Kedemara - The Orphan's Ballad News

Hey everyone!

As the title says, Oct. 30th is the 1-year mark for Kedemara! It's hard to believe it's been a year already, it both feels fast and still seems like much has transpired since then. It has been an eventful year for myself, and I certainly hope that good things are to come for everyone in the following years. Enough about that though, let's get to the real news!


I'll be incorporating an AMA/Q&A for Kedemara-related questions into my stream on Oct. 30th. The stream itself will consist of this, along with some tech news discussion about the RTX 3000 series cards vs. the Radeon 6000 ones, some discussion on RPG Maker MV/MZ, and I intend to squeeze in some gameplay/discussion on the new demo for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity for Nintendo Switch too. My stream will be very laid-back, so no need to dress up or anything...just show up and have fun ;)

The stream will be tentatively starting about 8pm CST on Oct. 30th. on my Twitch channel, link is below:
https://www.twitch.tv/pluckykun


So come on by with your questions or thoughts about Chapters 1 and 2, see if you can squeeze any info out of me on Chapter 3, or just sit back and have fun while we discuss tech news and take a peep at the new Age of Calamity demo!


Thank you all so much! I hope to see you there :)
- Andrew (Creator)

Hey Everyone!

I will try and keep this quick, as it's a minor update and a "CYA" announcement regarding my previous patch update...


[h3]Extra Face Graphics![/h3]
Nothing Aetheria-shattering, BUT I came across some very nice and free-to-use graphical edits to the stock NPC and Actor face graphics for RPG Maker MV, they were on the RPG Maker forums. This should make some of the NPC dialogue encounters a little less bland. These have been added in to nearly every dialogue encounter using stock NPC face graphics, so if something seems different that may be what you're noticing! You can email me if you'd like the forum link to grab them for your project, just remember to credit the right people! (check my credits roll for all parties involved)


[h3]Achivements Achievements Fix[/h3]
I felt this one was a little too funny to just say "It's fixed" and move on from there, so here we go!
I refuse to "name any names" on who made it, but a 3rd party plugin creator is who made the paid Steam Achievements script used in my game. I had every.single.one working except for the two mentioned in my previous patch update ("Buccaneer Buster" and "Unfortunate Telling"). When I looked at the plugin commands for both, I saw that part of it was capitalized and that "Achievement" was spelled "Achivement" as well, so I made everything lower case and fixed the typo assuming that was the problem.

Well, here we are again today and it's STILL not working for everyone! I spent 30 mins going back and forth trying to figure out what the problem was, until I realized all my other achievements just had the script command copied from the ReadMe file and I never once noticed the spelling... The plugin was coded so that the word "Achievement" was supposed to be (incorrectly) spelled "A-C-H-I-V-E-M-E-N-T" in order for it to work. So I spelled it wrong when typing in the plugin command and sure enough, that fixed the problem ːsteamfacepalmː


[h3]Liiiittle Chapter 3 Update...[/h3]
Chapter 2 hasn't even been out for 2 months yet, and I still can't help but talk about Chapter 3 content! XD

At this phase I'm alternating between mapping, eventing, and fine dialogue scripting...but it's already quite exciting to see where things are heading. There is ABOUT 20-30 mins of content already in a "playable state", which just tells me this chapter may end up even bigger than Chapter 2 was. It's difficult to gauge the scope at this time, as I know the major story arc(s) already, but when a good idea pops into my head for a scene or interaction, I don't want it to go to waste...so the story can swell quite a bit over time. I'm focusing a great deal on fleshing out the previously presented lore, expanding on the history/experiences of characters you heard of from the distant past, and improving on the cutscenes and dramatic interludes in the story. All in all, I hope Chapter 3 can improve on what I presented in Chapters 1 and 2, making the story that much more enjoyable for everyone. I can't wait to show everyone what Chapter 3 has in store! (but it may be a while...lol)


Hopefully everyone got a little chuckle out of the Steam Achievements fiasco and enjoys some of the updates, but everything should be 100% now and I'll get back to work on Chapter 3! Thank you to those who let me know and I hope everyone is enjoying the game so far!

- Andrew (Creator)

Hey everyone!

Just as a quick update, there was a problem with two very early-on achievements in Longdale ("Buccaneer Buster" and "Unfortunate Telling") that were the result of something being capitalized in the plugin command. These two have been fixed and appear to be the only ones suffering from the problem. An anonymous thank you to a player who pointed this out to me via email!! :)
Two more achievements have been added not long after the Ch. 2 release ("Honoring the Fallen" and "The Holy Smirk"), these should be all until the Chapter 3 release.


I have been very honored and encouraged by the comments I've received from several players as of late. Everyone seems to be enjoying Chapter 2 thus far and I am so very happy to hear it! As I work on the mapping for Chapter 3, I am still reviewing and asking some of my playtesters for areas of improvement. There is one I would like to mention that's been an unspoken annoyance to some players during their streams...

To try and convey the cadence of speech via text, or add some dramatic timing to it, I often use a "textual pause" in many character dialogue scenes. The length of pauses has been a bit bothersome to various players and I would like to state that I am working on an overhaul to the dialogue in Chapter 1 and 2, seeking to alleviate and shorten it some (going from a 1 sec pause to about .5-.75 sec depending on the scene). Adjusting this will definitely take some time, but it should be a manageable project to tackle while I do mapping for Chapter 3. So if it has been an annoyance for you so far, I apologize and can assure you it will be different in Chapter 3...and hopefully I will have all of Ch 1-2 fixed by that time.


Thank you all for playing and I hope you enjoy the story of Deirdre and her friends as we move forward into her journey! :)
- Andrew (Creator)

[h3]Hello all!

Through many trials and setbacks, that I'm sure we've all had our fair share of this year, Chapter 2 of the game is NOW live!

As promised, I have throughly playtested this deployment package myself to check for any major bugs. Though some of the minor text formatting and other small oversights will be resolved by me when I can devote more time. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised at how much content is available with Chapter 2, I certainly hope you find it enjoyable to experience as well! I'll keep this succinct as I'm still ironing out some of the marketing materials (screenshots, trailers, etc.) for this release today. Here are a few notes and points I want to make everyone savvy to...[/h3]


- As hinted at above, I have played through this portion and have made some fixes on issues that came up with this deployment package. Most of these were related to some "trimming" I did with the Ch. 2 deployment package, but if you experienced issues with a prior deployment, the game should have these issues resolved.
- More "polish" has been applied to Chapter 1 overall...from text formatting, unifying some of the lore text/backstory, and even adding animations with new sprites are among some of the changes made. As noted in a previous Steam announcement, much of the music has been changed around as well...especially for your companion's themes.
- If you've not played Chapter 1 in the past few months, I would strongly recommend giving it a go again. Given the complexity of Chapter 2's story content, and how much it elaborates on more subtle historical lore mentioned in Chapter 1, I have made certain concepts or information a bit more amplified to assist in unifying these narrative points. Being familiar with the lore in general will assist a great deal with understanding the story elements found in Chapter 2. I also feel the quality of the dialogue has improved some as well.
- If there are functionality issues with save games, this can unfortunately be due to some past fixes that needed applying. When in doubt, it's better to start fresh. It'll be great to see the new changes anyways!

**EDIT (9-3-2020)**
I have been able to devote some time to a few of the "polish" updates that I've wanted to add in for Chapter 1 thus far...these are including, but not limited to:
- Longdale Warehouse scene has been streamlined to not have jarring "jump cuts" between the events. This required streamlining the eventing (which was early on and poorly organized), but it flows much better now
- Picked a more appropriate sprite for the Sewer boss
- Fixed/re-worked dialogue bits that had characters missing on the map screen, though they were speaking in dialogue boxes. (one or two more scenes to go)
- Expanded cutscene in the later part of the ship scene, adding better effect transitions and effects to the scene.
- Added a more fitting introduction scene to the encampment, explaining the setting. Guards were also given "guidance dialogue" to help progress through that area effectively.
- Final cutscene has received some tweaks to make it look smoother.


- Chapter 2 is big...VERY big. It's hard to gauge it with pinpoint accuracy, since many people read or explore at a different pace, but the estimate from playtesters and my own playthrough is that Chapter 2 is about 9 - 10 hours on it's own, if you encounter all the narrative and flavor content. Given the previous estimates of Chapter 1 being roughly 5+ hours, we'd be looking at nearly 15 hours of content to run through everything. Again, this can vary from person to person, and most people will discover new things with each playthrough. If the large chunk of Steam achievements didn't imply it clearly enough, there is a LOT to discover! :)
- Much like Chapter 1, the game doesn't force you to experience all the side content if you don't wish to. However, with the story being the focus of the game (and what the most time is invested in), it won't be the experience I'd like you to have. I do make the game this way since some people have already played through certain parts and may not want to go through everything again...but it does pay to explore! You never know what you'll find this time around!

- The spirit and "feel" of the game and characters is certainly alive and present in this chapter of the game, but as characters develop and Deirdre becomes more acquainted with the world at large and its inhabitants, things may not always be sunshine and roses for Deirdre and her companions. More dramatic elements are to be found in this chapter than in Chapter 1, but the whimsical nature and comedic heart of the story is still very alive and present in Chapter 2. Despite whatever may transpire, hope remains for those who seek it :)



I certainly hope everyone enjoys the game and looks forward to this and future chapters in Deirdre's story! Yes, I will begin working on Chapter 3 very shortly!
- Andrew (Creator)

Hello everyone!!

[h2]Chapter 2 Release Date:[/h2]
Well, I won't spend too long getting to the point on this, but so far my target Steam release date for Chapter 2 is going to be September 1st, 2020.

The update size should be pretty minimal, as a lot of my updates for Chapter 1 have included files for Chapter 2 already, they are just inaccessible in that build of the game. This also lets me know your saves and other issues should be minimal since people have been playing through the build with few issues thus far. However, I wanted to note something below that I was contacted about prior...
[h2]
Raynewood Forest gameplay bug:[/h2]
A player contacted me regarding an issue with the new Raynewood Forest map, after you've defeated the 3rd Wisp and are teleported elsewhere. There was a problem with the location set for the character transfer, but that has since been rectified with the most recent update (I JUST pushed it out). I also DOUBLE-CHECKED that we don't have any more of that from what I could see in Chapter 1, so far so good. I will be conducting a 100% playthrough of Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 personally this time around, before Chapter 2 is released. Which brings me to my next point...
[h2]
Chapter 2 Streamer Beta:[/h2]
I believe anyone who has played this game knows you'll find many new things you may have missed on a 2nd or even 3rd playthrough. Having watched streams of Kedemara by those who have brought it to my attention, people will typically have a different experience given how much content is in the game. I have been contacted by a few of them, and some of my beta testers who would like to stream Chapter 2 ASAP. So I believe I have an interesting little idea for them...

Given that the target date for Steam release will be on September 1st, 2020, I will be releasing an Earlier and "less filled-in" beta build of the game just for Streamers around August 1st, 2020. It will have the overwhelming majority of content already present in this build, but some of the little touches and finer details (item interactions, extra dialogue branches, emotive balloons/movement, etc.) may not be finalized in the game during the "Streamer Beta". Since Chapter 2 is a very large addition, and some of the Streamers have expressed interest in redoing Chapter 1 with all the new changes, I thought this would give them some time to stream the game at their leisure and get more views since it'll be fresh to everyone watching. I will do my best to post the schedules for those I am made aware of.


I would like to thank you all again, it's very exciting to reach another milestone on this and share the experience with everyone. I believe you'll enjoy what's in store for Chapter 2 (and Chapter 3!) and hope it serves as a worthy successor to the first one!

- Andrew (Creator)