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 Knights in the Nighmare is a Nintendo DS game developed by Sting Entertainment and published in North America by Atlus on June 2, 2009. Considered a blend of strategy RPG and bullet hell shooter, the game has notoriety for not only being strange as heck, but extremely complicated…perhaps to a fault. The game has a difficult learning curve; in fact there is a significant level of knowledge you must have just to get through the first battle. As a result, the game asks a lot out of new players. Those that persevere will find that the game is extremely well designed, and once understood, the mechanics make sense within the game and become second nature. Most importantly, the game is fun. Gameplay involves a setup phase and a battle phase. You set up your guys on a preparation screen by selecting their weapons and which knight class you want to use. Positioning, enemy type, one-chance-to-get items and more dictate your strategy. Once you are ready, the battle phase begins and you spend a round scurrying from enemy fire and commanding your knights with the stylus. The game starts off fairly slow, but before too long, the action gets rather fast paced and nerve wracking. lol why doesn’t someone just wake them up? The story so far concerns a kingdom in peril. Starting a new game grants us the following information: The Gleivnir Kingdom is a nation consisting of twelve orders of Knights, and has existed for thousands of years. Something bad happened. Reeal bad. Almost everyone is dead. A thief has taken something very precious from Castle Aventheim, the capitol. That’s it. The story in this game is presented in both normal cut scenes, and flashback cut scenes that are shown out of order. The plot is fairly dense (I guess Sting wanted a complicated story to go along with their complicated game). I personally don’t understand every nuance of the story, but playing through does provide a good enough gist. This game is one of the most melancholy, bleak titles I’ve ever played. I would like to preserve that atmosphere during the let’s play, but within reason…no one wants to watch a video that depresses them. While we’re on the subject: Spoiler policy: The game does have some interesting twists. I would appreciate it if spoilers were kept to a minimum and properly tagged. LP format: I have beaten this game twice. I understand most of its mechanics, but a few things still elude me. The playthrough will be somewhat blind as I have forgotten a lot about the plot and specific stages/bosses/what have you. This game needs to be presented in video. I will be doing the first few videos with live commentary, as I feel it will allow me to efficiently describe what I’m doing and why. The first few videos will, by necessity, have a large amount of information on gameplay mechanics so that the laser light show you watch will have a rhyme and reason. Eventually I would like to shift to post commentary, but only after I think I’ve covered the important details. To supplement the videos, I will have post entries that will cover the mechanics stuff I’ve gone over, as well as a brief plot synopsis. I think I understand most of the game mechanics; if I state something incorrectly, please set me straight! In addition, I am a little paranoid that I will not do a good job explaining all the mechanics. I would like to urge people to post questions in the thread if I’m not being clear, or if I do something that doesn’t make sense, etc. There is also a decent chance that your question “why didn’t you equip the axe when you fought with a warrior” will be answered with “oh I’m glad you asked, it turns out I’m an idiot.” Update schedule: I would like to keep new videos coming out at a regular pace, but full disclosure: I really don't know wtf I'm doing, and I struggle with the capture and editing process. As a result, I’m slow as hell. I’ll do my best though. This is actually a good time to give a huge thanks to the Sandcastle thread and especially forum user Mastigophoran, who wrote the script I’m using to format the video (I don’t know how the hell it works). In addition, she was also extremely patient with my idiotic questions. We’re talking really stupid questions. Having said all that, let’s get this ball rolling:  0. Knights in the Nightmare Introduction  Description of Knight classes in the gamePost regarding the plot of the game1. Scene 1, Rounds 1 and 2 (covering how to attack, Law/Chaos phases, the time limit, and equipment screen is introduced 2. Scene 1, Round 3 (covering battle winning conditions, magic points 3. Scene 1, Round 4 (covering Knight recruitment, key items, Pause talk) 4. Scene 2 (more info on breaking objects, new class: Hermit, gameplay element: punishing enemies) 5. Scene 3 (new Knight class: Lance Knight. Discussion of movement on the field. Interrupting enemies. Changing an enemy's elemental affinity.) 6. Inventory Management. General gameplay details, too numerous to mention. No story progression. 7.  Boss fight! Clash with the Werewolf Jaime. New Knight class: Archer. How not to collect key items. Forum post on how Height/elevation works on your attacks 8. Scene 5. New Knight class: Duelist. Hiding mechanics. 9. Scene 6: Suspicion in the Air. New Knight class: Wizard 10. Scene 7: Sacrificial Lambs. New Knight class: Priestess 11. Leveling mode. 12. Scene 8: Gathering of the Four. 13. Scene 9: Her Own Purpose. 14. Scene 10: Liberator's Proposal. The Armored Maiden joins us. 15. Scene 11: The Gatekeeper of Doom. Boss fight! Clash with Rivulia the Judgement16. Scene 12: Whisperer in the Shadows 17. Scene 13: Those Who Seek Ancardia Bonus Video 1: footage of the Hound enemy's special attack and the animation that plays if you idle on the title screen. 18. Scene 14: Wings of Darkness. Boss fight! Clash with the Fallen Angel Melissa. Plot recap video 1, covering main characters we've met so far. Featuring a lovely, inaccurate map. Plot recap video 2, covering the flashbacks we've seen so far, set in chronological order. Plot recap video 3, covering the present time cutscenes we've seen so far. 19. Scene 15: Fruitless Efforts 20. Scene 16: Knight in Tainted Armor. Boss fight! Clash with the Black Knight Gunther.21. Scene 17: A Presence Draws Near 22. Scene 18: The Yearning Souls Boss fight! Clash with the Fallen Angel Melissa -- Round 223. Scene 19: The Lost Dominion 24. Scene 20: Menace at the Castle Gate Boss Fight! Clash with Beast King Dotaurus (and Garm)25. Scene 21: Impending Threat Bonus Video 2: Garm's maul attack and discussing Pamela 26. Scene 22: The Desperate Cardinal Boss Fight! Clash with the Fallen Angel Melissa -- Round 327. Scene 23: The Witch's Pawn 28. Scene 23.5: The Guardian of the Chamber Boss Fight! Clash with the Titan Scoppio29. Scene 24: Assault on the Tomb 30. Scene 25: The Heart Astray Boss Fight! Clash with the Gladiator LeonilBonus Video 3: Leonil's attacks 31. Scene 26: The Rise of the Witch 32. Scene 27: A Man with a Lion's Heart Boss Fight! Clash with the Sniper Aquina33. Scene 28: The Eye of the Battle 34. Scene 29: The Lion and the Dragon Boss Fight! Clash with Cardinal CapehornBonus Video 4: More Capehorn fights for funsies 35. Scene 30: Where the Current Leads Boss Fight! Clash with the Fallen Angel Melissa -- Round 4Bonus Video 5: Maria 36. Scene 31: Deep into the Night 37. Scene 32: The Accursed Ones 38. Scene 33: The Forsaken Race 39. Scene 34: Descendants of Dragons Boss Fight! Clash with Vilgo the Immortal40. Scene 35: The Outcasts of Old Boss Fight! Clash with the Witch Vienna41. Scene 36: In Possession of the Body 42. Scene 37: The Cardinal's Keepsake 43. Scene 38: The Two Pursuers Boss Fight! Clash with the Cursed PicheBonus Video 6: Alternate fight with Piche 44. Scene 39: Venturing into the Labyrinth 45. Scene 40: Placing of the Seal Bonus Video 7: Rush Count Requests 46. Scene 41: The Breach of the Sanctuary. Boss Fight! Clash with the Devout Sacchito47. Scene 42: The Princess' Pride 48. Scene 43: The Witch's Vexation 49. Scene 44: Distant Memories Boss Fight! Clash with Princess Alier50. Scene 45: An Ambition to Transcend All Bonus Video 8: The Lord of Aventheim Castle 51. Scene 46: The Arbitrator's Destiny Boss Fight! Clash with the Dark King ZolgonarkBonus Video 9: Zolgonark showcase 52. Scene 47: Law and Chaos Boss Fight! Clash with Melad Margus52. The Endings Bonus Video 10: Dept Heaven Episodes Plot Overview HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Jul 10, 2016 |
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Nov 12, 2014 06:12
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 There are seven different classes of Knights in this game (and once special class). Each Knight class has a different attack pattern and a special ability. I will be leveling up one knight from each class…which is a pretty lousy strategy, but don’t worry, it will be fine. I mention The Tome of Lost Souls in this section...which is the collector’s art book that came with preorders for the game. I got a copy from Amazon for like $12, and it is totally worth it if you want more details about the game.  Warriors “I’ll cleave your skull!” Faces: northwest, northeast Mobility: none Weapon: Axe Sex: Male only The warrior is probably going to be the single most used class in the game. Featuring a decent attack range in Law phase and a very good range in Chaos, warriors are able to administer damage over a good area. In addition, there is a very important feature to their attack – it is the only way to completely destroy an object on the field. This is mandatory for getting certain key items, and also needed to gather materials for weapon upgrades. In addition, they are one of the three Knight classes that can attack in the northwest/northeast directions—and the only one that can consistently and reliably do so in Chaos phase. Because of these reasons, warriors see a lot of play in the game. Our warrior: Johann Elliot of the 11th Order  "I've only just left, yet I already miss home..."    Class: Warior Atlus.com says this of Johann: “A young, timid boy who joins the knights to make his mother proud. He treasures the things she sends to him from home.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Sullen Axe “Johann is always worried about the well-being of his mother, Nadia. He is incredibly homesick, but he continues to endure because he wants to make a difference in the kingdom. Lisbet tends to worry about him and does her best to take care of him. Johann has a secret crush on Leier, but he is afraid to tell her how he feels.” Johann is a bit of a sadsack, which I think is why he appeals to me. It's also pretty clear that he doesn't really want to be a Knight, but did so out of obligation/duty/whatever. He likes Leier, but unfortunately, we won't meet her this playthrough. You just want to give him a big hug and tell him everything’s going to be alright! Without mentioning that he’s dead.  Hermits “Revenge is mine.” Faces: southwest, southeast Weapon: Daggers Sex: Female only Mobility: none Hermits have a few interesting mechanics to play around with. They see a significant increase in their charge speed the higher their elevation is. They also possess the ability to inflict status effects on enemies when they attack in Law phase. The status effects are quite varied and, if taken advantage of, can be devastating. Plus hermits are just plain cool. I quite enjoy using hermits. Our hermit: Moira Chateletze of the 11th Order  "I wanted to support him..."    Class: Hermit Atlus says this of Moira: “A calm and collected woman with combat experience to spare. She is engaged to Wunsche of the 4th Order.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Iron Rose “She is a strong and beautiful woman who commands a great deal of respect from her subordinates. Her unit has been known to get rowdy at times, but she has a lot of pride in all of them. Although she is generally calm, when Moira gets angry, she does not hold anything back, and her subordinates have learned how to keep her content. Moira is currently taking care of the stray dog that Cress found, and she is betrothed to Wunsche.” Not really much of a hermit, is she? I like Moira; first impression is that she has a stick up her rear end, but she's really an approachable person. She was supposed to get married to Wunsche. Unfortunately, he is not available to us in this playthrough, so she will most likely never see him again...  Lance Knights “I shall crush my foe.” Faces: any direction Weapon: Lance Sex: Male or Female Mobility: one or two squares when charged in Chaos Phase Lance Knights have two very obvious attributes: They can attack in any direction, and they can move on the battlefield. Movement requires being charged while in Chaos Phase; the movement itself is a rush attack. Lance Knights cannot move if the elevation difference is greater than 1.0. While in Law Phase, Lance Knights have a long reach straight ahead and can often nail multiple enemies or objects that are lined in a row. Additionally, a Lance Knight's attack has a knockback effect. Our Lance Knight: Alonso Updike of the 11th Order  “What do you mean I talk too loud!?”    Class: Lance Knight Atlus.com says this of Alonso: ”A spear-wielder, Alonso is highly critical of others and slightly arrogant. People know him for his booming voice.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Savage Impaler ”He looks after the rest of the order almost obsessively. Alonso’s expert knowledge on spears is almost unmatched, and local blacksmiths are nervous about dealing with him because of it. However, what Alonso is best known for is being a very loud talker, and his comrades talk about it behind his back frequently. He is aware of how loud he is, but he has no desire to lower his volume.” Alonso earned his place in our roster by virtue of being a loudmouth. Well, he also started with a good amount of vitality and his elemental affinity is lightning, which gives our group a little diversity. We are definitely going to see Alonso being used a fair bit in this game, as his movement capabilities are essential to positioning our other Knights.  Archers “I’ll carve you into pieces!” Faces: Southwest, Southeast Weapon: Bow Sex: Male only Mobility: none Archers have quite a few details to them. Their Law Phase attack is a single square that, once charges, cycles through the available ranges until you release the stylus and attack. In addition, a Law Phase attack will afflict the enemy with the “stun” condition, which freezes them in place for a moment and grants a minimum of 100% damage to them from the next received blow. In Chaos Phase, their attack range grows from a single square to a small AoE, and again cycles through available ranges like the Law Phase attack did. Both Law Phase and Chaos Phase attacks will, upon lifting the stylus, lock down any targeted enemies so that they cannot wander out of the attack during the animation. This is unique among Archers and helps guarantee you that the enemy will receive damage. Furthermore, each square hit by an Archer’s attack is a valid source of damage for the enemy, meaning that large enemies that cover more than one square will receive damage from both squares, as long as the Archer’s attack lands on them. Finally, Archers see a huge decrease to their charge times if they are on a higher elevation block. Getting an Archer on a 12-Height block nearly removes the charge time completely. Our Archer Dreyuss Koubelka of the 11th order  “Wow, the world is a pretty big place.”    Class: Archer Atlus.com says this of Dreyuss: “A pure-hearted boy from the countryside who has a hard time finding his way in the royal city. He shows great promise with his bow.” The Tome of Lost Souls says: Eagle Eye “He is an excellent Archer, and he knows it. Dreyuss has a tendency to be blunt and rude at times, but he always means well. For a young man who spends most of his day focusing intently on targets, measuring wind speeds, and searching for strategic firing locations, he has a surprisingly horrible sense of direction. Dreyuss studied archery under Legaard, and he is fortunate to have Frances looking after him like an older sister.” Dreyuss is a young whippersnapper that we see get killed by the werewolf, Jamie, in the flashback cutscene of Scene 4. (It looks like Firenz was giving him some valuable life lessons for naught.) I do expect him to get a lot of play during this run, as Archers are able to cover quite a bit of ground and do good damage.  Duelists “Fear my blade!” Faces: Northwest, Northeast Weapon: Rapier Sex: Female only Mobility: can move one square forward in Chaos Phase, regardless of height The most striking thing about Duelists is that they can move on the battlefield, even climbing up to blocks of higher elevation. There does not appear to be a limit to how high of a block they can jump up to. This movement is a function of their Chaos Phase attack and can make it possible to reach strategic locations. However, it is possible for a Duelist to hop her way into a corner and get stuck, like a cat in a tree. Be sure to plan ahead before moving a duelist or you may have to restart the Scene. Another notable weakness is that yes, the Choas Phase attack is a move…so it’s difficult to really plan on attacking with a Duelist in Chaos Phase. She’ll keep hopping up the map until she gets stuck! Unfortunately, this often limits a Duelist to landing one or two key attacks in Chaos Phase at most, and secures Warriors as the preferred means of attacking Northwest and Northeast in Chaos Phase as they will stay in place when the attack triggers. The Law Phase attack is a straight line in front of the Duelist, with a small AoE at the Duelist’s location. The attack pattern actually kind of looks like a sword; appropriate. Duelists will knockback an enemy when the blow lands. Knocking an enemy off a high elevation can potentially hurt it severely; unfortunately it is difficult to pull this off due to the fact that Duelists only face Northwest and Northeast. This significantly limits how often your opportunity to shove enemies off a cliff comes up. Our Duelist Hilgard Rei Merkitas of the 2nd Order  “This is a conspiracy. Make no mistake of it.”    Class: Duelist Atlus.com says this of Hilgard: “A pessimist at heart, she often compares herself to her knightly comrades in hopes of finding redeeming qualities in herself. It seems she is aware of some secretive information...” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Striking Lily "A pessimistic young woman who tends to over-think the situations she is in, Hilgard is often fawned over by the men around her. Her best friend is Janus, whom she thinks of as an older sister at times. When tragedy swept Aventheim, she was one of the first to be caught in the middle of it…"  Priestesses ”Follow my lead. We’ll obliterate the enemy!” Faces: southwest, southeast Mobility: none Weapon: Rod/Mace Sex: Female only Priestess are capable of covering quite a bit of ground with their attacks in Law Phase. Additionally, it seems that many of their weapons have the attribute of launching enemies and knocking them to the ground when they are struck. When this happens, you are presented with the ability to switch the enemy’s elemental affinity; a small box appears next to the monster and if you spin it, the element will change. This can be very useful if you couldn’t fit enough weapons to cover all the monsters’ elements; just change it to something you can exploit. Note that this is not exclusive to Priestesses, but it does seem like their weapons do it frequently. In Chaos Phase, Priestesses attack with “gram” traps, similar to a Wizard’s attack in Law Phase. I don’t particularly care for grams, and do not plan to use them very often. Our Priestess Lyzz Linda Ragford of the 2nd Order  “People know I work hard. But the truth is, I lack the confidence to do any less.”    Class: Priestess Atlus.com says this of Lyzz: ”Orphaned at a young age, Lyzz became a quiet admirer of the skilled knights around her. She can often be found playing her flute.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Light Bringer ”Her loving parents passed away while Lyzz was very young, and she was adopted by Isabel. She is constantly unsure of herself, so she puts everything she has into each task she undertakes. When Lyzz joined the knights, Ernest saw she had great potential but lacked the confidence, so he took her under his wing. She has also become good friends with Woosh, and she holds all her superiors in high regard.”  Wizards “They’re in for a surprise!” Faces: Southwest, Southeast Weapon: Rod/Staff Sex: Male only Mobility: none Wizards are something of a straightforward class in this game. Their Law Phase attack leaves a “gram” on the field, which is basically a booby trap. When a ground-movement type enemy walks over it, the gram is triggered and attacks the enemy. In Chaos Phase, Wizards must wait a long time to charge up, but once they’re ready, they can unleash a damaging attack that covers a huge area—13 squares! They’re well suited for sitting in the back, nuking enemies. Our Wizard Frieber Will Permeal of the 2nd Order  “A teacher’s finest moment is when the student surpasses him. Such is my daughter.”    Class: Wizard Atlus.com says this of Frieber: ”A divorced man who devoted himself to his daughter, Annalot. Though he is getting on in age, he is well respected and still lends his expertise to the young knights.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Sable Adept ”He is a veteran Wizard who cares deeply for his peers, but his greatest concern in life is the welfare of his daughter, Annalot. Frieber spends a lot of time with Lillian and Hilgard, and he treats them like family. As he grows older, he does not cling to the past, but rather, he embraces the younger generation of knights who will one day be taking over.” HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Oct 12, 2015 |
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Nov 12, 2014 06:12
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 Originally this post was going to be an updated review of the plot as each Scene was played. But you know what, no. The plot has a ton of details that I'm not going to spell out, after three scenes it was apparent that this post would've been enormous by the end of the LP. Instead, I have copied my plot speadsheet to google docs for people to review, should they be interested. The formatting is awful and there are a lot of typos (I'm usually typing notes furiously as I watch the cutscenes), but it does provide the plot information we've seen so far. It also contains some random notes I wrote to myself, in my attempts to keep the plot straight. Knights Plot Speadsheet In addition, there are three plot recap videos which cover what we've seen up to Scene 15: Plot recap video 1, covering main characters we've met so far. Featuring a lovely, inaccurate map. Plot recap video 2, covering the flashbacks we've seen so far, set in chronological order. Plot recap video 3, covering the present time cutscenes we've seen so far. HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Sep 12, 2015 |
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Nov 12, 2014 06:12
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Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I have some things to go over with you all: 1) Generally, I'm a nervous, mushmouthed spaz in real life, so I do apologize if I come off nervous, annoying, or hard to understand or whatever. A LP is really out of my comfort zone, but I do hope I can grow into it. 2) A few people have suggested saving the mechanics for screenshots. I am planning to make short posts briefly covering the mechanics that I mention in the videos, but I'm worried if I go overboard with it, there's just going to be a giant blob of information that will get unwieldy and intimidating for people to read (kind of like the way the game's tutorial is). In all reality, the game's tutorial is pretty thorough and has the information you need, and is presented well. It's just that there's so much crap to remember that you've forgotten most of the lessons by the time you reach the end. With the videos, I'm trying to implement mechanics as I use them...the reason why I'm doing live commentary (would much rather be doing post) was so I could described mechanics as I performed them. However, if the majority of you think it would work better to leave the mechanics for screenshots/forum posts, I'm happy to switch. I have one more video to edit and publish, then if the people speak, I can sure change to a more regular commentary done in post and focus the mechanics in the thread. So please, let me know your preferences. 3) I have never played the PSP version of this game, but that hasn't stopped me from being very opinionated on it! A supplementary video discussing the PSP version is on the "maybe" pile, but one thing I can say is there is a huge difference in the soundtrack. In the LP videos I talk up one song in particular, and AweStriker in the Sandcastle thread had the suggestion to link it separately: DS version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fNqUb_XAz0 PSP version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqh_tngvcHc Check them out! 4) I've never played any other Dept. Heaven games, but it is my understanding that a major character in Knights in the Nightmare appears in the other games as well, and is significant to the plots. This is just going off of what I've read in the Dept. Heaven wiki: http://deptheaven.wikia.com/wiki/Dept._Heaven_Wiki Orcs and Ostriches posted:I've been on the edge of LPing this game ever since Yggdra Union and I'm so glad someone else decided to do it. I'd agree with others that item collection really drags the game down (see every Dept. Heaven game) but it's still pretty fun and has a pretty unique presentation and gameplay. Hey I really hope I'm not stepping on your toes with this LP; if you still feel the desire to do one, please do so! One of my regrets with this LP is that I'm pretty ignorant to the other Dept. Heaven games, you'd certainly have more interesting things to talk about than I do...  D3m3 posted:Oh man, this is a really exciting let's play to see! Thanks, dude, for playing this game so I don't have to! I'm probably going to come off as a real blowhard with this, but I do want to say to anyone that's watching this LP because they tried the game but struggled with the mechanics: if you watch enough of the LP to get a decent grasp, I really urge you to stop watching the LP at that point and pick up the game for yourself. Games this unique and fun don't really come along that often, and you really should, in my opinion, savor it and experience it yourself.
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Nov 13, 2014 02:11
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New video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P45zLi-kIg wherein I botch a jump cut pretty obviously, but since I finally got the audio to sync up properly (after hours of trying), I decided "let it go". Thanks for the comments, guys. This is the last video that I currently have recorded, so time to make new ones. If anyone has strong opinions on the screenshot/live commentary matter, please let me know! Fat Samurai posted:Now that I've had time to watch the videos, everything is coming along nicely, so don't worry about this. You have already gone through most of the battle mechanics (only movement and breaking stuff left, I think?), so next videos should have less infodumps. Yeah, breaking stuff is in this video and movement will be when I get a duelist, but besides those things there's just so many smaller details to fill in. Knights' vitality, transoul (shudder), item upgrades, high ex skills, hiding, boss fights, interrupting enemies, changing enemy elemental affinity, the list goes on and on. As for the chest...check out the new video!
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Nov 15, 2014 04:15
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New video is up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2aLs6wpIDY KNIGHTS WE RECRUITED LAST TIME Johann Elliot of the 11th Order "I've only just left, yet I already miss home..." Class: Warior Atlus.com says this of Johann: “A young, timid boy who joins the knights to make his mother proud. He treasures the things she sends to him from home.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Sullen Axe “Johann is always worried about the well-being of his mother, Nadia. He is incredibly homesick, but he continues to endure because he wants to make a difference in the kingdom. Lisbet tends to worry about him and does her best to take care of him. Johann has a secret crush on Leier, but he is afraid to tell her how he feels.” When I originally uploaded it, youtube would not let me select 720p...but now the option is there. What is that all about? Was youtube still processing it or something? What-everrr!! Also...taking suggestions for low-key, pleasant tunes for me to stick in place of the battle preparation music (like where I put the Metroid music in this video) mastersord posted:in regards to your save problem, if you're using a flash-card or emulator, have you tried RAM save states? Most games I've tried it with tend to work. I'm recording this on a 3DS with a capture card, so unfortunately, that won't work. namad posted:edit: Btw, any particular reason the videos are unlisted? Not really, I happened to watch a LP here that had unlisted videos so I thought I should do the same. I don't really care if people want to share the links or whatever, maybe I should switch them to public? BlazeEmblem posted:While pause talks are fun to read, there is a problem with using them on the DS version - to see a pause talk, you need to have your wisp hovering over the knight, and that will select it to use an attack, draining time. The PSP version doesn't select a knight when you hover over it (you have to press the x button to select the knight), so you can see a lot more pause talks without having an impact on your score. Yeah that is a real nuisance with the DS version. If you are really quick, you can actually trigger the pause talk before your time drains, but you have to be perfect with your timing. By the way, does the PSP version have the hidden Yggdra easter egg? With the DS version, if you have the Yggdra Union game in the GBA slot, the tutorial instructor is Yggdra instead of Maria, and there's apparently another character that pops in between scenes occasionally. Pretty cool surprises. Gologle posted:When's the next Department Heaven game, Sting? Apparently they have at least thirteen games in the series. Well the released games are actually numbered: http://deptheaven.wikia.com/wiki/Dept._Heaven_series Gungnir is labeled as episode IX, but aside from that who knows what's going on. HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Nov 19, 2014 05:01
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Thanks for the music suggestions, guys. Hopefully before too long, I'll have enough information covered to be able to jump in to the game rather than yammer for ages beforehand. When that day finally comes, I'll leave in the game's music. I've mentioned it a couple times in the LP but it's my favorite song in the game. I also went ahead and made the videos public, thanks for the heads up. I had no idea about the PSP Yggdra space-time playthrough thing, either. I wish it was on the DS  Kind of gives the impression that Sting has some affection for that character.namad posted:I'm still wanting to learn to play so a few questions. These are good questions. The fairy would not have taken damage while it was idle, so yes, I wanted to piss it off with a Regular attack (no weapon attached) before bothering with a Skill attack (weapon attached). A Skill attack would have pissed off the fairy as well, but it would have cost me a magic point as well as 0.5 vitality from my Knight (Regular attacks only cost 0.1 vitality). I haven't covered vitality yet, it will most likely be when I discuss the inventory screen. On that subject, my plan was to make a separate video once I had enough to work with. The problem is that right now I don't really have a lot of raw materials to upgrade my weapons, and I don't have a lot of Knights to use for transoul. So, I don't have much right now to talk about regarding a significant portion of the inventory screen's function. After this next scene, I'll have a few more Knights and I'll spend some time off camera gathering resources, so I should be able to do an inventory video soon. Would that work? Or do you have specific questions we can answer in the thread right now? We seem to be in good company, several posters have shown they are pretty knowledgeable about the game, so definitely feel free to ask if something doesn't make sense. Yapping Eevee posted:Small suggestion: You don't need to read everything on the enemy data screen out loud. You could probably get away with showing both screens (the main one and the move explanations) briefly, commenting on just particularly notable points like that move with 25 shots and 'Arachnophilia' ( Yeah this is a good idea, I'll linger on the screens for a second or two then move on, unless the monster warrants special comments Fat Samurai posted:It hasn't been shown but it has been referenced, so I don't think it's a spoiler, but I'll delete if needed. Yep this is correct, so once we get a Knight that can move, priorities will be updated again. I thought it was going to be a Duelist but looks like there's a Lance Knight on the field for next scene. Also, for what it's worth, I don't consider gameplay mechanics to be spoilers (unless they're plot related). I would like to ask that if people do mention a new gameplay mechanic, they put it in context (which you did) so people aren't confused or think it's something that's already been covered. HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Nov 19, 2014 |
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Nov 19, 2014 16:15
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). People can pause if they want to read the whole thing. 
Sting is never kind to completionists.
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Fat Samurai posted:Could you put some Yeah sure, sorry about that.
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Nov 20, 2014 01:42
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NEW VIDEO:Scene 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1EV_h6QHCA NEW VIDEO:Scene 3 KNIGHTS WE RECRUITED LAST TIME Moira Chateletze of the 11th Order "I wanted to support him..." Class: Hermit Atlus says this of Moira: “A calm and collected woman with combat experience to spare. She is engaged to Wunsche of the 4th Order.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Iron Rose “She is a strong and beautiful woman who commands a great deal of respect from her subordinates. Her unit has been known to get rowdy at times, but she has a lot of pride in all of them. Although she is generally calm, when Moira gets angry, she does not hold anything back, and her subordinates have learned how to keep her content. Moira is currently taking care of the stray dog that Cress found, and she is betrothed to Wunsche.” Bonn Clavell of the 11th Order    “I know I shouldn’t drink so much, but…oh well!” Class: Warrior Atlus.com says this of Bonn: “A man known for his lackadaisical attitude and his penchant for spending evenings at the bar. However those who know him well know he has a soft side.” The Tome of Lost Souls says: Loyal Companion “A carefree hedonist, he sees knightly formalities as just obstacles that bar him from drinking and having a good time. Nevertheless, despite his irresponsible inclinations, Bonn is a reliable and capable ally on the battlefield. He is eternally regretful that he did not pursue Moira earlier, before Wunsche, his superior, proposed to her.”   mastersord posted:I can't find anything on google that says capture cards won't work with flash cards. Does it take up the cartridge slot (SLOT 1)? From what I can see, it shouldn't interfere with the hardware. Yeah, real cartridge here. The capture card is actually installed inside the 3DS. Anyway I'm just going to have to be careful with how I save. At least now, I'm averaging one scene per video, so it won't be the end of the world if I need to abort a recording and start over. Rangpur posted:Shame the WiiU didn't exist at the time, the tablet controller would be a perfect fit, and a bigger screen would do wonders for the clarity. Yeah that would actually sell a WiiU to me. The bad news is I'd be shocked to see a sequel for this game, maybe we could hope for a remastered version I guess. Annointed posted:The one that that always stressed me out was using guys too often to the point where they are completely exhausted. I understand that I can always reload but always having that number ticking down on everyone like an expiration riles me up. I can totally relate, this game just has an oppressive, hopeless feeling, like you're fighting entropy. In this video, one of the knights has a brush with HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Nov 22, 2014 06:06
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Orcs and Ostriches posted:One thing the ds version definitely does better then the psp is controls. It's so simple to jam attacks with the stylus, but the psp's analog stick makes it kinda difficult, especially as the numbers rise. I didn't mention this in the video, but I'm actually pretty inept with spinning the gears. I think my problem is I draw the circles too small. I can say with complete confidence that there will be many videos where I botch it horribly. BlazeEmblem posted:Nice job Atlus - you named it the Upola statue in both Riviera and Yggdra Union, and the voice acting in Riviera's PSP version also called it the Upola Statue. This actually reminds me; someone help me out: how do you pronounce "Piche"? One thing I never took into consideration when I decided to make a video LP is that now the whole world will see how illiterate I am. namad posted:So far you haven't shown any of the stuff you do between battles, I hope you can devote more time to this in the future. I know it's not very entertaining but the menu's and systems are so confusing if you don't explain them to me in a video I have no hope of comprehending from the tutorials alone. Perhaps you could use annotations to help people who only want to be entertained skip that part? or do a screenshot segment on it? or do a separate video that just explains boring between scene menus? Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I'm working on that update now, but it's gotten a little ugly. I just plain didn't realize the sheer volume of information I need to put in the inventory/setup screen update. So I'm plugging away, but unfortunately, Thanksgiving is coming up and I need to be realistic. I most likely won't have this update done until the week after. So, if you have any specific questions, please ask them in the thread. Sorry I can't hurry this along, but yeah there's a ton of stuff to cover and I want to be thorough. On that note, a general update for the whole thread: NEXT UPDATE WILL MOST LIKELY BE THE WEEK AFTER THANKSGIVING. SORRY FOR THE DELAY 
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Nov 24, 2014 00:28
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NEW UPDATE VIDEO INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SCREEN, AND TONS OF OTHER DETAILS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoWfcd7IoXY This update covers the inventory screen, and lots of information on how the game works. Very little gameplay in this update, and the little there is was recorded for mechanic demonstration purposes. This video could most likely be skipped if you're not interested in a ton of smaller details on how the game works. At some point, the contents of this new video will be made into a post with screen shots. At least, that's the plan...someday...
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Nov 30, 2014 23:26
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Well the Rush Count Effects are pretty much all over the map in terms of what they do. I agree with Markovnikov's notion that they're meant to be random crazy effects. If you really knew your poo poo, you could manipulate them, but there's always going to be an element of chance. Say you have a weapon that hits the enemy 8 times, but the enemy will only survive 4 of those hits and the 5 hit kills it. You're only getting 5 hits added to your Rush Count, so hopefully you planned for that. Or, another enemy wandered in to your attack blast and died after 4 hits, but the first enemy you were aiming for died after 7 hits. Or, there's an enemy in the periphery of your attack, so he's only going to get 30% of the damage...that translates to x number of hits.  Keeping track of that poo poo is beyond me. However, you can use Regular attacks to help fine tune the Rush Count; a Regular attack always counts for one hit per enemy. So if you're aiming for a Rush Count of 75 and you get it to 73, you could do a fast Regular attack, hit 2 guys, and get your Rush Count. Having said all that, I'm usually too occupied to pay attention to the Rush Count, and I suspect I don't even notice half the time when they activate. Markovnikov posted:Is there any reason to not combine items into one single durability item? Unless you just want to upgrade a small stack to see what RC effects you'll get. But it costs the same to upgrade one giant or small stack and they can be easily downgraded so... Like BlazeEmblem said, you sometimes get a Frozen Axe +4, but your stack is +9, so you might have differing upgrades. I guess if you were hardcore and wanted a +4 for certain situations, but a +9 for others, you could keep a variety. Or let's say you don't like the +9's charge time, but you like the 3rd Rush Count Effect: Enemies are frozen for 15 seconds. You could upgrade one with a smaller duration and pull it out only during rounds when you want the Rush Count Effect, and in the meantime use a Frozen Axe +4 or whatever. I didn't really get into this in the video, but with the comparison between Frozen Axe +1 and Frozen Axe +9: The +1 had a 29% bonus to damage, while the +9 had a 58%. That's twice the bonus damage...and it actually took twice as long to charge. So, it's an interesting choice. You could argue that the +9 is more efficient, because if you compare two +1 attacks vs one +9 attack, you're doing the same damage for less magic points and vitality, but it is a significant investment of time (10 seconds!) into one attack, and you also get 2 lovely Rush Count Effects and 1 good one. To be honest, I don't really like waiting forever for the +9 to charge, and when I resume with the game, I might restore the +1 or make a +4 or something.
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Dec 2, 2014 01:03
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:UPDATE: BOSS FIGHT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ2tL3UEYks We get a new knight class: the Archer. We fight a boss. Youtube seems to be having trouble processing this one, so if you can't get a good resolution, try again later I guess. KNIGHT WE RECRUITED LAST TIME Michel Kareem Levine of the 8th Order    “I’ll…I’ll do my best.” Class: Warrior Atlus.com says this of Michel: “He joined the knights only to support his sick grandmother, despite being unfit to do so. He is frail and boyish, turning to his ocarina to forget his sorrows.” The Tome of Lost Souls says: Innocent Apprentice “He is a fairly young knight who enlisted alongside his friend Johann. Although his body is somewhat frail, he joined the knights to help support his sick grandfather. What Michel is most passionate about, though, is playing the ocarina.” **note** I guess both grandparents are sick? Mardin Scott of the 11th order    “I must improve…I have to.” Class: Lance Knight Atlus.com says this of Mardin: “Mardin shoulders a strong sense of responsibility, to the point that others consider him too immersed in his work. He has a tendency to be pessimistic.” The Tome of Lost Souls says: Vigilant Cavalier “A stoic pessimist, the only area of his life in which Mardin has confidence is his ability to throw darts. He worries about others to the point that their problems soon become his own. Although he is embarrassed to admit it, he idolizes Wunsche and hopes to be like him one day. Mardin’s best friend is Fritz.” Tylana posted:I might suggest making a ordered playlist of the LP and of the Inventory juggling sections. Other than that, thanks for LPing this weird but interesting title. Yeah that's a good idea, the channel could use some cleaning up. What do you think, should I make a main playlist containing the menu video for the Inventory stuff, then if someone clicks on one of the annotations, it takes them to a new playlist that is just the Inventory update? HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Dec 4, 2014 08:19
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Man Dancer posted:Really enjoying the careful, detailed, and deliberate approach to this LP. I don't think this is one that could be presented fast and loose, especially as frontloaded as the mechanics are. Thanks! I appreciate that you skirted around words like "slow", "boring", or "TMI"  I think I'm actually getting somewhat close to being done covering the biggest details. Eventually this LP will see a change; I'd like to do post commentary when I don't need to demonstrate stuff directly. When that happens, the videos should be able to go right into gameplay after battle setup is done rather than me droning on for 50% of the run time. I'm not sure how the commentary will go down, I might still blather on about small details, or it might turn into a "shoot the poo poo while we watch gameplay" kind of thing. Probably a combination of both.Orcs and Ostriches posted:Boss fights are a high point in the game, IMO. They're brought down a bit when you're waiting for treasure respawns, but past that the later ones see some serious touhou poo poo. A game like this with 30 bosses and no item collection (or vastly revamped) would kick rear end.  quote:Hmm, thinking about digging out my PSP to do my own run. I still haven't gotten anything better than a terrible ending. Well, like you said, that's a long ways down the line, so I guess we'll see. But, on that subject...I know you've said you weren't super keen on doing an LP of this game...however a PSP Blue path would be really cool to see and I think it would be awesome to compare it to a DS Red path LP! Just sayin
HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 19:52
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I want to say 45? 46? Something like that.
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Dec 6, 2014 01:55
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Well, video 5, for example, was 36 minutes long, but I talked for about 11 before the match began. I'm wondering if, eventually, I could start fitting 2 Scenes per video but I'll have to see. Later stages have stronger enemies so killing them takes more turns; as a result the Scenes are longer. I think once I get through most of the mechanics, I should be able to speed up the playtime, but we're still looking down a long road. I suppose I could skip some Scenes if they aren't important, but I think I'd rather leave that to the viewer--people can watch the videos they want and skip the rest. Boss fights would be a good candidate for watching, in my opinion.
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Dec 6, 2014 02:17
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UPDATE This update is going to be a forum post covering how elevation plays a role in your attacks.  Alright, after getting about 40% through making a video for this, it dawned on me that the video was going to be almost all still images. So let’s simplify this and make it a forum post. So, height in this game is a little complicated. Really, a little more complicated than it needs to be. I want to stress that this is my interpretation of how height works…the instruction manual and tutorial for the game are both pretty vague, and I was unable to find a good explanation online. So, I went ahead and did what anyone else does when they are trying to figure out something: observe the game, make note of what happens, develop a theory, then apply the theory and see if it fits. Try to make predictions based on the theory and see if they come true. To that end, I have a working theory, but I’m not going to claim this is fact. Everything I’m going to present in this post will be things I have observed in the game. Alright, our model for this post will be the lower screen that displays during gameplay. In most cases I zoom in on the top screen to show the action, but the bottom screen always has a wire frame-type display. Here’s the one for Scene 5:  I went ahead and recorded the elevations for the terrain:  You can see these elevations in-game when you hold the stylus to any square. The Height is displayed in the lower right of the screen. Now, let’s say we have a warrior…here:  And we want to attack in Law Phase. During Battle Preparations, we can hold a stylus to the character and the game will fill in the appropriate squares to tell you where the attack will land:  So you think “Ok, this makes sense. Warriors have a reach of 5 squares in Law Phase, we’ve seen that in the past. And first it hits right in front of the Warrior, but as the charge bar fills, his range increases, and before long he’s at the max range of his attack.” Yep, that is correct. However, at this time, the game is displaying the max range of the attack without regard for the Height. That’s an interesting choice. Well, for starters, Regular attack seem to have no Height restriction. (I know I sound like a broken record by now, but Regular attacks are when you don’t equip the Knight with a weapon before you start charging. They are extremely weak attacks, but they have their uses…especially for farming Gems, which you need to gain Magic Points). So the game is showing us the absolute max range of attack here, and that would certainly be achievable with a Regular attack. However, each weapon has a Height indicator that the game is not taking into account when it shows us the attack range. Let’s take a look at a Law Phase weapon for Warriors: The Slasher:  This is the screen we’ve seen every time I’ve gone to the inventory, sorted by table, then by warrior, then Darkness affinity, and finally held the stylus to the Slasher. The top screen displays the stats of the weapon, like the damage it does, or the number of hits it lands during one attack. Most of this stuff was covered in the Inventory Management update, but I want to focus on the right half of the top screen:  Ok, we have a little Warrior performing an attack, and we know that’s Law Phase. Underneath the warrior is a couple icons followed by “Height: -2 ~ +1” The tilde seems a little out of place, but this is fairly self explanatory. The weapon can operate at Heights of, in relation to the point of reference, two Height units below through one unit above. So the weapon has a range of 3 Height units. Ok, that makes sense, but there’s an unanswered question. What is the point of reference? For the longest time I assumed it was where the Knight was standing. However, upon testing that theory, I found it was not the case. Attacks would not adhere to the Height range suggested by the weapon stats when I used the Knight’s location was the point of reference. So, some testing was in order. The following is what I’ve found, and is subject to interpretation. Long story short, the point of reference seems to be where the first blow lands. Refer to the image of the attack range animation: Here, we see a Warrior standing on a block of 0 Height begins charging, and the first block that is hit is the 2-Height block just northeast of the Warrior. From what I’ve observed, that block appears to be the point of reference for the weapon’s Height attack range. If that holds true, then the expected attack range for Slasher at this position would be as follows:  The Slasher axe cannot reach the block at 12 Height, even though the game indicated it in the attack animation. That’s because, once again, the game was not taking into account the axe’s stats—the game was only showing me the absolute max range. So, the 12-Height block is out—it’s well beyond the +1 Height the axe can handle (and remember that is relative to the 2.0 Height from the initial blow.) However, the neighboring 2-Height block, and the lower 0-Height blocks to the right are within range of the axe attack. The game confirms this if you, during gameplay, equip the Slasher and charge to max. So there’s exhibit A. There are more examples. Note that, if the point of reference for the Height range was the Knight’s location, the axe should not have been able to hit the 2-Height blocks…that would exceed the +1 Height that the axe can handle. Here’s another example. Let’s say I have a Warrior here:  If I touch the stylus to him on the Battle Preparation screen, with Law Phase activated, the game shows me this:  So, even with a jump of 0.5 Height to 6.0 Height (5.5 units), the game is still telling me no problem, here’s your attack range. When we try in game and get a full charge…  …we see that we don’t quite get the full range. The 6-Height blocks are ok, and the one directly in front of the Warrior is the point of reference for the rest of the attack. So, we can go 2 Height units below 6 and still hit, or we could go as high as a Height of 7, if there were any blocks in range of the attack. However, the block at a Height of 2 gets excluded; indeed, the 4-Height blocks are at the maximum tolerance of Height disparity for this axe when using that 6-Height block as the point of reference. As noted, the Warrior was a good 5.5 blocks below where his attack would hit; however the first blow still landed one space in front of him. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to how much Height that first blow can overcome; however once the first blow lands, all other blows are confined to the limitations of the weapon relative to the Height of that first blow. For sake of argument, let’s say that we were in Chaos Phase:  Putting the stylus to the Warrior on the Battle Preparation gives us this animation:  Standard Warrior attack, but there are missing blocks, so we don’t see the full reach of the attack. Attacks can’t land on spaces with no blocks, of course. Now let’s check out a Chaos axe, the Cross axe:  So, basically the inverse of Slasher. While Slasher had -2~+1, Cross axe is sporting -1~+2. So up to two blocks higher than the point of reference, but only one block lower. Ok. Let’s test it. When charged in game:  And this makes sense. The point of reference is the 6-Height block directly in front of the Warrior. Other attack squares are bound to the limitations of the weapon, so the other 6-Height blocks are ok, but the 4-Height block is out of the -1 range, and the 12-Height block is way out of the +2 range. Now, to be completely honest, the game actually shows us this:  The 4 and 12 Height blocks are out of the weapon’s range, but the game is pretty generous with splash damage, and enemies on those squares may receive a little damage. I think there are degrees of how much splash damage a weapon may grant, and I haven’t done any testing on it. The point, however, is that the true attack won’t reach those blocks. Alright, I think I made my point clear with Warriors, but what about other classes? Let’s try a Lance Knight here:  …using this weapon:  So a Law Phase weapon that attacks in a straight line. Touching the stylus to the Lance Knight while in Battle Preparations gives us this:  But charging him in game gives us this:  So yeah, the weapon’s first blow lands right in front of the Lance Knight, but then it can’t overcome the Height disparity. Alas! If we move the Lance Knight up one spot, we see this on Battle Preparation:  …but get this when in game:  Once again, the attack is truncated due to Height limitations. I think I’ve driven this home enough, but what about the other classes? Let’s briefly look at Moira, our Hermit, in Chaos Phase. If you recall, Hermits actually have two lanes of attack in Chaos mode:  Dang, that’s good coverage! Thanks for telling me that, game. Wait, you’re a loving liar. Let’s check out Moira’s weapon:  Well, that’s a pretty drat big spread. Starting at the point of reference, these daggers can hit blocks 2 Height units below, and up to 12 Height units above! So the daggers are really encouraging us to hit enemies above us, that’s for sure. Well… …above the point of reference. Not the Knight. Ok. Well let’s see what actually happens when we charge these things in battle:  Huh. Lot of things to take in there. First off, it appears that each attack lane is treated independently. Moira is standing on a block at 6 Height units, and the left attack lane hits on a block at 4 Height units. From that point of reference, the attack is able to continue on to the 2-Height block, as it is within the -2 limitation. However, the attack stops there and cannot proceed to the 0.5-Height block; there is a disparity of 3.5 Height units (Point of reference is 4.0, minus 0.5 Height of target block). The weapon cannot overcome this and the attack fails to reach that final square. However, the attack lane on the right experiences no hindrance. It’s interesting to note that, while Moira is standing on a 6-Height block, the attack lands on a 0.5-Height block. Once again, the first part of the attack is able to land anywhere, regardless of where the Knight stood. And once it lands, it becomes the point of reference for the rest of the attack. The remaining blocks in that right attack lane are well within the weapon’s Height restrictions, and the attack is able to reach its full range. Ok guys, I think that’s enough. I have more examples I did in game to test this theory, but I don’t want to drag this out longer than it needs to be. I want to once again stress: this is my interpretation of how Height works. If you have this game, I do invite you to test this theory and try to find holes. A working theory only gains merit through repeatability. I’m especially worried about this theory because the way the point of reference is determined seems so drat weird to me. It just seems like the freakin Knight would be an easier and more logical point of reference, but what do I know. One thing I want to mention: during gameplay, while you charge your Knight, the attack range slowly grows. We’ve seen that in past videos and the animated gifs in this update actually are showing the ranges associated with different charge levels . There is a quirk about charging that can lead to confusion (it did for me, that’s for sure). Let’s refer to the Warrior Chaos charge we looked at: So the game indicates that the Warrior can reach all these squares, but with the Cross axe we could only reach these: The 12-Height and 4-Height blocks were left out. Here’s the thing: when at the half-point of your charge, you will see those blocks light up for a split second. WHY??? Is there some stipulation where, for a brief moment, you can achieve a full range attack?? Why the gently caress are they throwing in another ridiculous variable?? I was about to slam my DS against the loving wall when I saw this, but there’s actually an explanation. During a Skill attack, you equip your Knight with a weapon and begin charging. There are two charge phases: the first phase of the charge is the range, and the second phase is the power. What happens, is that the first phase, charging for range, is actually a Regular attack. Remember, Regular attacks appear to have no limitation on the Height they can reach. So, for a half a second, the Regular attack is fully charged and the 12-Height and 4-Height blocks flash, indicating that yes, an attack can land here. Then, the power phase of the charge begins, and you move to a Skill attack, with the limitations of the weapon to consider. The squares are no longer lit up; you only see these squares: You are bound by the weapon’s limitations and can no longer hit the 12-Height or 4-Height blocks. Alright, I think that’s all the minutiae I can talk about for now. Thanks for reading, I hope to have another video update within the next few days. There is an upcoming gameplay mechanic that I am very excited to talk about; hopefully it will come up in the next video. See you then! BlazeEmblem posted:So you didn't use the a key item on the werewolf? Was it because you forgot, or did you not have the item? You should have gotten it during scene 2. I missed it in Scene 2! Another successful failure! I was planning to address it next boss fight, where presumably I'd have their key item. Hopefully. HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Dec 7, 2014 |
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Dec 7, 2014 00:19
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AweStriker posted:Isolated incident, thankfully, but I just wanted to point out the typo there. Ah thanks for pointing out that typo, to be honest I occasionally have to stop myself from calling her Moria, I don't know what my problem is. You are right about that other stuff, too. Archers' attacks in Chaos use the center square as the point of reference, and the other squares are restricted to the weapon's limitations. The bows I have now exhibit similar Height limitations as Moira's daggers, (the bows are -1 ~ +12), which is interesting. And yeah, Lance Knights can handle 0.5 disparity and will traverse as long as it's not exceeded. Next Scene, we're going to get a Duelist, and as I'm sure you know, they have a very distinct movement attribute... Blaze Dragon posted:I think the first block being taken as point of reference is to make sure that a Knight will be able to attack with a weapon no matter what. Otherwise, you run the risk of a Knight not being able to attack at all (apart from weak regular attacks). Most Knights cannot move, too. Yeah that makes sense, I guess it's better than putting yourself in a situation where the Knight can't even swing. I think they should've made the system clearer though.
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Dec 7, 2014 06:24
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Sorry for the delay in updates, guys. I hope to have a new video up in a few days. I'll spare you the details, but know that the delay is due to hilarious incompetence on my part. Hilarious.DjinnAndTonic posted:stuff quote:Once you've gotten past all the mechanics you need to introduce, you likely don't need to showcase -every- second of every battle. Perhaps just edit some Scenes to only include Rounds where interesting stuff happens? quote:As for between-Scene item management, I think the verbal summary is fine for everything except Transouling. You could include a quick display of each PC's status screen briefly to show if any numbers changed due to leveling, severe Vit drops, or Index gains and use that time to talk about any new weapons of note. It's probably also a good idea to show off a Weapon reaching 0 Dur and a unit reaching 0 Vit at some point. quote:The only other request I have is that you include all those bios from the Tome artbook for any and all recruits we pick up, even if they're destined for Transouling. Yeah this would be fun to do, actually. The only caveat would be that, for each entry, I'd want to provide a portrait of the Knight. Heck, I'd probably just show the pause talk you get when you recruit the Knight, that would have a portrait and a short blurb from them. There are over 120 Knights you can recruit in the game (although some are restricted to whichever path you take). I'm worried that would get way too image heavy, especially if it's on the first page. Speaking of which, I really really need to update the stuff on the first page, but I tend to give priority to working on new videos (although you wouldn't guess it given my pace at releasing videos). I guess I can just add the Tome stuff without an image, but this game, imo, really benefits from fleshing out the characters as much as you can; it gives the whole experience so much more personality. Finally, for anyone watching this LP who's wanted to pick the game up for themselves but had trouble with getting the mechanics down...I really do recommend that you stop watching the LP once you get the gist, and experience the game for yourself. I know I'm sounding like a blowhard here but I have a lot of respect for this game and I urge people to savor it. Oh and one last thing: someone suggested making a playlist of the videos. I...think? I made one? But I'm not sure it's active or whatever, can anyone comment? Thanks...
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Dec 10, 2014 06:58
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UPDATE: SCENE 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqWLSg7l_zo KNIGHTS RECRUITED LAST TIME: Dreyuss Koubelka of the 11th order “Wow, the world is a pretty big place.” Class: Archer Atlus.com says this of Dreyuss: “A pure-hearted boy from the countryside who has a hard time finding his way in the royal city. He shows great promise with his bow.” The Tome of Lost Souls says: Eagle Eye “He is an excellent Archer, and he knows it. Dreyuss has a tendency to be blunt and rude at times, but he always means well. For a young man who spends most of his day focusing intently on targets, measuring wind speeds, and searching for strategic firing locations, he has a surprisingly horrible sense of direction. Dreyuss studied archery under Legaard, and he is fortunate to have Frances looking after him like an older sister.” Firenz Hanover of the 11th order    “Consume the drink, but don’t let the drink consume you!” Class: Warrior Atlus.com says this of Firenz: “An able-bodied soldier known to frequent the city’s bars. He’s seen much of the world, giving him an empathetic heart. He cares for many people.” The Tome of Lost Souls says: Trusty Blade “He has a bit of a sensitive side and loves to work with children. Firenz can always find the good qualities in people, and that has helped him make many friends. When he has free time, he drinks with Bonn, but he will never admit to actually being drunk…”  BlazeEmblem posted:It works and has all of the gameplay videos, although you only have the first inventory video, not any of the 8 other inventory videos. Blaze Dragon posted:I'm the kind that constantly resets in Fire Emblem because I can't let anyone die, or throws Phoenix Downs at even the most useless of generics in Final Fantasy Tactics. Leave no man behind, dammit. Even if they're already dead. DjinnAndTonic posted:Suggestions Glazius posted:And did I see it right, you were getting bonus points for grazing enemy projectiles? Keldulas posted:Knights HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Dec 13, 2014 07:51
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Ok, I think I've added bios for all the Knights we've recruited so far. I thought about it a little and decided it would be more appropriate to put the recruited knights' bios in the following update, so for example the update for Scene 2 has a section that says "Knights we recruited last time" and Johann's bio is in there. Here is a link to the update posts, which now have the Knight bios: Scene 2 update. Knight covered: Johann Scene 3 update. Knights covered: Moira and Bonn Scene 4 update. Knights covered: Michel and Mardin Scene 5 update. Knights covered: Dreyuss and Firenz Annointed posted:If there is one truly dickish thing about Trans soul, it's that it's not the same for everyone. Certain characters will actually start to lose combat effectiveness from excessive use of Trans soul, because Sting wanted to keep a theme of degradation. So basically older looking characters still have a soft cap in usefulness in new game+, where just using the younger ones won't be as likely to peak in viability. Blaze Dragon posted:Talking about said first page, you constantly called Moira "Moria", might want to fix that when you add the rest of the characters in. Son of a bitch. Thanks, I think I got them. My plan is to only use the front page for the bios of the Knights we're going to level up and use through the entire game. The bios of the other Knights will only be posted in the appropriate update post.
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Dec 14, 2014 05:45
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Hey guys, Just wanted to let you all know that I'm working on the next update, but it's challenging me because I'm trying to do some new things namely making a short portion of the video concerning plot, which requires me to expand my tiny, tiny bag of video editing tricks. I can't put into words how bad I am at this, so it's going slow. I hope to have a video update within a few days. Rangpur posted:I will give the game credit for this, in that it is one of the very, very few times a mechanic is entirely transparent. The Trans Soul screen displays a graph that tells you how quickly a character's strength increases as they level, where it peaks, plateaus, and even declines. Furthermore, you can see the Knight's position on the graph, and how far along it they'll move as they approach their (current) maximum level. It is a simple, elegant display which efficiently collects all the data you need into one graphic.  quote:What it's doing in this confusing mess of a game is anyone's guess. I assume it was designed by one of STiNG's interns, and the director beat him severely when he found out. 
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Dec 17, 2014 04:20
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UPDATE: SCENE 6: Suspicion in the Air https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVqPHAzeIh8 In which I forget to talk to Reuben  KNIGHTS RECRUITED LAST TIME Bailey Y. Fender    "So I wasn't cut out for this after all..." Class: Warrior Atlus.com says this of Bailey: “He joins the Knights on an impulse, as though to spite his frail body. He comes to regret it, however, as he discovers just how inexperienced he is.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Curious Prodigy "He is a rash and foolhardy young man who is quite immature. He became a knight solely because he thought it would afford him more opportunities to see the world, but now he has begun to regret that decision. He can sense how similar his life is to Colt's." Frances Mervyl    “No matter where I go, I don’t fit in…” Class: Hermit Atlus.com says this of Frances: “A good friend of Roslip, Frances feels lonely having to work so far away from her. She lacks confidence, and depends on others to make it through the day.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Shadow Spirit "The youngest of seven sisters, she has very low confidence in herself and derives most of her strength and happiness from those around her. Frances is brokenhearted that she and her friend Roslip are not serving in the same order. Fortunately, she can depend on Erica to help her make it through the day." Erica Val Eh Sokolov    “My pride is born of my knighthood, not my social standing.” Class: Duelist Atlus.com says this of Erica: “A noble woman who became a knight, despising the idea of treating the upper-crust society any differently than the working class. She works to restore the country.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Celestial Fencer "She was born into nobility but quickly learned to hate class distinctions and prejudice. Once day, Erica would like to be a housewife and take care of a family, but she feels compelled to serve her kingdom as a knight. She trained alongside Seriee, and has taken it upon herself to look after Frances."    STATE OF THE LPSo after this video, we have one more Knight class to recruit. After that video, I will look toward experimenting with the LP format; I've hit most of the gameplay mechanics that I feel need to be covered, and I would like to move to a post-video commentary. I will most likely be editing down the rounds, and maybe even fitting two Scenes per video. I'm not sure what will work and what won't, so please understand that as I fumble forward! HaroldofTheRock fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Dec 20, 2014 |
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Dec 20, 2014 04:24
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UPDATE: Scene 7: Sacrificial Lambs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhB0eFmoe4 In which I recruit a Priestess, but don't use her once! KNIGHTS RECRUITED LAST TIME Alonso Updike of the 11th Order “What do you mean I talk too loud!?” Class: Lance Knight Atlus.com says this of Alonso: ”A spear-wielder, Alonso is highly critical of others and slightly arrogant. People know him for his booming voice.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Savage Impaler ”He looks after the rest of the order almost obsessively. Alonso’s expert knowledge on spears is almost unmatched, and local blacksmiths are nervous about dealing with him because of it. However, what Alonso is best known for is being a very loud talker, and his comrades talk about it behind his back frequently. He is aware of how loud he is, but he has no desire to lower his volume.” Rolenta Ellenhart of the 2nd Order    “No longer shall I be used!” Class: Hermit Atlus.com says this of Rolenta: ”A castle guard, Rolenta was born into a common family. Despising her lineage, she is quick to anger and quicker still to despise those of nobility.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Prophet of Ruin ”Her mother abandoned her family while Rolenta was very young, and it scarred her emotionally. She has trouble getting close to people sometimes, even now. The only person she trusts is Flora, who she gained as a stepsister when her father remarried. As a commoner, Rolenta has great disdain for the upper classes, but no matter how much she pretends to hate Schmitz, she is secretly attracted to him.” Rolf Rolinger of the 11th Order    “I may lack experience, but I want to protect these people too.” Class: Wizard Atlus.com says this of Rolf: ”A young, humble knight showing great promise. Some even consider him a potential successor to Gunther, though he would never admit he was capable of such a feat.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Burning Tiger ”He is an impressively talented young Wizard who climbed the ranks quickly. He continually strives to better himself for the kingdom’s sake, but he knows he still has much left to learn. To many, Rolf is a model example of what a knight should be. Unlike some of the other Generals, Rolf is not able to hold his alcohol as well as he would like to.” Lord Gorchnik posted:Holy poo poo just saw this thread and someone is actually doing a Knights in the Nightmare LP. God speed to you sir. This game is amazing and as stated in your OP post the artbook is definitely worth the $12 you paid for it. Absolutely love the Dept Heaven series. This game has my favorite soundtrack but is my least favorite in terms of the Dept Heaven series. BlazeEmblem posted:My only guess for why you can't chain attacks is that the AI for an upcoming boss would break if multiple knights were charged up at once. PotatoManJack posted:Just wantd to echo everyone in saying I'm really enjoying the LP. I had never heard of this game, and it looks like it has some serious barriers to entry, but the pace at which you present mechanics and of the videos themselves make it easy to digest. DjinnAndTonic posted:Oh man, that timeline stuff at the end of the latest video was extremely helpful in contextualizing what the hell is going on in this game. You should put those infographics in the threadpost itself, or perhaps in the next update's post?
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Dec 23, 2014 21:22
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UPDATE: LEVELING MODE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5G8Dm3t9Qg Kind of an extra, nonessential video here, covering the "Leveling" option on the main menu. Which is a great feature, especially if you enjoy the gameplay as much as I do. This is my first video in which I recorded, then afterward I watched the video and spoke about what was going on. Previous videos had me talking while recording the gameplay. I'd like some feedback on if this; it is my preference to do post commentary but of course I still need to do a half decent job explaining what's going on. Also, I had a frog in my drat throat that I could not get rid of, so I sound like I'm stricken with some horrible disease. DjinnAndTonic posted:Can this guy be our Lance Knight? Works for me! Alonso is hereby promoted from "transoul fodder" to "permanent Knight", with all the rights and privileges associated. Annointed posted:Funny thing about elemental affinities. For the most part the elemental attribute of the knight will not affect the damage output of the weapon in use. In fact it's as it was probably already said in the thread that it only provides a minor boosts to transoul if both subjects are the same affinity and unlock a super move that also takes up a bar to use with the standard charge time for extra damage, and it takes a hefty chunk of vitality. For the most part you won't ever use it outside of particularly difficult stages where you need the enemy killed right here and now. Yep. I mentioned in one of the videos, but I plan to have one of each Knight class that I level up, which actually is a pretty poor strategy because it limits you to, say, only one Warrior with neutral affinity. However since you get a fairly steady stream of Knights throughout the game, I should be able to have enough on hand just through recruiting as many as I can that, should the need arise for, say, an Ice affinity Warrior, I can probably scrape one up. Fat Samurai and BlazeEmblem posted:Key item acquisition Yeah, this part of the game is...odd. On one hand it forces you to be strategic; I do enjoy plotting out beforehand how each obstacle is going to be looted, but on the other hand, it kind of breaks the flow of the game when you need to put too much emphasis on the items. Breaking an object and then waiting around for it to respawn just plain sucks. We haven't had any times where we were unable to recruit a Knight, but that will happen sooner or later. I've already missed a couple key items that were for NPCs, as we saw in the past videos. Que sera,sera I guess.
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Dec 27, 2014 02:45
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As others have said, Priestesses have pretty good range, and the attack is pretty straight forward...it's a long T-shaped attack range. In addition, Priestesses' weapons tend to be able to cover a decent Height disparity; for example the Law Phase weapons we have right now cover -4 to +4. Not bad for right out of the gate. As for the rest of the classes, in my opinion it really comes down to circumstances and preference. Rangpur posted:In general, tiers don't amount to much because the best class of knight to use is whichever will get you the item, placement or kill that you need. I agree with this. Archers have great potential for damage and can work well with other units: you can stun an enemy with archer Law Phase, then while it's helpless, follow up with another Knight. They do extra damage to large enemies, so they can help out with bosses. Duelists are probably my least used class, I tend to have them hop to wherever I need them, then struggle to find a good use for them. So they fill a key role but I tend not to use them for kills very often. Wizards take a lot of your time to charge, but they're fun so gently caress it. Hermits are probably the hardest class to defend; their Law Phase attack is a weird V shape and can be a little hard to use, but they do cause status effects that can be fun to mess with, plus they have a quirk that's shared with Archers: the higher up they are elevation wise, the faster they charge. Plus they're freakin cool  I have at least one boss in mind that I know is going to have to contend with Moira.Warriors are the go-to unit if you want to attack northwest/northeast in Chaos Phase--their range is pretty good, and the only other classes that can attack NW/NE are Duelists and Lance Knights, both of which need to move in order for the attack to go through. Lance Knights are fun and being able to face any direction is pretty huge, but again, their Chaos Phase attack requires them to move, which sometimes you don't want to do, or can't do. By the way, there was a video in which Mardin kept crashing into a ghost and dazing it. At the time I just kind of laughed and moved on, but I think I figured out exactly why that happened: Mardin was doing a knockback every time he tackled the ghost. The ghost was actually being pushed off the playable area of the stage (the map was sort of a pier, and the ghost was getting shoved into the water). There is a special circumstance in which, if an enemy is pushed off a cliff and falls more than 3 Height units, it will be stunned when it lands. I think the ghost was pushed off the field and into an area of the game with no defined Height, so the game decided yeah, it fell more than 3 units. Note that the ghost is a flier, so it was able to be pushed off the playable area; later Mardin was slamming into a witch, but she didn't get pushed off the map like the ghost. The game doesn't want you to get kills by shoving enemies off the map. At any rate, I'll try to do a decent job representing all the classes as much as I can, but honestly I have a feeling our Duelist will not see a tremendous amount of playtime. We still have a special class to use, though I really don't care for it and when the time comes I'll be sure to explain why. Keldulas posted:Well, priestesses have one of the most broken weapons available, in fact I suspect it's a bug. It's a light staff that does way too much damage, to the point where a light priestess actually does less damage with the special attack than any other priestess with the normal attack. When I got tired of the game in the last half I basically just used the priestesses to break the game and just get me through to the ending. Can't remember the name of the weapon though, been too long. Now this I was not aware of, I'll have to keep an eye out for that weapon. Sanctity affinity? DjinnAndTonic posted:Re: Levelling video Thanks for the feedback! my biggest concern with cutting the gameplay is, I'm afraid that at some point the videos will be more cutscenes than action. My other concern with the post commentary was making sure that people could follow what I was doing...I went through the motions fairly fast this time, since I wasn't explaining "now I'm going to use the Lance Knight to hit this blob" etc. So I want to make sure you could follow the action, I know it goes pretty fast now.
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Dec 27, 2014 17:12
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UPDATE: SCENE 8:GATHERING OF THE FOUR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpnXy5IT4Lc KNIGHTS WE RECRUITED LAST TIME Simone Alexei of the 2nd Order    Class: Priestess Atlus.com says this of Simone: No entry! The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Ivory Disciple ”Her gentle, caring, motherly personality has garnered her immense popularity among her peers. From time to time, she acts as a fortuneteller, and many consider her readings to be very accurate. She and Cress have been very close since the two entered knighthood, and Simone trusts her with her deepest secrets.” Crozeph Ross Arlay of the 4th Order    “There will only be one to whom I open my heart.” Class: Lance Knight Atlus.com says this of Crozeph: ”An intelligent officer of the 4th Order. She can be aloof, but underneath she hides a gentle heart. A capable writer, she tossed that aside to become a knight.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Fiery Heart ”She is loyal and noble, but she cuts herself off to everyone around her except her childhood friend, Raphael. She does not believe in having many friends because she cannot bear to see people she cares about get hurt or die. She is also a talented writer and sometimes speaks in metaphors. Many of her comrades find her aloofness attractive, and Crozeph frequently receives love letters from both men and women!” Lillian I. Amnoble 4th Order    “I’ve never had many friends.” Class: Duelist Atlus.com says this of Lillian: ”Though not much of a knight in attitude, she is devoted to her kingdom and the people within it. She is good friends with Annalot, wishing her success in her prayers.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Elegant Force ”Although responsible and highly capable, Lillian much prefers the social aspects of knighthood. She loves looking after children and playing games with them, and she wishes she could spend more time with her childhood friend, Annalot.”    PROPOSED TIMELINE  This is the timeline discussed in Video 9. It is subject to error!
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Dec 29, 2014 14:08
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UPDATE: SCENE 9: HER OWN PURPOSE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1wCXnDr9hk KNIGHTS WE RECRUITED LAST TIME: Bonita Yorick of the 11th Order    “We knights must always see the bigger picture.” Class: Duelist Atlus.com says this of Bonita: ”Despite being a troubled child, Bonita is known in the knight kingdom for being one with true common sense who won’t hold back from speaking her mind.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: High Inquisitor ”Always brash and bold when expressing her opinions, she does not hesitate to say what is on her mind. Bonita was a problem child growing up, but Jorgen helped straighten her out. Bonita hates Juno because she feels Juno embodies what she herself used to be.” Frieber Will Permeal of the 2nd Order “A teacher’s finest moment is when the student surpasses him. Such is my daughter.” Class: Wizard Atlus.com says this of Frieber: ”A divorced man who devoted himself to his daughter, Annalot. Though he is getting on in age, he is well respected and still lends his expertise to the young knights.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Sable Adept ”He is a veteran Wizard who cares deeply for his peers, but his greatest concern in life is the welfare of his daughter, Annalot. Frieber spends a lot of time with Lillian and Hilgard, and he treats them like family. As he grows older, he does not cling to the past, but rather, he embraces the younger generation of knights who will one day be taking over.” Lyzz Linda Ragford of the 2nd Order “People know I work hard. But the truth is, I lack the confidence to do any less.” Class: Priestess Atlus.com says this of Lyzz: ”Orphaned at a young age, Lyzz became a quiet admirer of the skilled knights around her. She can often be found playing her flute.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Light Bringer ”Her loving parents passed away while Lyzz was very young, and she was adopted by Isabel. She is constantly unsure of herself, so she puts everything she has into each task she undertakes. When Lyzz joined the knights, Ernest saw she had great potential but lacked the confidence, so he took her under his wing. She has also become good friends with Woosh, and she holds all her superiors in high regard.”     State of the LPI have some family gatherings going on, so next update will probably take longer than normal. In the meantime I'm going to try to figure out how to streamline my process better. I like doing the timeline/recap stuff, but the one for Scene 8 literally extended the time it took me to do the update by like 40%, and it resulted in only a couple minutes of recap. Unfortunately that's not sustainable for me. Either I need to get smarter about how I make them, or I need to not do them very often, or I need to move to a slower update schedule. Another problem is that I'm frontloading the videos with story. The reason why I normally record a video up until the battle preparation of the next fight is so that the next videos can jump right in to the fight. That way if people aren't interested in the story, they can just watch the first part of the video and be done. But now I'm undoing that when I have recaps at the start of a video. Stuff for me to ponder! Man Dancer posted:I do watch these videos at 1.5 speed, but don't feel bad; it means the battle sections look like they are being played by a goddamn sorcerer. BlazeEmblem posted:Man, the post commentary really makes things go by faster. Before this, I would always go to a different tab while this was playing in the background, but now I don't need to. DjinnAndTonic posted:I wonder if the messenger girl they were talking about in the 7-days-before flashback is one of the knights we've met already?  As for the plot discussion...I do enjoy the plot, although it's told in an unnecessarily convoluted manner. And yeah, it definitely hits some tropes, but I think we'll have plenty to talk about as it unfolds
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Jan 2, 2015 16:23
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Hey everyone, I’m currently working on the next update, but I wanted to make a post discussing one of the story aspects that I find really interesting: Do the Knights know what the hell is going on? To what extent? What about the citizenry? Does anyone understand that they’re dead? I don’t have an answer for this question (but I do have an opinion). I’ve gathered some evidence to present: Johann during Pause Talk:  So he has a memory of his attack. Remember, we watched him die in the first flashback, when a lamia killed him in short order. Lillian during Pause Talk: Lillian is most likely referring to the number of Knights that had been stationed in the area; however the Knights were stationed before the tragedy at the castle. When we meet Lillian, after the tragedy, she says this but there aren’t really any Knights around. Or townspeople. Lillian recruitment:  Well the thing is, you’re already dead, Lillian… Annalot recruitment:  Similar to Lillian’s recruitment. Norton, an NPC from Scene 3, during Pause Talk:  So he seems to have a faint memory of being attacked, but it’s not clear if he knows how it turned out. Norton, during another Pause Talk:  Presumably he’s talking about his death. Who is he talking to? Remember, the characters aren’t talking directly to the Wisp. The Wisp is reading their inner monologues during these Pause Talks, though Norton might be thinking internally to the Wisp I guess. Maimi, an NPC from Scene 7, during Pause Talk:  Again…you’re dead… So far this is looking fairly one sided, but look at these screens: Michel, about to be Transouled to Johann:  Well he seems to understand what’s happening… Johann, after receiving Michel’s soul:  …and Johann seems to understand what he’s received. Bonn, about to be Transouled to Moira:  I would argue Bonn understands what’s happening here. Moira, after receiving Bonn’s soul:  Same with Moira. Mardin, being Exiled:  And Mardin seems to understand this. Some other things of note: I’ve played through the game twice. The Knights often say stuff like “I’ll fight, if it helps the kingdom!” or “I’ll come with you!”, but I don’t recall them ever addressing the Wisp directly as the King. Or even addressing the Wisp directly; they seem to only use vague terms like “you”. The Knights do not interact with any other characters (for example, Johann is constantly talking about how he misses his mother, but when her spirit was seen in Scene 5, he did not interact with her). They acknowledge when they’re transouled though. What do you guys think? Do these people understand they're dead? What do they understand? On a different subject, during the present time cutscene for Scene 9, we see Maria (referred to as the Armored Maiden) in Regnieburg Richt, which is a residential area of Regnieburg. She gazes at Aventheim Castle. At around the same time, we see Yelma looking at the castle as well, from the Fortress Sky Bridge. Here are their viewpoints: Maria:  Yelma:  Nothing really important here, but you can get a very rough idea of where they are in relation to each other. And wtf is going on with the moon? Man Dancer posted:I have finally been cracking open boxes after a recent move, and I found my original Tome of Lost Souls! Pretty spoily, but it is fun to be able to see all the knightly orders together and figure out where everyone is. The depth of this games' lore and systems are bananas, especially considering that the main production team was a handful of people. Blaze Dragon posted:Bonita's death reminds me a lot of how battles in Yggdra Union looked, with dying knights in each team just letting go of their weapons that then would get stuck on the floor. I see Sting keeps some ideas between games, even if they're all very different. A similar thing happens when you Exile a unit, which I did in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVDqYc3Y-u4&list=UUEgXjHI1yyRtAPVediP9gcQ. Furthermore, some bosses do it when they are killed. Neat little continuity thing there, I had no idea it was in other games. Fat Samurai posted:Now I wonder how Maria is going to work mechanically. She's alive, so maybe she doesn't "dissolve"? Transouling into the living sounds even worse than fusing dead souls together. DjinnAndTonic posted:If it's easier, why not just do timeline discussion in the forum posts? Text and diagrams are just as easy to follow if you don't want to make video ones.
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Jan 8, 2015 06:29
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UPDATE: Scene 10: Liberator's Proposal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_DvOx2igY Knights we recruited last time: Staehel Rudolila of the 11th Order    Class: Archer Atlus.com says this of Staehel: No entry! The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Infernal Lightning ”Always the honorable and humble Archer, he is loved by all his subordinates. Upon receiving his promotion, Staehel’s friends gave him a brand new bow, but he used it so much that it broke. He is currently searching for a master fletcher to repair it. While his unit is often criticized for being too relaxed, he firmly believes that nothing prepares for battle better than high morale and a hearty laugh. He greatly respects Walder.” Annalot Ella Permeal of the 4th Order   “I won’t hamper my father with my inexperience.” Class: Lance Knight Atlus.com says this of Annalot: ”The young daughter of Freiber, Annalot believes she lacks experience, yet exhibits a kind, stately maturity. She is both strong-willed and noble.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Noble Cub ”One of the newest and youngest recruits, Annalot tries hard to hone her skills and to take after her father, Freiber. She has been friends with Lillian since they were in school together, and Lillian loves to remind her of her embarrassing childhood nickname, ‘Clumsy Anna’.” Nina H. Answorth of the 4th Order    “In reality, I’m a knight. In truth, I will never be...” Class: Duelist Atlus.com says this of Nina: ”The younger sister of Hampton. Her family has served the kingdom as knights for generations, and she was no exception despite being unfit to do so.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Dutiful Slicer ”She is a weak and timid young girl who only joined the knights to carry on the family tradition. She is constantly worried she is not cut out to be a knight, and she would much rather be in another line of work. Fortunately, she can find strength in her brother, Hampton, her friend, Annalot, and her supervisor, Reinhart.” Fat Samurai posted:My pet theory is that the knights don't know what they're going through until they are recruited. Contact with the wisps may be enough to make them aware of their situation. I could buy this, but I think the Knights don't get the full story. To me it's more like they're vaguely aware but I don't think it's really sunk in. Who knows, though. Gologle posted:The moon itself is a soul, that goes from activated to deactivated depending on who's looking at it! Recruit Moon Key item: Green Cheese. "People think I'm made of this stuff!" Upon recruitment: "Who ordered the high tide??"
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Jan 9, 2015 06:51
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UPDATE: Scene 11: Gatekeeper of Doom. Clash with Rivulia the Judgment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L02cpAAYADY Knights we recruited last time: Maria a.k.a The Armored Maiden      “I shall guide you to the place where you belong.” Class: Valkyrie Atlus.com says this of Maria: ”A mysterious maiden, clad in golden armor. She offers her cooperation to the Wisp for unknown reasons, serving as its guide for what she knows it seeks.” The Tome of Lost Souls says this: The Armor-clad Maiden of Mystery ”The mysterious Valkyrie who stole Wilmgard’s soul from Aventheim Castle and freed him at the abandoned church.” (spoiler stuff redacted) BlazeEmblem posted:I love the all of the random voices in the game, but my favorite is diffidently when Maria misses: "How could I miss?", putting a weird stress on the word miss. It always cracks me up. Most of the voices are covered in 4 categories: High pitched female, low pitched female, high pitched male, low pitched male. One of the things the high pitched female says is "Damaged!! if you take a hit. I particularly like that one, because the tone it's said in really makes it sound like "drat it!!" Sometimes the stars align, and you're watching your knight charge instead of keeping an eye on the enemy fire, and you take an easily avoidable bullet only to hear the voice say drat IT!! Makes me smile. In most games, I'd be super annoyed with all the voices talking nonstop, but for some reason it works in Knights in the Nightmare. I like the idea of a bunch of disembodied voices coming in and out, really lends to the situation in my opinion. DjinnAndTonic posted:I got the impression that the knights can't recall actually -dying-. It's possible some of them remember enough of the events just before their deaths that they can sort of deduce that they might've died, but none of them seem to remember the moment of death itself, not even Johann, who seems to be most aware what happened to him. I suspect that contact with the Wisp gives them renewed sentience to a degree, so they can pledge to fight for some cause. I think the fact that they realize they are disappearing when you Transoul them is actually further support for them not realizing they were already dead. They feel like they are dying for the first time, if you will. I like this theory. The idea that the Knights are pledging to a cause but they don't really understand the circumstance is pitiful and sad but would be a necessary evil. Annointed posted:For better or for worse the knights you recruit don't interact with each other during your setup time. Better in the fact you can be very efficient, just do your daily repair and levels/transoul. Sort of worse because outside of deploying knights who know each other in combat/cutscenes/level up quotes, you can't really see them develop. Yeah the fact that there's no down time when you can say walk around and talk to the Knights or watch them interact with each other really speaks volumes to me that they're these entities that you pull out like pocket monsters, then put them away when you're done and they're none the wiser. Fat Samurai posted:I like how the game makes you care about the Knights even with barely any screen time. Most of them seem to be OK guys and gals. Yeah, for example the scene where the Knights charge Rivulia with the understanding that they're hoping for just one survivor to make it past so they can reach command...you have to admire them. They're brave, if nothing else. Hell, even in the flashback with Firenz and Dreyuss, in which they're searching for the werewolf...at first Firenz comes off as kind of an underachiever ("Kid, we're turning back. You don't actually want to find the werewolf, do you? Let's get out of here."), but when they get jumped by the werewolf, it leaps to Firenz and his first (and only) sentence he manages is GET OUTTA HERE KID!!. Then, if you Pause Talk with him after recruitment, he says something to the effect of "I wonder if that kid got away...". What I'm trying to say is the Knights are awesome.
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Jan 12, 2015 06:55
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There's around 47 Scenes, I think. So we're near the 25% mark. Glad you liked the fight, the bosses are a real highlight in the game--there are a lot of creative attacks the developers put in.
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Jan 13, 2015 00:57
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Gologle posted:I love, love, love the portrait of Maria, because it's so cool and majestic even compared to the knights. Using her in battle and having her in your "party" feels wonderful, because you have a sense of sublime power. Also yes, pretty much all the knights are really cool people. Willimgard's kingdom was basically Camelot, until poo poo went down fast. Yeah Maria has this distinctly regal look about her. That and the fact that she's so mysterious makes her very intriguing--where'd she come from?? Fat Samurai posted:Welp, now we have a proper bullet hell. OK, not quite, but it seems we're getting there. Well right now, we have 3 monsters to fight per turn. Eventually (I forget when), a fourth monster is added to the mix, and as the game progresses, they all begin to attack faster. Then there are the bosses. Yeah, it gets worse 
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Jan 13, 2015 20:07
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UPDATE: SCENE 12: Whisper in the Shadows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds53f8osFc8 KNIGHTS WE RECRUITED LAST TIME: Walder W. Wallace of the 2nd Order    Class: Archer Atlus.com says this of Walder: No entry! The Tome of Lost Souls says this: Deadly Phantom ”Walder’s marksmanship is thought to be nearly unparalleled among knights, second only to General Granitz himself. His sharp gaze causes people to regard him as cold and uninviting, but he is actually quite concerned for the welfare of those around him. He is very focused, and he does not rest until he has finished what he set out to accomplish. Walter’s surprisingly vast vocabulary has been known to impress the kingdom’s poets and orators.” BOSS FIGHT FROM LAST TIME: RIVULIA: GATEKEEPER OF DOOM         Illustrator Yoshinori Iwanaga posted:When I'd first looked at the sketches by (Creative Design/Illustrator) Ms. Kiyuduki, my first thought was "It's not going to fit on the paper...! *laugh* Creative Design/Illustrator Satoko Kiyuduki posted:The initial rough sketch for her made her feel like a peaceful, docile character, so (Game Design & Direction) Mr. Ito made me revise the designs. He asked for a lot of additions, like the iron hammer and the scales... *laugh* I think about 70% of her final design was done by (Game Design & Direction) Mr. Ito.
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Jan 18, 2015 02:32
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 This game has a weapon upgrade system that allows you to increase the damage, as well as introduce Rush Count Effects to the weapon. For a rundown of how it works, refer to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag_-s-LUiRg You may have noticed that I tend to put off upgrading…in fact, I almost never do it. Why is this? Well, personally, I don’t like upgrading because it results in a longer charge for the weapon. For example, upgrading the Frozen Axe from +1 to +10 doubled the charge time from 5 seconds to 10 seconds. Barf! Not to mention that, so far, most of the enemies have been dying without putting up too big of a struggle. However, I really should get around to upgrading some things, just to introduce some variety. I realized I probably wouldn’t do it unless I was forced to, and that’s where you guys come in. Reasons to upgrade a weapon
Ok, this is what we’re going to do. If you want me to upgrade a weapon, make a post with a Knight class and an elemental affinity in it. The choices are: Knights: Warrior Hermit Archer Priestess Wizard Lance Knight Duelist Elemental Affinity Neutral Ice Fire Lightning Sanctity Darkness You can only try once per upgrade session. In the event that someone has multiple posts, I will use their most recent one. When I post the next update, I will pull a Knight class out of a hat. If it’s the Knight class you picked, then you can have me upgrade a weapon of the elemental affinity you picked. Screenshots will be provided so you can select the one you want. You will tell me what level you want the weapon to be upgraded (upgrade levels run from +1 to +9), or you can tell me to upgrade it until we hit the number of Rush Count Effects you want (max of 3). Which Rush Count Effects will be gained? Who knows. Doing this will help the game get more Rush Count Effects in play, which should spice up the action a little. One thing I’d like to ask is that you take into account the fact that the weapon must survive the upgrade process; if the weapon has low durability and I’m going to upgrade to +9, it might be destroyed by the failed attempts. Please, don’t make me do that to a really nice weapon! In the event that no one picks the Knight class I draw from a hat, I’ll keep drawing until I get one. Any questions, let me know. We will do upgrade rounds like this every so often. If no one participates in this, I’ll take it as a sign that no one gives a crap about weapon upgrades, and I can go through the game without worrying about it! 
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Jan 18, 2015 03:38
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Just to clarify with the weapon upgrades, yes, even if we upgrade some, there's no guarantee that I'll actually trigger any of the Rush Effects during gameplay...but we can get some in circulation to boost the likelihood. If worse comes to worst and we manage to screw up a weapon by upgrading it, I can always farm the Leveling stages. Having said all that, I won't rule out manipulating Rush Count Effects on special occasions, such as to clear a difficult stage or something. Remember: if you're interested, post a Knight class and an elemental affinity before the next update, at which time we'll figure out what's going to get upgraded. Fat Samurai posted:And hey, Annalot managed to ask for reinforcements before dying. Horray, I guess Yeah, Annalot's scene ends with her collapsed on the ground and the Knights saying they were rounding up reinforcements to send to the castle. The castle...which was being blocked by Rivulia...uh oh. I haven't played the other games so I can't really comment on the Ancardia, but I will say that we will continue to get bits and pieces of the plot, and I have a feeling a lot of the questions will be answered. Well, a fair bit anyway. DjinnAndTonic posted:Rush Count effects sound fun! Let's go out of our way to use them! Don't forget, you need to give an elemental affinity! And I'm looking forward to your reactions to some of the plot elements that come up in this game; you seem well versed in the Dept Heaven series--it will be fun to see you react to some of the events in this game.
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Jan 19, 2015 19:54
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UPDATE: SCENE 13: THOSE WHO SEEK ANCARDIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCDm1EnCqIY This is a long one! Run time almost 60 minutes. KNIGHTS WE RECRUITED LAST TIME NONE!  So, the original plan was to pull a Knight class out of a hat and the posters who chose that class could select a weapon to upgrade. Instead, gently caress it. If you chose a Knight class, go ahead and pick a weapon. But… I made an oversight. We haven’t covered this very much in the videos, but certain weapons can be overcharged. You can tell which ones because their attack names are in yellow as opposed to white. Here's an example: the yellow text saying "Holy Grail". The catch is that the Knight must match the elemental affinity of the weapon in order to do this. We have a small group of permanent Knights, so of course they are the ones who will most likely be using the weapons. To that end, you might wish to select an elemental affinity that matches that of our permanent Knight. For example, Dreyuss, our Archer, is Sanctity; you might want to pick Sanctity element for an Archer’s weapon, if you want the weapon you upgrade to have the overcharge ability. That is, if we even have a Sanctity bow that can be overcharged...I don't know if we do, and I can't check right now. Anyway, since I didn’t think about telling you guys that, go ahead and amend your Knight/elemental affinity if you want in a new post. My mistake! Having said all that, let’s review the permanent Knights we have: Warrior: Johann, level 19, element NEUTRAL Hermit: Moira, level 20, element ICE Lance Knight: Loudmouth Alonso, level 15, element LIGHTNING Archer: Dreyuss, level 16, element SANCTITY Duelist: TBD Wizard: TBD Priestess: TBD (but I’ve been leveling Simone, element ICE, for what it’s worth) I have come to realize we need to finish off our roster, which will be the next order of business after we do this round of weapon upgrades. Alright, here is a list of the weapons selected, but you can still change your mind if you want: Lance Knight, Lightning element: Elegant Spear Golden Spear +2 Golden Spear +8 Archer, Fire element: Flare Shooter Flare Shooter +1 Red Dragon Bow Flint Bow Priestess, Sanctity element: Venus Wand Venus Wand +1 Happiness Bell +2 Valkyrious +3 Remember, you need to pick a weapon, then tell me either what level you want it upgraded to (1-9), or tell me how many Rush Count Effects you want the weapon to have (0-3). If you tell me “I want that lance to have 3 Rush Count Effects”, I’ll upgrade until the third Effect appears, then stop. I will fuse weapons if I think I need to in order for it to survive the upgrade process. Be sure to check the level requirement of each weapon (little speech balloon above the Knight’s head in the image upper left), you will probably want to pick a weapon that our permanent Knights can wield (though if you pick a weapon with too high a level requirement, they’ll eventually be leveled enough to wield it). Finally…a reminder, there’s no guarantee I’ll actually use any of these weapons. I mean, I’m sure I will eventually, but it will have to happen naturally. I won’t necessarily go out of my way to use them; it will depend on the situation in the game. I do hate using grams, though, so you might want to avoid Priestess Chaos phase weapons and Wizard Law phase weapons... I’ve been playing this game too much…look how much I overcomplicated this.
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Jan 22, 2015 14:03
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Hey guys, Sorry for the delay. I've been working on the next video, which will cover some timeline stuff as well as story elements, character recaps, etc. But it's moving at a snail's pace, so in the meantime I whipped up a short video containing a couple clips I recorded, but didn't have a place to put yet. The hound enemy's special attack is covered in this video, along with a brief animation that plays if you let the game idle on the title screen. The animation covers the 12 Orders of the Knights, which will come up a little in the next main update. UPDATE: BONUS VIDEO 1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySc5tzuUcss AweStriker posted:As far as Scene 14 strategy goes, it looks to me like the Wizard in the back is in a great position to hit every obstacle/floor on the field except the rock with Chaos attacks, which the Warrior in the lower-right (or a different Warrior in the same position, more likely) can pick up with Law attacks, and get one of the floors and one of the catapults with Chaos attacks. I'll cover this in more detail when that update goes up, but your plan here falls under the category of "Would work ( with a few complications), but exceeds my ability " The main problems are that the catapult to the west is actually out of the wizard's height range, and also the wizard doesn't do very good damage to the obstacles he can reach. It's still doable, but let's be honest here, I'm most likely going to eat a lot of poo poo from this boss and I don't think I'll be able to afford the time I'd lose. I have a plan for this stage though (it involves manipulating a Rush Count Effect), so we'll see if it works.
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Jan 28, 2015 05:09
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Thanks! I want to keep the videos coming on a somewhat regular basis, just to keep things moving, and to help keep the plot and mechanics fresh for the viewers. It'll still be a few days before I have the next one ready, unfortunately, but hopefully I can get it out before too much time passes. There are 47 Scenes in the game, so we've actually got quite a bit to go.
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Jan 30, 2015 06:11
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Felinoid posted:The names are all the people that he has ever gotten, through all his playthroughs, and the lines indicate people that he's never gotten, but could get. Who he has right now on this particular save file only factors in if he got anyone that he had never gotten before, which is doubtful at this (early?) stage. This is correct, to my knowledge. And there are certain knights we can't get this playthrough due to the path we're playing. In other news, progress on the next video inches forward. I didn't expect it to take this long, sorry about the delay guys.
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Feb 18, 2015 03:53
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