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[Eldiran]

Heya! A while back I posted a game based on the Boatmurdered LP, 'Depths of Boatmurdered'. Well, that game was ostensibly supposed to be a test run of the engine so I could make this: Voidspire Tactics. Wildly different genres, but the same engine. I figured I'd share it here and get some feedback.

I could particularly use feedback on the Greenlight page. It's been a struggle to make progress on getting the game approved.

The game combines the exploration of Zelda or Ultima with combat like FFT or XCOM (the newer one). You control a player-made party of 4 trying to explore and escape the Spire.

Here's the release trailer and the website.

Gif of it in action:


And some pointed bullets

• Open-ended exploration – traverse a nonlinear world full of secrets
• Refined tactical combat fit for beginners and veterans alike – easy to learn, hard to master
• Destructible terrain and elemental interactions – flood the battlefield, then shock everyone with lightning!
• Abilities are good for more than just combat – freeze a river to cross it, or grow seeds into vines to scale mountains!
• Choose from 4 playable races, unlock up to 17 classes, learn & upgrade 100+ abilities, and equip your choice of 50+ passive abilities

EDIT: Voidspire Tactics has been Greenlit! 

EDIT2: It's on Steam here, and is on sale from May 9 - May 16.

[Ruludos]

I've been looking for something to scratch my Tactical RPG itch for a while now. You have my interest and my $15.

[Eldiran]

Awesome, thank you!

I hope the game is adequately scratchy for you : )

[Ruludos]

Getting a wonderful scratch, yes. Not much interesting to say right now, but once I get a few more hours into the game I'll post my team and such. Just a generically positive experience so far; the setting and general retro feel is giving me Cave Story vibes, and that isn't a bad thing.

A quick question, though. Each of my guys can have two classes at once; is exp split if I do this, or will exp only be given to the primary class? I don't want to move past the base classes until I get three stars and a skill rank for each, but if I can train both the old and new classes at the same time that would be nice.

[Eldiran]

Excellent! I've had a few people compare it to Cave Story, which is super flattering.

Experience is not split into the two classes- it only goes to the primary class. There's also absolutely no drawback to having a secondary class.

I considered an XP split, but I wanted to make sure the player felt absolutely free to use whatever secondary class they wanted.

[Ruludos]

What is the benefit to a second class, then? Is skill usage and such restricted to two classes only?

[Eldiran]

Right. During combat, you can only use abilities from your 2 equipped classes.

Skill increases (Sword Skill, Fire Skill, etc.) are permanent no matter what you have equipped.

[darkflagrance]

I have to say I really like the background graphics. The interiors of the ornately decorated halls are very nicely done.

[Mephansteras]

PTW

[Sinistar]

Ooooh, shiny. I like. I am currently a bit short on cash, but I do think I will be backing this financially somewhere in the future. Also, I see you have been Greenlit today, congratulations!

[Eldiran]

I GOT GREENLIT! 

I have to say I really like the background graphics. The interiors of the ornately decorated halls are very nicely done.

Thanks! I feel that the art is my weakest point, but I'm still pretty fond of how the cathedral-style areas turned out : )

Ooooh, shiny. I like. I am currently a bit short on cash, but I do think I will be backing this financially somewhere in the future. Also, I see you have been Greenlit today, congratulations!

Thank you!! I'm super excited : )

[Ruludos]

Tossing this in spoiler tags; nothing story-related or anything, but people might want to explore themselves and such.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Here's my team standing over the dead Spidest at the bottom of the mine near the Machine Graveyard.

This is the fourth party I made; the first three were quickly abandoned as I learned the system and realized that I had either wasted exp on random skills I didn't need or didn't like the party's dynamic. I've got, in order:
Fareem Guardian/Warrior with axe/shield
Human Warrior/Brawler with greatsword
Human Warrior/Scholar with spear and lightning magic
Scuri Scholar/Sage with ice/life magic

I quickly found that the best way for my Guardian to tank damage was to not use Guard; it seems that the AI doesn't really focus targets, but it does like doing damage. This means that a target using Guard will be ignored unless there aren't any other options; once I figured that out damage control became a lot easier.

I do wish that there was some way to restrict enemy movement similar to the Rampant Aura from Tactics Ogre' it would allow my formations to be much looser than they are right now.

Congrats on the greenlight, by the way!

EDIT:
Oh, wow. First game over in the Great Wyrm Tangle. I'm not sure if I was doing it wrong or if I just walked face-first into a beefgate, but some of the things in there were hitting for 15+ against my Guardian, and despite 3/4ths of my team having great AoE damage I had a hard time killing everything. I'll go explore somewhere else and come back later...

[Frumple]

So... any thoughts/ETA on a demo? Looks interesting (though I probably can't justify spending the current price, heh -- limited funds, can get other things I'd enjoy too for less, etc., etc.), but I've learned the hard way over the years that buying something without actually checking to see if it can run on the computer you have access to is... somewhat unwise, heh. And listed system requirements et al are an imprecise measure at the best of the times

[Eldiran]

Tossing this in spoiler tags; nothing story-related or anything, but people might want to explore themselves and such.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Here's my team standing over the dead Spidest at the bottom of the mine near the Machine Graveyard.

Nice, you found the hidden area : ) That's not an easy fight early on either.

This is the fourth party I made; the first three were quickly abandoned as I learned the system and realized that I had either wasted exp on random skills I didn't need or didn't like the party's dynamic. I've got, in order:
Fareem Guardian/Warrior with axe/shield
Human Warrior/Brawler with greatsword
Human Warrior/Scholar with spear and lightning magic
Scuri Scholar/Sage with ice/life magic

I quickly found that the best way for my Guardian to tank damage was to not use Guard; it seems that the AI doesn't really focus targets, but it does like doing damage. This means that a target using Guard will be ignored unless there aren't any other options; once I figured that out damage control became a lot easier.

I do wish that there was some way to restrict enemy movement similar to the Rampant Aura from Tactics Ogre' it would allow my formations to be much looser than they are right now.

Looks like a pretty solid party setup. And yeah, the AI prioritizes damage when possible - which generally means they go after the squishies. There are abilities that specifically hinder targets - like Scout's Trip Up, and the Balancer's Stonefoot - but no auras. That's something I definitely want to add in my next game.

Congrats on the greenlight, by the way!

EDIT:
Oh, wow. First game over in the Great Wyrm Tangle. I'm not sure if I was doing it wrong or if I just walked face-first into a beefgate, but some of the things in there were hitting for 15+ against my Guardian, and despite 3/4ths of my team having great AoE damage I had a hard time killing everything. I'll go explore somewhere else and come back later...

Thank you! : )

If I'm thinking of what you're thinking of, it's not so much a beefgate as it is an optional very hard boss battle. Definitely something to come back to later.

So... any thoughts/ETA on a demo? Looks interesting (though I probably can't justify spending the current price, heh -- limited funds, can get other things I'd enjoy too for less, etc., etc.), but I've learned the hard way over the years that buying something without actually checking to see if it can run on the computer you have access to is... somewhat unwise, heh. And listed system requirements et al are an imprecise measure at the best of the times

I've been pondering this a lot, actually. The format of the game - wide open exploration - is pretty poor for a demo. Not to mention, it's time I could spend investigating a Mac port or something similar... but I really understand your situation, and I absolutely don't blame you. Situations like that are why I really like demos.

For what it's worth, the game runs pretty well on old computers. But just in case, I would recommend holding off until I get the game onto Steam (which should be early next week). Steam's got a no-questions-asked refund policy on any game you've put less than 2 hours into.

[Dostoevsky]

Out of curiousity, is there a fixed amount of XP in the game or are there random battles (or some other manner of grinding)? Picked it up and so far am impressed, but I'm wondering if I should take more care in training my team or have leeway to experiment.