GROVE Rework: Halloween Test Build

Will there be an Android version?

will there be a Chinese version like before? The translation of old

grove is unbelievable.

No linux yet??? :,)

Okay i have such positive feedback already this is like....a huge upgrade from old grove especially the inventory and combat mechanics. I'm so excited to see more updates and continue to play as they come out! 10/10!!

While I may not need to send you guys a comment, I want to absolutely make sure you know how I feel about the demo so far.

Literal 10/10 everything is SO good.

But what I love most of all is the hidden fluff text pieces that have *multiple* fluff text pieces.  Not only is the writing excellent and is everything I love in fluff text examinations, but having multiple to browse through helps with immersion and the feeling of examining the environment closer.  THere's SO much to examine and I love that.

I also appreciate that the writing is fairly snappy, so it not only gets across information, but also doesn't actively give me paragraphs of windows of text.  One of the beautiful parts of multiple examinations is being able to press the button to re-examine as desired rather than just getting stuck in a novel.

Making smaller games to perfect certain features and skills is actually something recommended for game devs. Plz no Parries/I-frame Rolls.

The more I play tested the special build the more I disagree with people saying the grapple element makes the combat less engaging. To me, it creates a strong incentive to defeat enemies because now you actually need to put in some effort to beat them; in the past it was just a stats check. At the same time, it spices up the punishment when we fail and makes the stripping of armor feel natural and involuntary. Looking back, I find it funny because I always purposely strip and surrender whenever I encounter a new mob, which is kind of contradictory to what an adventurer should do. Yes, there is a learning curve, but honestly, it’s not that bad. Plus the grapple element makes enemies feel more vivid and interactive. But I do see why people are saying that and perhaps I can share some thoughts to point it out:

1.Remember the grapple element states — Charm, Molest, and Strip? In the current build, there’s no difference in punishment when the player fails a grapple. I understand that enemies are performing multiple inputs, but in this case, it breaks the immersive rhythm of the combat. Maybe the enemies can choose one element as punishment? For instance, charm punishment costs you more stm, strip deprives one more layer of armor, and molest triggers some special debuffs and moves?

2.The current combat contents are leaning heavily towards the first half, where in struggle stage there isn't much gameplay content. Since you already developed QTE, I believe using it in struggle stage can possibly be a great idea as struggle movements are typically intense.


Please don't design the grapple element as if it is an add-on inside the combat system!!! It is like listening to a new song where you need to give it a second try to truly appreciate it. Throughout the years I played Grove, this is the first time I’ve been genuinely motivated by a challenging gameplay experience and felt a strong desire to win a battle!!! You two are doing a great job, and I hope you stay confident in your design!!! :3

The grapple triangle reminded me of a Japanese adult game called Ultimate Fighting Girl 2, whose  real time combat minigame is an RPS QTE 'attack/defend/break' - where if  your opponent attacks, you guard, if they guard, you break their stance, and if they move to break your stance you attack, with a little sliding scale based on how much you 'charge' your action between rounds.  Worth checking because I found the UI of that game very pleasing to use.

So this demo kind of felt like a 'can i copy your homework' type deal (likely unintentionally, as RPS isn't a unique concept) but the words used made it very unintuitive to come up with a mnemonic (molest beats stripping?) and also don't really fit the cutscene (is the tent enemy molesting, charming, or stripping as it tries to facefuck me???)

and so I ended up just memorizing the color sequence...so it's kind of immersion breaking in a way because it feels like an abstracted intrusive minigame rather than me as the player 'struggling' or 'grappling'...

Also like the character inventory/map/etc  menus felt a little laggy as it pops open, probably just tech demo things. All the same, wish the best with this project!

The New rework is great! Love the new graphic and arts. I hope the amount of the arts not decreasing compere to the original Grove arts.
about the story, is it going to be different from the original one, since all Gimp encounter is have different story and dialogue.
The Gameover scene is always the best, Can't wait to see other slime gameover!

but with the amount game you develop right now, I'm afraid it's gonna take longer to even finish reworking all of the update.

It's a nice tech demo. I did have trouble a couple times with saving in a given room: if there's an event in there or something, it'll just lock saving in that room entirely it seems. Perhaps you can save in that room if you exit and reenter after clearing the event, I didn't test for that. Along the same lines, I'd prefer as a player to not be put in these positions of  wanting to lose a given fight once but having an unskippable cutscene right before said fight with no chance to save between the cutscene and the fight. The inn location was a notable example of that, where you can only realistically have a save in the screen prior and have to watch both the imps running around cutscene and also the struggle tutorial over again.

I also second what another comment here said: the green slime fight was trivial to constantly get up from, 25 stamina with the current stamina regeneration was too low. I could just continuously spam 'get up' after purposefully seeing how many times I could afford to get up after a knockdown, I think I was able to do so 5 times at least? I gave up trying after that.

Otherwise I love the new engine and the possibilities it introduces! <3 Looking forward to more for sure.

Is it possible to play it on a 32.bit version PC?

i can't subscribe SubscribeStar ,it reject all my credit card.....

After I defeated the little devil the second time and entered the lounge, was the game over? Besides challenging the slime in the wardrobe, there's nothing else to do in the room.

I always liked the way that you would slowly lose resources(hp, armor, tp, and then stamina) as you journeyed, so my only 3 complaints are: 

1. If you are good at the grappling segments then you are never in any danger. You can throw yourself at any enemy and as long as you are quick enough you will never lose stamina.

2. Tp acting as a second wind in combat makes sense, but 25 tp to avoid being at 0 hp seems a bit cheap. I would expect at least 50 tp.

3. My game would sometimes lag when sprinting, so at some point optimization will be needed.

Other than that, the writing is always great, the sprite work has significantly improved, first person POV(first imp scene) for some scenes and trap tiles(the hands) seem like great additions, and I am excited to see the development of this game.

Also the imps are hot~

Do the pilons just instantly turn themselves off for anyone else in the hotell?

I can't sponsor through Subscribestar. Are there any other sponsorship methods available?😭

Such a Great Demo and has me majorly excited and wanting to join the subscribestar site to support the game. Love the new grapples and ways to react I ALWAYS CRAVED More of these in games and you guys are top notch. SO Majorly excited and cannot wait to play it when is offically remade because first ever game like these i played and my favorite alongside Prowler.  Kinda Curious if there is any Plan to tie Both games together would be so cool to see the chief of Prowlers and maybe him as a companion with scenes if somehow ended up here trying to find leads of his people.

Major Question is How much is the main subscribestar places tier to test these demo builds because i wanna support that tier or more.

AND THANK YOU to YOU and YOUR TEAM for these MASTERPEICES and SO MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT  to you all for Being the very best 

Will it be avaible for MacOS?

This was a lot of fun. Love the tfs we got. Love the art Grove looks so good. Thanks for the awesome test build. Can't wait to see what else you all have cooking

I think if this 3 button grapple system is introduced in the full game, perhaps the starting area could only have 2 choices, one or the other to introduce players who may not be able to memorize the combinations right away. Adding the third, or even fourth in more difficult areas/enemies. 

I myself am mediocre at rhythm games, where you press the same color/symbol, but mapping one color/symbol to another from the start whilst under tension breaks my brain for whatever reason.

I have found it easier to map the color to the direction I need to press, rather than to another color/symbol. Check color, press direction. A simpler thought process than perhaps: color -> color -> direction, and having the chance of getting the colors mixed up. Cutting out the middle step of that whole triangle/circle.

Like, the left color (purple) when used by the enemy requires a blue (up) is much more difficult than right color (orange) when used by enemy is simply the directionality opposite color (purple).

But even as I typed that all out I just realized a simpler method would be to take the color of the enemy and using it's default direction (purple/left) and make a clockwise rotation to (blue/up) in the grapple menu.

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tl:dr
New system broke my brain, but spending time to think it through and not getting attacked by strange goopy things has come up with effective strategy/understanding.

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Misc Questions/bugs

Are the "hand" traps supposed to have the same grapple direction/color (orange) instead of random or is that intentional since they're a common "encounter"?

The door renders above Grove's head at the first building by the tent.

the new content is so good!!! quick question though, everyone keeps mentioning a third encounter with altars, is that part of the subscribestar specific build or am i just dumb?

I really enjoyed this, it was really well done I think. I am curious though as to where the game will start, like when will it start from at the beginning or from where the last version ended or some other point?

Absolutely love the new content!!! However, I would like to ask: is my screen getting stuck on the tent near the Inn for the grappling tutorial intended? It would pan right over to the tent one of the imps escapes to, then stays there; the view would no longer move alongside Grove :<

the art and exploration looks a lot better. however I find the combat to be less engaging compared to the previous RPG combat.

It seems like when on Document case, you can move a bit to the left and right, and up and down if you hold it long enough!

Thanks for the great test!! Maybe I'm just bad at it, but when I was being chased by the final enemy I pressed "E" to activate the three altars, but nothing happened and it was just a game over. Am I doing something wrong?