itch.io

Cool combat, with strategic placement of warriors, and where battle formations can turn the tide. 

I'm playing on browser, so these things may have been added/fixed in the downloadable.

First of all, the game occasionally crashes before battles, but if I save beforehand I can just reload it. This may be because of the low capacity of my computer.

I experienced an issue where, despite upgrading my capacity of warriors, I couldn't recruit more than fifteen. Somehow, this problem did not occur in the Test Map continent. I didn't test it for any other than Lymia and the Test Map though, so others may be different.

I also (in the beginning, when I couldn't go fast) sometimes had to trek half the known world trying to find or corner bandits. I think it would be cool if bandits had encampments, and you could either take out raiding parties, or strike the encampments to scatter the bandits. Some missions would require you taking out raiding parties, and others require destroying encampments.

Also, the missions to kill bandits or enemies can be completed by slaughtering merchants, if I'm correct. Which feels counter intuitive and wrong, but also hilarious.

Captain of the Guard: "Please, kill three of the bandits squads raiding our merchants!"

Me: "Fine by me!"

12 days later

Captain of the Guard: "Did you defeat three armies?"

Me: "Yeah, me and my men slaughtered the guards of merchants leaving your town. And we are also selling the spoils!"

Captain of the Guard: "Thank you, brave hero!"

This is a really interesting game concept, and I believe it has potential! I liked finding solutions on my own and living in an abandoned prison with all the people dead after I killed everyone.

I don't know if this project has been abandoned, but whatever the case, keep working on games, new and old, dev.

Also, what happened to Aether League? I can't access it now.

The leaves burn in ground fire and lava, and is burnt by fire attacks.  And the leaves drop in vacuums. SO COOL! And the diamond can block other rock attacks while you are forming it! That's awesome!

I have been playing quite a bit, and found some bugs I'd like to report (I don't know a better way to report bugs, apologies). If it is important, I've been playing in browser. Also, these bugs might already have been patched for the next update, so apologies if I'm reporting already fixed bugs.

I'll name each bug numerically so if you have questions I can answer more clearly.

BUG 1: 

Firstly, a rather game-breaking bug that makes both players immune to all damage.  Found both in PvP and PvE, though I don't know what happens in Gauntlet.

Reproduction Method:

Both players should switch to Fire element.

Player 1 should use Down + Attack to execute Scorched Earth attack.

Player 1 should hold Attack next to ground fire to execute Blaze Arc attack.

Player 2 should counterattack Blaze Arc attack.

Player 1 should counterattack the counterattack.

Expected Result: Both players are no longer targeted by attacks (rocks pass through, ground fire doesn't deal damage, etc.). The only methods of dealing damage are through ground Lava and suffocation. Also, homing fire and lava orbs act as if there are no enemies, just falling back down to the ground. Finally, while in PvE, the enemy seems to mostly stop acting (a couple of scenarios, the enemy acts? It's unclear to me, and since I don't have a deeper understanding of the AI, I have no way of really reporting what's happening)

Hypothesis: I'm guessing the game is (for some reason) no longer simulating both players as enemies, but rather as teammates (such as in Gauntlet mode). My guess is because the only ways to deal damage are friendly fire in Gauntlet as well.

BUG 2:

Secondly, another bug for fire. You can somehow instantly do an Explosion attack.

Reproduction Method:

Player 1 should switch to Fire element.

Player 1 should press Attack and immediately switch to any element.

Expected Result: Send a regular fire Attack and also an Explosion attack. Mildly broken. I cannot reproduce this with Earth.

BUG 3:

A bug for Fire and Water. Rushing Elemental Evade changes the animation to Earth's elemental evade.

Reproduction Method:

Player 1 should switch to Fire or Water.

Player 1 should press Focus + Down to execute Elemental Evade.

Player 1 should press Up before the evade ends.

Expected Result: Animation should switch to Earth's animation. Cannot be reproduced with Air and Earth.

BUG 4:

Another animation bug for Water, Earth and Air. If the player as any of those elements gets hit, but isn't knocked down, it enters Fire's neutral stance briefly.

Reproduction Method: 

Player 1 should switch to Earth, Water or Air. Player 2 should switch to Earth.

Player 2 should press Attack to hit Player 1.

Expected Result: Player 1's recovery animation should briefly enter Fire's neutral stance.

BUG 5:

An animation bug for Fire(?). It's actually not clear if this is a bug, but I'm reporting it anyways (just in case).

Reproduction Method:

Player 1 should create a tree. Then Player 1 should jump onto leaves. Then, Player 1 should switch to Fire, jump up, and press Down + Attack (sorry, I couldn't figure out the name from the little in-game guide).

Expected Result: Fire attack should move without the Player, as if disconnected.

BUG 6:

A bug for Water, where you teleport to a previous wave attack if you do another one.

Reproduction Method:

Player 1 should switch to Water.

Player 1 should press Focus + Side to create Tidal Surf attack.

Player 1 should jump off of wave.

Player 1 should press Focus + Side to create Tidal Surf attack.

Expected Result: Player 1 will teleport where Player 1 would be if it rode the first wave, then executes second Tidal Surf attack.

BUG 7:

Animation bug for Water, where if you get hit while healing, the healing tendrils stay.

Reproduction Method:

Player 2 should switch to Water.

Player 2 should press Attack + Focus to execute Heal.

Player 1 should attack Player 2 while Player 2 is healing.

Expected Result: Healing Animation stays. Can be stacked to become an elder water spirit, glowing and surrounded by water.

BUG 8:

A game-breaking bug that's one sided. Essentially, Player 2 sometimes can't attack Player 1 (this cannot be reproduced the opposite way).

Reproduction Method:

Player 1 should switch to any element.

Player 1 should hold Attack + Focus (it doesn't matter if that even does anything special).

Player 2 should attempt a regular attack.

Expected Result: Player 2 should be completely unable to do regular attacks. Ones with direction inputs still work (like Tidal Surf or Rock n Roll, but others like Flamethrower don't for some reason)

BUG 9:

A mildly interesting bug. For Air, if you time some button presses right, you can regain mana/energy/aether/whatever the expendable resource in the air. This is because Air floats while recovering energy, so standing a pillar that disappears can cause a similar effect.

Reproduction Method:

Player 1 should switch to Air.

Player 1 should hold Focus.

Player 1 should very soon after (within a second) press Up once.

Expected Result: Air will do two jumps and then recover mana high up in the air, hard to reach for Water and Earth. It's a little tricky to time properly, so you might have to try multiple times.

BUG 10:

If both players go to opposite sides of the screen, there are two things that I noticed.

First of all, the ground on the very right disappears. I can see it blip out of existence.

Also, the leaves on the right side just appear out of nowhere, instead of coming directly from the tree.

That would have to conclude my overly long comment. I'll end it off with some praise and thoughts.

I think the computer should heal itself after it creates a tree. That's what I like to do, and it feels weird that the computer never heals.

I love the tiny little details in this game, like the aforementioned leaves, but also the glow from fire, which lights up leaves, players, and rocks. The glow also originates from healing magic too!

I also think there should be a way to restrict elements for each player (and the computer in PvE). So Player 1 can only be Fire and Earth, but Player 2 can be Fire and Air.

And I love air combat between Air and Fire, though I wish Water and Earth had some way to participate. I understand those two need some element, but I think Water could create small pellets of water from the air, and Earth could send up huge artillery chunks to remotely damage those who attempt to escape your clutches! NONE SHALL SURVIVE!

ALL HAIL THE EARTH KING!

AHAHAHAHA!

And that's when the Fire Nation attacked.

Great world building, interesting characters. I believe I got ending #2, but I didn't double-check.

For anyone looking for a game to play, this is a neat choice, but I can't recommend it in its current state. Disregarding the loose ends, I spent about half the game in mild annoyance.

The asteroid sequence was quite tedious. To ditto off of what Ace Frahm said, it was too long and too boring. However, I don't care about the 'realism' part of any of it. If we cared about that, we should be wondering about the realism of cryostasis, aliens, faster-than-light-travel, etc. Realism in video games is often unachievable, unless it is the explicit goal of the game. So no worries about that. However, the tedium of avoiding asteroids is what changed my mind about playing the game again.

If you need ideas to fix it, you could add a difficulty curve, as well as longer periods for increasingly longer journeys. My suggestion would be to lessen the amount of asteroids in the last jump or two, for atmospheric reasons (makes it feel much bigger and empty).

However, I believe it would be more in line to instead add more to the computer overall. Perhaps some newsletter you can optionally read, but only while eluding asteroids. It's even better if Lento asks you not to read while simulating. And then you do it anyways.

These newsletters could be about the solar system you are travelling to, or the current activities of the universe. At some point, there will be no newsletter, but rather rogue signals from surviving solar systems. Calls for help and other similar messages

Finally, there seemed to be some loose ends. For example, at the beginning you sign a contract. But it never comes into the story of the game? Or maybe it does, but not in the path I took. Regardless, it feels as if the story ignored some of the crucial beginning parts. I barely felt like a refugee ferrier at all, and more like a freelance ship.

That would have to conclude my comment. Good luck to all of you, and I hope this game gets more development.

This is a really interesting concept, and it was executed in a really simple but clear cut way. The simplicity really works well for it.

It's a fun prototype, and while it's unlikely, I hope you pick up this project again.

Finally, I didn't lose the fight with the Sensei despite my health dropping to negatives and below. Minor bug.

Cheers.

This is a great game!

I love all of the options, though I've only just finished the first book for the first time. The world building is absolutely insane, and I cannot wait to learn more about this world.

I'm slightly confused, as I have neither bought the second book, nor acquired 25 achievements, but I can still access the 2nd book.

While I'm not disappointed to play more, I am worried that this isn't working properly.

The rest of the comment is spoilers, so please don't read it if you haven't played the first book (for your own good, trust me!)

SPOILERS:

Apologies, but this will be written in Morse code. You can use a Morse code translator online.

.. / .... --- -. . ... - .-.. -.-- / .-.. --- ...- . / - .... . / .-- .- -.-- / .. / -.-. .- -. .----. - / - . .-.. .-.. / .. ..-. / .. / .... .- - . / . .. -.. . -. / --- .-. / .- .-. .-. .- -.- .- / -- --- .-. . .-.-.- / .- .-.. ... --- --..-- / - .... --- ... . / - .-- --- / -.-. .... .- .-. .- -.-. - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / ... --- / .. -. - .-. .. --. ..- .. -. --. -.-.-- / .. / .-- .- -. - / - --- / ... . . / -- --- .-. . / --- ..-. / - .... . / - .-- --- --..-- / .- -. -.. / .- .-.. ... --- / -. . ...- . .-. / .-- .- -. - / - --- / ... . . / - .... . ... . / .... --- .-. .-. .. ..-. -.-- .. -. --. / ...- .. .-.. .-.. .- .. -. ... / .- --. .- .. -. -.-.--

Neat little game!

I hope this gets more love from players in the future. The jetpack fighting mechanics, combined with the ship management, has a lot of potential.

I found a (probably?) bug.

When the birds do a dash attack, if it lines up with the top of the ship (essentially parallel. This is how one would charge if in front of you while you are on the ship), it will get stuck and dash forever.

I like this game, and I wish you the best of luck!

This game updated!

That's awesome! I played it when it first came out on browser, so when I came to replay, I was quite surprised to see it updated!

It is a shame the game is no longer on browser, but it's great that it got worked on! I wish you luck, and I can't wait to see how this game further progresses!

Thanks for letting me know!

This is a really awesome game! The sheer amount of options and depth in this game is rare, and I like the 'pancake' design of it.

Do you have any idea if and/or when the Steam release will come out?

Thanks for replying!

I can't wait to see the next update.

Bug Report. I believe it's a bug, at least.

As Earth, when you use Pillar Rise (Up + Focus), the earth pillar doesn't count as a physical object when using Elemental Evade as any element. Essentially, while dodging, you drop through the pillar if you are on top.

I noticed this because enemies in Gauntlet were evading on top of a pillar and dropping through it.

Reproduction Method:

Change to Earth Element.

Use Up + Focus to create Pillar Rise attack.

Without moving off the pillar, use Down + Focus to Elemental Evade.

Also, I'm not sure if this is a bug as well, but with the Pillar Rise, if you fire the top part but not the bottom, the bottom never disappears naturally. This can make Gauntlet become slightly crowded if I shoot out the top section but not the bottom.

Reproduction Method:

Change to Earth Element.

Use Up + Focus to create Pillar Rise attack.

Press Attack on pillar to launch the top section.

Do NOT launch the bottom section.

Finally, one more thing. The Earth Element can summon rocks on trees. I have no idea if you would want Earth to be able to attack like normal on top of the tree, so I'm just trying to add a thought (there's good reasons to keep it or change it)

Sorry for the long comment. This game is fantastic, and despite being only partially completed, it has plenty of amazing features!

EDIT: Added Tree thought.

Awesome game. I loved the gameplay, and I wish that hopefully you'll pick up this project again.

If you ever do, I suggest changing the jumping. It feels surprisingly stiff, especially compared to the fluidity of some of the other movements.

Hey!

This game is pretty cool! I love the different elements and the unique gameplay associated with each one. I also found the secret Light(?) element, and it's hilariously overpowered (yes, it's a dev thing, I don't care. It's fun).

Me and my friends played this game and had a blast, so I'm excited to see the new Void and Light elements properly implemented.

I do have to say, I was a bit disappointed by Water. The other three elements really fit the matching vibe, but Water (in my opinion) wimps out. For example, Earth is unmoving stubbornness (represented by chucking rocks from long distances without moving), Air is impatient flexibility (short range mixed with excellent movement forces you to float around your enemy). Fire creates energy (literally forms fire and shoots it, is super aggressive). Water seems like it should be diverting energy (being resourceful by making pools of water and using it later, sending attacks back, etc.)

However, I don't see that with Water. Please don't take this as me saying Water is the worst element, because it isn't! I think Water may be the most powerful single element, (using the Tree to block your enemy and then Healing is a mean combo) followed by Earth with a few zero mana attacks, Air with flexibility and Lightning, and Fire in last.

Again, not to say Fire is unfun (which isn't a word), as it's my second favorite element. Rather, for both Water and Fire, I see some room for improvement. I suggest that for all Fire Elementalists, stepping on Fire no longer hurts (but Lava still does). Somewhat like the Water Bubbles that don't hurt Water, but hurts the other three.

I really love this game, and I need to know: When will the next update be?