Thanks for a great game

[Benethyarr]

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the game, I'd rate it as one of the best CRPGs I've ever played - simply because of the universally excellent writing. Loved the feel of the world, loved the characters (I played with Ionae, PyanPau and Denever) and thoroughly enjoyed the story. The music is also excellent and deserves special mention as well.

I also enjoyed the challenge of the game - it's sometimes very hard but it's thoroughly satisfying to beat. Although, that said, the difficulty/complexity might be a bit on the high side sometimes, and I do think that could put some people off. In fact that'd be just about my only criticism of the game.

Anyway, thanks for a great game - and I really hope you stick at it and produce a Spirit Engine 3 some day

In the meantime I shall be nagging all my friends to buy a copy as well...

[Mark Pay]

Thanks for your support Benethyarr! I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed the game. Thank-you.

[Tiavals]

Remember to play it with other party combinations as well. I suggest having Grace in your next party, at least. She has a special connection with a certain Parliamentarism.

[Narakir]

I'll use this post to say the similar things...

I finished the game today with the same party as the original poster. It's just a piece of awesomeness you won't see often and I've played many RPGs. The world is excellent, close to ours in some aspects to make you think, but also original enough to be extremely refreshing.

The writing, the story and the character are unique and deep, and despite there's no dialogue options you really feel sympathy for the characters deep personalties what most commercial RPGs fail to accomplish.

On the game-play side the combat engine is addictive and not that easy to master hopefully you can switch to lower difficulty levels before getting crazy with the difficulty. Perhaps some skills like the musketeer's flash-bang could have been better, I used it sometimes but never saw any interest in maximising it.

The music is also very good and helps to depict the right atmosphere, I'll probably look for buying the soundtrack. This game is well made and polished on every aspect, probably because it isn't over ambitious and that's good.

Thank you for making it.

Now I'll probably try to redo the game with other characters and then I'll try a full musketeer team and see if I can beat it that way...

[Mark Pay]

Thank-you for your kind words, Narakir! I'm very to happy to hear that you enjoyed the game.

A word of warning - the boss battle in Chapter 8 is very difficult with a 3 musketeer team! You'll need lots of healing.

[DireAussie]

Mark and Josh,

I bought the game on Impulse in October but didnt play through it until recently. I just wanted to say thanks for making one of the best games ever! I also played through with the same party as the other two posters and loved the story; I felt that lack of dialog options was a positive rather than a negative. The intricate graphics are beautiful and the music is just fantastic.

I wish you all the best with the decision to move to freeware. Though I personally think your game is worth selling for another couple of years at least, even if at a low price point.

[Doctor Lepital]

Just want to join here in expression of the gratitude! I admire your sharing of processed inspiration to the world. I was astonished by the fact, that you made all the game alone by yourself (except for audio I guess), and I can slightly imagine how hard and adventurous it was (since I'm also a programmer) to keep the enterprise and motivation from falling apart throughout all the path.
You are great in art, drama and philosophy, which is not so common among programmers, and that's the main reason why I'm sure, that you are most appropriate for games-crafting.
As for the programming part... well, a bit more complexity wouldn't lack in the (non)linearity of scenario and in achievement of micro-goals too. But no too much, because I've seen lots of games-crafters stuck on this too much, and their games become more of a simulation of some complex problem-solving rather than piece of art. But this weakness in TSE2 is totally outweighed by the artistic strengths. The game-play actually reminded me enjoying a nice book.

Hope you'll return into game-crafting with not the weaker inspiration and productivity.

Screenshot with my stats on game finish: http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4517/47113459.3/0_63949_4628cff1_XL.jpg

P.S. I wanted to buy the game, but it's already freeware. I would suggest you publish a donation possibility for the visitors of the game site, - I'm (and surely lots of others) would gladly pay you back for the unique and valuable experience.

[DesertDweller]

http://www.thespiritengine.com/tse2-download.php

Donate link available partway down the page.
_________________
The Game Maker Desert

[Mark Pay]

Thanks Doctor Lepital ( and DesertDweller for helping ) I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed the game, and grateful that you took the time to write such kind words. It's heart-warming to know that folks are still playing the game so long after it's release.

I think it was your donation which I received last week. The money went to renew the www.thespiritengine.com domain which was due to expire in August. Thank-you for your support.

[Decimusvalerius]

I'd also like to thank you for making such a great game. I've went through it five times now, and it blows most RPGs I've played out of the water (And I've played quite a few, commercial and indie). It's a real shame it's not widely known. It's one of the best written games I've played, period.

Thanks again!

[RotateMe]

I'll jump on the wagon and registered solely to praise this piece of art. Like many said before, your writing and the world you created is amazing. I'm creating games myself and I was very confused when I found out that different characters interact a lot different. How the hell were you able to put so much detail in their personal development based on the other teammates. I would go as far and say this is unprecedented.

I'm going back to play now (as I just restarted, trying Ionae, Denever and PyanPau). I read in your blog that you have paused developing games, but I am eagerly waiting for your non-gaming related project!

Keep up the good work (or rather pick it up again )!

[Mark Pay]

Thanks RotateMe ( and a belated thanks to Decimusvalerius )

The character variation is a bit of a cheat! Each of the three character slots share particular personality traits, which means they take on the same role in any conversation and can even share dialogue.

I've not completely lost my desire for games development, but the demands of my job have dampened it considerably. I have a lot less free time now, and I do a lot of basic coding at work, which has killed my desire to do any coding at home. And I play very few games now.

My other project is mostly drawing and writing, so it's a nice change of pace. I expect to publish it in the form of an ongoing online graphic novel. I've still got a fair bit of script editing and visual design work left to do and I'm nervous about the eventual release. It's an interesting new challenge!

Thanks again and best wishes,

Mark

[Tiavals]

Not to be a brown-noser, but I'm quite pleased to hear that you're still continuing creative storytelling pursuits. The characters and story in TSE2 was phenomenal, as I've no doubt said many a time, and to hear that you'll be making an online graphic novel is great news indeed. I truly hope it succeeds, just remember to market it properly if it's commercial.

[Mark Pay]

Thanks Tiavals! I don't plan to make this a commercial project, but I am taking it quite seriously. I've been working on the script for the last three years, the visual design for the last year and I've just started on some proof-of-concept pieces to finalise a style to publish with. Last month I bought a Cintiq to work on, and it's worth every penny. I wish I'd had one whilst working on TSE-2, it really boosts your productivity. The current plan is to start publishing in early spring 2012. I hope it all works out!