TRACHI – ANARCHY News

[h3]Hey non-fictional friends! 👋[/h3]

As promised, here's more info on ANARCHY 0.1.2 (Encore). We're dangerously close to release – a perfect chance for a little heads-up, a gentle reminder and a couple of deets!

[h3]Let's do exactly that![/h3]
The final development stretch is going exceedingly well. As of Thursday, we're feature complete. Highlights include the first set of InvAsion scenes, a rework of ExcommunicAtion's Phase 4 – and a record-shattering amount of additions to ParAdise.

I'll squeeze in bit of extra QA this weekend to make sure it's all nice and pretty for you.
Which means it's time for me to commit myself. 😳

[h2]October 23rd 📅[/h2]
Next Monday, ANARCHY 0.1.2 goes live. I'll cover the features in a separate post published alongside the update. We'll also have an in-depth look at it during this Sunday's devlog.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Needless to say, I'm stoked! This update is the first step towards bridging AUTONOMY and ANARCHY. It feels like coming home to a new place – and what better way to celebrate than to give back to a couple of friends?


Remember the achievement for completing ExcommunicAtion? I mentioned early-bird rewards. There was a lot of back and forth during development, but I'm incredibly proud to announce that there's already a functioning prototype system in place.


Launching 0.1.2 for the very first time runs a check on whether you've completed ExcommunicAtion. If you did, you'll get a new appearance for Daphne. In addition to her default look, you can have her hop into an EnKAD uniform – with different sprites and a matching set of portraits.


Chances are, you're already part of the eligible 50%. If not, there's still a good amount of time. Especially considering there's settings allowing you to jump straight into ExcommunicAtion's later phases – and/or skip conversations. But you didn't hear that from me, okay? 😏

Either way, I'll end it here and resume the playtesting grind. Thank you – as always – very much for your valuable time.

Have a great weekend, champs! 😊


much love
nory

[h2]Greetings, friends! 😊[/h2]

We're about halfway on the road towards ANARCHY's second update. There's a lot to unpack already, and I can't wait to present it all to you! So without further ado –

0.1.1 (Trois) put a big focus on infrastructure. Largely thanks to that, we can now shift gears steadily towards rolling out new content. Highlights include a rework of ExcommunicAtion's Phase 4, big improvements to ParAdise's starting area and – last but not least – the first couple of InvAsion scenes.


Revisiting these brought back tons of memories. InvAsion was my first Unity project, and it shows! There's big post-autonomy "sky is the limit" vibes – both in terms of content and infrastructure.

Going in, I tried to get rough idea of how much work (re)implementing these scenes would be. So I started by reworking the scenes' basic setup. In other words: It might get a bit technical now. 😳

InvAsion was originally built around an RPG Kit called ORK Framework. Halfway during development, I ported all the conversations into a dedicated Dialogue System. In the end, ORK was completely cut from the final build, since InvAsion was mostly comprised of conversations.

ANARCHY on the other hand heavily uses the RPG elements. So the overarching infrastructural goal here was to embed InvAsion's (Dialogue System) conversations into ORK. For the most part, you won't notice a difference – barring new UI elements and a couple of other details.


The actual dialogue has mostly been left intact. Thirteen months later, the lines still hit the same. And the acoustic BGM is a great change of pace compared to the J-Rock tracks you're encountering for example during ExcommunicAtion.

All in all, these scenes are big nostalgia trip, and they're a perfect fit for a game centered around (re)discovering yourself.


During the events of ParAdise and on, characters rediscover their memories by reliving key moments of their original lives – i.e InvAsion et al. Completing these "Fragments" will not only offer additional exposition, but also directly affect the characters by unlocking status bonuses, abilities, equipment and so on.


Essential memories will be directly tied to the main story quest. Naturally, there's also plans for a lot of optional sequences that you can discover either through completing side-quests, stumbling upon Mementos or interacting with other characters.

This should make a great incentive to go out and explore, especially due to the fact that it – in most cases – improves the characters capabilities, too.


Speaking of interactions: A familiar face has set up a little shop in ParAdise. Just like her mythological namesake, our very own Ariadne is – once again – here to help you out. At the moment, she offers a small selection of items and equipment, with a potential to unlock more goodies down the road.


Overall, ParAdise's first map has received a lot of love. It's an ongoing process, and will likely take a couple of months until the map itself is somewhat presentable. But I'm getting more and more comfortable working with the new tiles.

During AUTONOMY, I made a lot of maps simply because making them felt good, and I'm already starting to get that exact feeling again.


I mentioned a rework of ExcommunicAtion's Phase 4. It's planned to happen this weekend, so there's not much to show yet. But here's what I'm planning to do: Both Icarus and Ariadne will get a unique ability each.

Icarus will have an aura that transfers a portion of damage dealt to Ganymede onto himself. Ariadne on the other hand will get a big AoE that takes an entire turn just to build up. Any damage inflicted to her in the meantime will cancel the cast. In other words: It falls to Daphne (and you) to give Ariadne the time she needs.


If you'd like to preview any of these changes for yourself, you can now switch between the live and beta branch. In most cases, both your settings and progression should be fully compatible. If not, please be so kind and get in touch with me. 😙


As you can see, 0.1.2 packs quite a punch. I'm super satisfied with the current pace, especially since around 2/3 of the changes are already in. In accordance to what I said above, I'll try to get the ExcommunicAtion bits set up during the next couple of days.

Afterwards, I'd like to reimplement another InvAsion scene. I'd love to tell you all about it! Luckiliy for the two of us – there's no need! A very talented and special friend put it far better than I ever could:


I hope you and everyone you love have a great couple of days! ❤
Soon enough, we'll talk more about 0.1.2.

Until then – as always – big, big hugs to you! 🤗

much love
nory

[h2]Hey friends & family! 😊[/h2]

ANARCHY's first update is finally here!

0.1.1 (Trois) comes with tons of new features, changes and improvements ALL across the board. From Combat to RPG Elements, a lot more bits of ParAdise, UI, camera and backend improvements – this one has it all. And seeing as the two of us are already here –

[h2]Let's have a little chat![/h2]


You've already seen it: Achievement(s)! This one's awarded for completing ExcommunicAtion and goes hand in hand with unlocking ParAdise. If you've already done that during 0.1, you'll get it when you start 0.1.1 for the first time.

[h2]Status Screen[/h2]

As announced in the preview, the Status Screen displays an extended overview of your current character's stats. Noteworthy are HP (Hitpoints), ATK (Attack) and DEF (Defense). These directly drive damage calculations, and you can track their growth throughout the phases of ExcommunicAtion and your playthrough of ParAdise.

[h2]Target Info HUD[/h2]
In a similar fashion, you can also get more info on the currently selected target. The Target HUD now comes with a little Info Box you can fold out to show both extended stats and passive abilities.

Currently, passives are just cosmetic and mostly there for lore reasons. They're however already set up to individually customise combatants through passive (unlockable) traits.

[h2]Glyphs[/h2]

These were already touched upon in the preview, as well. You've also likely spotted them in the previous sections. These dynamic glyphs display input keys and have now been implemented all over the game. They update automatically to reflect your individual key mappings set in the Input screen and your current input device.

[h2]!Conversation[/h2]

A new option – Conversations – allows you to toggle ExcommunicAtion dialogue on and off respectively. Think of this as the equivalent of a "story-mode" difficulty – just reversed. You'll get all the combat and gameplay segments, without being interrupted by dialogue.

[h2]Mono Trouble[/h2]

ExcommunicAtion's phase 3 has undergone a rework focusing on AI target selection. Previously, Ganymede had a 5% chance to hit an enemy Monolith and turn it back to his side. Going forward, he'll be much more persistent.

[h2]Un Deux Trois[/h2]

Starting with 0.1.1, Ganymede has his eyes on the field. He'll probe it for Monoliths you've turned and collectively hits them with a shiny new ability. It's pretty unfair, all things considered. But also something that can be dealt with.

[h2]ProvocAtion[/h2]

To counter Ganymede's fixation on Monoliths, our very own Daphne will receive a new ability to apply a provoking status effect on herself. This not only increases her Defense, but also forces Ganymede to attack her and only her.

[h2]Green Country[/h2]

Speaking of combat encounters, battles in ParAdise have been almost completely restored and enemies now have their own status developments. A prime example of this change comes with the addition of a new big bad enemy that haunts Lorna during the early parts of her adventure.

[h2]Progression[/h2]

Naturally, the player's people won't be stuck at level 1, either. Contrary to ExcommunicAtion, levelling up is not done through beating up Ganymede (over and over again), but driven by EXP instead. EXP itself is gathered by – you guessed it – killing things. But there's also completing quests and challenges, among many other ways to further progress your characters.

[h2]Equipment[/h2]

The equipment system is already present in ExcommunicAtion, but without a way to functionally interact with it. For ParAdise, equipment will play a massive role. So it's only reasonable that you're provided with both the individual pieces and the infrastructure to see and modify who's wearing what to which effect.

[h2]Last but not least[/h2]

The few story segments in ParAdise have also been completely restored. This paves the way for future updates to continue the story of Lorna and her – soon to be introduced – friends. I'm super excited to get into this once the initial segments have been fleshed out a bit more.

[h2]Speaking of Story[/h2]

It's more of an outlook than anything else. But since we're approaching the end of the post anyway, I'd like to at least give you an idea of what's next. I've teased it a couple of times already. This time around, I want to be a lot more concrete.

[h2]That's right![/h2]
InvAsion is coming home! I won't get to deep into it here, but 0.1.2 will put a heavy focus on polishing dialogue interactions and creating a sustainable tile-mapping infrastructure. InvAsion is thus the perfect poster child to not only prototype and polish these features, but also the perfect opportunity to integrate it into ANARCHY proper.

[h2]To Conclude[/h2]
If you're reading this, ANARCHY 0.1.1 is live. Even though it's a huge update, the game itself is still in the early stages of Early Access. I can't express how thankful I am both for your trust and continued interest, especially from those who've already invested hours into either ANARCHY and/or AUTONOMY.

It's nothing compared to the kindness you're giving me. But I want to leave you with a little something. Boot ANARCHY and grab the achievement for completing ExcommunicAtion, if you haven't already. Word on the street is, it's good to have it when 0.1.2 comes out.

Beyond that, feel free to grab a licence of InvAsion, too – if you don't mind. There'll be more announcements down the road, but chances are it won't be available the way it is right now forever.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2015930/TRACHI__InvAsion

As always, thank you tons for reading this. I hope you'll enjoy both 0.1.1 and all the future updates to come! If there's anything I can do for you, you're always welcome to get in touch.

Until then, big hugs and kissies from a friend! 😘


much love
nory

Hey handsomes! 😊

It's been ten days since ANARCHY 0.1 came out. So I think it's high time we sit down and have a cute little chat about a couple of things. First and foremost, though:

[h3]You guys are killing it! 🥳[/h3]
In its first week, ANARCHY blasted through AUTONOMY's records – both in regards to distribution and player retention. Don't take my word for it, though! Have a little diagram, instead:

[h3]Upwards trajectory[/h3]
Be it the new engine, the combat system or any other additions ANARCHY brings to TRACHI – one thing is abundantly clear: The results are all thanks to you! 🥰

So please give yourself a loving pat on the shoulder, whenever you can! In the meantime, I'll try to keep my promise and give you as much insight into development as I can. Speaking of: Let's take a little look at some of the things coming with ANARCHY 0.1.1!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]The future[/h2]
ANARCHY's first patch will include a whole bunch of fixes and QoL elements. Most of these features were already implemented pre-release, but needed a bit more testing. Now that we've got a bit of time on our hands before the next major release, I think it's the perfect chance to roll them out!

[h2]Status[/h2]
In 0.1, the status screen is only available in field mode. Come 0.1.1, it'll also be accessible during encounters. Pressing the info button will then either display the stats of the currently active combatant or the selected target. Most of these stats are currently nonfunctional for ExcommunicAtion, they will however play a big role in ParAdise and on.


[h2]Glyphs[/h2]
All over the game, button prompts will display a glyph of the corresponding input. These dynamically adapt to the device your last input came from – i.e. keyboard or controller. Not only is this great for overall accessibility, but also opens the door to design a UI that utilizes a whole range of input keys.


[h2]!Conversation[/h2]
A new option in the Main Menu can now set a global flag to skip all conversations. If you're gunning to replay ExcommunicAtion for the combat, this option's tailor-made for you. A button for in-conversation skipping is also planned, along with a couple of adjustments both to the message log and auto mode.


[h2]Threat[/h2]
At the moment, AI combatants choose their targets based on proximity. There is however already an implementation to override that. Going forward, I'd like to test these features to generate a more dynamic aggro table and also give both the players and enemies more tools to forcefully redirect attention.


[h2]Un Deux Trois[/h2]
As a first step, Phase 3 of ExcommunicAtion will undergo a slight rework. Ganymede will now always prioritize Monoliths over the player. More than that, he'll also get a shiny new skill called "Un Deux Trois". This ability simultaneously hits all enemy monoliths and turns them to Ganymede's side.

To counteract this, the player also gets a new ability called "Provoke". This places a buff on its user, forcing all enemies in the vicinity to attack them for a specific duration (currently 4 Turns).


[h2]ParAdise on Earth[/h2]
And of course, a couple of building blocks for Lornz' big great adventure are included as well! Most of these concern combat segments that precede ExcommunicAtion. Among the restored features are AOE spells as well as proper EXP & loot allocation, along with several balance adjustments.


[h2]To conclude[/h2]
It's a big patch, considering it's versioned as a minor update. More than ever, I'd be super duper happy if you could take a gander once 0.1.1 is released. As for the date itself, I'm aiming for September 21st.

I'll post a proper announcement once we're there, so feel free to keep an eye on the game, if you can. 👀

Either way, it's been a real pleasure releasing this! Once again, thank you tons for all the support! If there's anything you'd like to see realized within the game, please always feel free to get in touch with me.

Until then, big hugs from a friend.



much love
nory

[h3]ANARCHY's first public build has just been released! 🎉[/h3]
As an early-access build, there's inevitably a couple of "ifs" and "buts" attached. And since I love nothing more than being on the same page as you, I wanted to accompany this release with a couple of clarifications regarding scope and features.

[h2]ExcommunicAtion[/h2]

This is ANARCHY's introduction and should automatically launch once you hit "PLAY" for the first time. I won't spend too many words on it here, because I believe this one's mostly able to speak for itself. There are, however, two or three things I'll mention in regards to core features down below.

[h2]ParAdise (Prototype)[/h2]

A very early version of ANARCHY's prologue in its current state. Please see this mostly as a technical showcase, without any aspiration to resemble the final product. In fact, I've been struggling on whether to include this at all. However, I definitely wanted to show you where the road is going, and would be incredibly delighted if you could weigh in with any thoughts and takes you might have.

[h2]Stats and stuff[/h2]

At the end of ExcommunicAtion, your progress will be recorded and synced via Steam Stats. This means that it's persistent across all devices and versions as well. In other words: Unless something goes wrong, you won't have to replay the intro again. Either way, please do get in touch with me if this particular piece of content remains inaccessible to you.

[h2]Dialogue[/h2]

In some cases dialogue bubbles place themselves on the edge of the screen. If that should happen to you, please let me know. In case any meaningful bits of the dialogue get cut off, please use the message log as a temporary workaround.

[h2]Input[/h2]

ANARCHY 0.1 aims to offer full mouse, keyboard and controller support. Unfortunately, with the amount of devices out there, it's impossible to test every configuration. In other words: if you find yourself unable to complete an in-game action, please reach out to me.

[h2]Outlook[/h2]

During September, I'll try to focus on bug-fixing et al. Come October, work on ParAdise will commence. As you can imagine, I can't wait to get underway and build a world together with you. But before we get there, please enjoy everything that's out right now to your hearts content! 😊

[h2]To Conclude[/h2]
0.1 is the product of hundreds of hours of work. Please understand that – at it's core – TRACHI is a one man project. As a result, I both need and appreciate every bit of help I can get. If you'd like to get involved, please do shoot me a message either via Steam or Discord anytime.

One way or another, I remain your most fervent admirer.
And – from the bottom of my heart – wish you the very best! 🤗

much love
nory