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Hi Xenogate, thanks very much for playing my game and your honest and detailed review.

I think a lot of what is wrong with the game (in terms of bugs like static bosses etc) is my own fault for making the game much larger than I feasibly had time create to a decent standard. I am glad you appreciated the mechanics I implemented and saw past most of the shortcomings - the game really deserved much more love and polish than I had time to give it due to other life commitments like work and social obligations not to mention the jam submission deadline.

I learned a lot from making this game like how to temper my expectations and better manage resources, like time and energy spent on making games. My hopes for the future are to iron out these problems and to expand on what is done right there such as more NPCs in Crestfallen, more backstory for the heroes and such. I'm not sure when I will get around to that (if ever), but the game I think deserves it

Thank you for playing my game and your kind feedback!

The maps were made with MZ default stock, I just had to get a little creative with it to try and get it to stand out but the further one gets into the game, the mapping quality decreases notably due to the looming time constraints but I'm happy you liked them. Good mapping comes with practice and patience. Since I lack creativity, I try to have an existing map from another game open beside the one I am creating in RPG maker and copy the outline of that, then add my own decorations on top. You could try that to enhance your own maps too, just never give in!

Just finished playing your game - impressive stuff.

Your writing is very well constructed and I struggled to find a single typo in there ( essential for VNs) and I thought the use of the art and low key music combined effectively with the narrative to set the scene rather well.

Really, although I enjoyed it I found it hard to grasp the story and follow along with it - but that's no sleight on your part it's just that the game is filled with military/scientific terminology and misaligns with my own interests so I struggled to really get invested in it.

To me it read out like a Tom Clancy/Chris Ryan novel and even though my dad always wanted to join the army (they wouldn't have him - he was far too soft) he was always reading those military fiction novels, he was a gamer too and I guarantee you he would have LOVED playing your game.

Even though the genre was not my cup of tea I can't take away from the fact that it is obvious you put a lot of time, love and dedication into making your game so congratulations on a project well done and thanks so much for making and sharing with us.

I enjoyed the different mechanics implemented here like the army recruitment system and battling on the world map vs the solo unit exploration of dungeons but some more explanation is needed to the player conveying the differences between the two and what is going on.

I am somewhat perplexed by the lack of audio in the game. Sometimes no audio can be utilized effectively to create atmosphere in a horror game or small sections of RPGs to build tension but there is literally no background audio in field maps, battles, cutscenes or anything. You don't have to go buck wild on this but including some basic audio in certain areas would definitely help the player enjoy the game experience more.

I think there is some good potential here as you have implemented some creative ideas. Thanks for making the game and sharing!

You have made something quite unique here and there is a lot to like.

First off - I absolutely LOVE your mapping style in concept although it needs a little polish around the edges for things like the player knowing where they can walk and such. I've never seen this visual style in RPG Maker before and if touched up a little could look really very nice indeed.

The battle system is unique in and of itself too and I applaud you for your creativity on that front, however,  like the mapping it is in dire need of expansion and refinement to make it feel truly enjoyable and something people are impressed by.

What leaves the most profound impact on me about this game is the huge potential it has but sadly it just felt like the gap between potential and end execution was too big at times. Reading Xenogate's comment below, their thoughts on this resonate with me also. My heart absolutely loves this game you have made here but my head kind of says 'meh'. 

Whatever your plans after this, I 100% stand by my conscience that this game deserves more of your love and time, but if that is in your future plans is down on you, my friend but you have impacted me as a gamer enough that you have won my following. Thank you so much for creating and sharing with us.

A fun and quirky game you made here!

I love the chess puzzles at the start - simple, yet well executed. I did however find it a tad jarring when I was forced into a fight like that - I think this game's design is much better suited to being story driven with puzzle and riddle elements powering the main gameplay element. The battles ended up feeling a little out of place and unnecessary. 

Overall I did find it a fun and unique game experience. Kudos for making your own assets too, I know it's not easy and takes a lot of effort. Thanks for making the game and sharing with us.

There are some good things to like in Date or Escape.

I loved the chill music and the general vibe the game offers. It gives a nice mood for when you want to relax and unwind with a browser game.

One thing I did struggle with is the amount of text you have to read and re-read as you are searching for keys and accidently click the same place you already searched. Perhaps a workaround could be something like after the player has read it once, if they check it again you could have a Yes/No choice if you want to read it again (since you may forget clues).

Overall it was a chill little experience so thank you for making and sharing this game.

Now this is FUN! 

It was short but TENSE, I was totally immersed for the time I played. The visuals reminded me of my childhood - the 90's old skool vibes and for a moment I thought the Prodigy were going to provide the soundtrack LOL.

My one and only criticism is it is too short - I would have loved to have played more. Thanks for making the game!

Conceptually, I haven't seen anything like this before (especially in RPG Maker) and it really pushes the boundaries of what you can achieve in said engine. I found the space navigation a very immersive and enjoyable experience and you executed what I would have called a difficult to implement concept pretty flawlessly and the end result is fantastic.

In a way though the amount of innovative mechanics is almost a double edged sword as your gameplay style is so different that to get fully invested one would have to sit through a whole raft of tutorials just to get an idea of what they are supposed to be doing at any one time. Given this is a game made for a game jam that can be played in browser, I don't think I would really have enough time to invest in that myself, but I am of course only speaking from a personal standpoint.

It is easily apparent that you put many, many hours into this game and anyone with half a brain could see it is a very faithful love letter to 'ye olde PC games before the internet was a thing. I have to admit I did not spend a very long time in Mothership as the these types of games are generally not my cup of tea. What I was interested was witnessing the different game mechanics and other concepts the game had to offer. I was thoroughly impressed with what you managed to achieve here in RPG Maker in the time allotted and the wow factor was through the roof.

Congratulations on your project and thanks so much for making this game. I think the effort here was 'Stellar'. I don't know if that counts as a space pun by the way - probably not ;P

Hello fellow game jammer - here are my impressions having played The Depriver.

The game seems nice and stable, I didn't encounter any bugs so from a technical standpoint it's pretty solid. The game starts very slowly, there seems to be a lot of generic fetch quests, the plot a little barebones and it was only until I got to THAT tower (to avoid spoilers) that I really started to pick up interest revolving around your main character. As for the characters themselves, as I say I liked the dynamic change with the MC once we reached the tower and Kena I like because I have a preference for amazon women so I magnetized instantly to her.

Some of the design choices however didn't quite resonate with me. The first ruined town and then the next city were nicely put together and detailed, but the dungeons are extremely basic and the forest looked like it was made with the MZ generate dungeon feature, since it presented as massive rooms with tree lined walls and nothing in them. Also, the enemies look like they were just plucked from the starter MZ stock that fills the database. If you were under time constraints (like most of us are) then I can forgive these to a degree if you wanted to focus more on plot development etc but to some people this will come across as lazy. It may be better to use a sample map rather than generate dungeon if you want to make a dungeon but are under time pressure, since it details the map for you rather than having something that looks like a backrooms simulator for your dungeon.

I read in GothicMelodies review your reply that it was your first try so I want to congratulate you on a decent effort for your first go. What I did like was here is even though things were basic and needed fleshing out, it flowed nicely from point to point, there was nothing to frustrate the player in terms of moving along at a nice pace and the momentum builds up nicely from a slightly slow start.

Keep working at it, I would also like to echo what GothicMelodies says in that it has some potential but I also believe you can make this project live up to it's full potential or even improve your executions for your next project. Whatever you decide to do I wish you all the best. I thank you for making this game, I had fun with it.

Firstly I absolutely LOVE the game's presentation. When I saw your screenshots I was wowed and excited to play the game. Unfortunately, I got stuck for 20 minutes on the second puzzle and ragequit (at least I admit it LOL)  meaning this game is probably not for me if the puzzles scale naturally in difficulty as the game progresses.

What I will say though is I adore this game's aesthetics - they are just beautiful. From the stylized visuals, the pastel color palette used, the whimsical music and let's not forget the Shakespearian dialogue (although I loved that - it may be off putting to some people who find it hard to read though in fairness you balanced this nicely by giving plain instructions for the puzzles themselves).

I just wish I wasn't so dumb so I could get past the second puzzle and enjoy more of your game. I left my rating above - thanks for putting love and effort into this little gem.

Hi Mana, the game is now available for download.

Thanks for hosting the jam, I'm looking forward to what's coming up.

It was a good learning curve to be honest - I already knocked out a short horror game for a horror jam learning lessons from this and I am happier with how that project turned out (it's 30mins - 1hour) or can be a bit more if you get stuck of course.

I think a lot of us as hobby developers have dreams of what we want our games to be and those can have built up years by playing games and now in a way the dream has come true to make our own games thanks to these tools.

What we don't realize is the amount of work and dedication it takes to make a polished, finished, fleshed-out 30+ hour game by ourselves whilst juggling real life commitments.

I encourage you to finish your main game beyond the prequel but remember not be hard on yourself if you start to feel burnout or get overwhelmed or lost in production. I am going to focus on making short games from now on, as my attention span and workload will be easier to manage around that, I think.

I will follow you and the production of your game with interest. Thanks for taking the time to play my game and be sure to check out what comes up soon!

Thanks for checking it out!

It was fun to make but I think my vision for the game was too large given the time available to fit around my work commitments etc so the game ended up not being fleshed out half as much as I would have liked and that is my only regret for this project.

If I do come back to it, there will be more NPCs, lore, backstory on the characters and more interaction with the villains.

I played a little of your game (~30 mins or so) and it was good fun.

I think the strengths of this game are the world building and the interesting characters. You did a decent job on those and don't worry about using the rtp, I always find that it holds up well if used creatively and you made some interesting maps with it.

I was impressed with how smooth the cutscenes played out. I sometimes struggle with this myself so it's good to see it done well.

As you pointed out yourself, I think the main issue is the balancing, although tbf I did get lost in a cave I wasn't supposed to and my levels skyrocketed in there I was gaining a level every two fights or so LOL but good times anyway.

Hey thanks it worked.

Good effort so far.

I was really enjoying it until I got this error pop up and crash the game.

Failed to load

img/sv_actors/caesar.png

It's just MZ is missing that file, if you replace it in the correct folder, it should work just fine.

Open the .js in Notepad and find Line 26.

const defaultSpeed = Number(parameters['DefaultSpeed'] || 0.11);

Change the number here to what you want. I chose 0.06 and it slowed it down nicely.