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[Guert]

It didn't bother me much not to save but I do understand your point. Maybe you could enable saving bu allow only 2 kinds of mage. You'd face all sorts but wouldn't be able to select the classes.

Perhaps stop the game after a certain level?

[Icedemon]

all i wanted to say is that i DLed it a while back, and i've seen you in about 3 or 4 different places, didn't know where to put feedback until now! 

I simply want to congratulate you on your brillinat use of GM... (gamemaker y'all) i mean, sell one copy, and you've paid for the engine!!

but yea, nice game, and carbon copy most of what guert said, cause i agree... except for the colors thing...

[TeeGee]

Thanks guys for your input.

Guert:

Of course if the demo would allow saving, it would be more limited on other aspects. And it already stops at some level/age .

Glad to hear that the lack of save option didn't bothered you - it's the solution I prefer myself, as it lets me to show the game without giving away too much.

Icedemon:

Thanks.

The game is for sale since about two months, so I've racked up much more than the cost of the engine .

Oh... and the best place, to post your feedback about MAGI, is definetely it's forum :D. It's a quiet community, but I always try to reply to any suggestions posted there, as I know that they come from people really interested in the game.

Anyway - thanks for your comments and expect the update to be launched pretty soon. Right now I'm only waiting for the additional tracks from my composer.

And if you have any thoughts on the saving issue - please post it. Thanks.

[TeeGee]

Hey everyone,

I've finally finished the 1.2 update! I'm really happy with the changes. I guess that they are going to remove the "WTF factor", while making the game more fun overall.

It's the biggest bunch of improvements since version 1.0 of the game .

So for the new players, MAGI 1.2 offers:

- Completely reworked interface and control scheme! It's much clearer and more intuitive.

- Improved tutorial and character templates - great for those first tries at MAGI.

While the old wolves will surely appreciate:

- Two more battle tracks by Rob Westwood!

- New, improved spell effects! You're going to feel that Fireball hitting now.

- Various balance changes targeted at making the game more strategic and fun.

- New spell queue system that, while being clear to the beginners, grants more control over the course of the action.

Screenshots:


Links:

MAGI demo

Official Website

Vote for MAGI in the Indie Games Showcase

I would also like to thank you for all the wonderful feedback - it really helped me in making this game better. Especially you Guert - thanks for your comments man.

I hope you'll like the improvements. Have fun...
 

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Still needs bigger sprites! Other than that, yes, these changes look much better (do I get a patch, btw?).

[TeeGee]

Probably the sprites could be bigger, but this is a change I don't see myself doing in the close future.

And yup, you'll get your patch . Check your email.

[Guert]

Ah yes, I definitvely see a difference.

A lot more action and control over my character. I played alot more at this version than at the last one.

A couple of nit-picks... First, I'd add a quit button somehwere in the interface or point our during the level up sequence that I can quit anytime by pressing escape. How do we save a game actually? Since I'm playing the demo, there's no option to do it but where is it in the full version?

A thing with the spell queue... You shouldn,t be able to put spells in there if you can't cast them. For instance, adding a shield spell or a chanel in the queue when therE's alreayd a shield or all channels are fully opened. The action remains in the queue until you unselect it. I say eithe rremove them if they can't be used or don't add them at all...

Well that's pretty much it!
Good job!
Guert

 

[TeeGee]

Thanks Guert,

Glad to hear that you like the new version.

I'll think about adding the quit button somewhere. I don't think it's that important, but it couldn't hurt, if I'll manage to find some space in the UI.

The game saves automatically in the full version. When you quit, when you start/finish a match and so on.

Good point about the queue - especially for the channels (as there are some situations in which you want to add the shield, even if you have one already). It was also reported by the testers, so I guess I'll do a silent update soon.

Thanks again for your feedback.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

This isn't really a comment about the game, but how do you get the borders of your screenshot to fade into to a color like that? Is there some filter that does that? Does it use PNG semi-transparency, or is the color always the same?

[TeeGee]

There's a GIMP filter "jagged edge" that does that. I'm sure that PS has this function too (maybe with a different name).

It looks cool if you blend the colour with the colour of your website's background.

And btw - how do you like the UI changes? You're a very good designer, so your opinion matters to me a lot .

[TeeGee]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know that today the game is available on GameDuJour at a discount of 60% (which means it costs 7.98 bucks). Good occasion for some cheap people out there .

And to not be a bad person that double-posts just to get some promotion ... here are two concept arts from the game:

Here's the Astrologist's (upcoming character):


And here's the Sorceress:


You can click on the images to enlarge them. And if you want to see more - click here.

[sega]

Hahah I noticed!  Man, I haven't read any of the other posts in this thread, but your game looks super complicated!  TONS of icons.  Good luck on the sale!  It's always nice to see non-bejeweled/poker games on gamedujour.com.  I get pumped when I see something that looks like a new game concept as yours did.

By the way, I STRONGLY encourage the posting of concept art.  I can't get enough of it!  Thanks.

EDIT:
I just bought your game

[TeeGee]

EDIT:
I just bought your game

Congrats for having a taste for original games :D. Hope it will give you lots of fun. Remember to visit our forums every now and then. The game's constantly expanding and player's feedback can be very helpful.

Oh - and how do you like the user interface? I completely reworked it lately and I'm very curious how it works for new gamers.

[sega]

I haven't even played it yet.  haha.  But I was impressed enough by the design elements I read in this thread that I picked it up.  And I do try to support original game design when I can. 

I still think it looks hella complicated in screenshots, and I bet it scares off quite a few people, even if you've made it much easier to get into once playing.  I can't help but to wonder if there's a way to simplify the interface, or maybe even the art for the interface.  But yeah, I'm just talking out of my ass until I actually play it.  I'll definitely let you know what I think of my first experience.  I'll boot it up in a bit.

Oh, and you should know that a big pet peeve of mine is forced tutorials.  But I know what I'm getting into before starting it, so I'll be prepared mentally .

[TeeGee]

Well, the problem with games like MAGI is that a tutorial is just necessary. It has unique gameplay model so there's nothing to base on - some explanation is needed, even if I hate tutorials too (who doesn't). After all it's a strategy game and playing blindfolded would not be possible, like in the case of casual puzzlers.

Anyway - the UI looks complicated (if you'll have any idea on simplifying it - I'm all ears), but it really isn't. The various icons are just different spells and that's pretty much all what you will have to click. Of course learning the different spells' effects takes a while, but that's obvious.

Looking forward to reading your comments.

[sega]

First of all, I want to say that your presentation is great.  The music is super impressive.  You were quite fortunate to get the musician you did.  Forgive me in advance if I give you redundant information.  I don't remember all of what was typed in the previous posts.

I understand that this is a complex game, and tutorials are required.  However, there are other ways to accomplish the same thing.  Sometimes you can teach through action, sometimes through story (to make it more entertaining at least), and sometimes there are ways to give control to the user on how he is presented with this information, if at all.  Playing the game, I feel you've done a good job, and it's nice you gave the user an out by letting him click on the tutor to make him disappear.

Character Setup: In character creation, perhaps it would work better to provide tooltips.  Give a message introducing the player to the character creation screen, and telling the user to hover the cursor over the areas he has questions about.  Not only would it help the impatient players like me, but it would also allow the player to revisit information in case he forgets something after reading several windows' worth of text.  I myself forgot what Communion was by the time I was finished reading all of those windows.  It'd also be better for players who have played the game before, but want to start a new game.  It's mean to force tutorials on someone twice .  Also, a description of the three character-specific spells would have been nice, which again, could be accomplished with a tooltip.  Or maybe I could have right clicked?  I'm past that screen now...

It also would have been nice for it to communicate to me that I couldn't get more than 15 points put on an attribute, and 10 on a magic school.  The button merely stopped responding (even though it made an active sound when I hovered over it).  There was no block sound when I clicked, no faded graphic, no feedback whatsoever, visual or aural.

In-Game: I really liked that the tutor light moved around items to show what it was talking about.  It gently lead my eyes over there.  It felt natural, as opposed to a sudden blinking graphic or whatever.  The information you provided was needed, but I think some single sentences were spread across two windows that didn't have to be.  I'm glad you left some info to the right-click help.

I've only played the first two enemies, but I may have more to say later.  I'm still going over a few ideas for the interface, but I like the way yours feels as it is now.  By the way, is this an engine you wrote?

[TeeGee]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's great that you liked the interface and tutorial. It was critiqued in the version v1.1, so it's important for me to see if I made it better in the v1.2.

You can right-click items in the character creation screen to see extended descriptions, just like you can do in-game. Tutorial states that, but I guess you're right - tooltips could be more convinient and intuitive. I'll try to add them in the upcoming releases.

Good point about making the stat limitations visible - I'll implement this in the next version.

The music is super impressive.  You were quite fortunate to get the musician you did.

Agreed . I was lucky to meet Rob. He's a wonderful composer and as he's new to the indie business, his prices are very reasonable (especially for this quality).

By the way, is this an engine you wrote?

Just like the Immortal Defense posted by RinkuHero, MAGI was made with GameMaker. I'm not a good enough programmer to write my own engine, I don't intend to be one and I don't have the time .

Thanks again for the comments. Remember about signing on the MAGI forums .

[TeeGee]

Hey guys, just a quick note guys - I've updated the game to the version 1.2.2.

It's not as big as the last one, but it fixes all know bugs (including a really nasty bastard that caused occasional crashes on loading) and offers few other improvements (like a new arena background). It also includes a new saving system that will be compatibile with the upcoming versions of MAGI, which is very important as the game is constantly expanding.

The exact changes are following:

- New saving system - compatibile with the upcoming versions (of course only in the full game). You also can't save during a battle from now on. Enough of cheating .

- Fixed all known bugs and typos.

- New arena background. Darker and in the gray scale. Imho it looks much better, as the game is already full of colours. It also puts emphasis on the characters, as they stand out more now. Stat-screen is also a bit darker to fit with the rest of the game.

- Better sounds for some of the spells.

- Priority cast mechanics is now improved.

- Magical schools are now capped at 5 max and 1 min. This makes it more obvious that 3 is the average value and prevents beginners from spoiling their character, using 10s to see all the spells and abusing the system in any other way.

Link:
MAGI demo


Now on I'm starting my work on the v1.2.5 and then v1.3. Some huge changes are planned. I've started a thread regarding the updates on my forums. Check it out if you want to know what I have in mind. You are also welcome to post your suggestions and ideas - the case's still open .

I'll try to post some screenies from the new version soon. Have fun and thanks again to all those who posted their feedback and/or bought the game.

[bigbossSNK]

I like the style of the new version. To tell ya the truth, I had only tried the demo of the earlier version for about 20 minutes, but was put off by the incongruence of epic music and Saturday morning cartoon sound effects.
The characters are still too small, though. Just looking at the character art at the top of this page, I can't see why you don't embed the character art as is. Right now the characters seem less appealing than their concept sketches.

[moi]

I like the style of the new version. To tell ya the truth, I had only tried the demo of the earlier version for about 20 minutes, but was put off by the incongruence of epic music and Saturday morning cartoon sound effects.
The characters are still too small, though. Just looking at the character art at the top of this page, I can't see why you don't embed the character art as is. Right now the characters seem less appealing than their concept sketches.

Yeah I second that.
You could use bigger sprites and change the perspective instead of using a top down view (for example use a perspective similar to phantasy star)
The concept art needs to be used.