Fragment’s Moonrise
Gameplay Generalization: If you like games with a challenge (like Dark Souls or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice), like open world games with almost complete freedom (like Terraria), like the micro-aspect of RTS-style games (like Starcraft 2), and like RPG games where you have an incredibly large amount of options for various playstyles (like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim), you’ll feel right at home with Fragment’s Moonrise. The game is as difficult as you make it; do you prefer minimal upgrades and few units for a serious challenge? You’ll be in for a very hard game. Do you prefer upgrading things as far as you can take them? And making use of your newly-acquired wide variety of spells? The game will be quite simple. We’ve designed the game to be largely dynamic, but still have a core challenging aspect requiring you to dodge and control your units respectively, even if you are horrendously over-leveled.
Fragment’s Moonrise is a randomly generated open-world real-time strategy game, emphasizing spellcasting, micromanagement-oriented unit control, dodging, and overall fast-paced gameplay.Explore a Randomly-Generated Open World-The world is vast, and completely randomly generated. No two Maps are the same, allowing for an even greater replayability experience.Gather Resources and Build an Army-Use discovered resources to build your base and your army, and wage war against the vast enemies of this land. As you explore, you will fight powerful foes and acquire wondrous artifacts. Use these to bolster your army, research new spells, and advance your warriors even further down their class path.Wage War-At the heart of Fragment’s Moonrise is waging war against the multitudes of foes of the land.
- Never stop moving- movement is key to avoiding attacks from enemies while still striking at them yourself.
- Invoke powerful spells to your advantage- there are many different beings at your disposal, each with a multitude of unique spells. Making use of their talents is the only way to come out successful, and to defeat even the strongest of enemies.
Discord: https://discord.gg/P27rybA
Questions? Concerns? Critiques? Bugs? Send an email to: Yyanthire@Yyanthire.com
Game Discussion
Steam User 5
Currently game is unplayable because of the interface, but I can see the idea behind it, with RTS and random maps
What I would change:
1) units advance automatically when experience is earned. I can see it that there are some rare cases when advancement needs to be avoided, but how often would that situation happen? I don't see a need for a separate action for it. All games I remember promote automatically if possible. Or require some additional situation like being next to a base.
2) currently resource collection is way too micro intensive. If I click to collect some grass, I expect units to keep doing it, collecting other grass around, most rts do this, aoe, sc2, cnc.
3) the whole spell book... it has to go. I understand that the idea is about fully customizable interface. But absolute majority of people do not need it. Even not every pro player would need it, even if you target this audience. What sc2 did instead was that buttons like build main structure, or attack, was in the unit's card, that has some 12 button slots. And those slots are context dependent. So that builder may see a slot being filled with a command to build the main base. While fighter would see the same slot being filled with lets say some special attack move. And then in settings people can assign a letter to a particular hotkey to a particular slot in all units' cards. This may still be not perfect if for example build a base and suicide attack are on the same hotkey and wrong unit is selected, but that's a minor issue. Anyway, this sort of settings definitely has to be deep in settings. Not at the starting screen, and definitely not in tutorial. And if a unit has more than 12 separate options that all have to have a hotkey, then there is probably something wrong with that unit design anyway.
I can see an advantage of an army-wide command, like "whoever is free, build a base here. whoever is free, cast this spell there", then unique hotkeys make sense. But I'm not sure you want to go this way, because it requires way more automation from units. I would prefer this way though - it takes away half the clicks that I would consider boring in most cases. This would also require to simplify the interface a lot. So that less hotkeys globally are used. Some 20 or so I guess is the limit.
A whole lot of actions dont need separate command. If I click on a resource i expect units to collect it, without me selecting separate action for it. Either to send there closest free or closest any worker, or if I selected a particular worker - send that one. Same for transport loading, repair, power up a structure with a unit... In most cases those actions dont conflict, so some default can be selected in each case.
Same goes for structure's commands. I dont expect the structure to attack or collect resources, so a lot of those could be hidden. In most cases I only expect from a structure to build some unit or make a research, there is little point in giving me 'collect resource' option while building is selected, if it cant do that, or cant send closest workers to do that.
4) Nitpicking but still. Currently initial units and base dont look like starting things. Base looks like some high level portal that I would build in the end game. And workers look like some medium level stealth fighter. Better selection of icons, especially for a few initial entities could help players adapt a lot better. Steal from others, take their ideas, if they suit your world. With completely built from scratch fantasy world it is hard to adapt for players. If workers would look like some slaves or ghouls or low level adepts, that could help to see them as low level, starting unit. And it would still fit your world of high magic.
5) animation of death and promotion. I didn't realize whats going on with those two activities because the transition is not indicated well enough, or at all. Some short action showing beginning of this transition could help a lot. Even if it is a flash of light, or blinking of a unit silhouette, or unit jerking for a moment sideways, all of that would indicate 'aha, some activity just happened'
P.S. Im thankful that you try to make a good game, include complex concepts in the game and in general avoid common problems with modern games. I wish this game to become better and more popular.
Steam User 0
=====REVIEW FOR NOVEMBER 2022 VERSION OF THE GAME=====
As with most remakes, I personally like the original better. Fragment's Moonrise didn't need updated graphics, it needed improved gameplay. What this switch to 3D did was degenerate the game into a tech demo. There's nothing to do anymore except walk around a little and cast one spell; if you figure out how to leave the starting area, you can fight a dragon, but shortly after that your rat mage will be killed by a swarm of dragons - and without the ability to build more units, that's where the demo ends.
Or so I thought - the developer posted a video showing the full depth of the tutorial. I guess I just got stuck?
So the remake has mostly kept the same gameplay, but now it feels like you're submerged in mud. Maybe my PC is too weak to play without lag? Or maybe things will improve with updates. One thing I found funny is that pressing M to zoom out reminded me of the original version.
However, it's clear that the developer has great passion for this project. It has not been abandoned and they have not given up. To support this developer's work and their vision, I have changed my review to Recommended.
I do suggest having as many people as possible play test the game. Have them record or live stream their gameplay and their honest thoughts and opinions.
The concept, setting, and visuals are certainly unique, and I do like the art and lore direction overall.
=====REVIEW FOR CLASSIC VERSION OF THE GAME=====
RECOMMENDED
So after playing the tech demo for the 3D remake, it made me appreciate the original game and wish I could play it again. Since I played it for 6.9 hours, I'd say my only mistake was trying to beat it in one sitting. Fragment's Moonrise is a unique game with a determined developer. But instead of remaking the game from the ground up in 3D, the original version should've had balance and gameplay tweaks made to make it a better experience. The achievements should've been fixed too.
=========ORIGINAL REVIEW=========
NOT RECOMMENDED
A good idea with a lacking interface. I got stuck at a tutorial step and, as someone who has played RTS for 20 years, I should have been able to figure out how do to what the tutorial wanted me to. I don't know if it was the cluttered menus of the game or the fact that everything looked the same, but I just couldn't find what I needed to click and after ten minutes of clicking around, I didn't have the motivation to continue trying.
I see that the developer has replied to all reviews and seems to have released patches to make the game interface more dynamic, but...
Maybe I'm just tired, I'll give the game another try when I'm more awake and have more patience.
EDIT: So this is not a game you can just waltz into. There is a learning curve, but once you learn how to navigate the clunky interface, it's not that hard.
There was no clear way to open the settings menu. I wasn't even sure a settings menu existed until the tutorial said that there was one. Then I pressed random buttons on the keyboard until F10 opened it. F10 is also the menu button in Starcraft, so it makes sense, but there should still be either a settings button, or a tip that tells you it's F10, somewhere in the game.
I realized that it's basically an autoclicker game in terms of resource generation. Once you have enough buildings you can just treat it as an idler until you've researched all the upgrades you want. Then you just kill all the bosses and I guess that's the game.
It's basically a Starcraft custom map in terms of story and complexity, but it does what it was built to do, so..yup.
EDIT 2: It's also a massive grind. I've played for 6 hours and only gained one of the nine tomes, yikes. This is not an RTS by any means.
EDIT 3: Yeah, something's definitely off with this game. The achievement distribution is way too uniform; something tells me the developer intervened and awarded certain players all the achivements. Uninstalling. The game just isn't fun. Reminds me of another pointless slog I did once called Depths of Peril.
Steam User 0
Developer please take note,
some bug and glitch need to be fixed at this early stage, for me this game is kind of fun but need a smart move, without that you will be bored, i found ot this game kind of rilexing to play and not needed to much hardwork to win it, if you like a little challange this is game you should buy at the end of early access, keep it up developer
Steam User 0
It's a good start, that's for sure, and I love the idea. An RPG RTS. Nice. Now if only the numbers worked like an idle game, then I could totally get into it.
Steam User 0
High hopes for this game - just finished tutorial. Its a little confusing, and partly because the text is blocking the spell book descriptions. Developer seems very passionate, and positive toward community too. Looks like a real gem of a game with great new ideas blending genres. Even got some RTS gameplay, which we desperately need!
Steam User 4
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EA Free RTS + cool theme - actions = Interesting base building game that reminds me a bit of Starcraft early days. Still quite early in development. Oddly, farming resources requires hotkey.
Steam User 7
Got stuck in the map, hotkeys didnt work, had to end process task manager.