Completed Tower of Ashes

Tower of Ashes is a roguelite game made for the Eevee Expo Game Jam 10
by Brawligator and PikachuMazzinga.
(made using Pokémon Essentials v19.1)


Game Overview

An ancient Tower seems to be burning down every night just to rise from its ashes brand new the following morning.
Delve into a procedurally generated experience and uncover the past of an ancient civilization together with a fun set of characters!

Play with a carefully curated set of 100+ Pokémon and build your team to your liking!
Collect 60+ different Relics that enable new passive powers to help you inside the Tower!

Dark magic flows through this Tower, explore and defeat powerful bosses and climb your way to the top!

Tower of Ashes features a brand new system that lets Pokémon move like they used to in gen 4!
(stand alone plugin for this coming soon tm)

Downloads

Game Download (v1.0.5) :
MEDIAFIRE
(Check the Patch Notes section for older versions)

WARNING:
eeveeexpo.com is the only site we trust with our game,
if you got it from somewhere else please check for
viruses and re-download it from here, thanks.

Game Documentation (v1.0.5) :
Public Google Spreadsheet

Resource Pack (v1.0.0) :
Eevee Expo Resource


Features & Notes​

Game Features

• No levels, No exp, No running from battles​
• An endless cycle of rebirth that seamlessly leads into a roguelike gameplay loop​
• 100+ manually curated Pokémon sets​
• 60+ new Key Items called Relics, which act as passive abilities for your team​
• A couple of new custom abilities​
• Completely custom made battle intro animation system inspired by HGSS​
• A custom multi-floor room-based procedurally generated dungeon system​
• A fully custom overworld encounter system made to work with procedurally placed rooms​
• Expanded mart functionality with on-the-fly update​
• The RUN battle option has been replaced by the INFO option, that shows stat changes, types, items and more!
• Press the Q button to speed gameplay up
• Press the D button while inside the Tower for a map of the procedural dungeon
• Multiple Bosses with custom mechanics and multiple HP bars
• More to come when jam time is over maybe???

Gameplay Notes

• Wild Ghost-type Pokémon spawing in the Tower are able to phase through walls ()
• To make your climb a bit easier we made the following changes to some items:
  • Poké Balls will now always catch a Pokémon under 1/4 max hp (red healthbar)
  • Great Balls will now always catch a Pokémon under 1/2 max hp (yellow healthbar)
  • Ultra Balls will now always catch a Pokémon under 3/4 max hp
  • Heart Scales can now be used on a Pokémon to learn a move from its level-up moveset
    (movesets have been drastically altered to fit this change)
  • Technical Machines (TMs) have been replaced by Technique Scrolls (TSs), this is just a flavor thing, they still work like regular gen 5+ TMs.
• Spoiler: Small visual bugs

  • In rare instances you can open the pause menu when you're not supposed to, nothing game breaking but not intended
  • When respawning, the player stands up for 1 single frame (it makes me chuckle every time so I left it in)

If you find any bugs let us know on the forum or on Discord.

Patch Notes
​

Spoiler: v 1.0.5

Version 1.0.5 (29/09/24) (LATEST - MEDIAFIRE)

• Enabled players to keep track of their Gold, Ash Fragments and Memories on the Pause Menu
  (previously only a debug feature)
• Added a cooldown to pressing Z on the Summary UI to prevent breaking animations
• Spoiler: Bugfixes

  • Fixed auto-save after the true ending not actually saving
  • Fixed some relics not interacting correctly with flinching and crit chance
  • Fixed Choice Jewel not correctly affecting Speed
  • Fixed some sprites not repositioning themselves correctly after moving or being knocked out
  • Fixed the shiny attribute being rerolled after interacting with one of the 5 starter Pokémon
  • Fixed some altars being miscolored
  • Fixed Ho-oh Altar picking an Upgrade instead of a Relic to trade in
  • Fixed 4th Ascent's shop occasionally rolling duplicate TSs
  • Fixed the "Continue" panel not showing the number of runs correctly
  • Fixed some random freezes when meeting a Pokémon for the first time

Spoiler: v 1.0.4

Version 1.0.4 (19/08/24) (MEDIAFIRE)

• Spoiler: Bugfixes

  • Fixed Tricky Box (for real this time)
  • Fixed a single misplaced pixel on Absol's backsprite

Spoiler: v 1.0.3

Version 1.0.3 (19/08/24) (MEDIAFIRE)

• Spoiler: Bugfixes

  • Fixed some minor item description issues
  • Fixed Tricky Box not setting up Trick Room correctly

Spoiler: v 1.0.2

Version 1.0.2 (18/08/24) (MEDIAFIRE)

• Spoiler: Bugfixes

  • Fixed Music not looping properly
  • Fixed event rng related to memories
    (you should now be able to collect all 6 within two full runs)
  • Fixed Greedy Gloves not self-blacklisting themselves upont choosing them
  • Fixed Sync Crystal always being blacklisted
  • Fixed field moves appearing as usable in the Party Menu
  • Fixed consumable items not being obtained properly after catching wild Pokémon
  • Fixed some wonkyness with the Ash Fragment shop
  • Fixed some small tiling priority issues

Spoiler: v 1.0.1

Version 1.0.1 (13/08/24) (MEDIAFIRE)

• Updated move animation pack to "Gen 9 Move Animation Project"
  to fix a visual bug where move animations would play at [0,0] instead of on the correct battler
• All bosses now have +1 extra life
• Risen Ho-oh is now ~5% more tanky
• Outpost Chief will now have a [ ! ] on his head if you can buy upgrades
• Spoiler: Bugfixes

  • Fixed Golisopod, Regidrago and Drampa backsprites being mismatched
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Pokémon to learn moves while climbing
  • Fixed Heart Scales getting consumed after just selecting them from the bag
  • Fixed some wild Pokémon overworld behaviours resetting to default
  • Fixed some Relic's "rollability"
  • Fixed some bugs with Jewel-type Relics
  • Fixed a bug with No-Pressure Goggles not restoring PPs
  • Fixed some water reflection bug at the Outpost
  • Fixed cutscenes bleeding out on top of other events
    (mainly when losing to Risen Ho-oh)
  • Fixed some in-battle sprite positionings

Spoiler: v 1.0.0

Version 1.0.0 (10/08/24) (MEDIAFIRE)

• Initial release

Credits​

Spoiler: Show Full Credits

Main Team

• Brawligator
• PikachuMazzinga

Scripts / Resources used

• "Easy Debug Terminal" by ENLS
• "Overworld Shadows" by Golisopod User, WolfPP, Marin
• "Radial Menu" by Yankas, Cony, Hallow
• "Speed Up 2.0" by Marin, Phantombass
• "TDW Debug List Search" by wrigty12, KRLW890
• "Upgradable Maps" by FL
• "Gen 9 Move Animation Project" by StCooler, DarrylBD99, WolfPP, ardicoozer, riddlemeree,
  Drake Baku, BellBlitzKing, KRLW890, Nut0066, Toxillian, QuahogTheCreator, Lcorp, Shashu-Greninja
• Gen 5+ backsprites by Dreadwing93, Mak-, DS-style Gen VII and Beyond Pokemon Sprite Repository, Smogon Art Projects
• Tinkaton resources by darkusshadow, EBaru, KRLW890
• Tapu back-sprites by Falgaia
• Many Gen 5+ frame2 sprites by KingOfThe-X-Roads, PikachuMazzinga
• Some Item icons edited from free RTP Icons by The Infamous Bon Bon
• Tiles by finalbossblues, ChaoticCherryCake, Brawligator, PikachuMazzinga

Pokémon Essentials

• "Pokémon Essentials" by Maruno, Flameguru, Poccil (Peter O.)
• "MKXP-z" by Roza, Based on MKXP by Ancurio et al
  With contributions from
  AvatarMonkeyKirby, Marin, Boushy, MiDas Mike, Brother1440, FL, PinkMan, Genzai Kawakami, Popper, help-14, Rataime, IceGod64, Savordez, SoundSpawn, Jacob O. Wobbrock, the__end, KitsuneKouta, Wachunga, Lisa, Anthony, Venom12, Near Fantastica, Luka S.J. and everyone else who helped out
• "RPG Maker XP" by Enterbrain
• Pokémon is owned by The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Game Freak

​

 

[Voltseon]

Played it for 3-4 hours and had a blast! Absolute banger of a game! I loved the upgrade elements and all the different Pokémon that were set up. I appreciate that not all battles are mandatory (if you're skilled enough to dodge them all haha). I completed the tower twice and will say that some Pokémon are less viable than others, though about any water-type will carry (except ludicolo maybe?).
The game nails about every aspect from art & sound to gameplay elements. Would love to see more of it!

Spoiler: Team Run #1

Spoiler: Team Run #2

 

[PikachuMazzinga]

Hello there guys, thank you again so much for all the kind words and all the feedback and support!

Today I'm updating the thread to bring you something that was requested by many and we felt like was a good thing to release.
I'm talking of course about Game Documentation! Find the full spreadsheet >>HERE<<.
(a hyperlink file will be included in future releases alongside the game itself).

Please let us know if there is any more you want us to add to this documentation!

 

[PokéBoys Podcast]

This game looks very cool, excited to try it out!

Does anyone know if this is playable on the steam deck?

 

[PikachuMazzinga]

This game looks very cool, excited to try it out!

Does anyone know if this is playable on the steam deck?

Thanks, hope you have fun when you do play it!
No idea about the steam deck but the game runs well on native windows, android with joyplay and linux with wine, so I assume it should run well on the steam deck too (let us know if it does)

 

[ranko]

Oh yeah, I was waiting for the Wheel of Wonders to hit this game, and it was so worth the wait! The game is fricking awesome and the roguelike gameplay is well done and really fun! I loved customizing a loadout that fit my playstyle and that there were a lot of directions that you could go (upgrades based on types and based on secondary effects. I did appreciate the gameplay not being too shallow and also being not too difficult as well! The difficulty close to perfect for me, although I would've appreciated a smidgen more depth (Double Battles would be fun, maybe some new kinds of bosses too lol). I also did like how the game was very much balanced around forcing the player to engage with the Relics to progress (without forcing them of course, you'll quickly realize you definitely need them to beat the bosses), so you make sure the player has to have fun lmao

Of course, I think a lot of people could've made a strong Pokemon roguelite game with good gameplay, so as long as they had a good concept of battling, but what I absolutely adored about the game was the setting!! The visual and graphical polish is incredibly clean and it really makes it feel like a full fledged package, great consistent colors and theme in the overowrlld and even the menus! The character designs are all complete winners and I absolutely adored how all their little details came out in just sprite form (Verbena's hair and earrings, Lumbo's stature, Bruco walking animation being entirely unique with his stupid bag) and I'm honestly so upset I didn't get to see more from the game's story, setting and characters!! I was very sad that they didn't have trainer sprites, but I understand that probably was a time limit issue and absolutely not anything else (considering how beautiful the game looks you easily could've done it if you could). I would even say all my biggest gripes with the game is just not being able to know more and experience more of it

Overall, great game! I had a ton of fun breaking the game with stupid strategies and the game is so colorful too!

 

[Tomix9tomix]

Super fun game, big recommend, and it makes me very happy to see some inspirations from Binding of Isaac (one of my favourite games of all times). This wasn't just a super fun roguelite, but also a SUPER beautiful game, just oozes charms from the beautiful flowing hair animations, to the cool new pokemon forms, to the beautiful scenery to the super cool relic icons. Just knocks it all out of the park, super well done, great job.

 

[Ghyst]

This game is really fun! I like the rougelite aspect of the game and being limited to a set of Pokemon is a nice touch.

Quick question: Is there a way to actually beat the game? I've climbed the tower and beaten it 5 times but I keep getting smited after beating Ho-oh. What does it mean by "you sensed something has changed?"

 

[PikachuMazzinga]

I wanted to personally thank everybody that played the game and left a review, It means so much to me TwT

Quick question: Is there a way to actually beat the game? I've climbed the tower and beaten it 5 times but I keep getting smited after beating Ho-oh. What does it mean by "you sensed something has changed?"

And thanks for the question!
The main game loop is climbing the tower and being sent back to the start, if you're looking for a different ending, collecting all 6 lore pieces will unlock a different dialogue option at the end that will send you to the credits.[/SPOILER]

 

[Ghyst]

Ah I see thank you! Do you have to find all of them in one run?

 

[PikachuMazzinga]

Ah I see thank you! Do you have to find all of them in one run?

No they are global checks and you should be able to find all 6 of them in two full runs.

 

[FireWizard_]

hello! i found this game on google. how do you open the menu to access pokemon or bag or trainer card since this is the first time i played this game

 

[PikachuMazzinga]

hello! i found this game on google. how do you open the menu to access pokemon or bag or trainer card since this is the first time i played this game

Hi there, the basic controls are:

Arrows to move
C to interact / confirm
X to open menu / decline
Z to run
Q to speed up gameplay (toggle)
D to open the minimap (in the Tower)

 

[PikachuMazzinga]

Hello everyone, we are back with a bunch of small bugfixes in v 1.0.5!

This update brings the following bugfixes:

• Enabled players to keep track of their Gold, Ash Fragments and Memories on the Pause Menu
  (previously only a debug feature)
• Added a cooldown to pressing Z on the Summary UI to prevent breaking animations
• Spoiler: Bugfixes

  • Fixed auto-save after the true ending not actually saving
  • Fixed some relics not interacting correctly with flinching and crit chance
  • Fixed Choice Jewel not correctly affecting Speed
  • Fixed some sprites not repositioning themselves correctly after moving or being knocked out
  • Fixed the shiny attribute being rerolled after interacting with one of the 5 starter Pokémon
  • Fixed some altars being miscolored
  • Fixed Ho-oh Altar picking an Upgrade instead of a Relic to trade in
  • Fixed 4th Ascent's shop occasionally rolling duplicate TSs
  • Fixed the "Continue" panel not showing the number of runs correctly
  • Fixed some random freezes when meeting a Pokémon for the first time

 

[Penelope]

Aftering playing this game many times, i wonder if the relics system coud be a plugin for everybody who wanna use it? It is a great concept.

 

[Unfolding]

This game is amazing. My favorite part by far was the relics system - many Pokemon-style roguelikes don't work because all the runs feel too similar to each other. Relics kept each run really fresh, and it was so fun stacking Moody Hats and Brave Headgears and Shaman Staves! You've made something really special here, congrats!

Also, the game lends itself very well to "challenge runs", something I really enjoy trying. I was able to beat the game without using Chansey's healing, the shop, or upgrades, and it was tough and rewarding. If you add to this game, some kind of incentive for challenges like this, as well as some kind of endless mode (where enemies get relics too, maybe?) would be great.