RPGM Darkstar [v0.5C] [Harold]

[Silvar0Aim]

also unrelated but will you get to help lloire ,in the pure path, her story is so sad..

 

[harold]

also unrelated but will you get to help lloire ,in the pure path, her story is so sad..

Thanks for the bug reports, I'll get those ironed out with a patch this week!

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[YogSothoth1982]

I've tried the game, but the truth is that I like traditional RPGs. First, I didn't like the maze part, I prefer dungeons where the MC has enemies to fight and some puzzles to solve, and what I don't like at all is that the view changes to first person and you can't hit anything. But I didn't like the rest of the game either: the combats are well done, but without reward there's no reason to want to play them. In general, the game seemed like a VN with the defect that I can't save except at very specific points (mainly when the game offers it, and it's not at every choice) and I can't go back to choose another answer, I have to load a save and repeat a lot of text with the added defect that when I press enter to skip the text it doesn't automatically stop in the new text areas. Finally, I don't know how the MC levels up, but from what I've played so far I suspect that there will be pre-established level-ups at some point in the "main quest", which doesn't eliminate the feeling that what you're really playing is a VN where they sometimes let you run around a bit to stretch your legs.

The truth is that as an RPG I didn't like it at all.

In any case, harold thanks for the game and good luck.

 

[harold]

I've tried the game, but the truth is that I like traditional RPGs. First, I didn't like the maze part, I prefer dungeons where the MC has enemies to fight and some puzzles to solve, and what I don't like at all is that the view changes to first person and you can't hit anything. But I didn't like the rest of the game either: the combats are well done, but without reward there's no reason to want to play them. In general, the game seemed like a VN with the defect that I can't save except at very specific points (mainly when the game offers it, and it's not at every choice) and I can't go back to choose another answer, I have to load a save and repeat a lot of text with the added defect that when I press enter to skip the text it doesn't automatically stop in the new text areas. Finally, I don't know how the MC levels up, but from what I've played so far I suspect that there will be pre-established level-ups at some point in the "main quest", which doesn't eliminate the feeling that what you're really playing is a VN where they sometimes let you run around a bit to stretch your legs.

The truth is that as an RPG I didn't like it at all.

In any case, harold thanks for the game and good luck.

Totally fair! It's definitely as you described, the gameplay is mostly a break from the visual novel portions more than anything.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the game, and I really appreciate the feedback you've provided. I'll take these ideas into consideration going forward, especially the quality of life suggestions and the lack of rewards for combat.

 

[jaredh72]

So is the battle against the Darkstar mandatory even with having battles turned off? Ending my turn on one of the glowing spots that appear after beating the 3 shells of the girls does nothing at first. Even when all of the enemies are killed (since only the first flower that starts near you can be kept from blooming), and that includes the Darkstar itself, it doesn't end right away. It was only after killing the one enemy that spawns with a different animation from the last flower and which appears below the black area at the bottom instead of where the flower was (which is difficult to get to even with spells) that I was able to move to the left glowing spot to trigger the end of the fight.

The only reason no one died the time I did win is because I used spells to lower its attack long enough for Merrin to kill it with her spells before it finished her off. It also missed with one attack.

 

[YogSothoth1982]

Totally fair! It's definitely as you described, the gameplay is mostly a break from the visual novel portions more than anything.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the game, and I really appreciate the feedback you've provided. I'll take these ideas into consideration going forward, especially the quality of life suggestions and the lack of rewards for combat.

For me, the problem with the game has been expectations, since the story is perfect for an RPG, and if I only valued it, it would be fine. But when I want to play an RPG I have a general idea of how it should be, and it is nothing like a VN with some moments of free movement on a limited map.

In reality, the "problem" of having to fight, level up, and collect items and money by killing enemies is not such for those of us who like RPGs.

 

[Evatus]

how hard corruption can be? i only played the first version so just asking. (maybe it's an asking for spoiler)

 

[Xill]

I haven't played yet but the way the NTR tags are described makes me think that choosing a gender at the start doesn't affect the gameplay. Is playing with a FMC mean she's going to be mostly lesbian? Are there any exclusive scenes for either genders?

 

[harold]

how hard corruption can be? i only played the first version so just asking. (maybe it's an asking for spoiler)

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[harold]

I haven't played yet but the way the NTR tags are described makes me think that choosing a gender at the start doesn't affect the gameplay. Is playing with a FMC mean she's going to be mostly lesbian? Are there any exclusive scenes for either genders?

There are no gender-locked H-scenes like Roundscape Adorevia, both characters have the same amount and type of scenes. The vast majority of the FMC scenes will be lesbian and futanari. Eventuallllllly plan for one or two femboys to play with for both.

 

[YogSothoth1982]

The game is designed as a VN primarily. By fixing the problem of not being able to save during conversations (a typical problem in RPGs, which is not usually too annoying in them, but rather a lot in a VN since it is mainly conversations) and rollback during them (another typical problem in RPGs), the gameplay would improve a lot. It would still not be an RPG, but it would be more comfortable to play.

Another thing that I think doesn't fit well in my opinion is the first person part. The only dungeon I played was more frustrating than entertaining, since there was no way to fight the few enemies I found, which is not a good thing in an RPG where you want to win every fight. I started on the first floor, but after finding a monster that killed you if you got close to it, I loaded a saved game to go straight to the third floor. And in my opinion it doesn't fit well in a VN either, many VN players don't really like the sandbox parts that some Devs include, and this part is longer and more complex than any sandbox I've seen in any other VN. In any case I would have preferred the maze to use the top-down RPG system that is used in the rest of the game and not switch to a first-person perspective which I didn't like.

Actually, the best thing about the game are the battles, but the problem is that 1) they are limited to the predetermined ones, 2) they don't give experience or any other kind of reward, 3) they are completely optional. There's really no reason for anyone to want to do them, and without doing the battles, the whole system of leveling, weapon upgrades, equipment, potions, skill learning, etc. becomes just decoration. So in the end what we're left with is a VN where, as decoration, the MC has stats, can equip things and learn combat skills and collect potions, all of which are things that have no real use in the game as far as I see. In any case, as the game is currently set up, if combat were mandatory, it would just be a way to annoy the type of players the game seems to be aimed at.

Finally, I don't know how the side quests are set up, or what kind of rewards they will give, but I don't think any of them will have any practical use (because all rewards that are tipical RPG rewards, like experience, items, weapons, etc. are only decoration). Unless they are rewards consisting of sex scenes, which will at least be entertaining, although they will not have any practical use in advancing in the game. Another possible reward would be if these quests gave information about the game world, or improved the MC's relationship with some LI.

However, this is just my opinion, which of course doesn't have to coincide with that of others.

 

[harold]

The game is designed as a VN primarily. By fixing the problem of not being able to save during conversations (a typical problem in RPGs, which is not usually too annoying in them, but rather a lot in a VN since it is mainly conversations) and rollback during them (another typical problem in RPGs), the gameplay would improve a lot. It would still not be an RPG, but it would be more comfortable to play.

Another thing that I think doesn't fit well in my opinion is the first person part. The only dungeon I played was more frustrating than entertaining, since there was no way to fight the few enemies I found, which is not a good thing in an RPG where you want to win every fight. I started on the first floor, but after finding a monster that killed you if you got close to it, I loaded a saved game to go straight to the third floor. And in my opinion it doesn't fit well in a VN either, many VN players don't really like the sandbox parts that some Devs include, and this part is longer and more complex than any sandbox I've seen in any other VN. In any case I would have preferred the maze to use the top-down RPG system that is used in the rest of the game and not switch to a first-person perspective which I didn't like.

Actually, the best thing about the game are the battles, but the problem is that 1) they are limited to the predetermined ones, 2) they don't give experience or any other kind of reward, 3) they are completely optional. There's really no reason for anyone to want to do them, and without doing the battles, the whole system of leveling, weapon upgrades, equipment, potions, skill learning, etc. becomes just decoration. So in the end what we're left with is a VN where, as decoration, the MC has stats, can equip things and learn combat skills and collect potions, all of which are things that have no real use in the game as far as I see. In any case, as the game is currently set up, if combat were mandatory, it would just be a way to annoy the type of players the game seems to be aimed at.

Finally, I don't know how the side quests are set up, or what kind of rewards they will give, but I don't think any of them will have any practical use (because all rewards that are tipical RPG rewards, like experience, items, weapons, etc. are only decoration). Unless they are rewards consisting of sex scenes, which will at least be entertaining, although they will not have any practical use in advancing in the game. Another possible reward would be if these quests gave information about the game world, or improved the MC's relationship with some LI.

However, this is just my opinion, which of course doesn't have to coincide with that of others.

Yup, the Tower is the most controversial part by far as it stands. Though I feel that having the MC be strong enough to fend off the creatures that early on wouldn't lend itself to story. The MC is still very weak, and they'll get stronger, but those monsters are on another level altogether. I get it though, from a gameplay perspective I'd much rather fight monsters than avoid them.
I will say that side quests will include battles that lead to H scenes, money/items, and stat boosts. As for the battle system itself, that's something I've been playing with for awhile, and it's still not entirely complete in terms of scope, so there's a lot of placeholder and rough parts to it that will be updated as I find a way to make consistent, fun fights.

 

[YouShallNotLol]

I'll certrainly try this one out once it's a bit further along into development.

 

[harold]

Version 0.5C is up! Implemented UI overhaul with new plugins. Now you can save/load anywhere, read previous dialogue, and zoom through text faster!

 

[youraccount69]

Darkstar-HAROLD-0.5C

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[YogSothoth1982]

Yup, the Tower is the most controversial part by far as it stands. Though I feel that having the MC be strong enough to fend off the creatures that early on wouldn't lend itself to story. The MC is still very weak, and they'll get stronger, but those monsters are on another level altogether. I get it though, from a gameplay perspective I'd much rather fight monsters than avoid them.

The truth is that the tower part, for an RPG, is frustrating to say the least. And for a VN, it is the opposite of what you want to find. It could be useful for a sandbox focused on solving puzzles (but I don't play that kind of games). I have to say that I didn't like it at all, the only thing it did was piss me off.

I will say that side quests will include battles that lead to H scenes, money/items, and stat boosts. As for the battle system itself, that's something I've been playing with for awhile, and it's still not entirely complete in terms of scope, so there's a lot of placeholder and rough parts to it that will be updated as I find a way to make consistent, fun fights.

With the combat system, I think you have a problem created by yourself: Even if the system is good, since you can turn it off, it's not likely that many people will use it (in a VN almost nobody wants combat), and I don't think many people will do side quests to improve combat skills that they're not going to use. Including mandatory combat will only frustrate players, so it's best to leave that aside (if you make battles optional, they all have to be optional, especially against bosses, since they're the hardest ones and it's not a great idea to force people to play only those, in fact, it's probably an absolutely terrible idea). In fact, with the limited character upgrade possibilities, even if you decided to make battles mandatory, it would be a good idea to make it so that in boss battles, after two or three defeats, you can choose to win the battle automatically.

On the other hand, RPG fans generally like combat, and don't see a problem with trying hard to level up (in fact, they'll tend to pick fights to improve their characters as much as they can). Limiting combat to only those you decide for the story goes completely against what they want. It completely limits character evolution to what's pre-programmed in the game, which goes completely against the philosophy of RPGs. Although as the game is set up, no one will consider it an RPG.

In reality, what you have is a system that those who want a VN won't want to use, no matter how good it is, but that will also be very limited for those who like RPGs. So it's going to please very few.

With the combat system, you have to find a way to give enough freedom so that those who want to improve their characters a lot can do so (and to do that, they must be able to fight in a basically unlimited way and gain experience and items like potions and other resources for each fight).

As I said before, allowing characters to improve only at pre-set points in the story removes everything that is wanted in an RPG, turning the game into what it currently is, a VN, and in VNs there are few who want or expect their MC to suddenly jump into a combat screen and fight the bad guys. At most he will wait a couple or three screens to choose various actions that will lead him to victory.

By this I don't mean that you should remove the combat system, what I mean is that you should consider what people are going to want to achieve if they decide to do the combats: improve their character as much as they can, possibly to the point where they can win the fights without effort (which will require a relatively large amount of fighting). And with the system you've devised, the improvements are limited to those you've included in the main story and possible side quests (which either make the MC a monster capable of winning the fights with ease, or they're going to feel like you're basically stifling the character's growth).

 

[harold]

The truth is that the tower part, for an RPG, is frustrating to say the least. And for a VN, it is the opposite of what you want to find. It could be useful for a sandbox focused on solving puzzles (but I don't play that kind of games). I have to say that I didn't like it at all, the only thing it did was piss me off.



With the combat system, I think you have a problem created by yourself: Even if the system is good, since you can turn it off, it's not likely that many people will use it (in a VN almost nobody wants combat), and I don't think many people will do side quests to improve combat skills that they're not going to use. Including mandatory combat will only frustrate players, so it's best to leave that aside (if you make battles optional, they all have to be optional, especially against bosses, since they're the hardest ones and it's not a great idea to force people to play only those, in fact, it's probably an absolutely terrible idea). In fact, with the limited character upgrade possibilities, even if you decided to make battles mandatory, it would be a good idea to make it so that in boss battles, after two or three defeats, you can choose to win the battle automatically.

On the other hand, RPG fans generally like combat, and don't see a problem with trying hard to level up (in fact, they'll tend to pick fights to improve their characters as much as they can). Limiting combat to only those you decide for the story goes completely against what they want. It completely limits character evolution to what's pre-programmed in the game, which goes completely against the philosophy of RPGs. Although as the game is set up, no one will consider it an RPG.

In reality, what you have is a system that those who want a VN won't want to use, no matter how good it is, but that will also be very limited for those who like RPGs. So it's going to please very few.

With the combat system, you have to find a way to give enough freedom so that those who want to improve their characters a lot can do so (and to do that, they must be able to fight in a basically unlimited way and gain experience and items like potions and other resources for each fight).

As I said before, allowing characters to improve only at pre-set points in the story removes everything that is wanted in an RPG, turning the game into what it currently is, a VN, and in VNs there are few who want or expect their MC to suddenly jump into a combat screen and fight the bad guys. At most he will wait a couple or three screens to choose various actions that will lead him to victory.

By this I don't mean that you should remove the combat system, what I mean is that you should consider what people are going to want to achieve if they decide to do the combats: improve their character as much as they can, possibly to the point where they can win the fights without effort (which will require a relatively large amount of fighting). And with the system you've devised, the improvements are limited to those you've included in the main story and possible side quests (which either make the MC a monster capable of winning the fights with ease, or they're going to feel like you're basically stifling the character's growth).

There's also the RPG fans who like doing story battles but aren't lovers of the grind (me included). Stacking the main story difficulty would force players to choose between grinding to level up or just skipping battles entirely. It's tough to juggle all three and make them all happy, and maybe it'll be a losing battle, but I'm at least gonna try. I'm assuming most people will just stay in VN mode, and that's fine, just wanted to add variety for others who get tired of lots of reading.

I'm not going to scrap the current system, it's at least functional, but I'm flexible enough to consider other suggestions for improvement.

 

[YogSothoth1982]

There's also the RPG fans who like doing story battles but aren't lovers of the grind (me included). Stacking the main story difficulty would force players to choose between grinding to level up or just skipping battles entirely. It's tough to juggle all three and make them all happy, and maybe it'll be a losing battle, but I'm at least gonna try. I'm assuming most people will just stay in VN mode, and that's fine, just wanted to add variety for others who get tired of lots of reading.

I'm not going to scrap the current system, it's at least functional, but I'm flexible enough to consider other suggestions for improvement.

The little I've seen of the combat system is fine, it's different from other RPGs, more along the lines of some games that combine RPG and strategy, and it's not a bad system at all. But, if I play again, something I don't rule out after the VN improvements I've read about, I'll probably skip the combats.

 

[Pichit555]

I got stuck on Llior's event after I told her to frame an innocent person after that scene. Instead of continuing the game, I return to an event where Llior sees the protagonist having sex with Trine, before looping through the same event where she becomes sad. And then the game screen went black.

Is there a bug or problem with my game?

 

[Nimbus Commando]

Yup! There's a switch to turn it off/on entirely.

If I go the corrupt root, am not going to get NTR and sharing stuff, am I?