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STEAM PAGE (full game): DEMO LINK: https://kamo-studio.itch.io/luna-sanctus-demo
* NOTE: I'm aiming to target this game to a certain audience. Not everyone will like this genre. My game is in the same direction (more or less) than: Final Fantasy franchise (especially the mechanics), Tales of Series (for the skit and party dialogue), Witcher Series (for the quest system). So this is for JRPG fans.
Current Progression: 100%
Current Version: 1.0.00 (DEMO)
Release Date: August 23 (2019) (this is the steam release date)
Platform: Steam and Itch.io
TRAILER (2019)
SYPNOSIS
(please read the world setting before the synopsis as it will help understand)
(please read the world setting before the synopsis as it will help understand)
Many years after the great war that led to the creation of the Empire, Azel Ortu Solis was born, son of Emperor Julius Ortu Solis, direct descendant of the first Emperor. Unfortunately, Julius was more of a weak emperor that doesn't always follow traditions, and that didn't please many of the nobles. When he married his wife, Azel's mother, who wasn't of noble descent and have a child with her, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. When Azel was 7, some nobles rebelled against the emperor, leading to a great battle between rebels and loyalists, which the loyalists lost. That night, Azel's father and mother were killed by a Knight in complete Black Armor. Hopefully, Ermion, the head of the loyalists, managed to save Azel. He entrusted the descend of the imperial family to his dear old friend, Genjiro, which was the head of the secretive clan of Magus.
Azel grew up with the clan of Magus, in the nature far from human civilization. He trained there for 12 years, before graduating and becoming a true Magus. After all these years, Azel decides to return to his empire, now split in two: one for the loyalists, called the Republic of Ortu Solis, and one for the rebels, called the New Empire of Ortu Solis. Of course, he decided to return to exact vengeance, meaning to find and kill the black knight. Regaining his throne and reforming the Empire was less of a concern for him. He just wanted to have justice served against the regicide.
And thus begins Azel's journey to find the Black Knight who killed his parents. Through his adventure, he will travel across the different provinces of his Empire, he will make unforgettable bonds with friends, he will learn the harsh world in which villagers live, he will understand that the world isn't as black and white as he thought, and he will be confronted by his dual incompatible identities, one of royal descendant and one of a Magus that lives alone away from humans.
Azel grew up with the clan of Magus, in the nature far from human civilization. He trained there for 12 years, before graduating and becoming a true Magus. After all these years, Azel decides to return to his empire, now split in two: one for the loyalists, called the Republic of Ortu Solis, and one for the rebels, called the New Empire of Ortu Solis. Of course, he decided to return to exact vengeance, meaning to find and kill the black knight. Regaining his throne and reforming the Empire was less of a concern for him. He just wanted to have justice served against the regicide.
And thus begins Azel's journey to find the Black Knight who killed his parents. Through his adventure, he will travel across the different provinces of his Empire, he will make unforgettable bonds with friends, he will learn the harsh world in which villagers live, he will understand that the world isn't as black and white as he thought, and he will be confronted by his dual incompatible identities, one of royal descendant and one of a Magus that lives alone away from humans.
WORLD SETTING
The story takes place in a fantasy medieval world. Many years ago, the moon just appeared in the world. However, this was no ordinary moon. It is a Moon filled with magic and power that transcend human comprehension. The Moon created mana that filled the world. Just as oxygen is a required component of the air surrounding humans, mana became just as important. The divinity aspect of that moon earned it the name Holy Moon, hence the name Luna Sanctus.
At that time, certain humans, a little minority (about 1%), realized they had the ability to use the mana surrounding them to create magic. Those people where called wizards. It goes without saying that those people, with their incomparable power, took control by forces over the normal humans. Soon, clans of wizards were formed, each controlling a area. There were 5 main clans that were constantly at war over power, money and territory. In that dark time, a legendary hero emerged, one that was blessed by the Holy Moon, the most powerful wizard of all time. Alone, he defeated all 5 clans and put an end to the war. Afterward, in order to achieve peace, he united the 5 clans and their territory into a single Empire, called the Empire of Ortu Solis. The wizards that were defeated were reunited into 5 Noble Families that served under the emperor. Peace and prosperity were at their greatest.
A part from the wizards, a small clan of people who couldn't use magic like the wizards was formed to learn and fight monsters and defend themselves and the poor villagers. They were called Magus. Unlike wizards, they can use mana to cast spells, but they have developed the art of manipulating the flow of mana inside and around them, thus greatly enhancing their physical abilities. Magus are even rarer than wizards, and roam the world in solitude for work and for the discovery of the world. Each year, before the new year eve, they reunite themselves at their camp in the middle of nature, where no humans ever go, to celebrate together and catch up before leaving for another year and roam the world.
At that time, certain humans, a little minority (about 1%), realized they had the ability to use the mana surrounding them to create magic. Those people where called wizards. It goes without saying that those people, with their incomparable power, took control by forces over the normal humans. Soon, clans of wizards were formed, each controlling a area. There were 5 main clans that were constantly at war over power, money and territory. In that dark time, a legendary hero emerged, one that was blessed by the Holy Moon, the most powerful wizard of all time. Alone, he defeated all 5 clans and put an end to the war. Afterward, in order to achieve peace, he united the 5 clans and their territory into a single Empire, called the Empire of Ortu Solis. The wizards that were defeated were reunited into 5 Noble Families that served under the emperor. Peace and prosperity were at their greatest.
A part from the wizards, a small clan of people who couldn't use magic like the wizards was formed to learn and fight monsters and defend themselves and the poor villagers. They were called Magus. Unlike wizards, they can use mana to cast spells, but they have developed the art of manipulating the flow of mana inside and around them, thus greatly enhancing their physical abilities. Magus are even rarer than wizards, and roam the world in solitude for work and for the discovery of the world. Each year, before the new year eve, they reunite themselves at their camp in the middle of nature, where no humans ever go, to celebrate together and catch up before leaving for another year and roam the world.
RESOURCES DISCLAIMER
Even thought I am more known (by a very little minority lol) for releasing plugins, I too like to make games 
Most resources I use (not all) are completely made by me and my artist (Leviathanimation), which isn't a RPG Maker user. He did the characters' images and some wallpapers for me. Except the plugins listed down there, and the default ones by RPG Maker of course, I create every plugins. I also composed every music. Every images from Leviathanimation, every plugin by me that is in this project that I haven't publicly released, and all tracks I composed for this project, are strictly for usage in Luna Sanctus and aren't to be used by anyone else for any other projects. HOWEVER, if you like a certain plugin, you could ask me to do a public version of it (of course, it wouldn't be the same. Most of the plugins are adapted for my game are need the MUSH Engine to work, which is only used in my games).
Every resources I use that isn't from me is free to use for commercial and non commercial usage, and free to edit. However, not all of them allow repost, so I will only be naming them (not official names because some of them didn't have one):
For tilsesets:
- Essential Add On by Lunarea
- Essential Set by Celianna
- Dungeon Rock and Nature Expanded by Indrah
- Expanded nature by CWStudio
- Starbird Resources
- Japanese tilesets by Wahuu (that's what he was called. He didn't specify a name, or a need to credit him, but I'll do it anyway).
For plugins (yes I use plugins that aren't by me):
- Camera Core by SRD
- ET_Maps (Inputs) by Eivind Teig
- Yes, that is correct, there are no YEP plugins!
Most resources I use (not all) are completely made by me and my artist (Leviathanimation), which isn't a RPG Maker user. He did the characters' images and some wallpapers for me. Except the plugins listed down there, and the default ones by RPG Maker of course, I create every plugins. I also composed every music. Every images from Leviathanimation, every plugin by me that is in this project that I haven't publicly released, and all tracks I composed for this project, are strictly for usage in Luna Sanctus and aren't to be used by anyone else for any other projects. HOWEVER, if you like a certain plugin, you could ask me to do a public version of it (of course, it wouldn't be the same. Most of the plugins are adapted for my game are need the MUSH Engine to work, which is only used in my games).Every resources I use that isn't from me is free to use for commercial and non commercial usage, and free to edit. However, not all of them allow repost, so I will only be naming them (not official names because some of them didn't have one):
For tilsesets:
- Essential Add On by Lunarea
- Essential Set by Celianna
- Dungeon Rock and Nature Expanded by Indrah
- Expanded nature by CWStudio
- Starbird Resources
- Japanese tilesets by Wahuu (that's what he was called. He didn't specify a name, or a need to credit him, but I'll do it anyway).
For plugins (yes I use plugins that aren't by me
):- Camera Core by SRD
- ET_Maps (Inputs) by Eivind Teig
- Yes, that is correct, there are no YEP plugins!
OTHER WALLPAPER(S)
GAME MECHANICS
MENU:
I've redone the entire menu. Now, this isn't a question of mechanic, more of aesthetic, but I still thought it would be nice to know what you guys think about it. Here are some screenshots:
Main menu
Status menu (parameters)
Main menu
Status menu (parameters)
QUESTS:
The Quest system is similar to The Witcher 3. There are basically 3 types of quests: main quest (those that you have to do), side quests (optional side stories, often a setting of other party members or other important characters), and contract (helping NPCs, often a world exploration or lore exploration). In most villages and cities, there's a quest office where you can view the available contracts at that particular town or city.
Quests can be seen directly in the menu. The information contained in each quest description is the objectives and a quick summary of the quest. Quest are never simply hunts where it says "Defeat 5 wolves" (pointing at you, Final Fantasy 15). There should always be a little setting. For example, a quest where you need to defeat 5 wolves would be like this: a farmer posts a notice because something is killing his farm animals. Upon investigation, you follow the lead and encounter a female wolf that had been possessed by dark mana due to having lost her children. After killing her, you attract 4 other wolves and need to defeat them.
A little additional note: The quest name and current objective can be shown directly on the world. The player can show and hide that information easily. This acts as a little reminder. On the minimap, the location of the current objective is also shown (not programmed that part yet).
Quests can be seen directly in the menu. The information contained in each quest description is the objectives and a quick summary of the quest. Quest are never simply hunts where it says "Defeat 5 wolves" (pointing at you, Final Fantasy 15). There should always be a little setting. For example, a quest where you need to defeat 5 wolves would be like this: a farmer posts a notice because something is killing his farm animals. Upon investigation, you follow the lead and encounter a female wolf that had been possessed by dark mana due to having lost her children. After killing her, you attract 4 other wolves and need to defeat them.
A little additional note: The quest name and current objective can be shown directly on the world. The player can show and hide that information easily. This acts as a little reminder. On the minimap, the location of the current objective is also shown (not programmed that part yet).
Quest Journal in the Menu
ABILITIES:
Abilities are a very important part of the game. Abilities are attributes with a very particular and precise effect. It can for example boost a stat, boost an elemental resist, recovers hp when guarding, reflect some damage, accelerate a spell casting, etc. Abilities have levels, and the higher the player levels them, the stronger their effect will be. There are 2 types of abilities: hero abilities, and skill abilities.
Hero abilities affect the entire hero. That means that if there's a hero abilities that gives the hero +5 physical strength, the +5 bonus will apply for all actions. This is a way to customize the a character in general.
Skill abilities affect only the skill to which they are attached. For example, the "concentrate" ability on a character's Cure spell will decrease the casting time for only that particular spell for only that particular character. This is a way to customize a character's skill. Skills have a maximum of 3 abilities. Because it is nearly impossible to max everything out, the player will have to prioritize which ability/ies to level before or more. For example, the mage character has one fire spell. The player can decide to focus on the ability to increase the single target damage, or another one to increase the AoE damage, or even the ability to increase casting speed.
Abilities, both hero and skill, can be seen from the Menu Status and can also be leveled there. To level an ability, you need a specific magical item (which changes depending on the ability of course). These specific magical items are found in chests, received from side quests and contracts, or crafted by the player.
Hero abilities affect the entire hero. That means that if there's a hero abilities that gives the hero +5 physical strength, the +5 bonus will apply for all actions. This is a way to customize the a character in general.
Skill abilities affect only the skill to which they are attached. For example, the "concentrate" ability on a character's Cure spell will decrease the casting time for only that particular spell for only that particular character. This is a way to customize a character's skill. Skills have a maximum of 3 abilities. Because it is nearly impossible to max everything out, the player will have to prioritize which ability/ies to level before or more. For example, the mage character has one fire spell. The player can decide to focus on the ability to increase the single target damage, or another one to increase the AoE damage, or even the ability to increase casting speed.
Abilities, both hero and skill, can be seen from the Menu Status and can also be leveled there. To level an ability, you need a specific magical item (which changes depending on the ability of course). These specific magical items are found in chests, received from side quests and contracts, or crafted by the player.
Hero Abilities
Skill Abilities
Skill Abilities
CRAFTING:
This is a pretty straightforward one. With materials collected from chests, monsters, or even bought in shops, the player can forge a superior item, magical items (used to level up hero abilities and skill abilities), superior weapons and armors.
This will become a major part of the game, especially in the second half, for two reasons:
1) The idea is to have better equipment purchasable in shops in the first half of the game, but in order to get better equipment past half of the game, the player will need to find the materials and craft better equipment.
2) In order to level up abilities, the player will need a little more than magical items received normally by chests and main quests. Farming should not be necessary in order to complete the game, but harder side quests and post-gameplay will need to player to farm and craft the magical items to level their abilities (by farming, I mean getting the necessary materials by killing the monsters that drop it).
This will become a major part of the game, especially in the second half, for two reasons:
1) The idea is to have better equipment purchasable in shops in the first half of the game, but in order to get better equipment past half of the game, the player will need to find the materials and craft better equipment.
2) In order to level up abilities, the player will need a little more than magical items received normally by chests and main quests. Farming should not be necessary in order to complete the game, but harder side quests and post-gameplay will need to player to farm and craft the magical items to level their abilities (by farming, I mean getting the necessary materials by killing the monsters that drop it).
BATTLE SYSTEM:
I've programmed from the ground up a new battle system. It's a semi-tactical active battle system with action sequencing. I'll go through each aspects: semi-tactical, active, action sequencing.
For the semi-tactical aspect, it is still a kinda traditional-ish rpg battle system, so not tactical, but instead of having only a front and back positioning, there's a 4x4 grid for actors and enemies. There are 2 utilities to that:
1) Of course, like in the front and back system, the closer the hero's column is to enemies, the more damage he will deal and receive from physical attacks.
2) An attack targets an area and not an enemy. There are still some skills that target only 1 enemy (1 case in this case, pun not intended), but some skills, especially spells, can target more than one case, damaging possibly multiple enemies. It can hit in a plus pattern (example 1 central case and every case just beside it) and have fall off damage for cases that aren't directly hit. The further from the epicenter, the less damage the enemy will receive.
The active part is pretty simple and traditional. This is basically an ATB system with a bar that grows and battler gain their turns when their bar is full. Also, spell will need casting, which is done through filling a casting bar.
The game uses a MP system and a Soul System, which is like TP. MP is like the good old magic point system that we know, acting as a general resource for skills. Souls are like TP, but a bit different: there are a lot more volatile since there are only 6 souls per character, and skills can use 1-4 souls. However, they replenish very quickly; simply doing a normal attack will give back the hero 3 souls. There are also other ways to replenish your souls with abilities. (NOTE: the action sequence has been removed in version 1.06).
Now, for the enemies, they had to be adapted for this battle system. I've programmed a little AI for enemies. Enemies will try to take the "better action" of the situation. For example, if the enemy is casting a spell with an area bigger than 1 actor, it will target a case where it can damage the most heroes. Also, the lower the enemies' allies Hp is, the more likely it is to use a casting spell, and in an area where it can heal the enemy with less hp and the more enemies possible.
Obviously there are a lot more of little details to the battle system, but most of them are discovered while playing (and not programmed yet lol). Here's a screenshot of the battle scene. Also, you can see what the battle looks like in the youtube video I linked above. Go to 8:20.
For the semi-tactical aspect, it is still a kinda traditional-ish rpg battle system, so not tactical, but instead of having only a front and back positioning, there's a 4x4 grid for actors and enemies. There are 2 utilities to that:
1) Of course, like in the front and back system, the closer the hero's column is to enemies, the more damage he will deal and receive from physical attacks.
2) An attack targets an area and not an enemy. There are still some skills that target only 1 enemy (1 case in this case, pun not intended), but some skills, especially spells, can target more than one case, damaging possibly multiple enemies. It can hit in a plus pattern (example 1 central case and every case just beside it) and have fall off damage for cases that aren't directly hit. The further from the epicenter, the less damage the enemy will receive.
The active part is pretty simple and traditional. This is basically an ATB system with a bar that grows and battler gain their turns when their bar is full. Also, spell will need casting, which is done through filling a casting bar.
The game uses a MP system and a Soul System, which is like TP. MP is like the good old magic point system that we know, acting as a general resource for skills. Souls are like TP, but a bit different: there are a lot more volatile since there are only 6 souls per character, and skills can use 1-4 souls. However, they replenish very quickly; simply doing a normal attack will give back the hero 3 souls. There are also other ways to replenish your souls with abilities. (NOTE: the action sequence has been removed in version 1.06).
Now, for the enemies, they had to be adapted for this battle system. I've programmed a little AI for enemies. Enemies will try to take the "better action" of the situation. For example, if the enemy is casting a spell with an area bigger than 1 actor, it will target a case where it can damage the most heroes. Also, the lower the enemies' allies Hp is, the more likely it is to use a casting spell, and in an area where it can heal the enemy with less hp and the more enemies possible.
Obviously there are a lot more of little details to the battle system, but most of them are discovered while playing (and not programmed yet lol). Here's a screenshot of the battle scene. Also, you can see what the battle looks like in the youtube video I linked above. Go to 8:20.
ACTIVE DIALOGUE:
I think Yanfly already did something similar. Basically, it's just a system where there can be dialogue without interrupting the game (on the map of course). The character's face will be drawn and the text will be just beside it, at the top of the screen. The player can even manually go to the next line by pressing 'D', otherwise it will just go automatically to the next line after a certain time. The dialogue continues even if the player teleports to another map.
I don't have a screenshot, but it can be seen in the youtube video I linked up there at 14:36
I don't have a screenshot, but it can be seen in the youtube video I linked up there at 14:36
SKIT SYSTEM:
This is very similar to the Tales of Series, especially the one in Tales of Graces. Basically it's a scene where you see the bust of every talking characters and they have a dialogue. You can see different facial expressions and the talking animation.
I have a screenshot, but honestly it's a lot better to see how it's animated in the youtube video. Go at 19:20 (and yes, I know, there is no talking animation with the sigh expression. My artist just forgot that particular image. It will be fixed).
I have a screenshot, but honestly it's a lot better to see how it's animated in the youtube video. Go at 19:20 (and yes, I know, there is no talking animation with the sigh expression. My artist just forgot that particular image. It will be fixed).
MUSIC:
I've composed every single tracks in the game. Well, it's more correct to say that I WILL since I'm not finished yet. I've done a couple of them, but it's very long. Before becoming a programmer, and even before creating games, I was already a musician. I started piano lessons at the age of 5 and studied music theory for a long time. If there's one thing I have confidence in, it's my composing skills lol.
You can listen to some tracks I composed. I will be posting more on youtube as I get them done. Here are some examples:
You can listen to some tracks I composed. I will be posting more on youtube as I get them done. Here are some examples:
Battle theme
Magical Adventure (music on one of the "world map")
Theme of the City of Zion
Magical Adventure (music on one of the "world map")
Theme of the City of Zion
MAPPING:
If there's one thing I can say, I can program, design, compose, but I'm not an artist. I've taken a few free to use tile arts and made some tilesets (all credits are shown in the resources disclaimer section). I try to make the best maps I can, but it's probably not on par with my programming skills and composing skills. Here are some screenshots if you want:
Pendragon City (north)
Hardia Village (west)
Travis Woods (south entrance)
Road of Magus
Hardia Village (west)
Travis Woods (south entrance)
Road of Magus
GAME DEVELOPING (DEV LOG):
You can follow the game development on my youtube channel. I'll keep a list here.
DEV 4. Launch dev log!
DEV 3. Gameplay and Quest System
DEV 2. Battle and Abilities
DEV 1. General overview
DEV 3. Gameplay and Quest System
DEV 2. Battle and Abilities
DEV 1. General overview
ENDING WORDS
I've done countless of projects before, but unfortunately I haven't release any (haven't finish almost all of them). I hope I will finally release one with project Luna Sanctus. I'm not so close to a release, but I did a lot already (as can be seen in the youtube video above). I'm hoping to release the complete game somewhere in Q4 2018, Q3 if I'm lucky.
Please tell me what you think in general, and if possible on a particular mechanic. All this seems really good in my head (of course), but I don't know what other people think. This is the first time I'm showing all this work publicly.
I will keep this thread updated!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
MushroomCake28
EDITS:
- 2017/08/01: Updated the music section. Put newer tracks instead of the old ones.
- 2018/03/06: Added the wallpaper and 2 tracks from the game in the music section.
- 2018/03/20: Added the Game Development section and the DEV part 2 video.
- 2018/07/31: Added the DEV part 3 video in the Game Development section. Also added the "current progression" and "projected release" information on top.
- 2018/08/28: Added the game's trailer and chaged the "Game Mechanics" section.
- 2018/12/26: Added the public demo link. Updated images to v.1.05 build.
- 2018/12/27: Added a new wallpaper. Added the "Other Wallpapers" section.
- 2019/02/12: Updated the progression
- 2019/04/14: Updated progression and demo version.
- 2019/08/07: Updated massively this thread because of the public announcement of the project. The project has announced publicly with a release planned on August 23 and on steam.
- 2019/08/09: Added the fourth Dev Log video link. Also rearranged the dev log section to list most recent dev logs at the top instead of at the bottom.
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