Lost Eidolons News

Greetings, tacticians!

The final week is upon us. With just 4 days to go, our campaign is currently funded 92% by 806 backers! Thanks to our growing community's support, we're now on the cusp of reaching our campaign goal in its entirety. But you know, this campaign was never about raising funds, but rather was about creating a steady foundation of passionate gamers that wanted to help develop a new and exciting turn-based strategy RPG alongside us. What we mean by this is, even had the campaign not succeeded, Lost Eidolons would have been created regardless. However, thanks to the Kickstarter campaign and everyone's support, we can immortalize early supporters within the game, as well as get to fund awesome stretch goal features that weren't part of the base game.

Check out the Kickstarter campaign here.

To that end, we should go over the stretch goals, as we've made some adjustments to them.

• $45,000 - Primary funding goal. Unlocks togglable Permadeath feature at Early Access.
  
• $50,000 - First stretch goal. Unlocks Hell Mode difficulty at Full Launch, providing the ultimate challenge for strategy enthusiasts. Greater risks and new takes on the existing encounters. The Hell Mode will be involving new passive/active skills and improvements in AI not only increasing the stats of the enemies you encounter!
  
• $60,000 - Second stretch goal. Inspired by a similar feature seen in games such as Kingdom Hearts, Hades, and Dragon Quest, this unlocks the Debug Menu post-launch, giving players greater degrees of customizing their playthrough the way you want it. You tailor game parameters to create your own unique experience through Lost Eidolons.

For those who had seen our previous Stretch Goals graphic before the campaign had launched, we've re-evaluated the milestone amounts to be more reasonable to achieve with what time we have left in the campaign. Let's spread the word about Lost Eidolons and reach for the skies!

Next, we've also made adjustments to our Social Goal milestones. Most notably, we've removed the Facebook Shares goal and added Steam Wishlists, and reduced the milestone goals of each section considerably. In turn, we've increased the goal requirement slightly for the early community rewards, and removed the previous 10 Goal reward which was Q&A with Creative Director Jin Sang, which we've turned into a regular recurring monthly livestream anyways! A reminder that Social Goal milestones will persist even after the Kickstarter campaign has ended. A few of these goals have already been achieved (100 Retweets, 1000 Steam Wishlists)!



We'd also like to remind folks that this is the last chance to pick up a discounted Collector's Edition of Lost Eidolons! The bundle contains multiple physical memorabilia of our first major project including Vinyl soundtrack(2LP), collector's art book, artisan box, an additional digital code for Lost Eidolons, and game case. After the campaign is over, limited sets of the Collector's Edition will still be available, however we will no longer be covering the cost of shipping with the purchase of these.

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This has been a wonderful learning experience for the team at Ocean Drive Studio, whom despite having collectively worked decades within the game industry, had never tried their hand at running a Kickstarter campaign before. We're humbled that a new start-up with little to no repute prior to this managed to drum up the support of so many of you to nearly fund $45,000 towards our ambitions.

Let's make Lost Eidolons a memorable game in the genre!

Greetings, tacticians.

Earlier this week we covered the famed general Isoro and his role in the brewing rebellion against the Ludivictan Empire. Today, we wanted to shed some light on the homeland of many important characters in Lost Eidolons. It should serve as a vital piece of information to provide context on how many of them ended up where they are in present day.

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To understand what makes a hero, it can be helpful to take a step back and explore the world they live in. From Eden and his mercenary pals to Isoro and the rebels, the heroes of Lost Eidolons come from varied walks of life, but most have one thing in common: their homeland, Benerio.

Located on the southern coast of Artemesia, Benerio is a sun-drenched domain of bustling ports and sprawling castle towns. Prior to its conquest by the Empire, Benerio was an independent kingdom, ruled by the noble House Orsio, who were in turn protected by House Feniche. During this time, Benerio prospered as the trade capital of Artemesia, with a flourishing economy, a rich artistic culture, and a high standard of living for its common people.

However, since the Imperial Unification, fortunes in Benerio have withered. With the Orsios annihilated and House Feniche weakened, what’s left is a deeply troubled land, toward which the Empire takes a position of callous neglect. Trade is weak, taxes are high, and the roads are plagued by monsters.

But by far the most prevalent issue is corruption. While other provinces are allowed to maintain at least a semblance of independence through the humiliating fealty of their former royal families, Benerio’s royal family was obliterated without a trace. For this reason, day-to-day affairs are largely governed by puppet nobility selected from the major cities. As in all provinces, Benerio's leaders are closely monitored by the ranks of the Imperial Inquisitors.

Despite this harsh treatment, Benerio has been relatively free of the sort of organized uprisings occasionally known to occur in other provinces, likely because it has had few unifying figures capable of rallying the common people. However, with the reemergent House Feniche now calling for open rebellion, this quiet seaside kingdom has become a dangerous powderkeg, awaiting a spark.



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That concludes today's story entry. This was the second to final installation of the story features designed to give you, the reader, insight onto the characters of Lost Eidolons, the settings, and the greater conflicts that intertwine their fates. Next Tuesday will be our last feature story, which will go over the enemy which binds our heroes together; Ludivictus of House Zerpial.

Greetings, tacticians!

For those of you who missed last week's dev update livestream for the month of May, we've edited a cut version of it onto YouTube, chaptered off for your viewing convenience! The Q&A section we recapped in a previous update, but this video also includes all the content we covered including:

• Four types of cutscenes in Lost Eidolons (cinematic, static, 2D animated illustration, in-combat)
• New skill animations
• Camp walk/run/sprint animations
• New armor/clothing designs
• Face designs

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
As a reminder, you can always have your question featured in our town hall updates by asking them in the #town_hall channel on our Discord server. We welcome all questions about the project and studio, so don't be shy!

Greetings, tacticians.

Last week we met the lion of the rebellion, Balastar, as well as a beacon of justice amidst a land of corruption, Marchelle. These characters will play a vital role in shepherding an age of change in Artemesia. And for that, we must delve deeper into the wider conflicts of the world and what has led them and our protagonist Eden on this march towards their destinies. Today, we're learning about Isoro, one of the great commanders leading the insurgents against the empire and his connection with Balastar.

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A proud family with a storied history, House Feniche is one of the oldest noble bloodlines in the Province of Benerio.

For centuries, the Feniches served as the loyal sword of House Orsio, the former kingdom's ruling power. In the family's glory days, Amadeo Feniche (Balastar's father) acted as Benerio's chief protector, and was widely beloved by its people.

Tragically, House Feniche's flame was snuffed during the Unification, when Amadeo was killed in battle, the royal family was massacred, and Benerio fell. In the years that followed, the Feniche family's influence has waned, and their fortune has been all but obliterated under vindictive Imperial taxes.

Nonetheless, the embers of a once-great name still burn, as does the dedication of another famous Feniche:

Amadeo's brother, Isoro.

An aging general who rose to prominence during the war, Isoro is known among Benerio's people as a skilled commander who fought valiantly to keep his homeland free. Nonetheless, his efforts fell short: a defeat that earned him the shameful nickname 'The Broken Blade', which he has carried ever since.

Yet against all odds, Isoro has clung to his honor, carefully speaking out against Imperial corruption while biding his time, amassing his forces, and laying the foundation for rebellion. Now those efforts have paid off, and the broken blade has drawn blood, with an explosive series of overnight victories that have taken the Empire by surprise.

After years of preparation, House Feniche is now poised to explode from the ashes... and unleash the fires of hell on its enemies.

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That concludes today's story entry. With a better understanding of Balastar's lineage, we have more perspective of his motives and what drives him on his hellbent warpath, as well as a better outlook on the moving parts that are driving Artemesia's greater conflicts. What do you think of the setting of Lost Eidolons and its characters thus far?

Greetings, tacticians.

Today's update has us meeting one of the two main iconic characters of Lost Eidolons, Balastar. The lion of the rebellion, he is a man of great ferocity driven by powerful conviction, and one of the primary driving catalysts which will push Eden towards his own path in the story.

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Some heroes, like Eden, are thrust into greatness. Others are raised for it. Such is the case for Balastar Feniche, a man forged in the flames of war, with everything to gain and nothing to lose.



Hailing from the seaside country of Benerio, Balastar is the heir to the prestigious House Feniche, and the son of a beloved war-hero (the late General Amadeo Feniche). Much of his family was claimed by bloodshed at a young age; as a result, Balastar was brought up under the wing of his uncle, Isoro, another well-known general who has spent years laying the groundwork for rebellion against the Empire. With a sword in hand and steel in his heart, Balastar is a charismatic battlefield leader and a fierce warrior in his own right, though his passion sometimes gets the better of him.

Having witnessed the horrors of war and the suffering that followed, Balastar holds a deep resentment towards Emperor Ludivictus and the tyranny of his reign. As a commander in the rebel army, Balastar is loyal to his uncle's mission, but driven by his own convictions. He seeks nothing less than the absolute destruction of the Empire, and to be the sole individual to bring it down to its knees, a duty he considers his destiny.



Though his heart is a carefully guarded fortress, he does occasionally open the gates to those who gain his trust. It's rumored that once in a while, his roars of laughter can be heard bellowing throughout the camp.

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That concludes today's story entry. You've now learned of some of the key figures that Eden has yet to meet that will play a major role in shaping his destiny in the impending conflict. Next week, we'll share some of the wider conflicts that play a part in setting the stage for the events of Lost Eidolons.