Memoirs of Magic: Full Game is Now Avaliable!

[Joat]

The strange thing is, I didn't have a tremendous amount of difficulty with ropers. I dunno, maybe I'm good at keeping just the right amount of distance from them. Or maybe I just got memories mixed up. As I said, my memory is horrid.

In any case, I feel that one good idea would be to have the difficulty and size of random encounters change throughout the game, perhaps with the explanation that evil is becoming more restless the farther you get along in your quest. I felt it was kinda odd that the average encounter in the first dungeon felt easier than the average encounter on the way there.

The above does create one issue, though, in that there are random treasure chests and such that have fixed encounters along with them. So maybe you could find an excuse to have more and more of the hub area open up along the way? Kinda like how it does in the Zelda games, I suppose. That way, you can balance those fixed encounters under the assumption of when the player has access to them.

[TheStrawberryOctopus]

I LOVE MY MoM!!!! The Shining series meets DooM!
I love those little hopping piggies! I had to hunt them to survive, though.
Only two complaints:
The first can't be fixed, which is low fps in large, populated areas on toasted potatoes.
The other is that a couple of monsters right in the beginning forest flash in and out of existence. I can take them down, but their teleporting ability feels like it should come into play after one has gained a level or two.

Thank you for the demo! I very, VERY much look forward to the final product! Let us know when you're ready to enter it into the Cacowards! You've got my vote!

Thank you for the kind words, AND; I think I can actually fix the lag issue. I have some ideas on how I could do so, so I may attempt such things later on!

Also, while every suggestion has been very helpful, you two have probably been the most helpful!; I will MOST Likely implement the following things!
- Have an NPC tell you in the first city that enemies within the Land of Magic are optional, and can be fled from
- Have no Goblin Encounters until the first dungeon is cleared
- Include an Extra Alchemy Potion within the Grave Diggers hut
- I could perhaps have it so that you can Use the Death Cap, Mandragora and Nitro Gel to get minor benefits (10 Mana, 10 Health, 10 AP). This would give them a use if you are not playing as the Imp or Mage!
- IF the Ropers are Still difficult after all this, I will nerf their health down to half... but ONLY for the first area. Afterwards they will still retain their 250 HP. They may be easy after all the above changes
- I may exclude ropers from Spawning in the Land of Magic until After the first Dungeon.

Were they any other concerns I should adjust?... I think people wanted me to raise the platform for the First Dungeon to make the puzzle a bit more easier to solve.

[Terensworth]

Also, while every suggestion has been very helpful, you two have probably been the most helpful!; I will MOST Likely implement the following things!
- Have an NPC tell you in the first city that enemies within the Land of Magic are optional, and can be fled from
- Have no Goblin Encounters until the first dungeon is cleared
- Include an Extra Alchemy Potion within the Grave Diggers hut
- I could perhaps have it so that you can Use the Death Cap, Mandragora and Nitro Gel to get minor benefits (10 Mana, 10 Health, 10 AP). This would give them a use if you are not playing as the Imp or Mage!
- IF the Ropers are Still difficult after all this, I will nerf their health down to half... but ONLY for the first area. Afterwards they will still retain their 250 HP. They may be easy after all the above changes
- I may exclude ropers from Spawning in the Land of Magic until After the first Dungeon.
Were they any other concerns I should adjust?... I think people wanted me to raise the platform for the First Dungeon to make the puzzle a bit more easier to solve.

Dear me, no! I am quite empty of concerns! I'm glad to be able to help, been watching this mod for a while now and only decided to chime in cause of the demo, I really want to see it improve!
And yes! Having the ammo reagents act as very weak resource items is an excellent idea! And I also agree with leaving Ropers as is in health for now, as much as I dislike them, the ability to regain AP would probably solve their problematic aspects in health.

Please, keep it up, this mod is gonna be awesome!

[Joat]

That does bring up another idea. A "describe the currently selected item" button would be very helpful.

Speaking of inventory, since the Diplomacy item is passive, perhaps it should be an extra item on the Key Items screen or an extra interface item for the knight, rather than being a selectable item.

[TheStrawberryOctopus]

That does bring up another idea. A "describe the currently selected item" button would be very helpful.

Speaking of inventory, since the Diplomacy item is passive, perhaps it should be an extra item on the Key Items screen or an extra interface item for the knight, rather than being a selectable item.

The Only issue there is that it would only appear for key items for other characters. The other issue with the other suggestion is while I would LOVE to have item descriptions for objects in their menu, its a matter of finding a good way of doing it, if at all possible.

[Joat]

The "if possible" part may be tricky, I admit. I'm not finding any functions to do something based on currently selected inventory item. The best possible option may be in the form of including a brief description in the item's tag. For example, "Death Cap" could become "Death Cap: +10MP, Ingredient".

[Joat]

A few more things, most of them very nitpicky:

• In the library, indefinately -> indefinitely (I told you they were nitpicky)
• Similarly, in the first shop, Gorgan -> Gorgon. Speaking of the Gorgon Ring, it doesn't say what it does, which is not good. I had to look in the game's files to figure out what it does and whether it's worth saving up for.
• Speaking of said shop, while it lists the rules for how the price increases per upgrade on the signs, it doesn't list the current price for the upgrade.
• Now that I've gotten to a shop, I feel that the balance for the potions is fairly decent, in terms of price. It's just low enough to avoid a "dead character walking" state once the shop is upgraded provided the player is decent at signature weapon combat, while still high enough to make every potion precious. Depending on the player, this can potentially mean they'll still need to grind, but I feel that, especially once the changes to the ingredients are implemented (if you decide to do that), it'll be more of a case of "It's an option, but you don't have to if you're good enough".
• I notice there are no "quick-use X Item" keys in the controls like there are in Heretic or HeXen. I personally don't tend to use them, but I imagine some do and would appreciate the convenience.

Addendum: Also, Saphire -> Sapphire

[TheStrawberryOctopus]

A few more things, most of them very nitpicky:

• In the library, indefinately -> indefinitely (I told you they were nitpicky)
• Similarly, in the first shop, Gorgan -> Gorgon. Speaking of the Gorgon Ring, it doesn't say what it does, which is not good. I had to look in the game's files to figure out what it does and whether it's worth saving up for.
• Speaking of said shop, while it lists the rules for how the price increases per upgrade on the signs, it doesn't list the current price for the upgrade.
• Now that I've gotten to a shop, I feel that the balance for the potions is fairly decent, in terms of price. It's just low enough to avoid a "dead character walking" state once the shop is upgraded provided the player is decent at signature weapon combat, while still high enough to make every potion precious. Depending on the player, this can potentially mean they'll still need to grind, but I feel that, especially once the changes to the ingredients are implemented (if you decide to do that), it'll be more of a case of "It's an option, but you don't have to if you're good enough".
• I notice there are no "quick-use X Item" keys in the controls like there are in Heretic or HeXen. I personally don't tend to use them, but I imagine some do and would appreciate the convenience.

Just a quick update; Ingredient items can be consumed, the book within the cabin tells you They CAN be consumed (and hints that other classes can do more with it!), and some extra alchemy items to tide you over til the Bee Village!
In addition to this, Goblins no longer spawn until the first map is completed. I think most people will find getting to the village a lot more easier now!

I will be having an editor go over my spellings from now on due to have difficulty spelling this stuff correctly!

Funnily enough, I am sure I coded it in to Say how much upgrades actually cost. I will try and fix that, and I can look into a quick use button. Other misc news is that Golems no longer hurt themselves with their own rockets now, and Goblins AI doesnt break after being hit by the Fire Traps!

[Captain J]

Ingredient items can be consumed? That sounds a bit dangerous yet makes me curious! Yeah, the Side-Effects. I can see it.

[Joat]

Minor thing: I have 20 diplomacy at this time, 402 gold, and can't buy a 500 gold health potion. Furthermore, when I go to buy a 250 gold alchemy potion, my sum is reduced to 194 gold, not 202 gold as math would dictate. So while it's CLOSE, there seems to be something off about the math at shops with diplomacy. That or, more likely, your explanation was imprecise and the shop is actually working as intended. I took a look at the ACS to see if I could figure out the problem, and it seems to be dividing the price by 1.20 at 20 diplomacy, not multiplying the price by 80%. At lower diplomacy levels, it works roughly similarly either way, but the difference gets more dramatic over time. For example, if one somehow had 100 diplomacy, then the way you described it would mean that character would get everything for free (multiply by 0%), while the way it's coded would mean the character would get everything at half price (divide by 2.00).

So ultimately, if you just explained imprecisely, there's no issue, but if you meant it to work how you explained it earlier, then that code needs to be modified.

[Captain J]

Hmm, i didn't know that diplomacy effect is complexly coded. And Is it possible to have 100 diplomacy maximum in this demo version without cheating? But in demo or not, i think we eventually could reach 100 diplomacy during the gameplay.

Well my real question is, is it possible to get 100 diplomacy maximum in throughout the gameplay? And is buying items for free after achieving it intentional?

[Joat]

That was an example to clearly show the differences in how the two difference approaches would work. I find that exaggerated examples are often good for making a point very clear, even if they're rarely realistic. I have yet to complete the demo, but I doubt 100 diplomacy is possible in it.

[TheStrawberryOctopus]

Minor thing: I have 20 diplomacy at this time, 402 gold, and can't buy a 500 gold health potion. Furthermore, when I go to buy a 250 gold alchemy potion, my sum is reduced to 194 gold, not 202 gold as math would dictate. So while it's CLOSE, there seems to be something off about the math at shops with diplomacy. That or, more likely, your explanation was imprecise and the shop is actually working as intended. I took a look at the ACS to see if I could figure out the problem, and it seems to be dividing the price by 1.20 at 20 diplomacy, not multiplying the price by 80%. At lower diplomacy levels, it works roughly similarly either way, but the difference gets more dramatic over time. For example, if one somehow had 100 diplomacy, then the way you described it would mean that character would get everything for free (multiply by 0%), while the way it's coded would mean the character would get everything at half price (divide by 2.00).

So ultimately, if you just explained imprecisely, there's no issue, but if you meant it to work how you explained it earlier, then that code needs to be modified.

I think I may of explained it wrong, since I wouldn't want everything to be free; 100 diplomacy would mean everything should be half price (which is something you will be able to do in the full game!). Did I explain that incorrectly in game, if so, pin point me to it and I will fix it!

(Also, you have been very helpful Joat. This may seem like an odd request, but since you seem to be good at finding this stuff, do you think you could help me figure out why the shop exit is soft locking?... its the only glitch in the demo I am having a rough time figuring out, and having another brain to but heads with would help in that regard I think!)

[Joat]

Funnily enough, that did happen to me as well, the soft lock. I'll see what I can find.

As for the description, I don't think I've seen anything explaining it yet in-game. It was on the forums that you gave the incorrect description.

[Joat]

I haven't found the exact problem, but I have found some useful things:

• The freeze can reliably be reproduced by holding "move backward" immediately upon entering the shop from the Earth village.
• The angle is not the issue. Turning around and heading forward into the portal produced the same result.
• The speed seems to be part of the issue. Going slower, or moving forward THEN back, did prevent the freeze.
• Timing is not the issue. If I wait a bit before moving backward into the entrance, the freeze still occurs.
• This freeze always works for the knight and mage, but never seems to work for any other class. Both of those classes are tied for the tallest in the game, but even changing the knight's height to match the warrior's did not prevent the glitch from triggering on him, so it seems it may not be the height itself that causes it. Still, the fact that it only seems to trigger on the knight and mage seems worth looking into.

Addendum: I have further thought on the matter, and there is one other thing they share that no other class does: their Agility stat. This led me to try a few more tests:

• After changing the knight's agility, there was no freeze.
• After thickening the portal, there was no freeze.
• After removing the script execution effect from the back of the portal, there was no freeze.
• After removing the script execution effect from the front of the portal, there was a freeze (nothing should have happened at all when trying to enter from that side).

So apparently, the problem is that the player is interacting with the back of the unintended linedef of the portal, instead of the front of the intended linedef of the portal.