I've found quite the bug, much like ChaosAzeroth. I'm unable to save, and all permissions I can give it are on. Now, I'm on a Mac system, and it only has the game and a file titled credits. Is there supposed to be some sort of folder in it as well? Or is it a simple bug? I'd love to continue exploring the game, but I can't really do that without that feature.
Edit: I do think it's the Mac version. Got it on Steam and tested out the bed method of saving with a throw away file, and it saved perfectly well. The Mac version must simply have a missing file or something. Makes me feel a bit better, now that I can enjoy the game more.
Really wish I'd gotten the Steam version now, but there's now way I can buy this game a second time. Ahh well. Guess I'll play it when I just want a quick one shot, unless there ends up being a fix.
It's a fun game, but already got screwed out of two nice builds/set ups now by this so I think I'm done for now.
Not certain the steam version will be any better, but I believe Orange said that anyone with the itch version can request a steam key? I don't remember, so don't take my word for it.
I was told to contact them about it, I posted in the Discord troubleshooting but other than that unsure how to contact them honestly.
Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping that I can, since I was told by the other person to request a key. Yet I'm unsure how to do that currently. I know Orange made a reply at one point about e-mailing them to someone, yet I'm unsure how to find that contact information. I had been suggested to contact them on Discord for a speedier response, but also was unsure how to do that so I posted in the troubleshooting hoping to get their notice or maybe a fix of some sort. :3
ETA:
Orange contacted me on the Discord, and is talking about helping me out. Really appreciate both the work they put into the game and the work they put into making things right. (Fixing issues, offering refunds and discussing things with the players.) Definitely has me smiling, which some might consider odd considering the subject matter of the game but... I mean the game is interesting and the dev is above and beyond, so...
Hey ChaosAzeroth! I believe you got my email upon buying the game? If you have trouble finding me on discord (I'm called 'orange~' there) you can always send me email too.
I, for some reason, thought that was an itch.io email. This is the first game I've gotten here, and the reason I made an account tbh. I did see your message on Discord, and hope life finds you well and appreciate the help. I'm rather an old fool when it comes to this I'm afraid.
If you'd like me to reply to the e-mail I received to square away where things go, I'll gladly do so. Thanks again!
I am currently unable to save, both the book and the bed will not actually allow me to save. I get the save screen. but cannot get a save file to actually produce. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Just downloaded the full Mac version.
Any help would be appreciated, as I do not wish to continue without being allowed to save since I did what I needed to do as far as I know/have seen with others to be able to. NGL, a bit salty I wasted such a rare and valuable item due to this happening, but at the time I thought that maybe I was missing something. But as far as I know the bed requires nothing extra so starting to think the book was wasted due to some sort of bug.
Otherwise, great game.
ETA:
My permissions say that I have permission to read and write, yet cannot save.
You are not missing anything. For some reason the game prevents you from saving.
I've heard that Steam version removes this problem for some. But the thing is that Steam version is the exact same game. This leads me to believe that it's still a matter of permissions, because Steam game originates from Steam so permissions don't become an issue there when you've once given Steam all the rights.
If you bought the game already, you are also entitled to Steam version. You can email me and I can give it to you. I believe you got my email while purchasing it from here?
Otherwise, I'll try to investigate what could cause the problem.
*) When I was in the “tree”: After I fell into a hole, my character got locked in a position again, only facing the front.
*) I asked the enemy for mercy and she said she would have mercy on me but the character event scene replayed again and we fought again. I don’t know, if that is normal or a bug but I thought I’d mention it.
I was recording a letsplay when the bugs happened so I have it in this video:
(For people who don’t wanna be possibly spoilered: don’t watch the video)
A beautifully dark game. It took some time for it to grow on me at first, thanks to being annoyed by things such as the Coin Toss/Insta-deaths in the older version, but once I learned to stop treating it as a traditional rpg and discovered the finer intricacies, I came to appreciate this little title for the gem it is.
That said though, I must still thank both the old gods and the new that you've toned down some of the more BS harsher coin toss/insta deaths and various other balance idiosyncrasies in this latest version, as hopefully it will make trying to start a run much more enjoyable (since even for those who have practice, sometimes there is no luck in this world) and make the game more accessible to people who were interested but put off after they saw how certain fights would come down to a 50/50 life or death choice regardless of skill or preparation. Truly, this is a magnificent update, can't wait to get to it :)
Also, question: are you a Berserk fan by any chance? I just happen to notice quite a few similarities in traits and backstory beats between Le'garde and Griffith, as well as several other characters
Berserk most definitely has had a big impact in making this game. Le'garde is kinda like a poor man's Griffith. He ended up being closer to Griffith than what I originally planned.
Hey I'm glad you like the game! The first impressions can be a bit harsh, but it seems like when people force through the opening areas the game starts to click more. It's great people are willing to give the game a chance regradless :-)
I played the newer version (1.1.1 steam release) and got a ?bug?. The Uterus enemy seemed unkillable. Did 2000+ dmg on the embryo and the body main part (all limbs and head gone). The embryo just reduced all sanity of my party members to 0(=dead but not dead... members just dont take a turn anymore). Then it was just an endlessloop of the embryo doing this over and over (meaning I had to exit game to load). Dont know if that is just a single occurence or if it is always like this now because i didnt save for while and i just had to stop the game because i was so frustrated(sorry).
And another one (maybe not really a bug): When you kill someone in front of a door or a book I cant access it anymore(only the loottext for the corpse shows up). Which is pretty frustrating because I killed a guard right infront of legards prisoncell.
Btw thanks for the game. It is a blast. And i love that you are adding even more content to it. I cant get enough <3.
The endless loop with the Uterus definitely is a bug. I did make Uterus a lot more difficult though, because people seemed to just rush through them with no danger or worrt whataoever. Headshots don't kill it anymore as it isn't a living thing per se anyways.
The second 'bug' is a known problem, but it might need some big game engine changes to fix.
Hey sorry to bug again, just a few more things to report xD The backstab doesn't seem to work all the time, even if i'm behind the enemy. Also I tried learning "loving whispers" from the hexen table but I think I exited the window too fast and I didn't get the skill, but lost a lesser soul.. haha.
My girlfriend and I ran into a bug in the ancient city where the screen just went completely black after entering the area where the tower of the endless is. She had made a bunch of progress and found a lot of good items at this point and it totally screwed everything. Not to mention a lot of times we will cut an enemy's head off and get attacked before combat ends, and that's by enemies that aren't supposed to be alive after getting their heads hacked off. We really like the game but the bugs have ruined multiple runs for us by now.
Some enemies have the headless chicken effect. It's actually a feature lol. One version had them die instantly but it made the game really a lot easier actually.
I feel bad for ruining your good run! D: the bug near the tower of endless is a new bug that came with the latest version apparently. It's a bit mysterious to me to be honest. Have you tried it again on a seperate run? I'm just curious if it happen every time you go there.
I jus run into this bug that makes the main character walk but facing front.
In other words he can walk forward, backward and side ways but he is always facing front which gets very annoying when you try to loot something or talk to someone.
I already tried to fix it by restarting the game but its still there...
This one sounds weird! So this happens when you start the game, or does something trigger it? If you try doing something that makes the character animate somehow (like backstab or bow n arrow) it might remove the lock that keeps the character facing.
How the bug happened for me (as far as I remember): I entered the "tree" area and tried to avoid the Mumbler enemy. She managed to get me and attacked me. As I was attacked, I was facing the left side. After beating the enemy, my character was still facing the left side and I couldn't turn or face the other side, I also couldn't click or interact with the objects in my north since I was facing the left side.
I am using: WINDOWS Version 1.1.0
I made a video to show you how it looks like (btw no sound, I removed it):
I tried sawing off my leg and also attack more enemies but I remained in this position.
Hmm. This seems like a completely new version 1.1.0 bug... Several people have told me about this already. I'll try to get a quick fix version out soon!
Mirohaver, this is just a suggestion, but it would be very cool if you could put this in Steam. I don't have a credit card and I can't pay for this game.
Is there anyway of re-attaching limbs (disregarding the marriage of flesh method)? Also, there is a pile of rubble at the start of the dungeon that gives infinite cursed short swords.
There actually is a way to get limbs back now with the latest version (1.1.0) But like always, there is price to pay.... (hint: check out the new tomb of the gods area) You found a nice stash of short swords in that case. Thanks for letting me know! Must be some old debug leftover.
Yes, I used two different circles, the one in the mine and the one next to the dark priest. They both produced the bug. It was marriage and ragnvaldr. Yeah the eastern ghost attacked me another time when I was reading a book and the image of the book was in the background when I was fighting him lol.
Yeah if you bought the game from itchio or gamejolt I can give out Steam keys. I don't have any efficient way to hand out keys to everyone who bought the game, so I have to do it manually. I believe you got my email when you bought the game, so just mail me and I'll give out the key!
Ran into a bug where I lost my pyromancy trick spell after a save. Can't exactly remember all the steps between the two points. I know I learned the spell from the hexen, freed the girl, a few other things and then saved. The spell was missing after reload, even though the hexen still shows it as learned, and I've continued to play that run with no other problems learning and using other spells. Wish I could remember more details about my steps along the way. Hope it helps.
That sucks... I actually haven't heard similar things happen to others yet. I can't really think up anything that would remove the magic, unless you did the marriage of flesh?
No marriage. Nothing that changed my character or situation drastically. Its why I wish I could remember more of what I actually did between learning and saving, or noticed exactly when it happened. Still enjoying the game, though. One of the best Ive played in a long time. Feel like that needed to be said. Thanks for that and keep it up.
Hey thanks for the nice words! It's a mysterious bug because I can't think any situation in the game besides marriage of flesh where skills would be erased.
It's okay to use old save files for the most parts. There are few very specific spots that aren't available in the update anymore, but it's pretty bad luck if you had saved your game exactly there.
I have found another glitch, this one involving the decaying knight that is guarding the alchemist's quarters. I destroyed all of his pieces of armor and the combat should have ended (I couldnt attack the ghostly knight as thats just how the combat of the fight is)
But as I destroyed all of its armor and couldnt target the enemy anymore, the combat did not end. Instead it just kept going, killing my entire party without me being able to do anything about it. I used the ability Leg Sweep on the knight and that may have been the problem???
Also, some enemies take their turns in the middle of my party attacks, sometimes resulting in more than three attacks per turn, then the enemies attack. This also happened when I would dismember an enemy's legs to get a hit on the head to end combat, I would hit the head and the body would phase away, then it would stop with only the enemies head and attack, do its attack, then finally the combat would end.
The enemy head thing is definitely a bug. Thanks for letting me know! Some attacks can however happen between turns. The decaying knight should be fixed in the update 1.1.0.
I am loving the game but I have a really frustrating issue with the saving. Every time I go to sleep or I read the book of enlightenment it brings me to the file save and I have no idea what button I should press. whenever I press enter or space nothing happens and sometimes when I come out it crashes the game.
I am using Mac version 1.0.3 but I can't even seem to download the update without it wanting to charge me another 8 dollars I just made an account to try and do it so maybe I am just being a noob :s
All I want is to download the latest update and try to fix or get help with the saving.
Do you think you can help me out? This game is so much fun but I really really want to save haha.
Hey! Sorry it took me a while to answer. It was pretty hectic with new version and steam release on the way...
Anyways, for mac versions it's been a known issue that you cannot save if the game folder doesn't have the permissions from mac to create a save file. That could be the case, although I'm not 100% sure about your situation. If the problem in selecting a file, make sure your mouse is not hovering over the screen, because it can overlap with the keyboard commands
There should definitely be a possibility to just re-download the game from itchio if you bought it already. Don't go wasting more dollars into the game! D: If you can't find the download link or if the saving still doesn't work, send me email, I can work something out!
Hello! I recently downloaded the game and am having this same issue. My mouse is out of the way and its version 1.4 but it wont save at beds. Any tips?
So the potential solution to your "select linb" bug could be the mouse, it also selects limbs as well. Move that outta the way and you should be fine. The menu glitch I dont know.
I love the game! its great and original. Love the style of a creepy hard dungeon game. i think the coin flips are pretty well. if u know how to fight some enimies. Evevry time u enter fear & hunger u see something new with the different routes u take. I see the great and hard work behind this.
There are some bugs like when u get poison or bleeding and go to force a door its glitch and u can take multible rounds to take the door down, it is a great bug but yeah it takes the skill away. Also there is a glitch when u get the tortuard soul u can't open the inventory. its hard because if u are infected or have a bleeding u becily dead or open your inventory its crashes.
But after many tries i got a clean run the counter that glitch.
I'm glad you still like the game despite the technical shortcoming! The tormented one-inventory bug was fixed with version 1.1.0. The door bug is a bit mysterious because I'm not able to find the source of the problem, but I'll keep looking!
I already posted about how I enjoy this game a lot, but had a major problem with coin flips, but I also really want to see this game improved. I came across a bug multiple times where after a defeated a few enemies such as the malformed Jailors and the Corpes combat would end. Then I would be put into the same combat again, the enemy would have the same dismemberments as I left them right before my final move and everything.
Hm.. That' s not very usual bug. Are you by any chance using backstab skill a lot? I know there are some cases where that can cause this kind of stuff.
The coin flip effects will be toned down. There is pretty big overhaul on balance and other stuff coming either tomorrow are the day after that.
I was not using the back stab skill when it occurred it merely happened by chance some times... but speaking of backstab, when it is used on the man who speaks of becoming a butterfly he does not show up as him, he instead shows up as a prison guard. When you defeat the guard the butterfly man will be dead though.
Okay I really like this game, but the coin flip instant run enders are bullshit to say the least especially when saving is so rare! I was only able to save 11 minutes into my run, only able to find one way to save which IN AND OF ITSELF WAS A COIN FLIP WHETHER IT WAS A PASS OR FAIL! But then I continue on this run for another hour and a half, and then coin flip time..... Fail.... I wasted and hour and thirty minutes of my time essentially. Not okay
The good news are that I've been crafting an update to the game according to the feedback and it's coming out in the next couple of days. It's pretty big overhaul on the balance and there are some additional things added to the game too.
Hello! Bought and played the game for Mac. Here's a few things:
1.) Had to give it write permissions and run sudo to make save files. 2.) I entered the thicket through the secret garden and the game began to lag relentlessly from that point on; frame rate, key input, etc. It would kind of recover during battles and in small hallways. It was frustrating but I kept playing. 3.) The cube of the deep glitched out (still in inventory and 'usable' but no effect) and could no longer be used, so I couldn't really complete any more puzzles. I gave up at that point.
Enjoyed it though. Hope you're able to work on these issues.
Thanks for letting me know. The thicket lag especially is a new bug too.
The cube is a bug magnet and the cube system is completely changed in the upcoming update. The update should be available either tomorrow or the day after that.
Well to be honest, I don't have that much experience when it comes to Steam so I will still have to check if there are some limitations to the game keys, but if there are no problems, buying it here will give you the Steam key as well.
Encountered a bug, not sure if it's been reported. Playing V1.0.3 during the sequence when you first meet Lord Buckman. I was walking up the middle of the hall my character stopped, and the sequence started but his sprite wan't there, it ran through the dialog. Once it finished he wasn't in the cell and the sequence with the torturer never activated. Thankfully you can proceed without his key.
Another possible bug. I went to the Mines and the Ghost Knight that protects the Alchemist was guarding the hall outside the Salmonsnake.
Also lost the use of all items in my bag after reloading my save. Had to close and reopen the application to fix it.
One last bug for me to report. When using the Demon Seed ability on the Crow Maulers corpse when he's in the free save bedroom. The Pixels become broken (clear box surrounded by broken pixels). This bug is minor as you still get the baby. and everything fixes once it's finished. Also I trapped his soul... does it no longer become an accessory? it shows up under items instead of armor.
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! I'll check that Buckman thing and see if a fix will make to the next update...
- The mines ghost is not a bug, sometimes it just patrols further down the mines.
- It's the first time I've heard about the item bag problem. There is this mysterious bug where sometimes the menu blocks you from using some items, but it usually goes away once you walk around few rooms or so. Or go to a battle or something like that. I'll still look into what could be causing it, but from my experience the effect of the bug is not permanent.
- I need to check this crow mauler bug too! Some enemy souls can be used as an armor. They are actually pretty useful. I recommend checking it out!
Hello, I recently bought this game and it is pretty amazing!
Just wondering is it possible to recruit in your party the beheaded wizard? I have collected the talisman from the yellow wizard but any time i try to face that floating face even if I spend all my turns talking to him the result does not change: crushed by the giant demon. So is it possible to get him???
I heard it just might be possible.... Maybe advance in the game a little bit further before going to talk to him? Who knows, maybe experience will win him over?
Hello! I was just wandering does the "hard" mode alter in the game? Does it add content and difficulty or just battle difficulty? I think Im beginning to approach the end of my first playthrough (although I'm going relatively blind so I could be wrong) and I was thinking about replaying on the harder difficulty if it added anything.
Hey hard mode is a solo mode really with no other party members other than those from necromancy. Also no option to save, so it's pretty challenging to say the least. Other than that it doesn't have any additional content yet. The next update is right around the corner and it will give the hard mode its own final boss and ending S.
I recommend checking out the other endings in normal mode before going for hard mode.
so what exactly does the Potion of Life do? I thought it was able to revive but that doesn't seem to be the case. I also haven't found anything dead or dormant I could use it on. Is it really just a scam item the merchant sells?
I have the weird lag that people have mentioned (full game), but I'm very happy with the game otherwise. If it gets worked on in steam, I'll probably buy it again :)
So when trying to break down the door that leads to the Scarab, if you talk to the door it will have the dialogue for the Scarab. The Scarab will attack the turn that you speak to them and doesn't show up on the screen, but will not attack on subsequent turns until you talk to them again.
I managed to beat the door and was going to leave but I got sucked into the ground into another dimension. However, the sprite for my character--I was playing as the Mercenary--was stuck in the sinking pose, even when I moved around. The sprite can move but it flashes in and out while moving. When I returned to the real world I was still stuck in the sinking sprite. When I equipped a new sword--since my old one got melted by the Scarab--the sprite returned to normal.
Overall it was pretty wild. I'm glad my ability to mess things up royally may help with some bug fixing! Loving the game so far!
I'm not sure if this has already been reported, but nothing happens when you curse the long sword, a stone is lost and the message says the sword is cursed, but it does not appear in the inventory.
So i have seen a lot of gameplay now and im sure i will buy this game, but because im a bit of a achievment hunter my question is: if this game get on Steam would i have to buy it again on Steam?
Great game loving the hell out of it, but of a spoiler here but I just grabbed the eastern sword, is there any way to get the ghost to stop attacking me? I'm all the way in mahabre so please tell me I don't have to go back to the thicket. :p
I kinda think if you want to get rid of a necromancy thing, you should be able to because uh, you are the necromancer... but other then that, I just had moonless kill it...
Hey just started playing today, very cool. Thanks to John Wolfe for playing it on the 'tube and already got me hooked. If no one has yet mentioned it, when the Black Witch coin flip fails and grabs you the screen says "Prison guard twists your body...." instead of well "Black witch..." blah blah you get what I'm sayin. Oh and if I go outside, no matter how much silver I have (the last time 8) I could still buy a 15 coin "Potion of Life" not complaining AT ALL cause I needed it, but .... um still THANKS!!
I purchased the full game and I've had issues with extreme lag. I practically move at a snails pace. I'm not sure if it is due to my computer or the game itself. I play on windows 10.
Ah that's horrible! I'm doing little things to make the game more streamlined as far as coding goes so it might help and after the next update I'll work on one of the bigger functions in the game that could also ease things up, but if it's really as bad as you described and there is no fix in the coming updates, I can always give you a refund in that case!
Thank you for your response! I'll keep an eye out for your updates and see if things will be fixed by your next planned updates. If things sadly don't work out, I'll let you know. Good game though from what I've watched others play! :)
Fear and Hunger is one of the most interesting games to come out on the RPGmaker platform in a while. The moody atmosphere is just right, and the brutality of the game is enticing in a good way. Combined with the art style, I felt immediately drawn to this game and had high hopes for it after seeing John Wolfe play it.
Despite that, the game is at odds with itself. It's very clear the game emulates rogue-like elements: The rearranging dungeon, coin-flip elements, and brutal combat. The game wants you to learn from trial and error, but in practice the game demands perfection. How can I learn from my mistakes if the punishment is having to start from zero? It's probably worth re-evaluating your rogue-like mechanics in the context of an RPG, instead of other more common rogue-likes.
The way I see it, this game has a problem trifecta: No Save + Lethality + RNG. One of these problems is worse than the others, and the easiest way to fix the other two is to simply add in a consistent save system. Not even allowing the player to save at any time, but maybe function like Resident Evil, where you have a limited number of guaranteed saves, thus encouraging players to hold onto their saves while keeping the heavy atmosphere.
Brutal lethality immediately stops being a problem once you can save more often. As I mentioned, I like how severe the game is. Every single battle is deadly. But it's implementation has problems that would be far more tolerable with saving. For example, every single enemy in the game has the ability to either: Break Bones, Cut off Limbs, or Give Status Effects. Some enemies can do all of the above, or stack multiple statuses. This becomes a problem when statuses are so lethal that even when you win, if you can't cure those effects immediately, or in the case of broken bones or lost limbs, can't cure it at all, it's the same as a game over.
A single misstep or events that are out of your control in any battle, like an attack missing or an enemy landing an attack after death, can spell the end of your run. At the very least, if you could save more frequently, you could 'rehearse' combat until you get it just right, but as it currently is you find yourself pigeonholed into extremely limited forms of play like "Attack the torso/head as hard as possible" making you not want to experiment with combat whatsoever to reduce risk, since allowing the enemy even a single turn can be the end.
Combine this with the coin-flip nature of item finding in this game, and the problems are exacerbated. The items you need to cure the aforementioned status effects are very rare, and if you run out, your only hope is to find the alchemy book that lets you craft them. However, if the coinflip doesn't favor you, it's possible you could never find it, thus sealing your doom by bleeding out or poison the next time you get into combat. This also goes for books, gear, and even saving, which goes without saying at this point.
If the coinflip doesn't go in your favor throughout the game, your chance of death increases exponentially, and if you aren't lucky enough to find a save book, you're gonna be seeing the intro cutscenes a lot. Let's not even mention that the one guaranteed save in the game is guarded by an enemy with an instant kill attack that doesn't even require a coinflip. If the game allowed you to save more frequently, these would be less bad, as you'd have a buffer against negative consequences, and even be able to reattempt failed coinflips.
Yes, I'm advocating for save scumming but it's far more tolerable than the current state of the game.
I still like this game a lot, and still want to see it succeed and do well, and implementing a more favorable save system would go a long way in making that happen.
There's actually a community patch/mod, that might help with what you mention. RNG is reduced, fights and status effects are rebalanced, and there is a Save Book added in for testing/debugging purposes. It was made to be an example of how the game might be rebalanced, officially.
Hey RegularAI! I really appreciate feedback to this extent! I agree that many of the design choices stack up into an overall unpleasant experience. At least I can definitely see how it feels like that at first. I believe that the game could easily become a lot more accessible and fair with just some small tweaks here and there and that way it could also lure a lot more players who currently hesitate buying this because of the difficulty.
However,
The genuine hopelessness and unfair world are the key pillars of the atmosphere in my opinion. I don't think the experience would be even close to the same if you had things like free saves and such in the early parts of the game. I could of course give more difficulty levels, but with this harsh game, people would 99% of the time take that easy way if I gave them the option for it.
After the first impressions, the game does get more fair though. The 2/3rds of the game actually gives you more room for error, save items and even one free permanent save spot. First impressions last after all and you got that suspicion of things going south for the rest of the game, so no need to torment the players that much after they've invested hours into the game. Of course in your case first impressions can also drive away people, but it is the price I'm willing to pay.
Having said all that, my game developing has been very feedback oriented since the start of this project and I'm still tweaking and balancing things constantly according to what people say. I am actually toning down some annoyances in the next update. This whole reply might come off as a bullheaded dev sticking to his poor artistic vision, but I just wanted to throw my thoughts out there if it at least helps you see where I'm coming from.
The Crow Bed ought to give you a free save, the first time you use it, the same as the Rabbit and Wolf cults. The most common and frustrating death I hear about, again and again, is people trying to use that bed, so they don't need to go through char creation again.
We like your artistic vision. That's why we're sticking around. What we don't like is the bugs. Most critically, the idea of making a major Steam release before fixing the bugs and balance issues sounds dooming to this project.
I played your game on a friend recommendation. I am leaving this review because Fear and Hunger has one of the best moody atmospheres I've seen in a game, and I only want to see this game grow and improve. You're doing a great job so far both with this game and listening to your community.
I do appreciate the oppressive atmosphere of the game, and sometimes the coin toss can add a bit of intensity to places where life and death is at stake.
However, some of the placement of the rng and what the game is trying to do feels at odds with each other.
>>But as long as you learn from your mistakes, you can quickly find yourself at the deeper levels of the dungeon.
Where this vision starts to break down is that the game doesn't grant you a margin of error that will letyou learn from your mistakes. You could know to, through trial and error, avoid all the guards, rub infected wounds with green herbs, cut off dark priest arms, etc etc. But due to the lack of a reliable save system, you could make a tiny error during a battle, or miss a single attack, or lose a coin flip and you have to start the game over again. Scripted events, intro, and all.
You could also get a status effect that's slowly killing your character. You failed the coin tosses previously to find the book on how to craft the item needed to cure your character. Your character dies slowly and there's no recovering from it short of scrambling to find a walkthrough.
Another situation I ran into was getting the crow mauler 4 times in a row trying to save on the bed, just so I didn't have to create my character and go through all of the scripted scenarios over and over again. Another situation was hacking off all of a guards limbs only for his tackle attack to have the same damage as his normal attacks. (How did cutting off the limbs increase my survivability here?)
Either the game wants me to use trial and error and I am allowed to recover and learn from my mistakes, or the game has the RNG act as a point of tension but a reliable enough save system that allows you to quickly get back on your feet. If you have both, the atmosphere cracks and the game begins to feel like a chore. You're discouraged from experimenting and being creative because one unlucky turn can spell doom.
Personally I'm fine with the one-hit kills, but I think this game desperately needs a reliable save system (start off the game with one free book of enlightenment? No crow mauler in Basement 3?) and for players to be able to craft without rng generated recipe books. This way your knowledge of the game will always allow you to prepare for encounters instead of being at the mercy of finding a book. With the above in mind, being able to miss attacks doesn't help either. I can understand a knight not being able to reach a guard's head but if every turn matters then why have me lose turns?
Thank you for the effort you are putting into the game, and I hope that this review helps the game improve. : )
To be quite honest, you should not have to flip a coin the first time you use the bed. Just like the first time you use the Rabbit cult and etc..
Hey Chicken. Many people are very concerned about the RNG you mentioned, and saving balance in the game. There is a community patch that was made to address and try to improve these issues, reducing miss chance, and rebalancing some of the mechanics (making it so DEF reduces damage in the formulas, for example).
It also includes a book of unlimited saving for now, while the mod (and the game, in some ways) is in a debugging state.
Hey thanks for the review! Really appreciate it! I just answered to mostly the same points in the last reply, so I don't want to write the same exact reply again. But it's no coincidence that these same issues rise up when talking about the game :D So yeah, I'm hearing the feedback for sure!
To be honest I was not expecting RNG to be this big of an issue, because just the same as you might not get some vital items on your playthrough and end up dying because of that - the next run you might get some of the strongest equipment right at the start and come up with new strategies to tackle the dangers. I personally find it pretty interesting and it creates a lot of replay value, but clearly it doesn't please everyone.
The current build of the game already manipulates the outcome of the RNG a little. For example, if you are bleeding and your HP is low, the game is more likely to give you Cloths to patch yourself up. I'm further working on that, so hopefully I'll be able to hit a good balance in the future.
How much do you play the game these days, Orange? There isn't really any strongest equipment you can get, by RNG.
You can get plate mail, if you're lucky, but it only reduces damage from slashing attacks, so that little to no difference to a run. You might get lucky and find a couple more healing vials... but those are unlikely to save you from a bad run. I know from certain chests like Nosramus' one, you can get a Sorcerer's Stone... but that just reduces your alcohol and opium intake.
The only equipment RNG could help you to get that'd make much difference, is books... and even those aren't a big help.
You could find an Ancient book, but that's as likely to kill you as help you, and the spell you get is random. Only useful right after a save game, so you can save-scum it... but many players die before they can save. If you do save-scum it, you can get something like Dark Orb, and greatly reduce the difficulty. So that is one option after a hundred play-throughs till you get lucky, or just through save-scumming a hundred times. The alchemist books are useful, but more use for a successful long-term run rather than helping you survive short-term, however. Skill books are probably the most useful, but even then some skills are far more useful than others. The only books that can really make a reliable difference to your run, are Books of Enlightenment.
If we compare this to other roguelikes like Enter the Gungeon or Binding of Isaac, there is a good possibility of getting some truly powerful, so that even an unskilled player has a shot at progressing deep into the game.
With Fear & Hunger, honestly... there is loads more negative RNG in it, almost no RNG is positive in the game. And the thing is... the two games I mentioned are skill based, even with bad RNG you can get through with pure skill. In Fear & Hunger, it's a turn based RPG, even playing totally optimally you can die and lose.
I encourage you to work on the balance more. Currently, the only resource management I see in the game is getting enough cloths to treat all the bleeding that occurs, or being lucky enough to find the crafting book that teaches you how to rip up clothing to get more cloths (which, clearly, you should have already known how to do).
Mask, here are just few really useful things you can get from the first levels of the dungeon randomly: explosive vials, bear traps, iron arrows, soul stones, curatives to most status ailments, arms guards and empty scroll. Some of these items can have big impact on how you approach the game. Among those items especially -- Soul stones = almost any skill in the game and potentially more poweful weapons. and Empty scroll = any item or skill in the game of your choosing.
Correct me if I'm wrong, iron arrows are only useful to the Outlander? Otherwise, you need a bow, a skillbook that teaches you to use them outside of combat, two arms(?), and iron arrows? The iron arrows can help the Outlander, they're nice to find, but I fail to see how the RNG is helping much in this case.
Something more to point out, is you search probably three hundred containers over a play-through. This actually makes for less RNG in relation to loot, it should balance it out so you always get roughly the same haul. In the games mentioned, they tended to have rather few treasure rooms, which could hold amazing buffs that stack together, or just reasonable ones. This made for a greater sense of RNG, positive RNG.
Beartraps are cool, not debating that. But, is that what you meant by being able to find the best equipment at the start? A couple of bear-traps? Those are one-use items, and can't be used against most of the bosses in the game. Their best use is just holding off Crow Mauler so you can get past him. Though, running away after you enter combat works pretty well, too, so I'm not sure they're even that much help.
Explosive vials are pretty rare in the early game, if you find one you can use it to speed-run pretty effectively. Extras are nice, as they do work to make most fights a lot easier. So, I agree... if you find a dozen explosive vials at the start, the game will be a lot easier.
Don't you think that is a pretty specific scenario of RNG helping? In the examples I gave, Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon, there are a lot of item combos you can find that make you pretty powerful, in a variety of ways.
Iron arrows can be used by everyone without skills. And again Empty scroll is all items and skills in the game. There are bunch of items that help you if you know how to maximize their use. But just like iron arrows can become huge help with correct layout, empty scroll is overpowered to the point of almost breaking the game with enough knowledge.
I don't really know what you are expecting, because those same items are pretty good in endgame as well. If you want some game breaking items, this is really not the kind of game, because there are no such items even in the end.
I think it's experience/trial error, after playing it a bunch of times, I can get through most places no matter the RNG items. And I know what and when I can face any enemies then act accordingly (Avoid, run or fire a bunch of arrows at it).
Though I couldn't of beat it just now on hard mode without good RNG and lots of empty scrolls. But still the same applied through most of the game. Even then I think I only bled once or twice in the entire game through at least an arrow trap at the end.
But anyway... For me it's why I love this game - it's grueling and unforgiving, just like the atmosphere.
May be an easy/casual mode for those who aren't masochistic gamers like me? XD With say like 75% chance of getting something without the coin toss mechanic, a chance to get Book of Enlightenment from bookcases, start of the turn choreographed pending insta-kill attacks so people know when to run or guard, 100% Ancient book success etc..
I understand the unforgiving mechanics aren't for everyone, so instead of getting rid of what I feel is the heart and soul, you can just add another mode instead. I can also see another mode making it streamer friendly too - the only way I knew about this game was someone attempting to play it on YouTube.
For veterans of the game, it's pretty easy to speed-run the game, yeah. Even for veterans, the RNG of a 10% miss rate, and some other aspects, don't really improve the game but rather make it feel more tedious. It often leads to having to load back to earlier saves. The items part isn't really an issue, since there are so many item containers that it all balances out to a pretty similar item haul (this does mean less positive RNG for future runs, though).
The Coin Flips aren't really the issue. Most of those can be avoided through strategy. Also, there is a chance of getting books of enlightenment from book cases, it used to be the only way to get them in the early versions.
Scrolls are, admittedly, the truly game-changing item, if you're an expert of the game. If you get three scrolls, you can get three duplicates of Miasma, or better yet three Sergal Spears, and start cutting everything to pieces. They're kind of like cheat-code items, and while they certainly help, they might even help too much.
I did notice the small tip in the rng. Early on you can get useful items like bear traps, small keys, and explosive vials. However, if you've already rummaged through most of the crates you have access to, then what happens is that you run into a situation where you are not given the means to dig yourself out of an unlucky battle.
Having random items in each barrel is a lot of fun! RNG for finding loot makes sense, but I think the player needs a way to produce, say, worm juice if you had a bad run in with a maneba. I love the variety that the rng provides, and think the harshness is a good part of the atmosphere, but if a guard messes me up I should have the tools to do better next time, you know?
The later parts of the game do also get a little bit better as by this point you have a full party equipped with more than basic weaponry and a horde of accumulated stuff. Bosses also get a little better here as there's a definite "right" answer to beating them. (No spoilers)
You've probably gotten these points from a billion different angles though so for now how you tweak the game is up to you. Keep going and thank you!
Also with regards to ending A, does only the final phase of the boss have an OHKO attack?! Woof.
Can somebody tell me what these icons are? What do they do, and where did I get them? I can't find any information about them online yet.
I've had the above, and I've had this one: before.
They have only ever appeared on my main characters, only one at a time, on different characters, and they seem to be permanent once they show up.
Unless I'm just seriously oblivious, they don't seem to have any impact on combat... that I can tell. I haven't found any equipped item or party member that either appears or disappears with, either.
AND! I can't even remember when or how either one appeared! I want to say the top one miiiiiiiiiiight have appeared around the time I summoned my first demon baby, or possibly when I reached a higher affinity with some god, but there were several things that happened right around that time on this character, so, alas, I can't remember. I just know I suddenly noticed it, and it NEVER went away. I unfortunately just have no recollection of when or how the second one appeared. :(
One thing I'm almost entirely certain of, though, is that they appeared pretty quietly - I definitely don't remember ever seeing a dialog or anything that said "you got XXX!" at any time.
So yeah... anybody know anything about either or both of those icons?
Will this game ever get on Steam? :) or will it be staying here on Itch.io? :) Cause I really wanna buy it after watching John Wolfe playing it, but if it's going on steam, what with achievements and such, I'd like to wait and see! Will keep an close eye on this, though :3
The only trouble with Steam, is the reviews tend to be more... unforgiving. The game still has a lot of bugs, unfortunately. My personal fear is that it would be considered in the same light as Fallout 76, and is so brutalized by early reviews that it never gets the limelight it deserves. Not a lot of youtubers have picked up this game, and if it isn't careful, it might not reach out to more, so I fear.
oooh, I totally understand that! Hmm, I wish the best for the game, I think I'll pick this up then for myself, and then we'll see what happens! :) The only thing so far, as someone who hasn't played it, but only seen it, is kinda the same points that this youtuber mentioned: there's a couple of spelling-errors, and then the insta-death seems scary o_O but I'll give it a shot, cause it sure looks promising! :) would we recieve updates and the likes, when so? :)
Yeah, the script ought to be cleaned up, really. You can probably get away with the script at its current level... but it does bug a lot of people. You probably already know, but you can avoid the coin tosses by Guarding. It is still pretty easy to die, though. If you want to try something a bit easier and more balanced, there is a community patch/mod of the game which added unlimited saving (for testing purpose), and rebalanced stuff. It only has the first couple of areas of the game, currently, made as more of a demo for how the game can be rebalanced: https://mask.itch.io/fear-hunger-rebalance
Orange stated that an update will be released at the same time as the Steam release, which is remaining at January 21st :-/ . Here's hoping that the game doesn't suffer too badly, due to remaining bugs/balance issues.
Yeah it's coming to Steam. 21st of January unless something unexpected occurs. I'm not 100% sure if the achievements make it to the launch window, but they will be coming shortly after that.
I think we have a disconnect here, between demand and supply. Since a number of people want a steam version for achievements, then releasing it without them will only result in more negative reviews than delaying to put them in. Is there some reason 21st of Jan is so important?
That makes it sound like you picked a date you can't honestly keep, in terms of releasing a working, bug-free game with achievements. So, I'd say it is more honest to move back the date, so you can release a game everyone will be happy with. A whole lot of successful games have pushed back their release dates, often at the last minute--it's totally common in the industry . People complain, but they're still happy when the game does come, and it does well.
It's a bit tricky because for some people the demo caused serious lag. The source of the lag was actually mostly fixed, but with the full version there are different people who are experiencing slow-downs, so it's really difficult to say whether the full version will lag on you or not :-/
I am streamlining some of the systems, which might help some, but it remains to be seen.
We struggled with the failed to load _1.png error (definitely after summoning blood golem [or greater blood golem in our case] during the tormented fight - awesome catch!) for well over an hour, and couldn't find a fix yet online, but my coder SO figured out how to get past it immediately without having to close out the game or lose any progress at all!
TO FIX:
MINIMIZE the game, DO NOT close or quit
open your local folder (*gameroot*)/www/img/pictures
COPY file actor3_1.rpgmvp from this folder
PASTE actor3_1.rpgmvp into this same folder
RENAME the pasted file to _1.rpgmvp
return to the GAME screen and click RETRY
[prompt should dismiss and you should be right back in the game immediately]
go ENTER AND COMPLETE COMBAT with any other mob
You should be able to continue the game normally now.
We tried getting past this by futzing aroung with files and folders, creating .pngs of various content, sizes, and names (like _i or __1 lol), faffing about with different file paths, even trying to frankenstein image file types, but none of that worked! Turns out, afaict, the .png in the error is a red herring!! Eventually we just went spelunking through the code files, and finally my SO backtracked the location of the error function being called here and (yada yada something mostly incomprehensible to me haha), then Retry worked immediately and we got past it!
I know this is a huge long post - sorry!! - but [1] I really really hope this is helpful to the [absolutely AWESOME btw] developer, and [2] we couldn't find a fix for this anywhere, and [3] I know the behavior is a liiiitlle weird immediately after the fix so I want people to know what they're doing (the best I can explain it, anyway) and exactly what we found and experienced in our fix.
It does all sound a bit scary on the surface imo, but honestly, I do think doing this is perfectly safe; we've played for quite some time since fixing the error and have experienced no ill effects or other weirdness. However, Orange, PLEASE let people/me know if this is a horrible thing to do for any reason!!
TOO-LONG EXPLANATION OF WHAT/WHY:
We left the game open with the Retry prompt up. Then we minimized and opened file explorer, and went into the (*game root*)/www/img/pictures folder. We COPIED one of the .RPGMVP files (we happened to choose actor3_1.rpgmvp because it already had _1 in the name), and PASTED it right there into the same /pictures folder.
Then we RENAMED the new pasted file to _1.rpgmvp (NOT .png!!).
I'm pretty sure the file you copy must be one of the actor*.rpgmvp files - and definitelynot a png haha - because the game needs party member data to cleanly dismiss the blood golem. You cannot simply create a new file with the correct name and filetype for the same reason - it needs the data to clean up the party member properly. It must be a copied actor rpgmvp file, and I personally recommend just using the one I noted** simply because it's a valid party member and has proven to work fine for us already. I don't know which characters are in which files, so it's possible we just got lucky with a compatible existing file.
[**You could totally try using the actual blood golem rpgmvp file, if you know which one it is, BUT that may - possibly maybe potentially who knows I don't - not work if that's where the original bug is... I'm not 100% on that. If you do try the blood golem actor file, and you still can't completely get rid of the Retry prompt for good basically immediately, I'd just go try the actor3_1 file, myself. You should be able to click Retry infinitely until the error is fixed, though, so none of this should be totally catastrophic; just remember to copypaste and then rename, not rename existing files!]
Once you create the new rpgmvp file with actor data, go back to the game window and just hit Retry. You should be able to dismiss the error immediately and get directly back into the game without losing any progress.
--> **PLEASE NOTE** that this fix causes a very brief weirdness! We've tested several times now, always with these results:
We get a "phantom" floating head guy character (Nas'hrah? meanie jerk with the huge taurus, in the gore hallway outside the jails) placed visibly in blood golem's party slot *in the menu only*. He is not visible walking around with us through the world, and he has no available skills or anything. He appears to be only a temporary visual anomaly present in the menu, with no impact on the game. Further, he is only there until the next completed combat.
In the NEXT COMBAT - and it does not matter which mob is aggroed - blood golem is a proper functional member of the party again, in both the fight scene and in the menu. He automatically appears there at the beginning of the fight, however, without summoning. He works properly and fights in this combat.
As soon as we EXIT THAT COMBAT (still the first combat after the error... and there is a mob right outside the tormented room, super conveniently!), the new copypasted file causes the blood golem / floating head party member to get properly CLEANED UP from the party and everything is back to normal and has been normal now for quite some time, through several fights, events, and save games.
After completing the first combat post tormented fix, we are still able to summon blood golem, he still functions properly as a party member, and he is still dismissed and cleaned up after combat, every time. We have fought several various mobs in several areas after doing this fix, with no problems on blood golem, on any party member, or in any combat. We have also been able to save and load the game just fine, so this change does not appear to corrupt save files or anything like that... thank the old gods!
ORANGE: It *looks like* the cause for this bug is that blood golem does not properly dismiss or clean up from the party, specifically after using [greater?] blood golem in the tormented fight - because it's calling the wrong filetype of png instead of rpgmvp (and an incomplete filename, most likely, too) upon exiting combat. It *looks like* completing one combat after the tormented fight allows the new file to call the missing function (or just filename?) to clean up properly without any negative repercussions, so hopefully you may be able to copypaste the missing data into blood golem's file, or at least look through the actor files for the .png reference... or whatever is missing!
As I said, things have worked pretty much flawlessly since that change, but I will update or reply asap if we experience any related weirdness in the future!
ALSO ORANGE (side note): I just have to say this in case you read this post - I can't thank you enough, not only for being so helpful and responsive, like all over the internet, but even moreso just for making this unbelievably cool, unique, cruel, insane, hilarious, creepy, disturbing, petty, twisted, unforgiving, rewarding, peerlessly creative, stunningly well-made, scarily addictive, and extremely fun game for all of us!!! I have never played anything quite like it, and I am genuinely by-proxy super proud of your achievement and very happy for you. I sincerely and truly hope you make a million dollars (at least!) on this game! I'm introducing it to everyone I can, so I hope to help make that happen!! :D
We've been playing for over a week now, every chance we get, and literally every single time we play, SO and I both say something like "wow I can't believe how good this is" and then of course "hahaha holy cow, the messed up things this game makes us say!!" ...usually several times each. Seriously, I wish you the utmost success with this game, and I can't wait to see what your warped and corrupted ;) mind comes up with in the future!!!
Yeah, I know I probably sound ridiculously gushy and starry-eyed, but I really do mean it. You've created something genuinely awesome, so thank you!
Mask (or anyone, really), PLEASE let us know if you experience anything weird by trying it. We have actually beat the game with 3 different endings now since doing that, so MY experience is that it's pretty solid. That said, I would hate nothing more than to recommend an action that messes up somebody's game!!
Woah, this is comprehensive analysis on the bug to say the least! :D
You're right on the source of the bug. After the tormented one battle, blood golem stays in your party because the game is missing the function that removes him. When you open the menu, blood golem got no portrait graphics and that causes the crash.
I should put a disclaimer somewhere on how to evade this bug until I get the the update out. In short, if possible don't use blood golem in that fight or if you do, don't open menu until you've been in one fight after that.
I have already fixed the bug, but since it's so cumbersome to update the game currently, I've been postponing the release of the next update. I'm trying to have it out by the 21st of this month. The update will bring some bigger changes to the game too and additional areas, enemies and items.
And I'm really glad you're enjoying the game despite it's occasional technical shortcoming! And million dollars huh? :D That's a goal......................................
"In short, if possible don't use blood golem in that fight or if you do, don't open menu until you've been in one fight after that."
Actually, if you happen to use blood golem in that fight, you get the error and get stuck no matter what. As soon as the end fight dialog closes, the error appears rught away. You can't even walk around or anything! At least that's what was happening to us.
I think the ONLY way you can continue the session after blood golem there, at all, is to create the new file.
Wow, you're on top of things! Thank you so much! Just remember, nobody's gonna die if you take your time with the updates! And now that there's a fix posted for this blocker (hopefully nobody has problems with it!!) that's one less reason to rush! :)
And I'm dead serious, I hope you get filthy rich from this game and that it gets the recognition it deserves. You made an awesome thing. From what I've seen, it started small with a couple youtubers, and it's already blowing up and being talked about more and more. I hope it keeps the momentum!!
Oh I saw RiskRim evade the crash by not opening the menu, but I guess it varies. In any case thanks for letting me know again! :D
And yeah, I'm taking my time with the updates. I like to post larger updates so people don't need to be updating the game all the time and this way the updates also feel more significant when everyone can actually see the change in many areas of the game.
Are you having any particular difficulties with uploading updates, Orange? If there's any trouble with upload speed, you could try uploading a hotfix separate from the main game, with the related .json files. The mod I'm working on, for example, is just little json files, so it's easy for me to upload new updates to itch.io.
If at all possible, you should be uploading new updates continuously, so as to squash known bugs and find out any others.
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I've found quite the bug, much like ChaosAzeroth. I'm unable to save, and all permissions I can give it are on. Now, I'm on a Mac system, and it only has the game and a file titled credits. Is there supposed to be some sort of folder in it as well? Or is it a simple bug? I'd love to continue exploring the game, but I can't really do that without that feature.
Edit: I do think it's the Mac version. Got it on Steam and tested out the bed method of saving with a throw away file, and it saved perfectly well. The Mac version must simply have a missing file or something. Makes me feel a bit better, now that I can enjoy the game more.
Really wish I'd gotten the Steam version now, but there's now way I can buy this game a second time. Ahh well. Guess I'll play it when I just want a quick one shot, unless there ends up being a fix.
It's a fun game, but already got screwed out of two nice builds/set ups now by this so I think I'm done for now.
Not certain the steam version will be any better, but I believe Orange said that anyone with the itch version can request a steam key? I don't remember, so don't take my word for it.
I was told to contact them about it, I posted in the Discord troubleshooting but other than that unsure how to contact them honestly.
Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping that I can, since I was told by the other person to request a key. Yet I'm unsure how to do that currently. I know Orange made a reply at one point about e-mailing them to someone, yet I'm unsure how to find that contact information. I had been suggested to contact them on Discord for a speedier response, but also was unsure how to do that so I posted in the troubleshooting hoping to get their notice or maybe a fix of some sort. :3
ETA:
Orange contacted me on the Discord, and is talking about helping me out. Really appreciate both the work they put into the game and the work they put into making things right. (Fixing issues, offering refunds and discussing things with the players.) Definitely has me smiling, which some might consider odd considering the subject matter of the game but... I mean the game is interesting and the dev is above and beyond, so...
Hey ChaosAzeroth! I believe you got my email upon buying the game? If you have trouble finding me on discord (I'm called 'orange~' there) you can always send me email too.
I, for some reason, thought that was an itch.io email. This is the first game I've gotten here, and the reason I made an account tbh. I did see your message on Discord, and hope life finds you well and appreciate the help. I'm rather an old fool when it comes to this I'm afraid.
If you'd like me to reply to the e-mail I received to square away where things go, I'll gladly do so. Thanks again!
I am currently unable to save, both the book and the bed will not actually allow me to save. I get the save screen. but cannot get a save file to actually produce. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Just downloaded the full Mac version.
Any help would be appreciated, as I do not wish to continue without being allowed to save since I did what I needed to do as far as I know/have seen with others to be able to. NGL, a bit salty I wasted such a rare and valuable item due to this happening, but at the time I thought that maybe I was missing something. But as far as I know the bed requires nothing extra so starting to think the book was wasted due to some sort of bug.
Otherwise, great game.
ETA:
My permissions say that I have permission to read and write, yet cannot save.
You are not missing anything. For some reason the game prevents you from saving.
I've heard that Steam version removes this problem for some. But the thing is that Steam version is the exact same game. This leads me to believe that it's still a matter of permissions, because Steam game originates from Steam so permissions don't become an issue there when you've once given Steam all the rights.
If you bought the game already, you are also entitled to Steam version. You can email me and I can give it to you. I believe you got my email while purchasing it from here?
Otherwise, I'll try to investigate what could cause the problem.
I discovered some bugs.
*) When I was in the “tree”: After I fell into a hole, my character got locked in a position again, only facing the front.
*) I asked the enemy for mercy and she said she would have mercy on me but the character event scene replayed again and we fought again. I don’t know, if that is normal or a bug but I thought I’d mention it.
I was recording a letsplay when the bugs happened so I have it in this video:
(For people who don’t wanna be possibly spoilered: don’t watch the video)
https://bit.ly/2Tf5Q0K
Exact times: 1:52 first bug, 34:51 second bug
I was using the windows version 1.1.1.
Thanks for letting know! So the character facing bug remains in 1.1.1? That's troublesome... :/
A beautifully dark game. It took some time for it to grow on me at first, thanks to being annoyed by things such as the Coin Toss/Insta-deaths in the older version, but once I learned to stop treating it as a traditional rpg and discovered the finer intricacies, I came to appreciate this little title for the gem it is.
That said though, I must still thank both the old gods and the new that you've toned down some of the
more BSharsher coin toss/insta deaths and various other balance idiosyncrasies in this latest version, as hopefully it will make trying to start a run much more enjoyable (since even for those who have practice, sometimes there is no luck in this world) and make the game more accessible to people who were interested but put off after they saw how certain fights would come down to a 50/50 life or death choice regardless of skill or preparation. Truly, this is a magnificent update, can't wait to get to it :)Also, question: are you a Berserk fan by any chance? I just happen to notice quite a few similarities in traits and backstory beats between Le'garde and Griffith, as well as several other characters
Berserk most definitely has had a big impact in making this game. Le'garde is kinda like a poor man's Griffith. He ended up being closer to Griffith than what I originally planned.
HA! I thought so, that's awesome man XD Cool beans.
Hey I'm glad you like the game! The first impressions can be a bit harsh, but it seems like when people force through the opening areas the game starts to click more. It's great people are willing to give the game a chance regradless :-)
Heyho.
I played the newer version (1.1.1 steam release) and got a ?bug?. The Uterus enemy seemed unkillable. Did 2000+ dmg on the embryo and the body main part (all limbs and head gone).
The embryo just reduced all sanity of my party members to 0(=dead but not dead... members just dont take a turn anymore).
Then it was just an endlessloop of the embryo doing this over and over (meaning I had to exit game to load).
Dont know if that is just a single occurence or if it is always like this now because i didnt save for while and i just had to stop the game because i was so frustrated(sorry).
And another one (maybe not really a bug): When you kill someone in front of a door or a book I cant access it anymore(only the loottext for the corpse shows up). Which is pretty frustrating because I killed a guard right infront of legards prisoncell.
Btw thanks for the game. It is a blast. And i love that you are adding even more content to it. I cant get enough <3.
No need to be sorry, Schneeli. I hope that the next patch removes this bug, so that you can go back to enjoying the game.
The endless loop with the Uterus definitely is a bug. I did make Uterus a lot more difficult though, because people seemed to just rush through them with no danger or worrt whataoever. Headshots don't kill it anymore as it isn't a living thing per se anyways.
The second 'bug' is a known problem, but it might need some big game engine changes to fix.
Hey sorry to bug again, just a few more things to report xD The backstab doesn't seem to work all the time, even if i'm behind the enemy. Also I tried learning "loving whispers" from the hexen table but I think I exited the window too fast and I didn't get the skill, but lost a lesser soul.. haha.
No need to apologize! :-D it's just good that you help me with reporting all this stuff. Interesting bug with the hexen! :D you were in serious hurry.
hey,
Its cool that you fixed the problem!
But is there a way that I can put my save files into the updated version? So I dont have to start all over again.
I read one comment that said it was possible but could you or anyone tell me the specific steps so I dont mess anything up?
The save file is named 'savexx.rvdata2' (or file save01.rvdate2) It's in the common folder where all the files are.
My girlfriend and I ran into a bug in the ancient city where the screen just went completely black after entering the area where the tower of the endless is. She had made a bunch of progress and found a lot of good items at this point and it totally screwed everything. Not to mention a lot of times we will cut an enemy's head off and get attacked before combat ends, and that's by enemies that aren't supposed to be alive after getting their heads hacked off. We really like the game but the bugs have ruined multiple runs for us by now.
Some enemies have the headless chicken effect. It's actually a feature lol. One version had them die instantly but it made the game really a lot easier actually.
I feel bad for ruining your good run! D: the bug near the tower of endless is a new bug that came with the latest version apparently. It's a bit mysterious to me to be honest. Have you tried it again on a seperate run? I'm just curious if it happen every time you go there.
Hey wassup,
I jus run into this bug that makes the main character walk but facing front.
In other words he can walk forward, backward and side ways but he is always facing front which gets very annoying when you try to loot something or talk to someone.
I already tried to fix it by restarting the game but its still there...
Any help or ideas??
Hey !
This one sounds weird! So this happens when you start the game, or does something trigger it? If you try doing something that makes the character animate somehow (like backstab or bow n arrow) it might remove the lock that keeps the character facing.
I am not really sure,
I was with outlander and the little girl walking around the area where the dark priest is (library) and then suddenly it was there.
I already tried with bow and arrow but he keeps facing and shoot into the other direction, even if an enemy is standing right in front him
Ah! Actually I think I know what could have caused it! Did you by any chance step on a cracking floor tile?
Yes, but I evated it.
Coin toss saved me.
Happened to me - in 1.1.1 - when I
brilliantlystuck my hand into an arrow slit in one of the entrance levels.What, gimme a break! I just had to be sure! :P
Anyway, as soon as I pulled back my bloody stump, my whole party had turned their backs on me. Can't say I blame them, but there you have it.
Really no big deal imo, but thought you might like to know.
This happened to me too.
How the bug happened for me (as far as I remember): I entered the "tree" area and tried to avoid the Mumbler enemy. She managed to get me and attacked me. As I was attacked, I was facing the left side. After beating the enemy, my character was still facing the left side and I couldn't turn or face the other side, I also couldn't click or interact with the objects in my north since I was facing the left side.
I am using: WINDOWS Version 1.1.0
I made a video to show you how it looks like (btw no sound, I removed it):
I tried sawing off my leg and also attack more enemies but I remained in this position.Hmm. This seems like a completely new version 1.1.0 bug... Several people have told me about this already. I'll try to get a quick fix version out soon!
Mirohaver, this is just a suggestion, but it would be very cool if you could put this in Steam. I don't have a credit card and I can't pay for this game.
You're in luck, it just launched on Steam :) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1002300/Fear__Hunger/
Now that the new version is finally out, I'm considering expanding the mod to work with it, and maybe add a few enemies, or the fear system back in.
Is there anyway of re-attaching limbs (disregarding the marriage of flesh method)? Also, there is a pile of rubble at the start of the dungeon that gives infinite cursed short swords.
There actually is a way to get limbs back now with the latest version (1.1.0) But like always, there is price to pay.... (hint: check out the new tomb of the gods area) You found a nice stash of short swords in that case. Thanks for letting me know! Must be some old debug leftover.
I found one of those glimmers on the ground in the vine area that gave me infinite shiny coins cant remember where exactly
"TypeError Cannot read property 'bitmap' of undefined"
I got this error when I got attacked by the eastern sword ghost when I was in a text dialogue.
Also game bugs when I try to make marriage show love, all the sprites dissapear. The sprites reappear when I use the elevator.
Hmm. The eastern sword ghost needs a revamp anyway, so I gotta tackle this bug soon!
Do you remember which circle you used for showing love and which characters?
Yes, I used two different circles, the one in the mine and the one next to the dark priest. They both produced the bug. It was marriage and ragnvaldr. Yeah the eastern ghost attacked me another time when I was reading a book and the image of the book was in the background when I was fighting him lol.
Would I be able to get this on steam? If so how? I wanted to know so I could leave a review.
Yeah if you bought the game from itchio or gamejolt I can give out Steam keys. I don't have any efficient way to hand out keys to everyone who bought the game, so I have to do it manually. I believe you got my email when you bought the game, so just mail me and I'll give out the key!
Ran into a bug where I lost my pyromancy trick spell after a save. Can't exactly remember all the steps between the two points. I know I learned the spell from the hexen, freed the girl, a few other things and then saved. The spell was missing after reload, even though the hexen still shows it as learned, and I've continued to play that run with no other problems learning and using other spells. Wish I could remember more details about my steps along the way. Hope it helps.
That sucks... I actually haven't heard similar things happen to others yet. I can't really think up anything that would remove the magic, unless you did the marriage of flesh?
No marriage. Nothing that changed my character or situation drastically. Its why I wish I could remember more of what I actually did between learning and saving, or noticed exactly when it happened. Still enjoying the game, though. One of the best Ive played in a long time. Feel like that needed to be said. Thanks for that and keep it up.
Hey thanks for the nice words! It's a mysterious bug because I can't think any situation in the game besides marriage of flesh where skills would be erased.
Hello,
If u update the game do u still have the save files??
I don't believe it is save compatible. To test it, you could try copying your F&H folder, then overwriting the copy/original with the new install.
It's okay to use old save files for the most parts. There are few very specific spots that aren't available in the update anymore, but it's pretty bad luck if you had saved your game exactly there.
Hello Again
I have found another glitch, this one involving the decaying knight that is guarding the alchemist's quarters. I destroyed all of his pieces of armor and the combat should have ended (I couldnt attack the ghostly knight as thats just how the combat of the fight is)
But as I destroyed all of its armor and couldnt target the enemy anymore, the combat did not end. Instead it just kept going, killing my entire party without me being able to do anything about it. I used the ability Leg Sweep on the knight and that may have been the problem???
Also, some enemies take their turns in the middle of my party attacks, sometimes resulting in more than three attacks per turn, then the enemies attack. This also happened when I would dismember an enemy's legs to get a hit on the head to end combat, I would hit the head and the body would phase away, then it would stop with only the enemies head and attack, do its attack, then finally the combat would end.
The enemy head thing is definitely a bug. Thanks for letting me know! Some attacks can however happen between turns. The decaying knight should be fixed in the update 1.1.0.
Hello there,
I am loving the game but I have a really frustrating issue with the saving. Every time I go to sleep or I read the book of enlightenment it brings me to the file save and I have no idea what button I should press. whenever I press enter or space nothing happens and sometimes when I come out it crashes the game.
I am using Mac version 1.0.3 but I can't even seem to download the update without it wanting to charge me another 8 dollars I just made an account to try and do it so maybe I am just being a noob :s
All I want is to download the latest update and try to fix or get help with the saving.
Do you think you can help me out? This game is so much fun but I really really want to save haha.
Hey! Sorry it took me a while to answer. It was pretty hectic with new version and steam release on the way...
Anyways, for mac versions it's been a known issue that you cannot save if the game folder doesn't have the permissions from mac to create a save file. That could be the case, although I'm not 100% sure about your situation. If the problem in selecting a file, make sure your mouse is not hovering over the screen, because it can overlap with the keyboard commands
There should definitely be a possibility to just re-download the game from itchio if you bought it already. Don't go wasting more dollars into the game! D: If you can't find the download link or if the saving still doesn't work, send me email, I can work something out!
Hello! I recently downloaded the game and am having this same issue. My mouse is out of the way and its version 1.4 but it wont save at beds. Any tips?
So the potential solution to your "select linb" bug could be the mouse, it also selects limbs as well. Move that outta the way and you should be fine. The menu glitch I dont know.
Hey,
Wanna give some feedback on the game.
I love the game! its great and original. Love the style of a creepy hard dungeon game. i think the coin flips are pretty well. if u know how to fight some enimies. Evevry time u enter fear & hunger u see something new with the different routes u take. I see the great and hard work behind this.
There are some bugs like when u get poison or bleeding and go to force a door its glitch and u can take multible rounds to take the door down, it is a great bug but yeah it takes the skill away. Also there is a glitch when u get the tortuard soul u can't open the inventory. its hard because if u are infected or have a bleeding u becily dead or open your inventory its crashes.
But after many tries i got a clean run the counter that glitch.
Still love it and love to see more!
I'm glad you still like the game despite the technical shortcoming! The tormented one-inventory bug was fixed with version 1.1.0. The door bug is a bit mysterious because I'm not able to find the source of the problem, but I'll keep looking!
I already posted about how I enjoy this game a lot, but had a major problem with coin flips, but I also really want to see this game improved. I came across a bug multiple times where after a defeated a few enemies such as the malformed Jailors and the Corpes combat would end. Then I would be put into the same combat again, the enemy would have the same dismemberments as I left them right before my final move and everything.
Hm.. That' s not very usual bug. Are you by any chance using backstab skill a lot? I know there are some cases where that can cause this kind of stuff.
The coin flip effects will be toned down. There is pretty big overhaul on balance and other stuff coming either tomorrow are the day after that.
I was not using the back stab skill when it occurred it merely happened by chance some times... but speaking of backstab, when it is used on the man who speaks of becoming a butterfly he does not show up as him, he instead shows up as a prison guard. When you defeat the guard the butterfly man will be dead though.
Okay I really like this game, but the coin flip instant run enders are bullshit to say the least especially when saving is so rare! I was only able to save 11 minutes into my run, only able to find one way to save which IN AND OF ITSELF WAS A COIN FLIP WHETHER IT WAS A PASS OR FAIL! But then I continue on this run for another hour and a half, and then coin flip time..... Fail.... I wasted and hour and thirty minutes of my time essentially. Not okay
Yeah I hear you. It's a bit too cruel I admit.
The good news are that I've been crafting an update to the game according to the feedback and it's coming out in the next couple of days. It's pretty big overhaul on the balance and there are some additional things added to the game too.
Okay man, keep up the good work! I love what you have going on here and how receptive you are to the community, its great.
Hello! Bought and played the game for Mac. Here's a few things:
1.) Had to give it write permissions and run sudo to make save files.
2.) I entered the thicket through the secret garden and the game began to lag relentlessly from that point on; frame rate, key input, etc. It would kind of recover during battles and in small hallways. It was frustrating but I kept playing.
3.) The cube of the deep glitched out (still in inventory and 'usable' but no effect) and could no longer be used, so I couldn't really complete any more puzzles. I gave up at that point.
Enjoyed it though. Hope you're able to work on these issues.
Thanks for letting me know. The thicket lag especially is a new bug too.
The cube is a bug magnet and the cube system is completely changed in the upcoming update. The update should be available either tomorrow or the day after that.
Does buying here have anything to do with Steam? Or do you get a Steam copy/version when it comes out around the 21st? TIA
Well to be honest, I don't have that much experience when it comes to Steam so I will still have to check if there are some limitations to the game keys, but if there are no problems, buying it here will give you the Steam key as well.
Encountered a bug, not sure if it's been reported. Playing V1.0.3 during the sequence when you first meet Lord Buckman. I was walking up the middle of the hall my character stopped, and the sequence started but his sprite wan't there, it ran through the dialog. Once it finished he wasn't in the cell and the sequence with the torturer never activated. Thankfully you can proceed without his key.
Another possible bug. I went to the Mines and the Ghost Knight that protects the Alchemist was guarding the hall outside the Salmonsnake.
Also lost the use of all items in my bag after reloading my save. Had to close and reopen the application to fix it.
One last bug for me to report. When using the Demon Seed ability on the Crow Maulers corpse when he's in the free save bedroom. The Pixels become broken (clear box surrounded by broken pixels). This bug is minor as you still get the baby. and everything fixes once it's finished. Also I trapped his soul... does it no longer become an accessory? it shows up under items instead of armor.
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! I'll check that Buckman thing and see if a fix will make to the next update...
- The mines ghost is not a bug, sometimes it just patrols further down the mines.
- It's the first time I've heard about the item bag problem. There is this mysterious bug where sometimes the menu blocks you from using some items, but it usually goes away once you walk around few rooms or so. Or go to a battle or something like that. I'll still look into what could be causing it, but from my experience the effect of the bug is not permanent.
- I need to check this crow mauler bug too! Some enemy souls can be used as an armor. They are actually pretty useful. I recommend checking it out!
Hello, I recently bought this game and it is pretty amazing!
Just wondering is it possible to recruit in your party the beheaded wizard? I have collected the talisman from the yellow wizard but any time i try to face that floating face even if I spend all my turns talking to him the result does not change: crushed by the giant demon. So is it possible to get him???
I heard it just might be possible.... Maybe advance in the game a little bit further before going to talk to him? Who knows, maybe experience will win him over?
Hello! I was just wandering does the "hard" mode alter in the game? Does it add content and difficulty or just battle difficulty? I think Im beginning to approach the end of my first playthrough (although I'm going relatively blind so I could be wrong) and I was thinking about replaying on the harder difficulty if it added anything.
Hey hard mode is a solo mode really with no other party members other than those from necromancy. Also no option to save, so it's pretty challenging to say the least. Other than that it doesn't have any additional content yet. The next update is right around the corner and it will give the hard mode its own final boss and ending S.
I recommend checking out the other endings in normal mode before going for hard mode.
thanks for the reply! I'll take you up on finding the other endings then, maybe I'll give hard difficulty a go after that.
so what exactly does the Potion of Life do? I thought it was able to revive but that doesn't seem to be the case. I also haven't found anything dead or dormant I could use it on. Is it really just a scam item the merchant sells?
Would a scam fit the themes of this world?
I have the weird lag that people have mentioned (full game), but I'm very happy with the game otherwise. If it gets worked on in steam, I'll probably buy it again :)
I found a bug! Or maybe a few?
So when trying to break down the door that leads to the Scarab, if you talk to the door it will have the dialogue for the Scarab. The Scarab will attack the turn that you speak to them and doesn't show up on the screen, but will not attack on subsequent turns until you talk to them again.
I managed to beat the door and was going to leave but I got sucked into the ground into another dimension. However, the sprite for my character--I was playing as the Mercenary--was stuck in the sinking pose, even when I moved around. The sprite can move but it flashes in and out while moving. When I returned to the real world I was still stuck in the sinking sprite. When I equipped a new sword--since my old one got melted by the Scarab--the sprite returned to normal.
Overall it was pretty wild. I'm glad my ability to mess things up royally may help with some bug fixing! Loving the game so far!
Oh the scarab bug is a new one! Nice find! The sinking sprite bug was known already, but it's a bit mysterious one.
Glad you're liking the game regardless!
I'm not sure if this has already been reported, but nothing happens when you curse the long sword, a stone is lost and the message says the sword is cursed, but it does not appear in the inventory.
Oh yeah! This will be fixed in the next update! Thanks for letting me know!
So i have seen a lot of gameplay now and im sure i will buy this game, but because im a bit of a achievment hunter my question is: if this game get on Steam would i have to buy it again on Steam?
Sorry for the bad english im from Germany
For those that want Steam codes, I will probably have to manually send them to them. So... it might take a while to get them.
The Steam version is set for the 21st of January, so it's just few days from now. That's the easiest way to get the game on Steam.
And your english is just fine. I'm from Finland too, so no native english speakers here :D
Thank you for the quick respond. After playing the Demo for like 1,5 hours i could not resist buying the Game.
Keep up the good work
Awesome! Thanks. There is an update coming soon too with even more areas, enemies and stuff (and fixes too).
Great game loving the hell out of it, but of a spoiler here but I just grabbed the eastern sword, is there any way to get the ghost to stop attacking me? I'm all the way in mahabre so please tell me I don't have to go back to the thicket. :p
You can always try giving the sword back to the ghost? Who knows...?
NO! Fuck that, I found it fair and square, if you think I won't just finish the game like this you don't know me.
:DDD That's the spirit! I have a feeling you'll get far in the dungeons.
Is there a way I can remove a party member? I have a skeleton but I want the Moonless real bad... I just can't get her because my party is full :(
Sacrifice them at a blood circle, or literally try getting them killed in a fight. In both cases make sure to unequip any gear.
I kinda think if you want to get rid of a necromancy thing, you should be able to because uh, you are the necromancer... but other then that, I just had moonless kill it...
There is a talk option. Orange should make it that you have the option to say, "Wait for me in the hub area," like in most RPGs.
Hey just started playing today, very cool. Thanks to John Wolfe for playing it on the 'tube and already got me hooked. If no one has yet mentioned it, when the Black Witch coin flip fails and grabs you the screen says "Prison guard twists your body...." instead of well "Black witch..." blah blah you get what I'm sayin. Oh and if I go outside, no matter how much silver I have (the last time 8) I could still buy a 15 coin "Potion of Life" not complaining AT ALL cause I needed it, but .... um still THANKS!!
I'm not so sure if that potion really is the blessing you were looking for....
But nice finds! I haven't heard about these bugs before! Thanks!
Everyone tells me to get a life. So I'm guessing that Potion isn't gonna do that for me. Now ya tell me.
I purchased the full game and I've had issues with extreme lag. I practically move at a snails pace. I'm not sure if it is due to my computer or the game itself. I play on windows 10.
Ah that's horrible! I'm doing little things to make the game more streamlined as far as coding goes so it might help and after the next update I'll work on one of the bigger functions in the game that could also ease things up, but if it's really as bad as you described and there is no fix in the coming updates, I can always give you a refund in that case!
Again, really sorry to hear this :(
Thank you for your response! I'll keep an eye out for your updates and see if things will be fixed by your next planned updates. If things sadly don't work out, I'll let you know. Good game though from what I've watched others play! :)
Fear and Hunger is one of the most interesting games to come out on the RPGmaker platform in a while. The moody atmosphere is just right, and the brutality of the game is enticing in a good way. Combined with the art style, I felt immediately drawn to this game and had high hopes for it after seeing John Wolfe play it.
Despite that, the game is at odds with itself. It's very clear the game emulates rogue-like elements: The rearranging dungeon, coin-flip elements, and brutal combat. The game wants you to learn from trial and error, but in practice the game demands perfection. How can I learn from my mistakes if the punishment is having to start from zero? It's probably worth re-evaluating your rogue-like mechanics in the context of an RPG, instead of other more common rogue-likes.
The way I see it, this game has a problem trifecta: No Save + Lethality + RNG. One of these problems is worse than the others, and the easiest way to fix the other two is to simply add in a consistent save system. Not even allowing the player to save at any time, but maybe function like Resident Evil, where you have a limited number of guaranteed saves, thus encouraging players to hold onto their saves while keeping the heavy atmosphere.
Brutal lethality immediately stops being a problem once you can save more often. As I mentioned, I like how severe the game is. Every single battle is deadly. But it's implementation has problems that would be far more tolerable with saving. For example, every single enemy in the game has the ability to either: Break Bones, Cut off Limbs, or Give Status Effects. Some enemies can do all of the above, or stack multiple statuses. This becomes a problem when statuses are so lethal that even when you win, if you can't cure those effects immediately, or in the case of broken bones or lost limbs, can't cure it at all, it's the same as a game over.
A single misstep or events that are out of your control in any battle, like an attack missing or an enemy landing an attack after death, can spell the end of your run. At the very least, if you could save more frequently, you could 'rehearse' combat until you get it just right, but as it currently is you find yourself pigeonholed into extremely limited forms of play like "Attack the torso/head as hard as possible" making you not want to experiment with combat whatsoever to reduce risk, since allowing the enemy even a single turn can be the end.
Combine this with the coin-flip nature of item finding in this game, and the problems are exacerbated. The items you need to cure the aforementioned status effects are very rare, and if you run out, your only hope is to find the alchemy book that lets you craft them. However, if the coinflip doesn't favor you, it's possible you could never find it, thus sealing your doom by bleeding out or poison the next time you get into combat. This also goes for books, gear, and even saving, which goes without saying at this point.
If the coinflip doesn't go in your favor throughout the game, your chance of death increases exponentially, and if you aren't lucky enough to find a save book, you're gonna be seeing the intro cutscenes a lot. Let's not even mention that the one guaranteed save in the game is guarded by an enemy with an instant kill attack that doesn't even require a coinflip. If the game allowed you to save more frequently, these would be less bad, as you'd have a buffer against negative consequences, and even be able to reattempt failed coinflips.
Yes, I'm advocating for save scumming but it's far more tolerable than the current state of the game.
I still like this game a lot, and still want to see it succeed and do well, and implementing a more favorable save system would go a long way in making that happen.
There's actually a community patch/mod, that might help with what you mention. RNG is reduced, fights and status effects are rebalanced, and there is a Save Book added in for testing/debugging purposes. It was made to be an example of how the game might be rebalanced, officially.
Here is a link, if you'd like to check it out: https://mask.itch.io/fear-hunger-rebalance
Hey RegularAI! I really appreciate feedback to this extent! I agree that many of the design choices stack up into an overall unpleasant experience. At least I can definitely see how it feels like that at first. I believe that the game could easily become a lot more accessible and fair with just some small tweaks here and there and that way it could also lure a lot more players who currently hesitate buying this because of the difficulty.
However,
The genuine hopelessness and unfair world are the key pillars of the atmosphere in my opinion. I don't think the experience would be even close to the same if you had things like free saves and such in the early parts of the game. I could of course give more difficulty levels, but with this harsh game, people would 99% of the time take that easy way if I gave them the option for it.
After the first impressions, the game does get more fair though. The 2/3rds of the game actually gives you more room for error, save items and even one free permanent save spot. First impressions last after all and you got that suspicion of things going south for the rest of the game, so no need to torment the players that much after they've invested hours into the game. Of course in your case first impressions can also drive away people, but it is the price I'm willing to pay.
Having said all that, my game developing has been very feedback oriented since the start of this project and I'm still tweaking and balancing things constantly according to what people say. I am actually toning down some annoyances in the next update. This whole reply might come off as a bullheaded dev sticking to his poor artistic vision, but I just wanted to throw my thoughts out there if it at least helps you see where I'm coming from.
The Crow Bed ought to give you a free save, the first time you use it, the same as the Rabbit and Wolf cults. The most common and frustrating death I hear about, again and again, is people trying to use that bed, so they don't need to go through char creation again.
We like your artistic vision. That's why we're sticking around. What we don't like is the bugs. Most critically, the idea of making a major Steam release before fixing the bugs and balance issues sounds dooming to this project.
Hey there!
I played your game on a friend recommendation. I am leaving this review because Fear and Hunger has one of the best moody atmospheres I've seen in a game, and I only want to see this game grow and improve. You're doing a great job so far both with this game and listening to your community.
I do appreciate the oppressive atmosphere of the game, and sometimes the coin toss can add a bit of intensity to places where life and death is at stake.
However, some of the placement of the rng and what the game is trying to do feels at odds with each other.
>>But as long as you learn from your mistakes, you can quickly find yourself at the deeper levels of the dungeon.
Where this vision starts to break down is that the game doesn't grant you a margin of error that will let you learn from your mistakes. You could know to, through trial and error, avoid all the guards, rub infected wounds with green herbs, cut off dark priest arms, etc etc. But due to the lack of a reliable save system, you could make a tiny error during a battle, or miss a single attack, or lose a coin flip and you have to start the game over again. Scripted events, intro, and all.
You could also get a status effect that's slowly killing your character. You failed the coin tosses previously to find the book on how to craft the item needed to cure your character. Your character dies slowly and there's no recovering from it short of scrambling to find a walkthrough.
Another situation I ran into was getting the crow mauler 4 times in a row trying to save on the bed, just so I didn't have to create my character and go through all of the scripted scenarios over and over again. Another situation was hacking off all of a guards limbs only for his tackle attack to have the same damage as his normal attacks. (How did cutting off the limbs increase my survivability here?)
Either the game wants me to use trial and error and I am allowed to recover and learn from my mistakes, or the game has the RNG act as a point of tension but a reliable enough save system that allows you to quickly get back on your feet. If you have both, the atmosphere cracks and the game begins to feel like a chore. You're discouraged from experimenting and being creative because one unlucky turn can spell doom.
Personally I'm fine with the one-hit kills, but I think this game desperately needs a reliable save system (start off the game with one free book of enlightenment? No crow mauler in Basement 3?) and for players to be able to craft without rng generated recipe books. This way your knowledge of the game will always allow you to prepare for encounters instead of being at the mercy of finding a book. With the above in mind, being able to miss attacks doesn't help either. I can understand a knight not being able to reach a guard's head but if every turn matters then why have me lose turns?
Thank you for the effort you are putting into the game, and I hope that this review helps the game improve. : )
To be quite honest, you should not have to flip a coin the first time you use the bed. Just like the first time you use the Rabbit cult and etc..
Hey Chicken. Many people are very concerned about the RNG you mentioned, and saving balance in the game. There is a community patch that was made to address and try to improve these issues, reducing miss chance, and rebalancing some of the mechanics (making it so DEF reduces damage in the formulas, for example).
It also includes a book of unlimited saving for now, while the mod (and the game, in some ways) is in a debugging state.
Here's the link, if you'd like to give it a look. I hope the official game starts to consider these points of balance: https://mask.itch.io/fear-hunger-rebalance
Hey thanks for the review! Really appreciate it! I just answered to mostly the same points in the last reply, so I don't want to write the same exact reply again. But it's no coincidence that these same issues rise up when talking about the game :D So yeah, I'm hearing the feedback for sure!
To be honest I was not expecting RNG to be this big of an issue, because just the same as you might not get some vital items on your playthrough and end up dying because of that - the next run you might get some of the strongest equipment right at the start and come up with new strategies to tackle the dangers. I personally find it pretty interesting and it creates a lot of replay value, but clearly it doesn't please everyone.
The current build of the game already manipulates the outcome of the RNG a little. For example, if you are bleeding and your HP is low, the game is more likely to give you Cloths to patch yourself up. I'm further working on that, so hopefully I'll be able to hit a good balance in the future.
How much do you play the game these days, Orange? There isn't really any strongest equipment you can get, by RNG.
You can get plate mail, if you're lucky, but it only reduces damage from slashing attacks, so that little to no difference to a run. You might get lucky and find a couple more healing vials... but those are unlikely to save you from a bad run. I know from certain chests like Nosramus' one, you can get a Sorcerer's Stone... but that just reduces your alcohol and opium intake.
The only equipment RNG could help you to get that'd make much difference, is books... and even those aren't a big help.
You could find an Ancient book, but that's as likely to kill you as help you, and the spell you get is random. Only useful right after a save game, so you can save-scum it... but many players die before they can save. If you do save-scum it, you can get something like Dark Orb, and greatly reduce the difficulty. So that is one option after a hundred play-throughs till you get lucky, or just through save-scumming a hundred times.
The alchemist books are useful, but more use for a successful long-term run rather than helping you survive short-term, however.
Skill books are probably the most useful, but even then some skills are far more useful than others.
The only books that can really make a reliable difference to your run, are Books of Enlightenment.
If we compare this to other roguelikes like Enter the Gungeon or Binding of Isaac, there is a good possibility of getting some truly powerful, so that even an unskilled player has a shot at progressing deep into the game.
With Fear & Hunger, honestly... there is loads more negative RNG in it, almost no RNG is positive in the game. And the thing is... the two games I mentioned are skill based, even with bad RNG you can get through with pure skill. In Fear & Hunger, it's a turn based RPG, even playing totally optimally you can die and lose.
I encourage you to work on the balance more. Currently, the only resource management I see in the game is getting enough cloths to treat all the bleeding that occurs, or being lucky enough to find the crafting book that teaches you how to rip up clothing to get more cloths (which, clearly, you should have already known how to do).
Mask, here are just few really useful things you can get from the first levels of the dungeon randomly: explosive vials, bear traps, iron arrows, soul stones, curatives to most status ailments, arms guards and empty scroll. Some of these items can have big impact on how you approach the game. Among those items especially -- Soul stones = almost any skill in the game and potentially more poweful weapons. and Empty scroll = any item or skill in the game of your choosing.
Correct me if I'm wrong, iron arrows are only useful to the Outlander? Otherwise, you need a bow, a skillbook that teaches you to use them outside of combat, two arms(?), and iron arrows? The iron arrows can help the Outlander, they're nice to find, but I fail to see how the RNG is helping much in this case.
Something more to point out, is you search probably three hundred containers over a play-through. This actually makes for less RNG in relation to loot, it should balance it out so you always get roughly the same haul. In the games mentioned, they tended to have rather few treasure rooms, which could hold amazing buffs that stack together, or just reasonable ones. This made for a greater sense of RNG, positive RNG.
Beartraps are cool, not debating that. But, is that what you meant by being able to find the best equipment at the start? A couple of bear-traps? Those are one-use items, and can't be used against most of the bosses in the game. Their best use is just holding off Crow Mauler so you can get past him. Though, running away after you enter combat works pretty well, too, so I'm not sure they're even that much help.
Explosive vials are pretty rare in the early game, if you find one you can use it to speed-run pretty effectively. Extras are nice, as they do work to make most fights a lot easier. So, I agree... if you find a dozen explosive vials at the start, the game will be a lot easier.
Don't you think that is a pretty specific scenario of RNG helping? In the examples I gave, Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon, there are a lot of item combos you can find that make you pretty powerful, in a variety of ways.
Iron arrows can be used by everyone without skills. And again Empty scroll is all items and skills in the game. There are bunch of items that help you if you know how to maximize their use. But just like iron arrows can become huge help with correct layout, empty scroll is overpowered to the point of almost breaking the game with enough knowledge.
I don't really know what you are expecting, because those same items are pretty good in endgame as well. If you want some game breaking items, this is really not the kind of game, because there are no such items even in the end.
I think it's experience/trial error, after playing it a bunch of times, I can get through most places no matter the RNG items. And I know what and when I can face any enemies then act accordingly (Avoid, run or fire a bunch of arrows at it).
Though I couldn't of beat it just now on hard mode without good RNG and lots of empty scrolls. But still the same applied through most of the game. Even then I think I only bled once or twice in the entire game through at least an arrow trap at the end.
But anyway... For me it's why I love this game - it's grueling and unforgiving, just like the atmosphere.
May be an easy/casual mode for those who aren't masochistic gamers like me? XD With say like 75% chance of getting something without the coin toss mechanic, a chance to get Book of Enlightenment from bookcases, start of the turn choreographed pending insta-kill attacks so people know when to run or guard, 100% Ancient book success etc..
I understand the unforgiving mechanics aren't for everyone, so instead of getting rid of what I feel is the heart and soul, you can just add another mode instead. I can also see another mode making it streamer friendly too - the only way I knew about this game was someone attempting to play it on YouTube.
For veterans of the game, it's pretty easy to speed-run the game, yeah. Even for veterans, the RNG of a 10% miss rate, and some other aspects, don't really improve the game but rather make it feel more tedious. It often leads to having to load back to earlier saves. The items part isn't really an issue, since there are so many item containers that it all balances out to a pretty similar item haul (this does mean less positive RNG for future runs, though).
The Coin Flips aren't really the issue. Most of those can be avoided through strategy. Also, there is a chance of getting books of enlightenment from book cases, it used to be the only way to get them in the early versions.
Scrolls are, admittedly, the truly game-changing item, if you're an expert of the game. If you get three scrolls, you can get three duplicates of Miasma, or better yet three Sergal Spears, and start cutting everything to pieces. They're kind of like cheat-code items, and while they certainly help, they might even help too much.
Thank you for the quick reply orange!
I did notice the small tip in the rng. Early on you can get useful items like bear traps, small keys, and explosive vials. However, if you've already rummaged through most of the crates you have access to, then what happens is that you run into a situation where you are not given the means to dig yourself out of an unlucky battle.
Having random items in each barrel is a lot of fun! RNG for finding loot makes sense, but I think the player needs a way to produce, say, worm juice if you had a bad run in with a maneba. I love the variety that the rng provides, and think the harshness is a good part of the atmosphere, but if a guard messes me up I should have the tools to do better next time, you know?
The later parts of the game do also get a little bit better as by this point you have a full party equipped with more than basic weaponry and a horde of accumulated stuff. Bosses also get a little better here as there's a definite "right" answer to beating them. (No spoilers)
You've probably gotten these points from a billion different angles though so for now how you tweak the game is up to you. Keep going and thank you!
Also with regards to ending A, does only the final phase of the boss have an OHKO attack?! Woof.
Can somebody tell me what these icons are? What do they do, and where did I get them? I can't find any information about them online yet.
I've had the above, and I've had this one:
before.
They have only ever appeared on my main characters, only one at a time, on different characters, and they seem to be permanent once they show up.
Unless I'm just seriously oblivious, they don't seem to have any impact on combat... that I can tell. I haven't found any equipped item or party member that either appears or disappears with, either.
AND! I can't even remember when or how either one appeared! I want to say the top one miiiiiiiiiiight have appeared around the time I summoned my first demon baby, or possibly when I reached a higher affinity with some god, but there were several things that happened right around that time on this character, so, alas, I can't remember. I just know I suddenly noticed it, and it NEVER went away. I unfortunately just have no recollection of when or how the second one appeared. :(
One thing I'm almost entirely certain of, though, is that they appeared pretty quietly - I definitely don't remember ever seeing a dialog or anything that said "you got XXX!" at any time.
So yeah... anybody know anything about either or both of those icons?
It's a real mystery huh? ;D
I'm pretty sure you got this if you could get Pocketcat to like you
Will this game ever get on Steam? :) or will it be staying here on Itch.io? :)
Cause I really wanna buy it after watching John Wolfe playing it, but if it's going on steam, what with achievements and such, I'd like to wait and see!
Will keep an close eye on this, though :3
The only trouble with Steam, is the reviews tend to be more... unforgiving. The game still has a lot of bugs, unfortunately. My personal fear is that it would be considered in the same light as Fallout 76, and is so brutalized by early reviews that it never gets the limelight it deserves. Not a lot of youtubers have picked up this game, and if it isn't careful, it might not reach out to more, so I fear.
oooh, I totally understand that!
Hmm, I wish the best for the game, I think I'll pick this up then for myself, and then we'll see what happens! :)
The only thing so far, as someone who hasn't played it, but only seen it, is kinda the same points that this youtuber mentioned: there's a couple of spelling-errors, and then the insta-death seems scary o_O but I'll give it a shot, cause it sure looks promising! :)
would we recieve updates and the likes, when so? :)
What a lovely response :)
Yeah, the script ought to be cleaned up, really. You can probably get away with the script at its current level... but it does bug a lot of people.
You probably already know, but you can avoid the coin tosses by Guarding. It is still pretty easy to die, though. If you want to try something a bit easier and more balanced, there is a community patch/mod of the game which added unlimited saving (for testing purpose), and rebalanced stuff. It only has the first couple of areas of the game, currently, made as more of a demo for how the game can be rebalanced: https://mask.itch.io/fear-hunger-rebalance
Orange stated that an update will be released at the same time as the Steam release, which is remaining at January 21st :-/ . Here's hoping that the game doesn't suffer too badly, due to remaining bugs/balance issues.
Yeah it's coming to Steam. 21st of January unless something unexpected occurs. I'm not 100% sure if the achievements make it to the launch window, but they will be coming shortly after that.
I think we have a disconnect here, between demand and supply. Since a number of people want a steam version for achievements, then releasing it without them will only result in more negative reviews than delaying to put them in. Is there some reason 21st of Jan is so important?
Well it's the date I've said when all the people ask and that's when Steam also gives greenlight, so it's as simple as that really.
That makes it sound like you picked a date you can't honestly keep, in terms of releasing a working, bug-free game with achievements. So, I'd say it is more honest to move back the date, so you can release a game everyone will be happy with. A whole lot of successful games have pushed back their release dates, often at the last minute--it's totally common in the industry . People complain, but they're still happy when the game does come, and it does well.
someone help me i cant play without full screen i am having massive lag {i play the demo win v}
It's a bit tricky because for some people the demo caused serious lag. The source of the lag was actually mostly fixed, but with the full version there are different people who are experiencing slow-downs, so it's really difficult to say whether the full version will lag on you or not :-/
I am streamlining some of the systems, which might help some, but it remains to be seen.
We struggled with the failed to load _1.png error (definitely after summoning blood golem [or greater blood golem in our case] during the tormented fight - awesome catch!) for well over an hour, and couldn't find a fix yet online, but my coder SO figured out how to get past it immediately without having to close out the game or lose any progress at all!
TO FIX:
You should be able to continue the game normally now.
We tried getting past this by futzing aroung with files and folders, creating .pngs of various content, sizes, and names (like _i or __1 lol), faffing about with different file paths, even trying to frankenstein image file types, but none of that worked! Turns out, afaict, the .png in the error is a red herring!! Eventually we just went spelunking through the code files, and finally my SO backtracked the location of the error function being called here and (yada yada something mostly incomprehensible to me haha), then Retry worked immediately and we got past it!
I know this is a huge long post - sorry!! - but [1] I really really hope this is helpful to the [absolutely AWESOME btw] developer, and [2] we couldn't find a fix for this anywhere, and [3] I know the behavior is a liiiitlle weird immediately after the fix so I want people to know what they're doing (the best I can explain it, anyway) and exactly what we found and experienced in our fix.
It does all sound a bit scary on the surface imo, but honestly, I do think doing this is perfectly safe; we've played for quite some time since fixing the error and have experienced no ill effects or other weirdness. However, Orange, PLEASE let people/me know if this is a horrible thing to do for any reason!!
TOO-LONG EXPLANATION OF WHAT/WHY:
We left the game open with the Retry prompt up. Then we minimized and opened file explorer, and went into the (*game root*)/www/img/pictures folder. We COPIED one of the .RPGMVP files (we happened to choose actor3_1.rpgmvp because it already had _1 in the name), and PASTED it right there into the same /pictures folder.
Then we RENAMED the new pasted file to _1.rpgmvp (NOT .png!!).
I'm pretty sure the file you copy must be one of the actor*.rpgmvp files - and definitely not a png haha - because the game needs party member data to cleanly dismiss the blood golem. You cannot simply create a new file with the correct name and filetype for the same reason - it needs the data to clean up the party member properly. It must be a copied actor rpgmvp file, and I personally recommend just using the one I noted** simply because it's a valid party member and has proven to work fine for us already. I don't know which characters are in which files, so it's possible we just got lucky with a compatible existing file.
[**You could totally try using the actual blood golem rpgmvp file, if you know which one it is, BUT that may - possibly maybe potentially who knows I don't - not work if that's where the original bug is... I'm not 100% on that. If you do try the blood golem actor file, and you still can't completely get rid of the Retry prompt for good basically immediately, I'd just go try the actor3_1 file, myself. You should be able to click Retry infinitely until the error is fixed, though, so none of this should be totally catastrophic; just remember to copypaste and then rename, not rename existing files!]
Once you create the new rpgmvp file with actor data, go back to the game window and just hit Retry. You should be able to dismiss the error immediately and get directly back into the game without losing any progress.
--> **PLEASE NOTE** that this fix causes a very brief weirdness! We've tested several times now, always with these results:
We get a "phantom" floating head guy character (Nas'hrah? meanie jerk with the huge taurus, in the gore hallway outside the jails) placed visibly in blood golem's party slot *in the menu only*. He is not visible walking around with us through the world, and he has no available skills or anything. He appears to be only a temporary visual anomaly present in the menu, with no impact on the game. Further, he is only there until the next completed combat.
In the NEXT COMBAT - and it does not matter which mob is aggroed - blood golem is a proper functional member of the party again, in both the fight scene and in the menu. He automatically appears there at the beginning of the fight, however, without summoning. He works properly and fights in this combat.
As soon as we EXIT THAT COMBAT (still the first combat after the error... and there is a mob right outside the tormented room, super conveniently!), the new copypasted file causes the blood golem / floating head party member to get properly CLEANED UP from the party and everything is back to normal and has been normal now for quite some time, through several fights, events, and save games.
After completing the first combat post tormented fix, we are still able to summon blood golem, he still functions properly as a party member, and he is still dismissed and cleaned up after combat, every time. We have fought several various mobs in several areas after doing this fix, with no problems on blood golem, on any party member, or in any combat. We have also been able to save and load the game just fine, so this change does not appear to corrupt save files or anything like that... thank the old gods!
ORANGE: It *looks like* the cause for this bug is that blood golem does not properly dismiss or clean up from the party, specifically after using [greater?] blood golem in the tormented fight - because it's calling the wrong filetype of png instead of rpgmvp (and an incomplete filename, most likely, too) upon exiting combat. It *looks like* completing one combat after the tormented fight allows the new file to call the missing function (or just filename?) to clean up properly without any negative repercussions, so hopefully you may be able to copypaste the missing data into blood golem's file, or at least look through the actor files for the .png reference... or whatever is missing!
As I said, things have worked pretty much flawlessly since that change, but I will update or reply asap if we experience any related weirdness in the future!
ALSO ORANGE (side note): I just have to say this in case you read this post - I can't thank you enough, not only for being so helpful and responsive, like all over the internet, but even moreso just for making this unbelievably cool, unique, cruel, insane, hilarious, creepy, disturbing, petty, twisted, unforgiving, rewarding, peerlessly creative, stunningly well-made, scarily addictive, and extremely fun game for all of us!!! I have never played anything quite like it, and I am genuinely by-proxy super proud of your achievement and very happy for you. I sincerely and truly hope you make a million dollars (at least!) on this game! I'm introducing it to everyone I can, so I hope to help make that happen!! :D
We've been playing for over a week now, every chance we get, and literally every single time we play, SO and I both say something like "wow I can't believe how good this is" and then of course "hahaha holy cow, the messed up things this game makes us say!!" ...usually several times each. Seriously, I wish you the utmost success with this game, and I can't wait to see what your
warped and corrupted ;)mind comes up with in the future!!!Yeah, I know I probably sound ridiculously gushy and starry-eyed, but I really do mean it. You've created something genuinely awesome, so thank you!
Oh, wow.... awesome work! Thanks for finding this fix, and sharing it with everyone!
I'm VERY happy to help! :D
Mask (or anyone, really), PLEASE let us know if you experience anything weird by trying it. We have actually beat the game with 3 different endings now since doing that, so MY experience is that it's pretty solid. That said, I would hate nothing more than to recommend an action that messes up somebody's game!!
Woah, this is comprehensive analysis on the bug to say the least! :D
You're right on the source of the bug. After the tormented one battle, blood golem stays in your party because the game is missing the function that removes him. When you open the menu, blood golem got no portrait graphics and that causes the crash.
I should put a disclaimer somewhere on how to evade this bug until I get the the update out. In short, if possible don't use blood golem in that fight or if you do, don't open menu until you've been in one fight after that.
I have already fixed the bug, but since it's so cumbersome to update the game currently, I've been postponing the release of the next update. I'm trying to have it out by the 21st of this month. The update will bring some bigger changes to the game too and additional areas, enemies and items.
And I'm really glad you're enjoying the game despite it's occasional technical shortcoming! And million dollars huh? :D That's a goal......................................
"In short, if possible don't use blood golem in that fight or if you do, don't open menu until you've been in one fight after that."
Actually, if you happen to use blood golem in that fight, you get the error and get stuck no matter what. As soon as the end fight dialog closes, the error appears rught away. You can't even walk around or anything! At least that's what was happening to us.
I think the ONLY way you can continue the session after blood golem there, at all, is to create the new file.
Wow, you're on top of things! Thank you so much! Just remember, nobody's gonna die if you take your time with the updates! And now that there's a fix posted for this blocker (hopefully nobody has problems with it!!) that's one less reason to rush! :)
And I'm dead serious, I hope you get filthy rich from this game and that it gets the recognition it deserves. You made an awesome thing. From what I've seen, it started small with a couple youtubers, and it's already blowing up and being talked about more and more. I hope it keeps the momentum!!
<3
Oh I saw RiskRim evade the crash by not opening the menu, but I guess it varies. In any case thanks for letting me know again! :D
And yeah, I'm taking my time with the updates. I like to post larger updates so people don't need to be updating the game all the time and this way the updates also feel more significant when everyone can actually see the change in many areas of the game.
Are you having any particular difficulties with uploading updates, Orange? If there's any trouble with upload speed, you could try uploading a hotfix separate from the main game, with the related .json files. The mod I'm working on, for example, is just little json files, so it's easy for me to upload new updates to itch.io.
If at all possible, you should be uploading new updates continuously, so as to squash known bugs and find out any others.