Hi, everyone. Welcome to another week's developer's diary.
This week, we finished an optional investigation path of the main story. That is if you choose to find all the related documents, solve a little puzzle of an investigation board, walk all the way through a secret path, find a forgotten document, and receive an ancient relic as a reward.
As almost everything can be considered a spoiler alongside this optional path, I don't think it's a good idea to talk about what's exactly there. Instead, I think I will talk about the design of this story. The idea comes from what we know about the religions in the very world we are living in. For thousands of years, all organized, hieratical religions would more or less find people with different ways to interpolate their doctrines. Sometimes, people can find common ground and mend their difference back into one belief. However, more often, it will lead to a house divided. In Christianity, there is the Great Schism. In Islam, there are disagreements on who shall be the successor of The Prophet. In Buddhism, the practices in Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia can be quite different. It's beautiful with diversity. However, it sometimes also leads to conflicts especially when political interests, conspiracy, and cynical intentions are involved. Even the story of Akhenaten itself can be considered as an example in this case. When he claims Aten is the only god, he sized power from priests that worship other old gods. But, what if someone later did something similar to him? Not his son that wiped out his name in history but a betrayal? We can even take one step further from here. What if such a "heresy" from the betrayal ended up growing so strong that eventually replaced the original version? I don't think I can take more real history examples here without offending someone. But we can see that happen quite often in games like Crusader King. Such is the story in the optional side path of our latest main story. It will likely affect what's going on next.
What's next is that we have now entered the Black Pyramid. The main story of our Egypt chapter will likely end here soon. But, I have no intention to rush it. There must be answers. Thus, answers we shall find here. Two additional documents have been added not far from the entrance. They can likely shed some light on previous stories or even some details that not many really care about. After all, there must be a motivation behind a betrayal.
Other than the story, we also get other content updates for this week:
1, Gun Modules with More Functionalities.
Gun modules can now affect a gun's elemental attribution and provide additional status effects. As a proof of concept, we got a new pistol mag that allows you to modify your pistols into a Taser. The raw power of the pistol is reduced. However, it shoots electricities and can paralyze its target.
2, Generic Spirit of Light Spell.
You can find it on the relic at the end of the optional path I mentioned above. But, there is also another more affordable version of it sold in the Bazaar. The skill applies a special status effect on the target, allowing the target to absorb one incoming physical attack and turn the damage into healing. It's the last of three defense spells from the original StoneAge Online game more than 20 years ago. The other two are the Spirit of Guardian and the Spirit of Mirror. Not sure how many people still know that online game and still remember those spells. But, anyway, they are all in our current game now. It feels complete. Previously, they can also be found in SAPC and [Neolithic]SAPC++. But, this is the first time they all appear in an international version of the game. So, that's something.
3, Life Quality Improvement of GPA Coins
GPA coins are from playing various mini-games of the game. This week, we got it rebalanced a bit. The amount that you can gain from playing a small map in Minesweeper and from playing Blackjack is doubled. A display bug from playing a middle map in Minesweeper is fixed. You can now also exchange 25 GPA coins for an AWP. Hopefully, Officer Fletcher will be less likely to get murdered by players who want his gun. Well, if you insist, go ahead. I will not put moral restrictions here. After all, we can do many more messed up things in this game elsewhere as well.
4, Additional Character.
I spent some time and made the art assets for this new patient character.
I am still considering where to add him to the game. But, before that, you can play him as your main character or a customized teammate.
So, that's for this week and the last developer's dairy in May. Time passes so fast. It feels like almost another year. I guess I will start to do some preparations for our 19th anniversary in July.
Today's changelog:
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[Inside the Black Pyramid]Added a new document: An Aten Cultist's Journal #3
[Breached Ancient Tomb]The animation that plays when you go to "Somewhere in Between" can now be skipped by clicking a cancel key. (ESC on a keyboard or the right mouse button.)
[Somewhere in Between]The animation that plays when you go to the "Breached Ancient Tomb" can now be skipped by clicking a cancel key. (ESC on a keyboard or the right mouse button.)
[GPA]You can now exchange 25 GPA coins for an AWP sniper rifle. (Hopefully, fewer people will murder Officer Fletcher just for his gun.)
[Blackjack]Win a round of Blackjack now gives you 2 GPA coins. (Increased from 1.)
[Minesweeper]Win on small maps now gives you 2 GPA coins. (Increased from 1.)
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[Minesweeper]Fixed a bug that when you win on a middle map, the system says you get 3 GPA coins. It now correctly says you get 5 GPA coins.
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