Chan Wrote:Well, this is just a suggestion. But not fully sure if someone already said this. But for for quests. You could have the normal "Bounty" type quests.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I hope not. That would make the game feel very MMORPG-y, and I would hate that. I have seen a few games do this somewhat well, such as the
Witcher series, but I think it’s best avoided.
Game BalanceSpoiler (click to show/hide):
I have played through the game three times in three different routes—every slave to the Overlord, Orc and Mistress in that order. I used the New Game+ feature after the initial playthrough. Concerning the Overlord path, it’s much better, although, this playthrough giving everyone to the Overlord was easier than my earlier playthrough of giving the minor slaves to the orcs. Battlefield Analysis, Carnage and Limit Break are game changers. They completely changed the way I played that route. You succeeded in making the Overlord the main damage dealer of the group and making it feel like he almost single-handedly conquered Meniska. The orcs are now there to run interference while the Overlord buffs himself and occasionally feed him Full Potions and Magic Charges. The three different routes now have three discrete playing styles.
All the fights are now much easier, though. I beat Hilde and the Captain in two attempts and Zorya in three. I even defeated Erika on the first attempt. There was, however, one fight that almost made me give up—the Bear. After countless attempts, I managed to defeat the bear on a every slave to the Overlord-route playthrough, and, as I mentioned, it was not a New Game+. On the attempt where I managed to slay the abomination, I used 50 Stimulants (I actually ran out), 41 First Aid Boxes, 27 Full Potions, 26 Greatest Cures, 24 Magic Charges and 23 Salvations (I probably didn’t need to use that many, but since I ran out of Stimulants, I had to use Salvations instead). The main problem was the Menagerie attack. Even with Carnage and Lightning Strikes, it was a very long fight. I’d be hanging in there until the Bear used Menagerie and managed to stun lock my entire party. The instant that happened, the fight was over, because it’d slaughter the entire party before anyone could employ a Salvation or Greatest Cure. The whole party stun lock happened once every single time I fought the thing, and only once did a party member manage to free themselves from the Confusion status, and that was the time I won. As I mentioned, I lost track of how many times I had to try.
I do have one suggestion, which you’ve already mentioned. The Meatshield ability is useless. You mentioned that you up the initiative for it, which addresses its main failing, but you might consider also having the orc that uses it automatically be set in guard stance, like with Hilde’s Clenched Teeth. It isn’t really necessary, but it would make it more effective. Many enemies can one shot the orcs if they are not in a guard stance. It really depends on how you see the Meatshield orcs. If you see them usually surviving their sacrifice, add a guard stance. If you see them regularly “dying” to protect their master, don’t.
I have one comment on the New Game+. If you do it multiple times, you end up with multiple versions of those high-end items. I don’t know if that is intended or not. I will say it will make going through the game to proofread much easier when I have an entire party equipped with Cloud Armor.
My final thoughts are as follows. You succeeded in making the every slave to the Overlord route doable. You succeeded in giving the Overlord route a unique playstyle and feel. The new abilities are all great. There is one area in which you may have failed, though. The Overlord route is easier now. That isn’t to say it is easy, but it isn’t the hardcore, brutal experience it was before. You said you intend the Overlord route to be hard mode, but I don’t know how hard you want it to be. If you still want a brutal, punishing mode, you may want to up the difficulty a bit. On the other hand, if you up the difficulty, the Bear fight may shift from almost impossible to entirely impossible.
STR Wrote:That one should also be some king of money-hole, so if any of you could tell me just how much money they are left with toward the end of a play-through, I’d be glad to know.
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Most Recent every slave to the Overlord route: 163,534g
Most Recent Orc-route NG+: 237,890g
Most Recent Mistress-route NG+: 181,696g
08292013-version minor slaves to the orcs Overlord route: 164,117g
08292013-version Orc route: 244,317g
08292013-version Mistress route: 44,023g
As I mentioned before, the only route where I had concerns with money was during the late-game Mistress route, since you have so many party members to equip. It wasn’t a problem with my last Mistress playthrough, since it was my second NG+, so I started with two Cloud Armors, etc. I’d be interested in what someone who’s done a clean Mistress-route playthough in the latest version has to say about their money status.
In regards to the map, I read your e-mail and will reply once I’m finished here.
Okay, now let me explain my recent disappearance. It started when one of the members here made a comment.
Lucky777 Wrote:Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Sewer hideout under the Chapel in St Astha is a close second though.
They don't have on their headgear, but I'm hoping some of those chicks down there are Nuns.
Fuck yes, Nun-fetish.
This got me thinking. I’m been talking about doing a test render. There was a scene in the game which I already had all the assets for except one, and I remember seeing a model for a habit a reasonable price. So, I decided to do this. Now, I know that I originally said I would proofreading, map and then test image, however it appears I’ll complete those in reverse order. What can I say? I guess I’m just a huge liar. Anyway, it took much longer than it should have. I spent an entire week trying to figure out why the “sunlight” wasn’t showing in the render. I spent a couple of days trying to figure out why the rightmost nun’s eyes were open in the modelling software but closed in the render. One thing I learned was that if there are problems like that, I probably introduced them early on by changing some setting, and the best option is to delete everything (in the first instance) or the offending object (in the second) and start over from the beginning, checking step by step to see where the error was introduced. That will save me time in the future. I also learned not to worry about small details when rendering at 544x416. I posed a figure in armor in front of them, hoping you’d see his reflection in the nearest nun’s eyes, but you can’t even tell the middle nun’s eyes are supposed to be blue at that size, so it was just a waste of time. Now, I didn’t use every trick I’ve learned on the render, and I would make some changes if I were doing it again. I’d group the nuns closer to the camera, due to the size. I’d put a fill light on the pillars, and the candles are in desperate need of subsurface scattering or volumetric lighting. The god rays need to be toned down. Still, as a proof of concept, it works. I learned a lot doing it, but I have a lot more to learn. I can certainly do better, but the improvements wouldn’t really be that noticeable. This image has no post work, so I can touch it up a bit. Still, to give an idea of the quality of my images and style, it serves its purpose. So, without further ado, I present
The Sisters of St. Zaulys:
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Now, I would like all of you to keep of few things in mind. This is my first render, so I know it kind of sucks, so please bear that in mind. While I’ve been playing with the software for over a year, I haven’t done anything other than what I consider test images, where I change a few settings while using an object or two and see what happens. I might compare a few renders, then delete them. This is the first fully composed scene with full props that I’ve ever shown anyone. Please go gently with me. All that said, I would love to hair any critiques anyone would like to share. I’ll never get any better if others aren’t honest with me about my flaws. Also, do you think this would suffice to serve as the artwork in the game? If you don’t think it is any good in that regard, why? As I mentioned before, the impression I’ve gotten is that 2D art is preferred over 3D art. If you don’t think my art is good enough, would you be open to another 3D artist (not that I know anyone I can recommend) or do you think 2D is the only way to go? Discuss. Share. STR has stated that right now the artwork is the biggest obstacle to progressing the game at this point. Even if my artwork is garbage and shouldn’t be used, maybe we can make some progress on that front.
Well, this post has bloated beyond all reason. I seem to have a nasty habit of that. I’ll get going, write that e-mail and work on the other things I said I’d do.
), thank you. Your name will be in the credits next time I update them.
