Castle Paradox

[AdrianX]

...ok,how bout this:since i just started making it,dont expect anything first;and i'll keep your comments and suggestions in mind,like i always do.can't let criticizm take me down u know.

[RedMaverickZero]

The leveling up was a bitch. And on top of that, the enimies were too difficult considering the point in the game you were at. The story was decent, but focus more on making the gameplay less drug out.
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---------------Projects----
Mr.Triangle's Maze: 70%
Takoyaki Surprise: 70%

[Calehay]

Actually, I was thinking about this same thing while playing an RPG. I started playing Chrono Trigger, and frankly, I love its battles. It forces you into enough battles to not get boring, and allows you to level up if you so desire. The only problem is that it is far too easy (I haven't lost a battle once). If you could check out Chrono Trigger and add a few elements of that game to CD, then I think it would be rocking.

PHC said:

[Cube]

I happen to like leveling up in order to progress sometimes, and I like random battles too, heheh.

I find that, if you're never in the need to level up, then there was no point to having levels at all, you know? I mean, if you can just go from point A to point B, while fighting ALL enemies along the way without running, and your levels are good to go for the upcoming boss... Then what's the point? You might as well have no levels and a set amount of HP/MP/STR/DEF the entire game if that's the case.

So why bother having levels? It's just a gameplay style, really. Have levels, have level busting. Don't have levels, find some other reward for finishing a battle (Be it points for abilities or increasing stats). But even in this case you still have a reason to "level bust", not for levels, but for skills and stats. Either way, a good game will have level busting. WILL have. If you don't, all the enemies you fight are pointless, so you might as well just have bosses. But since they're the only enemies, you can't really call them bosses I guess. And since they're not bosses anymore since there's no other enemy to be compared to, I guess you don't need 'em either... Why not just make it a story? What? Oh yeah, this is a game.

Well, in the case of level busting, you need more than just the run of the mill enemy to fight every battle. Every battle should have some key to completing, not just "whack the mob with a stick". We all know, especially in the case of random encounters, that running around in a circle to fight crap that only requires the pressing of auto attack is boring. IF you can find something to add to every battle you fight so it doesn't become stale, then level busting can be fun, and I welcome it.

Also, I like it when there's more to battles than just experience points. It's always a personal favorite of mine to spice games up a bit with some crazy magic system, or alternate way to raise stats. If you're not level busting, you're getting points for these alternate things (And of course, you get exp to boot). So while you level bust, you also get new skills to play around with every now and then to keep it interesting. NOTE: Gaining spells at specific levels doesn't count, dang it.

And then, you can just scrap the entire level system and just go for a skill/stat system. The bad is that it becomes harder to balance the overall game, making it too hard or too easy. It also requires a lot of effort put into abilities and skills on the designers part, as you'll need a lot of them in this environment to keep it going the entire game.

That's why I like the 2nd, happy middle medium. If you integrate levels and abilities together, they keep each other in line and allow balancing and variety, while allowing level busting/ability learning and customisation.

Basicly, if you're gonna have level busting you better darn well make it part of the actual design, and not just put it in for the heck of it (aka, extend game time). An important thing to remember is if you're getting annoyed fighting all the stuff by going from point A to B and just escape (Or whatever you do) because you can, then you're doing a bad job designing it .

I must say I've never played CD, but then again I haven't played anything released within the past year. No, really. But keep the level busting! Just spice it up with some crazy system or something. Seriously, I feel like I'm the only person who does this. I enjoy playing my own games but uh... I kinda know how to do everything perfectly which takes out the discovery of such a system.

Anyhow! The simplistic summery is this; Level busting should be part of the gameplay and strategy for defeating bosses and progressing, and therefore should be made fun. Without it, you don't really have a game. At least not a traditional RPG... Or a very interesting game at that.

(Example just for fun)

When I first released D1 back in the day, I got tons (Tons and tons) of messages/e-mails from various people saying how they loved the S-Table. Now, when I play it today I don't know if it was done as well as it could've been... In fact, I know it wasn't. But one of the things that surprised me was that people were telling me they couldn't stop playing. They'd get to Stat Level 20, 30... And you only needed about 7 to beat the demo. People were actually level busting for NO PARTICULAR REASON. I only got myself to 15 I think, to this very day even. So making level busting can be fun, really .

[AdrianX]

..i think the problem with most rpg gamers today is just they're too lazy,or too great/arrogant to level up.me myself loves leveling up,coz most proffesionally - made rpgs need\forces you to do so.how bout ragnarok online?how bout most mmorpgs?
..and still,some rpg gamers (mostly OHRers)..still keep the word "amateur" in mind.
..and finally,what you thought was your friends are surprisingly not;and vice versa
..thanks for all your reactions,guys! CD will be up before February!

[Calehay]

Do you have any teaser screenshots?
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Calehay

[The Wobbler]

[Rpeanut]

In relation for reward for random battles, I think one good way was in LOZ Majoras Mask, the more areas and monster defeated and you found fairies, if you gained all 15 of them you could get a powerup or awesome weapon, (eg. Great Fairies Sword, which i havent got because my game kept freezing )

On topic, CD looked awesome, but I'm still stuck at the scavenger hunt for dinner... how the hell do you get the egg on the cliff.
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...eh?

[Leonhart]

Face the egg and press spacebar.............
It will ask if you want to climb up.......
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The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.
- Robert Bloch

[Raekuul]

Where exactly do you stand at? What part of the base of the mountain?
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A broken clock is still right twice a day.

[Leonhart]

At the bottom of the mountain......
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The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.
- Robert Bloch