New Game: Ramble Planet

I just posted my new game Ramble Planet. It's an open-ended scavenger hunt RPG set on a funky alien world. I've listened to some of the community's criticisms and made it a little more accessible than my previous efforts.

Let me hear you thoughts, criticisms, and bug reports! Thanks for playing!

Get it here! http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewgame.php?t=6028

Looks interesting! I'll look into getting into it tomorrow, it does seem a lot more involved and complex than most OHRRPGCE releases.

EDIT:
Played a couple of hours this morning, really enjoying it so far!

One really glaring thing that feels like unintentional cheating is that when walking past certain spots on the map it causes every sprite on the screen to flicker, which also hinted me to stuff that looked innocuous on its own but was actually something that could be interacted with. Not sure what's causing it; I'm using the bundled .EXE, so not using a different version of GAME.EXE to play it.

EDIT 2:
Played the heck out of it this morning and afternoon, almost ended up late for work because I went into "gotta finish the game!" mode.

You can pretty much take that as "I really enjoyed this game", so I'll just mention a couple of things I wasn't so crazy about:

The RNG on stuff like the broken vending machine and the slots. Felt really unengaging just standing in front of the NPC and holding Enter.

The single-direction maze in the underground area felt really bad to backtrack to... like, each time you either went for a different path or just made a mistake and got sent back to the path that leads to Capital Town. It just seemed to take forever to backtrack for each iteration, and felt horribly tedious after the first 2-3 times.


Now, I just got to get 1 more experience and 3 more parts. I'm a bit stumped, tbh.

I am very interested in your games. It seems that you have a definite vision of what you want each one to be that comes across quite well, and I admire that.

I haven't played enough to give a proper review so I'm just going to put some of my thoughts down in here.

- Reminds me of Castle on the Night Land. I was quite drawn to that game because while it was just a matter of visiting different spots on the map in the right sequence, it managed to feel like it had a narrative, and progression.

I get some sense of that here too, but it feels diminished somehow. I think maybe the fact that I don't know what anything is. I'm basically just wandering around aimlessly pressing spacebar, because I can't tell what anything is or does.

- The music is fantastic. I'll say it again. THE MUSIC IS FANTASTIC!

- It is the most colorful Willy Electrix game. I like the mix of colors while still retaining the simple but detailed maptiles.

- I consulted the manual. I love games with manuals. It didn't really help me, though. The illustrations are pretty cool.

- I managed to get 4 experience, but I can't quite get past that.

- I like the setting, but I feel like the writing should be quirkier.


I have to give up for now. I'll try again later. It looks like a lot of work went into this, I would recommend giving it a try.

I have downloaded, but have not played yet, I just wanted to say that the screenshots remind me favourably of the graphics in ACS (Adventure Construction Set) which is the program that originally inspired the OHRRPGCE

When you have a map with wraparound in OHRRGCE, this happens when you cross the border to other side. I'm not sure if there is a workaround for this. I'm aware of it, but it is mostly just a characteristic of the engine.

There are also a few tiles, such as a tree, that are intentionally meant to flicker (very occasionally) on their own for various reasons.



This is good feedback. I'm not sure what to do or say about it, but it's very informative.



What do you think I should add to manual to make it more informative? The game is highly non-linear but maybe I could do a sort of "walkthrough" for the beginning of the game to get people used to looking for Parts and Experience.



If you get stuck so badly that you are frustrated, I can give you a hint.



Ha! My girlfriend says they are hideous and hard to see. I was kind of worried about them, so it's nice to hear an opinion that isn't so bleak.

I'm actually nearly finished but am now missing exactly 4 parts and horribly stuck, can I take you up on the hint offer?

So far the things I know I'm missing are the Reticle and Jack being held by NPCs in Capital Town, but I don't know what to do to make them cough them up.

A house in the northwest part of Capital Town also has purple 'treasure' tiles that vanish every time I walk into it but I'm not sure how to prevent that.

Then there's the shadow in the desert, and the treeperson in the grove, and the level 20 Bearlaw. Not sure what to do with any of those.

That was fast! I'm really impressed! I think the next version of the game might have a cluebook where I list off every part and provide cryptic hints on where to find them.



You can only get 1 of the 3 items held by the NPCs in town based on which race is yours. The other 2 are inaccessible but not counted toward the score.

The vanishing tiles are merely an illusion. You can never find them. Same with the shadow in the desert and the treeperson. Likewise, the Level 20 Bearlaw is unkillable. These are all red herrings.

Did you find the parts hidden at the various radar coordinates in the surface desert? Did you use the scanner to uncover the parts hidden below the Xs? There is also the explorer character who moves to different locations on the surface every 10 minutes. If you find him on one of the isles accessible by boat, he gives you an item.

I'm not sure how else to do this, so here is a complete list of every part. Tell me which one you don't have and I'll give clues to their whereabouts.

1 coupler
2 sensor
3 brain
4 slate
5 filter
6 gyro
7 alarm
8 ray
9 cell
10 shield
11 drive
12 tube
13 charger
14 prism
15 womb
16 strain
17 timer
18 tank
19 pass
20 crane
21 drone
22 button
23 dummy
24 wire
25 orb
26 crown
27 needle
28 geode
29 seal
30 booster
31 sail
32 badge
33 pump
34 hive
35 enzyme
36 lander
37 cycler
38 code
39 mask
40 hunter
41 drill
42 array
43 nozzle
44 token
45 mantle
46 wand
47 battery
48 igniter
49 beamer
50 zombie
51 chart - reticle - jack
52 dome
53 ward
54 seed
55 manual
56 lens
57 hull
58 panel
59 prow
60 tram
61 vox
62 lifter
63 rift
64 hose
65 nook

Hi Willy,

It's actually been a long time since I've started a game fresh off its release, but you sold me on exploration, so I had to give this one a try. I've actually spent close to two hours today playing through it. Great game. This is probably my favorite of yours so far, and I really liked Castle of the Night Land.

Before I give a first impression, I want to address a comment or two already posted:



I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I think figuring out what to do is part of this game's charm. The point of exploration is to explore. If you do a walkthrough, it should maybe offer a couple of tips to get the player started (like seeking out weakest level creatures to get the leveling up started), but not actually outline places to go or people to talk to, or do anything that tells the player where to go first. You've made this about as easy as a game like this can get. You simply walk into things and read textboxes. If that's too complicated for us, we don't deserve a walkthrough. I certainly don't think we need anything that will spoil the early experience. Lewis and Clark didn't have a walkthrough when they explored the west. They just explored. We should do the same. The only thing you might want to consider adding, and this is in no way code for should, is profiles for weaker enemies, just to make the tour guide seem more complete. A profile in the brochure on the locations would make it seem more like an amusement park brochure, too. But none of these things are needed, just ways to keep the experience more interesting.



I've taken down notes for a possible review of the game, but one of the notes I wrote is about the board game quality of the graphics. They are pretty hideous, but they don't take anything away from the experience. I see the whole thing like an advanced board game with two layers. The fact that I know what everything is works well enough for me. The only criticism I'd give you for graphics is to stay consistent with color schemes. Yellows are mainly interactive NPCs and enemies. Purples are mainly treasure boxes. Reds (the most inconsistent color, in my opinion) seems to show objects that have been affected by your actions. And so on. I think if you need to differentiate between object and landscape, you need to make sure your colors are shaded differently, or if you're going for the 16-color scheme, make sure you don't turn a treasure chest blue. I think you did pretty well to keep up with this consistency, but every so often I get the sense that I'm being mislead. The reds are the worst offenders here.



I sort of agree with this, but not really. I know the point of this game is exploration, like one would explore a theme park. Every section has its own story to tell, and I think your sign displays give us enough context. Telling us where to go or what to do, even through the use of characters, is unnecessary for a game like this. However, what would be cool is if you had some object (maybe you do; I'm still exploring the game world) that could unlock the bigger story of every section's background. The player would have to choose between reading between the snippet and the more detailed background. That way every player can tap into his own exploration style a little more--those who like abbreviated context can have that; those who like background can also have that.

Okay, so adding to all of that, I also want to echo how much I like the music. I've recently played through most of Startopia, and I have to say that the feeling behind this game feels roughly similar, even though the games themselves are nothing alike. The music helps this feeling. Makes me happy to know that there are composers out there making music like this for the OHR. I get so dang tired of typical RPG music sounding just like every other Final Fantasy clone out there. This soundtrack gets my toes tapping.

The game itself is right up my alley. I like exploration. I like having to discover things in order to access new areas. I like having new areas to access. I had spent more than an hour hunting for progression items before I even realized we had an underground section. Then I went down there to discover that it's equally as large and plentiful. I'm still exploring it, by the way. I'm impressed with your design ability. One of these days I'll have to call on you for consultation whenever integrating a complex puzzle. You seem to know your stuff.

The ability to choose your robot is a nice touch. I've chosen the explorer class, by the way. I don't know how my game will change by using the others, but the manual suggests that a few things will change depending on choice, so it's cool that my character choice matters.

The confrontation system is a little watered down, but that's part of the puzzle element, so I get it. I don't have to fight. I appreciate the level-up system being so simple. It would be nicer if I had the option to fight higher-leveled enemies (with anything more than two levels above having no chance for success), and having that slim chance of success depending on luck or specific items in my inventory. Would also be nice if defeating a higher-leveled enemy offered the possibility of gaining a special artifact. Defeat, of course, might mean the player loses an item (perhaps he has to buy a series of buffer items that allows him to attack higher-level enemies, and once he runs out, he can no longer attack) and gets sent to the park hospital. But that would make the confrontation mechanic a little more interesting (and risky) to me.

My complaints are few. My only true complaints have to do with invisible walls and items that freeze movement. Without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't played the game yet, you have an early-level maze that is full of invisible walls (like a glass house maze) that has three collectible items and is basically obnoxious. I don't hate the maze, but I hate that it's where you gain your earliest experience points. That should be a midpoint maze. Also, I think any treasure box you collect in there should reveal the path you've taken. I get fumbling your way to the treasure, but I don't get fumbling your way back to the exit. It's obnoxious.

The tree limbs and spores that can temporarily stall you also get under my skin. I think the freeze time lasts way too long, and it's especially obnoxious when you have to walk through them. Either give us an item that allows us to pass harmlessly through, or shorten the freeze time by at least half, or keep them off the beaten path. I can't begin to express how annoying they are.

I felt badly about slaughtering the hardpacks (those cactus oil camels). Nothing really to fix about it. Just thought you should know.

It's not your fault, but the map wraparound flicker is annoying. I hope TMC can figure out how to fix it.

All in all, I just really like this game. I'm about Level 4, I think, as of this writing. I just passed through the casino area. Everything about this is clever. I hope you're already working on your next awesome exploration piece. Great job.

I'll comment more once I've beaten the game. (And this one I do plan on sticking with to the end.)

Oh, and before I forget to tell you, I do think you're missing a wallmap around a tree in the northeast cluster of the forest maze (and not the one that's supposed to be missing).

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Place Obligatory Signature Here

Looks like I'm missing the Code, the Tube and the Button.

Also, is it possible to get more than 4 Metals?

I'm really looking forward to playing this game after the Random Collab contest ends (too much of a panic right now); it looks great.

The walkabout flickering on wrap around was a bug introduced a few years ago when we changed everything over to slices. We should get around to fixing it. (I think it's probably an off-by-one bug.)

There are only 4 Metals. Did you also find the Nuke?

The Code) Small Hint: Get this item from Getfind. He is the explorer who appears at various places on the surface and reads poetry to you. Don't listen to his poetry. It's all misleading.

Explicit Hint: Getfind appears in different places on the surface depending on what time it is. He will be on one of the islands accessible by boat while the game clock minutes are between 31 and 45. Talk to him then to get the Code.

The Tube) Small Hint: In the desert are some rocks marked with small arrows. Follow the arrows.

Explicit Hint: In the middle northern section of the desert is a rock field. Some of this rocks are marked with small arrows. Look closely to spot them. Follow the arrows through the rock field. If you walk in a direct path between all the arrowed rocks, you will make a circuit through the rock field and uncover the Tube buried in the sand during the route.

The Button) Small Hint: Find it while in the boat.

Explicit Hint: In the middle north section of the isles is a field of algae. One of the algae patches looks a little different. There is a column-shaped object tangled in it. Touch this algae to find the Button.

Pepsi Ranger:

Thanks for the in-depth comments. Your suggestions about the graphics are useful. Striving for more consistency in the what the colors represent would definitely make the game less frustrating.

Here are some things I thought about as I read your comments.

Expanding on the planet's history in an unobtrusive way would be cool. I'm imagining in item in your inventory that you can use at in various regions of the game that provides more information about the area. It could be a digital tourist booklet of sorts.

The time freezing objects are annoying. I will cut down the time. However, you are mistaken. Currently none of the the freeze tiles are actually mandatory. The ones in the mushroom forest can be bypassed if you have a way to unlock locked doors.

I'll fix the bad wall map. I love hearing about bugs like this and then crushing them. Thank you so much.

I would like to introduce a few more differences between the races. Their differences are mostly narrative in nature, which I like. It would be cool if there were more places where this was emphasized.

Maybe I'll add an item that lets you walk through the walls of the invisible maze. That way, if you find the item, you can bypass the maze. Or some people can muddle through it if they want to. I could make it so that you don't need to do it as early as well.



It's not necessary to get all the parts. In fact, killing all 10 of them only gives 1 experience point for the whole group. I wanted to make it optional.

Awesome, got everything! I won I won I won!

I'll try again sometime with another species, I'm guessing the ending messages change considerably depending on which one you're playing as.

P.S. Thanks for making such a fun, engaging game

Oh yeah, I think I spotted a faulty wallmap on the bottom right tile of the altar/rift gate spot across the bridge from Capital Town. I was able to walk through a tile that seemed like it should've been solid (please ignore if I'm mistaken)

If you are looking for a workaround to this in the future, I believe I have happened upon one.

For example) Let's say you want your map to wrap from east to west. Start by defining an edge along the east and west of your map in which you want the wrapping to occur. Beyond these edge boundaries draw the other side of the map so it appears that you are walking in to it. (This can be easily done with the MARK and COPY tools in the map editor) At the boarders edge, place NPCs that run a step-on script which teleports you to the other side of the map. Since the other side of the map has been tiled to look identical, it will appear as if your character seamlessly has wrapped around the map. This should be scripted with the "teleport to map x,y" function. This script shouldn't cause a flicker or fading in and out like a door would. This won't work for caterpillar parties though because the party will regroup to 1 tile as if a door was entered. An advantage of this script is it does not require the wrap around edges to be linear. It also allows you to merge multiple maps together but appears as 1 large map if drawn correctly. A disadvantage is it's time consuming and tedious to place all the NPCs.

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⍠ C O L L A B M U S I C: https://dustpuppets.bandcamp.com/releases

If you want to do something like that, don't place thousands of NPCs (you'll quickly hit the 300 NPC limit anyway). Use an each-step script and check the coordinates (or check for a zone).