Tales of Jayvin

Started by Vincent, Thu 06/06/2019 00:12:53

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Vincent

SPAMFASTIC STUDIOS is proud to present:
   





Tales of Jayvin won the "Best Non Adventure Game Created with AGS" at the AGS Awards 2019!

Also...
Nominated, Best Game Created with AGS 2019
Nominated, Best Freeware Game Created with AGS 2019
Nominated, Best Gameplay 2019
Nominated, Best Programming 2019
Nominated, Best Puzzles 2019




The Story:
------------------
Jayvin an unlikely hero, if every there was one, stumbles into a portal and finds himself in the land of Naturnum.
Unbeknown to him, his arrival has been expected.
Evil forces, commanded by the Dark Lord, Arachemon, are wreaking havoc across the Universe.
Only Jayvin has the power to fight these forces and put an end to Arachemon's reign of terror.







Team:
----------------
Vincent Cortese - Game concept and Programming.
RetroJay - All in game art,  programming, graphics and sound effects.
Barbwire - Dialogs, stories, poems and additional game ideas.
RetroLee - "One" story, additional game ideas and sound effects.
Daniel Kobylarz- All in game music.


Game Information:
------------------
Genre: RPG/Adventure/Puzzle Solving
Engine: AGS 3.2.1.
Resolution: 640X400.
Colour Depth: 32-bit colours.
Graphics Driver: Direct Draw 5.
Controls: Keyboard and Game-pad support. Game-pad controls are fully re-definable within the game menu.
Operating System: Windows/MacOS.


Special thanks to:
------------------
Chris Jones and Adventure Game Studio.
Edmundo Ruiz - Tween Module
Snarky - Day/Night Cycle
Jerakeen - Particle System Manager
SSH & Dusk - EpicShadow
Steve McCrea - Lake Module
Khris - SmoothScrolling, Keyboard Movement
Wyz - Joystick and game controller plugin
Dennis Plöger - Conversion to Mac

Binocular room music...
"Relent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


Released the soundtrack at:
------------------
Bandcamp:
https://dankoby.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-jayvin-original-soundtrack
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5o6ReS3P3VEdIeb6GVccgY?si=oQnqFgTvQ6GJEKacKc-BSA

And all of the other streaming services.


Download Tales of Jayvin!

Stupot

Congrats on release. It looks really fun.

And happy birthday :-D

RetroJay

#2
Hi, Stupot.

Thank you for your very kind words.
Vincent was sooooo happy to get our game out on his Birthday. :-D
I also wanted to do this, for this date.

I have made a slight cock up with our description. :-[
For anyone who has already downloaded our game... The control section in the "Readme" or here should read like this...

Controls:
------------------
Keyboard or Game-pad.
Game-Pad controls are "re-definable" within the game menu.
Keyboard controls, unfortunately, are not "re-definable".
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone who has downloaded our game from this point... Everything should be correct... I hope.
I have already messaged Vincent with this error. Hopefully he can correct the error at the top of this page, oggi.
(It's amazing how fluent in Italian I have become.) (laugh)

I am so sorry for this error. :-[ :-[ :-[

I hope you will enjoy playing our game.

P.s.
I know I wished you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, in ritardo ieri... Or, presto oggi. (Whatever time it was we went to bed.)  (laugh)
But... Happy Birthday, again, Vincent, mio carissimo amico mio. (You can correct me on my Italian later.) HAHAHA! :-D

Yours.
Jay.

lorenzo

Congratulations on release! Downloading the game right now.
And of course, happy birthday Vincent!

Vincent

Quote from: Stupot on Thu 06/06/2019 01:37:28
Congrats on release. It looks really fun.

And happy birthday :-D

Thanks a lot Stupot for the happy wishes, I hope you will enjoy playing our game! :D


Quote from: RetroJay on Thu 06/06/2019 06:04:32
Hi, Stupot.

Thank you for your very kind words.
Vincent was sooooo happy to get our game out on his Birthday. :-D
I also wanted to do this, for this date.

I have made a slight cock up with our description. :-[
For anyone who has already downloaded our game... The control section in the "Readme" or here should read like this...

Controls:
------------------
Keyboard or Game-pad.
Game-Pad controls are "re-definable" within the game menu.
Keyboard controls, unfortunately, are not "re-definable".
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone who has downloaded our game from this point... Everything should be correct... I hope.
I have already messaged Vincent with this error. Hopefully he can correct the error at the top of this page, oggi.
(It's amazing how fluent in Italian I have become.) (laugh)

I am so sorry for this error. :-[ :-[ :-[

I hope you will enjoy playing our game.

P.s.
I know I wished you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, in ritardo ieri... Or, presto oggi. (Whatever time it was we went to bed.)  (laugh)
But... Happy Birthday, again, Vincent, mio carissimo amico mio. (You can correct me on my Italian later.) HAHAHA! :-D

Yours.
Jay.



Ahah ciao Jay, mio carissimo amico mio, grazie mille again for the happy wishes! :D
Releasing our game for my birthday was the greatest gift, I really appreciated it, grazie mille!  :-[
Regarding the error don't worry because I hadn't noticed it either but I have fixed the post now!  :-D


Quote from: lorenzo on Thu 06/06/2019 09:09:19
Congratulations on release! Downloading the game right now.
And of course, happy birthday Vincent!

Hi lorenzo thanks a lot for the happy wishes, I appreciate it! I hope you will enjoy playing our game!  :)

Jack

This looks super interesting. Downloading.

Any plans of a linux version?

Mandle

I had a great time playing today!!!

Can't wait to find the time again to go back and figure out how to beat that damn gameboy minigame...

RetroJay

Hi, Jack.
We are so happy that you like the look of our game.
We hope you will enjoy playing.
At the moment we have no plans for a Linux version, but never say never. (laugh)
Unfortunately we would need to do a lot of testing, etc, and we don't have a Linux machine to do this.

Yours.
Jay and Vincent.

RetroJay

Hi, Mandle.

We are so happy that you are enjoying playing our game.
HAHAHA!! (laugh) You will beat the "GameJoy" minigame. Once you get a feeling for the map it becomes easier.
There are many more challenges to be had throughout the game so... Brace yourself. (laugh)

Yours.
Jay and Vincent.

Mandle

One thing I would suggest is starting the player off with a free pack of maybe 3 of each potion and 3 shields. A gift left by Grandfather.

The reason I say this is because the first thing the player will do is find the house with the practice fighting pit so they will try fighting before heading out to explore the world. Especially because the pit's sign says "practice fighting in a controlled environment" which makes it sound really safe.

This might frustrate some players into just quitting the game as they will probably get paralyzed or something straight away in the first fight.

But if they have potions they will probably look through all the options even if they haven't read the book yet on how to play and this will help them figure out combat a bit on their own, as the potions have their effects mentioned next to them. This might makie the "tutorial" a bit more hands-on than just reading through the book.

Also, I would suggest that Grandfather uses different words than "Let's start your tutorial" because it kind of breaks the player's immersion right at the start of the game just when they are getting into the story.

How about something like "It's time for you to start learning the ways of this world"?

Just my opinions after having played the game way too long yesterday. So addictive!

Crimson Wizard

The error happens when I run the game with Direct3D graphics driver set in winsetup, as opposed to DirectDraw 5:

Quote
---------------------------
Adventure Game Studio
---------------------------
An error has occurred. Please contact the game author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
(ACI version 3.21.1115)

in "Tween module.asc", line 1305
from "Tween module.asc", line 1321
from "Tween module.asc", line 1501
from "Input.asc", line 864
from "GlobalScript.asc", line 3567

Error: A blocking function was called before the first room has been loaded


(No idea how the graphics driver can be related)

Vincent

#11
Quote from: Mandle on Fri 07/06/2019 23:45:52
One thing I would suggest is starting the player off with a free pack of maybe 3 of each potion and 3 shields. A gift left by Grandfather.

The reason I say this is because the first thing the player will do is find the house with the practice fighting pit so they will try fighting before heading out to explore the world. Especially because the pit's sign says "practice fighting in a controlled environment" which makes it sound really safe.

This might frustrate some players into just quitting the game as they will probably get paralyzed or something straight away in the first fight.

But if they have potions they will probably look through all the options even if they haven't read the book yet on how to play and this will help them figure out combat a bit on their own, as the potions have their effects mentioned next to them. This might makie the "tutorial" a bit more hands-on than just reading through the book.

Also, I would suggest that Grandfather uses different words than "Let's start your tutorial" because it kind of breaks the player's immersion right at the start of the game just when they are getting into the story.

How about something like "It's time for you to start learning the ways of this world"?

Just my opinions after having played the game way too long yesterday. So addictive!

Hi Mandle, I would like to thank you very much for all your suggestions because they are all appreciate. We will keep all these tips in mind and see if there will be any changes in the future. Therefore, a further thank you for playing this game because it means a lot to us! If you have any further suggestions for anything you are welcome, thank you very much once again.

Vincent and Jay.

Vincent

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Sat 08/06/2019 00:58:13
The error happens when I run the game with Direct3D graphics driver set in winsetup, as opposed to DirectDraw 5:

Quote
---------------------------
Adventure Game Studio
---------------------------
An error has occurred. Please contact the game author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
(ACI version 3.21.1115)

in "Tween module.asc", line 1305
from "Tween module.asc", line 1321
from "Tween module.asc", line 1501
from "Input.asc", line 864
from "GlobalScript.asc", line 3567

Error: A blocking function was called before the first room has been loaded


(No idea how the graphics driver can be related)

Hi Crimson Wizard, thank you very much for reporting this error. Sadly the only way to play this game properly is by using the DirectDraw 5 as graphic driver. For any other types of technical problems, they should be reported in the "Read Me" file which is located in the game folder. A further thank you for having had time to try this game, it means a lot to us.

Vincent and Jay.

Crimson Wizard

Quote from: Vincent on Sat 08/06/2019 11:04:14
Hi Crimson Wizard, thank you very much for reporting this error. Sadly the only way to play this game properly is by using the DirectDraw 5 as graphic driver.

Could you explain why? Were there some problems that prevented you from allowing other drivers?

I am asking firstly because I'm very curious how driver may be related, but there are other reasons: DirectDraw 5 does not work well on my system (or video card, idk), and software mode in general may be pretty slow on other systems like Linux (it was a linux user who first told me to check out this problem).

Vincent

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Sat 08/06/2019 12:53:51
Could you explain why? Were there some problems that prevented you from allowing other drivers?

I am sorry to say but I really can't explain this. I actually don't see a reason why these should be related to each other. The same scripts working fine in DirectDraw5.
AGS says it can be related to a scripting error but this is sound like a bug in AGS.


Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Sat 08/06/2019 12:53:51
I am asking firstly because I'm very curious how driver may be related, but there are other reasons: DirectDraw 5 does not work well on my system

This is the same reason why we have chosen to use DirectDraw5. In our machines the Direct3D doesn't work well on our systems.


Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Sat 08/06/2019 12:53:51
and software mode in general may be pretty slow on other systems like Linux

This actually works the opposite for us. The software mode is the fast one.




At the moment we're feeling sorry if you can't have a chance to play this game properly.

Yours.
Vincent and Jay.

Mandle

Wow, I've played for about another hour and a half today and...

Just WOW!!! The game keeps getting better and better!

I haven't felt this excited playing a game in a very long while... Perhaps since Heroine Quest...

Incredible game!!!

RetroJay

Hi, there, Mandle.

WOW!!
I can't get over your truly fantastic post.
On behalf of myself and Vincent we wish to thank you for your glowing report.
We are so happy that you are enjoying our game.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

Yours.
Jay and Vincent.

RetroJay

Hi, Crimson Wizard.

I am at work, at the moment, but on Monday I would like to send you a PM so that we can try and work out what is going on here with this driver issue.
I will say one thing though... I have tried, in the past, to make a game with the D3D driver and have experienced nothing but weird problems, audio, graphical and just plain weirdness.
My other games I made with Direct Draw because of the strange problems with D3D.
I look forward to speaking with you about the issue so we can try to understand what is going on here.

Yours.
Jay.

Crimson Wizard

Quote from: RetroJay on Sat 08/06/2019 20:27:46
I am at work, at the moment, but on Monday I would like to send you a PM so that we can try and work out what is going on here with this driver issue.
I will say one thing though... I have tried, in the past, to make a game with the D3D driver and have experienced nothing but weird problems, audio, graphical and just plain weirdness.

There has to be a distinction here: when particular driver does not work well on some systems (which can happen ofcourse, this is why we have expanded driver selection with OpenGL later), but in your case situation is stranger because game fails with an obvious scripting error.
I would be happy to help find out how this is related to driver selection of course.

Mandle

Gaaaaaah!!!

Spoiler
The lock on the potion brewer's chest puzzle is evil beyond belief!!!
Are you really going to force me to cut all the pieces out of paper and assemble them in real life until they fit?!
Couldn't it just be possible to remove pieces that were already fitted?
As the puzzle stands at the moment, with it taking so long to move the sloooowwww pieces into place, and then having then permanently locked, and having to start all over again from zero if you screwed up... I see no way that anyone could figure this out without making a mock-up physical version in real life and playing with it until everything fit.
I love the game enough to do just that, but, guys... seriously?!
[close]

RetroJay

#20
Hi, There, Mandle.

I am disappointed. I thought that you would be up to the challenge. (laugh)
However... I would hate to be the cause of you pulling your hair out, if you've got any. (laugh)
Spoiler
Start the puzzle with the eyes in the top right corner... The foot in the top left corner.
[close]
That's all I'll give you for now. See how you go. :-D

Looks like we may have to open a "Hints and Tips" thread. ;-D

Yours.
Jay and Vincent.

Vincent

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Sat 08/06/2019 20:49:19
There has to be a distinction here: when particular driver does not work well on some systems (which can happen ofcourse, this is why we have expanded driver selection with OpenGL later), but in your case situation is stranger because game fails with an obvious scripting error.
I would be happy to help find out how this is related to driver selection of course.

Thank you very much Crimson Wizard for all your support. We had some time to investigate about this and basically we had some lines of code that worked as a warning messages if the game was not played with the default graphic driver. Essentially it was an obvious scripting error, we are sorry for the trouble but we have fix it right now. However, the game will be aviable only for Direct Draw 5 because you can experience too much weirdness regarding walkbehinds and baselines when using Direct3D 9. You can still download this update from the main link.

Yours.
Vincent and Jay

Crimson Wizard

#22
Quote from: Vincent on Mon 10/06/2019 20:36:23However, the game will be aviable only for Direct Draw 5 because you can experience too much weirdness regarding walkbehinds and baselines when using Direct3D 9. You can still download this update from the main link.

Oh no, are you using "IgnoreWalkbehind" mode for characters or objects? :/

In the past we were even considering removing this property from the editor, because it breaks drawing logic.

Well, there's a ticket opened for supporting it in Direct3D too, maybe it will get fixed in the future, but it's very low priority for us:
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags/issues/745

Vincent

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Mon 10/06/2019 21:56:04
Oh no, are you using "IgnoreWalkbehind" mode for characters or objects? :/

In the past we were even considering removing this property from the editor, because it breaks drawing logic.

Well, there's a ticket opened for supporting it in Direct3D too, maybe it will get fixed in the future, but it's very low priority for us:
https://github.com/adventuregamestudio/ags/issues/745

Yes, we are using "IgnoreWalkbehind" throughout our game and also in other projects which I am working on. I cannot change all of the graphic aspects now related to this property, which in my opinion, it should be removed as soon as possible.

Yours.
Vincent and Jay.

Mandle

Quote from: RetroJay on Mon 10/06/2019 17:53:26
Hi, There, Mandle.

I am disappointed. I thought that you would be up to the challenge. (laugh)
However... I would hate to be the cause of you pulling your hair out, if you've got any. (laugh)
Spoiler
Start the puzzle with the eyes in the top right corner... The foot in the top left corner.
[close]
That's all I'll give you for now. See how you go. :-D

Looks like we may have to open a "Hints and Tips" thread. ;-D

Yours.
Jay and Vincent.

I doubt anyone could solve this puzzle in-game to be honest without a starting point like you have given in the hint above.

The slow rate the pieces can be moved at plus the fatal flaw of not being able to take off wrongly placed pieces and having to start all over again will either force players to give up or to cut the pieces out of paper and try again and again out-of-game until they get it right.

There are just too many possible combinations for it to be realistically solved in-game IMO.

Just feedback, remember, I'm still absolutely loving the game but IMO this puzzle is just way too frustrating as it is.

I would suggest to either hide the above hint somewhere in the game, or allow wrongly placed pieces to be removed.

The starting all over again thing is just rage-quit bait.

RetroJay

Hi, Mandle.

Thank you very much for continuing to struggle on with our game.
I suppose, on reflection, Polly's Chest Puzzle is rather difficult.
Please carry on playing because your feedback is most helpful.
We will look into any concerns you have and try to rectify any annoyances that you might find.

Yours.
Jay and Vincent.

Mandle

Guys, I'm pretty sure that you didn't mean to set the...

Spoiler
Odds of 35 to 1 on the roulette table in the casino for evens/odds and red/black. This is an infinite money generator. On a roll of 50/50 you can win 35x your bet!!!. I now have over 10,000 coins and feel like I have cheated the game and should start all over once it's fixed... But I've already put about 7 hours into the game so I'm a bit conflicted about if I would start all over or not.

Or, was this infinite money generator an intended part of the game?
[close]

RetroJay

Hi, Mandle.

I am going to send you a PM.

Yours.
Jay.

Mandle

Quote from: RetroJay on Tue 11/06/2019 10:02:46
Hi, Mandle.

I am going to send you a PM.

Yours.
Jay.

Cheers!

Mandle

I'm up to the

Spoiler
Final Boss Battle on top of the mountain!!!

But my creature is way too weak to beat it, so I will just spam battles until it levels up enough.
[close]

Vincent

#30
Quote from: Mandle on Tue 11/06/2019 16:47:58
I'm up to the

Spoiler
Final Boss Battle on top of the mountain!!!

But my creature is way too weak to beat it, so I will just spam battles until it levels up enough.
[close]

:-D

Spoiler
Mandle you are simply fantastic!!!  :-D

What is your percentage reached in the game? You can see it through the statistics menu. It sound like you didn't complete it 100%!  (laugh)
[close]



Quote from: Mandle on Tue 11/06/2019 09:09:52
Guys, I'm pretty sure that you didn't mean to set the...

Spoiler
Odds of 35 to 1 on the roulette table in the casino for evens/odds and red/black. This is an infinite money generator. On a roll of 50/50 you can win 35x your bet!!!. I now have over 10,000 coins and feel like I have cheated the game and should start all over once it's fixed... But I've already put about 7 hours into the game so I'm a bit conflicted about if I would start all over or not.

Or, was this infinite money generator an intended part of the game?
[close]


;)

Spoiler
Yes, this was intended to be like an easy money generator. It's actually working everything okay with it. If you bet 35 and you win then you earn 35 chips * max amount of chips which is 35. If you bet 35 and you win, then you earn 35*35 = 1225 chips on a roll.
[close]

Dkobylarz

Thanks everyone for playing! I had an absolute blast writing the music for this game, and it was a pleasure working with the team on this project. I usually write a lot of dark, brooding music, so writing some Final Fantasy/Zelda/Chrono Trigger/Cross type tracks was a breath of fresh air.


I just released the soundtrack at:

Bandcamp:
https://dankoby.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-jayvin-original-soundtrack
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5o6ReS3P3VEdIeb6GVccgY?si=oQnqFgTvQ6GJEKacKc-BSA

And all of the other streaming services.

Durq

Quote from: Dkobylarz on Thu 13/06/2019 03:18:05
Thanks everyone for playing! I had an absolute blast writing the music for this game, and it was a pleasure working with the team on this project. I usually write a lot of dark, brooding music, so writing some Final Fantasy/Zelda/Chrono Trigger/Cross type tracks was a breath of fresh air.


I just released the soundtrack at:

Bandcamp:
https://dankoby.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-jayvin-original-soundtrack
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5o6ReS3P3VEdIeb6GVccgY?si=oQnqFgTvQ6GJEKacKc-BSA

And all of the other streaming services.

"Island Caves" is a tight track!

Mandle

Well, I've

Spoiler
completed 65% of the game and have unlocked the final boss...

I'm confused as to how the game flow is supposed to go.

Is the player supposed to unlock the other creatures other than the starting one and train them all the way up again to level 10-20+???

I have seem no reason to train another creature except for my starting one. It's nice to meet a creature that is the exact opposite, even though this happens very little, because it is an easy win.

Apart from that I would almost never use a Skill in a fight against a creature who was not my opposite, and then it's just a gamble of which gets the best hits in.

I have tried the strategy of going to the Thunder Island (I started with Water creature) and just spamming encounters in the caves there to get EXP but it takes a looooong time to get an encounter there.

That's probably still the best strat I have so far to get EXP, but it is boring. I know I can win every fight and I know I can go right back outside and recharge my MP and HP whenever I want. It still takes about 10 minutes to get to a fight that might gain me the same 1-5 EXP as every other fight in the game, apart from the one-time portal bosses.

The game seems very out-of-balance to me in regard to gaining EXP. No matter what enemy I meet it is always adjusted up to my own level (or a level either way).

I have rarely felt that special feeling that RPGs should provide that I have advanced in power and things that I previously feared are no longer a threat.

Every time I meet an enemy it's around my level and hard to beat, pretty much a 50/50 chance. I never feel like I'm getting better than any enemies. They just rank up along side me and every fight is as hard as the first ones.
[close]

All that being said... the game is awesome! And could get even more so with some sensible tweaking of enemy levels I feel.

RetroLee

Hi Mandle

Firstly, I agree that this game is awesome. I think how you play the game is influenced by whether you prefer the adventure side or the battling. Of course to get a score of 100% you have to do both. Personally, I prefer adventure. You have missed out on some really good, amusing, quests that you would have enjoyed. There is no right or wrong way to play the game.

Shadow1000

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 13/06/2019 12:54:11


Spoiler


The game seems very out-of-balance to me in regard to gaining EXP. No matter what enemy I meet it is always adjusted up to my own level (or a level either way).

I have rarely felt that special feeling that RPGs should provide that I have advanced in power and things that I previously feared are no longer a threat.
[close]

I've noticed this too. It's almost like leveling up doesn't feel like you are advancing; it doesn't have that same rush. Leveling up SHOULD open doors to go to new places or expand what you can do in the game.

Quote
Spoiler

Every time I meet an enemy it's around my level and hard to beat, pretty much a 50/50 chance. I never feel like I'm getting better than any enemies. They just rank up along side me and every fight is as hard as the first ones.
[close]


My problem is that unless I stock shields or potions (assuming I know which altered state I'll be in), I end up in an altered state pretty quickly and the fight is pretty much over. Shields last for 3 hits and at 50 coins each, fighting gets pretty pricey....


Mandle

Well, I just finished the game...and it was an absolute obsession for me to do so...

Spoiler
It was a wonderful ride and a lovely story!

I hope the game didn't delete my save files when it ended as I still want to go back and live in that land a bit more, mainly to complete the fishing quest (I only got up to spring).

But, yeah... The game needs some areas for players to grind that aren't all based on current level...

There need to be some enemies that you can meet that are way below your level just so you can feel that you have gotten stronger.

Also... The roulette table needs to be fixed... A 35 to 1 payout is fine for picking a single number but maybe go 5 to 1 for picking odd/even or red/black if you want a money generator...

It feels really strange the way it is at the moment as it gives all the money you could ever want with no risk at all...

What an amazing game, though!!!
[close]

Best of health and happiness back to the creators!


Shadow1000

Just to add to my previous: my character has 70 HP now, so the enemies have 70 HP now. To kill an enemy can take 2 shields by the time I get through all those hit points. That's 100 coins to kill a single enemy. Considering that the quests for the mayor pay 50 coins, it's a losing deal...

Mandle

#38
Quote from: Shadow1000 on Thu 13/06/2019 17:40:35
Just to add to my previous: my character has 70 HP now, so the enemies have 70 HP now. To kill an enemy can take 2 shields by the time I get through all those hit points. That's 100 coins to kill a single enemy. Considering that the quests for the mayor pay 50 coins, it's a losing deal...

Yes, as well as the fact that

Spoiler
the quest is always for the same creature type that you have which means no "easy" fight now and then against an opposite creature. I must wonder why the quest wasn't randomized.
[close]

Also

Spoiler
When the player beats a portal guardian (which is also always about the same level as the owned creature) and receives the creature as a new "pet", why does it start off at level one instead of the real level it was? It's so long and hard to train up a creature as it is, and I never saw the point in training anything except my starting creature. Which is a shame because it made the whole opposite creature system a bit pointless for me, when it's such a vital part of games like Pokemon.
Also no ability to choose a different creature at the start of each battle? Not a huge issue as you pretty much always know what kind of enemy you are going to be facing except perhaps the first time you enter the dark cave.
It's also a bit strange that the player must remember to equip a new card every time they get one even though there is no way to run out of slots for cards or vary your deck.
Having the player leave the house every time he sleeps is a bit troublesome too as almost every time I slept I wanted to save right after.
Another thing is the unskippable and rather long scenes when using the cable-car, the ship, and when sleeping. I realize the game is mostly in real time and things should use up time but I think it might be better to make these skippable and just add the time to the timer, which is done when you sleep anyway.
Also, the game keeps track of many of the player's statistics but doesn't show them at the end of the game.
Oh, one last point: The star-drawing puzzle. Maybe it's just my computer but, even though everything else in the game ran perfectly smoothly, the tracing puzzle slowed my system noticeably after I had drawn about 1/3 of the shape and brought it almost to its knees by the time I'd finished 3/4. It was moving so slow that the entire puzzle took me about 20 minutes to trace plus the slowness of the controls caused me to fail it once when I was about 3/4 done. I'm guessing AGS is drawing every one of the lines every frame? Is that necessary? Can't you just draw each line once?
[close]

Sorry if these sound like complaints. They aren't. I just want to see the game become the greatest game of its type of all time, which I feel, with a few simple changes, it very well could be.

Shadow1000

Quote from: Mandle on Fri 14/06/2019 00:24:04
Quote from: Shadow1000 on Thu 13/06/2019 17:40:35
Just to add to my previous: my character has 70 HP now, so the enemies have 70 HP now. To kill an enemy can take 2 shields by the time I get through all those hit points. That's 100 coins to kill a single enemy. Considering that the quests for the mayor pay 50 coins, it's a losing deal...

Yes, as well as the fact that

Spoiler
the quest is always for the same creature type that you have which means no "easy" fight now and then against an opposite creature. I must wonder why the quest wasn't randomized.
[close]

Also

Spoiler
When the player beats a portal guardian (which is also always about the same level as the owned creature) and receives the creature as a new "pet", why does it start off at level one instead of the real level it was? It's so long and hard to train up a creature as it is, and I never saw the point in training anything except my starting creature. Which is a shame because it made the whole opposite creature system a bit pointless for me, when it's such a vital part of games like Pokemon.
[close]

I did NOT realize that! I don't know how you figured that one out. Either way, I'm not too worried about leveling up, because as we said, a higher level just means stronger enemies..

Quote
Spoiler

Also no ability to choose a different creature at the start of each battle? Not a huge issue as you pretty much always know what kind of enemy you are going to be facing except perhaps the first time you enter the dark cave.
It's also a bit strange that the player must remember to equip a new card every time they get one even though there is no way to run out of slots for cards or vary your deck.
Having the player leave the house every time he sleeps is a bit troublesome too as almost every time I slept I wanted to save right after.
Another thing is the unskippable and rather long scenes when using the cable-car, the ship, and when sleeping. I realize the game is mostly in real time and things should use up time but I think it might be better to make these skippable and just add the time to the timer, which is done when you sleep anyway.
Also, the game keeps track of many of the player's statistics but doesn't show them at the end of the game.
Oh, one last point: The star-drawing puzzle. Maybe it's just my computer but, even though everything else in the game ran perfectly smoothly, the tracing puzzle slowed my system noticeably after I had drawn about 1/3 of the shape and brought it almost to its knees by the time I'd finished 3/4. It was moving so slow that the entire puzzle took me about 20 minutes to trace plus the slowness of the controls caused me to fail it once when I was about 3/4 done. I'm guessing AGS is drawing every one of the lines every frame? Is that necessary? Can't you just draw each line once?
[close]


I agree with all these points. My only difference is that the star puzzle was pretty smooth for me. My computer is circa 2012 so not new by any means.
Quote
Sorry if these sound like complaints. They aren't. I just want to see the game become the greatest game of its type of all time, which I feel, with a few simple changes, it very well could be.

This is really important. I haven't said anything nice about the game but actually, I absolutely ADORE this! I can go on about it but I was hoping to finish before saying anything. Honestly, other than the points I've made it is SO awesome. There is SO MUCH to do and the game just keeps getting better and better. I'm 35% complete and I do look forward to completing it and then making more detailed comments.


RetroJay

#40
Hi, Shadow1000.

Thank you for your very positive comments.
I'm so glad that you are enjoying playing our game and hoping to achieve the ultimate score.
Most of the negative comments, so far, seem to be with the battling side of the game.
Although this is important I feel people might be missing out on the other aspects of the game, such as completing quests, puzzles, etc.
With the exception of two, the quests are more brain than brawn.

As RetroLee commented... There is no right or wrong way to play the game. I would say though...
Leveling up your creature is something you can do throughout the game and is not a requirement at the very beginning.
Explore, talk to the citizens of Naturnum, solve puzzles and read books. These will explain the history of the land.

yours.
Jay and Vincent.

KyriakosCH

This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Vincent

Quote from: KyriakosCH on Sat 15/06/2019 15:20:24
Nice gfx style!  :-D

Thanks KyriakosCH, we appreciate it a lot!

Yours.
Vincent and Jay.

Mandle

I left some final thoughts after "finishing" the game.

I will go back at some point and try to complete the quests I still have not yet. One or two I think that I know of.

Like I said, I absolutely LOVE this game and hope my comments don't seem to be negative. They were just things that I personally thought could be tweaked to make a great game even better. And, I suspect, many are things you might hear from other players.

I cannot, however, praise this game enough for how much it pulled me into its world and kept me entranced with the magic of this experience.

It kept me up waaaaaay too late on several nights just striving to complete a quest or get to a new area.

Thanks for the trip into the glorious world you created, guys!

Vincent

Hi Mandle, thank you so much for your message.

All your kind words and thoughts have filled joyously my heart. Personally as the other people on the team will agree on me, I feel really much happy to hear you say that you love this game as well as other people who have the same feeling as you. The gratitude of hearing these words are priceless and even hearing you say that it kept you up way too late for several nights. Thank you so much for all your support and for being part of this trip as well as the other people who did the same because it really means everything to us.

Mandle

Quote from: Vincent on Sun 16/06/2019 13:11:16
Hi Mandle, thank you so much for your message.

Did you see my feedback message on the previous page?

Vincent

Quote from: Mandle on Sun 16/06/2019 14:49:12
Did you see my feedback message on the previous page?

I'm sorry I meant to say your messages. Of course I have read all your feedback carefully and I appreciated them all from the first to the last. Personally some of your thoughts I have not taken negatively, I took them as personal opinions that may can change from one person to another.

Mandle


BarbWire

Hi fellow AGSers
If you are looking for a game that is truly captivating, then Tales of Jayvin is the one for you.
The game provides hours, rather than minutes, of pleasure as you explore the Land of Naturnum.
Completing quests, puzzle solving and battling an array of creatures, is just part of the story.
There are many other treats awaiting the player, but to reveal anymore would spoil the experience.
In fact, there is so much to do, and enjoyment to be had, that you will find it hard to quit play.
Give it a go. You wont be disappointed.


Shadow1000

I just finished the game and I want to post while I'm still "in it" :)

All I can say is WOW. I don't remember the last time I was this thrilled with an AGS release. I LOVE the RPG genre and I can't remember many good ones made using AGS.

I'm going to collate some of the thoughts that have been expressed earlier:

- The strongest reason I love this game is because there is SO MUCH TO DO! I don't want to ruin the discovery for people who haven't played so I won't be specific, but I'll leave it that there is such an incredible range of puzzles and quests with a huge variety. There are mini-games and arcade-style games and you name it. There's something for everyone and it's really not linear and if you don't want to do a quest, that's ok! I actually didn't bother with a few. I'll specify later.
- Needless to say, the attention to detail with the art and animation, effects, music, and all are fabulous.
- The game system was well designed, with the money and food management, sleeping, recharging and so on.

As far as the fighting system, Mandle and I said what there is to say:
Spoiler
The fighting in the cave is perfect. Putting enemies of a set level in a location is the way to go to help pace the game. My beef is mainly with the enemies on the island. The way I was able to beat them was by using my LOWEST character rather than highest!
[close]

More specifics about the quests:

I finished the game with 65% complete and 3 outstanding quests:
Spoiler
I did not complete the Jen quest, the horseshoe/Sudoku quest, the farm quest or the game boy quest. With 65% complete, that would only bring me up to 85% which either means that completing the boss battle is 15% or that I'm missing some quests. I cannot do the apple quest and I just don't feel motivated to do the others, which is part of the beauty of this game.
[close]

I enjoyed the fact that I did not need a lot of help. I just got two tips from the board:
Spoiler

- I still don't know how the player was supposed to solve the barrels in the cellar puzzle, other than literally mapping out each barrel to see how it moves and then planning a route on paper? That would take dozens of restarts...
- Finding the troll in the cave: that required walking through the cave all over again to find ONE spot. The batteries only really work properly until about 40% and I went through 11 batteries before asking for help. Maybe it would be better if he came to find YOU when you're in a range? Just a thought...
[close]

In conclusion, it is clear that a LOT of work went into this game and it will undoubtedly be an AGS masterpiece.

Vincent, Jason, Barbara and Lee (and anyone else involved): please pat yourselves on the back for a huge success.

Anyone reading this review who hasn't played yet: WHAT are you doing?? STOP READING and START PLAYING!!!!

Congratulations to the authors! Looking forward to more games from this talented team

RetroJay

Hi, Shadow1000.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a fantastic, in depth review of our game.
Your kind words mean a great deal to the team. Any points you raised, regarding the gaming experience, have been noted.
We agree that there are certain improvements which could be made, but to do this now would involve re-writing 50% of the game.
To tell you the truth I really don't think we have the strength. (laugh)

Your enthusiasm for "Tales of Jayvin" is much appreciated.
Thank you for playing and enjoying.

From all the team at SPAMFASTIC STUDIOS.

BarbWire

I see that there is a new video, for your viewing pleasure, on the download screen.

This showcases the game much better than the first.

However, it still doesn't do the game justice, because you have to play in full screen
mode, to fully appreciate the landscape, of which this video is a small part.

The underwater sequence is lovely but you will not unlock this until you complete
a certain quest.

If you are footsore from walking you can ride a horse, but only if you have earned the
privilege.

Beat the boy on the gamejoy consule and, if you are angling for fun, have a go at the fishing competition.

Enjoyment by the bucketload!!!

lorenzo

#52
I wanted to post a comment earlier, but I kept playing and kept finding new things!

So, first of all, this game is fantastic. There's so much content! I've played for around 7-8 hours and I've yet to finish it.

There's so much to do: exploration, puzzles, minigames, fights, and so on. My main criticism is that the game really likes to eat your free time! (laugh) I usually say: "Let's play for a few minutes" and then, two hours later, I'm still playing...

I had a lot of fun solving puzzles, completing quests and exploring the town. Fighting... not so much, but I was never a fan of that style of combat.

I managed to
Spoiler
beat some of the islands dungeons. I also beat the ogre in the cave near home (I really enjoyed mapping the cave!), but the casino guy proved to be too strong for my character.
[close]

Got to agree with most of Mandle's criticism feedback, the game could use some small fixes.
But it's an awesome game, and everyone involved should feel proud of what they've made.
I think people should definitely give it a try! There's a lot to like in it.

Mandle

Quote from: lorenzo on Fri 12/07/2019 10:04:11
Got to agree with most of Mandle's criticism

I didn't mean it as criticism. More like feedback on points that I thought could improve what is already an incredibly fun game!

lorenzo

Let's say comments, or feedback, then. I didn't mean it in a negative way. I thought it was pretty clear, but you never know.
In fact, I've edited the post because your portrait was looking at me in an evil way, and I didn't want to anger it further...

RetroJay

Hi, Lorenzo.

Sorry I've been a while answering your post but I have been nursing a swollen painful knee. :(
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed playing our game, even if you weren't keen on the battling side of it.
I hope it didn't eat into your free time too much, as you travelled Naturnum solving quests and puzzles. (laugh)

Thank you for your very kind words and for playing "Tales of Jayvin".

Yours.
Jay.

lorenzo

Don't worry Jay! And thank you and the rest of the team for making the game. I had (and I'm still having) a lot of fun with it!

Hope your knee is healing up!

Vincent

@BarbWire:
Thanks a lot and I totally agree with you, the video doesn't do the game justice for the reasons you just explained. The author of the video let me know that he is working on a new one and that momentarily the previous video it is no longer aviable on YouTube. Let's hope he will do so as soon as possible.


@lorenzo:
I deeply appreciate your kind words, thank you very much. I'm really pleased to hear that the game eats your free time and that you find it fantastic! :)
Thanks again for all your feedback and for the recommendation.
Spoiler

You were good at exploring the cave well because it's a difficult part of the game, congratulations.  ;)
[close]

@Mandle:
Thanks a lot because you find the game incredibly fun to play and this is meaning a lot to me.

RetroJay

Hi, Lorenzo.

I am so happy to hear that you had (and are  still having) a great time playing. :-D
Spoiler
It's great that you enjoyed mapping out the cave system and that you managed to get all the barrels and beat the Troll. Now... Your creature should only need a little more training to be able to beat the guy in the casino. Once he has been dealt with you can just enjoy gambling all your money away or become a billionaire.(laugh)
[close]
Thank you for your very kind words and your concern.
My knee is getting better. It kind of looked like I had four knees on one leg but it is nearly back to normal proportions, now. Only taken about eight weeks... Sheesh! (laugh)

Yours.
Jay.

Vincent

Hi all good peeps of AGS!!!

Recently thanks to the huge work of Dennis Plöger we had a chance to play Tales of Jayvin also on MacOS. If you have not yet tried this game then you should do it as soon and we hope you'll have some fun with it. You can download both versions directly to Gamejolt or Itch.io.

Greetings from all the team at SPAMFASTIC STUDIOS.

BarbWire

Ciao Vincent

I have just noticed that Tales of Jayvin, thanks to Dennis, is now available for MAC.

Spamfastic Studios deserves to have this excellent game showcased on as many
platforms, as possible.

I am surprised that after some fantastic reviews there are only two 'AGS Panel Ratings'
one of them mine.

Come on guys it only takes a few seconds to do this, and shows appreciation for the
work required to bring pleasure to a lot of people.

Vincent

Ciao BarbWire

Thanks for your truly kind words. As you well said Tales of Jayvin is now available for MAC too thanks to Dennis help! I must say that it has been tested by very few people who said that the game is being played correctly on this platform. In case anybody would have any problem with this version please let us know here or into our GameJolt/itch pages. As about the 'AGS Panel Ratings' I think that it may could happen that we forget to return to the Ags page to leave a vote on the game although we have play it. :)

RetroLee

Enter the magical land of Naturnum, and you'll never want to leave.
As you travel the land, unraveling its history, beautiful scenery awaits you at every turn.
Interact with the citizens, who are quirky, to say the least, and complete quests for them.
You'll be well rewarded. There are so many fun things to do in Tales of Jayvin, that I dont
know where to start. Ill have a go, though. To give your legs a rest, acquire a horse.
Gamble at Lost Vegas and make a fortune. Try out the fishing competition at Mystic Lake
and win the championship. Upgrade your house. There is an underwater section, which is
a joy to behold. However, you will only see this if you help the ghost. Go hire a boat from
Cap'n Horatio Crowe and visit the Islands. Take a cable car ride to Dragon Tooth Mount.
Visit shops to buy and sell items. Open chests and find money bags etc. This is just a
sample of what you can expect from the game. Spamfastic Studios spent four years
making this masterpiece. If you dont play Tales of Jayvin, you will be missing out on a
truly wondrous experience.   

BarbWire

With the game awards just around the corner, I thought I would put in a word for Tales of Jayvin.

My contribution to this game was writing 'The History of Naturnum' in seven books, which can be
purchased from Page Turners store, poetry, dialogues and everything in between.

Since Tales of Jayvin first appeared, in June of last year, I have been following its progress, and
I am surprised that more people have not downloaded and played this brilliant offering. (I'm not
biased - honest  :wink:)

Mandle, Shadow and Lorenzo, and RetroLee (In the order they posted comments) on the whole
all raved about the game, so why the lack of interest?

Is it the length of the game putting people off? if so then don't worry because there is a perfectly
functioning SAVE option. No need to try to play in one sitting. (You couldn't, anyway, unless you
wanted to suffer sleep deprivation :smiley:) If it is the battling that puts you off, it isn't really
difficult with just a little thought. Puzzles are interesting and not too taxing on the grey matter.

RetroJay and Vincent, Spamfastic Studios, put their hearts and souls into Tales Of Jayvin. It would
be doing them an injustice not to give it a go.   

Athanor

This game looks lovely! I'll give it a try this evening. The only thing I don't like so much is the quite big "hunger"-bar. It gives me the impression that the game is all about eating and surviving. I'm no big fan of survival games so I'd like to ask if I'll die often here?

Vincent

Thank you very much RetroLee and BarbWire for your truly kind words, I deeply appreciate it very much!

@Athanor
Thank you very much for your truly kind words, I am glad to hear that you will give it a try later. Don't worry much about the hunger bar at all, you could only die in certain circumstances but nevertheless the game will warn you when an area is potentially dangerous risking the complete game over. So the game advise you to save your state before continuing, I hope you will enjoy it! :)

Athanor

Quote from: Vincent on Wed 15/01/2020 10:43:58
Thank you very much RetroLee and BarbWire for your truly kind words, I deeply appreciate it very much!

@Athanor
Thank you very much for your truly kind words, I am glad to hear that you will give it a try later. Don't worry much about the hunger bar at all, you could only die in certain circumstances but nevertheless the game will warn you when an area is potentially dangerous risking the complete game over. So the game advise you to save your state before continuing, I hope you will enjoy it! :)
Thank you for the information! I look forward to play your game. :)

BarbWire

#67
Hi Athanor.

I hope you are enjoying playing Tales of Jayvin. Vincent was spot on when he advised you about the hunger bar
and likelihood of dying. The chances of which are very slim. Also, take your time walking the landscape. Running
everywhere will reduce your hunger bar quicker. Sometimes you can find food in chests or it just spawns in random
locations. If you need a more substantial meal go see Jen at her store. If you undertake a quest for the blacksmith
you can come by a horse.

Are you having any difficulty with battles? There are only three main enemies in the game which you need to deal
with to progress. One is a level 10 cave troll. The next is a character called Nick De Vile (Level 20 I believe) and the
end game Demon Spider (Level 32 I believe) These are all DARK characters so who will you need to train up and arm
with special powers bought from Captain Horatio Crowe. You will need to hire his boat and visit the islands to
encounter the best ally for the battle. It is a good idea to do this while at a low level. Then concentrate on training
this ally

I hope I have explained this correctly. I have played and completed Tales of Jayvin myself and found this worked
for me. I was quite chuffed when I dispatched the Demon Spider without too much effort.

Vincent is the expert when it comes to Final Fantasy games, so if you get stuck I'm sure he will be only too pleased to
help.

In fact, if there is any aspect of the game anyone is struggling with, be it quests puzzles etc. please don't be afraid to
ask for help from Retrojay or Vincent (Spamfastic Studios)

Vincent

#68
Thank you very much BarbWire for your truly kind words. I'd like to special thanks everyone who nominated Tales of Jayvin for "Best Non Adventure Game Created with AGS" at the AGS Awards 2019. This award was really appreciated and I would like to congratulate all the team members for the fantastic work done over the years. I'd like to share some beautiful graphics that were given by the wonderful event of the ceremony, for this reason I have updated also the main post, many thanks again to all of you!


Kastchey

Well deserved Vincent, big congratulations to you and the rest of the team :)

Vincent

Thank you very much Kastchey for your kind words and for sharing these beautiful graphics from the ceremony, I really appreciate them!  :)

BarbWire


Just love the way Night Stalker, the Werewolf, gobs the Black Death virus
over his adversary.

Can't think why, but it kinda reminds me of a certain situation in which
we all find ourselves.  :-D

Vincent

That's correct BarbWire, it's a kinda of a coronavirus attack 8-) maybe all of this has something to do with werewolves and not bats  :-D

BarbWire


Ciao, Vincent, amico mio

You could well be right.

Scientist should stop blaming bats, fish, cats, dogs and any
other animal you can think of.

As soon as the moon rises, lock yourself indoors. If you have to
go out, remember to social distance from werewolves.  :-D




Vincent

Ahaha ciao, BarbWire, amica mia.
Well said, the same goes for everyone and, just in case, don't forget the shields that protect against the opponent's special attacks!  :-D

BarbWire

#75
Ciao, Vincent, amico mio

Good advice about the shielding.

I can't believe that a year has gone by since you, and Retrojay,
released this brilliant game.

Over a four year period you delivered thousands of lines of
intricate programming, while Retrojay agonised over the perfect
placing of every pixel, to create all the artwork.

I was pleased to see that Tales of Jayvin achieved 5 nominations,
and was awarded the best non-adventure game of 2019.

I am surprised though, that in view of this, the game has not been
downloaded many times. It deserves far better.

Anyway, Happy Birthday for the 6th of June.  I will add this to the
Happy Birthday thread on Saturday a.b.w.

Vincent

Thanks a lot BarbWire for all your kind words and for the good wishes, I appreciate it a lot every time.  :)

BarbWire

#77
Having provided most of the literary content for Tales of Jayvin, and
vast amounts of testing, I have a vested interest in the games progress.
I notice that downloads have ground to a halt. I can't understand why
this should be because as I have said, on more than one occasion, the
game is brilliant. Mandle said it was probably the best game he had played
since Heroines quest.

If you are playing, how are you finding the puzzles, quests etc. Is there
anything you don't like and have suggestions as to how things could be
improved.

If you aren't playing - why not? You are missing out on a great experience.

Where are you Vincent, amico mio?  I've missed our chats  :smiley:






Vincent

Ciao BarbWire amica mia, I'm sorry for the delay in answering you...  :sad:
As you well said, you were the one who created the most contents in this game, if it wasn't for you this game wouldn't have been come out in this way.
For this reason I will never stop thanking you because thanks to you the game come out really brillant and of course apart from the fantastic work done in conceiving the graphics. In this latter period I am having little time because as usual I am working on multiple projects at the same time. For this I am sorry if I am not very active, I hope that everything is fine with you, Jay and the rest of the team  :smiley:

BarbWire


Ciao, Vincent, amico mio

Thank you so much for your kind words. It is nice to be appreciated.

I have great admiration for the brilliant programming skills you brought
to the game, and the fantastic drawing talent displayed by Retro Jay.

I am glad that you are keeping busy, working on several projects.

One of the team is suffering with a recurring knee problem, but the rest
are in good health, thank God.




Vincent

Thanks a lot BarbWire for your kind words as usual they make me happy  :smiley:
I am sorry to hear about the knee problem, I thought it was cured but it doesn't seem so... I hope it will be cured soon even with more rest :sad:

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