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Post subject: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 6:17 pm 
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I have already sent a copy of the V0.99 beta to Draken, the first person stepping up to the plate to give our English version a complete going-over.

Previously, Taskforce gave the patched game two plays, one to format for long names, the second a complete play-through to tie up loose ends and submit a few final bug-fixes to Bongo`. Everyone completed these processes prior to sending the insertion structure back to me.

This morning I made about 30 changes to the "Monster Guide", a special feature in this game that lists all of the monsters a player encounters and provides - in addition to the listing - an individual page for each monster that displays a graphic, describes the creature, and outlines its attributes.

Aretha-I also has a main character renaming option built into the menu system. Since a player could theoretically name each character "WWWWWW", such a choice would use a lot of line space with our VWF font. Therefore, if someone were to name a character "i" or something shorter than "WWWWWW", that person would see a variable amount of unused space at the end of displayed text on each affected line, depending upon the name chosen.

For example, a player could rename default character "Carl" as "Bo" and see a lot of blank space on every line in the game where "Bo" subsequently appeared. On the other hand, "Carl" could become "Bongo`" or "Draken", using all six available spaces, and see less blank space. With every line in the game reformatted by Taskforce to accept "WWWWWW" without spilling over, players are assured of using the renaming feature without any lines spilling over and corrupting a whole screen.

We have also made every effort to retain as much colored text as possible, sort of a trademark in the Aretha series, but this feature does not mesh well with VWF. The slightest change to any line containing selective utilization of colored text could corrupt it, so these are not places to become extra nit-picky about semantics.

Aretha-I could certainly benefit from the services of a few additional beta testers. I already know who I would like to see step forward, and I believe you already know who you are. So, if any of you "usual suspects" have the time, either respond here, or if you haven't PM'ed me lately, do so by giving me an-email addy via PM, and thanks!

BTW, it would really be nice have "Dynamic Designs 2018", "Patch not for sale", whatever fits, displayed on the otherwise good-to-go title screen. In due course, we'll need to add the splash page as well.

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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 6:29 am 
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Hello! I've been kinda busy for the past month - and I will likely still be rather busy until the end of June - but I could give the game a shot too in my spare time; I assume the more eyes on it, the better. It's one of your projects I've been following for a while, along with Aretha-II. :) I should be able to do at least one playthrough and catch as much as I can in the process before the end of June.

EDIT: Thank you for the patch WB! My playthrough will probably be much slower this time around (even though this game has some side stuff to do, generally it seems pretty straightforward thus far!) Made my first report for now, I'll be on the lookout for more stuff on the way.

EDIT 2: Finished the game just now - managed to do some side stuff/find some secrets. Over the weekend I'll check the system/side dialogues a bit more in-depth, so as to get it done. Cool game, and I appreciate that you can manage to make some really powerful items early on at random. ;) Would be good to have a list of these items, in order to check their descriptions, but even without it you can get lots of random combinations easily. I'm guessing that Aretha II only developed this concept further.


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 8:47 am 
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I'm a little late, but thanks for helping with the beta! Glad to hear the game has been completed by at least one tester.


The Devil takes notes from Lina Inverse? That sounds about right.

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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:09 am 
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Hope this comes out this month, My birthday's on the tenth.


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:34 pm 
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MariusB wrote:
Hello! I've been kinda busy for the past month - and I will likely still be rather busy until the end of June - but I could give the game a shot too in my spare time; I assume the more eyes on it, the better. It's one of your projects I've been following for a while, along with Aretha-II. :) I should be able to do at least one playthrough and catch as much as I can in the process before the end of June.

EDIT: Thank you for the patch WB! My playthrough will probably be much slower this time around (even though this game has some side stuff to do, generally it seems pretty straightforward thus far!) Made my first report for now, I'll be on the lookout for more stuff on the way.

EDIT 2: Finished the game just now - managed to do some side stuff/find some secrets. Over the weekend I'll check the system/side dialogues a bit more in-depth, so as to get it done. Cool game, and I appreciate that you can manage to make some really powerful items early on at random. ;) Would be good to have a list of these items, in order to check their descriptions, but even without it you can get lots of random combinations easily. I'm guessing that Aretha II only developed this concept further.
I wish I had with me what little I assembled on translations of Mixed Form formulae, but I left this info on a PC in another home three states over from where I am right now. I will keep looking for it, in case I backed it up and burned it to a different flash chip.

I do have the super secret info (super spoilers) below, if interested. The first section is a machine translation I smoothed up a bit. The second part has my instructions for two of the features, based on game-play.

Spoiler! :
How to obtain the Zoppy Sword
In the town of Rainbow, examine the messages that appear on a chest five times, and acquire the Zoppy Sword.

How to obtain the Trinea

Fly Fang to Elysia Kingdom Fort Walzak area.
From there, fly east to the round-shaped island and walk into the woods.
A strong dragon will appear.
Defeat this enemy to win the unlimited HP and MP recovery and State recovery item.

Moving bubbles

Bubbles flowing back on the title screen press left or right on the d-pad and press the button to move.

How to obtain the Millennium

Travel northeast of a lake on Conlan Mountain to a cliff-side.
A strong dragon will appear. Defeat it and win the Millennium item.
Use Millennium to order shop items almost anywhere, any time.

How to obtain the Testament

Climb to the summit of Zaurus Mountain and search the cliff to the east of the mixed form wizard.
A strong dragon will appear.
Use the Testament to raise the levels of all to characters to 99.

How to obtain the Aretha CD

Arrange the gemstones in the proper order at the pillars in the hidden room.
The Aretha CD contains tracks of the game's music.

(Three of the gemstones are one each at Cause Mountain, Mt. Pinot, and Rainbow Town. I cannot recall where the fourth is.)

Elixir B unlimited access

Search the pillows on a bed in a Port Dutton hut.
You can then find the Elixir B item.
The supply is unlimited.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Better translations for Millennium and Testament
How to obtain the Millennium:

Search the cliffs northeast of the pond atop Mt. Conlon. The monster Tributor will appear. After the battle, you acquite the Millennium special item. Using this item, you may shop for goods remotely on demand from virtually anywhere.

How to obtain the Testament:

On the summit of Mt. Zaurus in the Billia region, examine the cliffs in the northeast, down the steps where the Mixed Form Magician is standing.

Then, TestDrag appears.

After the battle, you obtain the Testament special item. Use this to elevate all party members Level 99.


The plan is to release it inside the next 90 days.


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 2:42 am 
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Help Needed! SPOILERS!

Spoiler! :
I'm at the fight with Zaihalt in the Dragon Cave, and I can't seem to get anywhere against him. I'm at a good level (Easily took down enemies in the Fire areas, but now with this boss, I can't do much.) Pilulu told me before the fight to remove Dole's weapon, but that does absolutely nothing as far as I can tell. Was that even in the original script? I'm kind of stuck and can't progress until I get him beat. I can do a tiny bit of damage with Ariel's Moon A spell which usually lands, Fang's attack always misses, and Dole's attack only lands maybe 1/10 times even with Fortify C applied. I spent so much time in this battle that I even got the game to glitch. Any help?


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 11:19 am 
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Draken wrote:
Help Needed! SPOILERS!

Spoiler! :
I'm at the fight with Zaihalt in the Dragon Cave, and I can't seem to get anywhere against him. I'm at a good level (Easily took down enemies in the Fire areas, but now with this boss, I can't do much.) Pilulu told me before the fight to remove Dole's weapon, but that does absolutely nothing as far as I can tell. Was that even in the original script? I'm kind of stuck and can't progress until I get him beat. I can do a tiny bit of damage with Ariel's Moon A spell which usually lands, Fang's attack always misses, and Dole's attack only lands maybe 1/10 times even with Fortify C applied. I spent so much time in this battle that I even got the game to glitch. Any help?
I vaguely recall this battle. Here is all I have in the way of notes:
Spoiler! :
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
83. Holy Mountain (V0.80) (of 106)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommend LV52-54 for the trio. Now, go into the Dragon's cave which is
nearby. Make sure to remove only Doole's weapon. In the Dragon's cave, go all
the way up, and speak to the Great Elder. There is a scene. Now, fight
Zaihalt who is troublesome & annoying. In battle, Zaihalt will detect the
command of the trio, and will also use the magic of Reflect to bounce back the
magic of the trio. Make sure to use (Doole's magic of Power C (24MP) to
raise only Doole's attack power, and use Ariel's magic of Moon A (6MP)
on Zaihalt. Also, make (Doole continuously do normal attacks on Zaihalt since
Fang & Ariel's normal attacks are useless on Zaihalt. Use (Doole's magic of
Reborn (32MP) to revive a fallen member. After defeating Zaihalt, there
is a scene, and Fang will leave the duo. Then, Elemental Dragon will teleport
the duo to Port Town Listhorn.


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:09 pm 
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Yeah, that’s from the FAQ... I’ve done all that (weapon on or off seemed to make no difference. I’m still curious if it was in the original script or something that was added as a result of reading the faq). I guess I’ll take another stab at it later, but if I can’t get it beat, I’m going to be forced to cheat my way through it.


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 2:59 pm 
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I had to grind a lot for that battle; I think I was at level 58 or something when I finally managed to beat him. It's probably the hardest boss battle in the game, except for the final boss (if you're not prepared for him). I don't know if there's a better strategy than the one in the guide... you're also about 80% through the game I'd say at this point; it still has some fun events in store, though. :)


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Post subject: Re: Aretha(-I) Enters Full Beta Testing
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:48 pm 
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I have just returned (here) from managing a personal situation.

I've mentioned before that I am the guardian for two disabled family members, have been for the past five years. My mom finally succumbed to natural causes. Up until the last day, I ensured she had the best care and comfort possible. Now, also as executor, I'm managing and closing her estate. That will require a few months of paperwork and attending to other details.

Meanwhile, for a few hours here and there, I've been working along on other pursuits, including catching a few fish off my dock for supper and pecking away at one of our projects. Odysselya-II is now at V0.84(E), and I hope to get Aretha-I out the door. Later today, I will try to delve into the Mantis reports again, where I left off a few weeks ago.


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