I have a question! I am considering TRYING (since is not easy as it seems) to make a sort of "visual novel mode", to experience mostly the story, so hopefully those of you who stayed away from the game because of the too many combats could still enjoy it. I am wondering, did you dislike also the isometric map? not the fights in it, just the map itself? I don't think I can remove that, since especially in act 2 there are many sidequests that require the maps, but I was curious to know your opinion about it as well
AndrewJohnKahnJan 30, 2015
I just finished the game on normal and loved it. I plan on playing on hard and eventually nightmare. There are additions to the game that would have been welcomed but all in all it was a good game. I personally would of loved a "respec" feature. Reading a description of a skill/talent is different than using it in combat. Just my .02 USD.
I would appreciate a "story" mode, but it would not be a deal breaker for me playing the game. A suggestion if possible is auto resolve battles like Rome Total War. I know they are not the same thing. But it was the first example I had in my head. Like crunch the numbers of the current heroes versus the current enemies and get a prediction of who would win. Then decide to fight it out or CPU resolve it for time-saving.
I liked the isometric map. It made the game more immersive. I liked having some freedom to pursue my quest completion. I think many people are comparing this game to Loren The Princess of the Amazon. I see that as fair but not accurate. These are two different games with two different scopes and scales of the world of Aravorn. The scope SOTW is magnified and the game is epic for different reasons. The fighting was different than Loren, but it was a small learning curve for any RPG veteran to overcome.
I didn't know there were over 100 battles in the game. I guess people played this game for different reasons. I played it to flesh out the romances and was captivated by the humor. The story was palpable due to the great writing and art. I can see why people can be turned off from this game due to the number of battles.
ValHallenJan 30, 2015
I have a question! I am considering TRYING (since is not easy as it seems) to make a sort of "visual novel mode", to experience mostly the story, so hopefully those of you who stayed away from the game because of the too many combats could still enjoy it. I am wondering, did you dislike also the isometric map? not the fights in it, just the map itself? I don't think I can remove that, since especially in act 2 there are many sidequests that require the maps, but I was curious to know your opinion about it as well
I had no problem with the maps.
SylrissaJan 30, 2015
I really liked the map personally, and hope it makes a return in other games (I believe you've mentioned before about FF tactics, hopefully one day you'll be able to make something in that style)
jack1974Jan 30, 2015
Thanks for the feedback. About this:
I would appreciate a "story" mode, but it would not be a deal breaker for me playing the game. A suggestion if possible is auto resolve battles like Rome Total War. I know they are not the same thing. But it was the first example I had in my head. Like crunch the numbers of the current heroes versus the current enemies and get a prediction of who would win. Then decide to fight it out or CPU resolve it for time-saving.
is an interesting idea indeed, it could be done easily for battles that don't have cut-scenes in the middle. With the new framework I think should also be possible to automate the battle (CPU vs CPU) like other games do as well to solve the battles quickly without the need of human intervention
iWeasleJan 30, 2015
I liked the map and all, but I got lost in it looking for things multiple times...
Not your fault though, I get lost in every game that I can, I once spent an hour in a 15 minute dungeon in Skyrim because I kept getting turned around .
TroyenJan 31, 2015
Only thing bad about the map was the orange arrows on Dingerra's orange background. Everything else was great and it helped with the immersion.
jack1974Jan 31, 2015
OK thanks
rooke30Feb 05, 2015
I have a question! I am considering TRYING (since is not easy as it seems) to make a sort of "visual novel mode", to experience mostly the story, so hopefully those of you who stayed away from the game because of the too many combats could still enjoy it. I am wondering, did you dislike also the isometric map? not the fights in it, just the map itself? I don't think I can remove that, since especially in act 2 there are many sidequests that require the maps, but I was curious to know your opinion about it as well
I don't think this will work. You really feel the focus of the game is the RPG elements and not the story, compared to something like Loren. I don't think the story is strong enough to stand on its own (I really feel like the ending was rushed and the last Act was a bit of an anti-climax.)
IMO the problem is that while Ren'Py is a decent enough engine to add RPG elements to a Visual Novel type game, I don't think it's really suited to make an RPG focused game. There's too many limitations. That's just my feeling. And because you designed the game to make the RPG characteristics the focus, I don't believe it can be fixed with a VN mode.
Just my opinion.
jack1974Feb 05, 2015
I understand about "because you designed the game to make the RPG characteristics the focus, I don't believe it can be fixed with a VN mode", but regarding Ren'Py I don't see how it is an issue. The problem might have been only on mobile where the battles are slow (so it's engine-related), but on desktop the issues are only related to game/battles design and by the fact that people didn't like to play too many/too long battles, but not because of the engine itself
TaleweaverFeb 06, 2015
I don't think the story is strong enough to stand on its own (I really feel like the ending was rushed and the last Act was a bit of an anti-climax.)
Nothing I couldn't give a workover.
jack1974Feb 06, 2015
Well as long as I don't have to code more battles, is fine but maybe wait for the DLC to come out (talking to rooke30) since I think that one should be interesting!
MegaDissuFeb 18, 2015
As someone who was... underwhelmed by the game, I found that while the combat focus was a bit annoying, I had more of a problem with the way the story progressed by having days counting down to the next plot event, and the romances seeming to have less chemistry and development than previous games. The days counting down meant I would do all the quests in the first few days, and then only be able to further the games by going to bed a couple times in a row. Then later, when that wasn't an option because the game wouldn't let me do more than one quest a day, that was even MORE annoying. As for the romances, I realize fewer romancable characters means I'm going to have only one or two I really like as opposed to four or five, but I was hoping not having to write as many relationships would mean more time to develop them. Overall, while I would like to see a non-combat version so I can quickly go back and complete character convos I haven't seen before, I don't think that's going to fix the game for some of us.
Alex81Aug 15, 2015
Though I love Visual Novels as well, trying to turn a game that was built as something else entirely into one, is a ...difficult decision, especially due to such efforts, though good intention, risk hurting the quality of the entire experience.
Regarding Seasons of the Wolf, perhaps your best rpg yet, I`m not sure it`s got enough meat to make a great VN as well.
That said ,you`re the expert here, I am not, I like lots of genres of games, I can`t claim to know the VN genre nearly as well as I`d like to (even though I`ve -seriously- loved short VNs in the past), but perhaps by making the easiest difficulty -really- easy, almost god-mode easy?
kadakithisAug 19, 2015
I understand about "because you designed the game to make the RPG characteristics the focus, I don't believe it can be fixed with a VN mode", but regarding Ren'Py I don't see how it is an issue. The problem might have been only on mobile where the battles are slow (so it's engine-related), but on desktop the issues are only related to game/battles design and by the fact that people didn't like to play too many/too long battles, but not because of the engine itself
The hardest issue was definitely the choose who to talk to, since it may only be 1 at most 2. I found myself annoyed and frustrated because I like many of these type of games for the characters and not even being able to talk to Rowinda and Vealis(?) was hard to take. A VN mode would be hard with that in place.
That was one of the harder things to swallow, no party banter. And when I did get party banter it was solely for romance and a bit extra for 1 non romanceable character. I couldn't become friends with Riley/Krimm/Rowinda and Vealis I could romance Challasa and pick one of them to befriend. In a game about traveling around collecting allies that was a hard pill to swallow.
jack1974Aug 19, 2015
Yes it depends on what you're looking for in a RPG, for this SOTW was quite different from Loren. Some preferred this, but the majority preferred Loren's approach, probably also because of my "background" as dating sim creator
kadakithisAug 19, 2015
It did make me realize I enjoy party mechanic for more than just the romance though. I found any worrying over romance quickly subsided to who I could befriend. I almost skipped romance entirely just to befriend another person. But that is just a testament to how great the characters were written. Wanted to talk and hear backstory to everyone. That was made up by putting their backstories in their quests, but that worked better for some characters than others.
jack1974Aug 19, 2015
Yes, there wasn't enough time for "quantity", so writer focused on quality, I think he did succeed When I think about it, and how "relatively" quickly SOTW was made, I still can't believe it
weaseltonAug 21, 2015
My own 2 cents on this. I do not really fit the description of someone who did not like the game. Between the two I find it hard to decide which one I like better.
I will try to put it in perspective a bit with this.
Loren IS the game that got my attention and the sole reason I looked into your other productions. With that said it is always going to be the standard which other games are measured against.
I think when all the pros and cons of each game when compared to each other are weighed this is my final verdict.
Gameplay. SOTW wins. It is simply a better RPG. There was just more to do in that fashion, plus.
The fact that there is a full ending for losing the final fight with Chal alone is a superb step. Not sure how many have done this, but if you have not load up that fight, and when you lose pick quit rather than continue.
Story. Loren edges out SOTW barely. Loren was overall a superior tale with more to do. If you include the Bad Blood Seasons picks up most of the ground, but Loren still has a slight edge.
jack1974Aug 22, 2015
Cool thanks for the feedback
I think the main problem was that the story was written quickly. Not "in a hurry", but with some specific deadlines in mind, and limited cast/characters. That's why Loren 2 is taking so long, I want it to be good story/character wise. Then as for the RPG aspect, I think I can do a good job (at least I hope).
