Eternal Dreamers | Free Battle RPG | 91% Positive on Steam

[Biestmann]

Changelog v0.85.2

Classes

Captain

• Cost of Encourage reduced from 5AP -> 4AP
  • Encourage will cast instantly and not take up a turn (class-only)
• Cost of Feartake reduced from 5AP -> 4AP
  • Feartake will cast instantly and not take up a turn (class-only)

Practitioner

• Cost of Waste I-V reduced from 5AP -> 3AP
• Cost of Devour I-V reduced from 6AP -> 4AP
• Cost of Darkness I-V reduced from 7AP -> 5AP
• Cost of Discourage reduced from 5AP -> 4AP
  • Discourage will cast instantly and not take up a turn (class-only)
• Cost of Fear reduced from 5AP -> 4AP
  • Fear will cast instantly and not take up a turn (class-only)
• Soul Drain will cast instantly and not take up a turn (class-only)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the issue letting players cast skills without their respective state restrictions
• Fixed some typos

Thank you for your support!

Hi. I haven't fought the dragon again. I'm training my other characters to see who I should use now. The elementalist seems really good for damage output. I'm comparing his strength to the Hero and seeing who should make up my final party. I'll be sure to test the Practitioner in the update, too.

The spam strategy would require having a dedicated character only healing the Practitioner the whole time. So that's someone who just sits back and uses items, or a Preacher who is tied up restoring one character. So it's not really much different from the usual strategy of having everyone attack and healing when needed.

Thanks for the hot patch. I downloaded the new version but now I'll wait until your patch to play more.

I apologize for the inconvenience. I made sure this patch includes your much-requested changes to the Captain to make up for the mistake.

And yes, the Elementalist is better than it would have you believe. Very versatile too. As for the Practitioner, you will notice I have not outright removed the AP cost of its skills, but severely lowered them. That should make it easier for the class to attack. If it remains underwhelming, there will be further tweaking.

I hope you enjoy the new version!

 

[MMMm]

Alright, cool. Previously the Captain's job could be done better by a guy using attack boost items. This current gimmick is pretty sweet. He has a totally different play style now. I'll test it as my main character in a new game.

And with the recent update, the saves broke. "Cannot read property 'length' of undefined."

Which is normal. RPG maker saves aren't meant to be used between versions. I'll be starting a new save for each update now.

Could we get a skip intro option to make this faster? Probably somewhere after character creation would be good.

 

[Biestmann]

Alright, cool. Previously the Captain's job could be done better by a guy using attack boost items. This current gimmick is pretty sweet. He has a totally different play style now. I'll test it as my main character in a new game.

And with the recent update, the saves broke. "Cannot read property 'length' of undefined."

Which is normal. RPG maker saves aren't meant to be used between versions. I'll be starting a new save for each update now.

Could we get a skip intro option to make this faster? Probably somewhere after character creation would be good.

I'm surprised the save broke this update as it hasn't for me. Granted, that was through the playtest, but there were no issues whatsoever. However, since there is a chance saves will break anytime, I will work on implementing the skip for the next version. If you'd like, I can implement a temporary NPC that grants free levels and area unlocks as well.

 

[MMMm]

That would be pretty helpful for testing. Thanks.

 

[atoms]

The maps in your screenshot section look a little empty and big to me. It may be more visually appealing if they shrank in size or had more detail on them, if that's possible.

There is a lot of nice space to navigate on but it just seems a little long and empty right now.

Other than that, it seems interesting.

Could you explain to me what a "Battle Crawler" is though? I've not heard the term before, unless you mean Dungeon Crawler?

 

[MMMm]

Could you explain to me what a "Battle Crawler" is though? I've not heard the term before, unless you mean Dungeon Crawler?

It's like a dungeon crawler except there's no dungeon. You have a hub town and you go on missions. Each mission is a series of battles linked to each other in a chain that ends in a boss battle. After defeating 4 bosses, you complete an area and the story advances, then a new area + shop gear is unlocked.

 

[Biestmann]

The maps in your screenshot section look a little empty and big to me. It may be more visually appealing if they shrank in size or had more detail on them, if that's possible.

There is a lot of nice space to navigate on but it just seems a little long and empty right now.

Other than that, it seems interesting.

Could you explain to me what a "Battle Crawler" is though? I've not heard the term before, unless you mean Dungeon Crawler?

Hey there, atoms! Thank you for taking an interest in my game.

As you know, the term Dungeon Crawler describes a game that has you traverse a multitude of dungeons, clearing puzzles and facing enemies along the way. Unlike most JRPGs, this game has no dungeons to speak of. In fact, the hub area is the only traversable area in the game.

Rather than explore dungeons thus, your party challenges groups of enemies in succession, capping things off with a boss-type encounter. These battles link seamlessly and keep you straight in the action. The game offers 9 different classes, and at a party size of three, 84 possible party compositions. The battle system itself is unique and something you won't find in any other JRPG, that I am confident of.

No dungeons means no treasure chests either, and all equipment instead is dropped by the enemies you encounter. The further along you are, and the higher the difficulty you play, the better possible drops become. That includes rare, unique weapons, dropping at abysmally low rates, and sometimes exclusively from rare enemies too. These rare items won't be acquired in a single run, which is why the game features a mission-based setup to ensure addictive replayability. Think Diablo, think Monster Hunter, think Phantasy Star Online.

In short, battling is the focus of this game, hence me coining the term Battle Crawler to describe it. Doing this concept justice in four screenshots is difficult, and I suggest you give the game a shot to fully understand it.

Cheers!

 

[Biestmann]

After a big amount of balance updates happening over the course of the past few days, it is time to turn to greater endeavours again. Big changes take time, and I ask for a bit of patience so they can be properly implemented. Down below you will find new content and improvements to look forward to in late August and early September.

New Difficulty: Hard

• Stronger enemies with harsher attack patterns
• Higher rarity equipment
• Level II abilities available
• Unlocks upon clearing difficulty mode: Normal

Character Creation Improvements

• Improved explanation of class choices
• Proper division between male and female character parts
• More parts

Story Adjustments

• Overhaul of the game intro
• Skippable opening cutscene
• More NPC and party dialogue

Naturally, balance issues, bugs and other concerns will not be forgotten until then, and continue to be addressed in frequent updates. For all those joining us on this journey, I hope you enjoy your time with Eternal Dreamers!

 

[MMMm]

It would be neat if you could exchange technique books in a special shop for points to buy other books. You'll end up with loads of these books and it would help to get the ones you want, as well as cut down on the grind. Maybe there could be rare abilities that can't be dropped by enemies and can only be exchanged?

It can be hard when you're missing something like lightning stance but the enemies keep dropping stuff for other classes.

 

[Biestmann]

It would be neat if you could exchange technique books in a special shop for points to buy other books. You'll end up with loads of these books and it would help to get the ones you want, as well as cut down on the grind. Maybe there could be rare abilities that can't be dropped by enemies and can only be exchanged?

It can be hard when you're missing something like lightning stance but the enemies keep dropping stuff for other classes.

If rare abilities were obtainable only through an exchange, you would still have to grind for the materials to obtain them. In the end, that wouldn't change an awful lot. I am not opposed to having abilities drop in battle while also being available through an exchange however. In that case, I will have to ponder on what items that would require.

You previously mentioned that money does not possess much value, so one option is to have a shop sell ability books at exorbitantly high prices to introduce another money sink. Alternatively, ability books could be recycable into a new form of currency used exclusively in the ability shop. That would also do away with the item clutter the books cause.

What do you think?

 

[MMMm]

I love the idea of being able to exchange the books for currency. It's also consistent with your other systems in place currently. It would be the perfect solution, especially if 1 book = 1 book of the same tier. I also like the idea of buying books if the player just doesn't have one in their inventory or they're willing to spend some cash.

So you could probably do both but trading books for currency and then more books sounds awesome.


On the topic of more money sinks, you could add some powerful items that are worth buying.

For example, a one use item that causes everyone on the team to have magic reflect. Or a whole party attack or defense buff. Perhaps healing potions with the instant tag attached to them? Another expensive and powerful item could be a tonic that makes your team recover AP. A potentially weakened, one use ice spirit, basically. Or maybe it's different from the ice spirit in that it just gives someone

Those kinds of things would make major differences in battle and players would always want to buy them.

A major thing that contributes to money not being worth much is that equipment has level conditions set on it. So buying a high tier weapon or armor doesn't help you until you're at the level required to use it, and by then a boss will have probably already dropped the gear for free.

You also typically won't use and upgrade all of your characters, since you only use 3 in a battle. A player will typically experiment with the characters to see who they like, then only use those characters. I do use items, however.

My current playthrough uses Elementalist, Marsksman, Captain and Blood Driver. I'm debating on dropping the Captain, as he lacks an ability to deal real damage directly beyond a basic attack. At the start of a battle, he can buff two characters, then I usually have him focus. I don't really use defensive buffs, focusing only on pure attack and killing the enemy.

I could possibly replace him in my group dynamic with the Elementalist, who would open up the battles using his group attacks, then use attack boosting items while his AP recovers, while focusing on healing. However, the Captain has an AP boosting ability, which is why I'd think to replace the Blood Driver. I can use the Captain for healing and give the Elementalist more uses of his abilities, while the Marksman focuses on burst damage on single targets.

It's something I'm still figuring out.

Also, the Hero's counter ability needs a longer duration. It seems to end instantly when activated and you don't get to counter anything.

 

[Biestmann]

Changelog v0.85.3

Items

• Ability items can be recycled for Ability Fragments
• Level I ability items are recycable for 1x Ability Fragment each
• Added ability merchant to the shopping mile. The shop will offer abilities in exchange for Ability Fragments
• Level I ability items will be sold for 10x Ability Fragments and 10 gold each

Characters

• Adjusted NPC dialogue

System

• Temporarily added NPC for testing purposes. The NPC can be found in the top left corner of the central hub area. It can adjust party level, unlock all areas and make generous donations to the player if prompted

Bug Fixes

• Fixed incorrect duration of the Counter status effect

Thank you for your support!

I love the idea of being able to exchange the books for currency. It's also consistent with your other systems in place currently. It would be the perfect solution, especially if 1 book = 1 book of the same tier. I also like the idea of buying books if the player just doesn't have one in their inventory or they're willing to spend some cash.

So you could probably do both but trading books for currency and then more books sounds awesome.


On the topic of more money sinks, you could add some powerful items that are worth buying.

For example, a one use item that causes everyone on the team to have magic reflect. Or a whole party attack or defense buff. Perhaps healing potions with the instant tag attached to them? Another expensive and powerful item could be a tonic that makes your team recover AP. A potentially weakened, one use ice spirit, basically. Or maybe it's different from the ice spirit in that it just gives someone

Those kinds of things would make major differences in battle and players would always want to buy them.

A major thing that contributes to money not being worth much is that equipment has level conditions set on it. So buying a high tier weapon or armor doesn't help you until you're at the level required to use it, and by then a boss will have probably already dropped the gear for free.

You also typically won't use and upgrade all of your characters, since you only use 3 in a battle. A player will typically experiment with the characters to see who they like, then only use those characters. I do use items, however.

My current playthrough uses Elementalist, Marsksman, Captain and Blood Driver. I'm debating on dropping the Captain, as he lacks an ability to deal real damage directly beyond a basic attack. At the start of a battle, he can buff two characters, then I usually have him focus. I don't really use defensive buffs, focusing only on pure attack and killing the enemy.

I could possibly replace him in my group dynamic with the Elementalist, who would open up the battles using his group attacks, then use attack boosting items while his AP recovers, while focusing on healing. However, the Captain has an AP boosting ability, which is why I'd think to replace the Blood Driver. I can use the Captain for healing and give the Elementalist more uses of his abilities, while the Marksman focuses on burst damage on single targets.

It's something I'm still figuring out.

Also, the Hero's counter ability needs a longer duration. It seems to end instantly when activated and you don't get to counter anything.

As you can see, I was a bit more reserved with the ability merchant than you asked. I want to explain my reasoning to you.

First of all, the beginning parts of the game is when the player still does not know which characters they would enjoy. By making abilities bound to item drops, they are given the opportunity to test a new class whenever they acquire a new ability. That offers a kind of incentive for them to experiment.

Secondly, this type of game lives off its randomized item drops, and that includes abilities. Having one ability be exchanable for another would not only diminish the incentive to try out another class early on, but also do away with the random nature of their drop. If any ability could be exchanged for any other ability at a 1:1 rate, enemies might as well drop the new Ability Fragments instead.

Therefore, I opted for a 10:1 exchange rate, which I still think will be sufficiently lenient, as abilities drop rather frequently overall.

 

[MMMm]

A higher number is fine. Once you've unlocked the casino, you can spend 10K to get the 10 meal tickets you need to buy a lucky meal, then go grind for books. It won't take long to get what you need. It's more so something to use if you're missing a specific technique
anyways, rather than being your primary way of acquiring them.

How does trading in books work? I sold one to the guy but didn't get any points, just 5 gold.

Am I missing something or is there no way to give yourself human ears in character creation?

 

[Biestmann]

A higher number is fine. Once you've unlocked the casino, you can spend 10K to get the 10 meal tickets you need to buy a lucky meal, then go grind for books. It won't take long to get what you need. It's more so something to use if you're missing a specific technique
anyways, rather than being your primary way of acquiring them.

How does trading in books work? I sold one to the guy but didn't get any points, just 5 gold.

Am I missing something or is there no way to give yourself human ears in character creation?

You recycle the books through the item menu. It's one of the options below "Use Item". You may also recycle weapons and armor, just in case you didn't know that.

And no, there are no ears as of now. Thank God the creator will get an overhaul!

 

[Latefallen]

Alright! I played the game, put a good 5 hours or so in so far and I'm hooked. The storyline is decent enough, it works, but the stand-out centerpiece of the game is the gameplay.

I really love the mechanics and the battles. The different 'stances' or whatever you'd call them add for a really unique feeling to the game. One thing I would say is, perhaps put the stances in a different sub-menu to Abilities since it can be complicated (at first) to know what's a stance and what's an ability. That being said, the game in its current state is very enjoyable. As I say, I've put in a good 5 hours and I'm down to put in a whole bunch more later today. That being said, here's my little list of pros and cons:

PROS:

• Really satisfying battle system. I love the idea of waves of enemies and then the boss.
• Decently balanced but with a side of unforgiving combat
• Simple yet effective
• Makes for some awesome experiences. I'll never forget how all-but-one of my team died before the Alpha Boss so Marlon had to face it alone and just managed to sneak a victory. It makes for an amazing, memorable experience.

CONS:

• Needs a tutorial. The battle system is fun yet super unforgiving. A little tutorial on how it all works with Focus and AP would be appreciated.
• The mapping leaves a little to be desired. Areas, especially the casino, feel super bare.
• The graphics. I know you're still in-dev so this will probably change but yeah, RTP is alright for testing but if you're not planning to already, I'd change it.

FINAL SUGGESTIONS:

• Improve the mapping, for sure. It's decent, but could be better.
• Add a battle tutorial. Perhaps the Laboratory could have a 'Test chamber' where you can fight the slimes?
• Perhaps randomize the enemies on each wave so it's less predictable?

This was super enjoyable to play. Now I'd best get back to it, those Mountains aren't going to conquer themselves!

UPDATE: I've played it a little more and I have to say, Inner Warmth is so overpowered. Maybe tone it down a little, I've managed to come back from the brink so many times with it. Like the game isn't even a struggle now I have this ability.

 

[MMMm]

UPDATE: I've played it a little more and I have to say, Inner Warmth is so overpowered. Maybe tone it down a little, I've managed to come back from the brink so many times with it. Like the game isn't even a struggle now I have this ability.

It'll get tougher for you as you get further ahead. The later enemies are much, much stronger.

What party composition do you use?

 

[Latefallen]

It'll get tougher for you as you get further ahead. The later enemies are much, much stronger.

What party composition do you use?

I'm just using the default one. Me (Elementalist) and the two defaults.

 

[MMMm]

I'm just using the default one. Me (Elementalist) and the two defaults.

So you use Monolith and the Preacher? Very interesting.

 

[Biestmann]

Alright! I played the game, put a good 5 hours or so in so far and I'm hooked. The storyline is decent enough, it works, but the stand-out centerpiece of the game is the gameplay.

I really love the mechanics and the battles. The different 'stances' or whatever you'd call them add for a really unique feeling to the game. One thing I would say is, perhaps put the stances in a different sub-menu to Abilities since it can be complicated (at first) to know what's a stance and what's an ability. That being said, the game in its current state is very enjoyable. As I say, I've put in a good 5 hours and I'm down to put in a whole bunch more later today. That being said, here's my little list of pros and cons:

PROS:

• Really satisfying battle system. I love the idea of waves of enemies and then the boss.
• Decently balanced but with a side of unforgiving combat
• Simple yet effective
• Makes for some awesome experiences. I'll never forget how all-but-one of my team died before the Alpha Boss so Marlon had to face it alone and just managed to sneak a victory. It makes for an amazing, memorable experience.

CONS:

• Needs a tutorial. The battle system is fun yet super unforgiving. A little tutorial on how it all works with Focus and AP would be appreciated.
• The mapping leaves a little to be desired. Areas, especially the casino, feel super bare.
• The graphics. I know you're still in-dev so this will probably change but yeah, RTP is alright for testing but if you're not planning to already, I'd change it.

FINAL SUGGESTIONS:

• Improve the mapping, for sure. It's decent, but could be better.
• Add a battle tutorial. Perhaps the Laboratory could have a 'Test chamber' where you can fight the slimes?
• Perhaps randomize the enemies on each wave so it's less predictable?

This was super enjoyable to play. Now I'd best get back to it, those Mountains aren't going to conquer themselves!

UPDATE: I've played it a little more and I have to say, Inner Warmth is so overpowered. Maybe tone it down a little, I've managed to come back from the brink so many times with it. Like the game isn't even a struggle now I have this ability.

Hey there, Latefallen! First of all, thank you for trying out the demo of my game. I am happy you've been enjoying your time so far.

Combat and everything revolving around it - be that classes, enemies or item drops - all have been my primary concern when making this game. I thought that before I were to focus on the appearance too much, I should ensure the gameplay loop was satisfying enough to keep people engaged. So getting this kind of feedback is very reassuring to me. It really means a lot.

However, I agree with you on the mapping and the use of RTP for this project. I'm sad to say mapping isn't my greatest strength, and I am likely to commission someone to do a better job in my stead. Alternatively, I am quite open to having someone draw the maps for me to use as a parallax. I can't really say that anything is set in stone yet in either direction, so it will be a decision I make sometime in the future.

I agree with you on the tutorial as well, and it is something I have been working on on the side. As systems still are subject to change, I was meaning to release these sort of tools once things have finalized.

Randomizing enemy compositions is something that has been on my mind as well, and I think that if I am to implement those, I would do so starting with the upcoming Hard mode difficulty. Knowing which enemies will strike next makes things considerably easier, but I think that isn't inherently bad for the first difficulty available to the player.

As for Inner Warmth, I will be sure to take a look at the skill following your feedback. Knowing your exact party composition would be valuable as well, so I could determine how much healing you have access to exactly. For example, having both the Elementalist and Preacher in your party would allow for significant healing on your part, but then also impair your ability to deal great damage. This is not much of a concern early on, but weighing offense and defense becomes more integral as you progress.

Thank you for your extensive feedback! I will try to make the game better for it. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy the game!

 

[Latefallen]

However, I agree with you on the mapping and the use of RTP for this project. I'm sad to say mapping isn't my greatest strength, and I am likely to commission someone to do a better job in my stead. Alternatively, I am quite open to having someone draw the maps for me to use as a parallax. I can't really say that anything is set in stone yet in either direction, so it will be a decision I make sometime in the future.

Well, if I may say, I love your project and have been playing it... well pretty much since I posted that. It's addicting and fun. With that in mind, if you want I am more than happy to map for your game. I have a fair amount of experience in mapping and I would be honored to be part of your project. Just send me a PM on here if you'd like my help and I can send you sample stuff I've done.