Cross of Auria News

A developmental build has been deployed as a potential fix for the crashing issues caused by the 2.2.1.0.1 update on January 4th.
To access this build, right click Cross of Auria from within Steam.
Click "Properties"
Click the "Betas" tab.
Click the drop down and select "2.4.0".
Press close, then the game will update on its own.

From this point, continue the game as you normally would have but please do not overwrite your current save file. If you encounter any issues, follow the steps above to change the selection box back to default!

After some reports come in, this build will be set as the default build and the 2.4.0 option will be removed. At this point, I'll post a notice for if this update requires a new save file or not. The goal is to not require any more new save files.

Sidebar: The Quest Journal is permanently broken, even in new project files on my end. There's nothing that can be done here in CoA to repair it.

Several of the known issues have been removed due to the changes.

Current Known Issues:
- The Quest Journal text in the top left is disappearing after the first save and reload of the game. The cause for this is being investigated, but it is likely this issue cannot be fixed.
- If you encounter an error or any other oddity, please report it immediately @ www.facebook.com/CrossOfAuria.

2.4.0 [Build #39, Release Date: February 06, 2019] Notice: The plugins associated with the 2.2.1.0.1 build have been rolled back to their previous versions. This may require a new save file or cause oddities within the game. This was done as an attempted fix to the crashes which have been occurring since then. Changes:
- The turn order display has been disabled. It has not been working correctly for longer than I have backup builds for.
Fixes:
- Bloodthirst now correctly applies the buff to Riley.

After having spent the last two days working to repair these two plugins, I have concluded what I suspected.

1. The turn order display does not work in the Windows version of the game. It is unknown if it works on Mac or Linux, as I do not regularly test these builds.
2. The quest log becomes unstable after the first save of a new save file. Some parts become unreadable, and rarely - disappear altogether.

I want to keep moving forward with the current game, but the change in structure from quest log to no quest log would be too jarring, I think. It may better suit me to recreate it altogether, or just move on to the next piece of the story.

So here's what I've been working on...
It does not seem possible to recreate the game using an updated and expanded set of plugins as I want to. Ideally, I would just throw all of Yanfly's plugins together and use them as I learn them. Some issues are, not unexpectedly, arising from this approach. I may be able to use the current version of the game in the updated engine with select plugin additions moving forward. But then, I hit the wall when deciding what to do about the quest log. I've been back and forth with this for the past few days.

What does this mean moving forward?
I think I can officially say that the next project won't contain the current first project. That is to say... the next game won't also include the entirety of the first game, which is both a good and a bad thing. I wanted to do this in chapters, but then I wanted to do it as one huge game, but then I hit a bunch of bugs and unfixable issues with plugins. It's been a hassle. The best thing for me is to make another short-ish (5-10 hours) story chunk similar to this game and see where we get from there. Ideally, at some point soon, I'll be able to begin development in Unity on a full-length RPG taking place in the same universe. That may be a ways away though.

So... what does this all mean?
Let's cut right to it then, shall we?
1. Live support for Cross of Auria has officially ended. This means there will not be any future patches, content or bugfixes, unless something critically gamebreaking needs to be addressed.
2. The activities in Agartha will not extend to the higher levels like originally intended. These activities may find their way into the next game in some form or another. They were all, including the unreleased one, extremely beneficial learning experiences for me that I truly hope I can share better in the future.
3. This game in the store will be renamed "Cross of Auria: Episode 1" to reflect the changes. Additionally, the store page description will also see updates in the coming days.

That's all I've got for now. I truly hope each of you enjoyed what I was able to create in this first part of the story, and I hope to see you back in the next. Keep yourself posted by following @ www.facebook.com/CrossOfAuria to see when the next project goes live.

Until next time in Revan, my friends.

We have run into a handful of very serious errors on the development side which is hindering progress. It's not the fault of the engine or the plugins, but mainly myself. I kept the plugins updated over time without regard for the fact that the engine itself has been updated. Ideally, i wanted this one game to span hundreds of quests and multiple stories. Sadly, I've hit a brick wall with that. Rather than continue with limited resources, I will be upgrading the engine and all plugins immediately. This may mean that updates for this game are no longer possible. The game, in my opinion, is in a good place. It took me about a year to make, and then another year and two months of live content updates and patches. I fully intend for the next game to come out swinging - building upon everything I learn here. I won't know whether or not I have to make a new project entirely until the engine is updated, but I'm preparing for the worst. If a CoA #2 does go into development, you'll know about it here first. If I'm able to reconstruct everything that breaks from the update, you'll also know that. Just be prepared.

In addition to the following notes, a "this is the end" message appears upon triggering the second variation of the world map. Agartha and The Rabbit's Foot remain available after the second instance of the world map has been reached. Also, the 230special version of the game has been removed. Any player still using it will be reverted to the default branch.

Current Known Issues:
- The turn order display at the top right is not displaying actors (your party). The cause for this is being investigated.
- The Quest Journal text in the top left is disappearing after the first save and reload of the game. The cause for this is being investigated.
- Some players are experiencing lag during the post-battle score screen or outright crashes. The reason for this was the January 2nd patch which saw the engine plugins updated. These issues should not occur in new save files.
- If you encounter an error or any other oddity, please report it immediately @ www.facebook.com/CrossOfAuria.
2.3.1.1 [Build #38 Release Date: January 30, 2019]
Fixes:
- The Market Town scene now prevents the player from leaving the others behind.
Changes:
- Return bridges added to Hell’s Gate for after the Flame Titan has been defeated to make return trips less difficult.
Note: This may be the last update to CoA. Several unfixable bugs have been detected due to the engine version not being current but the plugins continuing to be updated for the newer version of the engine instead of the current. Gamebreaking bugs will still be addressed, but it will likely take some time to address them. The story of CoA is not yet finished – future games and comic-like releases are planned. It may be possible to update the engine and all plugins, but at this point I can’t promise that. Upon updating, many of the assets will become unusable, requiring entire zones and concepts to be restructured. Switches, variables, and transfers are all also likely to break. I will keep everyone posted with whatever information comes next.

Based on several YouTubers playing through the game, we have discovered a handful of pesky bugs which are in need of ironing out. Patches will roll out for each as soon as a fix is found.

As soon as I am able, I need to go through every little bit of the game again to see if I can manually trigger these issues to then repair them. This may take some time, and other updates are on the back burner until the test is concluded. Please keep in mind that the plugins were developed by a third party, and it may be that there is nothing I can do to fix these issues. If that's the case, the turn order display will be disabled and the quest journal will be left as is. It would be sad to do these things, but with them not working properly, there's no other alternative, as removing the plugins altogether would require a new game file for every player. I believe the quest log to be an integral part of the game, even with this minor hiccup.

Videos will follow on the CoA YouTube channel explaining all of this, including what to expect regardless of which way forward we go.

Current Known Issues:
1. Turn Order Display - The turn order display at the top right is not displaying actors (your party). The cause for this is being investigated.
2. Quest Journal - The Quest Journal text in the top left is disappearing randomly during gameplay. The cause for this is being investigated.
3. EXP/Loot Screen - Some players are experiencing lag during the post-battle score screen or outright crashes. The reason for this was (probably) the January 2nd patch which saw the engine plugins updated. These issues should not occur in new save files.
- If you encounter an error or any other oddity, please report it immediately @ www.facebook.com/CrossOfAuria.


On another note, the next content update is also being worked on. The highlight of 2.3.2 is the Hall of Challengers activity being raised in difficulty to level 30, up from it's current level of 10. Levels 1-10 have 3 possible enemy groups per battle. Levels 2-30 have 2 possible variations. As always, there will be more to the update, but we'll save that for update day. Until then, good luck out there, and keep those bug reports coming! You never know which might be the one to fix everything.
As always, the roadmap may change or be canceled for any reason. Updates will be available here first, then on facebook or youtube.

Also, if you happen to pinpoint the exact moment the Quest Journal bugs out, please let me know ASAP! I'll also be looking for it here on my end.

P.S. - The 230special variant of the game will remain active until the next patch.

Update 1: - The Quest Journal text in the top left is disappearing after the first save and reload of the game. The cause for this is being investigated.

The transfers to structures inside Auria/Entrance were left out of the most recent patch. These structures include: "Outpost", "Item Shop", and "House"

They remain available in the first iteration of Auria and will become available in the second iteration with the next update, 2.3.1 which is currently scheduled for Sunday.

Please keep in mind that the "230special" version of the game will be removed when 2.3.1 goes live - so if you have a save file that crashes for any reason or lags during the score screen, please start a new save file ASAP while using the "230special" beta, accessed from the game's Properties -> Betas -> beta drop down.

Note: Even when the 230special is removed, players with save files from before January 2nd will still need to restart the file in order to prevent crashes moving forward. This type of error is not likely to occur moving forward and was originally caused by a mass plugin update.