Starless Umbra

I really want to finish the RPG Maker version.

I spent the tail-end of last week playing through the old chapter seven release with Unxnown. Even with no battles it took us several nights to finish. I got some general thoughts and feedback on the project. Now I have a clearer picture on what cutscenes will be revised. (I’m trying to minimize the amount of cutscenes to completely redo in favor of just switching up dialogue.) I’ll have to document my findings while they’re fresh in my mind.

Regarding the rpg maker re-release version, I wrote up the dialogue for revised chapter 2 introduction and implemented the first (of three) scenes. Again it’s different so I have no idea what people will think.

Hello DHM, i a big fan of Starless Umbra, and i played this game for many times, many things in this game game me inspiration to develop games, really. Back then when i played Starless Umbra games, i remember a diferent soundtrack and a bigger gameplay, i remember when [spoilers], i remember the sideview scrolling battle, the horse escape part, the diving system(great), i’t was really fun! Now i play this demo version and the [Demo] ends very soon, did you deleted those parts that i miss?

First off — I’m really happy that I inspired you! Secondly, fear not! I haven’t deleted those parts. The problem with SU is the first half of the game doesn’t really match with the second half of the game. This is my fault due to poor planning. So what I’m doing is re-releasing all the chapters with improved quality all around. To be honest I wasn’t happy with the older versions and I am capable of creating  something better, so I set off to re-do the parts I was unhappy with. It’s taking much more time than anticipated but it’s by no means deleted or canceled. Keep in touch, and thank you again for the kind words. 

Grab it here or here.

I’m actually not sure what people will think of this release; I’ve gotten no external feedback on it at all. I will say that it’s more in-line with the original vision of the game that was poorly-executed with the first release of chapter one back in 2004ish. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but I promised to release something today so it’s here. 

The game plays through about the first 15-20% of the storyline. Enhancements have been made to the game’s battle system, graphics, and UI. As I move forward with the releases I’m hoping to convert more and more of the graphics to original assets. 

Gameplay-wise, this is everything you’d expect from Starless Umbra. Chapter One has one of my favorite mini-games, the revised mine carts

The revised skill and equipment will also play more of an active role as character customization improves with several new pieces of gear. This, combined with some of the enhancements to the battle system should make for some interesting battle mechanics that are barely beginning to scratch the surface of what’s to come. 

Thanks kindly for your support. It’s been a bumpy ride but I appreciate your interest in this project more than ever.

Addendum: Common Issues and Solutions

1. The font is hard to read!

There’s a font file included, which you need to install. Just drop it into C:\Windows\Fonts and you should be set. 

2. The cursor scrolls through the menu options rapidly/The title screen menu is going crazy!

This happens occasionally to first-time users. Just reboot your machine and the problem should resolve.

3. I get a “Not Implemented” Error!

For some users, playing BGM may cause the game to throw this error. It’s due to an incorrect codec required by the game. You can try downloading mp3 codecs or simply temporarily remove the Music folder.

4. I get some other error! DirectDraw/etc

It could be related to your grapics card… try Alt+Enter and running the game in windowed mode, or if you have two graphics cards, try disabling one of them.