Keeper of the Pact: Stable Release 1.10

[Jolt Android 36]

Part one of three. Download link (RTP Installation Required)

 

The intro

 

Version 1.10 STABLE released February 1st 2015 

Newest features added in 1.10

 

Surprise and preemptive attacks! There's now a chance of a surprise attack if the event runs into you from the side or behind or a preemptive strike if you run into the event from the side/behind. 
Sandstone Keep: last dungeon

Lighting effects can now be turned off (via a system menu option) if your computer can't handle them. 

Various bug fixes and tweaks. Changed some of the battle animations and re-balanced some of the equipment, enemies, glyphs and actors.

Intro now doesn't suck! I made a pretty new intro. Hope you like it.

 

This gameplay style (battle mechanics) is Final Fantasy 4 meets Final Fantasy 7 with elements from various other JRPGs for good taste . And yes, maybe the story sounds like FF7 at first glance, but trust me it has nothing to do with FF7.

 

Genre: Steampunk-esque old-school jRPG/dungeon crawler

 

Length: Main game: 6 hours+; with side-quests: 10 hours.

 

 

☆ Four towns, 13 dungeons and over 130 different enemies to battle! â˜†

 

☆  Story and Setting â˜†

In this world, Glyph technology activates a person's spiritual energy for a variety of tasks. Lead Gavin and his crew against the Dhoom Delegation that is determined to return the planet to nature by "cleansing" it of its Glyph "addiction", and vie to be the first to discover the role played by the Keeper of the Pact. 

 

☆ Features â˜†

Glyph System: augment your characters’ abilities, magic and parameters by equipping Glyphnodes to their equipment! 

 

Missions: increase your Kinship rank and your social standing by performing missions for clients. Clients will reward you handsomely with material possessions and also unlock other opportunities.

 

Explore at your leisure: NO RANDOM BATTLES to bog down exploration (except on the overworld). But stay out of sight or else you'll be the enemy's next victim! 

 

Clear a path! Have enemies steer clear of you with repel items and skills. And enemies will flee if they sense you're a force to be reckoned with. 

 

Battle system that sets itself apart: Smart enemies keep you on your toes with custom AI and battle reactions: some counter short-range attacks, particular elements, or change their strategy entirely to suit the present situation. Great care has been taken to make the battle system challenging yet balanced and fun.

 

Versatile skill targeting! Most magic, especially enfeebling and damaging skills, can be dispersed to many targets at once. Even changing the scope of healing magic to damage undead is possible.

 

Front and back row: Bump up your fragile magic (or long-range weapon) users' defenses by putting them in the back row.

 

Know all the things! The changes equipment and Glyphs make are shown in a detailed and easy-to-understand manner.

 

Use the enemies' resources and abilities as you would your own: Need a hand in besting your foes? Want to learn powerful Beast Lore with ease? Unique to any game in RPG Maker VX Ace, certain skills allow you to manipulate an enemy's every move.

 

 

☆ Gameplay Screenshots (to be updated)☆

 

 

Taking on the Witches' Bastion

                    
 

☆ Character Bios â˜†

Gavin               Age: 20

Gavin has never left the secure confines of his hometown. His dad has coddled him ever since his mother never returned, presumably dead, from a journey. Her tales of adventure have instilled within him a strong urge for exploration. He has tunnel-vision for fame; this coupled with his naive and impulsive nature sometimes hinders his ability to make sound decisions. 
 
Initial Abilities:
 
Concentration: 
Boosts Gavin's magic power and prevents Stun, Baffle, Comatose and ATB Clear.
Glint of Spite:
Non-elemental magic attack; the lower Gavin's HP is than the target's, the more damage is dealt.
 

Gavin’s the most balanced character stats-wise; he can fight or use magic equally as well.
 

  
Allie                  Age: 23
 
Allie has a passion for training, exploring, and holds her family, friends and community close to her heart. Practical and determined, she's always someone her friends can rely on and holds strong values of helping those who are experiencing misfortune.
 
Initial Abilities:
 
Battlecry: 
Knocks back and stuns all opponents.
Dizzied Strike:
Unleashes four unsteady strikes against the enemy.

Allie is a better hands-on combatant than Gavin, but can still do decently well with magic arts.
 

Colton              Age: 21
 
Colton is a bit of a misfit due to his (perceived) superior intelligence, but is still easy to get along with. Exploration, the uncovering of the truth and being a pioneer are what motivate him - fun always comes last. He can sense when things aren't quite right very easily.

 
Initial Abilities:
 
Mind Control: 
For a short while, take control of the minds of unconscious, confused, weakened or feeble-minded enemies.
Adaptation:
Uses TP to regain some MP.

He’s rather fragile and deals negligible physical damage, so he should stay in the back row to avoid physical attacks. 
 

Tressa            Age: 25
 
Few people are better at influencing others than Tressa. As a gang member, she tread down a bad path. But it all changed when her mentor, Benjamin, recruited her into the district safety commission. Her previous "employment" brought her all over the world. Tressa sports a carefree demeanor to help her win friends easily.
 
Initial Abilities:
 
Dodge: 
Grants Tressa a high evasion rate for a short time.
Resist Bind:
Resists binding abilities for a period of time.
 
Tressa is a pretty balanced character. Even if she’s fairly fragile, her speed and strength allow her to shine as a physical fighter.

 

Credits: Special thanks to all of you! (to be updated)

Scripts:

Craze (Elemental Merger), Crystal (battler rows), DrDhoom (many fixes, Manipulate script, bestiary add-on), DoubleX (YEA battle fixes), EST (Skill Type Seal Manager), Hime (Mime, Cursor Memory, Troop Placeholders, among many other scripts), Jester (Map Edge Transfer), Khaz (lighting), KilloZapit (Word Wrapping Message Boxes), Kread-EX (Chain Battles), Lytanathan (Dual Wield Separate Attacks), Mithran (Equip Engine Extension), Modern Algebra, MOG (Scrollbar, Transition EX), Mr. Bubble (Auto-life), Mr. Trivel (Conditional Drops), Nathanial (Multi-Event Self-Switch Control) , NeonBlack (CP Terrain Tags Edit, Large Sprite Fix, Rounding Error Fix), OriginalWij, Shadowmaster (Custom Collapse Effects), Shaz (State Add/Remove Commands), Soulpour (Party System Swap Fix), TDS (Custom AI), Theo (Difficulty Setting), V.M of D.T (Sleek Item Popup), Victor Sant (Materia system & many others), William Couillard (FF Battle Log), Xypher (Ignore Magic Reflect), Yami (Engine Symphony & related scripts), Yanfly (a whole bunch, namely Ace Battle Engine and Classical ATB)
 
Music:
Aaron Krogh, Deceased Superior Technician, Go Shiina (main battle theme), Jeremy Johnson, Michiru Yamane, Midee, prozax

 
Graphics:

Avangs (아방스), Ayene-Chan, Celianna, Gravity, Enterbrain, Halt77, Inquisitor, Kaduki, Mack, MrBubblewand, nicnubill, Nomicom, RoseGuardian (game art), ShinGamix, Shiro, soysaurus, Square Enix, undergroundjin, Vladimir Petkovic for the title card (www.vladimirpetkovic.com), Zekallinos,

 

Beta Testers:

Intocabille (retired)

 

☆ Game Art â˜†

care of RoseGuardian

 

Known Bugs:

There are some targeting problems when using ATB Mode 0 (Active). Use Mode 1, 2, or 3 instead.

Enemies may interact strangely with overhead bridges. To mitigate this enemies aren't located very close to bridges.

 

 

 

Download Link (71.4 MB) (RTP Installation Required)

Edited February 3, 2015 by Jolt Android

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Whoa. I am LOVING those battlers--they are epic! It's so nice to see refreshing, not-that-often-seen artwork in a game. ^-^

[Intocabille 21]

They remind me of Ragnarok Online :-)

 

Working on downlaod, it looks sweet.

[Jolt Android 36]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[+ Sinathor 72]

Not bad! The battlers are indeed gorgeous!

 

However, I'd like to give some constructive criticism though. The screenshots look good, but the mapping itself is a little weird. Some parts of the maps don't really make a lot of sense. Like the overhead bridge in screenshot 4. You clearly have a solid grasp on mapping, but I'd advice you to sit down and think about the maps a bit. It's better to have simpler maps that look solid, than it is to have complex maps that are visually incoherent.

 

But like I said. Far from bad. Just could be better with not much effort!

Good luck with the demo!

[Jolt Android 36]

...

Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[RoseGuardian 42]

This is very fun so far I really like the battle system it's quite a challenge to be quick when choosing commands. Also I will play farther after figure out how to get out of the first dungeon I am kind of stuck there and not sure which way to go to be honest. Other than that being slightly confusing I really like the battlers and the battle system. Keep up the good work. I'll post full feedback after complete the demo. Just keep in mind I am working on my projects too. If I forget about this one just PM me.

[Jolt Android 36]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[RoseGuardian 42]

You're welcome  and thank you for the tip. I'm going to get some sleep it's very late where I'm at.

[Jolt Android 36]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[philteredkhaos 131]

I like the way this looks. The world map style reminds me of an old game that I have a hard time recalling. Genesis era, methinks...

I have downloaded this, but I won't be able to give any feedback until tomorrow earliest. 2 questions though: How long is the demo? And does it have a save feature? 

[Jolt Android 36]

...

Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[RoseGuardian 42]

Thank you joey. Now that I can save every where I am going to try this game again and try to make it out of the first dungeon. Also which speed is the best to chose for the battles again, I forgot?

[Jolt Android 36]

...

Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[RoseGuardian 42]

Thank you. I made it out of the ice cave so far, I must say this the singing kid kind of scared me. I really hope I don't have to fight her again any time soon. So far I am enjoying this game. I'll leave more feedback when I get farther and finish the demo.

[Jolt Android 36]

...

Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[philteredkhaos 131]

Aww, snap! I downloaded it last night!  I am loving it so far. It is quite involved. i thought it would be a little overwhelming for me being as tired as I am, but it was challenging, but not like Demon's Souls lol. The first time I fought 3 monsters, I thought I was a goner, but found an ample variety of healing spells! I am really looking forward to fiddling with the Glyphs, personally. 

Is this your first game? I am amazed at how well polished it is! And the opening... Ha! "I am not sure how to take that...." That was my thought when I read the line prior, and chuckled when MC said same thing...

 

Enjoying this game so far, and I will be back at it again later today or tomorrow! Good work. 

[Jolt Android 36]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[DoubleX 208]

The YSA-CATB Bug Fix has updated to v1.04b(In case the game uses it):

http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/21110-doublex-rmvxa-bug-fixes-to-ysa-battle-system-classical-atb/?p=145942

[Jolt Android 36]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by Jolt Android

[Jolt Android 36]

Updated the main topic... Part one of KotP is 99.5+% ready, download available in the next day or 2, so stay tuned!!!  I'm sorry that it's way later than I originally said it would be; I bit much more than I could swallow, and needed more time for script compatibility and all that jazz. But all that extra work will pay off in making the experience even better.

 

I will add more screenshots and record a gameplay video in the next few days.

[Jolt Android 36]

Sorry for double posting. Part One of Keeper of the Pact is available for download!

 

Download it, Enjoy it, love it, hate it and tear it to pieces... I'm glad for anything you happen to do with it. Any feedback or criticism is welcome.

 

Despite the huge amount of work and time that went into making this, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot doing so.

 

In a perfect world, I'd make at least two more parts to complete the game's story line, but at this rate it probably won't happen.   I think I'm done with this, not lack of motivation. Just... all the effort doesn't seem worthwhile for me.

 

Anyway, enjoy the game

Edited January 4, 2015 by joeyjoejoe

[Saiffu 26]

I was playing the game and I encountered an error when I was about to enter a battle with a monster in the canyon where the rogue's thinking place is located.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And please do create two more parts if you can, I am playing the game right now and I can say that the storyline for the game is quite interesting. I got hooked up and loved the story in other words.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Saif Ü

[Jolt Android 36]

@Saif_U Glad you're enjoying it I had to put a lot of thought behind the characters and the setting because I'm not much of a writer. To be honest, the story began as an afterthought; I just wanted to make a good dungeon crawler. 

 

As for the error, in my many hours of playtesting, it's only happened twice to me. It has to do with viewport1 in Effectus. I don't know exactly what triggers this; I can't seem to reproduce it. <3Source<3 is looking into it because this viewport1 problem is affecting others too. Please make sure to save often enough to avoid losing too much progress.

Edited January 4, 2015 by joeyjoejoe

[Saiffu 26]

Alright, I will be making a review for the game as soon as I finish it.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Saif Ãœ