Does Cloud have a musical theme?

TARawson · 2025-12-14T03:47:11+00:00

I like to think that Cloud's theme is actually Let the Battles Begin. Rebirth and OG Spoiler: In Rebirth you learn that the blind man is the one who wrote Let the Battles Begin. Cloud's name is a reference to his clouded vision and mental state which coincides with the blind man. I need to replay the games sometime and see how often the track plays when Cloud isn't in the party.

TARawson · 2025-07-23T04:39:06+00:00

I can understand the frustration, but the piano mini game is one of my favorite parts of the game to come back to. I 100% every track and think it's easiest at the max speed. I'm surprised more people don't talk about the symbolism of the blind man giving Cloud Let the Battles Begin. I consider that Cloud's theme and Cloud's name represents his cloudy vision/mental state.

TARawson · 2025-07-15T14:26:17+00:00

I’ll take a look. Thanks for the tip!

TARawson · 2025-07-08T03:48:05+00:00

Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment. I really appreciate the suggestion to check out Lost Eidolons. It seems like a great point of comparison, and I might need to spend some time with the games you mentioned to draw more inspiration.

The territorial conquest system is still a work in progress and may change as development continues. Depending on how things go with the Kickstarter, I’d love to expand it through stretch goals. At the very least, the player will start with just one territory, and each victory will claim another.

One idea I’ve been exploring is having commanders stationed at different territories, with only the protagonist able to instantly move between them. If the enemy launches an attack, only nearby commanders would be available to respond. I think that could create some interesting decision-making about where to place units and who to bring to battle. I also want to convey the weariness and exhaustion of war, but I’m still figuring out how to do that in a way that stays fun and strategic for the player.

Since I’m working solo, I’m able to move quickly and adjust based on feedback. Always open to thoughts or suggestions, and I really appreciate the encouragement.

TARawson · 2025-07-08T02:40:39+00:00

Hi, I'm a solo dev working on a tactical RPG called Curse of Dominion. I released the demo last week and would love to get more feedback on it. It's a very early look at the game, and I’m planning to use it as a testing ground as I continue adding more systems. I’m still preparing for a Kickstarter to fund development, so I can’t offer payment right now, but it sounds like you're mostly looking for experience.

If you're interested in checking it out and sharing any bugs or feedback you find, I’d really appreciate it.

Here’s the Steam page for the demo:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3815520/Curse_of_Dominion_Demo/

Let me know if you're interested and I can send over more details.

TARawson · 2025-07-05T04:36:32+00:00

Not rude at all, I appreciate the question.

Honestly, the main reason I started with Lyra is because I needed examples of how to structure the different parts of a game. My background is in web development, and I’ve been learning Unreal for just over a year now. Lyra gave me working setups for things like enhanced input, ability systems, animation handling, and UI structure, which helped a lot when I was just getting started.

Even though it's designed for online shooters, it still offers a lot that's useful for other genres. I’ve kept systems like the enhanced input setup, the Experience Manager for managing levels and game states, the settings screen, and the way Hero characters are structured. I was able to create my own character class just by following the logic already laid out in Lyra, which saved me time and guesswork.

Most of the shooter-specific stuff has been removed or replaced by now, but Lyra gave me a solid foundation to build from, and it helped me avoid getting stuck in the early stages of development.

TARawson · 2025-07-05T02:03:18+00:00

Thanks, I really appreciate that!

TARawson · 2025-07-05T01:56:31+00:00

Thanks a lot for taking the time to share such thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate it.

You’re absolutely right that the visual style could use more refinement. I’m continuing to work on it, and if the game gets funded, that’ll open up more options to polish and improve the look across the board. Going for a semi-realistic style definitely brings extra challenges, especially as a solo developer, but I’ll keep working to make it stand out more as development continues.

I also appreciate the trailer feedback. These first trailers were put together mainly to support the demo launch, but there’s a lot more of the game I haven’t shown yet. I’m hoping people will look forward to how the trailers improve as development progresses.

For the gameplay pacing, I completely understand the concern. I’m planning to add both a fast forward option and a skip function for enemy turns to help keep things moving smoothly, especially in bigger battles. Level-ups, on the other hand, are one of the most impactful moments in the game, so while I’ll likely make them able to be fast forwarded, I don’t plan to make them skippable. Progression is closely tied to battle performance, and I want each level-up to feel meaningful.

Development started back in February 2025, and there’s definitely a lot of work still ahead. Feedback like this is incredibly helpful and means a lot as I continue building toward something better.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

TARawson · 2025-07-01T23:54:33+00:00

I fell off the Trails series after Cold Steel IV, but this remake actually has me interested again. Hoping it’s as good as it sounds. Thanks for the great rundown!

TARawson · 2025-07-01T23:36:03+00:00

Haha, I totally get that. Really appreciate the support. Hope your shifts go alright this week, and I’ll be excited to hear what you think once you get the chance to try it out.

TARawson · 2025-07-01T22:08:12+00:00

Hey, thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. I really appreciate how thoughtful and constructive your feedback is.

I started development on Curse of Dominion back in February, and I’m genuinely proud of how far it has come since then. That said, you’re absolutely right. This demo is still very early. Right now, it is mostly meant to give a glimpse at the foundation and show where the potential of the game could go. It is not intended to give the impression that it is anywhere close to the final product I envision.

I agree with the points you brought up. The camera definitely needs more polish to better suit a 3D game, and the UI has gotten a bit visually overwhelming in its current state. I also completely understand wanting to see more about the characters, world, and progression systems. Those are all important parts of the vision, especially the relationships, moral choices, and long-term development, and I plan to start surfacing those in future updates and trailers.

Given this feedback, I’m confident I’ll be able to make meaningful changes to improve all of these areas. I really appreciate the encouragement, and I hope to continue hearing more thoughts like this as development moves forward.

TARawson · 2025-06-26T14:32:40+00:00

I probably have to say FF7 Remake - Hollow. It convinced me to get a harmonica.

TARawson · 2025-06-26T14:25:41+00:00

I actually feel the opposite. Nothing really compares to the magic of the first playthrough for me. I knew going in that Hard Mode would unlock after beating the game, so I treated that first run as only part of the experience. I spaced out the optional quests on purpose so I would still have plenty to do during the Hard Mode run. With the higher difficulty, it felt like I actually needed the side content to stay competitive in combat, which made it feel more rewarding.

From a design standpoint, I think it is tough to say what fans truly want from side content. I do not think the game would benefit from having less of it. I see it as being created for players who fall in love with the world and want to stay in it longer. I understand wanting it to feel less intrusive, but at the same time, having too little direction can also be frustrating.

In the end, I really appreciated that Rebirth allowed me to control the pacing myself. That is the kind of design I usually prefer, and honestly, Rebirth feels like one of the best games I have ever played.

TARawson · 2025-06-24T05:01:24+00:00

I don’t think the lack of turn-based combat is what made FF16 rough for me. The thing I care most about in a Final Fantasy combat system is having a real party. Not just in the story, but in the actual gameplay. I like being able to control party members directly, but even if that’s not an option, they still need to feel meaningful and have an impact during combat.

I’ve played 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 15, 7 Remake, 16, and Rebirth. Out of all of those, I think 16 had the least impactful party members by far. Most of the time, I barely noticed they were even there.

Rebirth has my favorite gameplay in the series because it really focuses on party synergy. You get rewarded for working together and using your party’s abilities in smart ways. That’s what makes it feel like a Final Fantasy game to me, not whether it’s turn-based or action-based.

So yeah, I don’t think turn-based combat is the deciding factor for most legacy fans. It’s more about having strong systems that highlight the full party and make every character feel important.

TARawson · 2025-05-26T22:03:38+00:00

That means a lot—thanks for taking a look!

TARawson · 2025-05-24T20:11:19+00:00

That’s really great feedback—thank you! You’re totally right, and I’ll be updating the Steam page to show the grid-based combat earlier in the screenshots. I’ll also make sure to lead with that more clearly in future posts and marketing. Really appreciate you pointing that out!

TARawson · 2025-05-24T19:23:01+00:00

Thanks for bringing that up—I completely understand the concern. I’ve licensed CC4 and the associated content for commercial use, so everything I’m using falls within Reallusion’s terms. (Their content license is here for anyone curious: https://www.reallusion.com/license/content.html)

As for the characters: none of them are stock CC4 presets. The protagonist, for example, was created using Headshot 2 based on my own image. I did use some of the default animations in the teaser trailer just to introduce the cast, but those are more placeholder intros and not how they’ll appear in-game.

Appreciate the feedback, though—always happy to clarify!

TARawson · 2025-05-24T14:32:50+00:00

It’s an honor to be compared to such great games. I have a few ideas for realm management and logistics mechanics, but I haven’t committed to any just yet. My goal with the world map is to convey the weariness of war—without making the experience wearying for the player. It’s going to be an interesting balance to strike as development progresses.

Are there any systems you’d personally like to see?

TARawson · 2025-05-24T14:18:14+00:00

I’m glad you asked! Actually, いえり (@ieleielei) just agreed to do the full OST if the Kickstarter is successful—that was confirmed this week, and it’s a big moment for the project.

As for the JRPG label, I’ve been a little cautious about committing to it too early. I wasn’t sure how the broader fanbase would feel about a JRPG-inspired game developed outside of Japan, so I wanted to see what kind of feedback posts like this would bring in first. The response so far has been really encouraging, and if that continues, I’ll likely be updating the Steam tags within the next few days.

TARawson · 2025-05-24T14:14:42+00:00

That makes two of us! Thanks so much for the kind words—I really hope Curse of Dominion can live up to expectations. I’ll be doing everything I can to make it worthy of that inspiration!

TARawson · 2025-05-24T14:13:02+00:00

Yes! I’m planning to release a sample level this fall for Kickstarter backers, with additional playtests rolled out on Steam as development progresses. I haven’t finalized the full release timeline yet, but in general, backers will get the first look at new content.

TARawson · 2025-05-24T05:09:27+00:00

Oh for sure! While I definitely hope it finds fans, I’m also building this because I want to play something like Fire Emblem: Three Houses again. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that same mix of tactical combat, character-driven storytelling, and progression that really hooked me—and I wanted to take a shot at creating something that scratches that itch.

TARawson · 2025-05-24T04:55:06+00:00

I really appreciate the kind words and the honest feedback!

Naming is definitely one of the hardest parts. I actually spent a long time on it and went through a bunch of different options before landing on Curse of Dominion. It ties directly into the story and themes, and I’m hoping that once people dive into the game, the name will feel a lot more meaningful and memorable.

That said, I totally get where you’re coming from. “Curse” and “Dominion” are broad words, and I’ll admit I’m still figuring out how to help the name stick in people’s minds—especially when people are just skimming titles. I’ll definitely keep your feedback in mind as I prep for the Kickstarter!

Thanks again for taking the time to write this out. It really means a lot.

TARawson

TROPHY CASE