Stems of the Forgotten Time (Varmilia)

[MRevelle83]

I have decided to continue work on Varmilia. Information on the game will be given here, but I will not release any as of yet.

Instead I will now ask for an honest opinion. I have a CBS being developed for this game, and there are two possibilities for it that I am considering.

The options are simply whether or not to have a system that uses up commands. I have items created called Attack, Defense, and all other battle commands. I have set them up because they are items that must be bought and used in combat. If you do not have Attack, then you cannot Attack. Money will be gotten by picking it up on the field, so there is no worries about getting it through combat.

I'm just wondering if this will be the way to go. Although magic is used up in the game, I wonder if people would be too annoyed with the possibility of using up all their Attacks in the game. I want to go this way, and although it is my game, part of being a developer (commercial or RPGM) is to think of the player first.

So, yay or nay.

[Wavelength]

It would be a constant fear to get "item screwed" in a game like that. I think it would depend on the person playing it whether they would appreciate that or disdain it. My suggestion would probably be to have a normal "attack" command (maybe called 'desperation' or something?) which is pretty weak, or make it an item with infinite uses, and make all of the better attacks into (consumable) items.

[Lausen]

I actually really like the sound of that. I don't know the theme of the game, but if it's anywhere around the lines of survival it would be a good way to add that tension. Another thing to look at is how many battles you have. If there are a lot it might be annoying after a while. imo it could be really cool if it's all balanced right. Good luck man.

[MRevelle83]

It isn't necessarily about survival, and the battles aren't really that many. I'm focusing more on story than I am giving the player a hell of a lot of fights. In fact if they know what they are doing, then all fights (except bosses) can be avoided altogether.

I'll update the above post with more details later. But for now just know that trading items are plentiful and can be used in exchange for trading. (i.e. You use RPGM1's trade shop option to buy Attack and Defense options.)

[madcopper]

So your making this with RPGM1? I think this would be so much sweeter with RPGM2! That way you could create a more elaborate CBS. Besides you could have it so enemies show up in the field and only battle if you get to close to them. If your not sure about how to do something like that you could check this tread:

http://www.pavilionboards.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19236

And just use event battles.

If you don't plan on using this with RPGM2, well IMHO, it's your lost. :)

[MRevelle83]

I tried using RPGM2. It just doesn't hold my interest. Besides, I've been doing Varmilia on RPGM1 for years so there is little incentive for me to change.

Plus I have no way of getting it to the internet.

[MRevelle83]

Well, although I will not finish this game until Survival 2 is finished, I can say that I have decided how Varmilia will be done.

This game, in the end, will be an action/choice RPG. It's hard to explain, but here it goes.

For many years I was going to do Varmilia as a traditional RPG with unique spins (the male knight hero is in distress and is rescued by the ass-kicking princess, for example). Recently I have been bored with traditional fantasy in general, and even that example which is a fun idea, is still part of Fantasy that has been Done to Death.

So, Varmilia is overhauled in atmosphere. To tell the truth, the games Shadow of the Colossus and Ico are main inspirations for atmosphere, as the new Varmilia doesn't have normal human npcs, has little cutscenes, and no random JRPG battles.

So in short, the battle system is a CBS that involves HP, but the battles are full on action that plays out like cutscenes. Discovering areas and advancing the story levels up the characters abilities, and the player's choices and how they proceed dictates which abilities increases. Example:

The player discovers a new area. An enemy is found in the area which prompts the CBS. The player can use a speech spell to convince the monster to commit suicide, which ends the scene and levels up a Speech skill. Or the player can find an Instant Kill spell in the area, which levels up his Spell skill as well as Exploration skill. Etcetera.

The player also may want to play the game more than once, as they cannot access everything in one playthrough. Depending on what areas are explored and in what order, some areas/scenes/battles may be discovered or permanently locked out. (i.e. The player needs to choose between Combat Skills or Exploration. If they want combat to be a piece of cake, then the character won't have the means to find many new areas to search, and so on.)

Enough rambling. Just remember "story driven", and you can guess from that what direction Varmilia is going.

A new list of features for the game is coming soon. I can hopefully explain it better then.