Glimmer in Mirror News

Hello, dear players and friends!

I am thrilled to share some news with you. The development of the major 0.7 update is now complete, and you can switch to the beta testing branch to participate in the public testing! Once the testing situation stabilizes, we will officially release the testing branch as the live version.

This major update involves numerous modifications to the game systems. Additionally, we have upgraded the game from the outdated Unity 2017 version to the 2021 version. During this process, we encountered countless bugs and put in a tremendous effort to ensure the game runs well. This is why we decided to release the Beta testing branch first. With your help, we hope to make the game more stable and enjoyable as we receive your feedback and optimize the new systems. If you encounter any bugs or have suggestions, please send your feedback to [email protected]. Thank you!

[h3]How to Switch to the Testing Branch:[/h3]
Right-click on "Glimmer in Mirror" in your Steam game library, go to Properties, select the "Beta" option under the "Participate in Testing" section on the right side. This will allow you to switch to the testing branch. Please note that the Beta branch involves significant changes, and old save files will not be compatible. Therefore, you will see no historical saves when running the game. To switch back to the default live branch, you can play the old version with your previous save files.


To avoid potential issues with corrupted saves in the testing branch, we recommend manually backing up your save files regularly. The save file path is: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\MapleDorm\GlimmerInMirror. The saves for this closed beta will have filenames starting with "Save_V3". In case of corrupted saves, the files with the "bak" extension are automatically backed up saves. Remove the "bak" from the filename and replace the corrupted save file.

[h3]Now, let's share the specific changes we made in the 0.7 version:[/h3]

1. Character Progression:
   Now Shiro will gain experience and level up after defeating enemies. With each level, her HP, ATK, and DEF will increase to a certain extent.
   
   
   
2. Monster Echo System:
   There is a chance to unlock a monster's "Echo" after defeating it. Echoes provide Shiro's property bonuses, and each type of monster has its own "Echo Skill". Equipping different echoes can enhance Shiro's skills. Echoes can be strengthened using materials dropped by monsters.
   
   
   
3. Combat System Modifications:
   The recovery method of Shiro's Glimmer has changed from rapid time-based recovery to "slow time-based recovery and recovery based on damage dealt during attacks." Monsters now have higher base damage and lower HP. Defeating monsters will drop recovery items and material items, preventing the situation where "Shiro and monsters have a lot of HP, making battles time-consuming." Some enclosed encounters will be scattered in the wilderness, and completing these encounters will get collectible rewards.
   
   
4. Character Abilities:
   Elemental Skills: The existing "Piercing Lights" has been changed from a regular skill to an ice elemental skill, which consumes SP for activation. After completing the challenge level in the Fairy Forest, you can obtain a new fire elemental skill.
   Basic Attack (Light Surge): The control method for Light Surge has changed to a long press for continuous release, and no longer requires consecutive button presses.
   Light Impact: Light Impact has changed from a charged skill to an instant cast skill. By default, it does not penetrate enemies but can break shields. Through the Echo system enhancements, it can be manually aimed and penetrate enemies.
   Recovery Ability: Shiro can now collect candy particles dropped by enemies to craft candy for health recovery. (Requires unlocking the recovery skill to use)
   Dash Ability: After completing the challenge level in the Bell Tower, Shiro can unlock a dash ability called "Shadow of the Future"
   
   
   
5. New Maps: This update does not introduce new chapters after the main storyline. However, new maps and challenges have been added to the existing Fairy Forest and Forest of the Beginning areas.
   
   
   
6. Other Updates:
   Now you can teleport through mirrors.
   Custom keybindings are now supported for controllers.
   The Fairy Forest store has new items for purchase.
   You can hold down the accelerator key to speed up cutscenes.
   New BGMs.
   etc.
   

Please allow us to apologize for the bad localization text in this Beta test. We will improve the localization in the future.

Once the 0.7 version's beta branch stabilizes, we will officially release it and begin the production of subsequent chapters and storylines. The 0.8 version's next chapter will feature a snowy and icy-themed world. Here are some concept art scenes to share with you:


Lastly, I want to express my gratitude for your patient support! It is your encouragement that motivates us to continue improving and expanding Glimmer in Mirror. We hope you enjoy the new features and updates in the 0.7 version. Remember to provide your feedback and report any bugs you encounter during the testing phase. Together, we can make Glimmer in Mirror an even better game!

Thank you once again, and have a fantastic time playing Glimmer in Mirror!

Best regards,
MapleDorm Game Studio

G-Fusion Game Fest 2023 Chengdu will be held from November 25 to 26. Glimmer in Mirror and five other indie games will be shown at A06, Cube Game’s booth! Come play the games and grab some souvenirs!

It's been a while since we last announced the development plan for version 0.7. The final decision on the content to be included in the major update far exceeded our initial expectations. It's our traditional holiday these days, and we would like to share the current progress of the update's development with everyone.

[Main Character's Level and Stat Growth, Monster Echo System, Monster Encounter Mechanism]

In our previous announcement, we mentioned the growth of the main character and the newly added 'Monster Echo' system. After numerous experiments, we have iterated on the Echo System, and its framework is now trending towards stability. Each type of monster will have an Echo Skill, which will enhance the existing skills of Shiro. Additionally, defeating monsters will drop materials that can be used to strengthen the attributes and levels of Echo Skills.

Designing Echo Skills for each type of monster is a monumental task. In the 0.7 version, we plan to initially complete the Echo Skills for monsters found in three large maps: Forest of Origin, Fairy Forest, and Prayer Beltower. Echo Skills for monsters in other maps will be gradually added in future updates.

The new Monster Encounter Mechanism is a battle system that players can trigger in the wilderness. It requires defeating a significant number of enemies in a confined area. This tests the player's combat abilities while helping them understand the game's mechanics. Completing these encounters often results in substantial rewards.

[Expansion of Existing Maps, New Challenge Levels]

We have expanded and adjusted the stages of Forest of Origin and Fairywood Forest, adding more than ten small stages. These additions also include a speed challenge level and a durability challenge level, both offering special rewards upon completion. These newly expanded stages require a long development and iteration cycle, but considering the early-game experience, adding this content is necessary.

Draft of new stages in Fairy Forest:


[New Recovery Ability, New Movement Ability, Elemental Skill Refactoring]

To enhance player resilience and playability in combat, we have decided to introduce a new recovery ability and a movement skill. Additionally, in the current version, the elemental skill 'Piercing Light' received feedback from many players regarding its strength and interactive experience. Therefore, we have decided to refactor elemental skills, adopting a concept similar to the 'ultimate ability.' When using an elemental skill, Shiro will briefly become invulnerable, and the skill will provide assistance in terms of damage output or mechanics. As elemental skills have become a crucial component of battles, players will have the opportunity to unlock a new elemental skill in the early stage of the game.

[Other Improvements]

In addition, we have made some optimizations to the game's existing systems and control schemes:

• Integrated the current teleportation mechanism to make teleportation more convenient.
  
• Optimized the difficulty and health of wilderness monsters to avoid the feeling of monsters being both sluggish and resilient.
  
• Increased the difficulty of wilderness monsters, and defeating them will result in the drop of recovery
• items, making combat tension more flexible. We have also adjusted the recovery mechanism of 'Light Surge' by reducing natural light recovery and increasing the attack recovery.
  
• Split the buttons for normal attacks ('Light Surge') and 'Light Shock,' allowing automatic continuous firing when holding the 'Light Surge' button. 'Light Shock' does not need to be charged anymore.
  
• Added customization options for game controllers.
  
• And more...
  

We appreciate everyone's patience while waiting for this update. Version 0.7 includes various aspects that required careful consideration. Due to my limited game development experience and our team's constrained capacity, the development timeline has far exceeded our initial expectations. There is still a considerable amount of new content in production and iteration, and it will take some time before the official release. During this period, some friends even asked if we had 'abandoned this game,' which both amused and embarrassed us.

We will do our best to iterate on the game experience and strive to deliver version 0.7 to everyone as soon as possible. Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Greetings, dear players and friends! The annual Steam Summer Sale is here, and "Glimmer of Light" is participating in this event, offering an unprecedented 20% discount. We welcome everyone to take advantage of this discount period and wish you all a joyful summer!ːGirlShiroː

Taking this opportunity, we would like to provide an update on the progress of the upcoming v0.7 version of the game:

In our previous announcement, we mentioned the experimental "Monster Echo" system. Let's explain it in detail now:
By battling monsters, players can unlock the monster's "Echo," which has its own numerical value. Players can strengthen the "Echo Level" to enhance Shiro's combat capabilities. Once the Echo Level is maxed out, players will unlock the monster's "Echo Skill." This skill revolves around Shiro's abilities or tactics, allowing players to freely equip it and provide a more personalized branching or enhancement to the fixed skills.

For Shiro, we have also introduced a leveling system. As Shiro levels up, her combat strength will correspondingly increase. In combination with the Monster Echo system, when players encounter unbeatable enemies, they now have clearer avenues for improvement. The combat style can also be customized through the combination of Echo Skills, adding more variety and preventing battles from becoming monotonous.

Additionally, we are working on improving the game's combat mechanics to ensure that players can intuitively grasp the combat system and gameplay loop from the beginning, making the battle process and decision-making more engaging and enjoyable.

These new additions and improvements require extensive development and testing iterations. Although we have experimented with numerous approaches, we must confess that while we can sense the game experience improving, we are still far from satisfied with the current version. Further polishing and optimization are still necessary.

According to our current development plan, if everything goes smoothly, we hope to start the Alpha testing phase in the latter half of July. Once we ensure stable and viable results from the Alpha test, we will begin preparations for the public Beta test. Interested players will be able to participate in the Beta test by switching to the Steam branch, and there will be no player limit for the Beta test.

We would like to express our gratitude for your continuous support. We will strive to further iterate the game to provide you with an even better experience. As soon as there is any progress in the preparations for the Beta test, we will inform you through announcements. Once again, thank you all for your support!

Hello everyone! The annual Steam Spring Sale has begun, and Glimmer in Mirror is participating in this sale, bringing the same 10% discount as it's first release. Welcome to buy it during the sale!

We have supported Steam Cloud, and have completely re-translated the localizations. Hope the new localization text will be better for you. If you encounter any problem or mistakes in the new localization, please contact us ([email protected]), thank you!

In addition, let us share some development progress on the major update (v0.7) of the game。

We are experimenting with iterations of the game's growth system, to try to improve the player's lack of a sense of reward during gameplay.

At present, Shiro can only rely on collecting collectibles in the map, gaining new skills, and leveling up the sprites to improve their battle abilities. There is too little sense of growth and gain throughout the game. There are also very few items in the store, resulting in no place to use the source crystals gained from fightings. These problems lead to little difference in the experience between the early and late stages of the game, and lack of rewards from fighting.

We are trying to add a "monster echo" collection system, so that defeating monsters can get more player growth, and skill branching changes. We are also trying to add a leveling system to the character so that there will be more ways to improve abilities and stats to overcome the obstacles, instead of only training game skills.

Because of the many modifications involved, the next major update will require more development and experimental work, and eventually the actual content will change with our experiments. Maybe it will not be exactly the same we metioned above. Thank you for your understanding!

Even when the development is completed, we still have to do enough player test, to ensure the system is balance and fun. Then we will have the confidence to publish the official update.

We have not released any minor updates recently, because our team of one full-time, two part-time is too small. We can only focus on one thing. We are moving forward step by step. Thank you for your understanding and support!