Early Access Dev Log 06
We released the first monthly update for Spire of Sorcery a week ago, and it makes us very happy that this update has been well received – thank for all the feedback!
As a small team, we keep our focus on the issues that deliver the most impact, and it’s always crucial for us to identify what exactly will improve your player experience the most.
Having shipped a couple of hotfixes since then, we had a long discussion about what do we want to ship for you this month, in December.
Here’s what we think, and please share your comments once you read these thoughts!
[h3]THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: “STORY MODE”[/h3]
Because we only have 2 weeks for active production, and 1 week for testing, we must identify the single most important feature that we prioritise above all else.
It is not crafting: crafting is fun, but it’s not going to change the experience in a big way.
It is not travel magic: travel magic is cool, and practically useful to solve some situations on the map – but it’s still an addition to the existing core loop, and not the heart of it.
It is not new chapters: new chapters are enjoyable (new creatures! new biomes!), but they are only as good as the core loop is.
So, what it is then?
We call it “the story mode”, and this addresses the issues that players have described in various ways, from “the map feels empty” to “one battle follows another without lore in between” to “I miss lore that would be woven into each chapter, little stories and secrets”.
A big test that we apply to this feature goes like this:
ːmagic_sparklesː “If two different players with two different initial parties complete the same chapter, will their experience be different on the strategic level – or roughly the same?” ːmagic_sparklesː
Right now, it will be mostly the same: move towards the main quest, solve it, explore surroundings, evacuate.
What we want, though, is for two players to have different experiences, and to continue discovering the world, its lore, and its stories, at every point during the chapter.
[h3]PRE-DESIGNED MAPS[/h3]
Once we realized that we want more stories, and more options, we realized that we want the maps to be more like the pre-designed Forest Camp in the tutorial and less like the current procedurally generated chapters 1-3.
Creating a pre-designed map allows us to plant unique objects and design stories and challenges around them – which sounds to us more exciting than a randomized map that, nevertheless, remains the same as its core.
[h3]WE START FROM CHAPTER 1, “THE CHASE”[/h3]
As I’m writing this, I’m debating with myself if I should spoil some of the stories that we created for the first chapter. I’ll try to be specific enough – but without killing the fun!
We aim to add 3 big “stories” to this chapter. All of them will be optional. You can activate the node, and move to the Spire, without engaging with them.
All three stories are based on custom content. You will see opponents that you haven’t seen before in the game, including one opponent that is unique. Each of these three stories has 3 options to be resolved, connected to the 3 driving forces.
ːopponentː In some cases, you’ll have to fight.
ːspellcastingː In some, you’ll gain a new character.
ːloot_sackː In some, you’ll get unique items.
In every story, you will need to make a choice, and these choices are not only balanced between each other – but also affect the situations in the future chapters.
[h3]ADVENTURES TO BECOME CAMPSITE EVENTS[/h3]
Another ask that we heard, is to add “more things that happen every day”.
At the same time, we ourselves did not feel like our current adventures do their job well – they are too far spread, too specific, and do not deliver enough fun.
Thus, we are folding all adventures into ːfire_tokenː campsite events, which have a chance to happen whenever you press “end turn” in the travel mode.
We want two characters to experience a quarrel, someone to break their leg, another mage to get drunk on unknown berries, and everyone to, occasionally, have nightmares when camping in ruins – yes, most campsite events are to be biome-specific.
Whether we succeed in making this happen in time for December update, we will know in about 10 days when the translation deadline approaches.
[h3]OTHER CHANGES[/h3]
There’s a few more things that we want to do, that will have a positive impact:
In general, we’re looking at the option to have more spells, and allow to influence the progress. The time to test this idea will come later, in January or February.
We agree with the comments of players who find the “silent mages” boring, and we’re preparing pools of character reactions for various events. We will then need to test the system to fine-tune the style and the scope. But it is something that we want to make.
[h3]WHAT NEXT?[/h3]
We are now hard at work on the features described above and will show you more details in the next week’s dev log. Meanwhile we’re facing a few additional challenges this month, with several family members of our team falling sick (kids, grandparents) – we’ll do our best to stay focused, but life is life, and at points it intervenes without asking.
Stay safe, stay healthy – and see you next week!
/ Team CO /
As a small team, we keep our focus on the issues that deliver the most impact, and it’s always crucial for us to identify what exactly will improve your player experience the most.
Having shipped a couple of hotfixes since then, we had a long discussion about what do we want to ship for you this month, in December.
Here’s what we think, and please share your comments once you read these thoughts!
[h3]THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: “STORY MODE”[/h3]
Because we only have 2 weeks for active production, and 1 week for testing, we must identify the single most important feature that we prioritise above all else.
It is not crafting: crafting is fun, but it’s not going to change the experience in a big way.
It is not travel magic: travel magic is cool, and practically useful to solve some situations on the map – but it’s still an addition to the existing core loop, and not the heart of it.
It is not new chapters: new chapters are enjoyable (new creatures! new biomes!), but they are only as good as the core loop is.
So, what it is then?
We call it “the story mode”, and this addresses the issues that players have described in various ways, from “the map feels empty” to “one battle follows another without lore in between” to “I miss lore that would be woven into each chapter, little stories and secrets”.
A big test that we apply to this feature goes like this:
ːmagic_sparklesː “If two different players with two different initial parties complete the same chapter, will their experience be different on the strategic level – or roughly the same?” ːmagic_sparklesː
Right now, it will be mostly the same: move towards the main quest, solve it, explore surroundings, evacuate.
What we want, though, is for two players to have different experiences, and to continue discovering the world, its lore, and its stories, at every point during the chapter.
[h3]PRE-DESIGNED MAPS[/h3]
Once we realized that we want more stories, and more options, we realized that we want the maps to be more like the pre-designed Forest Camp in the tutorial and less like the current procedurally generated chapters 1-3.
Creating a pre-designed map allows us to plant unique objects and design stories and challenges around them – which sounds to us more exciting than a randomized map that, nevertheless, remains the same as its core.
[h3]WE START FROM CHAPTER 1, “THE CHASE”[/h3]
As I’m writing this, I’m debating with myself if I should spoil some of the stories that we created for the first chapter. I’ll try to be specific enough – but without killing the fun!
We aim to add 3 big “stories” to this chapter. All of them will be optional. You can activate the node, and move to the Spire, without engaging with them.
All three stories are based on custom content. You will see opponents that you haven’t seen before in the game, including one opponent that is unique. Each of these three stories has 3 options to be resolved, connected to the 3 driving forces.
ːopponentː In some cases, you’ll have to fight.
ːspellcastingː In some, you’ll gain a new character.
ːloot_sackː In some, you’ll get unique items.
In every story, you will need to make a choice, and these choices are not only balanced between each other – but also affect the situations in the future chapters.
[h3]ADVENTURES TO BECOME CAMPSITE EVENTS[/h3]
Another ask that we heard, is to add “more things that happen every day”.
At the same time, we ourselves did not feel like our current adventures do their job well – they are too far spread, too specific, and do not deliver enough fun.
Thus, we are folding all adventures into ːfire_tokenː campsite events, which have a chance to happen whenever you press “end turn” in the travel mode.
We want two characters to experience a quarrel, someone to break their leg, another mage to get drunk on unknown berries, and everyone to, occasionally, have nightmares when camping in ruins – yes, most campsite events are to be biome-specific.
Whether we succeed in making this happen in time for December update, we will know in about 10 days when the translation deadline approaches.
[h3]OTHER CHANGES[/h3]
There’s a few more things that we want to do, that will have a positive impact:
- Making Spellbooks more transparent in the encounter and moving away from full-screen window.
- Structuring all spells into three “schools”, connected to the 3 soul essences, with cost of new spell dependent on how many spells in this school you have already opened (in other words, the same spell has different cost depending on how many spells in this school you have already opened). This will push us to make more choices when upgrading!
- Connecting spells in “chains”, so that when you upgrade one spell, you have at least two options what to upgrade it to.
In general, we’re looking at the option to have more spells, and allow to influence the progress. The time to test this idea will come later, in January or February.
- Adding character reactions to game events.
We agree with the comments of players who find the “silent mages” boring, and we’re preparing pools of character reactions for various events. We will then need to test the system to fine-tune the style and the scope. But it is something that we want to make.
[h3]WHAT NEXT?[/h3]
We are now hard at work on the features described above and will show you more details in the next week’s dev log. Meanwhile we’re facing a few additional challenges this month, with several family members of our team falling sick (kids, grandparents) – we’ll do our best to stay focused, but life is life, and at points it intervenes without asking.
Stay safe, stay healthy – and see you next week!
/ Team CO /