Monster Profiles "AntBear"

Name: AntBear
Family: Beast
Number: 1


Being a beast, the AntBear has a high STR power and HP in comparison to other lower grade monsters. You may think of him as a powerhouse because of this, but one of its best attributes is that it starts off with the command "OFFENSE: Attack Lv 2" that gives him a ATK power of 20 instead of the normal 10. However, you'll quickly discover that his lack of good moves and increasing uselessness too much of a trade off as your game progresses. The random "Berserker All" he learns at his max level isn't worth the time put into raising him up that high.

• Max Level - 40
• Level Up Ease - B-25, C-20
• HP Rank - 300
• MP Rank- 280
• STR Rank - 225
• DEX Rank- 150
• AGI Rank - 140
• INT Rank- 160

Moveset:

• LV 5: Bash
• LV 10: Leg Sweep
• LV 15: TwinHits
• LV 20: LushLicks
• LV 25: MetalCut
• LV 30: Big Trip
• LV 35: KissFest
• LV 40: Berserker All
  

Monster Profiles "Dracky"

Name: Dracky
Family: Dracky
Number: 1


Dracky are speedy and weak and overall simple. You can find them very early on in the game, which is actually a good thing because the max level of a Dracky is high (LV 50). The vareity of interesting and potentially powerful moves may be ignored by the unintimidating look and lack of rarity.

• Max Level - 50
• Level Up Ease - B-15, C-20
• HP Rank - 150
• MP Rank- 320
• STR Rank - 140
• DEX Rank- 90
• AGI Rank - 200
• INT Rank- 80

Moveset:

• LV 5: Bite
• LV 10: Antidote
• LV 15: Fury Flight
• LV 20: Tail Wind
• LV 25: AntidoteAll
• LV 30: Feather Fest
• LV 35: Charge Up
• LV 40: WindBeast
• LV 50: Fierce Chrage Up

Monster Profiles "Slime"

Name: Slime
Family: Slime
Number: 1

As you would expect, Slime is the most basic of basic when it comes to the monsters in Monster Tamers. At least at first glance he is. Small, weak, and frankly unintimidating, Slime doesn't get much love from serious Monster Tamers. However, the small guy has some tricks up his sleeve that may keep you from just giving it to your little sister. If you can endure having a weakling in your party for long enough to get him to his highest level, you'll be rewarded with one of the most powerful moves in the game. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it or not.

• Max Level - 40
• Level Up Ease - B-10, C-20
• HP Rank - 200
• MP Rank- 270
• STR Rank - 120
• DEX Rank- 100
  
• AGI Rank - 150
  
• INT Rank- 90

Moveset:

• LV 5: Gelly Glob
  
• LV 10: Firebal
  
• LV 15: Gel spell
• LV 20: Buck Up
  
• LV 25: Firebane
  
• LV 35: Radiant
  
• LV 40: MegaMagic
  

SPRG: Monster Tamers -Map Systems-

As stated in a previous post, the Dungeons will be divided into three parts: the Garden (as pictured) the Castle, and the Boss Room. The Garden will be maze focused as opposed to the puzzle oriented Castle. In order to facilitate you're trek to finding that portal, certian features are available to the player.

Guidance Arrow: (Only appears in "Garden")
This arrow points the player in the right direction towards the portal. Most useful when you want to speed through a dungeon. However, if you go the "right way" you will surely miss out on treasure, other Monster Tamers, and possibly side-quests.

Blue Screen Map: (Appears in "Garden" and "Castle")
The Blue Screen Map pretty much shows where you are in relation to the screen, and not the entire map. In it's basic form, it's quite useless. It'll show you where important characters or other things are on the map. However, you can upgrade it to the point where it shows invisible items, ghosts, and even hidden portals.

Overlay Map: (Only appears in "Garden")
This on-screen map is incredibly useful when finding the right way to go. Because the Gardens are often filled with twists and turns, the overlay map, combined with he aide of the pointer arrow, can really make things easier. That is why you must find the dungeon map before you can use it, unlike the other two. Each dungeon has its own map, so you'll have to get used to finding them.

SPRG: Monster Tamers Customizable Room

Customization has always been a way to give the player more say in the game. That's one of the reasons why having the ability to choose and create whichever monster you please is an attractive feature of the game. On a smaller scale, the player will also be given the same freedom in deciding what his or her room will look like. You start off with this gray slab with limited allure and limitless potential. As you progress through the game, you can unlock trophies and other decorations for your room. Or, if you manage to make a surplus of money, you can spend it on special items found in a Decor Store.

Obviously, none of these things will affect the over all game, but that doesn't mean you won't find your fair share of secrets through decoration. Secret portals are unpredictable things, and sprucing up your place my land one in your midst... Rare recipes can also be found on parchments that happened to be hidden in a doll... In other words, there are some benefits to buying the decorations aside from aesthetics.

Gee, doesn't that look (slightly) better?

SPRG: Monster Tamers Dungeons

It seems like more and more that Dragon Quest Monsters is influencing my own game as I continue to work on this project. To put it simply, the guys at Square-Enix got it right. Of course, I have made enough of my own modifications to their formula to give SPRPG: MT enough of its own feel to be unique. That being said, I'd like to establish a post dedicated to how the Dungeons will be set up in this game.

• There will be 3 types of Dungeons in this game: Boss, Secondary, and Extra
• There are 2 parts to a Dungeon
• Boss and Secondary Dungeons will have 2 parts most of the time, Extra will only have one

Dungeon Types

Boss Dungeons will primarily focus on developing the story. The name of this type comes from each of these having a "boss" or powerful monster at the end of it that must be defeated. All boss dungeons have bosses, but that does not meant Secondary or Extra ones do not. In order to beat the game, all boss dungeons must be finished. For the sake of the story, this is pretty much a given.
Secondary Dungeons are dungeons that correspond with a side quest. They are not important to completing the game and do not necessarily effect the story. However, some secondary dungeons will be used to continue a "branch" of the story that may no longer be important. In addition to involving side quests, secondary dungeons are a good way to find more monsters and monster recipes.

Extra Dungeons can also be called "Secret Dungeons." These dungeons are short, boss-less, and only have one part to them. They end with finding a rare treasure or recipe. Access to an extra dungeon is a reward in of itself. However, although there may be a pot of gold at the ends of these rainbows, getting there may not be a walk in the park. Some of the common monsters you find in random battles may be "boss level" in other dungeons. Although you may be at a point in the game to unlock an Extra Dungeon, it is not a guarantee that you will survive in it.

Dungeon Parts

Dungeons are taken in two parts: the Garden and the Castle. Mind you, these are figurative terms not literally. Not every dungeon is castle. It is important to know the differences in these two to better understand the game.

The Garden tends to be the easier of the two but not by much. The focus of the Garden part of a Dungeon is to find a portal to get to the Castle part. Dragon Quest Monsters fans will be familiar with this type of layout although it is not completely the same. This part is a compilation of a bunch of mini-maps with simple shapes. This results in a slight maze like experience because finding the portal may boil down to guessing the right path.

The Castle is the more traditional type of dungeon, complete with it's own fair share of obstacles to slow you down on the quest to face your doom with a boss. They will be pretty standard for RPG fans, but what makes them special is the focus on the Field Magic System. The Field Magic system is basically the eqivilent to using the tools in Zelda to solve a dungeon. However, Field Magic is not used in battle, limitless in uses, and leveled up through story progress. Basic Field Magic will open doors, push rocks, lift boulders, and blow up stuff. The more advanced kind do some pretty interesting tings as well. Golden Sun fans will find this system familiar.

Dungeon Features

• Current Area Map
• Toggle ON/OFF
• 100% accurate placement of Hero and other events, updated to the game tick
• Upgradeable through Add-Ons
• Treasure Box Detector
• Ghost Detector
• Invisible Treasure Detector
• Field Magic System
• Interact with the dungeon to progress
• Lift, Push, Pull, Explode and more to objects in your way.
• Hold down "Shift" to utilize the magic quickly
  

Super Pocket RPG: Game Update Log [#2]

As promised, this will be the log to log all updates, specifically and informatively. Whenever I update Monster Tamers, this post will be moved to the top of the page for easier access.

Update #2: 10/24/07
It's been too long, and I wish I had more to say. However, some big changes are happening with Monster Tamers. First of all, and probably most importantly, the current story will be removed. This may seem a bit odd to get rid of the story, but I think overall this will be better for the game. Instead of going for a story-driven game, I have opted out for a mechanic-driven game. As much as I would have liked to have made this a deep game, I don't see myself getting too far in game like that. For completion's sake, it's better that I stick with something simple. That new simple plot is yet to be decided on, but it shouldn't be too hard to think up.

This simplification of Monster Tamers also applies to dungeons. For those of you who have played the original Dragon Warrior Monsters, you'll know what I mean by "simple dungeons." Without pictures, this is a bit hard to explain. Basically, you get to the dungeon by going through a portal. All of the portals are found in the main castle, which is your HQ, and more portals are unlocked through story progression and secrets. This way you can focus more and amassing your horde of monsters both rare and powerful without being bogged down with story elements.

Update #1: 9/9/07
So far, we are looking at exactly 16 Monsters that are possible to make, and about 14 of those you can fight. Generally, the number of monsters you can make will be higher that those you actually fight. That is because of the "Monster Essence" system. In other words, I may never fight a SpotSlime but if I use extract essences from a Slime and an Antbear I can make one, providing I have the recipe.

I've also been fooling around the difficulty of the enemies. I've realized that once you get four monsters in your party (I was able to do so in about one hour of playing) the battle get rather easy. This is because the max number of monsters you can fight is 3, so when you have 3 monsters plus yourself, you have the speed advantage. I decided to combat this with simply raising the enemies hit points, in stead of fooling around with ATK and PDEF. Of course, I also adjusted the speed to make sure they get to attack before they die.

SPRG: Monster Tamers Battle System

(Click for full-sized Image)

An important part of any RPG game (especially a Super Pocket one) is the battle system. For this, U Division has decided to use the very well done RTAB (Real-Time Active Battle) System programmed by the RPGXP genius, cogwheel. This kind of battle system means that your speed plays a greater role in deciding who attacks. Theoretically, you can attack your opponent over and over assuming your speed is that much higher than their's.

Of course, U Division simply doesn't import scripts and leave it at that. In addition to using this script, I've made some slight tweaks here and there to make it more unique for the game. Here a a list of features that are labeled with "Default RTAB" or "U Division Mod."

Battle Zoom "Default RTAB"
This neat feature does a little and a lot at the same time. Although it only zooms in and out on the selected targets, it also adds a more dynamic feel to the often static Battle Scene. This alone was one of the main reasons for using the RTAB.

CLICK HERE FOR ANIMATED PICTURE

Combinations Attacks "Default RTAB"
This feature is one of the coolest the RTAB has to offer. It may be a little hard to see in this animated GIF, but the Slime chooses "Gelly Glob" and the Hero chooses "Jab" which results in a powerful move called "Slime Slash." In addition to Tamer and Monster combos, there are Monster and Monster combos. For instance, get your Slime and Spotslime to use the trademark family skill Gelly Glob and the result will be the most powerful Slime-only attack in the game, "Gelly Flood."

CLICK HERE FOR ANIMATED PICTURE

Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers Overview

(Click for full sized image)

(This post will change frequently as more information is revealed. Updates will be noted and a permanent link to this post can be found on the left frame. This will be were most general info on the game can be found.)

Title: Super Pocket RPG: Monster Tamers
Author: U Division Games
Genre: RPG
Date Started: June 10th, 2007
Players: 1 Player

GENERAL PLOT:

"In the center of the continent of Arpsi, there has always been a land referred to as the Promised Land. However, like an oasis in the middle of a desert, the Promised Land has always been surrounded by the most powerful monsters. The closer to the Promised Land, the more fearsome the creatures of the wild. The kingdoms of the continent have always lived in fear of the great power. That was, until now. Thanks to the much advancement in Magic, Alchemy, and increasing military strength, it will not be long before each kingdom tries its hand at claiming the place first. However, simply having the forces of the entire continent rush into a bloody fight would make it necessary for the Promised Land to be divvied up accordingly. So, eliminating the threat beforehand has become the new plan of action. The East and West sides of Arpsi have forged their own alliances and it is only a matter of time before war between the kingdoms, and eventually war for the Promised Land."

"In order to fight that war, the Kingdoms need warriors. Only humans with special blood can use Alchemy, and therefore, can tame Monsters. You are part of one such family, the Makyar Clan. With your father already a General in the Dalmoss army and the first draft wave already happening, it will not be soon before you must be drafted into the war yourself. But thanks to your Makyar Blood, you will join the ranks of the most powerful military unit, the Monster Tamers."

FEATURES:
(These will get their own separate pages but for now their info can be found here.)

• A lot of different monsters to fight and tame. 90+!
  
• The ability to roam the world from the beginning of the game, giving access to hard monster early on
• Your monster can learn moves during battle by getting hit by the given move. This is decided by monster family.
• A journal that keeps track of you Main Quest, Secondary Quest, and all of the Side-Quests making it easy to figure out exactly how much of the game you've beaten.
• The player can trade monsters with other tamers in the game to diversify the line-up.
• The hero fights side by side with his monsters in order to tame them.
• Bestiary add-on that you can download from the site.
  

Taming – Despite what you’d think, you don’t actually tame wild monsters. You only tame the monsters you create from their Essence. These are taken from the monster during battle, by using the technique of Extracting. There are many different ways to tame a monster, but as a Warrior Tamer your expertise lies in raising them for battle. A fully tamed monster is one at its’ highest level possible.

Extracting – During Battle, attack a monster with the skill “Extract” and it will begin flashing purple if the skill is successful. Once it is in that condition, the monster will continue to drop Essences until it either is killed or if the Extract wears off. NOTICE: You can Extract from just about any monster, but you can only create those whose recipe have.. However, you can still sell the Essences of monsters you cannot create.

Monster Essences – Monster Essences are material that can be Extracted from a Monster. These are used in order to create new monsters. In addition to this, Monster Essences can also be used as healing items, trade goods, quest items, and in rare cases, equipment.

Monster Material – In addition to monster Essences, certain Materials are needed to create certain monsters. Unlike Essences, these can be purchased from stores.

Monstrous Alchemy – In order to create a monster from its Essences, Monstrous Alchemy is used by the top Monster Alchemist. Depending on which monster, multiple Essences may be needed or different.

Monstrous Alchemy – Tools – There is special tools needed in order to perform Monstrous Alchemy. They are not used up in the process and can be purchased as well. They are the "Transmutation Stone" and "Transmutation Shard."