Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Content

https://mega.nz/#!1BREiK6J!1Pv91t69QOFshjA39RCUtK7E8HV98Wq4FHSdtLqjt7w

The list is pretty long this time:

Fixed black screen when exiting the "map puzzle";

Fixed passability issues in the new slums area;

The holy cristal now gives you a new skill, as it should;

Fixed tornado/bridge interaction in the third temple that made it impossible to walk under the bridge;

Fixed/added reward for reaching a certain solitary platform in the third temple;

Fixed exit back to the waterfall;

Now you lose money when playing blackjack as you normally should;

Fixed some passability issues in the throne room;

Fixed the big chest in the third temple opening with the key from the second temple (sometimes);

Fixed being teleported to an old version of the map if you stayed late studying inside the mage guild;

Fixed being able to talk about Lord De Larek's dance even after you blackmailed hime;

Fixed an issue with completing the emperor's quest at night causing all sorts of problems when going to sleep;

Some of these happened only in rare situations but others were common and annoying, so hopefully we addressed all the important stuff. Happy gaming! ^_^

Comments

Polar_Bear

Something I've been meaning to ask, and am just a lazy slob and haven't checked all the other comments, but how restrictive will the Slave Path be? Like, I opened up the Noble Path, and have been tooling along there. If I jump over to the gambling den and get enslaved, am I locked in (no pun intended) to that path forever onward? Do I still get to roam around doing various whatnots, or am I just stuck in some dude's house as their plaything (not that there's anything wrong with that, just sayin' if I wanted to go do other stuff still).

mdqp

I am exploring the idea of a way to escape slavery. Worse case scenario, I will add a way at the end of the path to go back to before being enslaved, instead of a game over (kinda like what I did with the tentacle monsters, if you saw that). I'd prefer to have a way to escape with a mini-quest within the slave path itself, however. My only "issue", so to speak, is that it would probably involve some magical shenanigans to go back in time to before you become enslaved, because dealing with the possible ramifications of a legally obtained slave going back to freedom can be annoying, especially if her owner(s) were mean to her, or if they used brainwashing. Basically, it's difficult to imagine a clean break from slavery, that doesn't involve a completely clean slate. Anyway, I definitely won't make it a dead end, so rest assured.

Incanus

More out of curiosity. Do plan to change how the income from the village works? Because you essentially get unlimited funds you only have sleep a few times and take out the money and repeat. This undermines a bit the need to go gambling and finding treasures.

mdqp

There are plans to change how income in general works. I think also having living expenses and ways to spend money daily in exchange for specific benefits could also help create a more balanced economy. The main problem is the "hybrid" nature of the game, where in-game time passing usually doesn't matter a lot, while the mechanics in which we gain money are similar to time-management games. Having more need for "timely" payments/quest completions might make things work better, although I am a bit reluctant to change this last part, because it might make the game needlessly complex.

William Urquhart

Perhaps also to make a difference / separate 'purse' - the character's personal wealth and the wealth that is part of the title? The reason the old Count was convicted was 'skimming'/embezzling from the Town income (the part that is taxable, he is supposed to pay upkeep on his lands/town/etc. from and so on) - while the personal wealth (what the person / character earns while dungeon delving, working, etc.) isn't generally part of what is taxed... and if they ALSO spend from that part of their wealth in keeping up their noble responsibilities then more the people / responsible nobles respect them. After all, their mansion, furniture, etc. is part of Golden Leaf and their title - so is 'free' since it is paid for out of the Title Funds while any expenses the character has in Tarkas (their house there for example) has to be from the character's personal wealth. Probably allow for 'borrowing' from the 'Title Purse' - as long as it is paid back reasonably soon or the lands / people are doing well enough it is not an issue. just an idea - though I realize adding %#$@! ACCOUNTING to the game makes me shudder!! LOL! - but then again, that is what your Chamberlain / assistant is for (they do the work and just 'remind' the player of the financial necessities).

William Urquhart

Hate to bring this up, but I have been having a large number of 'black screen' problems with the hotfix (and I started a new game, so it should not be a holdover or 'artifact' from a previous version). Notably: Once the player has 'it has gotten late - I should go home' while in a town OTHER than Tarkas, they will always go to them 'Spend the night in the Inn or sleep on the streets?' option even when *IN* Tarkas (and blackscreen follows) - though manually going to bed in your bed (i.e. 'an early night') seems to reset this. Next - when at the 'lookout point' for the 3rd Temple, if you DON'T find the 'hidden passage' (I assumed I was just supposed to spot the 'Three Brothers' and then *go* there to look) and quit looking, it goes to a black screen (locked - can't bring up menu and reload). Lastly - a few nagging issues: * When the Duke awards you 2,000 gold for rescuing his son, you don't actually GET any gold - your total stays the same. * When you get your title, you can no longer visit the King or other nobles (at least that I have figured out how)... the valet leaves the Mage guild, there is no way to travel and the guards still refuse you entrance into the nobles portion of Tarkas. Is that just not in the game yet? * While repairing / rebuilding Golden Leaf, the Sea Captain never says anything beyond the 'Good luck - you're going to need it!' - I thought I saw some mention that at least some progress on the Lighthouse had been implemented? Or am I just mis-remembering (a good possibility also)?

mdqp

Did you travel around using cheats when you got black screens? If not, what did you do to get there? Can you tell me what did you do the day you got the message in Tarkas? Fixed the issue with the puzzle at the mountain top. Fixed the Duke "forgetting" to pay you. The castle past the that point isnt ready yet, so I left it unaccessible. The lighthouse cannot be fixed at the moment. There is actually a map ready for it, and the code is also there, but since I am not sure if I want the keeper to be hired by the player and who the candidates would be, I kept it out of the game for now.

mdqp

In theory, the money you get is already "taxed", so the money you get is actually your own. I could add daily expenses to create services in town that improve its prosperity, though, so that you yourself have a net loss of income, but the people will like you more, and you'll get access to specific services you might be unable to find elsewhere, so that the town becomes more of a "closed loop". I could add some actual taxes and general upkeep of both houses (I also plan to give players the opportunity to hire gardener and maid for the mansion, among other things). I could definitely add the possibility to borrow money from the crown, especially as a way to end in slavery if you fail to repay, but I want to think more about it, as it sounds like a lot of effort for little return (I doubt players would end up in debt, unless they do it on purpose, and this wouldn't have any benefits I can think of).

Incanus

The situation reminds of games where the char has to pay a certain amount of debt in a certain amount of time. Maybe a small storyline where you can pay your off this debt in different ways or get a loan from the bank with certain attachments involved.

William Urquhart

Gotcha. Ok, no I did not use any cheats (personal thing - ruins the game experience in RPGs for me). I had traveled to Rahib, happened to be there when evening came, so went to the night club/dancing girls and worked on my dance/timing skills (for the Noble quest). Got the message, slept at the Inn and kept playing (all ok) - until the NEXT night when I was back in Tarkas and happened to spend the evening with Carla (love how that arc is going, btw - look forward to more hot - n - sweaty goodness! And her 'showing off her girl'!). Anyway, after time with Carla, got the 'inn or streets' message again and black screen. Next night it happened after working in the Bar. Finally figured I could at least avoid it the next time by staying home that evening, and that seemed to 'reset' whatever switch and it didn't do it again. Ok, re: the King's castle - ok, I just thought there was more to the noble path and talking with them (or more) after you got to BE a noble yourself. So nothing more with the nobles in Solinda or Tarkas either? Speaking of the player hiring someone - need to think about a new guard captain for Golden Leaf; Ariel and Carla both seem to come to mind and the character trusts them (not to mention offering some great possibilities for adding more to those story arcs). Oh, and mini-suggestion: as Golden Leaf begins prospering again (especially once the Lighthouse is repaired), it would be cool if more residences / stores / services got built as prosperity grew - not only would add to lots of 'little' quests / work for the character to represent what nobles are SUPPOSED to encourage (and most don't) but a direct manner in which the character could win (or not) the townsfolk's love/respect. Which considering her growing eccentricities, is going to be something she needs!! LOL! ("Sure, our Countess is prone to run around naked or such occasionally, but that's ok - after all she has done for us such a little thing hardly matters..."

mdqp

There are certain games that completely revolve around that concept, so it has something going for it, for sure. We'll see how things shape up once I have more time to think about it. :)

mdqp

Did you go back to Tarkas by foot, or did you use something to get there? The only content related to after you become a noble is what's available in Golden Leaf, for now. Yes, Ariel has been an idea for a while, and Carla might be a good candidate as well. With Carla I have to consider if I want to close her gym, though, and I should probably have another option for the captain (some kind of "default" option, with no benefits and no downsides). That's exactly the idea for Golden Leaf currently. I also plan to have factions which are close to you propose special buildings (Zanti farm, the guilds, Rahib's merchants, etc). It's going to take some time, however, that kind of stuff is complex.

William Urquhart

except for the quests where transportation is provided (merchant escort, noble path, etc.), I always walk - so walked to get there. Hmm.. yeah, the closing the gym would be awkward, though I suppose with as peaceful as Golden Leaf supposedly is, she could open one there (maybe only teach every other day or such, and the other day 'getting the guards in shape') while being Captain. Oooo... for your other option, have some of the other nobles 'suggest' someone for the post (after all, aren't they always pulling strings for friends/relatives?) and have the General (if you impressed him) offer advice so you don't get a bad one! He would be the obvious one to ask advice from... Lady (shoot, forgot her name - the one with the flowers) would be a great one to be a source of advice for the civic / business expansion options (if you are looking for a way to simplify expansion options). I am sure Lord "I wanna see you DANCE" would probably offer (even unsolicited) advice on 'beautification' and cultural expansions - he seems like the arrogant busy-body type! :p Would be interesting to bring back into things those nobles you impressed, offended or are just uncaring - basically some extremely simplified politics to give the player more of a feel of being a public figure / noble. Oh, and I guess it is only fair that since I keep throwing more stuff at you, if you need/want some help with minor writing (especially dialog) - I am an aspiring author that quite a few seem to think has a bit of talent (I can send you some samples if you want), so if I can help just say so.

mdqp

I'll have to double check the code then. There has to be something wrong somewhere or, even worse, I called a variable in some unrelated event, and now any of the activities in Tarkas could be the culprit. I think the gym should stay close, if I make Carla one of the candidates, anything else would be awkward, both from a writing perspective and a coding perspective. You'd still be able to train together with the guards, to get the same benefits, but you wouldn't get the additional options like promoting the gym, of course. I think having the other nobles involved with some of the improvements could be fun. I wonder if I should limit the interactions based on whether you impressed them or not, however. Seems like there would be almost too much riding on that one quest. Maybe I'll offer some alternative ways to be friendly with them after the quest is over. I generally prefer to work by myself, but recently I am trying to put some effort into accepting help more readily when offered, so I'll think about it. What kind of samples do you have? Also, have you ever used RPG Maker yourself? The message box is so tiny, it really hampers my writing a lot, and writing 4 short lines at a time can be really annoying, at least for me, so be warned you'd need to keep this in mind.

William Urquhart

Heh, I haven't used RPG Maker, but I have dealt with similar restrictions in the past. Any way I can send you a file? Tried posting a private note to your page, but it wouldn't take the text file as an attachment. (for the writing example)... I can also dig out some of the old D&D dungeons I wrote long ago (I used to write for conventions).

mdqp

If you are having troubles, you can send me stuff at my email: mirko.della@tiscali.it You pick whatever you think shows best your skills, I just need to get a sense for your style, before anything else. ^_^