Demonheart: The Cursed Trial News

Hello! I'm here with a progress update on Demonheart: The Cursed Trial, which came out in early access.

I'm happy with the reactions the game has received so far, as well as the love certain characters are getting. ːhappy_yetiː

There is now fanart of the Cursed Trial characters. ːsurprised_yetiː Some of it is in the Artwork section in the Steam community, and more art has been posted on the Rolling Crown Discord or Tumblr, Twitter etc, if you search for it.



I have been working on the script for the next chapter. As of today, around 12.400 words are in-game for Chapter 4, with more in text documents, waiting to be edited and used. After I am done with the first version of the text, the game will still need testing, scene edits for the scenes that turn out to need it, and polish such as adding sound effects. There will be two new CGs, which are already finished. The estimate for the chapter's release is early February.

I have posted the planned timeline for releasing all the chapters on the store page and in the Steam discussions here - it could change over time, but that is the general plan. With the holiday season ahead, I expected late December and early January to be a slower time for work, so that's why Chapter 4 is planned to come out in February, even though it feels like it could be finished sooner. ːdazed_yetiː

In this update, the choices in Chapter 2 about the way your character became a demonheart are now marked with [Truth] or [Lie]. Your choice will be tracked for the next time you are supposed to talk about this. If your save doesn't contain this data, you'll be able to choose between any of the options in a future chapter.

The Cursed Trial just launched in Steam Early Access!

Will you find love or treachery? (Let's not kid ourselves, there will be some treachery.)

Find out more about the game here and join the unholy hunt:

After a lengthy consideration, we've decided to launch in Steam Early Access sooner rather than later.

So far, we've had some amazing feedback and player theories. Also, it feels really great to discuss the VN with players while I'm still writing it as opposed to working on the story alone in the dark for two years. ːedgardoː

The game currently contains three polished chapters out of the seven planned chapters. Voice acting is planned for the future, when all the text is finished. The word counts are 19.000 to 26.000 words per chapter - a little over 67.000 words so far. When it's fully finished, this will be Rolling Crown's longest VN yet. ːsurprised_yetiː

[h2]The launch is scheduled for November 13th![/h2]
[h3]Wishlist the game if you haven't already done so ːhappy_yetiː and thank you for following![/h3]

While working on the third out of the seven chapters of Demonheart: The Cursed Trial, I went back to the first chapter (demo) and made some edits. There are a lot of small changes which you may or may not notice if you replay.

Changes:

• Rephrased many lines of narration and dialog.
  
• Changed some expressions and sprite positions. Changed Ran's expression on several occasions into less childish and more manly ones. ':)
  
• Added a few new choices and NPC lines - nothing crucial, but these changes will mess with old saves. Old alignment and relationship points will be preserved, but you may end up on the wrong line when you reload.
  
• Started silently tracking Janiya's approval. Old saves didn't track this, so it will be like your relationship with her was neutral. Which is not the worst it could be. ':)
  
• Changed some sound effects.
  

Meanwhile, the third chapter is nearly finished, and when it's polished, there's a possibility of Steam early access! Stay tuned for news about it, and thank you for following!