rmvxa Breathwind: Return of the Dragons (E0 v2.3 Released)

[syrus ultima 44]

give me about an hour.

[+ Novem 344]

Well, I have an appointment in the morning so I'm going to sleep. I can't wait to see how they're improved. Thanks for the assistance,

[∑-sigma- 16]

I just watched the youtube video in the first post, and while I do ultimately respect the effort done for the voice-over, I do suggest it could have been done a little bit clearer, or perhaps it's better instruments that you require. Also, I'm not entirely sure I'm correct on this one, but I assume that you said the entire speach in one sequence, where in my personal opinion, I would recommend against this, instead I would record myself saying each line, several times, with breaks in between, so that I don't run out of my breath and can pretty much piece together the best recordings of the selection.

 

Also, the zooming effects are also kind of lousy, as in it makes the images pixelated, which wouldn't be so bad, if the graphic was more in a sprite format. Also, the graphics seemed incredibly random, not by content, but by design and quality; hopefully in the near future you can get images which match a bit better with each other.

 

EDIT:

Also, at the start, you could perhaps make the music a bit more prominent, it was a tad weird listening to just a voice which wasn't of crisp quality.

This one is just a really minor nit pick, but I'm not fan of saying the name of the person who made the quote when it's actually included on the screen, it's jarring in my opinion.

Edited May 31, 2012 by -sigma-

[+ Novem 344]

Hm, I see where your coming from.

 

Honestly, without original art, it's kind of hard to make good looking cutscenes. I guess I did make the music too quiet, I was just trying to make it so that it didn't go over my voice. I also should really redo that VO... and stop talking so damn fast, haha

 

I'm using Windows Movie Maker and Google Images, it definitely doesn't end up looking very good. I do my best with what I've got.

[∑-sigma- 16]

I use Camtasia for video editing, Windows Movie Maker never quite works so well for me.

 

As for the images, why not use ingame shots? Like, make a map, place events, play the game, screenshot, and then voila?

At least that way, it'd blend real easily into the game's graphics as well.

[+ Novem 344]

Hm, that sounds good. I'll try it out, although my mapping skills not really much to be celebrated, hahaha

[9000098 0]

now I see why you were hatin on my project...gettin forumed bullied! I <3 u tho

[amerk 1,122]

Dustin, please don't spam the thread.

 

Niko, if I haven't said this before, good luck with the project. While I agree the maps are a bit bland, it's fairly understandable considering that VX and VXA caters more to the old school look, and these maps don't look too far off; nothing that some added in eye-candy details can't fix.

[+ Novem 344]

Thanks Amerk.

 

Anyways, for everyone having problems playing certain entries of the Codex, I booted up 1.3 again and found that I forgot to put the commands to put those sounds into the Codex. My bad, I'll make sure that's fixed in the next version, XD

 

It only happens if you go into the Tutorial.

[Avanura Seta 3]

Yeah, no worries, mapping isn't everything. It's not like you're not trying hard. I commend the effort you put into your codex. It really shows that you do care about your project. It seems as if too many people around here are using parallax mapping as eye candy to draw people in, when their projects are actually fairly generic and uninteresting. I think instead of worrying about the mapping, you should continue to focus on the story to provide an engaging experience. After all, you're a writer, right?

 

 

And if you're looking to get better at mapping, a few very simple tips include:

Making smaller maps, particularly for indoor areas, so the map doesn't look empty and spaced out.

And for outdoor maps, try to include different height levels. For example,

the volcano could have higher ground and lower ground, with lava pouring from some high place to

a lower place.

 

Anyways, best of luck.

Edited June 1, 2012 by Avanura Seta

[Xoltox 1]

loved the game man, although you say your mapping skill aren't to good at their but i deny with that, you have done an awesome job, keep it up!

[Cecillia 652]

You should use audacity to increase the volume and make your voice echoey. Would be so epic!

[+ Novem 344]

Syrus enhanced the sound, no worries. You'll see that in the next version, just taking a little break.

[+ Novem 344]

Okay, fixed most of the things you guys had problems with in the new version.

 

v1.31: http://www.mediafire.com/?bao3nrq3i2t5o07

[Deadwater 0]

Hi. Nice work you have here although I must be bad at games. I seemed to wander around aimlessly and ended up just dying. Heheheh. My friend wants to know if she can voice over some of those entries for you. She seems to like your game and she wanted to do voice works.

[+ Novem 344]

No, all the VO's for Codex Entries will be handled by me, sorry. It's called consistancy, you need to use the same VO for all of the entries or it sounds odd,

 

Besides, I'm prefectly capable of handling it!

 

Oh, and if it really is to difficult for you, you can always open RMVX Ace and play around with everything. You also have to remember that you can press the left arrow key during combat to select the escape option (which I updated the tutorial to mention!).

Edited June 24, 2012 by Niko Jose DelValle

[Kurui 0]

That would be me XD I only said so to him because you speak extremely way too fast and it's really hard to keep up with what you say and there are parts where you trip and stumble over your words and sounds very tacky~ and takes away from the whole experience which when playing I felt should have a more flowing, fantasy feel to it like you hear in fantasy narrations in movies XD not like someone trying to read from a script. I'll have to agree with the others that the maps are pretty poorly made and could use some majour work but I enjoy your story/characters (I have no clue what the series or whatever thingy is for your influence so that might be why I don't pick it apart). Theres a few spelling and grammatical errors I noticed too in the game, and on one of the entries where you speak I can't get it to play the vocal it just brings up the musick on the map. Well theres a few things to think about/crit. Improve and keep going~ <3

[+ Novem 344]

It would make me feel better if you make your requests personally next time,

 

I'm going to be redoing the VO later, as of right now, they are perfectly fine how they are (it's not like their completely not understandable), and if you really just can't handle it, you can always read it.

 

Also, as I've said before, please just stop with the comments about the mapping. It's really not helping. I'm not a good mapper, enough said. This is a very story focussed game, so it should not matter. I will focus on what I'm good at. If someone wants to step in who actually can map, they can feel free to do so. As I've been saying ever since Syrus backed out, I am actively trying to recruit a mapper to silence your complaints. If you want them to look better, you are either going to have to do it yourself, or wait until someone else takes the initiative.

 

Also, if you are noticing spelling or grammatical errors, just point them out and they will be fixed. It's not like there is spellcheck in RMVX Ace... Also, I was sure I fixed the the problem where the vocals don't play in 1.31, are you playing on that?

[amerk 1,122]

Well, mapping is part of feedback, even though it's one of the things people tend to focus on the most. Just take it with a grain of salt and do what you can do and what you feel is right. To be honest, though, I don't think your mapping is all that bad, if your screenshots are an indication of what's in the game. A couple of them are a bit open and could use some detail to bring them to life (generally add-on tiles will help), but there are a couple of mapped screenshots that look well done.

[+ Novem 344]

Thanks Amerk, I guess I just kind of got tired of everybody saying my mapping was bad (I've honestly seen, and done, much worse). It also kind of annoyed me that she was obviously aware that I was aware of everybody's opinion on my mapping, >.<

[VenomTDA 36]

I just finished playind your demo, it was fun.

I like what you did with the monsters, you realy have to go all over the place to look for them so you can actualy get that exp.

When i got to the god part, i fought him 3 times and after that i got an error about a file missing. The game continues after that? Or was the end of the demo and i did not miss much?

The problem that i have with your maps, it's not from the mapping, but from the size. I have an old pc and i have to say that it really keeps around 10-15 fps in those maps( this is my problem, i know, but just saying). Your maps may not have much detail, but to be onest i noticed that in the first 5 minutes only( most of it because i read the replys on the forum), after those 5 minutes i was more concentrated in finding enemies and chests, so to me it doe not realy matter, the way the game is made compensetes for that more then enough( besides, it's a volcano map, you can't really have much details about it).

I like the way you learn skills, but i could only learn just one for each untill the end( until i got the error) but if that's what you intended, in making the gamer choose what should he learn because he is limited and he should choose carefully, then it's nice.

What i'm trying to say is that i had fun trying to stay alive and look for anything you might have hidden in that maze, wich i think it's the most essential thing to a game, i only wish i could have played more. Maybe with the next release.

[+ Novem 344]

The error is not my doing, that's for sure. It crashes sometimes.

 

Map size won't be changing, in fact, there are going to be significantly larger maps later (the overworld consists of 3 huge 300x300 maps). Also, your right, not a whole bunch I can do with a Volcano. I am in fact trying to make a weather effect of raining ash to make everything look a bit cool. That's obviously going to have to wait for now, but once I do it it will be there.

 

Oh, and I just noticed that the combat is horrendously unbalanced. I'm fixing it right now and am about to release another update.

 

Also, the end of Episode 0 is directly after the defeat of the Celestial Force. That was just the prologue, I'm working on Episode 1 which will be around 4-5 hours long.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Niko Jose DelValle

[invie 0]

This game looks great, storyline is the key here. I will play your demo, but the link isn't working for me, so i will just wait for the update verison

 

PS: keep up the good work. Don't give up! i see it looking like a great game when its finished.

[+ Novem 344]

Story is indeed the focus of this game, and I have seen no other complaints about a broken link and it works just fine for me. Make sure you are downloading the latest version.

[Marche 2]

I played through the demo and I thought it was pretty good. The mapping was actually pretty good. You have to remember, too, that most of it takes place in a volcano, so it's not like there's going to be ridiculous amounts of detail in it that you might have in, say, a forest. I thought you did pretty well with it, and the story is actually pretty interesting. I just have a few qualms.

 

1. I looked at the tutorial but I can't seem to find the Journal or the Codex Entries. I searched the menu multiple times, but neither are there.

2. I got an error right after I beat the 'final boss' of Episode 0. It said something about a narrarator file missing and it just shut down the program automatically.

 

Other than those issues that I perceive to be major, it's looking good. I'll look forward to the first episode's release sometime in the future.