Addenda [Demo!]

[Dark_Metamorphosis]

I would love to download and try your demo! How much playtime is involved in your demo so far? (estimated).

 

[West Mains]

I would love to download and try your demo! How much playtime is involved in your demo so far? (estimated).

Well, it depends. There's a bunch of stuff hidden around, but if you just blasted through it, maybe 40 minutes? I usually get around an hour of play time when I go through it, though.

 

[Dark_Metamorphosis]

Well, it depends. There's a bunch of stuff hidden around, but if you just blasted through it, maybe 40 minutes? I usually get around an hour of play time when I go through it, though.

That sounds perfect, downloading right now

Edit: Seems like your download link is broken. It states that the file is invalid or deleted :/

 

[West Mains]

That sounds perfect, downloading right now

Edit: Seems like your download link is broken. It states that the file is invalid or deleted :/

Don't use the clickable link, copy and paste the other one. This is just one of the problems I've had with mediafire and it's why I'll be switching hoster for the next upload.

I'll go back and add a note about that, actually.

 

[Dark_Metamorphosis]

Don't use the clickable link, copy and paste the other one. This is just one of the problems I've had with mediafire and it's why I'll be switching hoster for the next upload.

I'll go back and add a note about that, actually.

Ok sweet, I'll try copy-paste the other link then, thanks!

 

[Dark_Metamorphosis]

Tried out your demo, and thought I could give you some feedback

Nice music and logo at start! Looks nice!

At the first room I would suggest to use different kinds of beds and align them in different patterns
to make a little bit of an Immersive feel to it. It just feels a bit off to me, like the beds are just placed
there for no particular reason, it also gets a bit repetetive. Same goes for the Mess Hall, try to work the
placement of the chairs and the counters into different patterns instead of just lining everything up in a
straight line. Maybe add some depths to the whole room, By aligning the counters in some sort of height difference
kind of way. It would make the room feel more vibrant, and maybe add some stairs to it as well?
I would also suggest to use different shelfs, since all of them look somewhat the same. Work on the placement
for them as well as they are all lined up in a straight line making the room feel very clustered, and stale.
The size of the room has a big impact of the sort of 'stale' feeling I get from it as well. Try see if you can
resize it a bit and remodel the walls of the room into a state that is less square.

I like the outside part! The music really adds to a sort of creepy atmosphere, and you get the urge to
keep pressing forward to find out what's going on! I can't help but to find the layout of some of your houses
a bit strange though, especially the Inn where there is a green roof behind the main building? The entrance
to the Kiria mines looks a bit off aswell, instead of adding another block shaped tile on the roof, you
could try shift clicking the second floor on there to add a more 'depth' feeling to it, or maybe make the upper
wall 2 frames tall instead (or 2 frames wide). It looks a bit off in It's current state though.

I like that you award the player for exploring! Just found some gold and my stats got a boost for investigating
the logs on the ground! I love that kind of rewards, so keep them coming!  
The man that is appearing out of nowhere was a cool touch too,

it adds up to the sort of 'strange' and 'creepy' atmosphere, and it was somewhat of a;

'what the heck?' moment for me there.

On the sort of 'boarded up house', I would remove the cut-off window on the second floor. It looks a bit off
when aligned like that with the rest of the roof. I like how you have implemented the cut-off windows for the
rest of the houses, but on that particular one it doesn't fit well at all. I would also suggest to add some
patterns for the trees and the treelines of the map, since they add up to the sort of 'stale' feeling. Make it
a bit more immersive instead of lining the trees up in straight lines, Try shape them into random patterns to
make it feel more 'lively'. I would also suggest to add some more breathing space for the trees. Other than that
I think the map looks good, but some areas could use a bit more clutter since they are pretty much empty, you
could also try add some details for the road (like dirt, stones or waterpools etc).

Inside Kirk's house, I think you have done a great job with the shape of the rooms! It feels a bit empty though,
and some more details would be nice (Especially in the big room where there is nothing but 2 small tables with
flowers on them). Try add more detail in there to make it look less empty, or scale the room down a lot in size.
The pink 'chairs' along with the wooden chairs near the clock can be walked over, is this intentional?
I also found it a bit weird with the food being placed on the ground? Maybe they enjoy eating on the floor though,
but I found it kinda strange that there is no tables in there

Second floor, again very empty rooms. Either fill up the huge space with the wall tiles, to make the room smaller
or add more details to it. It just feels deserted and kinda stale, and not like It's a house where people
live

I like the curtain part! It wasn't that obvious, and once again you are rewarded for exploring and investigating!
The room with the chests looks a lot better! But I would once again suggest to avoid puting everything in a
straight line. If you put the items in a bit more random (and in different shapes) it will feel much more
vibrant and immersive, and the room won't feel as stiff. If you look around your own house you might notice
that everything in there is not aligned in a perfect straight line, try to think about that when you place
your resources on the map. Play around with it and try find where different items fits together well, and
randomize the placement a bit more.

Woho!, I found a blue Teddy Bear!
Also found someting called 'smelling salts?' or something in a pot but I can't find it in my Inventory.
You might have forgot to put the items in that pot.
It seems I can't dash inside the house as well, is this intentional? (I'm pretty sure it is).
Wrong transfer setting when using the stairs back to the first floor, my character end up facing the left side
after the transfer.

Met the guy in the basement, and I like where It's heading so far. I think you have grasped the sort of
'mystical and creepy' feel to everything, and I also can't help but to get a urge to go look into the 'unknown'
events that seems to occur in the town. I'm not sure what you wanted with the atmosphere but that's what I get
from it all, and if it was your intention to make me feel like that, you have done a great job so far

Also enjoyed the 'I feel like a character from a Video game!'-part, haha It's always nice with some funny moments
even when the event in question is supposed to be a bit serious! After the event with the man, I found out that
my class for the main character changed? Is this something that will occur during the storyline, and your class
will change depending on what you learn? It seems a bit interesting!

The vein on the wall is climbable here, and I can walk along the wall but it wont lead to anything particular..
Is this intentional? I used the orb, and reached my hand into the crack.. but nothing particular seemed to happen?
Maybe you could add some sort of indication that something (or nothing) happened when interacting with them.
Managed to open the chest with money in it, you might want to put this chest as 'direction fix' as it changes
graphics a lot when interacting with it. Left the basement...

...And entered the cemetery! This map looks really nice, but I would once again suggest you to avoid
lining everything up like that hehe. Put the graves a bit random, and make them look a bit different from
one another. I think It's really cool that you can read on every single grave!
I got into the fight with the ghost, and I find it a bit weird that I don't have a single skill for my main
character so far? I guess it resembles that he's not familiar with magic and skills though, but I though he would
have gotten a spell from the event earlier on. I also have 2 of the same skills with Kirk 'Meditate Souls' and
'Meditate Mind' that both will replenish some mp, but the 'Meditate Mind' One is free of cost and can't be used.
The ghost fight was well balanced, and I like that he got more difficult at the end of the battle! It was
a really fun fight overall! Just realized that Josepth got a skill at level 2 as well, so don't mind what I said
before.

Finally got to East Kiria hehe, that was one big mine!
In the watchtower I can walk ontop of the guy in the boxershorts (I can't interact with him either).
Couldn't find anything to do in the watchtower so left without Kirk :/
Can't leave the town without him though.
Think I'll stop here for now, and pick it up again later! So far I'm enjoying the game, and I will add some final words once I have finished the demo.

Will come back to edit the post, once I continue.

 

[West Mains]

I'll answer over the points listed in reverse order (bottom to top.)

The guy in the Watchtower can be intereacted with. You have to face him, stand on the blocks next to him. You can walk over him for reasons that are explained later in the plot. 

You mentioned Meditate Mind. Meditations are the game's main skill for recouperating MP, TP or HP. They take time and points to use, and some can only be used in certain situations. For example, Meditate Mind can only be used outside of battle from the menu, and Meditate Soul can only be used in battle. The difference is that Meditate Soul costs TP, but gives a far greater return of MP. 

I kept everything all lined up because, well. That's how cemetaries are arranged. I'm glad you think it's cool that you can read them all, there's a bunch of references to video game characters and developers, and some of the names will be important in future games set in the Addenda world!  

In Kirk's Basement, the vines don't lead anywhere, they're just there to demonstrate that you can climb vines and walk on the walls, this becomes useful in one or two rooms in the Mines. Also, at the time I placed them down, I had no idea you could climb them! Was quite the mind-splosion. About the orbs: after using them, pay close attention to the room. They affect something, but I won't say what!

Yeah, the character's class changes (that is to say, the knowledge spell begun to take effect), if you notice when you first start the game by going into the menu, it'll list his class as a "civillian" and he'll have low stats.  Once he becomes a Fighter, he gets a little stronger and stuff.

Yay, blue teddy bears. You'll find them scattered around the world, they retore MP and TP for the party by a great deal, but they're rare, so use them tactically! There's also the more rare Red Teddy Bears which can be used to deal damage, and there's also Yellow Bears which yield a special reward that will remain a secret.

Hmm, you should have received the Smelling Salts. I'll fix that. They're an item that's used to bring back dead allies (like a Pheonix Down from FinalFantasy).

But yeah! Thanks for playing, it's great to get feedback.

 

[West Mains]

I have now uploaded Alpha Demo Version 5. The file is hosted on Dropbox now since Mediafire was giving me so many problems. Let me know if there are any issues with the download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zyg4vme6zd9qclz/Addenda%20-%20AlphaV5.rar?m

 

[West Mains]

Addenda Update!

So, here's the news, for those that are interested:

Recently, my pc decided it would turn off and never turn on again. I think all of my data is secured, as it might be a PSU issue, but until I can get it repaired by someone who actually knows how to fix computers, I can't work on Addenda! 

Considering I'm saving up for a PS4 (I wanna get one on launch), I think that by the most optimistic estimates, this pushes my projected final release date to Q4 2014. 

Until the computer is repaired, though, I do ask that people still enjoy the alpha demo! Any problems found there I can at least take notes of for when I'm able to resume my work. 

 

[West Mains]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4rli0j73rnnepo/Addenda-Demo-2.rar

Download link has been updated following a discovery of a bug left over from a previous update which rendered the game unplayable past the first cinematic.

We also now have A SURVEY!! Give us your thoughts:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KHSVXFR

 

[Scythuz]

Well this is odd, whenever I try to walk out the inn at the beginning the game crashes.  It says: Script "Game_Interpreter" line 1411: NoMethodError Occurred undefined method 'effect_surface' for #<Game_Map:0x8e2e3e0>

I used the latest download link you've posted.

It was looking good so far otherwise.

 

[West Mains]

Well this is odd, whenever I try to walk out the inn at the beginning the game crashes.  It says: Script "Game_Interpreter" line 1411: NoMethodError Occurred undefined method 'effect_surface' for #<Game_Map:0x8e2e3e0>

I used the latest download link you've posted.

It was looking good so far otherwise.

Are you sure youre using the right download?

Because no one else has experienced this problem after the recent changes I made.

This download here, right? : https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4rli0j73rnnepo/Addenda-Demo-2.rar

 

[Scythuz]

Gonna re-download it and reinstall rtp just in case.

 

[Scythuz]

One suggestion so far, maybe should put something near to the hole the player has to climb through to reach Kirk the mage.  Perhaps an object near to the hole or maybe you could change the item bag in there to a treasure chest and put it closer to the buildings entrance, rather than by the stairs?  There's a lot of ways you could do it.

I find it odd how sometimes you can run and sometimes you can't at this point in the game.

The atmosphere of the world is great so far.

Combat tutorial was a little hard for the first battle, if I hadn't taken the broccoli from before i'd have quickly died, if I were you i'd either make the battle easier or make it more apparent that you need to heal for the battle.

I like how interactive the world is, I'm a big fan of little details and knowing more about the world in the game i'm playing.

The battle with the ghost was tough, I feel like Kirk should have a little bit more mp, also being able to get slightly more tp and mp when you guard would make a lot of sense.  Obviously having Kirk say something about this during the combat tutorial or just before the fight with the ghost would be useful.

Also the battle music for the ghost fight was a little grating, i'd recommend changing the guitar to something else and making the arrangement less repetitive.

Also i'm thinking maybe there should be a chance of random battles in the graveyard.  Maybe a guaranteed fight at the other withered plant too.  Giving the player a bit of a chance to get used to the abilities of Joseph and Kirk would be useful.  This could also give players the opportunity to pick up Josephs first ability.

The random battles in the mines were much better balanced and the encounter rate seemed perfectly fine.  I was thinking though maybe Kirk as a mage should recover a bit of mp after a battle and maybe Joseph should have the same with hp?  Passive class abilities like that can really make your characters more of a personal thing from a battle point of view, though from a plot and character development point of view they're already great. 

So far the story is quite intriguing and i'll probably play some more when i'm having my next break between making my music tracks.  Keep up the good work and I hope my criticisms and comments are helpful to you!

 

[West Mains]

I'll just answer everything as it comes by

- I figured that putting a big hole in the wall right where you can crawl through was quite self-explanitory. And I only put the treasure next to the stairs so that people have to pick it up to progress. Just incase anyone mistakes it for decoration/furniture. Ya know?

- The tutorial's hard? Really? Aw man. Its the damage the Monster does, right? Becuase Im certain Joseph can kill him in about 2 or 3 hits. I'll add in some dialogue boxes that pop up when Joseph hits different percentiles of health, just in case. But bear in mind, my whole thing for the game is that it's not gonna be easy at all. It's like dark souls, there are always easy ways to beat the monsters, but youve gotta find those ways first. Case in point, the Graveyard ghost seems hard until you figure out how weak it is to dark magic/blind.

- Glad you enjoy that. Im hoping to fill as much as I can with interactivity. You may notice that repeat examining items can lead to different dialogues happening. Cool tip: if you have Kirk on your team and you examine the big stone statue thing near the path to the Graveyard, he will explain it's purpose, rather than Joseph simply telling you it makes him feel weird. Stuff like that.

- As I said before, it's supposed to be tough. You should have seen the original demos, ooft, now THAT was hard. Incredibly unfair, actually. As for explaining MP/TP, I very clearly explain them in the User's Guide PDF that comes packed with the game demo. Always read the manual, dude. I like what you said about Guard relating to TP, though. That's quite interesting. 

- Welll, I dunno. I quite enjoy the Generic Boss Theme. Although once you hit the other side of Kiria, Battle themes change based on the area, so you can take solace in that at least. Thanks for the input though. 

- I had originally considered encounters in the Graveyard, but from a plot perspective, it doesn't make sense that they are there. The ghost is heavily implied to be the reason there's no monsters in East Kiria while West Kiria is swarming with them. 

- Glad the mine battles were better. They used to be downright impossible. Someone did a LetsPlay of Addenda in its earlier incarnations and the mines just destroyed at that part. So its good thats sorted now. As for recovering MP after battles, there are Meditation skills Kirk can use, he explains these after the Graveyard Ghost fight. These can be used in conjuction with healing spells to recover Joseph's HP, too. 

Awesome, thanks for checking it out.

By the way, what did you think about the part at the start of the cave where the player can select different reactions to Kirk's statements? I'm thinking of using that mechanic a lot more in the rest of the game.

 

[Scythuz]

No particular order or reason to my comments here, it's just as I see something I want to comment on or respond to:

- Dark Souls style, I see, if it's meant to be that difficult my whole way of playing the game will change based on that fact.

- I've probably been a bit harsh about the boss battle theme to be fair, i'm pretty harsh on myself as a musician and I guess that's carried over into my criticisms when i'm meant to be criticizing the game and not the music.  That being said i'm looking forward to seeing what the other areas have to offer from a musical variation perspective, I always hate it when rpgs don't have a lot of battle themes.  I feel like you should have at least: a normal battle theme, a boss battle theme, an important battle theme and a final boss battle theme.

- Repeat dialogue and dialogue variations based on choice and pressing an object multiple times... I only have the highest of praise and support for that undertaking.  Definitely use it as you see fit!  It doesn't have to be story changing just the tone of the dialogue changing would probably be best.

- Personally, I feel that relying on the manual too much isn't a good idea for a turn-based rpg.  I only really like to use the manual for games like: Crusader Kings 2, the Might and Magic series and other grand strategy and old-school crpgs.  I'm much more of a fan of a well put together tutorial, something which you already have a solid foundation for I believe.  Game immersion is a big deal to me, so reading the manual has to feel like an extension of the game to me rather than just a bunch of stats and controls.

Basically, I either like a manual if: the game makes it very clear that you need one or if the manual is presented in an interesting way that highlights a lot of additional lore; maps and the like.

 

[West Mains]

- No, its fine. I like that kind of criticism. Not a lot of peple have commented on that specific thing, so its refresing either way! My plan is to have different areas have their own battle themes [when you get through the cave area, youll see what I mean], for mini-bosses or regular bosses, there's the theme you heard, but plot-important ones or significantly powerful/rewarding bosses will have their own unique themes. 

- It's quite an undertaking, but I really enjoy writing the dialogue for it. My favourite is examining a wardrobe and the character says these when you keep examining, first: "empty," second "it's empty" and third "its STILL empty." 

- Yeah, I understand that. When the game is ready for completion I can add a lot more with pictures and stuff like that. The one at the moment is just very basic and geared towards people that generally arent familiar with RPGs [hence why I explain DEF, STR, stuff like that.] I was thinking of doing what Metal Gear did by including a small walkthrough in the manual for the first map, for people that cant find all the hidden items. To get people's bearing and stuff like that. Speaking of, there's a couple of hidden goodies in the first area, when you exit the Inn. One of them reveals a little information about the character that bumps into you when you leave. MOV'IT POCKET!

 

[West Mains]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ngje4dhm9c10wn/Addenda-Demo-3-NONRTP.rar?m

Demo has been updated to fix some bugs and issues.

 

[Clord]

I did what you asked. I played your demo version of the game. Writing is good at least so your game has that. Still being forced to walk on indoors should be only used in a specific cases.

 

[West Mains]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gnlj5r3k6lk5h4f/Addenda-Demo-4-NotRTP.rar

Demo has been updated. This fixes a bug where an event didn't trigger properly, and adds two new areas to the game.