Kedemara - The Orphan's Ballad News

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Hope everyone enjoys this sneak peek at what's to come in Chapter 2! Development is picking up speed again, in fact it was hard to step away while making this video yesterday! Now that things have leveled out some in my personal life, I'll have more time to devote to progressing on the game.


Thank you all!!
- Andrew (Creator)

Hey everyone!

Hope everyone is healthy and staying safe in whatever way they need to! I just wanted to give a real brief update on a few changes in the patch I just released and some more news regarding Chapter 2.

[h2]**CHAPTER 1 UPDATES**[/h2]
I've done a few quick improvements based on feedback from streamers. The following are changes/tweaks made to Chapter 1 that I'll explain below...

- Some music and themes have changed-
Off the top of my head, the Prelude intro theme has been changed, Kaleb's theme, Amie's theme, and Tessa's theme have all been changed to different songs. I recently came across some music packs that were available for purchase and felt these suited the characters better. A few other themes were changed, but the biggest impact were those 4. I will likely do some changes on Chapter 2's music while it's still finishing up development.

-Various "forest tweaks"-
I made it a rule to never use the boxy "line of trees with black space in middle" tile in Ch.2, but it was pointed out to me that it's awfully annoying to some folks in Chapter 1 as well. It took a day or two, but I've changed the maps in Raynewood Outskirts and Raynewood Forest to no longer have that particular tile. It is replaced by a more realistic tree graphic that I must admit looks better. A few other aesthetic tweaks were made to Raynewood Forest as well, but I feel they improve it enough to justify the time and effort.

-Armor items readjustment-
In the spirit of keeping the game simple, I felt the Head, Chest, Offhand, and Accessories slots became a little overwhelming from a stat balancing and player perspective. From now on *chest item upgrades will coincide with an actor's change of outfit/sprite* (i.e. - When Deirdre's sprite model changes, so will her chest armor). Since RPG Maker doesn't really display head, offhand, or accessory changes it seems fine to leave those as-is. Any save games pre-Kassian Encampment should experience NO issues with this aspect of the update. Since it's only affecting Chest armor and that is so late in the game that new ones are available, I don't believe it will cause any real problems. All of the tests even with other armor seemed to experience no issues with crashing. If you do experience a problem, please let me know so I can resolve it.

[h2]
**CHAPTER 2 NEWS**
[/h2]
Chapter 2 is still plugging away to completion, but I will add a small bit of information. Given the current situation regarding the international pandemic, I will have to move from my current residence soon. I do not like to make excuses nor do I really like to bring my personal affairs into such spaces, but I felt it was fair to explain why there will be some hold-up. Since many different factors are at play, it will be difficult for me to give a good ETA right now. Without a doubt, there will be a Chapter 2 release this year. While it will be well-tested for bugs, Chapter 2 may start off a bit more content-sparse than I would like upon its release. I always view the game as a living being that can always improve and be better refined. Steam is a platform that allows that, and I strive to continually adjust and improve the game for everyone when I can. While the main core of the story will be solid and present, some of the finer details like side-events, big conversation option lists, and interactive environments may be a bit lacking with the initial release. Nonetheless, the core story will be there and impactful. I am looking forward to everyone's thoughts on it! :)


I'd like to thank you all for your support. It shows in the metrics numbers I receive from Steam. I am pleasantly surprised to see so many folks enjoying the game, and I hope to keep improving as we all experience Deirdre's story together! :)


- Andrew (Creator)

[h3]Hello all!

I hope everyone is taking appropriate measures to be safe and is in good health. I wanted to take this opportunity to give some more detailed info about the next Chapter of Kedemara, set for release sometime this year! Given the difficulties we've all experienced from the recent pandemic, and a few other life complications I've personally experienced over the last 6 months, progress on Chapter 2 has proven a bit more time consuming than I originally anticipated, but I have some excellent news that should make the wait quite worth the time it has taken thus far! The following bullet points will give summaries of milestones already reached (with details below them), another section detailing what's in the works, and some exciting bits to explain what to expect in Chapter 2. I will also make a few feature announcements regarding Chapter 3:[/h3]
[h2]
**COMPLETED**[/h2]
- Major story arcs for Chapter 2 are all accounted for
Though I have the main thread of the story for the entire game already planned/written, I like to pop in some smaller ones per-chapter and some more details here and there as I go. The scale of Deirdre's journey, and the world she is venturing into, will definitely increase in size with Chapter 2. I am looking forward to everyone learning more about her companions and some of the new friends they make along the way.

- All mapping for the game's levels will be completed by tonight
The size of maps in the first half is about on-par with what you'd see in Chapter 1. The part I am currently working on has several maps that are MUCH larger in comparison. One of the cities you visit is close to 3.5-4 times the size of Port Brahma. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say many of the locales are quite unique and fun, while still fitting the general theme of the game.

- The first "half" of the story has already been beta tested
I submitted the first half of Chapter 2 to my beta testers and that portion is in a very playable state, arguably already "completed". A few bugs were found in the process, but overall it came out quite well. Everyone has loved the story and direction thus far, along with some of the new NPCs and party characters that were introduced. More on this later...

- Two new characters already designed/created in the game.
Not as glamorous of an update, but with the level of character development I try to put in the party members, it can take some time to tweak both their combat and character details to make sure they suit the party well. So far the beta testers have loved the new additions in and out of combat, bringing even more balance and variety to Deirdre's companions.

[h2]
**IN PROGRESS**[/h2]
- Coding/Eventing 2nd half of the Chapter.
As stated above, we have an arguably completed first half of Chapter 2 already done, so that just leaves the 2nd half of course. Given the progress made on the Chapter 2 so far, I feel the time and effort put into it will be well worth the wait. I again, have a neat detail which will be mentioned farther down.

- Selecting the remainder of the music tracks.
The first half features a great track made by my colleague Austin, I feel it suits the area of the game perfectly and is intensely catchy. Hopefully we can hear more from him, but with recent developments in the world in general, it has been trying for him to create some new tracks. While Chapter 1 has undergone some switches to the music, I feel the 2nd half should hit just as hard if not more than the first.

- Adjustments on combat stats/items.
I typically leave this for the end to see what the appropriate level and challenge for players would be. I HATE a game that forces grinding to get characters to appropriate levels, so the game should be fine going from point a to point b, or if you'd like a leg up on the competition, you can spend some time grinding random encounter areas. I try to pay a lot of attention to this as it can become frustrating for newcomers and veterans alike.

[h2]The Beta Test Results:[/h2]
One of the big surprises I had about Chapter 2 after my beta testers gave their results, was how big it was so far. When I polled them asking how much playtime they had, the average came out to 6 HOURS! Yes, the first half of Chapter 2 alone has 6 hours of content! Even I was surprised, as I've been lucky to have time to work on the game, much less do a full run-through. This would put my estimate for Chapter 2's length at about 11-12 hours of content in total. Combined with Chapter 1, that's roughly 17 hours of content. A few of them said that Chapter 2 would be fine to end there, but I believe in giving people their money's worth (lol) so I'm going to push myself to maintain the current quality standards and deliver the full story arc I was planning for everyone. I certainly hope everyone feels the same as they did, that the wait is worth it for the final product.


[h2]WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN CHAPTER 3!![/h2]
- I believe in taking the "soft introduction" route when it comes to game mechanics, starting off with very simple implementations of a concept or challenge and then gradually increasing the difficulty in following areas. There will be much more of that in Chapter 2, but Chapter 3 will be where much of this comes to fruition and begins asking more of the player in terms of puzzle solving and other various concepts I'm working into the game. Expect some of the concepts introduced in Chapter 2 to be present in Chapter 3!

- More "quests" will be available in Chapter 3, there are a couple that are introduced in Chapter 2, but it is not a major part of the game at that point. In Chapter 3, these quests will often result in either sizeable monetary rewards or very unique/powerful items only acquirable in that manner. Since some of these will be of task-oriented nature they will be completely voluntary and not required to progress in the game. Some minor story elements may be revealed or accessible by these means, but it should not hinder the main story in any way by skipping.

- Overworld exploration will introduced in Chapter 3 (finally, I know lol), but I have had a few reasons to hold off until then. The first being that you're going almost everywhere on foot, so simply walking across a large continent reduces the sense of scale you have for Aetheria...something I'd like to avoid. I have to withhold story spoilers, but lets just say there is little point to traversing backwards at this point in the story. Overworld exploration will make much more sense in regards to the story during Chapter 3, you will also have more means to travel quickly so the sense of scale should feel maintained by then.

- Character outfit changes will also be happening in Chapter 3 for all your party members . Again, I feel this change makes a great deal more sense at this time in the story, it will also seem more rewarding when the change has meaning behind it. I am currently waffling on whether or not to have a wardrobe change for one of the characters at the end of Chapter 2, but we'll just have to wait and see where it heads. Oh, and yes, Tessa will finally learn where Marsha got her hat from ;-)



Well, I want to thank everyone for their support and patience with me thus far. It is honestly a joy to work on this and hearing from players about their enjoyment of the game makes me so happy. Hearkening back to my D&D days as a Dungeon Master, happy players make me a happy DM....so happy gamers make me a happy dev. I certainly hope experiencing Deirdre's story remains something I can continue enjoying with you guys for many days to come. Thank you all so very much! :)


- Andrew (Creator)

Hello everyone!!

Thank you all so much for your interest in Kedemara! It's been a bumpy road getting where we are now, but to me it's worth every second of work to see this come to fruition. I couldn't do it without the encouragement and support of my colleagues Austin and Emily. A special thanks to our dedicated playtesters as well! Thanks to Aaron, Jorge, Ross, Jose, Joshua, and Levi for all the time they spent helping us refine the game and pushing us to constantly improve. Couldn't have done it without all of you!

Last but not least, thank you to EVERY single person who has played this game despite not knowing me from Adam. There's no shortage of other things to do in the world, but you all took a chance on my game and I am thrilled to hear people enjoying and having fun playing the game! It's wonderful to share Deirdre's story with all of you and I hope you continue to grow fond of her, along with her companions, as the rest of her story unfolds!


Without further ado, let's get to the update notes!



[h2]-NEW Content Additions-[/h2]
There has been a considerable amount of content added to Longdale (first town in the game), as it's early on and felt a bit sparse compared to later places in the game given its size. Here are a few additions broken down by area...

(Longdale) - 5 brand new, accessible buildings have been added to the town (Inn, Stable, Shop, Smithy, Teahouse) along with the Northeast corner of town no longer being blocked-off by town guards. The new buildings are all packed with NPCs and/or items to interact with. Some NPCs previously found in town have been moved into these buildings as well. This will offer more information about Deirdre's years in town and show the relationships she built with fellow townspeople.
- A "Secret Building" has been added with a hidden entrance in Longdale! A rare item lay somewhere inside this building...but don't tell just anyone when you find it! "It's a secret to EVERYONE"!!
- For those who have progressed past Longdale already, you'll find a new person is hanging out in the tavern...though he'll look familiar to you! Go talk to him when you see him!
(Raynewood) - In Fanum Sylvis (the Cathedral in Raynewood), Amie has been given considerably more conversation content in the Minister's Quarters upstairs. After reading the book on The Arbiter and the Wicked King, Amie will appear and you have multiple topics you can discuss with her. This should give a bit more insight to her past as a character, something that felt lacking in the previous versions of the game.

(??????) - There is currently a SECOND secret room hidden in Ch1 of the game as well! As a hint, the entrance to this secret room is in a place with sand!


[h2]-Content Changes-[/h2]
- Longdale theme has been changed to something more suiting its new environment and feel.
- Some layout changes were made to the Orphanage, now Deirdre and Granny Moira's sprites should be visible during their conversation and not blocked by the text banners.
- Tova no longer randomly blocks the way to Granny Moira...but she'll still need hugs before you go!
- It is now completely IMPOSSIBLE to die in the battle tutorial with Will (don't ask, it's a long story).
- Changed the interaction animations when you first meet Amie. These have bothered me since the release and now they should be much better.
- Fixed various bugs and some timing issues with encounters or sprite movements.


"So what about Chapter 2?" You ask?... ːsteamhappyː

**CHAPTER 2 NEWS**

While I don't have a solid ETA for release, I can tell you right now that our playtesters are LOVING it thus far. I'm hoping to beef Chapter 1 up some (as this update shows), but Chapter 2 is just fantastic in my opinion and will be well worth the wait.

[h2]Here's a few things to expect concerning Chapter 2![/h2]
- This chapter is going to be MASSIVE. I am roughly 1/2 of the way through the planned story content and it's already at 3-4 hours of content. If I had to estimate, we're looking at a 6-7 hour long chapter. We will definitely be at least 10+ hours including Chapter 1's content.
- There is confirmed TWO NEW CHARACTERS who will be joining your party. (Don't worry, Harold's not one of them). So far the playtesters love the characters and feel they are perfect additions to Deirdre's companions.
- Ultimas ARE coming in Chapter 2!! I already have them ready to roll, you'll acquire your first ones in the earlier part of Chapter 2. Expect more to come later in the chapter!
- New "puzzle" (using that word loosely) mechanics will be introduced in dungeons and some towns. They will start with very simple "introductions" to the concepts, then get blended in for more challenging content later in the game.
- Austin has been trying his hand at composing and will be working more of his compositions into the game music. Keep an eye (or ear) out for the Ch2 trailer to hear a sneak peek of some!


On a sidenote, I want to make something brutally clear...Chapter 2 is ALSO going to be FREE. Non-team members have, with good intentions, implored that I start charging by Chapter 2. While I entertained the idea for a while, I honestly want to keep Kedemara free as long as I possibly can. I do not develop this game full-time, it's done in my free time, so it's not a source of income for me currently. I would rather as many people as possible get to play the game as opposed to just trying to make a buck. If a time comes where help will be needed to make the game develop further, we'll let you guys know.

In the meantime, please keep enjoying the game!

- Andrew (Creator)