Terra Incognita: Episode I

[Nova]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

Would anyone like to beta-test the game before release? I'm just wondering as it would really help.

[Nova]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

SEMI-MINOR UPDATE... KINDA

Now that my exams are finally over, and I get to home tomorrow, I have an entire summer to slowly chip away at this - there's no major game releases upcoming that I'm too worried about either, so that should help.

I don't expect at all to be finished through the summer, as I've been away from my girlfriend for a year and would like to spend some quality time with her, not to mention we're going to London for a few weeks.

However, despite this, I should be able to get a beta-testable first few chapters available to anyone who wants to test it. I know Altura (I think that's his name, I apologize if I'm incorrect.) said that he would, but I'd love to see two other available.

With beta testing however, you'll be ordered to follow a specific path when making multiple choice branches, as I need to ensure all events play out well and not just the good choices, or the bad choices or the neutral ones.

As I've already stated in a previous post (which you may not have seen, my thread keeps getting buried under Redeye's forum because he posts literally everyday...jokes!) The game is being broken up into three parts, what I failed to mention before is that each part will roughly last around 3 hours (hopefully) in terms of raw main storyline gameplay. However, the game features multiple paths and the Karma system will change what sidequests are available and which ones are not.

I'm shooting for roughly 20+ hours of gameplay between the three parts. (They will be separate games, but all still Terra Incognita I.) Plus, the multiple paths and Karmic Quests should give you an incentive to replay.)

One other thing, and it's a major one - I've hit a speed bump in the writing process. So I'm looking for someone else I could spitball ideas with, a co-writer if you will.

We should set up the occasional chat on Steam (add-me!) or we could PM here, or whatever. (Steam is the easiest.) It wouldn't require much work and you I wouldn't be having chat sessions every other day.

It'd be at most, once or twice a month for an hour or two each time. Just to flesh out ideas, how to branch certain events, etc.

Thank, guys! I'm outtie~

[Nova]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

Demo Incoming... Date not yet confirmed.

I'm going to try to get a demo out as soon as possible, it won't be much, but it'll give you a good idea of what the gameplay will be like.

The Demo Specifics:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#1. Exploration, Puzzles and Battles:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easily the biggest thing showcased will (obviously) be the three key aspects of gameplay in Terra Incognita, which are exploration, puzzles and battles. You'll be playing through the entire span of Chapter One with no content cut (with the exception of events that transition you into Chapter Two.) All the sidequests and hidden treasures will remain in game to give you a sense of the amount of content to be found and discovered, much like Fallout or the Elder Scrolls - you'll be sidetracked a lot of the time just dungeon crawling and treasure hunting.

#2. The Karma System and Multiple Storylines:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another important aspect of the game that will be showcased is the idea of the "Karma System," or an actions-have-consequences system. Whatever you decide to call it, it remains a major and vital part of the game. Making certain choices will change the Karma alignment and others will treat you differently as such. For example, making good and moral choices can cause others to reward you with bonuses or services, such as free inn stays, or discounted items.

On to the branching gameplay, as I previously mentioned, there will be MULTIPLE different ways the game can play out based on your in-game choices and dialogue inputs. (Much akin to say, Heavy Rain or Skyrim.) While this is a lot of work to program to test, I feel it makes the game infinitely better and gives the player some incentive to replay it. Multiple-choice dialogue branches also create the illusion of the character being your own, as you make choices and watch the world around you be affected because of it.

#3. Unique Puzzles that innovate, not replicate:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of the biggest walls I wanted to break with Terra Incognita was puzzles - in RPGM3 games, there is a real lack of puzzles - and a lot of them break down into nothing more than riddles or other simple affairs. This is something I felt that needed to change and so I set out with this in mind. I hope to create unique and challenging puzzles that have never been done before in RPGM3, or at the very least, have never been done before in this amount and scale. The pure scope of some puzzles will fill an entire an dungeon! Another reason for the puzzles is because of RPGM3's very boring dungeons. They are bland aesthetically and boil down to nothing more than walking and battling. I felt that puzzles would keep players more engaged and intellectually challenged.

#4. The Battle System (Or, lack there of)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This isn't a major section per se, but it's something that I feel is worth a mention. We all know what a major pain and annoyance RPGM3's battle system is, right? Well, you'll be happy to know that I've reduced the headache by removing Overworld random encounters and removing most random encounters in Dungeons as well. There are a few, but most experience will come from Event Battles and Bosses. Some sidequests will also offer stat increases and in rare occasions, a level or two! But, even further, all characters have been given the "Fast" bonus to make battles run quicker and smoother.

Thanks for reading!
- Nova

[Nova]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

In addition to the above post, I still need some QA (Quality Assurance) Testers. Oh, and I'm still looking for someone who'd be willing to offer and input and help write the story for the game.

[Wavelength]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

While I'd normally say you should edit a post two hours later rather than double-post, I'm honestly grateful for anything that can bury that absurd "Seige" topic.

Anyway, it sounds pretty cool. I really like the ability to branch the story based on your decisions and I've missed having that aspect in JRPG's lately. I'll certainly give it a try sometime when you release the demo and let you know what I think, though I can't commit to being an official tester because I'm gonna be really busy this spring/summer (and if I have free time for RPG Maker, it's going to the Contest).

Be really careful about the random battles. People who don't know the answers to your puzzles in advance are going to hit a lot of them, even on the lowest frequency setting, if the random battles can activate in those places. Probably worth only letting them happen in certain non-puzzle areas (maybe you've already thought of this), or removing them entirely in favor of more event battles. I'll certainly give you my thoughts on this once I've actually played your demo.

[Nova]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

There's only going to be a handful of random battles in the entire game, and puzzles are exactly why. I realized this in the testing phase aka letting my roommate test them. I'm just going to leave most of the EXP given out from Bosses, it makes it far easier to control the balancing.

And being a QA is pretty easy with the way I'm doing it, I'd be handing out a Chapter or two every so often and you'd be given a list of paths you're to take when making multiple-choice dialogue inputs or events. (To make sure all scenarios are tested and cleared.)

Oh, and the reason I double posted (I don't usually do it, obviously) is exactly because of the Siege thread. Every single time I update my thread, it's instantly buried by the running joke that has become that thread.

I don't want it to go away, I just wish it'd being posted in every 5 seconds.

*Edit: I know what you mean by busy too, man. I just finished my exams for the year and have moved back home. I'll be here until September with nothing to do but work, really - normally, I'd have free time. But, when your away from your girlfriend, and best friend I might add, for a whole year - your priorities kinda become set in stone.

TL;DR: **** RPGM! Summer is about my girlfriend and I!

[Nova]

Re: Official "Terra Incognita" Update Thread

Terra Incognita: Episode I
Demo Incoming!

Okay, so I was going to make a tech-demo instead of releasing a demo of the actual game as you may or may not know. But, I realized that was way too much work and I decided to just release a demo.

But, I have a question regarding storyline spoilers...

I have three ways I can do the demo, none of which require more or less work than the others. These are the following choices I can offer, just post what you'd rather play! (Even if you don't plan to play it, just write something anyway... It'll take ten seconds tops to do so.)

Choice A:
This build of the demo would contain little to no parts of the story itself, and would just be focused solely on the exploration, puzzle and battle elements with some sidequests/mini-games as an extra possibility.

Choice B:
This build would be more focused on gameplay as a whole, and would include all storyline aspects and events, including karma choices, multiple storylines
and branching dialogue trees.

Choice C:
This build is basically a combination of the first two - when you start the demo, you're given the choice on which demo you'd like to play. You can play through the gameplay elements with no plot spoilers, or the full demo with all story points intact.

Please Vote! (Also, still need QA's!) aka Quality Assurance testers.

[Wavelength]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

I'd lean towards B, it's good not to make the demo feel too sparse from a story/meaning point of view, if your goal is to garner interest in your game. However, unless you're going to include all the story up to that point, don't spoil major things that happen later in the game, as much as you can avoid it.

[1ce]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

If I'm playing through a demo, I want to see at least some of the story so I can get a feel for the game and what it wants to do. So I would choose B.

I would rather have things spoiled for me and possibly get hooked, rather than progressing through a story that's not officially in the game.

[Nova]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

I'd lean towards B

I would choose B.

Build A it is, then!

But not really, I'll go with B. Thanks alot, guys!

[Nova]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

COMPLETELY revamped the entire first post aka my official update sheet. Hasn't been done in months, so I figured it needed a make over. Also, the latest new game feature: Trophies. Yep. http://www.pavilionboards.com/forum/...ad.php?t=27053

[Ryner]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

How about a preview of one of the puzzles? I'm very curious to see if they're as original as you claim.

Simple Man's Quest had a few puzzles, and I found it difficult to avoid the old cliche standbys you see in every other game. Original puzzles are impressive.

[Nova]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

How about a preview of one of the puzzles? I'm very curious to see if they're as original as you claim.

Simple Man's Quest had a few puzzles, and I found it difficult to avoid the old cliche standbys you see in every other game. Original puzzles are impressive.

I'm probably not going to release anything until I finish the demo, but, I can offer you an example on one dungeon. (It should be noted that not EVERY dungeon will be this complex/puzzle-ridden!)

And when I was talking about innovating, I was more or less talking about doing puzzles not seen in RPGM3 games because, as I said, they're usually nothing more than some riddles with trap tunnels or a dungeon with a few switches, etc. No one seems to have a flair for making boatloads of puzzles, which is kinda sad. I've always loved puzzles in RPGS like the temples in ToS or the Cloister of Trials in FFX.

Spoilers Below!
The only major dungeon I've completed thus far in the game's Main Arc is a currently untitled one. It is comprised of one ruins that has been blocked off into two separate cells. Now, each cell can be semi-accessed from the other side, but to truly open it up, there's some puzzles to be solved!

There are a few floodgates that you can use (via switches) to raise of lower water levels. Which will ultimately lower the numbers of floors you can access. It will also turn some objects to be visible, (the premise being they've been shifted and affected by the massive amounts of water being taken in, and drained from, the ruins which are a broken heap to begin with!)

You'll be able to pick up on some objects above you (not visible obviously) by having the invisible object events set to Mode 1; which will make a message about the player making an observation. Mode 2 would be the object turned out and able to be interacted with.

For example, let's say above us on the third floor is a large crate. On the current floor is a switch - we need some heavy so in comes the crate. But, we can't move it because it's too big/heavy/stairs too narrow/whatever!

But, we can open a floodgate and cause water to flow through the upper channels, effectively pushing our crate through the fractured ceiling and down to us where it can be pushed (via invisible/visible events) towards the goal.

I'm not promising any of this is original, or every idea I have is ground-breaking. (Because really, what the hell is wholly original anymore?) But, I do promise that you've never seen anything like it done in the RPGM3 engine.

The puzzle-driven dungeons are the key factor that making this game take longer and longer. It's an enormous amount of work building and testing to just make one major dungeon.

Other smaller dungeons will have some puzzles like the first one I showed about a year ago - one where different switches would cause groups of statues to appear/disappear. The idea being the right combination of buttons, (given to you via clues in the dungeon) would create a path through and onto the next floor.

Again, nothing original, but still pretty fun. The dungeon took over two hours to complete.

[Nova]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

Terra Incognita: Episode One Demo
Okay, so I've been stilling working on the game and trying to get to a point where I cut away from to give you a demo. I can't say for sure, but I'd give an estimate of an hour or two worth of gameplay from the demo. It really depends on the battles you avoid, how long it takes you to solve puzzles and how much optional exploration/quests you complete. Like I said, I can't really say for sure at this point, but, I'm shooting for at least an hour of gameplay. The demo will likely cover about a quarter of Act I. (Each Episode is broken into three Acts.) Every area not required in Act I will be locked out, assuming it's actually completed.

Other than the areas previously mentioned, nothing will be cut from the demo - all Sidequests, Hidden Treasures, Monster Hunts, Mini-Games, Dungeons, Puzzles, Harvest Points, etc. will be included. My estimated (very rough) for the release date would be September 2012 by the earliest, and December by the latest.

[Wavelength]

Re: Terra Incognita: Episode I

All sounds very cool. I'd love to give it a run when it's in demo form. Can't promise to do a full beta test but I'll definitely write down my thoughts and let you know if I spot any bugs.

Also just noticed your Trollface post from May. That was hilarious.