Fuuuuck fuck fuck fuck. I don't post on GW very often at all, but I lurk a fair bit. I read Steel's articles and always enjoyed his posts. I honestly don't know what to say, this has been on my mind all day now. He was so clever and always knew his shit and I genuinely admired him. I only actually spoke to him like once or twice, in fairly unexciting topics. All I ever really did were READ THE GUY'S POSTS and he still made me want to try to be a better person than dirty rpgmaker nerd #12823, as someone said earlier. Aaaaargh, this is really shit. RIP Steel. : (

Can I get away with a necropost here? Just wanted to say, I've been fixing up the demo in the background, and come out with a new version that fixes some of the more glaring flaws. See the first post for the download - it's replaced the old download.

A list of changes in this new version...


Anyway, I just couldn’t have a version like that in circulation. I hope you’ll enjoy the updates, and I’m off continue working on the full game (I didn't let this slow progress much, but now it should be a bit faster). Anyway, sorry if you got bored of the overlong Fenheim section last time, and any new players… I hope to hear what you think of it!

Hey, sorry it's a bit late, but could I possibly get my Notes on the Second Mellynd War topic back? I think it was made quite shortly before the archiving...

Thanks!

Just don't get too pernikity. Try to finish the game first, then go back and poke at it. ^.^

Well, some things, like replacing 99% of instances of '\|' and '\|\|'  with '\!', as well as implementing a uniform set of NPC graphics (the lack of which didn't really bother me, but in a Suikoden-style game where you have to scout for recruits, is pretty unforgiveable), should be edited into the existing game right away, so that I can continue them as I make more.

And I think I'm probably going to cut out day 2, come to think of it. The woods, the first visit to Antonin's, taking Hortence to the uni... that was always the bit that I got bored of in playtesting. I've worked out how to work the most important scenes and bits of information into days 1 and 3. I think this is for the better. I'll do this a little later, anyway.

this is the opposite of constructive game-design attitude. if the player isn't drawn in immediately, for dialogue or battle mechanics or whatever, then why should the player ignore their impressions and push forward?

Well, it's not like I wouldn't finish it before publishing it anyway... I think she just meant to avoid taking ages revising it now, and slowing progress. Anyway, hope you like it!

I dont know, I was kind of enjoying myself until the pair walked outside into the most boring warzone ever.

Hm? Do you mean... after Mark and Oskar leave the bunker? If so... glad to hear you liked the first minute! Haha.

Nah, I accept the game, and the Fenheim bit in particular, isn't for everybody. I've just had a review that does point out the most glaring errors of that extended Fenheim section, and this invoked deep feelings of 'Shit. I'll get working on that, then!'

General consensus seems to be that it does pick up later, after watching the full-length movie that is Fenheim, but even then I know not everyone's going to be a fan. Hopefully the full version, with an improved Fenheim bit, will make it easier to 'give it a fair shot' within the first few hours.

What was the optional Edward ability mini-quest at the very beginning?

I'll just say that it can only be accessed in Fenheim on day 2, in the extremely narrow timeslot between Edward leaving when you return to town, and taking Hortence to the university. Also, it's fairly boring. Anyway, I'm actually fairly surprised that someone found it!

if you need any help developing the game, I'd be willing to lend a hand or two...like maybe adding extra maps for locked houses or whatnot, heh

Actually, the majority of locked houses were once enterable, but I got rid of them to make the towns a bit more manageable/compact/realistic, and put the most important NPCs from within standing just outside of them (and a handful of them will be enterable later). It is a good offer, though, I'll keep it in mind for if something of that nature ever comes up, heh! Oh, and if you feel like it when the time comes, I probably will be looking for some additional beta testers for the full version.

Hah, thank you very much! This is quite nice to wake up to. Yeah, first things first, I'd say there's a very high probability it will be finished, but unfortunately I can see it taking longer than a year (it did take me almost two years to make what you see here... but then again, I am horrendously inefficient, and am trying to work on that - and the story and world are pretty much worked out, which took a lot of hiatus-ing and retrospective editing in the early stages).

Um, a few things to respond to, then.

I'm inclined to agree with you about the Melford Mountain Pass, I sort of overlooked that area when I was going through my revisions! I'll try and go over it for the final version. And I actually thought Watson's face matched what I wanted his personality to be more than the body. I might have a look around for new graphics for him, anyway.

I haven't caught any other glitches but what happened to Amos's diary? It disappears sometime around the time I got the Party Changer, which also disappears from the menu later on. It makes these items seem kind of useless in the end, and I question why they exist in the first place. Dunno.

Amos' Diary was only for the Fenheim section, and it disappeared when you left. I felt Fenheim was the only bit that really needed something like that in case of long spells away from the game. The Party Changer was only for the time in Rapton, when your entire party was travelling around with you. After that, they usually find some sort of base to habitate, and you have to report to the fairly obvious story character of the moment to change your party (from Chapter 2 onwards, usually Nestor).

I am playing it again just for the hell of it.. maybe catch some things I didn't the first time.

From the sounds of things, you recruited one of the optional playable characters in Chapter 2 - in Ranechester - , but there's a chance you overlooked the other... (and it wasn't   Jan   , who joins you automatically later anyway) Anyway, there wasn't that much to miss in terms of concrete achievement (characters/items), but obviously in further chapters a lot of optional things and sidequests will become available.

Though I'm not sure if you're loosely trying to base the four countries on real countries or your own fictional creations.

I'd say Edgos is the only one that isn't loosely based on anything in particular. The revolution might seem fairly familiar to anyone interested in history, but the country itself just evolved from the ramshackle lump of plot I slapped together years ago in the short game which this follows, (the greatly improved remake of which you'll hopefully see in a few months) which is why its natives have names ranging from Mark and Pete to Oskar and Alexei, I suppose. (And nobody better point out how a soldier in the prologue says "Mikhail... ain't an Edgosian name!")



Anyway, it's really good to get this feedback! It's certainly a boost, and I'm steadily working on the full version. Hopefully work on the prequel shouldn't slow it down too much, but it'll only be a couple of hours long, so... yeah. Glad you liked it.

Great to hear! Y'all are helpin' give me drive to get on with the full version.

... you got to Chapter 2 in a day or so?! Either you're a fast player or you've been playing a LOT, heh. (Or... I'm incredibly slow...)

... oh. From my experience pasting things into different folders on the same computer, I wouldn't have thought that was necessary... anyway, I'm just making an updated patch, then. Haha.

Nadgers! So there is. I've uploaded a fixed version (and a small patch for those who already downloaded the earlier version). Thanks. (Patch link removed, IRRELEVANT - new demo download)

Anyway, good to hear you're enjoying it! Thinking about it, the length of the Fenheim ‘arc’ was probably a bit risky, but I really did want to emphasise the normality of the characters’ lives… plus, I had fun writing it, and it was as good a time as any to get some worldbuilding in. (It meant I pretty much had to try and make the introduction action-packed, though.)

And I plan to keep it this basic! I'll probably move on from 2K3 after this, but in terms of graphics and systems, this game is going to be a 2K/3 game through and through! I know some people might think this isn't a very good atmosphere to try and cultivate, but I played those classic 2K/3 games for years, and they have a special place in my heart.

So, if I was to ever make a game, it'd probably look a lot like this game I made. I've also broken my sacred '108' post count to post this.

The last demo was under the name 'Universal Language' and was made up of an early version of Chapter 1, and because this still isn't the finished game I wouldn't really have posted it outside RMN, but I got some good feedback the first time around and thought I'd try for some more -  that, and I didn't want the UL demo to stick in people's minds. The basic story and structure is the same, but I've given a fair few maps a big facelift, changed a few of the concepts, fixed a lot of dialogue up, and tuned the statistics to balance better, among other things. And, obviously the continuation of the story in Chapter 2, which is pretty much the shortest chapter.

Although there have been significant revisions, there is a savefile for download at the end of Chapter 1 for those who played the 'Universal Language' demo to completion and don't fancy going through it again. It'll probably a a little while, to say the least, until the finished game, and I'll most likely include an 'end of Chapter 2' savefile in that so yeah, chances are you won't have to play any chapters more than once if you don't want to.

If you played the Universal Language demo, though, you should probably read this for a couple of changes in names, canon, concepts etc.

Anyway, if you like the look of it, give it a play and see what you think! Here's some information from the RMN gamepage.


Notes on the Second Mellynd War Demo - Chapters 1 & 2

Screenshots

Synopsis
In the years 303-304, the continent of Mellynd was torn apart by what is now known as the Great War – the country of Leyland fighting against the invading Orville, and their ally Edgos. Eventually, Leyland absorbed a small nation, Kilnan, and, Edgos defected after the succession of a new leader - allowing Orville to be defeated by Leyland and its new allies.

Now, eight years later, in the Leylandian industrial town of Fenheim, bright eighteen-year-old Amos Hardie attends the prestigious University of Fenheim. As one of the only grammar school boys there, he is finding it a less than enjoyable experience, and his only friends at the university are the other Fenheim resident, Eugene, and shy posh lad Lester. Having moved in with Amos and Eugene in town, Lester must now meet Amos’ blue-collar friends, including but not limited to saturnine Lawrence, put-upon Isabel and childhood-friend-turned-moronic-bitch Elvira. However, a bloody revolution in Edgos will change the lives of Amos and friends beyond recognition, and spell ill-fortune for the people of all three nations.

Meanwhile, Edgosian secret policeman Mark, recovering from a severe bout of insanity, tries his best to flee the country under its revolutionary regime, and young Leylandian lordling Cyril Avenbury takes a visit that doesn’t quite go as planned to one of his father’s political allies in the countryside.

Why you should play it
- Notes on the Second Mellynd War takes place in a vaguely tongue-in-cheek world inspired very much by 19th Century England (and the bordering countries may seem a little familiar, as well). The continent of Mellynd has a rich history and well-defined political landscape for Amos to explore.

- Has received praise for the plot, setting and dialogue. Probably a good thing, for an essentially story-based game.

- The idea of magic-like abilities only features minimally, in the ‘steamglove’ skills in battles, and other than that, the story is largely reliant on human conflict, and not reincarnated gods, magical demons, and the like.

- A traditional RPG using RM2K3’s DBS.

- A love-letter to Inspired by classic RM2K games. If you've been playing RPG Maker games for a couple of years, now, NotSMW will hopefully be nostalgic for you.

- The game will follow the ‘Suikoden’ formula of a large headquarters, a lot of recruitable characters, and occasional 'attack-defend-wild attack’ duels. In the demo, there is a maximum of 13 permanent playable characters… as well as a handful of temporaries.

- A feature of RM2K3 not many games seem to employ – rearrange your party as you choose, and control any member of your party whilst exploring.

- This game was created by a borderline obsessive! If you’re into speaking to bookcases and objects, good spelling and plot consistency, then you’re in luck!



This is to be the last demo before the full release. It is fairly long, and, unlike the last demo, contains the entire Chapter 2 – though the shortest chapter, and a bit of an atypical one, focusing slightly more on all of the politicians than the already-established characters. The chapters to follow should feel a bit like a cross between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.


Download


So, er... yeah. See what you think, I suppose!

I know this, I know this; there's a dude in it called Zone whose sprite I stole. It's apparently one of the STAPLES OF RPG MAKER that you gotta play if you're into futuristic stuff.

Ah shit! What I would give to remember its name

I remember this! Sort of. The second-main character attacked with a shield and said he used to be a knight, I think you saved some kind of princess from the building, I think the city was called Alexandria, the red-armour-RTP woman was a boss, and I remember the 'I'm a little butterfly' song. And yep, Zone in the trenchcoat saved you (and he was a monster in the database for some reason, not sure if this was for testing or something planned in the full version). These details are kind of all over the place but this is like literally ALL I can remember. I want to know the name of this now, too.

Ugh, that sucks. I tended to go long periods of time without saving when not on the main quest, so I can empathise... it'd be shit to lose a whole levelling session. Fair enough, then!

Yeah, pretty much agree with y'all.

Well, I was kind of interested to hear about a possible Virtual Console for Gameboy games, off the SD card, but I have a supercard anyway so I can just do that myself. I'm not paying £150 for that.

Seriously though, what sold me was the Ship battles. Out of all the strategic battles in all the Suikodens, the ship battles were the most fun, intense and AWESOME MUSIC. Well, for me a least it was.

Really? It was a couple of years ago now so I may be wrong, but I kind of remembered the ship battles as being really easy and underwhelming... ah, well. Agree with you about the music. And still enjoyed them more than V's real-time war battles.

Actually, I enjoyed quite a lot of IV more than V. Somehow. Because V really was just clearly better!



btw, if anyone here's actually playing Tierkreis but me and Ralph (finished yet? I just did, earlier today), the reward for getting all 108 stars is seriously not worth it. Don't worry if you miss some stars, and definitely don't restart because of it.

heh heh

"It was always you, my sister. Always you who one every match."

Yeah you know what? Turns out that was bollocks, there is an obvious cutoff point for Wustum but that wasn't it, it seems to be later. Which is insane as the fact that the mission is commissioned doesn't make sense in the context... 

I don't care, though, I'm just happy that I don't have to restart (I couldn't really see myself playing the game through twice anytime soon)

And, yeah, CTRL + F and 'missable' and that list is pretty good!

edit: There is a pretty obscure missable in this game, but the list Ralph posted should have all the information you need. Turns out the cutoff point wasn't as late as I thought, though. curse you, gamespot forums

Yeah Disgaea 2 never really grabbed me. I quite liked Laharl from the first, and suddenly here's this standard J-RPG hero type trying to save his village and saying THATS NOTM Y STYLE. I think they might have been trying to be ironic with the whole 'stock hero' thing maybe but whatever. It just seemed kind of boring.

And I mean the gameplay is practically the same as the first, so story and atmosphere was really all there was to compare it on. There were a few new systems but IIRC (it was like two years ago that I tried this...) not that many, and they didn't really seem that interesting...

But yeah, I guess if you desperately wanted it for PS2, then this is pretty good news.


nevertheless i am still really enjoying disgaea 3

edit: also i think it might have actually been 'that's just my style'. just so you know

I don't get why Konami decided the series needed a reboot.

Okay, I guess this did feel kind of unnecessary. Not only are there no returning characters (tbh I was getting kind of bored of Viki and Jeane but SOME returning characters or references are always nice), but they abandoned the concept of 'runes', including true runes, which have always been at the foundation of Suikoden plotlines. But I guess the alternative is pretty similar, which, yeah, kind of raises the question of what the point actually was.

I don't especially mind the whole reboot thing, so long as they don't abandon the already established world in any future numbered installments. And heck, with the whole Infinity thing, there is even a chance that Tierkreis could be absorbed into the existing Suikoverse. (or just pay $1.99 for the hero as Suikoden VI DLC or something...  ​)



One more thing about Tierkreis, though... maybe there were hardware issues or something, not sure how powerful a DS cart is, but it really really REALLY would have benefited from a 6-party battle system. I mean, for most of the early game you even have 5-6 people travelling with you, and the story just decides which 3/4 will be on your party at which time... 

Actually thinking about it I know why some of the characters didn't join your fighting party at that point, but these games with insane amounts of playable characters are always better with 6 people in battle anyway.