Eternal Dreamers | Free Battle RPG | 91% Positive on Steam

Thanks- I wouldn't know this just from playing the game, though.

The fact that the game lacks a tutorial is something I pointed out too. There should be a rough explanation on how things work. Not everybody is a seasoned player and can figure out things on his/her own.

@MechScapeZH You're right, the system isn't explained anywhere. That won't be the case as of the next update. Below is a snippet of the patch notes:

• Renamed the manual → guide
• Added new sections to the guide
  • Learning Abilities (under Combat Basics)
  • Upgrades (under Equipment)
  • Items (new main section)
    • Currency
    • Consumables

As you can see, all systems present in the game will be explained in the guide finally. I have had a lot of people playtest the game lately, and given some felt lost, I felt the need to expand on this system. I think it will cover all or at least most of the bases.

P.S. You're a bit off about the cultists, but hey, you'll see!

Hey, everyone!

Today I want to share a sketch of our sad boy, Monolith. Coming in color to a game near you soon!



So long!

Great illustrations- really gets the character across well. Matches the impression I got from his dialogue. The 3rd one makes it clear- Monolith has a plan. And it may or may not be pleasant. :guffaw:

I played a bit more today...

-Got past the cultist leaders with Discourage. So they aren't evil...? I was off. (And if they're OK even though the party battled theme, that means the rest of the cultists they battled are OK too, right?) And they're from another world? So is the Dream a "nexus of realities?" And in this context, does "another world" mean another planet or another dimension? Since the setting is a bit sci-fi. And there are zombies now!? I didn't expect that. Are they zombies in the real world too, I wonder...? Or is the Dream zombifying them somehow...?
-Your antagonist (I assume? The cultists turned out to be good.) is named Death? I'm not very good at naming characters, but I think this character could be renamed- a bit too on-the-nose in my opinion. I get what you're trying to go for, but even if it turns out to be a literal representation/emissary/creature/wizard of Death, it just doesn't work to me. It seems... cheesy somehow, like something you'd find in an old horror movie- even if the character is written well, which I'm sure it is, I wouldn't be able to take it seriously with that name. Maybe Demise or Infernal? (...Those probably aren't any better than what you have, but I said I wasn't good at coming up with names. :guffaw:)
-Battles are getting harder... I lost at the Spirit of Vengeance (Is that a Ghost Rider reference, by the way?), but I'm sure I'll find a way to beat it. I always get stuck at the bosses.
-Another thing- is the Transforming Slime supposed to transform, or is it just a name? It only used Strike and a binding move.
-Spirit Hunting is awesome! I love it. One thing though- what do I do with the essences that I win?

Awesome as always- I'll keep reviewing as I keep playing. Having a lot of fun. :)

Thanks for continuing the journey, @MechScapeZH !

• The cult represents a old era or rpgs when things were still a little on the nose. Defeating 'Death' is just the kind of thing they'd have you do. It's not the villain's actual name though
• The Spirit of Vengeance wasn't an intentional reference, but now I'll have trouble not thinking of it that way
• The beginning of the fight used to show multiple slimes come together to form this bigger one - hence Transforming Slime. I removed the intro for the sake of consistency with the other battles
• Elemental essence can be used to purchase Earrings from the armor vendor. These boost your elemental resistances

Good luck on ahead! The city's boss is the perhaps toughest, wonder how you'll do!

• Ah, I see. Like NES/SNES Final Fantasy? (Cloud of Darkness, Exdeath...) I get it. Now that you explain, it's a good idea. Do all the "tribes" in the Dream have their own names for the antagonist? If so, that's a great idea. Really reinforces how they come from different worlds.
  
• Perhaps subconsciously. :)
• That intro sounds awesome! Please add it back- consistency is way overrated, and the party just arrived at a new world anyway, so why not have a special animation? If you have the whole thing programmed already, why waste it? It's done anyway, and it'll add a visual flourish to the battle.
• Ah, OK. I'll take a look.

I was wondering something while I was playing- what was the thought process behind making this? When & how did you come up with this idea? How have you rewritten it over time? You already mentioned Phantasy Star- what else inspired you?

Great as always- I'll continue playing & post my thoughts soon.

@MechScapeZH It's been so long I cannot even really remember. The game and its story have gone through a lot of revisions through the years, and thankfully I finally could settle on something that works for me.

Originally, there were overworlds for every area just like in any other RPG, but I realized that they didn't add much to the game and weren't particularly fun to traverse. Perhaps they were the first time around, but replayability and farming were a focus for me from the start. At that point, I discovered the plugin that made the encounter system in place now possible, and after the removal of the overworlds, the game began to take on the shape you know. Due to that, I was able to concentrate on the battle system almost exclusively, and succeeded in creating a unique system for the game over time.

In terms of story, I suppose I have always been someone that enjoyed being thrown into an unknown world. For example, I used to start reading manga in the middle of their story, as it made me feel like I was just another part of that world, not the center of it. We meet people at the midst of their lives, not the beginning. I always liked recreating those encounters. In the same sense, we don't truly know the reason for the things that happen around us, yet we try to deal with problems as they arise, and the same is true for the heroes of Eternal Dreamers. That is why you will beat the game still wondering what really happened and why. I wanted to tickle the imagination of people with that kind of approach.

Now that many people have been playing the game, however, I realize that things are a bit too cryptic. For example, Death who is the antagonist of the game, doesn't even make an appearance in it right now. Just like Batman doesn't know the murderer of his parents, I didn't think that mattered. However, as they spend countless hours on the game, I can understand why people want a more proper and final resolution to the story. That is why I decided that I will add more story elements down the road to give people the context they need to understand the events that transpire. And Death himself will appear as well, giving the struggle of the heroes form.

I hope that was insightful. Feels like I was rambling on for a while!

This was a great decision. The battle system is a big part of what makes the game so fun.

And you did- big time. I'm totally the same way- I think that's why I enjoy Eternal Dreamers.

I had the exact same problem with my story- being cryptic as a writer is really fun, but as a viewer people say it can be frustrating. Surrealistic/vague plot points are hard to write in a way so that that the audience will be intrigued rather than confused- and even then a large portion of the population doesn't have patience for this kind of stuff, unfortunately. Personally, I love mysteries & shadowy characters, but my experience correlates with yours- people give this stuff a negative.

I don't know how big of a Batman fan you are, but minor nitpick- he does know. Batman found out in "Chill of the Night," published sometime in the 80s. ...Sorry, I can't help myself when it comes to comics trivia. :guffaw:

It was very insightful- I'm always interested in how developers come up with this stuff.

OK, I played a bit more today....

• Love the rain effects in the last 2 levels of the City.
• Another new music track for the boss of the last level- it's great! Loved this boss- the whole thing just came together so well. The music + the rain + the battler used for the boss-a duel in the rain against an evil spirit!!- I'm not one to overuse this word, but it was epic. The most fun I've had in the whole game. Extremely memorable- loved it!
• I expected the boss to be harder after what you said- I actually found it easy, although I think I'm just getting better at this. I used Shield Bash + Discourage + Fear + Fireball & the boss could hardly get a Strike off. I don't know if this is intentional, but you can bring the Captain's AP up to 10 by just using Fireball over & over, and I could keep Monolith using Discourage every 2 turns just by using Focus after I used Discourage.
• One minor plothole- if the Volcano is the source of the infection, won't the party get infected? What's stopping them from becoming zombies?

Will start the Volcano stage soon.

@MechScapeZH Glad to hear you enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. That boss gave me a lot of trouble, but it seems you found a combination that made quick work of it! I never cease to be surprised at how differently people approach the combat in this game. The Fireball shouldn't be spammable at maximum charge level, so that is a nerf in the making for the next patch. Discourage works as intended, however, and is a valuable tool indeed! As for the infection, that is a matter seperate from the zombies you have encountered. The infection is what has people fall asleep back in the real world. You're almost done with the game's first difficulty setting. I look forward to you finishing things!

On a slightly sour note, I will not be able to release the new patch by the end of April. I fell sick earlier this week and have yet to fully recover. I will resume work on the game shortly. To make up for the delay, it is possible Monolith's updated art will be included in the update.

So long!

Today’s patch marks the arrival of a new quest-type, the Urgent Missions! Urgent Missions are incredibly difficult quests where the odds seem stacked against you. This quest type is a system that will be expanded upon over time, and while only one Urgent Mission launches today, more will be added in future content updates. Emerge victorious for a chance at new items, tons of currency and valuable Infection Fragments! Clearing any Investigation-type quest will be a chance for this new quest to appear!

Furthermore, the guide (formerly manual) has been greatly expanded upon. This will make it easier for players to find their way around the mysterious world of Eternal Dreamers. To that same end, the hub area sees some slight changes to highlight an important point of interest.

Changes as well as bug fixes can be found in the patch notes below:

• Introduced new quest-type: Urgent Missions
• Made alterations to the garden area
• Made alterations to the shopping mall area
• Made alterations to the the shelter area
• Made alterations to the area select screen

• Introduced new quest-type: Urgent Missions
• Introduced new Urgent Mission: Sinister Invasion
• Urgent Missions will have a chance of appearing after clearing any Investigation-type quest:
  • Normal mode: 2%
  • Hard mode: 2.5%
• Urgent Missions can be challenged on all available difficulties
• Certain Urgent Missions will be longer and exponentially more challenging on higher difficulities
• Clearing an Urgent Mission on any difficulty will remove it from the list of active Urgent Missions

• Added new currency: Infection Fragment
  • Infection Fragments can be earned by clearing Urgent Missions
• Added new item
  • Reset Amplifier: Removes all upgrades from a piece of equipment

Hero

• The behavior of Flameball on higher ability levels has been changed
  • Flameball will not grant increased AP regeneration on ability levels II-MAX
  • Flameball will have better odds to inflict Ablaze on higher ability levels

Manipulator

• Increased cost of the gauge ability Polarizer from 3 -> 5 gauge bar segments

• Added new shop attendant for furniture
• Removed the attendant of the network counter
• Added new exchange NPC for Infection Fragments. Just where are they hiding?
  • Exchange stock of the NPC is incomplete in its current state and will be expanded upon in future updates
  • In order to access this exchange NPC, Hard mode needs to be unlocked
• Added a new scene with Sakia

• Added a furniture shop to the shopping mall
  • The furniture shop will open store in a future update
• Removed the network counter from the shopping mall
• Renamed the manual → guide
• Added new sections to the guide
  • Learning Abilities (under Combat Basics)
  • Upgrades (under Equipment)
  • Items (new main section)
    • Currency
    • Consumables
• Updated currency display in the menu and save screen to show Infection Fragments
• Added icons for the Select Party, Guide and Code Input options in the hub area
• Changed wording on the victory screen
• Removed menu music until issues have been ironed out
• Transition from battle back to the hub has been smoothened
• Updated credits
• Substantially reduced client file size

• Removed unintended button prompts in the keyboard layout
• Fixed Sword[T1] wrongly lowering agility when equipped
• Fixed incorrect pricing of Glory Strike II in the ability shop
• Fixed incorrect pricing of the king’s new clothes in the casino exchange
• Fixed music not playing after exiting an exchange or shop
• Fixed the issue that had the player character enter the communications center of the hub area sideways
• Fixed unintended passability in the shelter area
• Fixed graphical bug in the medical center

• Removal of the Frozen state through combat has afflicted unable to move for an additional turn regardless

• Implementation of additional Urgent Missions
• Room Feature (In early implementation phase)
• Nightmare Difficulty

Thank you for your support! Download the new version here!

I tested it right now and it is no longer possible to maintain the combo when doing mistakes. Even when not doing mistakes your party gauge still goes down. Good job.

Thanks! I couldn't have done it without you. I still am considering implementing a Freeze resist on bosses, or some of them at least. But for now, Sakia remains a very potent character.

She represents one of those hidden mechanics that are very specific, but very powerful. The way you have to play her is very different from the way you are supposed to play other characters and she also requires a very specific party formation in order to work properly. On top of it her damage is nothing special on its own.

I honestly do not see anything wrong with her being powerful if the only way to be able to effectively use her is with a very specific combination of characters, using a very specific combination of skills that even a single mistake can disrupt. Of course, if you want a specific mechanic like that or not, that is something I do not know. But adding a certain degree of resistance to CC abilities to bosses, especially if not completely based on luck, might make her even more difficult to use. Something like this would still represent a very interesting options but players able to use her effectively would be just a few.

Anyway, the way she works right now might be appropriate. I will continue testing it in hard mode as soon as I have time. If I have time for it I will try to complete the tower with her once more. While normal battles might be fine, the tower is the real end-game content for what I could see. It is pointless to test strong combinations on low-level enemies when they are supposed to be used against high level ones. Of course, game breaking mechanics are no good, but nerfing something just because it is too strong against low level enemies is no good as well.

I will let you know once I complete the normal mode difficulty once again.

@Heirukichi My primary concern with Sakia isn't necessarily her efficiency against mobs, as they can easily disrupt the party with one ill-timed hit. Bosses on the other hand are much more vulnerable, and once in a freeze lock, don't really have a way of breaking out of it. Even if this strategy requires ample setup, it shouldn't render bosses entirely defenseless.

I haven't really committed to anything, but three ideas I have conjured so far are
A. Freeze Resist on all Bosses
B. Freeze Resist on some bosses (and other resists on other bosses)
C. Make it so Natsu's SE bullets can miss

Obviously, each of these approaches would shift the balance in different ways, and so I do not want to hastily implement either of them.

Congrats on your release! I just wanted to ask- my save file will work with this version, correct?

@MechScapeZH Thank you very much! I do not want to make any promises, but I cannot think of script or plugin changes that would cause an incompability from the top of my head.

Ah, all right. Just to be safe, I'll continue playing the last release.

You can safely copypaste the save file and see for yourself. Of course, you will have to download the new version of the game to do so. I reduced the filesize by about 200MB for this release at the very least.