Rising Angels [GxG](Now with 100% more demo)

[Pandora]

I also played up to until the point when the story was supposed to branch; I'll be playing the rest soon! I really enjoyed the diverse characters and the setting/theme, but I found that the way they interacted was very hard to get into. It seemed as though all the characters were always fighting with each other (which I can understand to an extent, but not all the time), which was I think the biggest problem for me. They all seemed very hostile!

As for the art, I thought the women were very well drawn, and some of the men (Iotor comes to mind). But I think some of the males look a little odd (particularly in the chest area), and definitely not appealing towards a female audience, since this is supposed to be an otome. The women are far more sexualized, and the men definitely look more like characters in a BxG game.

But yes. To sum it up: just tone down the hostility, amp up the romance a bit, tweak the male characters and GUI/game mechanics, and it's fine for me! n_n Great job, I can tell you've been working hard on it!!

[KomiTsuku]

Before I get another one of those awkward questions, yes, I am still at work despite there being nothing in the updates. I took a lot of your suggestions to heart and am testing some new ideas and writing styles right now. There are some massive shifts coming up that should have been done sooner. I'll be talking about them in my next blog, as well as lessons that IDHAS has learned from this.

I'm also somewhere I have to walk a couple miles in blistering heat and humidity (feels like 140 says Weather!) to get internet, so updates are going to continue being very, very, very minimal for a while.

[distorsion]

A nice bit of work. You did a good job of making lovable characters even the meanest of which I just can't seem to fully dislike (except for Mana, I still find her to be unpleasent). However, I am left wondering at what point in the game we will be able to make our own decisions, because the demo plays as a KN.

[Nuxill]

A nice bit of work. You did a good job of making lovable characters even the meanest of which I just can't seem to fully dislike (except for Mana, I still find her to be unpleasent). However, I am left wondering at what point in the game we will be able to make our own decisions, because the demo plays as a KN.

The only decision made in the game is essentially 'what character do you want to pursue'

[KomiTsuku]

A nice bit of work. You did a good job of making lovable characters even the meanest of which I just can't seem to fully dislike (except for Mana, I still find her to be unpleasent). However, I am left wondering at what point in the game we will be able to make our own decisions, because the demo plays as a KN.

The only decision made in the game is essentially 'what character do you want to pursue'

*coughmightnotbeastrueasitusedtobecough* I really need to finish that whole changes and lessons we learned blog. It should be out in two days on my day off. Meant to do it today, but things happened (like being mildly ill and getting a decent amount of sleep). >.>;

[Nuxill]

A nice bit of work. You did a good job of making lovable characters even the meanest of which I just can't seem to fully dislike (except for Mana, I still find her to be unpleasent). However, I am left wondering at what point in the game we will be able to make our own decisions, because the demo plays as a KN.

The only decision made in the game is essentially 'what character do you want to pursue'

*coughmightnotbeastrueasitusedtobecough* I really need to finish that whole changes and lessons we learned blog. It should be out in two days on my day off. Meant to do it today, but things happened (like being mildly ill and getting a decent amount of sleep). >.>;

Oh really? How interesting~ are they going to be superficial choices that only change dialogue and scenes or will they be story changers? Or is that information still private right now?

[KomiTsuku]

The only decision made in the game is essentially 'what character do you want to pursue'

*coughmightnotbeastrueasitusedtobecough* I really need to finish that whole changes and lessons we learned blog. It should be out in two days on my day off. Meant to do it today, but things happened (like being mildly ill and getting a decent amount of sleep). >.>;

Oh really? How interesting~ are they going to be superficial choices that only change dialogue and scenes or will they be story changers? Or is that information still private right now?

A mix of both, with a fair amount of it still private since I don't want to promise something and not come through again. I'm still not going to do "bad" endings where you miss a single point and get the not-as-good ending. I refuse to do "obvious" choices where your decision is already decided because you're trying to get the character. Faye can decide those on her own.
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Also, some of you may have noticed the blog hasn't come up. This has been due to some IRL issues. I have not forgotten, I just literally haven't had the time. Expect it soon (I swear!) along with the date of the next major alpha release. Also, still looking for ideas for the Dreams of the Skies anniversary! Remember, Chief is here for YOU!

[KomiTsuku]

Lesson post today, Rising Angels changes post tomorrow.

[KomiTsuku]

And as promised, here is part 2!
As well as a CG sketch from HannaPhilip

Edit: Oh, and as I alluded to, I will be opening commissions for backgrounds soon. Anyone interested?

[Skarn]

I just finished the demo. My ordered impressions follow.

1: Why is everyone such a jerk at the beginning? Everyone is bitching everyone else. Actually, the only main characters who do not emit harsh jokes and remarks are Iotor and Lenna. This tends to disappear once the prologue ends (even Sol becomes nicer).
2: It is a strange thing to say but... There are too many characters. It is hard to remember who's who right from start. For example, I have no idea who the blond girl with strange ears can be. Like for previous point, things get better after the prologue because the action is now focused on the heroine's four-members study group.
3: Wolfgirls are super cute. I want to play with her tail!
4: Where did the choices disappear? I admit preferring visual novels to kinetic ones, but the problem is not there. Several time, there is a perfect placeholder for a choice, times where you expect to interact and then... Nothing. For example, "Read the journal/Do not read it" or "Forgive her/Do not forgive her".

Pass the initial harsh discovery, the characters are not bad. Sure, they overreact a lot, but I have seen far worse completely out of proportion reactions in real life.
As for story itself, I think it is too soon to tell. For now, it is a love story in a slightly futuristic world, but I do not feel like the main plot has already been uncovered. The stage is set, the actors are in, the characters have been introduced, but the real play has not started yet. Perhaps some foreshadowing to hook the reader?
I have no problem with the art style. I rather like it even if I support Yoi point of views: Skirts for military? Really?

[KomiTsuku]

I just finished the demo. My ordered impressions follow.

1: Why is everyone such a jerk at the beginning? Everyone is bitching everyone else. Actually, the only main characters who do not emit harsh jokes and remarks are Iotor and Lenna. This tends to disappear once the prologue ends (even Sol becomes nicer).

Partly because everyone is tense and out of place. Mostly because I did a poor job of it. Reworking the intro scenes has been my priority lately.

2: It is a strange thing to say but... There are too many characters. It is hard to remember who's who right from start. For example, I have no idea who the blond girl with strange ears can be. Like for previous point, things get better after the prologue because the action is now focused on the heroine's four-members study group.

It is meant to be a little overwhelming. Everyone is being shoved through together as a mob. In all the routes, things get a lot more focused once the groups have been paired together. Alana, the blonde girl, doesn't really have much interaction with Lenna's route, so she's barely introduced. Faye doesn't really care too much about her. However, in Kika's route, Alana plays a lot bigger role, while you will almost never see Lenna or Iotor. I do need to draw the group in closer during the intro sections, but I still want to maintain the overwhelming feeling. I just need to make Faye feel it a little more than the reader. XD

3: Wolfgirls are super cute. I want to play with her tail!

That was the sole reason Faye got to be the protagonist.

4: Where did the choices disappear? I admit preferring visual novels to kinetic ones, but the problem is not there. Several time, there is a perfect placeholder for a choice, times where you expect to interact and then... Nothing. For example, "Read the journal/Do not read it" or "Forgive her/Do not forgive her".

Both of those were options in the original version. When we shifted to the kinetic routes, they got dropped and Faye's most "logical" choice was picked instead. Now that we are moving back to choices, some of those will be coming back.

Pass the initial harsh discovery, the characters are not bad. Sure, they overreact a lot, but I have seen far worse completely out of proportion reactions in real life.
As for story itself, I think it is too soon to tell. For now, it is a love story in a slightly futuristic world, but I do not feel like the main plot has already been uncovered. The stage is set, the actors are in, the characters have been introduced, but the real play has not started yet. Perhaps some foreshadowing to hook the reader?
I have no problem with the art style. I rather like it even if I support Yoi point of views: Skirts for military? Really?

The plot is just getting started. It ended at the first act, there is still two acts to go in Lenna's route. The routes are titled "Chase of Justice" and "Distance" respectively. I'm not going to spoil any more.

Yoi's rant is based on one I've heard in real life. The space sector utility uniforms have pants and camo, but the dress uniform... well... the girl's outfit was designed with a skirt, the artist made it shorter, and Yoi got her worst nightmare.

[WickedRaccoon]

wow,love the plot,characters and art,so i decided i will keep me eye on this.will play the demo and give feedback,but...when i have free time T.T"

[KomiTsuku]

wow,love the plot,characters and art,so i decided i will keep me eye on this.will play the demo and give feedback,but...when i have free time T.T"

I hope you'll enjoy it when you get the time. ^_^ Jade and Kika will be available in the next demo release.
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Also, I've been considering shifting to a 16:9 ratio. I'm not quite sure how I'd do this since we have several CG done under a 4:3 ratio, but I'm seeing the writing on the wall when it comes to widescreen. Besides, it lets me add more characters on screen without getting cluttered, which means Faye might be an on-screen character.

If I do this, you can expect the HIGH RESOLUTION version of Rising Angels in beautiful 1920x1080 for those of you with monitors like mine. Here's an example with some of the alternate versions of a few of our sprites. Note how we were able to add 7 characters in the same amount of clutter we had 3 last time. Note how it likely would be nearly a gig in file size.

[wererat42]

Been playing through the demo and there were a couple of things that sort of stuck out. Not sure if either of these have already been brought or not.
-Based on her pose, my first impression of Lenna turned out to be off by a long shot. Was expecting a more outgoing, trendy sort of character. Not a timid, withdrawn character. It probably has something to do with how it looks like she's flipping her hair.
-There are certain points where the expression on the sprites just doesn't correlate to what is happening in the narration. One on instance Faye states that a character looks tired but he appears to have the same normal expression.

[KomiTsuku]

Been playing through the demo and there were a couple of things that sort of stuck out. Not sure if either of these have already been brought or not.
-Based on her pose, my first impression of Lenna turned out to be off by a long shot. Was expecting a more outgoing, trendy sort of character. Not a timid, withdrawn character. It probably has something to do with how it looks like she's flipping her hair.
-There are certain points where the expression on the sprites just doesn't correlate to what is happening in the narration. One on instance Faye states that a character looks tired but he appears to have the same normal expression.

You've got to ask yourself, how much does Faye really know about Lenna? Timid and withdrawn works now, but that's because Faye hasn't realized something yet...

Part of the pains of only being in Alpha status is that I haven't polished up certain areas yet. I only just settled on Kika and Termin's final hairstyle. Kika didn't quite have the princess look with the braids and Termin hadn't quite mastered the MILF look. I'll be updating those final versions when I do my (not really) weekly blog post tonight on Kika. Expect those occasional digressions from text to sprite to be gone in the beta.

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So, I'm back trying to decide on the release order. I agreed with Samu-kun that I needed to make this a little more manageable. As I refuse to reduce characters and cast, my next option was to split the release into two versions; a GxB and a GxG version. Right now, my vote is on GxG going first and then the GxB expansion later because I love the female cast a lot more. Unless I get a sudden uproar that demands the male routes first...