Project Excellus

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

First, I'd just like to say that I originally started this project because I realized that there actually aren't that many dungeon RPGs out there from RPG Maker, unfortunately. I know the genre itself has never been that popular, even back during the days of Wizardry and Sirtech, but I do enjoy DRPGs, even today, so I'm attempting to make one of my own. Now, I'm not going to promise you that this will be the best game you'll ever play or anything like that, but I'm going to try and put forth as much effort as I can to make it enjoyable.

I've already lost a bit of sleep since I started the project about a week ago, so hopefully that will let you know I'm serious, haha. Anyway, let's get down to the details then!

Game Title: Project Excellus (this title is still pending, but I am leaning towards just calling it Excellus)

 

Abstract: An old school dungeon crawler.
Genre: Fantasy/Modern/Sci-Fi/RPG/DRPG (I include Modern and Sci-Fi here for story related elements later on)

Average Demo Time: Less than an hour since it's just one floor to basically give people a feel of what to expect. Consider it a tutorial, basically. The floors will be bigger after this.
Game Progression: Too early to say since only this has been finished. It's far too soon to begin talking about release dates.
Recruitment: N/A

 

Story / Setting / Purpose:

 

I haven't hashed out all of the details yet since I've been focusing on the battle system and such first, but I'm thinking something along these lines... The world you currently live in, Excellus, is on its third cycle. During each cycle, the world becomes reborn I guess you could say. During this time, "ancient" technology can still be found scattered across the world from during its previous cycle and so on. So, take Earth for example. It's currently 2015.

What would happen if our world became reborn and started over once it reached the year 3000? Later on, the Middle Ages would occur again, but the remnants of our past would remain, so it wouldn't be surprising for someone during the Middle Ages to find a gun, computer, or something else from our time. I guess it's hard to describe, but it explains why there will be modern/sci-fi elements in the game in one way or another, despite it being fantasy based. There is someone who wishes to control this cycle though in order to win a war... The war will continue long after he's gone, so in order to change history, he must prematurely start the next cycle, so it's up to you to decide the fate of the world.

 

Character Bios:

There aren't any characters from your party that actually tie in with the story since I'm giving the player the option to create their own.

Credits:

 

MGC

Nicke

Kread-EX

Trihan

Hime Works

modern algebra

California Macky a.k.a. Neil

Fomar0153

Bigbadke12

De Mack

Galv

Mr. Bubble

Neon Black

V.M of D.T

Jeneeus Guruman

Venka

KilloZapit

CLOSET (also goes by F)
Presence of Music
RMN Music Pack (Jasprelao, Jeremiah "McTricky" George, Jude, Gamesfreak13563, Tarranon, Cornflake, Xcalnarok, Lana42, Kunsel, Subaru, NathanGDay, Snowy Fox, ReclaimedGlory, Apoc, hyde9318 and 800 M.P.H.)

 

Screenshots:

 

 

Features:

- Alchemy system. The Alchemy system was introduced to give me an excuse to include an Alchemist Technomancer as a class. However, despite the Alchemist Technomancer being able to create a multitude of items, please don't feel forced to have one in your party. The game will still be playable without one.

- Despite being in a fantasy setting, there is a gun type weapon for this game. I originally decided against it, but I couldn't figure out what to have the Alchemist Technomancer use as a weapon, so I assigned them a gun. Chalk it up to "ancient" technology and Alchemy as to why they can even use it. There will also be poison bullet, fire bullets, etc. that you can get later on as well. As of now, guns are specifically locked to this class.

- Combo system. When using specific skills/spells, you will be able to activate a combo depending on which skills/spells you have combined. Only two characters can combo though, so please keep this in mind when you see that one skill/spell combos with two other ones.

- Auto/Rush system. I know we all get tired of having to select 'fight' repeatedly during battles, especially when it's against trash that we've been killing for the past hour anyway, heh. With the implementation of the Auto/Rush system, the player will be able to skip the needless command picking and make the battle go faster. When selecting Auto, each player will be controlled automatically and may use skills or spells if they have the TP/MP to spend. When choosing Rush, every character will simply attack without wasting TP or MP.

- Switch system. The game will allow you to have 6 characters in your party at all times, but only 4 will ever be out in battle at any given time. Now, the game is already set up to distribute exp so your reserves get a fraction of it, so don't feel obligated to use the switch feature unless you want to since they will level up (albeit at a slower pace) regardless. When choosing the Switch option from the party menu, you will be allowed to immediately swap out with a reserve member and they will be able to take an action during that turn.

However, if you choose the Switch option in your character menu (when each character chooses their own action such as fight, special, guard, etc.), the character will not be allowed to take an action until the next turn. This is to allow the player to plan ahead and decide how they wish to use the Switch feature. From the party menu, the Switch feature can only be used once per turn while from the character menu, you will be able to switch with each individual character however many times you want... You just won't be granted the immediate action like you would if you used Switch from the party menu, so they both have their ups and downs.

 

- 160 faces to choose from. Since this is a DRPG, I've decided to remove the sprite aspect from the game altogether since you won't be able to see them anyway. Instead, I spent a few days creating transparent facesets to use for the game. Some of the faces still need some touching up, so I'll go back and work on those when I can, but most of them are presentable, I think.

 

- Over 10 classes to choose from. On top of the default classes, I've also added Alchemist Technomancer and Ninja. Both of these classes will have a steeper exp curve due to their potential. Ninjas have always been powerful in games like Wizardry and D&D, so I want to make sure the player has to work for it. So, it will take longer to level the Ninja, but once you get over that hump and you've managed to stick with it for a long time, the reward will be worth it.

I've also got a document filled with over 20 classes I could implement to the game, but I'll probably just narrow it down to 20 if I can.

 

- No treasure chests in dungeons. Due to the nature of the engine, I have been unable to find a way to actually incorporate these into the dungeons since it's in first-person. The graphic I used from VX Ace was very tiny and floating in the air when I tried using it, so I knew this was out of the question, haha. Instead, I've decided to reward players that explore. Since the floors won't actually be that big (maybe 30x30 or so), you will be rewarded with loot when stepping on random tiles. Sometimes it will just be an item sound effect followed by a display message, but maybe other times there might actually be a little backstory before you obtain the item, so please be sure to check every tile of that room, even if the room looks empty!

 

- Busts for NPCs. A lot of DRPGs use portraits as a staple for NPCs, so I wanted to do the same in my game. While I do like the faces since they show different emotions, I believe the busts are better for this type of presentation and will help with dialogue since they are more lifelike.

- Custom battlers and BGM. While I will be using stuff supplied in the RTP, no doubt, I have also gone out of my way to find over 200 battlers I can use (but I probably won't even get to use all of them, lol) and over 100 new songs for a multitude of scenarios. I believe these artists have made some really great stuff here and I think you'll like it too when you see it or hear it.

 

- Storage system. If you're a packrat like me, you're probably going to need a place to store all of that stuff you don't know what to do with. Well, thanks to a helpful script, you'll be able to do just that. I'm not entirely sure how many items it can actually hold, but I will say this... I haven't found a limit, heh. However, there isn't actually a storage system in the demo since I have it implemented for use in a town, not inside of a dungeon, so it's not included in this demo. Storage system is in the demo.

 

- Bestiary system. It's going to be a lot of work, but I've included a bestiary system so you can keep track of all the enemies you encounter. After killing a certain amount, you will unlock new information about them, such as their stats, their weaknesses, so forth and so on. On top of this, their description will also change as you kill more of them.
 

- Appraisal system. The current appraisal system can be accessed through a shop (set up in the church) or out on the field. You can either have a class which has learned the identify skill in your party or find a magnifying glass. Either of these will help you appraise the unknown item. Normally, there would be a service fee, but because I can only restrict this by item and not the shop itself, I've decided to keep it free all around (in other words, if I set the item to cost 200 gold to appraise, it would work for the shop, but it would be pretty silly to have to pay that when you do it yourself on the field, right? I mean... Who are you giving the money to anyway?)

- Quest system. Quests in a DRPG are a little more complicated to manage, but they're doable. I've got the general idea of them anyway, so I'll be including them in my project. Please just don't expect a whole lot of them (there might be 100 or so, I guess, maybe more if they're a bunch of easy ones to write up, lol).

 

- Trait system. Every now and then, your character will level up and receive a trait (also known as passive). Depending on your class, you will see an increase in the character's Max HP/MP, AGI, ATK, DEF, etc. As you progress, the effect of the passives will begin to increase (maybe 3% early on, but around 10% when level 20? something like that).

- There may also be additional systems implemented in the future that I haven't thought of yet or there may be changes to the current systems in place. Please bear this in mind when playing the demo.

 

Download:
 

This is the latest version of the project so far.
 

Project Excellus v1.02 demo (272MB)

Project Excellus v1.02 demo (non-RTP) (272MB)
 

Project Excellus survey (something you can take after you've completed the demo in order to submit feedback if you'd like)

 

Known Issues:

- Sometimes when opening a door to a new floor, you may still see brown/orange in the hallway for a second or two. I haven't determined what exactly causes this graphical error, but it's random and usually happens maybe once out of every five playtests I run and it doesn't last for long. There's a similar experience when you leave the town and re-enter the dungeon. You may see the bricks of a wall on the screen (usually transparent) for a second or two, then they go away (again, pretty random occurrence though).
 

I've done everything I can think of to help alleviate problems and/or bugs in my project, but naturally... I'm only one person, so something may have very well slipped through the cracks. If you encounter a bug of any kind (even if it's a spelling error), let me know and I'll do my best to fix it.

Edited December 15, 2015 by TetsuyaHikari

[SomaelCK 89]

Finally!!! A dungeon crawler made with RPG maker!

 

I tried to make Dungeon Crawler/Rogue-Like hybrid for my previous project DarkEnd too. It seems to me that dungeon games are less and less favored in this age tho. Your project's looking really great! Keep it going

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Thanks, haha. Yeah, I noticed they do seem to be rare with RPG Maker, but having worked on this one, I can totally understand why. It's like you're swimming against the current when designing a DRPG with this software since it is built to make third person RPGs.

I can't tell you how many obstacles I've encountered already just for the simple fact that it's a DRPG. It's difficult finding a steady work schedule on the project, but I'll try to have an updated version soon.

EDIT: Ah, right. A small update I can share right now is that I can make the flying enemies look like they're, well... Flying. Even if it's just bobbing up and down, it's still better than keeping them static, heh.

Edited June 12, 2015 by TetsuyaHikari

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Project is put on hold for a little bit due to the release of Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward nearing. I'll try to work on it when I can, but progress is going to be slower than usual.

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Since the image sharing site I usually use, pomf.se, finally went down recently after 2 years, I have re-uploaded the screenshots to the first post. Sorry about that.

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

I had to wipe my HDD clean this afternoon because of an Adobe Flash update. I tried to back up my programs/files to my 3TB external HDD, but it wouldn't let me even though there was more than enough space. The 'Next' button just wouldn't highlight at all, so I was unable to save anything.

 

tl;dr: All of my music/pictures/videos are gone and Project Excellus is dead. This makes the second game I've tried to create which later couldn't be recovered and had to be wiped because of a virus.

 

The story for those interested:

I went to Imgur a couple of days ago, then noticed a display message at the top of the page which read that some elements were disabled due to using an outdated version of Flash, which has happened before (quite a few times actually). So I clicked to update Flash, then it took me to Adobe's official webpage, which I've seen dozens of times, and downloaded the latest version to update it.

After that, my PC was fucked. First thing that happened was my computer randomly restarted a few hours later. So, I ran a virus scan while I was asleep, but I woke up to find my monitor was scrambled. A few hours later, I got a BSOD.

I attempted to run another virus scan, but the power to my house went out during this. After that, I finally decided to restart the computer in safe mode and try running a virus scan again only to wake up and find the recovery menu, asking if I wanted to backup my files or just wipe it clean without doing so.

 

https://grahamcluley.com/2015/06/patch-adobe-flash-magnitude/

 

You can close this thread now. This is the second time I've tried developing a game and had to wipe my HDD for one reason or another. I'm never trying this again.

To all of those that were interested in the project, I sincerely apologize, but I cannot start from the bottom yet again... I'm sorry. Thank you for your interest.
 

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Wow, my thread wasn't locked? I guess this was a blessing in disguise then, haha. Thanks, Amerk.

Okay, so where to begin here... I guess from the beginning! As you know, from the previous post I made, I lost all of the progress I had made on my project due to a Flash update a few months ago (haven't used Flash again since this happened). Well, I started working on the project again last month, but I wasn't really sure if I was going to get anywhere with it since I honestly didn't feel like starting over (I'm sure many of us have felt this way at some point or another when it comes to big projects). That's why I've held off on saying anything until now.

I'm in the process of making some final adjustments here and there to v1.00, which will be a demo (beta test) and hoping to receive some feedback. Here are a few videos I have uploaded since I began working on the project again (some of these have spoilers though, so please keep this in mind when watching them). Starting with the earliest to the latest. If you want a text format of the changelog for v0.99, I'll post that below.

 

(Prologue/spoilers)

 

(One time event)

 

(Dark room test)

 

(Inn hotfix)

 

(Storage and shop system)

 

(Transformation test)

 

(Guild feature/spoilers)

 

(Church+appraisal/spoilers)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvF4rXlt0eM (Custom stat distribution)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5g2OvBnj2U (Dragoon preview)

 

v0.99 changelog

---------------------

 

- Appraisal system added

 

- Storage system added

 

- Typos fixed

 

- Some graphical bugs fixed. Some busts also touched up a little.

 

- Custom stat distribution. The player will now receive a pop up notification upon leveling up and be given 5 stat points to distribute.

- Due to the stat distribution changing from random to custom, some equipment has been adjusted to give increased HP and MP

 

- Alchemist has been replaced with Technomancer

 

- Technomancer's stats have been adjusted and combo has been introduced

 

- Alchemy system has been adjusted for Technomancer

 

- Dragoon class implemented (adjustments being made before v1.00 release)

 

- Dark room system implemented (for those familiar with Wizardry games, you're probably aware of the dark rooms... Unfortunately, I can't make them completely dark in this game since you wouldn't even be able to see the enemy, but I've done the next best thing... See the Dark room test for details)

 

- Warp tiles implemented (see Warp tile video above)

 

- Memos added (sometimes you will run across a memo that was left behind by someone in a dungeon... Most of them probably won't contain any useful information and are simply there for side-story content, but some may include information you may need to know)

 

- Chapter system implemented (I've decided that it might be best for me to split the game by chapters since it will be easier to manage this way. Check the Prologue video above for details)

 

v1.00 preliminary notes

-----------------------------

 

- Adjustments made to combo system

 

- Class specific gear introduced

 

- Two secret classes will be revealed

 

- Additional typos fixed

 

- Dragoon available for testing

 

- Quest system implemented (the quest system will unlock after clearing a specific part of the story)

 

- Prologue chapter concluded

 

I don't like setting dates for things, v1.00 is looking good so far, so you'll probably see it within a month. I still need to do some more testing for the two secret classes and Dragoon, and finish writing up the Prologue story, but if all goes well, I'll finish that in a couple of weeks or less, depending.

 

EDIT: I'm not sure why, but only the first two videos are displaying previews on my end... The rest are just showing links :/

Edited November 30, 2015 by TetsuyaHikari

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Quest system has been implemented! Just finished testing it a few minutes ago.

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

The project has finally reached version 1.00. Patch notes below:

- Class-specific TP regen system implemented

- Dragoon's TP adjusted

- Passive/Trait system implemented

- Non-battle skill types removed from battle UI

- Quest system adjusted

- Adjusted sound effects for transportation during certain conditions

- NPC interactions adjusted

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

 

I already added an appraisal shop, but tonight I figured out how to use it in an item and skill, so I added that to the game. Good news is, you won't need 50 magnifying glasses to examine 50 items, lol. I don't like the idea of that, so the player can actually just use 1 magnifying glass to examine however many they want.

Now, keeping that in mind, the moment they close the appraise window, the magnifying glass will disappear. So, it might be best to hold onto it until you have like 2 or more items instead of using it immediately, but you never know! The item you get could be really helpful to you right then.

Obviously, the Identify skill works the same way. I was considering putting a limitation on it (Wizardry usually has the user become struck with fear after failing multiple attempts to appraise an item), but I decided against it. I figured since you won't be learning it until a bit later anyway, I'll just keep it free all around. The magnifying glasses and appraisal shop(s) will remain in the game since this skill will only be available for one class.

On a similar note, I did get a bit accomplished today. I'm finally in the last stretch.

- New combos added

- Additional dialogue added for NPCs

- NPC response patterns adjusted

- Shop inventory adjusted to accommodate new classes

- Character creation system adjusted

- NPC graphics fixed

- Skill adjustments made

- Stat adjustments made for default classes (talking about the original classes which come with the software)

- Max level capped at 5 in preparation of 1.00 demo release

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Project Excellus v1.01 demo release!

 

I finally finished writing up the Prologue chapter yesterday (there are two possible outcomes, by the way) and spent all day today running playtest after playtest to check for bugs. I did actually find quite a few, but I believe I've fixed most of them. If there are any other bugs I may have missed, well... That's where you come in, lol.

If you find any bugs that I may have missed, please post a comment here describing what you found, under what conditions it occurred, where, and if you can reproduce it. Other than that, post some feedback for me and let me know what kind of changes you'd like to see in the system itself (stronger enemies, lower exp rate, less powerful weapons, etc.). Oh and on a completely random note, today is my birthday, so I'll consider the completion of this playable demo a gift to myself, heh.

 

I'll be editing the first post and including the link to download it there as well as this post. I've decided to extract all of the images, BGM, etc. that I have planned for later use (as to avoid spoilers in case someone gets curious, lol) and include the RTP game data as well for those that don't have the software and still want to try it. I know, most of you around here probably have it, so you don't need the RTP data, but even if I don't include it, it's still the same size anyway.

That's the only reason I'm doing it this way, so just extract the folder onto your desktop or somewhere away from your own project so nothing gets mixed up (especially cause my stuff is in first person!).

Project Excellus v1.01b demo (272MB)

 

Project Excellus v1.01b demo (non-RTP) (272MB)

EDIT: Skeleton's HP isn't set properly. I'm adjusting it now and re-uploading a new link. I remembered to adjust all my other monsters except this one, lol. Hell, some of you may not even encounter a skeleton when you play, but I'd rather have it fixed anyway. The new link will be up in about 20 minutes, then I'll get some sleep.

EDIT2: Link has been fixed with updated version.

EDIT3: Just realized the party actually isn't getting the exp reward when completing the last quest (although you may very well already be the max level (5) at that point anyway). I remember turning it off earlier because I got tired of the level up boxes constantly popping up when I was trying to test what came after that part, heh. Anyway, it's not that big of a deal unless you're not level 5 yet and want to see some of combos and skills you get at level 5 (but you'd be better off just grinding a little and testing them on random monsters outside of town instead of trying to experience it all in the last fight of the demo ). Uploading a fix for those that want it though.

 

Also, even though they are the same size, I'll upload a non-RTP version as well since I guess that's more convenient for some people. I figured the reason why some users preferred demos without RTP data was because of the file difference, but if it's more convenient for them this way, I'll give them that option too. Both links should be added in about 40 minutes or so, give or take.

EDIT4: Updated the links with the fixed version and non-RTP version as well.

EDIT5: Survey to collect feedback has been added to the first post.

Edited December 12, 2015 by TetsuyaHikari

[TetsuyaHikari 4]

Replaced links with v1.01c release.

 

v1.01c patch notes

 

- Bug fixed which allowed players to receive free heals outside of battle

 

- Bug fixed which didn't transfer TP to MP after using the Recall skill during the Revelation of Wolf

EDIT:

Version has been updated to 1.02 as of tonight due to fixing a bug involving an exploit of stat points during the character creation process.

Edited December 15, 2015 by TetsuyaHikari