Legend of the Psyons - Huge RPG Estim Project - Now open-ish alpha - Bug reporting and feedback

[bobross235]

Thanks nocnoc! Really looking forward to future versions - my vote would be for zones & enemies! :)

[Dolgian]

Hey nocnoc, want some help with the storyline? I might have some time for that :)

[nocnoc]

Hey nocnoc, want some help with the storyline? I might have some time for that :)

I have most of the main storyline outlined as well as the back story of the secrets to this alternate reality that will be slowly revealed by Goddess Milovana as you level up. However, I could certainly use some help in developing side stories, side quests, interesting locations, puzzles etc if you have ideas that would fit with this world.

So obviously I still haven't had time to get the next version update completed yet. Although altering the combat engine to handle stances is fairly straightforward, getting the enemy AI able to use that system will require a fair bit of work and time... time that I haven't had lately due to some work related crunch. Hopefully, this time constraint won't continue too much longer. It is hard to say. Either way, know that I'll get back to work on the game as soon as I can and that I will likely have another burst of content before spring. Please continue to report bugs and provide ideas.

[electroking]

Hi nocnoc, the role playing aspect in this tease is really impressive. As other have mentioned, I like estim teases mostly because of the stim part and the story/game aspect only adds to the immersion. Thus, I would like to make a suggestion in order to increase the stim aspect in the game:
I would like to have encounters with boss/misstress NPCs which make use of player level and dice-roles and thereby adjust the stim volume and stim file intensity. For example, if you are a level 1 player and walk up to such a boss, you would have a very bad time because of the intense/painful stim signals and you would have no choice but to flee from the encounter after a short time. At level 10 however, it becomes bearable. What do you think about that?

[nocnoc]

Hi nocnoc, the role playing aspect in this tease is really impressive. As other have mentioned, I like estim teases mostly because of the stim part and the story/game aspect only adds to the immersion. Thus, I would like to make a suggestion in order to increase the stim aspect in the game:
I would like to have encounters with boss/misstress NPCs which make use of player level and dice-roles and thereby adjust the stim volume and stim file intensity. For example, if you are a level 1 player and walk up to such a boss, you would have a very bad time because of the intense/painful stim signals and you would have no choice but to flee from the encounter after a short time. At level 10 however, it becomes bearable. What do you think about that?

I think anything that can make boss battles feel more unique is an interesting idea. There is already some element of this in place, as enemies that are a higher level than the player will crit more often and critical damage applies a more painful shock. There could be something fleshed out here though just for boss battles, but I'd have to ponder how it would mesh with the calibration and combat engine. Perhaps it could be employed as a test of wills at the end of the unique dialog page that level two and three star elites already have.

[ILuvPlanes208]

Nocnoc,

Everything still going well? Just checking in since we haven’t heard from you in awhile. Excited for more updates! Keep up the great work!

[nocnoc]

Nocnoc,

Everything still going well? Just checking in since we haven’t heard from you in awhile. Excited for more updates! Keep up the great work!

All is well thank you. Life is just stupidly busy lately so I simply haven't found adequate time to make meaningful progress lately. Now I also have to file my taxes (bluck). I try not to work on the game when I can't really dedicate the proper time, effort, and passion. I will post to let you the group know when I'm back at it. Hopefully won't be too much longer until I can make room in my life for it again.

[throwawayacct]

Just bumping this thread...

Noc, hope things are going OK; and you are like I am in the sense that work picked up again, keeping you busy and paid.

[nocnoc]

Indeed, things have been too busy for me, but it would be foolish to complain about that in these crazy times. I've been meaning to post an update, but there has been little to state other than that things have been too busy to make any meaningful content. But, this is not an abandoned project. I just don't want to work on it until I have some serious time to dedicate to it. In the very worst case scenario, I'll at least have a lot of time off this summer, but I'm still hoping I can find some time before then. I'm eager to get back on it at some point. It has been a fun project to work on and I still have a lot of ideas to implement.

[nocnoc]

To keep people updated... game development will resume in earnest in mid July. I've been looking through the code to refresh my memory of the inner workings and doing a bit of planning so that I can hit the ground running. I'll probably hand out private links for a new round of interested alpha testers a week to two prior to the next update. It has been a long delay, that I wish could have been avoided, but life is life sometimes. I'm excited to delve back into the mythical world of Milovana and the Psyons. I hope some of the previous alpha testers are still around, especially those that made regular contributions to finding bugs and offering feedback. My rough roadmap is going to be to add in combat stances, then look into storage of unequipped weapons, shields and jewelry (this is going to be very tricky as the engine is not currently configured to allow for this, but I feel it will add a lot to the game), then back to creating content starting with finishing the cathedral and queen's chambers.

[ILuvPlanes208]

Can’t wait! Thanks for the update on the update!

[throwawayacct]

Haven't played it in quite some time, so a refresh will be pretty awesome!

[ILuvPlanes208]

Is it safe to assume this project is now dead? I hate to see that. There was so much potential in an already great game!

[nocnoc]

I realize it probably feels dead, but I'm still optimistic that I can get back to this project eventually. Game development started during a period of inordinate free time from work when COVID first struck. I was bored for months and looking for a fun project. Since then, work has not only returned to normal levels of stress and time consumption, but rather to levels substantially higher than usual. Hopefully, my current off the wall schedule isn't permanent. (If it is, I may need to switch careers. ) I actually did take some much needed time off this summer and spent a solid two weeks of it working on the game. Unfortunately, those two weeks of hard work did not result in a game update as I was hoping. I wanted to add a stance system to the combat to make things a bit more strategic and interesting. I like the combat system, but I've long felt it was missing a bit on nuance. Getting the enemy AI to work with the new system was a bit more challenging than I anticipated, but I was finally able to get the new system working, at least on a technical level. The problem was, after all of that hard work, I hated the way it came out. It broke up the flow of combat far too much. I thus scrapped the entire update. I have a new idea of how to implement it much better, having learned that lesson, but the creative failure honestly left me feeling burned out and lacking motivation. I decided to step away from it for a while and took a trip (away from all tech) with my remaining summer time off. I've been ridiculously busy since. I need to catch both a second creative wind and a lull in my day-job workload. Even though I'm suffering a bit of burn out, I still find that I often miss working on it. I felt immersed in that fantasy world and I enjoyed writing the characters. But with all of that said, I'd rather do no work than bad work. If I ever conclude that it is hopeless and that I'll never be able to complete my vision, I might publish it in the current state- perhaps with some sort of ending tacked on. This would at least allow those that did not participate in the private pre-alpha test to enjoy the content that I did complete thus far. Perhaps it could even inspire similar projects. Even in the current early and very incomplete state, there is a lot of content to explore, just nothing close to what I want it to be. That is about all I can say for now. If I eventually manage an update, I'll post on this thread to let people know. If I manage a big update or a series of updates, I'll try to set up a second round of private alpha testers if people remain interested and supportive.

[throwawayacct]

I realize it probably feels dead, but I'm still optimistic that I can get back to this project eventually. Game development started during a period of inordinate free time from work when COVID first struck. I was bored for months and looking for a fun project. Since then, work has not only returned to normal levels of stress and time consumption, but rather to levels substantially higher than usual. Hopefully, my current off the wall schedule isn't permanent. (If it is, I may need to switch careers. ) I actually did take some much needed time off this summer and spent a solid two weeks of it working on the game. Unfortunately, those two weeks of hard work did not result in a game update as I was hoping. I wanted to add a stance system to the combat to make things a bit more strategic and interesting. I like the combat system, but I've long felt it was missing a bit on nuance. Getting the enemy AI to work with the new system was a bit more challenging than I anticipated, but I was finally able to get the new system working, at least on a technical level. The problem was, after all of that hard work, I hated the way it came out. It broke up the flow of combat far too much. I thus scrapped the entire update. I have a new idea of how to implement it much better, having learned that lesson, but the creative failure honestly left me feeling burned out and lacking motivation. I decided to step away from it for a while and took a trip (away from all tech) with my remaining summer time off. I've been ridiculously busy since. I need to catch both a second creative wind and a lull in my day-job workload. Even though I'm suffering a bit of burn out, I still find that I often miss working on it. I felt immersed in that fantasy world and I enjoyed writing the characters. But with all of that said, I'd rather do no work than bad work. If I ever conclude that it is hopeless and that I'll never be able to complete my vision, I might publish it in the current state- perhaps with some sort of ending tacked on. This would at least allow those that did not participate in the private pre-alpha test to enjoy the content that I did complete thus far. Perhaps it could even inspire similar projects. Even in the current early and very incomplete state, there is a lot of content to explore, just nothing close to what I want it to be. That is about all I can say for now. If I eventually manage an update, I'll post on this thread to let people know. If I manage a big update or a series of updates, I'll try to set up a second round of private alpha testers if people remain interested and supportive.

When it happens, it happens. Good work is worth waiting for and don't let the impatience of a forum put a crimp in your style.

I'm a fan of the show The Venture Bros. and a few times us fans had to wait 3+ years between seasons. Worth it.