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[Fangame] Pony RPG

Started by Kaijyuu, December 27, 2011, 02:34:12 am

Kaijyuu

December 27, 2011, 02:34:12 am Last Edit: December 29, 2011, 06:56:12 am by Kaijyuu
I'm dead serious.






Game download: http://www.mediafire.com/?8pf589ca3a66k31 (demo 2.3)


I realize most people here don't care, but I'm posting anyway because I could really use feedback. If you don't like ponies, perhaps you can tell me what you think of my gameplay ideas, if nothing else. There are lots of talented game designers here and I'd love to hear your opinions.


Game specifics:
-The engine was coded from scratch, by me. Not made with game maker, not made with RPG maker, or anything like that. OpenGL and SDL, in C++.
-JRPG, ATB battle system, similar to what's seen in final fantasy 4-9. My take on it, of course; not ripped from any of those games (though perhaps it's most similar to FF6).
-No in-battle cinematics. Everything is realtime and simultaneous, even the big spells.
-Menus are mostly eliminated. Since it's in realtime, time is important; you won't be scrolling through a huge menu looking for a spell. Every ability can be selected in 2 button presses. Enemy selection is the only big chokepoint, and fixing that is nigh impossible.
-No magic points. Instead, my resource (AP) starts at 0 and is gained from using support abilities. Heal or revive an ally, give them a beneficial status effect, etc and you get an AP boost. AP is used for stronger attacks; thus, the gameplay is more of a parry-riposte type thing. The better you defend yourself, the stronger attacks you can unleash.
-Please use a gamepad. I support keyboard controls but I designed the input for use with a controller and it works much better. This will probably screw me over, as most people don't have gamepads.
-Minor item customization in the form of gem slots. Not as robust as say, Diablo, but you can add elemental damage or chance for status effects by putting gems in your weapons.
-Pony theme, obviously. No death; just being knocked out with stars floating over your head. Weapons are hair ornaments. Armor is stuff like scarves.
-Included is a short tutorial explaining the battle system basics.
-3 bosses, ranging from "easy" to "hard" to "good friggin' luck". (psst: you're not a real gamer if you can't beat all my bosses)
-Incredibly terrible graphics. I'm no visual artist; everything right now is unanimated, single frame sprites (except some of the abilities, not all of which even have graphics). That will change once I get some spriters from the pony fandom.


Should be noted this is not a crossover; Atma Weapon up there is a joke/showoff boss. I made him for fun.


Anywho, hit me with your seething flames of hatred. Criticisms extremely welcome.
  • Modding version: PSX

lirmont

Using a keyboard wasn't bad to me. I did not understand immediately that I needed to press the same attack button twice for spells (as opposed to attack + confirm), but using a gamepad would not have made a difference there. It seemed pretty solid, and was surprisingly fast-paced in battle, but, for all the stray ponies youtube videos I've watched because of this forum (youtube suggests them to me now), I definitely expected loads of random lines from them during battle.

Kaijyuu

Sound effects are surprisingly difficult to get. Yes, I plan to have them speaking, but just ripped lines from the show. I don't want any chatterboxes that get annoying, except maybe Pinkie. She's supposed to be annoying.

QuoteI did not understand immediately that I needed to press the same attack button twice for spells (as opposed to attack + confirm),

Ah that. Yeah I thought it'd be easier if you pressed the same attack button to confirm that you did to select the ability, since you wouldn't have to move your finger. I'll consider it if you think the confirm button (B) would make more sense.
  • Modding version: PSX

Dome

Your furryness never ceases to amaze me
Is this coded from scratch, by you?
If it is, I may do a video playthrough of it and post it on youtube

"Be wise today so you don't cry tomorrow"

Kaijyuu

It's not very long so it wouldn't be much of a playthrough. You dying pathetically to the extra bosses might be interesting though.

And yes it's coded by me from scratch.
  • Modding version: PSX

Dome

Quote from: Kaijyuu on December 27, 2011, 03:57:29 am
You dying pathetically to the extra bosses might be interesting though.

ARE THOU CHALLENGING MEH?

"Be wise today so you don't cry tomorrow"

Kaijyuu

Maaaaaaaybe.

To be honest I'm not sure how long you'll be able to stomach ponies. Plus, if you don't follow through the tutorial and run straight to them, you'll die to being underleveled and not equipped with anything, instead of your... inherent weakness. That won't be fun.
  • Modding version: PSX

Dome

Quote from: Kaijyuu on December 27, 2011, 04:53:58 am
To be honest I'm not sure how long you'll be able to stomach ponies

You'd be surprised

"Be wise today so you don't cry tomorrow"

Bastard Poetry

I am definitely interested.

I will do a LP of your demo very soon as well.
Final Fantasy Tactics - Thief SSCC:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL73FB72C01D917FD6&feature=viewall

(Fully recorded LP; successes, failures, and most things inbetween)

Bastard Poetry

Here you go!

http://youtu.be/A9d3de1YaUo

Hope this helps bring in some decent feedback for you -- or, even better, some sprite artists / programmers / whatever! I'd love to see this game's progress.
Final Fantasy Tactics - Thief SSCC:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL73FB72C01D917FD6&feature=viewall

(Fully recorded LP; successes, failures, and most things inbetween)

Kaijyuu

December 27, 2011, 02:02:45 pm #10 Last Edit: December 27, 2011, 02:22:30 pm by Kaijyuu
Ah, much thanks BP. Watched the whole thing; shows how I don't explain some things well enough, it seems :) I might throw in some quips about gems to Lyra's dialog. You really don't have to set them all one by one like that.


And yes, Atma weapon's supposed to be ridiculously difficult. And he's not the only extra boss, heh. I'm thinking of really relenting the difficulty on him just to show off some of the more complex stuff my engine is capable of; you didn't see much in the way of what I can do with enemies. He's got the good ol' barrier change from FF6; some spells types are absorbed, some reflected, some do double damage. The other boss is a MLP one and is a bit more puzzle-y rather than a survival battle... well for the first and third parts. Multi phase bosses, woo.


Re: Enemies chaining attacks. This is something I've been struggling with a bit. Normal JRPGs like this stagger attacks because they have to. My game is 100% realtime and simultaneous. I added some variability to enemy speed to try and alleviate them all attacking at once, but that's not a fix all. Dunno if I'm going to do some AI to enforce staggered enemy attacks or leave it as is... some randomness can be nice for random battles, after all. Not as big a deal for bosses, since their behavior is more hardcoded to put just as much pressure as I want.


PS: Applejack is best pony.
  • Modding version: PSX

Zaen

Hmm... as much as I'd love to play this with one of my controllers, it doesn't recognise the D-pad on either of them. Any idea why that might be?
"Oh, God!! The Hokuten!!" ~Guard, Sand Rat Cellar

Kaijyuu

Does it have a joystick of some sort?

D-pads are (generally) analog sticks in disguise. I only check whatever SDL decides is "joystick number 1" on your gamepad to avoid wackiness. For example, I have a USB adapter for a PS2 controller... with the analog active, it detects the left control stick, but ignores the dpad. With analog disabled, it detects the dpad.

I'll see what I can do about checking every analog input on a gamepad.
  • Modding version: PSX

Zaen

I've tried it on my PSX, my PS2 Dualshock, and my Eliminator Aftershock with both Analog on and off, and neither work.

But as for gameplay, I've noticed that using shoulder buttons to switch characters in the equipment cause a problem... crashing. The combat is fast paced and fun, meaning it keeps you on your toes, isn't easy, and you have to be careful with how you use your time per turn. Also, Accelerate can target self, but it doesn't affect self. And.. Atma Weapon acts a little cheaply. Ultimate attack wiping out everyone when they're at full health with consistent buffing... Definitely challenging, though. The other boss fight was clever, too. Using parasprites as shield enemies AND they attack? Genius.
"Oh, God!! The Hokuten!!" ~Guard, Sand Rat Cellar

Kaijyuu

QuoteI've tried it on my PSX, my PS2 Dualshock, and my Eliminator Aftershock with both Analog on and off, and neither work.

Close game. Turn off analog on your controller. Restart game. Setup your buttons. Should work, assuming it works like my adapter does.

Regardless I need to fix that so it works anyway. Will be in next demo.

QuoteBut as for gameplay, I've noticed that using shoulder buttons to switch characters in the equipment cause a problem... crashing.

I saw that happen once but couldn't reproduce it! Could you tell me the specifics? (middle menu, left menu, what you were hovering over, if item was equipped in that slot, etc)

QuoteAnd.. Atma Weapon acts a little cheaply. Ultimate attack wiping out everyone when they're at full health with consistent buffing...

He's been nerfed for the next demo. I perhaps wrongly expected everyone to have the best equipment filled with gems, which isn't exactly intuitive as I don't have a gem tutorial yet. (final defense + gems gives 61% fire resist, which will let a full HP Applejack survive without Twilight's barrier spell). Previously it was 1100 base damage; down to 900, which is survivable with just barrier active and zero equipment. Having both makes you laugh at flare star.

Ultimately I've decided a showoff boss isn't good for showing off if people can't see the mechanics.
  • Modding version: PSX

Zaen

December 28, 2011, 01:55:50 pm #15 Last Edit: December 28, 2011, 02:42:07 pm by Zaen
Ah, I didn't have time to think about what the ultimate attack was and just saw death. That's why you gave cheap Fire Gems.. nice. I'll retry my controller and see how that works. As for the shoulder buttons, each time it happened, I was using the Right shoulder button in the equipment menu. The first time was after I had done it a few times, the second was the first time I used the key. I later decided to skip trying to use it and just exited and went in for the next character... tedious, but at least I didn't crash.

Edit: Ok, my controller works with analog initially off. This should make things much easier...

Another Edit: With that, Atma was a piece of cake... the following boss, however.. Wow, talk about annoyingly difficult. Accelerate seems to be very important for that one.
"Oh, God!! The Hokuten!!" ~Guard, Sand Rat Cellar

Kaijyuu

December 30, 2011, 04:46:56 pm #16 Last Edit: December 30, 2011, 04:54:20 pm by Kaijyuu
I got posted on Equestria Daily :D

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/12/game-between-dusk-and-dawn.html


Some neighsayers there, but seems overall positive (with the usual reservations about my experimental battle system). Not getting any bites on helpers, but I've prepared for that possibility.



PS: Nice avatar, Zaen.
  • Modding version: PSX

Zaen

I like the post on there about how music, backgrounds, and animations are EVERYTHING IN AN RPG. That's laugh-worthy at the least. In fact, that guy is a complete jerk in general. At least it doesn't matter what he says. This game has tons of potential.

On a more important note, it would be cool to fill up more of the 12 abilities per pony. That would add another layer of strategy to the game, what types of magic attacks you bring, how the AP cost is spread among them, etc. That said, even with just the 4 given ponies, there's tons of variety in their abilities. I assume there will eventually be more strategy in elements, so no need to go into that right now.

I wish I was deeper into my composition major so I would be more versed in writing music, otherwise I'd love to create some stuff for this. If I tried right now, it would probably be very orchestral, which would probably clash a lot aesthetically. At any rate, if you need anything of that nature, I could probably work out something if I have the time.. and by that, I mean quite a lot of time.

PS: Thanks.
"Oh, God!! The Hokuten!!" ~Guard, Sand Rat Cellar

Kaijyuu

Well if ya want, you can sign up for my forums where I'm running the project: http://www.daydreamspiral.com/forum/index.php

Replacements for any of the songs in the current demo would be great. Or if you want to do something smaller yet still sound, sound effects! I need those. At any rate, if you'd like to contribute, just tell me what you'd be interested in making, and you can make a topic on my forum and start showing stuff off.


I've got someone who is (err, might be) making player sprites, which would be the point where I'm confident the game won't take 3 years to make. I've been hesitant asking help from composers so far because I figure that will take less time than anything else due to the game's short length, and I don't want people making a bunch of stuff then sitting in their hands while other people finish. If graphics are on track, I've got 2 very talented composers already expressing interest, though they've both mentioned time issues, so there will be room for more help in that area.
  • Modding version: PSX

Bastard Poetry

That video is the first of my 66 uploads to break 1000 views.

You're certainly getting all sorts of attention now!

My wife, my bronies and my pegasistas have all loved what they've seen so far.
Final Fantasy Tactics - Thief SSCC:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL73FB72C01D917FD6&feature=viewall

(Fully recorded LP; successes, failures, and most things inbetween)