Fiasom
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Reborn Development Blog
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Posts posted by Fiasom
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5 minutes ago, pizzagod13 said:
I just checked if you were -1 speed the lapras would speed tie you even with 0 Speed Evs. It would need max speed IV and nature tho. If it had some Evs in speed it would always outspeed you.
And just as I was typing this a crit by the Floatzel on the Donphan changed the course of the battle and I won. FTS.
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1 minute ago, Clearly Sus said:
Did you Floatzel get hit by bulldoze? It lowers the speed stat
Aye I think that's what happened. Stupid me. I'm drunk. I ought to delete this topic now.
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Just now, Lord Drakyle said:
There is nothing impossible about the fight.
There is something legally impossible about that Lapras outspeeding my Floatzel. What are the mechanics that make that possible?
Otherwise of course f*king of course there is nothing impossible about the fight, I've beaten in my previous runs. I want to know what the reigning mechanics are.
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6 minutes ago, Lord Drakyle said:
Boss fights are meant to be a challenge.
Challange is one thing, impossibility is another. What is legal in this game? That Lapras cannot outspeed my Floatzel legally. Reborn is using PULSE mons to give them extra EVs, I get that. Hard challenge. This is something different. I need an answer to whether I need ridiculous gimmicks to win the battles, or can I actually focus on building a proper team?
Otherwise - given that quick claw isn't available yet - I know to grind on the Noibats around till I get 252 speed EVs on my Floatzel. Or, since the time sunk to grinding isn't worth it, quit the game.
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1 minute ago, Lord Drakyle said:
Quick Claw maybe?
What is legal in this game? Will my Electrode be outsped by a Shuckle in the future?
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What I'm trying to understand here is the mechanics of the game.
So I'm fighting Ghost Keta. I use my Floatzel to take down his Donphan no problem. Next he throws in his Lapras; my Floatzel is in a pinch and will go down to one move, no questions about that. But I should be able to hit that Lapras without using a priority move since Floatzel is faster than Lapras by far. I use Tail Slap, but Lapras uses Body Slam first and KOs the Floatzel.
My lvl 25 Floatzel has 16 IV and 26 EV for speed at this point, granting it a speed stat of 68 (neutral nature). I check on showdown teambuilder, and a lvl 24 Lapras with a perfect speed IV of 31 and perfect speed EV of 252 plus a speed boosting nature, at maximum gives the Lapras total speed stat of 61. So how the f**k does his Lapras out speed my Floatzel? (There are no relevant field effects in place that will help the Lapras out speed the Floatzel.)
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2 hours ago, PSFLeo said:
Has your Rillaboom been able to do this? I picked mine as a starter thinking this same thing but was sorely disappointed to learn it just stacks on top of the already-existing field.
Fresh off the second rift battle as I am - my impression is that grassy surge doesn't always stack on top, but sometimes replaces the field (though not as often as it stacks). Also, sometimes, even when it only stacks instead of replacing, when it wears off it also removes the existing field - at least it did several times after stacking on top of forest field. This could come in handy if it triggers where it matters - e.g. boss battles. But if there is any intention on part of the dev team in this design, rather than just a bug, I'm pretty sure it won't. Devs appear to think hard for the sake of hard is fun.
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The story of rejuv is a thorough mess. But is it still a Pokémon game? On the mechanical side of things, I'd say yes.
SpoilerThat's mostly because I'm working on the development of my own game on and off, and I decided to expand on the truancy mechanics. Long story short, pokemon truancy is not based on its levels vs your badges, but players have 5 moral character traits (which change based on overworld/dialogue choices you make) vs the sorts of "virtues & vices" a species of pokemon likes in its trainer (I call this preference). (Badges vs levels and many other things also influence truancy, but their effect is to "expand" or "narrow" down the basic preference range of a pokemon - similar to how natures influence stats, but way more dynamic.) Mechanically this makes such a fundamental difference to especially level caps and team building strategies - not to mention a talking protagonist - that my game is no longer a pokemon game, but a game with pokemon in it. (Which is exacerbated by the civil war setting of the story.) With that point of reference, yes,
Rejuv is definitely a pokemon game mechanically - just heavily ornamented.
On the story side though - Rejuv has many great assets (like the maps and the art work and the help centre sorts of things) and many problems (like cheating AI on top of hellishly hard battles). But its story is by far its worst aspect, and I'm not even talking about its disregard of pokemon and battles - I completely agree with everything said above. The plot is all over the place - I find it really hard to follow (and this is coming from someone whose fav book series is the Malazan Book of the Fallen). The characters are also thoroughly psychopathic, one and all - especially the main characters that are our "friends" and are "the good guys." Who cares if 4 thousand people die if the rainbow of freidnship prevails among our main characters? So many different sets of "overbearing parent cages adolescent in" its tiring. The morality of the story is more inconsistent than the most propagandistic of hollywood films (at least rejuv isn't propagandistic...). Whether it is a pokemon game or not, the story is simply badly written. I can't go into details because I've forgotten the story since V12, and I'm only at the Goldenwood episode now. But of all the fan games I've played - heck, all stories I've engaged with - Rejuv takes the cake for the worst story.
One redeeming quality of its story is that the ups and downs and the beats of the story work very well - when it comes to the ... emotional structure? of the story, it works like music. The pacing works fine too (unless, of course, an impossible battle stomps you mid track). But the lyrics are just cringe lvl over 9000.
Rejuv isn't a game you play for its story. I'm playing it to see gen 8 and other new mons and I like a big world. But if and when (and I'm pretty certain it is a matter when) I get stuck in a hard battle, I have a hunch I'll drop the game for the last time. Its a contest between how much new material keeps me engaged and how much the story and unnecessarily hard battles push me away.
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Looks like a new game then... Sad thing that rejuv delivers these blows after so much effort is put into it. Glad that I've played only a few hours so far. Otherwise I'd've dropped it probably. Especially now that I'm reading some other discussions around the forum.
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When I use an ability capsule on my Overgrow Thwackey it shuffles its ability to .... Overgrow. I've used the item on other mons, and it seems to work fine, and I know you can get Grassy Surge in Grookey as I saw quite a few while soft resetting for one with decent IVs. Is this because the Grookey family's abilitys are 1) Overgrow, 2) Overgrow, and 3) Grassy Surge, so when I shuffle it goes from ability 1 to ability 2, both being Overgrow? I can't see why that should be the case because many mons have only 2 or 1 abilities, and you don't really need to name a second ability in between the first and the hidden. If that is the case I just need to waste an ability capsule to bad luck, and wait till a second becomes available. (Can anyone tell me where the second earliest ability capsule is available pls?)
Alternatively, it might be that Ability Capsules don't shuffle to hidden abilities as in the canon games. In which case I'm early enough in the game that I'll restart and ensure that I start with a Grassy Surge Grookey - but that doesn't make sense either because the item shuffles Pachirisu from Pickup to Volt Absorb. Does this apply only to starters or something? (That would upset me.)
On that account, is possible to somehow access the PBS folders? I'm trying to find out info about the new mons - gen 8 mon locations and Rejuv regional variant learn sets, stats etc. (I started looking for the PBS folders to check whether my above hunch about Thwackey's abilities are correct, but) I haven't yet seen a (comprehensive) guide for either the new mons or Pokémon locations online. If you know of one such guide, please drop a link.
(I know the PBS folders are locked away for the good reason that folks don't end up breaking their own game accidentally, but I think I should know how to be safe, given that I've dabbled with making my own fan game on RPGMX and know what not to change - golden rule being don't touch anything.)
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Meowstic-M > Prankster, Light Clay, Screens
Vileplume (or Venusaur) > Chlorophyll, Amplified/Heat Rock, Grassy Terrain, Sunny Day, Giga Drain
Charizard > Solar Power, Miracle Seed, Solar Beam. (And Air Slash for the Ludicolo. - Oh, and Dragon Pulse for the Kingdra.)
Didn't need anything else. Amy becomes a sitting duck in sunny grassy terrain. No attack, no speed. Surf does less than 50% on Charizard despite it having no spedef investment (and it got hit only because I misclicked).
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I have fixed the braille bit of the puzzle and got the door to open, but it seems like the tiles between centre, northwest and northeast rocks are impassable. So I can't get to the bidoof part of the cave. Am I missing something or is this a bug?
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This may already be known somewhere in the ether, but google didn't give me any good results. Does anybody (including Jan) know how many versions/episodes are planned for Rejuvenation? It seems like a safe bet to say it is unlikely there will ever be a 16th version, but have we had any confirmation for any specifish number of versions?
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So I'm not sure whether this is a problem or not, but I thought it might have the potential to be game breaking, hence this alert. I am playing through chapter 14 right now, and in West Gearen exploring new stuff, picking up items etc. (I haven't been back this side of the region for several versions now - and, my, have things changed). I went to this door in the power plant which I had forgotten. Turned out to be Erick's gym. Walked out of it, and the cut scene that begins chapter 10 automatically started. I was worried that it might re-trigger 4 chapters' worth of events I have already played through, so I closed the game without saving. (I should also note that I do not remember playing through what that cutscene promises, so there may indeed be some new events that I haven't played through, but might f*ck with the chronology of the game [playing though some main storyline chapter 10 events in chapter 14]?)
Just for context - that scene:
SpoilerCera breaks Angie out of her ice prison, saying Angie has been out for a couple weeks (whereas I am months, maybe years ahead of that by now). I do not remember dealing with Angie a second time after Kristilline Town (though this might just be me forgetting what I played through several years ago - or maybe Angie is biding her time and we still haven't heard from here yet).
I have certainly stumbled on to something I should not have, but my question is should I be worried about it, or just enjoy the artwork and reminders and otherwise ignore it?
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On 12/26/2018 at 2:01 AM, 0ris said:Spoiler
Nah I just got Fearow without dive - and the first room I entered in B3F was empty - so some rooms are empty, at least some of the time. There is either some kind of randomization or things may change according to time of day.
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My preferred team is a mess of fields and weathers - I can shift between rain, sun, rainbow, grassy, and burning fields. However now I'm thinking about my strategy quite darkly. I think at least one of the final boss battles will be on the starlight and new world fields, and you can't use weather effects in those fields. A weather team might not be your best bet for your first playthrough of the final episode.
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THE ABRAVAN KING WANTS YOU FOR THE ARMY (you code?)
The Civil War Team is looking for a coder/scripter to join their ranks. Pokémon Civil War is a fan game still in its infancy, being built with Essentials 17.2. The game includes some major departures from classical Pokémon tropes, a complex plot with deep lore and world building, and some new mechanics that will affect the gaming experience, bringing a fresh new take on the old tried and tested aspects of Pokémon games. As a result, there is major work undertaken on the conceptual design front, and we would like someone with coding/scripting experience to contribute to the game concept, as well as implementing the mechanics listed below. The game is planned to be released in eight chapters.
More information can be found on:
PRIMARY REQUIREMENTS: Game Concept & New Mechanics
This mainly includes scripting and implementing new mechanics that are present either in very few other games, or will be developed for the first time in Civil War. This is the main long term commitment the game requires of a coder/scripter, and it is likely that the coder who deals with these aspects of the game will also contribute to the conceptual design of the entire game. I should note that the below list does not cover everything, new considerations are likely to arise as the game progresses, and each item below is up for debate considering feasibility and improving the gaming experience.
That said, I do not expect one person to do everything listed below. Any contribution is appreciated.
Factions & Relationships: The game includes 13 political factions vying for power, and the players’ choices influence which (if any) of the factions achieve their goals. The game also includes relationships with several major NPCs, making them anything from enemies to rivals to friends/allies to lovers.
I am (planning on) using switches and variables to implement the consequences of players’ choices regarding the political outcomes and their relationships with NPCs. However, this is a bit daunting, especially the players’ influence on the political factions’ goals, as this is likely to get insanely complicated using switches and variables. It also puts me in a hard place of either having to plot out every political detail of the game in advance of actual eventing of anything on Essentials, or not releasing the game until it is fully completed. (Neither of these scenarios will happen, which pretty much guarantees future regret.) Perhaps a new mechanic can be implemented to make life easier?
Field Effects: This is the salt and pepper of any good fan game. Perhaps some field effects can be the same as those used in Reborn, but there will be at least one new field effect. It is likely that we may prefer to have a unique field effect for each terrain/route, even if they are only slightly different from the others. This is also relevant to the below item.
Pokémon Aquaticity: I’m not sure if this can be implemented, or whether it should be implemented to begin with, but I think it could be nice to add an aquaticity division similar to the airborne/grounded division. If this is implemented, the presence of water and land on any field effect will become crucial.
Different Battle Types: Can we implement triple and or rotation battles alongside double battles? The game involves military campaigns, and a variety of battle types can be used to enrich the game – especially in terms of military tactics.
New Battle Engines: There are some large battle sequences planned – including a siege on a fortified city. My original idea was treating the battlements as a Pokémon called “The Wall”, or a unique field effect, but it was later suggested by a contributor that a new battle engine could be designed and implemented. While I like this idea, honestly, I don’t what I could ask for.
Permadeath: I would like to make it so that Pokémon can die in the game, but this would need to be different to Nuzlocke – sometimes a strategy requires a mon to take a hit for the team, and I do not want to disqualify such strategies. I have a couple of ideas floating in mind about how this could be implemented, but I would rather talk this over with a coder/scripter.
Scripted Losses & Starting Over: I would like to make it so that players can walk around with a full team of fainted Pokémon until they walk back to a healing point – instead of being teleported straightaway. Also, you may drop all your money if you lose to a hostile NPC (means differentiating between enemy soldiers, thugs, and friends.)
Pokédex: It needs to give false nesting information for plot and narrative related reasons. We can also make good on the pretension that we are given a Pokédex because we will do field research. Well, let’s get that research done. I remember that Gen 5 may have some ideas to offer on this front.
Banking & Financial System: The economic system of the region has been considered while world building, but I had no ideas regarding how to implement the economic aspect of the world into the game until very recently. It’d be awesome if we can implement a proper banking & financial system. I got a few ideas on this front too.
Flying: Fast travel instead of instant travel. I imagine a cross between panorama graphics used in Rejuvenation and the ‘flying’ Light Platinum.
SECONDARY REQUIREMENTS: Common Elements
This mainly includes implementing the scripts and mechanics most games have, but do not come with the Essentials Pack. Most of this stuff will be available out there, and any one on the team can find and implement these, but since it is in the domain of scripting and coding, I’ve included them here as well.
- Updating the game to Gen 7 Pokémon, moves, items, mechanics, etc.
- Gen 5 type repel use
- Weather conditions
- Minigames (e.g. Voltorb switch)
- Quick save
- 3 registered item slots
- Skip text (I am verbose if nothing else)
- Mega-evolution
- …and more…
OTHER ROLES
Gamer: This role is about helping with the gaming aspects and balancing. I.e. competitive boss battle teams, balancing field effects, value of items depending on how the new game mechanics change the environment etc.
Composer: I do not compose music, so the music I have chosen for the game so far is from my own music library, ranging from electronic to orchestral, and from stoner rock to Mongolian folk. All of this is copyright-problematic music, but then again, we all live in the shadow of Nintendo…
DEVS EX MACHINA
Fiasom: Lead Designer and Writer, Eventing, Mapping, Game Concept
Phi-Bi: Game Concept, Spriting, Tiling
CONTACT
You can contact me (Fiasom) on Relic Castle, the Reborn forum, and on Discord.
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I have just made a massive edit to the original post. Now it is the same as the one over at Relic Castle.
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10 hours ago, F14m3rz said:
Honestly, I know next to nothing about being making Pokemon games. In regards to making a political thriller, I've seen some who completely forgo the politics itself and opt for a protagonist who has people who can solve "all the problems" whilst silencing "the idiots" by taking over the world. Erstwhile, there are those who try to tackle the politics, but just end up doing a black-and-white, good versus evil conflict where all you've gotta do is to call on Captain Planet to save the rainforest from Looten Plunder.
And of course, there are those who attempt to vie for realism, only to end up exploiting darker themes without actually saying anything of substance other than the platitudes we hear on a daily basis.
Nominally, for a game where there are at least three opposing factions, I'd expect a whole bunch of differing viewpoints that make sense to a degree, but there are those within those groups who twist those viewpoints in order to serve their own ends. Thus, it's up to the protagonist to sift through all the information and the people they come across to discover which path benefits the most amount of people without screwing over other people/resources/etc (in a sense of necessary irony, perhaps).
So the only thing I can really offer is to wish you luck in your endeavors, and let you know what I think about your game along its development.
I am way too keenly aware of the pitfalls you describe here.
Trying to save the world while silencing all "idiots" is one path the players can take, but this will essentially make the player the villian of the game. It is more likely that they will choose to side with several of the factions by the end of the game. Indeed, they will have made the 'choice' throughout the game by completing side quests, and how they complete them. And none of these choices will be simple ("I won't do something that bad") or extreme ("what harm can come from it?"). There are two main alliances, but both 'alliances' are loose, and neither is good or evil. There are those that are better than others (kind of like Starks vs Lannisters vs Boltons), but trying to explain what the factions are, and how they relate to each other is a bit too complex to do here - I have a 13 by 13 table and a 3K word long document explaining what the factions are and how they relate to each other. That said, there is a villian of the game, but it will be obscured. Understanding who is the real villain is one of the main challenges of the game. As I said above, critical thinking is a thing.
With regards to differing viewpoints - everybody lies, and most don't even know that they are lying. You get to watch news, read newspapers and library books, talk to NPCs, and experience some of the news-worthy events. Each shows some kernel of the reality of things, but each also present a biased view (the exception being what you directly experience). And the points of view are not limited to the 3 countries; everybody has a different opinion, but most generally fall within the interests of the 13 factions.
There are several different kinds of power in the game - economic, political & media, and military. I think this reflects reality fairly well. So I have designed an economic system based on Pokemon, inspired by the Petro-Dollar. (It is called the PokeDollar, in the end.) This has nothing to do with the money you get after battles, it works more for the lore and the plot.
With regards to good and evil, I have done my fair share of studying moral philosophy, so I have a fairly nuanced view of morality. A black and white good vs evil usually boils down to either a bigoted and hypocrite understanding of us vs them or the Men of the West vs Sauron (which is also another version of us vs them, only way more simple and unrealistic/fantastical). Chapters 6 and 7 are titled Nature and Humanity, respectively. And in these two chapters I'll explore how natural morality and socially constructed morality are very different things.
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INTRODUCTION
Pokémon Civil War is a game that is geared towards an adult audience, and has themes of violence, drug abuse, sex, and all the other good stuff. It covers the events of the newly created region of Abrava, which is home to the three countries of the Abravan Kingdom, the Free Democracy of New Unova, and the League of Elemental Cities, across which thirteen different factions pursue their interests. It is rife with political intrigue, and realism is a major theme and influence in the conceptual design. The game explores moral, political, and philosophical themes. It is planned to be released in eight chapters.
I have been working on the concept since March, and I am getting close to the release of a demo. However, the writing and concept in general, and eventing on RPGMX is taking a lot of my time, so I have not done any coding or spriting and work with what I got with the Essentials Pack. The writing of the game is also growing bigger than what one person can manage in meaningful time scales. Thus I am on the look for permanent team members. See below for more.
STORY
We are bound to Pokémon. It may seem like we are their masters since they respond to our never ending commands and demands, but while they can live without us, we cannot live without them. They are our energy, our weapons, our religion. Our civilization stands on their shoulders. When you consider who is dependent on who, it becomes clear that they are the masters of themselves, while we are slaves to ourselves.
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The flow of blood has not stopped in the Abravan Region since the passing of the last Champion 300 years ago. The Abravan Kingdom is embroiled in a civil war between the Abravan Dictator King and the internationally backed Rebel Minority. Despite the stellar rise to power of the Free Democracy of New Unova since their founding 150 years ago, they still seem to lack the power to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict. All the while the League of Elemental Cities have clamped down on their borders to avoid being sucked into the conflict.
It might seem like your little town has been spared from the worst of the war. But it is not an easy thing for a single mother to raise a child in the depths of an economic crisis. If only Father hadn’t left for the army 5 years ago. At least Mother seems to have finally overcome her grief…
But now, there are rebels spotted near your town.
Can you rise above the petty politics, and save your loved ones from this black hole of violence?
FEATURES
Pokémon
Available Pokémon: All non-legendary, non-ultra beast Pokémon available.
Starters: None – you start with an egg that may hatch into any of the baby Pokémon except Mantyke + Eevee or Ralts.
Legendary Pokémon: They are treated as gods in this game, hence cannot be caught, but may join your party if you earn their respect. The Masterball is the exception to this.
Fakemon: None – perhaps one legendary Fakemon might be added, depending on how the game develops.
Gyms & Badges: No gyms and +20 badges. All badges except the first and last are optional. There are 3 kinds and 6 classes of badges, and you need at least one badge from each class of badges to finish the game.
HMs: HMs still exist, but they work like TMs.
Story & World
Plot: Complex and flexible political plot where thirteen factions pursue their interests, spread across the region. Choices you make in side quests and dialogues impact the main storyline, and determine which (if any) factions achieve their goals.
Characters: Large cast of in-depth characters to be loved, hated, used and forgotten, including your best friend, a wife that goes on a quest of vengeance for her husband’s death, a legendary contingent of the Abravan Army, the Dark Philosopher, the Elemental Lords, the poetic shadow leader of the Rebels, and many more…
World: Massive and detailed world with seventeen cities and villages, and a variety of terrain including jungles, forests, mountains, grasslands, rivers both above and underground, deserts, and an open ocean with tiny islands.
Regional Lore and History: Detailed history that spans centuries, numerous religions centred around legendary and mundane Pokémon alike, three distinct cultures, a region-wide economic system, media, politics…
Choice: As a talking main character you will have the opportunity to develop rivalries and romances with NPCs. Through your choices in the main storyline and side quests you impact how the civil war is resolved, and who emerges victorious. The game will encourage specializing in certain roles and strategies, and given that most badges are optional, which badges you want to get will be up to your choice.
Unreliable Narratives: Each faction pursues its own interests, and thus holds a biased view of the political situation. You get to watch the news, read newspapers and books, and talk to NPCs, all of which give partly true and partly false information, trying to pull you in their own interests. To understand the truth, you need to make up your own mind, and decide on your actions accordingly. Your choices effect the world.
Different Starting Locations: Two intertwined but completely different starts to the game that do not merge at least until half way through the game. The male character starts in the Abravan Kingdom, while the female character starts in New Unova. The current demo covers only the Abravan start.
Multiple Endings: There are ten different endings. The ending you reach will be based on the choices you make throughout the game. In one you make a lasting impact to the region for the worse, in another you make lasting impact for the better, and in the remaining eight the status quo is not significantly disturbed by your actions and your impact ranges from negligible to memorable as a passing mention in history books no one in their right mind ever reads.
New Game Mechanics
Non-Nuzlocke Permadeath: Your Pokémon may die, but this requires more than simply fainting. I have two alternative methods in mind, but will need to talk with a coder about whether either is feasible.
Game Over: If all the Pokémon in your party are dead, you have become vulnerable, and you may be killed. While this is an unlikely scenario, there is also incentive to die, too, if you think you can come back from the Ghost World.
Pokémon Aquaticity: How does a Seaking, or a Kingdra move on land? By flopping around? It doesn’t seem very conducive for a battle on land, now, does it? I think it is time to separate the terrestrial and marine worlds.
New Field Effects: At least one new field effect – the Battlefield Field Effect – at most a unique set of field effects for each map/route in game.
Flying: Optional but desirable. Instead of making flying instant travel, it would be better if we could make is so that it is simply fast travel in the skies. Though I’m afraid this may require outrageous amounts of mapping and/or spriting, and have no idea how feasible it is in terms of coding.
Special Events: Optional but desirable. The siege in Chapter 2 could be run on a special battle engine. There may be similar or different event in the future of the game.
Character Stats: Optional. Two stats that make sense to me for this game are HP (related to how you get game overed) and leadership (related to Pokémon truancy).
SCREENSHOTS
Deep Lore:
Spoiler
Colourful characters:
Spoiler
Maps and small nuances:
Spoiler
The berry orchards of your hometown.
DEMO PROGRESS
- Concept & Story – 90%
- Eventing Main Storyline – 50%
- Eventing Side Quests – 0%
- Eventing Misc – 20%
- Mapping – 90%
- Spriting – 0%
- Coding – 0%
- Total – 35% (disregarding spiriting & coding, and 15% factoring them in)
DEVS EX MACHINA (The Team)
Just me, and as a results there is no progress on spriting and coding. I’m working only with what I got from the essentials pack.
CREDITS
Pokemon Essentials by Peter 0. and Maruno, based on work by Flameguru
RECRUITMENT
I see five roles to be filled with regards to the development of this game.
Co-writer: The concept of the game is becoming too big for me to manage on my own in meaningful time scales. What I expect from any co-writer is to at least consistently give me in-depth feedback which allows me to keep progressing and avoid getting stuck, at most to take on whole sections of the writing. There are major blank spaces in the latter chapters of the game, and an entire main character (the New Unovan beginning) remains to be written. I should highlight that I am not expecting co-writers to do my for me, or simply write what I would write. The position of an invested co-writer could be better described as a co-creator.
Spriter: I am working only with what came with the Pokémon Essential Pack, and it is somewhat limiting. I am looking for a spriter to create tilesets and character sprites. There are lots of characters (around 10 sprited characters for the first demo alone), and with regards to the tilesets, I would like at least to have some distinct architectural styles for the three countries.
Scripter/Coder: I am looking for a coder to implement the new mechanics I have written above.
Composer: I do not compose music, so the music I have chosen for the game so far is from my own music library, ranging from electronic to orchestral, and from stoner rock to Mongolian folk. All of this is copyright-problematic music, but then again, we all live in the shadow of Nintendo…
Gamer: This role is about helping with the gaming aspects and balancing. I.e. competitive boss battle teams, balancing field effects, value of items depending on how the new game mechanics change the environment etc.
One person can fill more than one role above, and the same role can be shared between different people. I will start a thread for each role in the Team Recruitment section on Relic Castle, and provide their links here, when I am able to do so.
CONTACT
You can find me on Relic Castle, Reborn Forum and on Discord (once I get used to using it) by the name Fiasom.
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Hey there folks,
I would like to pose 2 questions to the community: How do you think a non-Nuzlocke death mechanic should work for pokemon? How do you think NPCs and the PC should be able to die (game over in the case of the PC)?
I would like to implement a death mechanic to the game in which pokemon can die, but I would rather it is not simply fainting, as some of my strategies include sacrificing a mon after it has done its work (e.g. setting up screens and hazards). What would your suggestions be for a death mechanic that allows for fainting? (
Not being teleported back to the last healing point and walking around rather vulnerable with a full team of fainted mons is on the table here.)And following from this, what would your suggestions be for a mechanic for killing NPCs and getting the PC killed?
I was thinking that vulnerability could be of use here, but I don't want to give anymore details of what I think to avoid directing and limiting what might occur to you guys.Gimme everything you got from the wackiest to the most realist to the most feasible mechanics you can think of!
Cheers folks!
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13 hours ago, Commander said:
Oh boy I see a debate has been brought up which I'm really surprised Jan went in and answered. I'm not going to ping either of you Fiasom or Jan because my thoughts are very limited due to not reaching that area, but this is an interesting scenario so I'll jump in and throw a little bit of my thoughts on the matter, but remember I only have a vague idea of what was going on and haven't experienced it.
1. I'm going to have to side with Jan's thought process and argument here purely for the sake of its original intention. Xenoblade X is a great example of the right choice being much different than a poor choice. This is a minor spoiler to the game, but one of the mission's in this game is to clear out a cave of nearby monsters due to a possible threat. These monsters are completely harmless babies and you could murder them effortlessly. You have a choice not to kill them which is what I chose and the NPC said he'd figure out a way to relocate them. Guess what happened later? That NPC was murdered trying to prevent their rampage in the city which you have to stop these powerful monsters in a difficult battle. Choices should not always be easy or such a simple option which a choice should feel like a heavy weight and consequences even if you felt it was the right choice. That's actually why I think Reborn's E17 path is kind of brilliant.
I think the issue here, if there is one, is with the execution and buildup to this event or even the conclusion. I cannot say for certain whether or not how well this is done, but from an outsider's perspective, it actually seems fine. My guess has to do with the aftermath of the scene not revealing why the choice was poor and worthy of a game over compared to the others, but that would be a hasty conclusion. My point is that logic rarely is a good argument to say something needs changed as imo presentation is far more important.
2. I have to take a neutral stance and say I can't necessarily agree with either of you. The Holocaust is not an example I like bringing up when proving a point or not as that was a very complicated issue. I'm mostly just going to say, "Does it really matter?" But if you really want to go there, I suppose the good old chaos theorem is a good way to explain it. Basically the theorem was designed as a story about a war one side knew the inevitably were going to lose which they believed their only chance of winning was to destroy the governing officials as the world is naturally built around chaos and destruction which will continue until the brink of extinction so long as a force of power does not fight it. Basically, there is a needs to be a governing force in order for things to coexist and survive. Of course this is all theoretical stuff so arguing who's right or wrong instead of focusing on the enjoyment of the idea is silly. We could spend all day on this and get nowhere as it doesn't matter that much. Of course, I'd love to dive in and see it to give thoughts but alas that is a journey far, far away for me.
3. As a writer and someone who's spent time pondering this stuff, Jan's absolutely right. It's just too easy to think that killing off your beloved to save people's lives is the right thing to do, but I guarantee if anyone was put into that situation, they wouldn't so easily pick the "right" option. Have you ever wondered why people in stories do stupid stuff even putting many people in jeopardy just so that they can get someone they care about to return? I don't know those millions of people, but I do know of the one. If I feel if I was in that situation I'd choose to fight and save the one no matter how stupid it may sound because who even knows if this would really work or there's gotta be another way. I could go deeper, but I'm not sure if I should because it's such a hard subject to grasp unless you've studied it enough and so hard to execute well. Also, we're gonna be getting into some deep stuff if I continued, but I made my point.
4. Uhhh....I don't really know too much of the context here but I've designed a 45 year old man who used a bouncy ball in a death battle so I can't be too hypocritical. I can't really speak or argue either side because well I don't know these characters but from the sound of it, I guess I have to go with Fiasom from what I've seen. Some things in Rejuv do feel jarring at time to time and I suppose stink bombs would be a poor execution of an avoidance solution. I guess I don't really understand the problem and how to fix it and why it's such a big problem because what's being described could work and not feel immature. Guess I'd have to really experience that part to say my thoughts.
It's kind of funny seeing me agree a lot with Jan considering how much I disagree with the game's design (and by that I mean plot). I guess my problem with this discussion is trying to say that a game that started out with Venam being thrown through a roof being logical. Not to bring down your feedback and discussion because it was a fun read, but I just see a list of things you didn't like and wish were different (basically why you were unsatisfied) and not really much of what could be done. Changing stuff isn't a simple snap of a finger as it considers time and thought on it. I am surprised how Jan responded with an essay though.
One last thing, you look like a saint compared to some of us who criticize the game so don't feel bad or beat yourself up over it.
Just stay away from the youtube commentsHuh, positive stuff...uhhh....I made a goddamn post so this should be easy. Does Keta's poofy head count because goddamn I love looking at that. Is it an afro tho? I also for some reason always think its fluffy and nice to sleep on. And before you ask, we already established I'm weird a long time ago.
I'm really happy that Jan responded to my first comment too. And I think one of my favourite things of the game is this discussion that it has generated. I just read a fascinating article relating to my last post, and was going to edit a link into that, but since the discussion is progressing I though I might as well embed it here.
Spoiler1) I agree with you completely on this. I don’t really find any fault with the premise and intentions in this respect. But as I’ve said in the previous posts, I think the execution of it could have been much better. The build up to the choice works in its broad strokes (the game is good), but in the details and the face to face presentation of it there are lots of things that don’t work. I find some dialogues especially jarring out of immersion – e.g. the fate of the world turned into a hellish one because people who have been indicated to possess a degree of wisdom by virtue of their roles (Anju the priestess and Cella the friend/advisor to the Sensei) use methods involving stinkbombs and acting normal – the indicated and executed maturity of the characters are in massive contradiction (I think). The presentation of the aftermath leading to game over – Melanie touching Melia and overlapping her to gain demi-godly powers in my scenario – also works very well. But we have seen before that Melia has the necessary character traits and intellect not to be cornered into the choices Melanie imposes on her. This is further confirmed on the ‘do nothing’ choice, where Melia buys herself a moment to think and wiggle the situation out of its fix. So the build up to the choice works in its broad strokes and the aftermath works quite fine, but the moment of choice broke narrative consistency, in my experience, and choices themselves were not designed very well, I think.
2) I just read this really fascinating article, linked below, that squarely talks about this issue, and it is cutting edge science here. The article talks about what the origins of social inequality (and tyranny in its extremes) might be. My argument in the last post was that tyranny and social inequality became possible only after agriculture created a surplus of production (of food, tools, etc.) which a minority was able to abuse for political gain. This is the generally accepted academic argument nowadays. The article first lays out this argument in more detail, and then proceeds to smash it into bits. The punch line is the last paragraph:
“Egalitarian cities, even regional confederacies, are historically quite commonplace. Egalitarian families and households are not. Once the historical verdict is in, we will see that the most painful loss of human freedoms began at the small scale – the level of gender relations, age groups, and domestic servitude – the kind of relationships that contain at once the greatest intimacy and the deepest forms of structural violence. If we really want to understand how it first became acceptable for some to turn wealth into power, and for others to end up being told their needs and lives don’t count, it is here that we should look. Here too, we predict, is where the most difficult work of creating a free society will have to take place.”
It's a bit of a long read, but I highly suggest anyone interested to read it and grapple with the complexities presented there.
https://www.eurozine.com/change-course-human-history/
That said, I still think that in a post-apocalyptic scenario people would still have their shit together and do everything within their power to survive and then bounce back to life. I don’t think dominating others would be something on anyone’s mind at all, and if someone wasted their and anyone else’s energy on domination in a way that did not contribute to survival, they’d be swiftly taken care of. In cases where the tyrant cannot be overpowered, her existence and demands would be accommodated and assimilated into the survival effort by the actions of the whole society.
3) I would love to see more of what & how you think. Personally, I’m a naturalist, I find myself naturally inclined to try and understand the fundamental nature of things. (Whether I am any good at it or not is a different matter, but I like to think I’m not particularly bad at it.) So let’s say terrorists with a nuke have your loved one captured. They either drop the nuke on New York City (killing approximately 20M people in the NYC metropolitan area) or they kill your loved one. Furthermore, you are aware of this and so is your loved and she has already forsaken her own life to save the 20M. In the Rejuvenation case, it is not even 20M people – it’s the whole damn world. I simply don’t think there is even a question here. You have to have a massive psychological disorder to choose your loved one. For one thing, in the moment of your choice, I don’t think you can fail to instinctively recognize that if you condemn the world to an apocalypse you and your loved one will also die – that in essence both choices lead to her death. So the question then becomes, do you kill everyone else because she has to die? I should also recognize that in the Rejuvenation story the case is not as clear as I have laid it out here, but through the dialogue with S&T we know enough to hesitate before we do something. That said, I am not saying that it is an easy choice to make. But the hardness of a choice and the clarity of it are two very different things. You will certainly be scarred for the rest of your life, and may take it because you can’t live with what you have done, but life will at least continue, and you will know that. (Also, digressing a bit here, why we should love Vivian isn't properly established either - all we get is that Cella, whom we just met, loves her.)
The issue here is one of scale. If the choice was between abandoning 50 people on a sinking boat to drown in favour of saving your loved one, now that is a realistically harder choice to make - it is not an apocalyiptic choice. I think most people would simply save their loved one, some of them probably not even sparing a thought for the drowning 50. Have you ever heard of the famous trolley problem? The following vid is a very interesting experiment actually putting people in that spot and looking at their reactions.
4) Well not for 4, but the following para… Stuff like Venam getting thrown out of a roof isn’t really against anime logic, at least. You got Saki and her metal gear etc. These are fair game, creative, and nicely executed for the most part. Somethings regarding the timline don't really make sense, like nature bouncing back to life within the span of a human life after a major catastrophe, but I'll suspend my disbelief there. (Also, if I'm not mistaken, it is not establshed how old Cella is. Maybe nature regenerates at a massively accelerated speed, the catastrophe wasn't that bad, and people live much longer on this world? It could work?) The main problem I have here is that character consistency is sometimes executed very badly. Somethings that require more maturity (and have been signalled as sufficiently mature in the context) simply do not appear, but are replaced with stinkbombs. I am a writer myself as well, and know how hard things are to write – it is also why I am sensitive to writing issues and care about it in the first place. I think all characters, plot threads and events fit well enough with each other not to necessitate a massive overhaul of the writing. I think with some good feedback & help with the writing, and with the clear view of what he is doing with the game, Jan can edit all existing dialogues to be way more consistent with the characters (only in places where they are necessary, and I don't think it is a long list), I think a collaboration with a good writer or two can tie it all nicely together in time for the next release or the one after. I haven’t suggested any specific improvements while I’m criticising, because telling someone that I can execute their idea better than they can without properly knowing what goes on behind the scenes and what informs the overall narrative would be very presumptuous. So instead I’m providing feedback on what I know: my experience of the game.
Oh, also I been meaning to say this for a while. I liked Terajuma Jungle better in V8. It looks prettier now, but it was a sprawling and confusing mess of a forest that gave the chaotic feeling of a wild jungle pretty well imo.
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3 hours ago, Jan said:
I appreciate the time you took to make such a detailed analysis, and I'm happy that you enjoy the game in general. I think it would be nice to give my perspective on it, though. Which is what I'll do here:
1.) Before I ask, what did you choose? To try and escape? if so, then this first point makes sense to me. The story branches here. Yes, all of the choices are immoral. When writing it, that was the whole point. To shove Melia into a corner and make her choose between options that are all terrible. If you choose to do nothing, which is the "best" choice, it's explained that choices were all brought up on the foundation of trickery and deceit. Melanie tries to get Melia to give up the Time Diamond, because that's what would break her the most and give Melanie a chance to overlap her and gain the power that she carries within her. It's not about "responsibility", it's about knowing what cards you have and when to play them. Underneath the skin of morality and immorality is a game you have to play and if you don't play well, you're done for.
2.) I think this point here is a little weird, since a situation like this happened in reality. Namely, the holocaust. An event where a supreme power controlled millions and millions of lives. In a world where a supreme power rules all, fear is what drives people. "People are cooperative in a crisis". This is true, but in the context of this world, where land is scarce, and survival is low, people have no choice but to comply to the princess, or face death. "The clear road for survival" isn't so clear if it isn't public knowledge. Amber didn't even know what it was until she played with the machine a bit. Even it was, how would they even gain access to it, lol. Pokemon aren't common, so it's not like the people could create their own giant army to fight back. Even if there were Pokemon on the main island, I doubt they'd be allowed to even be seen with Pokemon. In which a point could be brought up. "Why didn't the gang just use the machine to supply the people of the land to fight back?" In that case, it would be because of insecurity, selfishness, and uncertainty. Madame X is only concerned with getting the gang out of that time and back to where they belong. The rest of this world could deteriorate into the crimson sea for all she cares. Valarie is brought to the castle against her will, so she's out. In the end people want security, and power. Valarie's group is no different from nazi generals during the holocaust who joined and stayed out of fear and protection. It's not about "having fun and playing tyrant". Perhaps the title went to her head, but in the end it's about survival. I also think the example of the stone ages is kind of a stretch since the cavemen weren't good at reasoning. They purely acted off survival instinct. If there were any cases of tyranny present, it would be v.s. nature itself, lol.
3.) In a perfect world, giving up a loved one is the sure fire answer, but this isn't a perfect world (Frankly, if the world was perfect, this whole event probably wouldn't have even happened.). It's easy to sit back and say "If you have any ounce of humanity, this is what you would do." But humans are complex creatures that have different mindsets, personalities, goals, ambitions and emotions. The concept of "morality" is a -human- based concept. It's not something that's actually real. It's what we've structured as a society as guidelines to live our lives. Perhaps both groups are morally ambiguous? Perhaps what's right is subjective depending on the viewpoint? That choice may be a no brainer for you, but not everyone thinks the same way you do. To expect any different is insane. You can be prepared for any moment, but when that actual moment comes, it doesn't guarantee success.
4.) Fair point. This is a case of Logic vs Emotion. Through the lens of a logical standpoint, "Just talk it out and it will be fine." sounds like the way to go. But from an emotional standpoint, confrontation is a hard thing to do. Something that Cella clearly wanted to avoid (implications of past confrontations) . I'm not saying what they did was the right thing to do, but mistakes are made through history all the time and perfection is something that obviously shouldn't be sought out for in people.
Edit: "We are really sorry that you have to do this, we promise we will do our best to honor your sacrifice and legacy, the world will remember your sacrifice forever, and we will miss you." This happens though?
This is exactly what happens during the conclusion. At first the group had no idea what Taelia was up to. the whole "bad timeline" is a what if scenario. Melia and the MC go through the what if and realizes that they screwed up, which is why when they get a second chance, they go back and fix it.
Don't worry about coming off as aggressive. It's totally fine for me, haha. The more passionate, the better. I couldn't spend too much time on this so I had to rush my answer a bit, but hopefully it's understandable and coherent.
Thanks a lot for this Jan, I really appreciate the way you've replied. It's in much better style than my first comment. But I still stand behind most my points. The below is spoilers cont. and I've dug a little into philosophy as well. Turned into a mini essay of sorts...
Spoiler1) My choice was to give back the diamond, as it seemed like the surest way avoid further risk + buy time for a better solution. I certainly wasn't expecting to be game overed for it. Trying to escape seemed like the most selfish choice, and after seeing that doing nothing was the right answer I figured trying to escape would have resulted in a different game over. I might try it out in the next run to see how exactly how that happens, I think you've probably put a different ending there? The way I see it, the lives of the people on the island are just as valuable as their lives in other timelines. And when you drill down to the roots of it, security comes before freedom. You need to be alive to be free. Being alive is better than being dead. So security and avoidance of risk comes first. If I were Melia, and managed to keep my cool in that kind of a situation (and we know that Melia can keep her cool, as revealed after the ‘do nothing’ choice, as well as other instances in the past), my solution would have been to start talking to people, since it is all broadcast. (“The lives here are important, as well as the same lives in alternate timelines. + There is a way to fix this world.”) Melia is not necessarily cornered into immoral choices – I think you are forcing that prematurely. I don't remember the sequence of the dialogues now, but as I remember that the DNA of all life forms were stored on the ship was revealed before Melia makes her choice, yes? And since the whole dialogue is publicly broadcast, it is public knowledge now. (And even if the public didn't hear that bit, while they are watching Melia make her choice, she could inform the public of the state of affairs, with the rest of the characters there to vouch for the veracity of her words.) This changes the power the dynamics drastically. If Melanie has the option to use the Time Diamond to restore this timeline, other characters have the same option as well, so even if Melanie blows up the boat, not all is lost. This only leaves Melanie’s Yvettal as leverage, but no matter what she does with the Yvettal, she still relies on her subjects to grow crops etc. Going around killing dissenters won’t get her too far if she doesn’t offer anything good in return.
2) The event you are comparing is faulty. It wasn’t the case that it was only Nazi’s and Jews, Poles, Gypsies etc. were left in the world. There were 2.5 billion people on earth, and the vast majority of them were living quite fine – it was not a survival-of-the-species context. Your model here has to be the aftermath of a natural disaster. Say an earthquake has levelled a city and flooded the fields and crops, do you think people will toe the line of a bunch of gangsters who coerce survivors with guns? It won’t fly. Not in the long run. The energy and time invested in keeping people coerced simply does not add up to its rewards. Your context relies on the existence of an unreasonably high number of psychopaths cooperating rather smoothly with each other. It’s not probable.
What makes a supreme power is the collection of people who make it that kind of a power. In the context of the Rejuvenation world, the sensible thing would be that all people live under the Princess’ rule, but apply pressure on her so she does not threaten their own lives. She can play princess as much as she wants, and her subjects will even pay tax for it. But if she wants to keep her power, she has to treat the people granting her that power sweet enough. She can be ostracized by her subjects, or if they are pushed to the brink, they can revolt (if it will mean better survival changes). No matter how armed a supreme power is, it is no match for the sheer quantity and capability of the masses. They’ll bring down the castle on her head, because all she has are those people, no one else to help her, and nowhere to run. Fear has its uses, and its limitations. It should not be lost on Val that the loyalty of her babies to her gives her a heck of a lot of power, she can change its direction whenever she wants to. Now that I think about it, since you have not established what Melanie holds over Val (with this exception of Yvettal), Val is actually the most powerful person in that timeline till MadameX shows up and snatches away the loyalty. Val has a loyal group of followers (so she is a good leader), and has access to the S.S. Paradise – the most valuable thing on that world. She has a viable claim to power, so long as she can offer better prospects for the masses than Melanie.
We are the same people as cavemen (at least with the ones that lived about up to 50K years ago) – their reasoning capabilities are as good as ours, we simply have more knowledge than them, thanks to writing. You are right to say that they acted purely out of survival instinct, but you should recognize that all actions of all humans today are also guided by the same instincts – including great scientific advances, political expansion, and even our discussion here. There were no cases of tyranny, because the environment in which people lived was not conducive for tyranny. Tyranny became possible only after agriculture and cities became a thing, when a group of people had the means to abuse surplus production. In the alternate timeline, with only 91 species left and dwindling, the kind of social organization the environment would afford people would be closer to stone age life. Life at Telia Hideout is much more realistic in this sense.
3) What kind of a mindset or personality would find the choice between one person and the survival of the human race hard? I don’t think this is subjective at all – I think it is a scarily shortsighted thing to suggest that it may be. I don’t think you have properly imagined the consequences of such choices at this scale. That said, there is a range from objective to subjective considering the aspects of morality. Value of life in general is objective. Value of loyalty is a bit more subjective. The more fundamental the value, the more objective it is. The more trivial the value, the more subjective it is. The most fundamental value is life – it is so fundamental and objective is that it is ingrained to the DNA of all living creatures, whether human, or plant, or single celled creature. This, I think, is why pretty much all living things prioritize their own survival – by guaranteeing your own survival, you guarantee the survival of life. Thus, I believe, no matter how complex a mindset you have, so long as you value your own survival, you will pick the life of millions of people over one. You may choose your loved one over, say, 50 deaths (which is a veritable massacre) – but 50 deaths do not threaten the survival of the species. You have more leeway there.
Morality is not something unique to humans – many other social animals demonstrate a sense of morality; have a stroll through YouTube and you’ll see a wide range of examples. The moral guidelines we have for society are not arbitrary (we share the fundamentals with other apes and monkeys); they serve specific functions related to the survival and thriving of individuals and societies, and they are rooted in evolved psychological constructs older than homo sapiens itself. The same thing is observed with chimps, and I suspect we will discover similar structures with dolphins too.
4) Confrontation might be a hard thing to do, but if the lives of a person and more are what is at stake here, you take a deep breath, steel your nerves and do the adult thing. Having hard talks is part of adult life. You can’t stinkbomb it away. That said, I do agree with your premise – Cella wants to skirt around a hard topic. But I still think it can be executed better. One thing that bothered me there was that these people are tasked with the safety of the world, and their methods of solving their problems include stinkbombs. It felt out of character. I can expect it from MegaTerra, but Cella sounds like she can come up with … different ways.
This last one also captures the heart of most of my criticisms regarding dialogues and writing - some ideas, events, decisions, reactions, etc. come across uncharacteristically immature. This includes talking about selfish choices as if they were the moral choices - this is what gave me that strong feeling of adolescence. This game is a-little-help-on-writing away from being perfect. Cause it excels at every other aspect, including many aspects of writing too. When you've set the bar so high, the issues I've brought up here flag up like a bonfire in an otherwise moonless night.
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So many parts of this game are so good. The visuals + music + events/dialogues create an incredible ambience, and each part of the game is novel in this respect. The epic scope of this is to be recognized. The story and the overall premise is also very good. Characters are pretty good as well as characterization (including pokemon events). I like the side quest system as well, and really appreciate the Audino trainers when grinding. Balance is also very good, and one thing that I really like about both Reborn and Rejuvenation is that you need to make proper use of weaker pokemon, and my appreciation for that has really increased.
But, there is an issue that needs to be addressed: (Spoiler intensity: 10/10 - if you haven't played V10 yet, and like me, check the spoiler tags in case it might not spoil it, be warned the below spoilers will kill the game for you)
Spoiler(The below is angry. Very angry. But I'm angry because I love the game, and would love to see it better executed. It is also the main reason I have gone into detail here - I hope it provides useful feedback.)
Writing of the dialogues. Some dialogues are great - especially dialogues relating to family matters are very real and very 'empathizable'. Dialogues where vicious-teenage-girl-characters are pettily stinging each other are also good (a little too good actually, certain places). But after having played the last episode up to Souta's gym, I have to say, some dialogues and writing, especially with regards to (world saving) moral matters are incredibly bad. It breaks the immersion so bad that you have to grit your teeth to stick with the game. There were quite a few writing botch ups but I'll put here the ones that stuck most with me.
1) The choices Melia is given by Melanie are all immoral choices. The most moral one of them is to return the fake the timestone to Melanie, but doing that gets you game overed. What the heck? If I decide not to risk the lives of the last remaining few thousand people on earth, where there is very clear evidence that they have the means to revitalize their world, I am punished with game over? And if I choose do nothing, to be indecisive at the most crucial moment of the world and not own up to my position and past actions, if I refuse responsibility I am awarded by a Mary Sue deus ex machina? This is bad. Just simply bad. Oh, is the issue about giving in to tyrants? Then you buy yourself sometime to figure out things - like Emma did in Blacksteeple - by playing into the tyrant's hands. You live another day to put up a better fight. You have your friends and allies with you, you can figure it out in due time, and save all worlds the right way. But this simply prioritizes adolescent independence over the lives of thousands of people. This is even worse.
2) On the issue of adolescent independence - there is also a serious problem with the alternative future premise. There is barely anything and anyone left alive, but there is a clear road to survival with the DNA stored in the ship. But there are still people interested in being tyrants and the king of ashes, rebel people running away, and the remaining folk simply accept that? Well, let me break it to you, but humans are incredibly cooperative in times of crisis. Tyranny would not be an issue at all. People would be working their asses off to survive and revitalize the world. The cooperation among the survivors would make tyranny pretty much non-applicable. (Example in case: life in the stone ages.) Princess is being spoilt to the point of threatening everyone's survival? There will be one person who gives her a candy (or a fake timestone) and snaps her neck. Tesla would have done it. There is no way in hell that the remaining folk (including Captain Val) would not band up to bring down the tyrant if the tyrant threatens their survival.
3) After the talk with Spacea & Tiempa, I think it was Aelita, says that they are "the morally ambiguous type." For one thing, yeah we got that in the dialogue with them. We don't need to be spoonfed right after the dialogue that they have a broader moral perspective, which our dear teen girls can't grasp yet. I don't have a problem with Melia & Co.s reaction, but calling S&T morally ambiguous is firstly inaccurate, and secondly it just says "as the writer of this game I am telling you that I have this trendy morally ambiguous thing in here, if you haven't already noticed it. Now like me." We have noticed thank you. And we appreciate you and the great game you have created. No need to lecture us about it. And for another thing S&T aren't morally ambiguous- Melia and the gang are. What kind of question is it do you let a loved one die to save millions? OF COURSE YOU DO, if you have a shred of humanity in you. If Melia can't know that, why are S&T and Irvin relying on her to save the world? It is an incredibly precarious state to leave the world in, and equally irresponsible. You just don't get Melia to take a waitress job, you drill her on the priorities of saving the world too (which obviously hasn't taken place): accomplishing the mission takes priority over any single life. The issue of adolescent independence being more important than human life returns with a vengeance. And everything turns out well because Mary Sue's and deus ex machinas...
4) Really, the kind of creativity the world is counting on to be saved is limited to coming up with plans involving stinkbombs and "acting normal"? I was under the impression that Anju, Vivian, and Cella were adults, but this is 13 years old. Once again, the fate of the world depends on teenage maturity? Where did talking things out go? We get a "No we won't let you commit suicide and condemn every living soul to death" instead of something like "We are really sorry that you have to do this, we promise we will do our best to honor your sacrifice and legacy, the world will remember your sacrifice forever, and we will miss you."
All in all, the first rule of writing needs to be reitirated: You cannot write what you do not know. The writer(s) obviously know(s) and understand(s) family related issues very well - this comes through very clearly in the beautifully written dialogues between Amber & Tesla (though Tesla sometimes comes across as a very weak parent), the MCs mother, and especially in the dialogue between Amber & Mosely in V10. But when it comes to moral issues the writers are clueless about moral priorities. This hurts the game really, really bad. Please fix this issue. It is the only part of the game that doesn't live up to its overall quality, and it is one of the most fundamental aspects of the game.
All this said, I am ranting here because I really like the game, and would love to see it better executed. My intention is certainly not going about insulting all the effort put into this awesome game, rather to give constructive feedback (hopefully). It is on me to say this as clearly as I can: despite the tone of voice and attitude here, I am not attacking the creators and writer(s) of the game. While I'm being heavy handed with the low quality ideas and their bad execution, please do not take this as a personal attack on anyone involved in the creation of the game. I have chosen not to edit out the aggressive attitude, even if it invites equally aggressive responses
which I'd rather not see, because I feel a strong reaction is called for in this case. All in good humour.
Vileplume or Venusaur?
in Team Showcase
Posted
So finally I managed to get to the point where I need to decide which restoration project I should do first. Azurine for the bulby?
I have a rainbow team centred around my Solar Power Charizard, supported by a Castform for both weathers, a grass type sun setter (currently Vileplume), a Blastoise for rain back up and some nasty water type damage, and a Prankster Meowstik to defensively bracket all the endless setting up with screens. My original sun setter was a Cherrim. May she rest in PC.
The set I'm using with Vileplume is:
Chlorophyll+Heat Rock/Amplifield Rock/Black Sludge
- Giga Drain
- Toxic
- Sunny Day
- Grassy Terrain
As it happens Venusaur can do the exact same set. I'm not sure whether Venu or Vile is the better fit to this set as a core member of the squad (so for general use rather than specific boss battles), so looking for some advice on that.
As I see it the main difference between the two is that Venu has a lot more speed, freeing up EVs where Vile sinks them, and a bit more bulk, whereas Vile brings in bigger firepower. Given the impact of chlorophyll, I'm not sure if the speed increase is worth it (that sun will always be up - or I'll be using a very different team). Venu can also go Mega-brrrr, but that slot already has competition from at least 4 mons already. So the extra flexibility of mega evolving might not be worth much in the end of the day.
The question then boils down to Vile's 110 vs. Venu's 100 SpAttack & Vile's 75/85/90 defensive stats VS Venu's 80/83/100 defensive stats + Venu's peripheral uses in higher speed and Mega flexibility VS the time it will take to catch a female bulba (not to be underestimated) then chain breed it for moves and IVs.
Any comments & suggestions? Am I missing something here? Not considering something I should?