RMMV MechScape- RELEASES 11/22!

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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Thanks to Moghunter's Battle HUD & Battle Commands plugins, I have a new menu design...

Spoiler: New HUD!

(The background is a placeholder.)

Feedback is appreciated.

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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Just wanted to write a quick update regarding what's been happening-

I've decided to complete the comic version of MechScape first before resuming work on the game due to a need to correct what I already have- as I mentioned before, I have been looking to get feedback on Demo 2. I think it'll be easier to know what I'm doing wrong sooner rather than later rather than having to fix the whole game after it's completed.

Again, I'm still looking for playtesters- if you're interested, please post in my Project Recruitment thread.

More updates are to come soon!

 

[MechScapeZH]

A giant thanks to @Canini for playtesting! I'm hard at work improving the game based on the feedback I received, but more is always welcome- as I say in my Project Recruitment thread, I'll playtest your game in return!

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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I have released a build of Demo 2 that is changed according to @Canini 's feedback. This is preliminary, so only the main build has been changed- the one optimized for sensitive eyes remains the same for now. It can be downloaded both below and at the link to my website in the first post.

Changelog:

-The tutorial text has been changed so as to take into account the possibility of the player not using "Copy" on the first turn
-Some of the sound effects have been reduced in volume
-The "Staticshock" enemy has been reduced in HP and the first troop of Staticshocks the player encounters contains 2 of them rather than 3
-We have a new HUD thanks to Moghunter's plugin! Check it out.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a way to show the player what a Skill does before copying it, but I'm working on that.

As an aside- I'll be away from my computer from tomorrow until the end of the weekend. Just so everyone knows in case anyone wants to contact me.

Enjoy!

Click to Download!

 

[MechScapeZH]

OK, I'm back.

So, here's what's going on now:

-Still writing Chapter 4 (the last chapter)
-Working on putting Demo 2.1 on other platforms (definitely RPGMaker.net, possibly itch.io, maybe Steam if I can...)- I have to figure out how to operate all these sites

More to come soon.

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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Still working on Chapter 4- I wanted to share this test render that I did. It's a background detail, but I think it came out nicely...

Spoiler: Mechanical Skull

A little rough, minimally shaded, but for the background- I'm happy with it. It looks striking in its proper environment (which I'll show off soon enough ).

More to come.

 

[MechScapeZH]

GIANT, GIANT UPDATE!!!
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So, I've received a lot of great feedback lately, and I've been working on fixing a bunch of MechScape's problems.

First off, @Canini pointed out that the player needs to know what a Skill does before spending a turn to Copy it. To fix this, I've created the Analyze System. The system wouldn't have been implemented without the help of @Aesica - thank you!

More on that in the spoiler tag below...

Spoiler: Analyze System

The Analyze Skill is located in the menu next to Shield, replacing the previous Data command, which was only going to be used once in the game anyway. When you select it...

The virus is scanned and its data is sent to Enigma, who then tells you about the virus...

and provides a description of each of its Skills. Analyze is also set as an Instant skill, so using it doesn't take up your turn. By using Analyze on each enemy, the player will be able to learn what each Skill does before choosing one to copy.

In addition, Enigma's face graphic changes from "SOUND ONLY" to his face once you meet him, just like his dialogue face graphic does.

Tell me what you think!

Also, I showed off the main antagonist's design a while back and @Biestmann advised me that its proportions were a bit off...

Spoiler: New Design

So I adjusted them, and I hope the result is improved- tell me what you think. I also textured the model, which you can't really see too well here...

But a close-up view shows it better. It's an old-fashioned dots & lines texture common in 80s-90s comic books. ...Basically, if they didn't know what texture to use for something, they used this. It's pretty all-purpose.

Thanks so much to everyone for their help & support! I'll keep working on MechScape.

 

[Biestmann]

Definitely an improvement! Those proportions look much better. In regards to your combat UI, I actually am not sure that sideview battles are the right choice. Your game has that retro feel to it and I am sure that is by design, and so I'd wager the classic first-person view would be a much better fit. It would also allow the enemy battlers to show off more of their personality, as the renders so far had most of their details on the front.

This is just my personal opinion, so make of it what you will.

 

[MechScapeZH]

Definitely an improvement! Those proportions look much better. In regards to your combat UI, I actually am not sure that sideview battles are the right choice. Your game has that retro feel to it and I am sure that is by design, and so I'd wager the classic first-person view would be a much better fit. It would also allow the enemy battlers to show off more of their personality, as the renders so far had most of their details on the front.

This is just my personal opinion, so make of it what you will.

The battles were actually first-person for ~3 builds, but I ended up switching to the side-view because in the final build most enemies (at least the bosses, but every enemy is a definite possibility) are going to be completely animated-every action will have a unique motion. The player character is already animated in this way, and it wasn't that much work, so judging from that experience I believe this goal is feasible.

I will definitely keep that in mind, though. Thank you for your help!

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!​

Some panels from Chapter 4...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

The Security Bot revives in this strange environment after being blasted at the end of Chapter 3...

It self-repairs quickly.

A few things on this panel:
-1st appearance of the antagonist
-The chrome texturing is working well- it's more apparent if you zoom in, but the chromed parts of its body aren't transparent- they're blending in with the background because they're set up as "Mirrors-" they reflect the background. I'm very, very happy with how this turned out.
-Another thing: the dot texture isn't visible at this distance- I need opinions- should I enlarge the dots so they show in every shot, or keep them so there's extra detail in close-up shots...?

More to come very soon!

 

[Biestmann]

The villain looks great in this environment; it has a very threatening presence. Personally, I like the textures as they are now. Either way, nice work!

 

[MechScapeZH]

The villain looks great in this environment; it has a very threatening presence. Personally, I like the textures as they are now. Either way, nice work!

Thank you! After some deliberation, I did end up keeping the textures the way they are- I did a few more panels this morning.

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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Some more panels...

Spoiler: Panels for Chapter 4

I'd love to see what everyone thinks is happening here.

Also: I still need some more playtesters, so if anyone is interested in doing a trade (I test your game, you test mine) please contact me. I'll test your game quickly!

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!​

Even more panels...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

Oh, and also: I'm on RMN now!

https://rpgmaker.net/games/11164/


I'd appreciate if you'd comment- or if you'd like, even leave me a review!

More to come!

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!​

Yet more panels...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

Now this was difficult to do. What this room is, I'm not telling yet (...it's a mystery ), but as you can see, almost every object in it has a mirror effect applied. While this looks great, it causes the scene to render extremely slowly, so unfortunately I wasn't able to apply the effect to as many objects in the scene as I'd like. I'm still very happy with the results! (...Can you tell I like this effect?)

You can see it even better here.

And a big, big thanks to @Woland for testing the game!

More to come!

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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Panels, panels, panels...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

More to come!

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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First, more panels...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

Also:
I've made a decision regarding the game. I've long been considering making a commercial version since I'm working very hard on this, but I wasn't sure if my work was good enough. So, this is what I'm considering:

-The game that I've been developing will be released as a free game, and it will remain free forever.
-I do have some ideas for at least one additional campaign. It was going to just be a comic, but I can adapt it just like I'm doing with the main story. This will be the main selling point of the commercial version, if it ends up existing.
-The hypothetical commercial version will also include animated enemies, animated backgrounds, and more Skills to collect. Essentially, I'll create more of what is already there.

Would this be something you'd like to see?

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE! DEMO 2.2 RELEASED!
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This'll be the last update for the current version of the game- I wanted to quickly add several features to fix what my playtesters have identified as problems. The next one will contain Chapters 3-4.

CHANGELOG:
-Analyze system added (see above).
-You can skip through scenes by pressing PAGE DOWN
-Minor balance adjustments in the first chapter (Staticshock virus' HP reduced & bug where the "Out of SE" message didn't show fixed).

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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Still working on those panels...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

As I said before, it takes a while due to all the effects I'm using.

Additionally, although this is a bit of a spoiler- I need feedback, so I'm showing it.

Spoiler: Final Boss Design

Has the same mirror effects as the boss' last form, but with a slight purple tint to make it look different. (The fight won't take place in this room in the final- I'm thinking of a "extradimensional" background similar to Final Fantasy V's final boss background.) I know it's a bit hard to discern from the background, but that'll change once I create a more suitable room.

Feedback on this design is much appreciated- the final boss is what most remember from a RPG, after all.

More to come.

 

[MechScapeZH]

UPDATE!
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More panels...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 Panels

More to come.