Hotfix #2
Fixed another crash caused by checking skills in town.
Dragon Ruins II News
Hotfix
Fixed a softlock when changing equipment in town.
DevLog #4: Battle System
Hi everyone,
Today I’ll talk about the battle system.
Just like in the original, the battles focus on attrition — getting as far as possible in dungeons, returning to town to rest, and growing your party to allow getting further, face tougher enemies, and reduce losses from battles.
The battle system was expanded to provide more options to players, while keeping it simple and snappy, similar to the original game. At the same time, there are quite a few additions to keep things interesting and less predictable in the long run.
[h2]Formations[/h2]
The original had a fixed formation system: the first two characters are in the front, while the last two are in the back, and characters in the front are more likely to get targeted by enemies.
Here, the system was changed to allow editing the formation while exploring the dungeon. Characters in the back get a defense bonus, but if they don’t use ranged weapons (bows or magic staves), they will suffer a speed penalty.
This system is simple yet opens up new possibilities, such as placing a wounded character in the back to increase their chances of survival or placing mages in the front row to soak magic damage.
[h2]Damage Types[/h2]
While the original didn’t feature damage types, Dragon Ruins II features four: Slash, Pierce, Blunt, and Magic. Monsters have resistances and weaknesses to certain damage types, and you can experiment with weapons or the party lineup to tackle a particular boss or quest.
Attacks may also miss the target from time to time depending on various factors, such as weapon weight and the character’s current status.
Also, your favorite feature from Demon Lord Reincarnation has found its way here: you can kill multiple enemies in a group with a single attack if you deal a lot of damage, clearing the rooms full of trash mobs with a few swings.
[h2]Status Effects[/h2]
Another new feature is the status effects, which add some unpredictability to battles.
The following status effects are present in the game:
Status effects wear off over time or once the battle ends, either through victory or escape. Certain skills and items allow characters to inflict and resist status ailments. For example, most headwear protects characters from confusion or blindness, while footwear protects them from being stunned.
[h2]United Attack[/h2]
While analyzing feedback from players, I noticed requests to add an active ability. After some deliberation, discussions, and tests, a United Attack ability was added to the game.
United Attacks can be unleashed with a button press once the big yellow bar on the left side of the screen fills up. It combines a portion of every surviving character’s power into a single powerful strike.
These attacks can also kill multiple enemies in a group, and as a bonus, they remove status effects from the party.
[h2]Other News[/h2]
This is probably the final devlog, as the game is complete and undergoing the final rounds of testing and adjustments.
Dragon Ruins II is designed more as a simulation than a story-focused game and is meant to be spread across many sessions until you see everything the game has to offer. It’s recommended to pace yourself, as it’s not meant to be zoomed through in a single sitting.
Due to the abundance of RPGs that demand an ongoing commitment of at least 60 hours of one’s time, I decided to pursue a different goal — a light RPG that can be played however you want until you’ve had your fill, put down, and then returned to whenever you feel like it.
The game is expected to launch soon, and I hope it meets your expectations.
Today I’ll talk about the battle system.
Just like in the original, the battles focus on attrition — getting as far as possible in dungeons, returning to town to rest, and growing your party to allow getting further, face tougher enemies, and reduce losses from battles.
The battle system was expanded to provide more options to players, while keeping it simple and snappy, similar to the original game. At the same time, there are quite a few additions to keep things interesting and less predictable in the long run.
[h2]Formations[/h2]
The original had a fixed formation system: the first two characters are in the front, while the last two are in the back, and characters in the front are more likely to get targeted by enemies.
Here, the system was changed to allow editing the formation while exploring the dungeon. Characters in the back get a defense bonus, but if they don’t use ranged weapons (bows or magic staves), they will suffer a speed penalty.
This system is simple yet opens up new possibilities, such as placing a wounded character in the back to increase their chances of survival or placing mages in the front row to soak magic damage.
[h2]Damage Types[/h2]
While the original didn’t feature damage types, Dragon Ruins II features four: Slash, Pierce, Blunt, and Magic. Monsters have resistances and weaknesses to certain damage types, and you can experiment with weapons or the party lineup to tackle a particular boss or quest.
Attacks may also miss the target from time to time depending on various factors, such as weapon weight and the character’s current status.
Also, your favorite feature from Demon Lord Reincarnation has found its way here: you can kill multiple enemies in a group with a single attack if you deal a lot of damage, clearing the rooms full of trash mobs with a few swings.
[h2]Status Effects[/h2]
Another new feature is the status effects, which add some unpredictability to battles.
The following status effects are present in the game:
- Stun: the character will skip 1 attack
- Paralysis: the character will skip 3 attacks
- Confusion: a character has a 50% chance of skipping the next 3 attacks
- Blind: the character’s hit chance is reduced for the next 3 attacks
- Poison: the character loses 1 HP every time they attack for the next couple of turns
- Curse: slight reduction of Attack, Defense, and Speed
- Attack Up/Down: attack power is modified by 3 points for the next 3 attacks
- Defense Up/Down: defense is modified by 3 points for the next 3 attacks
- Speed Up/Down: speed is modified by 30% for the next 3 attacks
Status effects wear off over time or once the battle ends, either through victory or escape. Certain skills and items allow characters to inflict and resist status ailments. For example, most headwear protects characters from confusion or blindness, while footwear protects them from being stunned.
[h2]United Attack[/h2]
While analyzing feedback from players, I noticed requests to add an active ability. After some deliberation, discussions, and tests, a United Attack ability was added to the game.
United Attacks can be unleashed with a button press once the big yellow bar on the left side of the screen fills up. It combines a portion of every surviving character’s power into a single powerful strike.
These attacks can also kill multiple enemies in a group, and as a bonus, they remove status effects from the party.
[h2]Other News[/h2]
This is probably the final devlog, as the game is complete and undergoing the final rounds of testing and adjustments.
Dragon Ruins II is designed more as a simulation than a story-focused game and is meant to be spread across many sessions until you see everything the game has to offer. It’s recommended to pace yourself, as it’s not meant to be zoomed through in a single sitting.
Due to the abundance of RPGs that demand an ongoing commitment of at least 60 hours of one’s time, I decided to pursue a different goal — a light RPG that can be played however you want until you’ve had your fill, put down, and then returned to whenever you feel like it.
The game is expected to launch soon, and I hope it meets your expectations.
DevLog #3: Exploration
Hi everyone,
This one will be quick. Initially, I wanted to discuss the exploration and the battle system in a single post but later realized that the post would get a bit too long, so I decided to split the two, even though both systems are intertwined.
[h2]Dungeon Design[/h2]
The dungeon in the original was abstract and labyrinthine, while in the sequel I tried a few different approaches to diversify the available areas and ease in newcomers to the genre, so by the time they get to sprawling labyrinths of the late game, they are more or less prepared, while genre veterans get to enjoy a variety of dungeons in a neat single package.
Most dungeons are designed to have at least two paths to the boss room, so if you reach the boss and realize that the party needs more muscle on their bones, there’s just enough space to grind some more.
Warp Scrolls (Teleporter Scrolls in the original) are still present, so be sure to take one with you when you’re done with Novice quests.
[h2]Treasure Chests[/h2]
One of the main new attractions is the addition of treasure chests, which may contain gold or new items. Of course, I can already see you imagining how you’re going to sneak into rooms, grab their contents, and then run away giggling while enemies are still figuring out what happened.
Except there’s a catch — they have to be unlocked first.
Unlocking is fairly straightforward — just press a button and the most competent character alive (determined by Dexterity and corresponding skills) will work their magic. Some chests may be trapped, so failing to unlock them can cause extra pain.
If you’re in battle, it might take a few moments to unlock the chest while the battle goes on, locking you in place, so evaluate the risks before reaching for the rewards.
However, you can avoid all this by buying or finding a Master Key, which instantly bypasses the lock and traps, but breaks the key in the process.
[h2]Traps[/h2]
Dungeon floors are no longer 100% safe, so watch your step.
Traps come in three varieties: spikes (physical damage), pentagrams (magic damage), and pits (physical damage to the entire party).
Unlike the devilish minefields found in my older work, here the traps are always visible, so you can avoid them easily by finding alternate paths, or power through if you think you can handle the pain.
[h2]Teleporters[/h2]
If you remember the teleporters from the original, they’ve found their way here too as a means to make it easier to return home or access isolated areas. Unlike the original, you will be prompted to use the teleporter before it’s activated, so you don’t have to worry about backtracking if you accidentally step on one.
[h2]Other News[/h2]
The main content of Dragon Ruins II is finished, so I can focus more on playtesting and polishing. The game ended up having 15 areas instead of the initially planned 5, as I couldn’t stop adding content and making new maps.
Each area has 3 quests assigned to them (or more), so if you decide to revisit an area to grind levels or seek treasure, you’ll be presented with a new excuse to go there, a different boss, and monsters appropriate for that quest.
I’m taking a few days off to celebrate the New Year and hopefully, I’ll clear my head by the time the celebrations are over. In the next DevLog, I'll talk about the battle system and other details related to the game.
This one will be quick. Initially, I wanted to discuss the exploration and the battle system in a single post but later realized that the post would get a bit too long, so I decided to split the two, even though both systems are intertwined.
[h2]Dungeon Design[/h2]
The dungeon in the original was abstract and labyrinthine, while in the sequel I tried a few different approaches to diversify the available areas and ease in newcomers to the genre, so by the time they get to sprawling labyrinths of the late game, they are more or less prepared, while genre veterans get to enjoy a variety of dungeons in a neat single package.
Most dungeons are designed to have at least two paths to the boss room, so if you reach the boss and realize that the party needs more muscle on their bones, there’s just enough space to grind some more.
Warp Scrolls (Teleporter Scrolls in the original) are still present, so be sure to take one with you when you’re done with Novice quests.
[h2]Treasure Chests[/h2]
One of the main new attractions is the addition of treasure chests, which may contain gold or new items. Of course, I can already see you imagining how you’re going to sneak into rooms, grab their contents, and then run away giggling while enemies are still figuring out what happened.
Except there’s a catch — they have to be unlocked first.
Unlocking is fairly straightforward — just press a button and the most competent character alive (determined by Dexterity and corresponding skills) will work their magic. Some chests may be trapped, so failing to unlock them can cause extra pain.
If you’re in battle, it might take a few moments to unlock the chest while the battle goes on, locking you in place, so evaluate the risks before reaching for the rewards.
However, you can avoid all this by buying or finding a Master Key, which instantly bypasses the lock and traps, but breaks the key in the process.
[h2]Traps[/h2]
Dungeon floors are no longer 100% safe, so watch your step.
Traps come in three varieties: spikes (physical damage), pentagrams (magic damage), and pits (physical damage to the entire party).
Unlike the devilish minefields found in my older work, here the traps are always visible, so you can avoid them easily by finding alternate paths, or power through if you think you can handle the pain.
[h2]Teleporters[/h2]
If you remember the teleporters from the original, they’ve found their way here too as a means to make it easier to return home or access isolated areas. Unlike the original, you will be prompted to use the teleporter before it’s activated, so you don’t have to worry about backtracking if you accidentally step on one.
[h2]Other News[/h2]
The main content of Dragon Ruins II is finished, so I can focus more on playtesting and polishing. The game ended up having 15 areas instead of the initially planned 5, as I couldn’t stop adding content and making new maps.
Each area has 3 quests assigned to them (or more), so if you decide to revisit an area to grind levels or seek treasure, you’ll be presented with a new excuse to go there, a different boss, and monsters appropriate for that quest.
I’m taking a few days off to celebrate the New Year and hopefully, I’ll clear my head by the time the celebrations are over. In the next DevLog, I'll talk about the battle system and other details related to the game.
DevLog #2: Character System
Hi everyone,
First of all, Merry Christmas! I hope it will give you a few days to relax and gather your strength. As for me, I want to deliver a wonderful game to you all, so I'll enjoy the holidays sometime later.
Today I’ll talk about the new character system in Dragon Ruins II.
The original featured only 4 stats, which worked just fine for a microgame. However, a bigger adventure demanded a deeper, more nuanced system, which had to stay true to the core of the original while providing options to players who wanted to master it.
Let’s take a quick look at it.
[h2]Character Stats[/h2]
The game features 5 basic stats:
This provided enough space to design characters with clear strengths and weaknesses. For example, the General is good at dealing and tanking physical damage at the expense of speed and magic resistance.
These stats, as well as equipment and skills, feed into the derived stats:
On each level up, 3 points are allocated between five stats depending on the character’s potential, which can sometimes lead to unexpected results. Basic stats can also be slightly adjusted with special equipment and skills.
[h2]Equipment[/h2]
Characters have 4 equipment slots: Weapon, Armor, and two Accessory slots.
New equipment can be found while exploring the dungeon and can be upgraded at the Blacksmith.
Sometimes, the equipment has extra properties, like stat boosts/penalties, and the ability to inflict status effects, or status resistances. The game displays and highlights all important information when selecting which item to equip.
There are no restrictions on what items can be equipped, so you can adapt to ongoing situations if you have spare items, such as equipping blunt weapons while dealing with skeletons to dish out extra damage. At the same time, pay attention to the equipment's weight, as wearing heavy armor or weapons can slow the character down if they are not strong enough to wear said equipment.
If you just want to chill, you can focus on upgrading your stock equipment and equipping new accessories. If you want to power through the game, there are quite a few unique items that can lead to surprises if you’re willing to spend some time upgrading them.
[h2]Skills[/h2]
The game features a simple skill system that allows you to shape your experience with the game. Characters start with one skill and can learn more every few levels. The initial limit was 8 skills, but after a while, it was lifted to 20 to account for NG+ and might be adjusted again before release depending on how playtesting goes.
Each skill is designed to work as a solution to a specific problem, and it’s up to you to determine which of the 5 skills offered upon level up works best for you. The game features over 50 skills ranging from simple stat boosts to modifiers to how battles, exploration, and interactions in town work.
A few simple examples:
The list goes on, and even now, the game gets new skills every now and then as I test the game and find new opportunities the players might want to use and abuse.
[h2]Party[/h2]
Just like in the original, the party consists of 4 characters, but here it was adjusted to allow party editing at any time. This way you can try different lineups until you find the combination that suits you best.
However, this design change means that characters are unique instead of archetypes that can be cloned to fill the entire party. To account for this, the game features more characters, which can be adjusted via equipment to suit whatever crazy idea you have for a playthrough.
[h2]Other News[/h2]
Dragon Ruins II is about 80% complete at this point. The main content is mostly done, the bonus content is being developed, and the project is on schedule to come out in the first quarter of 2025.
I am testing the game on the Steam Deck and it runs flawlessly out of the box. One player said that the original Dragon Ruins was one of their favorite games for long plane rides, so I hope the sequel will not disappoint in that regard.
In the next DevLog, I’ll talk about the changes to exploration and the battle system — and there are quite a few changes that might interest you.
First of all, Merry Christmas! I hope it will give you a few days to relax and gather your strength. As for me, I want to deliver a wonderful game to you all, so I'll enjoy the holidays sometime later.
Today I’ll talk about the new character system in Dragon Ruins II.
The original featured only 4 stats, which worked just fine for a microgame. However, a bigger adventure demanded a deeper, more nuanced system, which had to stay true to the core of the original while providing options to players who wanted to master it.
Let’s take a quick look at it.
[h2]Character Stats[/h2]
The game features 5 basic stats:
- Strength (STR), determines the character’s physical strength
- Dexterity (DEX), determines the character’s nimbleness
- Magic (MAG), determines the character’s magical aptitude and resistance
- Agility (AGI), determines the character’s speed
- Vitality (VIT), determines the character’s resilience
This provided enough space to design characters with clear strengths and weaknesses. For example, the General is good at dealing and tanking physical damage at the expense of speed and magic resistance.
These stats, as well as equipment and skills, feed into the derived stats:
- Max Health: determined by Level and VIT
- Attack Power: determined by Weapon Attack and two stats associated with said weapon (e.g. Swords use STR and AGI)
- Physical Defense: determined by armor and VIT
- Magic Defense: determined by armor and MAG
- Speed: determined by AGI and equipment weight
On each level up, 3 points are allocated between five stats depending on the character’s potential, which can sometimes lead to unexpected results. Basic stats can also be slightly adjusted with special equipment and skills.
[h2]Equipment[/h2]
Characters have 4 equipment slots: Weapon, Armor, and two Accessory slots.
New equipment can be found while exploring the dungeon and can be upgraded at the Blacksmith.
Sometimes, the equipment has extra properties, like stat boosts/penalties, and the ability to inflict status effects, or status resistances. The game displays and highlights all important information when selecting which item to equip.
There are no restrictions on what items can be equipped, so you can adapt to ongoing situations if you have spare items, such as equipping blunt weapons while dealing with skeletons to dish out extra damage. At the same time, pay attention to the equipment's weight, as wearing heavy armor or weapons can slow the character down if they are not strong enough to wear said equipment.
If you just want to chill, you can focus on upgrading your stock equipment and equipping new accessories. If you want to power through the game, there are quite a few unique items that can lead to surprises if you’re willing to spend some time upgrading them.
[h2]Skills[/h2]
The game features a simple skill system that allows you to shape your experience with the game. Characters start with one skill and can learn more every few levels. The initial limit was 8 skills, but after a while, it was lifted to 20 to account for NG+ and might be adjusted again before release depending on how playtesting goes.
Each skill is designed to work as a solution to a specific problem, and it’s up to you to determine which of the 5 skills offered upon level up works best for you. The game features over 50 skills ranging from simple stat boosts to modifiers to how battles, exploration, and interactions in town work.
A few simple examples:
- Enemies hit you before you get a chance to strike? Get the Quick Draw skill.
- Weak character is targeted by enemies a bit too often, even in the back? Get the Inconspicuous skill to make them less likely to get targeted by enemies.
- The shopkeeper is too greedy? Get the Haggle skill!
- Equipment weight is causing trouble? Get the Pack Mule skill.
- Want to deal extra damage with swords? Get a Sword Mastery skill.
- A fat boss is giving you trouble? Get a Paralyzer skill!
The list goes on, and even now, the game gets new skills every now and then as I test the game and find new opportunities the players might want to use and abuse.
[h2]Party[/h2]
Just like in the original, the party consists of 4 characters, but here it was adjusted to allow party editing at any time. This way you can try different lineups until you find the combination that suits you best.
However, this design change means that characters are unique instead of archetypes that can be cloned to fill the entire party. To account for this, the game features more characters, which can be adjusted via equipment to suit whatever crazy idea you have for a playthrough.
[h2]Other News[/h2]
Dragon Ruins II is about 80% complete at this point. The main content is mostly done, the bonus content is being developed, and the project is on schedule to come out in the first quarter of 2025.
I am testing the game on the Steam Deck and it runs flawlessly out of the box. One player said that the original Dragon Ruins was one of their favorite games for long plane rides, so I hope the sequel will not disappoint in that regard.
In the next DevLog, I’ll talk about the changes to exploration and the battle system — and there are quite a few changes that might interest you.