I just started playing the game and I'm really enjoying it so far. I have a few small critiques in terms of event structure, sound, etc:
1) Transferring between maps during the introductory events is too fast and jarring. To make it more cinematic and professional, you want to do a fade-out before the transfer map and a fade-in afterwards. Make sure the "knock-knock" noise when transferring maps is removed.
3) If you're going to be replacing the RTP tilesets with something better, I'd recommend FSM tilesets or those from Kokoro Reflections https://kokororeflections.com/. If you don't have the budget for tilesets, you can customize the existing tilesets to make them more unique using various free textures for commercial use and GIMP: https://freestocktextures.com/
4) One more suggestion? During the intro crawl about the Marianas Trench, instead of scrolling text with the map scrolling down (which makes it a little unsightly while reading), perhaps displaying the text as pictures while the map is scrolling down would be better? In other words, take the text from the scrolling text and cut it up into chunks within pictures, do a fade-out/fade-in per text chunk with a blank text message before the fade-out, so that the player can read as per their own speed as the map is scrolling, and I think those static text pictures would work better for the introductory scene.
To be brutally honest, I think your game is already something pretty special. I'll be playing it after work when I can (and not working on my own game). I really think once your game has its new soundtrack, more customized tilesets and the eventing structure is a bit more cinematic, you'll have something really nice here. Oh, and while it *is* expensive, there's a fantastic character generator tool in a pretty great style for RPG Maker MV/MZ that I'm thinking of getting for myself where you can create your own field and battle character that's constantly being updated. https://robertpinero.itch.io/8dchars
Hey thanks for giving it a shot and your kind words. Funny enough one of the songs I've already picked out is YouFulca. I only need 1 or 2 more tracks picked out for the new soundtrack to be done.
I'll def look into getting rid of that knock noise on map transfer, to be honest I didn't notice it, it could be that after hundreds of hours my brain just stopped noticing lol.
I searched high and low for a better character generator tool, I'll definitly check out what you posted when I get out of work!
I spent a couple of hours so far and I like the story. It's not too fancy, but it's got a pretty strong forward momentum and the build-up is pretty good so far. What I'm a little disappointed with is the core cast, which lacks a little personality and feels a bit stiff. Again, the plot itself is good, and the backstory is solid.
The pacing is good overall, but having to backtrack the first area is a little repetitive. It would be nice if there's an alternate route back or some sort of fast travel option.
The combat is a bit uninspired and feels broken. It is it intentional that members randomly get extra actions? I don't see it mentioned, so is it a bug?
I'd really like it if start abilities are available right away instead of after leveling once. Only having the option to spam Attack is a bit boring at the start.
Overall, I'm having a good time. The strongest point is the pacing of the story, and I'm looking forward to playing more.
EDIT: Oof, that roof access at the big building in Trill was confusing to find. I think it needs to be more clear. Also, you have to check your collisions. Near the gate where Eiuleen ran off to the lab, I was able to climb into the wall of the building.
As for the story and cast. I know the Dev has ideas for prequel and other story arcs potentially. I think the cast backstory being a bit "thin" makes sense in line with the actual plot. I suppose there could be more inter-team interaction to build off, but I feel I do have a general idea of personality of each person.
I found a few areas I could get out of bounds, but they weren't game breaking. Reported to dev. I don't remember doing too many repeats of areas, but I like to explore around anyway so I didn't see a need for fast travel in the game.
I did find myself using the Energy attacks for most encounters, but I had a few to choose, single vs multi enemy attacks, so it gave me variety and allowed me to try different attack styles which was welcome.
Overall took about 6 1/2 - 7 hours to complete the game for me. I think the parallel story lines really were great and definitely agree that story progression felt good, I didn't feel overwhelmed with everything happening at once, but still didn't feel like I needed story faster either.
The first RPG Maker game I think I've finished so far, so for sure I'd recommend this to play.
I've figured out this workaround for Mac users, so that it's not necessary for creators to export the Mac version at all. Once set up, it only takes 3 quick steps to play any Windows RPGM MV/MZ game. There is no need for a browser version as well, which is actually more annoying to setup for.
Yes, I tested this on 3 games and they all work fine. Really old MV games (5+ years old engine version) might have performance problems, but they will still run.
Hi, RPG Maker MV no longer supports newer Macs, so your Mac version doesn't work. The good news is that it is very easy to fix that. Please follow the steps below.
All you really have to do is replaceNWJS, which is an old engine file, and then change an additional setting in a text file called package.json.
Update RPG Maker MV for M1+ Macs
1. Before deleting any of the files/folders below, copy them and put them somewhere else as a backup. Should you mess up, you can copy/paste them back.
2. Find the folder for the core RPG Maker engine, then delete nwjs-osx-unsigned.zip. This is wherever you've installed it in your computer. If you use RPG Maker MV through Steam, you can access it via Right Click → Manage → Browse Local Files. You might have to look around a bit for that file.
3. Download NORMAL (Mac ARM64 version) from NWJS.io
4. Unzip NORMAL(it will look this "nwjs-v0.82.0-osx-arm64.zip")
5. Inside the unzipped folder, rename nwjs as Game
6. Select the files inside the folder (not the folder itself), and zip them.
7. Rename it as nwjs-osx-unsigned.zip. Place it where the old file used to be.
8. Find a file called package.json inside a folder called NewData for the core RPG Maker engine. Open it with any simple text editor, and you should see: "name": "",
Change that to (and save, you can put the name of your game where it says my-rpg. be careful to not remove any other symbols!): "name": "my-rpg",
9. Find package.json in your game project folder, and do the same.
And that's it! When you export a Mac version, it should be up-to-date and compatible with modern Macs now.
Nope. I'm not sure what you did wrong, but I looked inside and the file structure isn't correct. See below. The top is the Game → Contents folder of my exported game. For yours at the bottom, Game → Contents has only Resources, and there is a separate Contents folder at the top level that shouldn't be there as well.
My guess is that you did something wrong around steps 5, 6 or 7. It looks like you downloaded the correct NWJS, but maybe you repackaged the folders incorrectly. I mean, how come there is Contents next to Game? I'll try it on my Windows machine tomorrow and see how it looks there.
I think you took Contents from the new NWJS and just put it inside the old one before zipping them. The correct thing to do is delete the whole NWJS zip folder for Mac, then replace it with the new folder you downloaded (following the instructions closely).
In step 6, you select both Credits and Game, then right-click → zip. Rename that new zip file as nwjs-osx-unsigned.zip.
It was def step 6 I did wrong, cause when I extracted the first time it had another folder above that, and that is what I zipped in the end, instead of zipping credits and game. Cause when you said zip contents inside folder, not folder itself. I was 2 folders above and wasn't sure if you meant the one folder within, or the credits and game inside that. Given your comment here I now see where I went wrong and will try again.
Hmm, it still doesn't work, but I don't think it's your fault this time. It might have something to do with Windows not playing well with Mac again. I'll look into it tomorrow (it's 2am here).
I think I’ve found the problem. It seems like you’re not supposed to unzip/extract osx-unsigned on Windows, as it ruins filepaths.
Here’s a different workaround, but it won’t work as the NWJS version provided is way too old. I might have to do that step for you and then upload the file. The steps are similar: edit package.json, download Normal NWJS (from me?), but instead of exporting the Mac version, you export the Web version instead, then place all your files into a specific folder in the zip without extracting it.
That’s a bit annoying. I thought MV only had a problem with newer Macs, but the Mac export button doesn’t actually work to begin with if you’re on Windows? I wonder if MZ has the same problem as well.
So I'm trying one more thing, then I can try the web version if that doesn't pan out. I had a cheapy laptop around I hardly use. I installed Zorin on it and B1 archiver. I just followed your instructions again, but this time on the linux OS and B1. I'm going to upload it now and see if it is any better.
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I just started playing the game and I'm really enjoying it so far. I have a few small critiques in terms of event structure, sound, etc:
1) Transferring between maps during the introductory events is too fast and jarring. To make it more cinematic and professional, you want to do a fade-out before the transfer map and a fade-in afterwards. Make sure the "knock-knock" noise when transferring maps is removed.
2) I recommend using free for commercial music/sound effects from YouFulca https://wingless-seraph.net/en/ and the Makai Symphony https://makai-symphony.com/9-2/
3) If you're going to be replacing the RTP tilesets with something better, I'd recommend FSM tilesets or those from Kokoro Reflections https://kokororeflections.com/. If you don't have the budget for tilesets, you can customize the existing tilesets to make them more unique using various free textures for commercial use and GIMP: https://freestocktextures.com/
4) One more suggestion? During the intro crawl about the Marianas Trench, instead of scrolling text with the map scrolling down (which makes it a little unsightly while reading), perhaps displaying the text as pictures while the map is scrolling down would be better? In other words, take the text from the scrolling text and cut it up into chunks within pictures, do a fade-out/fade-in per text chunk with a blank text message before the fade-out, so that the player can read as per their own speed as the map is scrolling, and I think those static text pictures would work better for the introductory scene.
To be brutally honest, I think your game is already something pretty special. I'll be playing it after work when I can (and not working on my own game). I really think once your game has its new soundtrack, more customized tilesets and the eventing structure is a bit more cinematic, you'll have something really nice here. Oh, and while it *is* expensive, there's a fantastic character generator tool in a pretty great style for RPG Maker MV/MZ that I'm thinking of getting for myself where you can create your own field and battle character that's constantly being updated. https://robertpinero.itch.io/8dchars
You got this!
Hey thanks for giving it a shot and your kind words. Funny enough one of the songs I've already picked out is YouFulca. I only need 1 or 2 more tracks picked out for the new soundtrack to be done.
I'll def look into getting rid of that knock noise on map transfer, to be honest I didn't notice it, it could be that after hundreds of hours my brain just stopped noticing lol.
I searched high and low for a better character generator tool, I'll definitly check out what you posted when I get out of work!
Thanks again for the feedback!
Hello! I just went to try to send you your download key only to find Itch doesn't have private messaging! I'm fairly surprised by this.
Shoot me an email at NStuffEnt@gmail.com I will get you your code :)
Hey NotVerySoft, just wanted to let you know to email NStuffEnt@gmail.com for your free code.
Thanks again!
Just got off work and saw this! So excited to play through the release version! Sent an email!
First Impressions
I spent a couple of hours so far and I like the story. It's not too fancy, but it's got a pretty strong forward momentum and the build-up is pretty good so far. What I'm a little disappointed with is the core cast, which lacks a little personality and feels a bit stiff. Again, the plot itself is good, and the backstory is solid.
The pacing is good overall, but having to backtrack the first area is a little repetitive. It would be nice if there's an alternate route back or some sort of fast travel option.
The combat is a bit uninspired and feels broken. It is it intentional that members randomly get extra actions? I don't see it mentioned, so is it a bug?
I'd really like it if start abilities are available right away instead of after leveling once. Only having the option to spam Attack is a bit boring at the start.
Overall, I'm having a good time. The strongest point is the pacing of the story, and I'm looking forward to playing more.
EDIT: Oof, that roof access at the big building in Trill was confusing to find. I think it needs to be more clear. Also, you have to check your collisions. Near the gate where Eiuleen ran off to the lab, I was able to climb into the wall of the building.
Yeah there is a few still being found that I missed. Thanks for pointing more out! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
As for the story and cast. I know the Dev has ideas for prequel and other story arcs potentially. I think the cast backstory being a bit "thin" makes sense in line with the actual plot. I suppose there could be more inter-team interaction to build off, but I feel I do have a general idea of personality of each person.
I found a few areas I could get out of bounds, but they weren't game breaking. Reported to dev.
I don't remember doing too many repeats of areas, but I like to explore around anyway so I didn't see a need for fast travel in the game.
I did find myself using the Energy attacks for most encounters, but I had a few to choose, single vs multi enemy attacks, so it gave me variety and allowed me to try different attack styles which was welcome.
Overall took about 6 1/2 - 7 hours to complete the game for me. I think the parallel story lines really were great and definitely agree that story progression felt good, I didn't feel overwhelmed with everything happening at once, but still didn't feel like I needed story faster either.
The first RPG Maker game I think I've finished so far, so for sure I'd recommend this to play.
So glad you enjoyed it! I def plan to make both additional parallel stories, sequels, and prequels in the universe.
Oh yeah, I didn't mention that part about parallel storytelling. It's great. It all adds up to the good pacing of the story.
I've figured out this workaround for Mac users, so that it's not necessary for creators to export the Mac version at all. Once set up, it only takes 3 quick steps to play any Windows RPGM MV/MZ game. There is no need for a browser version as well, which is actually more annoying to setup for.
Just to confirm before I add this to the install instructions, were you able to test this and see if it works?
Yes, I tested this on 3 games and they all work fine. Really old MV games (5+ years old engine version) might have performance problems, but they will still run.
That's awesome!
Confirmed just now it worked (I only tested this The Orphans)
Hey Dawit! Just wanted to let you know to email NStuffEnt@gmail.com for your free download code! Thanks again.
Hi, RPG Maker MV no longer supports newer Macs, so your Mac version doesn't work. The good news is that it is very easy to fix that. Please follow the steps below.
All you really have to do is replace NWJS, which is an old engine file, and then change an additional setting in a text file called package.json.
Update RPG Maker MV for M1+ Macs
1. Before deleting any of the files/folders below, copy them and put them somewhere else as a backup. Should you mess up, you can copy/paste them back.
2. Find the folder for the core RPG Maker engine, then delete nwjs-osx-unsigned.zip. This is wherever you've installed it in your computer. If you use RPG Maker MV through Steam, you can access it via Right Click → Manage → Browse Local Files. You might have to look around a bit for that file.
3. Download NORMAL (Mac ARM64 version) from NWJS.io
4. Unzip NORMAL (it will look this "nwjs-v0.82.0-osx-arm64.zip")
5. Inside the unzipped folder, rename nwjs as Game
6. Select the files inside the folder (not the folder itself), and zip them.
7. Rename it as nwjs-osx-unsigned.zip. Place it where the old file used to be.
8. Find a file called package.json inside a folder called NewData for the core RPG Maker engine. Open it with any simple text editor, and you should see:
"name": "",
Change that to (and save, you can put the name of your game where it says my-rpg. be careful to not remove any other symbols!):
"name": "my-rpg",
9. Find package.json in your game project folder, and do the same.
And that's it! When you export a Mac version, it should be up-to-date and compatible with modern Macs now.
Oh I had no idea! Thank you so much for the guide. I did as you instructed and I just uploaded. Would you mind telling me if it worked?
Nope. I'm not sure what you did wrong, but I looked inside and the file structure isn't correct. See below. The top is the Game → Contents folder of my exported game. For yours at the bottom, Game → Contents has only Resources, and there is a separate Contents folder at the top level that shouldn't be there as well.
My guess is that you did something wrong around steps 5, 6 or 7. It looks like you downloaded the correct NWJS, but maybe you repackaged the folders incorrectly. I mean, how come there is Contents next to Game? I'll try it on my Windows machine tomorrow and see how it looks there.
I think you took Contents from the new NWJS and just put it inside the old one before zipping them. The correct thing to do is delete the whole NWJS zip folder for Mac, then replace it with the new folder you downloaded (following the instructions closely).
In step 6, you select both Credits and Game, then right-click → zip. Rename that new zip file as nwjs-osx-unsigned.zip.
It was def step 6 I did wrong, cause when I extracted the first time it had another folder above that, and that is what I zipped in the end, instead of zipping credits and game. Cause when you said zip contents inside folder, not folder itself. I was 2 folders above and wasn't sure if you meant the one folder within, or the credits and game inside that. Given your comment here I now see where I went wrong and will try again.
I just re uploaded, fingers crossed!
Hmm, it still doesn't work, but I don't think it's your fault this time. It might have something to do with Windows not playing well with Mac again. I'll look into it tomorrow (it's 2am here).
I think I’ve found the problem. It seems like you’re not supposed to unzip/extract osx-unsigned on Windows, as it ruins filepaths.
Here’s a different workaround, but it won’t work as the NWJS version provided is way too old. I might have to do that step for you and then upload the file. The steps are similar: edit package.json, download Normal NWJS (from me?), but instead of exporting the Mac version, you export the Web version instead, then place all your files into a specific folder in the zip without extracting it.
That’s a bit annoying. I thought MV only had a problem with newer Macs, but the Mac export button doesn’t actually work to begin with if you’re on Windows? I wonder if MZ has the same problem as well.
So I'm trying one more thing, then I can try the web version if that doesn't pan out. I had a cheapy laptop around I hardly use. I installed Zorin on it and B1 archiver. I just followed your instructions again, but this time on the linux OS and B1. I'm going to upload it now and see if it is any better.
I enjoyed this and looking forward to playing more! GREAT job, dev!
A few areas I don't think I should be able to walk on the first area.
Thank you so much! I will fix ASAP.