Ouroboros

[Sierra Lee]

Re: Ouroboros

To be honest, I gotta say these battles are a slog. They're boring and slow. I'd kill for a fast forward button. Everything dies in one or two hits if I'm lucky enough not to have half my attacks miss but the turns cycle slowly so I'm just mashing through the attack button.

If you continue to tweak this game you might want to implement a battle fast-forward script if one exists for MV. (I know I've played VX ace game with one) or even a simple action combat system for the trash mobs. There are no battle rewards so battle just feel like an annoying waste of time, and they're actually pretty hard to avoid because the enemies collide very easily.

I don't know of any fast forward plug-in for MV, but I would be happy to implement one if it exists or gets written in the future. I've already stripped out a lot of the extra animations from Yanfly's combat system, but given the nature of the game, I'd like to streamline combat more.

I would love to have animation skip/fast forward feature in battle.

Actually, VXAce already kinda semi-has it since you can fast forward delays in battle if you hold shift. I'm surprised to see this feature is non-existent in MV.

Enterbrain has a strange tendency to remove features that everyone liked for no apparent reason.

 

[censuur]

Re: Ouroboros

If you want a quick fix just having a guaranteed escape would be nice, Atreyan could also just throw in a line about evading combat as much as possible since it's pointless (you can actually avoid most fights anyway)

Other than that, missing attacks is always a source of frustration especially when there's no choice involved, if your attacks hitting or missing is essentially pulling the lever on a slot machine and hoping for a good result it's just wasted time when you miss, with no risk/reward to justify it. The luck stat apparently helps with hitting attacks but I'm not sure how much so and you don't really have many options for increasing it, and unlike in TLS you don't have different weapon options that increase your damage at the expense of your chance to hit or vice versa.

Honestly it's not particularly worthwhile to go and change these things right now, but it might be worth keeping in mind for future reference.

Incidentally, speaking of Enterbrain removing much loved features I noticed you can no longer go back to main menu by hitting F12, is this feature just completely gone as well or is it just assigned to a different key?

 

[Keep]

Re: Ouroboros

So, i also got finally around to play it till the end, and i gotta say, i loved it.
For the most part, that is.

the first cycle is ... the usual grind in rpg games. cant say im a big fan of grinding.
what follows, is just gorgeous. i played the version without the intro, and was really amazed to see something i havent seen before, nor expected in any way, even tho i could have anticipated it, and i'm kinda having problems expressing how much i love experiences like that.
so, thank you <3

The final stage of the game was me trying to figure out, how to get all 3 of them awakened.
I was looking for a second bomb, instead of trying to take the fire necklace into the barrier.
Obviously i wasnt succesful

I wasnt expecting a really good plot, to be honest, when i downloaded ouroboros (a really nice name btw, it fits so well <3), more of a good / okay plot, that appeals to a wider spectrum. An easy to understand, easy to follow plot, that just leads the way to some technical marvels in terms of gameplay and so on.
It's been a while since i was so amazed to find out that the marvels i've expected were not there.

TLDR:
i loved the game.
Thank you, Sierra

 

[Sierra Lee]

Re: Ouroboros

If you want a quick fix just having a guaranteed escape would be nice, Atreyan could also just throw in a line about evading combat as much as possible since it's pointless (you can actually avoid most fights anyway)

Other than that, missing attacks is always a source of frustration especially when there's no choice involved, if your attacks hitting or missing is essentially pulling the lever on a slot machine and hoping for a good result it's just wasted time when you miss, with no risk/reward to justify it. The luck stat apparently helps with hitting attacks but I'm not sure how much so and you don't really have many options for increasing it, and unlike in TLS you don't have different weapon options that increase your damage at the expense of your chance to hit or vice versa.

Honestly it's not particularly worthwhile to go and change these things right now, but it might be worth keeping in mind for future reference.

Incidentally, speaking of Enterbrain removing much loved features I noticed you can no longer go back to main menu by hitting F12, is this feature just completely gone as well or is it just assigned to a different key?

Restart is F5 now.

Accuracy is the same as most weapons in TLS, but I imagine missing is more notable when you don't have a full party most of the game. I raised base accuracy to 100%, which should remove many of the misses (enemies can still dodge).

what follows, is just gorgeous. i played the version without the intro, and was really amazed to see something i havent seen before, nor expected in any way, even tho i could have anticipated it, and i'm kinda having problems expressing how much i love experiences like that.
so, thank you <3

I wasnt expecting a really good plot, to be honest, when i downloaded ouroboros (a really nice name btw, it fits so well <3), more of a good / okay plot, that appeals to a wider spectrum. An easy to understand, easy to follow plot, that just leads the way to some technical marvels in terms of gameplay and so on.
It's been a while since i was so amazed to find out that the marvels i've expected were not there.

TLDR:
i loved the game.
Thank you, Sierra

It makes me really happy to read this! I made it hoping some people would have just this experience. ^-^

 

[AGamerPassingBy]

Re: Ouroboros

I'm wondering something...

Spoiler

Will Atreyan and the gang retain all their past cycles memories after they got out of the Ouroboros curse?

If so, then i'm praying for the safety of Vizier.

He also just unintentionally invented a Hyperbolic Time Chamber. (Albeit, you can only train your knowledge there.)

 

[censuur]

Re: Ouroboros

From the TLS thread discussion, spoilers ahead;

Spoiler

I'm wondering if the fact that she's the one with such drastic personality changes after she breaks out of the cycles have anything to do with it...?

Maybe she did become more crass during the incident (maybe due to depression of being helpless or fear of losing Atreyan?), and then directly help Atreyan fighting Vizier, so she's got sucked up in the cycle too as the result, which kinda explain why her cycle self reverts to the introvert girl (before the incident), to absolutely remove any hint about the truth?

This is actually one of the best parts of the game in that the cycle and the fact that they've all lived so many lives has noticeable and logical consequences. They've all been forced to reflect on centuries of their own lives and what it means to them, and then have to wonder on how to carry on from there. It's not so much that Amiel has a drastic personality change, as that her personality has evolved based on her past lives, a person would have to be very broken indeed to want to repeat the same activity once more after doing it thousands of times. You will want something new, and in the case of Amiel she's looking for it as far away from what she knows as she can imagine.

Similarly Teira goes from being brash, cold and careless to being contemplative, emotional and meek after being able to reflect on countless lives of seeing the flaws and consequences of her original lifestyle.

Emantha conversely changes fairly little due to her role in Ouroboros already being divergent from how she originally used to be, so in her case it seems she just reverted back to being how she was before it all.

Incidentally about the erotic scenes;
Emantha can be accessed as soon as you ask her for the candle.
Amiel can be accessed when you've done the fairy segment.
Teira I'm not entirely sure, but I believe you need to have taken her to the stone dungeon and finish it.

 

[Scherzo]

Re: Ouroboros

Now that I finished the game, I can definitely say good job.

Have a little feedback:

Kinda like TLS, this game

Spoiler

Has a sort of 'false' start where the game pretends to be a bit more generic and droll than it really is before subverting itself. However, unlike TLS the first cycle feels like it drags on far more than the first castle in TLS. Again, it's because the battles are rather slow and uninteresting while you're solo, I noticed they were over much more quickly once I actually had the party, but that first cycle is just a bit painful.

I suppose it's somewhat by design seeing as the first cycle needs to emulate a generic linear RPG before you get the chance to change things up. But I still think it would be nice if you could streamline the first cycle more since all it REALLY does is delay the interesting parts of the game.

Possible suggestions in addition to the guaranteed escapes one:
1. Make the "inactive" phase of an enemy you escape from last longer. There's literally barely a second to move around it before it initiates combat again.

2. Reduce the number of trash mobs. Just straight-up depopulate the maps by 50%. It probably won't make the maps feel as sparse as you think they might. And if it does a little bit, us players probably won't mind.

3. Alternately, make more of stealth game out of avoiding enemies. Give some of them different movement patterns, patrol routes, lines of sight, different speeds, etc. Maybe some stage design gimmicks for circumventing enemies, like traps you can activate and such. All that stuff is just mostly game design considerations that might have made the first trek through cycle 1 a bit more interesting, but far from a quick fix.

4. Starting TP=10. So you can just go straight for the "Hit all enemies" attacks on turn one when you get those large mobs. Alternately, let TP carry over between battles, generate TP when you get attacked, (so missing is less frustrating because you still getting TP between turns) or maybe even play around with yanfly's advanced TP features script.

5. Make slimey an active combatant! He's with you the whole time, give him some moves! Not the ones he has as a boss, but some typical slime ones. (I'd suggest a water/ice attack since nobody else really has one, maybe poison and a self heal) Then you'd have a party member for cycle one and the battles would feel a little better.

 

[Sierra Lee]

Re: Ouroboros

I'm wondering something...

Spoiler

Will Atreyan and the gang retain all their past cycles memories after they got out of the Ouroboros curse?

If so, then i'm praying for the safety of Vizier.

He also just unintentionally invented a Hyperbolic Time Chamber. (Albeit, you can only train your knowledge there.)

For the record, this story is complete even if the characters' lives are not, as I wanted to tell a fairly contained story. But if you're interested in my thoughts on that subject:

Spoiler

While inside the curse, the characters have complete access to every past cycle they've ever lived. But as you see in the game, those memories aren't necessarily near the surface or in their active minds at all times.

Upon leaving the curse, the characters will shed the cloud of past lives and become a gestalt of those they have focused on, in the way that they reflected on them. Atreyan, for example, will keep his thief abilities because he called those up a lot to get through the castle. But he won't necessarily retain all his abilities from his past lives as a baker, potter, etc. By contrast, Amiel probably can't avoid having some housewifery skillz due to all her lives spent on that, but her personality will be dictated far more by her rejection of those lives.

So yes, they're going to come back into reality as a force to be reckoned with, that's not really in question. Which is why the game ends before they begin their thousand subjective years as gods. ^-^

Incidentally about the erotic scenes;
Emantha can be accessed as soon as you ask her for the candle.
Amiel can be accessed when you've done the fairy segment.
Teira I'm not entirely sure, but I believe you need to have taken her to the stone dungeon and finish it.

The mechanic to this is actually a little more obscure. Basically, you can't get a scene with a character immediately after waking them up, their basic scene becomes available after you've spoken with them about past lives. Many different scenes can fulfill each character's requirement.

Now that I finished the game, I can definitely say good job.

Have a little feedback:

Thanks for your suggestions! Some I will probably not implement (like Slimey as a party member), but others are pretty likely (longer escape times). I will continue to gather feedback on this - when I launched, I was actually worried it was too easy to avoid all trash mobs and considered making them more aggressive.

 

[Asapien]

Re: Ouroboros

There are some stupidly well written moments in here. I literally started laughing hysterically on the whole goblin counter thing. Since non story fights are inconsequential it would be nice if (at least after he's awoken) the flee option worked 100% of the time (on non story fights that is).

Edit: Ok, hadnt realized random spawns stop respawning after he awakens.

 

[sorrow4444]

Re: Ouroboros

Not mercy save file? xDD

 

[Thatdumbguy]

Re: Ouroboros

I think I broke the game by accident.

5th Reset and I somehow bypassed the Bomb Bag part completely, got the horn and the Fire Candle but I can't progress at all and I can't recall how (if any) method to restart the cycle again (killing myself by throwing my party at the resident Dragon did nothing)

Is there any way for me to fix this or do I have to redo my save?

 

[censuur]

Re: Ouroboros

If you're having trouble buying the bomb bag make sure to do all of the related tasks (finding the cat for the old lady, teaching the child about combat and opening the chest with 10g in it) and you should be able to just buy the bomb bag.

If you have Teira awakened you can have her teach you the rock smash skill which allows you to continue even without the bomb bag.

Other than that I'd need more information about the status of your game (who have you awakened etc.) to possibly provide more accurate assistance. Worst case I can just share a save with you.

 

[Thatdumbguy]

Re: Ouroboros

I only awakened Mage Girl, currently have The Magic Candle (replacement Lantern) and the Grate-Removing Horn. I did forget to teach the kid but that didn't solve the issue and I can't collect the 10g from the blonde girl (forgot her name) because she disappeared form her house.

I can not buy the Bomb Bag despite having 370 gold because the game requires me to use Rogue Girl's money to buy it and she is more interested in showing me the secret passage into the castle.

I essentially broke the sequence heavily. I can probably get back there but it'll take an hour. Just wish I can just buy the bomb bag myself or reset the cycle without having to slap the vizier's ass.

 

[Melp]

Re: Ouroboros

Thank you for the game. I enjoyed the game and played for 7 hours consecutively.
I have finished. 7 resets in total.

 

[Thatdumbguy]

Re: Ouroboros

Despite my earlier issue, I just finished it and it's a blast. I love the whole 'Groundhog Day' scenario where the main Character learns from it all the same experiences and manipulates it.

With that said... I'm gonna spoil the shit out of some things, dood.

Spoiler

Starting with the world bosses, if you kill these guys, you permanently keep the equipment they drop when your reset the cycle. These are based on my feeble memories so I apologies if I miss one boss.

-The Obsidian Bat can be found in the crack in the wall by the red switch in the Stone Dungeon and is very easy with the Wind Equipment, killing it gets you the Wind Bracelet, a off-hand item that boosts agility

-The Ice Bats in the Wall Hole in the Ice Dungeon are pretty much the same, fight with Fire Sword and Ice Armor. Beating them gets you the Ice Crown, which boosts Ice Resistance and grants a mild Magic stat buffs

- The Last Wall Boss is the Ogre that is on the western side of the beach. Get the Highest amounts of Def you can get like the Enduring Ring from the soldier in the bar, Heavy Armor, Heavy Sword, and Helmet. If possible Potions if needed, definitely the hardest of the Wall Bosses. Defeating him gets you the Ring of Unity, which boosts your stats based on what you have in your team (I think? With a full team, it adds to all stats)

- The Dragon, found at the very back of the Fire Dungeon, is tough and will require some passive stats buffs (Talking to the Mayor about Goblin Murder and delivering food to the swordsman/cleric/barmaid) as well as the Ice Sword and Fire Armor, Fire Necklace also helps. Defeating him gets you the Robe of Flame, a decent set of armor.

- The Golem can be seen on the way to the creepy swamp land in the same zone-ish place as the Stone Dungeon. Wind Gear will make short work of him though stat buffs are advised. He grants the Stone Buckler which resist physical attacks.

- Scythe is a creepy grim reaper-looking foe at the very back of the Swamp zone (behind where Golem was and where one of the Memory gates are). While I didn't test it, I assume that Holy gear is great against him but I had a full party and took him out before Mark of Death killed me, which does ALOT of damage. Defeating him gets you the Harrowing Dagger for Teira

- Garuda is the peacock-looking bastard outside of the Fire Dungeon. Multiple types of resistance gear and Emantha are required as she is one of the only ways to deal damage to this beast with curse and Annihilate, I can not remember which weapon can actually hurt Garuda as Atreyan but Teira can only Empower Emantha and Ameil can only heal. Defeating this foe gets you the Wand of Ages for Emantha

- The Succubus can be found outside the ruins, beyond the Fire Pillar in the fairy glen area before the fire dungeon. I didn't have too much of a problem other than her stun that can be pretty annoying, no special gear, just Atreyan, Teira, and Emantha. Defeating her gets you the Lustful Staff for Ameil.

- The final foe is the most annoying foe thus far, the memory trio. They have very high evasion and the only attacks I've found that can hit often are Teira's Swift Strike and Emantha's Curse. They do pretty high damage (40-ish each) so Amiera and Atreyan will have to keep on their toes for Heals and Revives. Defeating them gets you three Glimmers of Memories, which fully restore HP, MP, and TP for one character.

NOTE: For the Dagger of Joy, Robes of Shadows, Orb of Transcendence, and Tyrant Robe. These can be acquired in the Ruins locked behind Fairy Fire (where the Succubus was). Look for the creppy skull pillars and the lone purple flame in the middle for this.

Enchanted Boots are acquired by fucking the fairy, Ameil's Ring (the upgraded Fairy Ring) can be acquired from Ameil after you release her from the cycle. And the Fire Necklace must be bought, but is a permanent part of your inventory after the first purchase.

And the sex scenes!

Spoiler

- Ameil/Teirna/Emantha: After you free them form the cycle, they will ask for some times to think about things. The next cycle after their first awakening while allow you to have sex with them.
- Fairy: Awaken Amiel and go talk to the fairy prior to getting the Horn. Instead of being asked to kill all the goblins, you'll fuck the fairy instead for the horn.
- Viliana: Fall into Vilana's trap at the Ice Dungeon while the Grate Horn is in your inventory. Fight her then bang her after your party gives you their blessings.
- Foursome: Finish the Game, simple.

It is rather straightforward, other than the extra bosses but it was still fun. Awakened Ameil is great

 

[sorrow4444]

Re: Ouroboros

2 things

1st at least i could go far in the game, its fucking awesome, great job dude


2st "Look at my eyes and tell me how many goblings i have killed" "WTF man 99999999999"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA masterpiece






PD: Sorry for my bad english

 

[Conundrum]

Re: Ouroboros

I seem to be kinda stuck and have no clue how to finish the game...

Spoiler

I've awakened all three, killed all the side bosses, gotten the stuff from the altar, but in that area and where the Memories-bosses used to be, there's this ice that candle and lantern can't melt...
What am I missing?

 

[Nomo]

Re: Ouroboros

I seem to be kinda stuck and have no clue how to finish the game...

Spoiler

I've awakened all three, killed all the side bosses, gotten the stuff from the altar, but in that area and where the Memories-bosses used to be, there's this ice that candle and lantern can't melt...
What am I missing?

Spoiler

Go to Emantha and combine the 2

 

[Keep]

Re: Ouroboros

@Nomo:

Can i throw you an evil curveball by asking you what you personally think of the game ?

 

[Nomo]

Re: Ouroboros

@Nomo:

Can i throw you an evil curveball by asking you what you personally think of the game ?

I really liked it, Sierra didnt spoil me so I got the full experience. A bit sad it wasnt longer/bigger.
Also Emantha best waifu.