Sabin Stargem

Thank you.

I would like it if adventures that are associated with specific characters to be prefixed with their name, so that it is easier to build relationships with them by participating in their adventures. Currently, it is bit a of gamble to find their quests, which I feel is inconvenient. EG: "Emilia Strollin - The Deadliest Aranz" "Sabin Stargem - The Harpy who Loved Me" "Orso Orsi - Headmaster Blues" "Your Clique - Consulting the Sphinx"

You got it in one.

I think in the case of the cardgame, it would be important for the illusions to be highly interactive and "intelligent", so that players can start forming a bond with their cards. This would help with making players attached to their cards, lending importance to playing the game and making it harder to become disinterested. As an result, that should help with selling cards, and give players a basis to form relationships when they come into contact with Gate Cards. Unfortunately, this would undoubtedly make cards expensive to produce and difficult to sell, unless there is something to compensate. Here is some ideas: 1) The cards may be sold at a loss. Raising an generation of mages that do not mind Gate Magic may be worth it. 2) Most cards are made of cheap material, and tend to be destroyed when a card is "killed" by another. This sells more cards, and uses their weak composition to ensure this. Existing cards may be Revisioned by game stores to be more permanent by shop keepers, for players who are particularly attached to a card. 3) Production of cards is backed by wealthy Gate wizards, or possibly foreign nations that want to create a generation of gate mages that may look upon would-be conquerors with relief, since hiding may not be required any longer. 4) There are educational programs at various wizardry academies that involve the creation of goods to be sold to the public. Cards would require Glamour, Enchant, Material Knowledge, Aesthetics, Art, and Calligraphy ability at the least, so I think there could be quite a bit to be learned from this. However, I don't think students could possibly create the cards in the quantity required. Perhaps these cards could be some form of "booster" packs that give an random set of cards: they could be excellent, or downright terrible depending on the students that made them. This system would also help lend itself to disguising those who created Gate Cards, since the creators of these cards are not officially listed, so as to protect student anonymity - including the player's. 5) The creation of an unofficial gambling league. Creating new ways for establishments to milk money from newcomers would undoubtedly draw interest from gambling establishments. The process of making the cards into a viable gambling industry would undoubtedly require a fair bit of money, advertisements, and ensuring that the cards stay in vogue. Perhaps there could be an adventure in Year 3 or 4 where the player influences this aspect of the game via adventures. By the way, what should the cardgame be called? Tragic: The Slandering? (Fallout & Magic reference. The Slandering refers to how Gate practitioners were slandered, and one of the things that forms the identity of the game is an ongoing story that describes this. The story and related tales are part of the official magazine, perhaps? It has to not directly refer to gates magic, but still make people regard the subject with an more open mind.)

I think it could be more complicated than that, depending on what exact spell is being cast. For example, how would a mage direct a Fireball spell to the right location and detonate appropriately? One way may be to add an telepathic component to the spell scroll so that the user can visualize the necessary directions, but I think that could mark up the price of the scroll a bit. An simpler method might be to create an somewhat translucent scroll, with the center of it having the correct seals painted into the scroll. This seal could be used as an focus for amplifying the power of the spell and concentrating it, but could serve as a sort of bullseye so that the caster could aim the fireball. Other scrolls could use similar tricks of calligraphy for aiding their users in being wielded correctly and to improve their effects. Good calligraphy seems like the sort of skill that is key to creating effective rituals, scrolls, or being the architect of relatively "fixed" means of casting magic. Concerning the cards themselves, I like how Scharzbart laid out how practitioners of Gate Magic could subtly influence future generations of mages. Heh, I am not trying to be a spoilsport - I enjoy trying to think how people would actually use and design their equipment if they practiced magic. EDIT: My post was made before Schwarzbart's edit.

A while back, I posted a bunch of descriptive fluff for some of the tools that mages may use. Here it is again, in it's own thread. Feel free to use them.

Here is an quick suggestion that I cooked up. SYMBOLISM!?!% One thing that I think would help make the scheduling interface more informative would be symbols that represent some general traits about the ability, to quickly inform the player so that they don't have to read the descriptive fluff for these specifics. The symbols are next to the activity that shows what time slots it can be done in. When a player attempts to place it into their schedule and it isn't in the proper timeslot, the symbols for what time is correct would flash briefly. Having an option to toggle on and off activities that are shown for a time slot to remove non-compatible items would also be good. Time Symbols Cooldown & Preperation symbols Restricted Activity symbols

Come to think of it, I want to recommend two really old but excellent adventure games. They are Star Trek adventure games that were made in the DOS era, but I think they truly captured the spirit of the original series. Each game has a number of chapters in which the player may converse with various people, and solve oodles of puzzles in order to progress. Now, the thing is that there is a scoring system that determines how much like an Starfleet officer you have behaved, and grades you according to your diplomatic abilities, loss of red shirts, and overall performance when resolving issues. You can probably find both games on Amazon or Ebay, but be on the lookout for Collector's Editions - they feature the voices of Kirk, Spock, and other actors from the show. Together, I consider them an additional season of TOS, which can't be a bad thing. Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC. The SNES version is horrid.) Star Trek: Judgment Rites (PC, an direct sequel of 25th Anniversary.)

As a gamer, I do not particularly favor simulation games. However, I do enjoy Japanese visual novels. Depending on if you like the Adventures and Events in Academagia, you might like them too. 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors - Forced into playing a twisted game, you are one of nine people who has to correctly decide how to proceed within nine hours. Choose unwisely or wait too long, you will die. I don't know if it is actually good, but it sounds like an interesting premise to me. DS. Ever17 - Trapped within an underwater amusement park, you and an number of other people have to find some way to escape - or die trying. Harvest Moon - You are essentially a city slicker who has come to the country to run a farm. As you go about your work, you develop relationships with the people in the local village. Many different versions available, including girl-oriented ones. Phoenix Wright - You are an defense attorney who argues on the behalf of people who are accused of wrongdoing. DS. Snatcher - Set in a science-fiction future, it is all about robots that imitate humans in order to "snatch" key figures. The story was made by Hideo Kojima. Sega CD. Shira Oka - Second Chances - Mixture of simulation and visual novel, created by Westerners. In this game, you reincarnate and continually play out scenarios, like in Groundhog Day. Not bad. PC. Magical Dairy - Looks it takes place in an magical academy, and the first version is for girls. Looks interesting to me, but I will be waiting for a male-oriented outing. Cute Knight Deluxe - An western interpretation of "Princess Maker", you play as a girl who wants to get ahead in life, be it through adventuring, magic, waitress, or working at an exotic bar. PC. There is a sequel, but I personally don't care for the none-anime art style of Kingdoms.

I hope that we get to see some of the implications of this. Thanks!

What is the state of Academagia in terms of technology and magic? Are they opposed, or is technology simply not very developed, or even nonexistent? Is it possible to create 'Magi-Tek'?

Would changing "stress minimum" to "perpetual stress" be more informative, when it comes to intuitively figuring out the nature of game mechanics? I was confused about what Stress Minimum was until I asked on the forums, so I wanted to see if I could make an more informative title. Suggestion #2: Differentiate the ways to identify items. Currently, I believe there is four methods of item identification: Trial & Error, being given information about it when you receive it, a side effect of attending class, or Consulting the Artifact Registry. I would like to suggest some changes to the Registry & the Trials, to make them more distinct from each other, and to try to see if we can get any ideas on how to make the process more interesting. Consult the Registry - As an client, you may drop off multiple items for identification at the Registry. This costs 10 pims to enter into a contract with the Registry, plus an additional 20 pims when they identify the items and return each one to you. As such, it is cheaper to visit once a time slot to get a single item identified, since you will be staying long enough to take back the item after a brief checkup. However, by leaving multiple items with the registry, every day that passes will identify 1 item, without you having to be present. If you come back several days later, you will have the items returned to you once you pay the caretaking fee. This allows the player to "pay & forget" when dealing with item identification. Trial & Error - Because this is based on the student's intuition and abilities, they do all of the work themselves. At first glance, this is cheaper than going to the Registry, but this may result in getting injured, distracted, or otherwise resulting in a detrimental situation. However, you will also be able to identify items more quickly than the Registry, provided your skills match the items you are trying to figure out, plus some luck. Because of the randomness of this activity, it might be better to go with the more expensive, reliable, and less time-consuming Registry. Particularly good rolls may identify items that are related to each other in some manner, such as multiple swords, or perhaps a book of enchantment, and an enchanted mirror. This may cause an chain reaction of identification, allowing the player to identify many items effectively.

This is my speculation, based on limited knowledge of Gates. (I didn't seriously pursue them in my first playthrough. Will do so around DLC2 or Patch 9.) I think the Gates are about two things: Moving things from point A to B by changing space, and then binding through contracts or seals with a creature that is summoned by Gating to them. Similar to what you would see in Shin Megami Tensei, where you meet various demons, angels, and other mysterious beings and somehow make them into servants through force or conversation.

Sounds good to me: You can't master one aspect of a topic without dabbling in other aspects, nor can you become familiar with Theory without recognizing the parts that make it up. Ah, by the way, I think the Exam scores could be handled better by having each class order the scores from highest to lowest, and to give indications to what house each student belongs to and their relationship with the player, like shown below. Gold is to indicate the Player, Green is for those in the player's Clique, Red for a Hostile Student, and Blue for whoever belongs to the same College.

The way the Sphinx works is that it basically talks about the things it has seen and done over the centuries, not unlike an old man reminiscing about the past. That is why you get to pick 1 topic, while the Sphinx chooses the other two topics, provided you are smart enough to be a good conversation partner. People who have led long and interesting lives can make good talk out of just about anything. I feel that is good grounds for learning, if you are willing to ask the Sphinx the right questions and listen carefully.