Hero's Oddyssey

[Exigence]

Game links:

Mediafire Link (With RTP)Not Up to Date:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/r4ccbkracp77t5t/Hero's_Oddyssey.exe

Mediafire Link (Without RTP) Up to Date

http://www.mediafire.com/download/pu4ciw7h1pu71cc/Hero's_OdysseyV1.2.exe

MEGA Link (Without RTP)Up to Date:

https://mega.co.nz/#!atNxTbbZ!NBkra0dSvGexhc3hiRdv_YonwbhlrTXuVfxsE8zPrGw

Updates:

Spoiler

Finished Golden Gate Inn (located in rich district)             Completed Mansion + Dungeon

             Completed Mansion Quest

             Note: If you get stuck on how to access the mansion, talk to one of the Golden Gate Inn Occupants.

             Twin Peak Town (First Town) Complete

             Also, I highly suggest not skipping over all the guards when you reach the mansion interior. The boss is a little tough without having leveled a bit first.

Updates: 2/12/2015

 Completed Southwest Forest + Forest Boss

 Completed Southwest Forest Mini Boss

Spoiler

The Update ends after the Mini Boss in the forest. Also, I suggest fighting enough of the forest enemies to level up at least once. The Forest Boss is a little tough.

Credits so far:

Spoiler

Chaos Portal for the battlers              Scinaya for the Monster 1-4 emotion set

              Chaos Portal for the Witch No hat emotion set

Title: Hero's Odyssey

Game Synopsis:

  You are Luther, an elite Swordsman granted the title of "Great Hero". You were tasked with securing either the surrender or proof of defeating the Demon Queen. Problem is, she kinda curb stomped you. And, now half the world thinks you are dead. You must now make a new journey, this time actually bringing friends along, to face the Demon Queen.

The first time, you were strong but alone. Can you change the result with team mates? Many of the battles will have an emotional impact on the characters and are to be meaningful battles. Not much grinding if at all.

Characters

(Some characters I have so far.)

1. Luther- The Elite Swordsmen hero now presumed dead for some reason after his defeat by the Demon Queen. He journeys to find answers as to why and to defeat the Demon Leader.

2. Eva - A bandit who is overly chummy with Luther, which makes the swordsman a bit uncomfortable.

Screenshots:









 

Don't hold back with critiques. This is my first time making an RPG Maker Game and I'd appreciate any feedback.

 

[Alkorri]

Hi there. Well, you wanted critiques, so here it is.

First of all, it is spelled Odyssey, unless you were intentionally going for that misspelling. 

Your game synopsis could be condensed to two or three paragraphs instead of six.

Can you clean up your screenshots so that we can see just your game screen?

From what I can see of your screenshots, you seem to still be new at making maps. Perhaps you might want to take a look at the Game and Map Screenshot threads to learn more about good mapping?

It would be nice to see what sort of features you intend to be in the game, such as what type of battle system (if any), what sort of gameplay eg RPG, Visual Novel etc, the genre and so on.

Other than that, your story premise looks promising enough. Looking forward to seeing how you develop this

 

[Exigence]

Thanks for your feedback. I can finish the edits you suggested once I get back from work. Also, I edited my post to include the MEGA link to the game.

 

[Exigence]

Updates:

Added Enemy Health Bars, courtesy of Vlue's script.

Added some cosmetic things such as item descriptions.

Working on the boss of the first town. It's in there, but I'm improving it.

I haven't forgotten about the nasty screenshots, I'll clean them up later tonight.

 

[Kes]

I tried downloading your game twice.  Each time it got to 85% and then I got the message:

Your browser storage for MEGA is full.  Your download will continue

automatically after you free up some space.

As this is the only thing I've downloaded from that site, I am at a loss as to how I can free up any space for more MEGA.  I'll have to give up on this.  You might like to consider having a mirror link for people like me who can't access it through your original hosting site.  Maybe it's because I don't have a Mega account.  Dunno.

 

[Exigence]

I tried downloading your game twice.  Each time it got to 85% and then I got the message:

Your browser storage for MEGA is full.  Your download will continue

automatically after you free up some space.

As this is the only thing I've downloaded from that site, I am at a loss as to how I can free up any space for more MEGA.  I'll have to give up on this.  You might like to consider having a mirror link for people like me who can't access it through your original hosting site.  Maybe it's because I don't have a Mega account.  Dunno.

I apologize for the inconvenience! My internet isn't top notch, so it may very well be a problem on my end.

I edited my original post to include a Mediafire link to the game. Please notify me if there's any more problems or not.

 

[Kes]

Unless I am missing something, this is unplayable.

The first encounter with the 4 bandits.  I have 523HP, they each have 250HP.  With the Katana equipped, it takes 2 hits minimum to knock one out.  Allowing for turns to build up TP so that I can use the hit all party skill, that means I am dealing damage for, say, 2 turns, during which time I may have knocked out one enemy (though probably not, as they seem to have high evasion) but in the meantime they are each hitting me for between 56 and 62HP each.

Consider the math, that's around 230HP a turn.  If in the first 2 turns I manage to take one down, I am still defeated on turn 3.

That seems to be inevitable, based on several attempts.  I've tried building up TP for the all party strike; I've tried using it for the first skill in the hope of defeating one quickly enough to reduce the damage I'm taking, I've tried various combinations.  Down in turn 3.  Game over.

 

[Exigence]

Unless I am missing something, this is unplayable.

The first encounter with the 4 bandits.  I have 523HP, they each have 250HP.  With the Katana equipped, it takes 2 hits minimum to knock one out.  Allowing for turns to build up TP so that I can use the hit all party skill, that means I am dealing damage for, say, 2 turns, during which time I may have knocked out one enemy (though probably not, as they seem to have high evasion) but in the meantime they are each hitting me for between 56 and 62HP each.

Consider the math, that's around 230HP a turn.  If in the first 2 turns I manage to take one down, I am still defeated on turn 3.

That seems to be inevitable, based on several attempts.  I've tried building up TP for the all party strike; I've tried using it for the first skill in the hope of defeating one quickly enough to reduce the damage I'm taking, I've tried various combinations.  Down in turn 3.  Game over.

Hi, ksjp17,

In the skill list, you'll notice that although you have lost some techniques, you have gained a new one called "Zen Meditation", which heals you. You may need to make generous use of it. Remember that you regain TP simply by taking damage as well.

Let me know how it goes!

 

[Kes]

Here you go.  Sorry for the wall of text, but I wanted this to be as full as possible, and I thought it would be helpful to give specific examples of things, rather than just leave it with a series of bald statements.

Story and Characters/Dialogues

The basic premise is intriguing, and both playable characters have indications of interesting possibilities.  In a short demo one does not expect fleshed out characterisation, but several opportunities to develop their characters a bit were not taken.  In the town, and in the inn and pub, several things are said to Luther to which he gives no reply.  Some minor inconsistencies of tone.  ??? at the end (the Valkyrie) calls them ‘twerps’ which seems at odds with the sort of ways she had been speaking up until then.

I’m wondering if there has been a change in the plot line at some stage.  When going to meet the Town Lord for the first time, Eva says “I hope we run into her again.”  They are specifically going to meet her, so why is Eva hoping they’ll run into her?  They haven’t met her yet, so why is Eva referring to “again”?

If Luther tries to leave by the east exit, there is a “I can’t bypass this town while something strange is going on” dialogue, and I can’t exit.  However, I can just waltz out of the northwest exit (the one I entered by), and once I’m out of the town I could easily go east, so the dialogue doesn’t really make sense.

At the risk of sounding sarcastic (I’m not being) I have to ask if you have come to grips with self switches?  In the Inn/Pub if you speak to the Captain a second time, you trigger the whole “I must find out more” sequence.  The same when you speak to Solomon, and when you speak to others.  I think the worst case was after the final fight.  If you take a couple of steps back down and then go back up, you trigger the whole fight again.  Oh, and after the second fight, Eva is once more a follower, but you haven’t removed her sprite that you used in the short cut scene before the fight, so there are now 2 of her on screen.

In a few places the text runs out the side of the box. E.g. with ??? before the final fight, the text beginning “You should put up a good fight before”  The word “before” runs out the box.  The same with the description for the skill Zen Meditation.  I think I noticed it elsewhere, but now don’t recall where it was.

Mapping and Graphics

Mapping is not particularly good.  The bandit’s headquarters reminded me of the Tardis, tiny on the outside and opening up into infinity once you’re through the door.  The Inn/Pub could usefully be slashed in size.  You then wouldn’t have those vast, open expanses of emptiness.  The shop part could also easily be reduced to about half its present size.

Outside the tent and the bit of countryside where Luther first finds himself were bare and uninteresting. It is generally not considered good practice for maps to just end with the player coming up against the invisible wall.  In one place at least this results in the ridiculous situation that you are being refused entry to the Noble quarter at the top of the map, whereas at the bottom there is apparently an unguarded, unblocked road west.  And in fact when you get to that section, you can go down to that area and see the rest of the building and the road.  Nice edits on Luther’s face.

There are a few mapping errors e.g. SW corner of town, a one tile high hedge appears to go up and meet the roof.

In the Noble Quarter, over by the west wall is a section which comes in at 2 tiles high, then is 3 tiles high and then drops to one tile high, all with the same roof line. (It’s behind the second building with the stepped orange roof.)

Gameplay

Hmm, I think you have not taken sufficient account of the fact that the player does not know the game as well as you do.  The first real encounter can only be won by one specific strategy, and not an obvious one either (after several failures, I healed every time until I’d got the full 100 TP and then used the ultimate skill).  This seems to me to be treating the player unfairly.  The fight with the Valkyrie – she is dishing out paralysis for which I have no healing item or skill, I get her down and then there is the cheap trick of her healing herself for 900HP out of a total of around 2000.  It felt like a way of simply padding the fight out to make it last longer.  Given that Luther only has one skill that’s any use against a single opponent and the same more or less with Eva, strategy is not going to feature all that highly here.  It’s just a slog of attrition.  So in the demo, there is the unwinnable first fight, the exceptionally easy to lose second fight and then this third fight.  Oh, and by the way, all with no battle tutorial for any player unfamiliar with things.  Though perhaps the first fight was meant to teach the basic mechanics?  Dunno.

A couple of general things.  I can buy Leather Mail for 500 g, but can sell the inferior Leather (drops from the bandits) for 2,500 each.  Seems weird.

The pale text on the very pale, bright window skin is difficult to read.

Overall

The basic idea, as far as I can tell, has real potential, but at the moment, the game is undermined by a lack of attention to detail.  Switches, mapping, text length all could do with a good look at them.  With your battles, maybe you’re aiming for something in particular and I’ve simply not twigged what it is.  However, as it stands, the 3 encounters in the demo are not particularly enjoyable (all for different reasons) and if the rest of the game is structured like these, I suspect a good number of people will stop playing.

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh.  I think I detect reasonable ability and the germ of a good game, but neither shine in this demo.

 

[Exigence]

Here you go.  Sorry for the wall of text, but I wanted this to be as full as possible, and I thought it would be helpful to give specific examples of things, rather than just leave it with a series of bald statements...

Wow! Thanks for the insight, man! I didn't find it a wall of text at all. It was to the point and it was more like a outline for me to work from.

I agree with everything you posted. I will shrink the size of the Inn. I have no excuse for that. With the tent size, the gang is supposed to be a lot larger than just the mooks you fight in the beginning and actually about the size of a large crew. I will try to find a suitable replacement exterior in the meantime.

Everything you touched on I will have resolved by the next edit of the original post.

I thought about what you said about the gameplay. I'm new to making an RPG in general and will fix the mechanics. I've done a playtest myself and find it somewhat annoying at the Valkyrie fight as well, lol. So, I'll fix all of the balancing so it doesn't repel many players.

So no worries, I'll have the fights less frustrating, ESPECIALLY Valkyrie's.

Yes, the very first battle is meant to be unwinnable, and I think that fight would be more entertaining with more relevant dialogue.

I will fix a lot of the character's dialogues and add a lot more as well. I've been doing a lot of writing practice in school the past year and isn't reflected well in my last update. Hopefully, it all pays off.

I sincerely apologize about the characterization, too. Not gonna lie, I wasn't trying when I did the dialogue at the mansion entrance and that has already been fixed, along with the switch error with the repeating battle. I got it fixed after some research and a lot of trial and error.

So, I will have an update within a couple of weeks. That way, it will be one with substance rather than a string of updates with small fixes.

Thanks again for the critique and I hope you bear with me .

 

[Kes]

I look forward to the update.  If I have time I'll give it another run through, but I'm not promising.  RL has its demands!

 

[Exigence]

I couldn't wait. I really want to show you my improved game.

It's about 5-7 min. of play time so far, but this is only a taste. A Taste of what's to come.

Updated Mediafire Link in the Original Post (EDIT: Mediafire Link in Original Post)

So Updates:

Added dialogue to first battle.

Larger amount of enemies after first battle, located in wilderness

Complete change to building interiors on brand new maps.

A lot more descriptions to environment

--

This update does NOT have the Valkyrie battle. Yet. I'll put that in with the rest of the city and the mansion, including the Mansion's boss.

 

[Exigence]

Added a new Mega Link as an alternate download option for the game.

 

[Kes]

I've had great fun playing this again.  The transformation in the maps is enormous; there is simply no comparison, they are all so much better.  The battles are better balanced, with nice variety with the different groupings of bandits.  The extra dialogue in the first battle with the demon queen was good, and the whole extra stuff with the bandits makes that section work extremely well.  So congratulations on the update.  It looks like it's all heading in the right direction.

There were a few things:

You can walk all over the dead bodies in the tent after the fights with the 4 separate bandits.  

The teddy bear dialogue event has a problem which it shares with the dialogue event in front of the statue in the park.  The way you've set up the statue comment means that the player is walking along in a straight line and then hits an invisible wall, effectively the tile in front of the statue is impassable, in the same way as the tile before the teddy bear is impassable.  It's easier to guess what has happened with the statue.  You've put the event on the ground in front of the statue, set to 'same as characters' and 'action bar'.  Move it up a tile so that the player can stand in front of the statue in a natural way.

In the opening scene with the queen, Luther says "I could care less".  This is one of my bugbears.  You mean "I couldn't care less".  

The man in the house on the west side of the town says " ...wasn't at evil like many people..."  I think you mean "wasn't as evil as many people..."

As I said, this is a huge improvement, so I'm not surprised you were excited about it.

 

[Exigence]

I've had great fun playing this again.  The transformation in the maps is enormous; there is simply no comparison, they are all so much better.  The battles are better balanced, with nice variety with the different groupings of bandits.  The extra dialogue in the first battle with the demon queen was good, and the whole extra stuff with the bandits makes that section work extremely well.  So congratulations on the update.  It looks like it's all heading in the right direction.

There were a few things:

You can walk all over the dead bodies in the tent after the fights with the 4 separate bandits.  

The teddy bear dialogue event has a problem which it shares with the dialogue event in front of the statue in the park.  The way you've set up the statue comment means that the player is walking along in a straight line and then hits an invisible wall, effectively the tile in front of the statue is impassable, in the same way as the tile before the teddy bear is impassable.  It's easier to guess what has happened with the statue.  You've put the event on the ground in front of the statue, set to 'same as characters' and 'action bar'.  Move it up a tile so that the player can stand in front of the statue in a natural way.

In the opening scene with the queen, Luther says "I could care less".  This is one of my bugbears.  You mean "I couldn't care less".  

The man in the house on the west side of the town says " ...wasn't at evil like many people..."  I think you mean "wasn't as evil as many people..."

As I said, this is a huge improvement, so I'm not surprised you were excited about it.

Thanks for your feedback! I am most definitely excited about the changes I've made and I'm glad that they were enjoyable to you!

The group of bandits you defeat inside the tent were supposed to lie there after you curbstomp them, but I can change it so they dissapear before you leave the tent if it looks off.

Thanks for pointing out that problem with the tile in the park!

I was under the impression that the stone tiles surrounding the statue were impassable and saw what you meant when I playtested the event. I've gone and fixed those parts and the patches for those will be included in the next update along with the rest of the city in a couple of days.

 

[Kes]

No need to make the bodies disappear, simply set the events to 'same as characters' and then the player can't walk all over them.  I think it's better that they lie there, rather than vanish.

 

[Exigence]

No need to make the bodies disappear, simply set the events to 'same as characters' and then the player can't walk all over them.  I think it's better that they lie there, rather than vanish.

Will do!

 

[Exigence]

Bump.

 

[Kes]

No need to bump it when 72 hours haven't passed and you've not added any new content since the last post.  I came into the thread expecting something interesting, but...

 

[Exigence]

No need to bump it when 72 hours haven't passed and you've not added any new content since the last post.  I came into the thread expecting something interesting, but...

Apologies! I won't bump prematurely again.

Speaking of, I do have something for you this time! The MEGA and Mediafire links now have the first completed town, plus it's boss.

The game has about 45+ min of gameplay total, including the beginning.

Links in Original Post.

I'll have the Lite Versions (No RTP) downloaded soon.