sierralee
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June 2 Update
🕑 Added 2024-06-02 17:09:32 +0000 UTCSo the final battle update is out. Had to do one hotfix for some players, but otherwise it seems pretty stable. I'm overall happy, but also very tired.
But no rest for Sierra: I need to do at least some promotion. I have made a Reddit post, so please take a look if you want some final battle facts:
Anyway, please accept these pre-prepared notes about the final battle for your entertainment. Mild implied spoilers if you haven't played. Some of these are just interesting notes, while others are answers/questions that people may have.
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Final Battle Facts
- The number of files in TLS's project folder went from 3793 in version 0.73.4 to 4414 in version 0.74.0.
- The final battle occupies switches 5261-5600. Not all of those switches are used, but it's still in the ballpark of 300 switches, or 5% of switches in the whole game. Alright, maybe that doesn't sound impressive, but TLS has been in development a long time! I think this is the most I've added in any single update.
Final Battle Playtesting
- There should be four ways to hit a game over outside of combat in the final battle, but I don't know how likely players are to hit any of them. You could go find them if that's your sort of thing?
- I tried to include various options for catastrophic saves, but I'm honestly not sure how far unprepared saves can make it or the lowest possible Final Battle Points you can have and actually make it through. This is one type of testing I had no time to do.
- Several of the final bosses scale based on your performance, less to be perfectly balanced than so optimized players aren't completely bored. This is a brand new mechanic and not really how RPG Maker is supposed to work, so... let me know how it feels?
Final Battle Notes
- As you've likely noted, there are three basic endings. One ends here, and while I wanted one of them to end after the epilogue for the sake of symmetry, I think I'll probably let both go to the postgame? Still waffling on this.
- At various points, depending on the player's party choices, there are random interactions. I ran out of steam doing these but would be happy to add more if people have suggestions.
- The new skills and EXP levels in the final battle are intentionally stronger/higher than previously. The goal was make the final battle feel climactic without breaking balance on the rest of the game, and these skills are not meant to be used in other contexts. That said, if something is off it should still be tweaked.
- During the final battle, every character has a personal check. It seems likely that I forgot some unique equipment that should add a boost, so mention if you notice. I do not intend to have shards contribute to this except for the divine fights, where it just makes too much sense not to do.
- Some people are no doubt worried about how Antarion is a loose end, but don't worry: he's intentionally being saved for the epilogue.
- Ginasta, likewise, will have new dialogue and final character notes in the postgame.
Comments
Nicholas
Alright, finished the final battle. It was really good! I was very impressed by how much was woven in while still making the whole thing feel natural. Also, I don't know whether I liked or disliked the spirit bomb scene, but I know I was grinning like an idiot the whole time, so there is that. I only have one complaint and one inherent limitation. The complaint is that I wish there had been some kind of horrible twist. Our two villains act fairly predictably throughout, it would have been nice to have something to really throw the gameplan off. The inherent limitation is one of focus. Because the entity, Varia, and Ginasta had heavy foreshadowing, but at the same time you have all of these many many beloved characters who need a payoff. So it is pretty impossible to do both, even though it is a slight bummer that those 3 don't get a huge surprising payoff.
Sierra Lee
Good question. The 3AW switches span from 1721 to about 2040... so that's also about 300 switches! Maybe that's just the length my long/complex events end up using, haha.
eq
Just out of curiosity, how many switches were in the Third Arclentian War? I'm pretty sure it's up there as well.
