Announcement

[Xyphon]

UPDATE: The game is finished!
Changes in New release:
A few grammar, spelling, and story errors fixed.
Some new skills given to other players.
The final act, act 4, is done.
If you already had a file, you will be FORCED to remake due to fairly significant changes in the database. Sorry.
Also, there was a glitch so if you downloaded the game before 6:50 PM EST on August 7th, 2012, you should re-download otherwise you won't be unable to beat the game if certain requirements are met.
Story:

Spoiler:

The story takes place on a planet that goes by the name of Darmecia. A long time ago, there were two civilizations: Alsolia and Theinist. They both had very powerful magical capabilities, but Theinist used their magic for evil, so the Alsolites and Theinites had a war. The Alsolites won, and wanted to get rid of magic, but not forever, so they sealed it in humans, turning them into spirits. Spirits have the power of immortality, and must find and marry another person to become human. Now, the world is industrialized without magic, and it called Darmecia. Darmecia has 5 countries: Rutyon, Danksyon, Sankyon, Furyon, and Putron. The story begins in Farenyr, the capital of Rutyon. They are at war with Puremia, the neighbouring city. After a short battle, a boy named Zerex teams up with a respected self-proclaimed "protector of Farenyr" named Nokz. After some fighting, Puremia is destroyed, but both Zerex and Nokz miraculously survive. This is due to a spirit named Tayla, who proclaims Zerex as her destined lover. With Tayla's help, Zerex and Nokz go into Puremia and assassinate the king, but this creates a lot of problems. Now, the most powerful nation in the world is after their asses, as Puremia becomes the ruling city of Rutyon. They go into hiding in another country, Sankyon, using Tayla's convenient teleportation technique, and eventually end up in the country's capital, Sankyul. There, they meet Niest, the emperor of Sankyon. Niest offers them protection against the terrible city of Puremia, but things aren't exactly as the heroes expected. They learn that Sankyon and Rutyon are working in cahoots, to create magic militia and artificially create magic-infused soldiers. Now, it is up to our heroes to stop these people. They meet a lot of people on the way, including the Emperor of Danksyon: Robushin, and a little blind girl infused with magic through infected water named Shana. How will the heroes deal with this? Will they survive? Will they defeat the terrible leaders of the evil countries and save the world? And who exactly is behind how this, how deep does the mystery go? Find out by playing!

The World:

Spoiler:

The game takes place on the planet of Darmecia. After the war between the Alsolites and the Thenites, the Alsolites split up the world into 3 countries: Darmecia, Rutyon, and Sadekon. Darmecia after a short time of 50 years re-industrialized the world without the use of magic, and due to their immense power and standing in the world, were able to rename the entire planet after them. However, a war broke out within Darmecia, and eventually it split up into 2 separate nations: Putron and Furyon. Soon after, a war also began within Sadekon, and similarly, it split up as well, into Danksyon and Sankyon. Now, the world is 5 countries. Rutyon, the desert nation, Sankyon, the forest nation, Danksyon, the snowy nation, Furyon, the mountain nation, and Putron, the water nation. But the conflicts don't end there. There are many other conflicts within. Puremia, part of the only country that hasn't split up(Rutyon), and subsequently the most powerful country in the world, is constantly at war with Farenyr, the capital city of Rutyon, which is where the story begins. You will travel through a variety of areas, including the desert area of outer Puremia, Ronnin the city of rain, Sankyul capital of the forest country, Danksyon city a poor city covered with snow, and Hynuck city a city within the mountains themselves. Here, you will have your journey, and save the world.

Extra Info:

Spoiler:

The game consists of 4 acts, each 20-40 minutes long.
There are 6(arguably 7) playable characters.
The game finishes at 2-2 and a half hours in length(approximately).

Screenshots:

Spoiler:

Characters:

Spoiler:

Zerex:

Spoiler:

Age: 17
Gender: Male
Class: Beginner/Paladin
Bio: Zerex is the main protagonist of the story, although it doesn't appear that way for a while. Zerex is just your average kid, who got thrown in a rather sticky situation. During the battle against Puremia, two guardians of Farenyr, Nokz and Jack, pulled Zerex into the fight and gave him a sword. One thing led to another, and then him, Nokz, and Tayla ended up assassinating the king of Puremia. Now, Zerex has to be part of everything, despite his original distaste towards helping Nokz. Zerex is Tayla's "destined lover" who she is apparently "destined" to marry so she can finally become mortal. He opposes the idea at first, but accepts it regardless so he can continue on without trouble. Later on he begins to develop somewhat of a relationship with Shana, but you will have to play to see what happens with that.

Nokz:

Spoiler:

Age: 23
Gender: Male
Class: Warrior
Bio: Nokz is a self proclaimed "protector of Farenyr". Him and Jack helped fend off the Puremians at the beginning of the game. He dragged Zerex into the fight, and they became a team. After the battle with Richard, the leader of the Puremian Elite Battling Squad, they were saved by Tayla, a wind spirit. Tayla seems to not like Nokz that much, and vise versa, however, they are still friends. Nokz is also kind of an idiot at times. He knows nothing about the geography of his own country (neither does Zerex, but no one really cares) and gets everyone in sticky situations. Despite this, he is still a great fighter, and an important member of their crew.

Tayla:

Spoiler:

Age: ???(Over 200 years old)
Gender: Female
Class: White Mage
Bio: Tayla is a nature spirit, spirit of the wind to be exact, that is over 200 years old. Although she doesn't look the part, and doesn't have much physical strength, Tayla is outstandingly powerful. She has the power of magic, given to her a long time ago, which is how she became a spirit. She was able to protect Nokz and Zerex from a bomb that destroyed the entire city of Farenyr, which is how she ended up joining their party. Her undeniable love for Zerex is what brought her to save them. For hundreds of years, spirits search for their "destined lover", and when they unite their "destined lover" in marriage, they can become human, and finally feel emotions. They choose their "destined lover", but usually a signal is given off so that they know if the person is their "destined lover" or not. While searching for her "destined lover", she came across Zerex, before he was even 1 year old, and the signal was given. Yeah, a bit pedophile-ish, but spirits care not of age, as it is the signal that they look for. Clearly, she waited 17 years before finally making her move, most likely because she looks around 17 herself. Being so old, she knows a lot about the area, and she also has very strong healing powers when needed.

Shana:

Spoiler:

Age: 17
Gender: Female
Class: Black Mage
Bio: Shana is a resident of Danksyon and is very poor. She became blind due to the radiation in the drinking water, but she also received magic powers as a result. With her magic abilities and her acute sense of hearing, she can navigate around and tell who is who as if she could see. She has a very strong romantic attraction to Zerex, and says that she will do anything for him. She has very powerful magic, and her magical abilities are considered even better than Tayla's, even though she is just a human. She is a bit of a scaredy cat and a cry baby, and is very self-deprecating, but she still pulls through and continues the journey.

Download:

Spoiler:

Non-RTP:
Sendspace: http://www.sendspace.com/file/bm3ggf
Rapidshare: http://www.mediafire.com/?5ab0u6k8e2ohgwt
RTP Version:
Sendspace: http://www.mediafire.com/?oskenkam0hb0a0d
Estimated gameplay time: Between 1 hour and 50 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes, depending on a few things.

Yes, I know my mapping is lacking, I am trying to work on that. Please give me good feedback!

And if you need any help at all with bosses or what to do next, PLEASE contact me. I have beaten the game like 3 times(Yes, I'm that narcissistic), and have developed working strategies for any and all challenges throughout the game.

Credit:
Ziifee - Battle System (Wait Gauge Battle)
BigEd781 - Memorize Event Positions
Dr. ? - Credits

Audio:
The Man With The Machine Gun - Final Fantasy 8
The Decisive Battle - Final Fantasy 6
Bloodpool - ActRaiser
Battle Theme - Final Fantasy 7
Attack on Dollet - Final Fantasy 8
Otherworld - Final Fantasy 10
The Final Battle - Final Fantasy 9

If there's any errors please let me know.

This post has been edited by Xyphon: Aug 16 2012, 05:27 PM

[ashm]

Well I will comment the mapping.

Im no offense but try to fill empty space with any tile. You know, from Tile B or D on outdoor.
If you lazy about huge amount of empty space, and tr to build small size Map.

Seriously its the essence of every mapping tutorial in this forum (well, at least that what i got from tutorial thread )

[Xyphon]

Well I will comment the mapping.

Im no offense but try to fill empty space with any tile. You know, from Tile B or D on outdoor.
If you lazy about huge amount of empty space, and tr to build small size Map.

Seriously its the essence of every mapping tutorial in this forum (well, at least that what i got from tutorial thread )

Yes, I know my mapping isn't very good. Thanks for the advice, I will see what I can do to improve it, but I'd really rather more criticism on the rest of the game.

[Xyphon]

Bumping this in hope that someone else will finally download my game, lol.

[nethros]

I will begin playing it now.

Await my review

[nethros]

I will review what i've play so far (1 Hr 13 mins in) based on a few scales

I. Story
II. Gameplay
III. Issues

I. Story

To start off, the story throws a lot of names in early for all the nations/cities as well as leaders. I wasn't able to memorize them all and it didn't seem very relevant at the time. But as I played and went through a few areas I got the idea.
The story was personally confusing to me.

Spoiler:

The death of Nokz sort of threw me off, and was annoying because I spent all my gold at the time on
new items for him just to lose him. I haven't finished the game, but it is barely touched on that anyone cares about
his death.

I found the NPC dialogue from people in towns to be amusing sometimes, with different references or their odd behaviors. However, I feel very restricted in the game because I can't enter 4/5ths of buildings in these city castle places. All the towns/castles seem to have the same setup, and not a lot of variety.

The characters seem very one-faced in emotion and how they act. But the emotion you give them makes them feel much
more realistic than other games.

I haven't finished the game, but hoping there is some exploring for a more rpg-aspect to the game.

II. Gameplay

The game isn't very hard, but just overwhelming with multiple characters that require the use of abilities in combat.
If you take too long to select skills, it gives you a big disadvantage in battles. I found Tayla having to heal 24/7 and her
being the only healer made some fights difficult combined with her low 500-600 HP, and enemys being able to kill her in
one turn.

I like the fact when you fight guards they are on the map and short dialogue plays before it, adding to the fight. I can see
you did a lot of eventing work which payed off with the story scenes too.

As far as the rpg element of this game goes, there hasn't been a huge lot of it. Zerex going from only having scan to having 6 skills didn't feel like I progressed towards it, the same with when you obtain Shana and she has 14 skills!...

I was hoping to find optional areas, secrets, or treasure in the game, but most areas are very large, empty square/rectangle rooms leaving me disappointed. Regardless of these rooms, I don't think the mapping took away from the game. It just made things very direct. There wasn't a time where I didn't know what to do, but there wasn't a time where I had an option to do anything else.


III. Issues

Every game has issues, and I can give you some ideas to help fix your project if you feel the need to.
At the beginning, when teleported away by Tayla, you can encounter Giant Bat groups of monsters which seem far too strong for that point of the game. I only just encountered them again outside the Mountain city(can't remember name).
The guards also seemed very week at this point because of fighting the really strong bats.

It seemed like Inn's were useless because crystals were so common. Although useful, I would recommend they aren't so prevalent everywhere. Maybe before or after tough spots, but I saved many times and never found myself using an inn besides when they make you.

Some custom tiles in the mayor's house can be walked on, and let me walk on walls where I shouldn't be able to. Easy fix but overlooked.

...

So once again I haven't finished the game yet, based on your guide I should have another hour before i'm done. I included a lot of criticism hopefully to be used constructively, I am enjoying the game somewhat but you can add a lot more to it, as I mentioned.

My only game over so far has been with the Gutya boss, and can't get past it. He constantly uses the double-attack doing 500 damage total. it's literally almost impossible.

When I (hopefully) complete the game, I will reply again with a full review.

This post has been edited by nethros: Jun 26 2012, 11:45 PM

[Frousteleous]

Downloading now. i'll be sure to give a full review as well.

FYI to Nethros: That was the best short review 've seen anyone do for anyone else in a long while!

[Xyphon]

An awesome review

Thanks for this review, I'll go over a few things you highlighted:
I understand the complaint about the game being very linear. It's a short game so I didn't want to add much else to do, but I'll take that into consideration.
I never personally found the bats at the beginning to be that hard but I'll look em over and see what I can do. The bats later in the game are stronger I think (but maybe easier because you are at a considerably higher level).
Nokz death I didn't want to dwell much on but I don't want to spoil what happens in the future regarding that.

My only game over so far has been with the Gutya boss, and can't get past it. He constantly uses the double-attack doing 500 damage total. it's literally almost impossible.

When I (hopefully) complete the game, I will reply again with a full review.

I'll really try to help you with this. Have you tried poisoning him yet? I believe that version of Gutya can be poisoned by Shana, or whatever the hell the blind girls name is (hell, I haven't played it myself for a while). Poisoning does HUGE amounts of damage and after getting Shana, it is very useful and pretty much needed to beat many of the bosses. Try using the scan skill with Zerex to see if they are immune to poison or not. I am almost positive that Gutya is not immune to poison, though.

[habyunghun]

I played it,and this is where I got to:
...
...
...
Stuck in prison.tried to get past guards,fail every 5-15 seconds.
1 thing I don't like is that the prison is big,and then I use 7 additional seconds every time I try to escape while if the map was 19X14 or something I could have escaped in
3 seconds.
But I think it is a good game,but the escaping is hard.
So...maybe some tips?

This post has been edited by habyunghun: Jun 30 2012, 01:02 PM

[Xyphon]

I played it,and this is where I got to:
...
...
...
Stuck in prison.tried to get past guards,fail every 5-15 seconds.
1 thing I don't like is that the prison is big,and then I use 7 additional seconds every time I try to escape while if the map was 19X14 or something I could have escaped in
3 seconds.
But I think it is a good game,but the escaping is hard.
So...maybe some tips?

B-b-b-what? How is the escaping hard? Do you mean when the guards turn around randomly? Dude you really just have to stand one tile to the left of them between the 2 guards, then wait until both guards are looking away from you, then go.

I really don't see how this could possibly be hard, no offense.

[Xyphon]

Bumping. Please play my game, it's not that bad, I swear!

[Xyphon]

There was a glitch (well not actually a glitch but may as well be) that makes it so it is literally impossible to beat one of the last bosses of the game if you are under a certain level, because you don't have the Cura skill and will get destroyed. So I've re-uploaded it so that you get cura automatically in that fight.

Download:

Spoiler:

Non-RTP:
Sendspace: http://www.sendspace.com/file/8qiega
Rapidshare: https://rapidshare.com/files/3450947024/Land of Darmecia.zip
RTP Version:
Sendspace: http://www.sendspace.com/file/xsvl7n
Rapidshare: https://rapidshare.com/files/453464044/Land of Darmecia - RTP.zip://https://rapidshare.com/files/453464...mecia - RTP.zip
Estimated gameplay time: Between 1 hour and 50 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes, depending on a few things.

[dude22]

ill try to play through tonight and give a full review

[lightspeed15]

I can't get past the first battle. I didn't think I was this terrible at video games...

[dude22]

is this general dude supposed to be in the beginning? there is no way to beat him and you get a game over when you die

[esperhunter]

Just downloaded. I'm generally a pretty picky player (try saying that 10 times fast, lol), but since you seem like a novice (no offense ), I will not criticize relentlessly. I will give fair feedback, however, which I hope you can use to improve your creating. I will update as I go through the game, but don't worry, I won't pick out every little thing I don't like.

EDIT: Alright I give up, this was my 5th try at the guy in the beginning. Let me just say this: Kid, you fail on all levels . Why you bought RPG Maker I've yet to understand, because you clearly put no thought into your games, not to mention all of your plots, characters and music have already been used in many more enjoyable RPGs. You should just give up now, because you clearly haven't made any improvement from your Astagia game to this one, in fact probably worse. Most people aren't born with creativity, I wasn't, and it's something you really need to learn. But YOU, you wouldn't know creativity if it got shoved up your arse. I think you should just stick to playing your console games, because RPG Maker isn't cut out for you.

Lastly, you copied everything from Final Fantasy, which is really pathetic because every single person who has Rpg Maker has a Final Fantasy game, too. I saw in an earlier post you needed to get Cura. Are you shitting me? You can't even come up with your own spell names. Congrats on failing. I'm done. Now I'm going to go play Manifest to wash this puke down my throat. I greatly look forward to you reading this, because I'm sure with all the boasting you do about your shit games, you will make for pretty good response.

This post has been edited by esperhunter: Aug 14 2012, 02:52 PM

[dude22]

please fix the game so I can actually play it, because the guy in the beginning is literally impossible.

[Xyphon]

Firstly, I have no idea why you can't beat the first guy. I have recently beat the entire game but I figure if so many people are complaining I must have royally screwed something up in the last edit of the game so I'll try to find out what's wrong and fix that immediately. It was working fine before so I'm very sorry for the trouble.

Secondly, @esperhunter: Bro, calm the hell down. You didn't even play more than like 10 seconds of the game apparently so chill out, you know nothing about the game yet.

EDIT: I figured out what was wrong, I accidentally changed the starting position. Really sorry for that, really stupid mistake on my part. I just fixed it so I'll reupload ASAP.

This post has been edited by Xyphon: Aug 16 2012, 05:06 PM

[Xyphon]

Just fixed it. I feel beyond stupid. New Download links:
Download:

Spoiler:

Non-RTP:
Sendspace: http://www.sendspace.com/file/bm3ggf
Rapidshare: http://www.mediafire.com/?5ab0u6k8e2ohgwt
RTP Version:
Sendspace: http://www.mediafire.com/?oskenkam0hb0a0d
Estimated gameplay time: Between 1 hour and 50 minutes and 2 hours and 30 minutes, depending on a few things.

[esperhunter]

Bro, I didn't mean to rip on you, but you've got to be a little more original. I know, I know. We all like Final Fantasy, and I literally mean we ALL like it. But come on, what makes a game good is the originality you put into it. I highly suggest checking out some other soundtracks to make your game stand out, such as Chrono Cross, Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, Lufia, Beyond the Beyond, Breath of Fire and so many more. Sorry bout that, but Roger (whoever the hell he is anyways) was starting get on my nerves and Tayla could hardly heal shit.

Also, in case you're still working with RMVX, I suggest using Tankentai SBS or Yanfly Melody, because the battle systems you've used so far are kind of... well, sucky. Just a suggestion, not to mention there's a ton of premade sequences that come with either SBS. Just a thought.

EDIT: Ok, I'm also stuck on the Gutya boss, like the guy who commented above, but I've only tried once so I'm not really sweating it. Here's what I've summed up about your game so far:

PROS
-Good character development. Aside from Shana, it is pretty obvious why each character is in the party because each has their reasons pertaining to the plot. Good work.
-Progression. The plot really drives the protagonist, not the player. Some people don't like plot-driven games, but I do and I consider it a good thing.
-Huge story thought. I can tell you put a lot of thought into the history of your lands, and the wars and what-not, and this is impressive for a two hour game. However, you shouldn't unleash all the info at the mayors house. I found myself spamming enter for two minutes. Gradually give info to the player as they go along.

CONS (brace yourself, there are many, but none that can't be fixed.)
-Database. You really didn't edit the database at all. I mean maybe a little, but you didn't make your own weapons, armor or items. The game just doesn't stand out in any way.
-Mapping. Listen, you can't be lazy with your games. In every single town, you make up some excuse for why you can't go inside a house, and it is kinda pathetic. If you're going to post a game, be sure you've put some effort into the maps. Also, not all rooms have to be square. Try creating jagged corners, etc., because square rooms are pretty lame.
-Strategy. The only skill I found that was different from the default was Scan, and that was useless for the first half of the game since you don't have offensive magic. There is absolutely no strategy in this game really, aside from trying out different status inflicters to see if they work. Dude, you need to make your own skills, because I felt deja vu when I played through this game.
-Music. This is probably one of the biggest topics to cover. There is a reason why you can import music to RPG Maker, and that reason is because the default music SUCKS! Nobody likes it, and it is considered nooby to use, I suggest you go to VG Music.com. It has plenty of MIDIs for you to listen and use, including your favorite, Final Fantasy. If not, try BlueLaguna.com, that site is dedicated to MP3s of every famous RPG, including Final Fantasy, KH, and all of the titles I listed above.
-Bosses. This is really annoying. For whatever reason, all of your bosses have 3 gaurds accompanying them. I'm sure everyone finds this annoying, it is repetitive and removes all sense of originality from battles.

I hope you can use this feedback to improve your game. Thank you.

Oh, and I just read your post. Yeah, sorry, I thought you sort of got that idea from FFIV, but as long as it's a little mistake, I don't really care. Yes, it's true that Tankentai is overused, but try using Yanfly Melody, too. I was suprised to find you are actually a pretty kindhearted person, so sorry for the er... insults. As for the music, you can use Final Fantasy if you want, but all I was saying is that many people know the famous tracks by heart (i do!). Oh also, for copyright reasons, you may want to change Attack on Dollet to The Landing, since that is the actual name of the track. As for the intestinal tract, er... nvm, that. Wrote that on a fly.

This post has been edited by esperhunter: Aug 18 2012, 07:12 PM