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[Craig Stern]

Telepath RPG: Servants of God is my latest project, and while it's far from done, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about it.

Here's a composite screenshot showing the battle system in action:



Here is a trailer that is roughly 1 year old as of the time of this edit:



There are a few things I've tried to do with this game that (I hope) will make it stand out in the RPG genre:

1) Interesting characters. I'm doing my best to flesh out the main characters so they're not just inch-deep puddles of cliche. I want them to feel "real" in the context of the game. So you'll notice that they have a lot of optional dialog, if you choose to talk to them.

2) A relatively original message. The central conflicts of this game involve religion: religious bigotry, a takeover of the political establishment by a religion, and attempts to reestablish a representative system of government. It's been said before, of course, but to my knowledge, there hasn't yet been an RPG that serves as an allegory for church-state tensions in the real world.

3) Strategic combat. I hate Final Fantasy's turn-based combat. Phantasy Star's, too. I wanted something that involved tactics and thought. It'll get deeper as I add new attacks and create more challenging battles.

4) Player freedom and consequences. I'm trying to give the player lots of dialog options that affect (1) the way he can solve problems in the game, and (2) that affect his relationships with the other characters.

Your choices in the game (coupled with the way you've built your character) let you to avoid some major battles that might, at first, seem unavoidable. On a related note, since your main character is a telepath, he can read minds if you give him high enough Aptitude. This, in turn, will give you more dialog options, since he'll know more about who he's talking to.

Also, you alone choose how to "level" your characters. Characters don't gain experience points--you just get gold, and use it to train them however you like. However, your characters will gradually get stronger with the attacks they use the most, and lag behind with attacks they don't use.

Things I know kinda suck about it right now:

1) There isn't tons of content in the game yet. Just a couple of plot-related missions and a side mission, a card game, and exploration of the few areas I've finished designing.
2) It can run slowly. (Try turning off level shadows and/or reducing the graphics quality if it's chugging for you!)
3) The first part is basically one giant cut scene. I figured out that new Telepath players need a lot of hand-holding at first, so it's basically there to ease them into the game world while introducing the combat system.

Well, that's all I've got. Hopefully you'll like it and/or have some good feedback for me.

EDIT: Maybe it would help if I actually posted the link? *smacks forehead* Okay:
you can try the game here.

[Gnarf]

***SPOILERS AND SHIT MAYBE***

I've played it a bit. Gotten hideout with a trainer.

I'll just get the being a dick thing over with first. I have a problem with magic-heavy settings. Particularly in games. When you're in control of it and it's something you can count on, I don't think it's very interesting. It just becomes this thing where you pick between swords, axes, bows or lightning balls. There's nothing mystic and rare and powerful and magical about it. My problem with it is illustrated quite nicely with the card dealer: "[...]he maintains a very effective telepathic shield. Perhaps he learned this technique to avoid being cheated at cards." Telepathy just became this trivial thing that people use to cheat at cards and walk their dogs with. A lot of games do things like this, and I still play them anyway, and it seems that a lot of people feel differently about it. So like ignore me.

The quest with the spirits in the basement. Because it's stuff that doesn't really exist, it all feels a bit McGuffin to me. If the things you learn about them ghosts there are a big deal in the rest of the story and so on, then maybe not so much, but the impression I got was that "you can't see ghosts but now you can see ghosts anyway because you know their names and for no apparent reason that makes you see ghosts". It makes a difference if that's useful knowledge later in the game, but as an isolated event it felt like fairly meaningless pre-fight babble.

I really like the combat system, and the combat system is the bit that matters most to me. Positioning and the direction you're facing matters, it's good fun. I'm hoping/assuming that you'll be gaining more abilities as you build your characters.

Graphics are fine although I think the characters and such look a bit out of place on terrain. No big deal. I'm glad to see that all top-down perspective like that can work out nicely, as that's something I'm considering using myself (mostly so that I don't have to draw everything once for each direction it can face :| ).

Using the keyboard and mouse feels a bit awkward. I'd like it if I could stick to just one or the other. Number keys for attacks and some key you could hold down in order to turn rather than move would be nice for combat. Or something.

Eh. One bug. The Menu/Close button doesn't turn into a Menu button when you load a game, and so you're out of the menu again but with a button that says "Close". It corrects itself when you mouseover it.

I didn't mind the beginning really. I think it worked out quite nicely as an introduction to the combat system without feeling very dragged out or anything.

IMHO and etc. I'm not sure if I come across as awfully harsh or not. When I spend a lot more words on the bits I don't like than on the bits I like, it's because I assume that in-depth explanations of how things work out how you probably intend them to work out would be meaningless. And so on  Altogether I quite liked the game.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

"but to my knowledge, there hasn't yet been an RPG that serves as an allegory for church-state tensions in the real world."

Xenogears, and Breath of Fire 2.

:D

The game looks nice btw. I don't really like the perspective, complete top-down doesn't appeal to me because it hides their faces: who wants to stare at the top of someone's head for the whole game?

[Gnarf]

The game looks nice btw. I don't really like the perspective, complete top-down doesn't appeal to me because it hides their faces: who wants to stare at the top of someone's head for the whole game?

While I sort of agree, I think a fully top-down view works quite nicely turn based tactics/strategy. I find that judging distances and relative positions and such is a lot faster if the squares are proper squares and the characters stay inside their damn squares

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

That's true to an extent, but I didn't really have problems visualizing isometric perspective (and most t-RPGs use isometric).

Also, I feel that if someone is going to go with 'stare at the top of their heads' view, they should try to counter that with heavy portrait use, so at least you can get to know the character's faces. Perhaps whenever a character's turn comes up their portrait would be shown?

[Gnarf]

Yeah, I suppose "a lot" was a bit of an exaggeration. I don't generally have any problems with isometric or anything. I do find top-down to be a slightly more straightforward representation of what's going on, and I do find that making stuff full 3D with a lot of fancy camera control can turn a TBS into a game of "is that unit standing where I think he is standing?"

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Oh, I wasn't saying it should be in 3D. I just am not used to looking at people from exactly above, and I don't think that's a very flattering angle to view people at, and it creates a distancing which isn't really appropriate for story-based games (and he did say this game was intended to focus on the story).

I mean, even most chess programs aren't directly top-down, and that's the grandpa of grid-based strategy games. It'd be hard to tell a bishop from a pawn or a king from a queen if it were exactly top-down, let alone tell one person from another.

[dustin]

yeah I don't like the top down as much as say a link to the past style camera view.  Also I would make there some way to control the whole thing with just keyboard or just mouse so you don't have to switch.  Also it's kinda weird that you can shoot through your teamates but not walk through them.

[Craig Stern]

Hey guys, thank you for the feedback! Back in Telepath Chapter 2, I actually tried making combat controllable entirely with the keyboard, but it was extremely buggy. I should probably give it another try now that I'm a bit better at programming.

@ Gnarf: I appreciate your detailed critique about the setting. You're probably right that I could do more to make telepathy feel "special" in the game. Still, it's not like everyone you can't read is necessarily a telepath. It usually has more to do with the skill of your character in digging out things which the subject is trying to avoid thinking about.

Ghosts actually play a substantial role in the plot, which is why the you're introduced to them so early on. But your point is well-taken about making it relevant to the gameplay. That actually gives me a neat idea... 

[Craig Stern]

Also I would make there some way to control the whole thing with just keyboard or just mouse so you don't have to switch.

I've taken your advice and updated TRPG3 with battle hotkeys! Here they are: E = rotate right; Q = rotate left; Space = End Turn; Z = undo move; X = ? Button; 0 = Surrender; 1-8 bring up the reticle for the associated attack, then launch the attack on the second press.

[Craig Stern]

A few weeks ago I spent time watching DeceasedCrab's "Let's Play La Mulana" on Youtube, and it inspired me to create some traditional puzzle-and-trap dungeon levels for TRPG3.

So I spent many hours over the last few days putting a dungeon into the game, and I'd love to get some feedback on it (things that worked well, things that didn't, ideas for future versions, etc.) Here's how to reach it:

--Once you're done with the prison level, go to the library at the very top of East Ravinale and talk to the guard in the library. Then talk to the librarian and ask her where all the books went. Once you get the quest from her, leave Ravinale and visit Crypt 1.

[Craig Stern]

I take it that the deafening silence in this thread is because the crypt is 100% perfect and in no need of further modification?

[godsavant]

Trying to get around to playing this. Busy. Will later.

Please to don't reply to this mailing address.

[eddietree]

Wow graphics look really smooth.. well done! I enjoy the cape physics.  :D

The gameplay sort of reminds me of FF Tactics. Especially how it's turn based. Man i ask, what language you coded this in?

And... the song has Taiwanese in it!!!! I know because I am one.. haha

[Craig Stern]

Thanks dude! The game is made in Flash, which means I coded it in Actionscript. I actually modeled the combat more on Shining Force (I hadn't ever played FF Tactics before when I designed the combat engine). As for the graphics, while I did most of it myself, I can't take credit for the cape animation--that was made by a volunteer.

[Craig Stern]

Update: the Psy Academy is now visitable (though a bit barren of content at the moment), and the bandit mission for the Marid Clan is now essentially complete.

[diabloschild]

hey i dont get the "the owls are nocturnal guards" thing so ya if u could plz help me oh and it wont let me attack tikki even tho i talked to everyone that would b related to that subject it will only let me either contact or try to read his mind but thats it and p.s. ur game is good other than the owl thing might be a little challenging for new ppl so i suggest u make a bit more obvious

[diabloschild]

o nvm about the tikki one but now i got another question where r the slaves cuz there iusnt really anywhere south of the docks with ppl there except the one guy who likes to kill ppl bcuz of buisness but thats it so plz respond and help me

[Craig Stern]

That mission is still a work in progress. Check again in a week or so and it should be finished. Thanks for the feedback!

[Craig Stern]

The mission where you rescue the laborers is now finished. There is also a new playable character and tons of new attacks in the game that you can learn. Work continues!