Pier Solar: Official Thread

[Mr Smith]

Mine has arrived
I just have to fish out my Mega Drive to enjoy it... exciting times.

[108 Stars]

Yes, I have had it for nearly two weeks now. I really enjoy it and try to play it as much as I can when time permits. It's not perfect, but when stacked up against other games it does compare favorably. When you think about it, it is amazing what has been accomplished.

Well, thank you!
Good to know you like it... I was worried because I know you as kind of a harsh critic, and after your expectations seemed pretty high I feared the game might not deliver.

[InternalPrimate]

Yes, I have had it for nearly two weeks now. I really enjoy it and try to play it as much as I can when time permits. It's not perfect, but when stacked up against other games it does compare favorably. When you think about it, it is amazing what has been accomplished.

Exactly my thoughts on the game as well. There's some moments within the game that make me want to scream and toss my controller, but I'm still amazed by so many things. And not just technically. When you have a perfect round against a large group of baddies, successfully utilizing both gather and defend (we talk about it so much, new players are bound to come in at an advantage), it's very fulfilling... and the next minute you'll want to throw your controller again

The game can be quite challenging, and I actually like that. Lunar is maybe my favorite RPG series ever, but the Sega CD version was a cakewalk, and each subsequent version was even easier. Coming into Pier Solar, I thought it would take a lot of cues from Lunar. I'm surprised, and pretty pleased, that it didn't follow along in being so easy.

[deadpixels]

Exactly my thoughts on the game as well. There's some moments within the game that make me want to scream and toss my controller, but I'm still amazed by so many things. And not just technically. When you have a perfect round against a large group of baddies, successfully utilizing both gather and defend (we talk about it so much, new players are bound to come in at an advantage), it's very fulfilling... and the next minute you'll want to throw your controller again

The game can be quite challenging, and I actually like that. Lunar is maybe my favorite RPG series ever, but the Sega CD version was a cakewalk, and each subsequent version was even easier. Coming into Pier Solar, I thought it would take a lot of cues from Lunar. I'm surprised, and pretty pleased, that it didn't follow along in being so easy.

I couldn't agree more. Having just completed the game two nights ago (my whole playthrough took 26 hours), I can say that the final battle itself was a great and satisfying challenge. The entire encounter seemed like a solid hour, and every turn was spent carefully managing gather, items, and trying to land the most effective attack possible each turn.

There was a very real challenge there, and in the end I was very thankful that the battles weren't just handouts to bookend story sequences. They all provided a decent challenge.

The only things that really irked me in the entire experience was that the pacing takes a hit around the time you reach Verahansha. It felt like that entire sequence was missing some focus, and took entirely too long (much of this was caused by there being only two tiny areas to grind in, and items being insanely expensive). I literally spent in the area of 4 hours wrapping things up in that town.

My other gripes were just odd design choices, such as the final boss being able to poison you even if the attack is dodged, or the fact that you can enter a fight with the advantage yet being unable to retreat first try. They weren't game-breaking choices by any means, but felt like simple oversights that sometimes made things frustrating, though I can say a lot worse about many officially released games, so it's no big deal.

Overall, I got a great deal of enjoyment out of PS and think the game was very much worth the wait, able to stand proudly alongside the 16-bit era's best RPGs.

[Zebbe]

Internal Primate: Thank you for those words. Me and Fonzie did our best in making the game as challenging but not frustrating as possible. Just curious, what makes you think of Lunar when playing Pier Solar? I know it was a great influence for Tulio, but the similarities aren't that obvious to me.

deadpixels: Thank you too for those words . That thing about Verahansha was pretty much the point with it. We wanted to create the biggest RPG town EVAR, with lots of stuff to do and buy. You shouldn't need to grind at all to get the stuff you actually need in that area - books and accessories. About the final boss - it was a lot of work from the programmers to do that battle. It would have been better if the dodged attacks didn't cause poison as you said, so we better fix issues like these for the next game .

[Joe Redifer]

The overhead scenes look and move kind of like Lunar. The battles look kind of like Lunar, so it is easy to get a Lunar vibe from the game.

[InternalPrimate]

Internal Primate: Thank you for those words. Me and Fonzie did our best in making the game as challenging but not frustrating as possible. Just curious, what makes you think of Lunar when playing Pier Solar? I know it was a great influence for Tulio, but the similarities aren't that obvious to me.

The colorful world, the size of the sprites, the view during battle (which I guess isn't that unique), splash screens, quality audio, etc...

[fr@ser]

;
;
Git
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Mine has arrived
I just have to fish out my Mega Drive to enjoy it... exciting times.

[108 Stars]

What I am happy about personally is the battles.

When I joined the team, the answer to any question I asked about the game was "like Lunar". Now especially the battle system in Lunar is extremely basic without any special unique features.

So I came up with gather... and the proposal was actually accepted albeit not being like Lunar.^^
Zebbe and Fonzie later refined the gather mechanics, but I am proud to have the basic concept I came up with in the game and that it actually works that well.

I do like Lunar 2, but the game should be no clone. Too many great RPG series influenced the team to result in a Lunar-rip-off.

[Zebbe]

The colorful world, the size of the sprites, the view during battle (which I guess isn't that unique), splash screens, quality audio, etc...

The size of the sprites and the battle view always made me think of the Final Fantasy games. But yeah, the colourful world feels like Lunar .

@Dan Great job coming up with the gather system! I didn't know it was you actually .

[108 Stars]

I know, I'm awesome.
But inspiration always comes from somewhere; in this case the monk Yang from FF IV who could save his attack power, passing a turn and then deal more damage in the next.

It is that what I based my idea on. I'm just glad no other RPG refining that idea was released before PS, or we'd look like we ripped it off. :P

[Joe Redifer]

Can I have your autograph?

Actually, it would be kind of fun to have the game signed by the developers, but man that game would have to travel long and far for that to happen.

[Joe Redifer]

Here's something the developers need to learn before they make another RPG:

If a character selects a healing item to use on another character and the recipient dies before the item can be used, don't just have the character waste the item. Either give him/her a chance to use it on someone else like a real flesh and blood person would or, at the VERY least, have them use it on themselves. I can't believe nobody caught this is beta testing.

Character AI in RPG games are insanely stupid, despite great AI in other areas of the game.

I am at the point now where I have to fight 3 (I assume) boss battles in a row with various characters. If I die on one I have to restart at the trench because someone decided not to let me save when I entered that room and I can't go back out and save so the ENTIRE trench needs to be done again, switches and all (since you can't save your progress in the same room where you previously save despite the game confirming that you can since it says "Saved!"). That's just stupid, really. I died on the second battle, saw what I was going to have to do again and just shut the game off. Screw it. I don't appreciate my time being wasted like that. At least give me a save point in the same damn room and make the save feature less ambiguous. Phantasy Star 1 is still the best RPG ever partially because you can save anywhere, any time. I'm not sure why so many RPG developers fear this (maybe it is just easier to program save points).

I really need to grind some more. I am at level 31 now. I think I will grind up to 40 at least. Well shit, there's no inn anywhere. I guess I'm screwed. I have been grinding a lot, but I guess not enough.

[Zebbe]

Here's something the developers need to learn before they make another RPG:

If a character selects a healing item to use on another character and the recipient dies before the item can be used, don't just have the character waste the item. Either give him/her a chance to use it on someone else like a real flesh and blood person would or, at the VERY least, have them use it on themselves. I can't believe nobody caught this is beta testing.

OK, we'll do this for the next game.

Character AI in RPG games are insanely stupid, despite great AI in other areas of the game.

Right.

I am at the point now where I have to fight 3 (I assume) boss battles in a row with various characters. If I die on one I have to restart at the trench because someone decided not to let me save when I entered that room and I can't go back out and save so the ENTIRE trench needs to be done again, switches and all (since you can't save your progress in the same room where you previously save despite the game confirming that you can since it says "Saved!").

We had a lot of trouble and work on the save in the Trench. We first decided to not make it possible to save there at all, because the player might have been able to "trap" himself there with no potions etc. and low HP/MP. But then, we put a shop at the beginning of the Trench. So I suggest you play as far as you can, go back another room and then save.

At least give me a save point in the same damn room and make the save feature less ambiguous.

Yes, the next game will have save points indeed.

Phantasy Star 1 is still the best RPG ever partially because you can save anywhere, any time. I'm not sure why so many RPG developers fear this (maybe it is just easier to program save points).

In our case, saving anywhere could have let to a too easy game. The player can walk a few steps and save all the time. If he has a bad battle, he can reload quickly. It's just too easy, like having save states when you do a speedrun or something like that.

I really need to grind some more. I am at level 31 now. I think I will grind up to 40 at least. Well shit, there's no inn anywhere. I guess I'm screwed. I have been grinding a lot, but I guess not enough.

Don't grind that much, it's unnecessary. Just change your tactics on the boss battles. And find the shop in the beginning of the Trench.

[Bramsworth]

It sounds like it's already set that the next WM game will be another RPG? Or am I misreading what you're saying

Sort of a shame, how come everyone only wants to do RPGs on the Genesis :/