Another Crusade

Hi there seems to be an issue with Another Crusade on Xbox Series X  that relates to color and how it is displayed. As you can see it's headache inducing. I have an LG G3 OLED. I tried it with Dolby Vision for gaming enabled and disabled and looks the same. Its also been posted on the Microsoft store by users who purchased the game having the same issue. Please fix. Thank you. 

Love anything inspired by Super Mario RPG. Can't wait for more!

I am very late to this party but I've known about it for a while. Now I have finally played the demo, and to completion. Here are my thoughts:

I love the visuals. The environments are beautiful and the enemies are very imaginative and well-animated. Great job!

1) I recognize that possibly ALL of these issues have been addressed at this point.

2) I use my PS4 controller with DS4Windows to play emulated games, so I know that it works. I didn't change any key mappings before playing Another Crusade, but when I tried to navigate the menu with the digital pad, it didn't work. The buttons are mixed up in battle also. My gamepad buttons were displayed in different places (in fact, your game thought some of them were XBOX buttons!) I guess it's still possible something went wrong on my end before playing, but I can't imagine what. I had to use my keyboard to play your game.

3) The placement of the buttons were different in the demo (for me) from their actual positions on my gamepad. For example, the X (confirm) button is on the bottom of the PS4 controller, but your demo mapped it to the left. Very weird, not very intuitive. Again, this could have been a messup with DS4Windows but the game wouldn't recognize the controller without it so I don't know....

4) Minor translation issues. "Demon King Arc" should be "Arch Demon King" because in English we put adjectives BEFORE nouns. There was at least one other thing but I can't remember, so it must not have been a big deal. Americans love to tell people how they should do things and we aren't hard to find in and around Mexico, so if you ever have a translation or dialect question, please ask us on Discord! Or if you want to keep it more secret, Cross the US-Mexico border, go to the curb outside Starbucks, and hire one of the many homeless Americans looking for gigs! You can pay us in pesos or OxyContin! :P

5) I agree with the other reviewers that the timed-hit system is WAY too unforgiving right now. I saw a comment about "principles of animation" (zeesh!) but the real problem is you don't have sound effect signals to que the player into when they need to press the button. Doing that will go a long way to solving this problem. However, I will also remind you that SMRPG allows players to mash the button almost as much as they want before the timed-hit pass/fail frames open up. Consider doing this:
    i) Create unique sound effects for the moment when players should press the button for ALL enemies.
    ii) Double (?) the number of frames allotted for "Great!" and "Perfect!" timed hits.
    iii) ALLOW players you mash buttons all they want up until a few frames BEFORE the "Great!" frames open. The reason for this is that players commonly press keys by accident while they are learning, and sometimes long after they know better. There isn't any feedback when a player fails the timed-hit test anyway, so it is a better to restrict failure to just the few frames before correct input would be accepted.

Also, part of the issue at the start of the game is that Rai attacks very quickly with his sword but other enemies attack very slowly. I am not just talking about slow windups, either. The delivering blows are also significantly slower. It throws players off. At least synchronize the blows between the player character and the enemies in the first area.

6) The music in the forest hurt my ears, I'm sorry.

7) I love how the characters look like they might have been carved. I think Niro's mouth could have a little more fidelity though.

8) Area 2 boss: The current strategy forces players to throw away turns attacking an enemy who can't be hurt until Niro's magic meter fills again. There isn't a strategy that avoids it because atacking is the only way to refill it. Consider updating the strategy if you haven't already. You might look to Chrono Cross (whose battle system was VERY flawed), as they allowed defensive maneuvers to refill the Tech bar the same way attacking does.

9) Please get LOTS of playtester feedback for EVERY AREA before you release. I can already see there will need to be a lot of fine-tuning to get the timed hits to a place where some players don't get so frustrated they quit in the first area. Some encounters will take a long time to feel balanced. This is the game I have been waiting decades for, but I want everyone to enjoy it.


Thank you so much for letting us play this demo! I can't wait to see more!

Hi there,  

Let me just start by saying I LOVE this!  Super Mario RPG was one of my all-time favorite games and this truly feels like its spiritual successor.  I only just ran across this on Kickstarter and wish I had found it sooner to become a backer!  You should feel incredibly proud of what you have made so far and what I know this game will be!  

I spent about an hour playing through the demo and exploring every inch of the map, and I did have a few comments.  Apologies if some of these points are redundant from the feedback other players have given:

First off, I LOVE the art style!  Everything felt colorful and the two maps felt very distinct and unique.  It is very reminiscent of SMRPG but different somehow...  More toy-like which I think you were going for.  Only a few comments on the art.  First is on the 'edges' of some of the tiles.  What comes to mind specifically is the corners of the ledges when exploring the forest (going towards the area with the HP Crystal).  I would suggest adding a bit of rounding or texture (tufts of grass, bump outs, etc) to make it look less 'blocky'.  Also, there were some areas in the town where it looked like I should have been able to walk behind and become occluded by buildings a bit more before colliding, but it looked like I was colliding with the roof.  I would tweak this a bit if you want a bit more realism and immersion.

Along with the art style, I wanted to address the UI a bit.  It felt fairly intuitive which is nice, but I felt like it could have benefited from a few more icons in some places (specifically around the equipment screen).  I know this adds more complexity, so take it as you will.  Overall, it reminded my very much of SMRPG's UI and inventory system.  My only other feedback here is that I loved how the UI prompted you when you had points to spend after leveling.  I would suggest two things around this: First, apply a similar effect when the player receives new equipment or key items.  Second, similar to SMRPG, I would incorporate the point allocation automatically at the end of the battle when the player levels up instead of leaving the player to do it on their own after the battle ends.  Optionally, the player could choose not to do this and save their points to be allocated later from the menu screen.  Again, both of these are a matter of personal preference and totally up to you.

Next up the mechanics.  Overall, the battle system is a love letter to SMRPG and you have done a great job with it.  However, to echo what others have said, the timing feels a bit unforgiving.  I could almost always perform a great or perfect timed attack or defend in SMRPG, but even after playing through the whole demo, I was still getting a LOT of "Too Slow" or "Too Fast" feedback.  I'm not sure how this is implemented in the code, but I assume there is some sort of either frame or deltaTime threshold for each timing category.  I think the range in which a "perfect" can be achieved is fine--this should be something that is hard to master since it completely negates damage and provides major critical hits.  That being said, I would increase the threshold before and after the "sweet spot" in which reacting is successful.  It feels like the threshold where reaction works is very short (around 100ms or about 10 frames).  I would tweak this and test it out around double the current threshold and see how it feels.  In addition, I think I found a bug on the attack.  If I rapidly tap the action button, I can get "Too Slow" then "Great" with one attack.  Not sure if this is intended, but I think once the button is pressed, any other input for that attack should be "locked out".  I didn't notice this while defending.

I am on the fence with the mana system.  On the one hand, I love that it recovers.  It feels like more of a reward for fighting and is a nice difference from SMRPG.  On the other hand, I feel like the limited pool of mana makes this feature almost necessary.  I mistakenly entered the major boss battle without buying any ethers and nearly got wiped out because it took a few turns to realize that Niro's mana wasn't regenerating as I cast spells or got attacked--only when I physically attacked the boss.  Up until the boss battle, this felt pretty intuitive, and it could have just been my own stupidity.  Either way, maybe you could try testing out how this mechanic feels if 1/4 of the mana point is restored every turn.  Either that or scale spell costs to fractions of a point.  Even in SMRPG with a larger pool of flowers, I found myself entering battles with a ton of syrups to restore them since special attacks were so important.  I feel like this will be even more true in this game.  Also, going back to the UI again, I would tweak the mana gauge slightly to light up each quadrant of the crystal as mana is restored (rather than just filling it from left to right).  Just a small detail, but I feel like it might look more refined since the mana points already take the shape of four-sided crystals.

As for the general flow and progression, everything felt really good.  I felt like the strength of the monsters and size of the map were appropriate.  By exploring the whole map and fighting everything, I was plenty prepared to fight the orc mini-boss.  He did feel like a bit of a pushover, but I would attribute that to him being the first mini-boss of the game and me being a bit "over-leveled" from having fought everything that moved.  The boss itself was appropriately challenging (as mentioned).  I feel like it hit that "sweet spot" where I may have had to grind a bit more if I had breezed through the map, but not to the point where it would be excruciating.  Also, if I had realized the point about the mana sooner, I probably wouldn't have come so close to being decimated.  I loved the hidden crystals.  They were a nice nod to flower tabs/jars, and I love that they feel like collectibles and enhance more than just mana.  I would have liked to see a few more items along the way (again, maybe this is just due to the fact that it was the first map) and another nice enhancement from what SMRPG offered would be to add more 'destructibles' around the map with lower-valued items (barrels, crates, etc).  Then chests could be reserved for more higher-valued items (like the reviving potion...  Sorry, I forgot the actual name for it...  Sap?)

Last but not least is the music.  Like others have said, it (sadly) felt wholly forgettable.  I dived into the game before fully reading the info on Kickstarter and was wondering why the battle music seemed to start mid-way through the loop.  It took a while for me to realize that the battle music was a variation of the map music.  Obviously, one of the staples of SMRPG was its soundtrack.  My biggest advice is to separate the map and battle themes.  You are transitioning from a passive state to a fighting state and in my opinion, the music should reflect that.  I liked the theme for the mini-boss.  I feel like that would be a great theme for the normal battle.  In addition, adding more variation to the map soundtrack would make a world of difference.  It felt like one continuous track and it was hard to tell where one loop ended and the next began.  I'm no music expert, but I think what makes a soundtrack feel memorable are variations in the melody--the same way songs have a chorus and bridge, the background music should as well (without the vocals of course) 

Again, let me say that what you have so far feels so polished and close to being a masterpiece.  I look forward to playing the full version!  Please let me know if I can help out in any way.  My expertise is in programming, but I also studied and got a degree in game development, so I would be happy to contribute however I can!

Regards,

Ryan Bishop (TheGreatHero)

Hello, I played your game for a bit and I noticed a few things.

So in order to emulate SMRPG I always think of how smooth the animations are and how well things are telegraphed for timing your hits and timing your defense. In this game, the animations are too fast and too short. Or the attacks are made to be deceiving on hit just for the sake of miss-timing attacks. I appreciate the reminder that you were too early or too late. But, I feel like that is compensating for not having a clearly telegraphed move set.

for example. Mario's first attack in SMRPG is his punch. the windup of that punch shows his fist going far behind him, then leans into connect with his fist. that is the moment you do your timed hit. In this the Hero takes his sword in front of his character model, where it isnt clearly seen, then slashes back to his right, at some point in there is when the timed hit is. What is so different is I can recall that punch from SMRPG so well and after playing this I cannot tell you when exactly the animation requires the timed hit.  I am more trying to memorize the timing with the hints I am being fed with text.

Looking up the 12 principles of animation may help explain what Im trying to say.  

I feel like the timing windows are really weird. If I press a button really early during an attack I get dinged because of it, I don't believe this was the case in SMRPG either, I know there were moments of set up for specials that if you did your timed defense you wouldn't get punished for pressing it during the beginning of the animation or when they move up close to you. 

Glitch I noticed, when I accidentally went back to the first area after the boss to get into town. I was fine with that, but the puzzle with the gates reset but would not allow me to solve it again. this is when I stopped. 

I appreciate the effort! keep up the good work clearly you guys like SMRPG. Best of luck!

Let me begin by saying that I like this, a lot. I ate the demo up and it left me wanting more. I can tell there's a lot of heart here, and I'm eager to see how far this goes. I wanted to highlight some of the parts I really enjoyed, offer criticism on what I feel can be improved, and give my final impressions.

Highlights

1) The combat - I absolutely loved diving back in to the turn-based isometric view points, the timed hits, and the low damage numbers. The new innovations such as indicators that I was too fast or too slow, and the ability to dodge any hit, whether physical or magical, felt intuitive and fresh. Learning the animations and timings was a delight, even though I often felt like I was hitting timings that the game was calling too slow. I feel as though maybe slowing down the animations just a tad, or some indication of when to hit the button, could really take this to the next level. I also enjoyed the innovation that Paper Mario brought being applied here in being able to attack enemies on the map to do extra damage before the battle even starts.

2) The mana system - Not much to say here. I love the idea of refilling mana with attacks, giving me the option to go all out on a weakened enemy, knowing I can use a trash mob to refill my mana later, or hold back in case of emergencies. The final boss of the demo was a great example of having to use strategy and time my spells and attacks correctly to get the most out of my abilities.

3) The speed - I am going in and out of battles faster than I can blink, and I love it. I always appreciate games that respect my time. The enemies take their turns quickly, I know exactly what they're doing, I learn how to dodge or defend it, and it's suddenly my turn again. Animations are quick and diverse, so it never feels rushed or confusing. And as soon as I am out of the battle, I can move and continue my journey.

4) The aesthetic - All the characters besides Rai look like Geno. What more needs to be said? The bushes and forest definitely gave me Forest Maze vibes, but somehow the ruins and traps gave it a fresh coat of paint. The town felt a little samey, but I never got lost, and it felt big enough that exploring was fun. There's definitely an identity that the game has found with its design.

5) Leveling up and stats - At first, it felt a little clunky to have to open my menu after leveling up to apply bonuses. That awkwardness was soon dispelled when I realized that being able to see what my stats were and which bonuses gave an extra point made it feel like a strategic decision, rather than a guessing game. In addition to this, seeing where my stats were coming from made me feel like my equipment was doing something other than just window dressing. I knew how and why my stats are the way they are, even if it wasn't that important in the short demo. And even though it was short, the leveling felt good and each one felt important. Once I hit level 4, it felt as though I was being pushed along because the enemies were dying quicker and the experience needed to level up again was so high. I appreciate it when games use their mechanics to give subtle hints to players when to proceed.

6) The story - There isn't much there, but I understand what's going on, who the hero is, what's at stake, and where the game is headed. I also really appreciate that my equipment is described as broken because of the epic battle I just participated in - really good gameplay and story integration. That said, I'd like to know why the hero who defeated the Demon King is now Level 1. 

Criticisms

1) The jump sound - Mario's jump sound is high-pitched, high energy, and very distinct. Rai sounds generic when he jumps. It just clanking. It's boring, and in a game that I imagine will expect me to do a lot of jumping, I believe it will be grating to hear over long play sessions.

2) Jumping, period - Other than ascending a few steps to get to a chest, and a floating platform for an extra goody, I don't remember ever "needing" to jump. I did jump - a lot - but there was most often nowhere to go or anything to do with it. It felt like it was there because it was there in SMRPG. I get that this is a spiritual successor, but I do hope there are plans for some puzzles or challenges that use the jumping like SMRPG did.

3) The translation - Now, I know it's just a demo. I'm certain (or at least hopeful) the final product will have more polish. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that the dialogue was made by someone who was not a native English speaker. There were few, if any, contractions, and the characters felt wooden (heh) at times. That doesn't mean the jokes are necessarily bad or I didn't understand what was going on. In fact, there's a fourth wall breaking joke near the end that got a good chuckle out of me. As with the aesthetic, there is a certain identity to the way the characters talk and interact. I sincerely hope this is touched up in the final product, because it definitely has personality. It just needs polish.

4) Enemy animations - So part of the "timed hits" things is being able to tell when an enemy is "hitting" you and thus when you have to defend. Some of the enemies, such as the ogres, have a wind-up and a short delay. This felt fun, because I had to learn and practice how long the delay was to get a proper dodge. The same could be said for the demons in town. But this just highlights how bad the animations for the birds' and foxes' attacks were. It didn't really feel like they were attacking me, just moving towards me. It was hard to pin down when to defend because there was little wind-up or any indication I was being attacked, they just moved and then walked back and I either took damage or didn't. Maybe a biting animation for the fox and a slashing animation for the bird would be better. I can already tell a lot of thought was put into it, so seeing these happen can really take the game an extra mile.

5) The music - This one hurts to write. It felt generic. It felt boring. It was easily the worst part of this demo. I don't remember any of the songs after an hour spent in the game. The only thing worse than being bad is being forgettable. There's a chance for this game to really shine, and it already has a lot of personality. 

Closing Thoughts

I am so in love with this game. I spent more time writing this up than I did playing because I am already invested (financially and emotionally). I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I think once the game gets some more polish on it, it's gonna be fantastic. I really do appreciate that the game is being given so much time as well.

I love, love, love the demo! I am so happy you are making this game. The controls and gameplay were very natural to me. The music and art are vibrant and colourful. It brings back fond memories and I am excited to see more.

Tried the demo, it’s a good game. I like the turn-based combat aspect.

The keyboard shortcuts are a bit clunky, I kept finding myself hitting Enter when the game wanted me to hit M or K. I would like to have a setting to turn the music off or at least adjust the volume.

Running a KS is tough, be wary of the slump in the middle and push through it. There’s an uptick towards the end, especially in the final 48 hours. Keep pushing. 😀

how do you play the .rar files?

Is this game playable on a pc? And what is the minimum spec requirement for this game?