I've got a few pm's from you guys wondering if Twice Upon a Hero is cancelled or on hiatus now that I've unveiled the new project. The good news is that I'm still working on TUAH. The bad news is that it's taking me way too long to produce significant content.
Here are the things that take up the longest:
1- Parallax mapping.
I love it, and it's what gives the game so much of its visual appeal, but it's very time-consuming. I'm lucky if I can get one map done per day - and this is assuming I actually get hours of free time to work on said map.
2- Database.
Despite having spent weeks getting everything organized, there's still a ton of work to do. Between setting up all the skills, adding the appropriate items and setting up the quests, I have several weeks worth of work before I can use the database effectively.
3- Eventing.
Hours worth of dialogue input, several puzzles that need to be implemented and just more gameplay in general. After getting feedback from you all, I really want to incorporate more of actual play (as opposed to just a series of cutscenes).
After much thought, I'm leaning very strongly toward porting TUAH over to Ace. Although it means redoing the first two chapters, using Ace would pretty much fix all the current issues I'm having with development length. I can move to using editor mapping again, the database can be organized better and I can put in all the bits of gameplay I was planning to put in. Things like shops, bartering, ways to earn and spend money, more quests, more areas to explore, etc.
The only thing that's holding me back is that I will be delaying release, once again. I hate to disappoint those of you who are eagerly awaiting chapter 3 (and onward). So, I'm still taking some time making a final decision.
If you have any opinions about whether I should stick with VX or go to Ace, please let me know! :)
About Me
- Lunarea
- I am a gamer, an artist and a hobbyist video game designer. When I'm not doodling one resource or another, I love to read books, make paper crafts (cards) and bake yummy goodies.
Hmm....well, it's tough. The advantages of Ace are obvious but on the other hand, we're talking about hours of content here and even if parallaxed maps transfer easily enough, all the database and eventing could really drag. In the end, it's your decision and I guess it will depend on your goals with TUAH.
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking to get more content out soon for fans who are eager for more TUAH, this will not help with that. But if you're playing a "long game" and hoping that the game will be as good as it can be, this probably is a wise idea even though I suspect it will majorly slow down production of the game. Working on the Starlight game may seem a lot more pleasant than migrating all that TUAH content to a new engine.
"I'm lucky if I can get one map done per day"
ReplyDeleteI've the same wish but I ain't reaching it at the moment >_>
If do then yes, you're lucky!
:)
Ace makes things so much easier. If you have the time and motivation to make the switch, then I say go for it! :)
ReplyDeleteIf this is meant to be a lengthy game, I'd say it's worth the switch but if this game falls under 10 hours then maybe you'd be better off sticking with VX unless you don't mind the seemingly tedious task ahead of you.
I personally don't mind the wait. I am just happy to hear this project isn't discontinued. Your game is one of the few RPG Maker games I've thoroughly enjoyed playing. :)
Thanks so much for your comments!
ReplyDeleteMy estimated length for TUAH is 15-20 hours. This is if I followed the story pace I had originally planned. So, it would be worth the migration.
Another benefit to moving it to Ace is that I could reorganize things so there's quite more gameplay and more interesting quests. :)