Housepets! Tails of Babylon! * Developer's Thread *

[CHAOKOCartoons]

Blowing up everything with bombs just seems odd in general and i don't recall anyone fighting like that casually.

Rikku from Final Fantasy 10 used bombs as her main weapon. This is also the game I got the idea to give Peanut a ball as a weapon

[D-Rock]

Blowing up everything with bombs just seems odd in general and i don't recall anyone fighting like that casually.

Rikku from Final Fantasy 10 used bombs as her main weapon. This is also the game I got the idea to give Peanut a ball as a weapon

Really? Despite never playing through it, I would have guessed Wakka.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Also there are some things that you wouldn't be able to blow up at all.

Kirby 64 had an ability to use bombs, and Paper Mario has a bomb partner who can blow things up.

[CHAOKOCartoons]

Well yeah, Wakka was the inspiration for the ball. I'm just saying Rikku and Wakka came from the same game and had weird weapons, both of which we use in this game.

[SuperStar]

I hope you don't feel like you're being ganged up on this... But even a bomb could've destroyed his fate. Also I never really cared about what happened to King's fate, so that probably had something to do with me not feeling the power in the moment.

Also, I hate to sound rude GameCobra, but why don't you tell us what you have for characters before you do them? I mean, you're always like "BTW, this is how this character works." >_>

[skyd]

Uhh...skyd, it's a bomb

... I thought it was a sword or something...
DERPY ME

[SuperStar]

Swords have already been covered by both King and Bailey. Here's a collection of all weapons colored in thus far, in case you want to stay on top of things. http://d-rock92.deviantart.com/gallery/ ... on-Weapons

[D-Rock]

I wouldn't mind coming up with more swords, honestly, we just haven't gotten to anyone who would use them yet. Buster did warn against having too many blade users, though. We have wide swords and great swords, it was briefly mentioned that Itsuki would use a katana, and I had an idea for a short sword and shield, but that hasn't come to fruition in any way at this time.

Also

Also I never really cared about what happened to King's fate, so that probably had something to do with me not feeling the power in the moment.

Wow. Though I am curious to hear as to why, really. That sounds like an interesting perspective.

[GameCobra]

One final comment about the hammer:

I can relate to that POV, but even if Bino was ignorant about what the watch was, he nonetheless showed himself that destroying people's belongings infront of everyone showed how badly Bino gets when he has control. Fido called it petty, but destroying someone's belongings to prove a point is a major issue of personal control.

Tiger's choice for having both TP and MP was a funny one. I figured the one with the most HP would be Tiger, but why not go further and give him MP and TP as well? His movesets are based on him being a glutton, afterall. Just hope he's fighting enemies that can be drained, otherwise he's eating the party's items! =P

I hope you don't feel like you're being ganged up on this... But even a bomb could've destroyed his fate. Also I never really cared about what happened to King's fate, so that probably had something to do with me not feeling the power in the moment.

Also, I hate to sound rude GameCobra, but why don't you tell us what you have for characters before you do them? I mean, you're always like "BTW, this is how this character works." >_>

I actually did recall mentioning how the main cast was going to be in terms of fighting and abilities. I just like to remind you guys =P

I'm trying to check my posts, but I'll just make a quick refresher here again:

Peanut - Tanking and supporting
Grape - Dealing pure physical damage
Tarot - Universal magic and grinding
Max - Status debuffs
Bino - Taunting and counterattacking
Fox - Cheap, adaptable attacks
Bailey - Heavy attacks
King - A hybrid of Attacking, Magic and Buffing
Fido - Expensive AOE/Group damage
Sabrina - Offensive Magic

@CHAOKOCartoons - You mean Rikku's limit break, Mix? That would require two items, though. Rikku uses claws as her main weapon =P

@D-Rock - What about Axes and Bows?

[D-Rock]

Okay, Cobra, I see where you're coming from better, now.

As for your ideas for character abilities, I think Star meant specifics. We had no idea that you had grenades in mind when you mentioned AOE abilities for Fido. I thought he would strafe them with his gun.

Axes and bows? Well, I did propose axes for Bino a good long while ago before bombs were settled, but no one has that at this moment. I did briefly consider giving axes/hammers to Rex after this was all brought up, though. As for bows, that never came up before. Grape used one in HP1X, though we had long decided on pole arms before I came across that part of the comic. Silly idea, I have been considering reworking Serial Sleeper into a bow just for the fun of it.

[CHAOKOCartoons]

@CHAOKOCartoons - You mean Rikku's limit break, Mix? That would require two items, though. Rikku uses claws as her main weapon =P

...Oh wow you're right, that WAS her weapon . I didn't remeber that at all! I only remember using her Limit Break over and over and stealing items from enemies, I must have hardley ever looked at her weapon or just never did any normal attacks with her! I may have also just constantly had her use bombs on enemies instead of attacking... Oh well, I guess we're making it up now!

Also I kinda agree with Super about the fate thing. I never really cared that much about the fate watch at the time, I was concerned because King was concerned, but it just felt like the story was just saying "this is bad because... its bad!". And it really just made me think "man, Bino's mean!", as in comparison to when he used the Catnip bomb where King was very emotionally hurt by that experience. For that reason, the bomb is what stands out to me rather than the watch. Plus, Bino reffers to using a Catnip bomb more often (like when the secret santa thing happened with him and Peanut, except then he didn't use it). The hammer just seemed like a prop, and wasn't really the source of the moment.
That's my last word on that as well, continuing that would just be us repeating what we've already said.

Another thing; side characters are getting more than one weapon?? I mean I know you get to use them in the aftergame and some of them even get a shadow boss fight(?), but I feel like that wouldn't really matter at that point (especially with how many side party members there are supposed to be). But I guess if you're willing to do it I won't oppose it, I mean it is a plus after all. Just seems a bit un-necessary

[SuperStar]

@GameCobra, Yes, I do remember us going through the basic listings of each character, but like D-Rock said, I mean more about the specific moves you are giving characters without much mention of it to us.

@D-Rock, I can see Rex using an ax. And it be cool to see the Serial Sleeper in bow format, though of course it won't be used in game. I think the reasons that we never really thought of a bow character was since we already had Peanut and Fido, who both use projectile attack(more or less).

@CHAOKO, the idea is to give minor characters about 5 weapons. A starting, an upgrade, a viper, a monster, and a legendary. But then there are characters like Jess or Itsuki who only get like 1/2 weapons.

[GameCobra]

Well I can't really mention the specifics until they are done, but it's not like you guys have to worry about it, either. These changes in the RPG maker are not as irreversible as what you guys do since you guys are drawing all of the content. The only pain I have is if someone accidentally deletes the move or animations I made for them, that's all.

When I make the abilities I can change them on the fly. If there is something you don't like about what I make, I can change it easily. I could even make the moves something else as well, like part of a monster's setup or Bino's movelist. Fido's grenade moves I can also get rid of it and just give him something different if need be. That's part of the fun of balancing and making abilities. I'd just think a cop that dates a supernatural girlfriend and has a very serious cop owner would be prepared for such encounters =P

Silly idea, I have been considering reworking Serial Sleeper into a bow just for the fun of it.

An idea I mentioned before is giving most of the higher class weapons some special features to add more moves to the player's list. Grape summoning a bow to do a group-wide attack would also be one of them, but it's more of a reference to her adventures in Tarot's Prideland fantasies. :3

[Amazee Dayzee]

Since we have characters that deal offensive attacks and magic attacks, do we have characters that can defend against these attacks also or raise their resistance?

[GameCobra]

Haven't designed it yet, but King and Tarot will do that eventually. Until we delve into magic using monsters later on. I can only test it on the first boss for now. =P

And just incase, here's a list off the top of my head for now of what I plan on doing with the secondary characters:

Sasha - All about group support. She gives the group a lot of group buffs, but can't fight at all. her moves will even give her more TP so she won't run out.
Rex - A pure fighter. He has the highest stats in the game, but he has no special attacks. might make his weapons give him at least one move.
Joey - For now, he's the same as Maxwell. While Max is able to give status debuffs, Joey will create even worse ones than Maxwell. He just won't be able to fight as well as Maxwell. Plan on finding a better idea later involving items, not gear. Like a chemist.
Zach - A pure healer. Even offensively!. The weakest stats, but offsets this by having a lot of MP and a pure healer. His Lucky Rabbit foot is a gamble - it heals the enemy, but it might cause death as well.
Kevin - designed to NOT use weapons like Monks. his abilities allow him to cause damage and has a lot of multi-strike moves. He's second only to Grape for pure damage, but has no weapons to make him stronger than her.
Ralph - no plans yet, but I plan on making him the type of person that gives the whole team %20 physical attack damage. Mightbe too much, though. will think about it more.
Tiger - as mentioned before, a drainer. HP, MP and TP drainage all the way.
Marvin - No plans for him just yet either, but an interesting suggestion I thought is make him the team's biographer. as in, make him the guy that gives the players the game's history, the lore and the overall information on monsters. make him the narrator of sorts. Might also double the EXP/Gold for the party.
North Star - I would love to see him use axes :3 ... but from a game point of view, he would be the one that damages and stuns a lot.
Res - The opposite of Sasha. While she fully supports the group buffs, he fully debuffs the enemy.

[SuperStar]

Yes. North Star needs to use an Ax. One of his later axes could be called the "Death Ax".

[D-Rock]

Alright, individual thoughts;

Sasha - we initially thought of Res being the pure support, but reading this, it really does make more sense to have Sasha as that role. But can't attack? We've caught a glimpse of how violent she can be, maybe make that her only pure offensive skill? Also, how about single hit debuff skills to balance her multi-target buffs.

Rex - Sounds like a good one. What about weapon type, though?

Joey - Again, sounds good. So, weapon? Last I heard, knives, which I would enjoy doing.

Zach - Very interesting. I like it.

Kevin - Wait, no weapons? Aww, I wanted to give him batons. But pure powerhouse, pretty good.

Ralph - Yeah, lower it a bit. May make it too broken otherwise.

Tiger - Drain skills, but will he have skills that use said energy? Also, weapon type?

Marvin - Isn't that what the U&U compendium does? Though interesting to have him give a money and experience boost. Weapon?

North Star - Sounds good, and may be able to make use of an axe design I already have.

Res - So opposite, so if you like my suggestion for Sasha, how about he have multi-hit debuffs and single-target buffs?

Also, got this.

I had a version with a green glow in the background, but I ended up feeling that this was better.

[GameCobra]

Alright, individual thoughts;

Sasha - we initially thought of Res being the pure support, but reading this, it really does make more sense to have Sasha as that role. But can't attack? We've caught a glimpse of how violent she can be, maybe make that her only pure offensive skill? Also, how about single hit debuff skills to balance her multi-target buffs.

Rex - Sounds like a good one. What about weapon type, though?

Joey - Again, sounds good. So, weapon? Last I heard, knives, which I would enjoy doing.

Zach - Very interesting. I like it.

Kevin - Wait, no weapons? Aww, I wanted to give him batons. But pure powerhouse, pretty good.

Ralph - Yeah, lower it a bit. May make it too broken otherwise.

Tiger - Drain skills, but will he have skills that use said energy? Also, weapon type?

Marvin - Isn't that what the U&U compendium does? Though interesting to have him give a money and experience boost. Weapon?

North Star - Sounds good, and may be able to make use of an axe design I already have.

Res - So opposite, so if you like my suggestion for Sasha, how about he have multi-hit debuffs and single-target buffs?

As far as things go, Res can use books to give him some support if need be.

If you want my suggestion on weapons, here's what I think:

Sasha - Interestingly, bottles. Sasha seems to have a bottle theme I find thanks to her owner and that she likes to bottle things up, but a purse works too thanks to her newer design.

Rex - Logs or Maces. Logs for the hard-working type of Rex or Maces for the brute force side of him.

Joey - something of a mix between pencils kits, school kits and collection boxes. Regarding the knives, you could give Joey a "ninja kit" or "Thieves kit" that contains all of his knife needs

Zach - Poor Zach gets a stick, but at least they get better =P

Kevin - *shakes fist at no weapons*

Ralph - Batons.

Tiger - If Garfield were Tiger, he would use Pies. Get revenge for all the "SPLORTS". I'm thinking whips since it's considered the lazy man's weapon sometimes. =P

Marvin - Have to get back on Marvin. he doesn't strike me as the fighting type, but i'm leaning towards pipes as an alternative to baseball bats since Max uses knuckles

North Star - Sounds good, and may be able to make use of an axe design I already have.

Res - his good old fics and stories =P

[Saturn381]

Also, got this.

I had a version with a green glow in the background, but I ended up feeling that this was better.

Nice job, D-Rock.

[SuperStar]

Sasha- We've discussed some stuff before, and I think we may have decided on a purse, and she throws bottles out of it(among other things).

Rex- Logs/Maces sounds good, he starts of with a simple tree limb, but then they upgrade into maces.

Joey- Hrm... Maybe he could start with twin DnD Pencils, and then they upgrade into daggers and stuffz.

Zach- Shepard's crook, easy.

Kevin- We talked about this before, the idea was that Kevin uses Batons and...

Ralph- ...Ralph will use tonfas. Well, that was the initial idea.

Tiger- Pies can't really upgrade into anything fantasical... I bring again the subject of hammers.

Marvin- Baseball bats are already Bailey's domain.

North Star- Yeah, Axes.

Res- We decided that he won't equip anything.

@D-Rock, nice design! But I feel the button looks out of place.

[GameCobra]

Well, except demon cream pie =P *Bricked* ... but that's why the whip.

That's cool that Bailey got baseball bats. Marvin will have to take the pipe route. In this case, though, MArvin is just helping out, so a pipe that upgrades to something heroic would be neat for him. give him some recognition for once :3

@D-Rock - forgot to comment - reminds me of voodoo bombs :3

[Amazee Dayzee]

Why would Tiger throw pies anyway? If anything, he's more likely to eat them.

[D-Rock]

Well, don't want to get rid of the trigger up top, or move it to the middle, it would feel plain. I could move it upwards, as looking at it now, it's angled rather weirdly. I also forgot to center the "grip" on the body, but decided to keep it, with the idea that it would give the hand easier access to the trigger.

And about whips, I do happen to have two designs that I made when I was on break, one was even a Viper. Had a third idea that never got drawn, but it doesn't fit as an ultimate, and it didn't have Monster as the inspiration. Let's decide on that eventually, probably not now, though. I kind of thought that Tiger was going to be an NPC. Well, that hasn't been set in stone, yet.

Also, got your build downloaded, Cobra, I'll be taking a look at that soon.

[GameCobra]

Why would Tiger throw pies anyway? If anything, he's more likely to eat them.

Garfield shout-out more than anything.

Garfield hating mondays was also because people kept throwing pies at him. Tiger doing it in the game would be his equivilent of revenge. Also - Tiger started a pie fight just to cheat, so even Tiger can hold his appetite. =P

[Amazee Dayzee]

In most cases. I think that if the move is used, it should have some chance of backfiring and him eating it, restoring one of his stats.

[D-Rock]

I'm going to be honest, I'm not really feeling Tiger being playable. But that's just me.


Moved up the trigger and shrunk it down, and took the opportunity to fill in missing pixels and get rid of a few.

[CHAOKOCartoons]

Well, the way I see it the side playable characters in consideration should only be in the game if it can fit into some part of the story (similar to how Res is playable in the mall portion). We shouldn't go out of our way to use characters if it isn't necessary. We may not use Tiger if we have no place to use him, but if people find it odd to use him we can just not worry about finding a place to put him. However, I can't imagine it'd be hard to put Tiger in. I mean heck the way the first side quest in chapter two is set up, he could easily end up being the bonus member of that chapter instead of Fox.

I'll throw in my opinion as well since were on the subject: I find it kinda odd to use him as a side party member too, but to be honest that's never stopped us before. I will say that he shouldn't be one that gets 5 weapons in the after game at least.

[SuperStar]

Maybe Tiger would be better off as an "other party member".

@D-Rock, sorry, maybe I should have specified better. It wasn't the position of the button, so much as out it looks. It looks like it was taken from something else and then slapped on to the relic.

[D-Rock]

Is it the color?

[SuperStar]

That's probably it, but it also looks sort of weird the way it's sticking out.

[D-Rock]

I'll see what colors would work best. Bino only has three colors, but that didn't stop me with using more like with Guardian Spirit.

As for the button in the first place, think of it like this; if he wants to activate it in a hurry, say he was running to a target, he would press it against a wall or himself to activate it, sort of like certain types of flares.

[SuperStar]

Hrm, I guess that makes sense. It makes it look awkward, but realistic I guess.
Also, I just realized. This truly is a magic(k)al weapon, it explodes yet still remains in one piece, XD

[Amazee Dayzee]

That would be a qualification of it being a magical weapon!

[D-Rock]

...and here we are.

I'll be getting to the rest of the designs when I can.

Also, took a look at your build, Cobra, pretty cool choices on the stat growths. So we are sticking with "Dog Man" for King's class? Also, to get Sasha's class to fit, how about rename it to Town Sweetheart, see if that works.

[GameCobra]

I always had a hard time with King's class name, honestly. He's a human turned Corgi who uses Dark magic from his time with Pete with Earth Magic mixed in from the Wolves.

[Archaic Cluster]

I dunno. Either 'The Unwilling' or 'Rogue Agent' might work, since he's pretty unaligned throughout the comics, despite being heavily involved in THE GAME.

[D-Rock]

I remember we suggested "Faux Dog" to reference his origins and why he has an un-doglike mentality.

[GameCobra]

I might consider "Wolf Trained Corgi" since his abilities refliect his time with them and with Pete. Town Sweetheart works with Sasha also, since the regular name might be too long.

Also, I think Town Sweetheart works if the text is too long, but haven't tested to see if it is yet. I always liked the name "Neighbourhood Sweetheart" since she seems to be on the same street as everyone else. Going to look into that as I test it sometime. :3

[SuperStar]

I think we've discussed this a bit ago. Didn't we agree on something like making all the titles end with either dog/cat/rabbit/wolf to make it sound consistent and not as random?

[D-Rock]

And Catnip Prank.