Announcement

[Voulk]

"Alone? I can't say that's smart..."

High-Strategy Combat System
- Each character has their own unique resource system.
- Bosses have more than just high stats. Combine knowledge, strategy and over 70 unique
skills to bring them down.
- Some skills are limited by cooldowns, others can only be used once or twice per combat. Use them
wisely.

Equipment isn't just about the stats
- Ultra-Rare weapons give access to new skills while equipped. A strong strategy starts with your
weapon choice.
- All characters have a trinket slot. Instead of giving stat bonuses these increase the power of a
specific skill. For example, Arthur's 'Energetic Assault' trinket increases the duration of his Assault
skill from 3 turns to 4. Super-power your favorite abilities!

Area Passives
- Enemy troops gain unique passives and effects depending on which area they're in.
- Each area has a rare enemy that has a small chance of joining a troop in battle. These often hold greater rewards.

A Character Driven Story
- The game mechanics aren't the only thing on show here. Leucia has more liars than thieves and Leucia has a lot
of thieves. Uncover the deception.
- Short stories written by the people of the land can be unlocked throughout the game and be read at any time once
unlocked for those looking to fill in the gaps.

A game where fun is worth xp
- Most of your experience comes from quests and exploring. Grinding on enemies is still there for those who enjoy
it but it's not as efficient.
- Most of your attributes come from equipment upgrades encouraging active gameplay.
- More side missions than you can shake a stick at. Flexible progression paths allow you to advance whichever way you
choose.

No random encounters!

Spoiler:

It’s been years since the war ended and the Emperor took control. Small packets of exiles are still scattered
across mostly barren wastelands but their numbers dwindle. One such group hatches a plan. A plan that could
topple the empire. But will this plan push them too far?

Meanwhile two Luganians wander through the wreckage of their former city. They are all that is left of their
race, all they seek are answers. As they comb the ruins they come across something. A message from a mentor
that’s long since passed. Filled with new purpose they leave the city knowing their search for information has
only just begun.

Late one night we join our party as they attempt to break into a high-profile government building. Success will
mean possession of the mysterious artifact being closely guarded here. Failure will mean the caretaker has two
more bodies to clean up tomorrow morning. For Gordan and Arthur it’s worth the risk, anything this carefully
guarded has to be worth thousands on the black market and food isn’t cheap.

In a land of kidnapping, deception and crime, one group will go to any extreme…

Spoiler:

“To the exiles of Eris there are two commodities: food and trust. One is stolen, one is earned, both are vital for
survival. A fear of empire plants force camps to stick to small groups of close friends and family. They’re good
people, forced into lives of crime to stay alive. A common goal unites all of them: Kill Emperor Radek.

I’ll leave it to somebody else to tell you about the history of the land but suffice to say that the lush, beautiful
land that Eris once was is long gone. It’s more akin to a wasteland nowadays. The natural resources are poured
into Radek’s ambitions. Surely we’d be better off without him?.”

- Old man

Spoiler:

Gordan
Age: 21
Story:
Gordan was once a high-society nobleman. With the announcement of his engagement to the Emperor's Secretary,
Gordan was in good standing with all. At least, this was true of him by day. By night he was the cities finest cat
burglar. There was almost nothing this man could not steal. Being a man of wealth he had no need for the goods
he took, no, to him it was merely sport.

Of course, petty thievery didn't fulfill him for long and a failed attempt at stealing the Leucian family crown saw
him on death row. Unwilling to accept such a gruesome fate, Gordan escaped. He quickly ran into Arthur, his old
childhood best friend and an exile he became.

Having apparently learned nothing from his days as a nobleman, Gordan is far too cocky for his own good.

Sample Skills
Expose Weakness (Passive): Gordans skills expose their targets, increasing all damage they take by 14%. Stacks 3 times.
Quick Attack: Deals damage and allows Gordan to recast a second skill instantly.
Clobber: If Gordan has lower HP (as a percentage) than his target, Clobber will stun for 8 turns in addition to dealing damage.



Arthur
Age: 22
Story:
The Leucia-Echland war claimed many lives, Arthur's father among them. He watched as Radek assumed power. He watched
as people he knew from his childhood were taken away by the executioners. He watched as the city transformed.

There had to be a better way, he thought to himself. This couldn't be the best path forward, and so he kissed his mother on
the forehead and went on his way. He left the city his purpose now clear: he would find another way.

Buoyed by the stories he heard during his childhood Arthur has always been a deeply curious soul. Some say this makes him
morally ambiguous as he's willing to follow almost any path that catches his fancy. It's perhaps fortunate that he's anchored
by a fierce loyalty and a strong sense of purpose.

Sample Skills
Bloodthirst (Passive): Critical hits increase Arthurs ATK by 15% for 9 turns. Stacks up to 2.
Provoke: Focuses all enemy attacks onto Arthur. Lasts 8 turns.
Unsuspecting Blow: Hits the enemy in an unusual place guaranteeing a critical hit.
Bolster Allies: All allies share the effect of any Safeguard / Bloodthirst stacks on Arthur for 9 turns.



Tara
Age: 20
Story:
5 years ago, only weeks after Radeks takeover, Cameron (whom she was very close to), came to her with the idea of leaving the
city. They were to move to the country where they no longer had to fear the harshness of the new regime. She pleaded with her
parents to go with them. Their parents, fearing severe repercussions for leaving the city, instead disowned the two children
telling them to go if they had to but to never come back. In tears, Tara left the city.

Before the fall of Echland Tara's family was of reasonable wealth and so she lived a sheltered but happy early life. A stark
contrast to the life she is forced to live in exile and as such she continues to adapt. She often feels she has something to
prove and so can be a risk taker.

Sample Skills
Assassin's Boon (Passive): Every fourth skill triggers a bonus attack.
Head Shot: Deals 100% bonus damage to targets below 25% HP.
Reload Splinter: Gives skills a chance to inflict a stacking damage-over-time effect on the target. Stacks to 3.
Exploit Weakness: Generates bonus SP if the target is stunned or slept.




Cameron
Age: 24
Story:
Believing Radek to be insane, Cameron made the decision to flee the city along with his sister, Tara. Disowned by his parents,
Tara became the only family member to feature in his life and as such he became very protective of her.

Cameron is brash. He doesn't care much about the feelings of anyone else (except Tara) and is willing to go to any extreme to
complete his goals. Ultimately he's angry at his place in life and desperately wants to live in a different world. One where
happiness doesn't have to be stolen. He strongly resents the Emperor. He leads the Exile Resistance Movement.

Sample Skills
Anesthetic Poison: Inflicts a poison that prevents the target from gaining positive status effects for 8 turns.
Shiv: Deals bonus damage if the target is inflicted with a poison effect.
Expunge: Consumes a poison effect on the target, has a unique effect depending on the poison consumed.
Smokebomb: Blinds all enemy targets for 4 turns causing their physical attacks to miss 75% of the time.





Anya & Xavier
Age: 24 & 28
Story:
Luganians always tended to live sheltered, safe lives. The small independent nation was often seen as a large cult by those
from neigbouring countries, a good cult, but a cult all the same.

When Lugania was wiped out by Radek only two survived. During the heat of battle the two siblings attempted to escape
beneath a crag in the cave. They were sure to be discovered if not for a veil cast over them by a luganian elder with
his last breath. They sat there in each others arms, only able to watch as every member of their people was brutally
murdered.

Xavier, not afraid to make his own decisions, is more than happy to harbour a lust for revenge.
Anya on the other hand looks only for a place where Luganian ideals can survive in the modern world. She seeks
preservation for her race.





Emperor Radek
Age: Unknown
Story:
Radek was always much too clever for his own good. His only weakness became his lack of control over his most primal
of emotions. His anger was his Achilles Heel and the caretakers of the Leucian palace quickly learned to avoid his
outbursts.

The story of the prince who rose to claim power over half the world varies wildly depending on who you ask. However,
a few things are agreed upon by most:
- That he was unhappy with the way his father ruled Leucia.
- That the late king came to a mysterious end allowing Radek to ascend to the throne.
- That he declared war on Echland only a few days later.
- That he led the unit of elite soliders that wiped out Lugania in a single night.
- That he declared himself global Emperor shortly after Echland fell.

One thing people can't quite agree upon are his motives and for a man who conquered the world he sure seems troubled...

Spoiler:

A tent. Because inns are never cheap.


Items are coloured by rarity. Ultra Rare weapons give access to unique skills.


Everyone loves a good puzzle, right? Right!?


Well they don't LOOK like human skeletons at least...


Combat uses a CTB battle system. This functions much like an ATB system but
without the waits between turns.


Meteors! Fire! Mercenaries! A ship!


The thieves had become accustomed to fighting off guards by torchlight.

Spoiler:

Most recent demo release (4/3):
With RTP (81MB): http://www.mediafire.com/?nqms647t55ubh1z
Without RTP (47MB): http://www.mediafire.com/?omtkrswrvqodf01

This is a tentative release. It has yet to be put through its final test run.

Spoiler:

The Scarlet Ascension by
Voulk

With a little help from:

Scripts
Yanfly (Battle Engine Melody)

BulletXt (SwapXT, Thomas Edison VX)
KGC (KGC_ExtraDropItem)
Mithran (Advanced State Probability, Skill Functions, Advanced Force Action)
Modern Algebra (Advanced Text System, color coded Items)
Omegas7 (Omega Quest)
Reedo (Skill on Equip Lite)
Shanghai (Variable Map Window, Enemy Linked Deaths)
Woratana (Max Level Limitation System, Multiple Fog)

Graphics
Mak (Tilesets)
Hanzo Kimura (Selected Resources)
(To be completed)

Beta Testers / QA
(To be updated)

[Voulk]

Changed up some of the descriptions and added some more screenshots. I'm going to be throwing some content previews up about every 2 weeks since there's some really cool stuff I want to show you all that's hard to fit in anywhere else.

[Alucard_2]

Yeah, it really called my attention, looks really good, with nice systems, and probally gameplay too. I'll play it soon =D

[Voulk]

A quick update:

The demo is pretty much done, all the remains is some final bug testing. Assuming nothing disastrous happens between now and March 1st it should be released on time!

The demo contains the first 3 chapters of the game and the playtime will range from 2-4 hours depending on how fast you progress and how much optional content to decide to participate in. Despite being the beginning of the game difficulty does vary and those looking for a challenge will find it. Likewise, those just looking to play through to the end are unlikely to run into any major roadblocks.

[Voulk]

The demo is finally ready, and only 3 days late! Hooray!

The link (excludes RTP): http://www.mediafire.com/?omtkrswrvqodf01
The link (includes RTP): http://www.mediafire.com/?nqms647t55ubh1z

This is a tentative version. I'm going to play one last test run later tonight to confirm everything is in place.

A brief list of notes to read before playing:
* The art isn't 100% finished. You'll still see an RTP character or two around and 2-3 of the facesets are from facemaker. I'm intending to replace these but I haven't really found the right fit quite yet. You'll also see the odd battler that doesn't quite fit in.

* Any and all feedback is incredibly useful to me. Be forthcoming with your praises and blunt with your criticisms. With your help, this game can get even better.
* For those with older computers, I am incredibly interested in how your fps holds up throughout the game.
* The demo runs approximately 3 hours.
* All text is written in UK English, all this really equates to is a few extra u's in words that American players might not be used to.
* The game contains profanity. I wouldn't recommend it to those who are very young or those that dislike such language.
* Oh, do have fun.

[Mr.Asterisk]

Looks good and well thought out. Downloading demo, grats on the release.
The only thing that bothers me are the cut-out wolves in the battle screen x_x
I hope it doesn't look as funky during gameplay? I dunno, it stands out too much and it doesn't mesh well with the rest of the graphics.

Edit: Ohh art/graphics's not done. Ok ok.

This post has been edited by Mr.Asterisk: Mar 4 2012, 04:05 AM

[Emmych]

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten much attention; It's pretty fun! Defs needs a coat of paint and polishing in places, but so far I'm really enjoying the characters and gameplay. >w<d

I've noticed a few grammatical errors (missing commas, mostly), and the autoscrolling in the message boxes is a little annoying (I couldn't finish what the ship captain guy was saying ;__;). I'm not too keen on the intro, mostly because it's a looooot of cutscene and very little gameplay. I'm also a little bugged by how Gordon escapes...? It seems way too improbable and convenient -- I think it'd be better if he was thrown from the tower as well.

Mapping defs needs some work; some of the maps are too big for the teeny tiny sprites, so it looks awfully strange. If you like, I can link you to some games that use the same or similar tiles as you with RTP sprites and do some spectacular mapping. It's definitely good to study up on what other folks do!
You also mentioned the art not being done yet...? Is this sprites and stuff? I'm guessing you've located CLOSET's resources (I thiiiink Tara looks like she came from there) so I won't say more on that.

The music is pretty dull right now, and it's defs not changing up enough. I can recommend some awesome sites where you can find boatloads of commercial free midis, though!

Keep at it -- this is pretty cool! I'm only in Theebs at the moment, but I'm gonna keep playing. I like what I see. >w<d

[cjs0216]

Just played through the first few moments and I'm a fan...lookng forward to really getting into it. Hopefuly my game will be half as good as this when complete.

[Voulk]

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten much attention; It's pretty fun! Defs needs a coat of paint and polishing in places, but so far I'm really enjoying the characters and gameplay. >w<d

I've noticed a few grammatical errors (missing commas, mostly), and the autoscrolling in the message boxes is a little annoying (I couldn't finish what the ship captain guy was saying ;__;). I'm not too keen on the intro, mostly because it's a looooot of cutscene and very little gameplay. I'm also a little bugged by how Gordon escapes...? It seems way too improbable and convenient -- I think it'd be better if he was thrown from the tower as well.

Mapping defs needs some work; some of the maps are too big for the teeny tiny sprites, so it looks awfully strange. If you like, I can link you to some games that use the same or similar tiles as you with RTP sprites and do some spectacular mapping. It's definitely good to study up on what other folks do!
You also mentioned the art not being done yet...? Is this sprites and stuff? I'm guessing you've located CLOSET's resources (I thiiiink Tara looks like she came from there) so I won't say more on that.

The music is pretty dull right now, and it's defs not changing up enough. I can recommend some awesome sites where you can find boatloads of commercial free midis, though!

Keep at it -- this is pretty cool! I'm only in Theebs at the moment, but I'm gonna keep playing. I like what I see. >w<d

Thanks for the feedback. I intend to open up the 'break-in' scene at the beginning, let the player do the walking around themselves instead of it all being automated. The current 10-12 minutes seems a bit long for a player to wait before moving for the first time.

The audio needs a complete overhaul really. There's a lot of great resources on this forum alone that I need to spend some time looking through. Any links to midi libraries would actually be very helpful. Audio should enhance the games atmosphere and complement the visuals, at the moment I don't feel it does either of those things very well.

Visuals are a constant work in progress for me. I know I still have a way to go but I'm confident I can get it all up to standard. I neglected it all for far too long.

Just played through the first few moments and I'm a fan...lookng forward to really getting into it. Hopefuly my game will be half as good as this when complete.

Thank you for the kind words.

[Emmych]

This is one of my favourite midi sites, and you can also find a bunch of rad music here!

Good luck! >w<d Your enthusiasm is excellent; lovely to see!

[Kaimi]

The game is so much fun! But the battles has their flaws: if you want to complete a sidequest you end up fighting a powerful enemy and defeating it grants high EXP from the quest giver, but to defeat the 'boss,' you need to kill a legion of enemies to level up, so that's one big disadvantage for me. If you would grant additional EXP for finding secret items or something like that it would be more fun, at least for me, to enjoy the game. And I agree with Emmych, Gordan's escape was at least quite sudden. I love the idea of the "Trinket": let's player get what he wants. I hope to see some adjustments.

[Voulk]

The game is so much fun! But the battles has their flaws: if you want to complete a sidequest you end up fighting a powerful enemy and defeating it grants high EXP from the quest giver, but to defeat the 'boss,' you need to kill a legion of enemies to level up, so that's one big disadvantage for me. If you would grant additional EXP for finding secret items or something like that it would be more fun, at least for me, to enjoy the game. And I agree with Emmych, Gordan's escape was at least quite sudden. I love the idea of the "Trinket": let's player get what he wants. I hope to see some adjustments.

Just to be make sure I don't misunderstand, you're referring to feeling the need to grind levels before taking on the Dark Portal encounter? If so that sounds like a difficulty problem over anything else. It's beatable at level 4 (which you'll be after completing the first quest) but it's perhaps a little unforgiving at that level. There's certainly little room for mistake which isn't really ideal for the games first real 'boss'. Know that it wasn't my intention to make you grind

Finding items IS actually supposed to grant EXP but I now realize that doesn't kick in until the area after Theebs so I'll make sure that's fixed up

Gordan's escape is revisited in a little more detail later in the demo.

This is one of my favorite midi sites, and you can also find a bunch of rad music here!

Good luck! >w<d Your enthusiasm is excellent; lovely to see!

Thanks!

[Voulk]

Sorry for the lack of updates of late, uni work demanded my attention.

Here's the plan moving forward:
I have a revised demo that I'll hopefully be able to put up within a few weeks.

The major demo changes
- A revamped audio track.
- Bosses rebalanced. For the games first bosses, they're a little on the tough side at the moment.
- Chapter 1 redesigned to increase player interaction.
- A pile of bug fixes
There isn't any new content included, so it isn't recommended to those who finished the original. For those who are half way through it, you
should have no problems copying over your save file.

Aside from any bug fixes, this will be the last demo version. The full game is already very far along and I'd prefer to release it when finished
instead of chapter-by-chapter. To keep the topic from going dead during the wait for the full game I'll be previewing a lot of stuff as it goes into the game.

Feedback from anyone who's played / playing it is still super useful. I want to know what you liked, what you didn't like. Criticise me!

Thanks!