Chapter 3 has been RELEASED!!!
[h3]Hello again, everyone!!![/h3]
No matter how much preparation, no matter how much planning, those last two weeks before the release are always very taxing and intense. Even though updates can be made with great ease to fix bugs or make improvements, the feeling of a hard deadline can be a very intimidating thing...and with my full-time job I am NO stranger to deadlines. However, with something as personal and cherished as releasing this game out into the world, I am constantly thinking of ways to improve it. Even Chapter 1 isn't "done" in my mind!
As most of you know, I do all the work on this project by myself. For content I don't have the skills to create, like artwork and game graphics, I purchase content packs...otherwise this is a one-man show. Typically, I have some alpha testers who will assist me with finding bugs (which in 26 hours of content is quite the undertaking), but this year has been difficult for many people and availability for them hasn't been feasible. For the most part, even the testing was done by myself.
While this is one of the most stressful things I've EVER taken on, I can now look forward to finally sharing it with everyone and (hopefully) seeing your enjoyment as you play! When I still played D&D, if my players were happy...then I was a happy DM (Dungeon Master, for the non-D&D folks). Likewise, if you guys are happy players, that makes the effort and work totally worth it.
Now enough of the heavy stuff...let's get on to the FUN stuff!!!
[h2]**Ch. 3 Highlights**[/h2]
There are a few things I'm very excited to bring up, typically regarding game mechanics that are introduced and giving some context to announcements I made before. This will (ideally) be brief, but here's a few I wanted to discuss before everyone hops in.
[h3]--Story Progress--[/h3]
If you read my previous notices about the release date, you'll know that I had to "divide" Chapter 3 up, due to the content being FAR bigger than I'd originally anticipated. Even now, I would peg this closer to 11 hours of content than the original 9-10 I previously stated. To include all of the story "milestones" originally planned, the pacing would have been far worse or the chapter would have been nearly as long as Chapters 1 and 2 combined. I've bumped the total chapters to 5, and the more I played through Chapter 3, the more I feel that was the right decision.
As you could tell by the massive update to Achievements, there is much to unpack and experience in Chapter 3. The long ago mentioned concept of the story, and Deirdre's environment, growing and "blooming" holds true yet again in Chapter 3. While there are laughs to be had in Chapter 3 (plenty, actually!), I have focused strongly on maintaining the tonal balance of the game...and yet as youth flees from us in time, we become so much more aware of the reality that is our worlds. To see things as they are, is the blessing and curse of aging.
[h3]
--Mapping, environments, etc.--[/h3]
I wouldn't expect anything universe-shattering, but this is the first chapter where all of the maps were created from scratch (no pre-assembled ones here!). It's far more work, but the flexibility it offers is much nicer than simply editing some pre-made ones.
As you go on, cities and communities become FAR bigger. I am probably shooting myself in the foot, but let this set the tone for what's to come. To give a sense of scale, there is going to be less interaction in an "overworld" map, saving most of the interactivity for inside buildings, smaller areas, and dungeons. But hey! It never hurts to look, does it? ;-)
Compared to AAA games, and likely other Indie RPGs, it's not a huge deal to have city guards who you can ask for directions...but having that in Chapter 3 makes me want to smile. You'll know the place when you get there...I practically needed directions myself! There will be more of this to come in Chapter 4, the cities are going to be grand and a great challenge to overcome. I look forward to sharing those with you guys in the future too :)
[h3]--Character Equipment and Skills--[/h3]
I had a VERY unorganized approach to items, character skills, and overall balancing in general. The character development and story are my biggest focus, but there's more to a story than JUST the dialogue, right? Plenty of folks enjoy the combat portion and I apologize for neglecting that in the past...So check this out!
**Equipment**
The balancing for this was ABYSMAL! Did you know Tessa hadn't received a new Accessory since the S.S. Raven in Chapter 1??? Neither did I, and that was the problem. Things became far, FAR bigger than I expected (this was going to be a 5 hour game when I first made it), so there was much room for organization that didn't happen...there really wasn't a need to! A lot of this just snowballed into Chapter 2 since it was so much bigger than Chapter 1 and I was just trying to get things to work. Thankfully, the precedent has been set for this and future chapters...organization has also arrived along with Chapter 3!!
While it took hours of documenting, creating spreadsheets, and changing my blood type to "Advil"...I have a proper reference for items, stats, locations, etc. so that things are far more balanced moving forward. You won't notice much difference in Chapters 1 and 2 since combat and such were already balanced for that, but Chapter 3 will have a FAR better spread of items as rewards and available for players to purchase. I don't want to give too much away, but I believe the time spent making better items that are ALSO thematically-consistent with the area you get them in...is going to be quite a hoot. Also, don't forget to check the item descriptions for "flavor text"! You may find those enjoyable as well :)
*Be sure to check Blacksmiths and Tailors in towns with them!! They should be far better stocked with new items now!!*
**Stats and Skills**
Another area that was immensely overlooked by me. I had a sort of "band-aid" approach to balancing, just bumping up one item or nerfing a boss to make things seem more balanced, but in the longrun this just makes things worse. As the old saying goes, "A stitch in time, saves nine", and boy does that apply here!
Seeing Tessa with more HP than Korryn or Deirdre dealing more damage than Kaleb at some parts made me want to slap myself. I don't really care for how the game engine handles stat progress, but in the interim while I try and hone in on the best solution, I put in a lot of time trying to get things better balanced here. While things aren't "perfect", they are much better than prior. I will also have a quick blurb down below explaining character roles in more detail...and how they are planned to develop.
Skills was also a very big oversight for me, but that is not the case with Chapter 3.
EVERY...SINGLE...CHARACTER...receives at least TWO new skills (some up to 5) over the course of this chapter. The general spread for players had them ending Chapter 2 at around Level 19-21, so I planned around level 20 as where most changes start. These should also help develop the characters' unique roles and abilities they bring to the party. The short summary and changes are down below...
Deirdre:
While most RPGs make the main character OP or an "All-Rounder", Deirdre is a tank of a different sort. She wears the heaviest armor in the game, so her DEF stat is unparalleled. Her damage is on the lower end of average, but she can still dole out some punishment. Due to her great stature, she almost has the highest HP in the game, 2nd only to Kaleb. Her Magic DEF is on the upper end of average, but it's not her strongest stat.
Kaleb:
Though he doesn't have a great DEF stat, Kaleb has the highest amount of HP and deals an immense amount of damage. While Deirdre is the slowest due to her heavy armor, Kaleb is not far behind. This was not the case before, but given the spread of characters now coming on the scene it's a change that is coming VERY soon in a hotfix. Kaleb is still going to be the powerhouse for dealing physical DMG and taking hits while doing it.
Amie:
Not much room to change Amie here, as she's the only full-on healer in the game, giving her a very traditional and set role in the party. In terms of HP, she has more than Tessa and the new character from Chapter 3, but only Tessa has less DEF than her. Amie's Magic DEF is quite formidable, but not as high as Tessa's. Amie can bring someone back from near death or ACTUAL death, giving her much job security. When at all possible, keep her outside of the active party to prevent her from taking unnecessary damage.
Tessa:
She's your quintessential "glass cannon" mage....deals MASSIVE damage, but a few swift hits from a beefy, high ATK enemy can knock Tessa out. She's just a little girl, Deedzy!! :(
Despite this, her Magic DEF is the highest in your party and she deals the most magic damage, hands down. The double-edged sword with Tessa, is that most physically tough enemies are weak to magic attacks, but she can easily suffer the consequences of a strong hit from them. Keep an eye on her HP and you'll be ok!!
Gerwulf:
Likely the most misunderstood, in more ways than one. Gerwulf is an "all-rounder" with some very handy abilties, one of which is unique to him. He is the only character that can (with the skill "Affirmation") remove all stat debuffs from a single character. His Ultima (Ardent Reprisal) removes all stat debuffs from the entire party. While it doesn't sound as glorious as Kaleb's Frenzy or Amie's Group Hug, this will be invaluable with later boss battles where stat debuffs are a core mechanic for that encounter.
He can handle regular damage and magic damage in stride, he also possesses skills to heal the Bleed state, inflict armor piercing or bleed damage, and can deal a respectable amount of damage. Don't expect him to get there quickly though!
Korryn:
Another character we'll get to know better in Chapter 3. With the current rework (coming soon), Korryn has an absolutely unmatched (for now) AGI stat, meaning he's the quickest character by far. Since he's an archer, this makes the most thematic sense. His damage is quite high with a decent chance to crit, and he can inflict status ailments like Poison, Dizzy, or even the Bleed state with his Ultima (Savage Barrage). Korryn has slightly more HP than Amie and packs heavier armor than she does. He can take physical damage in stride and his Elven ancestry means he won't get overwhelmed easily by Magic attacks either.
Korryn is the only character besides Amie that can heal others with his Mend Wounds ability. He can also cure poison with Antidote and stop the Bleed ailment with Cauterize (same as Gerwulf). Since these abilities take MP to cast, Korryn can run out rather quickly if you rely solely on him for this. He's a great support character to Amie, helping to keep her alive while she heals the others with more efficiency than Korryn. He's a great character to sub in for Amie at the start of an encounter.
[Redacted!!]:
Intel from "various agents" tells us there's another character you'll encounter very soon!
It appears this character values stealth and speed, along with high damage, to decimate their opponents. However, this may come at the cost of their ability to take physical or magic damage. Their nimbleness makes for great evasion skills though! While this character can't take as many hits as Kaleb, they're the fastest character in the game, has the highest chance to dodge an attack, and can deal out some really nasty damage and status effects....so keep an eye out, Tootse ;-)
[h3]--Combat and Misc.--[/h3]
Sorry the last section got so wordy, but I've requests for a detailed writeup on the characters and this seemed a decent time to do so, given all the changes being made. There are a few other things I wanted to bring up, around new States and such that are being added in...
"Terrified" State:
Thematically consistent with the story from here-on, this state renders the victim unable to attack or perform any actions until it either expires, or another character dispels it for them. This is similar to Confusion, except characters do not attack at random like with Confusion. It is also similar to Sleep, but unlike Sleep...taking damage will not dispel Terrified.
While it is possible to overcome it by time, this can be instantly dispelled with Gerwulf's "Affirmation" spell, Amie's "Sanctify" spell, or Deirdre's new ability "Bolstering Shout" (gained at Level 26). Amie's Ultima "Group Hug" will also dispel this state (in a coming soon patch).
"Rage" State:
This state is only inflicted ON enemies and not BY them, for now. Kaleb's new "Taunt" ability (gained at level 22) inflicts this on an enemy. They become reckless and have a slight increase to ATK, that is mitigated by a huge reduction in Hit Rate and DEF. This is ideal for taking down "tanky" damage sponge enemies that don't hit hard, but have a lot of HP and armor. Paired with some DEF debuffs, you can take some enemies down with relative ease! ;-)
There are a couple of little tweaks I'll be posting up in a patch (likely coming out later tonight), but the game is definitely great as-is. I just happen to be a real fanatic when it comes to perfecting things. That's how I can spend 14 hour days on the weekend working on the game, forgetting to eat and sleep in the meantime!! If the story is your focus, and combat isn't a big deal, don't sweat it. The game in its present state is great, as many of my friends are more interested in the story than rock-solid combat balancing. It should still be engaging and fun, regardless!!
[h2]**Ch. 1-2 News and new Trailer**[/h2]
I could go on and on about this, but if you haven't played since the Ch. 2 release, you'll notice a lot of changes. In particular, the Widescreen format the game is currently in. It's a resolution of 1280x720 and should scale up just fine (Press the "F4" button on your keyboard to fullscreen it) on most TVs and computer monitors. It was requested quite a bit and most users have widescreen TVs/Monitors any how, so now there's no black bars to contend with! Keep in mind, this is not stretching the original image...this is increasing the playfield itself, making more of the map and content visible as you play. A great deal of maps and events took some reworking, but it was quite worth it, if you ask me!
I have the "Main" and "Required Cinematics" you run into during Chapter 1 and 2 reformatted to fit the wide text boxes (those got bigger too) now, but this task is FAR from over. I still have the greater part of 8 or so hours of content to refit in Chapters 1 and 2, but Chapter 3 should be 100%. You'll still be able to read everything just fine, you'll just see more space to the right of the text. Functionally it's no problem at all....aesthetically, that's a different story lol. This is a work in progress...you have my word!
Following the release of this post, I will begin working on a new trailer today (while keeping an eye out for messages about game bugs). The one on the Steam page is so outdated (and doesn't even have Chapter 2 content) that I'm thoroughly embarrassed to even show it to people. The name box fixes, the move to Widescreen format, and another 20 hours of content added to the game means it's long overdue to fix this thing.
I'll be editing that, but the crappy part will be uploading it, as my internet service in this area is horrible (we're talking 23Mbps/1.5Mbps horrible). Getting the trailer up in 1080p quality is going to take a while...so it may be an exercise in brevity over quantity. Keep an eye out for that too, I'll make a small post to mark its release as well.
I hope you guys enjoy Chapter 3, and some of the changes to Chapters 1 and 2 if you haven't seen them! This is the part I always love...watching everyone's streams, playthroughs, and getting to chat about it with my friends. It makes all the toil and strain of putting this together worth it....thank you all again and I look forward to embarking on this journey again with all of you!
- Andrew (Creator)
