[Released] PS: Fated Epistle - Episode 2

after giving that smelling parcel to gym leader in northeast and also getting his gym badge .also please show me the image of orphanage .didnt find it anywhere nor the school

Alilatias said:

Well, to tell you the truth, I find this fangame something special. I say this as someone that has played through most of the fangames that are considered among the best by the community overall, and have even playtested one in particular (I'm an assistant sidequest writer/tester for Pokemon Desolation, one of the three big fangames of the Pokemon Reborn forum).

I'm already incredibly impressed by this game, and I'm not even done with the demo yet. The game requires patience, but it's an understandable kind that ties into the setting, and not for artificial difficulty. It takes real talent to pull off a believable atmosphere such as this, without it feeling a bit cartoonish/edgy.

I think you're going to get a lot more impressions soon to help iron out the start, considering I posted about this game on the Pokemon Reborn forum. I'll be relaying any impressions I find from there over to here.

(Also, re-entering the orphanage after you've cleared that part of the story kicks you out all the way to the courier branch, with the end dialogue repeating again.)

Time to keep going...

Oh, I got past the cyan bridge, but I never found Sylvia along the way. In fact, I ran into a couple goons and got slapped around by Deliby to return to HQ to call for backup and find Sylvia. Was I supposed to run into her somewhere before proceeding? I also defeated someone that kept a bunch of caged Pokemon and freed them, and the Purrloin had some message saying something about a request having been dropped off at the Courier branch, but when I returned, there was no request there.

EDIT: Got a bit further. It wasn't especially clear that Sylvia had actually been taken until after defeating the boss. The fight against the boss was actually pretty tough, had to use Yawn into steamroll with Ice Ball to win.

Was it actually possible for me to have another Pokemon besides Deliby and Fletchinder at this point in the game? The typings of the boss' Pokemon seem to suggest that I should have gotten something strong against water or dark, as Deliby and Fletchinder are in normal circumstances extremely weak against them.

The visuals from going from south to northeastern Artemesia is... Quite a doozy. I suppose I'll be getting a third party member soon, the Budew that I've been holding onto in my bag.

Click to expand...

Again, your words really move us. We were trying to pull of exactly that atmosphere without being edgy.
The fact that you recognize it, is so much rewarding, you cannot even begin to imagine! We were
always trying to set the bar not high, but in the right place, that is: tie everything into the game
together properly! I'm sorry for being annoying, but I just cannot thank you enough. I understand
from your manner of speak that you possess a very intricate and sophisticated eye for these
things, and well, let me tell you that I'm not surprised that you are a sidequest writer.
This makes your opinion even more important and, frankly, we're humbled.

- We're honored that you mentioned us in the rebornevo forums. You're also free to X-post this
thread there if you wish of course. I never thought the game would be complete enough
for me to post it there so...

- Oh man, I tested that a thousand times... Arrrghhh!! Thanks a bunch for telling me!

- Oh, sorry about that. We didn't make it clear that a) when Deliby slaps you,
you are supposed to just go ahead and talk to the goon. Since you "page" the
Branch, and paging is not exactly communicating, but they do get the signal.
b) in this case you are relaying the message, since it is not a given mission,
and you have to report it to the first desk at the Branch. I knew we should
have made it so you have to report it to the mission lady...Really sorry!

- Yes, Sylvia is supposed to vanish without a trace. And you do... have a chance at
obtaining another mon prior to these events. If you defeat Tyson, that is.
However, they still don't help much against the Boss' typings.
One of these reasons is that he, in conjuction with the Mayor,
actually "stole" all those wild or not Pokemon that might be a threat.
Not a good reason from a gameplay perspective, though...

- I think we ran into some problems with Budew, since you were supposed to show
it to a doc in Northeastern Artemisia, but we didn't fix it yet.
I imagine in a couple of days or so we will update the demo with Budew too.

karnamata said:

after giving that smelling parcel to gym leader in northeast and also getting his gym badge .also please show me the image of orphanage .didnt find it anywhere nor the school

Click to expand...

Hey Karnamata, you have to go to the Old School first, and then the Courier named Alyssa will give you an important mission, so you can enter the Orhpanage.
The School is above the Cyan Bridge, and the Orphanage below. I will take some screens for you and will edit them in in this post. Give me a sec.

Here they are

School

Orphanage

Bird's Eye View


Also, regarding your Hideout question, check your PDA.
Your PDA states that you need to talk to a "Mr. Mortimer".
I think you already know who Mortimer is.
Go talk to him and after that, the hideout can be found
in Southeastern Artemisia, on the northeastern part of the map.

thanks man but found it.we cannot talk with mr mortimer since he is the first person we mmet in the game.instead you have to go to bidoof bar speak with the owner he will give you disguise .before going to southeastern Artemesia speak with the man who asks a lot of money for his pokemon in disguise and you will get a level 20 koffing for free afterward go back to spth eastern artemesia and talk to the man above who didnt aloow you before and voila

karnamata said:

thanks man but found it.we cannot talk with mr mortimer since he is the first person we mmet in the game.instead you have to go to bidoof bar speak with the owner he will give you disguise .before going to southeastern Artemesia speak with the man who asks a lot of money for his pokemon in disguise and you will get a level 20 koffing for free afterward go back to spth eastern artemesia and talk to the man above who didnt aloow you before and voila

Click to expand...

Mortimer is the guy in the bar. The other guy is Mr. Olofsky. ;)

we should talk with the bidoof bar owner who will give us a disguise and before finishing this machine tak to the man whose house is first and behind him is a koffin in disguise he will get scared and give you koffing for free.and then we have to go there

sorry computer problem any way thanx man also great game

karnamata said:

sorry computer problem any way thanx man also great game

Click to expand...

No worries mate, thank you for your kind words!

hey man just finished the demo.one of my top favourite pokemon fan games i have played.i have two questions
1]when is second demo going to be released a i cannot wait to play the game
2]is the first demo save file compatible with 2nd demo

karnamata said:

hey man just finished the demo.one of my top favourite pokemon fan games i have played.i have two questions
1]when is second demo going to be released a i cannot wait to play the game
2]is the first demo save file compatible with 2nd demo

Click to expand...

We're very honored mate! Thank you so much for your support and love!
We're extremely glad you enjoyed it!

1] I will update the Topic Title when the second "gym" is reachable.
But you can also check the filename in the download link: Version 1.x.x
is the current. Version 2.x.x will be the second demo, 3.x.x the third... etc.
We'll be working hard to bring these updates to you as fast as we can.
I'm expecting a period of minimum 2 months between each release.
That's not set in stone, it depends on, you know, how much needs to be designed etc.

2] In all likelihood, yes! I don't think anything major script-wise is going to be implemented,
so you can rest assured it will be compatible. In case it isn't we will need to find a way
to patch the savegames somehow.

Thanks for your feedback!

AenaonDusky said:

- Yes, Sylvia is supposed to vanish without a trace. And you do... have a chance at
obtaining another mon prior to these events. If you defeat Tyson, that is.
However, they still don't help much against the Boss' typings.
One of these reasons is that he, in conjuction with the Mayor,
actually "stole" all those wild or not Pokemon that might be a threat.
Not a good reason from a gameplay perspective, though...

Click to expand...

Ah, I figured he was defeatable, considering that 4x weakness to ice.

I didn't think he'd actually give you a Pokemon for beating him, though. Rats. If I had to guess, it's a Trapinch.

EDIT: Oh, got a bug to report. When switching into the costume to infiltrate the hideout, attempting to go back to the police hideout will result in the player character being stuck, forcing you to reload the game.

Alilatias said:

Ah, I figured he was defeatable, considering that 4x weakness to ice.

I didn't think he'd actually give you a Pokemon for beating him, though. Rats. If I had to guess, it's a Trapinch.

EDIT: Oh, got a bug to report. When switching into the costume to infiltrate the hideout, attempting to go back to the police hideout will result in the player character being stuck, forcing you to reload the game.

Click to expand...

- It is actually a given to you by Modesto.

- Gee! I was sure I quadraple-checked that... does ti transfer you to the enclosed area
before the sewer entrance?.... Arghh..... Thanks a bunch for reporting it!

EDIT: Found it.. it automatically makes you move down and you get stuck in the wall, right?

Yeah, auto makes you move down and get stuck.

Finished the demo.

This is a pretty amazing game, although I question locking Pokemon behind time sensitive events in a game where Pokemon are fairly scarce as is. I reached the end with only Deliby and Fletchinder, and it looks like I missed Koffing and another Pokemon that I needed to defeat Tyson for. Even doubly so, having to defeat Tyson is a bit nuts, because it looks like the Pokemon awarded for defeating him would have helped immensely against the boss fight later. He always seems to lead with a one-shot Dragon Claw, and it seems like the only thing you can do is Ice Shard and hope for a critical hit (which might not even be enough). Although to be honest, I don't particularly like the two Pokemon that I missed and it looks like the floodgates kind of open after the demo sequence, so I'm not going to restart for them.

(I'm definitely going to have to run back and get Budew when that is made available, though. The Roselia line has been a staple in pretty much every Pokemon fangame I've played for some reason.)

Beyond that, this fangame is already one of the best I've ever seen. The narrative is probably the most powerful I've seen in any Pokemon fangame. I wasn't pushing forward solely just to see what would happen next like with most other fangames, but because I was legitimately invested in the story.



Oh, the siblings in the apartments mention giving something to you upon finding them all, although I'm fairly sure I already did that multiple times throughout the course of the demo.

Alilatias said:

Yeah, auto makes you move down and get stuck.

Finished the demo.

This is a pretty amazing game, although I question locking Pokemon behind time sensitive events in a game where Pokemon are fairly scarce as is. I reached the end with only Deliby and Fletchinder, and it looks like I missed Koffing and another Pokemon that I needed to defeat Tyson for.

Beyond that, this fangame is already one of the best I've ever seen. The narrative is probably the most powerful I've seen in any Pokemon fangame. I wasn't pushing forward solely just to see what would happen next like with most other fangames, but because I was legitimately invested in the story.

Spoiler:

Where does one find Bonsly though? Unless... Fake tree, hm. Now that I think about it, there was that one person who mentioned trading a rare Pokemon for Fresh Water.

That Delibird evolution and Technician ability though. Holy crap. 100 power priority attack is going to be hilarious.

Click to expand...

Thank you for dedicating your time to the game.
> I know what you mean, and I totally agree with you.
However, most, if not all of these Pokemon will be catch-able later on.
The "current" state of Artemisia serves as a "rude awakening",
and aside from Modesto's gift (which will probably change to a different mon)
all the others will be obtainable through various methods, including wild encounters.
Modesto's gift does have to be unique in order to reward those who are curious enough
to see whether the battle is not scripted as a defeat scenario only + those who grind
like crazy because of investment or other reasons.
(I'm personally against battles that you cannot win in RPGs)

> Again, I know I'm being repetitive here, but we can't thank you enough.
I'm very, very glad to hear that you are invested in the story.

>


May I ask, how did you find the music? I mean in relation to the setting and the
particular predicaments the MC finds himself in. Also, try going to Route 1 to get
a taste of the change in scenery and what might come next. Lastly, can you tell
me how many hours you've clocked in?

The Siblings' reward hat yet to be implemented. Don't expect much though,
it's mostly there to indirectly state that there are 7 big apartments. (in order
to inform the player in case they have a problem getting adjusted to, in case they are looking
for more places (that do not exist) or are getting easily lost.

EDIT: Clarification on the Siblings Sidequest

Yeah, I've gone and explored Route 1, although I didn't get too far as trying to navigate the bugs was a bit claustrophobic after a while, ha.

Music's quite good, and conveys the mood rather well. I'm just glad that, for once, there's a fangame that doesn't use GlitchxCity's remixes. Nothing against her, but the sheer amount of fangames using her remixes is more than a bit ridiculous at this point.

I clocked in about 7 hours.

Alilatias said:

Yeah, I've gone and explored Route 1, although I didn't get too far as trying to navigate the bugs was a bit claustrophobic after a while, ha.

Music's quite good, and conveys the mood rather well. I'm just glad that, for once, there's a fangame that doesn't use GlitchxCity's remixes. Nothing against her, but the sheer amount of fangames using her remixes is more than a bit ridiculous at this point.

I clocked in about 7 hours.

Spoiler:

Modesto's gift... Hm. Since you mentioned that you were going to change it to something unique, might I suggest Beldum? I mean, it is kind of thematically appropriate, since it looks like a camera and all, and it spends most of the early game rather weak. It's also a perfect candidate for that Gyro Ball TM you get from the gym leader.

Failing that, a Ditto would be hilarious, considering everyone takes dumps on that Pokemon for actual battling, but recognize it as their lord and savior when it comes to breeding (and the dialogue potential - 'no, I'm not giving this to you just because it looks as dumb as your face'). Not entirely sure a fangame has yet to pull off an incentive to actually seriously use Ditto in combat before. The Ditto would probably have to be hardcoded to have the Imposter ability or have Quick Powder, though.

Click to expand...

Oh man you've got some great ideas....


Glad you enjoyed the music. There is a... ermm.... eccentric design process in place,
where music gives birth to design and design to music... I can't explain that properly...
But anyways, the idea was for Artemisia to adhere to a folk-ish-jazz-ish feeling, while
maintaining an RPG-Pokemon feel. It still is "preliminary" in a sense though.

Alright, 7 hours is what we were aiming for.

Did you notice that:


EDIT: Clarified "Pokemon's" Locations

I also have to say, I find it highly interesting that in a game where gyms exist, the major goal for the MC -isn't- to challenge them, but to do his job as a courier instead. It's very different from the usual. In any other game, someone with a role like the main character would be part of the supporting cast or even a rival instead. It's kind of like having a main series Pokemon game focus on an Officer Jenny instead of some plucky pre-teen newbie Pokemon trainer.

Alilatias said:

Spoiler:

Ditto is probably the more interesting choice, although you'd also have to make Ditto obtainable later in the game in a different way if breeding is to be implemented. Beldum is more thematically appropriate, but I also imagine people ragequitting after losing to Tyson and learning later that they could have gotten a Beldum. Plus a Beldum functioning as a camera would be too useful for the police chief to just give to you.

I would personally go for Ditto, the whole Beldum thing could be easily spun into a later game request. Maybe involving shutting off cameras or something.

Also, ouch at the Attract thing. Although that Cleffa also knew Flatter too, and I fought her with Fletchinder, so that kind of went over my head, ha. But dang, that really is some serious thematic planning, and now I understand the point of the MC having an ice-type starter (and getting what appears to be a mandatory fire-type - after evolving at least - after the orphanage sequence, when he finally starts standing up for the sake of other people. Although it seems like karnamata never got Fletchinder judging from one of their earlier posts, so I don't know what happened there).

I also have to say, I find it highly interesting that in a game where gyms exist, the major goal for the MC -isn't- to challenge them, but to do his job as a courier instead. It's very different from the usual. In any other game, someone with a role like the main character would be part of the supporting cast or even a rival instead. It's kind of like having a main series Pokemon game focus on an Officer Jenny instead of some plucky pre-teen newbie Pokemon trainer.

Click to expand...

Oh yes,


Yes, that is the point. First of all, from a gameplay perspective, it's quite tiring to have gyms
all over again. (or trials, if you're an alolan person). It has been tested and tried, many
other fangames or official games can do it better, etc. etc.
But, it's a conscious choice not to let gyms completely go. We aimed for a balance of "throw the old
formula way" - "keep the essence of the world intact".
There's... that too. From a story perspective...let me tell you that....
you're in for a surprise. There are...
.....
.........


And aside from all that, why would a Courier care about obtaining Badges?

Regarding Bonsly...

Alilatias said:

Spoiler:

The Cyan Bridge should probably be blocked off until the orphanage sequence is done, then. It looks like one could easily end up skipping the entire orphanage sequence as is, if they just continue proceeding on the bridge. That WOULD explain how karnamata never got Fletchinder, if they never investigated the orphanage in the first place.

One could probably justify it by having a bunch of municipal guards block off the bridge citing something about 'high gang activity beyond this point', to which the MC would remark that Sylvia is most likely already beyond the point and that they need to get past to find her. They'd be gone after the orphanage sequence, and the MC at some point in southeastern Artemesia would remark on how the guards didn't really do anything about the gang situation at all.

Regarding Bonsly...

Spoiler:

It does appear to be glitched. I can't find Bonsly behind the broken wall at the port at all. I even skipped ahead to the plant in step 3, and also can't find Bonsly there.

Here's my save file, if you need to check variables or something.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8jg780x8vsws5fc/Game.rxdata?dl=0

Click to expand...

- That's a great idea. I was more afraid of giving the "mandatory NPC obstacle" impression.
It will be implemented ASAP.
- It does appear so, and checking your savegame I can see that there is a "set" rather than an "add"
variable at some points, including a variable check that checks a different variable, including
the variable sequence being off by 1, which is actually the second encounter, which also
explains it not appearing there. Thanks once more for pointing this out.

With that being said,

Sorry if this is a silly question, but how to progress after meeting Sylvia at the old university? The South Gate is still blocked by police so I don't know what to do.

Also, I don't want to be rude but Artemisia's aesthetics really hurt my eyes so I hope you fix them for future demos. The tile style inconsistency and the layout, not to mention that many unimportant NPC dialogues are too long.

The story is intriguing so far and I'd like to continue although the aesthetic doesn't help at all....well I guess my eye problem doesn't really help. I even can't find the police station.

Anyway, I have Budew...in my bag but I don't know what to do about it. Thanks for your help and looking forward for the improvement in future demos~