RMMV Origin Hunt

[Lady_JJ]

@Cythera - I think you should not be coerced into changing the lockpick sequence. As long as it opens the door to a non-essential main quest area, then that's perfectly fair. The way it's set up now, I know I can't complete the task, but I also know I can farm dark mana and crafting items elsewhere, so it's all good. And knowing someone will 'spill the beans' to let me know what I missed out on (giving a nod and a wink to @kimo and @ShadowDragon here) is enough to fulfill the completionist in me. Now, if that doorway led to the next chapter in the game and my slow reflexes prevented me from continuing the game, that would be a totally different issue. I think if you nerfed it down so that 'even an old lady' could complete it, then it wouldn't be a challenge at all. But I do think @kimo should be able to complete it, so maybe a small time extension?

30 more maps!!! WOOHOO!! I'm so looking forward to continuing this wonderful saga.

@hdhayes11 - please do as @kimo suggested and start playing. I know I sound like a broken record (now you see just how very old I really am), but this is absolutely one of the best games I've played in a long, long time.

 

[HawkZombie]

Is the game completed? Or is it still being worked on?

 

[kimo]

@Lady_JJ
You did better than I did with that last lock picking. Now who's old? The trick is not spending time translating the symbol into the necessary action which apparently you and I both had done. As long as the lockpicking sequence is not randomized, there is the chance to memorize the sequence and accomplish the task.

@Cythera
Here's a thought to ponder. When learning how to design tests, there is one basic statistic you are taught. A "good" question is one that 50% get right and 50% get wrong and the ones who get it right have the higher overall test scores. It follows that if the 50% who get the question right were in the bottom percentiles, the question is "bad". So could you have a "test group" just on this singular game task and see what the outcome is? A simple ratio of 50/50 might be enough given the challenge despite the variables that would not be possible to address. (i.e. everyone in the group is under a specific age with a high dexterity). Just a thought.

 

[Cythera]

@Lady_JJ Thank you; I do not want to change the QTE event since it is not essential to gameplay in the least; just some nice bonus items and gear. I just want to make sure it's fair to majority of players! Similar to the game's balance. I'm the dev; I'll always know the game better than anyone else, so when players come to me saying 'this doesn't work/it's too hard' I need to really look into it If the overall opinion is the timer is too short, the timer is too short and I'll extend it! That seems to be the case, so I have no problem adding a second or two. Changing anything more would reduce the challenge drastically, and that isn't something I'll be doing.
Yeah, lots of maps...I regret how big I planned the world to be :3 There's very few main story maps left, but there's a good chunk of side story maps left.

@HawkZombie Still working on the game! The available demo sits around 27-30 hours of gameplay. I'm working on the final 5 or so hours of main story now.

@kimo Yeah, gathering a group of people to see the 'stats' would be helpful. I'm trying to bully - I mean, politely ask my friends to be test dummies, but we're all pretty busy :3

 

[kimo]

@Cythera
Okay, something occurred to me so I conducted a "test" of the lockpick sequence. It turns out that left-handed people (whoopee! both of them) were not able to complete the task because the arrow keys are on the right side of the keyboard. I can't repeat their comments to me about why I thought this was important to try. Suffice it to say that "covid would be more fun" was their basic thought. But getting a bottle of my wine was apparently worth it.

Neither of them could manipulate the arrows quickly enough with their non-dominant hand. One of them (an accountant) used a 10-key USB pad placed on the left side of their computer, but then had problems going back and forth from the pad to the "z" an "x" keys on the keyboard with that same hand.

I'm a scientist/analyst by temperment, so I am always looking for solutions to stuff. It did occur to me that if the lockpicking task only used arrows, it might be possible to accomplish within a few tries. A left-handed person would just have to adapt to a right-handed world and move their keyboard a bit to the left to hopefully succeed in this.

Just thoughts for you. I'm obviously getting bored because I am contemplating pruning my fruit trees this afternoon.

I hope everything is going well with your game. There are people who are anxiously waiting for your final game part.

 

[ShadowDragon]

@Cythera what stats? I can be a test dummy for you, pers..... nevermind that.
but I break any game if possible, I even found a nice glitch that works on
another game I test, it even works on your game as well

walk over each tile in each map, speed walking everywhere
bad side is, it's gone on reloading the game.

As for your picklock system, I made a tiny software, that can open it in 5 seconds
sorry =) it makes life easier (AND NO, I WONT SHARE IT), because it's doable
without it for me.

but I cannot wait to continue the game though, I wanna know how it ends.

@HawkZombie play the game, and save often, save files are compatible with
newer version (as long she wont add new plugins)

you would love the story, even the maps are really nicely done.

 

[Cythera]

Wow, the dedication there, @kimo , thanks haha.
So, the lockpick QTE is a big point of contention for you :3 I'm (reasonably) ambidextrous so dominants left-hand never occurred to me. Now you've got me thinking of adding a game option to set if left-handed that changes QTE inputs keys to all left-sided keys...the issue is, that wrecks save file compatibility. Any changes to plugins like that will, actually.
I know QTE are a serious love-or-hate-no-inbetween for players, but I fall on the 'love' side of them. The only mandatory QTE is extremely forgiving in the timer and is not randomized. The other QTE are for bonus items not mandatory for game progression. I will think on this, but if I'm being honest, I'm leaning towards leaving it as is. It's like a game hiding legendary items behind super bosses - some players simply won't be able to get that legendary item.
And honestly, I think your test subjects were harsh on their opinions about QTE... Let's stay away from world events and politics. Lest we summon mods... O.O

@ShadowDragon you bully me enough, come be a test dummy You're even using third party software to overcome challenges in my game! I mean, that's clever and I applaud the ingenuity, but I didn't say that...

As for the overall state of how the rest of the game is coming along.... *slowly closes Ark* Erm, yeah, getting lots of work done ha...ha?

 

[Lady_JJ]

@kimo loving that you're pruning your fruit trees and bottling your own wine, all while test driving RPG's. It's an eclectic life you have.

@ShadowDragon so there was another game a few years ago that I really liked a lot but I couldn't get past a snowball-chasing-you-down-the-mountain minievent. Unfortunately this was a QTE that was critical to the main quest, so truly a game stopper if it couldn't be done. I made a list of each keypress (left x 3, down x 2, right x 7, etc.) and coded a program (using BASIC, not javascript) to simulate keypresses. It was the only way I could get past this. (The developer was adamant that he wanted his game to remain hard and there was no way he would nerf this particular event.) But that was an event with a known sequence of keypresses. I've since modified it on a couple of occasions to get past similar timed events. But, I'm wondering, just how would you do it for a random sequence? I know you said you wouldn't share it, and I'm not asking for details, just (yes or no) is there a way the software can detect those random symbols. That would be well over my coding ability. I'm just glad it wasn't a game stopper.

@Cythera We'll wait (im)patiently because it's important that the game remain fun for you and not become an unnecessary drudgery. But, if you have the motivation to speed things up, well, you know....

 

[ShadowDragon]

@Lady_JJ as for a fixed sequency, there a a tiny software which works
really good, where you can do it by hand, like:
left, left, left, right, right, up, left, right, down, down, left, righ, up, up, down, down.

say, you have to do this (fixed value) must be done in 10 second,
that means, each input is lower than 0.65 seconds around (if I'm correctly),
this is doable, but to hard, so there is a software, you can input the sequency
on your own speed, twist timer to 9 seconds, and vollá done

as for random, I use left, right, up, down, ad the images used and it will
reconize and it will input it automatically.

while this is only testing because I had it already open.
so the other software wont work if randomized.

while this code, is basicly 6 lines or so, i'm no master coder, but it works
but I cannot bully @Cythera or she will hate me, while I'm a really nice
person in RL. but if she need playtesters, than I break what I can, and hard
to fix her

 

[Lady_JJ]

as for random, I use left, right, up, down, ad the images used and it will
reconize and it will input it automatically.

I am learning javascript by immersion. I'll keep this in mind. Maybe someday I could code this....

However, I don't want to derail Cythera's topic here. Returning to playtesting and breaking now.

 

[kimo]

@Lady_JJ
Yep, but I have worked my butt of in life and made many personal sacrifices to get to a point where I can do what makes me happy. I am also easily bored, so eclectic is virtually a way of life for me. Hmmmm, maybe that's why my furniture doesn't match? I'm always up for learning something I never knew before.

@Cythera
I'm not a gaming slut, but I just ran into one of those QTE situations in another game on this site. At the risk of you implementing the idea, the thief character has to complete a 3-4 arrow sequence to be successful at stealing from the enemy. Another NPC has an intense "Uppercut" move that requires a similar sequence to suceed in the skill.

Don't worry. Politics is completely off the table, because as Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid...".

 

[Reinarc]

I got to the Marshlands in my first run through. It's been a fun ride so far and I'm looking forward to some more soon.

• So many skills and options to play with. I'm going to have to sit down and actually think. That's always a plus.
• You drew those battlers yourself? Sweet! They look good.
• When I first transformed Vincent, I had a genuine smile. That was SUPER cool.
• I like how each character has a unique guard.
• Great dialogue so far.
• Battle music was awesome. Nice to jam to. In my personal opinion, a little on the loud side without changing any settings.

Spoiler: TYPO

I has found a typo. Yay I helped! (trust me, these little buggers drive me up a wall in my own work. "Sent vs send."

 

[Cythera]

Hi @Reinarc thanks for your feedback!

• Yes, I love all things customization in games! There are so many ways you can build your team in my game, dependent on skills and equipment I love seeing the different team configurations players use
• So the battlers, I used hiddenone's sprite base, and drew on top of that! Some of the weapons are based off community artists' SV weapons; all the artists and links to their stuff can be found in the credit.txt including in the game download. I'm rather pleased with how the battlers turned out overall, considering I am NOT an artist haha
• Ahh, yes, a good reaction :3 Studio Blue did a playthrough of some of my game on the RPG Maker channel here - I enjoyed their reaction to Vincent's transformation too
• Guard can be very useful; I wanted different characters to have unique guard skills to make using the skill more enticing. You'll actually end up having to using guard in combat from time to time! Leaving it as the engine's default guard is a good way to make sure players don't use it
• Glad you're enjoying my writing so far ^-^
• Yeah, battle music can be a little loud. I did tone it down an update or two ago, but I guess I just like loud music in general :3 You always have the ability to turn it down in the options menu
• *sigh* Thanks for the typo, please join @ShadowDragon in the 'people who bully me over my English skills' room; I appreciate your business...

Haha, thanks for pointing the typo out to me though :3 It's becoming an ongoing joke at this point, really.
Really appreciate your feedback; if you play anymore of my game please feel free to throw more my way ^-^

 

[Reinarc]

Typos are literally the devil. You think you got them all. Then you make a few scene changes and BAM there they are. I think I'm going to start writing all my dialogue in word first, then paying someone to to look through it and laugh at how many typos I still have. (jk on the last part...maybe).

Edit: Typo in my post. Oh the irony....fingers faster than brain.

 

[ShadowDragon]

@Reinarc typo's can be found mostly everywhere, she doesn't like it though,
(than she cries in the other room), now she admit it to throw it to her
she becomes though.

While she got typo's in your games, she make the mistake her self
but "Word" can help you fix most typo's easely (except good sentences).

PS: Don't be crazy to try beat Cerby on lv13 and the birdy on lv 18-20,
it will kill you alot of times unless you are me (of course, you miss the
HardCore achievement on this low level!)

@Cythera I try to be sweet to you from now on, no bullies, just sweet words
No typo's from me anymore (I promise), English isn't my first language anyway,
only the far reconizeble words only, I really though "sent" was correct while
"send" / "sending" is more suiteable for letters/doc's?

but you made a really nice game, if they are up for a good story and adventure,
this should be one on everyones TODO games list

 

[kimo]

Typos are literally the devil. You think you got them all. Then you make a few scene changes and BAM there they are. I think I'm going to start writing all my dialogue in word first, then paying someone to to look through it and laugh at how many typos I still have. (jk on the last part...maybe).

Edit: Typo in my post. Oh the irony....fingers faster than brain.

I thought "I has found a typo" was either a Jar Jar Binks joke or a reference to @Cythera and her "fun with spelling" class. I actually laughed out loud when I read your post. It's even funnier now.

 

[Reinarc]

Got through a few more hours. Working on my backlog of other people's games this weekend (to steal ideas, of course).

Spoiler: Spoiler

I'm at the village where they have a dragon problem.

• I was a little worried at first because the fights were easy, but you started ramping up the difficulty. I had to sit and think about how I wanted to approach a fight. I like it! In my opinion, that's what a good turn based RPG does. Spamming attacks without thinking is for action games. So good job on that!
• Generally I think the balance is pretty good.
• Okay, I'll make you action sequences if you give me animated battlers. I hate that MZ doesn't have a plugin for them yet.
• Really enjoy Vincent and his female companions. Kind of eh on Squall so far, but I feel like his time's coming. He is very fun in battle, though.
• Learning abilities is enjoyable.
• Story wise, I'm interested! It's a cool concept. Looking forward to seeing what happens.
• I've never been a fan of crafting in any game, but you told me it's better than merchants so I guess I'll do it *cries in corner*
• I love the Archives section of your menu. Is that a plugin?
• Archives section has great lore. I can tell you did a lot of background work on this.

 

[ShadowDragon]

I've never been a fan of crafting in any game, but you told me it's better than merchants so I guess I'll do it *cries in corner*

your not hte first one crying, @Cythera has that issue on NOT pass english class
(or so it seems)

I love the Archives section of your menu. Is that a plugin?

I believe one of Yangly plugins can add a lore, but not sure, I seen it more,
I can do some digging if you want to add one too?

wouldn't be hard to find that one though.

 

[Cythera]

Hi @Reinarc ! You're about to meet a quirky dragon haha!
I can't do spoilers on my phone, so, uh, here's a reply :3
* The earlier fights used to be harder. When I had some friends privately play test, they advised dropping the early game difficulty so I don't chase people away. Don't worry though, I ramp up the difficulty soon Also, early game, your level has more impact. Later on, it's less about what level you are, and more about your team configuration and your strategy
* Haha, I would love to help, but I don't know the language MZ uses, or if it's JS, how the structure differs from MV. Otherwise I'd tried to make you an animated enemies plugin ! Doesn't VS have a plugin that offers animated enemies? I dunno, I'm not in the MZ scene. But I'm glad you like the animated battlers! They make the battle scene feel alive
* I tried to give all party members unique personalities. As such, I know people will have favorites and unlike characters, and that's okay! Squall has a strong sometimes controlling personality. I think you'll come around on him eventually but I don't take offense if you don't him for his personality. As long as the writing on said personality is solid
* Crafting is not optional, sorry! But once you see the fun equipment you can make with it, I think you'll feel differently! Also, I'm reasonably nice about crafting - you can buy most of the supplies from merchants! No endless grinding required. Unless you're into that, then go ahead haha
* The Archives is Yanfly s Quest plugin. Repurposed, of course. You can expand it throughout the game, and sometimes I give you important entries. It's not mandatory to read to understand the game, but it does help if you're ever getting wrecked by a boss- I mean, ever having difficulty...
* I have three notebooks filled with notes and lore and character info and full time lines of events on my game ._. I wanted it to feel as cohesive as possible. I'm glad you're enjoying my overkill lol

@ShadowDragon I thought you said you wouldn't be mean anymore! :'( I passed English class, I really did... Now I'm gonna go cry in the other room again!

 

[ShadowDragon]

I said I try, but that was only a reference, not future when playtesting on bugs
and glitches, (big hug until you smile again) *Give chocolate and a big pack of flowers*

(I try to avoid it next time *hopefully*)