More map updates - 12/2/2018

I now understand why some developers say that an abundance of assets can slow down a games completion just as much as a lack of assets. After acquiring several new tilesets, some of the older maps got small alterations and aesthetic upgrades:

Disregard the random tiles shown at bottom-left

Thanks to a very talented artist named Whtdragon, I was able to create this treasure room also, though I don't really know what I'm going to do with it yet.

The Alistine Ice Cavern's 4th basement has been altered slightly to make it a little less linear than it was originally. An underground waterfall has also been added to the bottom floor (basement 5)

Lastly, the Thrones have been replaced with newer versions.

What's New - 11/1/2018

The game is about 90% complete. Most of the work I'm doing now pertains to proofreading and play-testing. Many of the maps have been re-designed to improve their appearance.

Gardinia

Holvington

Kylosi

Garden of Ethesridge

What's New - 10/4/2018

* Alistine has been completely re-mapped. I'd been considering it for a while but finally just decided to put the extra effort into in and do it (and I'm glad I did).

Old Alistine

Many changes/upgrades as of 9/18/2018

* There is now a Bounty Hunting element that the player can use as a method of farming money. They will first have to visit a location called the Reallah Justice Center. They pay a fee of about 20,000 coins, then receive a "Re-Locator", which must be equipped like a weapon. After that, they're given their first assignment and are free to  leave. Since the fugitives are all over the world, the player may have a very hard time locating some of them. There are no battles or combat involved in capturing them, all the player has to do is interact with them (with the Re-Locator equipped) and the game handles the rest.

* Astral Tower has been somewhat overhauled. Instead of going straight into the Tower from the World Map, the player now is taken to the exterior:

To accommodate this change, the first floor had to be edited a little bit.

* The "front door" of Deslin Castle has also been modified. The party still arrives on the roof of the castle, but if the player makes their way to the 1st floor, they can enter and exit through the front gate.

Why would anyone want to do this? Well, it may have something to do with the treasure chests on the ground outside the castle that cannot be reached without going through the main entrance.

Deslin Castle re-design

I've decided to take the time to re-work the games last dungeon, Deslin Castle. Some parts of the castle will stay essentially the same (but with an altered tile set) while some parts are changed completely. The biggest change, aside from the color layout, is in how players reach the final boss.

 In the original layout, players would be confronted by a semi-final boss (we'll just call her 'E') and afterwards had to find and press 3 colored switches to open corresponding gates. Only the blue switch was necessary, as the red and green ones only opened rooms with optional items inside. After the blue switch was pressed, players could proceed to the first floor but would be stopped by three mini-bosses

Now, the last gateway to the final boss looks like this:

There are still blue, red, and green switches but they take the form of crystal pillars instead of actual buttons. Before the player can activate one of the pillars, they must first defeat the mini-boss guarding it.

Once all three have been activated, the last gateway will open. Players must then go down one final hallway and will fight the semi-final boss 'E' just before reaching the first floor where the games final boss waits.

Also, an entirely new floor has been added in which players must slip by three separate sets of sentry guards unnoticed. It's worth pointing out that technically they don't HAVE to be stealthy if they choose not to, but getting caught will trigger multiple waves of enemies, none of which give any exp or money when defeated. If the player manages to get caught by all three groups of guards, an especially nasty hidden boss will intercept them before they can progress to the next floor. Like the Sentry Guards, this boss also offers no money or exp.

In addition, the outside of the castle has dramatically changed from its original design.

Original

Re-design

What's New - 8/19/2018

* New mini-game "Saboteur" has been added to St. Ingrid's Island. Players have 90 seconds to disarm four bombs by entering the disarming sequence displayed on screen. Essentially, it's similar to Simon Says, except it's numbers. If the wrong sequence is entered wrong three times (twice on the final bomb) the game ends and the bombs explode. Not sure what the prize for completion will be yet.

Astral Tower battleback update

I've decided that there should be two different battlebacks on the Astral Tower dungeon. When a random-encounter is triggered, where the player is standing will determine with one is shown.

 

When player is standing on a blue tile.

When player is standing on a purple tile.

Random Encounter Disabler option [DEMO ONLY]

Players now have an option at the start of the demo to disable all random encounter battles.

This is only for the demo at this time (and was originally intended just as a easy way to playtest without having to disable R.E.'s everytime I wanted to speed through a section) but it may turn into an option for the full game.

Updated house tiles.

After spending a great deal of time trying to figure out how to improve the look of towns and cities, it just now occurred to me that you can improve your maps simply by adding a different type of roof to some of the houses/buildings.

How the hell I didn't think of this before is beyond me.

Before

After

What's New - 6/27/2018

* After getting a couple of new tilesets, I decided to change Mayor Nobles (Noballs) home in Sepious. One of the sets isn't free for commercial use, so I'll have to buy the license for it once the game is finished.

* It's a slow process but I'm phasing out the use of text boxes for alerting the player of locked doors in favor of a simpler, more aesthetically-appealing graphic.

Ditto for text boxes designed to display gameplay hints:

* I've finally figured out a way to make certain items only usable by certain characters. This will ensure that Shard-based spells designed for a specific character can't be used by anyone but the person it was intended for.

* I wasn't sure about this at first but I decided to go ahead and use the horror-themed 'Bloody' tileset I found. While it may add a little gore to the game, bear in mind that we're talking about a nutjob antagonist that commonly murders entire towns as an intimidation tactic.

Desert Bazaar update.

 The Desert Bazaar has been re-designed to make it larger and more detailed.

Before

After

The bulletin board in the center displays a different image depending on what side you interact with:

Left

Right

What's New - 5/16/2018

* In addition to the fog mentioned in the last update, the Forest of Shadows has undergone some cosmetic alterations designed to enhance it's overall look and appearance.

* A new dungeon  "Windsong Spire" has been added. I felt that events in the latter 3/4ths of the game were too closely situated, so another dungeon was added for the purposes of extending near-end events. Originally, the party met Mr. Turrean (who invented the games Airship) at his home, but now when Ami and the party arrive, the maids inform her that he has gone to the aforementioned dungeon to hunt for a treasure that the party will later exchange with an engineer-for-hire for the final part needed for the Airship.

Entrance

The top-floor "Shift Tile" puzzle

What's New - 4/28/2018

* As of this update, the Forest of Shadows will be covered in fog.



The fog is not ENTIRELY this thick, as it does clear up significantly as the player progresses.


* Miroden Castle, sometimes called "the white castle" by its residents, has been added:

Pun intended.

There's nothing of serious plot importance to be found, and is intended simply as an additional location the player can explore. Also, it is the only castle in the game to have shops inside that the player can buy from.

* Vhespia will now have an "early morning" effect the first time the player sees it (which is when they leave Ami's house to begin their quest). 

This effect will last for roughly 15 seconds or so and will slowly transition into normal daylight. If a player enters a house or leaves the village it will skip the transition.