RPGM Abandoned Fountain of Mana [v2.7] [Nerion]

[Imisx]

It was obvious from the get-go that project wouldn't lead anywhere. "Remakes" never work because the creative vision that the original dev had doesn't always translate to another dev... even though you might think you can remake and continue someone's legacy, you'll mostly find yourself lost or quality of dialogue or storytelling that is not on-par what the dev created until that point.

Also, the guy was overly ambitious and tried to make the game into 2.5D game with Unity. FoM runs on a basic RPGM engine which doesn't require much work, and the dev could focus on other things. Having to deal with Unity, 2.5D assets, 2D CG art and also the need to write dialogue and storytelling would be way too much for a single dev to handle.

Even if someone is interested in remaking this game, they should take the concept and make an original title instead.

You're right but I think it depends on how you do it. If someone takes every single line from the original one and then learns his style, I think it's possible to create new content with a similiar writing. Can't be exactly like Nerion's work but it could still be something enjoyable.

Absolutely. Even as incomplete as it is, this game still is one of the best western made corruption, exhibitionism, and NTR(?) games out there. The project was extremely ambitious and Nerion kept on delivering update after update, unlike many similar western developed games that end up becoming Patreon never-ever scams.

I still remember silently anticipating the summer or fall update of 2021, which would never come to pass. I don't know his reasons, and it's a shame that he doesn't speak out and officially declare the project concluded to give all of his fans and supporters closure, but I'm glad that Nerion is at least still alive as is evident by his account's activity, and hopefully doing well.

Regardless of everything, the game's still an excellent experience and offers an abundance of very high quality content compared to other western, and even eastern made games. I'd go as far as to say that in its current state it's better than many completed Japanese corruption games in terms of pacing, characterization, systems, and overall content.

I guess that some things just never were meant to be. Such is life.

I agree. This game is absolutely legendary.

Personally I want to think he will comeback someday. And who knows, maybe he will drop himself a huge remake. I mean, as much as I love his game, in terms of programming it was a huge mess. I would not be surprised to know he stopped developing because of it. So maybe he's secretly working on a polished remake to comeback? It would be a great story ngl.

 

[combige]

omg, how many years it's been

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[sauv_]

omg, how many years it's been

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Enough years for a hard drive containing all of it to die

 

[ea3794]

Enough years for a hard drive containing all of it to die

Once you go RAID, you never go back. I have files dating back three decades.

More on-topic, reviving this project remains on my TODO list.

 

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Once you go RAID, you never go back. I have files dating back three decades.

More on-topic, reviving this project remains on my TODO list.

One day, we can only hope.
This game is a gem and it always will be, finished or unfinished, it is much better than the most out there.

 

[Ninthja]

Did you guys find any other similar games to this?

 

[Fakecrash]

Did you guys find any other similar games to this?

Maybe i'm just a FoM fanboy but i consider it quite unique, I don't remember any other games that just hit that same spot as good as FoM does.

But i can recommend these authors:
[Coolsister]
[Hiwatari Honpo]
[ScaleGarden]
[Clymenia]
[Shimobashira Workshop]
[Lovely Pretty Ultra Loving You]
[Circlekame]

About specific games i would recommend:
Dilmur
The Curse of Pleasure
Virgin Island [K Create Room]
Little Braver

 

[sauv_]

Maybe i'm just a FoM fanboy but i consider it quite unique, I don't remember any other games that just hit that same spot as good as FoM does.

But i can recommend these authors:
[Coolsister]
[Hiwatari Honpo]
[ScaleGarden]
[Clymenia]
[Shimobashira Workshop]
[Lovely Pretty Ultra Loving You]
[Circlekame]

About specific games i would recommend:
Dilmur
The Curse of Pleasure
Virgin Island [K Create Room]
Little Braver

Ditto to this list, and to add some:

Creators:
[Ota Guchi Field] RG26644
[Kurotozakka] RG43577
395games

Specific games:
Virgin's Protection Magic by Searothonc (made a banger, disappeared) RJ139133
Hana Exposure! A Blooming Flower~ by Flimsy

These are still in development and looking hopeful:
Ashley the Pirate by YioruYioru
Lolita Gone Wild by pepette
Coming of Age by CrazyBat
Tales of Divinity: Rodinka's Lewd Adventures by Eromur Abel - still in progress

And if you want to experience more unfinished gems, here's are two classics:
Violated Heroine
Dungeons and Prisoners

Although, I agree with Fakecrash; there's nothing else quite like FoM out there and it's a huge bummer.

 

[Fakecrash]

sauv_ Great selection!
But dude you gave me PTSD Dungeons and Prisoners was gold! such a great project really sad the author had many health problems.

And i love Rodinka's Lewd Adventures but damn this look like it can take another 5 years to complete if ever.

 

[ehendu]

Did you guys find any other similar games to this?

If you don't mind the subpar translation (edited MTL, largely readable but definitely not the best) A Plan to Restore the Town is pretty similar by my fuzzy memory

 

[ravynne]

ok everyone, I need some help:

I am a programmer. I have already started a project to revive this game as it was the first H game I ever played and it will always have a place in my heart.

I have already completely decompiled the game's assets and have added several events in rpg maker that are playable. I have a vision for the story and the direction/writing and a plan to actively implement it.

I don't plan on ever charging a penny for access to this content. It will always belong to Nerion and if they ever do come back and ask for all of the files, I will be happy to give them up.

In my mind, this is a homage to Nerion's original vision, and not in any way intended to 'steal' any of their ideas or characters. It's a chance for a player and fan like me who does have programming talent, to potentially revive this project and make it available for other potential fans who never got to have their closure with this story.

All that being said, I am NOT an artist. I need someone who can create some new pictures of ravy. To test out maybe a picture of her kneeling. To stay true to the current setup of the game, the assets will need to be layered with a BASE layer which is nude and with a blank face, and then a layer for each of her possible clothing options like the blouse, sundress, underwear, etc.

If no one is able to help me with this art, I can certainly try with AI tools, but I'd rather not do this.

 

[Big Mountain]

just name the "new" game: "well of mana"

 

[ea3794]

I have already completely decompiled the game's assets and have added several events in rpg maker that are playable. I have a vision for the story and the direction/writing and a plan to actively implement it.

Cool, but... which RPG Maker? VX Ace? It is ancient as hell and no longer supported. Eventually it will stop working on Windows. It is also stupidly limited. Not too long ago I posted my MZ conversion in the Discord which includes properly scaled (tile sizes went from 16x16 to 24 or 48x48, I can't remember) and converted assets.

Scripting is however a major pain. None of the plugins work and Nerion wrote his scripts in such a away that the game is unplayable without them. I did manage to get the birthday quest working but since then I haven't really worked on it busy doing other things.

All that being said, I am NOT an artist. I need someone who can create some new pictures of ravy. To test out maybe a picture of her kneeling. To stay true to the current setup of the game, the assets will need to be layered with a BASE layer which is nude and with a blank face, and then a layer for each of her possible clothing options like the blouse, sundress, underwear, etc.

If no one is able to help me with this art, I can certainly try with AI tools, but I'd rather not do this.

Neither am I. However, I was told that Nerion used Harem Mate to generate the images and then traced over them. It shouldn't be too hard to reproduce accurate character cards I don't think... Even I can do basic skeletal poses. Some AI might be able to do the tracing, that would help.

Real problem is getting organized... you aren't the first one trying a remake. There was another guy doing a remake in Unity but it's been quiet since then.

 

[ravynne]

Cool, but... which RPG Maker? VX Ace? It is ancient as hell and no longer supported. Eventually it will stop working on Windows. It is also stupidly limited. Not too long ago I posted my MZ conversion in the Discord which includes properly scaled (tile sizes went from 16x16 to 24 or 48x48, I can't remember) and converted assets.

Scripting is however a major pain. None of the plugins work and Nerion wrote his scripts in such a away that the game is unplayable without them. I did manage to get the birthday quest working but since then I haven't really worked on it busy doing other things.



Neither am I. However, I was told that Nerion used Harem Mate to generate the images and then traced over them. It shouldn't be too hard to reproduce accurate character cards I don't think... Even I can do basic skeletal poses. Some AI might be able to do the tracing, that would help.

Real problem is getting organized... you aren't the first one trying a remake. There was another guy doing a remake in Unity but it's been quiet since then.

Woah that's super interesting. I mean I definitely know what you mean about RPG maker VC Ace just being awful but I have successfully loaded the game using it.

As a test I added a new event that depends on the massage job quest being done. It requires ravynne to go to mr.bladewoods house. The event triggers successfully and appropriately and links to a new quest.

I also added a few debugging scripts that allow for tracing switch changes and common event calls which allowed me to add a new global key:"L" and map it to triggering a few new events like "kneel" and "kneeling"

From what I see, remaking the game would certainly be tough as it is a ratsnest of events and switches but adding events and continuing the story in the engine should be a pain, but not difficult.

Do you have a link to the discord? I'd love to join in on the conversation if there are others also working on this .

 

[ea3794]

Woah that's super interesting. I mean I definitely know what you mean about RPG maker VC Ace just being awful but I have successfully loaded the game using it.

As a test I added a new event that depends on the massage job quest being done. It requires ravynne to go to mr.bladewoods house. The event triggers successfully and appropriately and links to a new quest.

I also added a few debugging scripts that allow for tracing switch changes and common event calls which allowed me to add a new global key:"L" and map it to triggering a few new events like "kneel" and "kneeling"

From what I see, remaking the game would certainly be tough as it is a ratsnest of events and switches but adding events and continuing the story in the engine should be a pain, but not difficult.

Do you have a link to the discord? I'd love to join in on the conversation if there are others also working on this .

The switches are a red herring. He uses them sometimes, yes... but also frequently uses the quest plugin instead... its a pretty good mess.

I would love to clean up all the mess like rewriting all the custom branches to instead use switches / variables like a normal RPG game and get rid of all the duplicate dialogue but first the game should be converted as-is. Then changes can/should be made.

Discord link is on page one, first post. Not much conversation going on tho... just a few loyal fans remain.

 

[johnyakuza1]

If no one is able to help me with this art, I can certainly try with AI tools, but I'd rather not do this.

Just use AI. Nerion's art was basic and straight up trash in some of the images. It's the narrative and quests that made us stay, not the art or visuals.

The bar was already set way too low in the artistic department, so I doubt that AI images would disappoint.

 

[nuqqur]

The switches are a red herring. He uses them sometimes, yes... but also frequently uses the quest plugin instead... its a pretty good mess.

I would love to clean up all the mess like rewriting all the custom branches to instead use switches / variables like a normal RPG game and get rid of all the duplicate dialogue but first the game should be converted as-is. Then changes can/should be made.

Discord link is on page one, first post. Not much conversation going on tho... just a few loyal fans remain.

Yea the quest log was quite a challenge to write as each step was done in a different way. I don't think the quest plugin was really that complex though, should be fairly easy to replicate that in MZ to at least get it running before starting to clean it up. Or maybe you already did that, haven't checked your port.

 

[Miraluka_onee]

Just use AI. Nerion's art was basic and straight up trash in some of the images. It's the narrative and quests that made us stay, not the art or visuals.

The bar was already set way too low in the artistic department, so I doubt that AI images would disappoint.

That's true, but Ravy was still cute, no matter how you look at it)

 

[SquidLord69]

If you guy invest so much effort into recreating/updating the game, why not go straight to Godot and be rid of that terribly outdated engine?

Sure, you'd have to recreate some of the default RPGMaker features, but you'd also gain a lot more abilities at the same time for better quality of life features.

 

[ravynne]

If you guy invest so much effort into recreating/updating the game, why not go straight to Godot and be rid of that terribly outdated engine?

Sure, you'd have to recreate some of the default RPGMaker features, but you'd also gain a lot more abilities at the same time for better quality of life features.

To be clear, im NOT trying to recreate the game because of precisely what you're saying; it's a ton of effort and multiple attempts were made in the past.

I'm trying to simply CONTINUE and complete the game using the current engine so that we don't have to recreate it.

Obviously it won't be the same as if nerion completed it but I guess I'm hoping it will give me and maybe some other fans some semblance of closure for the story.