Rabbit and Steel News

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hello Rabbits....

This... will likely be the last "normal" Dev Log before release!

...So I was going to announce the release date in this post.
But then, I was informed that the release trailer I commissioned is almost finished!
So for the exact time and date, I'm going to wait for that instead.

For now, I'll just say the game is releasing in the first half of May. Please look forward to it!

On to today's class introduction!




The magic fencer is a classic fantasy trope. Why settle for hitting people with a sword, when the sword can also be enshrouded in dark, magical fire?

For those who want their magic-melee-mix, here is the Spellsword Rabbit!



The Spellsword Rabbit deals pretty good damage and has a fairly simple playstyle, while not having too much in the way of defensive capabilities.

What really makes her stand out is her "Darkspell" mechanic and her Special, both of which interact with the random loot items in a lot of weird ways. You might not be doing the most damage right out of the gate, but find a few of the right items and you WILL be.

Let's start with her Secondary, called Siphon Spell. It takes the dark magic that posesses your foes to attack you, and turns it into strength to hit them back with.



Every enemy you hit with Siphon Spell will give you 5 "Darkspell". While you have Darkspell, each ability you use (including Siphon Spell) will hit twice, and consume 1 Darkspell. So, you want to use your Secondary often enough that you always have some Darkspell.



Your Primary is a sword thrust. It hits twice if you have Darkspell. Not much to say, it's a bit on the weaker side to be honest.

Your Special is a screen-length blast. It too hits twice if you have Darkspell. It also gains 3 uses every single cooldown. This is what makes it such a great combo with many of the loot items you find along your run; many have effects that happen when you use your Special, so getting to use it 3 times every 10 seconds can lead to some crazy outcomes.



Though, if you do get some item combo that lets you sling out Specials like you don't have any other moves, remember to use Siphon Spell! Your Special won't do much damage without that Darkspell.

Your Defensive is a bit more like an extra Offensive. In addition to dealing damage to all enemies, it afflicts them with Hex, a debuff that makes them take extra damage (similar to Curse).



And that's the Spellsword Rabbit! A generally offensively-minded class with some great synergies. And twintails, if you're into that.





So how many classes is that so far? Let's see... Wizard, Assassin, Heavyblade, Dancer, Druid, Spellsword, Bruiser, Sniper, Defender.... that's 9!

Hm, that's a bit uneven. Wouldn't a nice round 10 be a bit better?



Well, my good rabbits, there is in fact... one final class!
...And it will be left a secret, for you to discover for yourself within the game.
I will say one thing though...

The final class is my favorite one. It's the kind of class I myself tend to play in MMOs and RPGs, if it's an option. I've wanted to make this class since starting work on this game.

So uh, it's got a little bit of extra effort put into it. Some developer favoritism. Hopefully the other classes won't get jealous.




The game's musical composer, steel_plus, is releasing a physical version of the game's OST at Spring M3 in Japan!



https://rns-ost.tumblr.com

...Statistically speaking, most of you reading probably aren't going to a doujin music event that's happening in Japan in a week, but worry not! You'll be able to order a physical copy through Diverse Direct, or snag a digital copy through Bandcamp or Steam after the game releases (see links at the bottom of the tumblr page).


That's all!

The game is coming out in the first half of May. The next post will be the release trailer! It will have an exact release date in it. After that the game will be out!

Hello Rabbits!

It's been about a month, and content is coming along. In fact... I've now made (but not tested) almost all of the game's enemies! Yeah!

All that remains content-wise is the final boss and all the story dialog. I'm prioritizing the dialog first, so I can hand off the result to translators for translations. I've also managed to slightly touch the very large list of random bug fixes and random adjustments, but those still have a ways to go.

In this blog post, some classic fantasy tropes: a knight in shining armor, and a dragon for her to fight!




Are you the type to play the stalwart shield, a bulwark at the front of the party, ready to defend friends from danger?

Or, have you ever been playing the demo and thought... "That person is not standing where they should be. They are about to die, and take me with them. I wish I could do something about that."

Introducing the Defender Rabbit!



The Defender Rabbit is a slower-moving rabbit with lower damage overall than most of the other characters. However, she makes up for these with her great AoE and unparalleled defensive capabilities.

Her basic rotation is very simple, though the way her Special works makes her optimal item choices weird compared to some other characters.

First, her Primary: a triple-hit thrusting attack that slows movement on use, and charges up your Secondary.

Followed by her Secondary: an orb that travels horizontally until it hits your target.



Her Secondary, by default, is weaker than her Primary in raw damage, but is stronger when it's charged. It gains one charge per use of your Primary, but up to 5 charges can be stored at once. The Secondary also doesn't slow you down, making it a good option when you need to keep moving.

Her Special... doesn't have a cooldown! Instead, it gets 2 uses every 5 times you use any other move. It also hits a big area, similar to Dancer's Special. Finally, it also erases smaller bullets near you when used, so it can be used defensively!



Her Defensive is a speedy roll followed by a defensive shield. Great for rushing to your ally's side and helping them out. It also counts towards your Special's uses, so you can use it on cooldown for a very slight DPS increase, if you feel like it.



And that's the Defender! If the above sounded complicated at all, it really isn't; she's one of the most straightforward classes in the game. Just 1-2-3! Or more like 1-1-1-2-2-3-3.




Boss time! You're up against the (former) ruler of the Moonlit Kingdom, Princess Ranalie!

Dragons favor huge attacks that cover a large portion of the screen. Lots of lasers, spinning lasers, explosions in every which way... you get the sense that they aren't holding anything back.

Ranalie is no exception! Her first phase combines a number of different explosions in ways that make it hard to catch a break. You'll definitely singe the frills of your dress fighting her.



Her second phase features quite the transformation. Her dragon form dominates one side of the screen for the entire fight, as your party is dwarfed by her size.



(Note: Assassin Rabbit's backstab attack always hits for the bonus damage against enemies transformed into animals... so she can stand on the left here just fine.)

Periodically during the fight, she'll dash through the arena, knocking you back and leaving a trail of obstacles in her wake.



Think carefully about how to dodge!



That's all for now! Hopefully by the next blog post, I'll have a release date... or maybe at least a release window.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to try to post more around social media! Be on the lookout for new screenshots and leaks.

See you next time!

Hello rabbits, happy new year!

Since the last blog post, I've been chipping away at making content for the game. The playable classes are 100% done, the items are 100% done, the trinkets are 100% done, and the game is feeling more complete by the day!

What remains is the story dialog and the actual battles you'll fight along the way. Those have been coming along more or less at the pace I expected. Of the work I had remaining at the beginning of the year, I've finished a little under half of it, which puts me on pace for my target of mid-March.

...That doesn't mean the game is coming out mid-March though! Far from it; after all that's done I still need to have the game translated, make a trailer, do some more marketing things, bug test the game thoroughly, and make a lot of smaller adjustments. In fact, I've got a two page list of random things I'd like to do to improve the game (many based off the demo's feedback).

Anyway, please enjoy a random selection of some stuff I've been working on!




For those who like fighting up-close and dealing big damage, introducing the Bruiser Rabbit!



The Bruiser Rabbit has higher base damage than every other class in the game, but she's limited by her short range, horizontal hitboxes, and restrictive Defensive. The balance of where her damage comes from is also weird compared to other characters, making her item choices somewhat interesting.

Her Primary is the core of her entire moveset. A powerful blow in a horizontal line in front of her, with a very, very long GCD. Her other moves Charge this move in one way or another (up to 4 times), making her strikes even more powerful.

Her Secondary is a short-range jab that has a chance to Charge your Primary. It's generally what you'll be using as filler, since its DPS is higher than an uncharged Primary on average. The problem is that its range is VERY short; so be sure to get close to use it!



Then comes her Special... which is a unique one. It does a pitiful 100 damage to all enemies, Charges your Primary twice, and gives you an extremely powerful buff: Berserk. Berserk boosts your movement speed and reduces all your GCDs to 0.8 seconds, including your Primary. So time to take all those Charged Primaries, and unleash some RAGE.

Your buff lasts slightly longer than 4 Primaries though... we need more Charge! More RAGE. Luckily, your Defensive also gives you one Charge to your Primary each use, so you can use that during Berserk to eek out more damage.

However, her Defensive is a bit awkward to use compared to some other characters, as it shifts her position horizontally in the direction of her target. So, don't get too distracted while wailing on your opponent, or you might jump right into an enemy attack!



And that's the punchy-angry rabbit in a nutshell! While straightforward to play, her close-range limitaitons means she has a pretty high skill ceiling.




Let's take a quick look at some two-target fights! The only one in the demo is against the two mice in the outskirts, but there are far more in the full game.



These two dragons are Pi and Kuu! They have a calm demeanor, but explosive attacks.



In Lunar Mode, their fight might turn into a frantic runaround, dodging non-stop explosions. Make sure to stick together and run as fast as you can!




Lette and Jay are a singing frog duet. Jay's beats will keep you moving, and Lette will make you stand still for her melody!



They'll politely take turns in Normal Mode, but in Lunar you'll have to carefully dance to both their songs. Look carefully, and deal with things in order from top to bottom.




Hopefully you've enjoyed this little preview! I mostly wrote it as proof I am still, in fact, alive. I've been hard at work making enemy attacks, and my social media went quiet for a bit. I'll continue to be a bit sparse with updates for the next month or so, but after that I'll be putting more effort into showing the game around as it gets closer to release.

When is rabbit game releasing? Uh... before... other games. Preferably well before other games; so that people who plan on playing other games when they come out have time to play Rabbit & Steel first.

That's the goal, and a pretty ambitious one considering what's left. So, I need to get back to work!

See you next time!

Hello Rabbits!

The Year of the Rabbit is coming to a close. When I started on Rabbit & Steel, my goal was to get it within this year... but game development always takes longer than you think it will.

Though, as I'll talk about later, the finish line isn't too far off. I'm not ready to commit to a specific release date quite yet, but I'm trying to get it out in the Spring.

Anyway, since the last blog post I've been working on items, characters, and some other random things. So I'll show you a few!




For all the bow-wielding sharpshooters out there, introducing the Sniper Rabbit!



The Sniper Rabbit has slightly higher base damage than most of the other classes (about in line with Assassin), and plays well at a range. Her AoE and defensive capabilities, however, are somewhat lacking.

First, her Primary. While fairly strong on its own, it has a somewhat unique property that it goes on a short cooldown if you miss. So don't spam it if you don't think your shot will land!

Her Special (we'll get back to the Secondary) fires homing shots that hit her target from anywhere on the battlefield. It can hold up to 3 uses at once, so it's good to keep some spare for when you might not be able to aim your primary. Its cooldown is a long 10 seconds... but that's a bit deceptive.




The Secondary gives her targets a "Snare" debuff. Snare will give you back one charge of your Special when it wears off, in addition to dealing some damage. The ability even has a little bit of AoE range, and if you hit two enemies with it, you'll get two charges of your Special back!

Lastly, the Defensive supercharges your Primary, and gives you a (very) brief boost to movement speed and invulnerability. Use it to position yourself for the perfect shot!



All in all, she's a very fun class to play, and has a lot of really interesting item combos. Starting with a debuff makes a lot of items useful right out of the gate, and the frequency with which she can use her Special makes a few items really good in her hands!



I've reworked the "Spark" status effect!

The Bluebolt Set is a grouping of items that add Spark to your attacks, or have effects that activate when you've dealt damage a certain number of times. Once unlocked, they'll appear in both blue and yellow chests.

This isn't all of them, but it's a few of my favorites!



The Timegem Set, by contrast, is a group of items that works well with items and abilities that hit slow, hard and heavy. They'll appear in both red and purple chests after you unlock them.

Again, this isn't all of them, just a few.



Finally, here's some items from Ruins Set. It's focused on some items with defensive buffs, as well as a few things that will make you very powerful... but also very slow.



(Please note that the numbers or effects on the above items might change in the final game, depending on how broken or useless they end up being in final testing).



I'm only showing off a little bit this time around, but I've got a lot more done behind the scenes.

So how far along is the game? Let me check the to-do list really quick...

New items: 100% done! (Though I do have ideas for even more if I have time...)
New trinkets: 100% done!
New playable classes: Just need to finish their store upgrades!
New stage backgrounds: 100% done!
New foes and raids to battle: That's a work in progress...
Story Cutscenes: Basically not written at all lol

So the remaining work is a little bit lopsided in terms of what's complete and what isn't. I'm hoping to have the above done by mid-March or so, and then spend however much time I need after that to polish, adjust and improve the game however I can.

That's all for today. Happy holidays, and see you in the new year!