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Tales from The Dancing Moon News

Extended Demo Announcement!

Hello everyone!


Mark your calendars because I'm happy to announce that on the 27th of September I'll be updating the demo version of the game to a brand new "Extended Demo" experience!

This version of the game includes brand new zones to explore, new NPC's to interact with, over 20 quests for you to follow AND an achievement for getting through it all!



The Extended Demo will be uploaded just in time for the press-preview event for the upcoming Steam Next Fest - occurring between the 9th and 16th of October!





[h2]So what's new in the Extended Demo?[/h2]

Your ultimate goal is to figure out how to reveal the entrance to the mysterious cave in the Illisor Steppes region. Exploring the town and interacting with it's various villagers will help you with this task.

Along the way you will encounter various new things compared to the current demo.
  • An achievement for finding out how to access the Illisor Steppes caves.
  • New NPC's to interact with and get to know.
  • New museum artefact collection gameplay.
  • New fishing boat gameplay in the Illisor Steppes lake.
  • 2 new zones to explore, including the Illisor Docks and Worm's Tail Island.
  • Over 20 quests to follow.




[h2]What's Next?[/h2]

As I mentioned in August's newsletter, I'll be provider more short-form news posts (this one included) leading up to Steam's Next Fest.

I've laid out a rough plan of things this month which you can see below!


There will also be two live-streams during the event where you can tune in to watch me play and answer any questions you might have. Look out for future posts of when they will be!

This may be subject to change as we approach the end of the month.



As always, feel free to continue reporting any bugs via the many social media links below!

Discord: https://discord.gg/kpGVRKPn5W

Threads: https://threads.net/dancingmoongame

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DancingMoonGame


Thank you so much for playing!
-DjMonkey

August 2023 Newsletter

Greetings Travellers!


I'm going to try and keep this months newsletter short, as I would like to build up momentum to Steams Next Fest in October. I'm hoping to publish multiple smaller posts up until then!



[h2]Reminder! October 2023 Steam Next Fest![/h2]

This is just a reminder to keep your eyes peeled for Tales from The Dancing Moon during the upcoming Steam Next Fest in October!

The event is being held between the 9th to the 16th, and I'll be hosting various live streams and Q&A's about the game during that time.

Look out for announcements leading up to the event for more details!





[h2]Extended Demo Announcement[/h2]

I'm happy to announce that I'll be releasing an "Extended" demo in time for Steam Next Fest!

This is an all new public demo that includes a core set of quests during the first "Act" of the story, where your main goal is to figure out how to reveal the entrance to the mysterious cave in the Illisor Steppes region.

If you've played the demo already, your progress should carry across to the new extended version.

Not only that - but anyone who manages to complete the new extended demo will receive an Achievement!



Look out for a post in the future that highlights all the new changes.



[h2]Achievements Sneak-peek[/h2]

Wait a minute - did I say achievements? That's right!

The achievement in the new extended demo is just part of a larger set of achievements you can collect in the full version of the game.

Here's a little sneak-peak at what's in store!





[h2]New Logo and Graphic Art[/h2]

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed a fresh lick-of-paint recently on the store front!

Signing up to Steam Next Fest meant I wanted to revisit to the logo to really make things pop - and I'm actually really happy with how the new version has turned out!

I wanted to highlight a few key villager NPC's you'll be interacting with during the game, and show them front and centre on the logo.

I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!





That's it for the August developer newsletter! Once again - look out for more updates during September as we lead up to Steam Next Fest!

- DjMonkey

Enjoy reading my dev diary newsletters? Then please consider giving me a Wishlist & Follow! I'd greatly appreciate it! You can do so from the the Steam page.

If you’d like to join the community and discuss the content of this post, please visit the Discord or make a comment on Threads or Twitter!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782420/Tales_from_The_Dancing_Moon/

July 2023 Newsletter

Greetings Travellers!


Development is back in full swing after last months hardware blunders.

I have so many smaller bit-size updates this month, so let's just jump straight into them!



[h2]Steam Next Fest - October 2023[/h2]

It's still a few months away, but I've officially signed on for the game to be featured in Steam's October Next Fest which will be held between the 9th to the 16th!

Over the next few weeks I'll be formulating a schedule of fun developer and community activities such as live streams and Q&As!

Look out for separate Steam news posts about this in the future!





[h2]Demo Update[/h2]

Earlier this month I provided another patch to the demo! This includes a bunch of new things from the full game that I've been able to roll back into the demo.

Highlights include some new helpful UIs, environmental and map updates, and a bunch of bugfixes! You can read the full details here or by clicking on the GIF below.

Now is a better time than any to jump in and see what the game is all about!





[h2]New Trailer[/h2]

This month I put together a new trailer for the game, the last time I created one was nearly a year ago, and there's been so much work done since then. I've tried to cram in as many interesting and relevant gameplay footage as possible, to give you a general insight as to what you can do without spoiling too much!

The trailer is now live on the Steam page, or you can view it on YouTube right here!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



[h2]Developer Insight - How I write and create quests![/h2]

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (and now Threads)!, you may have already seen that I posted a 25 minute video explaining how I develop quests for the game.

This ultimately comes down to the fact that I have been developing a "companion tool" to the game that allows me to write quests, dialog and books away from Unreal Engine, and import it as a separate process.

I created this video presentation as I was inspired by Josh Sawyer's similar presentation about the tools used at Obsidian Entertainment. If you're interested in how games are made then I highly suggest you watch both his and my video!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



[h2]Playtesting with Guildford's ACM University[/h2]

Guildford has a thriving game developer culture - being the home of studios such as Hello Games, Supermassive and many more.

Being a local developer to the Guildford area myself, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to visit the ACM university and talk about my game dev experience and provide a playtesting session for the students currently studying there. Unfortunately I hadn't take a photo during my visit, so this picture of Guildford will have to do!



It was nice to "pay it forward" in a way by providing my insights of my career to upcoming talent, and a surreal experience to watch in real-time young people playing my game and providing feedback on the spot!

Let this also be a reminder that YOU TOO can playtest the game, by either downloading the demo or signing up to become a beta tester. This is especially appreciated as I lead up to the Steam Next Fest in October this year!



[h2]Check out these Threads[/h2]

Just a small social media update to say that I'm now representing the game (and myself) over on Threads!

This is Meta's new social platform built on top of Instagram, and I've honestly found it to be a bit of fresh air compared to Twitter.

If you're on that platform then do feel free to give me a follow!





That's it for the July edition of my developer newsletter! I hope you enjoyed, and please feel free to get involved in all the demo and playtesting opportunities!

- DjMonkey

Enjoy reading my dev diary newsletters? Then please consider giving me a Wishlist & Follow! I'd greatly appreciate it! You can do so from the the Steam page.

If you’d like to join the community and discuss the content of this post, please visit the Discord or make a comment on social media!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782420/Tales_from_The_Dancing_Moon/

Demo Patch 9 - 22/07/2023

Hello everyone, a little demo update today!

Some of these problems were brought up in a recent live playtest at the ACM university in Guildford. Thanks a lot guys!

Feel free to continue reporting any bugs via the many social media links below!

Discord: https://discord.gg/kpGVRKPn5W

Threads: https://threads.net/dancingmoongame

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DancingMoonGame


[h2]Tutorial[/h2]
  • Added some environmental debris to block access to areas not significant during the "Introduce Yourself" quest. This should reduce wasted time when searching for the villagers.
  • Changed the pathing schedule of Lyka and Dion during the tutorial so they are much easier to find.
  • Adjusted some minor dialog to reflect the new changes above.

[h2]UI[/h2]
  • Selected category headings in the character creation screens are now orange, making them coloured consistently with other selected states in other UIs.
  • Added a UI hint and button to cancel any emotes being played.
  • Revised some of the fishing mini-game UI, and added a description to help guide the player.
  • Fixed an issue where the map was not re-centering on the player token when loading.

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]
  • Lamp posts will no longer have a selection highlight when using the Left-Alt hotkey.


Thank you so much for playing!
-DjMonkey

Demo Patch 8 - 17/07/2023

Hello everyone, a few updates today to make the demo experience a bit nicer!

Feel free to continue reporting any bugs via the many social media links below!

Discord: https://discord.gg/kpGVRKPn5W

Threads: https://threads.net/dancingmoongame

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DancingMoonGame


[h2]UI[/h2]
  • Added a new menu access bar at the bottom right of the HUD.
  • Player Menus (Inventory, Journal, Crafting, etc) have been promoted to a consistent variable kept in memory which should improve loading times and responsiveness of those particular menus.
  • Various subtle animations have been added to some UIs.
  • Changed Quest Tracker HUD to show the title of the current quest step, rather than the quest title.
  • You can now interact with items on the HotBar but right clicking directly on them, without switching to that item.
  • Added a new UI overlay to show available actions on the currently equipped item.
  • Changed the fishing alert fonts to be more consistent with the games theme.
  • Slight load optimisation on crafting screens.
  • Updated the social media bar on the main menus with a new Threads button and Report Bug / Feature button.

[h2]Environment[/h2]
  • Various walls in interior maps have been adjusted to provide better visibility of the environment.
  • Foliage assets have been improved and adjusted in the Illisor Plaza region.
  • Added interaction animation to The Dancing Moon sign.

[h2]Graphics[/h2]
  • The Retro Mode toggle in the settings menu now has a pixilation amount slider.

[h2]Player[/h2]
  • Changed the default character appearance on the character customisation screens.

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]
  • Fixed a UI text display issue on the build mode camera.
  • Fixed an issue where custom storage labels were not getting saved.
  • Fixed an issue where the storage text field were still listening to keypress hotkeys, causing friction with naming storages.
  • Fixed an issue where jumping whilst in combat stances would stop the motion prematurely.
  • Fixed a UI size setting on the craft bench UI.
  • Fixed an issue when transitioning from the Town Hall Ground Floor to Illisor Plaza.
  • Some minor dialog fixes.




Thank you so much for playing!
-DjMonkey