But ... but, ecchi literally means H as in hentai. Japanese bashfully abreviate hentai to h and even use the english pronounciation to "hide" what they are talking about.
It is like having a bee game instead of a booba game.
I do not think that the word hentai is used outside of Japan as they would use it in Japan either. On the one hand it is funny how different people use the same words and mean different things. On the other hand, this can get frustrating if they use this to classify things and talk to each other about those things. Misunderstandings are bound to happen. Using "H" seems to have a long tradition in Japan, and there seems to not even be consensus about the origin or meaning. At one point in history it even meant gay. Not kidding. The translated Japanese wiki site for ecchi is a fun read. So saying it is an ecchi game and not hentai could have once meant, it is a homosexual game and not a perverted game. Language is fun.
Huh, I had no idea lol But well, looking up "difference between ecchi and hentai" does seem to correspond to what I had in mind now, generally speaking. I'll stick with it for the time being at least since it'll save me some trouble, but it's still good to know! I'll keep this in mind and if something better/clearer comes to me, I'll change it then!
Just to be clear, my initial post was meant jokingly. Hence the stammering. There is no doubt about the lighthearted booba nature of your game.
I never saw ecchi used outside of anime I watched. Except by nerds on wikipedia. Hentai, yes, but not ecchi. Maybe it really is getting established as a word. And while we are at it, we should add booba to the dictionary.
nosebecc The game's difficulty isn't a problem for me, but be careful not to make the game too easy because you can make some very challenging puzzles and very good battles.
I think the shapes in the Auria Tower should have a spawn rate like the shapes in the other areas to demonstrate more about that type of battle and give people the chance to collect the triangular trinket (I mean the bill cipher from that area).
But nosebecc, just don't forget to leave something for those players who like a challenge, so that it doesn't get in the way of players who just want to finish the game.
I don't think the Brazilian Portuguese language will be added, but it will still be a good game when it's finished.
but the name of the witch gravitates when it is a selected character that would be "Goza" and it is very funny here in Brazil and just do a translation from Brazilian Portuguese to English and you will understand.
lmao I see. Hmm, might have to change that then lol
The difficulty is definitely a hard thing to balance. Some find the game too hard to the point where even the easiest difficulty is tough, while others can breeze through it without issues... I definitely want the game to get harder as the story progresses, but this also means the game should be easier near the start (or at least, the mandatory fights). I do want extra hard optional fights too ^^ Thank you for bringing this up though, it can be easy to forget that some want an actual challenge!
For the Auria Tower triangle, there will be more opportunities to get it later in the story! ^^
Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the game! :B
E muito legal que você nosebecc é interativo com a comunidade sobre seu game, mas serio o nome "Goza" da witch gravitar (essa witch na print https://prnt.sc/kS2ytPPsocmM ) e parecida com a palavra "gozar" aqui no Brasil, e traduzindo a palavra "gozar" para o inglês fica "cum"... (yes and a funny translation Goza=gozar=cum), mas e só engraçado isso não precisa se preocupar não.
E eu estou usando tradutor para escrever em Inglês, sinto muito se meu Inglês não ter ficado muito bom nos outros comentário que eu tinha feito.
Amazing game! Am I the only one who thought the Kitsune boss was a dick in the eye though? "All the things I've learned--all things I've applied aren't helping me! [She's] just fucking wrecking me!"
Was not prepared for things to get so Touhou so fast. I gave up after an hour and dropped the difficulty and still barely won. That was at level 9.
If there was some mechanic like a particular weakness that makes the encounter more manageable, it was apparently real easy to miss. Doesn't help that you have no access to storage, shop, etc at this point.
I wouldn't have even batted an eye or asked the question if the rest of the game hadn't been exemplary in terms of polish, design and difficulty curve.
I haven't received other reports about Kitsune but there's room for improvement when it comes to balance, without a doubt. I'll keep that in mind and take another look at her!
Kitsune does have a resistance to purple spells. There is a "Resist" graphic that shows when using a purple spell on her, but I have yet to add special SFX for resistances and weaknesses so this might have played a role.
I also recommend using Witch cards as they're a small quick free heal and can give you some new options! Vuu's Veomea is also very powerful and great against Shapes ^^
If you don't have combo spells equipped, I'd recommend using at least one if you've got any in your inventory.
Haven't even gotten to the fetish parts yet. This game is literally just playing bejeweled and undertale while tripping on adderall, I love it and I want to die.
Edit: each segment of this game is different and more painful than the last im actually hyped
For the mushroom puzzles, you will need to find the correct colors clue with the corresponding symbol. You also need to use SMASH, and I recommend you use your color guide too ^^
I'm not sure I understand, but the walkthrough has the solution for the mushroom puzzles! Or is it that Patreon does not work for you?
XD i just noticed this nosebecc the last part of the devlog that says "i just love boobs too much" i love it, and not even blameing you, im like you too but without a great game that many people play!(im the human without the great game)
I've been wondering about the items that are dropped by witch bosses in the final version of the game, is there any way to farm these items in some kind of revenge system? Or in another system like Rose's stick drop?
Will chibi art be added for the remaining characters (which are obtained only after defeating Nightmare) in the demo version? Or will they be added only at the release (or in some future exclusive builds, if any)?
Just finished the demo, and holy hell was this an awesome experience! I'd probably give it an 8-9/10. This will be fairly long, covering things I picked up on during my playthrough, alongside things I felt could be adjusted.
--- Art
I loved pretty much all of it! It's oozing charm from every corner of the screen. From the unique interfaces such as Trix being the inventory (also tying into the games lore! The game does this a BUNCH and gives it so much points in my book) to the simple charm of getting additional effects from clicking objects, the game makes it fun enough to just simply click around the screen or just well, look at it.
A friend of mine had made the comparison that the overworld section of the game looks similar to Super Paper Mario's aesthetic, which I'd say shines through in areas like Biscotti with the geometric cliff faces/rocks contrasted by the softer chibi sprites and flora, and the red/yellow seaweed in the Sablee depths.
The pixie just sort of looks off to me in comparison to the rest of the characters. Smallish head alongside the hips just set off the anatomy alarms in my head.
Minor, but Rose looks on edge constantly cause of the small pupils lol. I get the direction ofc but it'd help if the girl's eyes calmed down a tad in some frames. And is her tattoo meant to be missing in her artwork? Can't exactly tell if the tattoo transforms directly into the claws or if it projects them.
--- Music
Again, holy heck all of it is awesome! I'd say its almost the main reason I stuck with the game. It's never repetitive or overbearing, This is what made *me* think of SPM, rather coincidentally. I was shocked finding out RRThiel worked on this, which is probably *why* it reminds me of the game come to think of it :P.
The only track that rubbed me the wrong way was the Biscotti Tunnels theme. The bass track is too in front and doesn't really mesh well with the rhythm/tempo of the rest of the track.
--- Plot
I was NOT expecting to be so endeared by the writing in this game my god. Everything just flows so damn well, I kept noticing mechanics and justifications being weaved seamlessly into the plot, such as T losing her limbs after the escape sequence justifying why you don't have access to her until Biscotti, the subtle shooter mechanic tutorialisation with the festival and more. The angel segment was a neat and sudden subversion of the game's vibes, although it's a bit silly that you can just decide to go the wrong way back and trigger it anyways. The game's exposition rarely if ever feels out of place, and the game takes the time to justify itself when it does happen (Vuu never having died before and thus not being as knowledgeable about the festival and titans, Rose being an isekai victim and all etc.).
The game dries out on dialogue and direction pointers after the Cerelea/Myacine fights; I was slightly confused after completing biscotti tunnels on what to do since it was a fairly long dungeon, and there's not really any introduction sequence to the Night Dome. Just something like a small reminder to also beat up the blob in the plains after freeing Biscotti. Subtle skill issue, though.
I'd already said it but there's soooo many things to click and get feedback on its so damn entertaining. The puzzles stay relatively challenging and unique throughout, and a lot of rewards are hidden pretty well and out of immediate sight.
Foraging is neat, and a nice way to pad rooms that don't have a treasure or secret inside.
It would be nice if the map had a metroid-style system to show if you've missed/completed a secret in a room (ideally only after completing the dungeon) and to mark resource areas. Having notes is good for this but it would be nice to have the game mark this down for you automatically.
Stealth mode doesn't feel like it has enough of an impact on encounter rates (as in, it is rather annoying to need a fei inhibitor to get the rates I'd sort of expect with just stealth alone). Fast mode also doesn't feel like it makes you move much faster, which in combination leads to floor clean-up feeling like a bit of a slog (unless I just misunderstood what the setting does).
The fei crystals floating about in the underwater dungeon are a bit distracting, I'm sort of anticipating a puzzle whenever I see them which makes it confusing visually. It'd probably help if these were feiless variants or less notable outside of the puzzle rooms.
A skill issue on my behalf, but it's not immediately obvious how to solve the constellation puzzles in the night dome; the hint doesn't tell you to try smashing the stars, and to my knowledge the order you do them in does not matter, so it gives you outright incorrect information. I had assumed there was a hinted order from the direction of the spinning light around the stars at first. It's also possible to do the shooters here out of order, which leads to missing the tutorials for them. I found myself getting rather frustrated lining up shots until I realised you could hold down the button to aim the shot vertically.
Another skill issue, wasn't particularly obvious at first that you can drag Trix onto heartfruit to get the inventory expansion, and the mechanic of picking up Trix about doesn't seem particularly useful otherwise. Lead to me tossing them about in Biscotti after finding this out in the forest, anticipating they'd break the barrels.
Tutorial notes seem placed in rather strange locations, and later than they should otherwise be.
-- Combat (Puzzle / Shooter sequences)
This is such a damn entertaining genre fusion! I'm not really into either of the two, so it should say something that the game has engaged me so much. Reminds me of Puzzle & Dragons if it were less restrictive for tile movement (loving the chain mechanic and its potential), alongside shapes feeling like a more engaging version of punish mechanics seen in other titles. The micromanaging between them feels chaotic in the good way, although I feel you aren't rewarded for taking out shapes enough, and it is very easy to lose combo trying to clear out the outside board. Rose feels VERY restrictive in this manner, despite feeling great otherwise for shape combat. I tended to play as T due to the set and forget playstyle they have for shooting with the mines and ranged AoE.
I do hope the witch card system is made more viable. I never really felt like I needed to change witches or really use others at any point, due to being able to regear before fights and not being particularly restricted with equipment. Something like being able to use two witches at once (one for shapes, one for oyons/spells) could be interesting (but would need obvious balancing), or having passive buffs in encounters depending on the witches in the party, to increase the viability of having certain characters on the deck.
The combo meter is a super interesting mechanic, with being able to swap out which buffs you get and at which combo level.
There's a lack of scaling to shape only encounters. Feels like it could get very stagnant later in the game without any progression beyond new enemies.
-- General
Budget feels *pretty* tight. From buying spells (multiple copies per witch), needing money to store items mid-dungeon, revive npcs, warp to save points, lower spawn rates etc. I didn't feel like I had a lot of freedom with my money, and I ended up just restarting the game on failures, over dealing with the lack of utility items and witches in a dungeon at points. I never really felt restricted with shards, in comparison.
Always felt one item short off of doing the alchemy puzzles. I also didn't feel particularly enticed to engage with them as the rewards weren't particularly notable, or weren't particularly relevant without needing other spells/items first. Forget making multiple.
An option to keybind alternate left/right mouse buttons would be nice, it can get a bit hectic at times (and I'm a weirdo who willingly used touchpad so that would help with gameplay a bunch. I've tended to play pretty on par with mouse users for other games on my skill level and this game QUICKLY humbled me on the limits I have lmao)
--- Boobs
:3c teehee
Ofc its for game balance (and well, size options) and all, but are characters like Nightmare *really* rank 1 when we get them? Sort of expect someone like the yellow guardian to be well, not rank one. Makes me double take.
I hope the rank lock setting is made a bit more robust. I feel like the game genuinely stands on its own without the ecchi content, and it's why I haven't mentioned it until now; it's just not my immediate thought on what makes the game feel good to play or what kept me playing, and I'd hope it can be as serviceable when possible to as much people (prudes) as possible.
'Rank Lock' isn't immediately descriptive until you connect the dots between ranking and BE, a more direct name would be helpful.
More granularity would also help; locking rank appearance per witch, alongside presets to match people's limits better (perhaps someone's fine with when it comes up in the plot, but don't want the amount of 'freedom' Nightmare or Cerelea ends up having, for example).
Being able to set rank lock on first boot would also be nice, if someone wants to boot up the game without risk of catching weird looks from those who hate fun and whimsy.
Of course, considering its literally in the title of the game, don't let any guardrails set up ultimately restrict you from what you aim to create at the end of the day :P
--- Game Title
It's a biiit annoying to find the game or content relating to it. 'be witches' will come up literally, and 'breast expansion witches' will just assume nsfw tags. Probably something worth keeping in mind.
I loved the experience throughout, and I can't wait to see this game evolve as time goes on.
First of all, thank you so much for the in depth review! I'm glad you enjoyed the game enough to take the time to write it all ^^
I'll do my best to answer some things!
- Rose's tattoo It does directly turn into the claws! I'll have more opportunities to talk more about it later, probably through party events which will let the characters interact between each other about all sort of things. It'll be a great way to touch on minor lore elements ^^
- Less dialogue near the end For sure! I want at least one more cutscene after you save Biscotti, and once again party events will also help with this once more are implemented. There are only a few in the game currently and almost all are non optional, like when Rose first talks about her tattoo.
- The fei crystals floating about in the underwater dungeon are a bit distracting Mmh... A variant without the symbol could help, but there are also a few puzzles where some of the petals are somewhat hidden. I could even have cases where the puzzle itself is hidden later, but seeing symbols on the petals with symbols would prevent that. I'll see what I can do, but I might end up leaving them as is!
- Secret detector Something like this is planned! It might have to do with Tril ^^
- Constellations and cannons Will do! I know how to help with that ^^
- Witch cards I agree that these aren't as good as they could be. I do have ideas on how to improve them and make switching to a different character a better option, but this will have to wait a bit before it's actually implemented ^^
- Alternate left/right mouse This can actually be done! There is an option for it in the settings ^^
- 'Rank Lock' isn't immediately descriptive That's fair... I do have the '?' button giving you more info about it, but I'll update it if I can find a satisfying alternative ^^
- More granularity would also help; locking rank appearance per witch etc Once again only explained through the '?' button on the spellcard menu, this is what the '+' and '-' are for! You can choose your favorite rank (purely graphical change). This among a few other mechanics will also be properly explained later.
I actually fixed some of the issues you mentioned, like Heartcarrots and dragging Tril, in the newest update from 2 days ago! More generally there is definitely room for improvement balance wise, I made sure to increase the amount of received magi in the latest updates but I'll probably make more changes later, including chest contents, the rate at which alchemy recipes are found (and which ones), shop selections, encounter rates and a lot more. Though this might have to wait until the game is in a bit less of a WIP state so I can make more definitive decisions. Shape fights will mostly rely on Shape variety and new Shapes as you said, though I do have a few ideas about these too for later. And, ironically enough, I also feel like there isn't enough BE content currently. I'm working on this (chibi sprites BE and more) but of course this will take a bit of time, especially given I'm juggling with quite a few tasks since the release. But it'll happen! ^^
Thank you again! I've taken notes and will make sure to address as much of this as I can asap ^^
NoseBecc, the game BE Witches has very good gameplay and a cool story and characters that are fun to watch interact. I would have liked to have seen some interaction from Rose about improving her rank. It seems like she came from the "isekai effect" so I thought it would be funny.
It's a shame that I'll already be playing the demo on normal and difficult, collecting everything ): I just didn't use the mechanics of changing the witch during the duels much because I didn't find it very useful. I don't like playing this type of game where you mix 3 or more colors and point click, but as I said, I really enjoyed playing your game.
It would be cool to see some characters that you resurrect appear at the cafe at a table to see dialogue interactions with the character that is in front of the party, but I understand if that's not possible.
Your game is very good to play. I think it would be a good idea to talk to some gaming influencers and recommend your game when it's finished or to support the project.
I don't know how famous the game is outside of Brazil.
I wouldn't say it's super popular in general. It has been difficult to get into contact with influencers, but I'm trying! I'm already very lucky that people like Natetheman223 and TannerOfTheNorth made videos about it ^^
I'm planning on adding dialogue after some rank ups as you said! It will be added later ^^
Having revived characters show up in the world could be cute too for sure!
To be honest, I haven't completed the game yet (I'm still suffering in the Biscotti tunnels), but I can already say that the new demo is even better than the old one (no wonder, more than 4 years have passed since the last public demo). It's a pity that it's still quite a long time to wait for the full version of the game, but at least the game no longer resembles an "endless loop" (as it was in the last public demo), haha.
The only thing I particularly disliked was Vestia's "death" (all because of the recent update of the plot in one game, and yes, I wrote it in spades, because it's not known if you plan to somehow bring her back to life in any way or not). But these are personal claims, nothing more. So it doesn't spoil the game.
By the way, I noticed on the Steam page that you are the only publisher of the game, although there was another one before. Did you have any problems with the previous publisher (I just don't read blogs, maybe that's where you explained the situation)? You don't have to tell me what happened if it's something like that.
Thank you! I wish I could go faster as well, but there's sadly no alternative... Though since I've been hiring artists, development has definitely sped up ^^
Nothing too crazy, we had a few disagreements and figured parting ways would be better for the both of us! I'm much more comfortable this way ^^
Never mind about the Jelly Tentacles. I just found my first one after like 15 Jelly kills so I was just getting unlucky with the drop rate lol. The game is super awesome btw and I've been really enjoying the battle mechanic!!
Sorry to bother ya but for some reason I can't for the life of me get a Jelly Tentacle to drop from the Jelly enemies... Is there a trick to it or something I'm missing? I'm playing on the most recent public release demo if that's any help.
Debug mode gives you access to the room editor, the damage calculator, the debug room which lets you see any cutscene again, the ability to insta rank up anyone... A bunch of stuff I use to develop the game basically ^^
You can find a full list at the bottom of this post
Quick question about the BE/ rank up system! Considering that the demo is around 20-25% of the "finished" game its seems surprising to me that you can essentially reach max rank (sans the bonus rank you teased) so soon. Is it just like this in the demo to show le booba and will be more spread out in the final product, or are you just expecting players to swap out characters quite often? But yeah, AMAZING GAME ^^
It's as you said! The idea was to show booba in this demo, but in the final game amplification will be spread out (and story relevant). I'm also looking into other ways to include more BE content so BE is a bit more frequent throughout the game ^^
It should be easier to travel if you activate Sneak mode (the icon with Vuu's face) ^^
I'll be looking into a temporary save system that lets you save anywhere but can only be loaded once (so you have to actually reach a save point later), though it might be some time before this is actually implemented if it's even possible...
The sizes get pretty massive already at rank 5, and there will be a 6th rank in the final game. It will definitely among the biggest boobas ever seen in video game :B
I'll tell you honestly,THE GAME IS F#CKING GREAT!But the questions are,I'm stuckin the Biscotti-how do I get into mill? I don'tunderstand, how are the stakes on the roofs of housespressed?Andwhatcan I dowith the barrels??? And howcanIfind out whatmy current assignment is? Thanks for the answers!
If you're at the part where you can't leave Biscotti, you'll need to use the SMASH cursor you just unlocked! You can scroll the mouse wheel or press C to switch between cursor modes ^^
A small "current goal" button somewhere on the HUD could definitely help... Should be easy to implement too. I'll look into that ^^
That's really weird... Just to make double sure, did you defeat Cerelea? If yes, could you send me a screenshot of the game while you're in Biscotti? If possible, could you also send me your save at nosebecc@gmail.com? It's located in "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\BE_Witches", where XXX is your username. Sorry for bothering you with this...
The HUD element is something I'd like to add in the future, it doesn't exist currently.
khe-khe... ALRIGHT! As i promised - it's critisism time! (SPOILERS)
Now, before we get started i want to make one important thing very clear - even though i have these issues with the game, that does NOT mean that i didn't absolutely love it. As soon as it goes on Steam i'll buy it, and then i'll buy it again if given a chance. But EXACTLY because i love this game so much - i want it to succed. I want it to be perfect. I want other more pickier players to have as much excitement and joy as i did. That's why i have to say these things.
Anyway. I have a paper here, with main points written on it, so i won't get lost in thoughts...
An incredible mechanic that just... didn't shine as much as i would like it to. Here is the thing: there simply aren't enough reasons to swap witches in the first place. HealthBar is universal - it isn't divided between witches, so switching doesn't give you a 'second chance'. And if your next witch is of a lower lvl, then your MaxHP decreses. In a way, you get pretty much punished for switching! Yes, i DID find a use for it, when fighting SlimeNurse (when she changes colors of Onyons, so you can equip your next witch with other colored abilities), but it's just such a one time case that it doesn't feel justified. Yes - you can make a "full on attack -> full on heal -> 2x moderate both" build, and this way utilize witch swapping, but come ooooon! It's obvious that it's not how it was intended. And while you can switch to use "ultimate ability" of another witch - battles simply don't last that long. Even when fighting Nightmare for the first time, i switched ONCE and only because i messed up so badly, that it probably was a panic switch, rather than a strategy one. The whole thing just... underperforms.
What i suggest:
--- Give every witch a separate HP bar, but decrease it by a LOT. That way i am pretty much forced to swap witches at some point, making the game more dinamic. What about 'last hit' mechanic? Well let's make it, so that if Cha's (for example) health goes to zero - I won't be able to switch her to the next witch and cheat the death, in a way.
--- "But what if I don't want to force players into swapping witches? I want them to do it only if they so desire" - fair point. In this case, let's make it so that upon swapping you: get a small attack buff and a tiny regeneration, while all your previous buffs and debuffs (or 50%) get removed. This way you are not forced to swap witches, but such behaviour is encouraged. Which is good too!
2) Next one on the list: Cards (rebalances/reworks/new cards)
It's obvious that, in the game about using cards, cards are kind of a big deal. Here i'll say what cards need changes and what other aspects to focus on.
--- Boomerang - It. Sucks. Balls. No, i MEAN it! 22 Fei for... how much power, again? 8?! And heal for 2?! Those are like the worst stats in the entiere game! I understand that you don't want to make Boomerang a healing card by making it's dmg too much - i agree with that. That's why 25% is perfect, but make it do at least a bit more damage. It just doesn't have a place nor in attack nor in heal focused decks. It just sucks.
--- Squeeze - and other cards like it should provide more value. It's not always easy to pull out a combo with Hug and Squeeze, so having it give you as much value as Flame (for a bit less Fei, though), while being much less reliable, just doesn't make sence. Of course don't buff it too much and make it meta, but make it's Fei = Power. Maybe it shouldn't do as much damage as Flame, but make it very cost effective, so pulling out these combos would be worth the effort.
Now, i want to name you a card that i'm in love with:
--- Earthquake - by FAR my favorite card in the game! And imho, a PERFECT example of what unique cards or "reward/punishment" cards should be! It deals a solid amount of damage, for solid Fei, BUT punishes you by pouring stone blocks from the sky. Cool! Amazing, even! AND it has a unique trait where floating enemies don't get damaged by it cause they are... well, floating. (Or at least, that's how i explain why Nightmare gets Null damage from it). It's just a perfect nieche card! And THAT'S what cards like that should be like! Great in certain cases -> useless in others. Great value -> but a noticable punishment.
So many cards you can make by that logic! A card that deals a great amaount of damage, but makes it so that you earn less Fei for next 10 second. Or a card that zap-stuns enemies, but also gives attack buffs monstergirls that somewhat benefit from electricity. Possibilities are endless!
You get the main idea. And ofcourse we need a much bigger variety of cards, so that pretty much every playable monstergirl could get her own unique kit. (But i understand that it's a demo, so card variety wasn't exactly the main focus)
You may ask a question: "But isn't every ability already unuqie?" - it is... partialy. While yes, Vuu's 'Super Attack' (we'll call it SA for short), clears the whole room, Rose attacks only monstergirl and 'T' does a bit of both - they are still just "Do damage" type of SA's. When i say unique i mean, like do difderent things.
Let's take Cha for example (yes, i'll use every opportunity to call Cha)! She is a goblin, right? And what do goblins do? Steal stuff! So, Cha's ability could be her stealing the spell that enemie is about to use, and use it herself with 2x Power! Unique? Yes. Useful? Yes. Nieche? Also, yes! Exactly what an ability should be! ... Okay, Cha, you can go back to playing.
Ompom's SA, could damage and 'burn' monstergirl - making her take more damage from al sources.
Lamia could 'squeeze' enemy monstergirl in a tight gripp. She'll deal small damage, but will STUN the enemy, stopping them from using skills or summon shapes.
Now, i'm not saying that "Just deal damage" shouldn't be a thing. Of course it should be, but even then there must be a tiny twist to them, at least in attack animation, or their effect on the battlefield.
Let's take for example our lovable lady Cerelea: Her main thing are her powerfull legs, righr? Causing earthquakes and etc. So why not make it kind of her thing and build Cerelea's SA around it? She could make a powerfull STOMP causing an earthquake, HEAVILY damaging enemy monstergirl, but also SHAKING the screen for like 5 seconds as a 'punishment' for such a powerfull SA. Unique? Check. Damage? Check. Relates to thee character? Also check. Perfectc, no?
You get the idea, right? And while understand, that making a completely unique ability for every monstergirl will be a torture - we aren't a type of people to break easily! Come on, Mr NoseBecc! Head up high!
This may not be obvious at the first glance, but trust me - it's important.
4) Reviving witches - is a very cool and unique feature, but... i feel as if it has some core flaws.
I understand why revived witches should be randomized, i do. You want players to try out different witches, to maybe find a new favorite one, who knows? To have them strive for something at the very least. And that's fair!
Take me for example: I get Cha - i don't care about other witches. I ain't gonna revive and try all of them, i truly won't (even though i did). And that's why it has to remain random.
BUT! Amd it's a HUGE BUT! What i think should NOT be random - a spawn of that 'resurrector lady'.
A player shouldn't do leaps in the forest, waiting for her to eventualy come. Then, just get somebody they don't want -> get sad/frustrated -> get back to running. It shouldn't be like that, that's not a fun/exciting experience. Am i trying to say that 'resurrector lady' shouldn't spawn randomly? No, quite the opposite! She could still visit you from time to time, but there MUST be a place (or a way) where you can guarantee meeting her. It may be an expensive or craftable item (like the ones that decrease/increase spawnrate) made out of hard-to-find resources. Make it not easy, but possible.
And i've experienced it first hand when i tried to revive all witches. I just kept running around in circles, simply because 'resurrector lady' didn't spawn. I had all the money, all the shards in the world - but no resurrector lady. Which sucked SSSO much, at the time.
Now... No, i'll save it for later. Then, let's talk about:
5) Sidequests.
The 'Cookie' sidequest is the first 'sidequest' to ever exist in the game, am i wrong? I don't remember them being in the first Demo...
Anyway! Sidequests - they are cool little things that every game needs and BEW is not an exception! Some fun little sidequest should be here and there, but please listen, Mr NoseBecc - it's also important to NOT overpopulate the game with sidequests! That, unless they also include some unique interractions on already cleared terrain.
For exapmle: a sidequest where Cha loses her favorite earring, so now we are suposed to go to the Riety forest and look for it (and we WILL look for Cha's earring). We beat some monstergirls, collect stuff BUT - randomly fall into a pit (that wasn't there the first time) and stumble upon a hidden cave. Treasury? Lost city? Someone's hideout? It could be anything! And in the process we also learn some history about the forest, or Cha herself, or her kind - something like that. So that sidequest doesn't just feel like "go there, kill that, bring me this". And after all that - we don't find the earring. Just to (in a comedic fassion) for Cha to realise that it was in her pocket all this time, or that it fell off and got lost in her bossom, while she was asleep. I don't know, something like that.
So? ... What do you think? Did my Cha story win the 'writer of the month' award?
Let me try to explain, so it doesn't sound so vague. You know how when momstergirl gets bored during your stroll, you have to click on her few times to make her happy again, right? Well - Cerelea has a chance to sometimes reward you with a jug of milk ("There's more where that came from", i bet there is - i had 27 in my inventory by the time i revived my last 3 monstergirls)! It's a cute little detail, but these details are what make BEW so beautiful. Like how Cha sometimes puts on her sunglasses (awesome f-n sunglasses, by the way).
I don't know where exactly i'm going with it, though. Do i mean that we should have more interactions with characters while we walk? May be. May be i want something else, i don't know. But you get the idea.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH, this is NOT how it was supposed to go!" - okay, Mr NoseBecc please calm down! I know that we went over this already in some of my previous comments, but i have to reiterate - i have big BIG problems with that.
THOUGH!
These last few days made me rethink some stuff... After all: puzzles, secrets and little things like that, are what make BEW - BEW. Sneaky spots and levers hidden behind levers are pretty much a staple in BEW, so me saying that these charming little aspect should be reduced - was just silly. So I came to a conclusion that (i think) will satisfy BOTH of us:
Necessary for progression items like Orbs - should NOT be hidden. NO! They should not be, Mr NoseBecc! Sneaky secrets, quirky puzzles and liefs that i must pull to open the door, should NOT hide valuable stuff like Orbs behind them!
Yes, i understand why orbs are a thing - players shouldn't be allowed to just farm XP in the same spot, so that they could just get to lvl 40 and one-shot Nightmare. I get it! Players need to explore to enjoy the game at 100%. And i agree! But players also shouldn't be FORCED to go out and look for secrets under the pressure of not being able to upgrade their momstergirls tp max rank. Do you know how much time it took me to find the golden tree, Mr NoseBecc? Do you?! And i had a guide on my hands! Now imagine a person that didn't visit itch.io site, or isn't reading every word in game's "about" page - they'll simply NEVER find it. And there are no "ifs" or "buts" and even "erm, actually" doesn't find a place here. They will NEVER find it. Average player will NEVER find (i want to make it clear) - a NECESSARY for progression item!
"But what would be a reward for such secrets then?!" - skins for monstergirls, special backgrounds, music (like a disc that you can play while walking, or fighting), extremely powerfull/unique spells or - heck, even a legendary monstergirl could be waiting there if you want. Gifts for Tril are a perfect example! Do you need them to rank up Momstergirls? No! But would you be willing to look for them if you want to see Tril sleeping in his bed? Yes!
I should WANT to look for secrets, not be FORCED to do so. Because there is no joy in it then - magic of adventure disappears.
And if you still want players to try themselves before deserving their Orb. It's also ok! You can make some difficult puzzles for people to solve, but make them obvioisly visible. Give out few Orbs for comleting certain sidequests, why not? It would be cool, no?
...
I'm... sorry for getting so emotional. I just really don't think that leaving it as it is - is a good idea.
Well... that was it. My long rant - is over. I said my piece, i made my contribution and now my heart is clear.
I just really hope that you didn't take it as an insult, Mr NoseBecc. Every single word i wrote was with a good intention and i hope that you see it as such. I hope that you can see the passion that i have for BEW and how much i want it to suceed.
Bh the way, is there a way to contact you privately, Mr NoseBecc? Like Discord? Nothing special, just to chit-chat or share some fan-art.
And if you don't want to share your username there - i'll share mine.
I definitely want to make this mechanic more useful. I think making it so it removes both buffs and debuffs could be interesting... It does give you a small heal currently, I could also increase that value. I'll keep thinking about it! ^^
2) Next one on the list: Cards (rebalances/reworks/new cards)
Balance still needs a lot of work for sure! There won't be as many spells available this early in the final game, their availablity and some of their stats will be rethought. Some spells will have evolved versions as well, and I do want a lot more variety and weird effects in the future too! I'll do my best :B
Also, the reason Nightmare didn't take damage from Earthquake is because she nullifies all yellow damage she receives ^^
3) Monstergirls's Unique Abilities.
No worries, they'll each have a unique skill in time! ^^
In Cerelea's case, I want hers to be Wall smasher, the same spell she uses when you face her. The more stone blocks destroyed, the more damage it deals
4) Reviving witches
That's completely fair! I've included a bunch of monstergirls to be revived, but there won't actually be this many this early in the final game. I'm also thinking about some way to make it easier to meet her as you said, which will help a lot ^^
5) Sidequests
This is indeed the very first (and currently, the only) quest in BEW! I know exactly what you mean. For the most part, I plan for most sidequests to relate to one or several playable characters. They'll be optional, but double as a way to learn more about the characters. They'll give some good rewards and in some cases be a criteria to rank up said characters. I have a bunch of ideas when it comes to this (including relating to Cha!), so no worries there, I'm confident! ^^
6) Cute little in-game details.
I love these little seemingly pointless things, so you can definnitely expect more of that too ^^
There will also be more party events that trigger as you explore under certain conditions. This is a very recent system so there are only a few non optional ones currently, but there'll be more!
7) Secrets and Rewards from them
Agreed! For now, I chose to make it so you only need 10 power orbs to rank up everyone, so you don't need to find all of them. In the future, quests or more obvious puzzles will be how you often most of them. The golden tree will have to do with a quest as well, so it won't stay this hard to find.
No worries, I really appreciate that you took the time to express all this! It will only help me make the game better ^^
A lot of these issues are due to the game being a WIP and "early" balance. I agree with pretty much everything you said and in most cases I have some sort of plan in mind, though it will be some time before I can implement it all. I'll get to it at some point, for sure!
nosebecc@gmail.com is an easy way to contact me, I guess I wouldn't mind sharing my discord handle there. I need to mention that I've been especially busy of late however, so even though I do my best to get back to everyone, it might take some time!
Game is AMAZING. From the art style, to the combat system! It's really well made, and clearly had a LOT of time put into it.
Only had 2 issues, one of them is the backtracking into certain areas, especially with how large they are. My suggestion is to have some sort of fast travel system, probably at save points or via a small puzzle in certain rooms you have to complete, just to make it less of a hassle. Though this would be unlocked AFTER clearing the tower area, since the tower and Sablee become unavailable after clearing them.
Next is the combat feeling a bit too much for bosses (primarily Nightmare) since you have to focus on so many things like the enemy attacks, shapes and shape attacks, and the board itself typically having a gimmick like mushrooms or gravity changing, all just happening at the same time. I get that bosses are meant to be far more challenging, its just when it moves so fast it becomes hard to keep track of everything on screen. This is especially noticeable for Nightmare, since you basically have a time limit before she does an insta-kill move.
My little rant aside, this game was an absolute blast! Hoping to see more in future updates!
I do plan to implement a fast travel system later, it will very probably be linked to the save rooms as you said :B
There's definitely a long going on in fights, making it as readable as possible has been a challenge for sure. I personally like when it feels overwhelming, but I'll keep trying to make it easier to follow the action/limit how much is happening.
Thank you again! I appreciate the constructive criticism, it helps a lot ^^
No problem! Just wanted to voice a few suggestions for the game, since you made it REALLY good and enjoyable. Nightmare's fight was one where it felt really challenging but not outright impossible, and my main issue was just the fact SO MUCH was happening it made it hard to attack or keep my combos going. I just don't want it to become a reoccurring issue with every upcoming boss in the future, and wanted to address it as early as possible.
Again, thank you so much for making this, it's awesome in nearly every aspect, and hope you have a good day/night wherever you are!
Your characters will be revived once you save. There is also an item called a Heartchain link which can be used to revive a character anywhere, but you might not have access to it yet, I'm not sure.
Likewise there is also an item that instantly removes any fight on use, the Heart dummy, bought at the same shop as the Heartchain link. Or you can use Sneak mode (The button with Vuu's face, next to the map) to lower the encounter rate. Finally when walking into a room with an enemy encounter, you can always walk back the way you came from. In some cases this can allow you to walk around the encounter ^^
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But ... but, ecchi literally means H as in hentai. Japanese bashfully abreviate hentai to h and even use the english pronounciation to "hide" what they are talking about.
It is like having a bee game instead of a booba game.
That's fair, I think this differentiation is more made in the west.
I just couldn't think of a snappier way to explain this ^^
I do not think that the word hentai is used outside of Japan as they would use it in Japan either. On the one hand it is funny how different people use the same words and mean different things. On the other hand, this can get frustrating if they use this to classify things and talk to each other about those things. Misunderstandings are bound to happen. Using "H" seems to have a long tradition in Japan, and there seems to not even be consensus about the origin or meaning. At one point in history it even meant gay. Not kidding. The translated Japanese wiki site for ecchi is a fun read. So saying it is an ecchi game and not hentai could have once meant, it is a homosexual game and not a perverted game. Language is fun.
Huh, I had no idea lol
But well, looking up "difference between ecchi and hentai" does seem to correspond to what I had in mind now, generally speaking. I'll stick with it for the time being at least since it'll save me some trouble, but it's still good to know! I'll keep this in mind and if something better/clearer comes to me, I'll change it then!
Thank you ^^
Just to be clear, my initial post was meant jokingly. Hence the stammering. There is no doubt about the lighthearted booba nature of your game.
I never saw ecchi used outside of anime I watched. Except by nerds on wikipedia. Hentai, yes, but not ecchi. Maybe it really is getting established as a word. And while we are at it, we should add booba to the dictionary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booba_(disambiguation)
Now this I can agree with! lol
BOOBA
nosebecc The game's difficulty isn't a problem for me, but be careful not to make the game too easy because you can make some very challenging puzzles and very good battles.
I think the shapes in the Auria Tower should have a spawn rate like the shapes in the other areas to demonstrate more about that type of battle and give people the chance to collect the triangular trinket (I mean the bill cipher from that area).
But nosebecc, just don't forget to leave something for those players who like a challenge, so that it doesn't get in the way of players who just want to finish the game.
I don't think the Brazilian Portuguese language will be added, but it will still be a good game when it's finished.
but the name of the witch gravitates when it is a selected character that would be "Goza" and it is very funny here in Brazil and just do a translation from Brazilian Portuguese to English and you will understand.
lmao I see. Hmm, might have to change that then lol
The difficulty is definitely a hard thing to balance. Some find the game too hard to the point where even the easiest difficulty is tough, while others can breeze through it without issues... I definitely want the game to get harder as the story progresses, but this also means the game should be easier near the start (or at least, the mandatory fights). I do want extra hard optional fights too ^^
Thank you for bringing this up though, it can be easy to forget that some want an actual challenge!
For the Auria Tower triangle, there will be more opportunities to get it later in the story! ^^
Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the game! :B
E muito legal que você nosebecc é interativo com a comunidade sobre seu game, mas serio o nome "Goza" da witch gravitar (essa witch na print https://prnt.sc/kS2ytPPsocmM ) e parecida com a palavra "gozar" aqui no Brasil, e traduzindo a palavra "gozar" para o inglês fica "cum"... (yes and a funny translation Goza=gozar=cum), mas e só engraçado isso não precisa se preocupar não.
E eu estou usando tradutor para escrever em Inglês, sinto muito se meu Inglês não ter ficado muito bom nos outros comentário que eu tinha feito.
It's ok! It was totally understandable ^^
It's definitely a bit silly to keep "Goza" now that I know this, even if it's not a big issue lol
Amazing game! Am I the only one who thought the Kitsune boss was a dick in the eye though? "All the things I've learned--all things I've applied aren't helping me! [She's] just fucking wrecking me!"
Was not prepared for things to get so Touhou so fast. I gave up after an hour and dropped the difficulty and still barely won. That was at level 9.
If there was some mechanic like a particular weakness that makes the encounter more manageable, it was apparently real easy to miss. Doesn't help that you have no access to storage, shop, etc at this point.
I wouldn't have even batted an eye or asked the question if the rest of the game hadn't been exemplary in terms of polish, design and difficulty curve.
Thank you very much!
I haven't received other reports about Kitsune but there's room for improvement when it comes to balance, without a doubt. I'll keep that in mind and take another look at her!
Kitsune does have a resistance to purple spells. There is a "Resist" graphic that shows when using a purple spell on her, but I have yet to add special SFX for resistances and weaknesses so this might have played a role.
I also recommend using Witch cards as they're a small quick free heal and can give you some new options! Vuu's Veomea is also very powerful and great against Shapes ^^
If you don't have combo spells equipped, I'd recommend using at least one if you've got any in your inventory.
Hang on, I didn't get the tutorial on combo spells until after in Biscotti. Are they available before that fight?
Technically yes, it's possible to find a few before then. Not that you need them for the fight necessarily!
I'll also rebalance item location in the future though, so this might change.
Haven't even gotten to the fetish parts yet. This game is literally just playing bejeweled and undertale while tripping on adderall, I love it and I want to die.
Edit: each segment of this game is different and more painful than the last im actually hyped
lol I'm glad you like it!
I do want to add more booba content in the future ^^
问一下怎么逃离biscotti
You need to go to the abandoned house in the north east part of Biscotti! ^^
There are a few other steps after. You can find a walkthrough here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/119207938
问一下砍蘑菇的那个怎么做，我这里网站开不开开不了攻略
For the mushroom puzzles, you will need to find the correct colors clue with the corresponding symbol. You also need to use SMASH, and I recommend you use your color guide too ^^
I'm not sure I understand, but the walkthrough has the solution for the mushroom puzzles! Or is it that Patreon does not work for you?
Feel free to send a screenshot too!
Found game while horny, realized it's a whole ass game. I LOVE IT. BOOBA
BOOBA
XD i just noticed this nosebecc the last part of the devlog that says "i just love boobs too much" i love it, and not even blameing you, im like you too but without a great game that many people play!(im the human without the great game)
lol
Long live the booba!
XDD
- "Breast expansion game"
- Looks inside
- Cool and unique battle mechanics
??? /j
lol thank ye! :B
What are the use for souls?
at this point in the demo just to create the Teacup, Tea plate and Teapot trinkets.
each trinket using 1 specific type of soul and Vase lip or/and shard
Hey, where can I find Jelly tentacles? The guide doesn't say where to find them like it does pretty much every other item in the game
This item is an enemy drop called jelly.
The book can help you know if it is an enemy drop or collectible from the scenario and some.
The book helps a lot in finding the items that are dropped by the enemies that you have seen dropping
I've been wondering about the items that are dropped by witch bosses in the final version of the game, is there any way to farm these items in some kind of revenge system? Or in another system like Rose's stick drop?
I'm not sure in what way exactly, but there will be a better way to get them yes ^^
Will chibi art be added for the remaining characters (which are obtained only after defeating Nightmare) in the demo version? Or will they be added only at the release (or in some future exclusive builds, if any)?
I would like to add them in the demo version asap, but it will take a bit of time ^^
I understand that the same thing can apply to the ultimate attacks of the characters (since everyone except the main ones just have a fire attack)?
Correct! They'll all have their own unique skill eventually
Just finished the demo, and holy hell was this an awesome experience! I'd probably give it an 8-9/10. This will be fairly long, covering things I picked up on during my playthrough, alongside things I felt could be adjusted.
--- Art
I loved pretty much all of it! It's oozing charm from every corner of the screen. From the unique interfaces such as Trix being the inventory (also tying into the games lore! The game does this a BUNCH and gives it so much points in my book) to the simple charm of getting additional effects from clicking objects, the game makes it fun enough to just simply click around the screen or just well, look at it.
A friend of mine had made the comparison that the overworld section of the game looks similar to Super Paper Mario's aesthetic, which I'd say shines through in areas like Biscotti with the geometric cliff faces/rocks contrasted by the softer chibi sprites and flora, and the red/yellow seaweed in the Sablee depths.
The pixie just sort of looks off to me in comparison to the rest of the characters. Smallish head alongside the hips just set off the anatomy alarms in my head.
Minor, but Rose looks on edge constantly cause of the small pupils lol. I get the direction ofc but it'd help if the girl's eyes calmed down a tad in some frames. And is her tattoo meant to be missing in her artwork? Can't exactly tell if the tattoo transforms directly into the claws or if it projects them.
--- Music
Again, holy heck all of it is awesome! I'd say its almost the main reason I stuck with the game. It's never repetitive or overbearing, This is what made *me* think of SPM, rather coincidentally. I was shocked finding out RRThiel worked on this, which is probably *why* it reminds me of the game come to think of it :P.
The only track that rubbed me the wrong way was the Biscotti Tunnels theme. The bass track is too in front and doesn't really mesh well with the rhythm/tempo of the rest of the track.
--- Plot
I was NOT expecting to be so endeared by the writing in this game my god. Everything just flows so damn well, I kept noticing mechanics and justifications being weaved seamlessly into the plot, such as T losing her limbs after the escape sequence justifying why you don't have access to her until Biscotti, the subtle shooter mechanic tutorialisation with the festival and more. The angel segment was a neat and sudden subversion of the game's vibes, although it's a bit silly that you can just decide to go the wrong way back and trigger it anyways.
The game's exposition rarely if ever feels out of place, and the game takes the time to justify itself when it does happen (Vuu never having died before and thus not being as knowledgeable about the festival and titans, Rose being an isekai victim and all etc.).
The game dries out on dialogue and direction pointers after the Cerelea/Myacine fights; I was slightly confused after completing biscotti tunnels on what to do since it was a fairly long dungeon, and there's not really any introduction sequence to the Night Dome. Just something like a small reminder to also beat up the blob in the plains after freeing Biscotti. Subtle skill issue, though.
--- Gameplay
-- Exploration (Point & Click / Dungeon Crawler sequences)
I'd already said it but there's soooo many things to click and get feedback on its so damn entertaining. The puzzles stay relatively challenging and unique throughout, and a lot of rewards are hidden pretty well and out of immediate sight.
Foraging is neat, and a nice way to pad rooms that don't have a treasure or secret inside.
It would be nice if the map had a metroid-style system to show if you've missed/completed a secret in a room (ideally only after completing the dungeon) and to mark resource areas. Having notes is good for this but it would be nice to have the game mark this down for you automatically.
Stealth mode doesn't feel like it has enough of an impact on encounter rates (as in, it is rather annoying to need a fei inhibitor to get the rates I'd sort of expect with just stealth alone). Fast mode also doesn't feel like it makes you move much faster, which in combination leads to floor clean-up feeling like a bit of a slog (unless I just misunderstood what the setting does).
The fei crystals floating about in the underwater dungeon are a bit distracting, I'm sort of anticipating a puzzle whenever I see them which makes it confusing visually. It'd probably help if these were feiless variants or less notable outside of the puzzle rooms.
A skill issue on my behalf, but it's not immediately obvious how to solve the constellation puzzles in the night dome; the hint doesn't tell you to try smashing the stars, and to my knowledge the order you do them in does not matter, so it gives you outright incorrect information. I had assumed there was a hinted order from the direction of the spinning light around the stars at first. It's also possible to do the shooters here out of order, which leads to missing the tutorials for them. I found myself getting rather frustrated lining up shots until I realised you could hold down the button to aim the shot vertically.
Another skill issue, wasn't particularly obvious at first that you can drag Trix onto heartfruit to get the inventory expansion, and the mechanic of picking up Trix about doesn't seem particularly useful otherwise. Lead to me tossing them about in Biscotti after finding this out in the forest, anticipating they'd break the barrels.
Tutorial notes seem placed in rather strange locations, and later than they should otherwise be.
-- Combat (Puzzle / Shooter sequences)
This is such a damn entertaining genre fusion! I'm not really into either of the two, so it should say something that the game has engaged me so much. Reminds me of Puzzle & Dragons if it were less restrictive for tile movement (loving the chain mechanic and its potential), alongside shapes feeling like a more engaging version of punish mechanics seen in other titles. The micromanaging between them feels chaotic in the good way, although I feel you aren't rewarded for taking out shapes enough, and it is very easy to lose combo trying to clear out the outside board. Rose feels VERY restrictive in this manner, despite feeling great otherwise for shape combat. I tended to play as T due to the set and forget playstyle they have for shooting with the mines and ranged AoE.
I do hope the witch card system is made more viable. I never really felt like I needed to change witches or really use others at any point, due to being able to regear before fights and not being particularly restricted with equipment. Something like being able to use two witches at once (one for shapes, one for oyons/spells) could be interesting (but would need obvious balancing), or having passive buffs in encounters depending on the witches in the party, to increase the viability of having certain characters on the deck.
The combo meter is a super interesting mechanic, with being able to swap out which buffs you get and at which combo level.
There's a lack of scaling to shape only encounters. Feels like it could get very stagnant later in the game without any progression beyond new enemies.
-- General
Budget feels *pretty* tight. From buying spells (multiple copies per witch), needing money to store items mid-dungeon, revive npcs, warp to save points, lower spawn rates etc. I didn't feel like I had a lot of freedom with my money, and I ended up just restarting the game on failures, over dealing with the lack of utility items and witches in a dungeon at points. I never really felt restricted with shards, in comparison.
Always felt one item short off of doing the alchemy puzzles. I also didn't feel particularly enticed to engage with them as the rewards weren't particularly notable, or weren't particularly relevant without needing other spells/items first. Forget making multiple.
An option to keybind alternate left/right mouse buttons would be nice, it can get a bit hectic at times (and I'm a weirdo who willingly used touchpad so that would help with gameplay a bunch. I've tended to play pretty on par with mouse users for other games on my skill level and this game QUICKLY humbled me on the limits I have lmao)
--- Boobs
:3c teehee
Ofc its for game balance (and well, size options) and all, but are characters like Nightmare *really* rank 1 when we get them? Sort of expect someone like the yellow guardian to be well, not rank one. Makes me double take.
I hope the rank lock setting is made a bit more robust. I feel like the game genuinely stands on its own without the ecchi content, and it's why I haven't mentioned it until now; it's just not my immediate thought on what makes the game feel good to play or what kept me playing, and I'd hope it can be as serviceable when possible to as much people (prudes) as possible.
'Rank Lock' isn't immediately descriptive until you connect the dots between ranking and BE, a more direct name would be helpful.
More granularity would also help; locking rank appearance per witch, alongside presets to match people's limits better (perhaps someone's fine with when it comes up in the plot, but don't want the amount of 'freedom' Nightmare or Cerelea ends up having, for example).
Being able to set rank lock on first boot would also be nice, if someone wants to boot up the game without risk of catching weird looks from those who hate fun and whimsy.
Of course, considering its literally in the title of the game, don't let any guardrails set up ultimately restrict you from what you aim to create at the end of the day :P
--- Game Title
It's a biiit annoying to find the game or content relating to it. 'be witches' will come up literally, and 'breast expansion witches' will just assume nsfw tags. Probably something worth keeping in mind.
I loved the experience throughout, and I can't wait to see this game evolve as time goes on.
First of all, thank you so much for the in depth review! I'm glad you enjoyed the game enough to take the time to write it all ^^
I'll do my best to answer some things!
- Rose's tattoo
It does directly turn into the claws! I'll have more opportunities to talk more about it later, probably through party events which will let the characters interact between each other about all sort of things. It'll be a great way to touch on minor lore elements ^^
- Less dialogue near the end
For sure! I want at least one more cutscene after you save Biscotti, and once again party events will also help with this once more are implemented. There are only a few in the game currently and almost all are non optional, like when Rose first talks about her tattoo.
- The fei crystals floating about in the underwater dungeon are a bit distracting
Mmh... A variant without the symbol could help, but there are also a few puzzles where some of the petals are somewhat hidden. I could even have cases where the puzzle itself is hidden later, but seeing symbols on the petals with symbols would prevent that. I'll see what I can do, but I might end up leaving them as is!
- Secret detector
Something like this is planned! It might have to do with Tril ^^
- Constellations and cannons
Will do! I know how to help with that ^^
- Witch cards
I agree that these aren't as good as they could be. I do have ideas on how to improve them and make switching to a different character a better option, but this will have to wait a bit before it's actually implemented ^^
- Alternate left/right mouse
This can actually be done! There is an option for it in the settings ^^
- 'Rank Lock' isn't immediately descriptive
That's fair... I do have the '?' button giving you more info about it, but I'll update it if I can find a satisfying alternative ^^
- More granularity would also help; locking rank appearance per witch etc
Once again only explained through the '?' button on the spellcard menu, this is what the '+' and '-' are for! You can choose your favorite rank (purely graphical change). This among a few other mechanics will also be properly explained later.
I actually fixed some of the issues you mentioned, like Heartcarrots and dragging Tril, in the newest update from 2 days ago!
More generally there is definitely room for improvement balance wise, I made sure to increase the amount of received magi in the latest updates but I'll probably make more changes later, including chest contents, the rate at which alchemy recipes are found (and which ones), shop selections, encounter rates and a lot more. Though this might have to wait until the game is in a bit less of a WIP state so I can make more definitive decisions.
Shape fights will mostly rely on Shape variety and new Shapes as you said, though I do have a few ideas about these too for later.
And, ironically enough, I also feel like there isn't enough BE content currently. I'm working on this (chibi sprites BE and more) but of course this will take a bit of time, especially given I'm juggling with quite a few tasks since the release. But it'll happen! ^^
Thank you again! I've taken notes and will make sure to address as much of this as I can asap ^^
Will this get mobile?
Sorry, I have no such plans!
NoseBecc, the game BE Witches has very good gameplay and a cool story and characters that are fun to watch interact. I would have liked to have seen some interaction from Rose about improving her rank. It seems like she came from the "isekai effect" so I thought it would be funny.
It's a shame that I'll already be playing the demo on normal and difficult, collecting everything ): I just didn't use the mechanics of changing the witch during the duels much because I didn't find it very useful. I don't like playing this type of game where you mix 3 or more colors and point click, but as I said, I really enjoyed playing your game.
It would be cool to see some characters that you resurrect appear at the cafe at a table to see dialogue interactions with the character that is in front of the party, but I understand if that's not possible.
Your game is very good to play. I think it would be a good idea to talk to some gaming influencers and recommend your game when it's finished or to support the project.
I don't know how famous the game is outside of Brazil.
Thank you very much!
I wouldn't say it's super popular in general. It has been difficult to get into contact with influencers, but I'm trying! I'm already very lucky that people like Natetheman223 and TannerOfTheNorth made videos about it ^^
I'm planning on adding dialogue after some rank ups as you said! It will be added later ^^
Having revived characters show up in the world could be cute too for sure!
To be honest, I haven't completed the game yet (I'm still suffering in the Biscotti tunnels), but I can already say that the new demo is even better than the old one (no wonder, more than 4 years have passed since the last public demo). It's a pity that it's still quite a long time to wait for the full version of the game, but at least the game no longer resembles an "endless loop" (as it was in the last public demo), haha.
The only thing I particularly disliked was Vestia's "death" (all because of the recent update of the plot in one game, and yes, I wrote it in spades, because it's not known if you plan to somehow bring her back to life in any way or not). But these are personal claims, nothing more. So it doesn't spoil the game.
By the way, I noticed on the Steam page that you are the only publisher of the game, although there was another one before. Did you have any problems with the previous publisher (I just don't read blogs, maybe that's where you explained the situation)? You don't have to tell me what happened if it's something like that.
Thank you! I wish I could go faster as well, but there's sadly no alternative... Though since I've been hiring artists, development has definitely sped up ^^
Nothing too crazy, we had a few disagreements and figured parting ways would be better for the both of us! I'm much more comfortable this way ^^
Never mind about the Jelly Tentacles. I just found my first one after like 15 Jelly kills so I was just getting unlucky with the drop rate lol. The game is super awesome btw and I've been really enjoying the battle mechanic!!
Thank you very much!
I've been working on QoL stuff so I'll see if I can hint at how to get a Jelly tentacle better, and maybe edit the drop rates a bit ^^
Android version?
Not the Android version just the windows version.
Correct, I have no plans for an Android version currently! Sorry
Sorry to bother ya but for some reason I can't for the life of me get a Jelly Tentacle to drop from the Jelly enemies... Is there a trick to it or something I'm missing? I'm playing on the most recent public release demo if that's any help.
quick question but is there anything else you can do with debug mode apart from walking everywhere
Debug mode gives you access to the room editor, the damage calculator, the debug room which lets you see any cutscene again, the ability to insta rank up anyone... A bunch of stuff I use to develop the game basically ^^
You can find a full list at the bottom of this post
ok thank you
Hey I managed to get JoytoKey to work with this game, what's the best control setup for an xbox controller with mouse?
Interesting!
Though other than the obvious spin up/right/down/left keys being set as the joystick/dpad, the rest is probably up to your own preference
Quick question about the BE/ rank up system! Considering that the demo is around 20-25% of the "finished" game its seems surprising to me that you can essentially reach max rank (sans the bonus rank you teased) so soon. Is it just like this in the demo to show le booba and will be more spread out in the final product, or are you just expecting players to swap out characters quite often? But yeah, AMAZING GAME ^^
Thank you!!! ^^
It's as you said! The idea was to show booba in this demo, but in the final game amplification will be spread out (and story relevant). I'm also looking into other ways to include more BE content so BE is a bit more frequent throughout the game ^^
Is this the same song as someone inside the game?
The whole BEW soundtrack could technically be played by a Genesis/Megadrive, so if it sounds similar, that's why! ^^
The SoR OSTs are amazing <3
Is the game in the public zip here the same length as the demo on steam?
Yep! They're the same ^^
Does this have an auto-save feature or is the saving only through the clocks?
Currently, you can only save through the clocks ^^
Do you plan on adding an auto-save feature though? Cause I actually had trouble going to save with so many enemies blocking my path.
It should be easier to travel if you activate Sneak mode (the icon with Vuu's face) ^^
I'll be looking into a temporary save system that lets you save anywhere but can only be loaded once (so you have to actually reach a save point later), though it might be some time before this is actually implemented if it's even possible...
Okay just thought I asked because I just feel it takes too long to reach save points when I want to fight everything so I could gain experience.
Out of curiosity, how big will the expansion elements get in the final game? Like, what's the biggest size we should expect?
The sizes get pretty massive already at rank 5, and there will be a 6th rank in the final game. It will definitely among the biggest boobas ever seen in video game :B
Oh, wow - some of them already look enormous at rank 5, like Nightmare and Cha. Can't wait to see how much bigger they can possibly get!
I'll tell you honestly, THE GAME IS F#CKING GREAT! But the questions are, I'm stuck in the Biscotti - how do I get into mill? I don't understand, how are the stakes on the roofs of houses pressed? And what can I do with the barrels??? And how can I find out what my current assignment is? Thanks for the answers!
Thank you very much!
If you're at the part where you can't leave Biscotti, you'll need to use the SMASH cursor you just unlocked! You can scroll the mouse wheel or press C to switch between cursor modes ^^
A small "current goal" button somewhere on the HUD could definitely help... Should be easy to implement too. I'll look into that ^^
It doesn't work, even if you change the key value ಠ╭╮ಠ. And theres no goal on the HUD . But thx for help
That's really weird... Just to make double sure, did you defeat Cerelea?
If yes, could you send me a screenshot of the game while you're in Biscotti? If possible, could you also send me your save at nosebecc@gmail.com? It's located in "C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\BE_Witches", where XXX is your username.
Sorry for bothering you with this...
The HUD element is something I'd like to add in the future, it doesn't exist currently.
I sent. Maybe it doesn't work because I missed (Enter+scroll) the dialog?
I definitely recommend paying attention to the dialogue since it tells you what to do next, at least until I add this HUD element in a future version.
I responded to your email, should be all good ^^
I really miss the quest book. Sometimes you don't know what to do.
It becomes available again later ^^
Which part is giving you trouble? There is a walkthrough available here, but knowing that could help me improve the game ^^
can you make an nsfw mode?
Sorry, I have no plans for full nudity / sex in the game!
I do have plans for more BE related content though ^^
i have a question, after i beat the capitan, what i have to do next?
You'll need to find Vestia in the center of town.
Don't hesitate to use the walkthrough if you're stuck ^^
??? what do i do?
hold right-click
Quick question before I play through the new demo, can I somehow use my save from the previous demo, or would I need to start over?
Sorry, you will need to start over! Older builds aren't compatible with this one. Future ones should be though ^^
Is there any way to go back to Sablee and Auria later to do secrets?
Once you beat the final boss of the demo you can return to the beginning of Rietti Plains and take a pod back to Auria Tower / Sablee
Game looks good, but I have one small annoying question that can be answered with yes or no...
Android version?
If yes ,then when?
I have no plans for an Android version currently, sorry!
That's alright, thanks for the reply
I can't get debug mode to work- Enter + Shift + F2 does nothing. Is there somewhere specific i need to do it?
Debug mode is only available on the Patreon version, is that the one you're using?
I'll wait until ive finished the demo to support then. The actual gameplay here is addicting asf, good work.
我常常搞不懂下一步去哪?能做個任務指引嗎?
There is a walkthrough here, but it is only in english: https://www.patreon.com/posts/119207938
(Google translate)
這裡有一個演練，但只有英文：https://www.patreon.com/posts/119207938
khe-khe... ALRIGHT! As i promised - it's critisism time! (SPOILERS)
Now, before we get started i want to make one important thing very clear - even though i have these issues with the game, that does NOT mean that i didn't absolutely love it. As soon as it goes on Steam i'll buy it, and then i'll buy it again if given a chance. But EXACTLY because i love this game so much - i want it to succed. I want it to be perfect. I want other more pickier players to have as much excitement and joy as i did. That's why i have to say these things.
Anyway. I have a paper here, with main points written on it, so i won't get lost in thoughts...
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1) First: Witch Swap.
An incredible mechanic that just... didn't shine as much as i would like it to. Here is the thing: there simply aren't enough reasons to swap witches in the first place. HealthBar is universal - it isn't divided between witches, so switching doesn't give you a 'second chance'. And if your next witch is of a lower lvl, then your MaxHP decreses. In a way, you get pretty much punished for switching! Yes, i DID find a use for it, when fighting SlimeNurse (when she changes colors of Onyons, so you can equip your next witch with other colored abilities), but it's just such a one time case that it doesn't feel justified. Yes - you can make a "full on attack -> full on heal -> 2x moderate both" build, and this way utilize witch swapping, but come ooooon! It's obvious that it's not how it was intended. And while you can switch to use "ultimate ability" of another witch - battles simply don't last that long. Even when fighting Nightmare for the first time, i switched ONCE and only because i messed up so badly, that it probably was a panic switch, rather than a strategy one. The whole thing just... underperforms.
What i suggest:
--- Give every witch a separate HP bar, but decrease it by a LOT. That way i am pretty much forced to swap witches at some point, making the game more dinamic. What about 'last hit' mechanic? Well let's make it, so that if Cha's (for example) health goes to zero - I won't be able to switch her to the next witch and cheat the death, in a way.
--- "But what if I don't want to force players into swapping witches? I want them to do it only if they so desire" - fair point. In this case, let's make it so that upon swapping you: get a small attack buff and a tiny regeneration, while all your previous buffs and debuffs (or 50%) get removed. This way you are not forced to swap witches, but such behaviour is encouraged. Which is good too!
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2) Next one on the list: Cards (rebalances/reworks/new cards)
It's obvious that, in the game about using cards, cards are kind of a big deal. Here i'll say what cards need changes and what other aspects to focus on.
--- Boomerang - It. Sucks. Balls. No, i MEAN it! 22 Fei for... how much power, again? 8?! And heal for 2?! Those are like the worst stats in the entiere game! I understand that you don't want to make Boomerang a healing card by making it's dmg too much - i agree with that. That's why 25% is perfect, but make it do at least a bit more damage. It just doesn't have a place nor in attack nor in heal focused decks. It just sucks.
--- Squeeze - and other cards like it should provide more value. It's not always easy to pull out a combo with Hug and Squeeze, so having it give you as much value as Flame (for a bit less Fei, though), while being much less reliable, just doesn't make sence. Of course don't buff it too much and make it meta, but make it's Fei = Power. Maybe it shouldn't do as much damage as Flame, but make it very cost effective, so pulling out these combos would be worth the effort.
Now, i want to name you a card that i'm in love with:
--- Earthquake - by FAR my favorite card in the game! And imho, a PERFECT example of what unique cards or "reward/punishment" cards should be! It deals a solid amount of damage, for solid Fei, BUT punishes you by pouring stone blocks from the sky. Cool! Amazing, even! AND it has a unique trait where floating enemies don't get damaged by it cause they are... well, floating. (Or at least, that's how i explain why Nightmare gets Null damage from it). It's just a perfect nieche card! And THAT'S what cards like that should be like! Great in certain cases -> useless in others. Great value -> but a noticable punishment.
So many cards you can make by that logic! A card that deals a great amaount of damage, but makes it so that you earn less Fei for next 10 second. Or a card that zap-stuns enemies, but also gives attack buffs monstergirls that somewhat benefit from electricity. Possibilities are endless!
You get the main idea. And ofcourse we need a much bigger variety of cards, so that pretty much every playable monstergirl could get her own unique kit. (But i understand that it's a demo, so card variety wasn't exactly the main focus)
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3) Monstergirls's Unique Abilities.
You may ask a question: "But isn't every ability already unuqie?" - it is... partialy. While yes, Vuu's 'Super Attack' (we'll call it SA for short), clears the whole room, Rose attacks only monstergirl and 'T' does a bit of both - they are still just "Do damage" type of SA's. When i say unique i mean, like do difderent things.
Let's take Cha for example (yes, i'll use every opportunity to call Cha)! She is a goblin, right? And what do goblins do? Steal stuff! So, Cha's ability could be her stealing the spell that enemie is about to use, and use it herself with 2x Power! Unique? Yes. Useful? Yes. Nieche? Also, yes! Exactly what an ability should be! ... Okay, Cha, you can go back to playing.
Ompom's SA, could damage and 'burn' monstergirl - making her take more damage from al sources.
Lamia could 'squeeze' enemy monstergirl in a tight gripp. She'll deal small damage, but will STUN the enemy, stopping them from using skills or summon shapes.
Now, i'm not saying that "Just deal damage" shouldn't be a thing. Of course it should be, but even then there must be a tiny twist to them, at least in attack animation, or their effect on the battlefield.
Let's take for example our lovable lady Cerelea: Her main thing are her powerfull legs, righr? Causing earthquakes and etc. So why not make it kind of her thing and build Cerelea's SA around it? She could make a powerfull STOMP causing an earthquake, HEAVILY damaging enemy monstergirl, but also SHAKING the screen for like 5 seconds as a 'punishment' for such a powerfull SA. Unique? Check. Damage? Check. Relates to thee character? Also check. Perfectc, no?
You get the idea, right? And while understand, that making a completely unique ability for every monstergirl will be a torture - we aren't a type of people to break easily! Come on, Mr NoseBecc! Head up high!
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This may not be obvious at the first glance, but trust me - it's important.
4) Reviving witches - is a very cool and unique feature, but... i feel as if it has some core flaws.
I understand why revived witches should be randomized, i do. You want players to try out different witches, to maybe find a new favorite one, who knows? To have them strive for something at the very least. And that's fair!
Take me for example: I get Cha - i don't care about other witches. I ain't gonna revive and try all of them, i truly won't (even though i did). And that's why it has to remain random.
BUT! Amd it's a HUGE BUT! What i think should NOT be random - a spawn of that 'resurrector lady'.
A player shouldn't do leaps in the forest, waiting for her to eventualy come. Then, just get somebody they don't want -> get sad/frustrated -> get back to running. It shouldn't be like that, that's not a fun/exciting experience. Am i trying to say that 'resurrector lady' shouldn't spawn randomly? No, quite the opposite! She could still visit you from time to time, but there MUST be a place (or a way) where you can guarantee meeting her. It may be an expensive or craftable item (like the ones that decrease/increase spawnrate) made out of hard-to-find resources. Make it not easy, but possible.
And i've experienced it first hand when i tried to revive all witches. I just kept running around in circles, simply because 'resurrector lady' didn't spawn. I had all the money, all the shards in the world - but no resurrector lady. Which sucked SSSO much, at the time.
That's a thing that should 100% be worked on.
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Now... No, i'll save it for later. Then, let's talk about:
5) Sidequests.
The 'Cookie' sidequest is the first 'sidequest' to ever exist in the game, am i wrong? I don't remember them being in the first Demo...
Anyway! Sidequests - they are cool little things that every game needs and BEW is not an exception! Some fun little sidequest should be here and there, but please listen, Mr NoseBecc - it's also important to NOT overpopulate the game with sidequests! That, unless they also include some unique interractions on already cleared terrain.
For exapmle: a sidequest where Cha loses her favorite earring, so now we are suposed to go to the Riety forest and look for it (and we WILL look for Cha's earring). We beat some monstergirls, collect stuff BUT - randomly fall into a pit (that wasn't there the first time) and stumble upon a hidden cave. Treasury? Lost city? Someone's hideout? It could be anything! And in the process we also learn some history about the forest, or Cha herself, or her kind - something like that. So that sidequest doesn't just feel like "go there, kill that, bring me this". And after all that - we don't find the earring. Just to (in a comedic fassion) for Cha to realise that it was in her pocket all this time, or that it fell off and got lost in her bossom, while she was asleep. I don't know, something like that.
So? ... What do you think? Did my Cha story win the 'writer of the month' award?
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I don't really know how to name this one, so...
6) Cute little in-game details.
Let me try to explain, so it doesn't sound so vague. You know how when momstergirl gets bored during your stroll, you have to click on her few times to make her happy again, right? Well - Cerelea has a chance to sometimes reward you with a jug of milk ("There's more where that came from", i bet there is - i had 27 in my inventory by the time i revived my last 3 monstergirls)! It's a cute little detail, but these details are what make BEW so beautiful. Like how Cha sometimes puts on her sunglasses (awesome f-n sunglasses, by the way).
I don't know where exactly i'm going with it, though. Do i mean that we should have more interactions with characters while we walk? May be. May be i want something else, i don't know. But you get the idea.
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Okay and now... for the last complaint:
7) Secrets and Rewards from them
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH, this is NOT how it was supposed to go!" - okay, Mr NoseBecc please calm down! I know that we went over this already in some of my previous comments, but i have to reiterate - i have big BIG problems with that.
THOUGH!
These last few days made me rethink some stuff... After all: puzzles, secrets and little things like that, are what make BEW - BEW. Sneaky spots and levers hidden behind levers are pretty much a staple in BEW, so me saying that these charming little aspect should be reduced - was just silly. So I came to a conclusion that (i think) will satisfy BOTH of us:
Necessary for progression items like Orbs - should NOT be hidden. NO! They should not be, Mr NoseBecc! Sneaky secrets, quirky puzzles and liefs that i must pull to open the door, should NOT hide valuable stuff like Orbs behind them!
Yes, i understand why orbs are a thing - players shouldn't be allowed to just farm XP in the same spot, so that they could just get to lvl 40 and one-shot Nightmare. I get it! Players need to explore to enjoy the game at 100%. And i agree! But players also shouldn't be FORCED to go out and look for secrets under the pressure of not being able to upgrade their momstergirls tp max rank. Do you know how much time it took me to find the golden tree, Mr NoseBecc? Do you?! And i had a guide on my hands! Now imagine a person that didn't visit itch.io site, or isn't reading every word in game's "about" page - they'll simply NEVER find it. And there are no "ifs" or "buts" and even "erm, actually" doesn't find a place here. They will NEVER find it. Average player will NEVER find (i want to make it clear) - a NECESSARY for progression item!
"But what would be a reward for such secrets then?!" - skins for monstergirls, special backgrounds, music (like a disc that you can play while walking, or fighting), extremely powerfull/unique spells or - heck, even a legendary monstergirl could be waiting there if you want. Gifts for Tril are a perfect example! Do you need them to rank up Momstergirls? No! But would you be willing to look for them if you want to see Tril sleeping in his bed? Yes!
I should WANT to look for secrets, not be FORCED to do so. Because there is no joy in it then - magic of adventure disappears.
And if you still want players to try themselves before deserving their Orb. It's also ok! You can make some difficult puzzles for people to solve, but make them obvioisly visible. Give out few Orbs for comleting certain sidequests, why not? It would be cool, no?
...
I'm... sorry for getting so emotional. I just really don't think that leaving it as it is - is a good idea.
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Well... that was it. My long rant - is over. I said my piece, i made my contribution and now my heart is clear.
I just really hope that you didn't take it as an insult, Mr NoseBecc. Every single word i wrote was with a good intention and i hope that you see it as such. I hope that you can see the passion that i have for BEW and how much i want it to suceed.
Bh the way, is there a way to contact you privately, Mr NoseBecc? Like Discord? Nothing special, just to chit-chat or share some fan-art.
And if you don't want to share your username there - i'll share mine.
Name: corpusgreed.
Thank you.
Best wishes
CorpusGreed
M-Mr NoseBecc? You weren't offended, were you?
1) First: Witch Swap
I definitely want to make this mechanic more useful. I think making it so it removes both buffs and debuffs could be interesting... It does give you a small heal currently, I could also increase that value. I'll keep thinking about it! ^^
2) Next one on the list: Cards (rebalances/reworks/new cards)
Balance still needs a lot of work for sure! There won't be as many spells available this early in the final game, their availablity and some of their stats will be rethought. Some spells will have evolved versions as well, and I do want a lot more variety and weird effects in the future too! I'll do my best :B
Also, the reason Nightmare didn't take damage from Earthquake is because she nullifies all yellow damage she receives ^^
3) Monstergirls's Unique Abilities.
No worries, they'll each have a unique skill in time! ^^
In Cerelea's case, I want hers to be Wall smasher, the same spell she uses when you face her. The more stone blocks destroyed, the more damage it deals
4) Reviving witches
That's completely fair! I've included a bunch of monstergirls to be revived, but there won't actually be this many this early in the final game. I'm also thinking about some way to make it easier to meet her as you said, which will help a lot ^^
5) Sidequests
This is indeed the very first (and currently, the only) quest in BEW! I know exactly what you mean. For the most part, I plan for most sidequests to relate to one or several playable characters. They'll be optional, but double as a way to learn more about the characters. They'll give some good rewards and in some cases be a criteria to rank up said characters. I have a bunch of ideas when it comes to this (including relating to Cha!), so no worries there, I'm confident! ^^
6) Cute little in-game details.
I love these little seemingly pointless things, so you can definnitely expect more of that too ^^
There will also be more party events that trigger as you explore under certain conditions. This is a very recent system so there are only a few non optional ones currently, but there'll be more!
7) Secrets and Rewards from them
Agreed! For now, I chose to make it so you only need 10 power orbs to rank up everyone, so you don't need to find all of them. In the future, quests or more obvious puzzles will be how you often most of them. The golden tree will have to do with a quest as well, so it won't stay this hard to find.
No worries, I really appreciate that you took the time to express all this! It will only help me make the game better ^^
A lot of these issues are due to the game being a WIP and "early" balance. I agree with pretty much everything you said and in most cases I have some sort of plan in mind, though it will be some time before I can implement it all. I'll get to it at some point, for sure!
nosebecc@gmail.com is an easy way to contact me, I guess I wouldn't mind sharing my discord handle there. I need to mention that I've been especially busy of late however, so even though I do my best to get back to everyone, it might take some time!
Game is AMAZING. From the art style, to the combat system! It's really well made, and clearly had a LOT of time put into it.
Only had 2 issues, one of them is the backtracking into certain areas, especially with how large they are. My suggestion is to have some sort of fast travel system, probably at save points or via a small puzzle in certain rooms you have to complete, just to make it less of a hassle. Though this would be unlocked AFTER clearing the tower area, since the tower and Sablee become unavailable after clearing them.
Next is the combat feeling a bit too much for bosses (primarily Nightmare) since you have to focus on so many things like the enemy attacks, shapes and shape attacks, and the board itself typically having a gimmick like mushrooms or gravity changing, all just happening at the same time. I get that bosses are meant to be far more challenging, its just when it moves so fast it becomes hard to keep track of everything on screen. This is especially noticeable for Nightmare, since you basically have a time limit before she does an insta-kill move.
My little rant aside, this game was an absolute blast! Hoping to see more in future updates!
Thank you so much! ^^
I do plan to implement a fast travel system later, it will very probably be linked to the save rooms as you said :B
There's definitely a long going on in fights, making it as readable as possible has been a challenge for sure. I personally like when it feels overwhelming, but I'll keep trying to make it easier to follow the action/limit how much is happening.
Thank you again! I appreciate the constructive criticism, it helps a lot ^^
No problem! Just wanted to voice a few suggestions for the game, since you made it REALLY good and enjoyable. Nightmare's fight was one where it felt really challenging but not outright impossible, and my main issue was just the fact SO MUCH was happening it made it hard to attack or keep my combos going. I just don't want it to become a reoccurring issue with every upcoming boss in the future, and wanted to address it as early as possible.
Again, thank you so much for making this, it's awesome in nearly every aspect, and hope you have a good day/night wherever you are!
This game is SO CUTE, the mechanics are very easy to understand and the artstyle and personality the game has as a whole is so adorable i LOVE IT
Thank you so much! I'm glad ^^
There is! You can check the "Rank lock" option in the settings.
The pirates are in the ocean, accessed by walking into the water all the way north of the starting village
I recommend you take a look at the map in the ocean! This will help you deduce where to go next ^^
If you want, you can also find a walkthrough here
Ah, fair enough!
Your characters will be revived once you save. There is also an item called a Heartchain link which can be used to revive a character anywhere, but you might not have access to it yet, I'm not sure.
Likewise there is also an item that instantly removes any fight on use, the Heart dummy, bought at the same shop as the Heartchain link. Or you can use Sneak mode (The button with Vuu's face, next to the map) to lower the encounter rate. Finally when walking into a room with an enemy encounter, you can always walk back the way you came from. In some cases this can allow you to walk around the encounter ^^