Castle Paradox

Friend · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Posts: 235 Location: California

I was planning on releasing the game under a gimmick account like what I did with CoD, but lethargy strikes and Iâ€™m at the point where I just want to release the game and get working on another project. So hereâ€™s a good old-fashioned teaser/advertisement styled after the old nintendo game ads. The graphical layout for these ads is pretty simple, but it appealed to me nostalgically. It was fun reading the outrageous exaggerations in the writings.

Retrogamer once told me that Boundless Ocean is an accumulation of what Iâ€™ve done so far; it has elements from Purgatory, CoD, and even some things from Motherland. He sums it up nicely: itâ€™s an old-fashioned OHR RPG with some adventure/exploratory aspects to it.

You can find the game here along with a screenshot and a brief story description:

http://orchieluv.castleparadox.com/

I also put all the extras available neatly into one ZIP package. Itâ€™s a big file though, 23mb zipped. Hereâ€™s a photo montage of the extras available for the game:

http://orchieluv.castleparadox.com/feelies.jpg

Acknowledgements â€“

James "SPAM" Paige - a very special thanks to the man who made the engine. There would be no Boundless Ocean without OHRRPGCE.

Setu Firestorm â€“ Thank you very much for past and present contributions. Your music set the mood of my games, even with the limitation of the BAM format.

Retrogamer - The rambo playtester. Knows what's he's doing and overall was a good advisor in all aspects of the game: from music selection to visuals to gameplay.

Januk â€“ reliable proofreader and playtester.

Inferior_Minion - One of the few reliable playtesters and occassionally gives general advice for the game.

Charbile - Reliable playtester, went for the extra work to check for the more tedious things and obscure errors. Great to talk to in all aspects of game design.

Rinku â€“ Helped with the proofreading, but alas! He lacks the pen. Also thanks for the custom palette.
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chris98 · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 1:08 am Post subject:

Wow! Will download it as soon as norton antivirus finishes it's work. ^.^
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Retrogamer · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:50 am Post subject: Boundless Ocean Talkabouts...

Dare I say it, but this is one of the few OHR games that feels like an authentic "game"... a product that actually stands its ground against classic hits such as Dragon Warrior and Phantasy Star.

Visually, Boundless Ocean blows Purgatory and City of Dreams out of the water. You wouldn't be able to tell that picture to picture... but who goes by static shots? Through graphical means, BO promotes a greater sense of believability through its characters and environments.

The cutscenes and animations, while stylish, are presented in a professional and purposeful manner. More importantly, characters actually demonstrate visual expression this time around (a factor severly lacking in Purgatory). Playing textbox tag isn't always the best way to show life in your characters, as Orchy proudly demonstrates.

The battle system is also a huge improvement... primarily since you aren't punished for engaging in combat (Purgatory). Here, battles are balanced to the point that they cater to individual preferences... Are you a speed demon? A powerhouse? A spell fanatic? Each configuration has its share of strengths and weaknesses, so don't expect to just walk over your foes. City of Dream fans have no need to fret either, since puzzles in this game are numerous, and never unfair.

I'd go on, but I think you get the point.

Verdict: Highly recommended.

chris98 · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:28 am Post subject:

This game is very difficult without being tedious. I'm currently levelling up before I do the first 'Mission' as I found out the hard way how powerful the lost souls are.
May still be a bug.
In Judas's Lair in the room where you must kill enemies to advance, 2 of them trigger up to 20 battles at once.
One of these appears to be infinite. This may render the game unbeatable.
Help!
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Inferior Minion · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:15 am Post subject:

Friend · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Posts: 235 Location: California

I was wondering if you meant the two NPCs spawn endlessly or if they put you on a continuous loop of battles (ie. another battle starts right after a battle ends.) If you meant the first one, the two NPCs are supposed to spawn infinitely; you have to avoid them. If you meant the second one... you ran into a bug that I thought I have gotten rid of long ago. The bug sometimes occur when you're being flanked by two lost souls at the same time. I have no idea why this still happens... technically, it shouldn't. Anyway, the best way to get around this problem at the moment, is to avoid being flanked by two NPCs at the same.

If you've gotten to as far as getting to Judas Lair, I don't think you have to level up to get past that part of the game. Stock up one or two herbs, and maybe 5 potions and you'll be fine.
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"I am Collins. From my position in the moon's orbit, I watched Armstrong and Aldrin land and walk on the surface. I was so close to the ground of the moon, and yet I returned without having trod upon it... I am Collins." -Friend

Shadowiii · **It's been real.** Joined: 14 Feb 2003 Posts: 2460

I've only played this game for about 10 minutes but I can tell I'm going to love it. The surreal atmosphere matches the music perfectly, and the dialogue and style are incredible. I'd say this game is worth downloading for the atmosphere alone.
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Moogle1 · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 11:28 am Post subject:

This is a very sexy game. I'm wrapping up the cave of trials thingy and I'm about to go wrangle up some lost souls.
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Tsunamidog · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:03 pm Post subject:

Dis game da most awesome eva! The graphics are freakin' insane (in a good way) The atmoshpere automaticly sucks you right into the game, and the story is great!

Also, OMFG, this is probably one of the first OHR games where I actually like to battle people!
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JSH357 · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 1705

Eh... it's alright. Very pretty, good music too. I don't care for the main character's sprite, but the rest of the walkabouts are nice. The battle bg style doesn't do much for me either. (Is it supposed to look like FF1 without the bar separating the sides?)

I got confused and ended up being killed by someone so I stopped playing, but I'll definitely give it another go sometime. It's certainly better than the average OHR game.

Great work on the maptiles, they're extremely good.

Leonhart · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 383 Location: Philippines

The maptiles are absolutely gorgeous! Great work!
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LeRoy_Leo · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 10:34 pm Post subject:

What a powerful atmosphere! Happy

The dialog is definitly more mature as well. This will be an excellent guide for me to look off of for my own tiles. God knows I need to learn how to make map tiles this great.
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chris98 · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:06 am Post subject:

I've just realized where I went wrong - No structure.
I will make Silhouette powerful, at expense of her speed.
At level 10, about to enter the forest, first saving to buy the cool sword from Buddha.
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rpgspotKahn · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:59 am Post subject:

What amazing gameplay! This game really has me hooked - Its one of the first OHR games to do so besides purgatory and CoD... great game.

Graphics are amazing and everything just blends so well...
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2nd Edition out now!

chris98 · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 11:22 am Post subject:

I tried buying the Scimitar for use against the Guardian of the forest.
I beat Judas, but any tips to beat him easily, as if I can take him out with No problem, then it will mean I can survive the forest. I'm at level 13.
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