Pale Coins News

May has been an interesting month for the development of Pale Coins.
As I've received great feedback lately about the current state of the game, and several ideas on how to improve the gameplay and items, I decided to add new mechanics, as well as change existing mechanics.


Exploration is key in Pale Coins, therefore you may want to search every corner of a map to find new gear, interesting stuff, and special enemies.
However, I had to realise that there was no reason to visit a map multiple times, which ended up making them boring.

[h2]Less map sizes[/h2]
Most map sizes were reduced, to remove unnecessarily long paths to certain destinations. As a side effect, searching for stuff in maps is more efficient and makes it more fun.

[h2]Sprinting[/h2]

Talking about more efficient and more fun: Sprinting is now a thing!
You are now able to move faster by sprinting around the map. It uses stamina, so be careful around enemies, as you may want to have some stamina left to dodge.

[h2]No Enemy Respawn[/h2]
Enemies stay dead per session. As you may visit maps more than once, it sometimes felt tedious to deal with the same enemies over and over again.
This is now changed, as you have to reload the game, to make enemies respawn.

[h2]Elite Enemies[/h2]

You will encounter new enemies which are way stronger than their common variation. These enemies will spawn after certain events in the main story, and will be placed randomly each session.
They also drop rare materials to use later in the game.

[h2]Random item pickups[/h2]

To make exploration more fun, I added new stuff to inspect and loot in the wasteland.
Corpses will spawn randomly per session, which drop gold and sometimes recovery items.
I think they are a great addition and want to add them to other areas as well in the future.


I've been thinking a lot about items and how to improve them.


[h2]Item Modifications and stats[/h2]
I wanted to make items and their stats more meaningful. I felt like the items were boring, as there was almost no difference besides the damage or the defense.
A friend of mine suggested adding random modification to all items, based on their level. This has the side effect, that you may want to keep low level items with certain modifications, as they may give a buff to a build you are trying to make.
Also, I removed the resistances of common items, so you are more dependent on the item modifications.

[h2]Dodge / Block mechanics[/h2]
The overall speed of the gameplay increased by adding sprinting and having smaller maps. I want to add more speed and variation to the combat as well, so I figured to add default dodge mechanics.
I started with a short backstep on greatswords. This one has few iframes, but is sufficient to gain distance and eventually dodge an attack.
Following this, I want to add a block mechanic and shields, so that one-handed weapons are no longer inferior to two-handed weapons.


Progress was made in the academy region as well. All buildings are placed and a few NPCs have been added already.
One of my new favourite NPCs is working hard in the academy. He is a winemaker and has a lot of wine to taste.


I had some spare time and decided to update most of the UI elements. A new font was introduced as well, as the previous font was hard to read at times.



That's all for now.
Make sure to wishlist Pale Coins and support the development.

Thank you so much and have a great day,
Lukas

In April I focused on getting a new demo version ready for you, as well as working on other stuff in the background.




The last demo was released while ago and so much has changed. Therefore, I wanted you to have the newest version available to enjoy.
Here's the demo post in case you want to know what has changed: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2438330/view/4214881660505824769?l=english



One of the major issues for me was to get feedback - especially your feedback. Until now you were able to create a new post in the community hub.
However, that all changes with the new discord server built for Pale Coins (and other stuff):
https://discord.gg/3nu8PHwUjX

It's a place to share your thoughts, things you want to see in the final release or simply talk with me about other games.



Apart from the demo and the discord server, a few other things were added/changed:

[h2]Improved intro[/h2]

The background images of the intro have been replaced. Was there a particular reason? No. But they look cool, I guess.
Also, the first gameplay section of the intro has been modified slightly - a new animation was added.

[h2]What is that?[/h2]

Hmm... Is that a... face?

[h2]Fire Spells[/h2]

One of my favourite spells in any game is a fire rain - definitely not a Gothic reference - so I added this new fire spell.





Right now I am working on new regions such as the academy of the wizards. Also, I am planning on updating the captial in the near future. I was impressed by the city Archolos from the Gothic II Mod "The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos", which I may use as a reference for the re-design. Obviously, due to limited time, I won't be able to create a city as big as Archolos.

Another important thing on my to-do list is to create default dodge/shield abilities. Currently, you'd have to find gear with dodge skills, if you want to dodge attacks.
It may by way cooler to have default mechanics to dodge or shield attacks.



That s all for now.
Let me know what you think and join the Discord server if you want to talk about the game with me or others.
Also, please wishlist Pale Coins if you like what you see.

Best regards,
Lukas

The new demo version 1.3.0 is now available with the following fixes and improvements:

• 3D Sounds
  
• map items
  
• new main menu screen
  
• entrance to the Marin Passage is available
  
• crafting items is now a thing
  
• new intro sprites
  
• a cat in the outlaw camp!!!
  
• Steam page overhaul
  

• VFX improvements for several spells and environmental effects
  
• less mana costs for starting spells
  
• NPCs react to certain events
  
• improved the movement of NPCs
  
• new weapons, armor and artefacts
  
• option to change the HUD
  
• improved transparency shader for trees and bushes
  
• combat trainer is now available for combat skills
  
• alchemy items are available
  
• new NPCs
  
• signs are placed where the demo ends
  

• fixed an issue, where summing missiles sometimes crashed the game
  
• fixed damage calculation of certain modifications
  
• limited the view for wide screens
  
• fixed some translations
  
• fixed gamepad issues
  
• show notifications above other UI elements
  

Check out the previous updates for more information about new areas and other improvements.



Feel free to play the new demo and make sure to wishlist Pale Coins to get notified as soon as the game releases.

Thank you and have a great day,
Lukas

The goal for march was to finish the latest dungeon and finish the implementation of the dungeon boss. Also, several improvements had to be made to the dungeon to increase the overall experience.

[h2]New enemies[/h2]

Along with the dungeon boss, new enemy types were introduced lately. One is some sort of a mini boss, guarding one of the needed items to complete the dungeon, while the other enemy has a burning passion to ruin your day. (Pun definitely intended)

[h2]Dungeon boss[/h2]

The mechanics of the boss are similar to another boss in Pale Coins. However, this one has an addition which makes it harder for ranged characters. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil what it is.


Up to this point almost all sound FX had the same volume regardless of the distance.
Now, SFX are based on the position where the sound emits. In case an SFX is played at the right side of the player, you will also hear that from the right side of your speaker or headphones.

In the example above you can see three SFX and their distances. The outer left torch is outside of the hearing range and is therefore not heard. The other torch and the hammer sound are within range, so you can hear them.
Also, the sound of the hammer is just within range which makes it quieter naturally.


It is worth mentioning that the Steam page of Pale Coins got a slight overhaul.
Now you can see several gifs showcasing gameplay of the game. The descriptions were changed as well to focus on the important information.


That's all for this month's update.
Let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate any kind of feedback.
Thank you sou much for reading and see you in the next update!

Have a great day,
Lukas

Hey y'all,
there's been a lot of progress in the past months. So, I wanted to give you a quick update:


The newest tower (or dungeon) in Pale Coins is built around an elevator gimmick. The idea is to activate the elevator before being able to move up to the next floor. On the next floor, you'll have to activate the elevator again to continue.


The tower itself is located in the middle of a lake, surrounded by ruins.
Why are there ruins? Why is the tower not destroyed such as the buildings nearby? What secrets lie inside the tower? You'll have to find the answers yourself ;)



You are now able to find random blueprints on your adventures. These blueprints, and the corresponding items, are needed to craft items at smiths, alchemists, etc.


(Don't worry... The crafting mechanic is totally optional and limited to items.)


[h2]Transparency shader[/h2]
Some time ago it was mentioned that the visibility behind trees was... bad. This issue got resolved by adding a shader which lets you see through the trees. Here's an example:


[h2]Maps[/h2]
Maps are a thing now. Some merchants have maps of the region for sale.
In this example the map of Grenmark is shown:


Note: There are still no map markers or something like that planned.

[h2]Custom HUD[/h2]
Not everyone likes to have the screen full of information. Therefore, I added a setting which lets you change the HUD style to reduce the information shown on screen.



That's all for now.
I am very happy with the progress so far. Let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate any kind of feedback.
Thank you sou much!


Have a great day,
Lukas