I quite like this game, but i stopped playing it because im stuck.
In the second Hold of Viridius, after encountering the "ghost maid" for the first time, i simply cannot accomplish to leave this goddamn tree maze. however i set the switches, i cannot reach the southern end of the map any more... its ridiculous... why must it be so difficult? - why is there no "teleport me home"- Gem for the inventory or anything like that...
is it really supposed to be funny to run arround incircles in the same map like an idiot just to be able to return home!?
Overall, I like the game. I think the biggest problems I have are the maps are too big or empty (if there were more secrets in the estates, it might be more fun, but I could not find many for the sure size of the estates), and the normal battles can sometimes seem long.
Anyway, I have a few questions:
There are 2 holds I could not figure out how to get into (maybe they are not added yet). The Northern Hold and the Hold by the pool. Is it possible to get these 2?
One bug I encountered is that during the Freeze, if you visit the girl you can have sex with in Cumhaill, it will freeze your game when you enter her house.
Is there any content for Adhauga? I decided to fix the Estate's Stone for 1000, but that is the last thing I could do with that storyline.
How to get into the swamps? I'm on drain the swamp. I'm lost and confused and do you have to be level 8? The only place I can go is ruined estate. Don't know what else to do
Talk to Emily to invest in Contracts, then collect your returns from the red box on her counter; return regularly (usually once per main story quest) to check for new investments and to collect on old investments. Clear Holds - each usually gives you a chunk of Silcrow when you complete it. If you can't access Holds, explore to find the Writs that open them. It's around, but you're not expected to have that much the first time you find those ruins.
Sorry for the trouble. I am unfortunately unable to support a mobile version right now.
You might be able to find a solution to fix the conflict between JoiPlay and Fossil somewhere, but based on what I've found looking myself in the past, solutions won't work for everybody.
I'm guessing you mean "persistent save," but just to cover all my bases here - this is the full version of the game, but it was recently remastered in a new engine. Saves from v0.9.2 and earlier won't work in v0.10 and newer.
That was identified by someone else recently as well. I've added a patch to the dev notes in the OP that should resolve the issue.
I say should because I had some trouble with the .rar tripping some false positives, which made it a pain to test and might have interfered with the file, and may interfere when it's downloaded. Based on testing the fix in the dev build with another save, the fix does resolve that particular issue, though.
If it doesn't work, let me know and I'll try another fix.
And no, you don't have to be level 8, that's just the recommended level.
Talk to Emily to invest in Contracts, then collect your returns from the red box on her counter; return regularly (usually once per main story quest) to check for new investments and to collect on old investments. Clear Holds - each usually gives you a chunk of Silcrow when you complete it. If you can't access Holds, explore to find the Writs that open them. It's around, but you're not expected to have that much the first time you find those ruins.
Sorry for the trouble. I am unfortunately unable to support a mobile version right now.
You might be able to find a solution to fix the conflict between JoiPlay and Fossil somewhere, but based on what I've found looking myself in the past, solutions won't work for everybody.
I'm guessing you mean "persistent save," but just to cover all my bases here - this is the full version of the game, but it was recently remastered in a new engine. Saves from v0.9.2 and earlier won't work in v0.10 and newer.
Splitting these into bits so it's easier to respond to individual points. Also deleting out the spoilers, I'll just leave the titles for those.
Spot on, in both good and bad ways. The idea with the trophy is for it to be difficult to find without help, and talking to NPCs gives (some) useful information, and it's up to you to decide what is or isn't useful. I recognize that the current version doesn't give as many useful hints as it really should. It's intended to take maybe half of the time it took you; 10-20 minutes. I've got one or two other things to finish before I get to it, but once those other things are done, I intend to revisit that to make the hints both better and more consistent. If you have any suggestions on how to do that, I'm open to input.
And just to point it out, there are other things to find there. Some items you can't reach until you have the key. One bit that you don't is Melissa's old room. You can find armor there before you're able to buy it, though it is rather hidden away.
Trophy 1 is basically impossible to find if you don't know where it is. Arrival will tell you where it is if you visit the trophy room there. Trophy 3 is in Cumhaill, near Phoebe's old house. As an extra hint: that's no mushroom.
Trophy 7 and 8 are also implemented as of v0.4.1. One is part of Viridius' Ranch, the other has to do with Jenny. I won't give more involved hints than that since they're brand new, though I will say that the reward for Trophy 7 has to do with a mechanic that won't be introduced until the second act of the story.
Pretty much all of this was constructive. A little blunt, maybe, but still helpful. Thanks a ton for taking the time, it helps a lot.
Some of that is on purpose; you have the same information the characters have. The rest is a design misstep. My idea was to borrow from classic JRPGs, where if you aren't sure what to do next, you should talk to characters or visit new areas. As development has continued, I've tried to focus more on "talk to your Maids" instead of random NPCs, but they only ended up giving hints on next steps in your Estate, which creates a lot of unintended running back and forth. I'm trying to find ways to update dialogue so they're a little more helpful than they currently are, and having them be present in more places, but I have a long list of other priorities I'm working my way through before they become more useful in that regard.
Like with the previous point, this is something I'm aware of and working on. Some maps I do intend to outright shrink or have already shrunk, others I intend to put more content into. I'm trying to create a sense of scale, but that absolutely falls flat when there's nothing interesting going on within those spaces. Especially with the newer content, where I had myself on a bit of a crunch trying to hit a Halloween release date. Though now I'm taking more time to improve the content there and restore the content I cut because I didn't have time.
This was an early map where I flubbed that sense of scale, and with it being optional content, it's hard to prioritize making any big changes to it over other more important content. I've got a few ideas to fill the space, but that still runs into the same "optional" issue. So no, you haven't missed anything.
However, I do intend to put more optional content there, with it eventually becoming it's own full side story. As far as that goes, the idea with the key quest is to get you familiar with the space so you know where you're going in the future. If that quest gets too easy, you'll end up lost every time you go there instead of just the first time. There's only so many compromises I can make without the whole thing devolving into either an unplayable mess, or it being something entirely separate from what I want to make.
Though you mention being starved for items; I haven't gotten that particular feedback before and I personally very rarely actually use items (in this or any other RPG; I don't think I've used an ether or elixir in any Final Fantasy game ever, and I've played all of them). If there's a particular type of item you're finding yourself short on and needing more of, let me know, and I'll hide more around.
You nailed it with that closing thought. This area (the Deep Wilds, for reference) is something I intend to put more into. More encounters, more items, more secrets, some side quests will take place here, etc. It currently feels like a pointlessly huge maze because it kind of is. Everything you care about in the current release is in the top third of the map. That, at least, is both on purpose and temporary.
I came to this realization myself a couple weeks ago. I literally have "make maps more interesting" as a point of order in my notes. It's a work in progress, and feedback like this helps a lot in terms of what to put there. I said it earlier in this post, but if you (or anyone, really) have any thoughts about which items you're short on or what you'd like to find, I'm open to suggestions.
This helps back up some other feedback I've gotten and connects a few dots for me. Leveling prior to the swamps is intended to be the main way to improve your Maids, but once you enter the swamps, the second tier of equipment is intended to offset the increase in enemy stats. If it feels like you aren't finding much/any of that equipment until after you've completed most of the swamps, that's relatively easy for me to fix.
It's hard to put into words how useful this is. It sounds like part of my intention landed exactly where I wanted it to, but the reaction is where I failed completely. You shouldn't feel like you need to kill everything and level up in order to get through the area, it should be a conscious choice that you set time aside for willingly with no perceived punishment if you choose not to.
For the last bit, I'm guessing you mean the very end. The boss you fight in v0.4 is the only enemy in the game so far that can do more than debuff you. The other enemies leading to that fight have half (to a third, depending on the comparison) of the HP of other enemies. If you mean the enemies in the Holds, those are supposed to be tougher (as in higher defense and more HP) but not hit as hard unless they randomly happen to take the exact actions that maximize their damage, which should be the exception, not the norm.
Though all in all, message received. I took a closer look at some things and did find that some stats were higher than they should've been from when I was playtesting a few things. It wasn't a huge difference, but those have been returned to their intended numbers, along with a few other stat reductions that should keep the same enemy feel but make them a little easier to fight. That's on me, sorry for missing that.
Dang there's a lot here. Seriously, thank you for taking the time.
Regarding the Deep Wilds Hold, that's supposed to be optional content. Yes, having those levels and that money early on makes a difference, but it shouldn't impede getting through the rest of the game. As for the Writ itself, it's at the end of a yellow flower path in the wilds immediately outside your front gate, with the box itself hidden behind a tree.
Regarding the healers - there's a narrative reason for that. I won't get deep into it here, but I have plans for Ella, and Alice is supposed to be a "sustain" healer; smaller heals with a cheap cost. Healers with the "high-cost, big heal" spells are incredibly rare in the setting. I haven't encountered it being a hinderance myself, but I think I'm discovering that the way I play the game is somehow weirdly optimized. I think I need to get a discord server or something set up so I can talk directly with play testers. I'll call this out again at the end of the post and update the OP once the server exists. Anyway, tl;dr - healing should feel more "precious" than "nerfed." I'll have to workshop this a bit.
Regarding your comments on Ella specifically, the short answer is I tried a mechanical thing on the back end and it didn't really work. I have plans to compensate, but those plans are tied to the story. The bit that did work is that Ella's Luck stat should be far higher than anyone else's, and her heals are capable of critical hits. That piece just doesn't work as well as I hoped it would. As far as her healing numbers are concerned, there's another mechanical differentiation that I made to try to separate that style of healing from the others. More on this in the spoiler below. In short, I know Ella isn't as useful as she feels like she should be right now. I have a number of ideas on how to handle that for the rest of the game (and just for reference, we're about halfway done with the first of three acts).
Related, Ella should also be able to heal even when she's not in your main party. Selecting Theurgy in the menu and scrolling down to find her should let you use whatever she has TP for. I just tested that on my end and it works in every version I tested, so if you can't do that on your end, please let me know what you're trying or send screenshots so I can look into it.
Regarding the last bit about Ella's stats being really low, even if you cheat to get higher levels - sort of intended, sort of not. That loops back to that mechanical thing that didn't really work. The game should end with characters being around level 50 (possibly higher, that's a projection I can't make accurately right now), and Ella is intended to far out-heal the others by that point. Saying more would be spoilers, and I won't spoil my story, but as far as the mechanics go...
There's a lot going on with the balance of the game that I'm rather conflicted about. I don't want players to feel like they're being forced to retreat, but I do want them to feel rewarded for exploring. Making combat difficult and limiting resources means every time you find a bed to sleep in is meaningful, and every hidden item is exciting. That makes going places you aren't explicitly told to go to still worth exploring. Enemies are also largely easy to avoid, so the risk of trying to reach new locations is minimal. On the other side of that coin is everything you're mentioning here, along with the resulting frustration. It's like a very careful balance to strike, and I don't want to over-correct and need to take things away later. But that's why I'm making all these releases public and free; I'm new at this and have a lot to learn, even if I have more ideas than I know what to do with.
Your first point here is an interesting unintended consequence. If I'm understanding correctly, I used the mechanics to teach you correctly, then dropped the ball by not rewarding you for using what you learned. I'm extremely curious if that's true for other people, because if it is, that's actually very easy (if a little time consuming) to fix, and fixing that issue will cascade into a fix for lots of the other issues you mention having. My concern is that it might create another issue and end up being a completely different problem that's much harder to fix. Either way, this is definitely food for thought, and I thank you for it.
Regarding the stone laying about when you need scrap stone, part of this is that I'm still introducing mechanics that won't really come into play until the second act of the story. I did find a bunch of things that didn't have events and added things to them, and I'm trying to be conscious of the fact that you need those supplies and are seeing them lying about, but there's a limited number of ways to tell the player "this wood good, that wood bad." I'm trying to be less arbitrary about it, but if I let you pick up all that wood, you'd be at max reputation with Cumhaill before I have all the relevant content implemented, which also feels bad. Or you'd have 99 scrap wood and nothing to do with it, which feels like a waste while also undermining how desperate you're supposed to be for supplies. Or you'd get your payment from the Holds in v0.4 and not be able to carry it all, wasting a giant pile of stuff and feeling cheated. I'm aware of these issues, but there's only so many hours in a day for me to work on things, so I need to prioritize. All I can do in the mean time is apologize for any frustration it causes and find solutions for the future.
As for the clocks, that won't change. I can understand it adding to the frustration when everything feels like you're digging for items and getting nowhere, but that particular aspect is supposed to feel like a treasure hunt that always results in the same extremely rare and valuable item. Changing that either cheapens the value of the item or the feeling of the treasure hunt. I still appreciate the feedback, though. Hopefully changing other things will help this particular piece feel more meaningful for those that share this sentiment.
Same with the number of interactive objects. Even if they don't give you anything, I'd much rather have a game filled with "It's a lamp" every time I try to interact with a lamp than have nothing happen when I try to interact with an item that looks like it might be worth interacting with and getting nothing. It's valid if you'd prefer there be nothing if there's nothing to gain, but I'd much rather use that opportunity to build on the game world, even if it's in small and inconsequential ways.
I wouldn't call your feedback "grim" so much as "frank." I can tell by your phrasing that you ran into a lot of frustration (which was confirmed by you calling out that you were frustrated), and I think it's easy to forgive a person for being blunt when they're frustrated. I can also tell your feedback isn't actively malicious; I've done enough customer service work to recognize when someone just wants to make another person upset. People don't take the time to write giant posts like this without a reason, and I think F95Zone is a little too niche to do this much writing for the sake of "I want attention" like people do on Facebook or Twitter. That means something about your experience meant something to you, and that's why I write stories (or in this case, make games); to tell stories that provide meaningful experiences. Even if I have to draw people in with tits to get their interest first.
I have a strong distaste for unfinished narratives. If I have any kind of choice in the matter, I'll keep working on this until the story I want to tell is complete, regardless of how well it's received. If it is well-received, there's lots more I can do. If I'm lucky, I'll eventually have enough support that I can do something with all of the ideas I've got written down in my ever-growing list of story seeds.
And no worries about any typos or incorrect grammar. You being short on time and English not being your first language just makes me appreciate you taking the time to write all this out that much more. That tells me you care about this project and you want to see it improve, and that's important to me.
Now, I said I'd call it out, and I'll bold it for anyone who might be interested but doesn't want to read the full post.
If anyone is interested in helping me playtest Maids & Masters, please quote this in a reply, send me a DM, comment on my website (link in the OP), or support me on Patreon and send a message there. I'll let you know as soon as I get a Discord server set up and give you a playtester role to differentiate you from Patreon supporters where applicable.
As a disclaimer, this offer won't stay open forever, and I reserve the right to revoke this statement and any resulting benefits.
What tree and what front gate is the deep wilds hold writ? I'm stuck. I can't find any more quest to start any where? And how to clear weeds from love shack? Please help. The only quest I have and found so is drain the swamp and the quest to get shoes and headband for teely. Can find anymore I'm stuck.
I'm guessing the screen doesn't fade back in after you close the text box? Are you able to do anything else (like open the menu) or does the game totally lock up?
And does this happen along the story path, or did it happen while you were trying to explore?
And if you have absolutely no idea, do you mind sharing your save so I can investigate? I'd need both the numbered save and global.rmmzsave from the save folder.
Sorry for the trouble. Just to do my due diligence, have you tried applying the patch? It's still available in the OP, and should fix the issue - just remember to overwrite files when it asks. If it doesn't ask, it went into the wrong folder.
If you have and you're still encountering an issue, do you mind sharing your save so I can investigate? I'd need both the numbered save and global.rmmzsave from the save folder.
What tree and what front gate is the deep wilds hold writ? I'm stuck. I can't find any more quest to start any where? And how to clear weeds from love shack? Please help. The only quest I have and found so is drain the swamp and the quest to get shoes and headband for teely. Can find anymore I'm stuck.
There's a yellow flower path leading to the chest the Writ is in for the Deep Wilds Hold. It's in the wilds between your Estate and Cumhaill.
To clear the weeds from the love shack, interact with them. You do need to have the love shack 'discovered' first (interact with the chest inside after you have Phoebe), and unlike other things, be standing on top of them, but it's otherwise the same as the floor repair quest.
For the swamps - you may need to return to your mansion. More on that below.
It's a sequence puzzle. All you have to do is push the buttons in order, based on what the story on the painting tells you. After you read it for the first time, a summary is available. You can read the painting without the puzzle resetting itself, but getting a step wrong will reset it.
No, it's me that's the dingus. I got my changelogs mixed up. The game isn't bugged, but the quest log is. I thought I fixed it for v0.10.1, but it's not fixed until v0.11. Sorry about that. fr12rebeland Anime34guy, this may be your issue as well (though fr12rebel looks like they're past it now).
You have to return to your Estate (specifically, walk into your mansion) before you can continue into the swamps. Once you do, a short scene triggers with Jenny, the event does some background things, and that activates the transfer in your second screenshot.
I'm guessing the screen doesn't fade back in after you close the text box? Are you able to do anything else (like open the menu) or does the game totally lock up?
And does this happen along the story path, or did it happen while you were trying to explore?
And if you have absolutely no idea, do you mind sharing your save so I can investigate? I'd need both the numbered save and global.rmmzsave from the save folder.
Sorry for the trouble. Just to do my due diligence, have you tried applying the patch? It's still available in the OP, and should fix the issue - just remember to overwrite files when it asks. If it doesn't ask, it went into the wrong folder.
If you have and you're still encountering an issue, do you mind sharing your save so I can investigate? I'd need both the numbered save and global.rmmzsave from the save folder.
There's a yellow flower path leading to the chest the Writ is in for the Deep Wilds Hold. It's in the wilds between your Estate and Cumhaill.
To clear the weeds from the love shack, interact with them. You do need to have the love shack 'discovered' first (interact with the chest inside after you have Phoebe), and unlike other things, be standing on top of them, but it's otherwise the same as the floor repair quest.
For the swamps - you may need to return to your mansion. More on that below.
You find a village girl willing to sleep with you and do the sex until it makes a baby.
It's a sequence puzzle. All you have to do is push the buttons in order, based on what the story on the painting tells you. After you read it for the first time, a summary is available. You can read the painting without the puzzle resetting itself, but getting a step wrong will reset it.
No, it's me that's the dingus. I got my changelogs mixed up. The game isn't bugged, but the quest log is. I thought I fixed it for v0.10.1, but it's not fixed until v0.11. Sorry about that. fr12rebeland Anime34guy, this may be your issue as well (though fr12rebel looks like they're past it now).
You have to return to your Estate (specifically, walk into your mansion) before you can continue into the swamps. Once you do, a short scene triggers with Jenny, the event does some background things, and that activates the transfer in your second screenshot.
Odd. It should trigger as soon as soon as you walk into your mansion. If you're able to actually go into the building and still have nothing happen, do you mind sharing your save so I can investigate?
And I forgot about the hedge shears requirement, sorry. There's one hidden in the swamps.
Odd. It should trigger as soon as soon as you walk into your mansion. If you're able to actually go into the building and still have nothing happen, do you mind sharing your save so I can investigate?
And I forgot about the hedge shears requirement, sorry. There's one hidden in the swamps.
