REMORE: INFESTED KINGDOM News

Today, I'd like to introduce some changes to the characters you have already encountered in Remore!

In the last Dev Note, [Meet The New Faces], we introduced three New Characters and hinted that there would be significant changes to the three existing Characters that might already be familiar with.

The three New Characters—the Stealthy Assassin "Battle Sister" who ambushes enemies, the Agile "Jester" who dominates the battlefield with his freedom of movement, and the "Inquisitor" who faces enemies head-on with his pain debuffs and blunt weapons—demonstrate either the use of new mechanisms or the maximization of existing ones.

In this way, the Character design will provide each Character with skills and traits that maximize their unique concepts and personalities, and to clearly define their roles in gameplay.

Therefore, the three original Characters also needed to return to the battlefield with more defined concepts and interesting gimmicks to keep up with the New Characters. We are preparing a powerful and fun revamp based on new and exciting ideas.



Today, I would like to talk about the revamp of the fierce yet dependable warrior, the Barbarian!



[h3]From Outsider to Barbarian[/h3]
For those of you who have been with us since Early Access, the Outsider, Diurmuid, has been a fierce yet dependable warrior, wielding a two-handed axe to slay enemies at the frontline.

First, let's talk about how the "Outsider" became the "Barbarian." During Early Access, Diurmuid was a warrior from a different region with a unique fighting style compared to those in Remore. He introduced a unique combat method of luring enemies by throwing stones and exhibited a wild animalistic persona, enduring damage while dealing immense damage.

However, in the upcoming updates, we aim to enhance the consistency of the Remore universe, portraying Diurmuid’s abilities as intrinsic to a “Savage Warrior” rather than coming from “Outside” the Land of Remore. Therefore, instead of "Outsider," we decided to use the name "Barbarian" to better represent his violent and aggressive nature, capable of mowing down multiple enemies at once.

The original concept of the Outsider's gameplay was that of a berserker who exhausts his own health to unleash powerful attacks and execute enemies. We can think of this gameplay concept in two ways.

Firstly, there is the concept of consecutive executions. Due to the "Adrenaline" skill, the Outsider gained TP with each enemy defeated. He could then use those points to activate the "Second Wind" skill, allowing him to take down the next enemy. Perks related to guaranteed executions further supported this, enabling a gameplay style focused on continuous executions.

Secondly, there is the powerful offense that emerges when the character is fearless of taking damage. While other characters focus on blocking or evading enemy attacks and proceed cautiously, the Outsider becomes stronger with lower health due to the "Boiling Bloodlust" perk. This perk encouraged him to charge into the thick of the enemy and cut them down. Additionally, with the "Blood Brand" perk, which allows gaining attack opportunities at the cost of health, players could embrace a ruthless berserker playstyle, turning injuries into advantages.



The Outsider's gameplay concept has been positively received, so there is no reason to change its overall direction. However, considering our goal of enhancing the game's "strategic elements" and building a versatile gameplay concept through the "Ember Memory" system, it was necessary to split the existing gameplay concept into different aspects tied to memory bonding, while retaining the fundamental "Barbarian" foundation.

In this context, the Barbarian has been reborn, maintaining and strengthening the concept of an "aggressive warrior at the frontline." We have renewed the existing skills to align with this direction.


[h3]Adrenaline: Step Over Your Enemies[/h3]
"Adrenaline" remains the same in that it grants TP with each enemy defeated, allowing for more varied tactical choices when taking down enemies. The powerful roar is still intact. However, the TP gained can now be utilized in more diverse ways through the new combat systems such as "Surrounded" or "Ambush." By broadening the range of tactical options through aggressive play, the Barbarian has become a bit wiser as a warrior.



[h3]Heavy-Handed: The More Enemies, the Better[/h3]
"Heavy-Handed" has been improved to be more intuitive, allowing for higher damage when attacking multiple enemies at once. When combined with "Adrenaline" introduced earlier, you could gain an enormous amount of TP. Surrounded by enemies, the Barbarian will showcase a mighty axe swing with a bloodthirsty grin.



[h3]Second Wind: The Best Defense is a Good Offense[/h3]
"Second Wind" no longer consumes resources and can be used immediately (though it now has a cooldown). By using the "Second Wind" skill to recover weapon action points, the Barbarian can continue their relentless assault without giving the enemy a chance to take action. Experience the thrill of sweeping away enemies away with immense damage in a single turn.



[h3]Friendly Fire: Stop Standing Where I'm Swinging, Little One...[/h3]
Even a Barbarian in the heat of battle has their weaknesses. When they swing their axe with intense ferocity, weak allies are hardly noticed. Due to the "Friendly Fire" trait, the Barbarian's wide-range attacks can also damage allies.



[h3]Examples of Utilizing the new Barbarian[/h3]
The Barbarian has become a more terrifying figure, an aggressive melee warrior who can gain significant advantages within their turn through offensive play. While the new mechanics we've prepared will allow for countless strategies depending on allies and enemies, here are a few scenarios where the Barbarian can shine.

If you find yourself worried about being surrounded by numerous enemies, don’t hesitate to send the Barbarian forward. They can effortlessly sweep away the incoming hordes, gain tactical superiority, and prepare for the next attack.

With the support of other characters who can control the enemy's formation, the Barbarian's powerful "one-hit" attacks will be even more effective.



So, what do you think of the revamped Barbarian? What I introduced earlier is not all there is to the Barbarian. With various Ember Memories, the Barbarian can have countless different builds depending on your choices, ranging from the traditional ferocious killing machine to a cold, tactical strategist who gains the upper hand by taking down enemies.

Along with the Barbarian introduced today, there are various characters ready to join the survivors in the world of Remore. I will gradually introduce these new and returning Characters over the coming Dev Notes...

Next week, I will introduce the “Royal Guard”, previously known as "Willam," the protagonist of Early Access.

We will be back soon with more exciting news. Thank you!
REMORE

Come join us on our Sneak Peek Live Stream Day to get an exclusive 1st look at content from our newly renovated Remore!

Firstly, we want to thank everyone for your continued patience and support during our development phase and secondly, we decided it’s time to finally time to leak some juicy content with our Sneak Peak Live Stream!

As always, there is only one individual who puts their life on the line to capture some Top-Secret content from the dark development dungeon to share with the rest of the world and that rogue member is... Fanatic Bob.

May you and Fanatic Bob succeed in bringing the light to ignite the flames of Remore!

[h3]Live Steam Days[/h3]
July 16, 2024 (PT)

[h3]Start Time[/h3]
*6:00PM (PT)

Follow our social media for more updates and important dates on REMORE: INFESTED KINGDOM.

Thank you,
REMORE Staff

Hello, Survivors!

In our last post, we talked about how our internal evaluation of the First Test was not great due to unintended issues, including a bug in the "Roamer" enemy type.

Today, I'm going to talk about the results of the Second and Third rounds of Testing that followed after we fixed those issues, and answer the question, as the title of this post says, "Is it fun now?"

We took a week off from posting last week to answer the Livestream, so you might not remember where we left off, but you can check out our last post about the "1st, 2nd, and 3rd round" testing environments and the differences between them!



[h3]2nd Round Testing Results: Mixed Reviews[/h3]
The results of the Second Round of Testing, which included fixing the Roamer bug and tweaking the difficulty, were pretty divided between "Fun!" and "Boring!".
To borrow a phrase from Steam, I'd say it was Mixed.

Once the Difficulty was normalized, most of the team found the Combat System, which was reorganized around "Surprise/Surrounded" with no “Caught” system, to be enjoyable. The differentiation of Character Traits was also well-received, with "Agility" specialists being better for Surprise play and "Strength" specialists being better for all-out battle using Surrounded or AoE skills.

However, the Main Issue was that the evaluation of the Farming Map gameplay, which was the core of the Continuous Map test, received mixed reviews. The purpose of this evaluation was essentially to confirm that the results verified during the Single Map test were not different when moved to Continuous Map test (and the new growth system supporting it.)

As I mentioned at the beginning of the Game Overhaul, one of the Main Goals was to break away from the Linearity of the existing gameplay and introduce Freedom by adding "Various Farming Maps."
This test was the final hurdle to answer the question, "Will the game still be enjoyable when we randomly generate these kinds of maps?" before ultimately applying the procedural generation system.

The biggest issue pointed out by team members who gave negative feedback was that while playing a Single Farming Map was certainly immersive and fun, their interest declined as they continued to play the second and third farming maps.



Of course, each Map differs in terrain and enemy placement, and a variety of rewards, including the core reward "Memories of the Dead," High-tier Weapons, and Firewood, are provided to give players sufficient reasons to farm.

Additionally, as mentioned in the previous Inventory System Overhaul, the intent was to offer players freedom by not forcing them to "search every nook and cranny of the map." Instead, players can visit the desired buildings to obtain necessary rewards and then decide on their own when to return to the hideout.

However, despite the value of the rewards and the variety of enemy placements preventing the experience from being "completely identical each time," the main critique was that it still felt like a similar experience was being repeated "on a larger scale." Some feedback even bluntly stated that it felt like "content was added half-heartedly just to fill the volume."

As I mentioned earlier, the feedback was mixed, so not all team members' responses were negative.
Team members who had participated in multiple Single-Map tests and were already familiar with the combat system and character skills often reacted with "this is boring." Conversely, those who were experiencing this "fully assembled" experience for the first time generally found it "sufficiently enjoyable."

The process of learning character skills, "Memories of the Dead," and the corresponding weapons and tactics made the overall game environment feel fresh. Therefore, instead of having the combat environment change drastically, the repetition of certain overarching patterns played a role in giving players time to become accustomed to the game.

However, we anticipated that even these players would eventually become familiar with the game, and at that point, the repetitive nature of the procedurally generated farming maps would become a significant issue.

Interestingly, though unintended, there were no complaints of "boredom" during the first test's hellish difficulty. Nevertheless, responding to feedback about repetitiveness with "excessively high" difficulty is not a good design direction.

During the first test, even experienced players gave up on progress, so switching from "boring" to "difficult" would only change the focus of the negative feedback.



[h3]Results of the 3rd Testing: Overall Positive![/h3]
Since the repetitiveness of the farming maps was an issue that couldn't be fundamentally resolved during this testing period, we decided to proceed with the 3rd test as originally planned.

The team members involved in the 3rd testing were generally less familiar with the game, so we needed to re-evaluate how the difficulty, which was deemed "appropriate to somewhat easy" in the 2nd testing, would feel to others.

We also made minor adjustments to other "easily tweakable" elements to reduce the sense of repetitiveness. For instance, we introduced a mechanic where the "Corruption" gauge increases after a certain number of turns during combat, encouraging the use of different characters for different stages.
Additionally, we varied the combinations of enemies placed in each building.

We created rooms with 4-5 Blisters, rooms with groups of three new high-HP creatures called "Blubber," and rooms featuring a high-defense Brute, which requires armor-piercing weapons, accompanied by a swarm of Knawers. These adjustments aimed to diversify the actions required in each encounter.

Thanks to these changes, almost all team members who participated in the 3rd testing provided Positive Feedback!



Rather than focusing on "overcoming extremely difficult challenges," we adjusted the overall content balance to "maintain tension while creating as many varied situations as possible." As intended, these elements received positive feedback. Many felt the difficulty was "neither too easy to be boring nor too hard to be tiring."

For players seeking a truly challenging experience, difficulty options can provide the appropriate level of challenge. Thus, our current balancing efforts focused on finding the "most average, developer-intended difficulty."

However, we found that there are still many fundamental aspects that need improvement before concluding that "the basic framework of combat is complete."

• The most negative feedback we've gotten over the course of two or three rounds of testing (besides the repetitiveness of the farming maps) has been that the damage calculation structure is hard to understand.
  • While we've made sure that the three stats (Character Stats - Weapon Damage - Skill Power Coefficient) work in conjunction with each other to align with the new Strength/Dexterity stats, we've gotten a lot of feedback that it's hard to understand "why and how" your character is getting stronger based on the information displayed in the UI.
    
  • Of course, we designed the game to be "gameplay friendly even if you don't know the exact mechanics," so the actual experience wasn't ruined by this, but...
    
  • Given that the gameplay of "using the Memories of the Dead to set the build you want" is a key part of the new fun, we needed to make "which memories to set" a little more intuitive.
• Similarly, the new defense stat "Fortitude/Agility" and its matching structure, while understandable in a "vague sense," was rarely understood and used tactically at the "intended level" by testers.
  
  • The intent was for enemies with "Increased Fortitude" (= stronger damage reduction) to be represented by rock icons, and enemies with "Increased Agility" (= stronger evasion) to be represented by wind icons, and for each to be "countered with a compatible weapon",
    
  • However, we received a lot of feedback that the icons were either hard to recognize at a glance, or if you did recognize them, it wasn't immediately intuitive to know exactly which weapon to use.

[h3]In Conclusion.[/h3]
As for the question, "Did it make it more fun?", I'd say it was a "half success".

• There's a clear sense of personality and uniqueness between the 3-6 characters, and there's enough tactical play with skills to make it fun,
  
• Almost all testers were overwhelmingly positive about the core "Memory Bonding" system, which allows you to customize the characters the way you want,
  
• The effectiveness of the Strength, Dexterity, Fortitudes, and Agility stats, and the feel of each stat's characteristics, were also felt to be meaningful, even if there were some UI issues.

However, given the “repeatability of farming maps” issue I mentioned, I would say that our initial goal of moving straight into procedurally generated system development after this test was ultimately defeated.

Above all, considering that the 3rd Test Group was closer to the group that was “experiencing the assembled game for the first time” (which had a positive response in the 2nd testing phase), it becomes crucial to address the repetitiveness of the farming map.

Development of the farming map was a key objective of the new redesign, so we are exploring various ideas and prototypes to find solutions to this issue. The results indicate that we may have found a direction that feels promising.

Currently, the development team is focusing on improving the UI/UX of the damage mitigation and balancing systems, which can be resolved more quickly. We are currently in the process of validating these improvements, and plan to summarize and introduce them soon

I mentioned the results of our first "integrated testing" after the overhaul, rather than individual system unit tests. Some may feel disappointed that despite the significant time investment, we're not completely satisfied yet, but there are also those who support the positive direction we're heading in.

Considering we're in Early Access, where we disclose versions under development, our goal is to unveil the game after receiving at least a "worthwhile" evaluation from within the dev team following major changes to fundamental aspects of the game.

We believe it's not respectful to those who purchased and are patiently waiting for a finished game if we were to release it in any other state.

However, what we can confidently say is that although we aren’t quite there yet, compared to the current Early Access version, we've made significant strides in the broader scheme of the game. We believe continual iteration through this process is the right way to achieve our goals.

Our best effort now is to transparently share the progress of development and our internal evaluations without reservation, aiming to continually improve and demonstrate evolving results in the future.
We sincerely appreciate your support, and starting next week, we'll delve into more detailed aspects not covered in this dev note and outline our future plans!

Till next time Survivors!
REMORE

Greetings Survivors of REMORE,

These are the questions and answers that were presented during our Live Stream.
Thank you everyone for participating and for all your amazing inquiries.

[h3]Q. When will the new content drop?[/h3]

A. We're currently working hard on the new content based on user's feedback and it will take some time to finish. We don't want to give a timeframe and then not live up to that, so we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we have a more concrete idea of the schedule! We're also looking at other ways to keep you up to date with the process besides the Dev Notes.

[h3]Q. What changes will come with the update?[/h3]

A. There will be huge changes as we noted on the Dev Note. Overall map changes, new characters, battle system adjustments and more.

[h3]Q. You mentioned about 4 new characters on Dev Note, that makes total 7 characters. Is there any chance that you will make it 10?[/h3]

A. Our plan is to add plenty of characters, so you'll be able to choose the characters and combinations you like! The exact number for full release isn't set yet, but we're hoping for around 12 at least!

[h3]Q. The Early Access play time was too short; how long will it be on Official Launch? [/h3]

A. We're planning on the full run to take about double the amount of time it currently takes for an EA playthrough. And much longer if you want to dive into the replayable features and modes!

[h3]Q. Will there be any new weapons added to the update?[/h3]

A. The type of weapons will be similar, but the system behind them will be changed a lot following the overhaul of the battle system and character addition. You can find more about it in our future Dev Note!

[h3]Q. Can we see some more behind the scenes artwork soon? [/h3]

A. We’re trying our best to reveal more! As we finish polishing the new artwork, you can see them either in the Dev Note, social media, etc.

[h3]Q. Will there be a demo/beta/play test of the new content before release? [/h3]

A. We are considering various ways to show our development progress, and when we find a way to do so we will let you know!

[h3]Q. Any details about the battle system you mentioned in Dev Note? “caught” and “Surrounded system” you mentioned.[/h3]

A. “Caught” was the system in the previous version that prevents the character from moving if they’re adjacent to the enemy. We’ve found that it makes the game feel far more difficult and restrictive than we intended, so now it’s removed.

“Surrounded” is the new addition we’re testing, giving you a strong damage bonus if your characters occupy all the adjacent grid of the enemies.

In addition, the player character has a “Surprise” bonus, which also gives them a bonus when they attack the enemies that weren't aware of player characters.

With this change, we tried to make the game more accessible by removing the penalty, “caught”, but still keep our tactical depth by adding the bonus, “Surprise” and “Surrounded”. Fortunately, the change worked as intended based on the feedback of the latest test.

[h3]Q. What is this “Ember” you speak of from your previous Dev Note? [/h3]

A. Narratively, it is a fragment of the holy symbol “Fallen Flame” that’s worshiped by people of Remore. After the breakout, the people who found the fragment (player characters) noticed that they can “access” the memory of those who died, and “borrow” their abilities.

Gameplaywise, it is a fantasy element that grants the player the ability to “customize” characters in the direction they want. You can bind the memory of a thief to “Shadow Sister” to give her more utility skills like Sidestep, or simply make her Sword Skill damage stronger by binding a Swordsman's memory.

Both in gameplay and narrative, the ember is the core concept of our new direction. The story will be changed with this concept in mind.

[h3]Q. You said random map on the Dev Note does it mean it will be changed from puzzle to rogue-like? [/h3]

A. Yes and No.

“Yes”, meaning that we’re reducing the “puzzle-feeling” that was major feedback in the previous version. We’re currently adding a lot more options to player choice both to strategic and tactical layers.

“No”, meaning that the change doesn’t lean toward making the game as a form of roguelike or roguelite, as we feel that players don’t see XCOM or Darkest Dungeon as a roguelike game.

Random map system will be used to give an option for the player to loot more material or weapons on the journey, but the progression of the game will still be based on story maps. We’ll reveal more in the dev note soon!

[h3]Q. It seems like there will be story changes, but will it be a lot?[/h3]

A. Yes. As we said, the previous story is written on the assumption that the gameplay is linear, so it’s inevitable to make a new narrative plan now that the characters can PERMANENTLY die and pass their memory to next characters.

Also, now that the core element of the game is the Ember, the world of Remore is a bit more “fictional/fantasy” world than before. We’re still trying to keep the authentic medieval feeling than high-fantasy world like D&D, but anyway it’s a different world.

We’re also trying our best to keep the “similar atmosphere in the basic emotion” to help reserve the previous identity. For example: Willam, Diurmuid, and Edwin will have their fixed name unlike the other characters, and their skillset would still reflect the previous design.

We’ll introduce more on the Dev Note about this direction soon.

[h3]Q. Will there be other language translation?[/h3]

A. We have plans for the multi-language translation, though we are not sure for the period since contents goes first.

[h3]Q. "Memory binding" seems to be a very important system. Will the memories of allies who died in the last episode also appear? If memories that do not have much synergy with the current state appear, are REROLL or other measures prepared to compensate for the loss?[/h3]

A. Yes. "Rebonding the memories of dead allies" was the original idea for this system, and it's one of the most important things we're looking at.

However, if we design this system incorrectly, it could lead to "killing allies becomes a superior strategy" or the sense of loss in death and defeat could become meaningless in an unintended way, so we're thinking of introducing it last, after we've gotten the basic gameplay feel down with the NPC memory binding system.

It's going to be very difficult to design, but the goal is still to "structurally allow for the possibility that the player can clear the game without dying once, and feel a great sense of accomplishment when they do," so the system for creating memories of dead allies is something we're going to add in after we've sketched out the big picture of the experience, to account for the "not-so-common" cases.

Whether or not we will introduce systems such as rerolling, as you mentioned, depends on how things are at a later date, so it's difficult to answer "yes or no" directly at this point. However, we can promise you that our internal testers are more sensitive to "unfun game experiences in Remore" than anyone else, so we will choose the direction that makes the gameplay more fun!

[h3]Q. Would you ever be interested in creating some kind of challenge mode? I thought it would be fun to have some kind of roguelike mode.[/h3]

A. Actually, the introduction of the "Recurring Nightmare" mode in the Early Access version was a bit of a nod to that. We're big fans of fast-paced roguelike experiences, and we think our current game mechanics lend themselves to that to some extent.

However, with our current game overhaul, we feel that focusing on "maximizing the main experience" rather than creating "two modes" is the right direction to take.
As we've been sharing in the dev notes, we're already designing the reorganization to be much less linear than the previous story experience, giving players more freedom of choice and increasing the challenge.

In other words, what we're really trying to achieve with this revamp is more of that sense of challenge and fast-paced tempo that you've been talking about in the main campaign.

While games like XCOM and Darkest Dungeon aren't the fast-paced, one-round-after-another type of game that Slay the Spire is, one of the big goals of the redesign is to create a similar feeling of having a challenging experience every round trying to prevent your character from dying.

We hope you enjoy our special REMORE Developer Q&A Live Stream!
We will be back with more updates on our new content on our next live stream event!

Follow our social media for more updates and important dates on REMORE: INFESTED KINGDOM.

Thank you,
REMORE

Our REMORE: INFESTED KINGDOM Special Developer Q&A Stream is Live Now!
Come join us on our Special Developer Q&A Live Stream that is happening right now!
Let’s play REMORE: INFESTED KINGDOM together!



Direct link to the broadcast:
https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561199236239552


Thank you,
REMORE