If you signed up for the beta, you should have a new link and password in your email. In this version the readme.txt is actually relevant and contains the changelog. Discuss away!
While in the last round I got an excellent, excellent roundup of the bugs I need to fix, this time in addition I'd like any thoughts anyone might have about how the game plays. Is there any fun to it? Is it too monotonous in some places? Does the levelling up feel smooth? How about the acquisition of fabulous riches? No opinion is too small to consider!
Again, thank you guys so much for helping me with this.
The healer in Ruby doesn't restore health or mana.
When shopping, tooltips are displayed below items (and the darkened game screen).
When I attack, the enemy is often shown for a frame in the wrong spot. Usually it's displayed adjacent to its current location (even Mushrooms), but sometimes it's displayed in a seemingly random tile (especially noticeable when using the bow).
Music and sound don't play. As far as I know, they don't even try to play (I changed the name of the music folder and the runlog didn't note the files not being found).
When I click to start the game, I get this message: Map level: 4 Entering Volcano's Heart... Map level: 8 Entering Inaria... Map level: 1
After testing the music in the original beta a couple of days ago, the same thing happened. It continued when I deleted my copy and re-downloaded. I hoped with the next beta it would resolve itself, but the problem persisted with beta 2. I tried another computer (that I haven't used in a year) and downloaded a fresh copy of beta 2, and the same thing happened there. I don't know if this a problem that has suddenly afflicted my computers or what, but here is the runlog generated when running beta 1 with no music folder (I did not click to start, just opened and closed): Starting Engine::Init() Starting Display::Init() Done With Display::Init() Starting Input::Init() Done With Input::Init() Done with Engine::Init() Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_overworld-v001m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_overworld-v001m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_castle-v001m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_overworld-v001m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_dungeon-v002m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_volcano_heart-v001m1.ogg' Couldn't read from 'music/inaria_theme-v003m1.ogg'
Bugs: Can shoot through walls and around edges with the bow. Items re-appaer by re-entering an area. viridian coins, viridian sword and viridian armor.
Gameplay: For me -as a guy who skipped the whole 2D role-playing era- (shame on me) it is fun to play the game, even it is in a simple state right now and very easy to "finish". I can imagine that on this basis you could build a whole universe with lots and lots of sidequests, stories etc...maybe some of your friendly testers will support you...
It might be too monotonous if the map is too big and the only thing you do is fighting. but fighting, getting wounded, finding a healer, getting partially healed, fighting again, etc... can be really addictive in combination with leveling up...
So it definitely needs some tweaks here and there and some things have to be tried out, but therefore we do this beta, right?
@Arkiruthis: It seems, there is still this script missing... ;)
I too have the no sound issue. No music, no effects, no sound at all.
As for enhancements: 1. You can talk to NPC's from any distance. I would pop out of the mountain trail and talk to the healer (and get healed) over the mountain range. You may want to make it so that I am directly next to the NPC to be able to speak to them. Note: I know this introduces a new issue with speaking to the merchants over the counter. 2. There does not seem to be a way to "skip a turn." Typically, pressing space bar is the equivalent of doing nothing 3. Moving into a blocked tile (wall, monster, etc) does not cost a turn. Usually, you get a "blocked" message and you lose a turn. This will allow the monster to have his attack turn. 4. Entering a dungeon always shows the text of entering map level 3. You may want to supress this message
A few things that fall more into the category of design decisions: 1. Monsters are statically loaded into maps and respawn every time the map reloads. You may want to only have the bosses statically load and have mobs randomly appear off screen. 2. Instant levelling. I personally like having to go to a trainer or guild to level up. It seems more realistic. "You have learned much young grasshopper." instead of just "Oh, I feel a level stronger now." 3. You have a decent mixture of rounded tiles and full block tiles. You may want to look into more transition tiles. Grass growing through the broken bricks, rounded corner walls and the like. 4. What about skill requirements for items? So far I have only gotten the dagger and cloth armor, but you may want to have things like requiring a certain dexterity to use the bow, or a certain strength to use the heaver armor. 5. I know your do-to list is probably huge, but I would like to suggest the possibility of alternate text options for some NPC. Something along the line of Blizzard's "Stop clicking me" text when you click a peon too often. If nothing else, it is funny and gives the player that extra feeling of discovery when he is bored and continuously clicks an NPC for a while :-)
So far it is looking great. I think you have the makings of a winner here.
Have had time to complete the game only once and pretty much everything I noticed (and even more) have been already stated by the others.
The irritation top list for me is:
1. I cannot use skills if there's anything in the inventory in same slot as the skill. 2. Pressing ESC quits the game without warning AND without saving the game state (learned this the hard way). Reason why I pressed the ESC was wrong action selection and didn't know how to cancel it (later I found out that moving cancels other actions) 3. Music has some weird distortion (reedy sounds). If I play songs using dedicated player there's is no such effect, so the ogg files are fine.
Anyways I enjoyed the game as much as first time and gonna finish the beta 2 soon.