Merchant Quest 0.1.3a (Updated 9-7-2018)

[Appo]

Currently I would say that hiring Mercenaries should not have a upkeep per week. Just because there is not really enough profit to be had. At least in my run there was little to no profit until I inevitably died to a giant. And when you can only save once a week if you don't bug the game to save for you, it just feels like that event is a bit to cruel. RNG based instant death when you can only save at the start of a week. Which can be a long long time. Also feels like all other mercs than Knight is useless atm.

From what you've said here I know why you're dying to the giant so often. If you play around with your options a little maybe you'll stumble across a better solution.

What mercenaries are you buying and what are your weekly earnings/losses?

[Appo]

I run the game and see a "Game Over"

Do you mean that you're prevented from playing the game or that the game warns you about 'old saves will become incompatible,' or some such?

I didn't notice the game was giving this warning even when there is no pre-existing save file to replace. I'll make it better.

[calin22]

I run the game and see a "Game Over"

Do you mean that you're prevented from playing the game or that the game warns you about 'old saves will become incompatible,' or some such?

I didn't notice the game was giving this warning even when there is no pre-existing save file to replace. I'll make it better.

I have the same problem. Can't delete/backspace/erase the 'Reset' and it result in always giving a Game Over screen...

[Appo]

I have the same problem. Can't delete/backspace/erase the 'Reset' and it result in always giving a Game Over screen...

You're unable to erase the contents of the text box? I don't know how that could happen.

Are you using any sort of add-on or modifying the game in any way?

If X doesn't work as a backspace key on your system try pressing the escape key or 0 on the num pad.

[calin22]

I have the same problem. Can't delete/backspace/erase the 'Reset' and it result in always giving a Game Over screen...

You're unable to erase the contents of the text box? I don't know how that could happen.

Are you using any sort of add-on or modifying the game in any way?

If X doesn't work as a backspace key on your system try pressing the escape key or 0 on the num pad.

Thanks, it works now! Never knew X works as a backspace in RPGMaker. Looking forward to playing now

[suprano]

I have the same problem. Can't delete/backspace/erase the 'Reset' and it result in always giving a Game Over screen...

You're unable to erase the contents of the text box? I don't know how that could happen.

Are you using any sort of add-on or modifying the game in any way?

If X doesn't work as a backspace key on your system try pressing the escape key or 0 on the num pad.

Thanks, it works now! Never knew X works as a backspace in RPGMaker. Looking forward to playing now

Even when I type another name still getting the game over screen. Can't play the game.

[RC8015]

I can write whatever I want when I try to create a new game, I get a game over screen every time. No matter if its "reset", "delete", "no", or nothing.
So yea, cant start a new game aswell. Using no addons/extras whatsoever, and didnt even test this game before.

[Appo]

There must be something I don't know about RPG maker if so many people are having this problem. Very sorry if it's something I'm doing. I've removed the text entry step.

[luke1401]

I can write whatever I want when I try to create a new game, I get a game over screen every time. No matter if its "reset", "delete", "no", or nothing.
So yea, cant start a new game aswell. Using no addons/extras whatsoever, and didnt even test this game before.

Did you make sure its DELETE all caps?

[Kyuwuw]

Why is the hit accuracy for enemy and ally something around 10 or 20%?
It just unnecessarly drags out the encounters, even more since you don't have any skill so it's enter spaming.

[Appo]

Why is the hit accuracy for enemy and ally something around 10 or 20%?
It just unnecessarly drags out the encounters, even more since you don't have any skill so it's enter spaming.

I've been annoyed by this also. I'm interested to consider remedies to this but let me explain why it's like that currently.

Mechanically it's important for attacks to have a significant miss chance for the sake of variability in outcomes of combats. I want even 1 orc girl to potentially be able to provide a challenge to the player rather than letting them be confident they can predict an outcome. By the numbers 2 guards should defeat 1 orc however there is variability sufficient to cause defeat maybe 5% of the time. Not so much that a full party may lose but that the player must make decisions like 'That fight went bad. Maybe I should rest even if it is a waste of food?'

I'm considering giving all the mercenaries moves but I don't think that will be interesting. Unless they all have many moves, that are more or less useful in different situations to allow tactical thinking, all that has happened is that there are more button presses between you and the 'power attack' ability. I don't think I want to have such complexity to the combat encounters, I'd prefer the decision making be made outside of combat at the stage of deciding who to hire and what to do outside of combat while on the road.

My current line of thinking leads me to two solutions.
1. Make the attack button cause all mercenaries to auto attack so that a single button press will resolve a round.
2. Increase the number of varied non-combat encounters where tactical decisions need to be made by the player e.g. gain HP vs gain moral, lose moral but gain a mercenary, or some other trade off.

To this second point I am not having enough ideas for encounters with impactful decisions. If you, or anyone, has suggestions for encounters, vorish or not, which they think would improve the game please state them. I'm particularly interested in difficult dichotomy encounters/decisions like you see in the game 'Faster Than Light.' Also if you have any suggestion for making combat more interesting I'd like to know it.

[jacobgr05]

Main problem with a vore game with fixed save points is that if i want to experience the vore content (the main reason we're here) we have to lose lots of progress. Its not a problem when the game is as small as it is at the moment but when the game is bigger people will actively avoid enjoying the vore scenes so they don't lose their progress.

[Appo]

Main problem with a vore game with fixed save points is that if i want to experience the vore content (the main reason we're here) we have to lose lots of progress. Its not a problem when the game is as small as it is at the moment but when the game is bigger people will actively avoid enjoying the vore scenes so they don't lose their progress.

This is very much my intent. With this game I want to cultivate an atmosphere of a legitimate desire not to be eaten. Then, when the player does finally lose, the player can blame their own actions but more importantly there is still uncertainty about the outcome of defeat. The scenes are quite a bit variable but I'll be making them more and more variable as time progresses both actively and retroactively when I think of, or someone suggests, new variations on a scene.

I want it to be the case that whatever end you get the outcome is at least a little bit different either through the actual dialogue being different or the context of the scene being different. There is something good about having the player create something that they actually care about e.g. progress in the game, and then losing that to a cute monster girl.

[eleventh]

So after a fair bit of messing around, I think I've got an idea of how things tend to behave. (0.1.2c)
The forest zone can go complete deathtrap quite quickly. I think I've managed to lose what looks like a major road at least once every time I enter, while driving a wagon. That ended up meaning I just avoid the place entirely, so I don't know much about pricing in that area, especially since I could rarely actually reach it.
The abysmal hit rates in combat mostly just seem to make it more likely to make it through combat without any damage, and haven't caused me any serious problems.
The cargo limit by type seems odd, although from a programming point I understand that it's the easiest way to handle it. It's just peculiar to be able to fit up to 80 units of salt and 30 units of wax, etc.
I hope that the prices over larger distances have more definite trends, because right now it feels fully random what's valuable where.

[Appo]

So after a fair bit of messing around, I think I've got an idea of how things tend to behave. (0.1.2c)
The forest zone can go complete deathtrap quite quickly. I think I've managed to lose what looks like a major road at least once every time I enter, while driving a wagon. That ended up meaning I just avoid the place entirely, so I don't know much about pricing in that area, especially since I could rarely actually reach it.
The abysmal hit rates in combat mostly just seem to make it more likely to make it through combat without any damage, and haven't caused me any serious problems.
The cargo limit by type seems odd, although from a programming point I understand that it's the easiest way to handle it. It's just peculiar to be able to fit up to 80 units of salt and 30 units of wax, etc.
I hope that the prices over larger distances have more definite trends, because right now it feels fully random what's valuable where.

The prices vary far more greatly for the more 'advanced' destinations. This increases the buy sell differential and so profits but there's no loss of variability. The market is just going to be volatile.

[serumdead]

I have so say this game is really great. I love the fact that the adventures are dangerous and could kill everybody.
If the game world keeps growing i would suggest that the monsters were bound to specific areas like Gigantess=plains and so on.

[Appo]

I have so say this game is really great. I love the fact that the adventures are dangerous and could kill everybody.
If the game world keeps growing i would suggest that the monsters were bound to specific areas like Gigantess=plains and so on.

Fantastic. Apprehension and anticipation are feelings I'm trying to cultivate.

This is exactly my intent for future growth. Different areas will have different hazards and so the player is left deciding between following money or following safety. The loadout of your party will be more or less suited to some areas as well so the number of background considerations for the player increases. In this way I'm trying to avoid the existence of a consistently optimal solution.

This gets me to a problem I'm having with this game.

There ought to be more for the player to 'do.' That is to say, at the level of the actual encounters, combat or non-combat, there ought to be more choices available to the player. I think I've got the general direction for the overarching decision making about right. What I find to be really lacking is the encounters. The way it is now they're at risk of becoming a gallery of monsters that appear at random. Other people can do the gallery style games, they're better at dialogue than me. This project will be good or not because of the branching options and open ended consequences.

I'm thinking that conversation with monster girls could be implemented a bit more. This will give characters/monsters more personality and opens up more micro-level choices for the player to make. I don't have a good conception of what these conversations should include. I'll be letting my brain ferment on this issue for a few weeks before coming back to it. In short it's not interesting to me to be churning out a bunch of cookie cutter monsters.

[serumdead]

I have so say this game is really great. I love the fact that the adventures are dangerous and could kill everybody.
If the game world keeps growing i would suggest that the monsters were bound to specific areas like Gigantess=plains and so on.

Fantastic. Apprehension and anticipation are feelings I'm trying to cultivate.

This is exactly my intent for future growth. Different areas will have different hazards and so the player is left deciding between following money or following safety. The loadout of your party will be more or less suited to some areas as well so the number of background considerations for the player increases. In this way I'm trying to avoid the existence of a consistently optimal solution.

This gets me to a problem I'm having with this game.

There ought to be more for the player to 'do.' That is to say, at the level of the actual encounters, combat or non-combat, there ought to be more choices available to the player. I think I've got the general direction for the overarching decision making about right. What I find to be really lacking is the encounters. The way it is now they're at risk of becoming a gallery of monsters that appear at random. Other people can do the gallery style games, they're better at dialogue than me. This project will be good or not because of the branching options and open ended consequences.

I'm thinking that conversation with monster girls could be implemented a bit more. This will give characters/monsters more personality and opens up more micro-level choices for the player to make. I don't have a good conception of what these conversations should include. I'll be letting my brain ferment on this issue for a few weeks before coming back to it. In short it's not interesting to me to be churning out a bunch of cookie cutter monsters.

Maybe if the player have to choose carefully about how many people he brings? Like if you choose to bring a full strength force the encounters would rise because you are more "louder and more visible".
If there existed some type of slavery the player could offer the slaves or fight for the hard earned money it would get. And if you traveled with slaves it would higher the chances of a bad event.

[Appo]

Maybe if the player have to choose carefully about how many people he brings? Like if you choose to bring a full strength force the encounters would rise because you are more "louder and more visible".
If there existed some type of slavery the player could offer the slaves or fight for the hard earned money it would get. And if you traveled with slaves it would higher the chances of a bad event.

This comment is going to make the game better.

I would not put slaves into the game because I want the interpersonal interactions to be light and somewhat innocent. Accepting travelers to join your caravan is an acceptable compromise, which I think I will do. There will be lots of opportunities for decision making and passive modifiers with extra NPC's accompanying the player.

[Content2020]

Dead game but still great for what it was