[From hack to indie] Path of the Midnight Sun

[Eldritch Abomination]

Pic of the day~

Anything strange here?

It kind of seems like your knights are in the walls?

Though the map seems kind of small for that poor little Fleet there? He won't have much room to move around in and cheese away from afar. Though I do love the use of it. I always thought they were such a clever, but sadly under-used, enemy.

[X-Naut]

I think that's supposed to be a staircase.

Indoor/Outdoor Fighter skills with a movement bonus a la Tearring Saga?

[Gocciole]

I managed to get into a random monster battle and I get a game over as soon as I move a unit.

Am I going to be able to continue the save when skirmishes will be properly implemented? nice hack btw.

[eclipse]

I managed to get into a random monster battle and I get a game over as soon as I move a unit.

Am I going to be able to continue the save when skirmishes will be properly implemented? nice hack btw.

That's intended. Retreat out of there, if possible!

[Gocciole]

That's intended. Retreat out of there, if possible!

I actually had no idea you could retreat from skirmishes,thanks.

[Lectro]

This hack looks absolutely beautiful - just one little question. If Phantoms aren't summons, what is? If you have nothing in mind, Gargoyles would make pretty cool ones. After all, if you're going to summon something, why make it some bland human thing when you can summon a flat out monster?

[Xtremekiwi]

Okay, now that I caught up with everything...

One thing that I really like about the hack so far is the characters and their interactions. What I like are the moments when the charaters just...interact outside of the maps and supports.

The scene where everyone gets drunk after...(I forget which chapter it is, but it's right before the one where Faratrass runs away) I like because while yes, it does serve to advance the story but more then that, I like it because of the non-plot elements: Just characters talking and having fun.

. That's one thing I don't like in most FE games: Most non-plot critical characters get maybe one or two lines after recruitment, and then they dissapear outside of being just a sprite with combat statistics. Yes, supports are there to flesh them out, but even that's not enough, given the 5 support per character limit and often not even bothering with them. FE10 is especially guilty of this because of the revamped support system (For the worse) So here's my suggestion if you're open to them:

Have there be two types of cutscenes in most areas where you can maybe afford to do so: A generic one with only the plot-critical characters if you have any dead and/or unrecruited characters and a much more fleshed-out one if you have everyone with you alive. It would help build the characters without having to go too much out of the way with the support system. Basically it's like this:

If you have even one character dead or missing, the cutscene would only consist of Fa, Hellios and whoever you might have just picked up.

If you have everyone alive, it would be a much more in-depth cutscene with various characters discussing current and past events, interacting with one another and in general showing that yes, these characters are in fact characters, not nameless and faceless (outside their...well, name and face) soldiers who only serve to kill other (fully) nameless and faceless enemies.

Edited April 11, 2015 by Xtremekiwi

[Wayward Winds]

Okay, now that I caught up with everything...

One thing that I really like about the hack so far is the characters and their interactions. What I like are the moments when the charaters just...interact outside of the maps and supports.

The scene where everyone gets drunk after...(I forget which chapter it is, but it's right before the one where Faratrass runs away) I like because while yes, it does serve to advance the story but more then that, I like it because of the non-plot elements: Just characters talking and having fun.

. That's one thing I don't like in most FE games: Most non-plot critical characters get maybe one or two lines after recruitment, and then they dissapear outside of being just a sprite with combat statistics. Yes, supports are there to flesh them out, but even that's not enough, given the 5 support per character limit and often not even bothering with them. FE10 is especially guilty of this because of the revamped support system (For the worse) So here's my suggestion if you're open to them:

Have there be two types of cutscenes in most areas where you can maybe afford to do so: A generic one with only the plot-critical characters if you have any dead and/or unrecruited characters and a much more fleshed-out one if you have everyone with you alive. It would help build the characters without having to go too much out of the way with the support system. Basically it's like this:

If you have even one character dead or missing, the cutscene would only consist of Fa, Hellios and whoever you might have just picked up.

If you have everyone alive, it would be a much more in-depth cutscene with various characters discussing current and past events, interacting with one another and in general showing that yes, these characters are in fact characters, not nameless and faceless (outside their...well, name and face) soldiers who only serve to kill other (fully) nameless and faceless enemies.

That actually sorta happens with the drinking scene already (end of Ch. 3 for the record). The "core" party storywise are Fa, Hellios, Rya and Cristoph - Rya and Cristoph retreat as opposed to die, thus are always available for scenes. There's two versions of the drinking scene; one that uses Puledra and Andre, and one that uses Rya and Cristoph (with a little Hellios). If either Puledra or Andre are dead, you get the second version.

Edited April 11, 2015 by Wayward Winds

[The Protagonist]

I actually had no idea you could retreat from skirmishes,thanks.

It's one of the reasons FE8 is so broken. You can get easy infinite money by sniping droppable spears and runeswords on floor 1 of Valni, then auto-retreat.

[Xtremekiwi]

That actually sorta happens with the drinking scene already (end of Ch. 3 for the record). The "core" party storywise are Fa, Hellios, Rya and Cristoph - Rya and Cristoph retreat as opposed to die, thus are always available for scenes. There's two versions of the drinking scene; one that uses Puledra and Andre, and one that uses Rya and Cristoph (with a little Hellios). If either Puledra or Andre are dead, you get the second version.

Ah, I see. Still, it would be nice to see such events happen later, again, for character building.

[2nd Lieutenant Lorence]

This a really good Hack i'm loocking forward to new updates, because the storry is really good and also the soundtracks, i like the remix Clash of Interests.

If i may suggest give Faratras a bit more res because of the shamans in prolouge (it's only a Suggestion).

A small bug when i want to recruit the trainee soldier then it won't work whith André even if he spocke whith her Mother.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Olivert Reise Arnor

[ryan5152001]

[spoiler=Sacred Stones]According to Formortiis' description, it says, "His sole desire is to remake the world." Will that have anything to do with Midnight Sun?

[MarisaCaliber]

Tbh i'm more excited about 2.0 or even 1.5 than i am for FE if lol, keep up the good work! :)

[Silith13]

True. A fire emblem made by someone who has balance in interest along with a good story and characters that aren't just all Anime Tropes.

This is how fire emblem could be!

no

This is how Fire Emblem WILL BE!

I will draw hunderds of fan pictures if it means this comes out one day earlier.

[ErrantDShepherd]

This a really good Hack i'm loocking forward to new updates, because the storry is really good and also the soundtracks, i like the remix Clash of Interests.

If i may suggest give Faratras a bit more res because of the shamans in prolouge (it's only a Suggestion).

A small bug when i want to recruit the trainee soldier then it won't work whith André even if he spocke whith her Mother.

I have had that same bug, its mentioned in the readme. Basically you can not use suspend and resume during that chapter between speaking to the mother and recruit, so either have to use save states or just play through long enough till you can get to the talk conversation.

[EvictedOne]

I've actually made an account solely for making this post. I downloaded this game, I'm up to Chapter 5x, and am absolutely loving it. But I've run into something I see as an issue, possibly due to not knowing what happens later on that might required Saai and his Soul Mirror.

Said issue: I beat Saai with Weiss, Shiori, and Ceapana. Which was followed by a Game Over screen. Again, Saai seems like the kind of character that would be important a little bit later, and that Soul Mirror being a national treasure would prolly means it has some sort of significance later on as well. But, being the try hard SOB that I am, I save scummed the absolute hell out of that level retrying different patterns over and over and over again. Finally beat him, at a point in which Shiori only had 2HP, Weiss was nearly unarmed (not counting the iron sword, pointless against Saai), and Mend had been long broken. Saai had actually managed to use one Elixir, but managing to get him down to 15HP, and then waiting for him to be attacked by Shiori's Judgelight, or Weiss' Lancereaver or Halberd to bring him down to about 11HP (from Judgelight; 10HP with Weiss' weapons) and then just finishing him with the party's attacks worked.

Now, if Saai IS relevant later on and can't be replaced by another NPC for cutscenes or anything, then this is my own fault and I really shouldn't be as disappointed as I am. But, holy heck, I really wanted that Soul Mirror.

[Perfect Infinitive Exitus]

Its basically the same with the last promise

chapter 5x

cid dropped an elexir

i wanted that

killed him

gota gameover

wtf?

i got my elexir

but lol i got a game over

rage intensifies

why do you do that

they are background charas anyway

[Xtremekiwi]

I've actually made an account solely for making this post. I downloaded this game, I'm up to Chapter 5x, and am absolutely loving it. But I've run into something I see as an issue, possibly due to not knowing what happens later on that might required Saai and his Soul Mirror.

Said issue: I beat Saai with Weiss, Shiori, and Ceapana. Which was followed by a Game Over screen. Again, Saai seems like the kind of character that would be important a little bit later, and that Soul Mirror being a national treasure would prolly means it has some sort of significance later on as well. But, being the try hard SOB that I am, I save scummed the absolute hell out of that level retrying different patterns over and over and over again. Finally beat him, at a point in which Shiori only had 2HP, Weiss was nearly unarmed (not counting the iron sword, pointless against Saai), and Mend had been long broken. Saai had actually managed to use one Elixir, but managing to get him down to 15HP, and then waiting for him to be attacked by Shiori's Judgelight, or Weiss' Lancereaver or Halberd to bring him down to about 11HP (from Judgelight; 10HP with Weiss' weapons) and then just finishing him with the party's attacks worked.

Now, if Saai IS relevant later on and can't be replaced by another NPC for cutscenes or anything, then this is my own fault and I really shouldn't be as disappointed as I am. But, holy heck, I really wanted that Soul Mirror.

The game over on killing Saai is intended as yes, he is an important character who shows up in the following chapters.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Xtremekiwi

[Wayward Winds]

The game over on killing Saai is intended as yes, he is an important character who shows up in the following chapters.

...Not to mention he needs the Soul Mirror for story purposes as well.

...

[spoiler=Alfred...]

...Why is that Soul Mirror "droppable"? In my opinion, that's sort of encouraging people to unknowingly waste time fighting their way to a game over.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Wayward Winds

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

...Not to mention he needs the Soul Mirror for story purposes as well.

...

[spoiler=Alfred...]

...Why is that Soul Mirror "droppable"? In my opinion, that's sort of encouraging people to unknowingly waste time fighting their way to a game over.

that is a very good question.

[EvictedOne]

...Not to mention he needs the Soul Mirror for story purposes as well.

...

[spoiler=Alfred...]

...Why is that Soul Mirror "droppable"? In my opinion, that's sort of encouraging people to unknowingly waste time fighting their way to a game over.

that is a very good question.

Glad I'm not the only one thinking that. Seriously, I felt like that's the absolute WORST way to pull my leg. One second somebody's imagining they're gonna get a rare artifact after completing a nigh impossible challenge, next thing we know, GAME OVER. I mean, hilarious in hindsight, yes. But fuuuuu-

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

its kinda like to the same extent of putting a droppable on fargus in FE7 now that i think about it

[ryan5152001]

The game tests you to see if you will go against what it tells you to do. They clearly tell you that you're not supposed to do that, but maybe they should have higher stats to make it impossible for you to do so.

Edited April 18, 2015 by ryan5152001

[eclipse]

The game tests you to see if you will go against what it tells you to do. They clearly tell you that you're not supposed to do that, but maybe they should have higher stats to make it impossible for you to do so.

Nothing stops the player from opening the ROM in Nightmare, and editing stats accordingly.

[Brendor]

Nothing stops the player from opening the ROM in Nightmare, and editing stats accordingly.

That seems kinda pointless, besides if you're going to go that far, you may as well make it easier on yourself and just do a memory edit