning include in this game?

I mean, I was just wondering when do you think this game will be ready (and we can get to play it)

Why do you think you can't play it? The demo or first couple of chapters are out and avialable for download. Look on the first post.

If your talking more toward the full game then that's definitely an Eharper256 question.

 

[Kingwalrus]

Yeah, I was talking about the full version. Sorry. -_-

 

[eharper256]

Hmm, well, my current plan was 9 chapters. Chapter 5 is pretty much finished now, but its a mostly scripted one like chapter 4.
Chapter 6, on the other hand, will be frackin' huuge; a totally freeform section like chapter 3, but about three times the size, allowing exploration of Tuskuru, Silesia, and perhaps a bit of Kahnshire, in addition to the stuff thats already in Tessalatoria.
Divulging what might be planned for 7-9 will constitute as a big spoiler however, so I'll remain silent on that.
Unfortunately, as I already noted, I've been a mite distracted by Pokemon Pearl the past few days... -_-' Still I WILL begin proper work again soon; promise! I enjoy working on the project, after all.

 

[Mezmerize]

So I played about 20 minutes of the demo, k. I would've played more but.. the beginning is too slow and the dialogue could use some work.
The mapping was good, I liked it. Also, the first sprite of Rise when she's naked, you need to fill in a few pixels (it seems like when she's walking rightward, her head's coming on and off).
I'll probably play more.

 

[eharper256]

I would've played more but.. the beginning is too slow and the dialogue could use some work.

Wow, that's completely contrary to what RR on CA said (what are the odds?!)
I quote:

'Although the overall plot is good, sometimes the story can seem like a whirlwind...I wouldn't mind if you drew it out more.'

I guess that means its down to personal opinion, huh? What part of the dialogue bothers you, by the way? If you don't tell me, I can't offer an explanation, LOL. But please do point out any errors; I may be a literature graduate, but even I miss things.

The mapping was good, I liked it. Also, the first sprite of Rise when she's naked, you need to fill in a few pixels (it seems like when she's walking rightward, her head's coming on and off).

Risa is in her undies, by the way, heh, but I guess thats not obvious in the prologue since its in Sepia tone. I noticed the problem with the head alignment on the rightward sprite already, but thanks. (moral: trying to save photshopping time by cutting and pasting all four head sprites simultaneously is actually not such a good idea.)

I'll probably play more.

Thanks for your reply. Hope you enjoy playing the rest- It does get better as it goes on, at least in my opinion.

 

[tibuda]

I guess that means its down to personal opinion, huh?

Yeah, for sure. Mezmerize likes the maps but not the dialogue, while I like the dialogue but not your maps. I just think they are so big, and there are a lot of empty things in the maps (including the world map). Nothing really important like the storyline (and yours is amazing).

 

[Kingwalrus]

The plot seems nice to me too. Although it has "nothing new" (you know: evil dragons, ancient artifacts ect") it is very well-made and solid.
Longden's fate was a bit bad. It was pretty predictable that Jurgen would betray him, but I guess he was only a little baddie.

The maps are ok. The outdoor maps are a bit better, as the indoor maps suffer from the "Wide-open areas-syndrome" sometimes (especially in Mitagen).

 

[Mezmerize]

Lol yeah, ofcourse its just my opinion. The way Risa talks just annoys me =p but yeh.

 

[Ratty524]

Lol yeah, ofcourse its just my opinion. The way Risa talks just annoys me =p but yeh.

How so? Other than the fact that she seems to talk to herself and whine a lot during the beginning of the game?

Besides that, I've played part of the demo, here are some suggestions to the maker:

> Change the facesets, preferably hand-draw them, the facemaker graphics look kind of bad to me, at least in my opinion.
> By some of the battles I've seen so far, do you have a reason why those undead enemies are placed on the side of the screen as if it had a side-view battle system?

Other than that this game is very impressive, and of course better than my current project! This project is now on the list of "I will watch for more"!

 

[eharper256]

The plot seems nice to me too. Although it has "nothing new" (you know: evil dragons, ancient artifacts ect") it is very well-made and solid.

Heh; my old lecturer always used to say- "There is no such thing as an original story, but there is an original story about such a thing." I love the potential connotations of that statement.

Longden's fate was a bit bad. It was pretty predictable that Jurgen would betray him, but I guess he was only a little baddie.

Well, he's not ~technically~ betrayed him. Its just that things have turned out...differently to what he had planned. Don't you think Lord Morrigaan from the end of chapter IV looks awfully familiar, after all?

The maps are ok. The outdoor maps are a bit better, as the indoor maps suffer from the "Wide-open areas-syndrome" sometimes (especially in Mitagen).

Ehehehe. I have a propensity for vast interiors. Perhaps its down to the fact I have such a small home and I'm compensating. LOL.

The way Risa talks just annoys me =p but yeh.

Can't do much about internal monologue; if thats what annoys you, its a convienient narrators tool for introducing whats going on. Though it works better in novels than it does in games. :P At least I don't have a mute main character. Nothing annoys me more than that...

> Change the facesets, preferably hand-draw them, the facemaker graphics look kind of bad to me, at least in my opinion.
> By some of the battles I've seen so far, do you have a reason why those undead enemies are placed on the side of the screen as if it had a side-view battle system?

Sure I could hand-draw the facesets. It did occur to me. But I was pretty impressed by the Facemaker (I wouldn't of used it if it were pants) and laziness prevailed, as usual; since theres already like 70 odd facesets to draw (9 different poses each for the main characters, and a flurry of important NPCs). Besides; I'm fairly adept with a set of H, F and B pencils, but going over them in in 0.3mm pen so I can scan them is a whole different matter... my penning always seems to fail miserably. <sigh>

The zombies in the church? They're on the right hand side, right? Its just their arms are outstretched to the left in the battler sprite I made, so I makes kinda sense. Theres also a practical reason- if they were in the middle for the switch to the catacombs, they'd be standing in the water, LOL.

 

[Ratty524]

Ah, tracing, at least in my opinion, is a lot harder than the first drawing process.

As for the zombies, hmm, I guess you have a point :D

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Downloaded and started playing this today. n.n I love the characters. (Especially Fortinbras n.n) I've enjoyed what I've played so far, though I have seen some little errors here and there (mostly passibility stuff and I remember an instance where the line was too long for the text box) Seems like the story is building up nicely too. I'll let you know when I've played more. (Currently just got access to the world map)

 

[eharper256]

Oh good; I'm glad you like the characters. I tried to deviate from the usual norm of RPG stereotypes (as in, its usually a male lead, there's usually a female healer etc.) I dispensed of most of these and tried to humanise them.

Risa's tough and courageous, but somewhat stubborn and emotionally insecure. Tomlyn is kind hearted and modest, but has trouble appreciating peoples emotions and being especially social. Fortinbras is in some ways an icon of chivalry and honesty, but can be brash and naive at times. And Jeanette is energetic and staggeringly intelligent, but can be childlike, and masks a deep sadness.

I'm especially glad 'Fortee' is getting some love. I was worried he might be too much of a tragic hero...especially since his name has the obvious connotations of the Swede prince from Hamlet (the only one actually alive at the end of the play, LOL)

 

[bergice]

great game eharper256 :thumb:

 

[eharper256]

bergice: Glad you like it!

Oh, and a general annoucement: I just checked out the links, Sendspace download has been deleted (gosh that didn't last long). If anyone can't use Megaupload and still wants it, please re-request an upload. I can't always guarantee the health of these links, so please inform me if you can't get the game demo.

 

[eharper256]

Hey guys, its a 0.8 update.

I finally defeated the Elite Four in Pokemon Pearl :P So work has re-commenced on the game. I've also been working on the DTS on the side attempting to integrate seasonal shifts into it as well as the customisable calender and weekdays. Hopefully all of this will integrate nicely into the plans I have for chapters six and seven. The main game related achievements include finally scripting all of the various nuances of the ball scene, doing some more mapping, completing some more animations (I'm especially proud of Sendervils Shockwave) and also writing some more books.

 

[eharper256]

Hey guys, its a 0.8 update.

Mainly been working on mapping and artwork again in my spare time. I crafted some new tilesets in order to get a better interior and exterior for the towns of Tuskuru. In case you hadn't guessed, these towns are supposed to have the far-eastern influence in their architecture (despite the fact that Tuskuru is the southerly country in Lectrom :P )

At least I got this sorted; but its been busy again for me this week as I'll be switching jobs in RealLife TM...

PS...
Obviously, with the shuffle, the project has migrated to Projects in Development; though it certainly has more than the required 30 minutes of gameplay for 'Completed Projects'. Then again, I'm not complaining, since it obviously isn't actually completed. :P