Some features ready for next release
If you are a player of my game Caverns and Dryads, you know I'm working in the next release. It will include several important features and the main story of the Emerald City.
Sioul and Tamzyn are in their search for the key of the mighty City. There, they will be able to find the Book of the Arcana, that contains the spell to cure Tamzyn's mother.
For that, several game features need to be implemented. Up to now, I have these already done:
- The chapters of the story are written. They will shock you and amaze you. You will suffer a while, laugh and even maybe cry for different reasons, bad and good. At least, this is what happened to beta readers. I have to still turn these chapter into interactive fiction, and integrate them in the game.
- Special places: they appear in the exploration screen, and will be places in which you can perform special actions. For example, the palace of the Purple King. You will be able to go there anytime even if you don't have a quest.
- The storage screen: for places where you can store your hard won items and money.
- Keys, in order to support finding the key and entering the Emerald City.
- Friends list so you can see what characters are friends of the couple.
I also added some other improvements to narration and chapters.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Some features I am still working to implement next:
- Magical weapons. They can inflict magical damage in addition to a blow.
- Magical armor. They can protect you against things like fire, acid, etc.
- Several new spells that will be contained in the Book of the Arcana once you get it.
- Some extra chapters to reflect the situation of the couple in each emotional state.
Other things I have to do is maybe review the intro story to improve it a bit, because I saw that there's some narrative problem (for example, insist more in the motivation of Sioul, and fix the name of the book).
I also decided to drop the translation to French. It takes me more time and there are very few people playing in that language. I feel bad because it's beautiful. But keeping only English and Spanish will allow me to focus in keeping the emotional style better, and develop faster.
FUTURE FEATURES
Once I have all this, I will do an update (1.5). But next probably will be houses. You will be able to build your house and add rooms inside it.
That will be a big update too, as it may include different activities in each room.
For example I'm thinking in a laboratory for making potions, studying spells, or a kitchen to cook food and recover, a bedroom for.... eh.... well. Sleep, yes. Yes, for that.
SOME SCREENSHOTS
Here's some screenshots of the new screens.This is the Storage screen, to pick up and store the objects and the money that you got in a safe place.
When you pick something from the storage, you will see a "Take" button.
And when you select something in your inventory, you'll see "store" instead.
When you click the key icon in the inventory, you will see an inventory of the keys that you have. Here I added the Emerald City key to test. Once you click on the key, on the right you will see a picture and the name of the place that the key is for. There's a lot of space in order to allow future expansions of the map. For now there are much less places requiring a key.
On the Relationship screen, there's a new icon, the handshake one. It opens a list of friends.
This is the friends list. As with the keys, you click on the thumbs, and it displays a bigger image and a description on the right, usually showing the name and where this friend uses to be located.
OTHER STUFF
I am working on the Bestiary sometimes. I am also making wallpapers with a new technique.
COMMENT ABOUT ANYTHING
Please tell me your thoughts, make questions or whatever in the comments!
Thanks for playing! :)
Hello,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I wanted to thank you for working hard on this game and inviting people to give you their feedback so you can keep trying to perfect your game; that's really enjoyable to see.
Regarding my point of view on the game itself after playing it a few hours (Heroes of Subterranea achievement done), here is what I can say:
Everything in the game is subject to randomness, which, in some areas, makes sense, as, for example, if a dungeon were to exist in real life, we can't predict what we would face, whether it's a trap from enemies, issues with the surroundings, falling sick, etc.
However, when we are in cities, we also have to walk to face random events all the time, whether it's to go take a coffee/go to sleep in the inn/ go to a shop to sell or buy equipment.
In this sense, do you think it would be possible, when we are in cities exclusively, to add the option to choose to walk to those specific destinations (shops/inn/tavern...) and, if you want to continue with the random events, still add them while we try to go there (attempt to get robbed, being attacked, etc...) but not have to walk 60 steps so we can find the merchant to sell our equipment? Also, having the possibility to leave a city whenever we want and not after a designated amount of steps, as it makes us do unwanted actions that slow down the game for no reason.
Moreover, at the current state, it is way too easy to make money with no interesting stuff to buy with it. Do you plan to add more interesting equipment to buy?
In this topic, I think it would be interesting to have specialized shops such as the armory, apothecary, and grocery store with lots of variety of objects to buy (maybe specific items depending on the city we currently are in?).
It can also be interesting to add features such as training / experiences points after defeating an enemy / specialization for the magician... to have a clearer sense of progression throughout the game.
The house features to be able to craft/sleep/train/increase relationship that you are working on would be a really awesome update and I'm all for it! :)
Hope this feedback can be of any help! Thank you for reading me, and, once again, thank you for your hard work! :)
P.S : I also have a question, is it already possible to collect the key to the underground palace or not yet ? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Thank you Daurialol! :) I'm so happy you like the game and appreciate it! :)
DeleteAbout the cities, I think it's a great idea. The intention was to use a similar dynamic as in the other places, but you are right. Maybe make a hybrid: you decide to go to some places, and in the middle of the way, between places, you can face a random encounter (a chapter of story, robber, etc). But decide where to go, as you say.
I still have to think how. Because the pointcrawl map (current) allows to add infinite number of possibilities. But a fixed map doesn't. So I think I have to come up with something hybrid.
But definitively I will think about this and probably implement it soon. Thanks a lot for your idea! :) I think it may make the game more fun on cities.
Every object on the shops need its graphic and features, but I plan to add many more.
The way to raise points now is to go to Sanctuaries and find gods, who give you stats raise. Yes, it's random and you have to go to a dungeon, and then enter again, so it implies risk, and that risk limits abuse. If you raise too fast the game may lack challenge.
The other way is to play the story, and you get more or less raise depending on the decisions (they are important). For example in the next story there will be 3 bosses. After each one, you may receive raise on heroine and wizard stats. And also chapters of story with decisions, and it may raise relationship stats.
The house will be useful for some things. For example, I am thinking that if you add a kitchen you may be able to create some food items. Or if you add a laboratory, create potions with some of the current ingredients that some shops sell. Or fix your weapons.
In a future I also plan to create your spells or weapons, but I am still thinking on the mechanics.
I hope to have an update this Monday with bug fixes and some small features, but useful. I am still working on the graphics and adding the story after that. But as it may take me more time, I think it's good to make a partial update with the improvements and fixes.
When I publish the new story after that, it will go from that moment you are now, as heroes of Subterranea, to getting into the Emerald City and saving Tamzyn's mother. That part implies also a lot for their relationship, that is supposed to end, but they are each day closer... I can't say more because it may be a spoiler ;) This update will also introduce other game features.
The key for the Underground palace not yet. But in the release of 1.5 that I'm working (The Emerald City adventure), you will get the key to the Abandoned Citadel, the Emerald City, and the Palace of the Dryad (if you finish it). As I said, there will be 3 bosses (one relatively easy, the other much harder than the Aberration, and the third one also challenging).
The Underground Palace will have a place in another story after that. I don't want to delay the keys for all eternity :D
Please tell me what you think, and thanks a lot for reading the blog and playing, and your love for my world! :)
Hi again !
DeleteThanks for your fast reply and all the precision that you are providing.
I'm really pleased to see that one of the topic brought could be of any use to your work.
I'm looking forward to see what is coming next, seems like you are cooking some good stuff ! :D
Gl with all the work you have, wish you the best with your project.
thank you so much! :)
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