Why 0.30? Because it’s about one third of where I’d like it to be. Demo version 1.00 would be the end of the Opal mansion scenario.

Vamoe Guardian Lucia: VX Demo 0.30 (194 MB)

Some parts went smoother than others, but overall it’s a process that went faster than I hoped it would. I used and dropped several scripts, and what I have now strikes a certain balance of what I could implement / fix and what I felt stuck with because features that I thought sounded good just didn’t jive well.

So, outside of the visual style, what’s new in Vamoe Guardian Lucia? Well, for those who aren’t familiar with the project, what IS Vamoe Guardian Lucia?

Vamoe Guardian Lucia is the RPG sequel to Vamoe Hunter Lumen, a story barely anyone read, and is unable to be read in full due to a host dying and my lack of foresight preventing me from keeping a copy for myself. The heroine of Vamoe Guardian Lucia is, well, Lucia, the daughter of Vamoe Hunter Lumen’s main charater, Lumen / Kyle Menne. I have taken steps to make sure Vamoe Guardian Lucia can stand alone, but there are references to the original story all over the place.

Now for what’s new. Outside of the sprites and tilesets used, I have new portraits for Sera and Annetta. Keith has a new, (relatively) robust weapon system to match the armor system, which is no longer the confusing “skin, leather, armor” system. Lucia now has separate bars for Elemental and Holy Artes. Lucia’s method for learning new spells is no longer event-driven; she still has to build up skill points, but now she only has to use a book to learn them. Opal Mine has a puzzle element to it now. Dowsing has been improved, and a Dowsing tutorial is included. Runes aren’t new, but I just wanted to point out how incredibly easy it was to implement them compared to all the extra effort I had to put in to pull it off in 2k3. Finally, I have Lucia’s Diary implemented. It’s an item the player can use to get back on track if they forget what the next objective is.

Hopefully, this demo is fresh even for those who have played the old version. It’s not just a new coat of paint; my writing and direction has improved in a lot of ways since I last touched VG Lucia, and I’m no longer looking at this project as a mere test to learn RPG Maker.

The one problem I still have is my inability to play my own game with fresh eyes. Since I designed everything myself, I don’t know what it’s like to play the game without an understanding of what to do. I should hope I wouldn’t need to teach the player how to move around the map, bring up menus, talk to NPCs, etc… but what directions I do provide could probably stand to be clearer. I do know for a fact that I screwed up with the axe tutorial (due to a bug with the Animated Battle script, I couldn’t implement the armor system I envisioned and had to come up with a workaround; I manged to fix the bug myself and implemented the new armor system, but the dialogue still has the old directions; I could just upload the fixed version, but I’m lazy and hate waiting for uploads).

I’ll still be working on VG Lucia, but now that this demo is out there, I’m easing off a bit.

Coming some time within a week: an anime review of Hyper Speed GranDoll.