[Text-based RPG] The Supreme Element

[Kunzite1]

Hi, I'm Kunzite. You may remember me from such text-based games as MTJ's "A New Project". I've been working on a new text-based tickling game recently, and now that it's complete I'd like to share it with the community!

"The Supreme Element" differs from my previous games in that it is an RPG, not a puzzle game. It has a combat engine patterned on 2nd edition AD&D rules (yes, it uses THAC0. I'll pause while you have a laugh.) You'll be fighting a variety of enemies and tickling them into submission. It also uses such basic staples as gold and experience, purchasing armor, and completing quests. I hope this provides a more player-friendly game that won't require as much use of a walkthrough.

Before you play, I urge you to read the manual! It contains some basic commands that you'll really want to know before you play the game.

The game has been playtested, but if you find any bugs, please let me know! Do include information about how you made the bug occur; I can't fix it if I can't reproduce it!

Other than this, I hope you enjoy the game! Happy adventuring!

Note: to open the game file, run the Glulxe.exe interpreter, and then open the file Element.ulx.

Edit: Version 1.04. Warning: old save files do not work on newer versions!
Increased level requirements for higher levels.

1.03 - Fixed a bug with the mountain altar quest (if you are having difficulty completing it, a workaround exists for older versions.)
1.02 - Fixed a bug with the contact quest.
1.01 - Fixed a bug with the Tickling Vines spell.

 

[Kocho-kun]

hehehe o wow this looks like a lot of fun! i love text based rpg's, it really makes u think. cant wait to play and thanks for sharing it >w<)b

 

[TickleWiazard]

Oooh I can't wait to get started on this..... I'll leave it as my reward for finishing Chapter of Laughing House XD

 

[slacker2114]

So far, so good. Beat the first 'boss', but still need to find the sister. Very enjoyable and excellent writing thus far.

 

[Tyralin]

Oh God. I played the HELL out of "A New Project" and have been desperately hoping they'd make another. I never knew it was you that did it! I am playing it now and I am THRILLED to have it. I know it will be good. ^_^

 

[Kunzite1]

Wow, thanks for the enthusiasm so far, guys! I was trying something new with this one and I hope it worked out. And it's great to hear you were a fan of "A New Project", RLaine! I hope this game lives up to it!

 

[hellfire1]

As one of the playtesters. I'm sure you will all have a grand time playing.

 

[bluemoose]

after playing baldurs gate, neverwinter, icewind dale, planescape torment etc. i can honestly say i understand very little about the thaco system lmao >.< cant wait to try this out : )

 

[Kunzite1]

after playing baldurs gate, neverwinter, icewind dale, planescape torment etc. i can honestly say i understand very little about the thaco system lmao >.< cant wait to try this out : )

Haha, it's not really intuitive. Luckily, most of the mechanics are handled by the game and you don't have to worry about them. The side-effect of using THAC0 is that lower armor class is good, whereas usually you want high stats. But, I started writing the actual combat engine a long time ago...

 

[Kocho-kun]

omygawsh XD is there a way to pull that poor girl out, or is she stuck in that tunnel forever?

 

[Kunzite1]

omygawsh XD is there a way to pull that poor girl out, or is she stuck in that tunnel forever?

I'm afraid she's there for some time to come, but don't feel too sorry for her! After all, crime doesn't pay 🙂

 

[Tyralin]

Progress: I've got three orbs and am in a desert hideout (All I'll say, no spoilers here!). So far, it's exactly as I expected. Which is to say, AWESOME. It does more than live up to the reputation earned with Project. Here's a minor bug report for ya!

The "Vines" spell, when cast, shows the "Tickled them unconscious" message every time it's cast, regardless of if they actually were tickled unconscious or not. Very minor bug, obviously, but thought I'd report it all the same.

 

[Kunzite1]

Progress: I've got three orbs and am in a desert hideout (All I'll say, no spoilers here!). So far, it's exactly as I expected. Which is to say, AWESOME. It does more than live up to the reputation earned with Project. Here's a minor bug report for ya!

The "Vines" spell, when cast, shows the "Tickled them unconscious" message every time it's cast, regardless of if they actually were tickled unconscious or not. Very minor bug, obviously, but thought I'd report it all the same.

Thanks for the catch! Wouldn't you know it, I forgot a pair of parenthesis. I've uploaded a new version now. I'm delighted to hear that you're enjoying the game so far, thank you for playing!

 

[slacker2114]

Just downloaded your patched version. Tried the 'restore' command for my saved game and it keeps saying 'restore failed'. Is that from the game or am I doing it wrong? I'm just typing 'restore' then clicking the saved file.

 

[Kunzite1]

Just downloaded your patched version. Tried the 'restore' command for my saved game and it keeps saying 'restore failed'. Is that from the game or am I doing it wrong? I'm just typing 'restore' then clicking the saved file.

Aah, sorry. The new version is technically a totally different game, so old save files won't work on it. Keep the old version if you want to keep your game. I'll add a warning message.

 

[slacker2114]

Well, crap. I already deleted the old version because I don't think ahead. 😛issed

No worries. I wasn't that far into it. I'll start again.

 

[Xtreme09]

Kunzite! I have to say that I loved your previous text adventure "A New Project" and I'm loving this one too. Great work on it!

 

[keeganbarton]

Oh man! I love A New Project! I'm so happy to see another text based game from you! I'll start playing right away good sir.

 

[Lummie]

Kunzite, awesome game! I've played and loved both of your earlier text adventures for countless hours and I was really pleasantly surprised to see this here!

I already knew quality was going to be top notch but it's really long too! (for a first playthrough anyway, when you're still figuring stuff out...) I haven't finished it as I got stuck for like 1-2 hours yesterday...trying to figure out how to get past the guardpost, if there's anything I missed, if I can get to the desert first... that it took me so long was probably just me being stupid but if more people get stuck there you might want to consider giving us another little hint or tip once we arrive! I totally powerleveled thanks to me running around like an idiot tho so that is pretty sweet 😀

So yeah, alltogether I think I played ~6 hours easily and I'm not done, I wasn't expecting that kinda playtime since you released it for free! Thanks alot, and thanks to the beta testers too...haven't encountered a bug yet, at least that I'm aware. ^^

 

[dalfgan]

hey!
just started playing the game, seems very well written 🙂

I'm not really used to text-based adventures, so I'm not sure if this is a bug:
If you go north from the crossroads into the village to the well, I tried to use the bucket to get water out of the well.
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/744/zkaq.png

I'm a bit confused, when I write bucket it seems to address the well, and I'm not sure how to get the water out of the well (the girl is still hanging over the well, but if that's the hindering factor then I would have expected a message that tells me so)

 

[Lummie]

hey!
just started playing the game, seems very well written 🙂

I'm not really used to text-based adventures, so I'm not sure if this is a bug:
If you go north from the crossroads into the village to the well, I tried to use the bucket to get water out of the well.
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/744/zkaq.png

I'm a bit confused, when I write bucket it seems to address the well, and I'm not sure how to get the water out of the well (the girl is still hanging over the well, but if that's the hindering factor then I would have expected a message that tells me so)

I don't think you can do that. I did some testing just now (because I havent even thought of looking into the well before!) and you need to use "fill bucket" but then it just tells you there's no water around. "fill bucket at well" or similiar doesn't work either, so that's why I'm saying I don't think you can do that. ^^

 

[Kunzite1]

hey!
just started playing the game, seems very well written 🙂

I'm not really used to text-based adventures, so I'm not sure if this is a bug:
If you go north from the crossroads into the village to the well, I tried to use the bucket to get water out of the well.
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/744/zkaq.png

I'm a bit confused, when I write bucket it seems to address the well, and I'm not sure how to get the water out of the well (the girl is still hanging over the well, but if that's the hindering factor then I would have expected a message that tells me so)

Thanks for letting me know! I actually hadn't intended the well to be used for anything, so there is no way to get water out of it. If I release a new version, I'll add something to let the player know they should stop trying.

As for the girl, well, you're playing a tickling game! Sure you didn't miss something obvious? 😛

 

[buttontickler05]

Unless someone else has pointed it out already, I think I found a major bug. I can't get out of Evelynn's shop. When I say "exit shop" it says "you are not in Evelynn".

EDIT: The same thing happens with the ladies' apparel shop.

 

[Kunzite1]

Unless someone else has pointed it out already, I think I found a major bug. I can't get out of Evelynn's shop. When I say "exit shop" it says "you are not in Evelynn".

You need to go back east in order to get out. Sorry I didn't mention it in the room description, but you did go west to get inside 🙂

Still, I'll add a mention of the exit for future versions.

Edit: Exit added for apparel shop also.

 

[Tyralin]

So, is it a good or bad thing that I pretty much try casting my feather spell and use "tickle" on pretty much every single person I come across? Cause I'm starting to think that I might actually be a secret villain. Hehehe.

So, though I'm at work and haven't gotten to progress further yet, I wanted to address one of the things I really liked. Hidden stuff! Nothing makes me happier than finding a hidden quest or hidden interaction while exploring everything, and you've certainly done an awesome job of putting the content in there. So, kudos to you! Though I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that damn Bird's nest. I'll keep my eyes open. ^_^