Collecting suggestions for TSE-3

[Mark Pay]

I've got what I think are some potentially exciting ideas for a third game in the 'Spirit Engine' series. They would involve some major changes, so before I think about going any further I wanted to get some expert opinions from the people who matter most.

I'm hoping to hear what you all might like to see in a sequel. All thoughts are welcome, no matter how obvious or odd.
The most immediate questions are:

What did you dislike in the first two games that you would like to see changed, improved or removed in a sequel?
What did you enjoy in the first two games that you think must be kept in any sequels?
Do you have any other ideas for things you'd like to see added or changed in a sequel?

There was a similar thread many years ago on the Natomic forums, collecting suggestions for TSE-2, many of which were used.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[GiB]

I knew you'll start working on TSE-3.It was just a matter of time.
So, here are my suggestions:
1 - Make sidequests.A lot of them.There were few in TSE-1 and no at all in TSE-2.TSE-2 was very straight-forward and that was a bit boring - after you finish it, you know what hapens during the gameplay. Consider making exclusive choices - if the player completes one sidequest, this affects the story and he can't complete another one.In this way the replay value will be increased.
2 - I would like more variety of characters.May be 12 instead of 9.And more unique skills for them - this also will increase the replay value.
3 - I believe the graphic style of TSE-2 is the best choice for TSE-3.If you can improve it a bit, it'll be OK, but I think it's perfect.
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[Amemait]

I have but two requests:
1) Keep the current speech-bar; it's very easy on the eyes.
2) Keep Josh Whelchel!
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[ADmiral-tse]

What a nice thread!
Here's my 2 cents:

1) Use an easy-to-port environment please! Wine is often unreliable and/or slow. It is no satisfying replacement for a true Linux binary. Likewise, you might also get Mac users who would love to see your game work natively on their systems.

2) Having an accessible scripting engine and documentation for users to create their own levels, characters, monsters and skills would greatly extend the lifespan of the product

3) I think 9 characters is enough. For more variety, you could include different character classes in different slots. From combining the 4 character classes of TSE 1 and 2, the character grid could look like this:

R P M (Slot 1)
R P K (Slot 2)
R K M (Slot 3)

so there would be no knight in slot 1, no mage in slot 2 and no priest in slot 3. And no matter which party you choose, you'll be missing some skill from the character class you didn't get at some point sooner or later in the game...

4) Sidequests: I think the number of optional / side quests in TSE-1 was good. I also care mostly about the main storyline. You must definiately keep up the writing style and storytelling! Even if it's hard work, it has really paid off so far

5) Thoughts on the battle system and difficulty: I'm sure you have plenty of ideas here already.
The TSE-2 system was really great, but there is still room for improvement! I think you should try increasing the effects of different skills on each other, make them more intertwined (I lack the english vocabulary to describe this better ). That way, it will be more worthwhile to use skill chains instead of single skills.
Also, you could potentially turn the battles more into a puzzle game on the highest difficulties, where for a given group of enemies there is only one combination of skills to use that will get the player through. For this to work, the enemies could choose attacks more at random on lower difficulties and become completely predetermined at "absurd".

[Mark Pay]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. Please keep them coming.

I've been thinking of taking a very different approach to the narrative. I want to try a considerable degree of procedural generation for creatures, locations and missions. On top of that foundation I was thinking of having two modes. First a 'story' mode with three preset characters and a concise, short-story narrative. Second a 'freeplay' mode where players can create three characters and play themselves without any preset narrative.

I know that the previous narrative format has been popular so I am hesitant to suggest changes. But I don't want to remake TSE-2 with a different story and then try to add even more content.

I'm also considering removing classes entirely and having skills based on items held. Which would complicate skill chains quite a bit! But it would make more sense for the setting I have in mind. I really don't know whether to abandon skill chains entirely. :/

[Sir Palamides]

the dialogues could be a bit shorter....I mean not the length of the whole dialogues, I mean the length of text that one character says. sometimes it's like one page of text you have to read, and you read it because you want to know whats going on, but that decreases the game speed. just keep the blocks of text shorter...

allthough it was way better in TSE2 compared to TSE


second idea is to have the dialogues synchronised. take some people of the community, make a contest and then use the best voice as a voice for a character.
could be a problem with disk space though, if you want quality samples...

[Jimbob]

All I can say is... you crazy glutton for punishment

Well, I could probably say a little more... but I'll think on it...

[Trackersoft]

Hello...
1. It would be nice if you make rain. Do not make night because it would be bad i think...
2. It would be great if the mage have skill that makes him get into a blocking shield "ManaShield". The shield will go off only when the mp is low. The blocks are 100% but the mp goes low fast. This skill is really good for defenses!
3. It would be brilliant if you make a scene where "A war is going on". Animate the pictures of the characters when they speak and in the main menu when you chose them. Do not describe the characters life. When they meet they will speak along the way about them.

[Trackersoft]

Hey i almost forgot... It will be really nice if there is a shaolin monk character like PyanPau but have the iron thing skills XD.

[monsoonasiian]

Wow i've been waiting for this hehe i got so much i'm going to be adding all day. I think there should be a xp bar out side so u can see the progress of your team in a simple bar still having numbers indicating how much exp u got and how much exp u need to lvl. You should be able to open up a map after reaching the end of a lvl, choosing where you want to go instead of being forced to move on but still giving info about where you have to go so people don't get stuck. Also you should be able to go back to pass lvls, lets say one quest asks u to go back to a former lvl to give information to someone. Try adding something like a clock which changes the time of day like morning, midday, afternoon and night. Each time of day has a different effect on your party like morning kinda tired lunch at there peak afternoon drops a bit but not much night they get a lil tired. To fix there tiredness maybe enter a inn or drink a coffee something like that, its very extensive just a thought. Another thought is seasons i always liked the thought of walking through brown leaves in autumn. Armor which can be seen on the party, if you buy new armor and put it on a party member you will actually see them wearing it. I liked the idea in TSE how peter, Clare, Chelementis,and Samuel had their own solo fights which was exciting, sorry about the spelling on Chelementis its probably wrong forgive me. everyone should have their own signature move that they learn by doing a quest or achieving at a certain lvl. Make the environment react to some of the spells like lets say you use a wind move around leaves it makes the winds blow something like that. In TSE2 i didn't really understand how the armor worked with all the spells i'm sorry if i'm being offensive but what i'm saying is just make it a lil simpler like Special Attack, Normal Attack, Special Armor, Normal Armor. While we talk about armor each class should have specific armor like cloth, leather, mail....uh Wow sorry about that just a thought. Quests should be obtained u go quest around if you like every quest gives money or armor trinkets or weapons. Trackersofts idea about Rain is a great, snow would be good, and some times after a lil rain a rainbow just becasue its kool. I think there should be a lil remote area like Taz Tez place the Vareena enclave, some sort of alien or non human creatures who u can help. I recently finish watching scrapped princess which is an Anime, i liked the idea of a little girl being able to destory the world, and having a a older brother and sister who were willing to protect her till the end, I think there should be something like this a mysterous little girl who is hated by all but seeks refugee in this group of strangers and she changes the world for the good. Thats all i got for the moment but i'll be adding more when i can think of more ideas.

[Mark Pay]

Thanks for the ideas guys! Please keep 'em coming.

I definately want to try something with a day/night cycle and variable weather. It'd fit quite well with the theme I'm thinking of.

Hey Jim! Good to see you. Yes, I am displaying a serious masochistic streak here.

[ADmiral-tse]

Hi again,
with two finished games in the TSE series, there are certain features which define a TSE game. Things like the skill chains, battle system, party level up, map select screen & sidescrolling areas, story progression in chapters etc.

If you plan to throw some or most of these concepts out the window for your next game, maybe you should consider calling it something else.

It's not that I wouldn't want a third Spirit Engine, but the concepts are established now and with that come some expectations for a game with that name

Please think about it

[DBAce9Aura]

Here are my thoughts on TSE-3:

*You can keep the three chars in a row thing, but have the characters divided up into combat styles (Buffery, Fisticuffs, etc.) rather than classes (Knight, Mage, etc.) to encourage more flexibility.

*You can also keep the "no classic elements allowed" damage types. Those were pretty exciting (especially in what little of TSE-2 I've actually played).

*Make buffs/curses more exciting: Yes, I enjoyed the TSE-2 demo (even though I had no desire to pay for the full thing), but the buffs/curses drew too much from the classic "Power/Defense/Speed Up/Down" category. Please come up with something less conventional. Healing/Regeneration abilities can stay.

[Mark Pay]

I understand your concerns ADmiral. I think there will be more than enough elements carried from the first two games for it to earn the label.

If I proceed with development, much may change as I experiment, and I will certainly keep this in mind. I'm aware that people are fond of certain aspects of the existing games and this thread is as much to find out what those are as to collect new ideas.

[GiB]

Here are some other ideas:

1)Make equivalents of Rick Brutal and Jaques Zerau in TSE-3.The game will be much funier in this way.

2)There will be freeplay mode, right?What about some other modes:
Survival - after you kill one creature, a stronger one comes in its place, then even stronger one and so on until you die(like those spiders in the maw).Then you can add your score in a highscore table.
Multiplayer - you can fight with other players and see how strong you are.
Level editor - I've always want to make my own levels. With level editor the players can share different levels across the net, even whole campaigns. It'll be very exciting to make one.
_________________
Trust in wisdom.
Live in peace.