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[IndigoFenix]

Yeah, it is funny how that turned out.  But a game lives and dies on its combat system, or so they say, so I want it to be a good one.

I think what I'll do is make flinching and knockback off by default, but make techs interruptable by default if the user is either able to flinch or is subject to knockback.  So the gameplay for existing "immovable" creatures will remain the same (basic RPG-like), but as long as you set either a mass or flinch value the user will utilize the more advanced knockback/combo system.

Spoiler: Lusuria Secrets (click to show/hide)

Ira is great   There's a character I plan on making who hides "behind" trees and gradually figures it out.

The revelation that everyone in the town has known all along that you're an Icon was pretty surprising though.  Seems to be a bit of a wham moment to slip in so innocuously among all those text boxes.

To make the rope to the key both more and less secret, maybe the rope point can be invisible, but have someone in the inn give you a hint?  Maybe Alan or Rel left something up there and ask you to get it for them.  Maybe only if you manage get the citizens to like you.

There are a few text boxes in the inn without a target set.  Hmm, maybe I can work out a way to make these easier to keep track of...

Actually, there's one unanswered question I had: what about all the monsters in the dungeon?  Are they evil?  Insane?  Just doing their job and not actually getting killed?

[Kamani]

Thinking about it, a bad combat system can render a game unplayable for me, so that makes sense.

Also makes sense. Probably the best way to do that all in all.

Spoiler: Lusuria Secrets Response (click to show/hide)

Thanks. Looking forward to that.

If you don't find Ira (who really doesn't care at all about maintaining secrets or anything), you'll instead get that information in the (far from completed) 10th dungeon, when Franz and Hydragyre will tell you (before the final boss battle, probably) in a bit more of a dramatic speech-y way. You'll also be told about the true purpose of the trials and that kind of thing. Technically speaking, nobody is supposed to tell the player about the Icon thing until that (because advertising it as a way for travelers to test themselves is better advertising (although it is also worth noting that it is open to everyone, not just icons)), but Ira doesn't really care. I could try writing it a bit differently, but I think it fits best with Ira to have them drop big stuff kind of carelessly.

I'll try that instead. It might work better than how I just made the rope point appear if you had a rope and walked to the left.

Oops. Thought I fixed those in my quick fixes yesterday. I'll take another round and check them all.

Just doing their job and not getting killed. I probably should mention that somewhere... Oops. That is also why you don't die when you run out of hp. You just get teleported or carried or something to the last checkpoint if you don't decide to give up. I'll make Spids say that at the beginning, I think.

[IndigoFenix]

Maybe one of the enemies that you beat in the dungeon could show up in the inn afterwards and explain that they're fine?

[Kamani]

That'd work. I'll have Fulmine show up with a golem I think.

Edit: Oh, one exception to the monsters thing: Sorcery Flames are not people whatsoever. They are just magical flames Spids made. Entirely non-sentient.

Edit: Yeah, crashes are still happening, but they are wayyyy slower. I just got one after editing for like 4-5 hours. Admittedly, I was just writing dialogue, so that doesn't take much memory, probably, but it seems to be slower either way. Edit: I did save first, thank gosh.

Edit: All changes are made. Odds are, I missed some bugs, but probably less this time, so that's an improvement.
Unfortunately, for the next 5ish days, I am going to be way too busy to use BoundWorlds (or do really anything at all. I can't say I am a fan of times when I have no free time), so I won't have time for any bug fixes or starting the next dungeon during that time. If any bugs are noticed, I'll just have to fix them after that.

[IndigoFenix]

Hey, no worries.  I'll try to get the physics updated by then.

Hmm, it's possible I missed a data leak source somewhere.  Do you happen to remember exactly what kind of objects you were mainly editing before the crash?  Flowcharts?  Functions?

[Kamani]

Okay. Cool.

Dialogue flowcharts. It crashed when I was testing them (I think I was either exiting or leaving the inn), and I had been editing the Fulmine/Eritae (if the second name is similar to a word, it’s unintentional. The first is Italian for lightning bolt) dialogue before the crash for like 2 or 3 hours. Before that, I was just doing the brief item on gate sidequest.

[IndigoFenix]

Combat physics have been fine-tuned further.  The new options for knockdown-related physics have been given their own section under Combat Stats.  The main things to note are Armor and Poise.  "Armor" in this context is similar to the concept of "super armor" found in fighting games, except it is a stat that basically "shields" an object against knockback and hitstun; knockback force "damages" the armor instead and after taking a few hits the object is susceptible to knockback.  Poise is also "damaged" by knockback, even when armor is active; when an object takes knockback and has no poise remaining it is knocked down and cannot move until poise replenishes.

There is a slight difference between setting Max Poise to -1 and setting Poise Regen to -1.  If Max Poise is infinite, the sprite cannot be knocked down at all.  If Poise Regen is infinite but Max Poise is not, poise damage will not accumulate but the object can still be knocked over by a single attack that overcomes their Max Poise.  Armor works the same way.

There is also Mass and Hardness.  Mass reduces the amount a sprite is knocked back.  Hardness reduces stun frames.

Hitlag is now a stat that is found on all hitboxes.  It causes both the attacker and the attacked to freeze for a few frames on impact.  This is an effect found in many fighting games and animations and gives a better feeling of "weight" to attacks.

On to Lusuria...

I played through the Trial Dungeon, and it was neat!  There were two major bugs - both sprites that let you enter the boss rooms were missing for some reason.  Maybe you were planning on having them appear when the path to them was open?  Normally I don't do this on principle, but since the fix was both essential for completing the dungeon at all and extremely minor to fix, and you said you wouldn't be around for a few days, I fixed them up myself so other people can try out the dungeon.

The only thing the world is missing now is music and sound effects.  It'll need them to give it a professional feel.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Now I want to find the secret lounge.   Rule 62 of game design - if you mention that an area exists, people will try and look for it.

[Kamani]

Neat!

Makes sense.

Also makes sense.

Seems neat. I’ll have to test it out next time I make some enemies (or maybe a boss, since it seems like that might not work super well on something like a golem).

On Lusuria: Oh gosh, thanks for the fix. I could have sworn I placed them, but I guess I forgot.

I’m still at kind of a loss for music for the dungeon (and doubly so for Lusuria). I’m looking for something specific, but I have yet to find anything.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There may not be a secret lounge now, but there might be one later... One of the secret room ?s will probably lead to some caves that lead to it, as well as the other Trial people rooms. Mostly because I can’t help but look for secret rooms too, so I know how that feels.

Again, thanks for the fix (I thought I tested that bit, but I guess not). I’m still unable to edit for two or three days, so I am glad that it won’t be badly broken for that time.

[IndigoFenix]

I added some basic sound effects from OpenGameArt.  You can find plenty more there, often in large libraries.  Sounds can be added to hitboxes and also the basic player interaction event (generally used for making a sound on death).

There's also http://soundimage.org/ which has a huge amount of the best free-use music loops I have ever found.  Make sure you give credit to Eric Matyas if you add anything from there, he's already in the system.

Which reminds me, I should really finish up the auto-credit reel event.  (The event is there as a placeholder, it just doesn't do anything yet.)

[Kamani]

Thanks. I’ll take a look at the sound effects (those, I mostly forgot). Can you also add them to basic melee for bullets?

I’ll take a look at them. That should work for the dungeon. Not sure if I’ll find the music I need for Lusuria, since I am looking for something pretty specific.

Yeah, that’s probably pretty important. Which reminds me, I need to find a place to add that. Possibly post dungeon win? Either that, or on a sign thingy.

[IndigoFenix]

I'd put it on a sign, or in a cutscene.  Maybe you can spend a night at the inn and the credits roll when you do so?

I've added a preliminary version of the credits reel.  It's not as organized as I'm planning for it to be, but it does give a list of all artists and their contributions, and links to their websites when applicable, so that works as a minimum.

Roll Credits works as a normal event; the function continues when the credits are done.  You can make it a cutscene or even leave the game playable during the credits.  I'll add more specific options soon.

[Kamani]

The inn thing should work. I’ll do that.

Cool. I’ll take a look at how it currently is tomorrow (when I’ll be back to my next dungeon (I think I’ll do Batelier’s dungeon next)).

Makes sense. Probably the best way to do it, given the condition.

[IndigoFenix]

Looking forward to fixing up the inevitable bugs that arise from switching players

Seriously, you've been doing a lot.  If I ever do wind up making money off of this game, I think I'll have to pay you for content creation

As for me, let's see what's next on the checklist... I guess it's about time to start working on more advanced AI behaviors.  I think I'll start with enemies that run away when they are in danger.

[Kamani]

I’ll make sure to run into all of them (which seems to happen to me whether I try or not, in everything I use, so...).

Eh, it’s been fun for me to work on this, so I’m good.

Makes sense. Should be useful. I’ll try it for some ambient none-hostiles when it’s done.

Edit: Hmm... I used the Roll Credits effects and it just tinted the screen. Any clue what could be wrong?
I'm not going to set it up to look nice until there are some improvements (something to prevent gameplay and black out the screen while the credits rolled would probably work well for my case. Beyond that, those might be good to add anyway, since they seem generally useful).

Edit: Are the volume, pitch, and speed options for SFX not yet implemented? I need them to test out some of the sound effects.
Beyond that, preliminary run at sound effects is done. It isn't great, since I don't have sound effects tailored to certain specific instances, where a more specific use effect would work better, but it is there. There is still no Lusuria music because I can't figure out what to put there, since I lack the one specific song I want.

Edit: Hmm... Any advice on finding sideview tilesets? Unlike probably all of the other Trial dungeons, Batelier's is going to be sideview. Might use some sideview elements in others, thinking about it, but probably not to the same level Batelier's uses them. Need kind of a dungeony-towery sideview tileset, and I have no clue where to even begin looking. I'd make one myself, but, like I've said before, I can't art.

[IndigoFenix]

Hmm, it sounds like you don't have any credits being generated?  I'll check it out.  You can prevent gameplay during the credits by starting a cutscene, and I'm pretty sure screen flashes can allow you to fade the screen, but I'll probably add these options into the credit event itself for the sake of simplicity.

Volume and speed should work for sound effects.  Pitch does not, but speeding up or slowing down sounds changes their pitch.  I did see a program that managed to separate them but I'm not sure how.

Sideview tilesets shouldn't be hard to find.  I'll see if I can locate a good one later.