Re: Malise and the Machine - Public Demo Available Now!
Yeah Neon's new armor is fantastic. The tactical frame doesn't exist to me anymore.
EDIT: I especially love the extra quirk involving the vorepup's invasion H-attack with the new outfit.
Concerning Equipment: Esgaldin mentioned the equipment cycle in RPGs, and I've a suggestion on that front. Perhaps consider making weapons give % based adjustments to stats, along with special perks or abilities, rather than flat +X increases to attack power and stuff. This is something that I know works in RPGmaker because I was using it for a hobby project I've been playing with.
The idea is pretty simple. Instead of giving +X ATK/DEF, each piece of gear applies a % based adjustments to your core stats and possibly gives additional perks (such as crit-%, elements, status effects, immunities, etc). You can even balance equipment against each other. For example, you could have Neon's minigun increase the number of attacks she makes, but reduce her agility while wielding it.
Same deals with armors. The upside as I see it to a system like this is there's no "junk" equipment, or at least a lot less. Every weapon/armor could potentially be used throughout the game, and the player changes the gear depending on what suits their playstyle, strategy, or location. It also cuts down on "filler" equipment, which might be a good idea. Especially since armors presumably imply new outfits.
Hypothetical Example
Neon's Rifle Weapons
Combat Rifle: +40% ATK, +40% SATK
Scout Rifle: +25% ATK, +25% SATK, +20% SP-Regen
Precision Rifle: +25% ATK, +25% SATK, +20% hit
Now the Combat Rifle is more attractive for just raw damage.
Scout rifle is attractive for spamming abilities (it regenerates TP).
Precision rifle is more attractive for interrupting abilities (it misses almost never).
Each scale with your level so they're always relevant (since as your stats, HP, SP, and so forth rise, so too do the bonuses scale since they modify your base stats by a %).
Just an idea.
EDIT: It also means having equipment that might not be that great
usually but gets awesome with other accessories and/or abilities. For example, if you have a minigun that does very little damage but attacks many times (say something goofy like -80% ATK, +5 attacks), such a weapon would usually be crap. But if combined with an accessory that has a 20% chance to land a status ailment when you hit something, suddenly this weapon becomes great at delivering packages of suck to your enemies (who may now be poisoned, confused, blinded, etc).
This, I feel, provides a fun strategy aspect to gearing.
