Epic Battle Fantasy 4 News

Just a very minor update to fix a few things I've found over the last few weeks.

Version 3.0.6:
- Fixed screenshake option not working at all.
- Fixed cutscene gallery being always unlocked.
-- (should only unlock after beating the game)
- Fixed broken bandcamp link.
- Added links to Twitter and YouTube.
- Coffee price halved to 500.

Hey guys, I've just published version 3 of Epic Battle Fantasy 4!
You can update the game by selecting it in the "betas" tab of the Steam client.

Since I'm currently working on a mobile port (66% done), all of the new features and optimizations from that are being added in this Steam update. This version will go live as the default version in a week or two if no major issues come up.

Version 1 and 2 will remain accessible in the betas tab, but I cannot guarantee that your save files will work if you go from a newer version to an older version. Version 3 will not modify your version 1 save files, it will simply make new copies of them.

The cover art for this post was made by "名戸(NaT_A)" or @NaT_A_fugue on Twitter.



[h2]Version 3 Changes[/h2]

[h3]New Features:[/h3]
• Added 16:9 widescreen support:
--- This is by far the biggest change!
--- This extends to 20:9 in battles on mobile
--- Players and enemies have had their intro animations extended
--- Dragons have longer necks, and tentacle enemies are longer too
--- Spell animations that fill the whole screen have been modified to fit
--- Maps are zoomed in a bit to fill the screen
• Redesigned the user interface:
--- Made it mobile-friendly (bigger text and icons, this should help on Steamdeck too)
--- Made it look more like the EBF5 interface (including status icon changes)
--- The map menu is now hidden and a button must be pressed to open it
----- (the Esc, Enter and M keys and right click also work)
--- The minimap now shows screenshots of the maps and points to the next destination
----- (you can also zoom in on the minimap)
--- Some useful tips are added throughout the interface
--- Enemy names and HP values are shown next to their life bars in battle
--- The credits scroll!
• Added 4 new weapons for each character, all found on Battle Mountain
• Added 8 new summons, found throughout the game
• Added 6 new achievements
• Added 4 new special skills
• Added a "Treasure Finder" cheat like in EBF5
• Added a new "Double MP Cost" challenge
• Added player portraits for in-battle dialogue (adds a lot of flavour)
• Added new dialogue for the 12 main bosses, and for some summons
• Added the option to show a grid on the map
• Added the option to disable screen shake (improves performance a lot)
• Added the option to double game speed (if your CPU can handle it)
--- (There is also a button in battle to enable this)
--- (lower your graphics to make the most of this option)
• Added the option to change the GUI skin color (same as EBF5)
--- (blue is still the default option, brown and black are new)
• Added 20 fan art images to the gallery
• Added a couple of new NPCs

[h3]Optimizations:[/h3]
• Menus with a lot of icons should now open faster
• Map transitions should now load faster
• Expensive effects have been replaced with cheaper ones (glow and blur filters, etc)
--- (In most cases these changes shouldn't be noticeable but improve performance)
• Intro animation has been simplified to work in widescreen and be easier to follow
--- (yeah I know, not everyone will like this one, the old one was really laggy)

[h3]Small Gameplay Tweaks:[/h3]
• Improved the layout of the starting town for beginners
--- (added paths, rearranged some rocks, higher contrast arrows, etc)
• Improved the general visibility of the main path through areas
• Fixed the Stagger status being consumed by non-damaging skills
• Made Lumber's final hit Stagger chance higher (70%)
• Made Mana Drain's effect inversely proportional to Syphon resistance of target
• Made Hail Storm hit once and have a high chance of freezing for one turn (30%)
• Made volume options scale logarithmicly
• Reduced Dark Player Dispel resistance to 50% (except on More Resistance challenge)
• Fixed an exploit where you can use the summon power variable for other skills




Version 2 of the game never left beta - so I know a lot of you have never played that version.
Here's a list of what was added in version 2:

[h2]Version 2 Changes[/h2]

[h3]New Features:[/h3]
• Removed the Steam DRM (Steam no longer needs to be running)
• The Steam overlay works now – this makes it much easier to take and share screenshots
• Replaced the saving system with EBF5’s: a new type of .meow file is used
• Added a confirmation prompt before overwriting save files
• Added the option to delete save files
• Added the backup save feature from EBF5 – you can now backup, name and share your save files
• Added the Zero difficulty option, which offers no challenge at all
• Added similar resolution and window options to what EBF5 has (up to 1080p, Best Fit mode, etc) (I personally played the game just fine in 1440p, but that requires a super fast PC)
• Added the option to re-send medals to Steam by clicking on them in-game
• Added the option to delete all medals from the main menu
• Added the option to reset all stat boosting items if you want to apply them differently
• Added the ability to close most menus by right-clicking anywhere
• Added buttons to quickly select different players in battle
• Added buttons to quickly access the forge menu from the equips menu
• The shop menu now allows you change quantities by 10 at a time
• Players now regain HP and MP outside of battle much faster than before
• A mini options menu has been added to the first screen of the game

[h3]Gameplay Tweaks:[/h3]
• Added the Cheats and Challenges menu from EBF5, which includes:
• Cheats: reduce foe resistance, reduce foe HP, increase player SP, increase Limit Break charging, even EXP after battle, learn any skill, get first turn in every wave, trigger more automatic abilities, and scan foes automatically
• Challenges: increase foe resistance, increase foe HP, increase foe evade, increase foe attack, rare foods banned, foes attack first in each wave, foes do not respawn, revived players do not get a turn, and foe HP bars are hidden
(I recommend the foe resistance challenge, as many bosses will have different weaknesses, forcing you to try new strategies)
• As in EBF5, cheats temporarily disable Epic medals, and unlocking Epic medals with all challenges enabled will earn you a gold star
• Smoothed out the formula for enemy damage scaling over level 32 (no more sudden spike at final boss and Battle Mountain)
• Changed the summon power formula so that summon damage does not increase slower at level 33 and above
• Reduced player MP growth over level 20, to prevent nearly unlimited MP
• Foes drop much more AP towards the very end of the game, making it much easier to max out your skills
• Foes have up to 12% less HP from the Jungle and onwards to Newgame+ (again to speed up the pace)
• Party buffs, heals, and status effects now apply to the backup player too
• Buffed Sacrifice, Bubbles/Bubble Blast, Hyper Beam, Gaia Seed, Syphon, Debilitate, Dispel, and changed Dark Flare
• Soul Arrow no longer copies stats that are lower than yours
• Some unfair foe attacks have been nerfed (Flame wraiths only use death on hard mode now, etc)
• Tired status now increases Earth damage, instead of Stun status doing this

[h3]Graphic and Sound Improvements:[/h3]
• Many low-quality sound effects have been replaced with sounds from EBF5, and some animations have totally new sounds
• Sound effects will no longer play multiple times at once, making many spells sound less painful, especially AOE spells
• Music and sounds are no longer forced into mono format
• Bitmaps (such as medal icons, limit breaks, etc) have been upscaled so they look better in high resolutions
• Updated the fan art gallery so the full images are included, instead of just thumbnails, and added a LOT of new art
• Wallpapers in the installation folder have been replaced with higher-resolution versions, and a World Map file has been added

[h3]Bug Fixes:[/h3]
• Fixed the rough edges on text shadows – the UI looks a bit smoother now
• Fixed a major memory leak issue that slowed the game down during long sessions
• Fixed some typos in equips and skills, making some broken effects work correctly now (better Power Metal healing, etc)
• Fixed some broken foe behaviours and incorrect bestiary descriptions (Green Bush, Black Dragon, etc)
• Fixed some scaling issues in the Endless Battle mode (summoned foes are at wrong level, limit break charging effected by difficulty, etc)
• Fixed the alternative animations for Mighty Oak and Praetorian not being saved correctly once acquired



[h2]Please Wishlist Hidden Cats[/h2]

Since I have your attention, please wishlist my new Hidden Object game!
There's still a lot of work left to do on it, but the Epic Battle Fantasy characters will be in it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2624670/Hidden_Cats__Dogs/

Hey guys, the Steam store page for my new game - Hidden Cats & Dogs - is live, so I would greatly appreciate it if you wishlisted the game to boost it. The game is around a year away from release, so there's a lot of work left to do, but I'll try to have a demo out in the next few months.



Hidden Cats & Dogs features...

• Thousands of items to find, and 20+ hours of gameplay.
  
• 3 difficulty modes, with different goals in each, allowing for multiple playthroughs.
  
• Spot-the-difference challenges, and other secret game modes.
  
• Diverse areas including ancient Egypt, volcanic islands, European forests and castles, arctic tundra, fantasy jungles, and many more.
  
• Occasional dark humour. (which can be disabled for a family-friendly experience)
  
• 100% DRM-free, so you can make a copy for your grandma.
  

In other news, I'm working on a mobile port of Epic Battle Fantasy 4, which includes some new features and content, which will also come to the Steam version as a free update.

This isn't going to be finished any time soon - but maybe some time in the next year or so!


New stuff includes:

• Widescreen support! (at least in battle, maybe on the map)
  
• 4 new weapons for each character.
  
• 8 new summons.
  
• Some UI improvements, such as a better minimap and player emoticons added to in-battle dialogue.
  
• New dialogue for 12 of the bosses.
  
• Some minor bug fixes.

Hey guys, the Epic Battle Fantasy Collection will launch at the end of this month - on Monday, May 30th! Please wishlist the game to get a notification, and boost it in the Steam algorithm!

The EBF Collection will cost $8 and include EBF1, EBF2, Bullet Heaven, Adventure Story, Brawl Royale, Mecha Dress Up, The Kitten Game, Cat Cafe, and a bunch of prototype games and artwork, and 150 Steam achievements!



All of the games have been updated with quality-of-life features, such as volume controls, new difficulty options, and other cool stuff. Adventure Story has a bunch of new levels, Bullet Heaven has new playable characters, and Epic Battle Fantasy 2 has new unlockable upgrades!

On top of all that, the 65-track soundtrack is included as a free DLC download!

Hey guys, the Steam store page for the Epic Battle Fantasy Collection is up – you should wishlist the game so you’ll be notified when it launches!

I still need to make a trailer, fix some minor bugs, and set up the soundtrack DLC (which will be free). There’s not very much work left to do, but it’s very boring stuff, so I’m taking my time with it.

The EBF Collection will cost $8 and include EBF1, EBF2, Bullet Heaven, Adventure Story, Brawl Royale, Mecha Dress Up, The Kitten Game, Cat Cafe, and a bunch of prototype games and artwork, and 150 Steam achievements!

Plus all of the games have been updated with quality-of-life features, such as volume controls, new difficulty options, and other cool stuff.